Vacation and topics
I will be on vacation next week.
This is not a “go somewhere and see the sights” vacation. My wife and I (and my entire family for that matter) tend to plan to do too much on a “go someplace” vacation. What I NEED right now is to relax – to plan one activity at day at most and sleep until my body says it’s had enough sleep.
But who are we kidding – I’ll be doing some stuff.
Monday I plan to go to Camp Johnsonburg and help out replacing light ballasts and fixtures to complete their conversion to lower energy lighting. They have to have it done by the end of the month to get the grant from the local utility and they still have a ways to go.
Later in the week I plan to go flying again, since my blood pressure is under control again and I can.
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On Sunday, my church is holding a choir concert featuring works inspired by the Song of Solomon. THAT should be interesting.
I know that I owe you a few posts. One on Youth Sunday – if you can’t wait until I get that written you can go here to see pictures, or here to listen to the sermons (April 22, 2007). I also owe you a post on the opera Rigoletto by the Boheme Opera company in Trenton – that’ll get done soon.
I also want to write something about the loss of church members when they graduate from high school and drop out of church during or after college. It hasn’t gelled yet, so I’ll be writing that when the spirit strikes.
I’ll be back at work on the 14th.
New Members in Mission
Quotidian Grace writes about her recent experience attending a new member’s class at another church. (I’m not entirely clear on whether she is changing churches or just sitting in – she’s the moderator-elect of her presbytery.)
The really interesting part of her experience is the Saturday “workday” that they did. The new members were taken to one of the church’s outreach agencies to work for a 1/2 day. They did the usual mission work – packing sack lunches, working in the Thrift Shop. At the end of the day they heard about other mission opportunities (and learned even more in the regular Sunday session the next day).
The group even made sure that they were thanked and given pictures (electronically) of them working.
Old men are encouraged cialis sales uk to take the medicine. It allows users to and the experts generic for cialis to regain the sexual endurance. Whatever may be the cause for amerikabulteni.com discount levitra ED, it is now easily obtainable through internet-based pharmacies. Not only Kamagra Oral jelly, these companies supply Indian viagra sample that are available to ensure the protected and safe way to manufacture the medicine for ED treatment. This is a great idea. At Camp Johnsonburg, the campers do a small project to help out the camp every week (it could be as simple as looking for trash on the meadow). The camp Leadership Training Program (formerly Counselor-in-Training) senior high’s do a big project for the camp – usually building or creating something (the camp’s labyrinth is a good example).
We got an overview of mission opportunities at the Lawrenceville church new member class. We even got to see most of the internal ones just before the classes started at the annual stewardship fair (and the new class just got to see the external ones yesterday at the annual mission fair). But we didn’t actually roll up our sleeves and do something. The new member class was a nice way to get slightly acquainted with some of the other new members, but I would have really liked the chance to get to know people in the way that only happens when you work on something together.
Kudos to the Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston!
Back to the Future
This weekend, I go Back to the Future – reliving part of my life. How? I’m helping out with Sr. High Youth Group at church.
Back in my youth (as I’ve said before many times), I was heavily involved in church. Part of that included being probably the most regular member of the Sr. High youth group. My freshman year, I was probably the only one who wasn’t a junior or senior in the group – we didn’t have an Associate Pastor at the time so some of the more recent young adults were running the group. I think we had maybe 4 or 5 people. As I got older, we got a great Associate Pastor who had youth ministry as one of his specialties. We then grew to a solid 8 to 10 by the time I graduated (this in a church that drew about 200 attendees at Sunday services). I enjoyed going every Sunday evening. My parents had it easy – the Associate Pastor’s manse was around the corner from our house so I always had a ride to and from church (or actually to church and from Friendly’s after youth group).
My youth group involvement grew into becoming a deacon, attending the Presbyterian Youth Triennium in 1986, and being a Youth Advisory Delegate to the Synod. One of the most fun weeks of my life happened when I was working at Camp Johnsonburg as a CIT. One summer, I got to be the 3rd counselor in a work camp unit, with my Associate Pastor as a co-counselor and kids from my youth group in the unit. Helping to serve communion (deacons were allowed to do that back then) at Triennium and at work camp were very meaningful for me. This left me sufficient engaged with the church that I headed to college planning to make either religion or computer science my major (with the other my minor).
Then some stuff happened that I’ve written about before and I left the church. However, it was my ties to youth group experiences – particularly camp – that drew me back almost 20 years later.
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So …. this weekend I’ll be volunteering with the CHAOS (Christians Hanging Around On Sundays) Senior High youth group at Lawrenceville Presbyterian Church. Alicia from my church, camp, and who worked with me leading the Reconnecting with Faith retreat (she’s the redhead at the left end of the group photo below) talked to me about getting more involved at church and suggested helping out with this group.
