CONTEMPLATING THE BLOG QUESTIONS

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One joy of blogging on Catherine’s Café is reflecting on the other blogs.  So here goes it!

Have you participated in any cultural exchanges lately?
I enjoyed celebrating the 5th anniversary of a local pastor, who not only is a great preacher, but also a recently elected judge in juvenile court. “Children must not be shackled when they come to this court!” he recently declared. The pastor who gave the sermon at the event is another great preacher, who preached that the preacher also must heal his/herself of his/her own pain and sin.  “Preach till the chains fall off! He proclaimed in his black preaching cadence with his Lutheran pastor soul.

How are you aware of God's presence in your life?
As I participated in the above service, I let the beat of the drums and the harmony of the hymns penetrate my heart and soul.  (I am not good at clapping and so my body kept still).  But God was there.  It was a God moment as I sat there 2.5 miles from where I grew up in my all white neighborhood.  Had God not called me back to my home town a few years ago, I would not have known what a blessing these two preachers and their two energetic congregations are to me and to my home neighborhood.

Who has supported your growth over the years?
From my youth God and the people God has sent to be with me have supported my growth.   How about you?

Joan Duerst, OP
Madison, WI

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