Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

When I was younger I never really liked my name.   Some people may think well what’s in a name.   However, I believe there is power in a name and it says a lot about who you are.   Since I was not willing to go through the process of changing my name, I decided to do a little research after people kept asking me what my name meant and I didn’t know.   I found out that my name Lystra meant free.   The meaning resounded within me and ever since I have been growing into my name. Freedom is not free or easy.   With freedom comes great responsibility.   Being free doesn’t mean that I can do anything I want without consequences.   Freedom comes with a price; someone paid a price so that I could be “free” today.   Two weeks ago I did a summer course entitled- Faith and Justice in Freedom Narratives: Lessons in Ethics from the Slave Quarters.   Our class was facilitated by Dr. Katie G. Cannon and as co-learners we learned about the horr...

We are approaching the July 4 th celebration of our country’s independence, a day typically filled with flags, fireworks, picnics, family gatherings and maybe a little chest pounding.  The Song of Peace, written by Lloyd Stone in 1934 and sung to the melody of the “Finlandia” hymn, is a reminder that we are not so unique; that everyone everywhere shares our hopes and dreams for peace and prosperity.  Until everyone enjoys the ‘inalienable rights’ we so often take for granted, we cannot truly be free.   In what ways do you enjoy freedom that others may not?  How has God blessed you?                                            The Song of Peace This is my song, Oh God of all the nations, A song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is; Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shr...