As I was driving into work today to see some patients in clinic I was listening to the local radio station and they were talking about churches and how COVID-19 had forced them to cease performing mass.
The host and some callers made the case that churches should reopen. They sited some Minnesota churches that were planning on bucking the lock down trend and hold services.
In New York state where I live, Church reopenings are part of phase 4, the last phase of reopening. So conceivably they could remain closed for many more weeks or even months.
Many view the church closings as a government infringement on the practice of religion. Perhaps they are right.
The issue is that large gatherings still have the potential to reignite outbreaks of disease. And It’s not as if the government is uniquely singling out religious groups in general or one religious group in particular. The social distancing recommendations are directed at any gathering above a certain threshold number.
One thing that people should consider is that the vast majority of churches in the US file as tax exempt organizations. In other words: in order for them to enjoy the privilege of foregoing potentially large taxes on say real estate, they. agree to abide by certain regulations.
Let’s put it this way, any church that wants to rebel and flout the law, may find their privileged tax status in jeopardy. I’m not saying that churches shouldn’t be a place of civil disobedience when conscience dictates. And I am not saying that gathering in large groups is the right thing to do at this stage of the game: it’s not.
I am saying that most churches have made a trade with their local and state governments: tax free status in exchange for following certain rules. If there are things that you think your church should or should not be doing/ speaking up about, you may want to look into the kind of trade off they have made.
All that aside, plagues have been part of history for millennia. It’s just that they come up so infrequently, few of us have any experience with them.
What did they do when they were hit with plagues in Europe centuries ago presumably when regular church attendance was a more central part of most people’s lives?
Last year I visited Sicily and learned that Santa Rosalia is the patron saint of Sicily’s capital, Palermo. She won that honor after some of the citizens of Palermo recovered her bones from their place of rest and paraded them through the town thus helping to end the plague of 1624.
A recent NY Times article nicely expounds a bit on this story. They were highlighting a painting of Sanat Rosalia that lives at the Metroploitan Meuseum of Art.
In the article they do mention that even then the towns employed “social distancing” measures even as it applies to church going.
“Palermitans could pray to Rosalia’s remains in the city’s cathedral, but only while observing strict social distancing: You could visit on just one day a week, determined by your address.
One edict proclaimed that, while the city should pray for “the intercession of glorious Saint Rosalia,” nevertheless “the human instruments and industry should not be set aside.” That included strict limits on movement, and regular recording of the ill and the dead. The sick had to isolate themselves on pain of excommunication, and worse; the archbishop warned that “they will be cursed with Lucifer, and Judas and all the Devils in hell.”
In confusing times like this it may help to let history to be our guide. If the Palermitani of the plague ridden 1620’s altered their church going for a period of time until the pestilence could. pass, then perhaps we should look into their methods further to see if they can be of some help.


This photo of Toddler C was taken a couple of nights ago. She had fallen asleep in my bedroom. When she woke up an hour or so later in the unfamiliar room, she somehow got down the bed on her own and took a sleepy stumble down the dark hallway to the living room where her parents and I were chatting. She didn’t cry. She must have heard her parents’ voices and was drawn instinctively towards them - and the light. And soon, she was asleep again. This time on my new couch (comfort test passed!)
It made me think that the opposite of fear is not courage, it is security.
“For God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power, of love and of self-control. /因為神所赐给我们的不是胆怯的灵，而是有能力、仁爱、自律的灵”
A friend gave me a card with this verse in Chinese a few years ago. During that time, by sheer chance, J found out that she and I were both at the same hospital, a week apart, and with the same neurosurgeon! This coincidence was a great comfort to him then, it felt like God’s providence.
Although the context for this verse is the writer urging a younger person to be bold in sharing the gospel of the risen Christ, I have always just read the verse as a general encouragement when we are afraid.
When we fear how we are feeling, what we are doing (or not able to), where we are headed…. the encouragement I found in the verse is this: If we look to ourselves and our circumstances, fear may indeed be a response. In fear, be it fight or flight, we may speak or act rashly, defensively, violently. If we have been rescued and forgiven by God, and no judgement or shame - past or future - chains us, then there is no fight or flight. You are free to live with confidence, love and a self-refining.
Worries, anxieties and fears are part of our everyday lives. They do not disappear with a Bible verse. And sometimes the deep seated ones grow out of proportion - take control of us, irrationally, obsessively. This Easter, if you are in this kind of mind space, even if you suddenly wake up in a fearful unfamiliar darkness, I hope that you follow the light and voice of your rescuing God to stumble down that hallway, onto that comfy metaphorical couch in secure rest.


Thank you for visiting our website! We hope that you will find any information you are looking for here, but if not just email or call and we'll be happy to help you!
If you are looking for a church home, we'd love to see you at one of our Sunday services soon!
Sunday School ... 10 am
Worship ... 11 am
A nursery is available for children 6 weeks - 3 years old
Kids Club for kids in PreK - 5th grade
Adult Bible Study ... 7 pm
IMPACT Students (6th - 12th grade) ... 7 pm
Kids Club (PreK - 5th Grade) ... 7 pm


Almost four years ago I wrote the last entry on this blog chronicling our adventure to Alaska. Have the adventures stopped? Not at all! Thinking back, there was not a big reason to stop writing after our incredible trip, except that real life needed some attention first. Returning home after three months away meant getting out of our RV home and all of its temporary holdings, resettling into our home that had been used by another family, reconnecting with family and friends, and resuming the “regular” life we have here at home. It meant catching up with our loved ones and learning of their struggles and hurts. It meant hearing more details about the arrival of triplet grandbabies for my sister. It was so many little things – things that just needed our full attention.
When people ask me how retirement is, I have difficulty summing it up. For us, retirement is an ever-changing way of life that includes some amazing travels and opportunities, but also the at-home, day-t0-day life that includes birthdays, church services and Bible studies, home repairs, illness and death, relocated adult daughters, walks at the dog park and occasionally, doing nothing. All of our adventures in retirement have not been excellent in the typical sense. But isn’t that the way life is? Good, bad and sometimes ugly!
Most recently an adventure that began 18 months ago came to an end. It wasn’t one we planned for with anticipation or that had previously been placed on our bucket list. It came like a storm in the night, stirring up everything that was firmly, safely planted, tossing it into the air, leaving us to wait for it all to land. When it did, the words “brain cancer” moved into our daily thoughts and vocabulary. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy became a part of everyday conversations. Everything that was previously on the agenda was pushed aside and each day’s focus was about the treatment that we prayed would bring healing.
Who was the patient? My older brother, Ray. Ray, the quiet but solid man who graciously led my two sisters, younger brother and me through our parents’ deaths. Ray, who was wise and hardworking. Ray, who was opinionated but kindhearted. Ray, who had recently remarried after the death of his first wife, and was enjoying a new chapter in his life. Ray, who loved spending time with his daughter and young grandson. Ray, my big brother.
I have to admit, Anaplastic Astrocytoma, Stage 3 brain cancer, sent me to my knees in a way almost nothing had before. As a young girl, I gave my heart to the Savior, and, for reasons I can’t explain, my life has had few challenges or disruptions that compare to those that many others have. This crisis challenged me to explore who God is, how great and powerful He is, and how much more love He has for me (and Ray) than I realized. Prayer partners around the country joined us in prayer that either the treatment or a miracle would heal Ray. But it didn’t turn out that way. Ray’s healing came when he passed into eternity, not here on earth. My head knows that God’s plan for Ray was perfect but my heart hurts. Each of our family members and friends mourns Ray’s passing and is forced to wrestle with the fact that it didn’t go the way we wanted it to. Scripture tells me that I will understand when I reach eternity and if it doesn’t happen instantaneously, Jesus will be available for my questions. In the meantime, we are sad and we sometimes cry because we miss Ray. But God is still on the throne, still in control and still the Savior of my heart. God will accompany me on this crisis of faith and bring me to a place of peace and trust. That’s how this faith journey goes.
So, as you can see, our recent adventure was completely different from the exciting, excellent ways we have been spending our retirement, but I can assure you of this. These last months brought our close family even closer. We rallied together to offer support and assistance, however it was needed. We made sure Ray knew how important he was and how much we loved him. We celebrated holidays and birthdays with a new appreciation for each other. We hugged and said “I love you” more than we had in a long time. And in my thinking, that is quite excellent.


