Monthly Archives: January 2005

Mugged in Our Church Parking Lot

It happened about 8:45 this morning. The worship team was practicing for the 10 am service when Cheryl H. ran into the sanctuary screaming something. We didn’t understand exactly what she said (above our loud music), but we knew it was very urgent. I assumed there was a fire; so did several others. I leaped off the platform and ran down the aisle, with the other guys following close behind.

Cheryl pointed toward the glass double doors leading to the back parking lot. One car was parked there, on the thick ice, and someone was laying down, not moving. By the time I descended the steps, I had heard enough pieces–“They took her purse,” “There were two guys”–to give me the idea of what happened. Basically, it was a mugging of an old lady on her way to church.

The lady was Joanna Herrick, one of the oldest members of our church, somewhere in her 70s. As she left her car and headed toward the door, two young men in perhaps their twenties approached her–they happened to be black, but could as easily have been white hoodlums in our area of town. They wrestled her purse from her grasp, then threw her to the ice. She was hurt, couldn’t move. Cheryl, from inside, heard Joanna cry “Help me!” She ran to a window in time to see the two guys disappear around the side of the church.

Joanna is a unique individual. This fall, she joined some of our youth leaders in attending a Youth Specialties Conference in Atlanta. A 70-plus woman among a bunch of wild and crazy youth workers. She volunteers three days a week at our drop-in youth center. She was in my 40 Days of Purpose group this fall, and I grew to greatly appreciate the progressive attitude of this godly person raised in a fairly traditional church. She’s not that crazy about the music we do, but if it appeals to people in our neighborhood, she’s for it. She never complains about anything. Over her lifetime, she has accumulated a ton of ministry experience. And she won’t quit.

Joanna was hurt bad. Couldn’t move. So she just lay on the ice for a good 20 minutes until the police (several cars) and ambulance arrived. Chris, our worship leader, knelt on the ice beside her and held her hand. There was pain in her leg. She told Chris, “I don’t have time to have a broken leg!”

But that’s what she’s got. The femur is broke near the hip. She’ll have surgery tomorrow. She has been active and independent, but this will change all of that. At least for a while. Fortunately, she’s got some great family members living in town, plus a church that loves her.

Our first year at Anchor, back in 1998, Pam had her purse stolen from the church foyer on a Sunday morning‚Äîagain, during worship team practice. So we spent the afternoon canceling all kinds of accounts, and on Monday had the locks on our house changed. At night, when a woman leaves the church, a guy always goes with her, watching until her car pulls away. It’s just prudent in our neighborhood. But this happened in broad daylight. Pam had taken the mace off of her key ring. I think she decided to put it back on.

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Fathers in War and Death

Faye’s father died earlier this week. Not her biological father, and I can’t remember exactly where he fit in the scheme of things. But in his latter days, Faye was the primary care-giver. I admire that. Since Faye was in our 40 Days of Purpose group this fall, we went to the viewing last night in Geneva, where the ice remains very thick on the trees. Further south, telephone poles had snapped in half, unable to bear the weight of ice on the lines.

Faye’s father served in the Navy during World War 2, and saw action, particularly in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. At the viewing, we saw a neat seaman’s photo, which seemed very typical of other Navy photos of that era. He served on an aircraft carrier called, I think, the Kutkin Bay‚Äîone I hadn’t heard of. There was a commendation from the WW2-era Secretary of the Navy, given evidently to everyone who served on the Kutkin Bay, commending them for their important role in the battle.

Kris, another member of our 40 Days group, rode with us. Kris, too, is the primary care-giver for an aging father who, as in Faye’s case, is not her biological father. Kris never knew her real father. He died during World War 2. Her dad was the oldest of seven children, and their father had died when he was just 12. He was teaching school when he received his draft notice. He could have gotten out of it. Two younger brothers were already serving, and he was, essentially, the head of household with kids still at home. It’s just that he received his draft notice in the county where he was teaching, and they didn’t know his situation. But he went. And he left a pregnant wife behind.

