No omens in the night sky tonight. Just a pleasant dinner on campus with two of our classmates and the bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA. That’s right – we were invited to join Bishop Bolick for dinner tonight because we have been assigned to our home synod of North Carolina!!
We were very pleased to learn that we have been assigned to NC and have a chance to talk about what to expect during the call process. We certainly don’t have many details yet, but we have been told to expect that our paperwork could be sent out to some congregation(s) to consider in just a couple of weeks. The call process will begin in earnest then.
I still haven’t found the right graphic to illustrate this post, but I’m thinking about finding a nice garden flag with some North Carolina theme – maybe the Cape Hatteras lighthouse…
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Eclipse
Tonight was a lunar eclipse, one that was easily viewed in the South Eastern United States. For a great look at the timeline and other info on this eclipse, check out this article.
For a great interview about the eclipse, check out this video.
For a great interview about the eclipse, check out this video.
I have included a couple of pictures that I took, but they quality is not great – they are from my digital camera, handheld using the car for bracing. They do show a couple of stages of the eclipse. For us here in the SE, there will not be another eclipse that is this visible until at least 2010. Since tonight was very clear, it was a great night to be watching.
For an interesting article on the eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus, read this article.
For us, this eclipse was an omen of impending news – today was the announcement of the ELCA regional assignments for first call. We have been assigned to region 9, but will be another 24 hours before we know much more. Check back soon!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Monday Musings
Dodge is off to a great 2008 season by winning the Great American Race – the Daytona 500. The new car (COT) made its debut at Daytona and the 2008 NASCAR season is off and running. And how about Toyota? Dodge placed first and second (Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch), but Toyota placed 3rd and 4th (Tony Steward and Kyle Busch)! Not bad for their second year in NASCAR.
****
Gasoline prices have soared up again. I bought gas early last week (Monday or Tuesday) for $2.70 a gallon; by Saturday the same station was at $2.85 per gallon. We worry about stimulating the economy, and yet there are people who cannot afford to buy gas to get to work! The divide between the haves and have-nots grows every day. As one who definitely was on the “have” side a few years ago, but is now closer to the “have-not” side (life as a middle-aged student is definitely a different tax bracket than we were used to), this is pretty obvious. For most of us, we cannot see it. As long as our economic situation does not change, we think the world is OK. What happens, though, when your job depends on you having a car (because our public transportation is inadequate) and you cannot come up with gas money, on top of groceries and car insurance, and the other necessities of life? No – we do not have and are not guaranteed the “right to drive” in this country, but then, we make it so hard for those who need other options. Our streets are not pedestrian friendly, we only have bike lanes in the “nice” neighborhoods, and we as drivers do not show the proper respect to our neighbors on foot, or bicycles or mopeds – we just want them to get out of our way so we can get to where we are going. We even complain about the public transportation that we do have – busses that stop in front of us and block our travel lane. We even complain about the small percentage of our taxes that are used to support public transportation, and yet, most of us are not willing to car-pool or offer a ride to someone standing at a bus stop.
As a Lenten discipline, maybe we could just try being nicer while driving. No road rage, no yelling at other drivers, and maybe, just maybe, give the right-of-way to a pedestrian or bicyclist once in a while. If you are in a great mood, offer a ride to someone who is struggling to carry their groceries down the street.
****
Tornadoes again – more tornadoes so far this winter than most of us remember in a long time. We offer prayers for those in Florida and Alabama, struck by tornadoes yesterday. May God bring you peace, and comfort you in your loss, and bring you volunteers who will help, and pray, and become a part of your life as you rebuild and repair.
If you wish to help out, contact your local Red Cross, or Lutheran Disaster Response, or check with any member organization of VOAD.
****
Gasoline prices have soared up again. I bought gas early last week (Monday or Tuesday) for $2.70 a gallon; by Saturday the same station was at $2.85 per gallon. We worry about stimulating the economy, and yet there are people who cannot afford to buy gas to get to work! The divide between the haves and have-nots grows every day. As one who definitely was on the “have” side a few years ago, but is now closer to the “have-not” side (life as a middle-aged student is definitely a different tax bracket than we were used to), this is pretty obvious. For most of us, we cannot see it. As long as our economic situation does not change, we think the world is OK. What happens, though, when your job depends on you having a car (because our public transportation is inadequate) and you cannot come up with gas money, on top of groceries and car insurance, and the other necessities of life? No – we do not have and are not guaranteed the “right to drive” in this country, but then, we make it so hard for those who need other options. Our streets are not pedestrian friendly, we only have bike lanes in the “nice” neighborhoods, and we as drivers do not show the proper respect to our neighbors on foot, or bicycles or mopeds – we just want them to get out of our way so we can get to where we are going. We even complain about the public transportation that we do have – busses that stop in front of us and block our travel lane. We even complain about the small percentage of our taxes that are used to support public transportation, and yet, most of us are not willing to car-pool or offer a ride to someone standing at a bus stop.