The celebrant was Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P., of the Western Dominican Province who was assisted, once again, by the Province's student brothers from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology (Berkeley, CA). Since it is not the Dominican custom to celebrate a devotional "Rorate" Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin in Advent, this Mass was that proper to the Ember Day, which does, happily, have the Officium (Introit) "Rorate."
As it was expected that the Mass would be by candle light as is the common Roman custom, the church was in darkness except for the large numbers of candles.
Here are some photos from the Mass:
|The Priest with his hands in the Dominican Orans Position|
|Ministers at the Sedilla|
|Ministers reciting the Offertory Verse|
|The Elevation of the Host|
Here are the ministers in the sacristy after the Mass: Brother Christopher Wetzel, O.P. (in cappa, assisting), Bro. Thomas Aquinas Pickett, O.P. (senior acolyte), Rev. Bro. Peter Junipero Hannah, O.P. (deacon), Rev. Fr. Anselm Ramelow, O.P. (priest), Bro. Gabriel Mosher, O.P. (subdeacon), and Bro. Bradley Elliott, O.P. (junior acolyte). The Dominican practice that the deacon and subdeacon do not wear dalmatics on penitential and ferial days is clearly evident in this photo.
A video of the entire Mass:


Welcome to tBDI
Welcome to the Bible Doctrine Institute
The Bible Doctrine Institute is a theological seminary designed
to teach men and women the word of God, to train those who have been called to the ministry, and to assist those who are already in the ministry. We realize that not everyone is called to the ministry or called to preach, but would just like to learn more about the word of God, and how to apply it to their daily lives.
We offer that opportunity for those who just want to learn more about the Bible.
TBDI operates as a correspondence school, making it possible for students to earn a non-accredited, college level Theological Degree, while remaining active in their local church. It is not our desire to keep students from attending traditional schools.
TBDI exists to train those for whom traditional school is not an option.
The Bible Doctrine Institute upholds the Bible as the inspired, infallible, inerrant word of God (Pro. 30:5). It is the position of
this institute that the holy scriptures have been preserved (Psalm 12:6,7) in the English Authorized King James Version, and are thereby "given by inspiration of God" (II Tim. 3:16).
The Bible Doctrine Institute is overseen by the ministry of Bible Believer's Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida.Read more
Old-fashioned & Traditional
The Bible says that a Christian, and specifically a preacher, is
to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness" (II Timothy 2:15-16).
These verses point out that there is only one way to understand the Bible: you must rightly divide it. All heresies and unscriptural movements fail to rightly divide the scriptures, and are simply vain babbling. If you complete the course of study with TBDI,
you will learn Bible doctrine...>>read more


Treasures of the Church Welcome
Treasures of the Church is a ministry of evangelization of the Catholic Church. Run by Fr. Carlos Martins of the Companions of the Cross, its purpose is to give people an experience of the living God through an encounter with the relics of his saints.
The veneration of relics is a communion with the heroes of our Christian faith, asking for their powerful intercession. Many people have reported outstanding blessings and conversions through this ministry, and many have reported healings.
Vis it our other websites


This Beautiful Republic - For The Life Of Me
Was I worth the pain?
You had nothing left to gain
I know I'm the only one to blame
I'm broken on the floor
Staring at the door
Waiting on a Savior to walk in
For the life of me, why'd You bear my chains?
For the life of me why'd You walk to Calvary?
For the life of me I can't explain
The reason You died and the reason
You came was for the life of me
What do You see in me?
I'm a leper not a king
A mess that’s undeserving of Your name
I've disappointed You
Like a rose that never blooms
Failing to display my heart to You
Lord, let me be so bright
I escape every shadow using Your light
Are You waiting to see
That I will show


...for those who are 'new' to reading my posts - here's a history: I started this blog as our wedding website. Instead of a site on The Knot (or whatever other site there is), I wanted a place that we could have to keep our family and friends updated on our new life together. So, prior to May 29, 2011 - this site had tabs about our wedding, hotels, registries, our awesome wedding party, the story of how Dan and I met - and posts about wedding prep. After, I wrote about our life together as newlyweds. Then, it became our 'homebase' for Dan's treatment. ...and for the last 3 years, where I have shared my journey through the valley of death...and into life. So, eventually, you'll see something new!
That said: let's spend some time here.
Words, phrases - those matter to me. (along with proper punctuation - for the love of God stop using apostrophes to pluralize a word!) (ahem, let's start over)
Words, phrases - those matter to me. They speak deeply to me.
How many of us have heard, "Oh it's better..." as a phrase to console. "Oh, it's better. Dan is in a better place. It's better for him to no longer suffer, to no longer be living in a body that fights itself."
a) No. That's not helping. because - How can it be better for us to be separated by death?
b) I know that God desires for us (aka all people) to be in relationship. He created us for relationship: first with Him, then with each other. I know that God cherishes relationships - and has graced our marriages as a Sacrament - to be a revelation of His Son to the world. ...so, how could that (our relationship ended by death) be better? How could it be better that this revelation be destroyed by death?
And so, I reasoned that if God allowed this - then, He intended to redeem it. Specifically, I believed - trusted - that He could make good come out of this tragedy. That He could call from light from the darkness of this veil of death - that joy could emerge from the mourning.
Take those words into the frame of our marriage - our covenant of oneness - what was better for one of us, must be better for both of us. This 'better' must be reciprocal by reason. If Dan's death led to resurrection for him - and that IS better, I wholeheartedly concur - then, surely, there must also be resurrection for me.
This is the truth that I clung to as I began the journey of walking through the valley of death. The death of our spouse isn't the end - but the beginning. The valley is where we do the hard work of grieving. God's shadow protects us as we fumble forward - feeling our way toward life - and resurrection.
As I visited Dan on Memorial Day, I had a little conversation with him:
You know, I think the real work of our Sacrament didn't come until you died. It took that release of the flesh to allow me to fully trust you. ...and, it took the release of the flesh for you to fully, unselfishly love - and for me to respond and receive.
I suppose that's true for all of us. While we are in these bodies, we can never be fully free from selfish ambition or vanity - though we can certainly strive for it. We learn to - sometimes, slowly - sometimes painfully - but, we learn to put the other's needs above ours. We learn to listen. We learn to value the other's voice. presence. help.
Our whole life leading up to marriage is an exercise in, "I can do it myself." (say it in your best toddler voice) We are taught to rely on self...so much so that even God can become an afterthought if we construct our world carefully enough.
This was me. I did this, Dan.
...yes, you did, too. You did, too.
Our journey toward holiness was learning this together.
Our journey toward completion was learning this, even in death.
Finding myself separated from you by death, I looked to you for a guidance - in a way I hadn't in life. I had relied on - and relished - your presence, though I also relied on myself.
Finding myself without you, I learned to listen for you. I allowed you to be what you wanted to be -
...the light to help see me through,
...to heal the hurt till the hurt is gone...
...and you consistently led me to Jesus.
...everything I had wanted you to do - to be - in life, you have done in death.
...and I guess, that's how I know resurrection is real.
...because somehow,* you are alive and guiding me - though you died.
When I listen,
when I quiet myself
and when I ask: I know.
I know you're...here.
Still trying to get me to dry my tears and not take life so seriously - to just relax, Jessica.
God is far better - far bigger - than we can even grasp.
This morning, while looking through one of our wedding albums, I was reminded of one of our wedding readings.
1 John 4:7 - 12
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.
*No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.
A Sacrament is the revelation of God to the individual and to the world. First, the invisible, almighty, overarching God revealed through Jesus. Not only was God revealed to us through Jesus, but through Jesus, in Jesus, God became accessible to us. We had access suddenly to the Almighty, Ever-living, Everlasting God. Through the Holy Spirit and the reception of Sacraments, not only is God revealed to us, we now become a revelation of God to the world.
This is mind-blowing. And how does St. John instruct us to reveal God? Through love. By loving, we are brought to perfection.
You guys, we are imperfect. We love each other imperfectly. On our best days, we still end up rubbing against each other. My image is that our spouse is like sandpaper for us: smoothing the rough edges - perfecting us through love. But it hurts! But it is worth it - to be smoothed out into our best self.
My friends, if you are in the thick of it - where marriage is hard - where your spouse is grating on you - where you feel like at every turn you are coming up short: stay the course. Lean into the Holy Spirit right now and ask for the grace to be LOVE revealed to each other. Marriage is a beautiful, powerful thing - and precisely because of that, it can be hard.
Receive - don't resist. Yield - don't shield. If you learn to journey toward life together - Love will you bring you to perfection.
Happy anniversary. DK Forever.


“I don’t know what the last few years would have looked like without your prayer team supporting me.
When I was in a bigger church, on the worship team and involved in women’s ministries, I was connected with teams of people who held us up in prayer. Leaving the church 5 years ago and moving to where I felt God needed me, I felt a hole in knowing that I had no one praying for me beyond my immediate friends/family.
I’m so glad my friend recommended your ministry! There have been so many breakthroughs. And now in this new phase, I am especially thankful. God knows me well!”


Today marks the second week our bundle of joy has been home. JunFen continues to settle into her new life with her forever family. We had a week of fun, establishing more daily routine, a few doctor appointments and just "being" together.
JunFen has amazed us with her memory! She has been listening to some fairy tales in Mandarin and can recite the entire stories now from memory. She has such a sweet expression as she recites the stories to MaMa & BaBa that she brings us to tears.
JunFen is like a sponge and so hungry to learn. She asks us to explain and name what she sees around her and is teaching herself English using our electronic translator!
We have also been touched by JunFen's attraction to her new found faith in Jesus. She loves to see pictures of Jesus and did wonderfully during her first visit to church. The Gospel passage for Sunday was - "I will not leave you orphans!"
Our language is limited in explaining our faith - but we're sure the Holy Spirit is touching her heart as she breaks into a big smile at the name of Jesus. A few times we were late in saying our mealtime prayers and JunFen reminded us by making the sign of the cross!
JunFen will go to a Mandarin immersion school for two half days this week and then start full days next week. She has visited the school and seems excited about it. The only down side has been her dislike of the color of the uniforms - she's become a fashionista!
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. We are so blessed and pray more families come to know the joy of older child adoption.


Are you wanting to experience what true freedom in Jesus is like? Then Purely His is just what you are looking for. Purely His is a 5 step mentoring discipleship that provides you with tools to overcome the bondage of life's struggles during a 5 month group. During these 5 months you will build life-time friendships and accountability partners with your group members as you work to experince true freedom in Jesus. This freedom will enable you to experiance all God has in store for your life and enable you to be "ALL IN WITH JESUS". Purely His offers Men and Woman groups.
To learn more about this ministry or how to get plugged into a group. Visit Purely His website by clicking the button below.
This is a Gray Reflective color.
Shiny Purple/Green shimmer in a white base.


