Holy Fire and Fiery Monks at the Holy Sepulcher

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is a real interesting place. Built upon the graveyard where the tomb that Jesus' body lay was located, the Church has been around in one form or another for 1,700 years. Burned, torn down and rebuilt many times, the most sacred site in Christendom has survived the test of time, but not  without trouble. Below is a video of the ceremony of the Holy Fire. Done on the night of Good Friday, this ceremony is supposed to be a miracle of God pointing to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, over the centuries it has been criticized by Christians and Muslims as being a cheap parlor trick. Look at the video and decide for yourself.



The video below is of a fight between monks occurring in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The responsibility for the building is divided up between the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church. This is due to many political arrangements carved out over its long existence. Because so many claim control of the building, fights break out on a regular basis. I guess its one big happy Christian family!

 

And of course I must show you a picture of the immovable ladder. Over one hundred years ago a repairman placed this ladder over the entrance to fix the window. A fight broke out over who had the authority do to this. The repairman fled leaving the ladder in the same location to this day. One must assume that the repair work never got done.

Organist Comforts Dying Woman

Below is an excerpt of a church organist who administered CPR and spoke words of comfort to a shooting victim. Please pray for the victim and her family. Also, say a prayer of thanksgiving for this good Samaritan.

"Betsy" asked Stremler, "Do you know how to do CPR?"
 
She did. "Betsy" took Leonidas' pulse and began chest compressions. Stremler, listening to the woman's shallow breathing, grabbed her left hand and told her, "Whoever you are, we are here. You are not alone."
 
Read the Story here…

Raising Awareness or Raising a Circus Tent?

 
Below is an excerpt of a story about a Chicago Pastor who is going to walk across the USA to raise awareness and money for a community center. Last year he spent month on top of a roof for the same reason. My question to you dear friends is this; is this necessary to raise money for a worthy cause? Non-profits do fund raising events like this all of the time, and they work. But my question is, do we have to put on a show to raise money for something worth doing?

Rev. Corey Brooks, the pastor who spent nearly three months atop a South Side motel, left Chicago Monday for his ambitious trek across the U.S.

Brooks aims to use the nearly 3,000-mile walk to increase awareness about violence plaguing Chicago and raise funds for Project H.O.O.D, a community center in the Woodlawn neighborhood.
 
Read the Story…

Ignore the Bloviating Atheists, Being a Minister is Awesome!

 
Strange postings on an Atheist blog. It seems that we ministers are in crises and need help from friendly atheists. No, not really. Most of us ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ are pretty happy with what we do. We live a wonderful life of sharing and caring. We help people when they are suffering. We spend time with people when they are alone. We bring peace to the hearts of our friends when they are troubled. Being a minister is a wonderful life. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.
 
However, it’s not an easy life. Jesus said that those of us who go forth proclaiming the gospel are going to run into trouble. He wasn’t kidding. We ministers face tons of rejection. People come to our churches and our homes and then disappear without a word. We develop close personal relationships with people, who then turn on us when things don’t go their way. Ministers are a lightning rod for the problems that churn up in the hearts of our parishioners. And those problems get dumped upon us. And of course, our imperfections get thrown into the craziness as well. I’ll tell you my friends, being a pastor is a wonderful life, but it ain’t easy.
 
I can’t speak for all ministers, but I can speak for the large majority. We have enthusiastically embraced a movement that is much larger than ourselves. A movement that is much larger than the planet we inhabit. We have embraced the vision of the universal Family of God. An eternity of loving and supportive relationships built upon the foundation of a loving and supportive universal parent. This vision of an eternity in the loving embrace of God and God’s children fires us ministers up. And we want to share that vision and spread it around because we think it is awesome! Our vision is of an eternity of loving God and loving God’s children. And not only do we embrace it, we live it.
 
No one knows what the future holds. None of us know if circumstances force us to change our jobs, or the place where we live. All of us stand at a crossroads, even us ministers. Still, there is one thing I know for sure. No matter what I end up doing, or where I end up living I will always remain a minister of the Good News of Jesus Christ. And that is because living the life of a minister is a life worth living.
 
God bless you,
Pastor Bill

Amazing Grace by Alabaster Box

Alabaster Box is an acapella quartet from Ghana. Happy Friday!