You'd think they'd know better

It took over a year, but I'm finally finding out what gossip and slander patterns are in this small congregation. Of course, it would have to be aimed at me... (sigh)
Apparently, my mind reading skills were off right around Christmas and I did not receive the telepathic communications from a member that she needed to be contacted or visited every single day during her (not-so-serious) illness. Her symptoms were not serious (mostly fatigue in a woman who was usually quite active, and loss of appetite); she never had to go into the hospital; I did make contact by phone a couple of time and knew that my deacons were on top of things, and since I'm sounding defensive anyway, I'll add that it WAS right before Christmas. I tried as hard as I could to make myself available with as little effort as a phone call. Was I right or wrong? Don't care, can't change it.
What I care about is that about a week later I hear she's bitching to anyone with ears (except me!) about how I didn't meet her needs, didn't do this or that or the other. (Aside: though I didn't know it at the time, I was supposed to speak to her before church last Sunday. Well, normally, before worship, I'm so focused on preparing that I don't really talk to anyone. Again, mind reading not so good these days. This caused a whole new round of slander. I actually intentionally sought her after the service, but she and her family apparently were so mad about the other perceived slights that they left early to avoid me.) The person who approached me about the situation was very kind about it all and let me know that, apparently, this whole family has a history with the church of what she called, "Entitlement syndrome." Wish I'd known that BEFORE all this went down...
What's worse, she's an active elder on my session. We have a pastor/parish relations committee under the communications team for EXACTLY this sort of situation, which, as an elder, she should have known and utilized. Not to mention that, as a Christian, she should know that talking about someone rather than to them is NEVER the right thing to do. Have I mentioned how much I hate, loathe, abhor gossip (and especially when it's about me)? Yeah, well...
Good news is that when I heard about it third hand, I did go to the p/p relations comm. and the chair is going to sit with us as mediator to help us work this out.
If I've ever needed prayers, it's tomorrow around 10 am. That's when we'll be sitting down to work this out. Trust is diminished, pastoral thoughts are tough to come by, and of course, feelings are hurt. Let's hope my inner sixth grader stays home.

the first shoe...

After more than a year of relative calm and quiet, it looks like I am dealing with my first serious member illness and very likely immanent death. (I say that knowing this is a relatively anonymous blog.) It's pancreatic cancer. Sadly, not good statistics for remission. And she's an elderly lady as well, though fairly spunky. She was diagnosed last week and the family is still reeling. She's been released from the hospital to the skilled nursing facility of the nursing home/retirement community where she and her husband live. I won't speculate at this point about what that means.
I haven't even been a part of a funeral other than observer. While I don't mind them, I fret about saying the wrong thing. While that may be putting the cart before the horse, the truth is, it's just about certain to come sooner rather than later--hers or someone else's.
Prayers for Spirit intervention--for me and them--are coveted as we continue on this journey.

