Monday, September 29, 2014

Mulching Is For the Birds

Many butterflies only feed from a specific plant.

A book on raising plants to attract birds made this point - A mulched garden will draw many birds, because they will search for food just beneath the layer of organic matter.

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead—your next stop, the Creation Zone.

Exhibit A - Picture if you will an unusual bush, not just any bush, but a very special bush. The gardener has placed a layer of mulch underneath - no soil or weeds are visible through this layer.

Exhibit B - In contrast, imagine the typical American plant, standing alone with all the leaf litter cleared and raked away to the soil below. Weeds have also been removed, since they grow where sun reaches bare soil.

The Monarch lays its eggs on milkweed and the related butterfly weed.


Exhibit A Examined
The first plant will always have moist soil underneath, because wind and sun have been blocked from drying the soil. Besides that, rotting organic matter will hold moisture while it is decaying. Since the sun is blocked, the recycling soil creatures can toil in the shade, shredding the mulch. Earthworms will be active in rising to the surface for food and restroom facilities, creating tunnels for air, root penetration, and rain channels.

Since the mulch favors the plant, more material will rain down to feed the mulch layer, as leaves form, age, decay, and drop off.

The lawnmower will not be pushed beneath the bush, because no one wants to choke the blade with mulch. There are no weeds or grass to cut where mulch is placed.

Exhibit B Examined
The second plant exposes its best soil, the top soil, to wind and water erosion. That soil is always dry from sun and wind evaporation. Soil creatures will work underneath, but only during bankers' hours for decay, when darkness reigns and they are safe.

The bush will need more watering, so it will be somewhat hampered by mixing chlorinated city water with rain water. Only the rain brings fixed nitrogen to green up the plant and promote growth. My mother was famous for her classroom flowers that always bloomed. She stored the water to let it evaporate the chlorine out - before she put it on her plants.

Birds may nest in this bush but will not feed much beneath it. They sleep when the soil creatures come out to feed in the darkness.

Since weeds and grass continue to grow underneath the bush, the mulch-free gardener will disturb the soil with various tools for stopping the beneficial action of soil creatures - the lawnmower, the rake, and the three-toothed hoe.

Bluebirds love suet because they are insect eating birds.


Trapping the Nutrition
When the soil population is increased, many good things happen at once.

  • Moisture is held in the top twelve inches of soil, part of each bacterium, nematode, fungus, earthworm, ant, spider, sowbug, pillbug, and springtail. 
  • A billion creatures here, a billion creatures there - it starts to add up. No springtail is an island, each to his own. Every springtail  is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a bug be washed away by the sea, America is the less.
  • The nutrients pass from creature to creature instead of being drained from the soil. That bag of fertilizer ends up in the water table, with only a little of the nitrogen in the soil. Rainwater's nitrogen is trapped in the root layer and fed into the plants' roots by fungus.
  • The soil population attracts a larger and healthier bird population to keep harmful insects under control.

God is in charge of the soil, in spite of man's worst efforts, so plants continue to grow in the wreckage caused by misinformed gardeners, who do more work for fewer results, spending a lot more money.

Dandelion seeds feed birds, and the down parachutes line their nests.
Leave that herb alone, you Scotts Weed and Feed slave!


From Crabgrass to Green Manure
I had a patch of garden go wild with crabgrass - not much different from entire rose gardens not far from our house. My excuse was the fence where water dripped down for the pole bean crop. Lacking mulch, the weeds flourished. Instead of hacking, thrashing, and cutting through the jungle, which would have ended the bean crop, I threw down soggy masses of newspapers, which blocked the sunlight and ended the brief reign of crabgrass. They turned into green manure. The pole beans continue to produce.

That took five minutes work.

Keeping organic matter in the yard will increase the population fed by decomposition. Adding organic matter will also be beneficial.

These laws of Creations were fixed at the beginning, with a perfect balance between prey and predators,

Butterfly weed is a beautiful flower that favors the Monarch.



