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Showing posts from February, 2006

Song Tag

Greg at BroGreg has tagged me to designate songs I am in to. I am also to include the following instructions: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to. 1. Colin Raye: In This Life - I used to be a big country music fan in high-school, but haven't listened to much in years until recently - I guess traveling South put me in the mood! 2. Randall Thompson's Alleluia , performed by Cantus - I sang this piece in Chamber Singers at Ohio Wesleyan , and loved it. I would get so wrapped up in the music I would occasionally forget to sing. The version I've been listening to is by a men's choir - it is amazing. 3. Wildwood Flower from the Walk the Line Soundtrack, performed by Reese Witherspoon. I'm really impr

Overheard...

I was working on my sermon tonight, here in Mississippi, at St. Paul UMC / CORE Base Camp , and overheard two gentleman talking. They noticed how many United Methodists mission teams were here at the camp, which is ecumenical, for all volunteers. And one said to the other (more or less), "The things about United Methodists is whether they're liberal or conservative, they're really focused on mission and service." I was proud to overhear such a comment and know that we have something good in our reputation!

Checking In and A Question: Healing Services

Checking in from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Yay for wireless internet, both at the camp and the church where we are staying. We had our first full day of work today, in Pascagoula. Initial impressions can be deceiving - there is not as much wind damage - things knocked over (at least in Pascagoula) - as I saw when doing clean-up in Florida last year, but there is much more water damage. So many homes just completely destroyed. We spent all day today on one house, tearing down paneling, door frames, etc., since everything is becoming overrun with black mold. All the work must be done with respirator-masks. Huge piles of 'garbage' which used to be people's homes and possessions. I have a feeling my body will be very very achy in the morning. And now a question for you: This weekend, I will be leading a healing service at my church. I've led a healing service before, but want to know if you have ideas/resources/good or bad experiences in healing services that you'd

What do you think? Johari/Nohari Window

I found this from RevGals , apparently making its way through the blogosphere, and it seems a good substitute for a meaningful post! Follow these links for my own Johari and Nohari Windows to select attributes you associate with me, and then click here and here to see the results as they accumulate. Friday I'm heading to Mississippi for a trip with a group from my congregation for hurricane clean-up in Ocean Spring. I'm excited and nervous about the trip, so please keep us all in your prayers. I will be bringing my laptop, but don't know what to except in terms of internet availability, if anything, so this may be a quiet blog for a week...

A Quiz for Valentine's Day

Via the RevGals ring, I found the below quiz posted on NotShyChiRev's blog . Her candy heart very sweetly read "First Kiss." Mine, I'm afraid, says "Get real." Hmmm.... Your Candy Heart Says "Get Real" You're a bit of a cynic when it comes to love. You don't lose your head, and hardly anyone penetrates your heart. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: is all about the person you're seeing (with no mentions of v-day!) Your flirting style: honest and even slightly sarcastic What turns you off: romantic expectations and "greeting card" holidays Why you're hot: you don't just play hard to get - you are hard to get What Does Your Candy Heart Say?

Youth Retreat Reflections

I spent this weekend at a Conference Council on Youth Ministry (CCYM) retreat, for which I am the conference advisor. After catching up on some sleep today, I'm ready to share some highlights from the weekend. The best part is always, for me, hearing the youth articulating their beliefs, sharing in what we call "deep thoughts" or witnesses - scripture-based reflections or personal stories of experiences with God. One youth very articulately (if not yet boldly) spoke about John Wesley’s “faces of grace,” describing prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace. (I know for sure I could not do this when I was in high school!) This young woman, a PK (preacher’s kid) twice over, shared how her mother (on the Board of Ordained Ministry , by the way) compared justifying grace to the margin settings on Microsoft Word where you can make the left and right edges completely lined up (my preferred setting) – justifying grace is finally getting things lined up. Many of the youth sha

