Happy Holydays

Whether due to excessive political correctness or sensitivity in a pluralistic and multicultural society, people have been using the phrases “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings” rather than “Merry Christmas.” And, for some reason, certain Christians are upset about this. (It reminds me of when people get upset about the use of “Xmas,” but I suppose that is a topic for another blog). Personally I like hearing Season’s Greetings or seeing Happy Holidays on billboards and signs (Or, in less educated parts of the country, “Happy Holiday’s”). “Season’s Greetings” reminds me that the time before Christmas is a time of preparation for Christmas. We Lutherans observe the weeks before Christmas as the Season of Advent. For us, it marks the beginning of the church year, and it happens to be my favorite season, perhaps even more so than Christmas. The greeting “Happy Holidays” reminds me of the many “holy days” during the months of December and January. Here are a few of my favorites: St. Nicholas Day St. Nicholas day is Dec. 6. This day commemorates Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, in modern day Turkey. Nicholas is remembered for his gift giving and a number of stories tell of his secret generosity to three poor sisters. Many of our Santa Claus traditions come from St. Nicholas. Some families observe the day by setting out shoes or hanging stockings on Dec. 5, then children awake on St. Nicholas Day to find them filled with candy or gifts. Since it is early in the Advent season, St. Nicholas Day is also an appropriate day for decorating your Christmas tree. Merry TubaChristmas tm TubaChristmas has been celebrated in December each year since 1974. Columbus, Ohio, celebrated its 25th TubaChristmas on Dec. 17 this year. Each TubaChristmas event gathers tuba, sousaphone, and euphonium players together to play a selection from 33 Christmas carols, including your favorites like "Fum Fum Fum" and "Come Sweet Death." TubaChristmas was an annual tradition when I was in high school, and one year I won a prize for best costume or best decorated instrument. This year my brother, two high school friends, and I once again played in TubaChristmas. Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival One of my more recent traditions is attending the Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Louisville. The Festival is usually after Christmas, and it provides a nice, quiet, and worshipful time after the busy holiday season. Notes from the Boar's Head program: "The history of the Boar's Head reaches back into the days of the Roman Empire. The boar was the first dish served at great Roman feasts. In Norman England, the boar was the sovereign of the great forests, a menace to man and a symbol of evil. The serving of the boar's head thus represents the triumph of Christ over evil, begun with his birth at Christmas and manifested as Savior of the whole creation at Epiphany. The festival has its roots in centuries of tradition, having been first presented at least as early as 1340 at Queen's College, Oxford, and in time becoming part of Christmas celebrations in the great Manor Houses of England. The custom of the Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival was carried to America, where the first performance took place at Hoosac School, Hoosac, New York, in 1888.

Ministry in Context Week 1

Today was my first official day of Ministry in Context, one of the requirements of my degree program at Trinity Lutheran Seminary. The program involves working in a local church or other setting. My site is Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Crestview Hills, Ky., which is within driving distance of our home.

However, today I was invited back to the congregation where I grew up, Grace Lutheran in Thornville, Ohio. Throughout the year Grace has been celebrating its 170th anniversary and inviting former pastors back. Today's celebration recognized others who have served beyond the walls of Grace.

I served as assisting minister at both services. It was an enjoyable experience and I tried to incorporate some of what I've been learning at school about presence, voice, intoning, movement. One of the most nerve-racking parts was that three of my fellow Trinity students were there, Shawn, Chris and J.J. Serving at Grace was a unique experience, because there are people who remember my as an "ornery" child crawling under the pews.

My family and wife and I went back to Grace this evening for a spaghetti dinner and a music festival held in honor of Marlowe Brainard, my band director from 5th to 12th grade. Many ensembles played. My mom sang in the choir and my brother played in a trumpet trio.

A Prayer for Advent

O Come, Emmanuel, You became flesh to dwell with us,
During this season of Advent, teach us your ways, that we may walk in your paths; help us lay aside our swords and spears, our quarreling and jealousy, that we may live in the light and in witness to the world; and keep us awake as we await your coming again, In your name we pray, Amen

We Hardly Knew Ye

Stuff What Doesn't Exist No More 

List compiled with Scott Pairan 

Bacon's (Clothing store) 

Big Bear (Grocery store) 

Bonanza (restaurant) 

Boron (Gas station) 

Burger Chef (Fast food establishment) 

Cantina del Rio (Mexican restaurant) 

Captain EO (3-D film at EPCOT Center) 

Chi Chi's (Mexican restaurant) 

Cooker (Restaurant) 

Drug Emporium (Drug store) 

Fotomat (1-day photo processor) 

Gold Circle Harts (Department store) 

Hecks 

Hills (Department store) 

Lazarus (Department store) 

Le Creme (whipped cream, not yogurt) 

MasterCharge (Credit card) 

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (Walt Disney World attraction) 

Odd Lots (Close-out store) 

Service Merchandize (store) 

Sizzlean (Bacon-type food product) 