Sunday, September 28, 2014

Massive File Swapping Scandal at the Other Vactican

Vatican's previous envoy to the Dominican Republic Jozef Wesolowski who has been sacked amid an investigation in Rome into accusations he had sex with children
seen here in Santo Domingo, on August 12, 2011.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/vatican-paedophilia-scandal-archbishop-jozef-wesolowski-stored-over-100000-child-porn-videos-1467410
A former Vatican archbishop accused of paedophilia stored tens of thousands of child porn videos and photos on a computer in his office at the Holy See diplomatic compound in the Dominican Republic, it has emerged.
Details of Jozef Wesolowski's massive child porn stash have been revealed after the 66-year-old was arrested at the Vatican earlier this week.
He is the highest-ranking Vatican official ever to be investigated for sex abuse, and the first top papal representative to receive a defrocking sentence. He has been charged with sexually abusing minors and child porn possession and might face up to seven years in the Vatican's tiny jail.
Vatican detectives analysed the PC Wesolowski used in his office in Santo Domingo, where he served as Holy See envoy from 2008 to 2012 as part of an investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of underage boys.
The probe reportedly revealed a collection of horrors. The Polish native held more than 100,000 sexually-explicit files, Il Corriere della Sera newspaper reported....
***
GJ - Many disgusting details follow, but nothing about absolving him and getting him a top lawyer and work release.

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2014.
Consider the Lilies



The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2014

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson




The Hymn #396   O For a Faith                                                            4:18 
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       
The Gospel              
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #657                Beautiful Savior                                4:24

Consider the Lilies of the Field


The Communion Hymn # 305:1-5                       Soul, Adorn Thyself             4:23
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #23    Hallelujah! Let Praises Ring                                        4:77

KJV Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.  4 But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.  5 For every man shall bear his own burden.  6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.  7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

KJV Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all Thy benefits: that Thou hast given us life and graciously sustained us unto this day: We beseech Thee, take not Thy blessing from us; preserve us from covetousness, that we may serve Thee only, love and abide in Thee, and not defile ourselves by idolatrous love of mammon, but hope and trust only in Thy grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html

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Consider the Lilies of the Field

Matthew 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

The Scriptures are based upon the foundation of Creation through God's Word. God commanded through the Son. When He said, Let there be light, light came into existence. And thus the entire universe came into being through the Word. It is one of those great ironies - and a sign of the times - that this Creation by the Word is so neglected.

One would never know from reading today that the great scientists of the past were also Creationists. They observed and saw Creation. There is perfect harmony between Creation and the efficacy of the Word in Lutheran doctrine, because that is the Biblical teaching. Just as God willing the universe into being by the Word, so He declares the Gospel Promises, fills us with faith, and gives us forgiveness through faith.

I am not going to prove Creation through the scientists of the past, but they had no trouble being pioneers in science who communicated in the language of Creation. America was described by one of the early scientists exactly that way. This land has more natural blessings than any other.

One is the Great Plains. The prairie grass sent down enormously deep roots, which were the foundation of creating soil, with the help of microbes and soil creatures. Prairie fires only made the soil more productive, since ash is good for the soil and roots simply sent up more plants to enjoy the sun and bison contributions. One herd ran beside an observer for days. We talk about man's wisdom, but how many can even imagine such a large system, the bison herd, sustained by food and water.

The Great Plains set up America as a great agricultural nation with the richest soil on earth, except for the Ukraine, a similar area. And it is based on the lilies of the field, the wild flowers that gave us 20 feet deep topsoil across the Midwest - with no trees in sight.

We all love flowers or no one would ask about flowers on the altar. The hybrid flowers are fun to grow. I recall one gardening specialist talking about "roses the size of dinner plates" and "Tropicana, which you can identify from 200 feet away." He was rather scornful of hybrids, but we like them.

There is no reason to scorn the wild flowers. My mother was a specialist in them. She would bend over and say, "Shepherd's Purse." From that time on I would spot Shepherd's Purse, a modest flower and seedpod, yet one our pet rabbits loved. 

The structure and beauty of the wild flowers should fill us with as much joy and wonder as the new editions of the flowers God created. Consider the lilies of the field. They do not worry and work. They have no human skills of sewing and embroidery. Yet Solomon at the peak of his wealth never wore such beautiful clothing as these wild flowers.

This is a Gospel lesson about teaching us not to worry. God often delays answering our prayers. We wonder if we are forgotten, since the crooks and bullies are doing so well. But God rewards us with blessings that make us that much more thankful.

Here is one wild flower - the dandelion. The roots can make coffee. The leaves are packed with nutrition. The flowers are among the sweetest of all and can be used for making wine. People fret over getting rid of it.

Yesterday I began studying a book on planting for birds. I wanted to encourage the birds with a variety of easy to grow plants that were needed by many species. High on the list - dandelions. Birds love their seeds and use the parachute fuzz to line their nests.

Dandelions are good for the soil, drilling down with their taproots and bringing up nutrition, fanning out with their leaves and providing a shelter and food source for bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and earthworms. 

