Podcasts about aunt kate

There is a persistent myth that the 'real Klondike Kate' was a female Mountie named Kate Ryan, and that Kate Rockwell, the dancer, stole her name and reputation. It's a bogus charge, but the real story of Klondike Kate, the Belle of Dawson who later took up a land claim near Brothers and became known as Aunt Kate of Farewell Bend, is way more interesting than the myth. (Brothers, Deschutes County; 1910s, 1920s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/2403d-1108b.klondike-kate-katfight-1of2-137.641.html)

Bible Reading: Psalm 13; Isaiah 49:15"How long until we get there?" Jeremy whined for the fourteenth time in the past seventeen minutes. "We'll be at Uncle Jim and Aunt Kate's house in about two more hours," Dad replied. "Let's stop at a rest area soon and stretch our legs." At the rest area, Jeremy tumbled out of the van along with his parents and brothers. The boys began kicking a soccer ball around while Mom and Dad grabbed granola bars, apples, and water bottles from the trunk. As they settled back into the car, Dad said, "Jeremy, your question reminded me of something." "What's that?" Jeremy inquired between juicy bites of apple. "King David," Dad answered. "He asked God that question many times in a row." "Was David on a long road trip too?" Jeremy asked. Dad laughed. "No. He was asking how long God would forget him, how long God would abandon him to his enemies.""But God wouldn't do that," Jeremy said with certainty. "God won't ever leave us or forget about us. The Bible says so." "That's true," Dad said. "But sometimes it feels that way. When life is hard, when someone we love is dying, or when we're sick or lonely, it can feel like we'll be miserable forever. Sometimes it feels like God isn't hearing our prayers--like He doesn't care about us.""Dad and I talk about Psalm 13 quite a bit," Mom added. She turned around to look at Jeremy. "When God didn't answer our prayers to heal your cousin Emma the way we were hoping He would, this psalm encouraged us to talk to Jesus about it--to bring our anger and pain to Him. Talking to God like this doesn't mean we're sinning or not trusting Him correctly. Talking to God like this actually means that we--like David--trust Him enough to keep bringing our questions to Him. Jesus gave His life to make us God's children, and He loves and welcomes us--even when we're angry, even when we ask the same question fourteen times in seventeen minutes." She chuckled and patted Jeremy's knee. "And before you ask," Dad said, grinning as he peeked at Jeremy in the rearview mirror, "we'll get to Uncle Jim and Aunt Kate's in one hour and forty-seven minutes." –Rachel LubowHow About You?Have you ever felt like God doesn't see you or care about you? Psalm 13 shows us that you can always talk to God--He welcomes all our questions and feelings. Jesus loves us so much that He died for our sins to give us eternal life with Him, and He sits with us in the hardest parts of our lives. He sees you and cares about you, and He will never forget you or abandon you.Today's Key Verse:How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (NIV) (Psalm 13:1)Today's Key Thought:We can bring anything to God

This week on Pack Dynamics we're talking S1E10, "Co-Captain."  Allison begins to unpack the clues about her family history left to her by her Aunt Kate, but her family's secrets may be more than she bargained for.  Stiles presses his dad for information about the mysterious deaths occurring in Beacon Hills.  Scott finally finds out who the Alpha is while Mellisa McCall goes on a date. The incredible podcast cover art designed by our good pal ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ruin.roux⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Episode editing was done by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sonic Hustle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribers to Fandom on the Rocks will gain access to our bonus episodes, where we dive deeper into the behind the scenes of our favorite shows, our days spent in fandom, and our pop culture interests. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe today!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fandomontherocks/message

Spooky season is officially here! This week we return to Woodsboro to discuss another misadventure with ghostly killers. Grab some lemon squares and prepare for our thoughts on Wes Craven's final film: Scream 4! Listen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NaFJawSPMCs --- TIME CODES: 00:00 - INTRO 05:36 - THE RULES 11:07 - THE MEAT 55:56 - WHAT WE WATCHED --- FILM INFORMATION: Scream 4 (2011) “Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self-help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. There she reconnects with Sheriff Dewey and Gale, who are now married, as well as her cousin Jill and her Aunt Kate. Unfortunately, Sidney's appearance also brings about the return of Ghostface, putting Sidney, Gale, and Dewey, along with Jill, her friends, and the whole town of Woodsboro in danger.” Directed by Wes Craven with additional direction by Nicholas Mastandrea and Maria Mantia. Written by Kevin Williamson, edited by Peter McNulty, and cinematography by Peter Deming. Starring David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Rory Culkin, Mary McDonnell. Read more about Scream 4 on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Scream4 Find where to stream this week's film on JustWatch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/scream-4 --- OUR LINKS: Host Webpage: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/recentlylogged Letterboxd HQ: https://boxd.it/30uy1 YouTube: https://youtube.com/@recentlylogged Micah's Stuff YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqan1ouaFGl1XMt_6VrIzFg Letterboxd: https://boxd.it/AkCn Twitter: https://twitter.com/micah_grawey Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m_grawey_films/ Robbie's Stuff Website: https://robbiegrawey.com --- EPISODE CREDITS: Recently Logged Podcast creators - Micah and Robert “Robbie” Grawey Hosts - Micah and Robert “Robbie” Grawey Songs used in this episode - Frightmare by Jimena Contreras, Horror Bass Choir by John Patitucci, Tension Nonstop by Myuu, The Battle of 1066 by Patrick Patrikios Editor - Robert “Robbie” Grawey Episode art designer - Robert “Robbie” Grawey Episode Description - Robert “Robbie” Grawey --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/recentlylogged/support

