<strong>The long read</strong>: While much has changed since 7 October, the horrific events of the past six months are not unique, and do not stand outside history
The Servant of God was born in the little village of Faglavik, in the province of Alvsborg, on the 4 June 1870, the fifth of thirteen children born to Augusto Roberto Hesselblad and Cajsa Pettesdotter Dag. The following month she was baptized and received into the Reformed Church of Sweden in her .
, edited by Timothy Larsen. The other (my subject here) is small and slim (66 pages, with lots of space between the lines of text):
Mom and Dad in Heaven, by Alf K. Walgermo, illustrated by Øyvind Torseter and translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin. Here’s how it begins:
Dear God, I went back to school today. It was weird being back in school. So quiet. The boys looked down at their desks. The girls looked at each other. I didn’t know what to say. We played hopscotch on our lunch break without arguing or smiling.
Mom and Dad in Heaven consists of brief paragraphs like this, explicitly or implicitly addressed to God in the voice of Mary, a small girl whose parents have been in an accident. Mary’s father, we gather, was killed instantly; her mother survives for a day or so, and Mary is able to see her briefly in the hospital, brought there by her grandfather; she will be cared for by her grandparents going forward.
Kump Corner
This Sunday will be the fourth and last Sunday in Advent, and many Christians will celebrate by lighting four candles on an Advent wreath. The candles often represent Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace. In 2020 we need these signs of hope during the Covid-19 Pandemic when modern Americans fear for their lives and economic stability.
This Advent tradition is much like older festivals of light that celebrated the return of the sun all over the northern hemisphere at the time of Winter Solstice. Last week’s column described some of the Asian and Native American festivals of light honoring the return of the sun, and this week we will look into some of the ancient European customs that came before the Christian Church.