Thoughts on Simeon and Anna

I admit it, I'm excited to preach about Simeon and Anna. For some reason, I just really like these guys. They have quite a lot of depth for just 18 verses. I'm thinking of naming my sermon "Of widows, virgins, and barren ones," and talk about the prominent roles that Anna, Mary, and Elizabeth have in Luke as being the ones to recognize the Messiah, even though they were considered next to nothing by their culture and society. We'll see. That's where I am today. I have all week to change my mind. :)
I might even get around to posting it. I haven't posted a sermon in quite a while. Laziness is some of it, shyness is also a part. I usually get good reviews, but I'm never happy enough with them to actually post them where, (gulp), just anybody could read them. (That's actually really ridiculous of me since I'm pretty sure only about 8 people ever come here to read anything--and I know you all love me!)
I know quite a few people right now who are either pregnant or have just recently given birth, several for the first time. I have to admit that it's the first time mothers (and fathers too) that are so much fun to watch. At least one couple I know has struggled with infertility for many years and only just a couple weeks ago had a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Another couple I know is having fraternal twins without the help of any fertility treatments whatsoever. No matter what, becoming a parent for the first time is rather overwhelming.
Babies bring something with them that we seem to lack in our daily lives--an expectancy of great things to come. We lay our hopes and dreams on them, what we hope they will turn out to be, what sorts of traits will they inherit, what jobs they will get when they are grown, etc. Even most parents I know who intentionally try not to put undue pressure on their children have some sorts of expectations for them, such as getting a good education, taking some sort of extracurricular classes, whether it's dance, gymnastics, martial arts, or music lessons, or even just going to church regularly. With young children, we make those decisions for them, molding them, even ever so slightly, to our own expectations for them.
I wonder just what expectations Mary had for Jesus when she took him to be presented in the temple. Even then, I don't think she could have known what sort of Messiah he could be. Her Jewish heritage expected a warrior Messiah, one who would overthrow the oppressor with a fiery sword and angry redemption. Yet as she carries her newborn in her arms, can she truly envision him as such? I wonder.
And Mary isn't the only one with expectations for him, after all. What do Simeon and Anna expect from him? What do they see his role as Messiah to be? What about his father? His grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the rest of the Israelites? Sure, we expect great things of our children, but Messianic leadership? That's a tall order for a tiny baby.
What do we expect from a Messiah, even now? What expectations do we place on the one who comes to us in such unexpected ways?

It's official...

I'm ready for Christmas to be over! I've made all the cookies and sent all the gifts, ordered to ones to come to our house, planned all the services, made the Little One's costume, and decorated as much as I care to. (No tree in our house this year folks--I'll get to that in a minute.) That means I'm done right? Right?!
Ok, so I still have to write sermons, lead those services I've planned, wrap the gifts as they trickle in from Amazon and Overstock and Apple, and do I have enough 'stuff' for the stockings? what can I get done ahead for our late night, Christmas Eve, right-after-the-service drive to the in-laws house? Too soon for laundry, don't have all the gifts ready, guess that's a big, fat "nothing."
Ah well, one week and counting. As for no tree, the stand of the one we inherited is broken and P doesn't feel like fixing it, setting it up, and decorating since we're not going to be putting presents under it as we'll be at his parents' home. I tend to agree. I have a lighted garland on the faux mantle (it's really a large shelf over the piano as we have no fireplace) and the stocking are hung there, well, all except mine which is in need of some work. Guess we have to add that to the list. It seems the more things I check off, the more I find to add to the end of the list.
On the other hand, I think we've agreed on a name for the new addition. Check.

Winding Up

The official wind up for Christmas begins at church this week. We start tonight with the Diaconate team hosting a Chrismon tree decorating dinner. We'll have soup and sandwiches, a short devotion (not led by me) and then go in and decorate the tree. I accepted the request to bring a crock pot of chili (I DO make a pretty good chili, I admit) and decided to bake a loaf of bread to go with it and it's in the oven now, and smelling amazing. Let's hope that I can manage to make it out the door with the camera and then maybe I can have this year's pictures of the little one (who's really not so little any more) by the Chrismon tree again.
Sunday is the children's program, which we'll put on during worship, so that means I don't have to preach--a good thing since I seem to be more tired this week than usual (the dreary, rainy days may be a big part of that) and I can usually find an excuse to come home in the afternoons and take a nap.
Then there's session meeting in a week, then, wow, it's the fourth sunday in advent! that's the week we do gift wrapping for the church's social services christmas family and go caroling afterwards. We'll do a traditional candlelight service of nine lessons and carols on Christmas Eve. I am so proud of my youth, every one of them stepped up, from seven years old on up to seventeen to do a scripture reading that night (ok, so I think some of them were forced by their parents, but still, most of them volunteered)
At home though, we just this week got out the decorations, discovered that P will have to make a new stand for the fake tree that lost a leg in the move and so we probably won't get it up soon since he'll have to make that before we can get it up and he is planning on going out of town to visit his family this weekend so it won't happen then either. Blah. Blah, blah, blah. The tree is the one thing that makes it feel like Christmas for me, at least inside the house. (Outside, it's the neighbors who have had lights up since thanksgiving, covering every square inch of their house and yard--ok, not really, but it's quite a sight!)