Kris’s Dad received the Silver Star for bravery in action. That’s not a medal they give out lightly. He was wounded in December 1944 in Germany, spent quite a bit of time in a field hospital, and then was sent home. But he didn’t quite make it all the way home. A liver infection set in, a result of his wounds, and he died in the States before his wife could reach him.

After 9/11, we held one of our Christian punk-hardcore concerts. One band, in what to them was a display of patriotism, covered their display table with an American flag (or at least a cloth bearing the stars and stripes). Kris, who knows the etiquette behind how flags are to be used and not used, was upset. She said her father died in defense of what that flag represents, and she felt they were using it dishonorably. I wasn’t disturbed by it‚Äîlike I said, I saw it as their display of patriotism. But then, I don’t have a father who died fighting for his country.

We stopped to eat on the way back, and that’s when I asked Kris to tell me what she knew about her father. She said he was a hometown hero, with the VFW post named after him. She also admitted that she holds an idealized image of her father, since she never saw a man who, undoubtedly, had his own collection of flaws and quirks. All she sees is a man of heroic proportions. Kris, who is a prayer warrior, said some women are unable to have a proper image of God as Father, because they carry too much baggage from what their earthly father was like. But Kris has never had that problem. Her father is someone extraordinary to her, and when she thinks of God the Father, there is no baggage–just an extraordinary and loving Father. And when she prays, she connects.

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We’ve Got Enough Money. Thanks.

Ice storm yesterday. Yikes! We got sent home from work about noon, and I’m glad. Took me much longer than the normal 25 minutes to get home.

I heard on the radio that Doctors Without Borders did something unprecedented: they said they don’t need any more money. For tsunami relief. They have all that they need. Most organizations (like the Red Cross after 9/11) milk disasters for all they can get, even if their relief needs are met. Good for Doctors Without Borders! I just wish we could claim them as an American organization (it’s Belgian or Swiss or some other brand of European) or a Christian organization.

Doctors Without Borders does good work. They go into places in the immediate aftermath of disasters and civil wars, with the intention of staying only temporarily. They got our mission hospital in Sierra Leone, in the town of Mattru, back up and running, pouring many thousands of dollars into it. That hospital is very important to that region of the country, but it was ravaged and shut down during the lengthy civil war. It’s operating today only because Doctors Without Borders revived it. They left a couple years ago, and now the hospital is struggling to survive on its own in the Sierra Leonean equivalent of “peace time.” But DWB did what they intended–come when help is needed most, provide it, and turn the work over to others.

I’ve heard too many stories over the years of organizations going into places to collect video for heart-rending fundraising appeals, and then leaving. Christian TV ministries seem to be the biggest culprits. They aren’t set up to have a continuing presence in foreign communities, but they definitely have access to donors. Groups like World Vision, World Relief, and others stay on-site for an extended period of time and make a difference. A TV evangelist comes in, shoots some video, collects donations from thousands of listeners, and leaves. Shouldn’t happen that way.

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A Wedding of Post-Moderns

Two years ago, I attended a Youth Specialties Conference in Indianapolis with about six others from my church. At one point, they had a contest to see who, among the hundreds of people attending, had the most combination of tattoos and piercings. We may have been one of the smaller churches represented, but we know our youth culture. Tony, one of our college students, won. I think he had 13 total. I don’t remember how it breaks down between piercings and tattoos. Tony did us proud.

Tony and MarciaTony heads up our concert ministry. Every month, 80-140 teens and young adults crowd into our downstairs fellowship hall for a concert with 3-5 bands of the hard-core variety. Lots of screaming, little comprehension of lyrics. If there, indeed, are lyrics. Pam and I attend most of the concerts. It’s a fascinating crowd. There is swearing and smoking and the F-word splattered on black T-shirts and adornments that smell occultish. A few months ago, someone peed on a children’s Bible in the church. I’m glad these types of people come to our church. And we have Tony to thank for that.

