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!
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
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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.
Retreat update
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Annual Congregational Meeting
The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville held the Annual Congregational Meeting yesterday.
I won’t bother to comment on the many reports that were given. In general, the church is healthy.
The only slight negative in any report was that the Stewardship Campaign for last year didn’t reach it’s goals. Those goals were tough – a 10% increase in pledges and a 10% increase in total pledge amount. The committee achieved a 5% increase in total pledge amount with a decrease in pledges.
The Youth and Young Adult Ministry was by far the longest and most comprehensive report – covering 2.5 pages with 9 pt. type. I was mentioned as a youth leader several times – including being credited with being a “devoted” leader of the Jr. High group even though I attended only once.
The “Green Team” wasn’t mentioned except in passing as the sponsor of one adult education event.
The Stated Clerk’s Report rolled up the membership numbers for the year. We started the year with 867. There were 29 new members (13 by Profession/Reaffirmation of Faith, 14 by letter of transfer, and 2 restored to the roll). We lost 65 members – 6 by Letter of Transfer, 11 by Death, and 48 by Session Removals (making them inactive). If you take out the Inactives, we had a net gain of 12. We ended the year with 831. There were also 10 infant baptisms and one adult baptism.
The Sunday School and Youth programs total 256 youngsters.
Aside from one remark made by the pastor regarding inactive members (and which I’ve contacted him about via e-mail) there was nothing to be concerned about. All seems to be well.
But I’m concerned.
I believe that I am guilty of the sin of envy.
The Nominating Committee nominated 5 people to serve as elders, 8 people to serve as deacons, and one person to serve the remaining two years of a term as deacon. I was pleasantly surprised to see a youth nominated to fill that unexpired deacon term – Claire will do a great job and if I have her year in school correct she’ll be able to finish her term before going to college (which I unfortunately was unable to do so many years ago).
Three of the officers were members of the same New Members class as me. I was very surprised to see them nominated – I figured that nobody that new would even be considered (indeed – one of the pastoral associates said something to that effect to me). The man nominated to be an elder is actually a returning member (he moved away and then back). All three of them are devoted members and completely appropriate for the office.
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But a voice inside me asks “Why them and not me? Haven’t I worked hard enough?”
Another voice answers “Why does it matter? What do you want from the church?”
Yet another voice says “If you’re upset about this, you clearly aren’t worthy anyway.”
I do make a solid contribution to the youth ministry and feel appreciated there. I know that I made a good contribution to the Green Team and I have felt appreciation from some about that. I try to pitch in wherever I can.
I know that I make valued contributions at camp, and they are recognized. Camp feels like home – what I do there to help (while sometimes tiring) never feels like work.
Clearly the pastor sees a future contribution from me – it shows in his choice to ask me to lead the new task force. This is partially offset by the fact that it’s been over 2 months since I talked to him about the task force and it still isn’t populated yet. When last we spoke we had three members (out of a target of 8) and we had named another 8 members to ask. Our plan for meeting before the summer went out the window – we’ll now be lucky if we can start our task in September.
So what am I looking for anyway?
Clearly, any consideration of the church as a future full-time vocation has to go on the back burner.
I feel like I’m back at square one with my discernment process. Did I really join the church for the reasons that I thought I did? Am I being fed?
As I said last week, there is turbulence. Now it’s revealed to be inside my head.
In the mean time, I persevere. I’ll keep working on things as planned. I’ll still be at camp in about 2 weeks to help with check-in. I’ll still work on the task force when/if it gets going. I’ll still be working with the youth.
2007 All-Church Retreat
This past weekend, Carolyn and I attended the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville Annual All-Church Retreat at Camp Johnsonburg.
We arrived early on Friday in order to avoid rush hour traffic on the way there. This enabled us to choose our room in the lodge (a good move) and to sit in outdoor lounge chairs when everybody else arrived. Most of the group arrived in time for dinner Friday night, followed by tie-dying preparation. Friday night itself was hot and muggy and sleeping was not easy.