Conversations with a Curmudgeon

I have this wonderful old man in my congregation. He sits near the front each week in exactly the same spot. He very rarely says a word to anyone, and only ever comes to worship--that's it, nothing else, ever. He usually looks like he's sleeping during my sermons, but will sometimes surprise me with a follow-up email note about something I've said. Usually something he didn't like, but hey, I'm not easily offended, so no big.
Like I said, he doesn't talk much, but he's one of the few old folks in the church who uses email pretty well. So he'll send me a message, and again, it's usually a complaint couched in a 'suggestion.' He'd prefer worship using the KJV and no hymns written before 1900 (not said quite so overtly, but I got the hint). Ok, so that's not really my style, though I've tried not to go too radical for this church. They like traditional. I'm fine with that as long as it doesn't end up mind-numbingly boring with absolutely no room for anything new. So far, as long as I've asked my worship team or session first before I try something too crazy, most of the time people are ok with it (and of course I have the back-up of my session members!) Usually, as long as I tell them that we can just try it for a while and if it is just too horrible, we'll change it back.
Anyway, today my curmudgeon sent me an email with a link to 'youtube' (I told you this guy was hip with the techy stuff!) with the traditional music to the doxology (Old Hundredth) explaing that he prefers this tune. (We've been using the traditional words to the Tallis Canon tune lately-but I switch it up a few times a year.) I explained that I've been using the traditional tune on communion Sundays for people who feel that way that he does, so he can hear it at least once a month. Then he sent back another telling me he doesn't like all the political correctness or 'dumbing down' of scripture. I explained that what he calls political correctness I call inclusiveness. I don't think 'fishers of people' has quite the same poetic ring as 'fishers of men,' but that doesn't mean that I think women should be excluded. I laid it on the line and flat out said I dislike the KVJ because of its egregious translation errors and sexist language, going on to explain that while those were products of its time since they didn't have the scholarship or equality that we have now, I don't understand why people still insist on its use. I said a few more pastoral things about language barriers and modern understandings and trying to use words that appealed across generations, etc. I also thanked him for engaging me in these conversations, giving me his perspective and such. So far, no response. I'm anxiously awaiting it though, to be honest. This is the most I've gotten out of him thus far. I love my curmudgeon!

Truly amazing

I can't believe that the end of this month is my 1 year anniversary here at SPC. Within the last year (in no particular order) I've 1) been ordained, 2) celebrated 7 years of marriage, 3) officiated over my first communion service, 4) confirmed my first teens, 4) ordained my first class of elders and deacons, 5) moderated my first session meeting, 6) voted in my first presbytery meeting (never was an elder commissioner), 7) dealt with a tornado and its aftermath (for my own home and my community), 8) begun carrying a new life to add to our family, 9) mourned the death of our beloved kitty Shove, 10) given a home to our kitten, Starbuck, 11) memorized the flight schedule for Southwest airlines from here my parents' city.
There's far more I could add. I've done lots of growing and learning. I feel I've really come far in owning my authority and identity as a pastor (especially a pregnant pastor in a presbytery where I could truly count on one hand the number of other ministers (mostly associates) who are women of childbearing age--most are men over 45 and many are much older).
So, lots going on. I still feel like there is so much good that this church and I can do together in the name of our Lord.
Here's to another great year!

Things that fit... and things that don't

Right now, things at church are fitting pretty good. We're getting started for stewardship season. No 'official' campaign strategy, but we're going for a celebration of gifts theme, sorta. I'm leaning towards doing a faith pledging strategy I think that would appeal to the seemingly intensely private attitude people have towards money in our church. I just need to take this to the stewardship/finance chair and pitch the idea and see how it goes over. We shall see--not that I have any reason to think it wouldn't go over.
On the other hand, clothes that were well-fitted before are starting to get just a bit tight. My favorite black pants are not going to be wearable much longer. I feel like I should be more excited, since it means things are going along well, but I will miss all my favorite outfits and, no matter what, I can't help but just feel fat some days. But I did go ahead and dig out the old maternity stuff from almost 5 years ago now, some of which I never wore since I wasn't the right size in the right season. I washed and folded it all. Some went in the drawers, some in the closet. Some I didn't even remember I had. I won't wear most of it for probably another month or so, but it needed to be done while I could still climb around in the attic fairly easily. I did realize that I'm going to need to find some pajamas. P would get a little testy if I stretched out all his favorite flannel pants. Just sayin'.

