Territorial Bloggings

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

-ghp

Second play from scrimmage, the Lions turn the ball over, and lose the challenge.

Two plays later, Tennessee punches it in for a TD. 90 seconds in, the Lions are down 7 due to a self-inflicted wound.

Yep, it’s Thanksgiving…

-ghp

The focal point of this past weekend was not, like most of country, Thanksgiving – that was just the appetizer, as it were. Rather, the main focus for the Territorial Brood was the third wedding we’ve attended in the past 6 months.

All three have been “family”-related: the first, my wife’s blood relations, the second, my blood relations, and the third was my wife’s life-long best friend – the type of friend that might just as well be family, for the friendship bond is as tight (or tighter) than one shared by siblings.

The three weddings offered a contrasting look at three different points along the contemporary wedding “event” continuum. Not only that, but they also presented some interesting data points with regard to theology. Note: Much has been written elsewhere about the whole “white wedding” industry, so I won’t get in to all that much detail here; suffice it to say that the trend over the past 50-75 years has been to change the focus from celebrating the start of a life together (i.e., the marriage) to that of the spectacle & shindig (i.e., the wedding).

In the middle, both “event” wise as well as theologically, was the first wedding. My wife comes from a Roman Catholic background, thus it was no surprise that there was a full-on Roman Mass. As I wrote more in-depth on it earlier, I’ll not go into detail here; suffice it to say that while I certainly didn’t like or approve of much of the theology underpinning the Roman Mass, I found it refreshing that they took it seriously as a worship service and not just as a ceremony/event. As for the reception, the focus was on the party as a celebration in & of itself, rather than as a celebration of the marriage. Things weren’t way out of whack, mind you, but enough for it to be reasonably obvious to me. Way too loud and a little too big to keep the emphasis on the marriage over & above the wedding. For reference, the bride & groom were 25-26 years old.

At one extreme, then, was the second wedding, this time on my side. The wedding ceremony was held in a Lutheran church, but the service was more of a “performance” in that it didn’t follow a set liturgy, nor did it have a traditional feel to it. There was much contemporary music involved, and the order of service seemed like it had been left to be molded by the aesthetic requirements of the bridal party more than by any theological requirements. The reception was very much one of a party “event” rather than a celebration of the marriage. It was, I must admit, very much in line with the vibe of two recently graduated, early-twentysomethings getting married. Way, WAY loud music. Lots of drinking. A definite frat/sorority party vibe.

Let me say at this point that I’m not (really!) meaning to blithely pass judgment on the choices made by the folks involved; rather, I’m trying to make some observations about some of the larger theological & societal issues at play in & around the context of weddings…

Finally, at the other extreme was the wedding we just went to. Theologically, it was a very traditional Lutheran service. The Rev. Tim Halboth (of Grace Lutheran, Redford, MI, where they have carved busts of Martin Luther and C.F.W. Walther in the sanctuary!) conducted a very nice service. While it wasn’t liturgical in the sense of being an order of service right out of a hymnal, it very much was a Divine Service that was centered on Christ and Him crucified. It was conducted reverently yet joyously. The reception was the most sedate of the three, possibly because it was the smallest, but also reflecting the fact that the bride & groom were in their mid-thirties. It wasn’t horrifically loud, but the music encouraged much dancing, and the celebration was nicely lubricated thanks to the open bar, but there didn’t seem to be the vibe of drinking as an end in & of itself. The tone seemed to be forward looking, celebrating the marriage & future life together of the happy couple.

Heck, I even did something that I haven’t done since my own wedding reception nearly 18 years ago – dance with my wife. I might be biased, but I got to dance with the most beautiful woman in the room! Not only that, but she stole the show with her matron-of-honor toast, totally blowing away the efforts of the best man!! ;^)

About the only bad thing about it was the fact that the groom’s family has this unfortunate attachment to tOSU, which resulted in the playing of the Ohio State fight song. Luckily, it was immediately followed up by The Victors. Normally I’m a Michigan fan, though not of the die-hard type (not since I was a kid, anyway). Being around all those misguided Buckeye fans though, turned my blood maize & blue, and I was compelled to lead the charge in our lusty rendition of the greatest college fight song known to mankind.

It was a nice weekend, one for which I give much thanks, as many good times were had, and much God-given happiness was witnessed and experienced.

