Farnsworth Forum

 52 years ago today, the television series Little House on the Prairie  debuted. It was NOT my favorite TV show. That would be The Waltons.  Those of you who know me understand how passionate I am about that show. But I could say that LHOTP was a close second of third. Haha! I diligently wrote to many of the cast members during the original run of the series, and I received replies from some of them. I also tried to submit a script for consideration, but that is a story for another time. Perhaps it is ironic that a series about serving as kind neighbors, avoiding racism, living out faith in practical ways, and taking a stand for justice would debut on the same day of the year that 27 years later we would watch the events of 9/11 enfold on our screens. Yet, perhaps it is the very values embodied on LHOTP that remind us that hope can arise from the ashes of tragedy.  In September 2024, I attended a fiftieth anniversary event in Lancaster, PA, to commemorate the premi...

Can it be 25 years already? I was a new missionary in Ecuador, having arrived here on April 24. On 9/11, I was housesitting for some friends who were in Germany. It was a lazy day for me, and I was watching Homicide : Life on the Streets . I know, not very spiritual. I was channel surfing during commercials when I saw the second tower hit and subsequently collapse. It was surreal to me and seemed like an action movie. But it was real, and 2,976 (the official count) people died that day and many since then due to various illnesses and health complications caused by the horrific attacks. Reflections on that day bring us to consider the need for kindness and empathy for those who look, think, and act differently as well as compassion and care for those who hurt.  Elisabeth Elliot, well acquainted with suffering and grief, said, "It's only in the cross that we can begin to harmonize this seeming contradiction between suffering and love." That's exactly what many people sa...