Matching Tracksuits

Month: September 2020

Socratic Seminar

Wednesday 30 September 2020

We had our first Socratic seminar today. The other halves of the classes will have it tomorrow, but I’m not looking forward to as much as I would have thought I would. It’s just so much different in such small classes. In sixth period, there were only eight students, which means four pairs. Four people talking doesn’t allow for animated discussion amongst eighth graders, you would think, but they actually did the best among all the students. It helps to have naturally talkative students, I guess. Still, with eight to twelve pairs of students working, the seminars seem to produce more ideas and livelier discussions.

It doesn’t work as well when there’s only half the class in attendance, but that’s just one of the sacrifices we make in 2020. We’re there. We’re able to do it at all. That’s what counts.

The Boy Writes

Monday 28 September 2020

“Daddy, can we make a web site?” the Boy asked today. Granted, I think he was just looking for an excuse to spend more time on the computer, but there was only one way to find out.

“Sure. We already have one,” I reminded him.

“Oh yeah, the family web site.” He knows it from looking at pictures from the past. “Hey, E, come look at this picture!” “Hey, L, come watch this old video.” But I don’t think he realized it was something he could contribute to.

“You want to learn how post things there?” I asked.

“Yes!”

And so I created an account for him, showed him the basics of adding media and text, and turned him loose.

We’ll see how long it lasts.

science work#boring

Monday 28 September 2020

science work is so boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a school and all kids know that all school is boring. well but Ravi loves it from bunkt. Ravi is from bunkt.Bunkt is a comedy and if you don’t know what bunkt you need to watch it unless you are like 5 it can get scary.

Together

Sunday 27 September 2020

It used to happen more often: the kids and I would play something together and for a while, everything else disappeared. It’s been a long time since that’s happened. This afternoon, we had a little reminder of what that was like.

As the Girl gets older, she’s less and less interested in the things the Boy loves. He can’t handle the ever-decreasing attention and resorts to the old tried-and-true method of getting attention: he pesters her.

“That just makes her want to spend even less time with you, buddy,” I’ve explained more times than I can recall.

“Okay,” he grudgingly admits. And then heads off to pester her again.

Today, though, we went down to the trampoline/swing/hammock area and managed to play like we were all five years old again. There was laugher. There was silliness.

And then we came up to get dinner ready, and it all disappeared.

“E!” cried L, stretching his name into a three-second yell. “Leave me alone!” He was at it again.

Playing

Thursday 24 September 2020

Written in creative nonfiction class

It was the scream of a thirteen-year-old girl: high-pitched, long, panicked but not terrified. And repetitive. A scream. A second scream. Another scream.

“Elsa!” she yelled.

“Eeeeeeeelllllsa! How could you?” she screeched.

“Elsa, get out. You are disgusting!” she commanded.

I was downstairs, grading papers, when the ruckus started. I knew it was nothing serious from her scream. There was no fear or pain in her screeching. Instead, her yelling and hollering only confirmed that I’d better get upstairs because it was sure to be amusing.

L, our only daughter and germophobe extraordinaire, was dancing about, high stepping on her tiptoes as if she were walking through a combination of hot coals and dog feces, and she wasn’t sure which would be worse step on, the coals or the poop.

“Elsa took a bit of poop out of her litter box and began playing with it on my bed!” she wailed when I made it to her side. “It’s everywhere! All over my blanket!” She screamed again. “It’s so disgusting!” I looked down and saw a bit of feces on the floor.

“It’s on the floor, too.”

L began retching, acting as if she were about to double the mess by regurgitating all over everything. (She does this any time she eats something she doesn’t like. She says it’s an involuntary response; I think she’s faking it and exaggerating it.

“I am not cleaning that up!” she declared.

I couldn’t help laughing. Here she was arguing with me about who would clean up the mess created by the animal for which she had positively begged only a few short years ago. “Elsa is my cat!” she has proclaimed on several occasions. “There’s no ‘our’ about it!” This was always in half jest, but when there’s a mess to clean up and the cat is the culprit, it becomes total jest.

“Stop laughing!” she wailed.

