mid October

Kate is home for fall break from Heidelberg College. She and Molly are going to a Obama support concert at the Civic Theater with the three major rockers from the Akron area over the years...Chrissie Hynde (who went to Molly and Kate's high school - Firestone), Devo, and The Black Keys (both of who also went to their high school and the father of the drummer, Patrick Carney, is part of our church, Jim Carney).

Molly had a wonderful first season as a sophomore starting for the girls varsity soccer team at Firestone. Their record was more losses than wins, but they probably played one of the most difficult schedules in northeast Ohio. Their first game in the state tournament was against Strongsville, who is #1 in the state and has been in the top 10 in the country for most of the season. They are presently at 15. We lost 0-8, but it was the best soccer game in skill and sportsmanship I have ever seen on both sides. Here is the note their coach sent one of our parents who sent a compliment to them. Powerful!!!
In life, your job, school etc... its about the effort put in. Never before
in my 20 years as a coach have I witnessed a team with more fire and effort
in a game. Most teams that we play if we are up by 3+ goals give up, lay
down, and become a bit foul. Last night was an example of a team (parents
included) that never gave up. I kept commenting to my coaching staff about
your positiveness and drive. Never once did I hear a negative from your
players or parents. Just cheers to keep trying, keep pushing, and never
give up.

This example alone will be remembered for as long as I coach. Thankyou
again for the compliment but more for the example of what sports should be
like!

Jon Felton adidas National Showcase Girls Director Strongsville HS Head
Coach

Would that the adults who are in leadership and politics in our country would learn from this!

the time of life

After this latest hiatus I am into the comments again.

Kate is now at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, OH and greatly enjoying being in college. Molly is a sophomore at Firestone High School and starting for the varsity girls soccer team.

I am spending time these days reading "The Sabbath" by Abraham Heschel, "Working the Angles" by Eugene Peterson, and "Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense" by N. T. Wright.

Here is some good reading from Heschel's book:

The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world.

The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals; and our Holy of Holies is a shrine that neither the Romans or the Nazis were able to burn; a shrine that even apostasy cannot easily obliterate: the Day of Atonement.

The Bible is more concerned with time than with space. It sees the world in the dimension of time. It pays more attention to generations, to events, than to countries, to things; it is more concerned with history than with geography. To understand the teaching of the Bible, one must accept the premise that time has a meaning for life which is at least equal to that of space; that time has a significance and sovereignty of its own.

He who wants to enter the holiness of the day must first lay down the profanity of clattering commerce, of being yoked to toil. He must go away from the screech of dissonant days, from the nervousness and fury of acquisitiveness and the betrayal in embezzling his own life. He must say farewell to manual work and learn to understand that the world already has been created and will survive without the help of man. Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone else. Six days a week we seek to dominate the world; on the seventh day we try to dominate the self.

still around...

Yep, I'm still around. Starting to rev up the ole writing elbow here.

Since Kate's graduation we have been settling in for the summer. Kate and Martha on Kate's choir tour to Arizona. Kate directed the choir at the assisted living community where my mother and step-father live and including Church of the Red Rocks in Sedona, a UCC church whose minister was my sr pastor when I was an intern in Philadelphia 35 years ago. Molly has played in two soccer tournaments (Jarosi and Continental Cup) and is in conditioning with her high school team getting ready for the adidas National Schowcase in two weeks.

And me...reading. Right now the book "The Serenity Prayer" - Faith and Politics in the Times of Peace and War, by Reinhold Niebuhr's daughter Elisabeth Sifton. It is great history, interesting reflection on Niebuhr's intention when he first developed the prayer, and his own personal life situations.

it's Heidelberg

Kate has decided to attend Heidelberg College in the fall. She was awarded their 2nd highest academic scholarship, Founder's Scholarship, and was accepted into the music department from her audition. She will be part of the Honor's Program which is something I would have loved to have had when I was in college. When we looked at other schools' honor programs they didn't seem to be as focused communally and offer the variety of interdisciplinary work that Heidelberg offers.

Heidelberg was not on my original list of schools when we started looking. Kate made the connection at a college fair a few years ago at her high school. She stopped by the table because her grandfather, my dad, had graduated from H'berg. (She had never met him since he died in 1977.) I have come to appreciate Heidelberg the more we visited and investigated. I think it is a good place for Kate.

She was down to St. Olaf and Elizabethtown. Great options to have.

The girls and homecoming

Kate is the Crowner (or runner up as Homecoming queen) at Firestone High School. Here she is at the homecoming dance. Trevor Kennedy, quarterback of the football team is her official escort at the dance from the football team.

Molly was at her first Homecoming Dance as a freshman.


David and Kate at half-time of the Firestone vs North football game when Kate was announced as Crowner. Firestone won 33-13.

Kate and Martha in Europe, Molly at soccer camp, Kate's colleges

Martha and Kate are in the middle of the two week Summit Choral Society Touring Choir tour of Germany, Vienna and Prague. Kate has been in the choir since 6th grade (six years) and Martha has been a "volunteer" choir manager for five years. Four years ago they were in Italy. Two years ago in China. Martha has said this tour has been the most fun. Here is a picture on the right from the front page of the Speyer, Germany newspaper, with Kate right in the middle. Here is my web page with links of videos and choirs pics and info. Here is a link to the tour blog which has videos, pictures, and commentary of the tour day by day. Here is the choir's ongoing tour picture gallery. Here is the choir's regular home page/blog.

I just picked up Molly from the

Hiram College soccer camp where she spent a week. She liked it better than last year's College of Wooster camp. It was a good week for her. There were girls there from both Strongsville and Hudson, Ohio girls high schools teams which have regularly won or at least are in the final four of the state tournament. Molly was on par with those girls. She is looking forward to this coming fall on the Firestone HS girls' team. They began conditioning two weeks ago with running and scrimmages.

Haven't updated for a while on Kate's college search. Here is the present list:

Lawrence University, Appleton, WI

Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA (Church of the Brethren related)

Heidelberg College, Tiffin, OH (UCC related)

Alma College, Alma, MI (PCUSA related)

of interest:

College of Wooster, OH

Otterbein College, Westerville, OH

Bowling Green State University