Easter 2021

 Indeed!

Holy Saturday 2021

 We wait.

Good Friday 2021

The hinge point of human history

Podcast #042 - Blue Christmas II: Home For the Holidays

 

"Home for the Holidays"

Alan and Em revisit the concept of Blue Christmas, which they covered last year on Episode 35. These are services that allow churches to make space for people who aren't quite ready to celebrate the season. But given the way that 2020 went, we're pretty sure that EVERYONE is dealing with loss, discouragement, and depression this year. 

We give our personal updates, talk about our 2020 holiday thoughts, and then share some mostly (but not altogether) happy Christmas memories.

Merry Christmas, seasons greetings, happy holidays, and we wish all out listeners a blessed and joyous
2021.

Click on the player below to listen to the episode:

You may also subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts or the RSS Feed.

Link: Episode 35, last year's Blue Christmas discussion
Link to Opening Song: "In Like a Lion (Always Winter)" by Relient K

We would love to hear from you about this topic, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow the network on twitter @DorknessToLight or Alan @ProfessorAlan

An Easter Song

A pretty good Easter song from the very underrated Christian pop band, Street Called Straight.

This song is from their 1991 self-titled album, released on Frontline Records. The husband-wife team recorded 4 albums in the 1990s. Lead singer Jody Ftankfurt passed away in 2006, from lung cancer.

Podcast #037 - Christmas Eve and Other Stories

"Christmas Eve and Other Stories"

Alan and Em discuss their Christmas 2019 holiday seasons -- church services, family travels, Trans-Siberian Orchestra concerts, Muppets movies ... and more!

Click on the player below to listen to the episode:



You may also subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts or the RSS Feed.

Opening Song: "My Dear" by Sara & Marco Castro

We would love to hear from you about this topic, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow the network on twitter @DorknessToLight or Alan @ProfessorAlan

Merry Christmas

Podcast #035 - Blue Christmas 2019

"Blue Christmas"

Alan and Em are not discussing the Elvis song in this episode. Instead, they are talking about the growing trend of "Blue Christmas" services, in which churches make space for people who aren't quite ready to celebrate the season, but are instead dealing with loss, grief, discouragement, and the general stresses of modern life.

Merry Christmas, seasons greetings, happy holidays, and we wish all ot listeners a blessed 2020.

Click on the player below to listen to the episode:

You may also subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts or the RSS Feed.

Link to Opening Song: "Veni Veni Emmanuel" by Heather Dale

We would love to hear from you about this topic, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow the network on twitter @DorknessToLight or Alan @ProfessorAlan

Happy Thanksgiving!

For All Souls

We are fans of the 3-day cycle of observance and celebration, Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. And even though All Souls Day is a serious and solemn observance, that doesn't mean that a joke is TOTALLY inappropriate ....

For All the Saints

November 1 is to celebrate all of the saints gone by, but one of our favorites is St. Kateri, so we are focusing today on her life and legacy.

The St. Kateri Conservation Center is a national Catholic conservation group that promotes faith, integral ecology and life. 

Merry Christmas from the entire team at Dorkness to Light!

He is Risen Indeed

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Have a great Irish Day, by enjoying a terrific song by one of our favorite Irish bands, Iona.

Strange Days

Valentine's Day & Ash Wednesday being on the same say is a bit odd.

And then 46 days later, we'll get Easter ... on April Fool's Day.

These odd confluences don't mean anything, but I do fear the memes.

From Ashes, To Ashes

Marked by Ashes by Walter Brueggemann

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .

This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
halfway back to committees and memos,
halfway back to calls and appointments,
halfway on to next Sunday,
halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
of failed hope and broken promises,
of forgotten children and frightened women,
we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

Jolly Ol' St. Nick!

In honor of the feast day of that great heretic-puncher and orthodoxy-upholder, here is a classic meme about the man.

 

And just in case you wondered that it couldn't hurt that much to be punched by a theologian, what if that theologian had clear Klingon ancestry?

For more information about the saint behind the legend, check out the St. Nicholas Center.

Happy Black Friday

Enjoy your shopping today, if you are fortunate enough to have the day off work. And if you're fortunate enough to be visiting another side of the family today ... 

Happy Thanksgiving !!!!!

And enjoy this Bible translation joke!

Happy Reformation Day (x500)!

Traditionally, October 31 is thought to be the date in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The church still stands, and the door is still there, although it is not easily accessed. When we visited Wittenberg a few months back as part of the "Luther 500" celebration, we were housed very near the church, now called Castle Church. And I took this picture of church history's most important door.

The door. The actual door.