Yet there was no way to stop. I was laughing; my wife was laughing; and whenever one of us thought we had it under control, we would look at the other or L would burst into fits of squealing panic again, and we’d begin laughing at once.

She took the blanket off her bed and was heading out onto the upstairs balcony off our master bedroom. Once she stepped outside, she began squealing again.

“There is an enormous grasshopper out here on the deck!”

My wife and I just laughed harder at that.

“It’s not funny!” she protested.

In the end, the soiled blanket ended up on the balcony railing, the grasshopper made it into the house, and the cat ended it all by catching the grasshopper!

“Great! Now she’s going to leave the dead grasshopper on my bed as a gift.”

GOP Establishment and Trump

Wednesday 23 September 2020

Lindsey Graham called Trump a “race-baiting xenophobic bigot” in 2015. In fact, he said in full,

I think what you like about him, he appears to be strong and the rest of us are weak. He’s a very successful businessman and he’s gonna make everything great. He’s gonna take all the problems of the world and put ’em in a box and make your life better. That’s what he’s selling.

Here’s what you’re buying: He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot. He doesn’t represent my party. He doesn’t represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for.

And yet Trump went on to win the nomination. Bobby Jindal called Trump a “narcissist” and an “egomaniacal madman” but went on to support him “warts and all.”

If Graham (and others in the GOP who criticized Trump at that time) had truly meant those words then his victory should have given the leaders in the GOP pause, for it meant one of several things, none of them good:

  1. They assume their constituents are too stupid to see this.
  2. These men were not as worried about Trump’s real flaws as they were about the perceived threat of Clinton, which suggests they have no unbending principles.
  3. These men understood perfectly what was said and agreed with Trump’s race-baiting and xenophobia.

Gone Packing

Wednesday 23 September 2020

Ever since the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), the church I grew up in, made the changes that led it out of near-cult status and into traditional Protestant-ville, I’ve been fascinated with the resulting organizations that broke off from it in order to hold fast to the original teachings. None has been more fascinating to me than David Pack’s Restored Church of God (RCG), a little group based in Wadsworth, Ohio, consisting of a few thousand members at most (they’re tight-lipped about their membership numbers, but I’d guess they have fewer than 5,000 regular attendees) that is certain it’s the only truly Christian organization on the planet. They believe that they will become God as God is God — that God is a family not just a trinity and that people can become part of that family, thereby becoming a god themselves.

It is, to say the least, a very heterodox group.

Yet in the world of WCG offshoots, it has insisted that it and it alone has remained true to the founder’s original teachings. Of course, every other group has maintained that, too, but the RCG has done it most vociferously. But no one can remain static forever, and the realities on the ground forced various doctrinal changes. Course corrections, Pack might call them.

Recently, a website published some letters from inside that church, though, that shows that all is not well in RCG-ville, that Pack is making changes that have to be seen to be believed. It starts with accusations that the bloke leaving, the whistleblower for lack of a better term, of course, had a bad attitude. Had problems with leadership. Did not know how to follow God’s government.

Church Administration

Sun 2020-09-20 5:46 PM

Dear brethren,

Greetings from Headquarters. We trust that you had a profitable day of Trumpets. The Work continues to surge forward despite a world growing darker.

Yesterday evening, some of you received an email from either Brian Kaidannek or his son Greg, stating they are no longer in agreement with the teachings of God’s Church. These emails came not long after Mr. Pack’s recent comments were posted. Sadly, it appears that Brian Kaidannek followed his son out of the Church. Both men chose to forsake the assembling of themselves together on Trumpets, using the Holy Day to send divisive letters to their pastorates.

As has been the case with several other former ministers, their emails were the first indications of any disagreement. They now claim disagreement with scores of teachings, several going back to the very beginning of the series. Greg Kaidannek says that he once believed that The Restored Church of God was God’s Church yet does not explain when it ceased to be or where His Church is currently (of course, a unified Church will always exist somewhere on Earth—Matthew 16:18Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)).

Brethren, it is sad for us to see any of God’s Sheep stray from the path. Your thoughts go out to the children who are now isolated. We serve a merciful God, but these divisive letters put these men on dangerous ground.