Welcome to Christ the Savior Lutheran Church
We are located on 126th Street in Fishers between Cumberland and Promise Roads.
For directions, click here.
Sunday Worship Information
8:45 am Traditional Service
Lutheran Liturgical style of worship. Hymns led by choir and organ music.
10:45 am Contemporary Service
Praise & Worship music led by a live band and worship team.
Childcare is provided during both services from infant through preschool; Splash 252 is available for elementary-age children.
More information about services:
* The same message is given at both hour-long services.
* Sermon messages can be heard online here.
* Communion is celebrated every Sunday
* Greeters at the door, ushers, or Welcome Desk staff can answer any questions.
* Handicapped parking is available and the church building is wheelchair accessible.
* Hearing Assist devices are available for use during services.
Our View of Holy Communion
In Holy Communion, often called the Lord's Supper, we receive in bread and wine, the Body and Blood of the Lord. We are invited to approach this sacred event with two sets of eyes. With our natural eyes, we see bread and wine. With our eyes of faith, bread and wine become the presence of Christ in our midst. Through Holy Communion, we remember Christ's sacrifice for us, receive God's forgiveness, and our faith is nourished.


6 edition of Misfits in the Ministry found in the catalog.
April 18, 2005
Written in English
|The Physical Object|
|Number of Pages||139|
That is the heart of the Misfits for Jesus ministry that always remains. The ministry has grown with Randy Abbott as the Pastor and Barry Price as Associate Pastor. Misfits For Jesus () ‑ Warrenton Shoppes, Su Warrenton, MO Ministry Matters™ is a community of resources for church leaders. Whether your church has ten pews or a thousand seats, a praise band or a pipe organ, one-room-Sunday school or a network of small groups, a huge staff or just you. Free subscribers can search and .
Tayden's Food Pantry & Clothing Ministry - First Sunday Baptisms - Second Sunday First Week/Midweek Service -1st Tuesday/Wednesday Two or More Prayer Meeting - Every Tuesday (Except 1st) Crosby Campus - See H.D. Kennedy for details (For baby dedications and Baptisms, please fill out request forms, found in the book store of each campus.). Dance and Mime Ministry; Music Ministry. Voices Ensemble. Song List; New Members Ministry; Security Ministry; Trustee Ministry; The Misfits December 9, ; Pastor Clyde Ellis; Books Series. Trusting in the Lord (2) Tags. 1.
Misfits, every one of them. The landscape of Scripture is riddled with misfits. If you don’t believe that watch this: VIDEO – The March of the Unqualified (Available at ) Enough Misfits to fill the pages of a book. III. David’s Men. But perhaps the most interesting group of Misfits were those that were drawn to David. The Misfit Economy was published in June. Simon & Schuster Kyra Maya Phillips recalls sitting in a room with an ex-convict who was fresh out of prison after 21 years.. Suddenly he stood up and.
Brain maturation andcognitive development
Developing advanced web services through P2P computing and autonomous agents
Guidance for implementation of the AASHTO Strategic Highway Safety Plan.
The book of ages
Charles Adelbert Canfield
Tuberculosis control in India
The Organization of science and technology in France, 1808-1914
line of proportion or numbers, commonly called Gunters line, made easie.
The Corporate contributions handbook
Sowing forests from the air
M.I.S.F.I.T.S. Mission is to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the lost and broken by offering food, fellowship, and the hope and truth of Jesus Christ. Misfits in the Ministry: How Zeroes Can Become Heroes by Rick Rzeszewski (Author) ISBN ISBN Why is ISBN important.
ISBN. This bar-code number lets you verify that you're getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. The digit and digit formats both work. The book was called Misfits Welcome, and in it Barnett wrote about how he had experienced God working in a church atmosphere where societies’ outcasts became the backbone of the church.
The term “misfit” has always been close to my heart and perhaps that is because deep inside I know that I am a : The Christian Index.
And that is that God specializes in using misfits for ministry. Consider the following: Abraham doubted God at times and had trouble telling the truth, yet God used him to become the father of the Jewish nation.
Jacob was a liar, a cheater, a deceiver from the get-go, yet God used him to father the 12 sons who would eventually grow into the Misfits Ministry. likes 54 talking about this. M.I.S.F.I.T.S. Mission: to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the lost and broken by offering food, fellowship, and the hope and 5/5.
BUT I WISH EVERY CHURCH/MINISTRY LEADER WOULD ALSO READ THIS BOOK, as it delivers insight on how more-people-than-you-think (congregation/f Intended for beloved spiritual misfits, those who struggle to feel included or can’t quite make sense of how modern western church operates—at least at some levels—yet still believe in God/5().
Mystics and Misfits contains a tale of the eccentricities of life on a communal farm, with all its awkward and amusing realities. But the book is much more than a memoir. It is an inspiring testimony of a quest to fully know the divine — to be Christlike.
Jesus loves misfits; they’re the people he uses to change the world. Those who have it all together are too busy to be bothered with the messy, beautiful life of God’s Spirit.
The imperfect. Misfits Ministry Inc. is an Indiana Domestic Non-Profit Corporation filed on Ma The company's filing status is listed as Active and its File Number is The Registered Agent on file for this company is Donnie Foster and is located at South Calhoun Fort Wayne, In, IN Location: Indiana (IN).
The Misfits Questions and Answers - Discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on The Misfits.
Iron Dragon: An Epic Fantasy Adventure (The Dragon Misfits Book 2) Book 2 of 5: The Dragon Misfits | by D.K. Holmberg | out of 5 stars Kindle $ $ 0. Free with Kindle Unlimited membership Learn More Or $ to buy. Audible Audiobook. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy focuses on Tilo and Anjum.
The two are the primary characters in the book. Tilo is a trained architect involved in part of a political movement. The Misfits Ministry. 69 likes 1 talking about this. Standing up for God's unique children, the forgotten, lost and hurting.
Not turning our backs on the homeless, the poor and the afflicted. The Bible is full of misfits—those who usually lost out on man's approval but always won with a God-dreamed vision.
as the Bible shows through the life and ministry of Peter. God can use. Misfits, Leaders, Disciples, and Prophets: 12 Amazing Women of the Bible Part 1: Misfits by Rev. Eric Elnes Ap Each of our major rooms at Countryside are named after twelve important women of the Bible.
These women served prophetic roles, leadership and teaching roles, or were considered misfits through whom God worked [ ].
The Misfits in Action (MIA) were a stable in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) formed in They had the shortest reign for the now-retired WCW World Tag Team Championship, which was held by Corporal Cajun and Lieutenant Loco History. The original Misfits stable was started on the.
Misfits is a compilation album by the American punk rock band ally titled Misfits, but also known as Collection, Collection 1, or Collection I, the album features twenty songs by the band. The tracks include some of the group's early singles, as well as songs from their album Walk Among Us, their album Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood, and the compilation album Legacy.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy Penguin Random House, Rs This book is about strugglers. I had to struggle too, with the idea of reviewing it. And of course, the Harry Potter series of books works this same theme.
Okay, you’ve been listening to sermons all your life, so you know where I’m going with this. There’s another famous book that features tons of stories in which an odd mixture of characters are drawn together to form a tightly knit community.
Marcion (c. 85–c. ) Catalyst for a New Testament. The reason Christians have 27 books in their New Testament, some scholars say, is partly because early church leaders didn’t like the. The title Mystics and Misfits awakened the realization that “mystic” is not even in my vocabulary, and even with the seemingly relatable label of “misfit” my understanding was woefully lacking.
However, as the author seamlessly peeled back layers of time, prejudices, misunderstandings, and patriarchal adherence, this easy-to-read account of intentional community life revealed new.The Misfits: Book Report Form The Misfits book report form (PDF File) Customize the The Misfits book report The Misfits: Chapters Quiz and writing prompts (PDF File) The Misfits: Chapters Quiz and writing prompts (PDF File) The Misfits: Chapters Quiz and writing prompts (PDF File).
I’ve heard many sermons and read many books that tell the tale of a dozen misfits that we admonish as biblical heroes; the apostles. None more clearly demonstrate to us just how human these men of God were than the Bible itself.
Read about how Jesus used Peter's strengths and weaknesses in the Bible.


