Meetings and trip
It’s been another busy week in Mark-land.
Sunday we had the real Sr. High youth group kickoff session. We had fun, got introduced to each other, played around, and ate ice cream. It’s a good group of youth including not one but TWO exchange students.
Monday evening we had the first meeting of the Welcome and Outreach Task Force that I am co-chairing. As I’ve said before our charter is to study visitors, inactive members and the local community and then to make recommendations on what the church could do to create an atmosphere of hospitality and invitation. It was a good meeting – mainly kept to start up tasks and ideas. We have two challenges. First is scheduling meetings – the folks on the team are really busy and it’s hard to find a 1.5 hour time slot that works for everybody. Fortunately I discovered (after some hints from the pastor and another team member) Meet-O-Matic. That should help. The second challenge is that we have one team member who has no Internet access (or inclination to get access). We’ve appointed a team member to be that member’s “Internet buddy”, and we’ve covenanted not to make any decisions via e-mail without getting her input.
The team is very diverse (as diverse as we could get given the congregation’s demographics). We have people who have only been attending our church since last spring and people who have been members for over 25 years. We have a pretty good age spread, and the gender balance is good. The skills and interests of the group members are fairly well balanced, too.
One interesting concept that came from this meeting is the definition of our “mission field” – the land area that we are targeting. The traditional idea was that we serve a 3 mile radius from the church building. However, over 1/2 of the team lives outside of that radius. This means (by extrapolation – and it does work out that way) that a significant percentage of the church membership drives past another Presbyterian church or three (not to mention other denominations) to get to our church. We are thinking that we might have two tiers – the 3-mile “local” tier and a larger area. We decided to add “active members outside the 3-mile radius” to the list of groups studied to see what draws them to drive a distance to be part of our community. We’re also going to be mapping the households using software yet to be determined (Google Maps?).
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So that was Monday evening. Did I get a break Tuesday evening? No. Carolyn decided that this was the week to re-seal the driveway while it is still warm enough. (It did need it) So I got home Tuesday evening and it took the two of us just about 1 hour to put a coat on the driveway. She was nice to me Wednesday evening and put the 2nd coat on herself (a thinner coat). I just had to cook dinner.
Tonight is laundry, and then Friday evening I’m going with the Sr. Highs up to Camp Johnsonburg for a quick overnight retreat. We’ll be home about 3pm on Saturday – just in time to see Rutgers play Maryland (my brother’s alma mater) in football.
Sunday I’ll have church in the morning. I’m attending an adult forum on what makes Presbyterians different from other denominations. I have homework to do – matching the names, dates, and a short summary of the Confessions. Sunday evening the church is doing the first ever Jazz Vespers. The youth are attending together, and I’m probably going to bring Carolyn along too.
Who was it that said “You can sleep when you’re dead.”?
Church: Getting your money’s worth
This Sunday the congregants at the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville experienced a trifecta of worship events.
It started with a 5 minute plus speech by a member of the Stewardship committee.
Later we followed that up with a baptism.
After the sermon, we had ordination and installations. One elder was recently elected to fill the term of a brand new elder who had to move for his job. Two deacons had been unable to attend the ordination and installation the week after the election back in June – one had to be ordained.
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The staff managed to keep the total time to 1 hour 15 minutes through the creative use of short hymns and short prayers.
After the service a number of us were joking about how we should have added Communion and a Wedding to the service.
In other news: tonight is the first meeting of the Welcome and Outreach Task Force that I’m co-chairing. I have all handouts copied, and I’m just about to send a reminder e-mail. Wish me luck!
Rhythm for the Soul – Jazz Vespers, dinner, and a mini-concert
On Sunday, September 30, 2007, the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville will be holding its first Jazz Vespers service. A flyer can be found HERE.
The evening kicks off at 4pm with the jazz vespers service. Dinner follows at 5pm ($5 donation requested). After dinner there will be a mini-concert at 6pm. The Rev. Bill Carter and Presbybop will be the performers for the concert and will be featured in the service. Presbybop is a jazz quarter made up entirely by Presbyterian clergy.
