The head shot

An end-of-summer letter to my subscribers

Dear subscribers,

On my last Sunday in the Hague, the church I served during the 2022-2023 school year gave me a fine send off. In addition to a reception, which included cake (and some interesting dishes you wouldn’t find except at an international church), there were a couple of tributes. One of those tributes was actually a roast with some very gentle teasing. Among other items, such as how often I preached from the gospels (as opposed to Paul’s letters and the Old Testament), I was teased about my publicity photo.

The photo I had sent a year earlier was a bit dated – only nine years old at the time, but still dated. I look different now. My hair is whiter, for one thing, and I don’t have a beard, though I did on that old photo. And so, when I returned to the U.S., I was determined to get an up-to-date photo. I don’t know if I will ever serve another church, but if I do, I’m ready.

My neighbor here at the beach association, Lois Mulder, is an exceptional photographer, and she agreed to do what she could to make me look presentable. Going down to the beach for a photoshoot during “golden hour” helped a bit. The wind, I’m afraid, made my hair stand up in front, but my hair seems to do that on other photos too. Overall I like the latest version and will try to accept that this is the way I look now. As you’ll see, I’ve added a few other publicity photos from the last 30 years. (The photo I sent to Princeton Seminary as part of my application should never, ever be seen again. A long beard and shoulder-length hair was not my best look.)

In case you’re interested, there is a website that will assess your publicity photo. You can see (below) that the feedback on my latest headshot came from 40 people who do not know me. They seem to like me - or at least the photo of me.

I’ll be back in a week or so with another Holland Sentinel column.

I hope you’ve all had a good summer!

Doug