As a Lenten discipline, maybe we could just try being nicer while driving. No road rage, no yelling at other drivers, and maybe, just maybe, give the right-of-way to a pedestrian or bicyclist once in a while. If you are in a great mood, offer a ride to someone who is struggling to carry their groceries down the street.
****
Tornadoes again – more tornadoes so far this winter than most of us remember in a long time. We offer prayers for those in Florida and Alabama, struck by tornadoes yesterday. May God bring you peace, and comfort you in your loss, and bring you volunteers who will help, and pray, and become a part of your life as you rebuild and repair.
If you wish to help out, contact your local Red Cross, or Lutheran Disaster Response, or check with any member organization of VOAD.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
From David at Here I Stand:
This meme has been making the rounds, and since I have little time for blogging today I will play along rather then publish another of my awe inspiring, inspirational posts. It is called the 1-2-3 Meme, and to play along one needs a book. Being that I am sitting in the seminary library right now, that shouldn’t be a problem. Here are the rules for the meme.
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people
******************************
The book I picked up is a textbook for Lutheranism in North America (sorry, it was the first book I could reach with at least 123 pages). The next 3 sentences are:
Shaking off the grief which had weighed on him after the death of his young bride, he [Samual Simon Schmucker] feverishly wrote letters to men who he knew to be supportes of the General Synod. "I have within the last six weeks written sixteen letters to different parts of our church," he wrote in his diary. There were letters to North Carolina, urging the synod to send delegates at the appointed time to Frederick, Maryland, in spite of the action of the Pennsylvania Ministerium.
(And we think there are issues in the Lutheran church today!)
Like David, I am a bit short on time (but this sounded like fun), so if you read this, consider yourself tagged.
This meme has been making the rounds, and since I have little time for blogging today I will play along rather then publish another of my awe inspiring, inspirational posts. It is called the 1-2-3 Meme, and to play along one needs a book. Being that I am sitting in the seminary library right now, that shouldn’t be a problem. Here are the rules for the meme.
Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people
******************************
The book I picked up is a textbook for Lutheranism in North America (sorry, it was the first book I could reach with at least 123 pages). The next 3 sentences are:
Shaking off the grief which had weighed on him after the death of his young bride, he [Samual Simon Schmucker] feverishly wrote letters to men who he knew to be supportes of the General Synod. "I have within the last six weeks written sixteen letters to different parts of our church," he wrote in his diary. There were letters to North Carolina, urging the synod to send delegates at the appointed time to Frederick, Maryland, in spite of the action of the Pennsylvania Ministerium.
(And we think there are issues in the Lutheran church today!)
Like David, I am a bit short on time (but this sounded like fun), so if you read this, consider yourself tagged.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Turning 50
It seems that 1958 was one of those years - a lot of things began in 1958. From a recent mailing inviting us to join AARP was a list of celebrities who, along with AARP, turned 50 in 2008. In addition to that list, last night the Grammy Awards turned 50. This next Sunday, another major event turns 50, the Daytona 500. Why all this interest in things that turn 50 in 2008?
I guess it is because we both turn 50 this year, as well. In fact, Ruth Ann has already had her 50th birthday and mine is coming soon. We recently had a joint celebration, and had to work to convince the cake decorator that, Yes, we really did want the cake to say Birthdays (plural).
So, you might ask - if you have been following this blog for long, what is it like to turn 50 during the senior year of seminary? It is quite interesting, to say the least. While many of our classmates are straight out of college (expected to graduate at the ripe old age of 25 or 26), we also have several classmates who are about our age, or even older. Seminary is no longer full of 20 something men - it now includes men and women, from every age - straight out of college to a retired doctor who decided to come to seminary a week after closing his practice. About half of seminarians at Lutheran seminaries these days are second (or third or fourth) career and the rest come right out of college. Programs like Project Connect are helping to bring more young people to seminary, but more and more people seem to decide on a mid-life career change that includes going back to school - to become a chef, a pastor, a doctor, or something else that did not seem to be an option when they younger.
