{"id":11593,"date":"2012-05-14T11:10:01","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T15:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.townehouse.net\/phoenix\/?p=55"},"modified":"2017-04-23T07:46:33","modified_gmt":"2017-04-23T11:46:33","slug":"the-empty-pew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11593","title":{"rendered":"The Empty Pew"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/emptypew33.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"230\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?attachment_id=230\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/emptypew33.jpg?fit=500%2C348&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"500,348\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Min. Ball&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"emptypew33\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/emptypew33.jpg?fit=500%2C348&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-230\" title=\"emptypew33\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/emptypew33-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"The Empty Pew\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>As the story goes, there was this old man who went to Mass every Sunday morning.; He always selected a large pew that was empty. His hope, his wish, his dream was that someday the pew would be occupied by himself, his wife, his children, his children&#8217;s spouses, and his grandchildren. But weeks, months, and years passed and he occupied the pew alone.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>H would look on with a heavy heart as family members all joined hands and recited the Lord&#8217;s Prayer together. As greetings were exchanged, he stood by as spouses embraced, children were kissed, and greetings exchanged among family members. He participated, but only to the extent that he shook hands with strangers and wished them peace. And this ritual wend on for a good many years.<\/p>\n<p>But one day, the old man did not appear for Sunday Mass. Since he knew no one, no one noticed his absence. Eventually, his name was mentioned during the Intercession, asking all to pray to the Lord for him for he had died. The congregation responded &#8220;Lord, hear our prayer&#8221;, but few knew who that prayer was for.<\/p>\n<p>On the day of his Funeral Mass, his wish was finally granted for there in the pew, sitting side by side were his wife, his children, his children&#8217;s spouses, and his grandchildren. But the following Sunday, the pew was once again empty, and now it was completely empty.<\/p>\n<p>Those are my thoughts, what are yours?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the story goes, there was this old man who went to Mass every Sunday morning.; He always selected a large pew that was empty. His hope, his wish, his dream was that someday the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/THFI.png?fit=214%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12885,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=12885","url_meta":{"origin":11593,"position":0},"title":"Christmas \u2013 2019","author":"Tom Lind","date":"December 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"To my family and friends and all other readers of the Townehouse, here are a few thoughts I have had about Christmas over the past few days.\u00a0 I would like to share them with all of you.\u00a0 Sharing this article with you is my Christmas present to you all.\u00a0 I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/merry-christmas-2019-text-with-elegant-vector-22962599.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1189,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=1189","url_meta":{"origin":11593,"position":1},"title":"Racial Disharmony","author":"Tom Lind","date":"November 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"After my rant last Friday on \u201cApathy and Ignorance\u201d, I thought I could put my soapbox away for a while. That is what I thought, but I was wrong. Let me set the scenario for you. On Sunday I attended Sunday morning mass at a small church on the eastern\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"race","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/race-150x150.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12352,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=12352","url_meta":{"origin":11593,"position":2},"title":"Thanksgiving Day \u2013 2017","author":"Tom Lind","date":"November 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I hate to think that I am going to start this Thanksgiving day with a rant, but yeah, that is what I am going to do.\u00a0 I know this is supposed to be a day of giving thanks for all the good things we have in our life.\u00a0 I am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/the-first-thanksgiving-mike-white.jpg?fit=900%2C546&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/the-first-thanksgiving-mike-white.jpg?fit=900%2C546&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/the-first-thanksgiving-mike-white.jpg?fit=900%2C546&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/the-first-thanksgiving-mike-white.jpg?fit=900%2C546&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":267,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=267","url_meta":{"origin":11593,"position":3},"title":"Random Thoughts On Thanksgiving","author":"Tom Lind","date":"November 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite Holidays. When I was a boy my parents always hosted the thanksgiving feast. Preparation of the turkey and all the responsibilities attached to that task fell squarely on my father's shoulders. There are many good stories to be told regarding how he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"Happy Thanksgiving!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/60314-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11656,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=11656","url_meta":{"origin":11593,"position":4},"title":"Rewriting History","author":"Tom Lind","date":"August 14, 2015","format":"gallery","excerpt":"I am confused. I am not sure what is being accomplished by these recent attempts to rewrite history. I guess the most recent and most publicized is the removal of the Confederate Battle Flag from the grounds of the State House in North Carolina. In case you weren't paying attention,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/MP9004280001.jpg?fit=1024%2C692&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/MP9004280001.jpg?fit=1024%2C692&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/MP9004280001.jpg?fit=1024%2C692&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/MP9004280001.jpg?fit=1024%2C692&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12064,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=12064","url_meta":{"origin":11593,"position":5},"title":"It\u2019s Not the Guns!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"June 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Every time there is a mass shooting incident in this country I brace myself. I know what is coming and I know I am going to get upset. I try to prepare myself but all the preparations I make do not seem to help. In the end, I am still\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160619-orlando-vigil-ground_d11d4469eb01e1a719fc1d961083884a.nbcnews-fp-440-320.jpg?fit=880%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160619-orlando-vigil-ground_d11d4469eb01e1a719fc1d961083884a.nbcnews-fp-440-320.jpg?fit=880%2C640&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160619-orlando-vigil-ground_d11d4469eb01e1a719fc1d961083884a.nbcnews-fp-440-320.jpg?fit=880%2C640&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160619-orlando-vigil-ground_d11d4469eb01e1a719fc1d961083884a.nbcnews-fp-440-320.jpg?fit=880%2C640&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38YRh-30Z","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}