“Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out.” So begins our OT story about the call of the prophet Samuel. The setting of this story is more than just practical information— it foreshadows the entire story. For indeed, there

Baptism of Our Lord A 2018 One morning back in my stay at home days in Manchester, I was riding my bike to my son’s school to volunteer. I was in my full regalia: I had my backpack on my back, helmet on my head, baby seat behind me (with no baby in it), and the best fashion accessory: a rubber band around my pant leg so it wouldn’t get caught in the spokes. As I hopped on the bike, I thought to myself: Wow.  I am such a loser. I got a backpack on my back, this helmet on, a ba