Great piece and thanks for doing it. You know, they have these things called “links” that all the kids are using these days…

Seriously, if you need help learning how to do them, lemme know.

for the message.

May God Bless

Our Church is a week away from our annual food basket (actually a box now) program. We will assemble 1200 baskets for those folks who are in need. From Maine to Hawaii there private efforts aimed at helping those folks who are down and out. Times are a little tough right now so its not a good time to cut back on charity. My wife and I try to spend as much on those folks in need as we do on presents for ourselves or our family. As Uma’s story shows there is a “reason for the season”.

There was a post earlier today on Bill Buckley. I wanted to comment on it but felt inadequate. Here is perhaps a better place for a comment on WFB. He was a man of God. William Buckley had no problem reconciling God and Conservatism. In his life he apparently lived by the motto “what would it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lost his life”.

I believe in Providence- whether its in Gettysburg PA or Rhode Island. We all live imperfectly in this life. Yet I believe we are placed here for a reason and in a condidtion that we cannot fully understand.

So whether Providence has placed in a position of need or a place of plenty. May God Bless you during this time of year.

even if arsonists burn all the churches to the ground.

But it doesn’t sound like that’s a danger in Gettysburg. Thanks to Uma for writing this and Leon for promoting it.

Folks, there’s a time for scorched-earth tactics in politics. Some occasions might even call for sensationalist promotion.

But when it comes to the faith delivered to the saints, we’re talking a long game–one that carries us into eternity. Christians who are led to become political activists can never have an “ends justify the means” attitude in religious liberty issues, because the ends are never in our hands; we only have the means. If those means are not the means of Christ we cannot expect His blessing.

I can only in Gods eyes, see as a wake up call because I chose to ignore and/or put-off all the relatively gracious other signs! Thank you for being a leader in many things not the least of which is the reason for the season. I would only like to add the following….we have heard far too many times recently that elections have consequences…I also am living proof IMO that stubborness, inaction, fear, and selfishness have grave consequences as well. God bless all you who read this

Thank you for posting.

I was bewildered at the original thread, but having only a passing knowledge of Gettysburg (visiting a few times with a 14 year old history buff) I didn’t know if my surface observations were valid.

Thank you for writing this. Beautifully done.

… really about a couple of arsonists who unilaterally made a ‘decision’ on behalf of others in the community and thereby deprived many – even the authorities – of their right to decide. IE; the actions of a few subsumed and violated the rights of the many.

At least to me that’s what it was about.

I am still wary that the code violations were legitimate regarding the chapel, but I understand where you are coming from and would probably be offended if someone characterized my hometown in a negative light based on the actions of a few. Thank you for sharing with us this wonderful story and giving everyone a different perspective of Gettysburg.

As someone who helped pass around the original story, I always assumed two things were given. I regret not having said anything until now.

First, I understood the phrase “kicking God out of town” after the pattern of “kicking God out of the classroom”. Obviously God is not leaving town, as long as two are gathered in His name. It was an attention-getting device that went too far.

Second, implicit in the story is a disconnect between the people of Gettysburg and its government, or a faction (or even lone actor) in it. Beyond the fact of Gettysburg’s historical significance, that is the unstated importance of the story. We right-wing bloggers believe that outside the big cities, the people are mostly on our side, while local governments tend to attract the loony left agitators.

I figured that there was a misunderstanding of the necessity of the battlefield replica chapel retaining its primitive character. Bringing the place up to code, with (for example) properly wheelchair-accessible restrooms and GFCI electrical outlets would have ruined the place as an historical replica.

I wondered all along why the demand wasn’t that people stop using the museum-piece chapel as a worship facility, and keep it as a static, velvet-rope display. That still would have been overzealous government busibodiness, but it at least would have fit the government’s stated goal of public safety.

But as the demand was to tear the structure down, well, of such small escalations are conflagrations made.

It’s good to emphasize that God is still in town, and will not be mocked. To the extent that I was involved in that, I apologize.