Entries in this category probe deeper thoughts about old age. Spirituality, self-image, relationships, hopes and yearnings — all the stuff of self-talk and core meaning for people who are older.
(This entry is part of an ongoing collection of blogs that examine the future of congregations post-COVID19. Each entry forms itself around a question looking for clarity or even answers.) Sometimes hope comes at me shyly, quietly. Asking for just a moment’s attention so that I don’t get hijacked by despair. That happened for me one recent Sunday in worship. From my seat near the front of theMORE...
(This entry is part of an ongoing collection of blogs that examine the future of congregations post-COVID19. Each entry forms itself around a question looking for clarity or even answers.) Because of COVID19 cautions in our congregations, the theologies and practices of worship may have changed in substantial ways. To limit exposure to this harmful virus, we’ve shortened liturgies, suspendedMORE...
Hey, Mr. Z! I thought you should know that I’m not buying into what your new Meta proposes, or what you’re trying to sell. Here’s the deal…. Your other enterprises have always felt like traps to me—seemingly innocent entertainments with seeming social benefits that may also be clever ways to insinuate your way into people’s decisions, life purposes and identities. Meta feels the same way. IMORE...
(This entry is part of an ongoing collection of blogs that examine the future of congregations post-COVID19. Each entry forms itself around a question looking for clarity or even answers.) Most congregations have been severely restricted in bringing members together physically for worship, fellowship, planning, support or service. The dangers of a relentless epidemic have reminded us how illnessMORE...
With Advent on the horizon, this might be a good time to revisit one of its strong themes: The Second Coming. More specifically, how the world will end in the time it takes to *blink. The speed of this life-changing event will likely overwhelm or paralyze any effective reaction to what’s occurring. Suddenly life as we know it will be finished and the events of Judgment Day—prefacing eternalMORE...
The previous entry by the same title didn’t include some of the reasons why I would have the temerity to write about such a subject. These personal thoughts may help explain the coming blogs that are dedicated to the thesis that the people of God in the post-COVID church can (or should) engage in self-examination—with the audacity of reformers burnt into our souls by the flame of the Spirit. TheMORE...
Reformation Day’s lessons, prayers, hymns and sermons have receded into the online vaults where past worship services are stored. Now it’s time to move onward, maybe even forward. In the next few months, congregations like yours and mine will be fashioning the future as we imagine the coming year’s programs and budgets. We hope to instill the spirit of reformation into the coming year. That workMORE...
Right now the church year calendar is stacked with feasts and festivals: Reformation Day, All Saints Day, All Souls Day. What might these holidays tell us if we combined them into one celebration? One possibility occurs to me: We can rejoice that there are so many saints and souls whose lives have changed for the better. Another way of saying that: Repentance, conversion and transformation areMORE...
One continuing lament about growing older: The lost souls that continue in my memory without continuing in my current relationships. To be clear, these are not people I have consigned to perdition on account of their persistent perfidies. Instead, they are all the saints with whom I’m no longer in touch. Their state of well-being is unknown to me, their contact information lapsed or lost. TheMORE...
The number of *lapses in my life seems to be increasing: Breaks in attention, small mistakes, bumpy intuition, sometimes-faulty logic or slightly flawed decision-making. Perhaps this is the stuff of age-related cognitive decline, but more likely it’s the result of the stress and anxiety I have experienced these past few years. Whatever the causes, the effects require attention. So I’ve revisitedMORE...
BOB SITZE has filled the many years of his lifework in diverse settings around the United States. His calling has included careers as a teacher/principal, church musician, writer/author, denominational executive staff member and meat worker. Bob lives in Wheaton, IL.