college search #3

Well, the list for Kate has adjusted some.

 

Heidelberg College

College of Wooster

Goshen College

Ohio Wesleyan

Marietta College

Haverford College

 

Possibly:

Swarthmore College

 

and this summer she will visit Carleton, McAlister and Grinnell with my sister and niece. 

 

My choice: Goshen.  But then, Dad isn't going to college!  I just like its vision, mission, focus on reaching out to the world as a disciple of Jesus Christ, its commitment to transforming the world, its diversity in the student body.

David Loar
http://discipledavid.blogspot.com ...my blog
http://www.fairlawnwest.org ...church web site   http://www.loar.org ...family web site

 

2 books on Jesus

In light of the most recent hoopla about Jesus and the Bible in light of The Da Vinci Code, I would like to recommend two new books that I think will help all of us with our own questions and doubts.  We will have these in the bookstore and library at Fairlawn-West.

 

1. The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything by Brian McLaren.  I have heard from one local reviewer (named Martha Loar) that as she started reading it it just gave her clarity she had been seeking for a long time around this whole "Jesus" thing. 

 

2.The Faces of Jesus: A Life Story by Frederick Buechner.  Buechner and McLaren, along with Erwin McManus and Walter Brueggemann, are my favorite authors not just within Christianity, but of general works as well.  (they all write not just academically, but in novel and poetic form as well.)  Buechner is the true vision man.  Many of us use his works as part of our daily devotions.  His book Telling Secrets is being read by many around our church because of its honesty in the face of personal life darkness.  Ask Mary Mounts and Linda Seibert about this latter book.  They swear by it.

 

Go here to the Fairlawn-West amazon.com bookstore where the church gets a percentage of the sale, to order your own copies online.

David Loar
http://discipledavid.blogspot.com ...my blog
http://www.fairlawnwest.org ...church web site   http://www.loar.org ...family web site

 

Porpoise Diving Life

Check out this great web site called the

 

Porpoise Diving Life

Reality for the Rest of Us or Where the Purpose-Driven Life Peters Out
 

 

my brother's family in El Salvador

My brother Phil from Falls Church, VA has been going with Bill and Grace Brinker from Kent UCC for over 10 years to El Salvador, Haiti and Nicaragua to do eye clinics and surgery in deprived areas. He is the fix-it man for the optical equipment when they are out in the middle of no where and have no access to resources to order parts etc. He also facilitates the work in a host of ways since he, probably next to the Brinkers, has the most experience of the team. Here is an article about their last trip in Feb. Ironically, Phil is not mentioned, but his son who is a senior in high school is the first volunteer mentioned who screens the patients and his wife Amy is quoted at the end. My nephew plans to enter Carniege-Mellon in the fall for engineering. My brother is in charge of the household hazardous waste disposal for Arlington, VA. He has been out in our area off and on to do some testing at Kent State's waste disposal experimental station in Middlefiled, OH. He has brought sludge out from Arlington as they are testing ways to recycle it and Arlington is out ahead of most municiplaties on this. Amy is a civilian employee for the Army. She leads a team that buys gas for a specific region of the world for the Army. My brother is continually serving God in so many ways both through their Lutheran church and in community service. He sees his calling is for his whole life. At times I imagine that he is truly in the ministry that Christ calls us to.

http://www.episcopal-life.org/26727_13078_ENG_HTM.htm?menu=undefined

The Da Vinci Code movie

Here is an interview from Sojourners Magazine with Brian McLaren about the upcoming release on May 19th of The Da Vinci Code. I think this is the best reflection on this movie I have seen. http://www.fairlawnwest.org/davincicode.htm