Phil Gulley-I've been thinking this week of Ray Stewart, who passed away on January 20, 2005, nearly three years ago, but who I think about nearly every day.  Ray was a blink away from turning 90 when he died, so we weren't close in age, but very near in spirit, and I miss him a great deal.  Like me, he had a talent for upsetting Quakers of a certain stripe—the same people were always mad at both of us—and Ray could always be counted upon for advice and support.  I would phone him to lament some difficulty I was having, and a half hour later he would be at our back door, saying, "Philip, my boy, let’s talk."

Philip Gulley-Last week in Chat Room, the subject of motivational posters came up.  I can't remember how the topic came up, but it was an interesting discussion.  There's a certain kind of motivational poster you've probably all seen. show a pretty scene, then one word, followed by a definition.  They're made by a company called Successories. This past year, instead of getting a raise, a friend of mine was given a Successories motivational poster to hang in his office.  It shows a bridge crossing a stream, has the It'll word Collaborate in big letters, followed by the saying, "Meeting people halfway is the most significant trip we can take.  We don't work for each other; we work with each other."  My friend hates that poster.  He asked his boss, "Since I don't work for you, but with you, how come you got a raise and I didn't?"

Philip Gulley-We had family Thanksgiving at our house this past Thursday, then on Friday went to Paoli for the Apple Family Thanksgiving, which we eat at a restaurant, Joan's mother, Ruby, being too old to cook, but still too much of a mother to let her daughters cook, so we go to a restaurant and it works out pretty well.   The restaurants of Orange County, Indiana do not serve good food, but they do give you a lot of it, adhering to what I call the Golden Corral theory of dining—that people don’t mind if the food is bad, so long as there is a lot of it.   

JIm-Mulholland-Angie and I had wonderful time visiting New Zealand. We spent the first few days with my sister and her family – sightseeing, playing games, catching up. Then we rented a car and went exploring. We discovered a beautiful land of rolling green hills, towering snow capped mountains, deep blue lakes, thundering waterfalls, and rocky seashore.

Jim Mulholland-Last week, in my sermon, I shared the story of my final years in the United Methodist Church, of how my theology began to change even though my preaching remained the same. I talked about the misery of that and the captivity it created. I told of my decision to resign. This week, I realized I didn't tell you the whole story.