I am officially Lutheran.

Click to enlarge: Top: This is Thomaskirche, a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany famous for being Bach's church and grave site. Bottom: Drei bier mädchen und ein Junge Kind. Ausgezeichnet.

My Great Grandpa Bauer would no doubt approve, though he would see some jarring departures from his turn of the (last) century German Lutheran church, a time that preceded führers and was occupied by kaisers, scientists, and roly-poly bier mädchen hefting foaming steins.

This is a PDF of the bulletin from St Matthew Lutheran Church > for the 2nd Sunday in Advent. I include it only for those who might want to see my family's names listed there.

St Matthew's is LCMS, a more conservative branch within Lutheranism.

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Things my dad loved:

• Jesus

• His family

• Roy Rogers

• Licorice

• Maple candy

• Baseball

• Playing the trumpet

• Our pet Dachshund-Beagle Trixie

Things my dad hated:

• Laziness

• Lying, cheating, or stealing

• Playing cards

• Alcohol

• Calling in sick for work (unless you were at death’s door, and then, maybe he’d give you a pass)

• Broccoli (Mom actually served it to us all, but Dad never ate it; he was a good sport; I suppose he just pushed it around his plate. Mom smothered it in cheese for us kids and I became very fond of it that way. Now as an adult I have to eat it naked, and I understand why Dad didn’t care for it.)

[2013-12-06]

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