http://covpubs.org/oon Out of Nowhere is an occasional piece, intentionally daily, but not likely. On Fridays, it picks up a theme from the coming Sunday's propers. Be free to use it as you will. Attribution would be nice. Copyright © 2003-2008 Lane Denson III. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:05:13 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Pentecost 8/9A The Supremes are in the news again. Their latest decision to reach deep into the lives of the people is their interpretation of that eternally challenging second amendment to the Constitution. It is only one sentence long, but in the ways we govern ourselves it seems one of the most ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/07/03/confidence-2/ On the road in beautiful downtown Mayville, NY, at the public library's WiFi: Pent 7/8A (Mt 10.40-42) "Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me" (Mt 10.40). So far as Jesus is concerned, the last thing card-carrying Christians need is a card to carry. If, ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/28/welcome/ My colleague Louie Crew has his moments. With a few of them, he wrote this: "Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. "Well, for example, the other day I went down town and into a shop. I was only there for about 5 ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/23/tickets-2/ A diffidently pleasant 14-year old boy lives in our neighborhood. He attends a prep school. He runs seven miles a day. He is writing a novel and is currently up to 200 pages. It has a scene where a young man who rarely if ever attends church goes, instead, ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/20/counsel/ Pentecost 6/7A 22vi08 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will… Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Mt 10.29,31). There are the pictures at the end of the News Hour with Jim ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/19/for-the-birds/ "If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press." This was Tim Russert's signature for his weekly program of inquiry and truth-telling. He often knew as much or more about his guests than they knew about themselves. This became the consistent and refreshing magnetism that drew not only his program's large audiences, ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/18/tim/ A sign on a parish convalescent home announced, “For the sick and tired of the Episcopal Church.” Underneath hung a smaller one that read, “SRO.” The old church militant has become the new church irritant and probably for all the wrong reasons. Paul Tillich said that the Incarnation is the peculiarly ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/17/less-more/ The personnel department of a head office sent out a letter to all branches requesting a listing of their staff “broken down by age and sex.” One local office replied: “Attached is a list of our staff. We currently have no one broken down by age or sex. However, we ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/16/anecdotally/ John Evangelist, the writer, said that the Word became flesh, full of grace and truth. Toni Morrison, the writer, said that it is language that makes us human. The DNA people take their intriguing double helices and make up a language with only a four-letter alphabet. It's these "words," they say, ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/13/fig-leaves/ “Due to the shortage of trained trumpeters, the end of the world will be postponed.” It was only a graffiti, but being a trumpet player, I took note. I could use a gig, but not that one, thank you. Then, the other day the news reported that a device has been invented ... http://covpubs.org/oon/2008/06/11/taps/