Tonight, as I sat in a Starbucks reading, I observed some kids skateboarding across the street at a skate park... in the snow. I watched them doing ollies as the snow fell all around them and as I watched I thought about how much they must love skating. To love something so much to give up the warmth of being inside and instead be uncomfortable and cold.
I sat there with my warm cup of coffee inside a warm building and I thought about these kids as an image for ministry. To love something so much that we are willing to be uncomfortable... to love God so much that we are willing to be uncomfortable... How many of us sit in the warmth of our worship services on Sunday mornings, comfortable and unshaken? How many of us ride around in our cars or sit in our houses, comfortable? Are we willing to give some of this up for the sake of the gospel? Are we willing to be uncomfortable for something that could be so much fun?
Those kids were having a good time skating - the rush of landing a jump or speeding from one end of the park to the other... what about the rush of helping another person or living into our calling as children of God? Those kids gave up warmth, gave up comfort for some great fun. Are we willing to do the same?
Just a thought. =)
Kate
I recognize it has been a while since I last wrote anything. Life has been a tad bit crazy and I'm honestly wondering where the time keeps going.
School is going well. I'm enjoying being back in classes and thinking about things. I just wish I had more time in my day. This past week has sort of been some of that. This year, Trinity switched to semesters and this past week has been a week long fall break. I had grand plans for the week, plans to study for the GRE (the Graduate Record Examination - which I take on Monday) and to get some work done with more sleep than I traditionally I get. But I'm sitting at the end of the week and only some of my plans have actually happened. But that's ok. I have enjoyed having the week off though.
One thing that "interfered" with my grand plans this week was a funeral. A member of my internship congregation who I visited regularly last year died last Sunday. His funeral was on Thursday. I was able to drive up on Thursday and participate in the funeral and committal service. I saw a lot of members of the congregation and realized just how much I miss them all. I'm glad I was able to be there - it meant a lot to me and I'm sure his family appreciated it as well.
So now I'm looking toward the next couple of days and trying to plan out I need to do. More later I'm sure. =)
Kate
One of the classes I'm currently taking is Theology and Sexuality. We're addressing a wide array of topics and what the church and our faith has to say in relation to our sexuality. We're starting to talk about ethical norms and wondering if we can establish an ethical standard with regard to sex.
I've been pondering ethical standards in general lately. Because we're living in a postmodern society, any ethical framework can be and is challenged by any other framework. Is there a framework that can be embraced by all or are we always going to have our own ethical frameworks depending on what subset of the culture we live in and subscribe to? I've often thought about an experience on internship when a book group at the church read and discussed the book Godless Ethics. It is an interesting proposal by a retired Episcopal bishop who both challenges Christian norms and upholds them throughout the book. But the basic premise is to answer the question, "Is there an ethic we can all subscribe to regardless of religion because it's built upon something other than God?" I think the answer is no... which then brings up another question in my mind.
Because I believe that we cannot all subscribe to the same ethical framework, I wonder if there is there a way for us to live together in the midst of our own ethical frameworks and not pronounce judgment on each other based on those frameworks. Basically, is there a way to peacefully coexist while maintaining our own beliefs and convictions? Is this even a legitimate question?
I ask all of this because as I think about sexual ethics in our congregations and the wider church, I have to wonder if it is acceptable for us to have different ideas about what is ethically right and good (while trying to be faithful to the gospel). What will come out of all these conversations the ELCA is having? Anything? A meta ethic we can all subscribe to or continued conversation because we can never agree? Will we ever be able to come to an agreement at all?
I don't know - all sorts of stuff to ponder. =)
Kate
I've been thinking a bit lately about celebrity and why many of us are so excited to share that we've met somebody of any importance. If you're a member of the general population, it's probably being able to say that you saw Will Smith walking down the street or got a picture with Julia Roberts. If you're a church geek, it might be the ability to say you ate dinner with Martin Marty or hung out with Mark Hanson for a bit (and if you don't know who these people are, then I'm obviously not going to impress you). But why is it that we're so happy to share the information that we got to eat with these people or have a picture of one of them with a golf ball in his mouth? Why don't we say the same things about our friends or a random person we met at a party? "I got to talk with Susan Reyes tonight!" Who is that? Why would we care?
The more I think about it, the more I believe it boils down to the lifeboat. Several months ago, I read a book by Donald Miller called Searching for God Knows What. At some point in the book, he describes what he calls the lifeboat theory. We go through life like we're stuck in a lifeboat and we need to get rid of one person. So we try to rationalize to the other people in the boat why it shouldn't be us that goes, why we have value. Most of us don't need to be the people with the most value, but we certainly don't want to be the lowest ones on the totem pole. So as long as there is somebody with less value below us, we feel alright.
So back to the celebrity thing, being able to say we met somebody of "importance" is something because not many people are able to say that. Scarcity usually translates to value and since fewer people can say they have met Will Smith or the presiding bishop of the ELCA, then that automatically gives us value by association.
So what does this mean for how we live our lives? Do we give into the lifeboat theory? I find that I often do without really thinking about it. But if I'm mindful of it, I remember that the one who gives real value is God and because I know and am loved by God, I have real value. I don't need to prove it to anybody - none of us do. But in this world, sometimes it's hard to remember that.
