Opinion

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think they will be heard for their many words.”(Matthew 6:7) In ancient times, Gentile prayer relied on repetition. The pagan gods were not omniscient, as Jesus highlights in Matthew 6, and didn’t know what you needed until you asked. These gods were like distracted humans with superpowers, focused on their own concerns. If you wanted their attention, you had to be the “squeaky wheel.”

One afternoon a little boy was playing outdoors. He used his mother’s broom as a horse and had a wonderful time until it was getting dark. He left the broom on the back porch. His mother was cleaning up the kitchen when she realized that her broom was missing. She asked the little boy about the broom and he told her where it was. She then asked him to please go get it. The little boy informed his mom that he was afraid of the dark and didn’t want to go out to get the broom. His mother smiled and said ‘The Lord is out there too, don’t be afraid’. The little boy opened the back door a little and said ‘Lord if you’re out there, hand me the broom’.

When we talk about God and who He is, we often discuss his attributes. According to the Oxford dictionary, an attribute is “a quality or character considered to belong to or be inherent in a person or thing; a characteristic quality.” The attributes of God are descriptions of who God is in His entire essence, not pieces of God. Each of his attributes is essential to his nature, meaning that if an attribute were denied, then God would no longer be God.

August 13, 2024 Dear Editor: Like a lot of you I’ve been glued to the television for two weeks watching the summer olympics. It makes one proud to see our athletes standing on the podium while they play the national anthem. Regardless if it’s gold, silver or bronze it still makes us proud to see them strutting around the arena draped in the United States flag. The nice thing about those flags is that they all seem to be new flags. More often than not that isn’t always the case with flags hanging from our flag poles here at home. Some have been out in the elements way too long and either need to be repaired or replaced. It is our responsibility to treat it with respect. If your flag is beyond repair, please take it down and drop it off in the box outside the Legion Post. Every year on flag day (June 14th) the Marine Corp League has a nice ceremony at the Legion and disposes of all the flags that have been put in the collection box.. They separate the stars from the stripes and burn them.

As I sat with my coffee, watching the morning news, and contemplating my work for the day, I became very sad over the state of our country and world. The word that kept popping into my head, and one I have heard over and over again, is polarized. For me, “polarization” has become one of the biggest cultural and political problems in our country and the church.

Sourced from the Digital Archive at the Munising Public Library~ consider checking out this wonderful resource for your own research and/or entertainment! 135 years ago - The Alger County Republican - July 27, 1889 Note The suspension of the issues of the Republican for a couple of months, and its resumption under temporary management, may have led its patrons to fear for its permanency, and it is due to them to state that Republican is one of the fixed institutions of Alger County. Note from writer: this was The Republican’s last year publishing in Alger County.

Q: I am in my 30s and my husband and I have 3-year-old twin daughters. Their primary care physician suggested, at their last well-child visit six weeks ago, that the girls should receive a vaccine against the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), particularly since my parents, who are in their early 70’s, babysit the girls essentially every Sunday afternoon.

Sandi Kolder, United Methodist Church Many times, I have been privileged to sit with someone and listen to the story of his or her life. Sometimes I find myself at the kitchen table with a child.