Tag Archives: Doctrine & Practice

Today is Ash Wednesday, and Christians across the country know that it signals the start of … Lent Madness?

Next week we'll celebrate Ash Wednesday, which is the practice of putting ashes on the foreheads of penitent believers as a reminder of their physical return to dust (“ashes to ashes”).

Before I knew it, I was in their car, propped in the passenger seat while he drove and she sat silently in the back.  The heat from our bodies filled the car as a stench from somewhere inside us leaked from our pores.  Sweat seeped through my worn t-shirt as I guzzled another gulp from my water jug.

In another post on this website Eric Blauer has shared his struggle with the relationship between violence and faith. If you haven’t read it, please do; it is an important statement.  My own journey has led me to a conclusion that might or might not be different from Eric’s, but it feels to me like it is in the same neighborhood.

Several years ago, a colleague at Pacific Lutheran University and I planned an outing for a group of 300 student leaders. The outing was a scavenger hunt in Downtown Tacoma for a variety of sites — museums, landmarks and social service organizations — in an effort for them to have a better understanding of what the area has to offer.

Last week, our family was treated to dinner at Red Robin. When I arrived with our son, Tito, we had difficulty getting through the entrance. Too many people waiting to be seated. Holding my son’s hand, we made our way up to the hostess. When I mentioned we were there for Make-A-Wish, the sea of bodies parted.