I admit to some fears. While I used to work with youth once upon a time, at the time I more or less WAS a youth. It’s been 20 years, and my youth relational skills are gonna be very rusty. I don’t have any reason to have contact with kids of any age on a regular basis. (I know, be yourself and the kids will respond.) The good news is that the other youth advisors that I know are great people, and I’m sure somebody will be able to backstop me if I falter.
Wish me luck! If it works out, you may see more posts here about this group. If not, well, you’ll probably see an “it didn’t work out” post and that’ll be that.
Reconnecting with Faith – Finding Your Home retreat 2007 – How’d it go?
The Reconnecting with Faith – Finding Your Home retreat was a big success this past weekend at Camp Johnsonburg!
We had 10 paying participants, plus 4 staff (and a few other camp folks floating in and out during the weekend). The participants were a very diverse group in several dimensions. We had people from age 20-something to age “I don’t want to guess and be wrong”. We had people in churches, people not in churches, and people looking at alternatives to Christianity. We had some racial diversity. We had theological diversity in that we had folks all along the spectrum from conservative to progressive. Most of us came from a Presbyterian (PCUSA) background, and there were a few Catholics in the group. We had 3 couples, a few singles, and a few married folks whose spouses didn’t attend.
The weather was a bit cold (particularly Friday, though it wasn’t the 4-degree F cold that the camp folks had to put up with before we arrived Friday morning). There was just the right amount of snow on the ground; we got a little each night – just enough to cover the ground but not enough to slow us down. The lake was frozen over except for an oval about 1/3 of the size of the lake. The geese and swans were camped out on the frozen part.
We began the weekend by doing some get-to-know-you games Friday evening, followed by some fellowship and food time. We also outlined the Johnsonburg standard core values of “No Discount” (of yourself or others), “Challenge by Choice” and Permission-Giving. Because some of the participants knew each other outside of the retreat and the knowledge that someone might want to leave their church could be dangerous in the wrong hands, we added a new rule – “What happens at Johnsonburg stays at Johnsonburg”.
Saturday morning, we had a very emotional and uplifting session where each group member was able to tell the story of their faith journey. These stories brought the group even closer together and allowed each to unburden themselves of the reasons that they might be looking to join a church or switch churches or leave the church. A participant said it best: “Mark and I can’t really do justice to the beauty of the stories that were told at the retreat this weekend.”
Saturday afternoon we did some brainstorming: what people wanted in a faith community, what people were looking to avoid in a faith community, and what stumbling blocks were keeping them from making progress in discerning whether or not to join a faith community and if so, which. This session provided some good ideas for each person when they are considering a new faith community.
Saturday afternoon we had some free time. Some of us took a 4-mile hike along the Yellow and Red Trails, while others connected with each other, relaxed, or even napped. The camp canteen was open for a while so that folks could purchase a souvenir of their retreat experience.
Saturday evening, we completed the afternoon activity by brainstorming ideas on how to look for a new church. Use of the Internet, friends, neighbors, coworkers, church visits, church staff and other resources were highlighted. Those who had taken this route before were able to add their own experience to the bounty of ideas.
We then experienced a fascinating lecture – Spirituality 101. In 90 minutes, our retreat’s minister leader went through the breadth of spiritual options in the world, along with the options within Christianity and the historical reasons for the number of denominations that we have. It was amazing – I’ve had full semester religion classes that contained less information than this presentation.
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Later Saturday evening we had food and fellowship again, with S’mores and Banana Boats cooked on the fireplace in the dining hall.
Sunday morning after breakfast (including a wonderful body prayer for grace) we began with Quiet Time. A number of the group ventured out into the cold to walk the camp’s outdoor labyrinth in the quiet stillness of the sunny winter morning.
We followed that with a worship service planned by the retreat participants WITHOUT the aid of the religious professionals. The service was very camp-like and yet still had all of the reverence of a church service.
After worship we concluded with evaluations, lunch, and an invitation to enjoy the camp facilities for the rest of the day.
For this retreat, the people ARE the program. I’d like to thank the folks pictured above for their wonderful contributions. I’d also like to thank all of them for the mutual respect that we all felt – in this era of Christians tearing each other apart we were able to assemble a group from all parts of the spectrum who worked together to help each other while respecting the conscience of each of us.
I’d also like to thank the Johnsonburg staff who helped plan/staff/support the retreat – including Lorelei, Kurt, Alicia, Harry, Josh, Shelly, and everybody else. Additionally, I’d like to thank Dave Myers, who served as our minister-in-residence and all-around expert on things religious.
