Category Religion
Cultural Differences IX – Holidays
It was Friday night, getting late, and our hostess casually mentioned, “of course, tomorrow is a holiday.” Nobody told me. I knew Saturday was January 6. I knew in the church calendar that is Epiphany, the dated celebrated for the arrival of the Magi. But I’m from Canada; it never occurred to me that the […]
Christmas Penguins?
It’s Christmas Eve, also the fourth Sunday of the 2017 Advent season. As I have done the past couple of Sundays, I am featuring a nativity set today. Two of them. I thought about saving one of these for Advent 2018, but I suspect I’ll find other ones to share with you next year. They […]
The Third Sunday of Advent
Last Sunday I showed you some pictures of a nativity set that has been in my wife’s family since 1925. Today more nativity set photos, from an older and larger set. If I read the sign correctly (which is debatable since my German is still practically non-existent), this set in the City Museum in Lippstadt […]
The Nativity Set
Today is the second Sunday of the Advent season, the day we light the second candle on the Advent wreath. I should be able to tell you what that candle signifies, but I can’t off the top of my head. When I was growing up my family didn’t do anything special for Advent. Probably had […]
Stones of Remembrance
I wish I had brought a stone with me, but I didn’t know. As a small town, Sulzburg has few tourist attractions besides fresh air and hiking trails. However, it is known for its synagogue and Jewish cemetery, both no longer in use. Well, the cemetery is still there. So is the synagogue. It is […]
Only in Canada?
The Prime Minister is being slammed by the Leader of the Opposition because he won’t ask the Governor General to apologize for controversial comments. Welcome to Canada. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer says the Prime Minister has offended millions of Canadians by praising comments the GG made last week about scientific knowledge and religious belief. If […]
Reformation Day
I’m going to miss it, and 500th anniversaries don’t come around very often. When I first learned that I would be moving to Germany this fall, one of my first thoughts was “I can go to Wittenberg for the 500th anniversary celebrations of Luther’s 95 Theses!” Turns out I can’t after all. The new job […]
Another Death In The Rock and Roll Family
When I saw Tom Petty perform in July it never occurred to me I was witnessing one of his last shows. The news of his death of cardiac failure earlier this week was a shock. I know there is a generation of performers who are aging and not likely to be with us much longer. […]
The Church Down The Street
Went wandering through downtown Sulzburg last week. There’s an apartment there I wanted to look at, a possible place to live for the next few years, so it seemed to make sense to check out what the town is like. I hesitate to use the word quaint, but it did seem like the quintessential German […]
The Lesson
I downloaded this the same February day in 1998 that I discovered yesterday’s post. At times I do wonder just how much of Jesus’ teaching his followers really understood when they first heard it. So much of it went against the cultural norm (something that remains true for Jesus’ words today. This version of the […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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