random links

Great food for thought on women in minstry over at My True Self.

Aw, shucks. MIxed in with her usual breathtaking wisdom and general kindness, Rachelle has something nice to say about me here. I'm all blush-y. (And now I think I've finally really caught up in reading all the blogs I usually check in on)

Three cheers for Duluth! My hometown, the city of brick mansions and steep hills rising off Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota..a stronghold of blue-collar progressivism mixed with old-fashioned Midwestern patriotism., makes the national news for one man's anti-war effort. (Weirdly, I don't know him. He must be the only DFLer in town I'm not acquainted with. Although, we DID move from there seven years ago. I suppose some new people might have arrived during that time.)

Anthem to Geekiness - Lazy Sunday video from SNL.

A heart rending article from the LA times about a young woman, reunited after 20 years with the woman who was denied the right to adopt her in the 1970's.

A funeral director tries to bring a little much needed humor to his work. And fails.

According to Moneybags, at A Catholic Life, ST JOHN OF THE CROSS has chosen himself to be my patron saint for the year. I'm so mired in protestantism, I'm not sure what this means, but I'm looking for similiarities between the two of us (as per the assignmnent). I've been drawn to the Dark Night of the Soul, since I heard it quoted in a life-changing sermon in 1993 or so, but the quick read I gave it in seminary did not do it justice. Maybe this is my year to really dig in. In doing some cursory research about John himself, I'm impressed so far with his passion for the direct relationship between God and people, which I share. And I hope that in the coming year he will guide me in being courageous, as I think he was, and also in taking risks for my faith, as he did. Well, maybe NOT EXACTLY as he did. I pray this is not my year to go to prison, for example.