“The day after Christmas, I found myself on a plane for the first time – in between strangers who were not only strangers, but they did not speak my language.”
A Wisconsin foundation sent a cease and desist letter the Union County Board of Commissioners, objecting to Christian prayers opening official meetings.
News about special events at the county's churches.
On Wednesday, I was at Stacks, by favorite local eatery, when I noticed a man coming in. He had what appeared to be dirt on his forehead. Then I saw his wife and several others with cross-shaped smudges on their foreheads. It dawned on me. It's Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I should have known; I was busy getting my remarks together for our Ash Wednesday service later that evening. It moved me to see the public witness of those Christians. They were literally marked for Christ. It made me want to go to an earlier service so I could join them!
Now that Pope Benedict XVI has decided to retire, people are wondering about the last time a pope retired. To get to that we have to go to 1415, and it was not a happy “retirement.”