Updated: Apr 30
by Carolyn Rossinsky, President of the Wiedmann Bible Foundation Raleigh NC &Wiedmann Bible Expert.
The art, spiritual, and academic world are discovering the Wiedmann Bible's immense treasures. From Europe to the United States, Australia, South Africa, and beyond, the Wiedmann Bible highlights a unique way to SEE the Bible through art and is gaining acclaim as a new academic resource for theologians, artists, and religious study students everywhere.
The Wiedmann Bible is an absolute masterpiece! Nothing compares to it because nothing like it exists. It is a continuous artistic narrative of the Holy Scripture from Genesis to Revelation in 3,333 hand-painted images by German artist Willy Wiedmann (1929 - 2013).
As a modern art reference, the Wiedmann Bible's illustrations display the artist's unique style, which he developed in the 1960s called "Polycon," in which one picture flows into the next, seemingly without a beginning or an end. The pictures or panels are composed of geometric shapes that overlap, intertwine, and create images within images. His representation is refreshingly colorful, abstract, and contemporary.
As a Bible reference, the Wiedmann Bible is the only visual Bible translation of its kind. Many famous artists have painted biblical images; Wiedmann, on the other hand, painted 3,333 biblical paintings of the Old and New Testaments in 16 years. The Wiedmann Bible limited ART Edition showcases all 3,333 images, with corresponding scripture from the Luther Bible 2017 version in German. It is the longest illustrated Bible ever created.
The Wiedmann Bible ART Edition is available as an exclusive limited two-volume set produced in cooperation with the German Bible Society. It is also attainable as an App and the brand new Wiedmann Video Bible. https://www.thewiedmannbible.com/plans-pricing
The Wiedmann Bible in academic studies, resource guides, Bible study organizations, and symposiums:
Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina, USA
DITA-10 A Symposium on the Future of Theology & the Arts, 2019
United Bible Society - Jost Zetzsche
The Catholic Encyclopedia Bible - Bible Society Australia https://www.biblesociety.org.au/catholic-encyclopedia-bible/
Bible Study Fellowship
Easter Blog https://bsfblog.org/sharing-the-easter-story/
BSF International Student Program "Kingdom Divided"
Bible Gateway with Taylor University Center for Scripture Engagement


Event: Parkrose Houseless Resource Fair - Connecting houseless community members to resources
Location: Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church at 11229 NE Prescott St
Portland, OR 97220
On today's podcast, Mike interviews several people at the first annual Parkrose Houseless Resource Fair. During the on location podcast, Mike discusses the various resources that are available in Parkrose for our houseless community and what can be done to bring people together.
Interviewees in order of their interviews:
Nicole from Family Support and Connections: A resource and referral program.
Officer Jason Jones
Trina: Trina has been homeless for 15 years.
Joshua Kingsley: Pastor at St Matthews Episcipal Church


However, not all agree what is love. Is love that warm touchy-feely feeling a person has when he is with a familiar person? According to the Bible, love is caring in action. Love isn't what we feel, but what we do.
We’re excited to be offering What Love Is as an online Bible study this summer! We love the way Kelly Minter dives in deep with 1, 2, & 3 John, helping us to know both the beloved disciple and our Savior more intimately.


There are multiple opportunities for community members to connect with the Dream Center. We would love to have you join us for any of these opportunities and allow us to connect with you.
First Saturday SERVE Outreach
Join us for community fellowship or receive care for a need on the first Saturday of the month. Every first Saturday, our team helps meet practical needs through local service projects from 8:00am-12:00pm.
Look for the Dream Center Serve team in your neighborhood. We serve local neighborhoods through simple service projects that meet practical needs.
The mission of the Dream Center is to reach people with the love of Christ by meeting both physical and spiritual needs.