Just you wait and see what obscure and unexpected surprises Troy and Roger have in store for all of you with this next gem. That's right, the boys are taking a sharp left turn and heading into uncharted territory as they brace themselves for a review of the 1984 “classic” Bloodsuckers From Outer Space. The gays are going in blind, and they probably wish they were after being exposed to this mess of a movie. Prepare yourselves as they dive deep into all things “Bloodsucker” related, including the fact that nobody in this film can get through a full line of dialogue, the obvious fact that gusts of wind are not scary, the wig that sits atop Aunt Kate's head, and Troy's sheer disdain for this title which makes this review all the more entertaining for everyone involved. Well, everyone but Troy that is! So huff some laughing gas and tune into this episode before the boys decide drop a nuclear bomb on your hometown, because it's time for an explosive new episode! Find out more at http://www.darknightofthepodcast.com

What's wrong with Larry Abbot?  The radio star is having bouts of fear, perhaps a remnant of childhood trauma.  Otherwise, everything seems to be swell:  he's engaged to be married to his scene partner, the delightful Vickie Pearle.  But the radio show, hosted by the Manhattan Mystery Theater and lead sponsor Ralston-Purina are concerned about Larry's mental health, so they've hired Larry's Uncle Paul, a psychiatrist. to employ a radical cure that will rid Larry of his fears in no more than 36 hours.  And off go Larry and Vickie to Larry's ancestral stomping grounds, a palatial estate that bears a striking resemblance to, well, let's just say we've seen it before.  Just like the Abbot family butler, Pfister, and the maid, the diminutive Rachel – there's something familiar about them as well.  What's new are the cast of characters that assemble at the estate for Larry and Vickie's wedding – Larry's cousins Charles, Nora, Susan, and Francis Jr., all of whom seem to have ulterior motives of one kind of another, some of which may include death or inheriting the fortune of the family matriarch, Aunt Kate.  Will Larry and Vickie make it through the next couple days intact?  Will we, the audience, figure out what's really going on?  Maybe so, but we'll have to sit through all 82 minutes of this film to find out. Intro, Math Club, and Debate Society (spoiler-free): 00:00-33:30Honor Roll and Detention (spoiler-heavy): 33:31-1:00:18Superlatives (spoiler-heavier): 1:00:19-1:17:45 Director Gene WilderScreenplay Gene Wilder & Terence MarshFeaturing Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Jim Carter, Dom DeLuise, Eve Ferret, Bryan Pringle, Jonathan Pryce, Gilda Radner, Jo Ross, Paul L. Smith, Peter Vaughan, Ann Way, Gene Wilder Award-winning director/producer Michael Pressman has worked across most entertainment genres and mediums, including comedies, dramas, social commentaries, short films, feature length studio and indie films, series television and movies, Broadway stage productions, and regional theater.  His directing credits for film include The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, Doctor Detroit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, To Gillian on her 37th Birthday, and Frankie and Johnny Are Married.  His television movies include To Heal a Nation, about the building of the Vietnam memorial, and the Anne Tyler adaptation Saint Maybe, starring Tom McCarthy, Blythe Danner, and Mary-Louise Parker (Hallmark Hall of Fame). He co-executive produced and directed David E. Kelley's “Picket Fences,” which lasted four seasons and won him two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Pressman then launched Kelley's next show, “Chicago Hope,” which earned him another Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. Other series that Pressman has produced and directed include multiple episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series “Law & Order: SVU,” and two seasons of “Blue Bloods.” He executive produced the fifth and sixth season of NBC's “Chicago Med,” earning that show its highest ratings to date. Pressman's stage work includes directing the Los Angeles premiere of To Gillian on her 37th Birthday, and a Los Angeles production of Frankie and Johnny in the Claire De Lune, the 2008 Broadway revival of Come Back, Little Sheba with S. Epatha Merkerson in the lead role. His most recent stage experience was directing Diane Frolov's Come Get Maggie for L.A.'s Rogue Machine Theatre. Our theme music is by Sir Cubworth, with embellishments by Edward Elgar.  Music from “Haunted Honeymoon” by John Morris. For more information on this film (including why the Professor chose it, on Our Blog), the pod, essays from your hosts, and other assorted bric-a-brac, visit our website, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠scareupod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please subscribe to this podcast via Apple or Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave us a 5-star rating. Join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ group. Follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