Though filled with error on even basic understanding, Greg Kaidannek’s letter is long and reasonably well written, proving much time and thought. He admitted thinking long and hard about writing it. Yet shocking to everyone here at Headquarters, he never uttered any concerns. The Headquarters’ contact for both of these men spoke with them biweekly. They had abundant opportunities to express disagreement or confusion but never did.

Greg Kaidannek’s portrayal of his time at Headquarters is flat wrong. As one who has been in scores of meetings, there is always a chance to ask questions. His problem was not questions; it was attitude. Personal spiritual issues (not prophecy) led to him being demoted in rank (which rarely happens) and given a field assignment over a small congregation. God is patient and merciful, so we hoped that this correction and re-assignment would help him develop the heart of a shepherd and learn to focus on others. His letter made it evident that he chose not to address his problems, but instead justified his transfer and allowed bitterness to set in.

Brian Kaidannek was fully aware of his son’s issues. He agreed this was the right move to help him. In private discussions at Headquarters, we were concerned that if Greg Kaidannek left, his father would follow him. Again, sadly, this proved accurate.

Brethren, please understand that the ministry must walk a fine line when giving you details when someone leaves. People can repent, and we hope and pray they do. We share as little as possible to protect the flock. Much more could be said, but it should not be necessary. God’s Government works hard to help His flock (no matter their rank) to make it to the Kingdom. When someone leaves the Church, they are forced to make a choice: (1) Honestly admit they no longer wish to address their spiritual problems or (2) Invent a “righteous” justification for leaving God’s Church.

They said they were “standing for the truth,” but sat safely behind their computers and sent emails filled with error and confusion. Greg Kaidannek claims that men at Headquarters are “afraid” to speak up. Again, I can personally attest to men having various questions answered in each of these meetings. These men have had every opportunity to speak their minds, ask questions, bring up concerns and, based on the content of their emails, have disagreed with God’s Church for years.

These men claim that they believe God is in charge and that He is working out the final stages of His plan before Christ’s return. They also profess to believe there is not much time left in the age. Everyone here is at a loss about what so-called “plan” they believe God is working out. If it is not what we are learning, then what is it? They appear to indicate they are going back to the “big T.” That means the Kaidanneks are looking for ten kings to come together in an increasingly fracturing Europe—and it must happen soon to start a 3.5-year countdown.

It is hard to comprehend how anyone can be honest with the scriptures and return to what we once understood. These men lost focus on the big picture and allowed confusion and self-deception to take them out of God’s Church. They should be thankful that our Creator can still get their attention in the fire, and we may see them soon.

As the age comes to a close, we must fight allowing ourselves to “doze off.” The repeated warnings to not fall asleep are given for a reason! Stay vigilant, stay close to God and continue to make yourselves “ready” for Christ’s Return.

While we transition the pastorate, please feel free to reach out to Church Administration with any questions that arise.

Greg’s father, Brian Kaidannek, wrote a letter to members of the church (I guess members in his congregation?) in which he explained a few facts (emphasis mine):

From: Brian Kaidannek
Sent: September 19, 2020 9:05 PM

Subject: Hold Fast That Which is Good

Greetings brethren,

The time has come when I must speak. I am charged to protect the sheep from false teachings, and I can no more remain silent as the meaning of the Holydays comes under further attack. This is changing times and seasons. Leviticus 23 and Exodus 13 are plain scriptures which explain the spring Holydays and exactly when they occur. The Jews in Old Testament times confuse them, and that confusion remains to this day. Now we have followed suit. Mr. Pack has ignored what we all once knew that even is dusk or twilight, which is the time between sunset and darkness. There is only one even or evening in each day and it is at the beginning of the day. Look in Genesis where God says “… and the evening and the morning was the first day.” etc. Passover is completely separate from the NBTO. It is a violation of the rules of Bible study to go to an unclear scripture in Ezekiel and make a doctrine in the face of the clear scriptures mentioned above.