Pieces of Peace

Right now I have my iPod filled with music that brings me a sense of peace. (Mostly. There's still some Bon Jovi for the times I need energy too.) But peace seems to be a rare commodity these days. So much going on at church. The sad thing is, music in worship used to be so renewing for me. But in this congregation, it pretty much is just sad, sad, sad. The people in the congregation don't sing with any enthusiasm whatsoever. The choir is about four people on average. They rarely sing anthems. Harmony is touch and go. The men? Well, when there are any, let's just say they make a joyful noise, bless their sweet little hearts.
I'm actually thinking about suggesting that we occassionally used recorded music for certain times of the year. Maybe around Christmas we'll see how it goes over.
It's so funny though. When I was talking about doing the Lessons and Carols service for Christmas Eve, some people on the session were just amazed that the choir didn't want to do a big cantata for that service. Hello!! Are you in worship? There are four people, maybe six in the choir. None of whom are, shall we say, particularly gifted in their voices. It was actually the choir director who had suggested the lessons and carols service anyway, since she agrees that while they are dedicated, the usual suspects in the choir aren't strong enough vocally to do anything that large. Now if I could just convince the congregation that singing should be a joyful part of worship.
So, for now, I content myself with Robert Shaw or the Cambridge Singers. Little pieces of peace that invade the busyness of my day.

Where it all collides

Why is it that the week I tell people I'm pregnant suddenly starts off the busiest next few weeks of my life? It's like it all exploded at once. I make the announcement at session and suddenly everyone wants a piece of my time to talk about, oh, stewardship, worship, fellowship, communications needs, you name it. I have had about six meetings already in the last 5 work days of people "stopping in to say hey" and staying for over an hour. Everyone has an agenda it seems. I guess I should have seen it coming. My one year here approaches in a couple months. Things are settling into a routine with us and people feel comfortable with me. Stewardship season is what's kicking my butt right now. I keep hearing, "We didn't do such and such for the last couple of years since we wanted to wait for the new pastor." Well, here I am so now they want to do "such and such" and I'm finding there are a lot of things that fall under that category.
On the other hand, things are going well, even if busy. They're pretty open to letting me run with my ideas as long as I ask about it first instead of just going it on my own. As long as I say, "Hey, I was thinking about doing (x)," they usually let me go ahead with it. That's been nice. I've got a great class of elders this year. Got to do my first elder/deacon installation a couple weeks ago. That was cool.
We're also gearing up for World Communion Sunday which I don't think this church has ever done before. We've been teaching them a couple of new hymns from other countries so they can have the full experience. I wish we had some people to play maracas or drum or something to jazz it up. Enthusiasm in worship is not a high priority in this congregation. I'm working on that.
Finally broke down and decided to get a PDA this week when I realized that I just had too many places to go and no way to keep it all straight unless I carried around my big planning calendar everywhere. Plus, if I'm going from one place straight to another, it might be a good idea to have all my addresses and phone numbers handy, hence the decision for a PDA. Then I could have wifi whenever I was near a hotspot too. That'd be good for email and such.
That's all. I need a nap after that marathon post. Whew!

I guess it's time

This is the week I will be telling my session that they are going to have to start thinking about a maternity leave policy for me. I'm not terribly worried that they will freak, but maybe just a tiny little bit nervous, since no matter how you cut it, I'm gonna be out over Easter. I'm due the beginning of Holy Week. Oops. (Wasn't thinking that far ahead in the heat of the moment!) I don't think we'll get that far though. I think she'll make her appearance by the end of March. (FYI, I don't know if it's a girl, just hoping.)
We do have a woman who is working on her M.Div and who would certainly, I think, enjoy the chance to fill in for some or even all of that time, though we'd have to find an ordained person to come in to do communion.
I think people sort of expected this to happen sooner or later. They knew they were hiring a young woman with a young family who might want at least one more kid. We'd talked about that a little in my interviews. We'll just have to see if they panic about my leave time and being out over Holy Week and Easter. I'll have only been here about a year and 3 months by the time that swings around. Hopefully the new baby will quickly charm them into forgetting that part.
So around 7pm EST on Wed, say a quick prayer, k?

