The Endless as dolls

Hee! Those are charming.

And oh! The Matilda picture! So, so darling!

I am listening to the soundtrack to 1776, a musical I worked crew for umpteen years ago. My brain is in a happy place.

Love!

Homiciiiiide! Homiciiiiide! We may see murder yeeeeeet!

I never went to church (outside of when I went with the grandparents) until mom joined the Unitarian church. I'm guessing mom and step-dad are still members. It's where we had my little brother's funeral, and they were married by the pastor there.

My father's Catholic, but I don't remember ever going to church with him-ever. Mom was raised Methodist or some such. Step-dad's family founded Christian Science, which is...odd to me.

I'm an atheist, so I mostly don't bother unless it's a family thing. I do kinda miss the people we knew from the UU church though.

Thanks for all the anniversary wishes! Party is tomorrow night. I'm trying for pictures.

I knew I was forgetting something! Beautiful little Matilda! Gorgeous smile!

Oh Matilda is joyful to behold! So cute!

Book talk went well. These girls want to read, man! Someone snatched up the Jackson book (yay), I talked to two girls about UCLA (they both want to go there), and there was a 13-year-old into reading classics. Their teacher was the sweetest thing that ever lived. This will become a regular thing (going into the classrooms and talking and handing out books). On the downside, I found out that the library isn't open for use to anyone. Something about needing all the security and not wanting the kids to take books and keep them. I want to do something about this...

Oh, Endless Dolls, adorable.

Matilda, even more so! Happy baby face = irresistible.

I am loving your tales of juvie, GC. It makes me both happy and sad that the girsl are slurping up literature so eagerly - the enthusiasm is great, but that the apparent lack of availability is disturbing.

In a recent Adventure in Genealogy we found the Napa church that we thought a great-uncle had founded (turned out he was the second pastor, but he was there for 14 years) and it's Lutheran, Missouri Synod. The hodgepdge of religions in my family never fails to amuse me.

And bless you for the work Gloomcookie.

I volunteered for the AVP (alternatives to violence program) at the local maximum security prison. That was the stuff of stories, I tell you what. And the experience showed me, in relatively short order how special someone needs to be to do that work and how I am not that special person.

The fellow I partnered with was so tender hearted about it that I saw him throwing up on the side of the highway one day after we finished. I could 'take it', but chose not to after a while.

Then I interned at an innercity middle school hoping to catch the kids before they ended up there. That too take a special person that is not I. So, with hand over my heart, I bow in gratitude in your general direction. Thank you for helping those I wish I was strong enough to help.

Each church in turn is a member of a Presbetary, which governs a selection of churches, and those in turn are members of a synod.

Yes, this is where it differs from a congregationally governed churches. The UCC has a yearly meeting called the general synod, but it does not govern any of the member congregations. It governs the denomination and the congregations are, by definition, free to thumb their noses at the denomination.

In a wholly congregationally governed church, there's no governing body outside the congregation itself. Every "body" that has a say in how the church runs is a committee internal to the church and those committee members are all elected by the congregation, and the congregation still has annual meetings off all members (and sometimes special congregational meetings) to vote not only on the committee members, but on the budget, raises for the staff, etc. The committees handle the day to day stuff (which Sunday School curriculum will we use; which charities are we donating to; building maintenance; how to spend what the church has budgeted; etc., etc., etc., etc.).

We also call our pastors and have to vote on their hiring.

Etiquette/sanity question: what's the most graceful way to avoid a hug?

I'm fine with hugging people I know and like -- hell, I'm practically a hugging ho with people who I like.

It's people who I don't know, people who I have just met, who announce, "I don't shake; I hug!" and then move in for the kill.

I can't come up with a graceful way to say "Yo, I don't KNOW you; any part of you that touches me is a part that you will NOT be getting back!"

And, to add another wrinkle, this aggressive hugging is within a group of people whom I see on a semi-regular basis (say, once a month).

Any ideas?

I didn't go. I'm going next week instead. Somewhere in there, my body decided to solve the problem for me by giving me a UTI.

Effing whee.

I'm really resisting making any comparisons to b.org and b'cracy here. (ETC: In response to the congregational stuff)

So I'll whine: Please make the realtor call/write me back! Pretty please?!?! I have got to get out of temp housing. I realize that as a renter I am not as lucrative as a buyer, but still. Want. House.