Oak Ridge Today

Faith column: It all starts here

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The message of humility is foundational to the advancement of the church in this day and age. God is calling His church to take on humility. Humble is the word that we as Christians should want Christ to write over us. As I looked up the meaning of the word humble, I found such definitions as modest, low in rank, not proud, modest opinion of one’s own importance or rank. As I look for a biblical definition, this is what I like, “When you are humble, you are free from pride and arrogance, you know that your flesh is inadequate, yet you also know that you are in Christ.”

2 Timothy 3 says that in the last days men will become proud, arrogant, and boastful. It goes on to say that they also lack the power of God. Could it be that the lack of power in today’s church is because it has lost humility? Could it be that the church has put more importance on education and intelligence and less importance on the infilling and power of the Holy Spirit? [Read more…]

Faith column: Letting pain be pain (Part Two)

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Last month, I wrote about the problem Western civilization seems to have with pain as evidenced by the plethora of outlets we’ve created to avoid it. Central to part one is understanding the paradox of pain: that while pain certainly is no one’s friend, the laws at work on our planet are such that pain is everyone’s friend: Life depends on pain and without it, we wouldn’t be here.

It would be hard to maintain our humanity if we didn’t ask spiritual questions about pain. The Bible is loaded with “heroes” who did this very thing, including Christ himself, who from the cross issued the famous phrase found in Psalms 22: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Questioning in this way is not only natural, but also appears in both the Jewish and Christian texts as an affirmation of our human need to wrestle with the “why” of pain.

I have only one real issue with the questioning of God and pain in our modern world. It comes when a person has rejected the faith life because of the problem of pain and yet, simultaneously, accepts the story of evolution as a beautiful thing, despite the clearly painful history it details. I don’t believe these two world views are mutually exclusive and personally hold to both as examples of beauty rising out of pain. [Read more…]

Camp Creation July 11-12 at First Presbyterian

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This summer, vacation Bible school at First Presbyterian Church for children two years old through rising fifth-grade students will have a new twist.

Called Camp Creation, it’s based on a day camp model and will be offered for two days, July 11 and 12, rather than a few hours each day for five days. [Read more…]

Faith column: ‘My Romance,’ an inspirational worship song

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First I would like to say “Thank You” to Dawn and John Huotari for providing an opportunity for our community to stay informed as well as to interact with each other through oakridgetoday.com. I pray that God will continue to prosper you both for years to come.

Today I would like to invite you to share with me in pondering the greatness of God through this inspirational worship song recorded by Rick Pino and Kari Jobe. You may enjoy the recording and video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZRvo01AE9w.

The lyrics read: [Read more…]

Faith column: A real drought crisis

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A large area of our United States experiences major drought conditions frequently. This is unusual for some of the affected areas. Occasionally, this happens everywhere but when it happens to your territory you react differently. The Bible used the phrase, “It depends on whose ox is getting gored.” We don’t mind if the desert Southwest goes dry, they are used to it! And it’s okay if the Sahara Desert gets a little bigger, nobody important lives there anyway! However, when your grass turns brown or they start water rationing in your neighborhood…then it is a crisis!

Wherever there is a crisis, it affects those around them and larger areas in a ripple effect. If the hay crop is reduced, if the tomatoes don’t bloom, or if the corn withers away, then it hits the farmers first and gradually stores, and finally our own pocketbooks. If people thought Katrina only affected those in Louisiana, they learned in subsequent months just how far-reaching disaster spreads. Just ask your local insurance agent! [Read more…]

Faith column: Storm thoughts

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As I write this, the death count is 24, happily down from 91, following the massive EF5 tornado that recently ripped through Moore, Okla. Since I used to live in that state, and traveled through that area of Oklahoma City, the video of the devastation was of places I recognized. I mourn the loss of life, the property damage, and the disruption of the lives of those who survived.