Kate
So, one thing I've noticed since moving back down to Columbus - at least one of the major radio stations censors the songs they play... or at least one. The band Nickelback has a song playing on the radio right now called "Rock Star" and all the Cleveland stations leave it as is when they play it. Now, there's a lot of stuff in the song lyrically, well... just about all of it, I don't agree with. But because of some of the band's other songs, I'm more inclined to hear it as a social commentary that there are people out there who thirst for this kind of lifestyle. But I may be wrong.
Anyway, the Cleveland stations don't censor any of it and that's even prompted discussion on a morning show of one radio station about it. One of the DJs on that show has an 8 year old daughter who listens to the station and he has been in conversation with her about that particular song. I think it's been a good discussion - about drugs and the effects of taking them. Why we don't want to do it. I think it's a good thing for her to be grounded in what's right and have her parents be open to talking about it, which will hopefully prove to her that they are safe people to talk to in the future.
But now down here in Columbus at least one radio station has censored parts of the song - editing out certain words such as drugs. A couple of things to note - when you edit out as many words as they do in that particular song, why even play it at all? Plus, you can still tell what the word is, regardless of them editing it out. And, if you listen to another station here in Columbus, you can hear a non-edited version. So why edit it? If you believe so strongly that the public shouldn't hear certain words, then why play the song at all? And, even when you edit out particular words, I would still contend that there are many other parts of the song that are just as inappropriate without the "bad" words. Oddly enough (and I promise this will be my last complaint), they edit out certain things but not others. For example, throughout the song they edit out the word 'drugs' but then don't edit out the word 'pills' which definitely refers to the drugs they have edited out. Also, they edit out the word 'assholes' but not the word 'ass' later in the song. So I guess my last complaint is that if you're going to edit, be consistent.
Maybe my frustration lies in the fact that I like the song musically and miss hearing the unedited version. Would I have the same complaints if I had only heard the song edited and then moved to Cleveland where they don't edit it? I don't know.
Kate
Young adults aren't sticking with church - USATODAY.com
Seven in 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30 — both evangelical and mainline — who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23, according to the survey by LifeWay Research. And 34% of those said they had not returned, even sporadically, by age 30. That means about one in four Protestant young people have left the church.
"This is sobering news that the church needs to change the way it does ministry," says Ed Stetzer, director of Nashville-based LifeWay Research, which is affiliated with the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.
"It seems the teen years are like a free trial on a product. By 18, when it's their choice whether to buy in to church life, many don't feel engaged and welcome," says associate director Scott McConnell.
The statistics are based on a survey of 1,023 Protestants ages 18 to 30 who said they had attended church at least twice a month for at least one year during high school. LifeWay did the survey in April and May. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Few of those surveyed had kind words for fellow Christians when they reflected on how they saw church life in the four years after high school.
Just over half (51%) of Protestant young people surveyed (both the church dropouts and those who stayed on in church after age 22) saw church members as "caring" or had other positive descriptions, such as "welcoming" (48%) or "authentic" (42%).
Among dropouts, nearly all (97%) cited life changes, such as a move. Most (58%) were unhappy with the people or pastor at church. More than half (52%) had religious, ethical or political reasons for quitting.
Dropouts were more than twice as likely than those who continued attending church to describe church members as judgmental (51% for dropouts, 24% for those who stayed), hypocritical (44% vs. 20%) or insincere (41% vs. 19%)
The news was not all bad: 35% of dropouts said they had resumed attending church regularly by age 30. An additional 30% attended sporadically. Twenty-eight percent said "God was calling me to return to the church."
The survey found that those who stayed with or returned to church grew up with both parents committed to the church, pastors whose sermons were relevant and engaging, and church members who invested in their spiritual development.
"Too many youth groups are holding tanks with pizza. There's no life transformation taking place," Stetzer says. "People are looking for a faith that can change them and to be a part of changing the world."
These findings fit with findings by other experts.
"Unless religious leaders take younger adults more seriously, the future of American religion is in doubt," says Princeton sociologist Robert Wuthnow in After the Baby Boomers, due in stores in September.
The proportion of young adults identifying with mainline churches, he says, is "about half the size it was a generation ago. Evangelical Protestants have barely held their own."
In research for an upcoming book, unChristian, Barna Research Group director David Kinnaman found that Christians in their 20s are "significantly less likely to believe a person's faith in God is meant to be developed by involvement in a local church. This life stage of spiritual disengagement is not going to fade away."
About 52% of American adults identify themselves as Protestant or other non-Catholic Christian denominations, according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey. That's down from 60% in 1990.
I've been thinking about this kind of stuff for a little while now. Not only because as a young adult in the church, there have been times when I've noticed that I'm one of the few my age in a congregation. But now more specifically because of my career. For the past several months I've been doing a young adult small group down in Streetsboro and I have connected with several people who are not currently attending church anywhere. I've met them down in Streetsboro and started conversations, eventually inviting them to join the group. I think the church needs to step outside its comfort zone and start looking to meet people where they are rather than waiting for people to come to them - particularly with young adults. Jesus didn't wait in the synagogues for people to show up and hear his message (even though he did go there and teach), he went out and ate with the people, lived with them, walked with them. Should we as the church do the same? Meet people where they are and invite them into conversation? Invite them to see what God is already doing in their lives, in our lives? Just some thoughts. Tell me what you think.
