From the Crevices of Chris' Cranium

Long overdue update

2011-12-30T16:45:00.012-05:00

I'm home at my parent's house for Christmas and New Years having a wonderful visit. We just returned to Annapolis after a couple of days visiting relatives in Pennsylvania. After talking to my aunts and uncles who are not social media users I realized how much I've been neglecting my blog. I have reached the halfway point of my seminary education (semester-wise) and this last one really kept me busy. This post will mostly be an article that I wrote for our school paper. It was published in the November 21st issue of Kairos.

The Middler Lament

NEWS FLASH – Middler year is kicking my butt. This isn't a cry for help though (yet). You don't need to start worry about me (yet). I just need to lament a little bit, and based on an informal survey of my classmates, they do too. I remember a similar article from Brittany last year and apparently there was one the year before as well, so I am just following the "cloud of witnesses" that have gone before us. There is comfort for me in that and I hope my classmates recognize this as well. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS!!
As Juniors, we certainly had our challenges, but the crunch times seemed to be more spread out and clumped together last year. Right before Fall Break last year there were major tests or papers due in each of our four classes and I don't remember getting much sleep that week. I was also riding high on the honeymoon phase of my seminary experience and got to go back east for all of Fall Break to recharge my batteries.

This year, however, it seems like I've got major assignments due each and every week. I couldn't afford (either financially or time-wise) to leave Austin for Fall Break. I took my Sabbath time, but I spent a good bit of break this semester working on papers and getting caught up on reading. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and will be going back to Maryland to spend the holiday with my family and friends. I will however be taking several books with me and working on a funeral sermon for our Intro to Preaching class, and probably another paper or two as well.

The other thing that is starting to sink in is that come December, the Middlers will be exactly at the halfway point of our seminary experience. This is going way too fast. I still feel a bit like I just got here and just started. Even with all the deadlines, papers, exams, committee meetings, and stress that this year has brought so far, I am not anxious for my time at APTS to be over. I am feeling a bit like a petulant child who is flopping on the floor and dragging my feet to slow down my exit. I do not want this to end. I love my classmates. I love the faculty and staff. I love the entire seminary community. I love this whole experience.

And I know this will come as a shock to most, but I really love Austin too. Perhaps part of why I'm feeling so stressed this semester is I'm also having a lot of fun too. There is a delicate balance between keeping up with obligations and taking time for yourself so you don't burn out. Perhaps I dance on that line a bit precariously, but I consider this to be an unofficial part of my seminary education. When I am in a parish (or a hospital, or whatever ministry I end up doing when I graduate), I think it will be extremely important to develop a support community and have activities and interests that are not church/work related (at least not directly) too. I have developed a great group of friends outside the seminary community. We have had cookouts, built a giant Jenga set, become the Cornhole (bean bag toss game) champions of the Local, participated in a fabulous scavenger hunt, went to ACL (Austin City Limits Music Festival), played disc golf, gorged ourselves on shrimp at Red Lobster's all-you-can-eat shrimp fest, and of course our weekly trivia which combines my seminary friends with my non-seminary friends.

Like almost everything else this semester, I am submitting this article to Brittany late. So I should wrap this up. Besides I have reading to do for section tomorrow, thank you letters to write for my financial aid, my SPM (supervised practice of ministry - internship) paperwork to submit to David Johnson, my World Religions film project to work on, the bulletin for the Advent Vespers service to finish with Allie, and a book to read and write a review for Christian Education, not to mention laundry, dishes, my annual car inspection and bills to pay….AGGHHHHHHHHH!!! Hang in there Middlers! We can do this!!!

The classes that I took this semester were - Introduction to Preaching (my favorite), Mark Exegesis, World Religions, and Christian Education. I was again in the choir and also served as one of the student representatives to the Worship Committee. We had a great group of students join our community in September and they have been a wonderful addition to both APTS and my circle of friends.

I've grown even more fond of the Local (my own personal Cheers) and have developed some wonderful friendships as I mentioned in the article shared above. Here's a sampling of the fun that I mentioned in that article -

In costume for the FFF Scavenger Hunt with Jayson, Chase, Nikki, and Jason

Brandon and Jayson playing giant Jenga at the Local

My fellow Redskin fans at the Local that I watch the game with every Sunday - Mark, Mo, and Jeff.

Seminarians and spouses celebrating Greg's birthday at the Allen-Pickett's house. Lisa & Tim, Greg, Andrew, Josh, Tara, baby Kellen, Lindsay, Jordan, Me, Allie, Jessica and Ester

Some amazing eats on the grill at Brandon and Michelle's house.
Lynn and I playing some cornhole with Taylor and Taylor looking on.

Show Me the Place

2011-11-24T01:03:00.002-05:00

Beautiful New Song from Leonard Cohen from an album due out at the end of January.

Show Me The Place by leonardcohen

Time Flies when you're in Greek Camp

2011-07-08T15:26:00.016-04:00

Only one week of Greek left and then I'll be heading back to Maryland for vacation with my family at Deep Creek Lake. I can't wait to be in the mountains of Western Maryland swimming, fishing, tubing and hanging out with my family. I'll also get to spend some time in Annapolis before and after our family trip to visit with friends. Hoping to spend some time sailing on the Chesapeake, checking out the new location of the Mexican Cafe and I must get some crabs.

Our class had a nice 4th out at Professor Alsup's ranch. Our classmate Okan, who is from Turkey, went all out and dressed the part. He was quite a cowboy.

And yes, I did get to hug a donkey.

I also mentioned to Dr. Alsup on Monday that I had re-written the words to Willie Nelson's "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" for our class, so he asked me to perform it this week. I took my guitar in on Wednesday and opened up class with the help of our Teaching Assistant Doug, who accompanied me on his guitar too. Don't know that anyone who isn't in our class (or who hasn't at least taken Biblical Greek) will appreciate it, but it seems to have been a big hit with the class. Dr. Alsup definitely appreciated it. He kept making reference to it during his lectures this week. I wouldn't be surprised if I improved at least half a letter grade for the class because of this song. He even asked me to get together with some of my musician classmates to record it so we can give CDs to everyone at the end of the class.

I'll post the lyrics below, but a few things that are "inside jokes" or may be unclear to those not in the class I will explain first. 1. The method that Dr. Alsup is teaching us he calls RIT - Recognize Identify Translate. First we attempt to recognize the part of speech of each word in the passage. We underline verbs, bracket nouns, circle articles & pronouns, etc. Then we attempt to identify the conjugation, gender, number, tense, etc. We are not even expected to try to translate yet in this intensive summer course. 2. Hippos is Greek for horse, and is the name of a stuffed animal that Dr. Alsup keeps in the class for illustrations. 3. He also has a Pilsbury Doughboy and girl in cowboy hats, which are also class mascots used for illustrations too.

I Love My Definite Article

I grew up dreaming of being in Greek Camp
And learning those ancient ways
Pursuing to recognize and identify words,
I burned up my summer days.
I learned all the endings that John Alsup taught me
Don't you stress out and panic my friend
Just take it from Hippos or maybe the Doughboy,
And soon it all will be clear.

I love my definite article.
It's my best friend.
Helping to spot nouns and participles,
It's my very best friend.

Maybe someday, I'll learn to translate
But for now R and I are just fine.
Those definite articles jump right off the pages,
I circle them all the time.
Nominative, Genitive, Dative or Accusative
You help me know what is what.
So don't take away my definite article
And I'll make it through Greek Camp just fine.

Repeat Chorus

Once we've recorded it I'll post it here.

Another highlight of my week was being asked to be Austin Seminary's student representative to the PC(USA) Committee on Theological Education's Seminary Support Network. There are two conferences each year that I will attend along with one student representative from each of the other 9 PC(USA) schools. Traditionally it is the student body President that represents the school, but this year they decided it made more sense to appoint someone that can do it for two years since the President is usually a graduating senior. So I will represent our school for the next two years. I am extremely honored to have been asked and so excited to get to network with students from the other schools as well as being able to participate in some national level denominational work.

And it hasn't been all Greek this summer, we've also gone to see a UT baseball game, a couple AAA baseball games in Round Rock (the Ranger's feeder team), a community orchestra doing western theme music and last night saw a community theater performance of the musical play Footloose. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Austin is such a cool town with great things to do. Love it here.

4th of July Weekend

2011-07-01T17:26:00.008-04:00

Well, we've got four out of six weeks of Greek and a Midterm behind us as we head into the three day weekend. Looking forward to some fun and relaxation, but no fireworks in most of Texas this year, thanks to the drought. I posted this video on Facebook the other day, but thought I should share it on my blog too. Stephen Colbert decided to address the ban.

On Monday our professor is having the class out to his ranch for a Greek Camp Picnic. The invitation that he passed out to us last week says "Come join us for hay rides, horseback riding, donkey hugging, and just having a good time." How can you beat that? Donkey hugging! Should be fun.

Le Tour de France also starts tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to watching that as I do every year. Such an amazing race. Not to mention the amazing shots of the French countryside, little villages, castles, cobblestone streets, and spectacular climbs in the Alps and the Pyrenees. I can't wait.

That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round

2011-06-23T00:55:00.008-04:00

I love this song by John Prine. He is one of the most underrated songwriters. Such amazing lyrics, I can't ever listen to him enough. To me, a line like "naked as the eyes of a clown" is sheer poetry (not to mention the imagery of it suddenly getting cold enough for one to be frozen in the bathtub). That's a beautiful turn of phrase in my book. If you've never heard him before, I hope that you enjoy this. If you have heard him before this is a wonderful live version with John's response to a mondegreen (misheard song lyrics) by a fan.

Link to video for those reading on FB

Well I know a guy that's got a lot to lose,
He's a pretty nice fella, kinda confused.
He's got muscles in his head ain't never been used,
He thinks he owns half of this town.

Starts drinkin' heavy, gets a big red nose,
Beats his old lady with a rubber hose
Then he takes her out to dinner, buys her new clothes,
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

That's the way that the world goes 'round,
You're up one day, the next you're down,
It's half inch of water, but you think you're gonna drown,
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

I was sittin' in the bathtub, a-countin' my toes,
When the radiator broke, the water all froze.
I got stuck in the ice, without my clothes,
Naked as the eyes of a clown.

I was crying those ice cubes, hoping I'd croak,
When the sun came through the window, the ice all broke.
I stood up and laughed; I thought it was a joke,
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

That's the way that the world goes 'round,
You're up one day, the next you're down,
It's half inch of water, but you think you're gonna drown,
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

Moment of Zen for the "Minister of Soul"

2011-06-21T19:32:00.004-04:00

John Stewart is a big Springsteen fan, so this nice tribute was no surprise and well appreciated by this East Street Band fan.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Moment of Zen - Remembering Clarence Clemons

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

The Daily Show on Facebook

link for those reading on FB

Year One of Seminary Completed

2011-05-20T11:07:00.015-04:00

Yesterday I turned in my final paper for my Introduction to the New Testament class, and with that push of the "send" button on the email I completed my first two semesters of seminary. I had an exam in each of my other classes earlier this week - The Church as Worshiping Community on Monday, Systematic Theology II on Tuesday and Intro to Biblical Hebrew on Wednesday. This year has flown by and been so full it is a little mind boggling. As I scan the books on my shelf and re-read papers and exams that I've submitted this year I am amazed at how much I've learned and all that I've done in eight months. (Yes I am a semiNERDian . I re-read my papers and tests).

I've already written often of how much I love this community and what a wonderful place APTS is, so I won't belabor the point other than to say that I've made some of the best friends I've ever had. I love each and every one of them and I am sad to see the seniors packing to move off of campus. Graduation is this weekend and watching them in this home stretch has made me realize just how quickly these three years go by. It makes me want to savior every moment that I can with my classmates before we too scatter from this campus to be ministers, chaplains, teachers, counselors, etc.

It also makes me excited that in late August approximately 40 new students will arrive here. Just as my class was welcomed into the fold, they will soon be an integral part of this community and added to the number of people that I love. My classmate Jo and I were asked to take on the responsibility of being Reyah Coordinators this year. Reyah is the Hebrew word for buddy or friend. The Reyah program at APTS matches incoming students with a current student to be their buddy as they transition into the community. My Reyah was Jeff Saddington, who is graduating on Sunday. He was so fantastic that I jumped at the opportunity to be coordinator in the hopes of helping the incoming class feel as welcomed as I did. Jeff emailed and called me several times last summer to see how my plans for moving to Texas were going and once I arrived was one of the friends who helped me move into my apartment. And Jeff didn't just help me feel at home when I arrived, he checked in on me throughout the year, shared study guides, took me to lunch and cheered me on as my classmates and I did some intense studying and took some major exams.

So, as I have marked several other milestones, I chose to celebrate the end of my first year with a new tattoo that was inspired by something I read last semester in Cindy Rigby's Systematic Theology I class. I have had a tattoo of three fish on my right forearm for several years. It is an ancient Christian symbol which represents the trinity as well as the secret "code" used by the early church to represent Christ (ΙΧΘΥΣ). This is the Greek word for "fish" which was an acronym for "Jesus Christ Son of God Savior." While reading Dan Migliore's Faith Seeking Understanding (our textbook for Sys I) I came across a different way to name the Trinity and it immediately resonated with me. Instead of "Father Son & Holy Ghost" this said "Lover Beloved & Love." I decided that I wanted that around or near my fish tattoo and this week I got it done.

WARNING - SemiNERDian ramblings about to commence....

A common critique of this way of naming the trinity is that it reduces the Holy Spirit to a byproduct between the Lover and the Beloved, but I don't agree with this limited view of Love.

This is very similar to the original debate that caused the great split between the Eastern and Western church over the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. Does the Holy Spirit proceed from the Father or from the Father "and the Son"? Don't both of these see the Holy Spirit as something that is coming from one or both of the other parts of the trinity? Isn't that a by-product too? The whole idea of the trinity is that God is by definition in relationship and you can't have one part without the other two, and no one part is greater than the others. So I don't see this way as being any worse than the more traditional creedal way of naming the trinity. In fact I think it is better because it does away with the patriarchal language of father and son. There are many for whom these images of God are stumbling blocks and talk of spirit or ghost is too mystical and hard to wrap their heads around. But we all know love. And love isn't just something you do. It isn't a byproduct. I don't even think it is a choice. I think love just is, all by itself.

There are many instances in scripture where love is talked about as an entity, not a byproduct. It is personified and has characteristics.

Song of Songs 2:7, 3:5, 8:4 "do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready"

Song of Songs 8:7 "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it."

1 Corinthians 13:4 "Love is patient; love is kind; love is not arrogant or boastful"

1 Corinthians 13:8 "Love never ends"

14:1 "Pursue love and strive for spiritual gifts"

But I think the strongest case for seeing love as being a way to name the Holy Spirit is this -

1 John 4:16 "God is love, and those that abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them"

Lastly, here is a video that the seniors put together for our last fellowship together.

Congratulations Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Class of 2011!!!!!!!!!!

Play Me, I'm Yours

2011-04-12T08:03:00.001-04:00

There is a great art exhibit in Austin this month. Check out this link to get the full story, but the short version is this -

There are 14 pianos that are stationed around the jogging/walking paths, foot bridges and streets of downtown Austin that are decorated in a variety of ways. They are painted and/or covered in stickers. Better yet, they are all tuned up and completely functional. They each have the inviting message "Play Me, I'm yours" on the front of them. And this is Austin, so people are playing them. They each have a plastic covering attached that can be pulled over in case of inclement weather, but they are just sitting there waiting for people to play them. After the month, they will all be donated to schools and community groups.

Last Wednesday, my friend Felicity and I headed down to check a few of them out. We headed to the Lamar Street foot bridge and came across this one being played by the man below who sang us a couple of songs and gave me his business card. He's hoping to relocate from California to Austin and wanted to check out the town and this exhibit. Robby Ravenwood

And after hearing about mom and Becky playing the piano, and me only able to pluck out Heart and Soul, he invited me to join him. So I did...

Then before we moved on to another one, a mom with her son came along, sheet music in hand, and he played a song (with mom's help)

Then Felicity gave it a shot at the next one we saw.

It was a great afternoon and I'm hoping to see some more of them while they are still out. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to get Becky & Jesko playing them when they are here next week.

Special thanks to Deborah Butler, who works in the Student Affairs and Vocations office at the seminary for telling me about this exhibit. And to Felicity for a great afternoon of art, music, custard, Waterloo Records, and the flagship store of Whole Foods.

Three Year Anniversary

2011-03-20T20:04:00.009-04:00

This is one of those strange anniversaries which I debate whether to acknowledge or not. Three years ago today I fell at work and shattered my leg. I do not stop to pause to mark this day in order to lament or wallow, although I do acknowledge the hardships and changes that have come as a result of this accident. Rather I stop to acknowledge just how far I have come and how pleased I am with where I am right now despite that fateful day when I made a poor choice of where to stand.

This week was Spring Break for us at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (and for UT and all schools in Austin, I think). Twenty Five years ago some folks decided that Spring Break was too quiet in Austin so they began a little music festival known as SXSW (South by Southwest), which is now an international event. Having just moved here in August I was very excited for my first SXSW and it didn't disappoint. I saw lots of great music and got to spend time with my friends.

In addition to the great music and revelry of St. Patrick's Day there were also several other cool things that I did this week. Several of us marched and rallied with teachers at the Capitol at the Save TX Schools rally last Saturday morning. That evening one of my classmates got married and many from our seminary community were there to celebrate with him and his new bride

Last night Allie, Alex and I went to Mt. Bonnell, climbed about 100 stairs to see the moon, which was kind of a bust. The view of the city, surrounding landscape and sunset was actually better than all the fuss about the moon, but we had fun. We think it may be because everything is bigger in Texas, it just didn't seem that big to us. I would like to know how they managed to turn it burnt orange though. That was a good trick.

The other major news right now is that my car is currently having issues again. I think I need a new starter. Between just getting around, the teacher march, SXSW and all the other fun that I had this week I think I must have walked about a dozen miles this week. That's not a lot for most, but for me and considering how I spent most of 2008, I felt that this was an anniversary worth marking.

"The blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he cured them." Matthew 21:14

My leg may not be cured to what it was prior to the accident, but there is no doubt in my mind that I have been healed by the hand of Christ. The hand that came through the skilled surgical talents of Dr. Ove, Dr. Brumback, and Dr. Higgins; through the infection fighting medicine and care of Dr. Campbell; through the nurses and staff at Anne Arundel Medical Center and Union Memorial Hospital; through the care and motivation from Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Amy and everyone at OSMC physical therapy; from Wendy my home care nurse; Sandy my case manager; the amazing staff and congregation of FPC Annapolis; the friends and family who sent cards, emails, visited, brought food, provided rides and LOTS of encouragement and love. I wouldn't be where I am now if not for you.

I can now also add to that list the wonderful folks that I have met here in Austin and all of the fun things that there are to do in this town. I'm doing my best to not let a bum knee keep me from enjoying everything I can while I'm here.

School is going well this semester. Although Hebrew is proving to be a fun challenge. Even though our homework looks a bit like Elementary School work, there is no doubt that this is MUCH harder than "See Dick and Jane run"

Love Wins

2011-02-27T14:14:00.005-05:00

The internets are all abuzz with people condemning Rob Bell's newest book before it is even released because he thinks that God's love is radical enough to save everyone. Some people just aren't happy unless things are exclusive. They prefer to believe that many will be condemned eternally.

Which do you think is more likely to convert someone? An apologetic theology that helps to put the message in a context and language that draws them in? OR a scare tactic that says "you better read the Bible the same way that I do, the right way, or you are going to hell?"

LOVE WINS. from Rob Bell on Vimeo.

Driving and Praying in Trinidad and Tobago

2011-02-07T16:19:00.006-05:00

The following is an article I wrote for our seminary newspaper, Kairos.

During the January term, I along with nine other students and Professor Whit Bodman traveled to Trinidad and Tobago to study the religious diversity and interaction between the faiths on this small island nation (1.3 million people, land mass smaller than Delaware). The religious breakdown according to the CIA World Factbook is Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other Christian 5.8%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9%

What became immediately apparent when we left the airport was how glad we were that none of us were behind the wheel. Driving in T & T was a cultural experience in and of itself. We had a chartered Maxi Taxi (something like a VW microbus) and Collins, our driver, to insure we arrived safely at all of our destinations for the duration of our trip. Thank God for Collins and his Maxi. Many of the streets were extremely narrow, there were open drainage gutters (some of which were more like ditches), the traffic was heavy, and there were lots of bends in the road (especially in the mountains). Not to mention the stray dogs, goats, chickens, pot holes, and many pedestrians to be on the lookout for.

I was amazed with the courtesy of the drivers toward each other. There was an understood etiquette and rhythm to traffic there like I have never experienced before. It seemed to us to be organized chaos. Occasionally we found ourselves in a situation where the road was too narrow for more than one vehicle at a time to pass. Often someone had to stop or even back up the street in order to let oncoming traffic through.

That is not to say that there were not close calls. There were also lots of auto repair shops with salvage yards and signs suggesting that body work was a common need. What was apparent though is that the drivers have a spatial awareness, a boldness to cut across traffic and/or enter an oncoming lane which is balanced by a trust that the other driver is going to act appropriately in response to their actions and visa versa. They have adapted to the driving conditions and recognize that if they do not follow this etiquette that there will either be accidents or gridlock.

The interfaith interactions struck me much the same way. They had etiquette towards each other, their beliefs and their traditions that was admirable. They were spatially aware, had at least a cursory understanding of the other faiths, and most people we met did not seem to think that theirs was the only way to salvation. They seemed to understand, like the traffic situations, that if they did not adopt this mindset there would be "accidents and gridlock."

They have adapted and become accustomed to maneuvering among and around people of other faiths as a result of their proximity. It was not uncommon for us to speak to people who were Presbyterian, but had Hindus and/or Muslims within the family. They were also much more public about their faith than we are here in the states. Many of the schools are parochial (of all faiths), so prayers and devotional time are daily occurrences at school for most children. Part of me recoiled slightly at the thought of mixing church and state in this way, but it did seem to foster a tolerance and appreciation for those that believe differently from a young age.

And just like the roadways, although impressive, this is not a utopia of interfaith harmony. They do not always see eye to eye and a few people mentioned that there is tension that is under the surface or only discussed behind closed doors.

Regardless of one's religion, that is how they view the world and God, and that is their reality. Therefore if we are to get along then we had better understand what those around us believe and why. There are many similarities which are easy to see and can give us insight into our own faith, but what may be more significant, as Whit explained during his radio interview on Heritage 101.7 while we were there, is what makes us different. We need to not only understand what we have in common, but what makes us different, and in doing so learn more about ourselves and what we believe.

Here in the states I think we can apply this not only to interfaith, but also to intra-faith (interdenominational) topics. We do not have to agree on everything, and I am certain that we will not, but that does not mean we should not attempt to bridge the gaps that can be bridged while also gaining appreciation and respect for those around us. The more that we do this, the closer to living in harmony we will get.

Trinidad & Tobago Travel Seminar–Week 2

2011-01-25T13:16:00.006-05:00

Wednesday, Jan 19th -

In the evening we were treated to a very nice evening by the National Council of Indian Culture. The council has a compound where they hold events and big festivals for Diwali and other celebrations. They put on a program that featured Indian dancers, singers and tons of delicious Indian food. I’ve never eaten so much curry in my life. We had a wonderful time and were stuffed beyond words. We ate chick peas and potatoes, curried mangos, coconut chutney, curried jack fruit, curried corn on the cob, rice pudding, and some others that I have forgot what they were, because there were so many dishes. It was all delicious and we brought leftovers back to the Morton House.

