serpents & doves

My friend John David E. Thacker is exploring connections between wisdom & gentleness here. Please join me in welcoming John David to the realm of blogs and those who read them!

Annie Zernike



May I present to you the first Mennonite woman in history to be ordained: Annie Zernike. This historic ordination occurred here in the Netherlands in the year 1911. The above portrait of Annie was created by her husband, the painter Jan Mankes.

Christ is Risen Indeed!



A blessed Easter to you all.

I no longer know where I found the above image of Christ-Sophia (or "Wisdom Christ"). My apologies that I cannot give credit where credit is due.

What do you think?

So. What do you think of the blog's new look? If the old template was more pleasing to the eye, I did indeed save it and it's not too late to revert.

Holy Saturday



May the silence of today help us come to terms with yesterday's pain and tomorrow's hope.

Curled and Uncurled



This is what I look like with curly hair.
(Although my curls are a bit longer now.)



This is what I look like with uncurly hair!



Why, you may ask, did my hair uncurl?
You'll just have to ask my hair stylist.
(For those among you who are concerned about the well-being of my curls, fear not. They are alive and well.)

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind

- EMILY DICKINSON

I'm thinking of quoting these exquisite lines in my sermon on Sunday. Maybe it's just me, but these words and this Sunday's gospel reading (John 20:1-18) seem to illuminate one another beautifully...

I wish you all a meaningful Good Friday.

Today I read the following in a commentary on Exodus:

"When this understanding is combined with the source interweaving, the effect is a concatenation of images that, as with most liturgies, do not always sit easily with one another but provide a multifaceted look at the unfathomable divine deliverance."

(Terence E. Fretheim, Interpretation, p. 152)

I have never before heard of or used the word concatenation.
So I had to look it up and share my findings with you.

According to my pals Merriam and Webster:

concatenate
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -nat·ed; -nat·ing:
Definition: to link together in a series or chain
con·cat·e·na·tion (noun)

Crazy, eh? I challenge you all to integrate this word into your daily vocabularies!