Over the last ten or so years I have wondered why we see less men attending church. This morning I put the question to my Pastor, who also happens to be my husband, none the less he is my Pastor. Why are men less likely to be faithful attenders to Church services, and why are our services predominantly female? Do men not recognise their need for Christ in their lives?
We would say there is no easy answer to these questions but maybe the answer that my Pastor gave me is the simple answer which should make us sit up and listen. The first answer that obviously comes to mind is that as our congregations age they do become predominantly female as women live longer than men. But, and a big but, this is too simple of an answer. It also becomes an excuse and we do not delve any deeper into the question.
My Pastor believes that we have feminised God. What does he mean by that? So much of Christendom has become about feelings, you know the touchy, feely, stuff. Many written Bible Studies are more about us and what we have or have not done and should do. Are we acting like the people we find in the Bible who we often show to be wonderful role models? Are we reaching out in understanding and love? The 'love' that is so often put out there in Christendom is the touchy feely type of love. The type of 'love' that women understand, but what of the men?
Take a look at contemporary Christian music that has flooded the markets and our Christendom homes in the past few decades. Are they not more like love songs to and about Jesus or God? Don't they talk more as if our Triune God is our boyfriend? As a woman I can understand these lyrics but are they relevant to who our Triune God truly is?
Now lets return to the males of our species. We women know men truly do not understand our touchy feely actions and talk. They just don't get it! But have we not made our Lord and Saviour into a touchy feely person? We talk of a loving God but only in the essence of our feminine understanding. We don't show God as a Judge who hates our sin and cannot have us in His presence, unless we are robed with the Righteousness of Christ. This does not reflect a touchy feely God!
So the next question has to be; how do we return our teachings and actions to reflect our Triune God as he truly is? How do we turn the tables to show Jesus Christ and Him crucified for us and taking the punishment that we deserve from being a touchy feely type of person to a God understood and relevant to men. We so want God to be accessible, to be our friend, that we have placed Him out of reach to the average man, God is no longer relevant or understandable or recognisable as needed their lives.
No the answer is not so simple as an aging population which has become predominantly female but one of placing God out of reach for the male side of creation, making Him no longer relevant to them, because men do not understand touchy feely!
Thursday 26 February 2009
Tuesday 24 February 2009
Lent
Today is Shrove Tuesday but unlike other churches and organizations Redeemer Lutheran Church does not have a Pancake supper on Shrove Tuesday. We begin Lent with a Pancake Supper on Ash Wednesday. Pancake Supper at 5:00 p.m. and then Ash Wednesday Service at 7:00 p.m.
The congregation place a advertisement in the Monday "What's On" Section of the PA Herald. Our insert for this week reads Ash Wednesday pancake supper Feb. 25, 5-6:30 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church... Each Wednesday during Lent the Ladies provide a soup and bun supper before the service.
What really made me chuckle was the insert for the following weeks of Lent.
I believe this could be included into the Church bloopers that we so often read in those various emails that circulate.
The congregation place a advertisement in the Monday "What's On" Section of the PA Herald. Our insert for this week reads Ash Wednesday pancake supper Feb. 25, 5-6:30 p.m. at Redeemer Lutheran Church... Each Wednesday during Lent the Ladies provide a soup and bun supper before the service.
What really made me chuckle was the insert for the following weeks of Lent.
I believe this could be included into the Church bloopers that we so often read in those various emails that circulate.
Our New Church Home
Redeemer Lutheran Church, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
December 14th InstallationThe day of Richard's installation was very cold and only the District President and Circuit Counsellor were there for the Service. This is the official after service picture.
February 2nd; Golden Agers!Richard qualifies for the Golden Agers because he is the Pastor; I qualify because... well... I'm old enough. This is the 2nd Golden Agers we have attended. Golden Agers is the first Monday afternoon of each month and February the theme was 'Hawaiian'. Richard and I came dressed for the occasion, here we are arriving for our afternoon of fun.
They play games and this is Pastor's favourite, Crokanol. I do believe he won. Gerdie and Rowland also in this picture were our kind hosts when we arrived officially in PA, we stayed with them until our furniture arrived.
And here I am playing Kaiser. I'm not a very good card player but it is all in good fun. The ladies tease me a little because I don't play very well. We also had a light snack of Hawaiian punch, mixed fruit and various other finger foods. It was a great afternoon. I'm actually enjoying being part of the Golden Agers Group.Wednesday 11 February 2009
Meeting New People
On Monday I finally had a well earned massage. Knowing how beneficial a massage is to my mobility I can't believe I have not had one for two years. The only reason I can give for not keeping up a regular routine is just that I worked full-time and once home it was hard to get me to go out again. Not a very satisfying excuse I must admit. It seems the older I get the less I want to do out of the house. Which is really stupid on my part because I'm a strong extrovert and keep my batteries charged by being around other people.