On the way home we swung by the practice yard for Exodus, the Tunupunu (town we are staying in) steel pan band who is practicing for carnival. We only hung around for a few minutes, but it was so cool as you will see and here in this video.

Thursday -

We spent the day in Tobago. The day started very early. We left for the airport at 6:30 and flew 20 minutes to the island of Tobago. We got breakfast at the Tobago airport and were met by a family friend of the Rev. Veda took us back to her house (shuttled the 5 minute drive back and forth in groups of 3 or 4) to eat our breakfast and so we could change into our swim suits. We were then taken to a dock where we boarded a glass bottom boat. We headed out to Bucco Reef where we drifted over the reef and the first mate of the boat explained the different coral formations, vegetation and fish that we could see. We were also given the opportunity to snorkel along side the boat for a bit which I was the first to jump at. Next we headed to a spot called the Nylon Pool which is a pretty cool phenomenon. Because the reef breaks the waves pretty far off shore there is an area of calm that is still a good ways off the coast. It has a white sandy bottom (which is ground coral) and it is only about 3 feet deep. It is literally like swimming in a salt water pool because it is so calm, the water is so clear and the bottom is so white. They claimed that it was a fountain of youth. If you were younger than 40, you would always stay young and if you were over 40 you would take 10 years off your life by swimming in this spot according to our captain and first mate.

Once we returned to shore we headed to a spot for a local favorite – crab and dumplings. I gave tutorials to my classmates on how to pick crabs, but they weren’t much like our Chesapeake blue crabs. They were tasty, but small and in a soup of sorts.

After lunch we went back to Veda’s place to shower, swim in the pool and wait for our tour guide to come get us. We were picked up in a Maxi Taxi and driven all around the Island, stopping at several very scenic spots, as well as having our driver point out some other interesting items on the island. One of our stops was to a fruit and vegetable stand to get fresh coconuts. Several of us got them with the tops cut off so we could drink the coconut water straight out of the coconut and one of them had the jelly inside it that would turn into the pulp that we recognize once the water is gone and it is dried out. The man at the stand cut that one open once we drank all the water and made a spoon out of the husk with his machete so we could scoop out the jelly to eat it. I’m not a huge fan of coconut, but that was delicious!

We continued our tour around the Island right up to the point where we had to check in at the airport for our flight back. We returned to the Morton House at about 10pm, tired, happy and ready to sleep from a very full day.

Friday -

What a busy day! We started out with a visit to a Presbyterian girls’ high school. We met with several members of the administration and talked to them about their school and found they were a bit more rigid than their counterparts at the boys school when it comes to interfaith tolerance. Not that they were intolerant, but they took a harder line when it came to allowing non-Christian students to practice their faith at school. They did allow Muslims to wear hijabs and do acknowledge major holidays of the major religions within the curriculum. We then split into smaller groups and were given a tour by students and got to talk to them quite a bit.

Next we headed to a Mosque for mid-day prayers. When we arrived we were greeted by the primary school students who thought that we were celebrities. They wanted autographs from all of us and several wanted our email addresses. It was pretty funny. We can’t wait for the random Facebook friend requests that will surely be coming from 9 and 10 year old Muslim Trinnies. Barrett taught a gaggle of little boys and girls the “Roll Tide” cheer for his alma mater.

The prayer service itself was a bit bizarre. We had to sit outside the Mosque and basically could only listen. It was much different than my experience with the Mosque and Islamic center that I’ve visited in DC several times. Whit had a lengthy conversation with a young man who didn’t get why we would want to study their faith. He seemed to think we should either keep to ourselves or convert. He felt we couldn’t understand the Koran or their practices if we weren’t Muslim or that if we studied it we would surely decide to convert. As we see in the States, there are those of all faiths who are a bit fundamentalist and there are those that are open and accepting. You can’t paint any group with a broad brush and individual people are going to think and act as individuals. It is unfair to judge any faith because of the zealots within their large umbrellas.

Next we headed to an Ashram for a two hour lesson on the basics of the Hindu philosophy. We were taught by a woman named Mia, who is a student/follower of the local guru Ravi J. It was a very informative and interesting session.

For the evening we went into Port of Spain with Anthony, a member of Aramalaya Presbyterian Church, who we first met on Wednesday night at the NCIC dinner. He is a funny and fun character who showed us where all the young people go to socialize in the big city. We ate at a restaurant called Sweet Lime. Unfortunately, several of our group have been feeling a little under the weather, so they didn’t join us. We had a lot of fun and sampled a few different rum drinks along with creole and Jamaican style cuisine.

Saturday

Saturday started early with a prayer breakfast at Morton House with the Aramalaya congregation. I am writing this during a brief bit of down time before we split up into groups of 2 to shadow local pastors for the next 24 hours. We will be making rounds with and staying at the home of the pastor to whom we have been paired. Several of us are heading South to San Fernando. Barrett is staying here with Brittany to shadow the Rev’s son, who is also a pastor. They will be doing a pre-marital service at a couple’s house and a memorial service tonight for a famous physicist, as well as taking parts of tomorrow morning’s regular Sunday morning services. Alex and I will be together and are anxious to get to San Fernando to find out what it is we will be doing.

Holly, Laura, Sudie, Kristi, Alex, Whit and I rode down to the seminary in San Fernando and met up with our assigned pastors. Alex and I were with the Rev. Anthony Rampersad. He is responsible for the pastoral region in the extreme south west of the island. We found out that Colin, a student who we met last week is a student minister who helps Anthony cover the six churches for which he is responsible, and that on Sunday morning Alex would be with Anthony and I would be with Colin. We also found out that we would be staying with an elder and her mother at their house. We grabbed lunch at Subway, which was a nice change from all the curry we had been eating. (don’t get me wrong, I loved the food, but it was nice to just have a hoagie for a change) On the way from San Fernando to the region we stopped off briefly to see the worlds largest pitch lake in La Brea. There wasn’t a lot to see, but what was impressive was the state of the roads and ground surrounding the pitch lake. There is a lot of underground activity, so the roads were very lumpy (there just isn’t a better word to describe it) and we saw mounds of tar that had bubbled to the surface and dried. Next we headed to the Alfred’s house to meet Judy and her mother, to drop off our bags and to see where we would be staying. The area Alex and I were in was much more rural and closer to the water than most of where we had visited. Alex and I decided it was much more our style. Anthony then drove us around the region and showed us where all of the churches were. We got as close to Venezuela as is possible without getting wet. We stopped off at several parishioners' houses (and were served snacks and beverages at each one). Anthony did not have any special events on his schedule for Saturday, so our time was spent touring and visiting. He was hoping there would be a Hindu wedding (Holly and Laura got to attend one) or something else for us to attend, but we were very happy with what we got to do. We returned to the Alfred’s house for dinner which was prepared by Judy’s mom as well as several dished that were dropped off by a neighbor who was also a member of the Point Fortin Presbyterian Church. We ate more amazing local dishes – chicken, fish, shrimp, puddin’ (which turned out to be blood sausage – delicious!!), and potatoes. Before Anthony left us for the night he gave Alex his assignments for worship in the morning and we called Colin to find out what mine would be. Alex and I spent the rest of the night watching TV with Judy, writing prayers and preparing for worship in the morning.

Sunday -

For me Sunday started very early. Judy and I left the house at six to pick up Colin who borrowed her car for the morning. Colin and I dropped Judy off back at her house and headed south for our seven AM worship at Cedros Presbyterian church. There were about 15 people in attendance. At 8:15, with a fish sandwich and a can of juice brought for us by a woman in the congregation, we headed for our second service of the morning. We had just enough time to drive from one church to the next and the service began upon our arrival. The congregation was about the same size, maybe a few more people and we did basically the same service, although I did notice subtle differences in Colin’s style and sermon, due to the dynamics and style of each church. At both of these services I was responsible for the Prayer of Thanksgiving, blessing the offering, and extending a greeting from our group as well as explaining the purpose for our trip. I was warmly received at both services. They insisted we stay for coffee after the service, although Colin and I had to chug it, jump in the car and head to a third service at Point Fortin. Anthony and Alex also arrived for that service. There was a guest preacher, so Alex, Colin and I had no leadership responsibilities in that service. It was good to worship with Judy, her mother and several of the folks we had met the day before. After church we headed back to the Alfred's house for lunch – no surprise, it was wonderful. After lunch they asked if we wanted to see how they make roti, so we went to visit Marlene and her family (responsible for half of our dinner the night before). There was a special service at four to celebrate and send off a lay pastor who was being assigned to another region, so several women were making food for the reception to follow. Alex and I even got to help grind the chick peas.

Side note for anyone that doesn’t know what roti is….there are many ways to prepare them- but generally it is a wrap, kind of like a tortilla with curried chick peas and potatoes, sometimes meat, sometimes vegetables. The wrap actually had ground chick peas in the dough itself.

Even though we had just had a huge lunch, they insisted that Alex and I each each have some roti while they made wraps for the reception. They also made some “chow” (I have no idea how it is actually spelled). They cut up pomme sitie (sp?) – a fruit growing in their back yard – and seasoned it with hot pepper sauce and garlic. They also gave us ice cream cones…we were bursting. Matthew, their fifteen year old son tried to explain Cricket to us and had me playing his electric guitar. The biggest surprise was probably when the father brought in a live hen and handed it to Alex and I. He was very hard for us to understand, and I think he was having a lot of fun messing with us. He kept referring to me as Rasta Christ, Colin as African Christ, and for Alex we never quite figured out what he was saying – either BaldHead or Bowl Cut Christ. It was a memorable visit to say the least.

The special service in the evening for Mr. Ivan Paul was great. Members from all 6 churches gathered at Point Fortin and there were probably over a hundred in attendance. Alex and I were very surprised to be asked to participate in this service as well. I did the Prayer of Confession and Thanksgiving, while Alex handled the blessing of the offering. There was lots of music at that service and it lasted close to two hours. We stayed around and fellowshipped with our new friends, took lots of pictures and exchanged email addresses. We got many invitations to return and stay with people.

Alex and I agreed that the weekend was definitely the highlight of the whole trip for us. We were sad to part with our new friends, but were extremely excited to see the rest of our group so we could swap stories and see what everyone had been up to. (Of course they put about 10 roti in a bag for Alex and I to take back with us to Tunapuna). The clerk of the Point Fortin session drove us back up north to Morton House. The Saint Andrews students came up to Morton House to visit and have a send off party for us, but several of us didn’t get back in time to see them. Alex and I got back close to 9pm.

Pictures below of Alex with Anthony and both of us with Judy.

We were exhausted. After catching up with our classmates we packed and passed out.

Monday

We left Morton House at 6am, boarded the plane at 8:30 and after a delay at the gate for a mechanical issue we are now airborne and headed for Houston. By the time I get back online to publish this post, we will be in Texas, and most likely I will be publishing once I’m back home in Austin.

What an amazing trip…..and we got credit towards our Master’s Degree to boot!!!!! Can’t beat that!

Photo Albums with all my pictures uploaded to Facebook Album 1 Album 2

Trinidad & Tobago Travel Seminar - Week 1

2011-01-19T16:33:00.002-05:00

Monday, Jan 10th -

We had a final pre-trip meeting in Stotts Hall to pack up the books that we donated to St. Andrews Theological College and went over final pre-trip details with Professor Whit Bodman. Each of us took, as our second checked piece of luggage, a box full of books for the seminary library that we would be visiting.

Tuesday Jan 11th -

Our group met on campus at 8 am and got the boxes of books and carpooled to the airport. We flew from Austin to Houston and then from Houston to Port of Spain. We were all excited and our group, who all knew each other, but not necessarily well, quickly bonded. Several had brought along study materials for the Bible Content Exam that will be taken in early February for those of us that are seeking ordination in PC(USA). There was chatting, studying, reading, sleeping and listening to music during our long day of travel.

Once in the Port of Spain airport we made it through customs without too much difficulty. In the airport it was quickly apparent that 11 white people stand out a lot in T&T. Most people that we see are either of Indian or African descent. We were met at the airport by Collins and Carlos in a Maxi Taxi and a van. The van carried our bags and the 11 boxes of books and we all piled in the Maxi Taxi. The Maxi is sort of like a VW Microbus and they are all over the island. It is a cross between a taxi and a city bus. Collins and his Maxi have been chartered to transport our group to all of our sites. We are all glad that we don’t have to drive here. The cars are all right-hand drive, they drive on the opposite side of the streets, the streets are very narrow and the traffic patterns are unique. (After a week, someone in our group joked that if we had been driving we would still be waiting to make our first merge or turn out of the airport). Despite what appear to us to be many near misses and organized chaos, the drivers appear to be very courteous towards each other and there is a sense of etiquette that I wish we could bring back to the states with us.

Once we arrived at Morton House and got settled we were in need of dinner. We piled back into the Maxi Taxi (behind our group in photo above) hoping for some local food, wondering what that might be and ended up at KFC. It was comical, a bit disappointing and a bit difficult for our vegetarian and vegan classmates, but we were happy to eat and excited to be beginning our two week adventure.

Wednesday -

We had breakfast and then met for the first time with the Rev. Everson Sieunarine. “The Rev”, as we have taken to calling him, gave us a brief history of T&T and specifically the Presbyterian Church and John Morton (who built the house that we are staying in and is largely responsible for the high regard that the Trinnies have for the Presbyterian Church to this day). The Rev has been ordained for nearly 50 years and he is of Indian descent. He is quite a character.

Carlos (right) is our trip coordinator. He went over our schedule for the trip and gave an overview of the things that we will be doing and seeing. The Morton House is next door to Aramalaya Presbyterian Church, which is next to a Presbyterian primary school. After Carlos and the Rev spoke, Kristi asked if we would be able to see the school. The Rev was about to go meet with the acting principal (ministers also serve as chaplains to the schools within the denomination, so his visits are frequent) so he took us along. Eleven white people following the Rev through the elementary school caused quite a stir. My tattoos seemed to be pretty interesting to the children from what I could tell by their reactions and from what I heard as we walked through. The school is two stories and they have “open” classroom settings. One floor holds four classes separated by movable chalk boards or bulletin boards. When we got upstairs, they removed the dividers and the room quickly transformed from 4 separate classes into one big assembly. We were introduced to the teachers and students and then treated to several hymns, recitations of prayers, and the singing of the national anthem.

Aramalya Presbyterian Church

Morton House (Home Sweet Temporary Home)

Wednesday night we went into Port of Spain to a club called the “Mas Camp Pub” for a review of the new Calypso songs for this Carnival season. Every year there is a competition for the best new Calypso song(s). The songs were not what I had in mind when I hear the word calypso, but it was very interesting. They were a form of poetry on culture, politics, social commentary, humor, and life in general performed with a backing track of beats and music. Not rap exactly, but an earlier form of it in my observation. We got to try some T&T beer and see local people out for a night on the town and entertainment. It was a lot of fun.

Thursday -

We focused on Hindu and Indian culture. We drove to Waterloo and saw the Temple by the Sea first. This is a Hindu Temple that actually is out in the water a good ways with a path along a bulkhead to reach it. It is small, but really beautiful. We talked to a man who appeared to be a caretaker who explained (along with Whit) the various idols, icons, and worship elements that were in and around the temple.

We stopped at the Indian Cultural Museum and learned about the “East” Indians that came to T&T and how that has impacted the culture of the island.

We also went to the Hannuman Murti, which is a 85 foot tall statue of one of the Hindu deities. As we approached the statue I noticed a door opening in the base of the statue and out stepped a priest, bringing with him a waft of incense having just performed puja (a Hindu prayer ritual). I struck up a conversation with him, explaining who we were and the purpose of our trip. The others soon gathered too and he explained to us that all the Hindu deities were not an indication that the Hindu are any more polytheistic than we Christians are when we speak of the Trinity. Both faiths are describing different aspects of the One God by using analogical language. It was a fascinating conversation and he was a holy man with views on faith and the world that we could easily relate to despite our different traditions and beliefs.

The Rev also showed us around his home town and we stopped at his uncle’s jewelry store. His uncle and other artisans had a shop in the back were they made and repaired jewelry, mainly gold. The Rev is very proud of his Indian heritage and he glowed with excitement at the opportunity to show us his roots and tell us of his family history.

Friday -

We started out with a visit to Hillview College (which is a Presbyterian High School). We met the principal and vice principal and they ushered us into the conference room and brought us all lunch, despite it being mid-morning. We had just had breakfast not too long before, but we didn’t want to refuse their hospitality. Everyone has been extremely gracious hosts and almost everyone tries to feed us.

In the afternoon we made the trek down to San Fernando to visit St. Andrews Theological College, which is a Presbyterian Seminary at the undergraduate level, a four year program. We packed into the Maxi with all the books that APTS is donating to their library. We got to meet the students there and quickly recognized that they were kindred spirits. They were a small group (only 15 students) but it was great to be on a campus with other Presbyterian seminarians in a foreign land. We joined them for worship and then all participated in a seminar on interfaith marriage and interfaith families. Whit, the Moderator of their Synod, and the president of St. Andrews planned to meet and talk about this topic, but the folks in T&T decided it would be a shame to have such a conversation only between those three. So they assembled a panel that included Hindu, Muslim, and Christians and spread the word. The assembly hall was full and the discussion was broadcast on the radio. It was a fine program and we were all proud of Whit for his presentation and happy to see the Presbyterian Church in T&T being as open and interested in reforming and interfaith dialogue as our own PC(USA). After the program the seminary students informed us that they wanted us to lead the prayer service on Saturday morning. We were quite surprised, but quickly went to work planning our service and assigning parts.

Saturday -

Saturday started very early with some unintentional “Cowboy Coffee” when coffee grounds were mistaken for instant. We lead worship and the student body president, Shirvan, played the piano for us. He was so warm and welcoming and wanted to know if any of us were on Facebook. We spent the rest of the morning visiting with the students and participating in their classes (which became a continued discussion from the program the night before). We had lunch with them and several of us will be going back down to visit with them again this Saturday at the end of our trip. We are all hoping that they will come to visit us in Austin and that this will be the beginning of a long relationship between our two schools.

In the afternoon we went down to La Brea to visit a Spiritual Baptist school. Spiritual Baptists are Christians who have incorporated many of their African cultural influences into their worship. We met for a while with Teacher Hazel, who explained their faith and practices to us before giving us a tour of the school and introducing us to the classes. After the formality of being introduced, she had all the classes come together to give us a taste of what their worship is like. With no instruments except their voices, hands and feet they quickly had us clapping and dancing along to hymns that were both familiar and very different at the same time. We left knowing we would be in for quite an experience on Sunday when we were scheduled to worship with them. The service that we would attend was a Thanksgiving Service celebrating the anniversary of a local congregation.

Sunday-

The Spiritual Baptist service did not disappoint. We tried to sit in pews towards the back, but were quickly ushered to seats that were front and center. The sanctuary was set up so that the aisles formed the shape of the cross. The bulk of the pews faced forward like most churches, but the front two sections were perpendicular to them (and to the altar) and facing each other. We had the front row of each of those sections. Much of the “action” occurred right in front of us. The preacher(s) – because of the anniversary, there were 6 or 7 pastors on the altar - would walk up and down in front of us, people would dance up and down the center aisle, and there were worship elements in the “pole” (where the aisles crossed). There was a vase with flowers and a candle, two large bells, glasses of water with flowers in them and other candles alone. Some of the prayers were done there, the bells were rung during songs whenever the spirit moved someone to ring them, the vase (which was brass) would be lifted up and carried around the room, and people would take the glass of water and use the flower to fling water around the congregation. There was no bulletin, so things seemed to be done with a very loose idea of the structure. They started around 10 and our driver was there to pick us up at 1. They didn’t break for lunch until 1:30. We tried to leave, but they insisted that we stay for lunch (and told our driver he would just have to wait). After lunch and saying our goodbyes they told us to wait just a minute longer so they could give each of us a “Thanksgiving” bag that everyone would get at the end of the service. This was special for the anniversary. So we each got a bag full of snack food (fruit, cookies, candy bars, chips, a drink, bread, cake, gum drops, etc). It was all pretty amazing. I recorded audio of some of the service with my iPhone.

We will be trading and sharing pictures when we get back. I don’t know if anyone got any during the service. I felt awkward trying to do that. I wanted to capture it, but it was such an experience that I really just wanted to worship with them and not be a tourist…but I hope someone got a photo or two…

After a quick stop back at Morton House to change, we drove up and over the Northern mountain range to get to the beach. The views going up and and over where amazing although the switchbacks and narrow roads made for an exciting drive. (My friends and family who have been white water rafting and have taken that bus ride up from the Yough will have a good idea of what this ride was like). We got to the beach in the late afternoon, got to do some swimming and saw lots of Trinnies enjoying themselves. Then for dinner we had a local favorite - Bake and Shark. It’s basically a fish sandwich on locally made rolls. They have a fixings bar that had lots of great condiments, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pineapple and some other things that I didn’t recognize. It was delicious, although the sauce I chose was really spicy.

Monday –

We went to the capital city for some touristy stuff, but 4 of us got to accompany Whit for a pretty neat experience. He, Alex, Barrett, Sudie and I were interviewed on the radio for a program about religion and faith. I have no idea how widely broadcast the station is or how many people actually listened to us, but it was fun and I think we did a good job of representing our group and the school. I think our Theology professor would have been happy with the answers we gave to several of the questions.

The rest of the group went to some shops while we did that. We joined them for some lunch and then sightseeing around Port of Spain. We saw the parliament building (site of the coup attempt in 1990), a couple of churches, government buildings of one sort or another and then drove up the coast a bit. Unfortunately we weren’t able to participate in the evening Vespers at the Benedictine Monastery in the evening as planned. But it was nice to relax after a lot of walking in the heat and sun. My leg is holding out OK. Today was a big walking day though so I was happy to sit for the entire evening.

Tuesday -

We had a teacher and priest from the Orisha tradition come to Morton House to speak to us this morning. Orisha is the umbrella term used for various African traditions that have come to the Caribbean, sometimes referred to as Voodoo. His presentation was very interesting and it was surprising how much I was able to relate to in the theology that he described, although the vocabulary was extremely foreign to us. We hope to get to visit the “yard” where they perform ceremonies later this week although I don’t know how likely it is that they will be able to add it to our schedule. It may be something that future trips to T&T get to experience.

After lunch we went to a Mosque which was located inside a compound which included a pre-school, a primary school, and secondary schools, one for girls and one for boys too. We met with six gentlemen who told us about their group, the schools and their faith. They had many questions for Whit and were interested in the purpose of our trip. They were happy to be reassured that we were not coming to convert anyone, that we disagree with extremists in the Christian world as much as they do with those in Islam, and that we want to combat stereotypes as much as they do. We got a brief tour and posed for pictures with them and Barrett and I made arrangements to connect with the youngest of them on Facebook (the tool of international and interfaith networking….of course).

We returned to Morton House for dinner and to prepare for an evening of viewing a Mas Camp, where Carnival costumes are designed and made as well as a steel pan rehearsal for Carnival. Unfortunately before we were to leave, we received word that the Rev had collapsed at a bus stop and was rushed to the hospital unresponsive. We have spent the evening praying and awaiting word on his condition. When speaking of her time in India, Sudie talked to us about collecting honorary grandparents. Several days ago we decided that the Rev was an honorary grandfather for all of us. We hope he makes a full recovery quickly. Knowing he will not be able to accompany us to Tobago on Thursday is quite a disappointment. He is an entertaining and informative tour guide and the experience will not be the same without him. Keep him and his family in your prayers, please.

