Normally I do not get political with my Religion in the City column. The articles are supposed to challenge and be an inspiring muse in people’s spiritual life. It has never been my intention to write to the left or right in either our community’s churches or government. I do not stand on the side of pro-lifers any more than I speak for pro-choicers. My articles are meant to be mindful expressions on the side of love, grace, hope and dignity for all of God’s children.
I leave next week for Florida’s annual 9-week legislative session. It’s a bummer every year that the kick off of the spring training season coincides with the session‘s start. The timing is ironic, at least in my opinion.
Sitting at Mitchells coffee house earlier this week a friend asked me if I thought Wesley’s sanctuary was still a sacred space, even though they have stripped away its pews and so much of the sanctuary? Of course I said yes! But it got me thinking about what I felt makes a space sacred?
Have you ever wanted to try a new beer but didn’t want to waste your money buying an entire 6 pack on something you might not like? Well, I have the solution for you. It’s the first annual Brewz Crewz Craft beer festival. It’s being held on Feb 20th from 6-9 in Munn Park in downtown Lakeland.
I talk a lot about regionalism in this space. And, make no mistake, I firmly believe in it. I know that if we do a better job working together we can achieve great things as the world’s super region. Unfortunately, the past two weeks have not offered a shining moment of regional cooperation as we witnessed an unfortunate fight surrounding the location of Polk’s High Speed Rail stop.
I remember how large and cold the cathedral space felt as compared to the small protestant churches I was used to. My girlfriend at the time had dragged me to a large old Catholic church for what she said was her favorite religious holiday—Ash Wednesday. It is not that the Methodist or Lutheran churches which I was used to attending did not celebrate Ash Wednesday; she just felt that the Catholics did it best!
When it comes to the site of a proposed high speed rail station in Polk County, we’ve heard from the Florida Department of Transportation, the City of Lakeland, the University of South Florida Polytechnic and now a landowner on the corridor. Below is the full text of a press release from the WIlliams Acquisition Holding Company. [...]
A bit of chatter lately surrounds Tampa International Airport’s international flare – or lack thereof, maybe. Mitch Perry provides a good post about the status of international flights at TIA and the relatively turbulent discussion that opened the dialogue again. There are certainly some unresolved questions after all the flap: Are there [...]
Bio: The short line? Father, husband, writer. My online presence is primarily through as the editor, writer, and occasional photographer for the news sites, Lakeland Local, a sampling of the news, concerns, and events for Lakeland, Florida, and Metro i4 News, which covers the Interstate 4 corridor in Central Florida. Both sites feature the work of myself and other contributors. As a hobby, I manage a forum and some web sites that feature a pulp fiction series written by Lester Dent -- Doc Savage Organized, Doc Savage Info, and Flearun.