When I've been out visiting I come home full of energy and ready for anything; but yet I find myself reluctant to go out on my own. I leave Richard to run the majority of the errands preferring not to bother.
Another thing I have noticed over the last few years is my reluctance to get involved in things. Yet new is good considering we have moved from Edmonton, AB to MacNutt, SK to Nipigon, ON and now Prince Albert, SK all since 1999.
When we moved to MacNutt I made every effort to make friends with people in the area. I made of point of going to their homes for coffee and meeting at the local coffee house at least once or twice a week. I was active and made lots of new friends. That was the last time I have made such an effort. In Nipigon it was a whole new kettle of fish. It seemed people weren't as forth coming and the dropping in at each other's homes didn't seem to be the thing to do. Then I began working full-time so it took me out of the loop completely. Slowly over the next four and a half years I became more and more a recluse.
Now here we are in a new location with a chance to start afresh and make new friends, but I'm reluctant to venture out on my own. I have a good excuse, Richard takes the car every morning to the church so I don't have any wheels. I can't use that excuse in the afternoon and I more often than not tell Richard no I won't go shopping with him I'll just stay home. I've become afraid to venture out on my own to make new friends.
I always thought I made friends easy and that I was a likable person, that I was easy going, but maybe I'm not who I thought I was. Maybe I've always struggled but never really noticed because when your young you don't think about these things. Then the children come along and you have something in common with the other mothers and neighbours and life is busy. Then the children are gone and you have to make the effort to make friends. It's easy when you work because then you have co-workers and the need to be around others is taken care of by work interactions. Of course if you stay in one place for most of your life then you do retain the friends you made over the various stages of that life, but that hasn't been an option for me.
When I emigrated to Canada I had to start afresh making new friends, but it was not difficult because at first I worked, then I had the children. It is moving now when you have an empty nest that the struggle starts. Three and a half years in one location then you move and you spend five years there and now here I am once more in a new place. I must admit I'm running scared. Will people really like me? Do they want to be my friend? Should I work and make friends that way? Should I insist Richard walk to work and leave me the car?
It's so much easier just to stay at home. I'm not going to get hurt that way, or am I? I've made the first step, I now have a regular scheduled massage appointment every two weeks. It's a new beginning.
When I've been out visiting I come home full of energy and ready for anything; but yet I find myself reluctant to go out on my own. I leave Richard to run the majority of the errands preferring not to bother.
Another thing I have noticed over the last few years is my reluctance to get involved in things. Yet new is good considering we have moved from Edmonton, AB to MacNutt, SK to Nipigon, ON and now Prince Albert, SK all since 1999.
When we moved to MacNutt I made every effort to make friends with people in the area. I made of point of going to their homes for coffee and meeting at the local coffee house at least once or twice a week. I was active and made lots of new friends. That was the last time I have made such an effort. In Nipigon it was a whole new kettle of fish. It seemed people weren't as forth coming and the dropping in at each other's homes didn't seem to be the thing to do. Then I began working full-time so it took me out of the loop completely. Slowly over the next four and a half years I became more and more a recluse.
Now here we are in a new location with a chance to start afresh and make new friends, but I'm reluctant to venture out on my own. I have a good excuse, Richard takes the car every morning to the church so I don't have any wheels. I can't use that excuse in the afternoon and I more often than not tell Richard no I won't go shopping with him I'll just stay home. I've become afraid to venture out on my own to make new friends.
I always thought I made friends easy and that I was a likable person, that I was easy going, but maybe I'm not who I thought I was. Maybe I've always struggled but never really noticed because when your young you don't think about these things. Then the children come along and you have something in common with the other mothers and neighbours and life is busy. Then the children are gone and you have to make the effort to make friends. It's easy when you work because then you have co-workers and the need to be around others is taken care of by work interactions. Of course if you stay in one place for most of your life then you do retain the friends you made over the various stages of that life, but that hasn't been an option for me.
When I emigrated to Canada I had to start afresh making new friends, but it was not difficult because at first I worked, then I had the children. It is moving now when you have an empty nest that the struggle starts. Three and a half years in one location then you move and you spend five years there and now here I am once more in a new place. I must admit I'm running scared. Will people really like me? Do they want to be my friend? Should I work and make friends that way? Should I insist Richard walk to work and leave me the car?
It's so much easier just to stay at home. I'm not going to get hurt that way, or am I? I've made the first step, I now have a regular scheduled massage appointment every two weeks. It's a new beginning.
Friday 6 February 2009
First Official Visitors
Wednesday evening we did our first entertaining in our new home. Many have been in the house before we moved in. Not to forget Lloyd and Neal who have been back and forth doing various repairs in the house. This would be the first chance for anyone to see the house transformed into a home.
