Tag Archive: Gusto!


Inspired by Scripture: Museum of Biblical Arts Tour

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May 19, 2012

The GUSTO! program at King of Glory Lutheran Church (KoG) will be visiting the Museum of Biblical Arts on Tuesday, May 22nd, at 10 a.m. The program is usually held  on Monday, but the museum is closed on Monday. I visited the museum for a Religion Communicators Council  (RCC)  meeting last year. My comments will be after the following description.

The Museum of Biblical Art, rebuilt after a devastating fire in 2005, is a cultural crossroads using art to promote tolerance and understanding of the humanities and Western culture. The museum today is larger than the original, featuring over 30,000 square feet of expanded art galleries and exhibits. It is located at 7500 Park Lane in Dallas, just west of NorthPark Center.

The museum hosts a broad array of painting and sculpture by premier artists, from Botticelli to John Singer Sargent to Andy Warhol. Its main attraction is a 40-foot wide mural of the Resurrection by internationally known artist Ron DiCianni. There is also an extensive collection of lithographs by Marc Chagall. Other galleries feature Biblical archaeology, Jewish and Israeli art, religious architecture, and African American, Hispanic and contemporary art.

The museum recently acquired a life-size replica of Michelangelo’s “Pietá,” cast in bronze and authorized by the Vatican. It came directly from the Michelangelo Museum in Florence. Another outstanding exhibit is the “Tapestry of the Centuries” mural by Vladimir Gorsky. This monumental painting illustrates the people and events that shaped world history, from the birth of Jesus through 1999 A.D.

The museum is truly fascinating, particularly the exhibits of art from other religions. The  King James Bible exhibit has been extended until June. The exhibit consists of original Bibles from the private collection of Dr. Charles Ryrie. Last year was the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. I’m looking forward to having time after the tour to properly explore it. The tour does not allow sufficient time to effectively see everything. I was unable to stay after the RCC meeting.

The bus is most likely full at this point, but you can meet at the museum at 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday. Sharon Chapman will collect the $9 admission from each person and pay for the entire group. The tour will conclude with lunch on your own at Northpark Center if you would like. If you plan to meet the group there, e-mail gusto@kingofglory.com or call Sharon Chapman at 214-458-3271. If you do not get a chance to take the tour with the group, be sure to visit the museum on your own when you get the chance. You will not be disappointed.

Peace be with you.

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Evangelicals in America: Changing the Religious Landscape

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May 13, 2012

American Protestantism has long been shaped by interactions between religion of the heart and religion of the head. Yet modern evangelicalism is as much a product of post-World War II political developments in the United States and globally as it is of 18th and 19th century revivalism.

So says Dr. Robert Hunt of Southern Methodist University, speaker at the May 14 GUSTO! meeting beginning at 10 a.m. Hunt has been a pastor, missionary, teacher, writer and editor. He currently serves as director of global theological education at the Perkins School of Theology, where he lectures on world religions, Christian missions and Islam. He spoke to GUSTO! on the topic of Islam back in April of 2010.

Contemporary evangelicals are far more diverse and divided than depictions in the media typically show, Dr. Hunt says. Yet the recent alignment of some evangelicals with Roman Catholic social causes has the potential to reshape not just the political landscape, but the very concepts of citizen and state. He will explore these trends at the May meeting.

A Dallas native, Hunt graduated with a degree in history from UT–Austin and earned a master of theology at SMU. He received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Malaya, focusing on the history of Bible translation and Christian–Muslim relations. He lived and worked abroad in the Philippines, Malaysia and Vienna for nearly 20 years before coming to SMU. He has written several books, most recently The Gospel Among the Nations: A Documentary History of Inculturation (Orbis, 2010)

The previous paragraphs are from Kay Champagne of the GUSTO! Communications team. Kay is a fellow member of the DFW chapter of the Religion Communicators Council. The GUSTO! program has some interesting and entertaining speakers. I have written quite a few posts on past programs which are in the archives.

I have met Robert Hunt and heard him speak on several occasions. I took a course he gave on world religions at the Theological School for the Laity at Perkins School of Theology. He gave a sermon at our church and gave a presentation at an RCC meeting held at Perkins. He is an engaging speaker who speaks with humor and acumen. There will be a reception following the presentation. Guests are welcome.

Peace be with you.

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TV vs. Reality – The Truth about Police Investigations

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April 6, 2012

Have you ever wondered while watching NCIS, The Closer, or any of the CSI shows, whether actual investigative units can really do some of the things they do on TV?

Duane Boy will answer that question during his presentation at the King Of Glory Lutheran Church as part of their GUSTO! series of events. Boy will speak at 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning, April 10. (Normally held on the second Monday of each month, the meeting will be held on Tuesday due to the Easter weekend.) Boy, a retired DPD police detective, will walk the audience through the process of investigation, from conducting the initial interviews to presenting the case to the district attorney.

