I’ve invited my friend, Pastor Jeff Scott, to write some articles for us directly related to Christian parenting. This is the first in a short series. Jeff Scott has been the pastor of Covenant Grace Presbyterian Church in Roseburg since 2014.

There are yet a few days left in the school year, but we can observe with joy and thanksgiving that God has given us a remarkable and healthy year.  We addressed pandemic realities with care but not panic.

We had a guest pastor at church this last Sunday, and he made a comment about entering the ministry.  He said people had wondered aloud why he would want to become a pastor now…ten years ago, maybe, but not now.

Aidan Allen and I have been considering the 19th Century Gothic Revival in Great Britain.  It was, of course, an architectural movement, not at all having to do with modern day “goths” who wear all black and sport heavy eye shadow.  Can you travel  in your mind to London, and picture Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament next to the river Thames?

In this column you will see short pieces from myself or other teachers,  a few articles, and I hope a number of writings from local pastors.  Sometimes I give updates on current school issues.  Since there are a few news items, I will refrain from a longer reflection this week.

The Apostles Creed is a very ancient confession of faith, that has been used by the church for more than a thousand years. There is a phrase in it I want to pay particular attention to today – He ascended into Heaven.   

The term Janissary comes from the Turkish word “yeniceri,” which means new troops. In the early 1300s, Bey (or Sultan) Murat 1 of the Ottoman Empire established the Janissaries. This was an elite corps of soldiers who elicited terror in opposing armies because of their ferocity. These troops were primarily Balkan Christians who were put in an intense monastic environment and subjected to strict Islamic training.

We are giving thanks this week for the wonderful provision of God at our Annual Auction.  Facilitated by many volunteer hands, who worked sometimes into early mornings and through weekends, the school met its lofty fundraising goals.  Other communications are going out to donors and families about that, so I needn’t go into more detail on that here.  But what a joy!

“Eastertide” or the season between Easter and Pentecost is a time when the God’s good creation begins to “spring” back into life.

One of the highlights of the trip for me happened while we were walking past a display in the officers’ mess.  It was near a portrait of Admiral Joseph Clark, a native of the Cherokee Nation (which at his birth in 1893 had not yet been made a part of Oklahoma).