Life in Cayuga

 I’ve told you before that I often question my religious faith. There are questions I don’t have the answers to and things done in the name of religion that I don’t agree with.  But I love my church.  The biggest events in my life have revolved around that church.  I was married there. That was the first place we took our children.  My children were christened, confirmed and baptized there. Both my parents’ funerals were held there.  My son’s funeral was held there.  It holds a special place in my heart    I am a United Methodist.  I’ve been a Methodist all my life, and a United one since 1968 when the Methodist church merged with the predominantly black United Evangelical Brotherhood.  I was 13 when this took place, but I remember well how a lot of churches, and a lot of people, including members of my family, left the denomination because they were afraid their church would be forced to have a black pastor and forced to accept bla...

You all know how devastating Hurricane Katrina was, the death and destruction, and how many thousands of people were displaced.  Among those displaced were the sister-in-law of my friend Brian and her family.  They live in Metairie and had several feet of water in their home.  Wanda, Charlie, and “Little” Charlie moved in with Brian and Vivian until they could get back in to assess their damage and begin repairs   Little Charlie was 14 years old at the time and was a ninth grader at Jesuit High School in New Orleans.  Jesuit, like every other school and business in NOLA, closed for the duration. Since he had always gone to Catholic schools, they began looking for a Catholic school for him. St Joseph in Jackson said of course he could come, at full tuition.  Since they were still having to pay his tuition at Jesuit, they looked for another option. St Aloysius in Vicksburg said that any student displaced by the storm, who had been a full time student at a Cat...