Apology NOT accepted

I was attending a meeting at our Presbytery office today with several other pastors from our quadrant to learn some things about what our Exec had discovered on his learning sabbatical. It was some pretty interesting stuff, not sure it will apply to our church, but I'm willing to learn more.
Anyway, there were 5 of us total and 2 of us were women. Both of us are moms. The other lady pastor is a few years older than me, and she's been in ministry about 8 years to my 1, but I've got a year on her of being a mom. Anyway, fairly close to the end of the meeting, she gets a note from the presbytery secretary that says her son has thrown up and she needs to come back and pick him up from child care. So what does she do? She apologizes profusely for having to leave early!! I'm like, sister, your kid is sick!! You don't apologize for being his mother or for taking care of him! I flat out told her, "M! Stop! Do not apologize to us! You have nothing to be sorry for. He's sick, he needs you. Get out of here!"
Please ladies--all of you who are moms and ministers (or any other kind of professional, really). Do not ever apologize for being a parent. (Same goes for dads too, of course, but they are much less likely to overdo the guilt I've noticed.) I think it helps me that I was a mom for three years before I got into the ministry. She comes first, always. I feel no guilt about this and I was upfront about this with my PNC, and they were all very supportive of that, many of them parents themselves.
So again I say, Sister! Don't apologize for being a good parent. Just stand up, look 'em in the eye and say, "You'll have to excuse me. I have a sick child to attend to." Thank the host and just leave! Be bold!

When VBS is lame...

Last week was VBS week. I've never seen one quite like this. They have a lesson for the adults too. Is that common where you're from? I've never been to a VBS that did beyond 6th or maybe 8th grade.
Let me tell you that the adult material from this highly respected company was hands down the worst lesson material I've ever seen! It was written at a high school level (yes, it was the adult curriculum, I checked) and the author told little stories of her trips down memory lane and would occasionally thrown in a question like, "what memories does this story invoke for you?" She even had activities (for adults!) like soaking cotton balls in different liquids like alcohol, ammonia, coffee, etc., and putting them in film canisters and asking people to sniff and see what memories were evoked.
So the poor Episcopal rector and I were pretty much stuck making things up as we went along. IT went ok, but I don't think it was as good as it could have been with better curriculum to point us in the right direction.
I was also pretty disappointed in the music for the kids. I've heard some pretty good VBS music in my day, this was not one of those years. This really surprises me since, like I said, this is a well know company who's been putting out VBS material for years.
Since we work VBS out with two other churches in our town, I'm not in on picking the curriculum, but for next year, I'm going to encourage our representative to look a little deeper into the material rather than picking it because the theme was cute.
Here's hoping.

Camp Nostalgia

I spent last week in service to my presbytery by volunteering as Bible study leader for a week of church camp. It was fun to get away for a while. It is a rustic camp which is the kind I grew up attending, so it was great to have that bit of nostalgia. It was interesting watching the dramas unfold and remembering my own time as a counselor (and being glad I wasn't the one doing it then). I met wonderful children and wonderful staff. I met a nearby minister-colleague's daughter-- a smart, lovely college student and all around beautiful young lady. I think it weirded out a few of the college students to realize that the 'Adult, Reverend, Bible Study Leader Lady' had less than a decade on them. (I also think that most of the other adult, reverend, bible study leaders this summer had been on the brink of retirement and had come the week that their grandchildren were participating.) All around it was a good time. I am glad to be home and back in my routine and with my family again.
Speaking of family... while I was away, we got a new member. P decided that our kitty Push was lonely and so we got a kitten. They actually seem to be getting along fine after only a week. Don't have any photos yet, but I'll post some soon. We named her Starbuck. No, not after the coffee shop, after the Battlestar Gallactica character--the new series, not the old one. She's as much of a spitfire as her namesake.