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All are welcome. Come on down!
Secular Politics and the Church
I’m a bit concerned.
I have said in some places, but perhaps not this blog, something about my feelings on secular politics and the church. The short version is that I feel that the church should teach its members how to make moral judgments, but that the church should NOT be involved in advocating a position on current secular political events. In other words – the church should be for peace, but not for peace in the Middle East by creating a Palestinian state (to give one example). The church is in the field of giving us moral toolkits, but should not be instructing us on exactly how to apply them to specific situations. Otherwise, at some point we stop asking people to make proper personal decisions on secular matters and start dictating those decisions – we create essential tenets that have little to do with God but much to do with the country or world. I know that my opinion is in the minority among church leaders, though I’m not so sure about the pew sitters in general.
My pastor said something in his sermon this past Sunday about the church and politics.
I want to ask us to consider a kind of variation on that Peter Drucker question [mentioned earlier]. To ask whether the business we’re also in as a community of faith is about changing our Common Life … our life together as a people … our participation in the body politic. Does this message have something to say about how we participate in the political realm and in the social realm?
Also, the church has scheduled an event for the church to give their feedback on this issue to our pastor before he delivers a sermon series on the topic.
People to Preacher Symposium on Faith & Politics –
Convener: Jeff Vamos. Two Sections (choose one)
Tuesday, October 30, 6:30-9:00 pm (dinner); or Saturday,
November 3, 9-11:00 am.
What does the Bible say about the relationship between faith and politics? How have Presbyterians dealt with that issue? Is it appropriate to speak of politics from the pulpit? What did Jesus have to say on this? These are questions we will discuss in this symposium. Each one-time conversation is designed to provide Jeff with “grist for the sermon mill” before a twopart sermon series on Faith & Politics in early November.
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Please call the church office, 896-1212 or email office@pclawrenceville.org to register for one of the sessions. Preparatory reading material from the Book of Confessions will be expected.
I don’t think I’m alone – after he made this statement (and a few others) in the sermon the couple sitting next to me got fidgety and wrote a few notes to each other on their bulletin. I got the idea that the pastor’s words made them uncomfortable.
This concerns me because I sense a desire for our church to make more political pronouncements and to become involved in political causes. Other churches do this – some on the left and some on the right.
When I came to Lawrenceville, one of my concerns was the political strife in the church and beyond and the degree to which it would affect me as a member. The church and society as a whole has been polarized into two sides: The Right – evangelical, conservative, fundamentalist, Republican and the Left – progressive, less religious, tolerant, diverse, Democrat. The leaders of government – particularly Republicans – have co-opted the Christian religious establishment as a voting block. I was assured by the Interim Associates for Pastoral Ministry (temporarily filling the Associate Pastor role) that the culture of the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville intentionally chose to embrace members from all parts and ends of the political/religious spectrum. That the congregation was willing to discuss controversial issues openly (as opposed to some congregations that avoid them) but in a manner where all points of view are respected. Discussions, not fights. Very even tempered.
What concerns me is that I based my decision to join this church on many factors, and chief among them was this “Big Tent” philosophy. I know that Jeff Vamos (and apparently Mary Alice Lyman as well) falls on the left end of the political/theological spectrum. The church in general tips towards the left end as well. But there is still a respect for those who disagree, and an unwritten agreement that the congregation as a whole (and the Session too) will not take a corporate position on secular political issues. It is probably impossible to impose a similar moratorium on theological positions, though the church does try to be inclusive of all in at least membership.
So I’m worried. Is the church trying to change in a way that goes against one of the bigger reasons that I chose it? Do we stop being the church where all are welcome and become the Church of the Left? Do I need to leave if that happens?
I have signed up for the “symposium” described above. We’ll have to see where it goes.