Wednesday -

We were very pleased to find out in the morning that the Rev was awake, alert and knew where he was. He isn’t allowed any visitors and we are hoping that he is well enough to be released before our trip is over.

In the morning we went to another town, to a Hindu shine that is used for yoga twice a week. We got to practice yoga with the people of that town for over an hour.

This afternoon we were visited by a Muslim of the (?) sect which is not considered Muslim by most other Muslims. It was a difficult visit. I will hold the belief that he did not necessarily represent his faith totally or accurately. He insulted two of our classmates before he even started to talk about religion, so we were off to a bad start. He then proceeded to tell us what was inaccurate about our faith and how his is the only religion that accepts and loves everyone regardless of faith. He was full of conspiracy theories about US foreign policy and many other things which did not help the dialogue. We parted cordially, but I do not think that either of us gained much from the exchange.

The Digital Story of the Nativity

2010-12-16T12:30:00.002-05:00

(Thanks to Allie for posting on Facebook)

Our Darkness

2010-12-05T14:01:00.004-05:00

La ténèbre n'est point ténèbre devant toi;

la nuit comme le jour est lumière.

Our darkness, is never darkness in your sight;

The deepest night is clear as the daylight.

-Taize

Worst Day of Seminary

2010-12-02T01:09:00.006-05:00

I'm still a bit in shock and pretty numb, but I feel the need to get my thoughts down at this time. I often use my blog to process major occurrences in my life and it has helped me work through difficult situations in the past, so I'm going to utilize this forum for that purpose again tonight. Whether I actually hit the publish button is another thing altogether, but that I will decide later....

As I've written previously, my experience at seminary so far has been very positive. I love this community and I love my classes. I love the city of Austin and I've really felt like I've found my place. There have also been difficulties, which life always brings, and today one of the most difficult situations for me has taken a terrible turn.

One of the people that I connected with very early on here at school is a classmate of mine who had many things in common with me. He was close to my age, divorced, had an affinity for interfaith dialog, had read many of the same books that I had, and we had very similar taste in music. Shan and I hit it off during orientation and he lived two floors above me in my building. He was struggling with medical issues right from the very beginning of the year and stopped attending classes within the first month of the school year. He was withdrawn from classes for medical reasons and was intending to rejoin us in classes in the Spring semester. The school was very accommodating and made every effort to help him adjust and to get back on track. He reached out to me fairly often and occasionally would come to my apartment to visit and to tell me how he was doing. On rare occasions I was able to get him to join me and others out socially. He would often disappear for days at a time and we would watch to make sure that his car had changed parking spaces to know that he was leaving on occasion. He was checking in with professors and the Dean of Student Affairs (our chaplain) weekly to let them know how he was doing in addition to seeing doctors to deal with his medical issues. Many in the community were aware of his struggles and were doing what they could to monitor the situation and hoping to help in some way.

Sadly, he was found dead in his apartment this morning.

As of this time we do not know any of the details of his death and we are awaiting an autopsy.

The way it has been handled both formally and informally by this school, both those on staff and those studying here, has been great and yet another reinforcement that I am in the right place. As future pastors, we are learning how to be the church and how to help people deal with life. And this is a very real aspect of life that has hit our community today. It is one thing to plan a discovery weekend for prospective students, or to teach a class, but responding appropriately to a crisis situation and modeling for future church leaders how to handle one, especially one that hits so close to home is quite another. Despite the sadness of this day, I am proud to be a member of this community and to be learning from those around me.

The entire community gathered in the chapel this afternoon so that the president, Rev. Ted Wardlaw could share with us what is known at this time and to offer space for comments, questions, and/or reactions. We had a time of prayer together and sang Amazing Grace. A celebration of Shan's life will be held on Monday morning. There will be grief counselors on campus tomorrow and Friday and the chaplain visited our building this evening to see how we were all doing. Groups gathered together for dinner, for drinks and just to be together most of the afternoon and evening. My phone continues to ring with calls and text messages checking in on me.

I ache for his family who not only have to deal with their loss, but who also will have to come here to deal with his apartment, his car, etc. He had a fiancée in L.A. and friends throughout the country, having lived in Sante Fe, Colorado, Mississippi, and North Carolina. He lived in Turkey with his ex-wife and spoke highly of her, her family and the people of that country. I still can't quite believe that he is gone.

Personally, I had a difficult time dealing with him because his struggles reminded me much of the difficult times that I went through with my ex-wife. They were not the same, but it was similar in that I felt helpless to do much other than offer an ear and support. Sometimes that is all that we can do. Sometimes that is more than enough, sometimes it feels so inadequate.

In this situation I felt fairly inadequate. I know he appreciated me and that he felt he could come to me to talk, but I don't know if that was what he needed most. In all honesty that's how I feel about most of my interactions. I hope that I am providing for everyone that I deal with what they need most from me, but that isn't something that we ever know for sure, and we aren't always capable of giving what is needed. All we can do is be as authentic as we are capable of and pray that we are doing more good than harm by how we interact with the world and those around us. I feel that I have done that, but it doesn't make it suck any less that I wasn't able to do more for my friend and now he is gone.

I ask that you pray for Shan, that you pray for his family and friends, that you pray for this school and that you cherish those around you.

Something Shan always did, which I really appreciated about him and I will always carry with me, was that he always told me that he loved me when he left. We should all do that more than we do. We are all loved and it doesn't hurt to remind each other of that.

Know that you are loved and share that love with all that you encounter.

WKRP Turkey Drop in 30 Seconds

2010-11-24T15:19:00.003-05:00

Many of my classmates at APTS are too young to remember this, but this is one of the funniest episodes of television ever to air in my opinion.

Much love to my mom and dad who are spending Thanksgiving in Cincinnati with Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ed. See you in a few weeks!!! Love you!

WTF has Obama done so far?

2010-11-03T21:07:00.002-04:00

My apologies for the crass URL and the F-bomb being all over this page, but this site is a clever way to go through a comprehensive list of all of the accomplishments from the first two years of President Obama's administration.

LINK

Geeking Out with Yet Another Social Media Site

2010-10-19T16:02:00.003-04:00

I am enjoying a relaxing break so far and decided to play around with yet another social media site. I'm giving Tumblr a try and wanted to test the features that will import from my blog as well as post to Twitter and Facebook. I thoroughly enjoy writing, sharing and staying connected electronically (as if you haven't figured that out about me already...) so I'm trying to find the most efficient way to use these sites together.

I've already been using "Selective Twitter Status" to send only the Tweets that I choose to Facebook and that is helpful. It looks like Tumblr is a really convienent way to share things from my iPhone while I'm on the go and to let my Twitter followers and Facebook friends know when I've got a new blog post on blogspot.

So I figured the best way to test out this feature was to post to my blog and see what happens.

My apologies to Tweeple and FB friends if there are a lot of duplicate entries since I import my blog into FB Notes currently. Once I see how this works I'll be adjusting settings.

Here goes nothing....

Fall Break already?

2010-10-16T15:55:00.003-04:00

Its kind of hard to believe, but I’ve already reached the halfway point of my first semester. It seems like I just got started and I’m now officially on break and headed back to Maryland for a visit. Even though time seems to have flown by to get to this point I am physically and mentally exhausted and looking forward to some time to recharge and especially to see my friends and family. I’m sure part of the reason that time has flown by is because we have been so busy with papers and exams over the last several weeks and this last week in particular was chock full of assignments and exams.

In my last post I wrote about the school and the community and how I was adjusting, but not about my specific classes, so I want to share that now. I am taking four classes this semester – Systematic Theology, Introduction to Early Christianity: Apostolic era to 1650, Colloquy on Ministry and Vocation, and Introduction to the Old Testament.

Systematic Theology is probably my favorite class and Cindy Rigby is absolutely amazing. Sitting in her lectures is a little like Frog and Toad’s Wild Ride at Disney World. Its not the most linear path from A to B, but it is thrilling, there are gems all along the way and when its over I can’t wait to do it again.

My history class is by far the biggest surprise of the four. I really wasn’t looking forward to it, but Annie Bullock, who recently got her PhD from Emory, is a real treat. She is a wonderful storyteller, her PowerPoint slides are informative and amusing, and she really brings things to life for us so we can appreciate the context from which the history of our church has unfolded.

The Colloquy is a seminar style class which is co-taught by acting-Dean David Jensen and Alan Cole who heads up the dual-degree program at APTS. The purpose of this class is to help us to discern what our vocation will be and to learn and experience different methods of discernment. We only meet once a week, but for an extended period of time. Class is always broken up in to two components. Each week we spend half the time split into two smaller groups and have a book discussion about the reading. The other half of our time alternates each week. We have guest speakers from various vocations one week and then the next week we spend experiencing different spiritual practices and methods of discernment. Cole and Jensen rotate which group they facilitate each week. I am looking forward to taking a full class that meets more often with each of them.

The Old Testament is by far the most challenging academic class of the four so far. John Ahn is absolutely brilliant and has the impossible task of covering the entire old testament in 12 weeks. We aren’t just covering the content of the books, but also background for the origins of each book and the scholarship that has been and continues to be done to put the pieces of the puzzle together. With so much material to cover he moves at a blazing speed. The amount of reading and research that has to be done to keep up with his lectures and prepare for his tests is daunting.

One of my favorite things so far is how all four of these classes fit together like sprockets. It is really cool when we are sitting in one class and something from a lecture or discussion in another class will go off like a light bulb above our heads. I guess that’s what happens when you study for an advanced degree in any discipline, because it sure isn’t something that I can recall experiencing as an undergrad.

In late September we turned in our first paper, which was for History and the next week we had a mid-term in Theology. This past week was extremely intense though.

I had two papers due on Tuesday and a take home mid-term exam that had to be turned in on Friday. One of the papers was for Systematic Theology on the topic of the authority of scripture. One of the main texts for that class is Jean Cauvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion (John Calvin – for some reason it bugs me that we have anglicized his name). We also were assigned several articles by various other theologians. Each of these articles was focused on how much or how little authority they attribute to the Bible. Our task was to spend a few pages explaining Cauvin’s position, then to pick two other theologians to summarize. Being at a Presbyterian school, we all had to write about Cauvin. Lastly we were to compare and contrast the views of the three and tell where we find ourselves with respect to scriptural authority.

The other paper was also a really cool assignment, which was for the Colloquy class. It entailed interviewing three people who consider ministry, of one form or another, to be their vocation. I interviewed a hospital chaplain, a recent seminary graduate currently searching for a church to pastor, and an APTS graduate who runs a non-traditional ministry which consists of a retreat center and winery. We were specifically looking to obtain from them how they discerned their call to ministry in general and to this specific field, how they maintain their sense of call while dealing with the day to day aspects of their vocation, what challenges they faced while discerning their call and how they maintain a sense of call when they were challenged as well as with any challenges that may be ongoing.

As I type this my plane is slowly descending towards Baltimore and I am now ready to enjoy my break. But there is a part of me that is really looking forward to getting back to my classes once my tanks are full again.

Last night at a party I was introduced to a term that I (and many of my colleagues) are embracing and claiming wholeheartedly -

I am a semiNERDian!

New Beginnings, New Friends and a Great School

2010-09-24T16:41:00.019-04:00

As I reflect on the last month and the beginning of the school year I am struck by the fact that I haven't felt a major sense of homesickness, nor second guessed my decision to move across the country and devote myself to pursuing a theological education (at least not yet). I think that there are several factors that have helped with this transition - APTS the school, APTS as a community, and the support of important people in my life.

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, as an institution, has done an outstanding job of welcoming, orienting, and getting incoming students off on the right foot. There were several social opportunities before and throughout orientation (a BBQ, an ice cream social, a pizza party) where we had the opportunity to meet and socialize with our peers, the students that were

returning, the staff, and the faculty. We were welcomed again and again. Everyone made a big deal about how excited they were that we were here and they really meant it (or they are really good actors). Formal orientation, although a bit overwhelming, was extremely well done and covered all the important stuff that we needed to know and do to get officially started. They built a day into the middle of it where we went off campus to do some bonding and team building exercises. But we were also given some time for relaxing, recreation and just getting to know

each other. This was crucial since all incoming students are (for the most part) taking the same

four classes. Since I will be spending a lot of time with these 34 people and because it is a bit hard to get to know someone sitting next to them in a lecture, it was great to have this built into the orientation. Here is half of my class doing a challenge course during orientation.

Since classes have started they have also offered a couple of optional workshops on organizational and study skills, which this old guy who hasn't been in school for 18 years really

appreciated, especially since my degree is in Mathematics and this is a whole different type of studying than I have ever done before.

This week the president and his wife had all new Masters students (and their spouses) to their home for dinner. It was a chance for him to get to know us a little better, but also for him to check in and see how we were doing now that classes have started. He may be the president of the school, but he is still very much a pastor. One last thing that really helped to get us started

on the right foot and that also served as the most formal welcome to the seminary that we received was the worship service that was held the evening of our first day of classes (Sept. 7th). During worship the Junior class read together a "Declaration of Intent" and we were invited to come forward and sign our names in what Rev. Ted Wardlaw, the president of the seminary, refers to as the "Book of Life." Every APTS student, starting with the first class in 1904, has signed this book upon matriculation. Ted's sermon that night, being recognized in worship this way, and the Eucharist that followed was a perfect reminder of the legacy not just of this school, but of theologians and Christians in whose footsteps we are following.

Some of my new friends enjoying a gorgeous day in front of the chapel between classes.

The second major factor that has made this transition go smoothly is the community that is APTS and the informal way that my classmates and I have been embraced and made to feel part of that community. The returning students have been a wealth of information about professors, study advice, the rhythm of life here, the best places to find deals, the best places to eat & drink, etc. Outside of the formal social events that were scheduled by the school, there have been parties, invitations to go out to dinner, game nights, people getting together to watch a movie, to watch football, to go see a local band, and late night breakfast at a local diner. I feel as if I've made several really good new friends here already. The community is great at supporting each other and is a very tight knit group so I feel that there is already somewhat of a bond even with those that I haven't gotten to know well yet. Feeling this way after a month, I can't even imagine what that will feel like after a year, two or (with my classmates) three.

Last but not least, I credit my friends, family and congregation with helping to make this transition smooth. The support and encouragement that I continue to receive in emails, cards, text messages, Facebook posts, and care packages are a wonderful continuation of the amazing send off that I received before I left Maryland.

Today marks the end of three full weeks of classes. I turned in my first paper today for my Introduction to the History of Christianity (Apostolic Era to 1650) class and I have my first Mid-Term exam next Thursday in my Systematic Theology class. I was asked to read scripture at chapel last week, I decided to join the choir, and plan on participating with a social justice student group.

Aside from school stuff - I got a new tattoo, I became a member of "The Big 50" club at The Local (sampled 50 different beers - over the course of a month), I was given a personal mug that hangs on the wall for me to use when I go there, I got my Texas plates and drivers licence, I swam in Barton Springs, and I saw the bats under the South Congress Street Bridge.

What can I say? I'm loving it here. Hard to believe I'll be on fall break and back in Maryland in a few short weeks. I can't wait to see everyone. I'll need a break by then though -- I've got three papers and another Mid-term exam the week before our break.

My Road TripFrom Annapolis to Austin (5th & final part)

2010-08-25T16:29:00.016-04:00

Graceland is a major money making operation. They've got a set-up across the street from Elvis' house similar to the entrance to an amusement park--ticket windows with different levels of passes that you can buy, multiple gift shops, photo booths, and places to eat. We opted for the cheapest pass which got us an audio tour through the house and grounds and a special exhibit about his comeback tour after the Army. We boarded a shuttle bus and were driven across the street and up the long driveway. It was raining pretty hard so we didn't bother getting any pictures of the gate or the front of the house. Our first impression was that it wasn't nearly as big as we had expected. It wasn't a small house, but I've been in much bigger homes than Graceland. Now the decor, that's a whole different ball game. The house has been left as it was decorated when he died in the late 70's and the audio tour was narrated in large part by Lisa Marie. We weren't allowed to use flash so my pictures didn't turn out very good in the house. The room that I most wanted to show pictures of was the "Jungle Room" but it was pretty dark and those came out horrible. This was basically his den and it was complete with a waterfall built into the wall, fur lampshades, and lots of tiki style decorations. Here's a picture that I found online. It'll give you some idea, but doesn't quite capture how wild it was.

The tour also went through separate buildings where his father had the business office and what used to be stables. Vernon's office is left as it was, but the stables have been converted into trophy rooms with awards that he won, gold records, memorabilia from his movies, TV appearances and his wedding. Another building that we toured held a racquetball court (now converted into a display room for many sequin covered jumpsuits) and a rec room where you could watch the game through a glass wall. The last stop on the tour was out by the pool (again much smaller than I would have figured) where he and his parents have been laid to rest.

Not my favorite stop on our road trip, but I'm glad we went. Its one of those things you just have to do if you are in or near Memphis.

After Graceland Andy and I hit the road and made it through Arkansas and into Texas by the end of Friday.

Saturday

Saturday we finished our road trip and made it to Austin by early afternoon. We went straight to the seminary, stopped by the community center and picked up the keys to my apartment so we could check it out. We found a welcome note and a bucket full of helpful items (snacks, a couple hangers, 6' extension cord, paper towels, toilet paper, etc) on my kitchen counter by a group of students calling themselves the "Bucketeers." Very cool to be welcomed like that and yet another affirmation that I have chosen well with were I will be studying.

Andy was flying out on Sunday morning, so we grabbed a hotel close to the airport. We had planned on heading downtown so that he could see a little of my new city but we were both exhausted from our trip and fell asleep.

Sunday

After I dropped Andy off at the airport I drove myself (first time behind the wheel in 6 days) over to Auditorium Shores to see the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue.

Sorry Elvis fans but SRV is much more of a Rock Legend in my book. (If you want to know why, just watch this performance of Texas Flood live in 1983 at El Mocambo).

For more pictures of our road trip check out this album of photos that I put up on Facebook (you don't need an account to view the album)

Rather than spend another night in a hotel I went out and bought an air mattress so I could stay in my apartment. My POD didn't arrive until Wednesday morning, so I spent three days living in an echo chamber. But now my stuff is here and I'm almost completely set up. I've been meeting other students, learning my way around and starting to feel at home. Here's a bunch of pictures of where I'm living.

My Road Trip from Annapolis to Austin (part 4)

2010-08-21T18:38:00.013-04:00

Friday morning and early afternoon was spent at another historic site in Memphis that is quite a bit more somber than Sun Studios, but I am so glad that we made the stop. The Lorraine Motel is one of the most tragic sites in America because it is where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed. The facade of the building has been preserved and driving up and seeing that balcony where Dr. King fell is hard to put into words.
But thankfully the site has been used for the National Civil Rights Museum and is an awesome tour that inspired and reminded me of the kind of things that ministers can do to help transform society and see that all are treated equally and fairly. The museum was really amazing and the audio tour was really well done. It walks you chronologically through the history of African Americans in the US and the major milestones of the Civil Rights struggle. (We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but you can check out the web site for photos in the link above). You get on a bus from Montgomery and can sit next to a statue of Rosa Parks. The seat is wired so that when you sit down the driver's voice comes over the PA and instructs you to move and give up your seat several times. Finally it threatens to have you arrested and even though it was only a recording I found it hard to stay seated and imagine what it would have been like to have been this little seamstress taking a stand by refusing to give up her seat.
The museum was full of powerful exhibits like that and Andy and I both found ourselves wiping away tears on more than one occasion. Towards the end of the tour you stop at the window of what would have been room 307, directly behind where King fell (the windows with the curtains open in photo above). They have preserved his room (#306) and turned the wall that would have been adjoining #307 into windows so you can see inside. Thankfully they don't end on that sad note. They take you through the end of the garbage worker strike that was the reason King was in Memphis and then through exhibits showing how his dream and legacy have gone on to continue the civil rights movement in the US and how it inspired others around the globe to do similar peaceful methods of resistance like he used. My favorite quote from the tour was - "You can kill the dreamer, but you can not kill the dream." Wish I knew who said it, but I can't seem to find the source.
A new addition to the tour is now across the street in a new wing that has taken over the boarding house where James Earl Ray stayed and fired the fatal shot. That part of the tour is focused on the criminal investigation, his arrest, the evidence against him and of course conspiracy theories. It was interesting, but focused on the crime and not the legacy of MLK and the movement. It was very similar to the 7th floor Book Depository tour in Dallas if you've ever been to that. There was actually a protester set up on the street corner who has been there every day since the museum opened according to her signs who is upset that they are memorializing the assassination too much. I get her point, but I don't see how you can ignore such a huge piece of American history. Better that you educate folks about what happened and why than just ignore it altogether in my opinion, especially when you can show how the tragic event was not able to undo all the good that was done by the man or to stop his memory from inspiring others to keep up the struggle.
To offset the heaviness of that tour we headed for what many visitors to Memphis is THE reason to come to town - Graceland. And since it was Elvis Week the devoted fans were out in droves.

My Road TripFrom Annapolis to Austin (part 3)

2010-08-21T00:56:00.008-04:00

A few short hours on the road and we were in Memphis. We headed straight for a major landmark, Sun Studios. The record label that started out as the Memphis Recording Studio, widely believed to be the birthplace of Rock 'n Roll. The studio where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and many many others first recorded songs. Its just a tiny little building and they have taken over the corner building next to it for a gift shop and a small upstairs museum where the tour guide shares the history of Sun with folks and where they have some of the original reel to reel equipment, as well as some instruments, clothes and other memorabilia from the performers that Sun recorded.

Then they led us down stairs and into the original building. It consists of three rooms - a small front office that served as a reception area and business office -

A control room in the back where the recording booth is (which we didn't get to go in because the studio is still used today and it has been modernized quite a bit). And in between the studio which still has all the original acoustical tile on the walls and ceiling. Its not a very impressive room except for the instruments, microphones and pictures on the wall that remind you of all the greats that have stood in this very room and recorded some amazing music.

Since the studio became active again and has been registered as a historic landmark many newer artists have come to record music there. For instance, U2 recorded "Rattle and Hum" at Sun Studios. As you can see by the above picture, they get their money worth out of each tour. There unfortunately wasn't much opportunity to get great pictures in the studio because they packed us in like sardines. The tour guide was pretty entertaining though and had great enthusiasm for the studio, the stories and the music. They played lots of samples of the music throughout the tour, so it was well worth the stop.

That night, on the recommendation of a few friends we choose to get our BBQ, not at BB Kings place as many suggest, but went instead to Charles Vergos Rendezvous Charcoal Ribs. I am so glad that we did. Andy and I completely stuffed ourselves with smoked sausage, dry rub ribs, and pork shoulder. It was amazing. I was so full, but I didn't dare leave any meat uneaten. I knew if I did I would have woken up in a cold sweat for weeks thinking of what I had left behind.

After dinner we waddled down to Beale Street and checked out a couple live blues bands in outdoor settings. Its hard to believe we started Thursday out singing on stage in Nashville and finished it stuffed with BBQ and hanging out on the streets where the Memphis Blues helped create Rock n Roll.

