(What follows is a slightly modified version of my Hanging of the Greens meditation.)

Heading home to Atlanta after Thanksgiving, Kathy and I saw two different cars, separated by miles, each with Christmas lights carefully strung to cover the whole body.  It was daytime, so we didn’t get to see them in their glowing (twinkling?) glory, but we were impressed nonetheless (Oh Christmas Car, O Christmas Car, how lovely is your fender).

I’m writing on Election Day with a simple question: How are you holding up? That I should need to ask is itself a sign of today’s anxiety, that we should be so worried, wound up, and wounded within … even before all the votes are cast, much less counted.

From the Kids @ Glenn archive: circa 2019:

If we could all be in touch with our feelings as authentically as a two-year-old, we'd probably have healthier grieving. (Though it may make daily life a bit more awkward when we throw ourselves on the ground in a fit if a Mexican restaurant doesn't serve a hamburger.  Hypothetically.) 

During the last few months, anytime our little guy sees anything that reminds of him of his great-grandfather who died this summer (for example, an American flag like he saw at the funeral), he cocks his head to the side and sweetly says, "Papa. Died.  Saaaaad." Complete with exaggerated sad face.

Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church offers engagement for the mind, nurture for the soul, and training in the practices of the heart for anyone who wishes to attend.  Show me another institution of higher education that reaches higher than the heavens, while serving folks from infancy to infinity.  The church’s goal is lofty—to offer the “breadth and length and height and depth, [that you might] know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, [and] be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19 of our academic catalog).  Mind, heart, and soul—that’s a well-rounded education.

We Christians are strange people in the world.  We care for each other, for strangers, even for enemies.  We offer grace and welcome to all people.  We know that God has proclaimed all creation good; we know that Christ, lifted up, embraces all people. 

Thank you for three wonderful years. Signing off for now!

Do you want to explore God and beauty in a way you have never thought about before or anchor yourself more fully in your United Methodist identity? Well, do I have some deals for you.

"We are one in sorrow. Surely, in humility and hope, we can be one in seeking answers. Those whom pain has brought together, let no one put asunder."

Your pledges and gifts to the Alternative Giving Catalog enable Glenn to continue to support education for children.

We will not forget. We will not lose this day in all the days to come. We stack our stones at the riverside. We were here. 

During the past year, Snack in a backpack has served approximately 400 children a week and distributed more than 16,000 bags of food!

Introducing our new Glenn interns.

When chaos swirls all around, engage your senses.

And though we divide ourselves, it holds us all. 

“What are we going to do today?”

In April 2024, she successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, “Jazz in the Pews: ‘Experiments in Sunday Worship’ in the 1960s,” at the University of Pittsburgh. She will be presenting her research at the Hymn Society conference later this week.

This summer we have recycled 150+ lbs of paint and chemicals, eight boxes of old electronics from the congregation, and joined a clean-up of Burnt Fork Creek.

Warm hearts, cool heads.

What gets you through the mayhem?

One word: “Historic.”