Should we torture?

Dr. John explains why torture is not a good thing for our country to do.
Do not do an immoral thing for moral reasons. ~Thomas Hardy

Wedding invitations

When my daughter got married several years ago, a lot of thought went into who would be invited. It was a challenge because of space and money limitations, based on the budget that the couple set for themselves. There is always the question of who will be invited and if anybody in the same category will be upset if they don't receive an invitation.

My son is now going through this process. He heard that a certain couple is upset that they didn't receive an invitation. They were supposed to be on the list, and there is still time to correct the oversight. More people are being invited to this wedding because the couple were fortunate to have a much less expensive plan for their reception than usual. The bride has a large family; the groom has lots of friends.

My philosophy has been that the wedding couple should make their decisions about who to invite based on their own friendships. I wouldn't expect a child of mine to invite an adult friend of mine if my child didn't also have an emotional tie to that person.

Yesterday, I received a wedding invitation. This one really floored me. I don't know the groom. I know that bride as an almost-classmate of one of my kids, but she is someone I may have only talked to in passing, and certainly not in the last 5 years, because I haven't seen her in years. I've probably talked to the mother of the bride about 5 times quite awhile ago. We live a few miles apart, but our paths don't cross, mainly because I'm very active in my church, but the bride and her family no longer attend church, or at least not at my church.

I just wonder how I got on the list to be invited. I've been invited to weddings (or wedding showers) before when I've known one of the family members, but didn't know the couple. In those cases, I've attended the wedding if is close and convenient.

I just wonder if people just don't know where to stop when they are sending invitations to weddings. Or are they fishing for gifts? Or am I just being a scrooge about this? If I hadn't received the invitation, I'm not even in any gossip circle that would get the word to me that this young woman is getting married.

What about these tea parties

I happen to think that our taxes are what buys us our mostly good, mostly clean government, our mostly clean environment, our defense, our parks, our great roads, etc. and taxes are what pay the salaries of government workers. Yes, there could be different ways the money could be spent. And there are programs I'm against. But our government takes care of our old people and our disabled people. All in all, we get a lot in this country, including our freedom to protest. And lets not forget that! So do the protesters have some positive agenda or are they just for show and release of emotion? Here's one take on the opposition party.

And read this. Someone agrees with me. April 15: Patriots' day.

And the other side of the coin.

Seder

Last evening, two Lutheran Churches joined with the Catholic Church in town for a Seder meal held in the Catholic's social hall. About 100 people attended. Besides the built in reminders of the origin of the Passover, the group was reminded of the commonality of our faith in Christ, despite denominational differences. But those differences were also apparent before and after the meal. The Catholics had their Maundy Thursday Mass before the dinner. The Lutherans held their Maundy Thursday communion service after the meal, but in the semi-darkened Catholic sanctuary.

A Good Friday Story Worth Reading

A word picture to remember over at Faith in Community.

Stoles

At last, I'm posting pictures of some stoles I have made. Pentecost/Ordination, Guess which season, and close up views of the Lenten stole.

Sacrificing a Home to Save Others

Doing a job, losing one's home to the flood. This man's attitude is amazing.