My Road Trip from Annapolis to Ausin (part 2)

2010-08-17T20:33:00.015-04:00

Wednesday

Once we got up Wednesday morning we set out for the town of Lynchburg which is about and hour and fifteen minutes south of Nashville. Home of the Jack Daniel's distillery. I have always enjoyed Old No. 7, but I am so much more of a fan after this visit. If you are ever in Tennessee go take this tour, whether you like whiskey or not. It was fascinating and it is a beautiful drive getting there and it is in a beautiful part of the state. This is the one and only place that Jack Daniel's is made or was ever made. The tour is free and they are very proud of their product. The tour starts with a short film about the man, his discovery of the spring water still used today and the birth of the company. Strangely enough Lynchburg is in a dry county, so you have to drive quite a ways before you can actually sample anything made there. They show you ricks of wood (half of a cord) that they burn in order to make the charcoal used in the mellowing process. They take you to the mouth of the cave where the spring water still flows and is still used to make JD. They take you through the distillery building where they ferment the mash (oats, barley and corn), evaporate the alcohol and then condense it to collect clear whiskey. They have a spigot that when it is on pours a 3 inch stream of whiskey that flows at 44 gallons per minute to be collected and send to the next phase. We got to stick our heads in and smell the mash at the top of a silo and it was a burn like horseradish going up your nostrils. A fine smell, but STRONG. Next they trickle the whiskey through large vats of charcoal to mellow it. The charcoal serves to filter out any impurities and we got to take a whiff of those vats too. I think I actually got a little drunk off of those fumes. Next they took us to the building where the barrels are raised (by hand). This is an art form and requires special craftsmen. They do not "make" a barrel, they "raise" them. Then the whiskey goes into the barrel for several years, where it picks up its color and additional flavors from the wood. There is no set time limit. A master distiller tastes each barrel to determine when it is ready to be bottled and he handpicks special ones for the JD premium lines, particularly the Single Barrel Jack. If you happen to have $10,000 you can buy one of these barrels. You get to visit and taste several and pick the one you want. One barrel fills about 44 cases or 264 bottles of whiskey. So if you are looking for gift ideas for me....

Lastly, they take you to the barrel house. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside of any of the buildings, but it was a site to see. Imagine the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark, but with barrels of whiskey and you'll have some idea what it was like to walk through that. All just sitting, aging and picking up color and flavor until the master distiller deems it worthy of the Jack Daniel's label.

Our tour guide Roger was a great guy and he seemed to like Andy and I, chatting us up as we walked from one site to the next.

Not only don't they charge you for the tour, they don't even have a gift shop. They let the local folks take care of that and they point you to downtown to support the local economy. We went to an ice cream parlour and I had Jack Daniel's Whiskey Raisin Ice Cream on a sugar cone. It was amazing. We checked out the tshirts and other souvenirs and I was about to leave without anything when I spotted the perfect memento of this visit. I bought a walking cane that is made from the stave of a used barrel that JD was aged in.
We headed back to Nashville and after a short rest in the hotel headed downtown for dinner and to drink some good ole Tennessee sipping whiskey. There was a concert in the arena right in the center of town and wouldn't you know it Bieber fever was taking over Nashville. Tween girls and their moms squealing everywhere. It was a bit frightening. We ducked into Legends and had a Jack Daniel's while deciding where to eat. We agreed that Jack's was so good the night before that we went back second time. We went back to Rippy's too and saw another really good local act. We decided to grab a shuttle back and make it an early night before the Bieber fans came out and took over the city again.

Thursday

We headed straight to the Ryman Auditorium on Thursday morning. The Ryman is the most famous stage in Nashville and for years was the home to the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry is there twice a week currently while they are repairing Opryland from the flooding. The Ryman was not affected at all. It is a beautiful theatre full of wooden pews and stained glass with acoustics that they claim are second only to Carnegie Hall. We took a guided tour of backstage and a self guided tour of the public spaces. You could get on stage and have your photo taken and they had guitars there for props. Andy and I headed over to do it and I said to him - "I don't care if its three bars...I'm gonna sing on that stage when I get up there to have my picture taken." The lady taking the photos over heard me and said "Honey, you just go right ahead and sing all you want." So Andy and I had our picture taken together and were pleased to find the guitars were tuned and ready to play. So we played a little and then I stayed up to have a picture by myself taken. I played and sang a little bit of a song that I wrote recently and a woman in the balcony gave me a standing ovation. It was a major highlight of the trip. We were both giddy for the next few hours.
We jumped in the car and headed for Memphis....

My Road trip from Annapolis to Austin (Part 1)

2010-08-17T17:55:00.012-04:00

After a whirlwind farewell tour that lasted several weeks I'm sure some folks were wondering if I might ever be leaving. I had so much fun and really felt celebrated by my friends, coworkers, church family and my family. It was hard saying farewell but my friend Andy and I hit the road on Monday the 9th and we had a great time getting to Austin.

Monday
After spending Sunday night at my parents' house, I went back to my house one last time for a final sweep through. There were a handful of odds and ends to go in the POD and lock it up. I called BGE and Verizon and had my services disconnected and said one last very painful goodbye to my pets. I didn't find homes for them, so planned to take them to the SPCA, but found out that they are closed on Mondays. My parents agreed to handle that for me on Tuesday and I can't thank them enough for doing that. As Forest Gump would say - "That's all I have to say about that."

I made a quick stop back at my parents' to grab my duffle bag and fill my cooler with sodas and ice. My parents, sister Becky and my nieces saw me off and I was on my way. I had a good cry from Hillsmere to Parole, but pulled myself together to go through the bank drive-thru. I had a nice chat with my friend/pastor/former boss Bill as I drove to pick up Andy, who lives in Davidsonville. We grabbed lunch, filled up the tank and we began our journey with me driving. The worst traffic of the whole trip was at the Woodrow Wilson Bridge going around the DC beltway. I drove us out of Maryland, out 66 and got us on 81 South before we stopped for our first rest stop and Andy took over driving. That's the only strech of the whole trip that I actual drove. If you get the chance to go on a road trip with a chauffer, I highly recommend it.

We cruised that day all the way into eastern Tennessee, stopping only for dinner and to take a picture on the side of the road to send to Penni. A little homage to Marc Broussard's song - Home.

Its the first song Penni ever sang in public and she gives me credit for the nudge to get up there and perform.

Tuesday
We hit Nashville around lunchtime and started our exploring at the visitor center right in the heart of town. Grabbed some coupons and headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Great museum with all these little listening booths throughout where you could experience the music from the era that you were currently reading about. They had an amazing collection of clothes, guitars and all sorts of memorabilia. A special exhibit on Hank Williams was still there while we went through. The tour ended in the Hall of Fame which is a circular room with plaques for those that have been inducted to date. The building is beautiful and you could spend days in there trying to read and see everything that they have on display. The gold and platinum records on the walls were like the stars...far too many to count.
We walked up to the Ryman Auditorium but they were going to be closing shortly so instead of rushing we chose to do it another day. We checked out a vintage guitar shop with price tags that made Andy and I affraid to touch anything. Some really beautiful instruments. Amazing music was coming from a back room and we were pleased to discover it wasn't a recording, but two guys trying out a dobro and an accoustic guitar just jamming. We hung out for the afternoon in a place on Broadway called Rippy's and saw an older guy and a young girl perform and they were fantastic. Great voices, great song selections and he could really play the guitar and banjo. We found a hotel, checked in, showered and then caught a shuttle back down to Broadway for dinner and some karaoke. We ate BBQ in a place called Jack's and it was delicious. After dinner we headed across the street to a place called Troubadors so we could sing as is our Tuesday night routine. We texted back and forth with our friends at Heroes in Annapolis and it was like we were all together (sort of). We met some fun people in Troubadors and since karaoke ran from 8pm - 3am we sang A LOT. For the Original New Music Tuesday Crew I include the list of what I did that night --

Spanish Pipedream -John Prine
Miami 2017 (I've Seen the Lights Go Out On Broadway) Billy Joel
Someone Like You - Van Morrison
Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright version of Leonard Cohen's song
Million Dollars - Bare Naked Ladies (duet with Andy)
Beer For My Horses - Willie Nelson & Tody Keith (duet with Andy)
Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti and Spearhead
Vienna - Billy Joel
Angel From Montgomery - John Prine
Suddenly Seymour - from Little Shop of Horrors (duet with the KJ, Jessica)
What's So Funny ('bout Peace Love & Understanding) Elvis Costello
Where Everybody Knows Your Name - Theme song from Cheers
One Song Glory - from Rent
Lawyers Guns & Money - Warren Zevon
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys - Willie Nelson

As Double "N" Jenn, said..."Fifteen songs?! That's not karaoke, that's a concert!" We had so much fun and it was really cool to sing on stage in Nashville. People got up and danced to a couple of my songs, one girl hugged me for doing Leonard Cohen, the KJ bought me a couple of drinks, and I got to share it with my Annapolis gang through modern technology.

Quite the beginning to our little road trip.

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun

2010-08-01T22:08:00.018-04:00

Man this summer has just been flying by and there have been some major events and milestones since my last post.

Our youth group trip to Philadelphia was absolutely amazing. The folks at Broad Street Ministry are doing amazing things and it was such a great experience for us to get to work with them and meet the people of Philly. The main down side was how brutally hot the week was and the fact that the church is not air conditioned. We worked hard, sweated A LOT, and had lots of fun too. We had one free afternoon and went out for Cheese Steaks and also ran the steps at the art museum just like Rocky (OK, I was not exactly running like Rocky, but I did manage to hobble all the way up the steps and do the classic victorious pose at the top like I've wanted to do since elementary school!)

Starting 4th of July weekend, I spent a week on vacation with my family at Bethany Beach. Bethany put on a fantastic firework display on the beach and then a really nice parade the next day. I'm still partial to Deep Creek Lake, but I love swimming in the ocean and honestly as long as our family is together we could be in the middle of nowhere and it would be fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed my annual obsession with le Tour de France and geeked out with my Twitter friends following the PC(USA) General Assembly via their posts from the meeting and following the live streaming feed whenever I could. This gathering occurs every two years and is the national forum where our denomination discusses, debates and votes on the big issues facing our church and the world - gay marriage, ordination standards, the Middle East, etc.

I returned from vacation and assisted with Vacation Bible School at church. I helped coordinate youth volunteers who did a skit each morning for the children, ran games, and assisted adult leaders with their groups. I also lead worship for the children the final day of the week. Five half hour sessions back to back with 12-15 kids in each group. Its a whirlwind of activity, exhausting and one of my favorite weeks each year that I have worked at the church.

I finally had my hearing with the Workers' Compensation Commission to determine my permanent impairment and the financial award insurance will pay to compensate me for the current state of my leg. After the reports of two doctors and the testimony before the commission they have decided that I have a 60% loss of use of my right leg as a result of my accident. Basically, I'm not going to get rich as a result of this decision, but I should be able to finish seminary relatively, if not completely debt free (my disability award combined with other grants and scholarships that I will be receiving). I'd trade my leg function for debt in a heartbeat, but since that is not a choice that I am able to make I'll take the financial benefit.

I hit the big 4-0 a week ago. That combined with going away send-offs has had me celebrating daily and savoring every moment that I can with friends, co-workers and family. It has been a blast. My family threw a party for me last weekend that was to be a BBQ at our community beach, but mother nature had other ideas. A huge storm hit minutes after we finished setting up and shortly before the first guest arrived, so we relocated the party to my parent's house. It was so much fun to see all of my different circles of friends together in one place - co-workers, church members, youth group teens, karaoke buddies, life long friends, neighbors and my family.

On my actual birthday I got to go sailing out on the bay with my good friends the Rizzo's. Check out his blog post about our sail and for some great photos.

This morning was my last day as Director of Youth Ministries at First of Annapolis. I was commissioned during the worship service to go to seminary and they had an ice cream social afterward for me. They even ended the service with one of my favorite Ben Harper songs for the postlude. At the reception I received lots of cards, hugs, a set of Anglican prayer beads made by the youth, BibleWorks software for exegesis, and a generous financial gift. I am going to miss everyone so much, but am really getting excited for my move and to start school.

This week will be filled with packing, dump runs, and final get togethers and farewells.

I am truly blessed.

Time is getting short

2010-06-17T11:36:00.017-04:00

Less than two months until I hit the road for Texas. Life has been a lot of fun and I am trying to thoroughly enjoy my time here in Annapolis before heading off to school. I've been getting out a lot and spending time with my friends and family as much as possible. Since my last post much has happened.

I had another wonderful time up in Princeton at the Youth Ministry Forum. I got to meet a bunch of my Twitter friends "in real life" and got to hang out and reconnect with several of my Princeton/Lawrenceville friends from past visits. It was great to see Sara, Laura, Rich & Greer, Mark and Katie again. And I managed a trip to and from Jersey without any police incidents, so that's a big improvement over last year! The forum's featured speakers were outstanding this year. Kenda Creasy Dean, Shane Claiborne and the Reverend Peter Gomes were all excellent.

At church, we've wrapped up another program year and I'm prepping for our group to spend a week in Philadelphia with Broad Street Ministry. Should be a great week full of service learning projects, meeting new people and will be the biggest group that I've taken on a week long mission trip since I've been in youth ministry. In other youth related news - Youth Sunday was fantastic this year. I am so proud of the job that they did. The sermons, music, prayers and entire service was off the charts good. Confirmation Class concluded, we recognized a huge (18) class of graduating seniors and I managed to get through both without crying. The search committee has been accepting resumes and hopefully they will have a replacement for my position lined up before I leave. Still kind of sinking in that I will not be the youth director at First of Annapolis in a few short weeks.

I got to hang with Dan and Megan while they were back in the country briefly and check out their house in DC where they will be living when he finishes at Trinity and Birmingham.

My poker buddies and karaoke friends have been a ton of fun to hang out with and I am really going to miss them even though some of them I've only just met in the last few months. They are both a great bunch of folks (with some overlap between the groups) and they have done wonders to help me get over my stage fright and to just have FUN. After the last two years it has been just what the doctor ordered.

This week I received my housing assignment from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Initially they had me assigned to an apartment building the students lovingly refer to as "the leper colony" because it's about a block away from the rest of the campus. I was also assigned a second floor unit and the building has no elevator. This was a mistake because they had missed the fact that I have mobility issues and need either a ground floor unit or a building with an elevator. They were extremely accommodating when I called to tell them my problem. Within ten minutes the housing director called back with a ground floor unit in one of the buildings right on campus. It happened to be a 2 bedroom, instead of a 1 bedroom (for only $15 more per month) so I've really lucked out. The school has the floor plans on their web site, so this is the layout of my new home. Sure makes it nice and easy to plan what furniture I'll take and where it will go when I get there.
And speaking of my mobility issues, my hearing with the Worker's Compensation Commission will be in a month to determine my permanency rating and hopefully I can close the book on this whole accident and bureaucracy chapter once and for all.

I've recently reconnected with my high school sweetheart through Facebook and she lives outside of Houston with her husband and two girls. Having made the same transition that I am about to make, from the shores of the Chesapeake to Texas, she has been a wealth of information about what I need to prepare for culturally in Texas, what I must do here in Maryland before I leave and has some great suggestions for my road trip down. Gonna do a little Elizabethtown style road trip on the way there. My cousin and his wife are planning on driving up from Atlanta and meeting me in Tennessee for a few days of sight seeing together on my way out. I really want to hit the Grand Ole Opry, Jack Daniel's Distillery, Sun Records, Graceland, and the Civil Rights Museum on the way. My buddy Andy is planning on making the drive with me too. Should be a lot of fun.

Last but not least, my best friends Doug and Penni have made me an uncle again this week. Melody Soul Day was born Monday morning June 14th 12:48am. 6 pounds 4 ounces and she is beautiful!

Dropping Ashes on the Cross

2010-04-23T15:58:00.035-04:00

A Zen koan is a story or riddle used to make you think and hopefully enlighten those who meditates on it. One we all know is "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

Whenever a disagreement comes about with regard to faith, orthodoxy (right belief), orthopraxy (right action) or when the charge of heretic is thrown around I often think of another koan. It is Zen Master Seung Sahn's most famous koan . It goes like this -

Sixth Gate: Seung Sahn's Dropping Ashes on the Buddha

A man came into the Zen Center smoking a cigarette, blowing smoke in the Buddha-statue's face and dropping ashes on its lap. The abbot came in, saw the man, and said, "Are you crazy? Why are you dropping ashes on the Buddha?"
The man answered, "Buddha is everything. Why not?"
The abbot couldn't answer and went away.

1. "Buddha is everything." What does that mean?

2. Why did the man drop ashes on the Buddha?

3. If you had been the abbot, how could you have fixed this man's mind?

Commentary: How do you meet the Buddha? Where do you throw away ashes? Its all very clear. Your correct function is always in front of you.

NOTE: There is an important factor in this case that has apparently never been explicitly included in its print versions. Zen Master Seung Sahn has always told his students that the man with the cigarette is also very strong and that he will hit you if he doesn't approve of your response to his actions.

I think this can be transferred to the Christian faith. This is the way I would re-envision it:

A man walks into a church, snuffs his cigar out on the cross, breaks open the poor box, and takes all the money out. The pastor see this and confronts the man. He tells the pastor that this is not a proper church and says he is going to use the money for the good of God. His theft is forgiven so what's the problem? The pastor is speechless. If you are the pastor how do you correct this man's understanding?

If God has forgiven us through Christ then does it matter what we do? Can we go about sinning knowing that all is forgiven? If our sin is for what we believe to be the greater good does that excuse harming others? If we see someone else sinning is it our job to correct them? If so, how do we correct them? Since there are many different ideas as to what constitutes a sin where do we draw the line? Who gets to draw that line? When we feel that someone has crossed that line what is the best way to correct them? Lecture? Physical means? Excommunication? Ignore it? Is it OK to bully and badger someone until they agree with your interpretation?

These questions and this koan have been on my mind as I have been watching an online debate recently.

There is a group of people on Twitter who post comments using the common hashtag #Outlawpreachers. (a hashtag makes it easier sort Tweets when there are multiple people involved in a conversation). The "Outlaw Preachers" are an eclectic bunch of folks that may or may not be ordained, come from many different denominations (or none at all), and for one reason or another consider themselves to be outside of the norm. There is no initiation, there is no "membership." It is a completely open way to share ideas. Anyone who is on Twitter can type "#outlawpreachers" in a tweet and it will show up in the thread. There are often theological debates and for the most part it is done with respect and civility.

Recently though there have been some heated exchanges in large part due to one individual's very strong opinions on homosexuality and his less than subtle way of expressing them. People have tried lots of different ways of engaging him. Some have stopped following the hashtag because they can't stand the discourse any more. Some have tried to reason with him. Some have resorted to fighting back and it has deteriorated to name calling. Nothing seems to have worked thus far.

I happen to be a straight ally of the homosexuals. I do not view it as a sin. I believe in the radical grace of God and its availability to all that seek it. Personally I don't agree with this individual's point of view or his tactics. But he is my brother, as a human being and as a Christian, so I want to love him, find common ground and remain open to his point of view. Frankly, he is making it difficult for anyone who doesn't agree with him to do so.

On both sides of this disagreement each thinks the other has a mistaken understanding of the gospel. I'm sure that both think that the other is dropping ashes on the cross and using the church's "treasure" for the wrong things.

We think he is using scripture and the gospel to condemn and alienate children of God. He thinks we are too liberal with God's atonement and what he perceives as our acceptance of sinful behavior.

Someone is dropping ashes on the cross. How do we respond and stay true to our faith?

Seminary Decision

2010-04-22T09:53:00.001-04:00

After my visits and much consideration I have decided that I will be attending Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary to pursue a Masters of Divinity (MDiv). I will be starting in the Fall and plan on relocating to Texas sometime in August so that I have a little bit of time to get settled in before new student orientation September 1 - 3. Classes begin the following week.
I really loved the school, the faculty and staff, the students that I met and the other prospective students that were there with me for Discovery Weekend.

When I let the school know that I was accepting their offer of admission I received multiple messages of cheer and welcome from staff and I was warmly welcomed by alumni on Twitter as one of their own. It was quite an instant affirmation of my decision.

The campus is fairly compact and really pretty. They have a really cool Gothic chapel and a selection of different on campus housing options for students and their families within easy walking distance (even for me) to classrooms, administration offices, and dining/fellowship hall. The seminary campus is across the street from the northern most part of the University of Texas campus.

View Larger Map

The warmer temperatures should be somewhat easier on my leg and the city of Austin was by far my favorite of the locations of the Presbyterian Seminaries. From the school's web site -

In recent studies Austin has ranked first as the “best city for relocating families,” second among “top creative cities,” third “best city for singles,” and the fourth most “wireless” city in America. Home to one of the nation’s largest universities as well as the seat of state government, Austin is a welcoming community whose cultural diversity and tolerant attitude make it easy to fit in. We delight in our claim as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” where you can hear the symphony perform on the banks of Lady Bird Lake just steps from a statue commemorating Austin blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughn. More than 150 restaurants and clubs within ten minutes of campus offer a smorgasbord of culinary and musical fare. Life in Austin is largely lived outdoors in the city’s parks, trails, spring-fed pools, and lakes. Chances are you’ll fall in love with Austin as you discover that our unofficial slogan, “Keep Austin Weird,” is as much about cherishing our natural resources, homegrown businesses, and authentic Tex-Mex cuisine as it is about birthday celebrations for Eeyore, a city-wide love affair with the Mexican freetail bat, and an annual party for a much-maligned canned meat product.

They have offered me a generous grant to cover the bulk of tuition so I will basically need to cover my living expenses. Since the housing is owned by the seminary the monthly rent is well under market rates. I am in the process of applying for scholarships and loans in order to cover my living expenses.

I have been thinking about this for years. Then after deciding to move forward I had to put things on hold to recover from my accident and deal with the end of my marriage. Once I felt I was ready to move forward, having the support of my congregation and the Presbytery of Baltimore gave me the green light to start checking out and apply to schools. So after many months of completing applications, writing essays and trying to decide where to study it certainly is nice to know where I'm going and to be working on the final details to make this a reality.

Census Day

2010-04-01T13:16:00.007-04:00

Today is Census Day. It's also April Fool's Day, but this is no joke. Please complete your form and mail it back in order to save the government money. Otherwise they will have to pay folks to call and visit homes in an attempt to count everyone. Counting everyone will ensure that we have proper representation in the government and that there are enough resources allocated based on the actual population. It's simple and takes only a few minutes...you don't even need a stamp. For more information about why it is important or to get help with your form visit 2010Census.gov

While we are on the subject of how important it is to count EVERYONE there is a movement this year called Queer the Census that is lobbying to have a question added to the next census regarding sexual orientation. Should you wish to support the movement to have lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered citizens counted, visit queerthecensus.org and sign their petition. Its too late to order a free sticker, but you can print out your own and seal your envelope with the following image to let them know if you are LGBT or a straight ally of the community.

Yes We Can! (Hell No You Can't) The GOP Remix

2010-03-26T13:28:00.002-04:00

Video

Seminary Updates

2010-03-12T17:31:00.015-05:00

The biggest news that I have is that last week I received my first acceptance letter to one of the seminaries to which I applied - Princeton Theological Seminary. This is the oldest, biggest and some would argue the most prestigious of the PC(USA) schools, so getting accepted there bodes well for my chances of getting accepted elsewhere.

The next school that I expect to hear from is Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Their admissions board was meeting this week, so I'm anxiously visiting my mailbox daily. I had a chance to visit APTS a few weeks ago for a Discovery Weekend with about two dozen other prospective students and had a great time. I really liked the school, the people that I met and the city of Austin. I can definitely picture myself there.

