conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

wedding stuff

Well, we have 75 response cards...112 people coming. There are another 60 cards out there. We have no idea what the return will be. We asked people to respond by September 1. Hm.... I wonder if all 60 will come in the mail today? Heh. This is a pretty typical turn around on a thing like this. So, I am not overly fretful. I am just counting beer bottles and wine glasses.

Lots of bottles.
Lots of glasses.

I am preaching this Sunday

I am preaching this Sunday at North Shore. Why do I always get the bloomin' federal holidays?! And to get these passages in the midst of a convention week? Not fair.

Jer. 18:1-11.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2�Come, go down to the potter�s house, and there I will let you hear my words.� 3So I went down to the potter�s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter�s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter�s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

Philemon 1-21

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,*
To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2to Apphia our sister,* to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 When I remember you* in my prayers, I always thank my God 5because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith towards the Lord Jesus. 6I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we* may do for Christ. 7I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.
8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love�and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.* 10I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful* both to you and to me. 12I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for ever, 16no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother�especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

Luke 14:25-33

25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26�Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30saying, �This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.� 31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions

1. (redux)

I have been thinking about what it means to gove a more "Baptist" answer to this question, and I think it follows that I simply be a little more personal in my explanation. So, here's some more. Comment if you wish.

Please share with us a concise statement of your faith.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

This is the Apostles' Creed. Though we Baptists are not a creedal people, I believe this to be an appropriate summary of my faith and Christian faith in general. The other reasons I chose a creed to express my belief will become more clear in my answers to the questions which follow. But to summarize, this creed is scriptural, it is rooted in time-honored traditions within Christianity as a whole. It has been used as a formative tool within Christian education and as a part of the liturgical life of Christian communities for centuries. It is, all on its own, a prayer. It is not necessarily a systematic document, a prooftext for Christian orthodoxy. Being a non-creedal people does not mean that the creeds (Apostle�s, Nicean, Athanasian etc) cannot be guides for thinking, prayer and conversation between believers. They can serve as good historical road markers in our faith, both personal and corporate.

On an individual level, the reason for my choosing this creed to express my faith is the same as why I chose Christianity and why I engage the traditions as I do. Those experts who keep track of thses things tell me (and other seminary students) that mainline Protestantism is on the decline. No longer is America a "Christian Nation." Our nation is becomming more and more diverse, some say more secular. In either case, one cannot assume that the average person on the street is religious much less Christian. Christianity is no longer the "default" faith of the United States.

As Baptists we now can say that there are many choices before people as they make that "mature decision" to follow Christ. It is not as simple a decision as it once was...if it ever was. So many religious (and non-religious) traditions are valued in our culture, and valued equally. The personal decision made can be as simple as whether one believes that there is a God or not. But often the decisions are much more complicated. Which one of the myriad Christian traditions shall I follow? So many people will journey through several in their lifetimes. Sometimes people experiment with multiple religions, journeying, for example, from evangelical Christianity to Buddhism and eventually finding themselves in Catholicism. People who are seeking will try cults, sects, and even fad diets on their way to define their faith-life.

So, when I was beginning my journey, I struggled with the options before me. What made Christianity different from Judaism, or different from Hinduism? Do those diffferences matter? As I found myself in Christianity the creeds thus became more and more important to me. Their simplicity and clarity in the midst of these competing traditions, religions, sects and fads have given me comfort. They provide definition and boundaries. These boundaries are not meant to be cruel or condemning, but they are to be defining. Christianity is not Hinduism. It is not the South Beach Diet. Christianity says a certain thing about God and Creation. Our faith has limits, boundaries. For me, the Apostles' Creed is an excellent place to start as a concise statement of faith. It helps me to locate myself in the midst of the Christian Tradition.

t-minus...

Good morning.

Lots to do today. I need to get the final beer/wine ocunt to the caterer in VA. There are mor invitations to go out...but this for the rehearsal dinner. I have some suff from Advocate to slog through as final preparation for my year-long position at Lutheran Hospital. That job begins on Wednesday. I am really excited to begin. It is full-time employ. It is ministry. A good combination as far as I am concerned.