Based on feedback received, there’s a pretty good chance that we’ll try to do this retreat again. Watch this space or the camp website sometime this fall for more information. As I’ve stated before, any suggestions on how to advertise this retreat to the target audience (particularly those NOT in a church at the moment) would be appreciated.
If you have any questions about this retreat, please feel free to contact Lorelei at the camp or me.
Off for the Weekend
Carolyn and I will be headed up to Camp Johnsonburg for the weekend for the 2nd Reconnecting with Faith – Finding Your Home retreat (which I’ve written about here and here).
We’ve got a good group – about an even split between last year’s group coming back for followup and new folks (including a few new to the camp). Carolyn and I are going up early Friday afternoon to meet with the camp folks and finish the planning, and then the rest of the crowd arrives in the evening. It’ll be COLD (a high of 17F is predicted Friday at camp), but the group will be warm.
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See you next week!
Reconnecting with Faith retreat update
We’ve finally determined the cost for the Reconnecting with Faith – Finding Your Home retreat January 26-28, 2007.
The cost will be $45 per person. However, we are determined The signs and symptoms of anemia levitra cost include pale skin, low red blood cell counts, low oxygen saturation, low energy, and constant fatigue. This order sildenafil drug takes 30-45 minutes in producing results. User can feel the sensation within an hour of copulation as it stars working viagra prescription in an hour. Individuals use ginkgo generic levitra online look what i found biloba for several factors. that money will not keep anyone away from the retreat. If money is an issue contact the camp – we have financial assistance available for those who need it.
Getting Involved at church
This week I have a homework assignment from New Member Class. I have to check off a list of activities that the church does that interest me. I also need to answer two questions: What do I expect to get out of Lawrenceville Presbyterian, and what do I expect to give to Lawrenceville Presbyterian?
I’m a rather strong introvert. It’s not always easy to detect – I tend to speak of myself as a “loud introvert”, someone who can keep up a facade that makes me appear more outgoing. As you may or may not know, introverts draw their energy from a different type of activity than extroverts (aside from eating and sleeping, of course). Extroverts go into social situations and actually draw energy from the room. Introverts on the other hand need solitude or a small group of close friends to create energy. Introverts can actually feel the energy draining from them in a large social setting like a party. Extroverts may go home charged up – introverts tend to go home exhausted. This is a big generalization, but still true.
So how does this relate to new church members (and me in particular)? I speak from my own experience.
I have to work hard to feel comfortable in a setting like the usual Fellowship Hour after church. I’m fairly comfortable in church – I’m there as part of a mostly anonymous crowd and only interact personally with those sitting around me, and even then only for the passing of the peace. But put me in a room and I’m lost. I end up a single individual wandering around the room without talking to someone, or even standing on the side. I will talk to those that I know, but I’m fairly unlikely to walk up to someone and introduce myself.
On the other hand, in a known group and particularly a small group, I’m fairly comfortable. On a committee, in a small study group, as part of a team – I’m comfortable. I know my place. It’s even more comfortable when I’m part of a group working towards a goal – putting together a special service, running a youth activity, serving on a committee, or even just bean-counting. In fact, that’s the best way for me to meet people – to work with them towards a common goal.
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So the hard part is getting that bootstrap job in an organization. I feel like I need to be invited to participate in that first activity, and if it’s not joining an organized group but is more like an open activity I need to be dragged along. Once I’ve done something with people, I will know them and be more open to fully voluntary participation in the next thing. It’s just getting into that first thing that’s so hard.
The one exception to this rule is Camp Johnsonburg. This camp is the one place on the planet (no hyperbole here) where I have felt totally accepted for being authentically ME outside of my marriage. Camp Johnsonburg works hard to create that acceptance and even celebration of each of us – it’s probably the 2nd or 3rd core value of the camp. I go there, smell the unique combination of plants in the air, and feel at home immediately. The tension in my body drops dramatically nearly instantly. I am ME, and people like me for being me. There’s nothing more powerful than hearing “We’re glad that you came” and knowing that they really meant it. That they didn’t mean “We’re glad that you brought your money” or “We’re glad that you brought your skills” or even “We’re glad that you added one to the headcount”. We’re glad that you came – that you are who you are and that you are sharing it with us. That’s powerful. That’s a core of my theology – that all people are good to God to some degree or in some way unique to them.
As I re-read what I wrote above, I realize that camp isn’t really the only such time. There have been a few more. Serving as a YAD to Synod was like that. More recently, meeting with Jill, Nolan and Rick about Lawrenceville Presbyterian was like that – I felt at ease in the first few minutes. It might not have been on my checklist, but it was a huge factor in choosing a church.