My applications to Union Presbyterian Seminary(Union-PSCE) and Columbia Theological Seminary were the last to leave my hands, but all four are completed and now I'm in the waiting for answers stage. I'm also now busily filling out financial aid paperwork, scholarship applications and getting into the thick of the nuts and bolts of paying for going back to school.

Princeton today sent me notice that they are offering me a grant that will cover tuition so that leaves me basically with my living expenses to obtain if that is where I decide to go.

Many people are asking what my first choice is, and I'm not entirely sure. I have yet to visit Union-PSCE or Columbia, so I don't want to jump to conclusions before I have a fair way to compare the schools. I'm visiting Union-PSCE next week. I was supposed to go back in early February, but their Days for Discovery was snowed out. I haven't scheduled a trip to Columbia, but am working on finding a suitable time to visit. From what I know thus far, I will be happy at any of these schools.

The other news on the ordination/seminary front is that I participated in my career counseling that is required by the Committee on Preparation for Ministry through my Presbytery. This was basically a psychological evaluation to determine if there are any red flags that the committee should know about that would need to be monitored while I am under the committee's care or worst case if there is reason to stop the process altogether. I haven't seen the report yet, but was told before leaving that there was no reason not to move forward. I didn't have doubts about that, but there is a certain amount of anxiety involved in being evaluated that way. It was quite an intensive process. I was mailed a pre-program package with lots of forms, essays and standardized testing to complete prior to going to New Jersey where the testing took place. I also had to get reference letters and a physical from my doctor prior to the testing. The testing involved more standardized testing when I arrived at the center and about seven hours of interview/conversation over the span of two days. I also had several hours of homework after day one to reflect and write about things that we discussed during the first day. I do not hope to do this again anytime soon. It serves a very important purpose but man oh man, that was something. It is never a bad thing to be introspective and understand yourself and how that will impact your ability to be successful or potential pitfalls that you should be aware of in your ministry, but that much in such a short time span is INTENSE.

The center where the testing was held is in Princeton, so I was able to stay with friends who live in town (Sara and her sister Laura) and I got to see several people who I met at a youth leader conference last year. I also had a chance to have coffee with a recent PTS graduate who I had never met in person, but have corresponded with online, so that was fun and helpful. We met on campus and walked into town, so I briefly got to see the seminary and imagine myself there during this visit. I'll be there again for several days in the end of April for the same youth leader conference, so I will get more time to do that and really check the school out again.

I'll keep everyone posted as news develops and as I get closer to making a decision, but it is really starting to look like I'm going to be back in school soon.

The flip side of this exciting possibility is that it will mean relocating and leaving the job that I love and moving away from family and friends. I won't be gone forever and I'll be visiting often. But I love the youth in my church so much and hate the thought of leaving the program at First of Annapolis. They are a big part of the reason why I am continuing on this path though. Because I love my work so much, I want to further pursue my education and be better equipped to do what I love to do. It is in the faces of the teens, their parents, and the congregation of FPC Annapolis that I see Jesus and in their voices that I hear God calling me to make this my vocation.

In Sunday school last year we were having a discussion about Jesus calling the disciples and I raised the question about what the families must have thought when Simon, John and James "dropped their nets" and set off with this itinerant rabbi called Jesus. I always pictured everyone a bit miffed when they left, but thanks to a NOOMA video that we had just watched entitled Dust and a comment made by one of the youth I now have a different opinion. This young man said something to this effect - "I'm sure that they would miss them, but they probably recognized what an honor it was to be asked to study under the rabbi (Jesus) so they were more proud than anything else." I hope that is how folks look at what I'm choosing to undertake, not with a focus on what I'm walking away from, but with a focus on what I am walking towards.

Global Warming Debunked by Snow?

2010-02-11T12:08:00.008-05:00

Hard to believe but that's what the folks on Fox News and several Republican legislators want people to believe. They've been using it to take shots at former Vice President Al Gore. If they had actually watched and paid attention to his film An Inconvenient Truth they would understand that Climate Change makes for more extreme weather events. The overall trend is for warmer temperatures, but it won't eliminate cold spells or winter storms.

Last night, Rachel Maddow and Bill Nye the Science Guy helped those that are having trouble with this concept. The fact that it is snowing on one part of the earth, does not in fact disprove the scientific fact that the overall trend for our planet is one of warming and therefore creating more severe weather events.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Rachel Maddow Show

If you are like Sarah Palin, and love the "satire," then you'll like how The Daily Show and The Colbert Report handled this topic.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

We're Off to See the Blizzard

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Economy

The Colbert Report

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Unusually Large Snowstorm

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

The Daily Show

Satire

2010-02-09T15:52:00.011-05:00

From Dictionary.com
sat⋅ire [sat-ahyuhr] -noun
1. the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.

Dear Mrs. Palin,

This is satire.

Link

What Rush did was capitalize on the chance to use the same word you denounced to further bash the same group of people Rahm bashed. Neither was acceptable and neither is your failure to call him out.

BTW - I'm loving my hopy changy stuff!

How's that mavericky folksy stuff working out for you?

Sincerely,
Chris

A Recap of Recent Events

2010-02-05T19:43:00.008-05:00

My first blog post of 2010. A quick look back shows me that January 2010 is the first month that I didn't post anything since I started this back in March of 2008. The last two months have been a bit of a whirlwind and I did a fair amount of writing for my seminary applications, so I guess that's partially to blame for the lack of writing here.

Youth Job
Things have been pretty busy on the youth front. In January we had our ski trip, the confirmation class retreat to DC for a world religions tour, and last weekend we held our annual fundraiser - the Youth Auction. Each of those alone is a lot of work and pretty exhausting, but all three in the same month...wow. It was intense.

The budget at church proved to be quite difficult again this year and my position was in jeopardy of being cut. Actually that was the recommendation of the Finance and Stewardship Committee and what I expected to happen. My job has been funded by a special gift and has not been in the actual budget for the three years that I've held it. It was supposed to be added last year, but due to a shortage they were not able to do that. This year when funds came up short again and with the gift practically depleted I was anticipating the position being cut. This had nothing to do with me personally, just a reality of the budget woes. When the session (church elders that make decisions) met to approve the budget, they said NO to the recommendation. They said that the youth program was too important not to have a Youth Director and told the committee to go back to work on the budget. Everyone had to make cuts and the position was added to the permanent budget as was the intention last year. I couldn't be happier with the fact that the church values the youth program and with the message that sends to our youth and their families. Personally there is a downside though - the position, which has been a 15 hour a week part time one has been reduced to a 10 hour a week one with my salary cut by a third. It will require some restructuring of the job responsibilities and the hours that I spend doing youth work. The session said that the primary focus of my position should be face-to-face time with the youth, so the administrative aspects of my job will have to be shifted around a bit. We are in the process of figuring out how that will look going forward.

Seminary
My first applications, to Princeton Theological Seminary and to Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary have been submitted and I am close to being finished with applications to Columbia Theological Seminary and Union-PSCE (Soon to be called Union Presbyterian Seminary). I have visits scheduled to see these schools and am anxious to get a feel for their campuses, meet students and faculty, and get a better sense of where I would like to study. My visit to Union-PSCE was actually supposed to be last week but it was snowed out. Richmond got hit with more than a foot of snow and they had to close campus so the Days for Discovery were canceled.

Workers Comp
On the Workers Compensation front, things are close to being completed. I worked with a vocational counselor from August until about two weeks ago and have been seeking employment to replace the full time job which I am no longer physically able to perform. As you've no doubt seen on the news, the employment situation is bleak. But I have recently had a few interviews and am hopeful that I will find something soon. The next/final step in the workers comp process is to have a permanency hearing. I will have to been seen by a few doctors first and they will determine my permanent impairment. Apparently there is a chart with body parts, percentage impairment and how many week's wages that translates to. With a couple of doctor's reports and this chart they will determine my final impairment "award."(something just sounds wrong about using that word - Congratulations you've permanently broken yourself!) I don't know when that hearing will take place, but I am anxious to have it over and done with to end this chapter.

Personal
I don't want to go into too much detail, but on the marital front I've had a pretty rough couple of months. After over a year of separation Danielle and I agreed to move forward with divorce. Unfortunately, before the process could get underway things got a bit messy. She was struggling with some of her old demons and things got pretty scary. The good news is that she is now doing much better, is getting the help that she needs and I have more hope for her well being than I have had in a couple of years. Things are now moving forward to legally end our marriage but we are on good terms and both want what is best for the other.

Snowpacolypse #2
I write this post from the heart of yet another blizzard. Hard to believe what they are predicting, but based on what's happening outside I think that they are correct that this will be very similar to what we got on December 19th if not worse. This is the third snowfall this week and there are apparently two more coming right behind it. I'm hunkered down with plenty of food, sodas, snacks and more essays to write for grad school applications. So as long as we don't lose power I should be just fine. Actually, even if I do lose power I'll be fine.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T18:46:00.002-05:00

I dedicate this song to all of my family and friends. Whether you realize it or not, you have helped me through some of the most difficult circumstances in my life and I could not have done it without you. I love you all.

THIS LOVE WILL CARRY

Music & Lyrics by Dougie MacLean. Published by Limetree Arts and Music

It's a thin line that leads us and keeps a man from shame
And dark clouds quickly gather along the way he came
There's fear out on the mountain and death out on the plain
There's heartbreak and heart-ache in the shadow of the flame

CHORUS
(But) this love will carry. This love will carry me
I know this love will carry me

The strongest web will tangle, the sweetest bloom will fall
And somewhere in the distance we try and catch it all
Success lasts for a moment and failure's always near
And you look down at your blistered hands as turns another year
CHORUS

These days are golden, they must not waste away
Our time is like that flower and soon it will decay
And though by storms we're weakened, uncertainty is sure
And like the coming of the dawn it's ours for evermore
CHORUS

Snowpacolypse or Snowmagedeon

2009-12-20T15:00:00.009-05:00

Well, those are two names that have been bandied about on Twitter the last few days. This storm delivered exactly what was predicted here in Annapolis. We got just around 21 inches.

These are from yesterday afternoon -

This is from late last night. That's my gas grill and a big trash can -

And this is the view from this morning out my back door and of my car. Needless to say, I did not make it to church this morning.

My Dreadlocks

2009-11-03T20:00:00.008-05:00

Recently I was approached by a very sweet septuagenarian after church with some questions about my hair. Apparently she has been sitting a few pews behind me for the past few years (Presbyterians are such creatures of habit that we have unofficial self imposed assigned seating) and finally decided to ask me about my dreadlocks. She has been curious, and after a disclaimer about not wanting to offend me, worked up the nerve to say "I know your hair is making a statement, but I was curious as to what that might be?" After a good chuckle I told her that I hadn't overtly intended on a single statement when I decided to undertake this style, but that there were several that came to mind for me. More on those in a bit.

While discussing this with my sister, Becky, she reminded me of an essay that was a big part in my decision to try this hairstyle. It is entitled Sister and it is from Anne Lamott's book Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. Anne Lamott was definitely an inspiration for me adopting this hairstyle. After being approached by strangers asking how they could get their hair to look like hers she says this --

"Mostly people see someone with dreadlocks, especially a white person with dreadlocks, and assume that the person's hair carries with it a position or message -- the message being, Maybe you don't have as many prejudices against me as you do against black people, but you should. Most people, if asked might wonder if perhaps dreadlocks are somewhat unpatriotic --isn't it unpatriotic not to comb your hair? The tangles are so funky, and who knows, they may harbor bugs and disease. Perhaps to some people dreadlocks indicate confusion of thought and character: good children have shiny combed hair, while bad children, poor children, loser kids, have bushy hair.
But two people in St. Louis stopped me on the street and asked for instructions on how to get their hair to look like mine."

In this essay she recounts the problems that she had with her hair and how much of a source of anxiety it was for her for 40 years. She was constantly worried about the weather and went through tons of products (mousse, gel, etc) to attempt to control her fluffy wiry hair. I can certainly relate. My hair, when not super short has always required a good deal of effort and/or gel to get it to do what I want it to do.

She keeps thinking "How much longer am I going to think about my hair more often than about things in the world that matter?" After some gentle prodding from a neighbor and a revelation while watching The Shawshank Redemption she allowed her friends to come over and start her locks.

"Dreadlocks would be a way of saying I was no longer going to play by the rules of mainstream white beauty. it meant that I was no longer going to even try and blend. It was a way of saying that I know what kind of hair I have, I know what it looks like, and I am going to stop trying to pretend it is different than that. That I was going to celebrate instead."

"The dreads are so cool: no wonder two people in St. Louis wanted my secret. Like snowflakes, each dreadlock is different, has its own configuration, its own breadth and feel."

So, what statement am I making with my locks?

I have always enjoyed being a little bit "out there" in order to draw attention to myself. Hair style is an easy way to accomplish this. I've been doing it since junior high with a "spike", a rat tail, long hair, crew cut, completely shaved, the James Dean pompadour, you name it. (photo album of my many styles) My dreads definitely help me in social situations when I often retract into my introverted nature. Like Anne's new friends in St. Louis, strangers will often ask me questions or want to touch them in line at the grocery store or out at restaurants. Its quite amusing and brings me out of my shell to meet and talk to people that I otherwise would not have interacted with 9 times out of 10. They are my ambassadors, my tentacles to reach out to the world.

As a white middle class heterosexual male I have rarely experienced what actual prejudice feels like, but I was raised to want to combat it any way that I can. I do know that often those barriers come down when people are directly exposed to people of different stripes. It is harder to be homophobic when you meet or are related to a gay individual. It is harder to be racist when you have friends or coworkers of another race. So, it is my hope and desire that people who know me or meet me will pause before jumping to conclusions about someone else who looks different than them.
In much the same way my hair affects my behavior and attitudes too. It gives me the incentive and opportunity to overcome the stereotypes that are out there. That only works if my behavior and actions are contrary to what those stereotypes are.

It also helps to remind me not to jump to conclusions either because I have now had a small taste of what that feels like. I have been pulled over by the police without committing any moving violation a handful of times. I'm fairly certain that I was profiled. I have also been mistaken for one of the homeless while volunteering. These are not even close to what so many endure on a daily basis and I can always change my hair, but my empathy grew as a result.

Like Anne Lamott I see my dreads as "an act of both triumph and surrender to give up trying to have (normal) hair." They help me socially and they help me to spread the message of equality for all.

I also happen to think that they look great.
I put this photo album together on Facebook to show the progression of my locks over the last four years for the company where I got my instructions and products - DreadheadHQ.com Anyone considering this style should check out their website. You don't have to buy the products in order to start your own locks, but I would highly recommend them. The products and the people behind them are excellent.
UPDATE - Last night after posting this I saw the following "Tweet" from Joan Walsh, editor of Salon - "I promised to Tweet with Anne Lamott, but our dogs are going wild. Plus, nothing good to Tweet about..."

Knowing that Anne was in the room with Joan and that they were monitoring Twitter while watching election returns I sent the following message - "@joanwalsh Tell Anne that there's another Presbyterian w/dreads in MD who loves her and quoted her on his blog today. Love you too Joan." Didn't get a reply (didn't really expect to) but at least I got to tell one of my favorite authors how great I think she is and there is an ever so slim chance that she might have checked this post out. How cool would that be?

UPDATE #2 - In April, I found out that Anne Lamott was doing a book signing in Northern Virginia in support of her new fictional novel, Imperfect Birds. On the spur of the moment I hopped in my car and drove over to see her speak for about 45 minutes, take questions and got her to sign my well worn copy of Traveling Mercies and a brand spanking new copy of the new novel for Becky's birthday present. I was too nervous to think to ask her if she ever saw my Tweet or read my blog post, but I did tell her that she was part of my inspiration for the hairstyle, that I was heading to seminary in the Fall, and how much progressive Christians appreciate her voice and writings.

Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-12T13:52:00.007-04:00

When someone else explains something so much better than you ever could then why re-invent the wheel? Rachel Maddow lays out the case for why our president was deserving of the honor that was announced on Friday morning and how strange it is that people are getting so bent out of shape over it.

Rachel Maddow: The Nobel Prize & Obama Derangement Syndrome

"The American president just won the Nobel Peace Prize. By any reasonable measure, all Americans should be proud." - Rachel Maddow

UPDATE - I can't resist adding this comment from Bill Maher.

"Republicans would bitch if Obama got a BET award."
- BILL MAHER, on the right’s reaction to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, on Real Time

Obama Speech at College Park

2009-09-17T18:54:00.019-04:00

President Obama is in full court press mode on Health Care Reform, so it was fitting that he spoke in a basketball arena last week. My father and I went to the University of Maryland last Thursday to see his speech at the Comcast Center. Below are a few photos that I took and the CSPAN video of the speech. The speech was good, but unfortunately the sound system was lousy. They choose not to use the house PA and instead used a temporary set up of speakers hanging above and in front of the stage. The speakers were pointed straight ahead from the stage and did not provide very good sound to the sides of the arena. Luckily the scoreboard in the center had the closed captioning turned on and we were able to read the speech. The brief delay to get the text onto the screen made the applause lines a bit choppy though.

He was even heckled at one point, but the heckler was shouted down by those around him and quickly escorted out by police.

I'm not sure, but I think the heckler might have been related to Gallagher.

He ended with the full story of the "Fired up! Ready to go!" rally cry as he has been doing a lot lately.
Here is the CSPAN video of the speech -

Kanye strikes again!

2009-09-17T00:32:00.001-04:00

Now he has taken over my blog..... click here

Thank You Kanye West

2009-09-15T18:45:00.003-04:00

The ridiculous behavior of Kanye West has allowed President Obama to indirectly tell us what he thought of Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst last week.

Barack Obama, as the President, handled the outburst during his speech exactly as he should have. After his initial pause he continued his speech. The next day he was gracious and quickly accepted Rep. Wilson's apology. Nothing for him to gain by dignifying the bad behavior of a "back bench" congressman with escalation. No need to stoop to his level and allow the story to get any bigger than it naturally was/is.

But in a leaked "off the record" conversation that was probably similar to so many "water cooler conversations" Americans everywhere have been having about a pop culture event, we get to see what Barack Obama, the regular American, thinks about someone who speaks out of turn and (attempts to) upstage someone who deserved the floor.

Audio of the President talking about Kanye West.

The question to him is even framed as Kanye West giving Taylor Swift "the Joe Wilson treatment."

So, by simple induction --- If Barack Obama says that Kanye is a "jackass" for Joe Wilson-like behavior, then we can assume that Barack Obama must think that Joe Wilson is a "jackass."

You can see here that House Rules were broken by Rep. Joe Wilson.

Under clause 1(a)(1) of Rule XI, the rules of the House are the rules of its committees as far as applicable. Consequently, Members should comport themselves with the rules of decorum and debate in the House and in Committees specifically with regard to references to the President of the United States as stated in Sec. 370 of the House Rules and Manual.
As stated in Cannon’s Precedents, on January 27, 1909, the House adopted a report in response to improper references in debate to the President. That report read in part as follows:
"It is... the duty of the House to require its Members in speech or debate to preserve that proper restraint which will permit the House to conduct its business in an orderly manner and without unnecessarily and unduly exciting animosity among its Members or antagonism from those other branches of the Government with which the House is correlated."

Tonight the House voted to officially "disapprove" of his behavior. In other words, he was formally and politely called a jackass.

Here is a bizarre thought - perhaps Kanye is another one of those Sacha Baron Cohen characters. He is, after all the same "jackass" that gave us this treasure -
"George Bush does not care about black people."

Dr. Marvin, guess what? Ahoy, I sail, I'm a sailor, I sail!

2009-08-30T16:48:00.025-04:00

What About Bob clip
I hadn't been on a sailboat in twenty years until this Saturday. What a great day, which was even better since it was to support the youth program at First Presbyterian of Annapolis. Every Fall, we have an auction to raise money to support the youth program. Last year one of the items that was donated was an afternoon of sailing out on the Chesapeake Bay. Our congregation really gets into the auction and is incredibly generous with their bids and donations. When the sailing item came up my friend Craig and I decided to pool our resources and go in together for it and we were successful.

The plan was to go out in the Spring, but it took until this weekend to find a suitable time that Craig, Jen, Vern, me and the boat were all available and in good health simultaneously. It was well worth the wait. Despite a so-so forecast and a gray morning we had a gorgeous sunny day and a nice breeze for most of the five hours we were out on the water. Vern let each of us take turns at the helm and I was fortunate enough to have my turn through the best winds of the day.

Our top speed was around 5.5 knots. For those of you familiar with the Bay, Vern lives in Amberly so we came out of Whitehall Creek into the Chesapeake just south of the Bay Bridge. We sailed down along the west side past Annapolis, Bay Ridge and Arundel on the Bay. We tacked east before we got all the way to Thomas Point and shot over towards Kent Island. We came about again and managed to take a single line from the east side of the Bay all the way into the mouth of the Severn. We turned around just off of the Naval Academy sea wall and headed back up the west side of the Bay to Whitehall Creek.

A fabulous day with great company spent out on the water. It doesn't get much better than that.

FYI - The boat Vern has is a Sabre 28. I also found this review which has some interest info about this boat that is no longer made and is almost as old as I am.

Amen Mr. President

2009-08-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

We cannot know for certain how long we have here. We cannot foresee the trials or misfortunes that will test us along the way. We cannot know God's plan for us.

What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we can know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of other human beings.

President Barack Obama's words from the eulogy for Sen. Kennedy.

Beware the OLIGARHY!

2009-08-28T16:30:00.005-04:00

Is there a "C", Pat??

Glenn Beck is a comic genius. I am becoming more and more convinced that he and Orly Taitz are characters created by Sacha Baron Cohen. Only instead of playing them himself as he did with Borat, Bruno and Ali G, Cohen has enlisted the help of some truly gifted improv performers since he is now so recognizable.

YouTube - Glenn Beck Can't Spell (Shared via AddThis)

Hilarious/horrifying post detailing more of Beck's rantings. Did you know that President Obama is creating a Secret Army? They are organizing via Twitter.

His ramped up hysteria is mostly in response to a campaign to have sponsors boycott his program because he called the President a "racist" with a "deep seeded hatred of white people."
The campaign has been pretty successful (at last count 39 companies had pulled their ads) and folks are speculating that the end may be near for him on FoxNews. A recent monologue he gave seems to indicate he may think that's the case too.

I am making light of this, but in reality I think that this is pretty reprehensible. He acts as if this is about First Amendment Rights, but whipping people into a frenzy the way he is attempting to do with his show is akin to yelling "Fire" in a crowded theater. Sooner or later someone is going to get trampled and that isn't going to be the least bit funny.

47 Years in the Senate and 15,235 votes cast

2009-08-26T17:40:00.009-04:00

The video tribute above was produced by ThinkProgress’ Victor Zapanta.

In addition to this "Day in 100 Seconds" piece, Talking Points Memo has a collection of videos with the statements by President Obama, Vice President Biden, former President Carter, Senator John McCain and many others. Perhaps the most poignant of all of them is actually from last year. It is a video of Senator Byrd reading a statement into the Senate record after hearing the news of Kennedy's brain cancer diagnosis.

Senator Kennedy's family set up this web site in his honor and you can peruse his many accomplishments, read and/or watch his speeches, look at pictures, share memories and send sympathies to his family.

"Every American should have the opportunity to receive a quality education, a job that respects their dignity and protects their safety, and health care that does not condemn those whose health is impaired to a lifetime of poverty and lost opportunity." - Edward M. Kennedy

They were for "death panels" before they were against them

2009-08-13T18:51:00.004-04:00

Does anyone remember the Terri Schiavo Debacle? It was the Florida case between a husband and his in-laws that made it into the Capitol Building and onto every TV channel. They were fighting about what to do with the poor woman in a vegetative state who could no longer speak for herself. Unfortunately she had not put in writing any definitive answers regarding what her wishes were in the event that she ended up like she did.