Overheard today...

From L:
Dear Shove and Jesus,
Jesus make Shove's body feel better so he can be happy.

(She has been 'writing' letters to Shove and Jesus all day today. She found some of my stationary and put the 'letters' in the envelopes. She doesn't quite understand that Shove won't be coming home. It's breaking my heart.)

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Today did not start out well. Our Ugly Cat had to be put to sleep this morning. He had been going down hill quickly the past two or three weeks. He stopped eating well about a week or ten days ago; we tried changing him to soft food and that worked for a couple of days, but finally this morning we found him sprawled on the floor, unable to stand up. I think we knew it was approaching; he was an old kitty--we'd gotten him and his 'brother' from a shelter about 5 years ago and they were at least middle aged for kitties then. But to find him so wretched was difficult. It was particularly hard on P. Shove was really P's cat.(Shove is his real name, but we lovingly called him "the ugly cat." He looked like he'd been put together by committee.) P wouldn't even let me come to the vet with him.

It was the saddest thing I've ever seen to watch P carry his little body, wrapped in a sheet, to the hole he'd already prepared in the back yard, tears streaming. I'm choking up just writing about it. We'll go pick out something special to plant over him this weekend.

L couldn't quite understand when I told her that Shove wouldn't be here when she got home from school. I made sure to keep it simple, but she's still a little young to understand death. I think she's pretty sure that Jesus is coming to pick him up to have a play date.

Shove, you were a wonderful companion. You were as sweet as you were ugly. We will miss you very much.

Friday Five: Summer Camp

I haven't done a Friday Five in ages! But this one is full of great memories, so I just had to play along. Thanks to Mother Laura over at RevGalBlogPals for providing the inspiration:Mother Laura says:
"We're settling into our new new apartment, and after a lifetime at Montessori Katie is having a fantastic summer at YMCA day camp. Meanwhile, Nicholas is packing up for a week at Camp Julian, shared by the Episcopal dioceses of Los Angeles and San Diego. His lists of supplies and rules--except for the ropes course available to the teenagers and the ban on IPODs and cell phones--bring back memories of my own happy times weeks at Y camp Ta Ta Pochon, funded by selling countless cases of butter toffee peanuts. So, in celebration of summer, please share your own memories and preferences about camp."

1. Did you go to sleep away camp, or day camp, as a child? Wish you could? Or sometimes wish you hadn't?
I went to sleep away camp. Here's the thing. My dad was an avid camper and even helped to create from the ground up the camp that now serves the presbytery we were living in at the time. I was immersed from the beginning.

2. How about camping out? Dream vacation, nightmare, or somewhere in between?
Well, I like camping out, for sure. However, as I age, my back doesn't always agree. Sleeping on the ground can be a nightmare. But I still love sleeping under the stars, cooking over a campfire, etc. So, somewhere in between.

3. Have you ever worked as a camp counselor, or been to a camp for your denomination for either work or pleasure?
Of course. Two summers in college as a counselor. Going for a week as a bible study leader for current presbytery in August.

4. Most dramatic memory of camp, or camping out?
I'm gonna have to let that one stay undisclosed.

5. What is your favorite camp song or songs? Bonus points if you link to a recording or video.
"I wish I were a (name of camp) counselor. Oh that is what I'd really like to be. But if I weren't a (name of camp) counselor, a ___ is what I'd be." This involved much hilarity and creativity in coming up with new blank fillers and their respective costumes/actions/sound effects.

