Returning now to my travelogue series on my trip to Gonzaga University, it is impossible to visit Gonzaga without running into the Bulldog. Ergo, my montage of the bulldog, including the video where I pose with the bulldog and find out how hot all that metal gets in the midday sun.
Today's post is the final in a series of posts on last Sunday's farewell celebration for the Rev Gary Ponder Williams at Avondale United Methodist Church. That day's celebration concluded with some final words. The first words were from Andrew, who shared something funny, something serious, and a charge: But the final of the final … Continue reading This is Your Day: Final Words
After all the other tributes were completed on Sunday, this one final reading by Bonnie House placed a capstone on the time of tribute to the Rev Gary Ponder Williams. Listen to this adaption of a Dr. Seuss classic:
Sunday's service was followed by an appreciation luncheon (pizza) for Rev Gary Ponder Williams and his family. The after meal "program" was full of various presentations. First, the Threads of Love presented Gary and Jodi with a prayer shawl and afghan: Then there was the care package for their son, Andrew, for his 20-hour drive … Continue reading Today is Your Day: Presentations
In his final sermon at AUMC, Rev. Ponder Williams did an excellent, and poignant discussion of what it meant to be a pastor, with references from the 23rd Psalm. He discussed the Methodist method of assigning pastors, rather than calling them, and how after the service he would no longer be "Pastor Gary" but just … Continue reading Today is Your Day: Final Sermon
Children's Time has been a regular feature of sermons at Avondale with Rev. Ponder Williams. The standard format was usually the reading of a book to the children. Ponder Williams didn't vary that motif on his final Sunday. What he did do was to use it as a means of transition, encouraging the children to … Continue reading Today is Your Day: Children’s Time
Today's post is sound bites from the service music. Though it was the Rev Gary Ponder Williams' last sunday at Avondale United Methodist Church, that did not change the order of service. If anything, it made that liturgical rhythm even more important. First, a Prelude from the church's pipe organ. Next, the Introit: O Come Let … Continue reading Today is Your Day: Service Music
That was one of the themes at services Sunday at Avondale United Methodist Church. The day marked the final Sunday where the Rev. Gary Ponder Williams served as pastor of AUMC. Both the services and the reception afterwards were poignant memories of his time at Avondale, and best wishes as he heads to his next … Continue reading Today is Your Day
Today's post includes meanderings that go back to 2007. It is sparked by something that happened this past Saturday. That was the year we were church hunting. After years at the mega-church, it was time for something more community oriented and smaller. We explored several churches, and found ourselves drawn to two different churches -- … Continue reading Being Thankful: Meditations on Christine and Bernie
Today's travelogue is going to be the campus tour. You are shown around a whole bunch of building that look impressive, you remember a lot of things about them, not always what you were actually told, and you forget even more than you remember.
At The Rainbow 