Someone obviously does remember because they wanted to make sure that Health Care Reform addressed the issue. This would be the now infamous section on page 424 of HR 3200 that according to some creates "death panels" or encourages suicide. It expands Medicare coverage to pay for folks to voluntarily have a conversation with their doctor about "advance directives."

Despite the fact that the creation of "death panels" has been thoroughly debunked, opponents of Health Care Reform continue to push this nonsense into the debate. Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich are front and center on this issue (having been backed up by Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, and Senator Grassley).

How inconvenient for both Palin and Gingrich to have Think Progress uncover them supporting these same consultations in the very recent past.

When then-Governor Palin endorsed "Healthcare Decisions Day" on April 16, 2008 she "urged public facilities to provide better information about advance directives, and made it clear that it is critical for seniors to be informed of such options."

In April of this year Mr. Gingrich praised a hospital in Wisconson for their use of "advance directives" as being extremely cost effective and more efficient. He even goes on to say that their "approach empowers patients and families to control and direct their care."

So why are they both now opposed to a section in proposed legislation that would encourage the very thing that they are both obviously in favor of?

Why is something that made so much sense to them now so scary and nefarious?

Someone should ask them.

Talking Points Memo now has a handy run down on the entire "death panel" meme.

Reform, In A Nutshell

2009-08-11T23:09:00.011-04:00

Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winning Economist -

"The essence is really quite simple: regulation of insurers, so that they can't cherry-pick only the healthy, and subsidies, so that all Americans can afford insurance," Krugman said. He added, "[W]hat it means for the individual will be that insurers can't reject you, and if your income is relatively low, the government will help pay your premiums."

Our President -

"For all the chatter and the yelling and the shouting and the noise, what you need to know is this: If you don't have health insurance, you will finally have quality, affordable options, once we pass reform. If you do have health insurance, we will make sure that no insurance company, or a government bureaucrat, gets between you and the care that you need. And we will do this without adding to our deficit over the next decade"

And from Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly (title to this post borrowed from his)-

"Three sentences.

If you don't have coverage, you'll get coverage.
If you have coverage, insurers won't be able to screw you over.
And we can achieve this without increasing the deficit.

Everything else relates to mechanical details to get us from here to there."

Lather, rinse, repeat......

Health Care Reform

2009-08-11T12:12:00.023-04:00

I've been following the side show that is happening in the place of an actual debate about Health Care Reform and am at a loss. Those opposing reform have tapped into the fear, distrust and anger of many among us and are using it to derail any chance of a real discussion about the pending legislation. There are plenty of actual issues that we could be discussing such as the public option, single payer, or mandates but instead we are talking about "death panels", "socialism", "being un-American", and "turning in your neighbor."

Its a damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of situation. Not addressing these issues is seen as a concession to their validity and addressing them takes the debate down a tangent and away from the actual topic at hand. I think that is precisely what those who oppose reform want and it has quickly spread out of the individual town hall meetings and into the media, blogosphere, and social networking sites. I'm not suggesting that there aren't actual citizens who are showing up at the meetings, writing emails and taking a stand against reform. There are. Unfortunately many of them are misinformed, they are getting angrier, the confrontations are getting violent and there have been at least three (1 2 3) instances of guns being brought to rallies.

I think we desperately need to find a way to engage each other in a meaningful way so that we can deal with this issue that almost everyone agrees must be addressed. David Frum, who was a speech writer for President Bush, is someone who I usually do not agree with on just about anything. However, like Andrew Sullivan I find myself agreeing with Frum. Last week he wrote a piece ruminating on the "cost" of winning . i.e. -- "beat back the president’s proposals, defeat the House bill, stand back and wait for 1994 to repeat itself."

The problem is that if we do that… we’ll still have the present healthcare system. Meaning that we’ll have (1) flat-lining wages, (2) exploding Medicaid and Medicare costs and thus immense pressure for future tax increases, (3) small businesses and self-employed individuals priced out of the insurance market, and (4) a lot of uninsured or underinsured people imposing costs on hospitals and local governments.

We’ll have entrenched and perpetuated some of the most irrational features of a hugely costly and under-performing system, at the expense of entrepreneurs and risk-takers, exactly the people the Republican party exists to champion.

Not a good outcome.

There is a really good diary over at Talking Points Memo called "I Don't Trust Your Side, and My Side Sickens Me" that captures the difficulties of this situation quite well. The author is a liberal woman who has in her family and circle of friends many people on the other side of the debate. Her post details her frustration with the situation and her attempts to have a civil dialogue with her friends and family. I am most impressed by her desire which is not just to debate her side of the issue, but to view the opposition with compassion and attempt to understand where they are coming from in the hopes of a meaningful dialogue. She writes -

And I think the final answer is this:
I reached out to conservative family and friends with affection and respect.

They responded in kind.

In the final analysis, I don't think we're going to see much meeting of minds in rage-infested town halls or plaquard-bearing public venues of any kind.

Maybe not in private e-mail exchanges, either.

But if we are going to find some sort of way to tackle the gigantic problems that this country faces, then we are going to have to do it one on one, as I did, with the people who know us, love us, and trust us--at least, on matters unrelated to politics.

Maybe, in that way, we can begin to put some sort of salve on the open burning wounds of hate-rhetoric that flies around both sides of the aisle.

And if all we do, in the long run, is agree to disagree, then if it is done with love and respect, then maybe that is one less Democrat for them to hate or one less Republican for us to hate.
And if that's not civil discourse, I don't know what is.

I pray that we get the insurance reform that we need so badly, but even more so that we can learn to treat each other with love and respect even when we passionately disagree.

Now I'll Never Be President....

2009-08-05T17:09:00.007-04:00

A Long July

2009-08-03T12:38:00.019-04:00

My apologies for how "quiet" my blog has been recently. July was a long difficult month. It feels like a lifetime ago that I returned from the youth mission trip. July started out with a busy week sandwiched between the mission trip and my family vacation. A week spent doing testing for the workers compensation process, several work items, saying goodbye to my good friend Dan who will be studying in Ireland for at least the next year, and preparing for being away from home for another week. The kennels that I prefer were all booked on the 4th of July, so I couldn't leave until Sunday morning. I missed the first night at the lake with the family, but met up with everyone at my cousin Brad's high school graduation party outside of Pittsburgh. It was great to see my aunts, uncles and cousins. We had a really nice day, ate tons of delicious food and I spent a good bit of time drooling over cousin Steven's new Harley.

Our week at the lake was really nice except for the fact that most of us were fighting a summer cold for at least part of the week. I actually spent one whole day in bed with chills, a sore throat and a horrible headache. We still had a really nice time and it was very relaxing, but there ought to be some sort of law against being sick on vacation. It was also my first vacation in fifteen years without Danielle, so that added a strange dimension to the week for me. Luckily swimming, boating, tubing, fishing and being with my family were way too much fun to allow either the cold or the lack of my spouse to overshadow them.

I returned from vacation to a very busy week at the church. On Sunday the 12th our youth group, along with the Anglican youth group down the street and two young ladies from the Czech Republic (visiting our church for 6 weeks), went to Quiet Waters Park and rented kayaks, canoes, and peddle boats for an afternoon on the water. Monday through Friday that week our church was a buzz with over 65 kids for Vacation Bible School. Many of the teens from our youth group and St. Anne's group help shepherd the little ones around and I lead worship in the style of Taizé on Thursday. Its always a lot of fun and quite exhausting. Five groups rotate through in 30 minute intervals with barely a chance to catch your breath. At the end of the week Miss, my good friend and the Director of Childrens Ministry, and I took the 20 teen helpers out for pizza. On Saturday the 18th we had a great turn out of current youth and some college students home for the summer at Sweat Equity to work on our church campus.

The workers compensation process has taken a few bizarre turns this past month. After the function evaluation was completed, I met with my vocational counselor again and we reviewed a rough draft of the plan he has drawn up. As he had told me previously, my plans for seminary are too far down the road to incorporate into their vocational plan, so they are recommending I go back into mortgages or some other similar office based occupation for the time being. He said that since I have a college degree and a prior career that was not physical there wasn't much that they would do for me other than provide leads and monitor my job search. I was advised that perhaps it would make more sense for me to investigate the possibility of a permanency award since I am now considered to be permanently partially disabled, and handle the job search on my own. Unfortunately I have run into several dead ends attempting to get answers regarding a permanent award. While trying to get answers and navigate this maze of bureaucracy a new adjuster took over my file. She "discovered" that I have been working my youth job part time while receiving disability checks for my facility job and feels that I have been overpaid for the last year and a half. She stopped authorizing my disability checks and has been in the process of recalculating my benefits for the last two weeks. I put discovered in quotes because this has been very much out in the open from the very beginning. I am awaiting something formal in writing so that I can appeal to the state Workers' Compensation Commission and have contacted an attorney since this has suddenly gotten very complicated.

Where the beginning of this month was chocked full of activity, the end of the month was way too empty leaving what felt like far too much time to dwell on the problems with my disability claim, the passing of my first wedding anniversary since my wife left me, and the first time in over 16 months without doctor appointments or physical therapy. I have very much been "in the thick of it" for the last 16 months. This lull was no fun, but I realize that it was a very necessary step in my healing process. I needed the down time to reflect, digest and experience a lot of the emotions that got pushed aside while I was in crisis mode.

The end of July also included my 39th birthday. I celebrated with my family at my parents' house on the 23rd and then enjoyed a concert on the 24th featuring two of my favorite artists. I finally got to see Willie Nelson live, although he was chased off of the stage by a lightening storm after only 4 or 5 songs. The best performance of the night was by the artist who interested me the least going in. John Mellencamp put on quite a show and had everyone dancing and singing along. The headliner for the tour was the one and only Bob Dylan who unfortunately was not in the mood to enunciate (even more than usual). Luckily I've seen him previously and I know he can put on a great live show, because this was not an inspired performance, although the song selection was great and the band was fabulous.

Last month had its highlights and the good definitely outweighed the bad, but I must say I am glad that July is behind us. I'm looking forward to making progress on the Workers' Compensation issues this month, gearing up for the beginning of the program year with the youth group, getting back to work on a full time basis and making some headway on my investigation of seminaries.

America's Most Trusted Newscaster? Jon Stewart

2009-07-23T13:34:00.004-04:00

Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan and GOOD for this poll (which GOOD notes is probably not that scientific or reliable).

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-04T16:10:00.004-04:00

I AM A PATRIOT - performed by Jackson Browne, written by "Little Steven" Van Zandt (of the East Street Band, The Sopranos, and Little Steven's Underground Garage Radio Program)

And the river opens for the righteous [5x]
Someday

I was walking with my brother
And he wondered what's on my mind
I said what I believe in my soul
Ain't what I see with my eyes
And we can't turn our backs this time

I am a patriot
And I love my county
Because my country is all I know
I want to be with my family
The people who understand me
I've got nowhere else to go

And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
Someday

And I was talking with my sister
She looked so fine
I said, "Baby, what's on your mind?"
She said, "I want to run like the lion
Released from the cages
Released from the rages
Burning in my heart tonight"

And I ain't no communist
And I ain't no capitalist
And I ain't no socialist
And I ain't no imperialist
And I ain't no democrat
And I ain't no republican
I only know one party
And it is freedom

I am, I am, I am
I am a patriot
And I love my country
Because my county is all I know

And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
Someday

Youth Mission Trip

2009-06-29T18:16:00.011-04:00

My sister Becky and I led a group of six teenagers from our church on a mission trip last week. We stayed at the Calvin Center, a camp/conference center that is part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) just south of Atlanta.

We all met at the church on Monday morning, were seen off by the associate pastor Rev. Heather Shortlidge (who had just returned from Iona), and piled into Samantha Mierau and Lisa Allison's cars for the trip to the airport. I have to say the group and I were slightly disappointed when the hardware in my leg didn't set off the metal detector, but it sure made the security checkpoint simpler than I thought it was going to be. Once in Georgia it took a bit of time to get our rental van and drive to the Calvin Center, so when we got there we started our Global Village experience right away. Our leader for the Global Village, Godsway (his actual name), was from Ghana. Our dinner was specifically designed to teach us that the world is full of haves and have-nots. Godsway randomly passed out our plates which had portions of varying sizes of noodles and veggies. A few plates had a small piece of chicken as well, but not all of them. We put our bags in the lodge where we would be staying when we returned and grabbed just a few items to take with us. Pretty much we just took sunscreen, sleeping bags and pillows. We were driven to the Global Village which was in the woods a good ways away from the lodges and modern facilities. We stayed in the Haiti section. There was also a ghetto, a refugee camp, and a Palestinian area. We were "hired" for some chores - fetching clean water (about a half hour walk round trip), cleaning the kitchen and dishes, gathering fire wood, weeding the field and watering the crops. Once they were completed we were given money to spend at the market (another staff member, Robin, showed up with items to sell to us for our breakfast and lunch). We had 4 or 5 kerosene lanterns and a camp fire once the sun went down for light. The buildings were exact replicas of actual houses, separate kitchen area, outdoor shower and out houses that the staff saw in Haiti. Godsway said that they were similar to the conditions in which he grew up in Africa too. We each got a mosquito net (some of which had holes or rips) and set them up on our bunks. All six girls slept in one room, Matt and I slept in the other. Each room was half of our "house" and was just big enough to fit three bunk beds, a small table and two chairs. Robin and Godsway lead us in a short worship service around the campfire and then left us on our own for a hot and a not-so-restful night's sleep.
We woke at 7am, ate some of the fruit that we had purchased for breakfast and a few of us made some cowboy coffee and ended up with a lot of grounds in our teeth. Godsway arrived and "hired" us to work in the village field. We created rows in the soil with hoes and rakes, pulled weeds and planted a couple rows of corn. Heat index that day was 103 and Sara got a little bit overheated which caused all of us a bit of concern. We had the nurse come check on her. She was OK after a while in the shade and a good bit of water. Our lunch took quite a while to prepare. We cooked rice and beans over charcoal and it took forever to get the water to boil. Darian sauteed a bunch of veggies and Godsway cut up a mango, papaya, sugar cane and coconut for us to have as well. We spent the afternoon making bricks with a really cool machine which you can see here. It is not motorized. It works entirely with levers and brute force. (Godsway took lots of pictures and I will be getting a disc in the mail soon, so I will post pictures as soon as I have them.)

Many groups spend time in Global Village in order to simulate and prepare for oversees mission trips so that they don't experience such culture shock. We were there for just under 24 hours and I think all of us gained a new appreciation for what we have as well as a better understanding of how many people in the world live.

We spent Wednesday at Six Flags Over Georgia and had an absolute ball. I found that my leg was only an issue on a few of the rides that I wanted to ride. Everyone in our group was a major roller coaster enthusiast. Here are some pictures.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday we spent participating in the Mission Work Camp. We worked on a very nice lady's house in an old mill town. Unfortunately all the textile industry has moved overseas and the town is suffering as a result. Mrs. Hamm and her husband worked for over 35 years in the mill. She was widowed about 10 years ago and very little has been done on the house since then. We spent most of the first morning clearing debris from her yard. We filled a trailer with an old fence that had fallen over, rusted old chairs that were on the edge of her property and lots of odds and ends. We power washed and scraped peeling paint off of her foundation, front and back steps and helped her sort through a workshop/shed/storage room and carport. We also painted her living room. There was quite a list of items that the Calvin Center plans on doing to her house, but we were the first group to work on this house. There were three job sites within a few blocks of each other and a much larger group from Greensboro NC was working on the other two. One of the houses was at the end of the list of repairs after six months of groups working on it. Here are pictures of us working on Mrs. Hamm's house.

Interesting coincidence --the Greensboro group is the church in which Katie Cashwell grew up. Katie will be interning on our staff at FPC Annapolis for a year starting in August. It also turns out that this is the same church where Rich and Grier, who I met at Princeton Youth Forum (Sara Ferguson's very good friends), were youth leaders before moving to New Jersey. I love the interconnectedness and how small a community the Presbyterian Church can be.

The Calvin Center is a really great place to take a group. The staff was wonderful, the facilities were really nice and they had so many things to do. They lead devotions each morning before we went to work and we had a really nice worship service outdoors each evening. They had recreation activities for our group to choose from for the afternoons (canoeing, rock wall, ropes course, etc.). For worship, a concert and bonfire on Thursday, a pool party on Saturday, and a movie one night we joined with all of the other campers and staff.

Our group worked so hard and I am extremely proud of them. They really bonded and enjoyed spending time together too, which was great to witness and be a part of. This was not the trip that we had originally planned, but I don't think I would change anything about how it turned out. Here are some pictures of our gang just having fun

Our trip home was not as smooth as our trip down, but we all arrived safely back to our families yesterday afternoon. After boarding the plane yesterday we sat at the gate for about two hours while they fixed a broken fuel gauge on one of the wings. So we took off about the time that we were supposed to be landing in Baltimore.

My parents have been on a cruise, brother-in-law Jesko was on a business trip, Becky and I were in Georgia and my nieces were with Jesko's parents, so it was great to get home and have dinner with the whole family last night.

Highlights of my week

2009-06-21T22:21:00.008-04:00

Wow, I've had a pretty busy week. Highlights included -

Took care of the dogs on my own for the first full week in over a year.
Youth group Sweat Equity last Saturday morning. So nice to wear dirty clothes, smell saw dust, and be around all the work happening on campus again.
A couple of meetings at church.
Reconnected through Facebook with my USNA roommate Dan. Talked on the phone for a while. Turns out he now lives in Towson and we are going to get together when I get home from the youth trip.
Had sushi lunch with Brandon
Got a package in the mail with lots of goodies from Sara F.
PT twice
Hung out with Dan, August, Sara W., and Tammy.
Saw UP in 3-D
Talked to Megan and Becca in Texas with Skype. Very cool!
Saw Doug play at Pusser's (He's there every Friday night out on the deck 5-9pm all Summer)
Tied up loose ends for the youth mission trip with a lot of help from Becky.
Ran into my college girlfriend, Krissy. Met her husband and three sons.
Helped Danielle with her homework (long story)
No Internet connection at home for the last 2 days - major Facebook and blog withdrawal symptoms. Trying to get my fill today before I'm away from the PC for 6 days while chaperoning the youth trip with my sister.
Attended a full immersion baptism today. First one I've ever seen and the first for our church as far as we are aware. Great day for it. The sun broke through the clouds and there were osprey overhead during the service which was in Bay Ridge. Gundel Bowen and I couldn't help but sing "Down to the river" (song most know from the Allison Krauss version in Oh Brother Where Art Thou?)
Missed seeing my dad on Father's Day, but am glad he, mom, John and Pat are having a great time.
Laundry, packing and pre-trip jitters.

Tomorrow Becky and I are taking 6 teens from the youth group to the Calvin Center south of Atlanta. I will get to go through airport security for the first time since getting my new hardware and am anxious to see how that goes.

While we are there we will be participating in the Global Villages

A place to be confronted with the never ending conditions that millions live in around the world. It brings people together to live and experience for a pre-determined period of time to understand what and how day to day life occurs in many developing countries.

and their Mission Work Camp.

Through an established connection with Meals on Wheels, elderly home owners are identified that need help with home renovations. Typical projects consist of painting, simple carpentry, yard work, and cleaning.

We're also going to spend a day at Six Flags. I'm sure we'll have lots to share when we return and hopefully will have some good pictures to post as well. I'd better get to bed since I've got to get up early to drop the dogs at the kennel. I hope everyone has a great week! Keep our group in your thoughts and prayers.

A New Phase on the Workman's Comp Front

2009-06-13T15:22:00.017-04:00

Thursday I had two rather important appointments and have now officially entered a new phase in the Workman's Compensation process.

First I met with the Vocational Counselor that was assigned to me by the insurance company adjuster. We went over the results of the Career Assessment Inventory test that I took and he showed me the plan that he has drawn up for what they will do to get me off of disability and back to work once the doctor OKs it. No real surprises on either. They do not plan on any training for me and propose that I find a job that isn't physically demanding which shouldn't be too much of a stretch considering my degree and resume. Seminary is too far down the road for that to fit into my vocational plan (as far as the insurance company is concerned), so I will need to find something to do that won't be a long term career move, but will pay the bills while I apply to schools and figure out where I'm going, when I'm going and how I'm going to pay for school. The plan won't be finalized until the doctor says its time for me to be finished with treatment and they also need to list any restrictions in the plan.

When I finished with that meeting I was off to Baltimore to see Dr. Brumback. As always I got an x-ray as soon as I arrived and happily he didn't say anything like this cartoon to the left. He was pleased that things appear unchanged and I have had no symptoms indicating that the infection has returned. We talked about the worker's compensation process and he declared me to be MMI (Maximum Medical Improvement) which officially ends the treatment phase of my case. I'm still doing physical therapy on my own twice a week at the gym and he said there could still be slight improvements and changes for the next several months, but for all intents and purposes this is as good as I'm going to get as far as the medical professionals are concerned. My knee bends somewhere in the 50-60 degree range and I can walk/ stand without my cane for short distances/times. It's been 16 months since my accident, but every once in a while it hits me that I am permanently partially disabled. This was one of those days. Intellectually I've known this for some time now, but there has been and continues to be a small bit of hope inside me that still believes that I will bend my knee again. Hearing the doctor say MMI didn't completely erase that hope, but it sure shrunk it quite a bit.
The MMI declaration filled one of the holes in the vocational plan, but they still need to list my physical restrictions. The doctor will not/can not state these so at the request of my nurse case manager he has ordered a FCE (Functional Capabilities Evaluation) for me. I will go to a facility that will put me through a course of tests so that they can come up with a list of parameters for me. It will be an independent report that says things like - "should not lift more than X lbs. should not be required to stand for more than X minutes/hours. should primarily be in a desk job that does not require a lot of walking." or something along those lines. I imagine that this will not be a very enjoyable day of testing. I may be wrong, but envision them testing the boundaries of my capabilities in order to determine what I can and can't do. So being pushed to the point of failure repeatedly should be a nice swift kick to the old ego.

So now I'm waiting for the FCE to be scheduled. Once that is done then the Vocational Rehabilitation Plan will be completed. Then the insurance company, the counselor, and I all have to agree and sign it to put the plan into effect. The plan basically says that they will keep paying me disability checks while I look for a new job that fits my new physical limitations. They have made a few suggestions based on my college degree, mortgage background, and management experience and will provide me with leads, but I'm pretty much on my own to find a job, so if you know of any openings in the Annapolis area by all means let me know. Thanks!

Outnumbered

2009-06-06T12:22:00.010-04:00

My friend Jenn posted these two clips from the British sitcom Outnumbered on Facebook and I am hooked. I especially like this one of the poor vicar sitting with the children at a wedding getting grilled with some particularly difficult theological questions. "Why didn't the baby Jesus just zap King Herod?" "Why didn't Jesus shape-shift into a Roman?" "What would Jesus do if he was attacked by a polar bear?"

This little girl apparently steals the show on a regular basis and after you see her funeral for a mouse that was caught in a trap set by her parents you can see why.