So yes, we are a bit preoccupied by the number 50 this year. Like everything else, we are thankful to reach the age of 50 in good health and to be able to attend seminary. We are thankful that so many have remembered us as we turn 50. And yes - we look forward to graduating this year - school is hard at 50!
As I turn 50, I have memories of reading Jimmy Buffett's book, A Pirate Looks at 50. I really enjoyed that book a few years ago - I think it is time to read it again.
I guess it is because we both turn 50 this year, as well. In fact, Ruth Ann has already had her 50th birthday and mine is coming soon. We recently had a joint celebration, and had to work to convince the cake decorator that, Yes, we really did want the cake to say Birthdays (plural).So, you might ask - if you have been following this blog for long, what is it like to turn 50 during the senior year of seminary? It is quite interesting, to say the least. While many of our classmates are straight out of college (expected to graduate at the ripe old age of 25 or 26), we also have several classmates who are about our age, or even older. Seminary is no longer full of 20 something men - it now includes men and women, from every age - straight out of college to a retired doctor who decided to come to seminary a week after closing his practice. About half of seminarians at Lutheran seminaries these days are second (or third or fourth) career and the rest come right out of college. Programs like Project Connect are helping to bring more young people to seminary, but more and more people seem to decide on a mid-life career change that includes going back to school - to become a chef, a pastor, a doctor, or something else that did not seem to be an option when they younger.
So yes, we are a bit preoccupied by the number 50 this year. Like everything else, we are thankful to reach the age of 50 in good health and to be able to attend seminary. We are thankful that so many have remembered us as we turn 50. And yes - we look forward to graduating this year - school is hard at 50!
As I turn 50, I have memories of reading Jimmy Buffett's book, A Pirate Looks at 50. I really enjoyed that book a few years ago - I think it is time to read it again.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
What does Grace look like?
The preacher at tonight’s Eucharist service on campus asked that question, then answered it with several examples he has seen recently in worship services. Those examples made me think of two places that Ray and I have been on recent Sunday mornings. We were asked to fill in at each of these churches over the past few weeks, while their pastors were on vacation.
(For those who want to know how we handle this – we just took turns. I preached and led worship twice in the city church, with Ray giving the children’s sermons; then he preached and led worship at the rural church. Guess that means it will be my turn to preach next!)
These two Lutheran churches are quite different: one is a stately brick church in a small Southern city, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary; the other is an even older rustic, white-sided country church. One seems to have grown steadily and prospered throughout its existence; the other has had to struggle to survive, but now flourishes.
But they also have much in common. For God’s grace is clearly present in both places – in the worship services, in the fellowship the members share, and in the ministries they both provide to their communities!
I have had the opportunity in the past few years to learn a bit of the story of both places. The city church was started with only a few members – those in the community who were already Lutheran. The rural church has had its share of challenges - a previous pastor told me that he knew when he served there, that if attendance didn’t increase, the church might close. I have also been blessed to get to know some of the members - to hear stories of their lives and to share some of my stories with them.
What strikes me most is both how alive and alike these two congregations are! They are in different places, with different kinds of pastors, with their own unique challenges; yet God has been present with them and in their ministries; they grow and flourish and worship God and love and serve their neighbors. They have been blessed by God so that they can be a blessing to others (including visiting seminarians).
Grace looks like that to me!
(For those who want to know how we handle this – we just took turns. I preached and led worship twice in the city church, with Ray giving the children’s sermons; then he preached and led worship at the rural church. Guess that means it will be my turn to preach next!)
These two Lutheran churches are quite different: one is a stately brick church in a small Southern city, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary; the other is an even older rustic, white-sided country church. One seems to have grown steadily and prospered throughout its existence; the other has had to struggle to survive, but now flourishes.
But they also have much in common. For God’s grace is clearly present in both places – in the worship services, in the fellowship the members share, and in the ministries they both provide to their communities!
I have had the opportunity in the past few years to learn a bit of the story of both places. The city church was started with only a few members – those in the community who were already Lutheran. The rural church has had its share of challenges - a previous pastor told me that he knew when he served there, that if attendance didn’t increase, the church might close. I have also been blessed to get to know some of the members - to hear stories of their lives and to share some of my stories with them.
What strikes me most is both how alive and alike these two congregations are! They are in different places, with different kinds of pastors, with their own unique challenges; yet God has been present with them and in their ministries; they grow and flourish and worship God and love and serve their neighbors. They have been blessed by God so that they can be a blessing to others (including visiting seminarians).
Grace looks like that to me!
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