Boy, a long-time member of King of Glory, spent 33 years with the Dallas Police Department, retiring in 2011. During that time he handled such diverse cases as the 1991 Asian restaurant robberies, the SMU water-hazing case, and the gang arrest that cleared up 71 home invasion robberies, three kidnappings and the attempted murder of a police officer—not to mention the recovery of Elvis Presley’s motorcycle jacket, which had been stolen from Graceland.His investigation and arrest of a huge-scale counterfeit-music group earned him a Gold Record from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Boy is a South Dakota native, Vietnam veteran, and graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in entomology. He worked as a marine biologist at Texas Instruments until 1977, when he was sidelined with a broken neck. Interestingly, that led to his joining the Dallas Police Department a year later. He served as a patrol officer and undercover operator until 1988, when he became an investigator. He worked property crimes for a few years before moving to robbery cases.

Boy will touch on such steps as processing the crime scene, collecting evidence, developing and interviewing suspects, and compiling the case for prosecution. He’ll also cover what you can do to help an investigation if you are a victim and what you can do to lessen your chances of becoming a victim.

Come at 9:45 a.m. for coffee and conversation, and join us for a reception following the  presentation. The GUSTO! program was created to provide interesting and enlightening experiences for the mature adult community, but all are welcome.

Peace be with you.

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Meet Our New Neighbors: The Global Face of North Texas

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March 11, 2012

Forty-four percent of residents in Dallas/Fort Worth are New Americans—foreign-born and their children. Over 1 million immigrants moved to the metroplex during the past 10 years. They came from Europe, Asia, South America, Africa and, of course, Mexico and other Latin American countries. They speak 239 languages, and in 32 percent of the region’s homes English is not the language spoken.

Dallas’s strength lies in its diversity, according to Anne Marie Weiss-Armush, who will speak to GUSTO! on Monday, March 12, at 10 a.m. Weiss-Armush is founder and president of DFW International Community Alliance, an umbrella organization for 1,600 internationally themed groups across North Texas. Her presentation will bring the metroplex’s demographics into focus and reveal where these New Americans live and work and how they contribute to the community.

Through its web site, DFW International offers hundreds of links to global organizations and artists plus a calendar of 500 global cultural events each month. The organization also sponsors the annual Dallas International Festival and other special events and produces yearly demographic reports that give insight into the new global face of North Texas.

A Fulbright scholar to Mexico, a Spanish teacher, and an author of four books on Middle Eastern culture, Weiss-Armush lived 11 years in Saudi Arabia, where she lectured on Arabic culture for the national media. Her 20 years of work on behalf of North Texas refugees and immigrant communities have earned her numerous awards, including that of Dallas Peacemaker of the Year for 2003.

For more information or to see what’s going on in Dallas/Fort Worth’s multicultural and ethnic communities, visit the organization’s extensive web site, dfwinternational.org.

Come for coffee and conversation at 9:45 a.m. Everyone is welcome. More information about GUSTO! is at www.kingofglory.com/GUSTO.

NOTE: The follow-on activity, a tour of Dallas’s ethnic communities, has been rescheduled for Monday, April 23. Sign-up for the tour will begin at the April 10 GUSTO! meeting.

Peace be with you.

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Holocaust Survivor To Speak at King of Glory Gusto! Program

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January 7, 2012

Holocaust survivor Dr. Zsuzsanna Ozsváth will talk about her experience as a schoolgirl in Hungary during World War II at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 9 at King of Glory Lutheran Church. The presentation is part of the Gusto!  event series.

Ozsváth and her immediate family survived the final days of the war with the help of her nanny and dear friend, Erzsi, who found food and safe houses for them. More than half a million Hungarian Jews perished between 1941 and 1945 as part of the Nazis’ Final Solution.

Ozsváth recorded her experience in a memoir titled When the Danube Ran Red, which was released last year. She will discuss the events documented in the book and be available to sign copies.

Ozsváth is the Leah and Paul Lewis Chair of Holocaust Studies and professor of literature and history of ideas at the University of Texas at Dallas. She has written extensively about Holocaust literature and the Holocaust in Hungary. She holds music degrees (piano) from Bartók Béla School of Musical Arts and the State Academy of Music at Hamburg. She completed her Ph.D. in German language and literature at the University of Texas.

Come at 9:45 a.m. for coffee and conversation, and join us for a reception to follow the presentation. Everyone is welcome!

Never Forget: Tour of Dallas Holocaust Museum – Monday also begins sign-up for the trip to the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance on Monday, January 23. The self-guided audio tour will include permanent displays plus a traveling exhibit of children’s artwork from the Terezin ghetto, Czech Republic. Late KoG member Col. Gil Ackerman’s war crimes trial documents will be displayed especially for our group. Bus transportation and carpooling will be available. Cost is $6 at the door. The museum is located at 211 N. Record St. in downtown Dallas. More information is at www.kingofglory.com/gusto.