Kate
So this is the final week of internship... and I'm making final preparations to leave. This includes packing, wrapping up loose ends and prepping stuff for the next intern, writing a final sermon, and planning all the stuff that needs to happen in the immediate future following the end of internship.
I have incredibly mixed feelings about leaving. On one hand I'm excited to get back to school and see all my friends. I'm also not ashamed to say that I'm kind of excited about getting back into the classroom. But (and this is a big but), I am also very sad to be leaving here. I have some great friends up here and it's hard to leave them. It is also hard to leave the congregation and the work (even as much as I'm excited about getting back into the classroom). It's hard...
At the moment, I think all the work that needs to be done has kept me occupied so I don't have to think about leaving so much. But that may mean a very sad, sad Sunday morning. But the good news is, this isn't good bye forever - it's really just so long. And it's only 2 hours up here from Columbus. =)
So here's one video from the night I slept in the box. Took a while... but it's here.
I had a conversation today with an older couple and I noticed something a couple times during the conversation that I've been wrestling with ever since.
At a couple of points in the conversation, the couple were talking about other people and I noticed that they were specific to mention if a person was African-American. But didn't say anything about the others (who I assume are white... they didn't describe them as white anyway). Honestly, I did not understand what the fact of the people being black had anything to do with what these people were talking about and the first time it happened I think the description came off a bit derogatory. They told me that they bought their house from "black people" and that it was very dirty when they moved in. Was the house dirty because the people were black and that means they can't clean or just because they were people who didn't clean? Why did they feel the need to share the information that the couple was black?
So here's where my wrestling comes in... should I have said something? It seems that there are some underlying prejudices there and I feel called to speak up against injustice. Yet I think to a certain extent I didn't want to make the observation because I didn't want to offend them (they are prospective members). But was I right in not trying to offend them? Is this something that is worth my energy wrestling with or is it something that I should just let slide? I guess is it really important enough to make the observation to these people or would it just disrupt too much?
But I also have to recognize the age difference as well as the difference in where we grew up. These people are probably in their 70s (they're within two months of their 53rd wedding anniversary) and have lived in Ohio if not all their lives but most of it (where there is much more racial tension I've noticed). I'm only 25 and grew up in New Mexico before moving to LA - so multiculturalism is a huge part of my life (and honestly, as much as I like Ohio, I miss a lot of it out here). So I guess I'm more sensitive to all of that and in some respects it's not surprising to me that I noticed it. I'm sure a huge part of it is due to age also - I've noticed that even the older people I know who have lived in New Mexico for a good portion of their lives are occasionally susceptible to the same sort of comments (although not as frequently I think).
So what do you all think? Was I right to just not say anything at all or was there a better way of handling it? Maybe this is just nothing and I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. I don't know....
Kate
I promise that I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth. I promise that I am still alive. Things have just been crazy lately and instead of taking the time at night to write, I'm taking the time to sleep a bit more (most of the time).
It's been crazy here, but good. I had a good birthday - many good thoughts and wishes from friends and family not here - but also had a lunch hosted by staff and friends here, lunch out with Rob, and then out with friends that night which was good.
I'm walking again (it's been probably a month and a half since I ditched the crutches) and still doing massive amounts of physical therapy. It still swells and hurts, but I'm continuing to make progress which is very good. Someday it will return to normal... =)
Well, I'll write more later. I just wanted to say that I'm alive but very, very busy and should probably take more time out of my day to reflect and post on here.
Kate
I've been thinking a lot lately about boundaries or the lack thereof in our society - particularly when it comes to children and cell phones. I've heard or seen a couple of cell phone commercials lately that have made me think a bit about this. The first of these commercials I heard on the radio. The second was basically the same commercial but just on TV. In both these commercials (I think they're for Verizon), there's the notion that now parents can afford all the texting their kids are doing. The television version is actually kind of sad. The dad is really excited because now all the messaging (text, picture, etc...) is unlimited no matter the network. The kids don't even bat an eye because they already message as much as they want. But the dad tells them, "Yes, but now Mom can quit her second job," just as his wife walks in the room wearing a big taco costume.
Where are we at now that we allow our kids to run up big text messaging bills? We have boundaries in life and yet we aren't doing our kids any favors when we don't teach them to respect these boundaries. Sure, text messages aren't such a big deal - but if we can't learn to appreciate those boundaries, then we will probably push the limits on others as well. So what are we teaching our kids?
Now, how do we do ministry in a world where boundaries are often not respected? Do those who lack boundaries yearn for them? Or do they desire to throw away any boundaries that are there? I suspect it's probably the former rather than the latter. But how does that impact how we do ministry, how I do ministry?
Things to think about...
Kate
I suppose it's been a while since I last wrote. So here's an update.