From surfing lessons and sunset cruises, to training dolphins and learning about space…Meagan and her two teens, Clara and Owen, packed in so many unforgettable experiences during their Spring Break trip to Florida! In this episode Meagan shares more about her travels with teens to the Space Coast of Florida and St. Augustine/Florida's Historic Coast, thanks to our sponsor VISIT FLORIDA. And while the activities may look a little bit different with teens vs. big kids and toddlers, find out why Meagan's best tips and take-aways for traveling with teens aren't actually that different from when they were toddlers. Enjoy!About Our SponsorThank you to VISIT FLORIDA for sponsoring this episode and making Meagan's and Catie's trips possible.Choosing where to go on a family vacation is easier than you think. Florida is filled with experiences you and your family will never forget. From 825 miles of beaches and 700 freshwater springs to over 1,300 trails with breathing room to run and play, there are so many reasons a Florida vacation is just, the best.Start planning YOUR best-ever vacation at VISIT FLORIDA today!Links We Mentioned (Or Should Have) In This Episode:Meagan and her kids enjoyed a nice stay at The Holiday Inn in Titusville, and visited the Cocoa Beach area to enjoy a kayak tour at sunset.They visited the Kennedy Space Center and had a waterfront dinner at Shiloh's restaurant.Meagan and her family loved their stay (especially the hot tub!) at The Hampton Inn & Suites St. Augustine/Vilano Beach.The Castillo de San Marcos is a must-visit, along with the Fountain of Youth Park.In St. Augustine, enjoy a trolley ride on Old Town Trolley Tours and be sure to stop into the Lightner MuseumMeehan's Irish Pub and Seafood House, Aunt Kate's, and Salt Life Food Shack are three great family-friendly restaurant options in and around St. Augustine.Enjoy the St. Augustine skyline and dolphin sightings on a sunset cruise with Florida Water Tours.Clara and Owen enjoyed surf lessons from Pit Surf Shop on St. Augustine Beach. Then it was off to Marineland for a Dolphin Encounter experience!If you have any alligator lovers in your life don't miss St. Augustine Alligator Farm & Zoological Park.Looking for more travel tips? In last week's episode, Catie Parrish shared details about her family of five's vacation to Florida with ideas for traveling with younger kids.Continue the conversation:Instagram | Private Facebook CommunitySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Turns out it's a food processor! And a theory about the JFK assassination! Which is a weird reference to use for naming a blender! This time we're talking about Season 1, Episode 4 - Magic Bullet. This is the episode where we meet Allison's cool Aunt Kate who seems totally chill and not at all homicidal. We continue to deny the existence of Sterek because we love to piss people off and we get to the bottom of how Allison ended up this gullible. Check out McMansion Hell to see what I mean about the Argent house. Would you rather cut off a stranger's arm or a loved one's? Let us know: Twitter: @TwinkWarsPod Tumblr: @twinkwarspod Email: twinkwarspod@gmail.com

Today Anna is joined by her Aunt Kate and Uncle Mark as they question her about how to truly parent their (soon to be) teens. All answers are based off of Anna's personal experience through life.

Bible Reading: Psalm 55:1-2; James 5:13-16"Uncle Jeff is finally out of the hospital," Mom told Nathan as they were setting the table. "Isn't that great? Aunt Kate's going to bring him here for something to eat before he goes home."Nathan's stomach churned. He bit his lip and shrugged. Uncle Jeff had been in a serious accident. He remembered Mom's face pale with worry when they'd heard the news. Everyone had prayed for Uncle Jeff, but part of his leg had to be amputated. Soon he would be fitted with an artificial one. Sadness welled up inside Nathan, then anger. Why didn't God save Uncle Jeff's leg? he wondered. Is it my fault? Maybe I didn't pray the right way or hard enough. The door sprang open as his aunt and uncle arrived. Uncle Jeff limped across the room on his crutches and sat down at the table. During dinner, Nathan could hardly eat anything. He tried to smile as everyone chatted away. His uncle winked at him, and then the hot tears fell."What's wrong?" Uncle Jeff asked, concerned."Oh, Uncle Jeff," said Nathan, rushing over to sit near him. "Please forgive me. It's not fair. I prayed for you--everyone at church did--but you still lost part of your leg." Nathan wiped tears from his eyes. "My prayers weren't answered. God didn't listen. I should have prayed harder!"Uncle Jeff squeezed his hand. "Oh, Nathan, God always hears your prayers--and those prayers were answered in a wonderful way. You think your prayers haven't been heard because I now need a prosthetic leg, but they were. I'm blessed! I almost died, but God saved me, and now I have a new start. It will take lots of physical therapy to learn to walk with my new leg, but it won't stop me from doing the things I love." He smiled at Nathan. "I know it won't be easy, but Jesus will help me through it. And even though I lost part of my leg, it won't be this way forever. I'll get my leg back when Jesus returns and gives me my resurrection body!" Smiling through his tears, Nathan hugged his precious uncle. Thank You, Jesus, for listening after all, he prayed silently. Then he returned to his seat, ready to eat some delicious food for this special celebration. -Cindy LeeHow About You?Are you worried about someone who is sick? Do you wonder if God hears your prayers for that person? Remember that Jesus loves us so much He died and rose again so we could have eternal life with Him. He loves you and understands what you're going through. Even when He doesn't answer our prayers the way we expect, He hears us and promises to be with us. Keep praying and trust in Him.Today's Key Verse:And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. (NLT) (1 John 5:14)Today's Key Thought:God hears our prayers