And yet they are despised, plucked, poisoned, and cursed. When we had rabbits, we kept a special area where the dandelions grew without any interference, with enormous flowers and long stems. The rabbits jumped for joy when they saw their treats coming near. 

Naturally, or Creationly, the rabbits recycle the soil's abundance by eating the greens and flowers. This shows the intricacies of God's design, where what we see and the unseen all work together to provide various material blessings.

Jesus says - look at these wildflowers and consider how much God has designed for your own benefit.

Matthew 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 

This is the Jewish comparison, from the lesser to the greater. If God can do this for the wildflowers that we often overlook, how much more will He do for you - O ye of little faith.

The closing statement is one we find often in the Gospels. The problems begin with lack of faith among believers. The disciples believed in Jesus and followed Him, but they panicked when difficulties arose, even when they were short on food. 

If people knew about the design of every single plant cell, a factory system by itself, they would be less likely to wonder if God can provide for them. I am not saying that as if it never occurred to me. We have had to start over many times, and yet God provided.


One plant cell makes the Ford River Rouge plant look like Tinker-Toys.


Henry Ford invented the integrated factory site, the River Rouge Plant, where everything was made in one place and assembled. People wrote about that for decades, but they overlook the wildflowers that do the same without thinking.

Every plant cell has a wide variety of self-regulating mechanisms to feed the plant, generate the flowering and fruiting cycle. And the cells have to reproduce. New cells have their own jobs, just as "I am the flower that will fruit." And - "I am the fruit that will produce seed."

Because Jesus is the Creating Word, His teaching always directs us toward the Creation so we can see and experience what He is capable of doing.

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 

God takes care of believers and unbelievers alike. Luther says, "Go about your duties and God will direct you." The human condition is such that we become paralyzed with worry at times, as if God is no longer active, interested, or able. But the Promises of God say otherwise. This is directed at all of us so we do not crumple with anxiety but do our jobs with thankfulness to God. He knows our needs and will supply them.



33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

People are either seeking material gain first or spiritual wealth first. There can be no tie. I am always astonished by the cleverness of people who invent new jobs to survive. They invent ways to make a living from the shabbiest surroundings or the least likely circumstances. So Jesus says to start with the Kingdom and the righteousness of faith. If we lose that, we lose all, no matter what we have.


Saturday, September 27, 2014

Plants Are Chemical Factories - Even at the Cellular Level



As others have observed--Darwin's Black Box--the famous evolutionist could get away with guessing about activities at the microscopic level, because he could not see them at work. A very good optical microscope at the time could barely see a bacterium - 500,000 fit on the period at the end of this sentence.

We can use scanning electron microscopes to see structures and to spoof the real image by assigning colors to each component. The complexity grows at the microscopic level. I read the book passages over and over to grasp all that is going on with chemical exchanges, protozoa, bacteria, fungi, algae, and nematodes: Teaming with Nutrients, Teaming with Microbes.

The next level of activity is gigantic in comparison - sowbugs, pillbugs, spiders, ants, and earthworms. On that level, they are like humans eating from the garden, so great is the size differential.

The health of the soil determines the productivity of the plants, and the health of the plants determines our own health. I have large and small pole beans hanging from skinny looking vines, but they have have soaked up sun and mined the soil to turn light and chemicals into complex carbohydrates while fixing nitrogen in the soil. We know the fungus needed for that to happen at the root level. The fungus swaps nitrogen for carbon.

I said to Mrs. I - "Look at those giant bean pods." I keep pulling them off the vines, and they keep producing. We have about three weeks of growing weather left. The tomatoes have almost quit but have not frosted. The pumpkins only had enough time to establish a canopy of vines across the lawn and on top of the chain-link fence. They needed more time for pumpkin production.

 Amanita muscaria


A fungal hypha is considerably larger than a bacterium, the average length being 2 to 15 micrometers with a diameter of 0.2 to 3.5 micrometers— still so thin that it takes hundreds of thousands of individual hyphal strands to form a network thick enough for the human eye to see. A teaspoon of good garden soil may contain several yards of fungal hyphae, invisible to the naked eye; millions upon millions merge together to produce something as obvious as a king bolete or an intricate Amanita muscaria in all their fruiting glory. These and other mushrooms are simply the fruiting bodies of fungi. Consider the energy and nutrients required to produce them.

Lewis, Wayne; Lowenfels, Jeff, (2010-09-10). Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web, Revised Edition (Kindle Locations 840-844). Timber Press. Kindle Edition. 

WELS Bullies

WELS Conference of Presidents try on their new clerics.