Saturday was lovely but still a bit humid. We started the day with breakfast. Carolyn and I were both signed up for Low Ropes (group building and personal challenge activities near ground level). We both participated in the first two activities (marshmallows on the dangerous Chocolate River – get the group across, and untying human knots while balancing on a teeter platform). At that point anybody participating in the Leap of Faith had to leave in order to get there. Carolyn continued with Low Ropes and did some challenge exercises like walking a steel cable balancing with a rope and crossing a series of tire swings.
Here we are crossing the dangerous chocolate river on floating marshmallows. I’m the one in the green shirt and Carolyn is right behind me. I’ve mentioned Jill Cifelli here a number of times – she’s the woman in gray standing in line.
The Leap of Faith is a zip line suspended above a low spot in the trail – forming a bit of a valley. Somehow the Ropes course staff managed to run 30 of the 35 people signed up through in the morning. I helped out (as a former staffer always will) by being the person who unhooked the last participant and running the zip line back to the top of the hill. For this activity I was rewarded with praise and sweat (lots of sweat).
After lunch on Saturday we finished tie-dying and I got my chance on the Leap.
This is me in flight.
This is me waiting to be unhooked. (A thought bubble would say “Hurry up – this harness is giving me a serious wedgie!”)
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Between all of the Ropes activities we only had 3 refusals – one very small girl who didn’t do the Leap, and a boy and a girl who didn’t complete (or start in one case) the High Ropes. I add myself to the list – having done it 20 years ago as a counselor I had no interest at all in doing the High Ropes.
Saturday after dinner, we made banners depicting our concepts of faith and God that will hang in the Fellowship Center at church. After that, the traditional campfire complete with S’mores.
Saturday night sleeping was easier due to lower temperatures.
Sunday morning after breakfast we had worship outdoors by the waterfront. One of the parents in the group played a carved flute and pan pipes for the Prelude and Postlude. The rest of the service was run by a family that directed music, our Director of Children’s Ministries, and one of the Interim Associate for Pastoral Ministry folks (she’s also my new co-chair of the task force). Worship was nice, and ended just before the rain started.
It rained the rest of Sunday morning, and after lunch we headed on home.
It was a nice weekend. I was more relaxed than usual as a result, and I’m having a tough time with “re-entry” into the work world today.
One thing that was a bit odd was that Carolyn and I were the only family without kids. I believe that this retreat used to be the “Family Retreat” and in recent years has been the “All-Church” retreat. It was a little easier for us than it could have been – we both like kids and since we’ve been doing work with the youth group we were familiar to many of the parents. I did get to meet about 15 families that I didn’t know (or know well) before. Hopefully the retreat will attract more younger singles or couples without kids in the future.
I tried to serve as a goodwill ambassador (a title vested on me by one of the parents) for the camp to the church. There were two of the youth that I tried to recruit for the camp’s Leadership Training Program and it looks like one might consider it (the other isn’t old enough yet). I hope they do – they’d both make great Johnsonburgers. I only hope that I wasn’t too pushy – Carolyn’s opinion is that I went right up to the line and didn’t cross it.
Today I’m pooped and a bit sore (there are a few muscles that don’t get used that often) but still more relaxed than usual.
Another Clump of Church
I find that my church-related events tend to clump. In April, I had Youth Sunday on the same day as the Earth Day presentation by the Environmental Stewardship committee.
I’m in the middle of a clump now.
This past weekend was devoted to the Silent Auction fundraiser for the Youth Mission trip to Louisiana. We received 80-something donations of goods and services (babysitting, music for a dinner party, etc), and on Sunday night during a rainstorm (remnants of Tropical Storm Barry) we raised $3,400.
Next weekend is devoted to the All-Church retreat at Camp Johnsonburg. We’ll be there from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. Carolyn and I (mostly I) will be serving as “native guides” for the trip due to our current and prior involvement with camp and the number of first-time visitors in the group.
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To that end, we are meeting with the pastor on Thursday to tie up some loose ends for the task force. We still have to nail down the rest of the membership (we have one solid member, but the rest of the team is just a list of possible names at this point), and work out the beginning activities.
Things should quiet down after next weekend.
Work is also a bit busy this week, so don’t be surprised if I don’t get a chance to write much.
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