We have seen over the last few years how the teachings of a faithful apostle, who was the apostle to the Philadelphian era, an era which God had nothing bad to say about in Rev. 3, become destroyed and or altered. How could this era have been so wrong in it’s understanding? God’s Holydays have always been a map to God’s plan for mankind and we once clearly saw the meaning in each step of God’s plan reflected in each Holyday. Now the meaning of the fall holydays is muddied and therefore the understanding of God’s plan has been muddied. Ask yourself, what is the meaning of each of the 7 Holydays and Feasts. This is why we no longer have a Bible Introduction course to clearly explain them as we once did, because no one can!

We also now teach a Calvinistic type of predestination which was never taught in the previous era as this type of teaching will lead into even more heresy as time goes forward. Read our Predestination booklet, it still has it correct. Which leads me to a significant point. Our literature, in many cases, more closely reflects what we taught in the past and is far different from what is being taught in the church in sermons and so many come looking for a group that teaches what Mr. Armstrong taught and we now have a type of bait and switch going on. This is simply wrong!

One of the fundamental doctrines that only God’s church understood, different from all professing Christianity, was our knowledge of who the God of the Old Testament was: that God was the Word (Jesus Christ). This is why when Christ came as a man he came to reveal the Father. (Matthew 11:27, Luke 10:22) This lost truth has led to a mountain of error and confusion. Simply read Exodus 3:14: Moses is told the name of the God he was dealing with “I AM” and then read John 8:58: Where Christ says “… before Abraham was I AM”. Can it be any clearer. Don’t be deceived by clever manipulation of unclear scriptures, ignoring that which is most plain!

Mr. Pack, who declared last Feast of Tabernacles that he was a prophet and had been for some time then went on to make a plethora of predictions of when Christ would return, none of which obviously came to pass. Yes, he has said he had never claimed God spoke to him, that is true. But brethren do not ignore the clear warning in Deuteronomy 18:22: “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Many times, we have heard, “On God’s authority, I am right!” He HAS spoken Presumptuously! And then to say he was foretold to be wrong is just foolishness. We do not serve a God of confusion! Recently he has stated he is not a prophet. When one says they are a prophet they are either a true or false prophet and later claiming not to be a prophet becomes a mute point. Now again Mr. Pack claims to be Elijah and a whole plethora of other titles; and has once again predicted that we can’t go past Thursday, just before Trumpets. Again his prediction failed and he proved himself false. How can we sit at the feet of, and listen to, this false prophet?

Many have said, “This is a test of our faith”, and to a degree that is true. But brethren this is not the first apostacy that I have encountered. I have heard this all before. If one continues to listen to heresy, one will eventually begin to absorb it. Do you wish to be the proverbial frog in the water and wait to be boiled to death?

World conditions are deteriorating around us and yes, we should watch as these do seem to be the beginning of sorrows and we all wish that the return of Jesus Christ will be soon. We are told to hold fast that which is good. What we are hearing IS NOT GOOD!

I know that this letter will find its way to HQs, and there will be a story spun putting me in a bad light, it has happened to many others before me. But you brethren know me and know I have always been straight with you, regardless of what is said of me. I hold no malice and I care for you all. It is for this reason that I am compelled to try to protect you from false teaching, regardless of where it comes from.

Have no illusions, I could be marked, and you told not to contact me. But I cannot remain silent any longer! Much, much more could be said but you know me, I always head straight to the point, so this warning is sufficient. Beware false doctrine!

Brethren during this confusion, a book I have found most helpful to remain grounded in the truth once delivered is “The Mystery of The Ages” by Mr. Armstrong. I recommend you find a copy and read it.

I love you all.

P.S Attached to this email is a document written by my son to his congregation which I think you will find helpful.

What an odd feeling to read this letter and realize that each of the bolded sections has a history behind it that could fill several pages, and that the changes associated with those passages could also fill several more pages, and that all this understanding that flashes through my mind is dependant on having the same silly background knowledge that I have and that even the phrases themselves are meaningless. These people have created their own world, with vocabulary that befuddles the average outsider and a layered history that informs that vocabulary and theology which outsiders know nothing about. It’s like a portal to another universe where fundamental laws of physics are different, only here it’s fundamental laws of logic that hold no meaning.

