Spirituality

Hanukkah ‘Festival Of Lights’ Begins At Sundown

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Hanukkah begins at sundown with a nightly menorah lighting through Dec. 18. Courtesy/bkreader.com

Staff Report

Hanukkah 2020 begins today at sundown and ends at sundown Friday, Dec. 18.

The eight-day Jewish celebration, also known as Chanukah, commemorates the rededication during the second century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabean Revolt.

Hanukkah, which means “dedication” in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in November or December.

Often

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Father Theophan: Stuck

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A mug damaged from getting stuck to the kiln shelf during glazing. Photo by Fr. Theophan

By Father Theophan
Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church
Los Alamos

Stuck. After all that work! Really?!

Finally you’ve finished a mug that you really like. The form and weight are good, it’s even and finished and gone through the bisque firing without a crack or blemish. You’ve picked out the perfect glaze combination, maybe even formulated your own glazes, to make a usable and pleasing every-day use coffee mug.

The glaze firing goes off without a hitch, and it reaches temperature within the allotted time. You Read More

Fr. Glenn: ‘Tis The Season

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

This month is certainly one of anticipation, isn’t it? … even more so this year than most. Not only is Christmas just around the corner, but if you (can) keep track of the vaccine news, we see endless articles about priority, accounts/criticisms of various manufacturers and products, distribution infrastructure pressures, shortages, etc. One hopes the “season of peace” will not see every-man-for-himself brawls outside of vaccine providers.

Survival and defense of loved ones, of course, are among the strongest of instincts, and perceived dangers to that survival Read More

TOTH ‘Christmas Cookies To Go-Go’ On Sale Now

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TOTH News:

Fill the home with Christmas treats while supporting a good cause this holiday season! Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church’s House of Hope house building mission team is sponsoring a new fundraiser called “Christmas Cookies to Go-Go!”

While large groups cannot gather to enjoy cookies at various events, individuals can still enjoy delicious, homemade cookies in their wn home or purchase cookies for a friend.

Additionally, participants will help Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Church with an important mission-building a home for a family in Juarez. These are difficult times for Read More

Fr. Glenn: Living Faith With Conviction

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Well, a very happy (albeit tardy) Thanksgiving to all of you … obviously much-subdued this year with the pandemic squelching travel and family gatherings, and yet very thankful for all that we DO have. Not to be Pollyannaish, but it is quite true that a joyful heart and countenance relieve many a woe … recalling the prophet Habakkuk: “Though the fig tree blossom not, nor fruit be on vines/though the yield of the olive fail and the terraces produce no nourishment, / Though the flocks disappear from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls / yet will I rejoice in the Lord, and exult Read More

Fr. Glenn: The Ultimate Ocean

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By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Very often news stories, Facebook and Twitter posts, etc., are (apparently) selected for their controversial or inflammatory character—“click-bait”, as they say, designed to multiply the number of internet “hits”, thereby giving sites leverage in setting advertising rates—profit motive, of course, driving content. That’s likely the reason why “news” sites often embed on homepages teaser links to stories/pictures of scantily-clad celebrities, scandals or gossip-mongering. 

Increasingly common, too, is highlighting news of extreme events or injustices, and Read More

On The Job In Los Alamos: Local Chaplain Aiding Homeless

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On the job in Los Alamos Monday is Chaplain Joe Dudziak delivering five Sleeping Bag Packages for the homeless to Self Help, Inc., in Los Alamos. Photo by Jenn Bartram/ladailypost.com

COMMUNITY News:

Chaplain Joe Dudziak, a member of the Los Alamos County Chaplain Corps, International Fellowship of Chaplains (IFOC) and long-time advocate for the homeless, volunteers regularly helping the guests at Pete’s Place on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe.

This winter, due to COVID-19, shelters have limited space for overnight sleeping. For example, last year Pete’s Place served dinner to more than 100 Read More

Fr. Glenn: Giving Account

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By Fr. Glenn Jones

I’ll always be grateful to a favorite aunt who, when I was about twelve, gifted to me my first James Herriot book—stories of, and by, a country veterinarian in England in the 1930s. While several of his stories are memorable, one especially so was of two distinctly different families: first that of a simple poor farmer who had a devoted and doting wife and daughter, and the second a wealthy, very successful and noted executive with shrewish wife and scornful daughter. Herriot, musing about which life he would prefer, had no doubt that he’d choose the humble circumstances and loving Read More

Georgia Strickfaden Creates United Church Of Los Alamos Anniversary Sunday Historical Exhibit

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Pastor David Elton captured these photos and had this to say about Georgia Strickfaden. ‘As a well-deserved historic site in Los Alamos, we now have history boards for all to see and learn about The United Church of Los Alamos! Thank you to Georgia Strickfaden for all of her work in making us historically ‘official’ and creating these history boards,’ Elton said. ‘The story of this congregation, Sanctuary (formerly known as the Chapel) and campus will always be part of the roots and vitality of The United Church and our mission.’ Courtesy/UCLA

History board about the United Church of Los Alamos. Read More

Fuselier: Faith And Politics

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By ROBERT FUSELIER
Los Alamos

I know many struggle to bring their faith into politics without becoming partisan. I am one of those people. I believe in the Gospel message spelled out so clearly in the Beatitudes but at the same time know that governments are incapable of fully living up to those values.

It saddens me to see those in politics – and those who support them – lower themselves by taking on tactics of division and scapegoating in order to promote their ideology as the only one that can possibly matter.

We are different, thank God, for different times and different events require different Read More