On Sunday I made a point of inviting Pat and Merv over to visit with us before they head for holidays. Wednesday was the night chosen. I spent the day cleaning floors, dusting and picking up items that were in the wrong place. Of course as usual I did more than I should and by early evening had a migraine. Richard suggested cancelling but I said no. I took medication and hoped that it would keep the migraine under control. I'm so very glad that I chose to suffer through the pain as getting Merv and Pat's reaction on our home was great.
If you remember from our post in November when we were house hunting here in Prince Albert, Pat and Merv came with us to view this house, being about the third or fourth time we had been to see it. They were not happy with our choice, they pointed out how filthy it was and small and old, but we could see beyong that and our minds were made up.
So here we are the first week of February two months later. They were shocked on the transformation. Pat said they could now see what we were seeing through all the filth. Her first impression was how inviting the house was as they walked in. The next impression was how spacious it appear even with all our stuff, and as Pat said, we have a lot of stuff.
They took the tour and at each new view they were shocked. The colour I had chosen for the stairwell worked they were impressed at what a great choice it turned out to be. All the pictures up the stairs worked as a gallery of family shots. The orange room, now blue, was so much bigger looking and clean. Even the paneling on the other two rooms worked by giving a rustic look and feel to them. They thought we had painted more areas and rooms than we actually had which goes to show what a great job the ladies had done cleaning the house.
It is great to have new friends and to have them now see the vision we had when we first viewed this old and dirty house. Making friends can be hard but I feel that Pat and Merv will be regular visitors to our home and we to theirs. We are now planning our Open House for the church members and those who worked on the house before we moved so they can see the transformation of a dirty house to being a clean home.
On Sunday I made a point of inviting Pat and Merv over to visit with us before they head for holidays. Wednesday was the night chosen. I spent the day cleaning floors, dusting and picking up items that were in the wrong place. Of course as usual I did more than I should and by early evening had a migraine. Richard suggested cancelling but I said no. I took medication and hoped that it would keep the migraine under control. I'm so very glad that I chose to suffer through the pain as getting Merv and Pat's reaction on our home was great.
If you remember from our post in November when we were house hunting here in Prince Albert, Pat and Merv came with us to view this house, being about the third or fourth time we had been to see it. They were not happy with our choice, they pointed out how filthy it was and small and old, but we could see beyong that and our minds were made up.
So here we are the first week of February two months later. They were shocked on the transformation. Pat said they could now see what we were seeing through all the filth. Her first impression was how inviting the house was as they walked in. The next impression was how spacious it appear even with all our stuff, and as Pat said, we have a lot of stuff.
They took the tour and at each new view they were shocked. The colour I had chosen for the stairwell worked they were impressed at what a great choice it turned out to be. All the pictures up the stairs worked as a gallery of family shots. The orange room, now blue, was so much bigger looking and clean. Even the paneling on the other two rooms worked by giving a rustic look and feel to them. They thought we had painted more areas and rooms than we actually had which goes to show what a great job the ladies had done cleaning the house.
It is great to have new friends and to have them now see the vision we had when we first viewed this old and dirty house. Making friends can be hard but I feel that Pat and Merv will be regular visitors to our home and we to theirs. We are now planning our Open House for the church members and those who worked on the house before we moved so they can see the transformation of a dirty house to being a clean home.
Sunday 1 February 2009
BOXALL Genealogy
This week I've been pondering on one particular BOXALL line. Of course it involves several generations with William as the first name. As you know the further back you travel in the family the harder it becomes to make a definitive choice of who married who. With only Parish Registers to go by and Wills there is little to help with the average family in England in the mid-1700's.
Charles BOXALL b. 1818 to William BOXALL and Ann SIMMONS is the last generation that give enough clues to say who he married, and that his first wife had died and he married again. We have not only the GRO Index but we also have Census Data that can be reviewed to work out who his wives were and what children they had.
The problem lies in working back from their his parents; William BOXALL and Ann SIMMONS were also not too difficult to work-out using Census data from 1841 - 1861 that tell us that William was born about 1774 in Kirdford, Sussex. His wife was Ann ? who was born in West Clandon, Surrey, about 1783. There was no marriage to find for them in Kirdford so next stop was West Clandon, Surrey. There we find a marriage for William BOXALL marrying an Ann SIMMONS in August 1804. From Census information we find the names of some of their children; and we check the transcripts of the parish registers to find any others that may have left home prior to 1841, this being the first useful Census in England.
So here we have William BOXALL born some time around 1774 in Kirdford, Sussex checking the transcripts of the Kirdford parish registers we find a William BOXALL baptized 12 Nov 1774 to William BOXALL and Elizabeth ?. After checking for other children it was then time to find out who Elizabeth was. At this stage things are fairly straight forward; there is a marriage between William BOXALL and Elizabeth MARSHALL on 1 June 1773 in Kirdford. They were not alive to be included in the 1841 census. All we have to work from are the transcribed parish registers. There are no other William and Elizabeth unions in Kirdford and at this point in time no other William and Elizabeth's producing children.