In Greg Kaidannek’s letter that his father Greg mentions above, there is a list of doctrinal changes that Pack has introduced over the last few years. Some of the items include:

  • Apostles can’t get doctrine wrong – i.e. infallibility.
  • Christ is returning to Wadsworth (Joseph) not Jerusalem.
  • King David disqualified himself and lost his role in the Kingdom and David Pack will assume it.
  • That Prophet – Elijah – DCP vs Christ.
  • Doing the Work is the Campus FIRST – then preaching a Gospel.

As with the bolded portions of the letter, these are ideas that to me hold significance. These are enormous changes. They are changes to fundamental doctrines that Pack said he would never abandon. However, with the exception of the first two items, most of these ideas are completely meaningless to outsiders.

Just how much has this guy changed things? Not that much, it turns out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asgSSILBxA8

He’s predicting the end of the age before the “Feast of Trumpets” (don’t ask) next year, which, according to the RCG’s calendar, is Sept. 7, 2021. (Oddly, even though the world is supposed to end on Sept. 7, 2021, their calendar of events extends into 2023…)

Volleyball Tuesday

Tuesday 22 September 2020

The girls had another game today. It was the same as previous games: complete slaughter. At one point, the girls were up in the first set something like 18-3. The coach, being an individual of character, always starts pulling out his big hitters when it’s obvious where the game is going, but at the same time, he wants to give them court time. (Still, when the poor opponents can’t even return an underhand serve after the coach pulled our best server while she was serving, what’s the quality of play they get?)

This was a private school, the private school in the area. Eighth-grade tuition is $21,510. The team in Spartanburg we beat mercilessly was also from a private school, but its tuition was only something like $17k a year. For whatever reason, one would think they would have better teams. And they probably do: it turns out that in most of these private schools that also include a high school, the eighth graders get shuttled up to the high school JV or even varsity team, so our girls are playing sixth and seventh graders.

Today was only a scrimmage game, though. It doesn’t count toward anyone’s record. Still, if it was only a scrimmage, why couldn’t we scrimmage with the JV or even varsity team?

Neighbors’ Signs and Our Swings

Monday 21 September 2020

We went for our typical walk this evening — a route that wanders primarily through the neighborhood on the other side of the main-ish street off of which several neighborhoods spiral. As we walked by a house, a man came up to us saying that he’d been meaning to meet us several times he’s seen us go by. It seems he’s quite the border collie fan and has noticed our cute pup as we walk by. We got to talking and talk turned to corona. He pointed to a sign in his yard — not quite like the sign at right but the same general idea — and said, “I guess it’s obvious where I stand.”

I glanced over at the sign in his neighbor’s yard. I found myself wondering how they get along. I know for a fact that my views are more liberal than our neighbors’ views, but I tend not to talk about politics with them. When the topic does come up, I might make a non-committal comment every now and then, but by and large, I keep my views to myself.

It’s not that I think they’ll be angered that I have different views than they hold. It’s not that I fear damaging the relationship we have (though I wonder if they might not think less of me were they to know what I think of our president). I just don’t see the point in adding politics into a relationship like that.

It reminds me of Frost’s line, “Good fences make good neighbors,” and while I don’t necessarily agree with the sentiment, I would say good fences make great backyards. As do swings, hammocks, trampolines, dogs, and tennis balls.

A Walk and First Bonfire

Sunday 20 September 2020

In the afternoon, we took the dog to the dog park. It’s not that we felt she needed the exercise; rather, we felt she needed some canine socialization. We couldn’t go to our favorite park without a walk, though, so after the dog had had enough (or rather, we’d had enough), we headed out for a short jaunt.

We likely would have made a bit longer walk of it had our favorite park not recently banned pets and bikes from the unpaved areas. K emailed the park administration about it, and they explained that it was due to a number of complaints about off-leash dogs and crazed cyclists who put others at risk and damage the flora. But the thing is, K pointed out on our walk today, we rarely saw others on the off-road trails. There were a couple of more-popular trails that had more traffic, but by and large, we were the only ones we ever saw there.

There is a certain temptation to say, “Forget it — we don’t damage anything, and we wouldn’t dream of letting Clover off-leash, so we’re going to walk the trails anyway.” But we follow rules even when we don’t like them. (Insert political comment here.)