FOX is apparently working on an American version of this show, so we'll see how it turns out. In the mean time there are quite a few more clips like these on YouTube

Relay for Life

2009-06-05T12:29:00.005-04:00

Tonight is going to be my family's fifth Relay for Life, which is the American Cancer Society's signature fund raising event. They are a lot of fun, inspirational and for a great cause. This will be a first for us though because our luck finally ran out with the weather and we are being forced indoors for the first time. Typically the event is held in the stadium of a local high school. Teams set up campsites on the field and folks walk around the track from 6pm on Friday until 7am on Saturday. The idea is that each team always has someone on the track walking the entire night for one big relay, since cancer never sleeps.

This year we will be moved into the school gym, so it should be interesting. No tents are allowed, so set up and preparation should be more simple than in years past, but I'm not sure anyone from our team plans to stay all night.

Our team, The J-Walkers, formed after my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January 2005. My sister is the team captain, does a fantastic job and we have raised quite a bit of money over the years.

If you'd like to make a donation in support of the American Cancer Society and all the great work that they do please visit my donation page.

Craig Ferguson's Pre-Monologue Openings

2009-06-04T12:57:00.013-04:00

Craig Ferguson has been doing these openings every so often with lip sync versions of songs. The lead in immediately after Letterman ends, which is short and meant to hook you before they run a set of commercials or even the opening credits is perhaps my favorite 3 minutes on TV every day. Sometimes he just comes out and talks, sometimes he just makes funny faces and says nothing, often he goofs with someone in the audience, but a handful of times he's been doing these musical numbers with puppets. On a few occasions you never saw him at all, just puppets and for a few days in a row it was only a tennis ball on the end of a stick. The musical numbers are by far my favorite though. I'm including two in this post, but you can watch several of them on YouTube or the CBS Website for the show.
The yodeling song -

They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (not Constantinople)
This is what he opened with on Wednesday night (I guess technically it was Thursday morning since he starts at 12:37am.)

CPM Interview

2009-06-03T19:14:00.011-04:00

Last night I had my interview with the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) at the Baltimore Presbytery offices. I arrived on time, but the committee was running a little behind so I had the opportunity to relax and center myself before they invited me in. I appreciated this since I had cut it closer than I had planned to and was a bit stressed when I finally got in the building and found the correct room for the meeting. As I expected it was more intimidating than meeting with the Session at my home church who know me personally, know my story, know my family and have seen me on the job for the past few years. Last night I only knew one person in the room and all but one member of the committee was a minister, so I felt that there was more pressure to present myself to them than there was at last week's interview. Both were intimidating experiences and the questions were no cake walk, but last night had a little extra something.

I was given the opportunity to make an opening statement and then questioned for about half an hour. The questions were mainly about my sense of call and what lead me to this point in my journey, but did temporarily divert to my exploration of Zen and some theological questions that stemmed from a particular statement that I made in my application. I wasn't expecting that, but apparently I handled it well enough because after being excused for twenty to twenty five minutes I was brought back in and told that the committee would take me under their care. Technically it won't be official until the Presbytery Meeting later this month when the committee presents it to the whole body for approval, but I am now an Inquirer.

Since it will be a little more than a year before I intend to start school my liaison (one of the ministers on the committee) is going to give me some books to read and we will meet periodically to discuss them, as well as my school search and my growth.

Heather, the associate pastor at my church, is a member of the committee and was the familiar face in the room. She didn't ask any questions while I was before the committee, but she did pop out of the meeting as I was leaving to tell me that I had done a fine job and to congratulate me. It was a little harder to get a read on the folks in the room since I didn't know them, so her gesture and compliment meant a lot.

Since last night was committee night at the Presbytery my friends on the Youth Committee were at the offices too. Jenn, Brandon, Vinny and Lauren waited over an hour after their meeting was over for me to be finished and took me out to celebrate at a local Ruby Tuesdays.

I am excited, nervous, humbled and ready to enter into this process.

Session Interview

2009-05-26T21:52:00.004-04:00

I met with the Session of my church tonight about my application to become an Inquirer. After fielding a handful of questions from the Elders and Pastors I was asked to leave the room so that they could discuss my request and vote on whether or not to recommend me to the Presbytery's Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM).

When I was asked to rejoin the meeting I was greeted by a standing ovation and told that they had voted to support my application.

I have had this sense of call brewing inside of me for quite some time and it is a long process, so there are many steps still ahead of me, but I must say it is a wonderful feeling to have the community that I live and worship with say "yes, we think we sense that call for you too."

I have been invited to meet with the CPM next Tuesday night at the Presbytery Office in Baltimore. It will be a general interview to discuss my sense of call and the process that I intend to begin. If all goes well at that interview then I will enter into a covenant with the committee. They will work with me as I journey towards being ordained. Together we will set goals, monitor my progress spiritually, academically and otherwise to prepare me for a career in ministry.

Worker's Comp Update

2009-05-21T20:02:00.007-04:00

With all the crazy MVA and police issues I forgot to post about a major event on my disability situation. The insurance company assigned a vocational counselor to my case. So even though Dr. Brumback hasn't officially declared me to be at Maximum Medical Improvement they have decided that I am close enough to start working towards get me back to work. He is employed by the same company that my Nurse Case Manager works for, so like her he is not directly employed by the insurance company. That way he can be objective and represent their interests and mine. We had a 90 minute interview last week, he took a resume and we discussed my future career plans. He doesn't make the ultimate decision, but helps facilitate my job search, arranges training if need be and reports to the insurance company. He gave me a 370 question "test" that I filled out this week to determine what type of career I might be suited for. It was a list of activities, jobs and academic subjects that I had to bubble in whether-

I would really like the topic
somewhat like the topic
if I was indifferent/undecided
somewhat dislike the topic or
if I really dislike the topic.

It gets mailed off to some testing company and he'll set up another meeting when he has the results.

On a similar topic, I will be attending the session meeting at church next Tuesday night so that they can ask me questions about my Inquirer Application and vote on whether or not to support it and refer me to the Presbytery's Committee.

The end of the vehicle saga

2009-05-19T21:47:00.003-04:00

I went to Princeton for traffic court yesterday and all is well. I got a very early start and arrived in plenty of time before it was supposed to start. It was long and boring and took several hours until I got to speak to the prosecutor. Once I talked to him and explained the circumstances, it was only about 10 - 15 more minutes before the judge called me. They reduced the charge and I plead guilty to "not being able to produce my registration card." I paid a $33 fine and I was on my way shortly before noon.

I had a really nice lunch with my friend Sara that I met at the Youth Ministry Forum. If you are ever in the Princeton area check out Chambers Walk Cafe. Great food and a nice staff that let me charge my phone battery for the ride home.

I was home by 4:45pm and fell asleep on the couch shortly after (sorry Doug, I sat down to ice my knee and that was all she wrote...)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND DAD!

2009-05-16T15:17:00.003-04:00

Mom's is today and Dad's was Thursday, so a big Happy Birthday to both of them!!!!

The Ministry of Silly Walks

2009-05-16T14:59:00.009-04:00

My new T-Shirt arrived today. That Monty Python clip I posted the other day got me thinking of this sketch which now has entirely new meaning for me. Credit must go to my USNA buddy Mike Siepert who first suggested that the problems with my leg and my occupation made me uniquely qualified for a government grant to develop my silly walk.

I can't wait to wear it to physical therapy. One of the exercises we do actually looks a lot like the picture on the shirt. Except I have to hold my arm straight out parallel to the ground and kick it while I'm walking.
(FB readers click through to my blog for video)

Torture

2009-05-16T12:55:00.008-04:00

Everyone loves to bring up the scenario of the "ticking bomb" when discussing torture. Kevin Drum says what I have said for a long time--

OK, here's my view on ticking time bombs. It's not original:

Torture should always be illegal. But if you're really, truly convinced that a nuke is about to go off in downtown Atlanta and the human filth in your possession can tell you where it is, then do your worst. I'll cheer you on, the president will pardon you, and the nation will be grateful. OK?

I wish everyone could just agree on this. It's not as if it's ever going to happen, after all, and if it does, well, the guy who saved Atlanta really would get a presidential pardon, wouldn't he?

Everyone talks about the TV show 24, but while using that type of scenario to justify that torture actually works folks forget the fact that when Jack Bauer uses those techniques HE KNOWS HE IS BREAKING THE LAW and chooses to do it anyway. That's the true test of your convictions -- If you are willing to be punished and face the consequences if you are wrong.

The Bush administration wanted to have legal opinions clearing them of wrong doing before they handed down guidelines on "enhanced interrogation techniques." So bring this to the light of day and justify the crap that was done in our name for the last eight years.

The Republicans think that by throwing some of the muck onto Nancy Pelosi Democrats will back off. It sounds to me like she and the Dems are calling their bluff. All the more reason to hold investigations and put this horrible chapter of our history behind us once and for all.

I am bothered by the knowledge that if this investigation really gets going it will turn into a three ring circus and momentum will be taken away from all of the highly important things this new administration is trying to do to fix all of the problems we face right now. But if we demonstrate to the world that we actually believe the things that we say, and as a society can admit our mistakes and punish those that do wrong regardless of their position then we truly are a great country.

If we don't do the right thing because it is too hard or may cause problems then what kind of message are we sending?

The Ongoing Vehicle Saga

2009-05-15T14:03:00.010-04:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post I had the paperwork to clear up the insurance violation on Danielle's car, but they wouldn't take it from me so I needed to get the police to fax the papers directly to the MVA. Sounded easy enough.

I spoke to the officer that handled D's totaled car on Tuesday. He didn't think faxing the papers to the MVA was a good idea (despite the MVA telling me that's what I should have done). He injected a few additional complications that I won't bore you with, but which led to me having to involve Danielle in the process.

On Wednesday she spoke to him and got an earful about ignoring his letters and not properly following through to avoid all of this in the first place. He told her that he was doing this merely to help me. They overcame the complications that he had brought up on Tuesday and he decided that he would write a letter on police letterhead with a live signature for us to hand carry to the MVA. Danielle agreed to get the letter. She called me Wednesday night to say that he had left a message for her that it was ready, but that she had been out and didn't get his message. So she would get it Thursday morning and bring it to me so I could deal with the MVA since she had to work at 12:30.

While expecting a call from Danielle to say that she was on her way with the letter I got a call from the police officer. "Why haven't you picked this letter up that I did for you yesterday?" He was ticked off. Had I known it was there, I could have gotten it myself Wednesday. So I told him that I would be right over to get it. It was sealed in an envelope so I didn't know exactly what was in it, but headed straight to the MVA to take care of this once and for all, or so I thought.

The lady in the MVA takes the letter, opens it and starts working away on her PC to change dates, get over ride codes and tells me I owe $1100! I asked to see the letter that he had written and no where did he put the date of the accident when the car was off the road, only the date the car was scrapped. So I show her the other papers, the ones he wouldn't fax and she says, "Oh, just have him fax those and I'll fix it" AAAAGGGHHHHHH!!

(Side note - I'm sure this is exactly how all those borrowers felt during the loan process on the files that I underwrote, processed or originated back in my mortgage days. I'm so glad I'm no longer in an occupation that inflicts this kind of torture on people. I understand its purpose, but getting things from person A to satisfy person C when you are person B is a royal pain when A and C have their own ideas about what the other should do and why.)

So he and I played phone tag for the rest of the day and by late afternoon he had faxed something, to somewhere, but I'm not exactly sure what he had sent or to which number. He was obviously annoyed that this was dragging on and so was I, so I decided to follow up with the MVA this morning before I bothered him any further.

It took several phone calls, but I am happy to report that the automated system now lists this case as closed and with NO fines. YIPPEE!

I left a grateful message on the officer's voice mail and hope to not have to deal with the MVA or the local police for a long long time.

Although I do have to be in court in New Jersey at 9:15 on Monday morning to face the music up there. I had an idea that I'm hoping will pan out though. I've called and emailed the officer that pulled me over who said that I wouldn't have to return and am hoping that he may be able to pull some strings to avoid the trip. I'm ready to go though and will get to have lunch with Sara (who I met at the Youth Forum) if I do end up going, so there is a silver lining.

Help Help I'm Being Repressed!

2009-05-13T00:03:00.011-04:00

The saga with the car registration and my traffic stops keeps getting weirder. I called the court in New Jersey to explain my situation just like the police officer told me to and they've got quite a different story for me. The cop said that I wouldn't have to appear since I live out of state and once I called and explained that arrangements could be made to avoid returning. When I called today the woman on the phone said that it was a mandatory appearance and I would have to come back to Princeton for court on Monday morning.

So I guess I'm going back to New Jersey to avoid making the situation worse and risk having a "failure to appear" warrant for my arrest in that state.

As the title of this suggests I'm feeling a bit like the peasant in Monty Python's The Holy Grail

(if you are reading this on Facebook in my notes you've got to click the link at the bottom to "View original post" to go to my blog and see the embedded video. They don't import into FB)

Dreadlocks + VW + Political Bumper Stickers =Police Magnet

2009-05-11T17:39:00.008-04:00

I called the MVA last week to find out what the story was with my registration after getting pulled over in New Jersey. Turns out there was a problem with my registration.

When Danielle wrecked her car back in October and it was totaled the tags did not get returned to the MVA, so as far as they know the car is out there on the road with no insurance. That policy was cancelled and we each got new ones when she moved out. That car was in both of our names though, so they have flagged both of us for an insurance violation. I got some paperwork from Danielle about the accident so I could go clear it up at the MVA last week. I was going to go Friday, but wasn't feeling great due to all this pollen and needed a rest day after the last couple of weeks, so I decided to wait until today.

Wouldn't you know I got pulled over on the way to church yesterday morning. Same deal as in NJ, no moving violation, the officer just decided to run my plates and bingo I've got registration problems. I saw him pull out of a parking lot and get behind me and as soon as I noticed the radio to his mouth I knew I was in trouble. He pulled me over and told me I've got a suspended registration. I started to explain to him about Danielle's wrecked car and how I'm taking care of that and he say, "no that's not the issue." It turns out that there were two things wrong. I also missed my emissions test while I was out of commission last year. He was very nice, let me go with a warning (after running my license to see if I had any outstanding warrants).

So this morning I went to VEIP and got my emissions testing done and then went to the MVA to straighten out the other issue. They told me everything would be cleared up, but they wouldn't take the papers from me. I have to get the police to fax them directly to the MVA for them to accept them and then its all straight.

I am now very curious how many times my plates have been run when I didn't have registration issues. Apparently this has been allowed by numerous state courts. Officers call it "BINGO HUNTING" (funny, I didn't know this term when wrote that paragraph above). So maybe they didn't profile me, but I'd love to see some evidence as to the cars and drivers who are most often targeted by this tactic. My guess is that a soccer mom in a minivan is much less likely to have her plates run than me.

It may have been upheld by several courts, but to me it doesn't seem constitutional. Fourth Amendment and all that... The argument is that the tags are out there in public view and you are on a public street, so they can check them without cause. That may be, but it seems that there should be some probable cause component for them to search the computer records. Otherwise, how do we know whether the police are using this tool appropriately or not?

Confirmation Weekend

2009-05-07T18:52:00.006-04:00

In January a class of eight ninth and tenth graders embarked upon a spiritual journey together led by Rev. Heather Shortlidge, Rev. Bill Hathaway, Jay & Jane Hudiburg and myself. Together on Sunday mornings they explored what it means to be a Christian, a Presbyterian, and a member of our congregation. They learned about the sacraments, the Bible, prayer, mission, and church governance. The class also went on a weekend retreat to DC which I have written about in an earlier post. At the end of the class each of them took on the task of putting down on paper a Statement of Faith. As it was explained to them in January, when they were babies their parents made the decision to have them baptized and brought up in the faith; at the end of this class they would be given the opportunity to affirm that choice for themselves. That opportunity occurred last weekend.

Last Saturday morning, seven of the eight, along with their parents and covenant partners met for brunch with the Session. Each of them stood and read their Faith Statement to the entire room. We then broke into small groups with at least one Session member for each student in order to have discussions about the statements and the class in general. The seven were then asked the three questions for membership required by PCUSA -

Trusting in the gracious mercy of God, do you turn from the ways of sin and renounce evil and its power in the world?
Who is your Lord and Savior?
Will you be Christ's faithful disciple, obeying his Word and showing his love?

After the confirmands answered the questions the Session then voted unanimously to accept them as adult members of our congregation.

On Sunday all eight of them were recognized in worship and I think that this is so important. We tell them at the beginning of the class that the choice is theirs and that they do not have to be confirmed as members at the end of the class. Of course we want them to, but what is most important is that they actively participate in the class, understand that this is a lifelong journey and that they feel that they have a safe, welcoming place to explore their faith. That message I hope came through loud and clear when the young man that decided not to join was asked to stand with his classmates up front, was acknowledged for his commitment and prayed for individually just like those that chose to join.

I am extremely proud of Ashleigh, Brianna, Cameron, Danny, Haines, Jessica, Louise, and Zach and I'm honored to have participated in this journey with them. They inspired me and after each of them took the very brave act of reading their statement aloud to a room full of parents and church officers I have decided to publish my personal statement here on my blog.

I believe in the triune God.

I believe that God is everything tangible and intangible that is, was and will ever be. There is nothing that it outside of God. Everything is part of the One and that One goes on forever.

I believe Jesus the Christ has been the living, tangible part of God from the beginning of time and continues to be. He lives, dies and is reborn over and over and over again. He made himself known to the world through the person Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth was fully human and died, but the Christ was, is and always will be one with God. Since we are one with God, we are one with Christ.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is the unseen thread that binds us to all of creation in all places and times. It is the name we give to the intangible aspects of God. It is consciousness, motivation, emotion, desire, wisdom, action, reaction and most of all that internal longing and knowledge that we are connected.

I believe that sin is acting or thinking in a way that neglects or ignores the fact that we are one with God. We don’t have to do anything special to be one with God. Whether we realize it or not, ask for it or not, we are one with God. We do need to be open to that concept in order to actually be forgiven though. Being forgiven is to let go of whatever is making you emotionally distant from God. The only barriers to being with God are ones we place there by our actions or thoughts. Forgiveness is a free gift that is waiting to be received.

To me, salvation means that graceful state when our perceptions cease to be barriers between us and God. It is a state of Zen when we are fully in the moment. Salvation is not a once and for all experience. It is being saved from your own trappings so that you can be fully with God. Musicians, athletes and artists often describe this as being “in the zone.”

I believe that we were put on Earth to share the experience that is life with those around us. When we recognize our connections, we see each others suffering and success as our own. That inspires us to do our best to ease each others suffering and we are available and supportive when suffering is unavoidable (which it often is). One way that we do this is to teach others what we’ve learned through our experiences. Just as we share each others burdens we can also celebrate each others joy and success.

I think that God expects us to love as fully and as uninhibited as we are capable of. We are to do our best to love ourselves and others equally. We are to strive for that perfect balance between being completely selfish and completely selfless. God wants us to see Christ in others and in ourselves.

I believe that we are partners in creation with God and that all of creation is a gift that is in our care. We must not just care for ourselves and other humans, but for the whole of creation. The inanimate objects, the elements and the animal kingdom are also one with God and therefore one with us as well. We must love creation as we love ourselves and others.

I believe the church is a community, that it is much bigger than any building or institution. The purpose of the church is to be a community in which to worship and practice theology so that its members can live it from day to day while dealing with the ups and downs of life. I believe the church’s job is also to teach, to be available and supportive and to share in life’s journey with all members of the community.

I believe that the Bible was inspired by God and is the story of mankind’s relationship to God. Its history, wisdom, prophecy and theology can be interpreted to assist in discerning our way forward. It is also an invaluable tool to pass down our traditions and rituals from one generation to the next.

I believe that the sacrament of communion is the most important ritual in the Christian faith because it reminds us of our roots, while also making us mindful of our mortality and our interconnectedness with all of creation.

We may feel distant or doubt God’s presence in our lives sometimes, but that is only a false perception. I do not believe that faith is the absence of doubts or questions. No matter what is happening, or what doubts we may have from time to time, there is nothing that will ever separate us from God. Faith means knowing that with all my heart and mind even without the ability to empirically prove it.

Being part of the church, worshiping with others, partaking in the sacraments are all ways to reinforce and strengthen that faith. They are the practices that prepare us for living life. Just like practicing a musical instrument, a sport, lines in a play, or mathematics problems – repetition trains the mind and muscles, makes the moves second nature and prepares us to handle whatever comes up with grace and skill.

I believe these things with all that I am. I strive to live my life in a way that honors and demonstrates these beliefs. I know that I often fall short, so I want to surround myself with people that inspire me, encourage me and hold me accountable to these tenets. By being an active member of the church I am surrounded by such people. Recognizing certain gifts that I have for teaching and believing also that by teaching others my own understanding will be challenged, refined and strengthened I have made the decision to pursue additional schooling at seminary and am considering an occupation as a minister.

Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry

2009-05-02T20:46:00.023-04:00

I got home yesterday from a great week at Princeton Theological Seminary. As I explained in my last post, I have been attempting to attend this Forum on Youth Ministry for several years and was finally successful. It was everything that I hoped and more.

First there is the treat of being surrounded by people who share the same passion for ministry and youth. Anyone who has ever been to a conference of any kind knows what I'm talking about - be it for work, a hobby, or any common interest. There something special about being with your "people." I met lots of great folks from all over, but spent the most time with the folks in the picture . Jen is the Associate Pastor at Second Presbyterian Church in Baltimore (right by the hospital that I spent so much time in back in the Fall), Brandon is the Youth Director at Woods Presbyterian in Severna Park (20 minutes from me) and Sara is a Youth Leader in Lawrenceville, NJ (so Princeton was her stomping grounds). We had so much fun together and laughed until our faces hurt. Jen has a memory like a steel trap. I was constantly amazed by her ability to recall where people were from (not just towns, but names of churches) who they worked with and sometimes who their predecessors were. Brandon is one of the funniest people I've met and he and Jen can not do anything without a cell phone in hand and sending constant text messages, Twitter updates and/or Facebooking. Sara is an amazing spirit. She has the voice of a soulful angel and despite having to deal with some very serious medical issues (which ended two lifelong dreams) she has a wonderful outlook on life.

Second, the workshops, lectures and extended seminars were full of insight, thought provoking questions and inspiration. I took -

Freed to Lead: How to Relate, Delegate, Create - on Schedule! Kendy Easley
Student Leadership: Panacea or Predicament? Mark DeVries
Should I Stay or Should I Go Now: The Spiritual Discernment of Following Your Call Amanda Drury
Lifecasting: Teens Fishing for Intimacy in a Sea of Technology Andrew Zirschky
“The Mystery of the Gospel”: Discerning the Signs of the Times Douglas John Hall

And for my extended seminar I took A Preaching Life in the Spirit which was taught by Luke Powery. You can read descriptions of each class on the Institute for Youth Ministry's web site.

Everyone attended lectures by Obrey Hendricks and Andrew Root and we all worshiped together each day. Honestly the whole trip was worth it just to hear Emily Anderson's sermons. I can't wait to get downloads of them so I can re listen to what she had to say. The worship services were really great on the whole, but her sermons were fantastic.

While this was not a formal perspective student visit, I did get a chance to be on the PTS campus, see Princeton University, the town and surrounding area. This is definitely a school which I will be considering.

Lastly, it was just a great chance to get out of my normal routine, be in different surroundings and do a little relaxing. They had a nice big block of time built into the schedule on Wednesday with nothing happening so we could have some sabbath time. I spent mine getting some new shoes and then relaxing in my hotel room. I watched some bad movies on cable and restrung my prayer beads, which broke the day before I left.

