Finding truth at center of a Tootsie Roll Pop

Mom was a smoker. I hated it. Before Chantix and nicotine patches, she quit with some ingenuity and old-fashioned discipline forged from milking goats. When habit compelled her to puff and inhale, she reached instead for a Tootsie Roll Pop. It worked. Too bad there wasn’t Facebook in those days.

Life offers us insight into our experience. We know the truth we have lived. This is easy enough until we turn a corner and discover some fresh first, an unknown encounter attenuating our confidence. “From whence cometh my help?” says the Psalmist.

There have been many first encounters in life, moments that vacated my accepted assumptions and challenged my frame and foundation. Trained by parental expectation, sibling rivalry and the cultural myth of more, I followed the unquestioned path until, at its end, I reached and held nothing. I became a shell living someone else’s image, nothing more than economic exchange. I stared at a blank page wishing to fill it with some crumb of wisdom only to draw from a dry well. Where should I turn to fill the page?

I turned everywhere. It was as though I stepped outside a crowded room looking for fresh air; and feeling momentarily relieved, I suddenly realized I was on the outside looking in. I discovered our culture, any culture perhaps, is replete with “how-to’s” and “whatto-do’s” and “here I am” seeming truths. The culture, I discovered, is just another bookshelf looking for a buyer. Like Adam in the garden, I made the willing purchase.

Christian Wiman says, “Sometimes God calls a person to unbelief in order that faith may take new forms.” If this is true, I was forming or being formed. I simply felt lost in an uneasy abeyance, a tug and pull between free will and obedience. I had fallen and wished to “unfall.” The bookshelf was my starting point. The fallen find their way to this cultural bookstore sifting through the language of what is and what might be or could be desiring to find what will be. Like the snake oil salesman selling his salve, it purports truth while offering nothing but holographic words.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us, “God would have us know that we must live as men who manage our lives without him. … The God who lets us live in the world without the working hypothesis of God is the God before whom we stand continually.” Fallen, we search for truth wishing to “un-fall,” yet the truth is we cannot fall beyond God’s reach.

Too often what we know through intellect fails the more guttural knowledge derived from the barren desert we call reality. Deep inside we know truth resides with God as we reject obedience, the linchpin of our fall. The page has turned and is full. The well is deep and ever-flowing. I found truth in God at the center of my Tootsie Roll Pop. Confetti fills the air as men carry a statue of Santa Rosa de Lima in procession on the feast day of Peru’s patron saint in downtown Lima, Peru. Santa Rosa de Lima was the first person

Adairsville Church of God, 297 Old Dixie Highway, Adairsville, hosts Adairsville Church of God Kidz every Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

Community Chapel Baptist Church, 3773 Black’s Bluff Road, will host Brotherhood Breakfast on Saturday at 8 a.m. with the Rev. Clinton Green preaching. For more information contact Jerry Jacobs at 706-238-9060.

Dry Creek Baptist Church, 150 Dry Creek Road, Adairsville, will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Sept. 9 at 10:30 a.m. A meal will be served after the service. For more information call Opal Freeman at 770-773-3908.

Farill Baptist Church, 13145 Alabama Highway, Cedar Bluff, Alabama, will celebrate homecoming Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. Central (Alabama) Time. The Gambells of Buchanan will be singing. Lunch will served following the service. For more information call 706584-7751 or 706-936-8424.

First Christian Church, 209 E. Second Ave., will hold worship (casual/business casual dress) Sunday at 11 a.m. Sunday School meets at 10 a.m. for a series led by the Rev. Cynthia McCarthy, “As We Believe: Spiritual Strategies for a Deeper Understanding of the Divine With Us.” Morning coffee is each Thursday from 7-9 a.m. For more information contact the Rev. Craig McDonald or the church office at romedisciples@gmail.com.

Greater Christ Temple RPC, 1321 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., will hold harvest revival Sept. 8-10. Services will be at 7 p.m. on Sept. 8, 6 p.m. on Sept. 9 and 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 10. Bishop Michael Lewis Sr. of New Generation Christian Church, Atlanta, and Pastor Dr. Deitra Hill of New Creation Ministries, Atlanta, will be the guest speakers. For more information call Pamela Stallings at 706-238-3525.

Greater Mount Calvary Church, 445 E. 14th St., will have a yard sale and fish fry on Sept. 9 at 8 a.m. at 2112 Maple St. Fish plates will include fish, coleslaw, baked beans, bread and dessert for $5. Drinks are 50 cents. Fall revival will be held Sept. 11-14 at 7 p.m. nightly. The Rev. Cedric Williams, pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church, Cedar Bluff, Alabama, will be the guest preacher. For more information call 706234-2091 or 706-234-5047.

Lovejoy Baptist Church, 436 Branham Ave., will hold fall revival Sept. 11-13 at 7 p.m. nightly. Pastor Lamont Monford Jr. of Philippian Baptist Church, Lima, Ohio, will be the guest speaker.

Lyerly United Methodist Church cookbooks may be purchased from church members or by sending $13 to Lyerly United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 152, Lyerly, GA 30730. For more information call JoAnn Mitchell at 706-895-2636.