So what do we know about this William BOXALL that will help us move another generation back. First a review of the information we know about the family. Charles was a Carpenter and his father William was a carpenter. This quite often is an indicator that William's father may be a carpenter. Which would mean an apprenticeship so before William could marry Elizabeth he would have served an apprenticeship, therefore he probably would not have married at least before he was 21. This would put his birth date to at least 1752 or earlier. We have nothing that indicates what trade the various individuals had; there do not appear to be Wills for a William BOXALL that throw further light; all we have are the transcribed parish registers.
For this family I have remained looking in Kirdford for a suitable baptism other than a William baptized 1748 son of another William and Elizabeth. Using the Sussex Marriage Index we have a little information on a marriage that took place in September 1778 at Petworth, Sussex by License. The license tells us that William had only been in the parish of Petworth for three years, that he was a manservant and 31 years of age. This means that he was born about 1747.
We need a William BOXALL born at least prior to 1752 we have a William born 1748 in Kirdford, Sussex. Who is the most likely candidate for the William we are looking for but when I review my files I find that I have linked this William to the marriage that happened in Petworth. The trouble is there are two other William BOXALLs that fit the time line for this marriage. William BOXALL baptized 1746 in Lurgashall and William BOXALL baptized 1748 in Lurgashall. This is where we hit the proverbial brick-wall until another piece of information can be found.
If I am correct that the family have remained carpenters then we will need a directory of Kirdford during that time to show us if there were BOXALL carpenters living and if they have the name William. So I shall leave our William BOXALLs for another day and move on to the next challenge in my BOXALL One Name Study.
Charles BOXALL b. 1818 to William BOXALL and Ann SIMMONS is the last generation that give enough clues to say who he married, and that his first wife had died and he married again. We have not only the GRO Index but we also have Census Data that can be reviewed to work out who his wives were and what children they had.
The problem lies in working back from their his parents; William BOXALL and Ann SIMMONS were also not too difficult to work-out using Census data from 1841 - 1861 that tell us that William was born about 1774 in Kirdford, Sussex. His wife was Ann ? who was born in West Clandon, Surrey, about 1783. There was no marriage to find for them in Kirdford so next stop was West Clandon, Surrey. There we find a marriage for William BOXALL marrying an Ann SIMMONS in August 1804. From Census information we find the names of some of their children; and we check the transcripts of the parish registers to find any others that may have left home prior to 1841, this being the first useful Census in England.
So here we have William BOXALL born some time around 1774 in Kirdford, Sussex checking the transcripts of the Kirdford parish registers we find a William BOXALL baptized 12 Nov 1774 to William BOXALL and Elizabeth ?. After checking for other children it was then time to find out who Elizabeth was. At this stage things are fairly straight forward; there is a marriage between William BOXALL and Elizabeth MARSHALL on 1 June 1773 in Kirdford. They were not alive to be included in the 1841 census. All we have to work from are the transcribed parish registers. There are no other William and Elizabeth unions in Kirdford and at this point in time no other William and Elizabeth's producing children.
So what do we know about this William BOXALL that will help us move another generation back. First a review of the information we know about the family. Charles was a Carpenter and his father William was a carpenter. This quite often is an indicator that William's father may be a carpenter. Which would mean an apprenticeship so before William could marry Elizabeth he would have served an apprenticeship, therefore he probably would not have married at least before he was 21. This would put his birth date to at least 1752 or earlier. We have nothing that indicates what trade the various individuals had; there do not appear to be Wills for a William BOXALL that throw further light; all we have are the transcribed parish registers.
For this family I have remained looking in Kirdford for a suitable baptism other than a William baptized 1748 son of another William and Elizabeth. Using the Sussex Marriage Index we have a little information on a marriage that took place in September 1778 at Petworth, Sussex by License. The license tells us that William had only been in the parish of Petworth for three years, that he was a manservant and 31 years of age. This means that he was born about 1747.
We need a William BOXALL born at least prior to 1752 we have a William born 1748 in Kirdford, Sussex. Who is the most likely candidate for the William we are looking for but when I review my files I find that I have linked this William to the marriage that happened in Petworth. The trouble is there are two other William BOXALLs that fit the time line for this marriage. William BOXALL baptized 1746 in Lurgashall and William BOXALL baptized 1748 in Lurgashall. This is where we hit the proverbial brick-wall until another piece of information can be found.
If I am correct that the family have remained carpenters then we will need a directory of Kirdford during that time to show us if there were BOXALL carpenters living and if they have the name William. So I shall leave our William BOXALLs for another day and move on to the next challenge in my BOXALL One Name Study.
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