My ankle still hurts quite a bit - and the doctors are still out on whether it is broken or not. I saw my orthopedic doctor last Thursday and he thought he may have seen a fracture the ER missed... but in the process of getting x-rayed, they did the wrong side of my ankle. Because it was so late in the day, we didn't redo the x-ray. In the meantime, I'm out of the cast like splint you saw in the picture before. I'm now into this high tech aircast boot thing. It came with it's own hand pump and I have to pump air into it to make it fit. It weighs ten pounds (well, maybe not ten pounds... but it's pretty darn heavy). It's still swollen (but defintely not as bad) and hurts. I'm still on crutches and see the doctor again on Monday. The next step is to get an MRI to figure out what's going on. So that's where I stand (or don't stand I suppose) with the ankle.
Weather - it's truly an Ohio spring this year. It warmed up and for about the past week I've worn shorts every day (usually after work). But this weekend, just in time for Easter, we're expected to get some more snow. The last two years in Columbus, spring has always had a brief warm up before a cold spell and then finally warming up for spring and summer. So here's hoping that it warms up after the snow (and quickly). It will make for an interesting sunrise service on Easter morning I'm sure.
Holy Week - I can't believe it's already Holy Week! It's been kind of interesting working around stuff with my ankle - trying to find ways of doing things when I'm not as physically able as I'm used to being. I am looking forward to the ride of the rest of the week though. I hope to post more reflections later this week.
Well, that's probably enough for now. Look for more later.
Kate
The past week has been crazy, but good.
I'll start with Wednesday. Wednesday was Box Day. It was also a crazy busy day. I don't think I really stopped all day - just went from one thing to another. Eventually, that night, we had worship and I got another $166 in donations for my night outside and then changed clothes, moved my box out to the front lawn, and stuck it out for the night.
I hit an amazing window for weather too! It not only warmed up, but transitioned from wet weather Wednesday afternoon to clear skies for the night. It rained for about ten minutes at 7:30 in the morning, but didn't start pouring until after I'd already moved inside at 9 that morning. It then rained almost the entire day on Thursday.
I did sleep in the box, although not as well as I would have in my own bed (obviously). I wound up sleeping for an hour at a time from about 11:30 to 4 then slept pretty much straight through til 7 AM. The local papers (very local) each showed up to take pictures. The Spirit of Bainbridge is apparently putting the story on the front page. I just hope that translates to more donations for Lord of Life.
I was ever grateful for my bed Thursday night when I crawled in. I slept for 11 hours and probably would have kept sleeping had my alarm not gone off yesterday morning. Then I left that afternoon for a first communion retreat at Camp Mowana which was going great until I pretty much broke my ankle.
I was playing basketball and came down wrong on my ankle. The doctor at the ER says he didn't see a break on the x-ray, but because it is so swollen, he's treating it like a break. At the very least, he says, I severed a ligament in my ankle (a very severe sprain). So, now I'm on crutches, have prescription pain meds, and a cast like splint on my ankle. I also am supposed to follow up with an orthopedic doctor. It hurts... but I'll make it through.
The retreat was a blast until that happened. Oh well...
So anyway... that's the deal. It's been an amazing week in some ways and painful in other ways... =)
Kate
I am totally in awe of the past five days! I am in awe of the generosity of people - of people's willingness to give for a night in a cardboard box. But really, their generosity to help those who need it most, those who don't have houses in Biloxi.
Pastor Rob, my internship supervisor, just came back from Biloxi on Saturday and used a lot of his experience for his sermon yesterday. He told of one of the families for whom they were building a house - of their comments to him. The owner told Rob, "Pastor, if it wasn't for you and your group, then we wouldn't have a home. We would live the rest of our lives in a mobile home."
This is why I'm sleeping in a box. This is why people in the congregation are making things and selling them. This is why people are hosting dinner parties and asking for donations. This is why kids are making noodles to sell or selling their coats and other clothes. This is why people continue to put their lives on hold for a week, a month, or a year and travel to the Gulf Coast to rebuild homes and lives.
This is why...
And this is why I am in awe of the past five days. At the moment, my pledge total is up to $2779 and every day it keeps going up. I'm now getting pledges from people I don't even know. That's that much closer to another house for somebody who otherwise wouldn't have one.
Let me say, "Thank You." Thank you for your donations! Thank you for spreading the word - for telling the story. Thank you for telling the world the good news. Thank you for your commitment - for helping to build another house. Thank you!
Kate
INTERN PASTOR TO SLEEP IN CARDBOARD BOX OUT IN THE COLD MARCH 21, 2007
Church Challenges Members to Raise $25,000 to Build a House in
On Wednesday, March 21, 2007, Kate Murray, the intern pastor at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in
Ms. Murray was inspired to raise money for
Lord of Life is a 900 member congregation of the
# # #
So... lots of exciting stuff happening around here - or at least I'm a bit excited and probably a bit of a geek for being so.
One - I have figured out what I'm doing with my ten dollars! I'm going to sleep in solidarity with my brothers and sisters in Biloxi who don't have houses - I'm spending the night in a cardboard box in hopes that people give me money for the time that I'm out there (kind of like a jog-a-thon when people pledge per minute you run or whatever...). I'm also going to alert the media (local papers, the Plain Dealer, TV stations, radio stations... whoever) and tell them what I'm doing. Then I'll spend the night out on the front lawn at Lord of Life - I'll put up signs and lights so people who drive by can see what I'm doing. I'm also planning to go to the local grocery store or maybe even door to door like the Girl Scouts do to see if people will sponsor me.