January 2, 2022. In today's sermon, written by Pastor Meagan and read by Mark Roock, we hear about how God knows every detail of our backstories, and delights in each one of us. Readings: Ephesians 1:3-14, John 1:1-18 *** Transcript *** This sermon was prepared by Pastor Meagan, so I want you to imagine that you're receiving it as a letter. So I would begin with: dear friends. Greetings to you from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. When I graduated from college and moved back home, it didn't take long before I joined the church choir at my childhood church. After all, I had always loved singing, and had been in one choir or another since I was in third grade. A fellow choir member, Barbara Lynch, had been part of that church since before I was born, and she began to tell me stories of things she remembered from when I was a kid, running around the halls of Our Lady of Grace Church and School. One of the stories she told me had been shared with her by my grade school music teacher, George Carthage. On his last day with us before retirement, Mr. Carthage asked what we wanted to sing, and we chose our favorite, The Holy City. Although I hadn't thought about it in years, I instantly remembered the day — and the song — she was talking about. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, lift up your gates and sing, hosanna, in the highest, hosanna to your king!” Over, and over, and over we sang it, until we were tired of it — which I imagine probably took us much longer than it took Mr. Carthage. As I recalled it, I realized that that day was one among many that fed my love of singing over the years. A few years after Mrs. Lynch reminded me of that day with Mr. Carthage, one of my cousins had a child who was the first baby in the family in many years, and my Aunt Kate said to all of us, “You see how excited we all are about this baby, how everyone wants to hold and love and talk to him? I want you to know that we did that exact same thing with every one of you. We love you all that way!” I had taken it for granted, up until then, the profound gift of having people in your life who know your backstory. People who can remind you of events and experiences that you had forgotten, who in some ways know you better than you know yourself. How important it is to have, or have had, people who knew you and looked on you with love, even before you were born. Each Christmas, we tell the story of Emmanuel, God with us in the flesh, remembering that God came to us in Jesus into the middle of human history to reveal the radical unfailing love God has for us. And today, on this second Sunday of Christmas, in the Gospel of John, we hear those ethereal words that remind us that Jesus, the Word, was present and moving in the world long before that night in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God . . . . All things came into being through him.” We don't often think about it, but this is so profound, isn't it? Christ was there, in and with and through God, from the very beginning of time. There isn't a single thing that has happened since creation that Jesus was not intimately a part of. All life came into being through Christ, who then came to us in Jesus. He was formed in Mary's womb, and she labored and gave birth to him in a stable in the tiny little town of Bethlehem. In Jesus, we know that there is nothing that has ever happened in our world or our lives that God does not know and care passionately about. Mrs. Lynch, among others, was able to share a slice of my childhood with me, but God knows our entire back stories, and us, better than we or anyone else ever will. Jesus came to show us that, just as my parents, aunts, and uncles poured love over each and every one of us in turn, so God delights in each and every one of us. Think about that for a moment. God delights in you! The story of God coming in Jesus is a story of a love so abundant that it surrounds and fills all of creation. Remember the Ghost of Christmas Present from A Christmas Carol? He brings Mr. Scrooge to all corners of the earth: a ship deployed on the ocean, a remote lighthouse, suburban streets, a deep mine, and a hospital. If we were to follow the Spirit today, we might find ourselves with people fleeing violence, poverty, and death in a refugee camp on our southern border; visiting people sick with COVID in a remote African village or in India's Maharashtra; or with those who are unhoused on the streets of St. Louis. The Spirit would likely bring us to those in prison in our own city. When the ghost and Scrooge arrive at Bob Cratchit's home in a poor, forgotten neighborhood, Scrooge asks why they are there, and the ghost replies, “It's Christmas here too, you know!” God came in Jesus to an unmarried young woman in a stable in a tiny little town to show us that they are present everywhere, perhaps especially the most forgotten places. No one is invisible to Christ, who intimately knows and sees and loves all people, and all of creation. There is no one God does not see and delight in. This is the gift and the call of Christmas. God knows every detail of our backstories, and delights in each one of us, and every one of us. And we are created us to embody that love in the world the way Jesus did, to see and love the forgotten ones, wherever they may be. God delights in you! What greater gift could there be to share? Amen. So writes our pastor, Meagan McLaughlin, and we too say amen. *** Keywords *** 2021, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, YouTube, video, Pastor Meagan McLaughlin, Mark Roock, Ephesians 1:3-14, John 1:1-18, A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens, COVID-19, coronavirus

Part 2 - Taking place on Nollaig na mBan at 15 Usher's Island, The dancing has begun, the party is warming up as more guests arrive. Fearing an incident, however, Aunt Kate dispatches Gabriel to chaperone Freddy Malins.

In this episode the boys go over to Texas to visit Mike's Aunt Kate only to find that her farm is under siege from Black Bart and his posse. Paco and Jef talk you through this traumatic experience and have a great time doing it. Hilarity ensues as Mike ends up pulling a phone off the wall and Micky and Peter play dress up to try and recruit some cowboys to help fight off Black Bart and save the farm! The Woolhat of Mystery gives us three new songs to add to the ongoing Monkees countdown...do you agree with where they end up?

What did the Queen say about Baby Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor? What did Uncle William and Aunt Kate say? What did her parents Harry and Meghan Markle say? And what about Thomas Markle, Meghan's estranged father? We hear from them all.

Today we're talking BLOODSUCKERS FROM OUTER SPACE, the 1984 low budget gem about a Texas town terrorized by a body-snatching alien wind! Featuring: drunk scientists, chainsaw decapitation, a surprising amount of Nitrous Oxide, Aunt Kate's famous spaghetti recipe, and a small town photojournalist having the best day of his life. Please be kind, rewind, but most importantly just be kind! Shout out to LUNCHMEAT! Lunchmeat VHS is your number one destination for the appreciation, celebration, and preservation of VHS and video store culture! Check out their website at lunchmeatvhs.com and explore their store full of old school horror goodies on VHS, apparel, and much more! You can also follow them on Instagram/Twitter @lunchmeatvhs --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/videoexpresspod/message

