Artificial Meat

I have seen a lot of news lately about "meat" produced from plant-based products. I'm not sure what to think about that. Maybe it will taste just like real meat, although the meat substitutes I have tried have been rubbery and tasteless.

But what has spurred on all this research? A lot more people are becoming vegetarian and vegan these days. I think that the market is responding to demand.

What troubles me is the underlying assumptions about the morality of meat consumption. This is probably one of those things that I'll never understand and I'm sure my musings are unlikely to change anyone's mind.

Anyway, it seems to me that some believe it is a noble thing to avoid meat consumption. One celebrity declared that he would eat nothing that has a face. And so faceless creatures are less valuable than those with eyes? How can we arbitrarily say that? And does a shrimp have a face? What about potatoes? They have eyes.

One thing we fail to realize is this: For us to eat, something has to die. It may be a plant. It may be an animal. But something has to die. For us to live, something must die.

Chew on that.

Of course the Holy Grail of food production may be creating nutritious food from chemicals. Maybe food engineers are working to create that food which requires nothing to die.

But I think God knew what he was doing when he designed this place. I'm always skeptical of our "improvements."

Parade Time!

This Saturday is the Stokesdale Christmas Parade, the community's signature event for the season.  Thousands of people will gather this Saturday to see friends and neighbors roll or stroll down Main Street.  We have scouts, marching bands, trucks, tractors, horses, tumblers, churches, and dignitaries in the procession every year.

As usual, Crossroads will host a family fun experience in the front yard of the fire station.  We'll be giving away hot dogs, drinks, desserts, pop corn, and cotton candy.  





We will have face painting and crafts for kids, and we will have a huge bounce house.  


All our festivities will begin around noon, providing you with lots of fun and food before the parade begins at 2:00.  

Then, as the parade rolls by, Crossroads announcers Lisa Bailey and Keith Street will give you the inside story on every entry.  They may also tease the crowd with some Christmas trivia.




The weatherman promises lots of sunshine for a beautiful Stokesdale Christmas Parade experience.  You'll be glad you came!

An Army at the Parade

Saturday was everything I could have hoped for. Well, I could have hoped for snow. But everything else was incredible. The people of Crossroads turned out en mass to serve the community of Stokesdale. And while we were working, we were having a great time!

We helped turn the Stokesdale Holiday Parade into an even bigger celebration. Sharing God’s love is a whole lot of fun. We gave away 700 hot dogs, lots of coffee, hot chocolate and desserts. People kept trying to pay for the food, and we kept explaining that we just wanted to share God’s love with them.

Our band played for a couple of hours before the parade, having a great time. We even played a set after the parade was over.

But during the parade, we provided the play-by-play for the floats as they passed by. Before the parade, we asked for info on all entries. Then from the stage, two of our folks did the Katie Couric, Matt Lauer routine. They added a new element of life to the whole event.

In fact, they did such a good job, they have been invited to do the same thing for a springtime parade nearby. All the responses we have received have been very encouraging.

I am so glad that our people served with such enthusiasm. We owe a debt of thanks to the people who built the stage, ran the sound, played the music, bought the food, prepared the food, served the food, welcomed the crowd, and announced the parade.

May Jesus be glorified as we share his love. May the songs we sang and the conversations we had give glory to him.