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Guest column: Christmas Meditation 2014

Posted at 9:51 am December 24, 2014
By Craig Kallio Leave a Comment

Christmas is the time of year when we think about giving and receiving. For many, the giving part comes rather easily. Indeed, we are reminded how blessed it is to give than receive. But this morning, I want to share how it’s sometimes difficult to be on the receiving end.

One summer when I was a young lad, I attended a day camp, which included horseback riding among its assorted activities. Learning to ride horses for the very first time was very exciting, but it was diminished as I discovered how unkind the instructors (college students from the local college) were to me. I never understood why.

My way of dealing with it was to keep to myself and suffer through the perceived rejection.

One day, I accidently slammed my finger in the door of a truck used to haul us around. It hurt terribly, but I resisted the notion to report it to somebody. My thought was: “Who would care that I smashed my finger?” It was unusually hard for me to ask for help in this particular instance.

Eventually, the pain became so intense I broke down and asked for help. And when I did, I discovered the most remarkable thing: The people I thought didn’t care about me were eager to help me with my dilemma. Their compassion was amazing. Their love for me was evidenced in their care and concern for my injury. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: Bethlehem, Christmas, Christmas Meditation, Christmas story, Craig M. Kallio, gift, gift of love, giving, God, God of Israel, God's gift, God's son, Herod, Mary, Messiah, mother of Jesus, receiving, salvation, Savior, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Faith: Rev. Kallio explains cremation in the Episcopal Church

Posted at 10:54 pm September 10, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Craig Kallio

Craig M. Kallio

Editor’s note: After the Saturday funeral for Bill Wilcox, I asked the Rev. Craig M. Kallio of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church a few questions about Wilcox’s cremation and burial in St. Stephen’s Memorial Garden. 

Here is his response to my question about cremation, and Wilcox’s burial in a handmade linen bag tied with a hand-knotted cord. 

Kallio: Bill was cremated and interred in our Memorial Garden. This burial option has become more popular among Episcopalians within the last 20 years, though the custom is quite ancient.

One reason for opting to use cremation is that of being good stewards. It takes into consideration the simplicity and cost. Rather than going with an elaborate funeral, our resources are better used elsewhere. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: ashes, Bill Wilcox, burial, Craig M. Kallio, cremation, Episcoplians, pall, Paschal, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, St. Stephen’s Memorial Garden

Wilcox never gave up on plan to preserve K-25 history, former DOE manager says

Posted at 7:20 pm September 8, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

K-25 Building Aerial View

Now mostly demolished, the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building is pictured above. Bill Wilcox, a former technical director at K-25 and the Y-12 National Security Complex, led the fight to preserve K-25’s history. Wilcox died Monday, Sept. 2, and his funeral was Saturday. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy)

The fight to preserve the history of the K-25 site in west Oak Ridge was long and arduous. Among the challenges were federal funding battles and deteriorated building conditions.

Other people might have considered the dilapidated K-25 Building, once the world’s largest building under one roof, a “useless hulk,” one friend and colleague said. But historic preservationist Bill Wilcox, who died Monday evening, never gave up on his dream of honoring the site’s history.

Now mostly demolished, the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building was erected as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. That was a federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. But the four-story building has been shut down since 1964 and fallen into disrepair, and the U.S. Department of Energy is converting the site into a massive industrial park and demolishing many of the original buildings. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge Office, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Alexander Inn, atomic bombs, Atomic Heritage Foundation, Bill Wilcox, Cindy Kelly, Cold War, Craig M. Kallio, D. Ray Smith, DOE, Ed Westcott, Gerald Boyd, Gordon Fee, Hanford, history, K-25, K-25 Building, Los Alamos, Manhattan Project, Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Mercury Task Force, National Park Service, north end, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Office, Partnership for K-25 Preservation, PKP, Pollard Auditorium, Secret City Commemorative Walk, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, St. Stephen’s Memorial Garden, U.S. Department of Energy, World War II, Y-12 National Security Complex

Faith column: This ‘High Tech…Low Touch’ world of ours

Posted at 12:11 pm April 14, 2013
By Craig Kallio Leave a Comment

Occasionally while holding our grandson in my lap as he begins to drift off to sleep, he will look up into my face with all the inquisitiveness of any four-year-old. Slowly and gently, he will reach upward to touch my nose, lips, and eyebrows and with his tiny fingers begin to explore what to him must seem like a vast terrain of the unknown. My eyes follow his, and then unexpectedly I begin to experience the kind of bonding that develops when one gazes intently into the face of another. This small gesture of a child touched my soul in a way I didn’t anticipate, much different than, for instance, shaking someone’s hand, even of family and friends.

A book came out some 30 years ago called “Megatrends,” which predicted a major shift in the world, in one instance characteristically described as “high tech…low touch.” The more technologically advanced we are, the less is our interpersonal connectedness. We see evidence of this today in our relationships with one another, especially in the fracturing of the traditional family and the steady decline of meaningful interaction within households. This brings to mind how important it was for Jesus to gather his disciples around a table and be able to look into the faces of those whom he loved dearly. The next time we gather with family and friends around the table, take a moment to gaze into the faces of those around us. There is something magical and perhaps even mystical about what happens to us when we are intently focused on the face of another, especially when we remember it is one shaped in God’s own image.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: bonding, Christ, Craig M. Kallio, Easter, family, God, high tech, interaction, Jesus, low touch, Mary Magdalene, Megatrends, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Faith column: For the time being

Posted at 10:00 am January 27, 2013
By Craig Kallio Leave a Comment

For many of us, it is emotionally challenging to move on from those momentous occasions which have gifted us with abundant joy, especially the celebration of Christmas. The warm and joyous presence of family and friends, unfortunately, fades quickly.

Just the other day, I passed a large pile of discarded Christmas trees waiting to be picked up, fodder for the fire or chipper. It brought to mind something we all face every year at this time: How does one come down from the glorious celebration of Christmas? The question, though, is really about the transition we all must make when, in the afterglow, we find ourselves landed squarely in all the drabness of the anticlimax of Christmas.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: Christmas, Craig M. Kallio, God, Holy Family, ordinary life, Season of Epiphany, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, The Time Being, transition, W.H. Auden

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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