The Shire is a column written for Confess And Teach For Unity by Gandalf the White (aka, the Rev. Fr. Burnell F. Eckardt, Jr., Ph.D., pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Kewanee, Illinois, a Contributing Editor of Logia , and Editor-in-Chief of Gottesdienst magazine). You can send responses and questions to the White Wizard by simply replying to the messages you receive. Please note that, due to constraints of time and the volume of mail he receives, Gandalf may not be able to respond to every note sent to him.

How might one truly describe this column, though? Every attempt made has failed, so we simply give you this opportunity to Enter the Shire by means of a subscription to Gandalf's list, and suggest that you peruse at least the first 'whole internet' edition of The Shire  to see what you're getting yourself into...! (Note: no text is necessary in the subscribe message generated by clicking 'Enter the Shire'; the address <Shire-on@CAT41.org> is enough to transport you safely to the realm under Gandalf's protection!)