Sunday Wrapup--December 11, 2016
Today Hiromi and I both stayed home from church because of a cold and cough. He seems to have caught what I am still very slowly recovering from. Yesterday was to be a day of getting lots of schoolwork done. It didn't happen. I was just too exhausted to manage anything beyond laundry and bread baking.
Another downside of having this malady is that I haven't seen the newest grandson since the day he was born. I don't want to expose him to what I have. He's doing well, even without my watchful eye.
****************
Last week we started an Expotitions cycle on Animal Signs. Animal tracks come to mind first, but a variety of other signs are worth noting as well.
On very short notice, 14-year-old Vincent Miller came to school to talk about his experiences with trapping. He showed us several pelts that he has tanned himself (coyote and beaver), and a variety of traps he uses. He also had coyote scat in a little zipper bag and told us something I didn't know. Animals can gather a variety of messages from sniffing droppings. This happens because a shift in the animal's hormones affects the scent of droppings, and other animals can tell if the animal that passed by earlier was in an aggressive mood, for example.
Another interesting thing Vincent does is extract skunk musk to be sold. First the skunk is dispatched with a shot to the lungs, so the spray mechanism isn't activated. Then he removes at least a part of the hide to expose the scent glands. With a syringe, he can extract the liquid scent and place it in a container which is then tightly sealed. For good measure, the lid is sealed with liquid wax and the container is buried in sawdust inside a box for shipping.
Some perfume companies use this in their products, but the majority of it goes to manufacturers of scents and lures used for baiting various animals.
Vincent is homeschooled. He spoke to his age mates at school on a topic on which he had become an expert of sorts. His dad provided transportation.
*****************
My Uncle Perry Miller came to school on Tuesday of last week to answer questions about his life. The composition class is attempting to write a booklet telling that story. On Friday his son Gary also came to help fill in some gaps where Perry's modesty or his 91-year-old memory interfered.
*****************
We had the coldest temperatures of the season so far last week. It didn't go down to the single digits as predicted, however. We saw a few snowflakes, but nothing accumulated. After a winter last year with no snow until Easter Sunday, some of us are ready for the excitement of snow again. Facebook tells me that friends in Indiana and Ohio are getting snow.
******************
The community chorus gave a Christmas program at Center last week. After a day of not feeling well I roused myself long enough to go hear the presentation and found it very worthwhile. It's a big group (70?) from a number of area churches. I heard a number of new songs. Shane was one of several soloists.
*******************
One of the images from my dad's funeral that keeps coming back to me is what happened when Pastor Sam from Partridge filed by the casket. He stopped briefly and delivered a salute before moving on. I think that's probably the very first time that happened inside our church.
I can imagine that Dad would have grinned if he had seen it--a little abashed, and certainly trying to direct the honors elsewhere. He would have accepted it as a kind gesture, however, and reflected on Sam's friendship with warmth.
A former Partridge pastor, Pam Tinnin, wrote this to Joel, with whom she has kept contact on Facebook: I served as pastor of Partridge Community Church UCC from 1996 to 2004. During that time we entered a war against Iraq. I organized a peaceful protest held in Hutchinson that included over 100 people from Partridge, Hutchinson and other Reno County areas. After that event, Pastor Miller sent me a note. I must admit that as I opened it, I wondered whether it contained words of condemnation. To my amazement, it was a wonderful note of affirmation, saying how I was doing God's work and if I ever felt as if I needed a supportive presence, I could call on him. What a blessing that was and I will never forget it. Some time after that, I arranged for two leaders from the Muslim religious community in Wichita to speak at the Partridge Church. Pastor Miller attended that night and thanked me for bringing the speakers to our community. He was truly a great man of God. Prayers for comfort to his family and community. Rev. Pamela J. Tinnin, Cloverdale, California
****************
One of the losses I feel with Dad's death is that I am lacking some protections that I have always enjoyed. It seems silly in a way since I have been married for 35 years and have not been dependent on my father on a day to day basis for any of that time.
His watchfulness and wisdom somehow gave me courage to interact with the issues in my world fearlessly. I feel vulnerable without it.
Alongside these unwelcome emotions, I also recognize that having Dad "safely home" feels very right. The oncoming winter cold feels less threatening, knowing that Dad will not try to venture out in it. There is no specter of increasing limitations or the return of cancer for Dad. Certainly we would find a way to deal with whatever happened if he were still with us. As it is, he's free from our bumbling efforts to do so, and is in the presence of God and of those who have died in Christ.
*****************
Our curriculum committee is racing against the deadline of the start of the second semester to line up some materials for several high school classes that have always been individualized before. Right now our heads are spinning with world history topics. Next we'll look at physical science. We're also still trying to finish up health and physical education.
This curriculum review is taking longer than any of us anticipated, but what we've accomplished so far seems worthwhile, and we're all very invested in continuing to work toward completion.