Tony grew up with no church background. None. He was exposed to Christians through Christian concerts like the ones we do. However, he became a Christian pretty much on his own. It was a case of God reaching down, directly to Tony, and grabbing hold of him. One night in the privacy of his own apartment (having had to leave home while still in high school, I believe), Tony accepted Christ. Nobody told him how to do it, what to pray, or anything else. Just him and God. How much purer can you get?

On New Year’s Day, Tony and Marcia were married. They met at Taylor University-Fort Wayne, and have been dating for the past year or so. A great match. Marcia’s upbringing was more traditional than Tony’s–a Christian family, and she did the cheerleader thing. Some might say Tony “corrupted” her, though it wouldn’t be her parents. Or me. They just fit well together.

The wedding was held at my church, Anchor. I was surprised that Tony and the four groomsmen wore tuxedos, that the gals wore regular wedding gowns, and that Marcia’s wedding dress was traditional and gorgeous. But they also, all of them, wore Converse tennis shoes. A nice touch.

At the reception afterwards, they served vegan cake and regular cake. Both Tony and Marcia are vegan. And they’re both skinny as can be. I suspect that, though God doesn’t disapprove of eating meat, their diet is more honoring to God and a better stewardship of his temple than the fatty intake of most of the rest of us. Pam likes chocolate cake, but the only chocolate was vegan. I brought her a piece, but didn’t tell her. She remarked that the icing was hard. Well, it was hard on my vanilla non-vegan cake, too.

For the dance–yes, people danced in our United Brethren church–Tony and Marcia chose disco music. Another nice touch. It lent a somewhat bizarre atmosphere to the reception.

Tony and Marcia love the Lord. I wish the best for their marriage. Many Christians would consider them (or at least Tony) a little “out there.” But I’m a huge fan. Tony is one of the most evangelistic persons in our congregation, and he’s made a difference in people’s lives. May that continue and thrive.

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2004 – A Most Eventful Year

I think 2004 was the most eventful year the world has seen since 1968.<

That year, 1968, is somewhat legendary. There’s even a book about all the things that happened in 1968. Consider: the Tet Offensive, Nixon is elected, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy are assassinated, North Korea seizes the Pueblo, the Mexico City Summer Olympics (Bob Beamon, John Carlos and Tommie Smith, Dick Fosbury), the Grenoble Winter Olympics (Peggy Fleming, Jean-Claude Killy), the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, the USSR invades Czechoslovakia, the turbulent Democratic convention in Chicago, Jackie Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis, Tigers beat the Cardinals, movie ratings system begins, Apollo 8 orbits the moon for the first time, and the Paris Peace Talks begin. It’s hard to top that.

But 2004 was no slouch. Here’s my list of major, or notorious, events in 2004 (in no particular order).

  • The US Presidential election, and the discussion of moral values.
  • Reagan dies.
  • The Red Sox win.
  • The Madrid train bombings.
  • Dan Rather leaves amid controversy.
  • The Passion of the Christ movie and controversies.
  • Terrorists take over a Russian school.
  • Three hurricanes hit Florida.
  • The Summer Olympics‚ÄîMichael Phelps, Paul Hamm, the USA men’s hoopsters.
  • The Pistons-Pacers brawl.
  • Gay marriage legalized in Massachusetts.
  • The Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq.
  • Goodbye Yasser Arafat. We promise not to miss you.
  • The world horrified by the beheadings in Iraq.
  • The Janet Jackson Super Bowl flap.
  • Pat Tillman killed in action.
  • Billy Graham’s last crusade (probably).
  • The controversy over Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” movie.
  • “The Return of the King” wins a record number of Oscars, including every one for which it was nominated.
  • Martha Stewart goes to jail, Scott Peterson is convicted, Kobe and O’Reilly settle out of court.
  • And finally, the monster disaster of our lifetime: the tsunami. That was the real capper.

That’s a pretty impressive list. It at least gives 1968 a good run for the money as the most eventful year of my lifetime. And I haven’t even mentioned Britney’s two weddings and Julia’s twins.

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