Rev. Don Erickson

Before I begin, I should let you know that in keeping with the theme of this service, I wrote this reflection in pencil on paper first. Wendell Berry is famous for eschewing computers for the primitive pencil and paper. Unlike Berry, however, I did not ask my wife Holly to type and print it out. There are some places to which I am not willing to follow even Wendell Berry. Also in keeping with the Wendell Berry theme, who is a Baptist, I will be using the traditional Baptist three-point sermon format that I heard growing up. Dylan had a guitar, three chords, and the truth. I have scripture, three points, and the truth. Now, I will say no need to fear hellfire and brimstone. This is a pretty interfaith and farmer-friendly sermon J Anyway, here we go. This morning’s scripture comes from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, vs. 31-32. I use the Douay-Rheims Translation: "Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, w

It has only been a few months since learning of Corey’s diagnosis of being on the Autism Spectrum. High Functioning Autism, formerly known as Asperger's, and ADHD together. The ASD / ADHD joint diagnosis is a relatively new diagnosis, and so was a bit difficult to diagnosis. But now we have a clearer picture of things. When we first heard the diagnosis, we were a mix of heartbroken and relieved. We were heartbroken knowing that ASD plus ADHD is not easy, especially for the child living with it. It presents a whole set of obstacles in a society that highly values conformity and predictability. There is also a sense of loss a family feels – the loss of some sense of a so-called normal, regular life. This feeling is not exactly “keeping up with the Joneses” per se. But it is us looking at other families with neuro-typical children and wishing that we had just a few days of that and us wondering, “what would that be like.” This is not to say that neuro-typical families h