So here's my first shameless promotion - please sponsor me! However much you'd like to give would be great... a dollar an hour, five dollars an hour, a flat amount of ten, twenty, or even fifty bucks... maybe more. If you'd like to do so - please send me an e-mail at tiredkate@gmail.com and I'll get you some more information and arrange a way to do that.
So there's that... I'll definitely let you know when I set a date to do this! It will probably be in the next week or two.
We're also moving forward with ministry in the Streetsboro area (ten miles south of Lord of Life). Our team has planned a music night at a local coffee shop down there called Greenie Beanie. Friday, March 16 we'll take over and provide entertainment that evening. It's our first "experiment" and I am hoping that we'll attract people and be able to do it again.
Plus there is all the other general stuff going on - it's Lent, I've been busy preaching my butt off (not necessarily a bad thing). I've written/preached five sermons in the past two and a half weeks - kind of an amazing thing in my mind. And I'm busy organizing a senior high trip to Biloxi in June... and teaching confirmation... and making visits to people (members and visitors to the church). I've also spent time running around, making phone calls, and doing all sorts of odd jobs... I love ministry! I really do. It's a ton of fun (most of the time).
So that's it - that's what I'm excited about. It may be geeky - but I'm excited at the possibilities.
Help us build another house for somebody in Biloxi!!!
Kate
So apparently, while I've been doing well with one of my Lenten disciplines, this particular discipline (posting to this blog twice a week) has been lacking. Here it is over a week from my last post and yet I'm posting for the first time. Bad, bad, bad. Well, I must strive to do better.
So, while I've been busy and have had many thoughts lately, I can't seem to think of any at the moment to write about. The weather is one thing that I suppose has been interesting as of late. It's been an odd winter here. First it was really warm and for the first time in years (so I'm told) we didn't have snow up here on Christmas. Then sometime in early January it turned bitterly cold and snowed, and snowed, and snowed some more. We weren't above freezing for at least a month and a half. Two or three weeks ago we had a ton of snow and the storm pretty much shut down everything. Then last week it warmed up and rained - melting a good chunk of the 20+ inches of snow and actually showing ground in many places. But then yesterday it cooled off yet again and last night and this morning we got several more inches of snow (several more than was forecasted too). All of this is particularly interesting given the fact that the groundhog predicted that spring would arrive soon. =)
I think most people around here are feeling spring fever. I am not yet amazingly enough. Last year about this time in Columbus, I distinctly remember the first warm, sunny day and thinking that I would very much like it to warm up even more. But right now I'm still enjoying the snow and cold - I'm sure I'll enjoy it when it warms up a bit, but for some reason it's not of great importance to me that it be now. I don't know, I guess I'm kind of odd. =)
In other news I've been preaching a lot lately. Two of the past three Sundays as well as Ash Wednesday at noon, last Wednesday, and this coming Wednesday I'll preach again. It's been good, but it seems like every time I turn around I'm writing another sermon or homily. I suppose that's one thing that I can expect if I'm a solo pastor in my first call.
I've also managed to get myself into a ton of stuff ministry wise right about now, but I'm excited about the possibilities. I'm going to be starting a young adult ministry in Streetsboro (about ten miles south of here) and what may happen with that is exciting to me. Plus, our Streetsboro Aurora Mission Strategy (SAMS) team has organized a music night at a local coffee shop down there and I'm looking forward to how that will go. I think we're moving in a good direction for Streetsboro. I'm also involved with a group working to improve support for first call pastors and we just had a really good meeting on Friday. So that's exciting. I'm in the midst of Lent and that means Wednesday mid-week Lenten services for me too. That's been good (but we've only had one so far). =) Plus, there is the usual stuff to do around Lord of Life which is fun.
So that's what's going on with me... I'll try to see about writing more in the next couple days. Maybe about some thought provoking topic. I haven't done a whole lot of that for a while.
Kate
One more post tonight – hopefully it’s short.
Here at Lord of Life, we’ve committed to raising $25,000 for a new house in
So here’s the problem – I still have ten dollars that I need to make into a hundred (or more). I’m not sure what to do… I want to tell the story, get the word out there. It is partially about the money, but it’s more about the story. What are we doing and why are we doing it? Answer those questions for people – help them to see why we have committed to helping the people of the
Please, if you have any ideas at all about this, let me know. If you simply want to give me money, I’ll take that too. =) But preferably I would like to do something and have a great story to tell some day. So any help in this area would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Kate
I’ve been pretty bad about updating this blog. It seems to me as I look back through many of the previous posts that it is the same story every time… I’ve just been way too busy.
In many respects that’s absolutely true. The past month and a half (or two months now I suppose) have been absolutely crazy with the past two weeks being of special note. I suppose that may suffice as an excuse, but I also suppose that I could be more intentional about blogging than I have been. So here’s a new Lenten discipline in addition to the other I’ve already made with myself – to post at least two times a week, if not more.
