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Showing posts from November, 2008

facebook ads

So, I was on facebook today when I noticed this ad in the sidebar: "Get Fit to Preach - Even with the busy schedule of a pastor, you can get in great shape without the gym or lifting weights. I'll show you how I did it." Fabulous.

Nina

Deaths always seem to come in clusters. When I started at my first appointment in Oneida, I had several funerals right away, which were the first for the congregation in a while. At my appointment in Franklin Lakes, I've had fewer, thankfully. And in my time since leaving Oneida, to my knowledge, no member of the congregation has died, except family of members, folks less directly connected to the congregation. That is, until this week, when one of my dear former parishioners passed away after a long struggle with cancer. Her funeral will be next week, and the new pastor in Oneida has graciously extended an invitation for me to be involved in some way, which I greatly appreciate. Nina was one of a handful of folks at St. Paul's who I knew before arriving. She was active in district and conference UMW activities, and I'd met her through some of the UMW women at my home church in Rome. When I was appointed to Oneida, these Rome friends asked Nina to look out for me, and she c

District Resource Day: Lovett Weems

Last week, I attended another district resource day, this time with Lovett Weems as the guest speaker. You've probably heard of Weems around the connection because of his work with the Council of Bishops on the State of the Church Report and his work on Young Clergy in the UMC . I really enjoyed his presentation, which focused on "Congregational Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit." Weems lectures in a warm and conversational style, and doesn't seem to take himself too seriously! My notes: He started by talking about how a concern or issue is raised in the church, which is addressed by a certain response - a 'form' that encompasses the concern. Over time, the concern changes, but the church holds onto the form that no longer fits. We don't need the right answers, but the right questions: 1) Who are we? Churches can be renewed out of their own history - not by clinging to history, but by remembering what made church thrive, live, grow, risk, etc. It is impo

from cnn.com - "Global Food System Near Collapse?"

Check out this article from cnn.com. Excerpt: "Some mothers choose what their children will eat. Others choose which children will eat and which will die. Those mothers forced to make the grim life-or-death choices are the impoverished women Patricia Wolff, executive director of Meds & Food for Kids, encounters during her frequent trips to Haiti. Wolff says Haitians are so desperate for food that many mothers wait to name their newborns because so many infants die of malnourishment. Other Haitian mothers keep their children alive by parceling out food to them, but some make an excruciating choice when their food rationing fails, she says. "It's horrible. They have to choose among their children," says Wolff, whose nonprofit group was formed to fight childhood malnutrition. "They try to keep them alive by feeding them, but sometimes they make the decision that this one has to go." The Rev. Martin Luther King

Songs

Another meme. (I'll try to write a real post sometime this week.) Borrowed from David . What song makes you instantly think of junior high? Mr. Big, "To Be With You" What song takes you immediately back to high school? Songs from Rent , which was hugely popular when I was in high-school What song reminds you of your first girlfriend/boyfriend? Proclaimers, "500 Miles" What song reminds you of your first heartbreak? Bon Jovi, "Bed of Roses" What song reminds of being young and reckless? Haha. I was young once, but never reckless! What song is still your favorite after all these years? None are still my favorite, but Indigo Girls' "Blood and Fire" is still up there. What song reminds you of summer? Gloria Estefan's "Live for Loving You." What song reminds you of vacation? Rod Stewart, "Rhythm of My Heart," and Extreme, "More Than Words," - camp more than vacation What's the first album/cassette/cd you p

Seven Random Rules

I was tagged by Melissa to do this meme, and since I haven't been blogging about anything else.... Seven Random Rules Here are the rules: Post the rules on your blog. Write 7 random things about yourself. Tag 7 people at the end of your post. Pass on the tag. — 7 things: 1. When I was in eighth grade, I accidentally ran over my own ankle with a mini-van. It takes a special kind of skill to do that. I didn't break any bones. I remember feeling mostly embarrassed, because this took place near my junior-high school and I didn't want my classmates to see me. 2. I hate, hate, hate flying. When I have nightmares, they are usually about flying. Not about anything bad happening on the flight - just being on a plane in my dream is enough to constitute calling it a nightmare. 3. I love Irish things, and Irish names. I'm a little bit Irish (I'm a little bit of most every European background except Italian, which is ironic when you grow up in Rome, NY) but probably not enough