Congregational Care and Counseling
Valley Community Church
This paper attempts to demonstrate that the philosophy of REBT and the philosophy of Christianity are congruent. Both seek to transform the individual who is experiencing pain, alienation, self-defeating behaviors into a person with a radically new and liberating philosophy of life, or newly uncovered and self-accepted being. Moreover, the key to this transformation is a change of fundamental beliefs away from dogmatic demandingness, awfulizing, low frustration tolerance, and self and other-downing toward an unconditional acceptance of the self, others, the world, and life.
Key words: REBT, Christian philosophy, unconditional self acceptance (USA), unconditional other acceptance (UOA), unconditional life acceptance (ULA)
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to:
Steve Johnson Albert Ellis Institute 45 E. 65th Street New York, NY 10021
Basic Philosophy of REBT
Albert Ellis, founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and grandfather of all cognitive behavioral therapies, has often commented to this writer and others that the deepest, most profound change that you can help clients achieve is to help them change their philosophy of life. One’s philosophy of life can be thought of as a set of beliefs of varying degrees of generality and specificity that constitute a way of seeing life, the world, others, and the self. Another way to consider a set of beliefs was set forth rather poetically by F.P. Ramsey, a student of Wittgenstein, when he defined beliefs approximately as a map and something by which we steer. This is close to Ellis’s view that beliefs, rather than situations, largely determine what we feel and do—a view Ellis has claimed from Epictetus’ Enchiridion.
According to Armstrong, who adopted Ramsey’s view of beliefs, irrational beliefs create a wild fanciful map that does not correspond to social reality: When we try to steer by it, we encounter all kinds of life problems. Rational beliefs create a map that more closely corresponds to social reality, and more important, when one steers by that map one encounters fewer problems. Thus beliefs are not merely cognitive. Instead, as Ramsey claimed, they have an action component; that is, they frequently indicate a tendency to act in a particular way under particular conditions. C.S. Peirce, who developed some arguments that led William James to be the first to use the term pragmatism, noted that beliefs represent not only a tendency to act in a particular way, but they are held for emotional reasons. They act to reduce or dispel the problem of doubt. This view is similar to Ellis’s view (1994) that cognition, action, and emotion are inextricably interrelated. When we think, we feel and have a tendency to act. When we act, we feel and hold beliefs. When we feel, we tend to act in particular ways due to the beliefs behind the feelings.
REBT practitioners like myself have argued that a complete irrational belief frequently has at least two irrational parts: a core irrational demand and an irrational derivative. A core demand usually contains absolutistic words such as “must,” “absolutely should,” “ought,” “need,” or “have to.” For example,
- God must answer my prayers as I want them answered.
- I absolutely should be unconditionally loved by my fellow Christians.
- I ought to be unquestionably obeyed by others when I quote scripture to defend my position.
- I need to be certain about how my life will progress.
- You have to accept me just as I am.
A derivative takes one of four forms:
- Awfulizing: X is awful, terrible, horrible, catastrophic, or as bad as it could possibly be.
- Low Frustration Tolerance: I can’t stand X, X is too much, X is intolerable or unbearable.
- Self-Downing: I am no good, worthless, useless, an utter failure, beyond help, or hope, damnable, devoid of value.
- Other Downing: You are no good, worthless, useless, an utter failure, beyond help or hope, damnable, devoid of value.
A core demand is usually combined with one or more derivatives:
- God must answer my prayers as I want them answered, or it is awful. (Demand + Awfulizing)
- I absolutely should be loved by my fellow Christians, or I can’t stand it. (Demand + Low Frustration Tolerance)
- You have to accept me just as I am, otherwise I am a failure. (Demand + Self-Downing)
- I ought to be unquestionably obeyed by others when I quote scripture to defend my position, or those who do not obey are utterly useless and no good. (Demand + Other-Downing)
Notice that each of these pairs is associated with some unhelpful negative emotion. For example, the demand plus the awfulizing might consistently be associated with anger. Similarly, the demand plus the self-downing might help to generate depression; and the demand plus the low frustration tolerance might be coupled with anxiety or high frustration.
REBT (Elllis, 1996) holds that since emotions such as anger, depression, anxiety, and low frustration tolerance (or discomfort anxiety) are likely to interfere with an individual’s life goals, it is in her/his best interest to change the core demand and associated derivatives. Clearly, the therapeutic goal of REBT is to help an individual to change his/her irrational beliefs that in part constitute a philosophy of life. That way the individual most likely will be better able to achieve her or his desired goals.
Correlative to each of the irrational beliefs are rational beliefs. The alternative to demandingness is to create a want, preference, or desire. For example, instead of demanding that you accept me just as I am, I prefer for you to so accept me as another fallible human being. Thus, desires, wants, or preferences accept (not necessarily like) that the world, life, the self, or others are as they are—with both strengths and weaknesses. A philosophical demand dogmatically insists that reality be different than it is.
Each of the derivatives also has a rational alternative: Instead of awfulizing, we accept the badness of a state of affairs without catastrophizing about it. Instead of having low frustration tolerance, we acknowledge our displeasure about a state of affairs, but we do not view it as unbearable. Instead of self-downing, which REBT says entails globally rating the self in roles, we accept that the transcendent self, or better yet, the “I” is too complex to rate. Thus we rate our actions and behaviors within roles, rather than the I, of which we are aware, but do not rate. Similarly, rather than globally rating others, we acknowledge the badness of their deeds without rating their core I.
As seen in the rational alternatives to self and other downing, REBT holds to the unconditional acceptance of the self and others. This unconditional acceptance is extended to the world and life, and so Ellis and others such as Stephen Stosney have written about USA—unconditional self acceptance, UOA—unconditional other acceptance, and ULA—unconditional life acceptance. A mark of mental and emotional health is that reality, including the reality of the self and others, is accepted as it is. This does not mean that we are to like the badness of the situation, enjoy the circumstances, prefer the state of affairs, or passively do nothing in the face of the reality. However, we are better able to handle the badness of a reality when we acknowledge its badness. We accept that this is the way it has to be right now because that is the way it is, and then we can resolve to do what we can to change it if change is possible. If change is not possible, then accepting that situation as it is rather than demanding that it be different can help to minimize the emotional investment in the face of the unwanted situation.
REBT helps us minimize the occurrence of unhelpful negative emotions and self-sabotaging actions by giving us a method by which we can recognize our irrational beliefs, demonstrate to ourselves why they are irrational (dispute them), and then replace them with rational alternatives. In other words, REBT helps individuals achieve a radically new and more effective “way of seeing” or adopt a new philosophy of life.
Basics of Christian Philosophy
Christian scripture, both Old and New Testaments, emphasize the importance of beliefs and their use in seeing the world differently while acting differently in that world. Thus beliefs and actions are inextricably intertwined even if in the New Testament some passages seem to emphasize the importance of belief over action. In fact, beliefs are emphasized in scripture so that some Christian writers have concluded, “[REBT] is based on a thoroughly biblical principle, the importance of what one thinks.” Paul, in the New Testament goes so far as to link becoming a new being in Christ with seeing the world and others differently, namely, adopting a new philosophy of life. He writes,
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).
This view is stated again in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in which he writes,
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off the old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24).
The passage in Ephesians goes even further in elucidating how one’s beliefs or attitudes give rise to actions and what is being advocated is the adoption of a completely new philosophy of life, or new being or self. Being a new self that acts rightly is linked to having had a right attitude.
If these biblical passages are discussing philosophy of life or ontological issues, others are more concrete, even going so far as to specify with what content one should occupy one’s mind. For example, in Paul’s letter to the Philippians 4:8 it reads,
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think abut such things (Philippians 4:8).
While scripture may emphasize the importance of belief and the goal of adopting a new philosophy of life or becoming a new being, it does not necessarily follow that the scripture’s views of what constitute helpful transformative beliefs and unhelpful beliefs holding one in bondage to “sin” in any way agree with what REBT holds to be rational and irrational beliefs. Therefore, let us see what scripture might have to say about demandingness, awfulizing, low frustration tolerance, self-downing, and other-downing.
Many Christians view scripture claiming that God alone is the creator and sustainer of the universe. Humans may create and sustain, but not in the global sense that God does. Consequently, God alone can creatively demand and have the demand establish reality. Humans do not have that level of ontological control or creativity as given capacities of their natures. Thus when humans demand, it does not follow that reality will come into being. The person who demands sets him or herself up for frustration and emotional disturbance. Therefore, being demanding proves to be self-defeating and emotionally disturbing for humans because demands do not create reality in the way theology says God does.
Some Christians may claim that scripture does approve of Christians being demanding about some issues. For example, some Christians may think that the Bible demands that we do the good and refrain from doing the bad, such as feeding the poor and refrain from stealing from them. An important distinction needs to be made among types of demands. There are metaphysical demands and moral demands. A metaphysical demand is of the sort, “Reality (X) must be a particular way,” whereas a moral demand is of the sort, “To be moral one must do or be Y.” Moral demands can be written as a conditional in a way that metaphysical demands cannot. Namely, “If one wants to be moral, then one should (must) do or be Y.” Thus a moral demands for human beings always are conditional, and thus non-absolute demand. A metaphysical demand, however, is not conditional; instead, it is an absolute demand.
Let us consider some examples of this distinction among types of demands. If right now I am typing on my computer, then metaphysically I am in the act of typing on my computer. I cannot be typing on the computer and not typing on the computer at the same time and under the same conditions. That would be a metaphysical impossibility and would violate the law of non-contradiction; i.e., a thing cannot be and not be at one and the same time under the same conditions. On the other hand, if I believe that as a Christian I should help the needy, then what I am saying is that if I want to be a good Christian, then I should help the needy. Helping the needy is not a metaphysical demand because it is conceivable that someone does not care to be a good Christian, in which case there is no necessity for him or her to care for the needy. The moral demand is only binding if certain conditions are fulfilled: in this case the condition would be that I have the desire or wish to be a good Christian. However, if certain conditions have to be fulfilled for the moral demand to be binding, then it is not an absolute demand. In philosophical ethics the question is asked, “Why be moral?” There are many reasons offered for being moral, but the mere fact that reasons are given for why it is preferable to be moral demonstrates that morality is a choice, and because it is a choice, it is not a metaphysical demand or necessity.
I am aware that Kant held that moral demands are categorical or absolute. One statement of his famous categorical imperative is “I must act in such a way that I can at the same time will that my maxim of action be a universal law.” The wording of the moral imperative reveals that it cannot be absolute in the metaphysical sense. If I have to will that my maxim of action be a universal law, then it is not a metaphysical absolute. Willing is irrelevant to a metaphysical absolute, and the fact that it is integral to acting morally demonstrates the contingent nature of the categorical imperative. Of course, as an idealist, Kant was discussing mental categories and held that we could not know the thing in itself. Necessarily, his universal was a universal of the mind, not a universal outside the mind, or a metaphysical universal.
Scripturally, even if God gives commandments (demands), as in the Decalogue, those are moral demands that are binding only if one wants to be moral and if one wants to have eternal life. The Decalogue does not consist of metaphysical demands. In other words, the Decalogue does not create the reality they command. If they did, humans would have no choice but to honor parents, refrain from murder, avoid stealing, and refrain from committing adultery since they would be determined by the laws of nature. The commandment not to murder is contingent on one wanting to be moral and thus it would be better to state it in the following form: If I want to be moral, then I must not kill. If “Thou shalt not kill” were truly a metaphysical must or demand, it would be impossible for humans to murder. Reading the newspaper or listening to the news makes it clear that humans have the freedom to murder. Actually, if moral demands were metaphysical demands, then humans would have no free will and morality would not make sense. Morality presupposes having the freedom to choose to act and to choose to refrain from acting. One could argue that the Decalogue are metaphysical demands for God, and they have been revealed by him. However, given that we each have will or the capacity of choice, the Decalogue for us are not metaphysical demands. Thus morality is absolute but we humans can accept or reject them in our choices.
REBT only declares as irrational and problematical the absolute metaphysical demands, not the conditional moral shoulds or oughts. In Christian terms, if God allows us the freedom to be moral or not to be moral, then humans cannot legitimately demand that others act as though they had no freedom and be the way we demand them to be.
REBT asserts that an event can never be truly awful, which seems counterintuitive. Surely, there must be some events that are awful. What is being said is that nothing is ever truly completely bad, as bad as it could possibly be, as in world shattering. It may be tragic, but not utterly catastrophic in the sense of negating all meaning, purpose, and possibility of pleasure and happiness. This is not a mere semantic difference. What is being asserted is that bad events do occur. If we are rational, we will acknowledge the undesirability of the event, and perhaps even assert that we never want anyone to undergo such an event, but the event cannot metaphysically determine the future as utterly catastrophic. Metaphysically, events simply obtain—they merely take place. Evaluations of events are mental acts. Evaluating an event is rational if it is an assessment that a situation is tragic, unfortunate, or undesirable because we are asserting how the act is related to goals for human beings. Evaluating an event as awful is irrational because it makes a prediction about an unknown future. It is also irrational because it involves over-generalizing from a present situation into the future. In other words, awfulizing actually asserts that because a current situation is very bad, the future must inevitably be so because it feels so bad right now. This reasoning is also irrational because it asserts that since the current situation is bad, that I must feel bad and that I will always feel this way. It magically asserts the exaggeration that the bad will always be bad and moreover it will be negative for all time and the possibility of being anything other than utterly bad cannot take place.
Scripture takes a radically different view, one more consistent with REBT: that is that nothing is utterly catastrophic or awful. Romans 8:39 says that nothing can separate us from the love of God, absolutely nothing. If this is true, then nothing can negate the good within our lives. As bad as things may get, and at times this can be very bad, in the midst of the bad, we are each loved by God.
Low Frustration Tolerance
If scripture holds that nothing is truly awful, it would seem to follow that nothing is so bad that we cannot stand it. This is not to take a Pollyannish approach to declare what is bad is good. Clearly, situations can be very bad and tragic, but because we are grounded in God and supported by God’s love, we can tolerate our lot. (This does not mean that we merely accept our lot without wanting and trying to change the bad). In his letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, “For I have learned to find resources in myself whatever my circumstances,” and “I have strength for anything through Him who gives me power.” We can deal with the bad without either asserting that we cannot handle it, or without irrationally declaring the bad to be good. This latter view is the approach of the philosophy known as “the power of positive thinking.” This approach declares that bad situations are actually good and that we should be happy. For example, if I fail a test, then I can see the failing as good because it permits me to see myself as a fallible human relying on others, and thereby creating community. The only reason for such an approach is because people have a tendency to make themselves miserable about bad events, and so we try to wish it away or declare it away rather than realize that we can through correct thinking realize that we can endure the situation and work to change it if there is any way it can be corrected. In fact, enduring a bad situation is held up as an ideal within scripture, “Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” (James 5:11).
Self and Other-Downing
Two fundamental tenets of Christian faith are that everyone is created in the image of God and everyone has sinned. The denial of either one creates a theological problem. If we deny that we are created in the image of God, then it is difficult (not impossible) to argue that humans are intrinsically valuable. If we deny that everyone has sinned, then we cannot account for the negative actions and consequences seen within the world. Notice that our fundamental nature is good, but that we have a pervasive tendency toward sinning. The pervasiveness of that tendency to sin is characterized differently by different Christian denominations, but all agree that there is a tendency toward sinning The implication for humans is clear. It makes sense to evaluate or assess our actions as either good or bad. If bad, then we are to repent and turn toward right relationship with God. It makes no sense to evaluate the ontological core of a human—that part that is created in the image of God. One can evaluate one’s relationship with God because there can be degrees of relatedness. Thus I can assess degree of relatedness and if appropriate make a judgment to repent. The image of God is good, so each person has that indelible imprint on his or her very being. Therefore, consistent with REBT, it makes theological sense for an individual to negatively evaluate his/her actions and behaviors, but it makes little sense to evaluate the person. Human sin is real, but we can never reduce a person to their sin. Sin can never define the person, nor should it be granted such significance that the person is evaluated by the sin such that it is granted more power and significance in our value than is given the image of God within us.
The consequence of the distinction between our nature as created in the image of God and our pervasive tendency toward sin supports REBT’s notion of unconditional self and other acceptance. The self can be unconditionally accepted because as created in the image of God it is unconditionally valuable. This is why Buber said that humans should always be treated as an ends and never as a means only. Buber raises another very important theological tenet and that is that just as God is relational by nature, we, as created in God’s image, are relational. This means that our value is relationally grounded and USA and UOA flow out of that theological tenet.
There is one distinction between Christian philosophy and REBT concerning unconditional self acceptance. REBT would have us not rate the self at all because the self is too complex to rate. Therefore, one should simply accept the self because the consequences of not accepting the self can be negative. Christianity would go further and say that the self is indeed intrinsically valuable because it is created in the image of God and as a result the possibility or continuation of self acceptance is grounded rather than a choice made for mere pragmatic reasons. The commonality is that the self can never legitimately be rated as evil, beyond hope, etc. This distinction between the self and the self’s actions as tied to unconditional self acceptance is found in the following scriptural verse.
But when the goodness and lovingkindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-7)
Are Some Christian Beliefs At Odds with REBT?
Some Christians hold beliefs that are at odds with REBT and justify their arguments by appealing to scripture or Christian theology. Two of those issues are that suffering is at times ordained by God, and Christians should be perfect. A third belief is that Christians should at times feel guilty.
It is not uncommon for Christians who are undergoing some life crisis to say, “It is God’s will.” For some people this is an effective coping statement in the face of an unpleasant event. However, for others, especially those who believe that an activating event is associated with a consequence, it can support the belief that their misery is inescapable, awful, and ordained by God. Here the activating event (A)-belief about the activating event (B)-consequence (C) distinction within REBT can be helpful. The obvious response is that although God may ordain the event (A), the free will of humans means that humans can choose their belief about the event, and consequently are responsible for their own misery. That is to say, God ordains A, but humans are responsible for B and C. This requires a bit more explanation. God does ordain A’s, but the Church Fathers often asserted that the badness of an A is an absence rather than a metaphysical presence. Thus God ordains the good (presence) but not that which is absent. In other words, God’s creation is a creation of presence, not absence. Therefore, God in no way ordains or creates evil.
Of course, one could claim that free will is only psychological, not ontological, and really is at an ontological level an illusion. This view is problematic scripturally because there are verses that presuppose free will. For example, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.” This verse makes little sense unless there is free will. The reality is that humans choose to accept the beliefs that cause misery, but they are not bound to so accept them.
Some Christians read Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect,” and wrongfully believe that it is a demand for perfection in all areas of life. Theologically there is none but God who is perfect, so to assert that humans are to be completely perfect would seem to be idolatry. Actually, the verse is the last verse of a chapter that discusses loving action toward those who are difficult to love. The conclusion is that our perfection in a limited sense is our love of those who are difficult to love. It in no way is attributing god-like perfection to the person, or even demanding that all our actions be perfect. It is a command to love and that this is exemplified in forgiveness. Our perfection is our love and love is a perfection because God is love.
Many Christians live a considerable portion of their lives suffering from guilt. Many also believe that they should feel guilty; in fact, some Christians believe that scripture even seems to recommend and praise guilt. However, an important distinction needs to be made between remorse or Godly grief and worldy grief or neurotic guilt.
Remorse, or Godly grief, is the emotion people experience when they transgress what they take to be a rule of good behavior and wish in retrospect that they had not done so. Although that feeling is unpleasant, it spurs one to repent and change one’s ways—to be more Christ-like. An example is King David in scripture. Although he is guilty of murder and adultery, in Psalm 51 he is not engaged in self-downing, but rather acknowledges the badness of the acts and focuses on the loving forgiveness of God and repents for the bad deeds. David, however, changes his ways and moves on to become one of the greatest rulers of Israel.
Neurotic guilt, on the other hand, is the emotion people experience when they believe that they absolutely should not have transgressed a rule of good behavior and they are no good or worthless as a result. This form of guilt tends not to spur people to repent and change; rather, it leads to depression, inactivity, or a vicious cycle of beating themselves up emotionally, feeling guilty, tiring of the guilt, repeating the transgression, and beating up on themselves, ad nauseum. Their thinking becomes so beclouded that they do the same thing over and over again—the very thing about which they made themselves feel guilt in the first place. The healthy alternative is at base relational, viz., repentance is a turning back to one’s relationship with God and others.
When scripture talks about guilt, it is describing what REBT calls remorse or what St. Paul calls Godly grief.
I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting; for you felt a Godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief [guilt] produces death (2 Corinthians 7:9-10)
Some Christians believe that there are things that as a Christian they absolutely must not do. St. Paul makes it very clear that there is no such moral demand that has the force of a metaphysical demand. Thus there is an ontological demand or absolute revealed by God, but our free will does not permit the ontological demand to obtain.
Twice in his first letter to the Corinthians he says, “All things are lawful for me” he can do all things; he has free will. Once recognizing that fact, Paul could truly be moral because as he writes, “not all things are helpful.” David Stoop, a Christian writer commenting on this passage says that the point is that all things are lawful, so we are to remove the demands on the self. Christians believe that Christ came to free people from slavery and condemnation, so it would be contradictory to enslave oneself again with the demand behind guilt.
You were dead through the trespasses and sins…But God who is rich in mercy, out of great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5)
In this paper I have attempted to demonstrate that the philosophy of REBT and the philosophy of Christianity are congruent. Both seek to transform the individual who is experiencing pain, alienation, self-defeating behaviors into a person with a radically new and liberating philosophy of life, or newly uncovered and self-accepted being. Moreover, the key to this transformation is a change of fundamental beliefs away from dogmatic demandingness, awfulizing, low frustration tolerance, and self and other-downing toward an unconditional acceptance of the self, others, the world, and life.
- Armstrong, D.M. (1973). Belief, Truth and Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Craigie, F.D. & Tan, S.-Y. (1989). Changing Resistant Assumptions in Christian Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 17(98).
- Ellis, A. (1993). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-help Therapy Materials. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 24.
- Johnson, S. A. (1993). Incorporating Religion into Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy with the Christian Client, Albert Ellis Institute.
- Lawrence, C. (1987). Rational Emotive Therapy and the Religious Client. Journal of Rational-Emotive Therapy, 5(19).
- Peirce, C.S. (1955). The Fixation of Belief. In Justus Buchler (ed). Philosophical Writings of Peirce, Dover Publications: New York.
- Stoop, D. (1997). Self-Talk: Key to Personal Growth. Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell.
- West, G.F. & Reynolds, J. (1997). The Applicability of Selected Rational-Emotive Therapy Principles for Pastoral Counseling. The Journal of Pastoral Care, Summer, 187-194.