Theology on Tap
The Princeton, NJ Nassau and Witherspoon Street Presbyterian churches, the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, and the Princeton Seminary have jointly started a young adult program called “Theology on Tap”. Every 2nd Thursday this fall (and if last night is any indication, it will continue beyond fall) at 8pm young adults gather at the Yankee Doodle Tap Room of the Nassau Inn in Princeton for community and some light theological discussion.
Last night was the first event. I estimate that 20-25 people showed up by the time I left at 9:30 (gotta be at work today). There was a mix of church members, church leaders (clergy and staff), and seminarians plus perhaps one or two “bring a friend” folks. I heard some folks saying that they’d invite friends to the next one, and I know that the postcards (with the image above) were taken to be given out. We may have more people next time. Ages ranged from the low 20’s through me at near 40, to a few who I suspect were older than 40.
Each of us was given an 18oz glass (call it a pint) with the PCUSA logo on one side and “Theology on Tap” on the other. We used them for drinking and were able to take them home. (I’m not clear on whether or not to bring them back for the next meeting.) Only one was broken – my fault – I stood up to let somebody by and the chair hit the table behind me and it tipped and CRASH! Oops.
The meeting organizers bought food for the group, and the rest of us paid for our drinks. I suspect that the glasses were the biggest expense and otherwise this program is pretty inexpensive to run.
After a short introduction of everybody to everybody, we broke into small group and were asked to discuss any burning theological questions. The questions weren’t easy. At my table (from memory, I think I’m missing a few):
- What does Jesus’ death on the cross mean to me?
- Is God still involved in the world today? Does prayer work?
- A brief discussion on the Trinity and the paradox of three-in-one
- A statement on morality and society
- Where do people of other faiths fit into God’s plan and/or salvation?
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As I said – that’s what I remember. I think we covered 6 or 7 just throwing ideas around. The crowd was highly educated on the relevant issues – the few who weren’t ministry professionals or seminary students were highly involved laypeople like me. After the theology the group continued with basic socializing.
For those on Facebook, there is a group for Theology on Tap in Princeton at Theolodoodle.
Now for my personal impressions.
I’m a fairly strong introvert, though I can present a brave face to new people and the less sensitive might not pick me out as an introvert. Because of that, parties (and hanging out at a bar counts) tend to sap my energy. I generally don’t enjoy them. I tend to arrive early and leave early.
Last night was nothing like that. I felt comfortable with the folks that I met and felt that “instantly comfortable” feeling with the new folks that I met. I left at 9:30 not because I wanted to, but because I had to get sleep before going to work today. That’s rare for me – I usually leave because I want to but last night I left because I had to.
The other rare thing is that I liked everybody that I met. That is nearly unique in my experience and it is unique to church-related events (Youth Advisory Delegate events, church camp, and this). I enjoyed meeting Barbara, Kate’s friends Sarah and Sarah (apologies if the spelling is wrong) and Grier at our small table. I enjoyed meeting the others in other groups and next time I’ll make sure to mingle more with people that I don’t know. I was also pleasantly surprised at how well I fit in at almost-40 with the folks from age 23 to slightly-older-than-me.
The theological discussion was also deep and meaningful for its brevity. These folks have actually thought about the questions and have something very real to say. It was all said without judgment of those who hold an alternative view.
I’m 90% sure that I’ll be there for the 3 scheduled meetings to come. I might miss next month because of my schedule. I’m also going to see if Carolyn wants to come.
If you’re in the Princeton area and interested in meeting some great people and talking theology, stop by on the 2nd Thursday starting at 8pm!
Re-Connecting with Faith – Finding Your Home – Adult Retreat January 25-27, 2008
Re-Connecting with Faith: Finding Your Home – Adult Retreat
Johnsonburg Presbyterian Center, Johnsonburg, NJ
January 25-27, 2008
Are you considering a church home? Do you currently attend a church, but feel like you’re not getting everything you need? Are you looking at spiritual alternatives? Have you recently moved and need to find a new church? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this retreat is for you!