November 1, 2020. Pastor Meagan's sermon on this All Saint's Day celebrates all the saints who have come before us. Readings: Revelation 7:9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12 *** Transcript *** Some years ago, we got word that Joanne O’Neil, a beloved administrator of the church and school that we attended as kids, had died. Although she wasn't a family friend exactly, Joanne was one of those iconic figures in our lives for all of our growing up years — one of those steady, ever-present people who always seemed to have space and time in her office for anyone. She seemed to particularly love those who were expert trouble-makers in class, like my youngest brother, perhaps because she had a spark of that rebellious nature in herself. Upon hearing that she'd died, as a young adult, I remember calling my youngest brother and saying to him, “So bro, who’s the adult now?” Who's going to take the place of this iconic figure who was just always there, embodying love and grace in her unique way? And we both realized — we were now the ones called upon to be those iconic ever-present people in the lives of those coming after us. We were now the adults. And we wondered with each other, as young people in our early twenties, what that even meant. Today is All Saint’s Day, that specific day each year that we remember those people who have died. We grieve again in community the loss of those who are no longer physically with us, whose deaths have left a gap in our contact lists, our tables, and our lives. We remember those who have, like Joanne, made an impact on our lives, blessed us, helping to shape in many different ways who we are as people of God. We grieve, and we're grateful. The reading from the first letter of John today says that we continue to be transformed by the love of the God who created us, and even if others don’t understand, they can’t help but notice. And we don’t know yet, John says, what we will become. Jesus fleshes this out for his disciples in many ways. But in today’s reading, the gospel, through the beatitudes Jesus lifts up empathy, a capacity for love and grief, humility, mercy, passion for justice, truth, and God’s shalom as some of the ways that God’s love can be embodied in this world. Jesus encourages his followers to aspire to live out these ideals, telling them, in effect, that when you are empathetic, humble or merciful, or when you grieve someone you’ve lost, or seek truth, justice or peace, you are experiencing God’s realm on earth. And beyond that, theologian Raj Nadella suggests that we are invited to participate in the kin-dom of God by actively noticing when we experience these things, and living out the second part of the beatitudes — showing mercy, working for justice and peace, offering comfort, approving and affirming truth. As we all know, we human beings are not God. We're all in process, becoming more and more the people God created us to be, and it is in our relationships with one another that God works this transformation in us. There are many people in my life who have helped make me the person I am, who have embodied the love of God and the beatitudes for me in ways that have changed me forever. My Grandma Anne had a faithful sense of humor, and a generous spirit — she would have given the shirt off her back to anyone, and in her gruff way showered the love of God on those around her. My neighbor Gail, whose children I babysat for years, had a capacity to really see me with a love that didn’t need to change me that few others seemed to have. And my mom’s sister, my Aunt Kate, who died in February this year, always inspired me with her sense of hungering for justice, her gratitude and joy, and her capacity to walk through the challenges of life with authenticity and grace. Who are the people who have shaped you and made you the person you are today? Who has blessed you? Who has revealed God’s love, and the values of the beatitudes, to you? And how are you different because of their presence in your life? In our reading from Revelation today, John shares a vision of all the saints coming together, brought to wholeness once more. Often when I hear this, I think of the designated saints, those whose lives have been what we might think of as perfect, and who seem to have been — seem to have been — flawless in their capacity to follow God. Today, on the heels of Reformation Sunday, I am reminded of Luther’s conviction that we are all sinner and saint, and I am struck by the statement that these saints gathering are those who have been through the ordeal. They've been through struggle, they have fallen short and stood up again, as we all do. They've experienced persecution, hunger, grief, and even death, and they've found healing in the God who loves and redeems us all. These are the saints. And we too are saints of God, human sinner and saint, called to notice and name when we see God at work among us, and called to embody God’s love in this world for those who come after us, just as others did for us. Called to bless others as we have been blessed. That, perhaps, is the answer to the questions my brother and I had when Joanne died, so many years ago. Who’s the adult? We are. What does that mean? Doing the best we can to be the people God created us to be, modeling God’s kin-dom in our lives, trusting God to bring us through our ordeals, and knowing that even death is not the final word. Every week when we celebrate communion, we are gathered not only with those we can see, but with the entire communion of saints. God’s table is wide, and as we share the meal, all the saints are present. In these months that we have been Worshipping and celebrating communion together via Zoom, perhaps our vision has been sharpened, as we know that in spite of our physical distance, we are still sharing the table of God together. Today, let’s envision that table extending beyond even the reaches of Zoom, making room for all of the saints who have gone before us to share in this celebration together. Thanks be to God. *** Keywords *** 2020, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, YouTube, video, Pastor Meagan McLaughlin, Revelation 7:9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12

As a young woman, Klondike Kate traveled to the Gold Rush where she was able to build a fortune as a dancer, entertaining miners in Dawson, Alaska. She led a wild life for a while, but finally settled down in the state of Oregon where she built a boarding house and lived out her final years being called "Aunt Kate" by her neighbors.

