The Practical Parson

 Recently, I was in town.   The town nearest my home is in many ways the epitome of small town America; a town in the shadow of a former manufacturing plant for Tobacco, with a community that isn't the smallest, but where everyone still seems to manage to know most everyone and everything going on in town at a given time.   Indeed, it was even a stop for country music star Justin Moore almost a decade ago when he was on his "Small Town USA" tour.   I have lived here for my entire life, and know intimately the community and many of the people; all good sincere people who have always had a place in my heart.   Judge my shock and dismay as I have borne witness over the last 3 years, as my hometown community has been forced into a situation that I am reliably well-informed, is not unique; given the current political and economic climate of our nation.  There have always been poor people in our community, our Lord himself said "the Poor you h...

  In just under a month, Christians will gather in crowded, candlelit churches on Christmas Eve to celebrate the great feast of our Savior's birth.  Recently, some clergy friends of mine have directed me to an interesting little thing that the Episcopal Church's National Cathedral in DC has decided to do for Christmas Eve this year.   Are they going to bring in the homeless so that they have a warm place to sleep that night?  No. Are they going to actually preach the Christ whom they are obliged to by the book of common prayer?  No. Are they going to charge people to attend Christmas Eve Mass and receive Christ?  YES! You heard that correctly, the National Cathedral in Washington, DC; has decided to CHARGE people to attend a worship service on Christmas Eve.  Now some will defend this move as an attempt to control crowd levels or such; but that goes against the very essence of the Christian faith and the nature of cathedrals themselves.  The ...