Second Church Steps

My mother always had a Green thumb... My mother has lived with me for about a year and a half now.   I have tried several ways of easing her path and making her feel at home.   Family photos are on the walls.  Favorite foods are clustered at easy reach.   Treasured furniture passed down from my grandmother is scattered around the house.   Coffee in the morning, ice cream sandwiches at night are both  f avorite things.   Many of the things I remember from our homes growing up are there.  However, it was not until we had a window full of plants that it looked like “our home” instead of “mine.” You see, growing up it was never what we had; it was always what we did.   We ate family dinners. We attended church together. We sat up at night in pjs watching White Christmas (the movie) each December.   We always had some kind of sporting event on the tv. We argued about politics.   We fought about justice issues.   My mother smocked our dresses and sewed our raincoats. My mother

It doesn't matter if it is in a restaurant, at work, at home, or just about anywhere.  If you ask me, "Do you need anything?" I am probably going to respond, "World Peace." I figure the ONE time I don't ask will be the ONE time we could get it. Well, we could all use a little more peace these days. This past Spring, I was in a meeting and gave my usual respond, "World Peace." The person asking was taken aback and asked, "What do you mean by, 'World Peace'?" I have thought about this alot. Thanks to Eden Theological Seminary and Joretta Marshall in particular, I was prepared with an answer. My quick answer, "Peace is persistent relatedness in the face of a disconnect," raised more questions.  The easier answer would have been, "Shalom." At the risk of hearing from every academic library class participant I ever taught, I will use the Wikipedia definition of "Shalom." There are many, but I would