After the walk, we let the kids play on the playground a bit. The biggest kid got a kick out of trying to do the same tricks the middle kid did.

To top off the weekend, we had the first bonfire of the autumn 2020 season.

Exempt

Sunday 20 September 2020

Churches are exempt from paying taxes; political organizations are not. All too often, though, the former morph into the latter, and it’s for that reason that many of us feel that churches should not enjoy tax-exempt status. Usually, priests and pastors couch these statements in less obviously political language. It fools no one, and of course, the congregants generally support that language and their perceived right to say it in an organization that pays no taxes — it’s seen as first amendment rights.

So to be present when blatantly political speech takes place in the context of prayer makes someone who holds the above views quite irate.

Today, we went to mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, a church that we’ve attended a few times, and probably would attend more often given the difficulty of signing up for one of the available slots at our parish’s reduced-capacity masses. But I for one will not set foot in that building again after the blood-boiling nonsense I heard today. During the general intercessions, when it came time for the priest to add his intentions, he prayed for Trump and his pick for the Supreme Court position. I really wanted to walk out at that point, but I remained. It wasn’t as if he were thanking his god — which I put in lower-case, for it seems to be the god of political power — for the death of Ginsberg; he was merely supporting the hypocrisy of the right. Given the historical hypocrisy of the Catholic Church, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that a priest would promote and praise political hypocrisy in the name of maintaining power.

As the mass was ending, though, during the time just before the benediction when the priest usually makes announcements, he launched into another political speech about the importance of the Supreme Court nomination. I’d had enough. I walked out.

Opportunity

Saturday 19 September 2020

Rarely do such stark opportunities emerge to rise to one’s professed principles or to sink to rank hypocrisy as this moment for Republicans. What will it be? Will they prove themselves to be a party of principle or a party interested only in gathering unto itself increasing political power? Will they, now that the shoe is on the other foot, treat Democrats as they demanded they be treated in 2016?

That’s the real irony of this looming crisis: Republicans wrap themselves in the pages of the Bible, proclaiming themselves to be the vanguard of all that’s decent — according to their definition of the term, which is always couched in religious ideals. But when it comes down to it, they are no more interested in principles or basic decency than your average thug.

In Armando Iannucci’s brilliant The Death of Stalin, there’s a telling scene in which Lavrentiy Beria, facing his own doom, demands to be treated in accordance with the law and then begs for mercy. In his brutal career, he faced such pleas countless times, I’m sure, and he always responded with barbarity and cruelty. When he lost power, he begged for just that which he would not give to others.

Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz are on record:

So when Mitch McConnell said “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” he showed himself to be perhaps the best, clearest example of a hypocrite that one could imagine. It’s hard to envision a more clear-cut case of blatant, power-grabbing hypocrisy than what we’re witnessing now in the Republican party.

Any Congressional Republicans who go along with this show their constituency that they are not individuals of their words, that they are the basest liars, that they should not be entrusted with any power, and on the basis of principle alone, their Republican constituents should vote them out.

Will this happen? Of course not. Why won’t Republicans do this? Because the Republican party no longer exists. It is a party of only one principle, and that’s power. Republican states are no longer red states (Isn’t it ironic that the color for Republicans is the color associated with communism? Isn’t it ironic how cozy our current Republican president is with the Russian leader trying desperately to reconstitute Soviet power?); they are orange states, to match the hue of their lord and savior.

At the Swing

Wednesday 16 September 2020

For a few years there, you could count on pictures down at the swing and hammocks. It was such a regular occurrence that I pretty much stopped taking pictures down there. How many pictures of your kids swinging do you really need?

Today, we all went down to the swings for a while before dinner. I took some pictures, then gave the camera to the Boy.

He’s got a good eye, that little fellow.

Tuesday Playing

Tuesday 15 September 2020

K and the Boy spent some time rolling around the neighborhood this evening after dinner. One of the countless things I love about K is her own love of childhood joys.

She was on E’s scooter, having the time of her life it appeared.

Afterward, we played a bit of soccer.

The Girl was at volleyball practice, so we had to do something to entertain ourselves.

And of course, we had to have a little down time once it was all said and done.