Memorial Day

This is a little long but I think it is worth it

Since it is Memorial Day I thought I would take a moment and explain what this day truly is for. Many of us probably think it is for traveling to see folks we have not seen in a while, or maybe it is a day we take off to grill and go to the lake for some water fun. But that is not it, it is much more than that. It boils down to a day to say Thank You. Thank You to all the men and women that have serviced or are servicing in the military. They fight day and night for us to have the freedom to do the things we do, say the things we say, praise the God we praise. This is the straight from Wikipedia.

"Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include casualties of any war or military action"

Traditional observance
Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. US Eastern time. Another tradition is to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers usually place an American flag upon each grave site located in a National Cemetery.
In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also used as a time for picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and sporting events. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. Some Americans also view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day as the unofficial end of the season. The national "Click It or Ticket" campaign ramps up beginning Memorial Day weekend, noting the beginning of the most dangerous season for auto accidents and other safety related incidents. The U.S. Air Force's "101 Critical Days of Summer" begin on this day as well. Many Americans use Memorial Day to also honor other family members who have died.

Flags flying at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day 2006.
Memorial Day formerly occurred on May 30, and some, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), advocate returning to this fixed date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address, "Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day."[1] Hawaii's Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has repeatedly introduced measures to return Memorial Day to its traditional day since 1987.

Community observance
In addition to national observances, many individual communities hold memorial observance for fallen soldiers who were from that town by having a ceremony in a church or town memorial park. It is common for fire and police departments to remember and honor members lost in the line of duty. Towns often hold a Memorial Day parade to remember those people. Participation in such a parade is by community organizations such as members of the local emergency services and their vehicles, Rotary Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and bands from the local high school or church groups. Communities may hold a town-wide picnic barbecue at a local park in which the whole town is invited to attend.

History
Following the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died. Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns. These observances eventually coalesced around Decoration Day, honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days.
According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who had died while captive. The freed slaves reinterred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard & built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard; a very daring thing to do in the South shortly after North's victory. On May 30 1868 the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they'd picked from the countryside & decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the 1st Decoration Day. A parade with thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.
The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter, and because it is likely that the friendship of General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who led the call for the day to be observed each year and helped spread the event nationwide, was a key factor in its growth.
General Logan had been impressed by the way the South honored their dead with a special day and decided the Union needed a similar day. Reportedly, Logan said that it was most fitting; that the ancients, especially the Greeks, had honored their dead, particularly their heroes, by chaplets of laurel and flowers, and that he intended to issue an order designating a day for decorating the grave of every soldier in the land, and if he could he would have made it a holiday.
Logan had been the principal speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization, Logan issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance of this day.
Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were very few veterans of the Union Army who lived in the South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.[1]

Troops at the Washington, D.C. Memorial Day parade, 1942.
The alternative name of "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882, but did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967 . On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend and for the first time recognized Columbus Day as a federal holiday. The holidays included Washington's Birthday (which evolved into Presidents' Day), Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971 . After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply at the state level, all fifty states adopted the measure within a few years, although Veterans Day was eventually changed back to its traditional date. Ironically, most corporate businesses no longer close on Columbus Day or Veterans Day, and an increasing number are staying open on President's Day as well. Memorial Day, however, has endured as one holiday during which most businesses stay closed because it marks the beginning of the "summer vacation season." This role is filled in neighboring Canada by Victoria Day, which occurs either on May 24 or the last Monday before that date, placing it exactly one week before Memorial Day.

King of the one liners

I got this idea from Bob Robbins at www.bob.blogs.com to talk about Rick Warren. Rick is one of the for most sought after speakers in the US right now. His church Saddleback grow from small number of people meeting in his living room to one of the largest church's in America How did he do it. He keep things simple. He loved God and loved people. But enough of that. Rick is the king of church stuff one liners. He has a unique way of saying so much with a few words. So I thought I would share a few.

"You cannot have control and growth."
"Be a proponent of the new not an opponent of the old."
"Define yourself or others will."
"Hurt people hurt people."

Weekend Madness

: Great weekend at The Creek lots of folks there and some great worship.
: Chris did a bangin job on a "Rob Thomas" tune
: Scott brought it kicking off our new series Sabotage
: There is something in the air over at The Creek and it feels good
: Had lots of kids in Great Adventure on Sunday talking about Patience
: I work with a great group of folks in Scott and Chris but also all the folks who service at The Creek
: Had a chance to speak to the Big Rock youth last night on others first. They are awesome. I have never been a part of a group that is so open and honest when we talk to them.
: Had a great dinner with Laura and my good friend Carlton
: Looking forward to June 15 (fathers day) we have got some good stuff for you dad's

I am tired so I am off to bed

Kidz Cove Update

This past Sunday was "A Day of Hope" at the Creek. We celebrated the past and also looked ahead to the future. I was introduced as the new Family Pastor. I also unveiled the photos (by the wonderful Kim Ferrer) of what the new Kids area (Kidz Cove) will look like. I am very excited so I wanted to share them with you. Let me know what you think.

Questions that I don't have answers to

These are questions that I have always wondered what the answers were. Maybe you can help. Leave me a comment if you have an answer

Can a cross-eyed teacher control his pupils?
Why is it called the People's Republic Of China when China's not a republic?
How come the Bible is the most stolen book, and one of the ten commandments is "thou shall not steal"?
You know the saying "throw ya hands in the air like ya don't care"? why bother doing that if you don't care?
Can bald people get a hair line fracture?
Who was in the kitchen with Dina?
Can fat people go skinny-dipping?I
f Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
How fast do hotcakes sell?
Why is the name of the phobia for the fear of long words Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia?
How do you handcuff a one-armed man?
Do Siamese twins pay for one ticket or two tickets when they go to movies and concerts?

So Here It Is

After what to do with the whole Blog thing. I have made my final choice and it is Blog Spot.
www.blog.com was OK but not very user friendly, www.typepad.com was nice but had a price. So I have now settled here one a user friendly FREE Blogger. More to come later