http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net 612 Jamestown Road, Williamsburg Virginia 23185 | (757) 229-6688 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:57:34 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Faith formation is the aim of everything we do as a congregation -- every worship service, every study group, every children's class, even every meeting! Yes, even meetings are sources of spiritual nourishment -- when we're attentive to God's presence with us; aware that the work we are to be about ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/03/10/spiritual-nourishment-at-a-council-meeting/ A.) Out on my early morning bike ride, I saw this saying on a car license plate: Y Tax Is this driver protesting all taxes, or just the personal property tax? If I ever see that car in a parking lot, I think I'll put this note under the windshield wiper: Y tax? 2 repair ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/03/10/word-play/ Robin and Linda Williams are a husband-wife folk singing duo who live outside Staunton, Virginia. Patty and I have seen them in concert six or seven times. (They usually play with two other musicians, a bass player and a mandolin player, who they call their "Fine Band.") In one ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/03/08/out-like-a-lamb/ During an April, 2002 visit to the Strand book store in New York City, I bought Walking the Bible, by Bruce Feiler. I had heard that it was good, and I thought I should buy it, because I should read it. (The bonus was that the book was on one ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/03/05/when-the-time-is-right/ I've been having a terrible time sleeping.  You know, the basic stuff: awake in the middle of the night with the old confusion -- forgetting that I'm not the Creator; I'm only the creature; and so I can't "fix things"; I can only do the work God gives me to do; ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/03/03/shuffling-along/ I love this revision of the current populist mood! Could there be promise in this, for Christian civic participation? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/us/politics/02coffee.html?ref=todayspaper http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/03/02/could-this-be-a-new-avenue-for-christian-civic-participation/ ... and praying for those who are suffering.   I was moved by this picture of two Chilean women, with their children, at dawn. They are just outside of their houses, which were near the epicenter of the earthquake. All night, sitting up, worried about aftershocks and without shelter. And for a current ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/03/01/giving-thanks-for-the-blessings-of-this-day/ Last night, up for a "body break" in the middle of the night, I noticed how bright the light was outside.  A full moon! That means Easter is only one lunar cycle away -- since, of course, Easter is the first Sunday affter the first full moon following the Vernal Equinox.  ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/02/27/the-lunar-phase/ I never catch a cold! Well, that's been true in past years. This week, I've been socked in by a terrible cold; the second one I've had in three months! (The first hit me at the end of Advent, and I simply had to keep going, or ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/02/26/two-colds-in-one-season/ I made an extravagent purchase a couple of months ago: a Bose "Soundlink" system. The system includes a plug-in to a computer's USB port. When I go to a radio station's internet site and click on its live stream, the plug-in becomes a transmitter, sending the signal to a portable ... http://www.saintstephenlutheran.net/2010/02/25/rain-is-wonderful/