Light side

Lutheran, The, Nov 2003 by Lieberknecht, James, Streicher, Jody, Oelke, Joan, Strause, Sally, Et al

One for the monkey

The pastor, demonstrating tithing, had 10 bowls carried to the front, each containing 10 food items. he placed the first item on a table saying, "One for the Lord," and the other nine items on another table "for us." When he came to the bowl of 10 bananas, he asked, "Now who gets the first banana?" A little boy with a big voice shouted, "The monkey!"

And one for all Saints' Day

I told my class of second- and third-graders at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Cedar Falls, Iowa, that we are all saints. One boy, whose grandmother used to be Roman Catholic and is now Lutheran, broke in: "My grandma used to be a saint, but now she's a Lutheran."

Good answers

When my grandson, Joe Faust, was a preschooler at St. Mark Lutheran Church, Anchorage, Alaska, the pastor gave a children's sermon on Jesus healing the blind man. he asked the children, "What would you do if you were blind?"-expecting such answers as "Get a guide dog" or "use a cane." He was floored when Joe raised his hand and said, "I would develop my other senses." Today Joe is putting all his senses to work in his final year at the Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia.

Our son, Kurt Strause, is pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pa. When we had our family reunion/picnic early in August, it had rained all morning. When Kurt arrived at the picnic, I pointed heavenward and asked, "Isn't there something you can do about this?" he replied, "Sorry Mom, I'm in sales-not management!"

It's neither Mr. or Ms.

I was nearly out the door when I heard the church phone ring and opened my office door to grab it. "Redeemer Lutheran, Pastor Linda speaking." The voice on the other end responded, "Uh ... could I please speak to Mr. Lutheran?" I explained this was a church, and later wondered what we had missed: new siding perhaps?

James Lieberknecht

Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Jody Streicher

Cedar Falls, Iowa

Joan Oelke

New Hampton, Iowa

Sally and Dave Strause

Lancaster, Pa.

Linda Kersten

Janesville, Wis.