Monthly Archives: September 2022

A presence you can’t picture living without

Posted on September 26, 2022 by maradanto

Let me talk about the earth for a minute. The earth is this big, solid, dependable mass. You can stand on it. You can walk on it. You can jump up and down on it until your stomach has been … Continue reading →

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Church history repeats

Posted on September 16, 2022 by maradanto

About 18 years ago, my wife and I were visiting churches in the area to find one where we would feel comfortable for the long term. It’s a tiring process, as it usually involves returning to places you didn’t particularly … Continue reading →

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Spork at the reception

Posted on September 15, 2022 by maradanto

It’s been four years since I ate wedding cake with this tiny wooden spork, and four years since I stabbed my close, personal Rykie in the eye with it. Much has been spoken of that night during the ensuing years, … Continue reading →

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The church doesn’t model its message

Posted on September 13, 2022 by maradanto

Curious: When’s the last time you ever heard a church dedicate a service to religious or spiritual trauma, especially the sort that they’re responsible for? Strike that, when’s the last time you heard a church acknowledge causing spiritual or religious … Continue reading →

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Dante: Hell and dammit

Posted on September 11, 2022 by maradanto

The saddest place in Dante’s “Inferno,” I think, is the Wood of Suicides in the Seventh Circle. The crulest is the burning desert in the Eighth Circle. There’s an undeniable funereal beauty to Dante’s “Inferno.” The first part of his … Continue reading →

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Pastoral succession at Easton Assembly of God

Posted on September 8, 2022 by maradanto

I note with some passing interest that the church I attended in college recently celebrated the full retirement of the man who served as its lead pastor while I was there. . Pat Webber became the lead pastor of Easton … Continue reading →

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Summer of Monsters: Chronivore

Posted on September 1, 2022 by maradanto

“Teach us to number our days aright,” the psalmist writes. “Our years are but threescore and ten, or 80, if we have the strength. Scripture attributes the puzzling inability to tell the difference between 70 and 80 to Moses, a … Continue reading →

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