Soda in glass bottles & Returning bottles to the grocery store 

Sohio (Gas station) 

SupeRx (Pharmacy) 

Tan M&Ms 

Woolworth's (5 & Dime)

Top Eleven Things I’ll Miss About Louisville

Top Eleven Things I’ll Miss About Louisville
In no particular order:
1) The Smoking Ban
2) The IMAX theater at Showcase CDL Stony Brook
3) King Pin Lanes
4) Color comics in the weekday Courier-Journal
5) Stony Brook Target
6) Named Interstate Highways
a) The Gene Snyder
b) The Henry Watterson
c) The Martin Luther King
7) Louisville Athletic Club
8) Claudia Sanders Dinner House
9) Chubby Ray's Original Louisville Pizza Company
10) Three comic book stores in town
a) The Zone
b) The Great Escape
c) Comic Book World
11) Christ Lutheran Church

Farewell from Tom Pairan

July 18, 2007

Dear Members and Friends of Christ Lutheran Church,

At last night's Church Council meeting, I submitted my letter of resignation as Director of Christian Education and Youth Ministry at Christ Lutheran Church. I have planned Aug. 12 as my last Sunday and Sept. 2 as my last day.

As many of you know, Anne Benson and I will be getting married on October 6. Anne is the pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Cold Spring, Kentucky, near Northern Kentucky University and Cincinnati, Ohio. The congregation is building a new church building, a project that is exciting and stressful at the same time. Next week, Anne and I are closing on a home about a mile away from the site of the new church.

Yesterday I received a letter of acceptance from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, where my grandfather, the Rev. Luther Knauff, and two of my great-grandfathers, the Revs. George Martin Knauff and Jacob Emanuel Albrecht, attended. I will begin a Master of Divinity degree program in September, part of the process of becoming an ordained ELCA pastor. I will be commuting to and from campus twice a week and staying with my brother Scott while in Columbus.

These decisions have been difficult ones for Anne and me; we have been discussing and praying about our options for over a year now. I will greatly miss living in Louisville and serving at Christ Lutheran. The congregation has been good to me over the past 11 years, and—as a single person—has become like a family to me. I am grateful for the many opportunities to serve at the congregation, conference, community and churchwide levels. During my time here, I have grown in my understanding of myself, my faith, and our Lutheran heritage.

I appreciate the support given while I studied at the Baptist seminary and during the process of becoming an Associate in Ministry. I ask for your continued prayers and support as I begin the candidacy process again and as I return to school.

During the past school year, I have been working to prepare the Christian Education and Youth Ministry committees for my departure. In my remaining time at Christ Lutheran I will do everything possible to help provide a smooth transition for the congregation.

In Christ's service,

Tom Pairan

"Believing" Thomas

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Our new hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, celebrates the Apostle Thomas on July 3. This is a change from a long tradition of commemorating him on Dec. 21. When I found the new date in the new hymnal, I was excited! July 3 is my birthday, the day I received the name Thomas.

The New Testament doesn't say much about Thomas, and Thomas doesn't say much in the New Testament. Perhaps, like me, he was a quiet man.
In John 11, Jesus wants to return to Judea, but the disciples are fearful for Jesus' safety. Thomas boldly says to the other disciples, "Let us also go, so that we may die with [Jesus]."

Thomas speaks again in John 14. Jesus says his Father's house has many dwelling places, and that he will go prepare a place there for his followers. Thomas is puzzled when Jesus says, "And you know the way to the place where I am going" (14:4). Thomas asks, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus' reply is often quoted: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

But Thomas' most infamous moment—which earns him the nickname "Doubting Thomas"—comes after the Resurrection. Thomas is absent when Jesus appears to the disciples, and he has difficulty believing that Jesus has returned. A week later, Jesus appears to them again, and this time Thomas is among them. Jesus invites Thomas to touch the wounds in his hands and his side. Jesus says, "Do not doubt but believe." John's gospel does not say whether Thomas touched Jesus or not, but it does record his confession, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus asks "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

I, like Thomas of the New Testament, have times of doubt. Times when it is difficult to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Times when it is difficult to understand what God is doing in my life and in the world. Times when I want to hold on to something tangible like flesh and blood, rather than the abstract like faith, hope, and truth.

But in my years of ministry at Christ Lutheran, I have seen and been touched by the risen Christ. I have touched the hands of Christ when I am greeted with a handshake before an evening meeting or when the peace of the Lord is shared on Sunday mornings. I have felt the arms of Christ surround me as I have been hugged around my knees by a small child, embraced in a gesture of forgiveness, patted on the back in congratulations. I have been served by Christ when my feet have been washed on Maundy Thursday, when I have been fed by the women of the Wednesday circle, when I have worked along side the young people in the congregation. I have tasted the body and blood of Christ as I have been fed each week at the Lord's Supper on Sunday mornings, at our synod's camps during the summer, and at our Wednesday services of healing and wholeness.

As my birthday approaches, I remember Thomas and his faith in Christ. I have been blessed. I have seen. I have believed.