Yes, Minnesnowta is apt, except for the last two winters, Nancy. I am hoping for a lot more snow. Not the bitter January cold that Rev. Joe mentioned, but piles of snow. I enjoyed reading Reverend Joe’s letter and thank you for typing it out for us. What a wonderful way to face those who are difficult – to quietly pray and thank God for what we’ve been given. And to pray for those people too. Very easy in theory. Ha. God bless your weekend, dear Nancy. xoxo

Dear Members and Friends,

Everything is relative, isn’t it? Amazing to me that all of the weather reports give today’s temperatures and then remind us of how much above or below average that day’s statistics are, what and when the record high and low were for that same day in history, etc.

So, this week, we all were hit with the “coldest temperatures since March”. As everyone else complained about how cold it was I kept saying to myself and others who would listen, “After living in the upper Midwest for 30 years, this is warm.” While serving churches in WI, I could always count on at least one full week of temperatures 30 below zero, usually around the third week of January. By then everyone was so fatigued by the constant cold, meetings were cancelled and no one went anywhere except necessary like work and the grocery store.

Then I moved from” Minnesnowtah” to Arizona. Folks asked me how I could stand that. I’d respond, “an extreme is an extreme. In Minnesota we go from heated house to heated car to heated office. In AZ we go from air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned office. What’s the difference?”

Well, the difference is either what you are used to or what you are willing to put up with. Some folks prefer cold, others prefer hot. It is, after all, relative, isn’t it? Relative to what you prefer, what you are used to, and what you can or cannot do about it.

When I attended a small, liberal arts college in the hills of Pennsylvania in the 60’s during the beginning of the Viet Nam war, I was known as one of the campus liberal radicals because of my pacifist beliefs. Upon graduation I went to a seminary filled with students avoiding the draft who spent most of their nonacademic time protesting the war and blocking traffic on the main thoroughfare between Chicago and the suburbs. I was labelled a traditional conservative for my same views! Had I changed? No. My environment changed and so what I believed and how folks perceived me was determined by the culture I was in and not by what I believed.

A wise pastor I had during my high school years was very fond of J. B. Phillips version of the New Testament. I can still remember him emphatically quoting Romans 12:2 from Phillips in a sermon: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.”

My life experiences which have taken me all over the country in different settings have taught me much about the theory of relativity, as it were. The 1970’s motivational speaker, Morris Massey, made a lot of sense to me when he wrote, “What you are is where you were when.” See, it’s all relative!

Perhaps all my placements of where I was when in my family, my college, my seminary, my churches, my different places I’ve lived have all contributed to my understanding of others and why I am so tolerant (to an extent). I’m grateful for all that others have shown and taught me by their thoughts, deeds and actions. It has kept me humble and open to others. So, when I meet closed minded, non-trusting, hateful others, I quietly pray, thanking God, for all the opportunities I’ve been given and live in hope that someday, somehow, those individuals will be given the same opportunities I’ve been given to put things in perspective.

See you in church,

Rev Joe

Thank you for the alternative outlook, and the loving encouragement, dear Kay. Hugs for you and Alan… xoxo