Every Wednesday from 12 -1 pm we have a free lunch for the community. Come out for fellowship, food, and prayer. There is always a spot for you!
Please note that our community lunches are ending on August 31st and our community dinners are starting up on September 4th from 5-6 pm.
Our community meal program has been part of Gracepoint's identity for many years, as a church we value investing into the community around us. One of the central reasons we continue to press into a meal program is because we value food security, we understand that a number of people in poverty struggle to get meals onto their plates, and we want to be part of the solution of seeing people fed well. Another one of our values revolving around our meal program is that we believe in the dignity of all people, we believe that each person has been made in the image of God and that each person has value. We want to be a community that uplifts others and engages them with dignity. Along with believing each person has value, we also believe each person is loved by God. Just as God loves them, we also want to love them, and as part of loving them, we want to share Jesus with them. Finally, we believe in a safe community and in friendship, as part of our meal program, we want to get to know people and to create a safe space where they can get to know others within the community.


In our lives, it is so easy to think that God simply wants to fix us; that he wants to take superglue and fill in the cracks and hold us together.
While we are broken people living in a broken world, God’s love for us is so much deeper than that. He doesn’t want to give us fragile stability with a quick fix. He wants to completely destroy our lives and rebuild them from the ground up.
Revelations 21:5 states, “And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'” This scripture is most often applied to the end of this world and the coming of the Lord’s kingdom. However, recently I have been thinking a lot about how this scripture can apply to my life today.
The way I think about it is through controlled burns. In national forests, sometimes the underbrush gets extremely thick. Briars, vines, weeds and (my least favorite) poison ivy wraps around the trees. They steal the trees’ sunlight, suck up their water, and ultimately hide the trees and stunt their growth. Eventually, the forest rangers will intentionally start a fire to burn away the excessive growth to give the trees room to breathe and grow. The trunks get burned and scarred, but they become stronger, they grow taller, and they become healthier than they were before. God does this in our lives over and over again. When sin wraps around our hearts and steals our joy, our hope and take away room for Jesus, we have entered a season of controlled burning. God takes a match to those things in our lives that have grown so tightly around us that they have become a part of us; until that is all people see when they look at us. It’s terrifying and painful at first, but when it’s all said and done we are stronger, and we are able to grow into the plans that God has in store for us. We become beautiful, new creations in Christ.
I am not perfect. I make mistakes daily. Like all humans I allow sin to creep into my life and it takes control until God burns it all away to help me grow into the Christian, woman, and leader that He created me to be. He creates beauty from the ashes in my life.
My name is Ashleigh Wright, and I look forward to starting this journey with you. I hope that in this blog you find comfort in shared experiences, hope in times of sorrow and that you realize you are not alone. I hope that together you and I can see all the many ways God creates beauty from the destruction in our lives when we least expect Him to.
I hope that you realize like I have, that He is making beauty from the ashes.