So, I'll be online occasionally to chime in when the opportunity presents itself. I was really busy cooking and cleaning and other kitchenish things last week, thus the lack of posting. You should see quite a bit more this week.

Pax.

thirdsdey post

Q: What does the catering Baptist make for dinner on the evening after he learns to make kickass french pastries?

A:hotdogs and ore-ida crinkle cut french fries. There will be no veggies served with this meal.

I am certain that this is just the kind of brain food I need before I sit down and work up an essay or two. Heh.

wednesday quickie

I have to get going to the kitchens soon, but I wanted to toss off at least one post before I left.

Only a month left until I get married. Urggle. Lots to do. Go here for more information.

I am working through more of those ordination essays later this week. Trish and I have been too social this week. Monday was a Birthday party for Amy, a friend from church. late night was a gumbo party with one of the people in Trish's cast. Late nights both.

Finally, yesterday was Jane Ellen's Birthday! Happy Birthday! Wish I could have been there!

so much news

News around the University of Blogaria...

Rev. Voss is now a priest. Congratulations!
Rev Ref is 40. Condolences? Nah. Congratulations!
The Magdalene Institute is up and running again. This is good news.
Geoff Holsclaw is taking a stab at Spiderman.
Amanda has been dabbling in Kerry's royal lineage. Do you think her ideas will have any weight come November? She also thinks Jesus may have been a Democrat, so be ye warned! All I know is that she has not been reading Robyn's thoughts on the subject.
Sarah at Fiendish Plot is at it again with the Olympics. Somehow, I doubt Sarah will hold public office.
Pssst. Jane is back from her honeymoon. Very cool.
It looks as if The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler has a home to go to when November shows its autumnal head.
One of the Girls is getting back into the swing of rehearsals. There may be more than just a few gigs in our immediate future. Keep your eyes peeled.

shower

Ah...'twas loverly, it was.

Trish and I were guests of honor at a wedding shower yesterday afternoon. Our friends Amy, Laura and Sarah threw quite the shindig. Many bloggists were in attendance. Cliff, Susie, Justin, Jane Ellen, Si...A generous and diverse group. There were people from church and beyond. People gave us lots of stuff...we like stuff. Our registries are slowly being closed down. It is an odd thing...a kind of greed, but it is fun and it gives people an easy way to celebrate with us.

So, thank you to all. It was wondrous cool.

news flash! kennedy is an islamic extremist!

This is the quote of the day.

"I've been getting on this plane, you know, for 42 years. Why can't I get on the plane?"

SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY, telling how he was barred from a Boston-Washington flight because his name resembled an alias used by a suspected terrorist.

August 20, 2004
Senator? Terrorist? A Watch List Stops Kennedy at Airport
By RACHEL L. SWARNS

ASHINGTON, Aug. 19 - The meeting had all the hallmarks of an ordinary Congressional hearing. There was Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, discussing the problems faced by ordinary citizens mistakenly placed on terrorist watch lists. Then, to the astonishment of the crowd attending a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, Mr. Kennedy offered himself up as Exhibit A.

Between March 1 and April 6, airline agents tried to block Mr. Kennedy from boarding airplanes on five occasions because his name resembled an alias used by a suspected terrorist who had been barred from flying on airlines in the United States, his aides and government officials said.

Instead of acknowledging the craggy-faced, silver-haired septuagenarian as the Congressional leader whose face has flashed across the nation's television sets for decades, the airline agents acted as if they had stumbled across a fanatic who might blow up an American airplane. Mr. Kennedy said they refused to give him his ticket.

"He said, 'We can't give it to you'," Mr. Kennedy said, describing an encounter with an airline agent to the rapt audience. " 'You can't buy a ticket to go on the airline to Boston.' I said, 'Well, why not?' He said, 'We can't tell you.' "

"Tried to get on a plane back to Washington," Mr. Kennedy continued. '' 'You can't get on the plane.' I went up to the desk and said, 'I've been getting on this plane, you know, for 42 years. Why can't I get on the plane?' "

The hearing room erupted in laughter.

