In the Name... Queen Elizabeth II is always seen in public with a handbag. The bags vary with each of her outfits, but, it seems that the Queen and her handbag are rarely parted. Have you ever wondered what's in it? Does she carry the keys to the castle? Not likely. And with chauffeurs aplenty, she hardly needs car keys. She probably doesn’t need cash for the drive-through or even a credit card for lunch. Queen Elizabeth simply doesn’t need to carry many of the items mo

In the Name... A doctor told a patient that he needed to exercise. The patient said he did and listed his routine: Jump to conclusions, climb the walls, drag his heels, push his luck, bend over backward, run around in circles, put his foot in his mouth, and beat around the bush. In the 1970’s, the country of Cambodia was ruled by a dictatorship which killed millions of people – a humanitarian tragedy on a massive scale. Well, after the regime’s overthrow, doctors from all o

In the Name... A preacher was going on one Sunday about how the “children of Israel” did this and the “children of Israel” did that, and this one little boy tapped his mother on the shoulder and asked, “Hey, Mom, what were the adults of Israel doing?” Can anybody tell me, what is the meaning of life? No? I thought it occupied our every waking moment. Well, maybe not. Actually, it takes all our time and energy just to cope with our daily routines. But, then there are times

In the Name... Three clergymen, taking a break from their schedules, were chatting and enjoying an early spring day together. “Since all of us get along so well,” said one, “this might be a good time to share our personal issues and ask each other's prayers.” They all agreed. “Well," he said, "I would like to share with you the fact that I drink too much, and I'd welcome your prayers to help me stop." So, they all prayed. Then, another spoke. “I’m really troubled, brothe

In the Name... As a family was assembling for a baptism, the priest noticed that there didn't appear to be a godfather present. "Who's the godfather?” he asked. There was an embarrassed silence until the grandmother leaned over to him and said, "Never you mind. We had enough trouble getting the name of the father." For its first few centuries, the Christian Church normally administered the sacrament of Baptism only once a year on the great festival of Easter Eve and the en

In the Name... I think it was Francis Bacon who said that Man was given imagination to compensate for what he is not and a sense of humour to console him for what he is. In the music business, groups and singers come and go. They release a few albums, they tour. They may be popular for a while, even hit #1, but, as styles and fads change, they fade into oblivion. Every once in a while, though, a song is composed which has an influence beyond the moment and in 1971, one of

In the Name... He rose from rural obscurity to impact his nation. Crowds gathered wherever he went. Religious leaders denounced him. His values threatened the established culture, yet, there was a sense that a new era had begun with him. But, he met a tragic death. His abused body was laid to rest. Those devoted to him were lost in grief. Then, suddenly, strange reports began to spread. People said that they had seen him, first in one place, and then another. Great n

In the Name.... A pastor once said to an elderly parishioner who would always obsess over whatever was on the evening news that she should be spending more time thinking about the hereafter. "Why, I do that every day", she said, "I go from room to room saying, now what am I here after?" Have you ever had one of those days when you've stopped and asked yourself, "How did I get here?" Now, they don't have to be bad days, sometimes these can be good thoughts. Maybe we just st

In the Name... A journalist visiting Jerusalem heard about a very old rabbi who had been going, for as long as anybody could remember, to the Wailing Wall and praying for one hour every day at noon. So, she went to check it out, watched him pray, and when he turned to leave, she approached him for an interview. "Rabbi, how long have you been coming here?" "For about 60 years." he said. "Sixty years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?" "I pray for world peace” “Wow. How

In the Name… There's a bright light in the sky. It grows closer and closer until you see it's a huge metal saucer which descends and lands in an open grassy area. A ramp is lowered and a strange creature emerges. Three bright shining eyes, pointed ears, green skin with a touch of bright pink fur. With a strange waddling gait the alien approaches. It lifts its two-fingered hand and says, in perfect English, "Take me to your leader!" Have any of you ever had that experienc

