Blog – Page 54 – Jeff Hampton, Writer

February 23, 2023

The Dirty Truth

For Wilshire Baptist Church

Confession: I dread Ash Wednesday services. Not because of the darkness it calls up; not because of the “coming from dust and returning to dust” message. I can deal with that looming reality most of the time. No, I dread Ash Wednesday services because of the actual ashes. I don’t like having oily grit rubbed on my forehead, flakes of it sometimes falling onto my shirt, the feeling of dirt on my forehead as I leave, and the stares I get if I go somewhere afterward.

February 16, 2023

Loose Ends

For Wilshire Baptist Church

It’s amazing to me how our paths can cross more than once with other people in unexpected ways. It’s especially interesting in a city of more than a million people, where you’d think the chances of seeing the same person twice would be slim, and yet it happens. And sometimes when it does, it can help tie up a loose end that has been dangling and fraying.

February 10, 2023

Halos

For Wilshire Baptist Church

On Monday morning, Wilshire library volunteers spent a few hours packing up the 86 nativities that have lined the tops of the shelves since before Christmas. The nativities belong to Linda Garner, who has collected them from every corner of the globe. Their display is her annual holiday gift to the Wilshire community, and if you’ve never seen them, you should make a point of checking them out next December.