Can You Hear Me Now?

I’ve been doing a bit of thinking about events of the past week. Now, I’m not taking any kind of position here, just wanted to share something I’ve been mulling over. First, we had the inauguration of President Trump. There are a lot of reasons that people give for why he is now our president. I’ve come to a personal conclusion that one of those reasons is that people didn’t take his candidacy seriously. People laughed about him running for president and made jokes about those who supported him. Now he had his share of flaky people at his rallies and unfortunately that was where the media focused. Flaky candidate, flaky supporters, big joke; only they won.

Second, we had the Women’s March. So what does the media focus on here, the flakes and they had their share. When you only focus on the flakes, then it is so much easier to write them off and make them a big joke. Every movement, every protest, every march has flakes in their midst. I’ve been in enough protests and marches to know. But, it would be as much a mistake to try and write them off as it was to try and write President Trump and his people off as a joke.

Those who wrote off Trump as a bad joke made a grave mistake. Those who write off those who participated in the Women’s March and their concerns do so at their own peril. This is not to say that is a matter of agreeing with either camp, but if we don’t at least give one another a serious hearing, we are in error. The concerns and complaints of Trump’s supporters weren’t taken seriously, if they were heard at all and now he is the President. Will the Trump camp make the same mistake themselves? Will they disregard millions? I just think we need to try to listen, without trying to formulate a response before we’ve heard them out. Good luck pretending that either will disappear.

Proverbs 18:13   

To answer before listening—

    that is folly and shame.

James 1:19

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

Memorial Day Sunday 2012 at Shiloh UMC

 On Memorial Day Sunday, the congregation of Shiloh UMC concluded their morning service by going into the cemetery to place American flags on the graves of the veterans buried there.

 We found 26 veterans buried in the Shiloh UMC cemetery. There are veterans spanning from the Civil War through the Korean War. We have confirmed two veterans that fought for the Confederacy.

 One member of Shiloh commented that he had attended church there for 60 years and this was the first time that they had recognized the veterans in this way.

 We don't have complete records; branch of service, rank, conflict, dates, etc; on all the veterans. There are probably other veterans that we haven't realized as of yet. But this was our start.

 Our plan is to do this every May for Memorial Day and again every November for Veterans Day. That way the flags will be replaced every 6 months. The old flags will taken to the local Veterans of Foreign Wars or American Legion for proper disposal.

 We concluded our morning service gathered in the shade of the big oak tree in the cemtery. We talked about the importance of what we had just done and how we need to teach this to future generations, so that they will remember.

I know that there are some that feel that we should not combine the spiritual and the secular. That the church is not the place to recognize National days like Memorial Day. For me, this is a Holy day and it is our intention to continue to remember those who stood in the gap made the sacrifice that we might gather and worship in freedom.

Long Weekend at Colonial Williamsburg

A couple of weeks ago Joanne and I took a extended weekend and visited Colonial Williamsburg. It really is one of our favorite places to visit. Even though we've been numerous time we still enjoy the sights and sounds. We still find something new each time to go. It was the end of October, the air was cool and the autumn leaves were still hanging on the trees for the most part. It was great weather for walking through the gardens and watching the reenactors outside.

 

 

 

 

 

One place in Colonial Williamsburg that never gets old is the Governor's Palace. Whether you take the tour of the inside or just walk the gardens it is always enjoyable. The gardens are a nice quiet place to go and sit and imagine.

 

Joanne said that she had been so many times she felt as if she was seeing herself there.

 

It was a nice time to relax and recharge. We want to thank our churches for making it possible.

Visit to Colonial Williamsburg

After spending 4 days at the United Methodist Conference in Norfolk, we decided to spend a couple days visiting Colonial Williamsburg. We figured this was just one last extension of our anniversary celebration. I realize that we've been celebrating for a month now, but I figure Joanne deserves stretching it out a bit after 38 years.

Colonial Williamsburg is one of our favorite places to visit. We have a come here to celebrate a number of anniversaries. There was one time when I asked Joanne what she would like to do for our anniversary. She told me she would like to go out to eat. So, I made the mistake of asking her where she would like to go to eat. She smiled and said Shields Tavern at Colonial Williamsburg. So we drove 4 hours from Lynchburg to Williamsburg, ate a fine dinner, and then drove 4 hours home.

Now, I realize that some people actually have been to real palaces or may live in countries that have them. But, this is the Governor's Palace at Colonial Williamsburg. It may not impress Queen Elizabeth, but I bet it made the early colonials take a step back.

The entryway and stairway of the Palace is loaded with swords, muskets, and pistols. You can imagine the intimidation factor for guests.

The furnishing seem a bit sparse, but again for colonial times they were rather grand.

The palace gardens are immaculate. There are benches placed throughout the gardens where you can just sit and enjoy. It is one of the few spots that seem cool in Williamsburg during the summer.

Above is the tiered vegetable garden for the Palace. The kitchens are at the top of the hill. There was a lady in the kitchen baking and it smelled really good. She was preparing foods that would have been eaten in the 1780's and prepared them in the manner they would have done it then.

This is the magazine, where muskets and gun powder were stored. The majority of the muskets on display, there are hundreds, in the magazine were given by Queen Elizabeth on one of her visits to Colonial Williamsburg.

There are reenactors all over the place, who portray life during the 1780's. They stay in character when you talk to them. It can get very confusing and amusing to watch someone try to talk to them who doesn't quite realize what is going on.

They have numerous carriages that people can take a ride in if they get tired of walking.

Joanne always makes sure that we search out the sheep.

The way I like to visit Colonial Williamsburg is to just find a seat in the shade or in a garden. From there you can watch people, read a book, take a nap, or even imagine yourself being a resident of Colonial Williamsburg.