See, this is why folks wonder about Valpo
From the Neighbors section of today’s local paper: Valparaiso University chapel introduces two new Lutheran hymnals.
VU is changing over from the previous melange of hymnals (I must confess that I don’t know exactly which ones they’ve been using, although I could guess…), and will now be using the two newest hymnals from the LCMS & ELCA. (There’s a right nifty photo in the paper of the intermingled stacks of hymnals being formally “blessed” by Chapel Pastor Jim Wetzstein, but it doesn’t seem to be available online. 
)
Why do I care, given that, as stated by Rev. Joseph Cunningham, VU’s Dean of the Chapel,
“Valparaiso is an independent Lutheran institution, which means students from both church bodies are among the 1,000 to 1,200 weekly worshippers at the nine services in the chapel.”
Well, I guess I find it off-putting that the aforementioned Revs. Wetzstein and Cunningham are rostered LCMS pastors. Somehow it strikes me as, well, wrong that an LCMS pastor is openly advocating the use of worship materials produced by a church body that has been recognized by the LCMS in convention as being heterodox.
I also don’t like the hidden/implicit bias against the LCMS in two of the quotes used in the article, namely:
“The LSB is an attempt to bring in some new things while embracing the more traditional liturgy,” Cunningham said.
and
While both books broaden the range of music used for worship, the ELW recognizes the growing interest in ethnic diversity and emergence of new styles, such as contemporary Christian music, over the last 30 years, according to Chapel Music Director Lorraine Brugh.
Granted, I’ll admit that I’m possibly being a little over-sensitive with the Cunningham quote; however, the Brugh statement clearly touts the ELCA book as being superior to and/or more progressively “enlightened” than the LCMS book.
There are a few other things in the article that don’t cause one to be overly filled with joy over the current state of things at the Chapel of the Resurrection (located just a mile or so from Schloß TB), but I’ll leave reading and/or commenting on them to another time.
-ghp
On writing (well)
Writing is easy.
Writing long (or, if you prefer, “a lot”) is easy.
Writing well is difficult.
Writing well “short” is really difficult.
Even though I find the process of writing both short and well at the same time to be difficult, it is ultimately enjoyable.
Finding guides and/or encouragement in persevering through to good, clean, compact writing is a proverbial “good thing”. Here are a few links that can help…
Marvin Olasky published two columns at WORLD Magazine, on May 10, 2003 & April 10, 2004, that deal quite nicely with the larger issues related to good writing.
In a slightly longer form, author John Scalzi has written an outstanding piece on this subject over at his blog — Writing Tips for Non-Writers Who Don’t Want to Work at Writing. Good, solid, insightful, common-sense tips. Just what any, and every, writer needs to read, learn, and inwardly digest. [HT: WWdN]
Worth the time to check out…
-ghp
19-Jan: Today in History
Jan 19, 1981: The United States and Iran signed an agreement for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.
I Say: This agreement paved the way for the actual release of the hostages minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration as the 40th President of the United States. I remember the late 70’s, and the Carter Administration’s inability to effect either hope or change. Even for me, a 13 y/o 8th grader, Reagan’s “Morning in America” was real. It meant something. He gave us hope — hope that “malaise” was not our unavoidable destiny. It was an interesting time to live in Macomb County, MI — birthplace of the “Reagan Democrats”…
For me, Ronald Reagan shall always be the embodiment of being “Presidential”. I consider myself very fortunate to have come of age, going through both high school and college, during the 1980’s lifespan of the Reagan Administration.
-ghp
(also, on Jan 19, 1939, Marilyn Esther Jones was born — an event of epic significance for me & bigsis! 
Happy Birthday, Mama!)
18-Jan: Today in History
In 1919, the Paris Peace Conference, held to negotiate peace treaties ending World War I, opened in Versailles, France.
I Say: And a fat lot of good it did! All they really accomplished was to impose such onerous terms on the Germans that the nascent Weimar Republic was pretty much doomed to fail from the start. Thus ensuring that an Austrian loon would gain stature, influence, & power, appeasement would become all the rage in the UK, the French would build the defense to end all defenses at Maginot, and Wilson’s Folly would become the precursor of the U.N.
Wow — thanks for all that good, good stuff, David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, & Woodrow Wilson! Feh!
One of my favorite non-standard views/takes on early 20th-century history is that WWI & WWII really weren’t two separate, distinct events. Rather, they were a single conflict, linked by a smoldering, not-so-cold/calm period of time in the 20’s & 30’s — a “reloading” phase, if you will. If that is a valid theory (and it is in many ways), it is largely so because of what was done at Versailles.
-ghp
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