So what have I been up to and what made the past two weeks crazy? Let’s see… last Sunday was the sixth and final session of my Adult Forum series on Revelation… so I had to prepare for that the past several weeks. A week and a half ago, my supervisor went out of town on vacation. He left in the middle of a giant snow storm which meant that I was the only one at the office on Valentine’s Day. Apparently we were all snowed in and since I could walk to work… (the joys of living right next to the church). That wound up being a good day for me in terms of getting some work done. A quiet office and I got to bum around in my socks – that was nice.
The rest of the week was spent preparing for stuff and then Saturday I had several friends come in from out of town. It was a blast having them here and it was good to get out. We went to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It was a good time and we got to see Sue the T-Rex… the largest T-Rex skeleton found to date. There should be a picture from my phone up here on the blog (probably after this post).
With my supervisor out of town, that meant that Sunday, February 18, I was preaching, leading worship, and teaching my last class. It was a busy morning! I also made my first hospital visit since I’ve been here. Can you believe it? Six months here and I hadn’t made a hospital visit. But we got through it, it went well, and I took a monster nap that afternoon.
This past week was busy also. I preached on Ash Wednesday and handled some other phone calls and stuff. I also made a second hospital visit (for another person) this week. So after six months of no hospital visits I get two in one week – crazy! I miss the hospital but I’m loving the parish….
Today was a well needed day off. I’m also looking forward to the rest of Lent. Every Wednesday I’m doing mid-day Lenten services. The theme this year is Journey to the Cross starting this coming Wednesday with Jesus’ call to any who want to be his followers to take up their cross and follow him. So we’ll look at what it means to take up our crosses and journey with Jesus to the cross this Lent.
Well, that’s what’s been going on – at least in a nutshell. It’s been crazy around here, but very, very good. So now I believe it is time for bed (soon).
Kate
As I was sitting in worship on Sunday, a thought occured to me. Well, several thoughts occured to me... I thought about worship and what makes it spiritual for people. Two weeks ago (I guess it's almost three at this point) we had a different kind of worship service here at Lord of Life. The band responsible for the once a month worship service for our mid school youth "took over" and executed the worship services that Sunday. In addition to the music being more 'contemporary', there was a drama in place of the sermon. We still did the offering and communion, but things looked and felt very different. We asked for feedback from the congregation and received it from many - some liked it and some didn't. Some wanted to see it every Sunday, some said, "Let me know the next time you do this so I can stay home that day." A lot of people were somewhere in between.
With all this 'contemporary' v. 'traditional' stuff going on as far as worship is concerned, I began to think about what we grow up with and what emotions we associate with certain types of music, worship styles, prayers, etc....
I personally like the liturgy. I like the organ. I like the LBW services. I like the extra touch the brass adds on Easter or other festival services. I like all that.
Now, I also like more contemporary stuff, more melodic stuff. I don't like too much praise music because I want more depth, but some praise music is good. I could do worship with a band - complete with guitars and drums and the like. I like both.
For my age, I think I'm a bit odd for liking some of the more traditional stuff. But I also think about why I like that. I also think a bit about Pavlov's dogs (you know... when food was brought out after a bell was sounded for some time eventually the dogs started to salavate simply when the bell was sounded because they had been conditioned that the sound of the bell meant food was on its way). I think for me (and for many of us out there), we feel something spiritual when we worship with the traditional liturgy. We've been conditioned that we felt something special, something spiritual, when that music was played. Thus, every time we worship, we want that feeling back, we expect it to return if we hear LBW setting one or whatever it was that was played at that time. We're a lot like Pavlov's dogs I think.
But maybe for some of us that particular liturgy evokes feelings of hate and disgust. Hatred for our parents making us sit through that service or having to listen to the really boring sermon that day. Bad memories and therefore bad feelings associated with worship.
I have to wonder if that's why there are such divisions between people (particularly of different generations) when it comes to the type of music used in worship (or even the format). If this is the case, if we are just like Pavlov's dogs, then is there a way of 'reconditioning' people so that there is a spiritual experience with a new type of worship experience? Is there a way of bridging the gap? Of making something that wasn't appealing before now something that wouldn't be missed now? Does any of this make any sense to anyone other than me?
I don't know - this is apparently what I thought about on Sunday (and have a few times since then). Are we conditioned at an early age to like a particular style of worship? Is how we are raised of significance to our adult experience of worship? What do we do with this now?
All something to chew on....
Kate
I learned two things tonight:
1. That I have a very, very long driveway
and 2. That if you don't shovel/plow your driveway for two weeks and it snows a lot in one day, you may not be able to get in your driveway. You may get stuck.
One could assume I learned these things because I couldn't get in my driveway tonight because of all the snow on the ground so I parked my car at the church parking lot after getting a snow shovel. One could also assume that I spent a great deal of time shoveling off my very, very long driveway and freezing my legs off while I did it. One could also assume that the effort I put into shoveling all that snow payed off and I was able to put my car in the garage for the night.
I love snow! No really... I do... even after shoveling my very, very long driveway. In fact, I sort of enjoyed shoveling my very, very long driveway. I do enjoy shoveling snow... I'm kind of weird like that I guess.
There's at least a foot and a half of snow, possibly two, on my back deck right now and it's supposed to keep snowing tonight. Woo hoo!!!
