Evangelical Word of the Week
“Evangelicool”
It may well be that others have come up with this term as well, but in our small pond, I coined the term a number of years ago.
“Evangelicool” refers to a type of cultural cache, an impressiveness within the often small world of evangelical life. For example, the pastor of a local church may be thought of as somewhat cool within his (or hers, but usually his) congregation.
“Pastor Trevor is so cool!”
Frequently “evangelicool” is found in settings such as youth groups, evangelical camps or other gatherings that include young people.
“That activity leader is SO cool!” (actually maybe only evangelicool)
It is possible, in rare circumstances, for something or someone to be both evangelicool and actually cool.
Examples; “U2 is so cool (and evangelicool).”
“The Princess Bride is a cool movie” (also decidedly evangelicool)
2021 Suggested Word of the Year
In advance, suggested with hope:
emotional empathy
- seeking to feel what another person may be feeling
cognitive empathy
- seeking to understand the perspective of another person
Things will get better in 2021 due to vaccines. For things to stay better, we will need cognitive empathy.
Empathy in the Neighbourhood
(imagine working in a Care Centre which has faced a number of COVID deaths)
The following was a letter written to the North Shore News from a Care Aide at Capilano Care Centre in West Vancouver, Canada;
“We tried our best to hold as many hands as we could. But while residents were dying, many others were very, very sick, and needed so much care.”
A Politician Guided by Hope and Empathy
It’s easy to notice the terrible and hateful tendencies in American politics these days. Take an hour and a half away from such considerations to watch the fantastic film, “Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President”.