Do you have fond memories as a school child bringing a shoe box to school in mid February, covering it in red or pink paper, then gluing  on heart shaped paper doilies, or cut out paper hearts, then having your teacher or parents cutting a rectangular slit on top of the box for your school mates to insert their mini Valentine envelope treasures? I do.   And, if I was lucky, a conversation candy heart would be tucked inside, saying, “Be mine”, or “You’re far out.” Is it obvious I grew up during the 1960’s and 70's?   That was a few decades ago. My own kids did the same thing in the 1980’s, 90’s and on, and their kids probably ask their parents for an empty shoe box to take to school at the beginning of February.   According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Valentine’s Day, February 14th, when lovers show their affection with greeting cards and gifts  is very popular in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and in many other countries where English is not the official language. Speaking of chocolate candy, listen to this story of my husband’s parents, Tom and Mary met the first day they attended Los Angeles City College. They sat next to each other in their English class where they were filling out papers. Mary glanced over to see what the name of this good-looking, dark-haired man was . . . and saw it was Irwin Thomas Murset. She said to him, “What name do you go by?” He said, “Irwin.” Mary answered, “I will call you Tom!” He said that he never did like the name Irwin, but he never thought of changing it. After that, everyone called him Tom. After seven years of courting, they were at a family gathering at Mary’s parent’s home on Valentine’s Day. Tom, after having informed everyone but Mary of his intentions, placed an engagement ring inside a box of chocolate candy and passed it around the room. She was the last person in the circle to choose her chocolate, but…. chose the diamond ring instead.  They married August 22nd 1942 in her parent’s home in North Hollywood, California. Tom was a soft spoken, quiet man, which could explain why he courted Mary for seven years before popping the question. (Tongue Tied) This next Valentine's Day story is from my side of the family: Ida Dayton and Sylvan Chatwin, my paternal grandparents, were born in Utah, United States, in 1905. Sylvan was born in the town of Santaquin, where his Mormon Pioneer grandfather William Chatwin had settled in 1875 and had become a school teacher. In 1851 he’d  emigrated from Lancashire, England to the United States and crossed the plains with other pioneer companies. By 1920, Sylvan was 14 years old and living with his parents and brothers and sister in Provo, Utah. He was the youngest of five children, four who lived to adulthood. His brother, Wallace Wayne lived to the age of 17 and died in November of 1918, during the height of the Spanish Flu epidemic, and as World War 1 was ending. Sylvan was attending Provo High School, during the early 1920’s when lovely young Ida Dayton convinced her parents to allow her to leave their home in Vernal, Utah to go and live in Provo with her Aunt Kate, her mother’s sister. I imagine Ida was a great help to her Aunt who lost one child at birth in 1923, and another in 1924. Ida was the sixth of eleven children. Only five of them lived beyond the age of three! It was at high school where Sylvan and Ida met and fell in love, courted a few years, and a couple of years after graduation married on Valentine’s Day. This choice of a wedding date doesn’t surprise me. Grandma was a romantic.  Most of the inside of her home was painted her favorite color, a bright pink. All of the sheet music tucked inside her piano bench was romantic music of the 1930’s and 1940’s. I tried playing one of those pieces for her before she passed away in 1986.  I don’t sight read music well, and after playing a sorry rendition of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, she pathetically said,

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings: Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 Originally delivered on November 10, 1991 Fr. Healy begins this homily with a family story of his Aunt Kate.  In this Gospel from Mark we hear how to live, and not live, a religious life.  Indeed, we are called to give, like the […]

