Florida Vacation

Well, we've had our vacation for this year and are back from the trip. It was 44 years since we were in Sarasota, Florida, for a wedding and we finally made it back. 

We had originally planned to go in January and share a house with our daughter and her family. But when Cheryl found out her first grandchild would be born at that time we changed the date. By that time the only week still available at that house was March 24-31. As it turned out, when that week in January came it was cold in Florida and we were glad we weren't there. The weather the last week of March was sunny and warm and a much better deal. On the downside, after the house was reserved I realized Easter is early this year and our annual Burkholder dinner would be on March 31. So we cut our week short by one day and came home one day early, on March 30.

We flew from Philadelphia to Tampa on March 24. Cheryl and Richard drove down from Louisville and their timing was perfect. They picked us up about five minutes after we claimed our luggage. Two of their children flew from Ohio to Sarasota and again the timing was perfect. We got there just as their plane was landing. We and our luggage were all jammed in the van for the last stretch of the journey to the house we rented.

The house on Ingram street in Pinecraft was very nice and fully furnished. The only thing we wanted that we couldn't find was a clip for the chip bag. There was three bedrooms, two baths, nice kitchen, living room, screened-in porch, and back yard patio. Even the garage was equipped with a washer and dryer, lawn chairs, bikes, and everything we needed.

We went to the Tourist church Sunday morning. The snowbird season was winding down and people were heading north every day so attendance was only 190. At the peak of the season they will have 600 people. In the summer, attendance is only about 30.

Some people spend their winters fishing and playing shuffleboard. We observed those activities but did not participate.

Instead, we had a list of friends we wanted to visit. Some are there for the winter and some live there all year. We enjoyed visiting and seeing their homes. We didn't do a lot of sightseeing but we did go to Sarasota Jungle Gardens one day.

On the last day we went to watch a training session at the Royal Lipizzaner Ranch operated by the Herrmann family. The Lipizzans were bred in the 16th Century by the Hapsburg royal family of Austria. A Herrmann ancestor, a knight, was given a Lipizzan stallion as a gift 300 years ago. Ever since, Lipizzans have remained in the family. Some were among those saved by Herrmann’s father and grandfather alongside General George Patton’s operation to protect and smuggle horses behind enemy lines during World War II. Some of them were brought to the United States where they are maintained and shown.

The horses are a dark color when they are born but turn completely white by the time they are seven years old, as shown by this three-month-old colt and his mother.

No trip to Florida is complete without going to the beach so we did that one day too for a couple hours. I sat under an umbrella most of the time and still got some sunburn. Other than that, we just took life at a slow pace, resting, having cookouts, going for morning walks, and just enjoying each other's company in the summer weather. 

We had a direct flight home from Tampa to Philadelphia on Good Friday, March 30. We enjoyed the week of warm weather but are glad to be home again. Just no place like home! Perhaps we'll go again someday but we can't wait 44 years. By then, I expect to be in a place that is a lot better than Florida.

A Life and Death Matter

While I take a break from sewing dozens of kit bags for CAM, I'll share with you excerpts from an article I clipped from Saturday's newspaper that impressed me.  It was written by Susan Shelly and I quote:

Nearly two decades ago, John Shelby Spong, a bishop in the Episcopal Church, wrote and released a book that attracted a lot of attention in religious circles.

The book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, addressed the decline of mainline Protestant churches and argued that in order to reverse the decline, congregations should abandon a literal interpretation of the Bible and be willing to change with the times.

Almost 20 years later, mainline churches are still in decline. A 2015 report by the Pew Research Center revealed that these congregations are losing about 1 million members each year, while membership at many evangelical and fundamentalist churches is on the rise.

Marlene Druckenmiller, a retired deacon of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, (which, despite its name, is a mainline church) addressed this issue recently in a talk called "Does Your Church Need Hospice?". . . 

Within the Northeastern Synod, Druckenmiller said, churches are closing and buildings being abandoned or sold to another congregation or other group. Congregations are shrinking, with a particular decline in younger members.

Churches are no longer able to pay clergy and staff members, and positions are cut. Church buildings may fall into disrepair because the congregation cannot afford to fix problems.

As all these things occur, and members recognize that their churches are in decline, many experience a sense of loss and grief, similar to what is experienced with a loved one dies.

The article goes on to give advice for coping with a dying church. The number of churches that are closing or merging is increasing and the newspaper prints articles about them at regular intervals. This not only happens in mainline Protestant churches but in Mennonite churches as well. Our Mid-Atlantic Conference has purchased several buildings from other Mennonite churches that were forced to close due to dwindling membership.

The first two paragraphs of the article above identifies the cause of death of these churches. If we abandon the literal interpretation of the Bible and make it subjective rather than absolute, we destroy the foundation on which our faith is built and it cannot endure. If the Bible does not mean what it says, what's the point? Why bother reading the Bible or going to church if it's only a farce? 

The article says that while mainline congregations are losing members, "evangelical and fundamentalist churches" are growing. Only by standing on the solid foundation of the Word of God can a church grow in faith and numbers. 

Does the Bible say what it means and mean what it says? Absolutely! It's a life and death matter.