I think the documents we've created so far are available online somewhere--maybe in a private discussion group for Christian school principals.
Another downside of having this malady is that I haven't seen the newest grandson since the day he was born. I don't want to expose him to what I have. He's doing well, even without my watchful eye.
****************
Last week we started an Expotitions cycle on Animal Signs. Animal tracks come to mind first, but a variety of other signs are worth noting as well.
On very short notice, 14-year-old Vincent Miller came to school to talk about his experiences with trapping. He showed us several pelts that he has tanned himself (coyote and beaver), and a variety of traps he uses. He also had coyote scat in a little zipper bag and told us something I didn't know. Animals can gather a variety of messages from sniffing droppings. This happens because a shift in the animal's hormones affects the scent of droppings, and other animals can tell if the animal that passed by earlier was in an aggressive mood, for example.
Another interesting thing Vincent does is extract skunk musk to be sold. First the skunk is dispatched with a shot to the lungs, so the spray mechanism isn't activated. Then he removes at least a part of the hide to expose the scent glands. With a syringe, he can extract the liquid scent and place it in a container which is then tightly sealed. For good measure, the lid is sealed with liquid wax and the container is buried in sawdust inside a box for shipping.
Some perfume companies use this in their products, but the majority of it goes to manufacturers of scents and lures used for baiting various animals.
Vincent is homeschooled. He spoke to his age mates at school on a topic on which he had become an expert of sorts. His dad provided transportation.
*****************
My Uncle Perry Miller came to school on Tuesday of last week to answer questions about his life. The composition class is attempting to write a booklet telling that story. On Friday his son Gary also came to help fill in some gaps where Perry's modesty or his 91-year-old memory interfered.
*****************
We had the coldest temperatures of the season so far last week. It didn't go down to the single digits as predicted, however. We saw a few snowflakes, but nothing accumulated. After a winter last year with no snow until Easter Sunday, some of us are ready for the excitement of snow again. Facebook tells me that friends in Indiana and Ohio are getting snow.
******************
The community chorus gave a Christmas program at Center last week. After a day of not feeling well I roused myself long enough to go hear the presentation and found it very worthwhile. It's a big group (70?) from a number of area churches. I heard a number of new songs. Shane was one of several soloists.
*******************
One of the images from my dad's funeral that keeps coming back to me is what happened when Pastor Sam from Partridge filed by the casket. He stopped briefly and delivered a salute before moving on. I think that's probably the very first time that happened inside our church.
I can imagine that Dad would have grinned if he had seen it--a little abashed, and certainly trying to direct the honors elsewhere. He would have accepted it as a kind gesture, however, and reflected on Sam's friendship with warmth.
A former Partridge pastor, Pam Tinnin, wrote this to Joel, with whom she has kept contact on Facebook: I served as pastor of Partridge Community Church UCC from 1996 to 2004. During that time we entered a war against Iraq. I organized a peaceful protest held in Hutchinson that included over 100 people from Partridge, Hutchinson and other Reno County areas. After that event, Pastor Miller sent me a note. I must admit that as I opened it, I wondered whether it contained words of condemnation. To my amazement, it was a wonderful note of affirmation, saying how I was doing God's work and if I ever felt as if I needed a supportive presence, I could call on him. What a blessing that was and I will never forget it. Some time after that, I arranged for two leaders from the Muslim religious community in Wichita to speak at the Partridge Church. Pastor Miller attended that night and thanked me for bringing the speakers to our community. He was truly a great man of God. Prayers for comfort to his family and community. Rev. Pamela J. Tinnin, Cloverdale, California
****************
One of the losses I feel with Dad's death is that I am lacking some protections that I have always enjoyed. It seems silly in a way since I have been married for 35 years and have not been dependent on my father on a day to day basis for any of that time.
His watchfulness and wisdom somehow gave me courage to interact with the issues in my world fearlessly. I feel vulnerable without it.
Alongside these unwelcome emotions, I also recognize that having Dad "safely home" feels very right. The oncoming winter cold feels less threatening, knowing that Dad will not try to venture out in it. There is no specter of increasing limitations or the return of cancer for Dad. Certainly we would find a way to deal with whatever happened if he were still with us. As it is, he's free from our bumbling efforts to do so, and is in the presence of God and of those who have died in Christ.
*****************
Our curriculum committee is racing against the deadline of the start of the second semester to line up some materials for several high school classes that have always been individualized before. Right now our heads are spinning with world history topics. Next we'll look at physical science. We're also still trying to finish up health and physical education.
This curriculum review is taking longer than any of us anticipated, but what we've accomplished so far seems worthwhile, and we're all very invested in continuing to work toward completion.
I think the documents we've created so far are available online somewhere--maybe in a private discussion group for Christian school principals.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
6:17 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home