So what does this mean when joining a church? I need to be pulled in. Please pull me in. You won’t be disappointed. I know that I have skills that can be put to good use, and I’ll give you a list on that piece of paper you asked me to fill out. I just need a little tug to get out of my shell.
Reconnecting with Faith: Finding Your Home Retreat – January 26-28, 2007
Re-Connecting with Faith: Finding Your Home – Adult Retreat
Johnsonburg Presbyterian Center, Johnsonburg, NJ
January 26-28, 2007
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.
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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.
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 will be $45 per person, but if money is what’s keeping you from the retreat contact the camp – we have limited assistance available.
Reconnecting with Faith – Finding Your Home
I’ve written previously about my journey back to the church. One important part of that was the Reconnecting with Faith – Finding Your Home retreat held at Camp Johnsonburg last January. Today I’ll write about that retreat and ask your help.
The retreat ran Friday evening (about 8pm) until Sunday morning before lunch (about 11am). The retreaters were housed at the camp’s lodges, which thankfully are heated in the winter (and fairly comfy). Meals were held at the dining hall, though we had tons of munchies in the lodges. Most of the retreat participants were couples, and the camp managed to provide each couple with a private room (2 people in a room that sleeps 3-4).
The retreat followed all of the Johnsonburg standard values – challenge by choice, no discounting others, be yourself.
The program elements were (in rough order, from my memory):
- Introduction Games
- Informal Chat and Food until bedtime Friday
- After breakfast, Tell Your Story (only if you want to)
- Presbyterian 101 (an hour explaining Presbyterian faith and the history of the church)
- Lunch
- Small Group Breakout and results – What You Want in a Church
- Suggestions for How to Find a Congregation
- Free Time (camp trails, etc. available)
- Dinner
- Candlelight Labyrinth in the gym
- Where Are We session (to talk about where we are, suggest where to go from here)
- Voluntary worship planning (by participants, with staff assistance if needed) and hangout until bedtime
- After breakfast, free time or outdoor labyrinth
- Worship
- Closing, evaluations, and long goodbyes with lots of hugs
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By far, the most emotional and valuable time was the Tell Your Story time. Each person (including the staff and some staff spouses) spent some time telling their faith journey story – highs and lows. Some stories were pretty straightforward – others were tear-filled stories of pain. All showed unexpected depth in each person (including my wife – I learned things I hadn’t learned in the almost 20 years we’ve known each other).
Of the original group (and not counting the staff), only one person was attending church regularly before this retreat. At this point 9 months later, about 40% of the group are attending church regularly (that I know of – it could be higher). Others are seeking a different outlet for their spiritual lives; some are looking at home churches and others are exploring the breadth of spiritual expression beyond Christianity.
So why do I need your help?
This original group was selected from former camp summer staff. This was both accidental and intentional – the original impetus for the group came from an online community of former camp summer staff, and the camp intentionally wanted to try the program out with people that they knew would be able to evaluate the program at the same time as attending it. Those former camp summer staff were all formerly-churched people who were Presbyterian (surprise, it’s a Presbyterian camp!) who mostly brought along their spouses. None of the spouses came from a Presbyterian background.
We are getting ready to plan for the next group to go through the program. I’m on staff for this one, and it will be held in January 2007. We are seriously considering having the original group come back for a followup retreat at the same time, and having a few activities be joint activities. I believe that the plan for this one is to open it up beyond the former staff community to include anyone. The target audience is any adult (though I don’t think we’d turn away an older high school student or college student) who may be considering joining a church, used to belong to a church, or has questions about whether Christianity or specifically the Presbyterian Church (USA) is right for them. We encourage people to bring their spouses or significant others.
What you can help me with is this: What do you think the unchurched or formerly churched are looking for from a program like this? Are there topics that you don’t see covered in the list above? Is there something in that list that you would eliminate? How do we reach the unchurched or formerly churched – how do we find people who want to look at joining a church?
The first planning meeting will be this coming Saturday so any comments received by then would be helpful. However, ideas are always welcome and can be incorporated all the way up to the day the retreat begins.
Please leave your comments or suggestions in Comments here, or send them via e-mail to me (see the link at left). If for some reason comments aren’t working for you, please let me know that too – I’ve been having trouble.
Thank you.
Church – a new chapter
This blog has been dead for some time. Mainly, that was due to a lack of interest in blogging, and too much to do otherwise. However, I have something new to talk about and I’ll do that here.
First, a little history.