Kate
I think the past several weeks (read at least a month, probably more) have been the busiest in a while and probably the least successful for me posting anything new up here. It just seems that any time I'm not working, I'm either sleeping or trying my best to have fun to balance out all the work I've been doing. I'm enjoying my job right now, but it's just keeping me so incredibly busy.
I'm in the middle of teaching Revelation. We've had two sessions so far and this Sunday will be my third. We'll then take a week off for the annual meeting and then I'll teach the final three sessions the following three weeks (ending right before Lent begins). So preparing my lessons each week takes a good chunk of time and energy - but I'm having fun. Last week 66 people showed up for my class! 66 people! Up from 50 the week before. It's nuts. But a good kind of nuts. Must be doing something right I guess. If you're interested in the materials I've got up on the web from the past two sessions, click on the following link and look toward the bottom of the page: http://www.loloh.org.
In addition to teaching, I'm preaching this week and then there's always the normal meetings and the like that are keeping me busy. I'll probably post my sermon at some point in the near future (here's hoping I remember/find the time/find the energy to do so). So we'll see.
Last night I went with out seventh grade girls to visit one of our members who has been paralyzed from the neck down since he was 18 (he's now 44) and in a long term care facility. The trip is part of our confirmation program and each of our four groups (8th grade boys/girls, 7th grade boys/girls) make individual trips to see Don. I always enjoy visiting Don and I try to see him every two weeks or so for pastoral visits. Last night was an additional visit and it was a really good visit. Don's always good about laying things out for the kids. He's not afraid of questions either. But the other cool thing is that the visit is mutually beneficial. The kids enjoy getting to know Don and he really enjoys getting to know them. It brings a bright spot to a day that may otherwise be a bit mundane for him, particularly since he's been confined to a bed for the past several months. What was really kind of cool was watching some of the girls connect with Don - especially those I didn't think would. So that was pretty cool.
Well, I'm pretty tired and there's more to do over the next couple of days. So I'm heading to bed.
More later... at some point.
Kate
I guess it's been almost a month since I last posted. Things got kind of crazy as Christmas came and then went and now things are still crazy - in fact I would hazard a guess that they might be even crazier. But it's all good.
So for Christmas, my parents and brother came into town. It was definitely good having family here. For Christmas Eve, we had one morning service (Advent 4) and then three Christmas Eve services (4:00, 7:00, and 11:00). By the end I was beat and didn't leave the church until 1:30 Christmas Day morning... but it was definitely worth all the time and effort. It was also real good for me to be part of the community on Christmas. Honestly I don't think I could have asked for a better Christmas.
I preached on New Year's Eve and am posting the sermon at the end of this post (finally). My parents, who weren't originally going to see me preach, had the chance to do so. Every one of the snow storms that hit Denver over the past three weeks, hit Albuquerque first. Snow managed to cancel several flights including my parents'. They figured it out before they left here on Saturday and rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 1. My brother left New Years Eve late in the afternoon but didn't get back to Albuquerque until the 1st either. Snow and fog wound up canceling his flight from DFW to Albuquerque that night. But everybody eventually made it home - just a bit later than expected.
Now I'm back in the swing of things. I start teaching a six-week course on the book of Revelation this Sunday so a bunch of my time this week has been spent prepping for the first session. Some class materials will be posted on the Lord of Life website soon - so if you're interested, check it out at http://www.loloh.org.
So that's what's going on - craziness. But all good craziness. =)
Sermon –
Text: Luke 2:41-52
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." 49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.
I absolutely love the month of December.
I love the month of December because for just a little while, routines are broken as we prepare for Christmas. I love Christmas carols, I love the lights, I love the smell of Christmas trees, I love the cold, crisp air and how it makes me want to curl up in front of a warm fire. I love watching children as their eyes light up when they see a big Christmas tree with lots of ornaments. I love watching friends and loved ones open gifts – wrapping paper flying in the air and a slight smile as they see what’s been obscured by the paper for the last several days.
I love worship on Christmas Eve. I love the hymns we sing, how they remind us of the power of a little baby. I love singing Silent Night by candlelight and seeing everybody’s faces lit by the warm glow of their candle.
I love how God breaks into our routines. I love that God comes as a child with promises of big things. I love how for just a little while, even if it is only a brief moment, all the world’s problems seem far off because the solution is right here before us.
I love the month of December because of Christmas.
And now it’s over.
Now everything returns to “normal” even though it’s still the Christmas season.
Lights are coming down off of houses. Soon there will be no more small, twinkling lights to brighten our nighttime journeys. Christmas trees are coming down and the ornaments are being packed away carefully – waiting for the next time they can grace the branches of a tree. Even all the decorations here will be taken down soon.
All the excitement, the anticipation, is gone – gifts have been opened and no one wonders what might be in the really big box under the tree. Big meals have been eaten and now leftovers will soon be gone too. Family and friends who were visiting for the holidays have either already left or will shortly. Many of us have already returned to work and in a few short days the rest of us will go back to school or work as well.
Back to homework, back to basketball practice, back to piano lessons. Back to phone calls, back to computers, and back to noisy offices. Back to bedtimes and new episodes of our favorite television shows. Back to normal.
