Dreadlocks + VW + Political Bumper Stickers =Police Magnet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.