Natural calamities like this prompt many questions, many of which cannot be answered, but some of those questions reveal some of our faulty thinking as well. No one can say why God allowed this disaster; no one can say why one person was spared and another was taken. But the fact that questions like this are even asked assumes that we somehow believe that we have a right to live, or, stated conversely, that God has no right to take our lives before we have had the opportunity to live most of our “three score and ten.” [Read more…]

Faith column: Letting pain be pain (Part One)

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I read a story once about a girl who was born without the ability to feel pain. Normal things like cuts and scrapes would go totally unnoticed. She lacked the ability to tell the difference between cold and hot, or to retract her hand after touching something she shouldn’t have. Apparently, this is an extremely rare condition in humans.

This girl was apparently so immune to pain that her mother and father accidentally burned her in the bathtub when she was a baby and that’s how they discovered she had this condition. The hot water never caused her any discomfort; it never triggered any kind of response. Prior to being diagnosed, her parents had no idea they were hurting her.

As the girl grew older, she had to be constantly looked over. Some days she would show up from playing outside with her friends, bleeding all over her clothes but totally unaware that she had been injured. She spent weeks covered in terrible bruises that she never knew she’d received. [Read more…]

‘Classical June’ at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church starts Sunday

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Submitted

Always seeking to further the art and appreciation of classical music, Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church Director of Music Wendel Werner has announced that during the month of June various classical pieces will be the featured music during the 10 a.m. Sunday worship services. Everyone is invited to attend. ORUUC is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Featured on June 2 will be a performance of “The Flower Duet” from Léo Delibes’ opera Lakmé sung by Saffron Mills and Anne Scott. On June 19, featured pieces by Schubert and Mozart will be sung by Saffron Mills. Services on June 16 and 23 will feature classical pieces played by Charlotte Bowers and will include some four-hands music played by Charlotte and her mother. On June 30, the feature pieces will be by Bach, Schumann, and Copland sung by Marti Messer. [Read more…]

Musicians to perform as coffeehouse opens second season Friday

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Sumner Byrne

Sumner Byrne

Guitars have been tuned, harmonies rehearsed and dance steps practiced in preparation for Friday’s opening of the second season of the Coffeehouse at First Presbyterian Church. The coffeehouse was started by college students last summer as a musical venue to enjoy together while raising funds for the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge.

“We had no idea how much fun the coffeehouse events were going to be when we started last year,” said organizer Sumner Byrne, a college student at George Washington University. “It became clear that the young adult crowd needed a place to hang out, listen to some great music, and reconnect with friends who are normally away at school. [Read more…]

Faith column: Strategy in prayer

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Everything that is successful usually has a strategy. What I mean is that for us to have any realistic expectations for an endeavor to be even remotely successful, we need to have a strategy. We need to have a plan.

We would not expect to start a new business without a strategy. We have a strategy for how we raise our children, how we work in our careers, how we run our finances, and for anything and everything that we consider important. If we want to succeed in it—we have a plan of action or a strategy for it.

If the above is true, and it is, why don’t we have a strategy for prayer? Why don’t we have a strategy for the most important activity that we can participate in? Why don’t we have an action plan for our prayer life? [Read more…]

Faith column: An attitude of gratitude

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Ephesians 5:21-33

When was the last time you said—“Thank You”?

When was the last time you said—“Please”?

When you introduce your spouse…How do you do it?

With…enthusiasm,

embarrassment,

appreciation,

a joke—

with love.

When you talk about your church, how does it sound? Are you ready to invite someone? Are you hesitant because your church doesn’t have a particular building or music? Do you hold back because you do not attend church very regularly yourself?

When you talk politics or city government, do you appear distraught? Are you constantly griping about the way things are in the world today? Are you still upset that you have not won the lottery!? [Read more…]

Ruth Queen Smith the featured speaker at Women’s Interfaith Dialogue today

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Ruth Queen Smith

Ruth Queen Smith

Ruth Queen Smith will be the featured speaker at a afternoon meeting today of the Women’s Interfaith Dialogue of Oak Ridge.

Her talk, titled “Ruth, Miriam and the Woman at the Well,” will focus on these prominent women, and how the cultural differences of all three are reflected in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Smith is a pastoral associate at John XXIII University Parish. [Read more…]