Opinions

It is unfortunate that our State Representative, Brian Harrison, and Governor Greg Abbott have chosen to push the agenda of providing vouchers to students so vehemently to the point of shaming public school teachers as well as risking the safety of campuses statewide.

I preach against cynicism during the Christmas season. And then, shortly thereafter, I fall victim to it. After receiving more than my fair share of Christmas cards this year--which is such a delight--I must confess that I am completely opposed to the computer generated, one-size-fits-all Christmas letters which tell of the tremendous successes of every family you ever met.

I preach against cynicism during the Christmas season. And then, shortly thereafter, I fall victim to it. After receiving more than my fair share of Christmas cards this year--which is such a delight--I must confess that I am completely opposed to the computer generated, one-size-fits-all Christmas letters which tell of the tremendous successes of every family you ever met.

The author of this story is unknown and it has been told by many people throughout the years. The gentleman to whom I’m going to introduce was not a scrooge, but a kind, decent man and generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other people. He just could not understand how or why Jesus came to earth to save us from our sin. It did not make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. “I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you and the kids to church this Christmas Eve.” He went on to say, he would feel like a hypocrite and this year he would much rather stay home. He would just wait up and read until they returned. And so, he stayed behind as the family went to the candlelight service.

The children were in the pew in front of me. We had not arrived early enough at my sister’s church for the Christmas Eve service to secure a seat in the back, so we were in the fourth row. The first row is never used by anyone; the second row is only for people who arrive impossibly late. The third row is, for all intents and purposes, the front row, and that’s where these two wild-looking children were.

I tend to be a Christmas maximalist; at least if you ask my husband, Peter, that’s what he would say. Peter would dispense with the tree, the presents and most of the outings. He’d hang a few ornaments on a houseplant, have a nice meal and go to bed early. But Peter cares for me a lot, and he knows how much I love Christmas.

Do you ever read a headline that makes you do a double-take? I’ll be honest, when I first saw the headline “Empty Pews are an American Health Crisis,” I thought it was clickbait. And yet, as I dug into the article, I was absolutely shocked with its contents. Two Harvard professors, one a professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health and the other the associate director of research of the Human Flourishing Program, have done extensive quantitative research that shows the incredible benefit to our physical health when we regularly attend church.

In downtown Perry, inside a display window bedecked for the holidays, is a small plaque which reads: “Tis the Sea-Sun.”