Which Halloween?

October 31, 2010 - "Halloween 1517" - Pastor Neil Franks from FBC Branson on Vimeo.

Watch this Video (focus on 1:08 - 2:09): Can you list 3 modern approaches to Halloween and 1 historical one that's affected the nation of Canada? Write the answers on your blog.

Listen again, following along with the transcript:

We just kind of embraced (1) Halloween, and sometimes churches do that. 

Then there are *(indistinct)* churches. They kind of attack everything Halloween. You shouldn't (2) trick-or-treat, couldn't do anything with the celebration. You need to get rid of all the black cats. So whatever this kind of thing, they kind of come out and take major stand against Halloween. It's of the (3) devil; we want to have nothing to do with it.

And then there are those churches, in most of the responses, we just try to (4) ignore Halloween, and we just try to pretend it doesn't happen, and we'll come back next year, and we'll think about it again, and we'll try to do any one of those things.

Well, today, instead of telling you my opinion of what the church ought to do of those three and cause controversy within our congregation, what I want to do is not to talk about a modern Halloween Day. But I want to take you back hundreds of years ago. In fact, I want to take you back and talk about a Halloween almost 500 years ago, and to come to a certain day, on Halloween October 31, in (5) 1517.

Doubleclick on the blank to reveal the answer.

Thanksgiving Meditations 2013

John A. MacDonald, then Attorney General

The Ecclesiastical Gazette, Nov. 8, 1859
Courtesy of research at York University in 1999.

O give thanks unto the Lord, and call upon his name; tell the people what things he hath done. Psalm cv 1
O let your songs be of him, and praise him: and let your talking be of all his wondrous works. Ver 2
The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all that have pleasure therein. Psalm cxi 2
His work is worthy to be praised, and had in honour: and his righteousness endureth for ever. Ver 4
He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he shall ever be mindful of his covenant. Ver 5

Rather than offering largely random, undirected thanksgiving, the original framers of the Thanksgiving Day petition to Queen Victoria clearly knew who they were giving thanks to: "Almighty God." Their choice of quotations from the Bible reflects that.

They also remembered those who were in need, asking for:

grace that we may learn alike from Thy mercies and from Thy judgments our entire dependence on Thee for the supply of our daily bread and that being fully persuaded that whatever blessing we receive at Thy hands is designed for our trial as well as for our comfort, we may impart a share of Thy bounty, in dutiful accordance with Thy holy will to the afflicted and indigent, the widow, the orphan, and the aged, and thus obtain for ourselves that mercy which Thou in Thy word hast promised to the merciful: through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen 

This Canadian Thanksgiving, 150 years on, can you think of anything better than to give thanks to this same Almighty God who still vouchsafes (gives) to "Canada the blessings of an abundant harvest" and gives "meat (food) unto them that fear him."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2013!

Why Learning English Is So Crazy

The ancient Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphics, a secret language written by priests using pictures. The Sumerians used a stick to write on wet clay in a writing called cuneiform. Some languages today write from right to left, or up or down. There are languages that have thousands of unique characters to memorize or have an alphabet of over 100 letters. Yet, even though English has just 26 letters, it's not as easy to learn as some might think.

Why's that?

Well, for one thing, English is an international language and borrows from all other languages. So the vocabulary is nuts. Also, since the vocabulary comes from all over, the grammar is affected, too!

Consider this poem:

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;But the plural of ox should be oxen not oxes.One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,But the plural of house is houses, not hice.If the plural of man is always called men,Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I spoke of my foot and showed you my feet,When I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
If the singular is this, and the plural is these,Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be kese?Then one may be that, and three would be those,Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,But though we say mother, we never say methren.So plurals in English, I think you'll agree,Are indeed very tricky--singularly.

So the plural of an English word may be +s, +es, or something way out! The good news, of course, is that there are more regular plurals (those that use +s or +es) than irregular plurals. Can you google for more examples?

I found some on google images: