Lonesome Dove: Not the book, not the movie -- but a place for rural pastors, and troubled kids to heal

You've heard of Lonesome Dove. 

When I think of it, there come visions of dusty cattle drives from Texas to Montana, cowboys, gunslingers, outlaws, soiled doves, and Indians that were made iconic of Old West fiction by novelist Larry McMurtry, and the TV mini-series that followed.

But there really is a Lonesome Dove Ranch in Texas, and today it is devoted to two pan-denominational ministries. One of them focuses on worn out, struggling rural pastors and their families, those country ministers who often work fulltime at both "regular" jobs and behind the pulpit . . . and the second, to abused, endangered kids in need of short-term refuge and care.

If one of the last stories I will be doing for AGNews, capping 12 years freelancing for that online news outlet for the Assemblies of God fellowship, I was privileged to share some of the dream of community and pastoral outreach spearheaded by Dallas-area pastor Bryan Jarrett.

Here's a link to the article.  https://news.ag.org/en/News/Rural-Ministry-Matters

HVAC in Utah: Or fire and ice as blessings, or curses, relative to the seasons

It's the little things, sometimes, that make all the difference.

In the hottest, record-setting days of summer, it's air conditioning.

In the coldest, subfreezing nights of winter, it's a working furnace.

We've had to deal with failure of both of these past several months. It took several weeks in late July and early August, when temperatures soared well above 100 degrees (F) and stayed in the 80s overnight, to get our AC system finally fixed.

And so, until it was fixed, we baked. Our "home warranty" insurance covered very little. Oh, so worth the monthly payments, right? Truly, though, the couple grand we had to spend seemed little enough when those first whiffs of cool air flowed from the vents in our condo.

Perspective. Important quality, that . . . whether it concerns a sweaty, sticky neck, or numb, icy toes.

Then in late December and through January, we noticed the temperature in the condo -- regardless of the thermometer setting being nudged upward -- struggled to reach upper-50s or low-60s. Tough on Barbara, my wife, especially. Extra blankets and our two tiny pups helped, but it was still chilly.

At the coldest, I mused, and shivered in the dark of night, imagining the visceral joy our forebearers must have felt huddle around a fire in some dark cave. (Thus the image above, in case you wondered).

So, today, the furnace is back!  Two weeks this time, with different sets of perplexed technicians visiting. Nice fellows, but they couldn't figure it out. Finally, today, they did . . . and we have heat again, along with a chunk of missing drywall over the wall unit where the previous AC-related upgrade installers had managed, somehow, to cut off the flow of hot water that warms our home -- when working properly.

Our HVAC system incorporates the AC unit, outside, when feeds into the condo, and also connects to our hot water heater and furnace. It's supposed to be one efficient, happy holistic system to maintain comfortable temperatures year-round.

So, while the first time the HVAC folks did their thing inside we got stuck with the cost of the drywall patching after the cutting away part was done, this time -- God bless 'em -- the company, taking responsibility for the previous errors, is covering it all . . . the furnace repair, the drywall patching, everything.

I just about to the point of rethinking my cynicism about business ethics in America.

Well, in this case, anyway.
😉

Kyrie Elesion: More than a plea for 'don't beat me,' but for healing of the soul

Any Protestant, especially Evangelicals and Pentecostals, is probably stunned the first time they enter an Orthodox Christian liturgical service by at least two things: veneration of the icons, especially Mary, and the frequent prayer, "Lord have mercy." 

Three years ago, that was me. Doesn't the prayer work the first, tenth or hundredth time, I asked Fr. Justin Havens. 

Soon after, I became a catechumen, was baptized, and learned more about Mary (the Theotokos, or bearer of incarnate Son of God), and what was deeper behind the "Lord have mercy" bit. 

It was not, as I thought, just a groveling version of "don't hit me, I'll be good!" 

I learned that, "Lord Have Mercy" is a rather abrupt and incomplete English translation of "Kyrie Elesion," a Greek expression in which the root from the latter word is "eleos," Greek for olive oil -- used anciently for and associated with healing, as a soothing agent for bruises and minor wounds. (Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? He treated the wounded man with oil, etc.)

And wait, there's more! The Hebrew word also translated as eleos and mercy is "hesed," i.e. "steadfast love."
So really, praying "Kyrie Eleision," or "Lord have mercy" conveys a prayer to God for soothing, comforting, and alleviating our pain, and in so doing, showing us His steadfast love.

That's what I've learned, which puts me at perhaps kindergarten level for understanding the theology of the ancient church. 

At 66, I know I may not make it to "big boy" school in understanding the Faith; thank God, there's Eternity.