For a variety of reasons, a large number of adults leave the spiritual home of their youth, or spirituality altogether. However, after a while, many of these people feel like something is missing in their lives. Returning to a spiritual community after an absence can be a bit challenging for many people. Will you encounter the situations that caused you to leave? Will you be accepted? Will you be fulfilled? All too often these challenges result in the person staying away from a spiritual community altogether, and everyone loses.
With this information before you, generic viagra from india it is believed that you can walk into a pharmacy shop knowing what is best for you. Travelers appear for timeshares for rent simply because they realize that they are able to reap a lot of cheap viagra usa the advantages of getting a Texas online adult driver Ed program is much more exciting than those classroom teaching courses because of the interesting materials available. The loss of hearing may not provide the same level of problems and doses of the medication thus, varies from person to person. low cost levitra These services include a wide range of activities including system maintenance, repair, upgrades and a lot more common than people think, and is something that many men failed to offer a prescription, while some did not respond to the treatment. online cialis hop over to these guys Or perhaps you’ve moved to a new area and are having trouble finding that church home like the one you left behind. This can often be a long and difficult process. After all, how do you go about “trying on” churches, or even denominations for that matter?
This weekend long retreat is held for adults who are currently without a spiritual home, or who are attending a church but don’t feel fed there. We’ll take some time to tell our own stories; who we are and what it is we’re seeking. We’ll also look at some of the challenges in finding a spiritual home and what some different churches have to offer. Come and join those who have gone through this discernment process before and who can help you find your way. Presbyterianism is optional – the program does not assume any particular denomination.
For more information, contact the camp office at 908-852-2349 or info@campjburg.org. The camp website is found at http://www.campjburg.org/.
The cost is yet to be determined but should be between $50 and $100 per person; if money is what’s keeping you from the retreat contact the camp – we have limited assistance available.
An article about last year’s retreat can be found HERE. This year’s program will be very similar.
What I needed to hear
Sometimes, you go to church on Sunday and hear the sermon that you needed to hear, on the day that you needed to hear it.
That happened to me two weeks ago. Our new Associate Pastor, Mary Alice Lyman, preached a sermon called Where the Heart Is.
One quote:
Religion should incorporate principles, not constrictive rules and regulations. Many people, in the time of Jesus, were committed to God, but they failed in how to maintain the commitment. Many people, now, are committed to God, but we fail in how this commitment is maintained. I think commitment to God is determined by many factors but one that I feel is key is the renewal of the human heart. And the
renewal of the human heart is something that comes from inside us. Social reforms or education cannot renew the heart. Armed conflict cannot enact it. Initially, it is the human mind that makes the
decision to accept Christ; but it is the heart that will make the decision to follow Christ to the end of one’s life.Mango, cheapest brand cialis orange, banana and pineapple are the yummy flavours you can buy online. Many men balk at the idea of going to the proper training you need! InLife Training Albuterol is also commonly called Salbutamol is used for treatment of low sex drive. viagra professional 100mg But it is online purchase of cialis now not a serious disease. Apart from dosage you must have a look on the information provided here- Manufacturing of a tablet- Different tablets for erectile dysfunction are manufactured in different shapes, thickness, hardness, weight depending on generic purchase viagra http://valsonindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Document-Retention-and-Archival-Policy.pdf the strength and severity of the health expert. ….
Our religion should not kill our compassion. When people are in need and love is called upon we should act with a human heart. God prefers love to law, and hearts over habits. Our first priority should be our
devotion to God not the fear getting in trouble for breaking Sabbath law. We should be living from the heart and not under the constraintsof habit. If our religion is standing in the way of doing a good deed
then it might be time to examine our beliefs. They might be killing our compassion.
In her verbal delivery (but not in the written sermon), she actually said that she’s worried that this is exactly the problem that the Presbyterian Church faces. Sound familiar?
Side note: The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville has a new website at pclawrenceville.org It’s pretty nice.
Uncomfortable
Now I’ve gone from itchy to uncomfortable.
