By Walter Wood, Jr. I was amazed at the status that dogs seem to enjoy in Europe. First, there were lots of them in the parks, on the streets, in the homes, on the subways, and, of course, all with masters in tow. Many were well-dressed in the latest fashions in collars as well as outerwear. Most had high-tech leashes, that stretched beyond normal leash limits to allow the dogs greater freedom of movement. I was impressed with the dog food sections in the stores-much larger proportion
Seniors
New Ways for New Days
From the pulpit, I scanned the faces of several hundred people who had come to worship. At least that is what I hoped. Several things struck me as I looked over the congregation. One of the most obvious was the diversity of ages.
Three distinct age groups were there; the traditionalists (over 55), the baby boomers (26-45) and the baby busters (under 25). There were couples, fami
Mom Chisholm
By Charles W. Anderson. It was during the early 1920s and she worked in the office of the Sunday School Times. One Monday morning a young doctor, William H. Chisholm, M.D., came into the office to meet with the editor. He noticed Bertha and realized she was the same woman he had seen the previous evening at a Presbyterian church in Philadelphia. He had been introduced to her that night-she was a strikingly beautiful young woman-and now here she was again! Four weeks later they were married and on their way to Korea where they served for many years as mis
Myths, Myopia and Maytags
By Howard Eyrich. A necessary component in understanding aging is the demythologization of our cultural folklore about “old people.” Demythologization is a fancy way of saying that is important to investigate current assumptions about aging in our society and compare them with the facts. Furthermore, it means that our individual and collective behavior must be adjusted to the facts.
Myth One: Elderly people are non-productive.
A common belief is that the elderly neither desire to or are they capable of being productive contributors to society. This myth no doubt has several roots. At least two of these roots society has planted and then harvested the results and created this myth.
Society arbitrarily established an age for retirement when the population was bulging with young people putting upward pressure on the job market. The extension of longevity for the masses was not yet perceived as problems. Retirees began to be viewed as people past this “magic age” of productiveness. Many became non-pro
Old-Age Thoughts at Eighty-Eight
By Matsu Crawford. There’s so much being written and said about us senior citizens, one might begin to think that there is something new in growing. There isn’t. The process of growing old has been going on since the first living thing appeared on Planet Earth. We should look upon it as a natural, inevitable process. We old ones should experience it as playing the last scene in The Pilgrimage Called Life.
The media use us to take up the slack. They must have something to talk about and we are always there. For politicians, we serve as a political football, especially near election time. Doctors look upon us as a decided plus, which we surely are for them. All that modern medicine knows is used to keep us ticking.
Within our own ranks in the American Association of Retired Persons, there are some who wish to consider us as a tremendous union (without labor) able to throw our combined weight about. Those who try to force us into that mold, soon learn that it takes one of strong will and native spunk to reach seventy-five. We think for ourselves and vote accordingly.
Cicero once wrote: “When I consider in my mind, I find four causes why old age is thought to be miserable: the first, it calls us away from transac
In Defense of the Word “Laity”
By Lee Taylor. It never fails! Just at the moment when the world adopts something from the church arena, we back away from it!
Today we back away from the word “laity.” Today the world is using it more and more. My field is data processing. When speaking in terms of that industry, it is not uncommon to refer to data processing laity. These are people who tinker with their PCs on the weekend. Or perhaps they can make a software package they use as accountants jump through hoops. Some are “hackers.”
Some of these people are very, very good and very, very knowledgeable. But they do not make their living in the industry. The logical extension of that is that these people do not invest themselves much in the institutions of the industry.
The church is the Body of Christ. It is many other theological things. In terms of the everyday work-a-day world, the church/parachurch world is also an “industry.” From that perspective, it is not inappropriate for us to be termed laity. We do not make our living in the church/parachurch industry.
That implies that we do not invest ourselves in the visible institutions of the industry, at least not in the sense that clergy does. Like lay people in any field, we have little time for the nuances of “how things are done” in the industry, little patience with the style of politics practiced in church institutions.
Like the computer “hacker,” we are fascinated with what is at the heart of the industry, that central vision. In the church/parachurch industry, that is a vision of Jesus Christ Himself. When we are as obsessed with Him as “hackers” are with their machines, it may make little difference in the institutional church. But what a difference in the world!
“Hackers” have threatened every computer-using institution with computer “viruses.” The laity are out there in the world in every institution spreading Christ-viruses of Gospel, of Sabbath shalom, of godly character, of ethics, of love. We are the laity! May our viruses grow strong for Him!