Who are the bullies shutting down The Shattered Pulpit blog?

They are all squeezed out of the same system of drunken bullies doing whatever they want, especially those allied with Church and Change.

The Ski scandal has been a Jeske operation from the beginning. Glende and Ski both worked for him, and Ski was on the board of Jeske's in-house Church and Change coven.



The biggest liar about Church and Change is Kudu Don Patterson. He denied being a member, though he was on the "secret" discussion list and led one of the C and C meetings. He also went to the "last" Church and Change meeting and took a crew to the Exponential all-denominations Emergent Church fest.

Looking at Kudu Don's websty - there is the Jeske link. Time of Disgrace - getting worse all the time.

Kudu Don created the insta-call for Ski, so the boy wonder could skip town five seconds after the CRM status was forged in Sauron's Lair.

Kudu Don is paranoid about information leaks. When I began lobbing smart-bombs at his operation, he closed off potential leaks, one after another.

Patterson is also a pint-sized bully. When Joe Krohn wanted to ask a doctrinal question at the voters' meeting, he was silenced. Patterson told him that they would visit him, but only to tell him off. He was not to open his UOJ-doubting mouth at all.

"Don't be afraid, lil darlin', that is DP Patterson
trying to make Easter relevant to children."
Patterson promoted live bunnies! to pet,
but hid that when I found it on the Net.
Ski probably misunderstood "Live bunnies."
Ski and live bunny.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Typical WELS Response to the Bitter Medicine of the Truth



As I wrote before, WELS forced Otten to grovel because of my review of Volume I of The Rite of Sodomy. I simply pointed out that the criticisms of the  Roman Catholic Church (homosexual abuse, child abuse, cover-ups) could easily be applied to WELS, Missouri, and the Little Sect on the Prairie (ELS).

Little did I know. I often feel like I just got off the bus from Our Lady of Obligation Convent School. No matter what I say about the Olde Synodical Conference, it is far worse - grisly, bad, disgusting, gross, and degenerate.

For example, after Otten fell over dead for WELS, the FBI raided the WELS headquarters and found Joel Hochmuth's homosexual child porn files at his desk. They also confiscated WELS computers there. Did you wonder why? According to my police detective friend, Hochmuth ratted out his file swapping friends in return for a plea bargain - a much lesser charge. He got an extremely light sentence (with work release) and went to town violating the agreement. He returned to government housing and his long-suffering wife divorced him.

She caught him before, and he received counseling, but "nobody knew," said Mark Schroeder.

Front page of Christian News with an apology to me? Not at all. Instead, the story was buried.

Later, WELS students reported various accounts of homosexual assaults by future WELS pastors -- routine -- part of the good ol' boy network. Anyone who objected was "gay," according to the criminals.

Several other WELS child porn pastors have been revealed since that time. One was still on the official pastoral roll. He was not removed until the blog reported it.