——– From the Gusto! media staff.

Peace be with you.

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Perkins Precis, Dallas Holocaust Museum, and Gusto!

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December 21, 2011

What do an alumni e-newsletter, a Holocaust museum, and gusto have in common? They are past, current, and ongoing projects of RCC D-FW Chapter members. The December DFW Chapter meeting, held this year at Christ UMC in Farmers Branch, is traditionally a time of sharing the year’s accomplishments and trials. The Chapter furnished the lunch and presented each member with a gift (chocolate covered pecans). Members shared samples of their best work, some of which they are considering entering in next year’s DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards, to be awarded at the RCC Convention in April in Philadelphia.

Alice Dykeman, of Dykeman Associates, Inc., discussed her past year’s work. Her current intern, Emrah Yildiz, is no stranger to the group, having attended meetings for several months. Dykeman also introduced her guest, Reverend Charles Curliss. Rev. Curliss is founder and pastor of The One Church. Debbie Tull, marketing and advertising consultant, brought the group up to date on her work at Patheos.com. “Patheos.com is the premier online destination to engage in the global dialogue about religion and spirituality and to explore and experience the world’s beliefs.” Tull explained that, in an effort to be all-inclusive, the website has recently added an atheist channel. They also created Patheos Press to publish e-books. The site has titles already available.

Tim McLemore, Associate Director of Public Affairs at Perkins School of Theology, presented each member with a Perkins marketing eco-sack containing a folder with informational brochures. The Begin Your Journey With Us brochure, a recent addition introducing the school to potential students, illustrates the diversity among faculty and students. McLemore displayed the Perkins website, concentrating on the alumni pages – specifically, the Perkins Precis, an e-newsletter for Perkins alumni/ae. Even before he took the page and e-newsletter live, McLemore was contacted by alumni who had searched on Google, found the page, and asked to be put on the list.

Chris Kelley, principal of The Kelley Group and PR Consultant with the Dallas Holocaust Museum, provided clips from the video of his interview with Frank Risch. Risch was the 2011 Honoree at the museum’s Hope for Humanity dinner. His parents, Herbert and Irma Risch, fled Nazi Germany in 1937 to escape the Holocaust. Risch has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance (DHM/CET) for nearly twenty years. “He has been instrumental in transforming the organization from a memorial and resource center located in the Jewish Community Center to a creative museum in the West End Historic District.” The clips were emotionally moving, leaving the room in momentary silence.

Kay Champagne shared the work she and fellow chapter member, Sharon Chapman, have been doing to market the King Of Glory (KOG) Lutheran Church’s Gusto! series. “Gusto! Is a Life Group at KOG for the mature adult community (all are welcome) that creates and promotes enrichment programs that stimulate intellectual growth and expand personal interactions in a supportive and nurturing Christian environment.” Past guest speakers were Martin Marty, Walter Brueggemann, and a series of speakers on Dwight D. Eisenhower. A Holocaust survivor will speak in January, and the group will visit the Dallas Holocaust Museum in February.

During lunch, between small talk and presentations, members of the group discussed the changes in communications methods over the years. From the manual typewriter and mimeograph machines to bulky pcs running on MS-DOS and floppy discs to smartphones that have more power than previous mainframe computers. Several members admitted to still having outdated equipment in a closet or garage. Yet reminiscence is not indicative of a willingness to re-live the times discussed. It is simply a fondness for days that, while they were perhaps simpler, were also the stepping stones to the lives we know and enjoy now.

The meeting was an appropriate ending to the year. It went over the allotted time, due to the continually interesting conversations. Members shared pride and appreciation for past accomplishments as well as excitement for current and future projects. Members left with smiles and exclamations of Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, looking forward to another year in the world of communication.

Peace be with you.

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Biking Across America: From Sea to Shining Sea

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December 14, 2011

In 2010, at age 49, Bruce Moore quit his job and spent three months cycling the TransAmerica Trail from Virginia to Oregon. Moore shared pictures, memories, and learning experiences from the trip with the group at the December meeting of King of Glory Lutheran Church’s GUSTO! program on Monday. Following corrective heart surgery in 2009 for a previously undiagnosed pediatric condition, Moore became determined to accomplish his three main goals. Having cycled in college, he wanted to bike across the country. He also wanted to write a book and start his own company.

After planning and preparing all winter, and training during the spring, Moore departed from  Yorktown, Virginia on May 8. As he told the audience, the journey took 93 days. Moore rode  4,105 miles, riding for 79 days with 14 days rest. While he traveled by himself, with his wife, Kristin, meeting him a few times along the way, he was rarely alone.

