EVERYTHING LISTED UNDER: Devotion

By Mary Bridges, chaplainThe first time I saw a mask was in the Mecca Theatre in Russell, Kan., where westerns screened every Saturday. That is where I met my first masked man, the Lone Ranger.The Lone Ranger first appeared in 1933, as the subject of a radio show. It spawned a series of books, movies, a TV show and comic books.The Lone Ranger followed a strict moral code, which I have excerpted below:I believe that:To have a friend, a man must be one.All men are created equal.Everyone has within...

By Mary Bridges, chaplainDoes anyone remember playing “freeze tag” when you were a child? The person who is "it" chases the other kids to try to tag them. When a player is tagged, they must remain frozen in the same position they were in when tagged.

Writing newsletter articles has always been a challenge for me. The biggest problem is there is always a deadline several weeks before they are to be printed. I do not do deadlines very well. My April article focused on Easter, a much-anticipated yearly event. Easter did happen, of course. However, it happened without large crowds of people in their new Easter garb and sanctuaries filled with flowers, friends and beautiful music. Reality found us connected to worship services through various electronic gadgets. The one constant between our plans and our reality is the message of Easter, which is always one of hope for a heartbroken world.

By Mary Bridges, chaplainEaster and the month of April bring back memories of the time I spent as a guest of Hope Lutheran Church in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Those faith-filled people changed me forever. I spent a month immersed in the Palestinian culture and way of life.

By Mary Bridges, chaplainLove is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7When I think of February, love comes to mind.