Amulets by Merlin's Blog

One of the last efforts my Father worked on was to return to his favorite project:
the education of young men and women.
A devout Presbyterian Minister,
professor of Philosophy
and a member of the Humanities Department in Cal State Fullerton,
Dr. Robert B McLaren began his quest of promoting virtue
by working with the youth in Boys town of Chicago.

The Fellowship of the Celtic Cross

In each of the churches he served with in Illinois, Montana, Texas and California,
he worked closely with the youth with scholarly lessons of the New Testament,
often focusing on the book of Luke.
His method was to first go over the text,
then re-discover the context by studying the politics, technology
and social conditions of the period to help them understand the milieu of the work.

For a period during the 70 and 80s, Dr. R. B. McLaren took a break from youth fellowship
and focused primarily on his University Efforts,
finishing his Doctorate
and moving ahead in his service with the Academy of Judao, Christian and Islamic Studies,
the World Council of Churches and the Parliament of World Religions.
After his “retirement” he was asked by the local Church
to return to his teaching the Youth of his community.

We had several conversations over the matter
and he decided that it would be helpful to have crosses made for them.
Noting if the cross was to have a special meaning for them
I recommended that the group design the piece.
This experience of creativity would mark the moment in their lives,
help them recall the ideas that they were working with at the time,
empower them and give them the experience of collaboration
both with each other and with their instructor.
The members busily drew a host of images,
then created a composite of the designs.
From the images of the Youth Group,
I created their Cross Amulet. On the completion of their studies,
they were then blessed with a copy of their own design.

In each of his talks,
classes lectures and sermons the main focus of his message was to celebrate life,
each other and joy.
In every conversation his salutation was:
“Be of Good Cheer!”
I find great comfort in knowing I was able to contribute to his legacy.

If you are interested in a specially designed piece for your church, circle, grove or organization,
Please view my How to order custom page