This week on StoryWeb: James Joyce’s short story “The Dead.” James Joyce’s “The Dead” is widely considered to be his best short story, called by the New York Times “just about the finest short story in the English language" and by T.S. Eliot as one of the greatest short stories ever written. The storyline is simple enough: a long-married Irish couple -- Gretta and Gabriel Conroy – attend a lavish dinner party thrown by his aunts in celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). At the party, they each have a variety of conversations with assorted party guests, and Gabriel gives the evening’s post-dinner speech and leads the toast. As Gabriel and Gretta leave the party, the snow which had been lightly falling when they arrived at the beginning of the evening has become quite heavy. The closing scene finds Gretta asleep at their hotel while Gabriel stands at the window looking at the snow blanketing the city. Gabriel feels, in fact, that the snow is falling over the entirety of Ireland. Before falling asleep, Gretta had shared a memory about Michael Furey, the Irish activist lover of her youth. The reader is left to wonder whether Gabriel feels sorrow or acceptance over his wife’s confession that she still harbors feelings for her former lover. The ending, it would seem, is deliberately ambiguous. Indeed, the ending forces the reader to go back into the story looking for clues as to whether we’re supposed to read the ending as “happy” or “sad.” While “The Dead” is quite a famous story, less well known to the general public is its place as the culminating story in Joyce’s first book, a collection of short stories titled Dubliners. The collection was rejected 17 times over a 10-year period, with some of those rejections being based on what publishers and printers considered to be objectionable material. Finally published in 1914, this collection of 15 stories was Joyce’s first attempt to bring his native city to life. Of course, he would go on to write again and again about the Irish capital, most famously in his 1922 novel, Ulysses, which recounts one day in the life of Leopold Bloom as he makes his way through the streets of Dublin. But Dubliners was Joyce’s initial portrait of a city he both loved and hated. Each story in the collection features a different resident of Dublin, and each tells a different tale of the suffocating, dreary lives lived in this city. The characters presented here suffer from spiritual paralysis, squelched freedom, and ##. Joyce himself admitted that the stories capture some of the unhappiest moments of life. If you’re looking for uplifting literature, Dubliners is not the book for you. When read against the backdrop of these stories, “The Dead” – which is the finale of sorts to Dubliners – takes on an extra richness, an extra dimension. When read in this context, the story’s ambiguous ending becomes both easier and harder to read. Has Gabriel had an epiphany about the ways in which the dead live on in the memories of the living? Or has he succumbed – as the other characters in the Dubliners stories do – to a kind of paralysis, a numbing inability to be fully alive? Is the snow a beautiful phenomenon that brings all of Ireland together? Or is it a symbol of coldness, of death, a killing frost? As one source says, “In every corner of the country, snow touches both the dead and the living, uniting them in frozen paralysis. However, Gabriel’s thoughts in the final lines of Dubliners suggest that the living might in fact be able to free themselves and live unfettered by deadening routines and the past. Even in January, snow is unusual in Ireland and cannot last forever.” To consider the ending yourself, you’ll want to read this powerful story, which you can do for free at Project Gutenberg (and in fact, you can read the entire Dubliners collection here as well). If you prefer a hard copy, there’s an inexpensive Dover Thrift Edition. You might also want to watch John Huston’s 1987 film adaptation of “The Dead.” It starred his daughter Angelica Huston as Gretta Conroy and Donal McCann as her husband, Gabriel. Want to dig deeper? A helpful glossary of terms is available, and a digitized copy of the first edition of Dubliners can be found at Internet Archive. Richard Ellman’s biography of Joyce remains the standard, though its revised edition was published more than 30 years ago. Cornell’s James Joyce Collection is outstanding. You might also want to visit The James Joyce Centre – either online or in person in Dublin! Visit thestoryweb.com/joyce for links to all these resources and to watch the film’s ending. But first, take a listen as I read the opening pages of “The Dead.”   Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, was literally run off her feet. Hardly had she brought one gentleman into the little pantry behind the office on the ground floor and helped him off with his overcoat than the wheezy hall-door bell clanged again and she had to scamper along the bare hallway to let in another guest. It was well for her she had not to attend to the ladies also. But Miss Kate and Miss Julia had thought of that and had converted the bathroom upstairs into a ladies’ dressing-room. Miss Kate and Miss Julia were there, gossiping and laughing and fussing, walking after each other to the head of the stairs, peering down over the banisters and calling down to Lily to ask her who had come. It was always a great affair, the Misses Morkan’s annual dance. Everybody who knew them came to it, members of the family, old friends of the family, the members of Julia’s choir, any of Kate’s pupils that were grown up enough, and even some of Mary Jane’s pupils too. Never once had it fallen flat. For years and years it had gone off in splendid style as long as anyone could remember; ever since Kate and Julia, after the death of their brother Pat, had left the house in Stoney Batter and taken Mary Jane, their only niece, to live with them in the dark gaunt house on Usher’s Island, the upper part of which they had rented from Mr Fulham, the corn-factor on the ground floor. That was a good thirty years ago if it was a day. Mary Jane, who was then a little girl in short clothes, was now the main prop of the household, for she had the organ in Haddington Road. She had been through the Academy and gave a pupils’ concert every year in the upper room of the Antient Concert Rooms. Many of her pupils belonged to the better-class families on the Kingstown and Dalkey line. Old as they were, her aunts also did their share. Julia, though she was quite grey, was still the leading soprano in Adam and Eve’s, and Kate, being too feeble to go about much, gave music lessons to beginners on the old square piano in the back room. Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, did housemaid’s work for them. Though their life was modest they believed in eating well; the best of everything: diamond-bone sirloins, three-shilling tea and the best bottled stout. But Lily seldom made a mistake in the orders so that she got on well with her three mistresses. They were fussy, that was all. But the only thing they would not stand was back answers. Of course they had good reason to be fussy on such a night. And then it was long after ten o’clock and yet there was no sign of Gabriel and his wife. Besides they were dreadfully afraid that Freddy Malins might turn up screwed. They would not wish for worlds that any of Mary Jane’s pupils should see him under the influence; and when he was like that it was sometimes very hard to manage him. Freddy Malins always came late but they wondered what could be keeping Gabriel: and that was what brought them every two minutes to the banisters to ask Lily had Gabriel or Freddy come. “O, Mr Conroy,” said Lily to Gabriel when she opened the door for him, “Miss Kate and Miss Julia thought you were never coming. Good-night, Mrs Conroy.” “I’ll engage they did,” said Gabriel, “but they forget that my wife here takes three mortal hours to dress herself.” He stood on the mat, scraping the snow from his goloshes, while Lily led his wife to the foot of the stairs and called out: “Miss Kate, here’s Mrs Conroy.” Kate and Julia came toddling down the dark stairs at once. Both of them kissed Gabriel’s wife, said she must be perished alive and asked was Gabriel with her. “Here I am as right as the mail, Aunt Kate! Go on up. I’ll follow,” called out Gabriel from the dark. He continued scraping his feet vigorously while the three women went upstairs, laughing, to the ladies’ dressing-room. A light fringe of snow lay like a cape on the shoulders of his overcoat and like toecaps on the toes of his goloshes; and, as the buttons of his overcoat slipped with a squeaking noise through the snow-stiffened frieze, a cold, fragrant air from out-of-doors escaped from crevices and folds. “Is it snowing again, Mr Conroy?” asked Lily. She had preceded him into the pantry to help him off with his overcoat. Gabriel smiled at the three syllables she had given his surname and glanced at her. She was a slim, growing girl, pale in complexion and with hay-coloured hair. The gas in the pantry made her look still paler. Gabriel had known her when she was a child and used to sit on the lowest step nursing a rag doll. “Yes, Lily,” he answered, “and I think we’re in for a night of it.” He looked up at the pantry ceiling, which was shaking with the stamping and shuffling of feet on the floor above, listened for a moment to the piano and then glanced at the girl, who was folding his overcoat carefully at the end of a shelf. “Tell me, Lily,” he said in a friendly tone, “do you still go to school?” “O no, sir,” she answered. “I’m done schooling this year and more.” “O, then,” said Gabriel gaily, “I suppose we’ll be going to your wedding one of these fine days with your young man, eh?” The girl glanced back at him over her shoulder and said with great bitterness: “The men that is now is only all palaver and what they can get out of you.” Gabriel coloured as if he felt he had made a mistake and, without looking at her, kicked off his goloshes and flicked actively with his muffler at his patent-leather shoes. He was a stout tallish young man. The high colour of his cheeks pushed upwards even to his forehead where it scattered itself in a few formless patches of pale red; and on his hairless face there scintillated restlessly the polished lenses and the bright gilt rims of the glasses which screened his delicate and restless eyes. His glossy black hair was parted in the middle and brushed in a long curve behind his ears where it curled slightly beneath the groove left by his hat. When he had flicked lustre into his shoes he stood up and pulled his waistcoat down more tightly on his plump body. Then he took a coin rapidly from his pocket. “O Lily,” he said, thrusting it into her hands, “it’s Christmas-time, isn’t it? Just ... here’s a little....” He walked rapidly towards the door. “O no, sir!” cried the girl, following him. “Really, sir, I wouldn’t take it.” “Christmas-time! Christmas-time!” said Gabriel, almost trotting to the stairs and waving his hand to her in deprecation. The girl, seeing that he had gained the stairs, called out after him: “Well, thank you, sir.” He waited outside the drawing-room door until the waltz should finish, listening to the skirts that swept against it and to the shuffling of feet. He was still discomposed by the girl’s bitter and sudden retort. It had cast a gloom over him which he tried to dispel by arranging his cuffs and the bows of his tie. He then took from his waistcoat pocket a little paper and glanced at the headings he had made for his speech. He was undecided about the lines from Robert Browning for he feared they would be above the heads of his hearers. Some quotation that they would recognise from Shakespeare or from the Melodies would be better. The indelicate clacking of the men’s heels and the shuffling of their soles reminded him that their grade of culture differed from his. He would only make himself ridiculous by quoting poetry to them which they could not understand. They would think that he was airing his superior education. He would fail with them just as he had failed with the girl in the pantry. He had taken up a wrong tone. His whole speech was a mistake from first to last, an utter failure. Just then his aunts and his wife came out of the ladies’ dressing-room. His aunts were two small plainly dressed old women. Aunt Julia was an inch or so the taller. Her hair, drawn low over the tops of her ears, was grey; and grey also, with darker shadows, was her large flaccid face. Though she was stout in build and stood erect her slow eyes and parted lips gave her the appearance of a woman who did not know where she was or where she was going. Aunt Kate was more vivacious. Her face, healthier than her sister’s, was all puckers and creases, like a shrivelled red apple, and her hair, braided in the same old-fashioned way, had not lost its ripe nut colour. They both kissed Gabriel frankly. He was their favourite nephew, the son of their dead elder sister, Ellen, who had married T. J. Conroy of the Port and Docks. “Gretta tells me you’re not going to take a cab back to Monkstown tonight, Gabriel,” said Aunt Kate. “No,” said Gabriel, turning to his wife, “we had quite enough of that last year, hadn’t we? Don’t you remember, Aunt Kate, what a cold Gretta got out of it? Cab windows rattling all the way, and the east wind blowing in after we passed Merrion. Very jolly it was. Gretta caught a dreadful cold.” Aunt Kate frowned severely and nodded her head at every word. “Quite right, Gabriel, quite right,” she said. “You can’t be too careful.” “But as for Gretta there,” said Gabriel, “she’d walk home in the snow if she were let.” Mrs Conroy laughed. “Don’t mind him, Aunt Kate,” she said. “He’s really an awful bother, what with green shades for Tom’s eyes at night and making him do the dumb-bells, and forcing Eva to eat the stirabout. The poor child! And she simply hates the sight of it!... O, but you’ll never guess what he makes me wear now!” She broke out into a peal of laughter and glanced at her husband, whose admiring and happy eyes had been wandering from her dress to her face and hair. The two aunts laughed heartily too, for Gabriel’s solicitude was a standing joke with them. “Goloshes!” said Mrs Conroy. “That’s the latest. Whenever it’s wet underfoot I must put on my goloshes. Tonight even he wanted me to put them on, but I wouldn’t. The next thing he’ll buy me will be a diving suit.” Gabriel laughed nervously and patted his tie reassuringly while Aunt Kate nearly doubled herself, so heartily did she enjoy the joke. The smile soon faded from Aunt Julia’s face and her mirthless eyes were directed towards her nephew’s face. After a pause she asked: “And what are goloshes, Gabriel?” “Goloshes, Julia!” exclaimed her sister “Goodness me, don’t you know what goloshes are? You wear them over your ... over your boots, Gretta, isn’t it?” “Yes,” said Mrs Conroy. “Guttapercha things. We both have a pair now. Gabriel says everyone wears them on the continent.” “O, on the continent,” murmured Aunt Julia, nodding her head slowly. Gabriel knitted his brows and said, as if he were slightly angered: “It’s nothing very wonderful but Gretta thinks it very funny because she says the word reminds her of Christy Minstrels.” “But tell me, Gabriel,” said Aunt Kate, with brisk tact. “Of course, you’ve seen about the room. Gretta was saying....” “O, the room is all right,” replied Gabriel. “I’ve taken one in the Gresham.” “To be sure,” said Aunt Kate, “by far the best thing to do. And the children, Gretta, you’re not anxious about them?” “O, for one night,” said Mrs Conroy. “Besides, Bessie will look after them.”