Notes from my Knapsack 6-8-23

Notes from my Knapsack 6-8-23
Jeff Gill

Flag etiquette from my point of view
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Coming up is a modest holiday which no one gets off that I know of: Flag Day.

It was on June 14, 1777 that the Continental Congress included in its business a motion reading "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." In other words, the original Betsy Ross version of Old Glory.

Often Flag Day falls during Cub Scout Day Camp, and it has always been both a pleasure and an honor to teach young Scouts how to properly fold the flag into the unique triangle that sets it apart from other banners and bunting stacked upon a shelf.

We also work on the protocols of raising and lowering the flag. Certainly that it should not touch the ground, and our nation's standard goes up briskly in the morning, and down at a slower, stately pace at the end of the day.

Just covering the basics takes all the time I usually have, so that's what we practice. Flag folding, and how to present, raise, and lower the flag (then folding it for stowage overnight). There's some history about how we got the star spangled banner we have I often start with.

Where I don't go is the borderline between opinion, preference, and symbolism where I actually have some pretty firm sentiments. After all, these are nine and ten year olds. But you, dear reader, deserve to learn a bit more.

For instance, I really dislike big clumps of flags. You know, the kind that have broken out like a rash in political rallies? The pledge, which we also discuss with the Cub Scouts, notes we are honoring "the republic, for which it stands." The flag stands for the United States of America, in the way the King stands for Great Britain, and they swear allegiance to the Crown. We have the flag.

So I think — this is just one guy's opinion — there's never a good reason to have two, or twelve, or dozens of U.S. flags up on a stage. It confuses the symbolism and meaning. Doesn't bother you? Swell.

But I also deeply regret the sea change we've gone through with 24 hour flag displays. The U.S. flag should go up in the morning, dawn or not too long after, and down at or before sunset, and if it rains, somebody runs out to respectfully take it down.

There used to be just a couple of places (Mackinac Island had one) where guides noted by act of Congress they were allowed to have the flag up with a light 24 hours a day. Yeah. So now, with modern fiber technology and a token spotlight we have all sorts of flags whipping themselves into shreds as they fly all day, all night, all the time. I don't like it.

Flags with gold fringe? Don't like 'em. Backwards patches indicating "we're always moving forward?" A general's whim during the first Gulf War now enshrined on car logos. A flat display flag points right, to its own left.

And unless you're armed, take off your hat, please, when it passes by. My opinion!


Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; if you read these columns, you knew he had opinions. He's happy to read yours at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

Faith Works 6-2-23

Faith Works 6-2-23
Jeff Gill

A semi-annual exhortation for summer
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School is out, Memorial Day behind us, and the summer sprawls on ahead.

Granted, like so many things, summer ain't what it used to be. With so much going back into action not after Labor Day but on or just after August 1, it does seem as if summer is shorter. If you have school age kids, that's definitely true.

However you mark the warmer months, whatever you do to get away, I want to suggest something I know I've said many times before, but bears repeating. Try going to worship on vacation.

There are fine folk who are religious, if you will, about their church attendance through the year, but see summer break time as an opportunity to take a break from all kinds of routine, including attending services.

I get it. I really do. My own religious tradition is not rooted in any beliefs that you must be in church for God to pay any attention to you, or your prayers, we just say along with many Protestant Christians that the Hebrews 10:25 instruction means we really oughta.

Preachers can put a bit too much weight on that one verse; again, I don't mean to say that missing a Sunday (or Saturday, or Friday depending on your practice) is the same as leaving God out of your life. I would say, along with every gym director and coach on the practice field, that missing a regular routine can quickly turn into no routine at all.

What I do want to suggest is that attending a worship service, especially for those who are deeply engaged in their own faith community, somewhere that's unfamiliar to you can be a revelatory and instructive experience.

Just like sitting in a distant hotel room watching the evening news, and noting what's the same, and what's different, it makes coming home a new experience. The same thing about any vacation getaway: you see your own life in a different light when you return from it.

Worship in a different place, where no one knows you, can trigger all sorts of useful reflections on your own habits and assumptions back home. I've seen people come back and talk about their having visited a service and been told "you're in my seat" and now they want to tell everyone why that's a terrible horrible awful thing to say to our visitors here at home. And trust me, preachers smile because we can say that from the pulpit at length and convince no one, but that lived experience re-told first hand can turn a congregation around.

The songs that are sung, the instruments that are used, the style of preaching you hear, and even odd details in the architecture or decor: you gain something by seeing a place fresh, and finding your way into worship in that new setting.

And depending on where you are vacationing, sometimes after the service as you deal with the fascinating experience of being the visitor in a church, you learn from the locals who tell you about things or suggest options you never would have heard about as just a tourist sticking to the tourist stuff and touristy places. That's not why I recommend the practice, but it's a nice fringe benefit.

I'd love to hear about anyone's experiences this summer visiting worship in a place they're traveling!


Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher around central Ohio; he's taking an extended vacation of sorts this summer going nowhere. Tell him where you're going to church on the road at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.