fifteen years ago…

On this date in 1997, Banu and I were ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia.  After the church service was over, several of us had some cake in our apartment.  It was lovingly baked by our good friend, Rhonda, who did a pretty good job of reproducing the PC(USA) logo.  She even acknowledged my two favorite colors:  green and purple.  (The bluish color in the photo was a tad bit more purplish in real life!)

Fifteen years ago, I was also completing my final round of chemotherapy.  (I did wear bandanas on my head for a while longer.) 

Despite its faults, I am thankful that God called me into the Presbyterian Church.  I miss the language that was in our old Book of Order which said, “The Church of Jesus Christ is the provisional demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity.” (G-3.0200)  As long as we remember that we are a “provisional demonstration,” we’ll be less likely to commit the most egregious of errors!