I am reading a fascinating book titled Savage Continent by Keith Lowe that focuses on the aftermath of World War II in Europe. It spends a long time outlining what life looked like for citizens and the masses of displaced peoples who had been imprisoned in work camps, concentration camps, and prison camps throughout Nazi … [Read more…]
The new preschool education standards focus on evaluating and teaching lessons in social emotional skills. This is something that was never present in preschool or public school educational goals in the past. Part of the social emotional educational goals is to teach empathy and conflict management skills. However, it has occurred to me that as … [Read more…]
Do you have regrets? I would say many of us do. Do you have those things that you wish you did not do? I would say we all do. As a whole humanity holds themselves to certain standards that they don’t always successfully live up to and thus we hold others to even higher standards … [Read more…]
I knew a woman who strongly believed that everyone was judging her, being purposefully unkind to her, and hated her. She lived day in and day out angry at all of her co-workers, wishing hardships on them, because they obviously disliked her and were harboring negativity towards her. Her anger increased by the day and … [Read more…]
The earliest known written record of laws was the Code of Hammurabi in 1754 BC. Amongst their many laws is a very familiar one: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This generally means that whatever actions are taken against you then legally you can act out the same actions in retaliation. … [Read more…]
When I walk into a church for worship, the seat that I take is up in the loft. As the child of a choir member, this was where I was raised to sit when in a church. To this day, I am a little uncomfortable sitting in the congregation. When I take a class, my … [Read more…]
Today is Reformation Sunday. This is an important day for Protestants around the world because this is where our religious sects originate from. But for many of us we have little concept of the radical ideas that went behind such a movement and the courage of many believers and clergymen to stand up to the … [Read more…]
My husband’s grandmother was an orthodox Jew and every year right before the celebration of Passover it was her custom to do a thorough cleaning of their house. They had to change out all the dishes, reline all the cabinets, throw away or give away all of the food in their home in preparation for … [Read more…]
When you imagine Jesus, what does Jesus look like, what does he act like? (Let Congregation answer) I often imagine this well spoken man, a brave man, not the poorest of the poor but not wealthy. I tend to imagine Jesus very much being like me. I imagine him as the ultimate comforter and these … [Read more…]
When we think of change: whether it is in the world, our careers, or our personal lives, what comes to your minds? Change can be exciting but it can also be a time full of anxiety and dread for many. Change can be frightening because we can’t always predict what will come next or how … [Read more…]