Church: Unfiltered

I keep getting this image of church and the gospel being run through a Brita filter. Like we take out all the nasty tasting stuff until it tastes really good going down, making it easier to swallow.
I've been in a number of small churches around the country over my life and the ones that were dwindling in membership seemed to have one thing in common. They were too 'nice.' They didn't want to hold people accountable to the gospel, they didn't want to ask people to do hard things in the name of Jesus. They were incredibly apologetic. They were "sorry to ask," but could so-and-so do such-and-such for the church. We're always sorry as though church itself has become a burden to people. As though it's importance is less than that of family and work and hobbies. It makes me want to scream! In fact, I think I will...
STOP BEING SORRY!!!
Thanks for letting me get that out. On with the tirade...
Jesus was never sorry for telling people the hard truth. Why should we be? Why do we think we need to apologize for asking people to serve and to give? We had to pull teeth to find people to be on this year's officer slate. Why is service Christ and the church such a burden? Where are our priorities? And why am I the only one in my church asking these questions? Why aren't our leaders calling people to task? Some of my committee chairs have no committees because they are so worried that they will overburden someone or offend them somehow by asking them to take on something else, even in the name of Christ.
Are we Christians or what? If we can't even find time to serve, how can we claim that title? Sitting on our butts for an hour once a week is not all there is to being Christian. Yes, worship is a part of it, but so is service, so is study, so is making disciples. We can't choose one over the others.
If we filter what the gospel says, it's not the gospel anymore. Jesus comes not to bring peace, but the sword. That's hard to swallow. That doesn't taste good to our 21st century, status-quo tongues. Let's just drink our filtered water. We're sorry about that Jesus guy. He kind of embarrasses us middle-class, middle Americans. Jesus can be down right tacky at times. And we don't want our children to hang around tacky people, much less follow them around and emulate them, use them as role models. We're sorry Jesus asks you to give your money to the poor rather than spend it on a new fishing boat. We're sorry that the church needs your help and your time to serve Christ as we've been called to do. We're sorry, we're sorry, we're sorry.
I'm hoping I can encourage our church's leaders to call people to task. They need to get out there, hold members accountable. Don't be sorry for asking for help, or for making people uphold their baptismal vows, or for helping them to fulfill the Great Commission.
So I have officer training this weekend. Can you guess what we'll be talking about?

I Get a Break This Week!

Our Executive Presbyter has offered to come and preach here just to give me a break after our local disaster a few weeks ago. We've been working pretty hard around here to offer what aid we can and so I've had a few (she says sarcastically) extra responsibilities around here. Have I mentioned that I don't have a secretary at this church?
So I get a week without sermon prep. Of course, I should probably use this chance to start looking ahead, something I don't usually have the chance to do much of.
Then there's vacation. I have officially purchased the plane tickets. Ontario, here we come! Gotta leave the spouse behind; he doesn't have enough vacation accrued at the new job yet. I hate that for him, as he needs it more than any of us right now. His new job is horrible as far as vacation time 8 days! and no personal or sick leave!!!) and not to mention they sorta fibbed about what he'd been hired to do. I have to admit that I love the vacation time that we pastors get. I suppose we need it though or we'd all go nuts.

Long time, no post

I didn't realize that my last post had been the day of the infamous happening. I suppose I've wanted to post a few times about that, but it would be a little bit too telling for what is supposed to be a rather anonymous blog. We've recovered well from said happening; life is returning to whatever passes for normal in our house.
I've been neck-deep in confirmation the past several weeks. We do not have the time or resources to do a year long study, so we have developed our own curriculum to do in 10-12 weeks. It's a small group of kids, so this works pretty well. We meet for two hours each week and they seem like they are getting most of what we're teaching. Of course, there is plenty of repetition, they are only 13 after all.
P had a great b-day. I surprised him with a party at a friend's house. I even surprised him with his gift that I had convinced him he wasn't getting. (An electric guitar pedal--that he is super-de-duper psyched about, I might add.)
I'm starting a bible study group this week that I'm modeling after one I co-created in ATL. It only meets twice a month, Fri. evenings in a coffee shop. Aimed at my generation and a little older, though I'm getting a surprising # of my retirees saying they want to come. Cool!! It is going to focus on faith and culture. We'll be using a lot of the "Thoughtful Christian" material and some of the other shorter studies that focus on faith as it relates to our world, politics, media, etc. So I guess it's not technically a Bible study, it'll be more of a faith study. I'm excited to get it started. It's the sort of things that feeds my faith too, so even though I'm leading (at least the first one) I will still be able to renew my spirit.