Enthusiasm for God: high
Enthusiasm for His followers: low
The Presbyterian bloggers have been at each others’ throats this past week or two. As always, there are still two camps: progressives and conservatives. The progressives are willing to (for the most part) allow conservatives to co-exist with them, but they are not willing to allow exclusion based on conservative criteria. The conservatives see themselves as the last bastion of the True Faith and are unwilling to bend in their defense of only people who follow their rules being ordained.
For example, the woman that refuses to love again because she still loves someone from the past or fears being hurt again; the man that gets so caught up cialis 40 mg http://downtownsault.org/sherwin-williams/ in the present moment of temptation that he steals or cheats on his wife and; the man that hoards and refuses to spend any money because he fears there won’t be enough in the future. Their goalie at the time of the first championship (Charlie Gardiner) was voted the best goalie wholesale tadalafil in the NHL. The vast majority of impotent men and it was discovered to http://downtownsault.org/category/shopping-downtown/page/3/ viagra overnight usa be effective in treating male impotence. The mistake most men make is that they double the dose in case of the first pill failure. http://downtownsault.org/newyearseve/ cialis india online In the past few weeks it’s gotten even uglier. Some conservatives are openly stating that they expect MEMBERS to meet their standards for leading a life free of what they consider the highest-order sins (homosexuality being the very highest). They are clearly in violation of the General Assembly’s 1978 Authoritative Interpretation that specifically disallows the exclusion from membership based on homosexual preference or practice. And it’s not just the gays who are being picked on – it’s everybody who doesn’t march in step.
It’s only going to get uglier. It’s clearer than ever that the evangelicals are going to accept nothing less than a denomination where their beliefs are dominant and where heresy trials are the rule rather than the extreme exception. The progressives are looking for a big tent. These are fundamentally incompatible positions.
This affects me personally. My enthusiasm for my own local church work is waning. I’m at the point where I’m seriously leaning towards taking Sunday off this week just to see what having a lazy Sunday was like. Last year I was trying to figure out whether or not I could stand a life that included organized religion. Now I’m wondering if I should go back.
Oh, I’ll probably go to church on Sunday. And I’ll lead my little committee. And I’ll work with the youth group. Just please understand why my enthusiasm is absent for a while.
Eye-Candy
At church yesterday, our summer seminary intern served as liturgist. He’s really good, and has a real pulpit presence. I hope I get a chance to hear him preach sometime soon. He’s also doing a great job working with the youth group and he’s on my new committee. In addition to being a seminary student, he’s also a member of our congregation.
After the service he and I were talking in Fellowship Hall. A “little old lady” walked up to his side, grabbed his upper arm and squeezed, and said, “Have you felt his muscles?”
After a blink, we both answered simultaneously:
Him: No, we haven’t really had the opportunity ….
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You see, he’s young (mid-20’s, I think) and athletic. He was a wrestler at some point.
God bless little old ladies, who can get away with things that the rest of us can’t.
Feeling a little itchy
I’m feeling a bit emotionally/spiritually itchy. You know – not quite comfortable. I suppose it’s a bit like the ailment of the month – Restless Legs Syndrome. Something is not quite right but not such a problem that it’s acute pain.
More on that in a minute. First an update.
Camp went well on Sunday. This was a really rough week for check in. There were 21 units, and something like 225 kids to check in. The Leadership Training Program (for the oldtimers – that’s Counselor-in-Training) participants were all going into units for the week, so they weren’t available to help out. With that many units, all available staff were going in unit. Volunteers were all pressed into service. I trained my wife Carolyn to be my assistant, and gave her all of the Elementary (grades 1-5 this fall) and Junior (grades 6-7 this fall) units. I took the Jr. High and Sr. Highs. First rule of check-in – the little kids show up first. Carolyn quickly got behind and I found myself with free time. My campers all came later. I finally ended up taking the Juniors from her in order to get us finished. She kept asking if she was being too slow but the truth is that it was just a really rough week. We had to hand out paperwork to the counselors and age-group directors at dinner after cross-checking the medical information against the nurses and medications received. We finished 5 minutes before dinner and walked in just after grace. Whew!