Moore shared pictures and stories of fellow cyclists with whom he had ridden, as well as good Samaritans along the route who welcomed the travelers, giving them water, treats, and shelter for the night. One woman has been serving water, lemonade, cookies, and shelter to cyclists on the TransAmerica Trail for many of its 35 years of existence. The trail was mapped out in 1976 for the Bicentennial. Six thousand riders made the trip that first year. About 500 cyclists make the trek each year, some eastward bound and others headed westward.

An entertaining speaker, Bruce Moore described being dive-bombed by a hawk, seeing nothing in either rearview mirror but a huge wing. He spoke of the lack of vegetables in rural areas. Of being welcomed by three churches along the way whose congregations had formed a ministry to welcome cyclists traveling along the trail. Of his habit of eating at local diners for social interaction and friendly smiles.

On August 8, after 4,105 miles, 42 nights camping, 42 nights in hotels, 6 nights in hostels, and 3 nights in churches, Moore met Kristin in Florence, Oregon. He dipped his front wheel in the Pacific Ocean, having dipped his rear wheel in the Atlantic three months earlier, completing the journey from sea to shining sea. Moore launched his own software company upon returning to Dallas. Counting the blog as a book, he accomplished all three goals. He is now working on other goals.

Bruce Moore’s cycling adventure also raised funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. His blog may be found here.

Peace be with you.

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Gusto! Program Presents Cross Country Cyclist

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December 9, 2011

There are no pessimists on the TransAmerica Trail. That’s the conclusion of Bruce Moore, a King of Glory (KOG) member who spent a summer biking across America. Moore will share memories and photos of his three-month trek at King O f Glory Lutheran’s  GUSTO! meeting on Monday, December 12, at 10 a.m.

In 2010, at age 49, Moore quit his job and embarked on a bicycle tour from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. He left Yorktown, Virginia, on May 8. Three months, eight flat tires, two bike chains, a bunch of hot days and cold nights, a hailstorm, and more than a few cold showers later, he arrived in Florence, Oregon—a trip of 4,100 miles.

Moore camped four or five nights a week and stayed in motels the other two or three—when he needed to do laundry, when it was raining, or when it was over 95 degrees. He blogged the entire trip, followed online by many friends and King of Glory members back home. His ride raised funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Moore will talk about his journey—both physical and mental—and about how our society grossly undervalues shelter, cold water, hot water, vegetables, and high quality toilet paper. He’ll have stories about some of the places he visited and people he met—stories that will make you laugh, cry, and think. He’ll also bring a loaded bike to give a flavor of his trek.

At the end of his biking adventure, Moore launched his own mathematical modeling software and consulting business. He continues to be an active member of King of Glory.

Come at 9:45 a.m. for coffee and conversation, and join us for a reception after the presentation. Everyone is welcome!  The sanctuary can be chilly at this time of year. We recommend you bring a sweater or coat.

[From the KOG Gusto! staff]

Peace be with you.

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To Your Health: Air and Water Quality in North Texas

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October 8, 2011

Which is safer, bottled water or tap water? Who or what causes over 85 percent of the lung-damaging ozone air pollution in the D/FW area? How is your “rain tax” used? What is the rain tax? Myron Knudson, Senior Policy Advisor of the Environmental Protection Agency, will answer these and other questions at King of Glory Lutheran on Monday, October 10 at 10 a.m. as part of the Gusto! event series. Coffee and conversation will be served at 9:45 a.m.

Knudson will discuss health and environmental conditions in the D/FW Metroplex relating to air and water quality. How can we trust that these life-giving essentials—air and water— will not harm us? Knudson is senior policy advisor to the EPA’s regional administrator. He is a 40-year veteran of the EPA, serving as director of the surveillance and analysis division, the water management division, and the Superfund division. He has held his present position since 2003. Before joining the EPA, he worked for the U.S. Public Health Service and the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration.

The Gusto! Series, presented by King of Glory Lutheran Church, began its 2011-2012 series on Wednesday, September 7th, at 2 p.m. by attending Theatre Three for a production of Wild Oats. The events continued on Monday, September 12th at 10 a.m. with Jac Alder, Executive Producer-Director of Theatre Three presenting 50 Years in the Round: Jac Alder and Theatre Three. GUSTO! programs are diverse and designed to stimulate intellectual growth and expand personal interactions in a Christian environment.

Although GUSTO!’s programs are directed primarily at mature adults and retired and semi-retired people, all are welcome to attend. Activities focus on intriguing topics that inspire learning, follow-up activities that explore special interests, and opportunities to share skills, talents and life experiences. GUSTO! meets regularly at the church on the second Monday of each month, September through May. Additional field trips, workshops and special events are offered at other times during the month. Guests are always welcome.

Peace be with you.

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