Thanksliving

This is the West Liberty United Church of Christ Choir at the UCC Thanksliving celebration in Springfield. Along with other UCC churches in the area, we worshiped together in song, gratitude and service to others. Enjoy.

Please Pass The Friendship – 40 Days of Thankfulness

There is something about sharing a meal with friends that makes it soul nourishing. Paul and I have been invited to several meals with members of our congregation enabling us to not only learn about the local cuisines, but also the folks who asked for our company.

Tonight, we tagged along to another church’s Fall Festival to share a meal with Jean, Annabelle and Don, three of our favorite church family members. The host church was where Jean grew up more than 80 years ago walking each Sunday with her family to worship.

I always like spending time with this small group – Don a retired wheat farmer, Annabelle a retired rural postal carrier and Jean a retired educator. They make jokes and tell tales spanning their lifetimes in this small rural community. It’s such a blessing.

The meal was also something to be wildly thankful for – full of things we never eat at home and new explorations. The smorgasbord contained fried chicken, ham and ham balls (this is like a ham loaf but in a ball), a variety of casseroles, including broccoli and rice, potato and cheese, scalloped chicken, sweet potato, stuffing and hot German potato salad. My plate was getting full fast with all of these new things to try. Then came the cold stuff – pickled beets, pickled eggs, coleslaw, layered salad, Jello, applesauce, fruit, hardboiled eggs, and a couple things that I wasn’t too clear about.

The abundance was amazing and the choices overwhelming, but with a full try in hand, I made it to our table and devoured every last bite. I know some of my foodie friends may turn their noses up at some of these choices, but I believe I should at least try things before I am prejudice of them (also if I said I was in France trying different stuff you would probably applaud me for my bravery, not judge me for me open mindedness.)

A meal isn’t a meal without dessert. The choices had me wondering for quite a while, especially since I was more stuffed than I’d been since last Thanksgiving. I chose a slice of Dutch apple pie and coffee to round out this dining experience.

I am so thankful not only for the full belly, but for the full heart I had this evening and wish everyone in the world could experience it as I have.

For those curious and wanting to try something very Midwestern, here are two recipes from our church cookbook.

Scalloped Chicken

Betty Jo Black

3 cups cooked diced chicken

1-1/2 cups chicken broth

1 can each – cream of chicken and cream of celery soup

1 stick butter or margarine

1 med. diced onion

2 eggs

1tsp salt

1 loaf of white bread

Pepper to taste

1.     Preheat oven to 350.

2.     Mix soups and broth in saucepan stirring constantly.

3.     Add butter and melt.

4.     Cube bread and put in a large bowl, adding chicken and onion.

5.     Pour liquid over bread and stir.

6.     Beat eggs and add to bread mixture.

7.     Pour into greased 10 x13 casserole and bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes.

Ham Loaf

Ruth Buck

Meat Loaf:

1lb ground smoked ham

1lb ground lean fresh pork

2 eggs

¾ cup soft bread crumbs

¾ cup milk

2 TBSP catsup

Mix and form into a loaf.

Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Baste with glaze after the first 30 minutes and every 20 minutes after.

Glaze:

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup pineapple juice

2TBSP prepared mustard

½ cup crushed pineapple

2TBSP vinegar

Mix ingredients over medium heat until they boil and thicken. 

God Is Still Speaking – 40 Days of Thankfulness

This is a commercial for the United Church of Christ which was banned by a few TV stations since they found the subject matter to be too controversial. 

We spent today in Cincinnati at a denominational meeting. May not sound like fun, but when I get to spend time with fellow United Church of Christ (UCC) members I always have an enlightening time.

This is not a post proselytizing UCC or any belief system. It’s my way of saying Thank You to the UCC and to God for accepting me as I am and giving me confidence to be as I was born to be.

Paul introduced me to UCC (it’s the denomination he’s ordained in) and helped me re-embrace Christianity. Growing up Catholic I was an outcast since a lot of what I was taught didn’t make sense. I had to many questions and not enough blind faith to fit into most denominations.