All Religious Ed classes
are completed for the year. Please check back shortly to register for our summer program (grades 6 & 7 only), and for
our Fall classes in all grades. An email will go out to alert you when registration is opening.
Please keep all our First Communicants and their families in your prayers.
You may register now for Vacation Bible School at St. Teresa's (June
29-July 2, 8:45 AM-11:45 AM). Stop into the Religious Ed office for a registration form, or download the form from
the St. Teresa's parish website: www.stteresachurch.org. Forms should be returned with donations to the Religious Ed office.
We are always looking for dedicated
people who want to share their faith with our youth. Our catechist slots for 2014-2015 are currently full. However,
if you would like to substitute for us on occasion, please fill out the application below. All catechists
and subs will need to complete the 2-hour Protecting God's Children workshop if they have not already done so. To located
a PGC workshop, please click on the PGC link below.
The first link below accesses our 2014-2015 handbook which gives
comprehensive information about our mission, programs, policies and procedures. The second link below will
access our calendar for 2014-2015. The calendar will provide upcoming classes, events, and
etc. for Grades 1-9. We update this regularly.


Visit Our Photo Album
Carmelite Monastery, Trip Lane, Linton, Wetherby,
West Yorkshire LS22 4HZ
The enclosed Carmelite life still flourishes today and our own Carmel at Wood Hall is one of these houses, rooted in the ancient tradition of the early Carmelite hermits who lived on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. We are blessed with beautiful surroundings, situated as we are in the lower part of the Wharfe valley, surrounded by ancient woodland.
We were founded forty years ago from the Carmel at York and our community has continued to grow over these years. We are a vibrant, united community of fifteen sisters living together in a modern house reflecting Teresian simplicity.
We try to live centred on the Gospel, sharing with joy and love a life with its unique Carmelite balance between solitude and community. We cherish our 800-year old heritage and live an enclosed, structured contemplative life whose purpose is apostolic, reaching out to the world's great needs in our prayer. At the heart of our prayer we hold the widespread suffering of the poor and needy ones of our times. In solidarity with the poor we try to live as simply as we can.
We believe that contemplative life in community, in the energies of its prayer, through the love generated by its daily acts of loving surrender to God and the service of each other in the community, reaches deeply into the needs of the suffering world.
"In the heart of my Mother, the Church, I will be Love". (St Thérèse of Lisieux)


The first Anglican place of worship in Gidea Park (built 1928) was the St Michael’s Mission Church. Until 1931, Gidea Park was within the Chapelry of All Saints Squirrels Heath, now known as Ardleigh Green.
In 1931 a decision was taken to create the new and separate Parish of Gidea Park. On 8th August 1933 the new Parish of St Michael Gidea Park was constituted. A new Church Hall was built (this building remains)
The first General Church Meeting was held on 29th September 1933 for the purpose of the appointment of Church Wardens and the PCC.
The beautiful Parish Church of St Michael and All Angels as we know it today was constructed adjacent to those buildings. It was consecrated on 21st May 1938 by the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford – Dr Henry Wilson.
The Mission Church building was modified to become the current Bishop Chadwick Hall.
The Architects were Messrs Crowe & Careless. The Parish Church was built by Messrs Stedman Brothers at a cost of £8450 including all furnishings. The Church Bells were donated by Ald. Chaplin. The Floodlighting and Gold Cross on the Church Tower were donated in memory of Rev. Canon F. Leech. The Organ is a fine two manual Gray & Davison.
Vicars past and present:
Rev. Canon J. Elvin 1931 – 1957
Rev. Canon F. Leech 1958 – 1981
Rev. E. Pilkington 1982 – 2004
Rev. M. Finch 2005 – 2013
Rev. P. Weston 2014 – 2018


Young Adult Summer Study
7:30 - 9:00 pm
Your twenties and early thirties can be a really challenging time. Everything is now your responsibility: job, rent, bills, relationships, and even your faith.
People don’t tell you that it’s hard to grow spiritually unless you’re connected relationally. So this summer, we are launching a small group for 20 and 30-somethings. It’s a time to gather together, connect with others, and grow in faith.
We'll be gathering over dessert and a study for 6 weeks. Details provided with sign-up.


Sunday Service Bulletin Building communities that reveal Christ English Worship Service – February 18, 2024 We’re glad you’re here! Welcome – Ryan Graham Call to Worship – Tim Pien Musical Worship Scripture Reading – Ephesians 6:10-20 – Joe Farley Congregational Prayer Offering Musical Response Message – “Winter Prayer: For Masterful Defense and Surgical Attack” Revelation 2:12-17 – Pastor Mike Lee Communion Musical Response Announcements Closing Prayer ____________________________ Welcome! For the benefit of all, please turn your cell phone to vibrate mode during our Service. For parents of young children, we have a nursing room/supervised nursery located downstairs and Sunday School classes for children age 2 (as of September 1, 2023) through 6th grade, which meet during our worship service. Our offering is intended for those who consider NSCCC their home church. If you are a visitor, please do not feel obligated to participate.
Announcements: China STM: The Missions Committee of our church is excited to be resuming the decade-long ministry we have had in China. This summer, we will be sending a group to encourage the migrant families that have participated over the years, where the focus will be to encourage the hearts of the “second generation.” The Missions Committee is now in the active stage of recruitment for this trip. Please see Ken Tsui, Pastor Mike, or Sylvia Chen to learn more about this opportunity. Building Access: Ministries that use the church building during the week should request access through the Ministry Committee Chairs (Frank Wang and Wei-Lin Koo). If necessary, the Ministry Committee Chairs can request distribution of keys from the Trustee. February Deacon Board Meeting: The Deacon Board will hold their regular monthly meeting today at 1:00 in the church conference room. Please contact Joe Farley, Deacon Board Chair, if you have questions or would like to attend the meeting. Thank you for your prayers for all of our church leaders. Children’s Ministry Teachers Needed: The Spring Quarter starts in March. The Children’s Ministry is still looking for 4 Sunday school teachers. Please contact the Children Ministry Committee or Angel Lee if you are able to help out. 2023 Financial Statement: The approved 2023 NSCCC Financial Statement is available in the church lobby. Please contact any of our Deacons if you have questions or concerns about our church finances
Offering: Last Week's Offering……..…….……….$11,008 2024 Budget - Weekly.….……….……..$15,165 2024 Offering - Year to Date..………… $70,489 2024 Budget - Year to Date……..…… $88,823 2024 Budget - Annual…..…………….$790,742
Ongoing Ministries: Prayer Ministry: Our monthly congregational prayer meetings are at 9:45 a.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month. Contact June Pien (firstname.lastname@example.org) for the Zoom link or for details about worship & prayer in smaller gatherings during the week. Small Groups are an important part of developing community at NSCCC. See Amy Lam or email email@example.com for details about available groups. Youth Group is a great place for Junior and Senior High students to make friends, play games, and learn about God. Contact Pastor Rich Coffeen at firstname.lastname@example.org for meeting and activity schedules. Mercy Ministries: As a church we are called to serve our community in the name of Jesus. Email email@example.com for information Adult/Youth Sports: Join us in the MPR on Monday evenings at 7:00 for pickleball and Wednesdays at 8:00 for basketball. Contacts: Rich Hui (firstname.lastname@example.org) basketball, Wei-Lin Koo (email@example.com) pickleball. A/V Team: Interested in serving on the sound or projection team? Contact Isaac Tseng at firstname.lastname@example.org. Sundays Live@9:45: Our topical discussion group meets Sunday mornings at 9:45am in the Conference Room (Administrative Wing) or connect via Zoom using the link found at nsccc.org/virtualchurch. Please contact Pastor Mike if you have a topic you would like to discuss in future sessions. Questions or Concerns? Have suggestions, feedback, or questions concerning any of our ministries? Please contact any member of the English Ministry Committee (listed on the back) Sunday Ministries Schedule 9:00–10:00 a.m. – Children’s Wing Children’s Worship & Bible Study/Story 9:15–10:30 a.m. – Sunday School Wing High School Sunday school Junior High Sunday school 9:45–10:30 a.m. – Conference Room Sundays Live@9:45 - Adult discussion 10:00–11:00 a.m. – Children’s Wing Preschool - 6th Grade Sunday school See Angel Lee for more details. 11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. Worship Service (Sanctuary) Also available virtually via Zoom (see nsccc.org/virtualchurch to connect)


The name Stephen or Steven was originally derived from the New Testament Greek word stephanos, which means "crown" or "garland" (from the Greek verb stepho - to twine or wreathe). St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr after Christ Himself, was a very popular saint throughout medieval Europe. Many boys were named for him. When surnames began to be adopted in Europe, various versions of the name Stephen were used as a patronymic denoting "son of Stephen." Thus different forms of the patronymic surname "Stephens" appear in every country in Europe, according to the language of each country. Immigrants to the English-speaking New World often anglicized their own versions of "son of Stephen" to the English "Stephens" or "Stevens" or had their names anglicized by census takers or immigration workers. The purpose of this project is to help Stephens-Stevens families with their genealogical research. It is open worldwide to those men with the surnames Stephens, Stevens, Stephan, Stephen, Stevin, Steven, Stebbins, Steffins, Steffen and other versions of the surnames Stephens or Stevens, meaning primarily "son (or descendant) of Stephen". This is a y-dna project. Women may participate by having a male Stephens-Stevens relative submit a dna sample for testing. Please click on the tabs above to view the various aspects of our project.


