new church life: september/october 2016
with appreciation cover-to-cover each time it arrives. (I often don’t even start
at the Announcements in the back!)
I like learning about the featured ministers and find it especially
informative to have their “stories” paired with a sermon they gave. But my
very favorite parts of the Life are your editorials and Life Lines.
In this world where we are so globally connected that we know what
is going on everywhere, the appalling evil and unspeakable sadness can be
overwhelming, especially when we know that it is a horrifying picture of the
hells we must shun in ourselves. Your Life Lines are truly a life line for me.
They help me make sense of this worldly chaos by supporting my cherished
spiritual beliefs with a clear and unapologetic spiritual perspective.
Thank you so much! I hope you are able to continue this essential work
for many years.
With heartfelt gratitude.
Ginny Gladish
Mitchellville, Maryland
Words With Love
To The Editors:
I am commenting on the “Bad Words” and “Newspeak” items (by the Rev.
Walter Orthwein – WEO) in Life Lines, and also “Let Your Light so Shine” (by
Bruce Henderson – BMH), in the July/August 2016 New Church Life:
I totally agree with Walter Orthwein about the bad thoughts, and have
often wondered why swearing has become so prevalent. I take comfort in
knowing that since the Second Coming everything “hangs out” as it were,
rather than being hid. While Victorian mores may have looked fine they often
held a multitude of sins. I heard one Victorian phrase that said it’s OK to have
a mistress as long as nobody finds out, so it was very much about appearances.
As for “Newspeak” I am less concerned about the substitution of different
words. To me the word “relationship” still implies a commitment, and I believe
there are many good things about political correctness. I remember AfricanAmericans and homosexuals being called many derogatory names, and all
of those words carried the weight of disdain and derision. To me politically
correct language could be used to be kind to someone who is different from
you, rather than being just a way to secularize language.
I also do not believe that in this world there are clear definitions of just two
sexes. Things go wrong in the natural body which makes people very mixed
up about which sex they are and which sex they are attracted to. I prefer to err
on the side of kindness, because I know when somebody is living a life that
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