---

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1649010391990081/

  • Austin Becker Seriously? Someone told her to shut up because she was 'harming the Synod'? When did an artificially created expression of the visible church become more important than the souls of the *invisible* church? When did the warm and fuzzy feelings of a man who violated his DIVINE MISSION to tend souls become more important than the souls he betrayed? I've seen BS like this happen before. But I thought it was because the church it happened at was in the fringes, relatively isolated from WELSdom, and I had thought it was an isolated incident. This gets my blood boiling... 
    1 hr · Like · 1
  • Sherrie Rardin I agree that this should not happen and is not right. BUT, right now, I am seriously worried for this young woman. If someone personally knows her, PLEASE reach out to her immediately. The language in that blog is a pure cry for help. At best she is seriously depressed (and who would not be?); at worst, I shudder to think of where she could end up. PLEASE if someone knows her, do not wait.
    1 hr · Like · 6
  • Bryan Spiff Grefsheim This poor soul is seriously wounded and we all need to storm Heaven in prayer on her behalf right now.
    1 hr · Like · 9
  • Sherrie Rardin I believe we should also begin praying for the WELS leadership in heartfelt earnest right now too.
    1 hr · Like · 8
  • Phyllis Jedele Risdon "Will be the death of me"????? I hope someone knows this blogger and will be with her asap! Those words are NOT something we want to hear from someone who has gone through that kind of abuse and sounds desperate!! She needs help...and NOT because she did anything wrong, but because she has been harmed!
    1 hr · Like · 6
  • Bryan Spiff Grefsheim I would like to hear from any pastors in this forum on this. Have you been harmed? You see the agony and misplaced guilt this sister is burdened with. Do you agree with our synod leaders pressuring her and apparently guilting her into shutting up? Have you men been in contact with synod? Do you know if they are caring for this soul as much s they are trying to quash this? Do you think this is right? I surely must be missing something here and I'd like blanks filled i is at all possible. While I have 0 respect for a pastor who would drag people before the courts, I do respect our synod leaders and hope and pray that they are doing more than just turning a blind eye to these two "pastors" and sweeping the scraps of what they left behind under the rug.
    1 hr · Like · 5
  • Sherrie Rardin Phyllis, what concerns me, as the wife of a man who lives with chronic major depressive disorder is a lot more than that one sentence. While it is indeed troubling, there are many statements in her last blog post that cause concern. I also know first-hand how depressives sometimes hear what is said to them. I am NOT saying she is lying or misconstruing info but that there is a lot going on here and we can't know it all. Nor are most of us trained to deal with something of this magnitude (and apparently neither are those in leadership positions right now) but we may be the closest thing she has right now to some help. And, even if she has not been diagnosed with depression, I fail to see how anyone who has gone through what she has could possibly come out with anything less than situational depression. Bottom line, someone please get in touch with her. I am more than willing to listen and I can promise my pastor won't tell her to shut up or go away.
    57 mins · Like · 4
  • Bryan Spiff Grefsheim I don't think that any of her words should be taken at less than face value right now. If there are inaccuracies that come out down the road, fine. I hope someone contacts this family and offers some sort of help.
    53 mins · Like · 5
  • Jason Sturgill I tried very hard to counsel her. I corresponded with her from 8/6 to 9/13. She trusts very little. She blames God for her situation and is held captive by thoughts of Satan. She is a very troubled person and needs our continuous thoughts and prayers. She will not pray and will not open a bible. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will grant her the ability to do so very soon, as healing and peace reside there. I have pleaded with her to revisit God's word, but she is so hurt by these events that she doesn't believe that she can. There is hope for her, but she will not allow it to grab hold just yet. She is actively resisting the Holy Spirit. Indeed, pray for her. Lillian, if you are seeing this, my door is always open. Please don't give up. We all love you and care for your well-being. You have great value. Jesus demonstrated this when he gave up his last breath on the cross.
    16 mins · Edited · Like · 3
  • Duane Vance Thank you for your work, Jason.
    42 mins · Like · 1
  • Jason Sturgill Duane, please don't thank me. I have nearly wept over her situation and my weak use of God's word. I have never met her, but I care for her deeply as a sister in Christ. She needs to hear the truth of God's saving power.
    33 mins · Like · 1
  • Bryan Spiff Grefsheim We do our best and leave the results to God. I pray that one day she thanks you too.
    30 mins · Like · 1
  • Steve Spencer OK, from a WELS Pastor, me (although there are those who would question this) - Has "Lillian" hurt the organization? Sure. Is this "extremely sinful?" Of course not. One cannot sin against an inanimate object! That's just plain nuts! Now, are there WELS Pastors, Teachers, and laypeople offended by what she has written? No doubt about it. Are some leaders stung and hurt by her comments? I'm sure. However, it should be remembered that if the pastor in her case had admitted his own sins, resigned, the reason clearly stated to his peers and congregation, and then he received counseling and re-training for another career - in other words, what SHOULD have happened - Lillian would not have needed to write what she did. "Jane" either, for that matter. So, where does the fault lay? Certainly not with her, or them, but with the pastors involved and their superiors. Now those or other leaders are crying foul. Methinks the fellows doth protest too much! As for her stopping the blog, I don't understand this at all. Why should she? What power do any WELS leaders have over her? Have they threatened to take her to court? As I understand it she doesn't even go to any church anymore. Why should she be intimidated by anyone in WELS? I don't get it. At the same time, I can understand not wanting to get any more emails, phone calls or whatever from people telling her to shut up. Been there, has such done me more times than I can count. Goodbye, Lillian, and God bless you. Sadly, you will be replaced, I'm sure, before the new year comes. So it goes.
    23 mins · Unlike · 7
  • Duane Vance Jason, as a fellow called worker, I attempt to share your humility (of course I am assuming you are in the called ministry. Even if you are not, then as a fellow Christian I still appreciate your efforts). I understand how hard this must be for her and for those who are in contact with her. I want to encourage you as a brother in Christ.
    21 mins · Like · 1
  • Jason Sturgill I am an elder, but have no formal training. I appreciate your words, but I was never seeking applause. I really do appreciate what you said but this has effected me too.