So, yesterday, church again--yet another virtual meeting of the Covenant CRC diaspora. Like a million other services here and around the word, the pastor drew the text from one of the Bible's most memorable stories: post-Golgatha, two disciples, on their way to Emmaus, are joined by a thoughtful stranger. Even when he was no longer human, Jesus, by his own slight of hand, his tomfoolery, shows himself still to be. It's a perfectly wonderful story.
We tune in via Facebook. When our worship ceases, another begins almost immediately. For a couple of weeks it's been Nadia Bolz-Weber, the tattooed Lutheran, but yesterday our gathering was followed by a man who told his faithful that the death of Kim Jung-Un, the tubby North Korean demi-god, was clearly prophesied in the minor prophets.
I remember reading somewhere that the net's biggest peddlers offer buffets of faith and porn in similar volume. Anybody who believes Christians are persecuted need only do some Sunday morning surfing. Millions upon millions worship on-line, where the menu stretches off the map on all sides. I'm sure we could have watched worship from Teaneck to Tallahassee to Teec Nos Pas and Tulare.
'Twas a gorgeous Sunday. Or old friend Emma used to say that people used to say what I'm about to say: that here in Siouxland, we get about ten perfectly beautiful days. That's it. Yesterday was one of them. We went for a walk with family, who've not been here for dinner for six weeks or so, just a walk on a bike path along the Floyd. It was great. At times, a traffic light might have been convenient, but people were great, thrilled to be out of the confinement.
Big day today, Iowa's gov, who's conservative, hasn't been draconian with her thou shalt nots, which, depending on your political persuasion, is either cause for bountiful thanks or thoughtlessly reprehensible. The Guv will lay out new Covid19 guidelines. Most people expect loosening, but life has certainly not been insufferable here, although the explosion of cases in packing plants--believe me, we have packing plants!--has been scary as of late (Sioux City leads the state in new cases, I hear). But then, who really cares about the people who cut our meat? Certainly not the Pres. They're taking perfectly good American jobs.
By the way, I know people who will give away their hogs because the Smithfields of the world are shut down. It's sad--worse than that, it's tragic. Can you believe it?--we actually needed all those immigrant people?
It could be a big day on the national stage too: the end of the POTUS's two-hour fireside chats. The idea of a daily news conference had some currency three weeks ago, but they have long since devolved into mini-rallies without the MAGA caps.
The thing about Trump is that he not only makes a habit of stepping in it, as they say, he generates his own, a pile of it, right on stage, then, like a four-year-old, insists on tramping around as if it were a mud puddle. He's never seen a superlative he didn't like. But it's all the media's fault, you know, for fake news on the bleach front. And how do we know that's true? The media tells us so, his media, voices of great Americans, like Rush Limbaugh.
I greatly look forward to seeing something other than his Orangeness, late afternoon.
So today here in Iowa, restaurants may open today, holding fast to some social distancing. We'll see.
My sister lives in Georgia. When I called yesterday, she told me she couldn't talk. She was going bowling, only first she had an appointment at the tattoo parlor.
She must have been on Facebook, catching Nadia Bolz-Weber.
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So happy to announce that we now seem to have sufficient trees in the neighborhood to offer housing to a pair of cardinals. And they're here! This isn't our new neighbor. He still lives in Sioux Center. I'll get a picture of our new friend sometime soon, I'm sure.
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