I also managed to get pulled over by the NJ police although I committed no moving violation. The officer said he pulled me over because he ran my plates and that my registration is suspended in Maryland. This is news to me, since all my paperwork is in order and I have received no notices from the MVA telling me about any problems (I'll find out for sure when I call on Monday). I can't imagine why he would have randomly run my plates and kind of doubt that he actually did. My guess is that dreadlocks in a VW with political bumper stickers and out of state plates got me profiled. Perhaps he wanted to see if any funny smells came out of my car when I rolled down the window or if I may have been otherwise intoxicated. He seemed a bit surprised when he found out that he had pulled over a car full of youth ministers who were in town for a week of classes at the seminary (Jen, Brandon and Sara were in my car at the time). He was very nice and didn't give me a hard time (except for pulling me over in the first place). He gave me a summons, but told me that after I had straightened things out with Maryland, I just had to call a number on the back and tell them that I was out of state and I wouldn't have to come to court in NJ. So, we'll find out on Monday what the real deal is. If nothing else it provided one more thing for the four of us to laugh about and every siren that we heard for the rest of the week was followed with -- "Chris, they're coming to get you!"

Youth Sunday

2009-04-26T16:17:00.009-04:00

I've not written since the concert on the 14th and that is mainly because it has been crunch time leading up to today - which was Youth Sunday at First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis. That means that the youth group lead the worship services at both 8:30 and at 11:00.

They did a fantastic job and I am extremely proud of them.

Leading the service is only a fraction of what they did, though. They started back in late January deciding on a theme, finding relevant scripture, writing as a group, writing individually, deciding on hymns and planned the entire service. Its quite an undertaking.

Its a great way for the youth to really learn about the different components of a service and to get a better understanding (hopefully) into why we do the things that we do. Its also a great way for them to share with the congregation what is important to them and how they see faith interacting with life.

This year the theme was "Change." The heart of the service focused on five stories about change and had five mini-sermons or reflections.

The first was the story of Moses and the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. Sam read a piece that he and his sister Ellie wrote explaining how when they recently moved to the area they were lost in the wilderness of not knowing anyone at school, where their classes were, and missing familiar surroundings. He ended on a hopeful note talking about the growth that can be achieved when you embrace the changes in your life.

The second was the story of Jonah attempting to not do what God asked and ending up in the belly of a whale. Jacob's reflection talked of the futility of ignoring God's will and how it often takes something drastic or catastrophic (like a big fish) to get us to make the changes that are needed.

The third was the story of Saul (persecutor of Christians) becoming Paul the Apostle. Connor told a moving story of a friend who turned away from self destructive behaviors after friends reached out to her and provided her with a modern day "Road to Damascus" moment.

The forth was Jesus' advice to become like children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. KC explained that kids are less set in their ways, have to deal with change more frequently than adults and are used to be dependent on others (parents, grandparents,teachers) for their basic needs.

The fifth was Psalm 46, which begins with the very recognizable "God is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble" and near the end has the equally recognizable line "Be still and know that I am God." Hayley related for us the psalmist's optimism in God's presence and power despite "the world falling apart." She compared the images of a river whose streams make God glad to a grassroots movement for civil rights that eventually lead not only to equality in public spaces, but to our first African American president.

Instead of using hymns from our hymnals and having a pipe organ for accompaniment they chose modern day popular songs to compliment their service and we sang along with the CD recordings of Turn Turn Turn performed by the Byrds, Everything by Alanis Morissette (the clean edit version), and With My Own Two Hands performed by Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. And after our Prayer of Confession and Words of Assurance we celebrated by singing Feelin' Good with Nina Simone ("It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and I'm feelin' good!"). During the offering Matt, one of our eighth graders, played a very impressive saxophone solo.

What can I say? I think they are all amazing and I am so lucky to get to work with them.

Tomorrow I'm off to Princeton, NJ for a youth leader forum at Princeton Theological Seminary. I've been trying to attend this forum since I first started working with the youth. The first year I was in the job it was filled when I attempted to register. Last year I got registered in plenty of time, but had to cancel since I was still stuck on the couch recuperating from my first surgery and this year I'm finally able to attend. I'm really looking forward to it. It'll also give me a chance to visit the seminary, get a feel for the campus and the town.

Next weekend our confirmation class will meet with the elders of the church on Saturday and those wishing to do so will join the church formally on Sunday. It's a big week for me personally and for the youth of our church.

UPDATE - The mini sermons are now posted on our church's web site.

The Dead @ the Verizon Center

2009-04-15T17:04:00.016-04:00

I went to see The Dead last night at the Verizon Center in DC. I'm not the connoisseur that my friends who I accompanied are, but it was a great show and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I don't know all the songs, but I am definately a fan. I'm not sure whether Patrice and Jim are still counting how many shows they've seen, but this was only my fourth one. I got to see them once before Jerry Garcia died and three times with various line-ups in the post-Jerry years.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concert experience of "jam bands" (i.e. Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Phish, etc.) it is very different than what most touring acts do. Instead of having a show that changes very little from one night to the next, these bands vary the songs from night to night and city to city. They play in a very free form style and usually improvise transitions from one song into the next (the style gets its name because they "jam" between songs and during instrumental breaks between verses). So there is a lot of enjoyment by the fans in guessing, anticipating and recognizing what song comes next. Hence each performance becomes a very rare experience and when you happen to be there on a night when "that" song was played (whatever "that" song is for you) it can be extremely special. It also means that each show can be a bit of a high wire act for the band and the fans.

Another of my favorite acts is Jimmy Buffett. He puts on a great show, but with a very different format. He'll change a handful of songs from night to night, but there are some songs that you know you'll hear any time you see him. There is very little chance of seeing a bad version of Margarittaville because you will not see Buffett without hearing his signature song. With jam bands, you may or may not get to hear "that song" and even if you do the lyrics may get flubbed or the muscians may not be as tight as if they played it every night. But when they are having a good night, like last night, the pay off is big.

For those that are interested, here is the set list for last night's show -

(Set 1)
Cassidy
Passenger
Pride of Cucamonga
Easy Wind (Warren vocals)
Lazy River Road
Alabama Getaway (Warren vocals)
Big Railroad Blue
(Set 2)
Peggy-O (acoustic)
Glory Road (acoustic)
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (acoustic)
Space>
Dark Star>
King Solomon's Marbles>
Drums>
Come Together>
Dark Star>
Sugar Magnolia (with Tipper Gore on drums)
(Encore)
Uncle John's Band>
Ripple

Yes, you read that right....Tipper Gore sat in and played the drums last night for one song. You never know what you're gonna get at a Dead show. I'm guessing that means that Al Gore was somewhere in one of the luxury boxes (or back stage). Rumor has it that Nancy Pelosi is a big fan and is at most of the local shows, so she might have been there too. Patrice and I even spotted Tucker Carlson after the show and I took a picture of her with him.

One other unique aspect is The Dead allow fans to record their shows to share with each other. Here is a recording of last night's performance that was posted on archive.org by one of the tapers. It's not the same as being there, but it is the next best thing.

Obama and Where the Wild Things Are

2009-04-13T23:25:00.008-04:00

It's no secret that I'm a fan of our new president and after today's Easter Egg roll even more so. They had story time and President Obama read my all time favorite children's book, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, to the children gathered on the White House lawn.

Based on the YouTube clip below I'd say he obviously knows and loves the book and has spent a fair amount of time reading to his daughters.

And for those of you that are big fans of the book too check out what is going to hit theaters in October!!!

Taizé and the Covenant Circles

2009-04-02T19:14:00.023-04:00

I want to share with you something that I have participated in for the last five weeks and thoroughly enjoyed. Throughout the season of Lent, First Presbyterian Annapolis offered special programming on Wednesday evenings. We had our last Covenant Circle gathering last night and it was a great experience. Associate Pastor Heather Shortlidge organized this opportunity for members of our congregation to gather within small groups of parishioners around several different topics.

Senior Pastor Bill Hathaway led a DVD discussion series featuring Walter Brueggemann.
Debbie Mitchell led a book discussion on Sue Monk Kidd's The Dance of the Dissident Daughter
Music Director Marc Boensel led a Masterwork Chorale
Elizabeth Hancock led a group called Sanctuary Creations
Marion Schilder led a group through Guided Meditation
Yours truly led a Taizé group.

The main down side was not being able to join one of the other circles. I would have loved to have participated in any of these groups.
Taizé (pronounced teh -zay) is a style of worship that is named after a location in France where an ecumenical community of brothers live and worship. I was first introduced to Taizé several years ago by my good friend LeAnn Hodges who is the former Associate Pastor of our church. Taizé worship is very contemplative with periods of silence and repetitive singing/chanting. Before this year I had participated in three separate series of Taizé services, but this was my first time leading them on my own.

The weekend before our first Covenant Circle gathering, I was extremely fortunate to get to participate in an event that was held in Baltimore in late February. A brother from Taizé came to Baltimore and led a two day event of prayer, small group discussions and fellowship.

Those who took part in the Baltimore weekend were a very diverse group. “Only a Taizé gathering could bring together such a variety of people,” remarked one participant. All the age-groups were represented, from children to the elderly, including many students and young adults, from different denominations, races and backgrounds. Most of the participants came from the greater Baltimore area, but some traveled from Pennsylvania, Washington, New York, Virginia, New Jersey and even Chicago. A number of Polish people came, recent immigrants to the United States who had often been to Taizé and taken part in European meetings. One does not often find such a diversified group praying together and reflecting on important questions, in a land where tolerance often simply means that each individual is free to “do their own thing” independently of the others.

This excerpt is from the article A Pilgrimage of Trust in Baltimore on the Taizé web site. It was a fantastic experience and gave me lots of ideas to draw upon for the five services that I led. There are some great pictures here (yes those are familiar dreads in the second picture)

The picture above is the space that we used for our Wednesday night services. I converted the Middle School room each week into a make shift sanctuary. It was the perfect size for our group which had between eight and twelve people from week to week.

I would love to visit the community in France and participate in one of their week long pilgrimages. To experience the singing, prayer, and scripture read in many different languages along with thousands of other pilgrims from all over the world would be amazing.

You can listen to some of the songs and a few minutes of their prayer services here.

Wanna go see a folk music legend tonight?

2009-03-23T00:21:00.010-04:00

I had my usual busy Sunday with Confirmation Class and worship in the morning and then home for some down time and preparation before heading back to church for Youth Fellowship. The last of the youth had left and I was just turning off lights and locking up the building and heading to my car when my phone rang.

It was my friend Patrice who joined our church this year. We quickly found out that we had similar musical tastes. She and Jim (with whom she lives, also a friend from church) and I are going to see the Dead in DC in April. So Patrice calls to say that she has an extra ticket to see Richie Havens tonight and would I like to go? I couldn't believe it. This man opened the Woodstock festival in 1969. I've been a fan ever since I first saw the documentary on PBS when I was a kid. His voice is unmistakable and he strums his accoustic guitar like his life depends on it. He does versions of Joe Cocker's You Are So Beautiful, The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun, and several Bob Dylan Songs that make you forget that anyone else ever recorded them. They simply become Richie Havens' songs.

So not only do I get a surprise invitation to see someone who I've always wanted to see, but this show was at the Ram's Head On Stage, which is a small (less than 500 seat) venue and our table was against the stage. Our seats were as good, if not better than whoever shot this video below.

The opening act, Harry Manx was also really good and my buddy Doug would have died over the selection of guitars that he had - including a home made one out of a cigar box and two old oak broom handles.

After a second encore, they anounced that Mr. Havens would be coming out after the show to sign CDs, posters, etc., so Patrice and I both got our ticket stubs signed, got to shake his hand and chat for a minute or two. What a night!

This was filmed in late 2008...

And from Woodstock....

An Anniversary

2009-03-20T13:51:00.004-04:00

Yes, it was one year ago today that I fell at work and began the epic journey of recovery that still continues. Several people have asked how I plan to mark (celebrate just isn't the right word) the occasion.

So far I've mainly just been enjoying the day with lots of loud music and a little dancing around the house. Because I can! HALLELUJAH!!

I'm heading out for Slurpees with one of the boys in my youth group in a little while when he gets out of school. Other than that I am just glad that it is behind me, thankful for how far I've come and to all of the folks that have helped me get here.

Another Milestone

2009-03-19T12:27:00.005-04:00

So this isn't quite the milestone that driving again was or not using the wheelchair anymore, but it was a big one socially and emotionally - I went to a concert at Ram's Head Live on Monday night. Now, you might think that's not such a big deal. I went to an Orioles game last fall and a Maryland Terps basketball game this winter, so what's the big deal about going to a concert, right? There were several factors that explain why I'm feeling especially good about this:

The concert was Monday night right after my two hour plus physical therapy session
The people that I went with were already in Baltimore, so I had to drive myself to and from the show.
The venue is basically a dance club, so there is very little seating available

Doing anything after therapy has been a near impossibility until quite recently. Just a couple of weeks ago I would come home from therapy, set aside my cane and grab both crutches not wanting to put any weight on my leg. All I wanted to do was sit on the couch elevate my leg and ice it. So when Dan asked me last Thursday if I wanted to go I was intrigued, but told him not to get his hopes up. Add to that the fact that I would have to drive myself which would be more work for my leg. I would easily be able to wimp out, drive myself home after therapy and just not show up. The fear of not having seating and being in too much pain or not having the leg strength to drive myself home was also a concern. I've got to continue to be careful not to overdo it, but I've also got to make sure that I don't start using my disability as an excuse not to do things. So I went for it. I feel like a runner who has "hit the wall" and pushed through it. Obviously there is a very real physical component to how I'm doing and what I can do, but there is a huge mental component to contend with too.

I can't say it enough - Thank you so much for -

Dr. Brumback's surgical skills
The expertise of Amanda, Jessica, Sarah, Patty, Don and the whole gang at OSMC and for continuing to pushing me
My parents' continued support (and help with the dogs) despite both of them joining me as knee patients
Becky for all her emotional support and help with the youth group
Family and friends who continue to cheer me on and never seem to tire of my constant updates on my progress (~~even~~ especially if you are tired of it and are faking it for my sake. I love you for it.)
First Presbyterian Church of Annapolis as an employer and as a faith community has given me more than I can ever put into words.

Without all of you I would not be as far along in my recovery as I am today.

Who, you ask was playing in Baltimore on Monday night that also helped inspire me to push through that mental wall? THE WAILERS as in Bob Marley and the.... Bob unfortunately passed away in 1981, but the band has found a very good lead singer in Elan Atias and they sounded fantastic. For this tour they are performing the entire 1977 album Exodus (plus some choice encore numbers). If you are a reggae fan this is a show to see. I made sure to snag a bar stool so that I could sit, but once the Wailers took the stage I couldn't resist the urge to stand, and although I don't think it was technically dancing, I was grooving along with the crowd.

ONE LOVE! "Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel alright!"

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T19:20:00.003-04:00

The Corrigan Brothers song about their favorite president (who happens to have Irish roots)

Sláinte Mhaith!

An Update on My Future Plans Post

2009-03-13T13:00:00.003-04:00

It turns out that this was not announced at the session meeting as expected, so I jumped the gun a little in posting this item. Not a huge foul, but not the order in which I intended this information to be disseminated. So if you are a Session member who is looking back at the minutes of the meeting wondering "how did I miss that?", the answer is - you didn't. Also, the next step in the process will be for someone from the Presbytery's Committe on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) to meet with our Session to brief them on the process and their responsibilities.

As far as the timing of my plans, I should have mentioned that I am thinking about starting school in the fall of 2010 in order to give me time to visit and research the various schools that I will be considering. I have no intention of leaving my position as Director of Youth Ministries at this time. If and when I make that decision will be dependant upon when and where I decide to go to school (and if the Session and Presbytery's committee's support my application). There are seminaries in Baltimore and Washington that I could attend without relocating or leaving my youth position. They are not within my denomination though so that would add extra steps after obtaining my degree in order to meet the Presbyterian Church's requirements for ordination. The Presbyterian seminaries are all out of state, so if I do decide to go to one of them that would require some changes. But those decisions are down the road a ways and there are many many variables to consider.

Appointment with Brumback

2009-03-12T14:46:00.005-04:00

Today I saw Dr. Brumback, the orthopaedic surgeon, for the first time in over two months. My x-rays looked good. No signs of infection still and no movement of any of the bones or hardware. I'm bearing quite a bit of weight now, so my fear has been to have a repeat of last summer - things shifting and collapsing as I put more weight on my right leg. That isn't happening this time and he used the words "the bone is healed" so that obviously is a good thing.

He was also pretty impressed with the progress that I've made at therapy and gave me a new slip to take to them so that we can continue to work towards getting me off of the cane and get me walking without any assistance.

What I've found out at therapy, and it was reinforced by what we saw in the x-rays today, is that my use of the cane has far less to do with the bone and knee joint now and much more to do with the atrophy that occurred to my muscles over the last year. Amanda (my physical therapist) has really zeroed in on specific muscle groups that I need to rebuild and strengthen in order to walk with out my cane. Basically the muscles on the right side from my lower back down to and including my thigh are not strong enough to keep me lined up when my left leg is off the ground. So my hips get torqued and twisted which will cause problems down the road if I don't fix that. I'm already noticing muscle pain and strain on my left side, especially in my lower back.

I'm still in a bit of limbo as it pertains to the workman's compensation flow chart. Sandy, my nurse case worker, talked to the church about my duties as facilities manager and will present those details along with Dr. Brumback's report from today's visit to the insurance company's adjuster to find out whether I move to the vocational phase or not. Apparently some companies will not move you to the vocational step if you are still in the medical rehabilitation phase. In cases like mine, where it is pretty apparent that returning to the same work is not realistic, but where there is still a need for physical therapy and rehabilitation for life in general, some companies will allow some overlap of the two phases. We don't yet know whether that is what they will decide or not. Dr. Brumback has given me three more months to work on things and I will see him again in June.

As I mentioned above, Amanda is really focusing on specific areas where I need improvement and she has been increasing weights and adding new exercises almost every time I go to therapy. My appointments now take over 2 hours. She's got me sidestepping over cones with 6 pound ankle weights on, using nautilus equipment, scooting myself up and down the hallway on a stool with wheels using only my injured leg, and even using the StairMaster.

Occasionally I get frustrated with my new limitations and I loose site of just how far I've come. It really is all about perspective. This clip of one of my favorite comedians, Louis C. K., on Conan illustrates just how quickly we forget the way things used to be and how silly we can be about things that aren't going how we want them to.

So with regards to my leg - Everything is amazing, and I'm extremely happy!

Ever get that feeling that there is something you should be doing?

2009-02-27T15:00:00.001-05:00

Many who know me were surprised when I started getting more involved at church several years ago. They were even more surprised when I took first one and then a second job on staff at my home church. What most don't know is that returning to the church that I grew up in and the career choices that I have made over the last four years have been part of my personal discernment process about my calling.

Vocation - a definition by Frederick Buechner from his book - Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC

It comes from the Latin vocare, to call, and means the work a person is called to by God.
There are all different kinds of voices calling you to all different kinds of work, and the problem is to find out which is the voice of God rather than of Society, say, or the Superego, or Self-Interest.
By and large a good rule for finding out is this: The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing cigarette ads, the chances are you've missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you're bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a), but probably aren't helping your patients much either.
Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.

I love both of the jobs that I have at FPC Annapolis (although I haven't been able to do one of them for ten months). Both positions provide me with the opportunity to use skills that I have gained at previous jobs and from life in general on a regular basis. Both positions have challenged me and given me the opportunity to tackle things that I have needed to work on. I've also gotten to see what it is like to work at a church. Interacting with the congregation; helping to prepare the campus, buildings, programs, and activities; and incorporating spiritual disciplines and my own spiritual growth into my occupation have all been enormously fulfilling. Now that I have a much clearer picture of my vocation than I did in my early 20s I feel that going back to school is what I need to do.

Last January I attended a conference for youth leaders and had the opportunity to talk with representatives from several of the Presbyterian Seminaries. When I returned home I started researching the possibility of going to seminary and about the process for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). I found out that the first formal step that one takes is to become an Inquirer. One becomes an Inquirer by expressing an interest in being ordained to the Session (the Elders elected to represent your individual church) and if they are agreeable they recommend you to the Presbytery (larger representative body governing many churches). As an Inquirer your discernment process becomes public and the church works with you to evaluate and help develop the qualities and talents needed in order to be a minister.

I began working on my application and discussed this step with family, friends and advisers. I was finished with my application and trying to decide the proper timing to go public with my intentions when I had my accident.

As with my life in general, my accident has both simplified and complicated my decision to take this step. On the one hand, a far less physically demanding occupation seems to be in my future. On the other hand, the timing of going forward with this process has been up in the air. For the most part, I have put this on the back burner since April because I've needed to put my focus on recovering from my injury and am in the bureaucratic flow chart of the Worker's Compensation process. The irony of that is that my accident has imbued me with a sense of urgency. So I have this overwhelming feeling that life is short, that you never know what will happen and that I've got to get started and haven't been able to act upon it.

Now that I'm through the worst of my recovery from the second surgery and the infection, I'm ready to start the process. It appears that the infection is under control and I am off of the crutches. As the time draws near for the determination of my ability (or lack thereof) to return to my old job I am ready to move forward with my long term plans. I am in conversation with my case worker to coordinate all of this with the Worker's Compensation process.

At Tuesday night's Session meeting, they were informed of my application and it has been turned in to the Clerk. The next step will be for the entire Session to have a chance to review the document and most likely I will be invited to a Session meeting so that they can interview me before they decide whether they will support my request and pass it on the the Baltimore Presbytery. The earliest that this could happen would be in April since the Session is not meeting during Lent. So I have a bit of waiting yet, but it feels good to have started the ball rolling and taken a proactive instead of a reactive step.

It's been quite a while since I posted anything...

2009-02-23T16:07:00.008-05:00

and that's mainly because life has been returning to "normal" and I've actually been quite busy lately. There was one big development that I can't believe it has taken me until today to post about though....I'm driving again. Yippee! Independence!

I've been making good progress at PT and am able to bear quite a bit of weight on my right leg now. I started driving again on the 9th of February. I may have been able to start a little earlier, but my car was in the shop for repairs. My cooling system had a leak and the last I was driving it back in September it was overheating quite a bit. My dad took it in to the shop for me in the hopes that it would be ready the same time that I was ready. I think it was coordinated as closely as we could have hoped, although mentally I was ready to try before the car was back.

So, I had four days of practice behind the wheel and on Friday the 13th one of the other teachers and I headed into Washington DC for a weekend retreat with this year's Confirmation Class. We each drove three of the students in our respective cars. I took the boys and Jane took the girls. We had a great weekend.

We stayed at the Church of the Pilgrims just off of DuPont Circle and participated in a World Religions Tour. We attended a Friday evening service at the Washington Hebrew Congregation. On Saturday we visited the Islamic Center and Mosque. We were extremely fortunate to get to witness a wedding ceremony and afternoon prayers in addition to our tour. Saturday afternoon we toured the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, sometimes called America’s Catholic Church. After our tour we attended Mass with hundreds of Catholics visiting our Nation’s Capital. On Sunday morning we worshipped at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. It was quite a diverse collection of art, architecture, language and styles of worship. It was good to experience both the similarities and differences in the various faiths as we together explore what it means to be a Presbyterian.

People need to see that, far from being an obstacle, the world’s diversity of languages, religions and traditions is a great treasure, affording us precious opportunities to recognize ourselves in others.

--Youssou N’Dour, Musician

Obama Speaks about the Recovery Plan

2009-02-07T15:57:00.005-05:00

Gov. Kane's Video