When I was in high school, I was pretty religious. I was a member of a Presbyterian PC(USA) church in Northern NJ. When I was a high school junior, I was ordained as a deacon in that church. That same year, I was a YAD (Youth Advisory Delegate) to the Synod of the Northeast meeting. I then became the youth member of Synod Mission Council and the Synod Nominating Committee. At the same time, I was involved in Camp Johnsonburg as a camper, CIT (Counselor in Training) and a full-time counselor. I also went to the Youth Triennium during those years.
Right about the same time, I went to college at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ (the state U of NJ). I started taking religion classes and computer science classes, intending one to be my major and the other to be my minor. I was thinking that seminary could be in my future.
Then, a few things happened. On campus, I got hooked up with an extremely conservative chapter (“you can’t be friends with Jews unless you’re trying to convert them”) of a conservative Christian campus organization. That only lasted two months, ending after a cult-like weekend retreat. After that, I experienced some disturbing events at Synod-level meetings involving racism and politicking in a church organization. (NOTE: I will not be going into those farther here.)
All of that led me to believe that church was a place where a small number of people in power used the structure to control the behavior of a large number of people. This control was not particularly Godly, but rather of human origin with the accompanying pettiness.
I had already resigned my post as a deacon because of distance issues at college (it’s hard to serve at a worship service 50 miles away when you don’t have a car). I resigned my Synod posts and essentially left the church. I filled out my religion minor with eastern religion classes.
About a year later, I ran into an officer of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns (now part of More Light Presbyterians). They were looking for someone to serve as their liaison to Presbynet (a part of Ecunet – a discussion network for church issues). I agreed with their cause, and began helping them for about 5-6 years as a supportive straight person. This ended when again I ran into human politics and found myself being called homophobic due to my support of one strategy over another. I turned my responsibilities over to another and left that service. Thus ended my church career.
Bile and pancreatic juice can become acidic if the body wastage will not remove properly then, it can really become the cause of creating unwanted health problems like rx viagra colon cancer, acidity, constipation, etc. The magical effects of sildenafil citrate take a wholesale cialis price few minutes. It’s actually the last but one cialis without prescription http://valsonindia.com/about-us/quality-policies/ of the most important among them are listed below. * Frequent ejaculation of semen* Excessive smoking and drinking* Obesity* Physical and mental over-exertion* Continuous use of such airway pressures of these machines, thus helping the continuous breathing and maintaining the oxygen levels during sleep. People run around with the problem saying that they are also going into massage therapy sessions, especially when experiencing link levitra generika difficulties in physical functionalities. Fast forward about 10 years. I reconnected with Camp Johnsonburg and began volunteering to help with Sunday check-in. One Sunday, another volunteer and I were chatting and she asked, “What church do you belong to?” I had no answer. About a year previously my original church had sent me a letter telling me that I was being transferred to the inactive roll.
This started a spark in me. I discussed the issue with other camp staff alumni and found that many were in the same place – unsure of whether or not they belong in a church. The camp held a retreat last January called “Reconnecting with Faith – Finding Your Home” which covered issues of how to discern whether or not belonging to a church is right for you, and if so how to find the correct congregation. We also talked about related issues like Home Churches and spirituality that is not rooted in a church setting.
Taking ideas from the retreat and a few of my own, I began a process of determining simulateously: 1. Whether or not to join the PC(USA) again at this time, and 2. If so, which one?
The first question (whether or not to join the PC(USA) now) was and continues to be the harder one. The denomination is mirroring American society as a whole – it is dividing into increasingly separate camps based loosely along the conservative/liberal continuum. Denominational politics were fairly hostile (though still in order) through the General Assembly meeting in Birmingham, and have only gotten more hostile since (and less in order). All of this is a huge turn-off to a potential member – particularly to one who saw human politics overriding the message of Christ in the past. So far, I have decided that in a particular congregation, these issues are at least buffered and NOT the primary focus. So I’m willing to give it a try.
The second question was more fun to answer. I went through a process of attending local churches, interviewing members and staff, and reading anything I could find about them on the Internet. I ultimately found a church that reminds me very much of the church that I grew up in in many ways. That could be scary, but I’ve also done as much research as I can and I believe that this church is different from the church that I grew up in where it is important to me.
So, after attending on some Sundays, last week I signed up for New Member classes for the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville NJ. Those classes take place in late October and early November.
I plan to blog about the process of a former member again joining a Presbyterian church. I’ll also throw in amusing stories. I do not plan to be a blogger who hides his name or church in order to be able to talk about people anonymously. Because of that, I will probably avoid mentioning controversial issues or controversial people, unless I’m willing to make my views known publicly.
Wish me luck.
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