In the Name… A church had a picnic and the pastor placed a basket full of apples on one end of a table with a sign saying, "Take only one apple please - Remember that God is watching." On the other end of the table was a plate of cookies. One of the children saw this and said to another, “Take all the cookies you want -- God is watching the apples." There's an old saying about church gatherings, "If we hadn't ha' et, we wouldn't ha' met." But, there might be a Biblical rea

In the Name... A few years ago, a friend of mine in the funeral business told me that when an atheist - someone who doesn't believe God exists - dies and is laid out for the viewing, he's all dressed up with nowhere to go. An agnostic, on the other hand - someone who doubts that God exists - is all dressed up and waiting to be asked out. This morning's Gospel from John, describing Jesus' appearances in the Upper Room, is traditionally read every year on this Sunday right aft

In the Name... A Sunday School teacher asked her class of little ones, "What's Easter all about?" Well, one child said "Eggs!" Another child said, "Bunnies!" The teacher was getting worried, but then one child put up his hand and said, "Easter is when Jesus rises from the dead and comes out of the tomb." The teacher breathed a sigh of relief, until the little boy continued, "And if he sees his shadow we have six more weeks of Lent." A little confusion between holidays and

In the Name... A rabbi once told me the reason that it took ten plagues to convince Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. He was in De-Nile. In the ritual of the Jewish Passover, there is a point when the youngest person present asks the question, "Why is this night different from all other nights?" In the Passover meal which was held in an Upper Room in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago, we might presume that this question was posed by St. John, who, tradition tells us, was the youn

In the Name... A journalist visiting Jerusalem heard about a very old rabbi who had been going, for as long as anybody could remember, to the Wailing Wall and praying for one hour every day at noon. So, she went to check it out, watched him pray, and when he turned to leave, she approached him for an interview. "Rabbi, how long have you been coming here?" "For about 60 years." he said. "Sixty years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?" "I pray for world peace" "Wow.”, sh

In the Name... There is a saying that translators are traitors. This is because language is always subject to cultural idiosyncrasies. The Chevy Nova, for example, a car named for a word meaning “new”, had to have its name changed in South America because, in Spanish, “No Va” means “It won’t go.” And, when the Protestant Episcopal Church began to evangelize China, it discovered that the denomination’s name meant, in Chinese, “Gathering of Quarrelling Elders.” Hmm. Maybe

In the Name... One Sunday afternoon, a minister from Philadelphia was on his way to take evening services at a church near Lancaster, but, he got lost and pulled into a gas station. "Can you tell me how to get to Paradise?” he asked. The attendant replied, "If you don't know that there isn't much hope for the rest of us." In last week's Gospel, Jesus said, "I am the gate for the sheep. Whoever enters by me will be saved." In this week's he says, "I am the way, the truth,

In the Name... A man once appeared at the pearly gates seeking admittance and St. Peter asked him if he'd ever done anything heroic. "Why, yes", the man replied, "I referee college football and at the Oklahoma-Texas game, with the score 21-20 for Oklahoma, I disallowed a Texas touchdown in the final seconds." "Really", St. Peter said, "That is heroic. When did it happen?" The man replied, "About five minutes ago." In this week's Gospel, Jesus said, "I am the gate for the

In the Name... A pastor asked his elders what sort of things they would like people to say about them at their funerals. One replied, “I’d like them to say, He was a great family man.” Another offered, “I’d like them to say, He helped many people.” The third said, “I’d like them to say, Hey, look! I think he’s moving.” Easter has come and gone. We have celebrated the greatest festival of the Christian year, the Resurrection of Jesus the Saviour, and now our church year,

In the Name... One Easter Day, a priest decided to give a special children's sermon and gathered all the little children around him at the chancel step. He asked them, "What is fuzzy, has a long tail, big front teeth and climbs trees?" No response. "It jumps around a lot and gathers nuts.” he added. More silence. Finally, one little boy said, "It sounds like a squirrel, but, I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus." Today's Gospel focuses us on St. Thomas who found him