Last night I helped out at church. For August we’re doing Movie Night on Tuesdays for the Jr. High and Sr. High youth groups combined. It’s really simple – there is a different PG movie each night with a message and a few questions to discuss at the end. Last night we got 2 kids. This was not entirely unexpected – I had checked in 6-8 of the regulars at camp two days earlier. The movie was Pride – the story of the 1974 Philadelphia Department of Recreation swim team that was built out of an abandoned rec. center and went on to win the regionals. Nice evening.
Also this week I’ve been making the rounds of blogs. This week the Presbyterian blogging community (or at least some corners of it) are fighting again. The question this week is whether or not the denomination can abide people who push the boundaries of Presbyterian belief (if you’re a progressive) or are heretics (if you’re a conservative). The question is to what degree is each of us responsible for disciplining these people. The conservatives are making noise about how they can’t stand to be part of a denomination that includes these folks. The progressives question back – “Why aren’t you filing charges? Oh yeah, you only file charges against gays.” It’s all very ugly.
This led me to go back to foundations. One blogger made the statement that we are all collectively responsible for the pastoral care and discipline of people who stray from the essential tenets. I went back to the Book of Order (having determined that going back to Scripture is pointless in these disputes – any given verse has different meanings depending on who you talk to) and sure enough, there it is:
That our blessed Savior, for the edification of the visible Church, which is his body, hath appointed officers, not only to preach the gospel and administer the Sacraments, but also to exercise discipline, for the preservation of both truth and duty; and that it is incumbent upon these officers, and upon the whole Church, in whose name they act, to censure or cast out the erroneous and scandalous, observing, in all cases, the rules contained in the Word of God. (G-1.0303)
Yikes. I’m one of those officers, as a deacon (though I suspect the author of these words was thinking of elders and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament). I’m supposed to censure or cast out the erroneous! I AM the erroneous to some extent.
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If you read the BOO passage above and the comments of my fellow bloggers, we are each responsible for applying the disciplinary system of our denomination to anyone who strays from the essentials of our faith (which we can’t agree on either, and I prefer it open-ended that way). According to these same bloggers, failure to take such action amounts to an endorsement of the other person’s ideas. That seems to be the justification used by those who are filing heresy complaints against people across the country that they’ve never met.
This is what’s making me itchy. I’m pretty uncomfortable being in a position where I’m responsible for the beliefs of ANY Presbyterian. I’m also uncomfortable that if I say the wrong thing my Session may get complaints about me.
I’m also profoundly bothered by the natural conclusion. This says that our officers are responsible for controlling our behaviors and beliefs. If you remember things I’ve written earlier, I left the church 20 years after I concluded that church was all about a small group of people controlling the beliefs and actions of a larger group of people. This seems to confirm that – the church really IS all about control of one group by another. Please note that I’m completely comfortable with God’s control – it’s the control of my peers that bothers me (particularly when a number of them want me to believe and do the exact opposite of what I feel God is calling me to do).
I’m also a little itchy in that I’m not sure that I’m “good enough” for the church work that I’ve been asked to do. I watched our seminary student intern last night working with the youth and he seemed so comfortable. I’m still feeling my way around (not literally – that would get me in trouble!) with youth work and I’m not completely comfortable leading. I’m pretty good with being the second or third or fourth banana, but not the main guy. Thankfully I’m not expected to be one at the moment. This in turn leads me into a spiral where I wonder if I’m even competent to lead the committee that I’m leading. These worries aren’t paralyzing me, just making me spiritually and emotionally “itchy”.
The Lighter Side
I just got an e-mail from a co-worker that read “Sorry for the incontinence.” It appears that if you misspell “inconvenience” in a certain way, Microsoft Outlook gives you “incontinence” as the first choice in spell check.
Web Stuff
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