NorthPointe Church, 30 Orchard Road, Adairsville, hosts Celebrate Recovery, a Christcentered recovery program, every Monday night. Cross Talk Cafe at 6 p.m., large group worship at 7 p.m. and open share groups at 8 p.m. Visit www. northpointechurch.com or contact Kitty at 404-642-3605 for more information.

born in the Americas to be canonized by the Catholic Church. She is the co-patroness of the Philippines, but remains the primary patroness of Peru and Latin America’s indigenous.

Pleasant Valley North Baptist Church, 735 Old Summerville Road, holds a praise & worship service Sundays at 10:45 a.m. in the fellowship hall with music by Ben Thornton and the Praise Band. A blended service is held at the same time in the sanctuary.

Rome United Methodist Church, 202 E. Third Ave., will start a new sermon series in September titled “What Do You Have?” The church holds contemporary worship at 9 a.m. in the Garnett M. Wilder Center and traditional worship at 11 a.m. in the historic sanctuary. Sunday school and small groups for every age meet at 10 a.m. Visit www.romefirst. org for more information.

St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, 42 Ash St., meets Sundays at 9:30 a.m. for Holy Communion. For more information call 706-5061241.

St. James AME Church, 3 Maxwell Lane, will have a church yard sale Saturday from 8 a.m.noon. Snacks will be sold.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 911 N. Broad St., offers Saturday vigil Masses at 5:30 p.m. in English and at 7 p.m. in Spanish; Sunday Masses are 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. in English and at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. in Spanish. The church office will be closed on Monday and there will not be a noon Mass or communion service that day. Late registration for all parish religious education programs including RCIA, the Adult Education program for those interested in joining the Catholic faith, continues through this Sunday; forms and information are available in the church narthex and at the church office. Parish School of Religion classes including RCIA will begin on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic School, 401 E. Seventh St. For additional information on any church activities or programs contact the church office at 706-290-9000 or at DeaconNeslin@smcrome.org.

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 101 E. Fourth Ave., offers services of Holy Eucharist at 8:30 a.m. in the chapel and 10 a.m. in the church each Sunday. A service of Holy Eucharist in Spanish is offered Sundays at 5 p.m. in the chapel. Midweek Eucharist services are held on Tuesdays at 12:15 p.m. and on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in the chapel. Nursery is offered during the 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist. Children’s Chapel is also available for children ages pre-K through third grade during the 10 a.m. service. Christian formation and Sunday School are offered for children, youth and adults beginning at 11:15 a.m. on Sundays. For more information call 706-291-9111 or visit www.stpetersrome.org.

Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, 6 Old Rockmart Road, Lindale, will hold worship on Sunday at 11 a.m. The sermon is “The Empire.” The Old Testament reading is Exodus 1:8-2:10, and the New Testament reading is Matthew 16:13-20. Lunch will be served in the fellowship hall after service. A Session Meeting will be held in the pastor’s study following lunch. The church continues to collect toiletries to be given to the Rome-Floyd YMCA for distribution to those in need, Rodrigo Abd / The Associated Press

8536 Black’s Bluff Road, Cave Spring, will celebrate homecoming on Sept. 17 at 10:30 a.m. The Rev. Mike Garrett will be the speaker. There will be singing by Fireproof and plenty of food.

Third Street Ministries will give free clothing to homeless and low-income residents of Rome on Saturday from 2:30-5:30 p.m. and Sept. 12 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the parking lot between Second Street and Third Street. The parking lot is behind Good Neighbor Ministries on Second Street across from the bus station.

Transfiguration Episcopal Church, 304 Coker Drive, will celebrate Holy Eucharist Sunday at 11 a.m. Tuesday Travelers will meet at Miniyar’s International Food Court, 114 Broad St., at 6:30 p.m. On Wednesday, Al-Anon will meet in the parish hall at noon and there will be a public service of healing with Eucharist at 6 p.m. On Thursday, there will be an Alcoholics Anonymous women’s meeting at 6 p.m.

Wesley Chapel Baptist Church, 1425 Old Dalton Road, will celebrate homecoming Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. The Rev. Hugh Smith, who has been in ministry for over 50 years, will be the guest speaker. Special singing will be provided by The Lamberts. A covered-dish lunch will be served after the morning service. For more information call 706346-3024.

West Rome Church of God of the Union Assembly, 2827 Alabama Highway, will host Kick Off Sunday Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. at Ridge Ferry Park North Shoals, 363 Riverside Parkway. Worship will be led by the choir and special musical guests New Generation followed by a message from Pastor Lamont Kiser. Wear your favorite team jersey. In the event of inclement weather the worship service will be held at the church.

West Rome United Methodist Church, 1003 Shorter Ave., will hold services at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The sermon, “Dear Theophilus: A Story that Matters,” comes from Luke 1:1-4. For more information visit www.westromeumc. org, call 706-234-6214 or email wrumc@bellsouth.net.

Wilkerson Road Baptist Church, 401 Wilkerson Road, will hold revival Sept. 11-13 at 7:30 p.m. nightly with Evangelist Brother Clinton Green and pastor Brother Johnny Sisson. For more information call 678-988-3004.