Those questions have been answered for me in the UCC.

Me: I believe God is unlimited in love and doesn’t exclude people.

UCC: Jesus never turned anyone away and neither do we. God is love and unlimited.

Me: I don’t believe that being a woman, person of color, homosexual or any other marginalized group is a sin or mean that one is less of a person.

UCC: We’ve ordained the first women pastors in the U.S. (both black and white), ordained the first openly gay pastor and in 2005 became the only Christian denomination to support Marriage Equality! God is love and unlimited.

Me: I don’t believe that the Bible is the end-all be-all of God’s infallible word.

UCC: God is still speaking every day through the Spirit. We believe the only thing that is infallible is God, not a book inspired by God.

Me: I don’t believe there is only one way to get to heaven.

UCC: That’s OK. Many of us believe living like Jesus (social activism, taking care of those less fortunate, loving even the least among us, loving one another as Jesus loved us, sharing our gifts with the world to make it a better place) is more important than believing doctrine and a set of rules. Anyway “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” is a challenge from Jesus to us to make earth into heaven by acting as he asked us to.

Before, I believed religion was something from the Dark Ages, but Progressive Christianity has taught me that there is a place for people who question, think and live in the Spirit every moment (not just Sundays) to come together to learn, work and help make the earth a better place through love.

Our Religion May Be 2,000 Years Old – Our Thinking Is Not

Thank you UCC for being a powerful, positive voice and force in the world when we need it most. Amen. 

My Letter Home - April 16

This week started with a fabulous win for my boy, Adam Scott. I’m not a golfer, but Paul is and he likes to watch the big matches on Sundays. I have gotten to know some of the players and picked the cutie from down under, Adam Scott, as my favorite. It was so nice to see him win and to be so gleeful about it. Great job Adam.

From UK Telegraph.com

In other news this week, Paul and I, and our entire congregation, were invited to the neighboring church, the United Methodists, for a potluck luncheon on Sunday to welcome us to West Liberty and to introduce us to our neighbors. When I say neighboring church, I mean right next door – only a parking lot separates us. Ideologically, we’re pretty similar. It was a great feast, and no one expected that more than 60 people from our congregation would show up since many of them are set in their routine of leaving church right after service and heading to their favorite restaurant. We had so many people show up, that the Methodists had to get even more tables and chairs for their congregation. We hope to do a lot more with them, such as movie nights, vacation Bible school and maybe even field trips.

Note: There were 5 different kinds of macaroni salad, 4 kinds of potato salad and sloppy joes – Paul was in heaven. I loved the fruit salad and spinach salad along with coconut macaroons dipped in chocolate and almonds – yummy.

Where St. Pete nightlife was all about going out to eat, drink and be merry, nightlife in West Liberty is about high school sports. We’ve been going to baseball games several evenings to cheer on the West Liberty-Salem Tigers. Several of the players go to our church and it’s nice to speak with their parents out of the church setting, plus the boys are really good. The girls softball team is pretty awesome too with a win last night of 20-0 against the Catholic school, or as Paul says “The Papists”.  

With the house almost completely together (I only have the silver left to polish), it’s time I start looking for a paying job. I’ve done some freelance, but that is few and far between. I would like to get back into the game, but now it’s all about what I want to do. As a writer, I have several options, but in a small town only a few opportunities. Do I want to drive the hour plus to Columbus for a full-time marketing job with all the stress I left behind, but with the perk of being in a city? Or do I want to try to get a part-time gig locally at Adriel, the assisted living facility or maybe a funeral home? I’ve been teaching myself In Design and PhotoShop so I can expand on my resumé and maybe do some other freelance pieces. For now, I am just enjoying the freedom to be a housewife.

Thing I Miss Most About My Old Home: Being 10 minutes away from downtown where I could get any food I wanted and enjoy the action.

Thing I Like Most About My New Home: Being 5 minutes from downtown (walking) where a nice afternoon walk is picking up the mail, getting a cup of coffee at the cupcake shop, browsing in the local thrift store and going to the grocery all while chatting with people and feeling quite alive.