-ghp

Coming down from yesterday’s tryptophan high, I realized that I forgot to make the posting yesterday, that I was planning on making an annual tradition: “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly…” It is our duty to ensure that the classics live on!

The Territorial Brood has been in the ancestral state of MI since Wed, first at the Territorial Estate (i.e., my parents’ house) for Turkey Day, and today & tomorrow in Livonia/Redford for the wedding of the little woman’s best friend. My wife is the matron of honor and, to be honest, is more nervous about the proceedings than the bride-to-be. Tonight, the kids & I (and the dog!) will be on our own at the hotel. In about an hour (i.e., 6pm EST) we’ll be meeting up with everyone to go to the rehearsal dinner.

The kids & I had fun this afternoon when we decided to stop at a Best Buy so that I could get the Territorial Daughter her 10th birthday present (a Nintendo DS Lite) a week early. I also did a little bit of early Christmas shopping, picking up a few games for the Wii. Given today’s status as the busiest shopping day of the year, it really wasn’t that bad. It certainly was, I think, easier than the shopping adventure that bigsis took on with her whirlwind tour of all the main shopping spots in Valparaiso & Merrillville (she & her brood gathered for Turkey in Chicagoland so that daughter #2 could put on her first holiday spread as a newlywed — thus, bigsis was in my neck of the woods while I ended up in Metro Detroit!), starting bright & early with a Starbucks run at about 5am. Needless to say, she likes shopping *way* more than I do.

Time to go get the troops ready for dinner…

-ghp

Just a quick note to wish all y’all a blessed Thanksgiving from everyone here at Territorial Bloggings.

Eat bird. Watch football. Thank God. (not necessarily in that order, mind you…)

And, to get you in the mood, I’ll leave you with a video clip of what is the best Thanksgiving related (and quite possibly the best holiday related) tv clip of all time:

“As God is my witness… I thought turkeys could fly.” – Arthur Carlson, WKRP General Manager

-ghp

From the CTSFW News page:

Dear Friends:

I wish to inform you that on the morning of September 19 our distinguished colleague, beloved professor, and brother in Christ, Dr. Kurt Marquart, died. After suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, he died peacefully at home. Earlier in the evening he had baptized his new great-grandson, Evan.

As baptism joined Dr. Marquart and Evan to Christ’s death and resurrection, we confess that he now enjoys that full life that Christ gives to those who are joined to Him (John 10:10).

President Wenthe

The ‘net will be awash with remembrances of this great man — and justifiably so!

I only met him a few times, but I can say with confidence that nothing will be said that can do justice to the man and his years of faithful service to God, the Church, and the LCMS. I can honestly say that I have never met a man who was so brilliant (an intellectual giant!), yet so genuinely and winsomely pastoral.

We are all better off for the blessing of his faithful service, and I thank God for that blessing. I thank God that Dr. Marquart has been taken to his reward. I thank God for the saving grace that ensures that I will join Dr. Marquart in that same, Christ-earned, reward.

Amen!

-ghp

Seems to be the thing to do today, so…

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Eat some turkey. Watch some football. Take a nap.

Thank God for all He has done, does, and will continue to do for us all.

Read Eric Zorn’s 11/25 column (registration/login required) over at the Chicago Tribune. Some good quotes:

We live better than kings.

For one day, at least, we banish regret over what we don’t have and we reflect on the ways in which life is good, particularly, in material terms, compared to life at other times and in other places.

Grab a crown. Most of us are far healthier, far more comfortable and have far more opportunities and diversions available to us than 99 percent of all the monarchs, emperors, maharajas and other potentates who’ve ever lived. We live longer, eat better and travel farther than the richest and most blessed people in virtually every other generation in every land in history.

We tend to forget this, just as we forget to savor the blessings of family, friendship, freedom and faith.

We live better than earthly kings. We are sons of the King of the Universe — heirs to the Eternal Kingdom.

Give thanks for that.

Realize that it’s far more likely that your unmet wants far outweigh your unmet needs.

Give thanks for that.

Thank you for reading this blog.

I’ve been blessed, far beyond what I deserve.

I give thanks for that.

Oh yeah — eat some pie after you wake up from that nap! ;^)

-ghp