Review: High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never

For book #4 in my 52 book-this-year resolution (I’m behind, I know. I’m reading #5, 6, and 7 right now. I might catch up someday . . .), I read another Barbara Kingsolver book: High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never . Kingsolver describes this book as “creative nonfiction” – a collection of essays – some new, some previously written, organized in a loose theme, creating an excellent collection of very readable, enjoyable, and provocative stories. Kingsolver is just such an excellent writer, it seems any topic she tackles be a page-turner. Highlights: In the essay “Making Peace,” Kingsolver wonders about the modern concept of “No Trespassing,” writing, “’No Trespassing’ doesn’t just mean, ‘Don’t build your house here.’ It means: ‘All you see before you, the trees, the songbirds, the poison ivy, the water beneath the ground, the air you would breathe if you passed through here, the grass you would tread upon, the very idea of existing in this place – all these are mind.’ Nought b

Ordination Interviews: Wrap-up

Thank you so much for all of your warm responses and prayers during my ordination interviews last week. I was surprised at just how much the interviewing process drained me of energy for the few days afterward. I felt like I could sleep for a couple days straight. I guess I didn’t realize exactly how much stress/anxiety about the interviews I had been carrying with me in the corner of my mind. When I think about it, I realize that I’ve been in the candidacy process 9 years now, beginning with The Christian as Minister , so that is a third of my life in the process! I guess it’s only natural to react to how much I’d invested in the outcome of interview day! I do want to share with you a little bit about the process. In my conference, North Central New York , candidates go through 4 sections of interviews: Sacraments, Practice of Ministry, Call to Ministry, and Theology. We had two sections of each, A and B (the “B teams” from the Board kept joking all day that “B” didn’t mean second-s

Ordination Interviews

Thanks for your prayers as I went through interviews today. I am happy to say I was recommended for ordination! Tomorrow, when I have more energy, I might try to write more about the process, but for today: just relief and joy.

Prayers: Ordination Interviews

You may remember this fall that I posted responses to disciplinary questions for ordination . Well, the big day has arrived: tomorrow I meet with the Board of Ordained Ministry for my interviews. I will hopefully write about the experience more tomorrow night, but today I'll share with you a bit about the structure. We have 4 segments of interviews in my conference : Theology, Sacraments, Call to Ministry, and Practice of Ministry. We spend 45 minutes in each section, with 15 minutes between. There are two sets of interview teams, Group A and B, and six candidates for ordination, so each team will meet with three of the six candidates. We find out the recommendation of the board later in the evening - when I was up for commissioning it was a 6-hour wait. But I've since learned that some conferences have candidates wait a week or more for responses, so I guess I can't complain! I ask for your prayers tomorrow, for me and for all the candidates. I feel more prepare

Review: Ending Hunger Now

For Book #3 in my 52-books-this-year-resolution , I just finished a quick read: Ending Hunger Now - A Challenge to Persons of Faith , co-authored by George McGovern, Bob Dole, and Donald E. Messer. I can't remember where I first heard about this book, but saw it advertised/reviewed somewhere, and though it looked interesting. The book features a chapter each from McGovern, Dole, and Messer, then a chapter of "trialogue" with all three, and then a conclusion/challenge chapter from Don Messer. The book, as the title suggests, focuses on the realistic approaches to ending world hunger. Bipartisan legislation over the years sponsored by McGovern and Dole is discussed, as well as the goal set in 1996 by the leaders at the United Nations World Food Summit to cut global hunger in half by 2015. McGovern and Dole particularly discuss their work with US legislation that started the school-lunch program and WIC, and ponder the possible affects of similar programs abroad. In the tria

Wrap Up: GBCS Young Adult Clergy Gathering

Last night I returned home from the GBCS Young Adult Clergy Gathering in DC. I had the privelege of preaching the sermon for closing worship, and felt honored to be preaching in a place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. John directed my attention to this article in the Christian Post that talks about our Tuesday gathering with Senator Kyl. Our purpose in meeting with him was to talk about internet gambling issues, though, as the article mentions, conversation strayed to some other topics. Senator Kyl spoke strongly about his belief that our faith should only impact our action in the political realm to a certain degree (I apologize for no direct quotes - I wasn't taking notes during this session), and in that area his views drew some audible reaction from the room. It was fascinating to be in DC on the day of the State of the Union address. You couldn't really move without seeing 15 police officers. Seeing them carrying weapons too large to fit into holsters wa