- Created on Wednesday, 15 May 2013 09:59
- Written by Rob Jones
When Jesus came and lived among us he demonstrated a whole new way of living, and his followers throughout history have always tried to embrace that lifestyle. The people who wrote the New Testament were continually teaching new believers how to live this Jesus lifestyle, and their writings are with us today as an inspiration and an encouragement to live purposefully.
Running is often used in the Bible to speak of the attitude that describes a focused and purposeful life.
When God spoke to the OT prophet Habakkuk he said: "Write the vision down and make it clear to understand so that whoever hears and reads it may run with it." HAB 2 : 2
Running with vision speaks of strenuous effort, focus, dedication and purpose. Running implies urgency and energy in order to fulfil the purpose. Running with vision means we won’t have time for some things that would just slow us down.
When Paul is writing to the believers at Corinth he compares this life of purposeful faith to the running of a race: “Run in such a way as to get the prize” he tells them. 1 COR 9 : 24
When writing to the Jewish Christians spread throughout the empire the Apostle uses the analogy of the great games in the Coliseum to make his point more forcefully.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” HEB 12 : 1 – 3
Many people are living with great weakness in their lives. They can't put the top back on the bottle, they can't resist the opportunity for the next buzz, they can't hit the off button on their TV or computer. They live with no discipline, no faith, the old nature in charge of their lives. They set their own standards, often hide behind religious attitudes, are actually in serious bondage and are usually easily offended.
We are called to live strong lives - under the Spirit's control, doing everything from a perspective of faith, our new nature in control of our lives, following Christ's example and living in the freedom he has won for us. We are called to live grace-filled lives.
Living strong is a recurring theme of the apostles as they write and preach to the New Testament believers. Here are a few lines from Paul, writing to Titus about how to encourage the believers he’s looking after in Crete to live stronger.
“In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority.” TITUS 2 : 7 - 8, 11 - 15
Again writing to the Ephesians the Apostle emphasises the importance and value of living strong lives: “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” and then goes on to say this: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”
So let’s commit ourselves to run faster and live stronger as we seek to live purposeful lives and reach our nation of Wales with the good news of the One who transforms lives.


“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” 2 Peter 3:18
Our purpose is to honor God by providing quality care and facilitating growth in the lives of young children in a loving and safe environment, where they can develop spiritually as they grow emotionally, physically, cognitively, and socially.
At Growing in Grace Preschool, childhood is embraced, curiosity is valued, children are cherished, and learning is an adventure. Each child is recognized as one of God’s unique creations. At our school, children gain a sense of comfort and belonging because they are nurtured and loved by a highly experienced and caring staff.


Christians follow the life and teachings of Jesus, also called Christ. Christianity shares its roots and some religious texts with Judaism. Jesus was born a Jew. His followers spread Christianity after his death. It is the world’s largest religion. There are many denominations, traditions, and churches within Christianity. Three main branches of the faith are Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant. Both Old and New Testaments guide followers in their spiritual quest. Christians believe in one God, the Holy Trinity and the divinity of Christ. Adherents follow either the Julian or Gregorian calendars; the dates for many significant days in Christianity differ depending on which calendar is followed.
*We recognize that many holy days begin at sundown the day prior to the marked observance. Because the preceding days have not been recognized in all faiths in this calendar, Christmas Eve has not been included.
All Saints Day
All Saints Day is a feast to honour all Christian saints (both known and unknown) throughout the ages.
This day is the first day of Lent, the forty-day period (excluding Sundays) of prayer, repentance and self-denial that precedes Easter.
This day celebrates the birth of Jesus. No one knows the exact date of Christ's birth, but Christians following Gregorian calendar observe Christmas on December 25. This day is celebrated by attending church to take part in special religious services and also exchange gifts with family and friends. Homes are decorated with lights, holly, mistletoe and Christmas trees. Christians following Julien calendar observe the holyday in January. Christmas is a statutory holiday in Canada.
This marks the first day of Lent according to the Julian calendar; it is the first of 40 days of prayer, repentance, and self-denial leading up to Easter.
This day commemorates the resurrection of Jesus and special church services are held in celebration. While its origins are religious, many Easter customs have more to do with celebrating the beginning of spring, including: painting eggs in bright colours and pretty designs, Easter egg hunts, and the giving and receiving chocolate Easter bunnies.
Easter Monday is the day following Easter and is celebrated as a holiday by followers of Christianity. Celebrations differ depending on followers’ country of origin. Egg rolling competitions and dousing each other with water are examples of the traditional celebrations. It is a federal holiday for government employees.
This is the second festival celebrating the manifestation of Jesus as Christ, the first being the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas). The Western Churches associate Epiphany with the journey of the Magi to the infant Jesus, while the Orthodox Churches look to the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
First Day of Advent
The first Sunday of Advent is the period of preparation for Christmas. Please note that the dates are different for the Gregorian and the Julian calendars.
Christmas or winter fast is the Lenten Season observed from Nov. 15 up to Dec. 24. The followers of the Gregorian calendar begin their fast from Dec. 1st . It is a period of fasting, praying and reflecting – in preparation and anticipation of the coming of Christ and Christmas. The followers of the revised Julian calendar begin their fast from Nov. 28th and observe it over a 40 day period.
This day commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and is a day of mourning for Christians. During special Good Friday services, Christians reflect on Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for their faith. This is a statutory holiday in Ontario.
"The Feast of Nayrouz" celebrates the Coptic New Year, which is the first calendar known to humans, dating back to 4241 B.C.
New Year’s Day
New Year’s Day has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for the past 400+ years and holds religious significance for the followers of the Christian faith. In 153 BC, the Roman senate declared Jan.1 the beginning of the New Year. This holiday was first observed in Babylon 4,000 years ago. Celebrations include making of resolutions for the year to come, parties on the evening of Dec. 31, and a toast at midnight when the New Year officially begins. On New Year's Day itself, many people watch football games, parades and spend the day with family and friends. Followers of Orthodox Christianity celebrate the New Year's Day on Jan. 14 based on the Julian calendar.
Pentecost is often referred to as “The Birthday of the Church” and falls on the 50th day after Easter. This day commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples. It is traditional for baptisms and confirmation of new Christians to occur on this day.


Join Mitch Waxman to hear tales of the early chemical industry, "Dead Animal and Night Soil Wharfs", colonial era heretics,...
A series of events on the logistics and ethics of trespassing, from creators of the Night Heron water tower speakeasy
The most colossal cranium collection has 3,300 specimens
A natural gas leak provides a flickering flame beneath a waterfall
Relic Chapel in the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in New York (photograph by Elizabeth Harper)
As an eight-year-old Catholic, I was already disillusioned with my faith. My perverse interest in the many lepers of the Bible sustained my attention in religion class for a while, but my request for more information resulted in a well-intentioned, but crushingly disappointing, book on leopards. In the days before Wikipedia, that was a dead end. The boredom returned. I felt doomed to a lifetime of sunny parables and chirpy gospels until the day Father Don walked into church with a piece of decomposing human liver in a filigree box.
The liver was a relic: a piece of the corpse of a saint. Our parish was a stop on the liver’s world tour to give more parishioners the opportunity to venerate. According to the Catholic process of veneration, praying to a saint's body part might stir the saint to intercede on your behalf with God. While I may not have venerated in the most orthodox way, I studied it intently. For me, the liver was the best thing since lepers.
From that time on I was fascinated with the lives of saints and the pieces of their bodies strewn about in shrines all over the world. Their biographies matched the macabre beauty of their bones in these wildly ornate boxes. They were princes and queens, warriors and beggars in disguise. It wasn’t uncommon for the hero or heroine saint to be beheaded, burnt at the stake, or flayed alive at the end of their story. In fact, if you looked closely, some of their bones still bore the marks of martyrdom.
There is no complete list of saints, nor for that matter, their relics (at least that’s available to the public; who knows what lurks in the Vatican Library). Saints are sometimes taken off the official calendar of feast days if their legends become too suspect, but they cannot be “un-sainted” and their relics, if they exist, often remain on display even under the most suspicious circumstances (like the four skulls all claiming to be St. John the Baptist). As an adult, I began seeking out churches all over the world to document saint’s relics and legends myself because the disorder and relative lack of information on relics lent itself to a sort of treasure hunt.
As I loaded my laptop with photos of crypts and cadavers, I became hesitant to share these vacation photos. Frankly, not everyone shares my enthusiasm for centuries-old disembodied limbs and skulls wearing crowns. I started my blog All the Saints You Should Know last year as a way to organize and share the photos and stories I collected with like-minded people. Recently, I’ve started adding some of my favorites to the Atlas in the hopes of getting more people interested in and documenting relics. Here are a few of my favorites that I’ve highlighted so far:
SANTA FRANCESCA ROMANA
St. Francesca Romana (photograph by Elizabeth Harper)
One of the best side effects of viewing relics is the quiet serenity of crypts. The day I went to see the relics of St. Francesca Romana it was almost 100 degrees in Rome. The basilica her relics are kept in is in the middle of the loudest, most touristy part of the city. I had to slip past a bunch of guys in plastic gladiator costumes waiting in line for porta-potties just to get in. But then… silence. Cool marble. Incense. It was an oasis within some circle of hell reserved for badly behaved tourists in fannypacks. And of course, there was a full skeleton dressed in a white nun's habit, boney fingers still clutching her prayer book.
CHURCH OF THE MOST HOLY REDEEMER
New York City, New York
Relics of St. Datian (photograph by Elizabeth Harper)
But of course, you don’t have to go to Europe just to see relics. For a similar experience sans-jetlag, you can head to the East Village in New York City and view the complete relics of St. Datian, an obscure Roman martyr. St. Datian was the first complete body of a saint to be brought to America and he rests here along with smaller relics from over 150 other saints. The relics are encased in a lifelike (or rather, deathlike) wax sculpture of the martyr’s body in repose. The art of wax sculpting is employed all over the world to give relics a less frightening, more peaceful look. Today some contemporary saints like Padre Pio have perfectly lifelike silicone faces and hands to shield their corpses from direct view.