Even for Mary and Joseph, things eventually got back to normal.
All the wonder of Jesus’ birth… the virgin conception, a visit from the angel Gabriel, Elizabeth’s child leaping in her womb and Elizabeth’s pronouncement that Mary was the mother of her Lord, visits by shepherds who told of Gabriel appearing to them, singing choirs of angels, and a visit to the temple during which Simeon and Anna foretold great things for Jesus. All these great and glorious things were over and suddenly Jesus was 12 years old.
We don’t know what happened in those twelve years, but one would assume a lot of “normal” stuff for a very extraordinary boy – dirty diapers and all the other stuff that babies manage to produce, cries of hunger and the desire to be held, first words, first steps, cuts and scrapes when he fell in the dirt, bruises from where he bumped into a table, a boo-boo from when he got too close to the fire, runny noses and coughs, laughter, tears, and an occasional toy left in the living room…
Things were pretty normal for Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. All the excitement, the anticipation, the glorious songs and great gifts of his birth quickly faded into the background. It was easy for Mary and Joseph to forget who their son really was – what he was meant to be.
It’s easy for me, for us, to forget as well. The wonder, the amazement, is lost in the normalcy of life. We get stuck in our routines, lost in our own world.
We get lost in the routines… going to bed at a certain time, getting up at a certain time, having that first cup of coffee of the day, getting ourselves to school, getting ourselves to work, getting through the day, grocery shopping, sports and other activities, Milkshakes and Ministry, meetings… lost in the normalcy of it all.
Mary and Joseph got lost in the normalcy too. Just when the twinkling lights of Jesus’ birth and the stories of the shepherds faded away, just when things were so incredibly normal, something very abnormal happened. During the yearly visit to
“Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, [Mary and Joseph] went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.”
Discovering Jesus wasn’t among their relatives and friends, panic started to set in.
Where is he? Is he ok? Did he stay behind? Why would he disobey us like that? He wouldn’t do that to us – he’s a good kid. Then there must be something wrong, something’s happened. What could have happened to him?? I hope he didn’t get lost somewhere! I hope he’s not hurt!
Swept up in the ordinary, Mary and Joseph forget who their son was. They anxiously searched for three days, panic stricken. Didn’t they remember all the wondrous things they were told about Jesus? Didn’t they remember that Jesus was to be a great king? Didn’t they remember that this boy was blessed by God? Didn’t they remember that he was the son of God? Why didn’t they trust that he was ok? Why didn’t they look in the temple first?
Twelve years of normalcy was enough to cause them to forget. It was enough to forget the face of the angel Gabriel. Enough to forget the words of the shepherds. Enough to forget the feelings of worthiness. Enough to forget that the face of their twelve year old boy was in fact the face of God.
But Jesus breaks into the fog of their forgetfulness, doing great things that bring the wonder and amazement of his birth back. Jesus reminds Mary and Joseph that life is never really normal now that he’s here.
“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”
He was simply sitting in the temple, presumably the whole time Mary and Joseph were looking for him. Too bad they didn’t have cell phones… they may have known sooner.
But Mary, in typical motherly fashion, couldn’t contain her anger. Even though she was amazed at what she saw, she blurts out, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”
Silence.
But Jesus reminds his mother, or really reminds us, who he is – “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”
Typical 12 year old.
How can you forget what you have seen? How can you forget what you have heard? Do you not understand who I am?
Is the normal stuff of our lives enough to forget about the wondrous things of Christmas? Is it enough to forget about all that we’ve heard, all we’ve seen? Is it enough to forget about the feelings of security and comfort? Is it enough to forget that we have seen the face of God in a little child?
Is it enough for us not to understand who Jesus is – enough for us to search in panic for our savior who has been where he should be all along?
I am always sad when December, when Christmas, is over because I know that as I return to what is normal, the feelings of Christmas: the warmth, the security, the wonder, and the amazement; quickly subside. I want to carry those feelings with me through the entire year, through my entire life. I don’t want to search in panic like Mary and Joseph.
But right at the very point when I forget, right at the very point we forget, Jesus breaks into our routines and reminds us that life is never really normal now that he’s here.
He reminds us every time we come to worship and hear the stories of his life, of his death, and of his resurrection. He reminds us on Ash Wednesday and all through Lent. He reminds us on Maundy Thursday and just when it looks like all hope is lost on Good Friday, he comes back to show us how abnormal life really is on Easter.
Jesus breaks in and reminds us when a five year old confidently says, “I know Jesus loves me because he died on the cross.” Jesus reminds us of who he is every time a child is born – a child made in the image of God.
He reminds us in words of promise spoken at a funeral or in the hugs we receive from friends and family while we mourn.
He reminds us every time we go to the City Mission and stand with our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate. He reminds us every time we travel to
Even now, as we are standing at the doorstep of a new year, a year that promises more frenzy, more anxiety, more worry, Jesus makes us pause for a bit and reminds us that he is the Son of God. No need to worry, no need to search for him. He is right where he should be, right where we need him to be, the entire time.
December might be over, Christmas may be almost over, but the child we love so much, we need so much, Jesus, continues to be with us the entire year round. Amen.