Mr. Kennedy said his situation highlighted the odyssey encountered by people whose names had mistakenly appeared on terrorist watch lists or resembled the names of suspected terrorists on such lists. In April, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the government on behalf of seven airline passengers who said they had wrongly been placed on no-fly lists or associated with names on the lists and could not find a way to clarify their identities.

In Mr. Kennedy's case, airline supervisors ultimately overruled the ticket agents in each instance and allowed him to board the plane. But it took several weeks for the Department of Homeland Security to clear the matter up altogether, the senator's aides said.

Just days after Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge called Mr. Kennedy in early April to apologize and to promise that the problems would be resolved, another airline agent tried to stop Mr. Kennedy from boarding a plane yet again. The alias used by the suspected terrorist on the watch list was Edward Kennedy, said David Smith, a spokesman for the senator.

At the hearing, Mr. Kennedy wondered how ordinary citizens could navigate the tangled bureaucracy if a senator had so much trouble. "How are they going to be able to get to be treated fairly and not have their rights abused?" he asked.

Asa Hutchinson of the Department of Homeland Security, who was testifying at the Senate hearing, said his department was working to address the situation. He said travelers with such problems should contact the ombudsman at the Transportation Security Administration, a division of Homeland Security, who would help them take steps to clarify their identities.

"There is a process to clear names," said Mr. Hutchinson, the department's under secretary for border security. "But it does illustrate the importance of improving the whole system, which we are very aggressively working to do."

On Monday, Mr. Hutchinson told Congress that Homeland Security officials planned to take over the checking of names of passengers against the no-fly lists. The responsibility is now carried out by the airlines, to ensure that terror suspects do not board airplanes and that law enforcement officials are promptly notified of potential security risks.

Advocates for tougher screening requirements say the current system is ineffective because the government does not provide the airlines with a comprehensive set of watch lists, in part because some of that information is classified. Civil libertarians also cite instances in which airlines have mistakenly denied passengers the right to fly.

The ticket agents who tried to block Mr. Kennedy from boarding planes to Washington, Boston, Palm Beach and New York worked for US Airways, Senate officials said. Amy Kudwa, a US Airways spokeswoman, acknowledged that Mr. Kennedy was a frequent passenger, but declined to comment on the incidents.

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union said they did not know how many people had been mistakenly placed on watch lists. But they said the sluggish responses from the airline and the government to Mr. Kennedy's efforts to clear his name demonstrated the absurdity of the no-fly system.

"It demonstrates all those things that we found problems with in the first place, " said Reginald Shulford of the A.C.L.U."If you're Ted Kennedy, you can call a friend," Mr. Shulford said. "If you're an average citizen you cannot. You can complain to the Department of Homeland Security, but to no avail."

At the hearing, Mr. Kennedy emphasized his concern for passengers stuck on no-fly lists. But he tried to make light of his own troubles.

He said, to much laughter, that he did not believe the mistake was a conspiracy engineered by his Republican colleagues. And as Mr. Hutchinson offered up his apologies, Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, responded jokingly in kind.

Mr. Hutchinson said, "Senator, we do regret that inconvenience to you."

Mr. Hatch said, "Quit smiling when you say that."

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

poetry

This is astounding. In light of some conversations I have been engaged in regarding ordination and parenting children into the faith, this is a great poem. I would challenge it on some level, but I resonate with the author.

Veni Creator

Come, Holy Spirit,
bending or not bending the grasses,
appearing or not above our heads in a tongue of flame,
at hay harvest or when they plough in the orchards,
or when snow covers crippled firs in the Sierra Nevada.

I am only a human being: I need visible signs.
I tire easily, building the stairway of abstraction.
Many a time I asked, you know it well,
that the statue in church lift its hand, only once, just once, for me.
But I understand that signs must be human,
therefore, call one person, anywhere on earth,
not me-after all I have some decency-
and allow me, when I look at that person,
to marvel at you.

titles

AKMA has talked about this from time to time. Now Hugo is having a go at it. I posted a brief response in his blog, but I was thinking I should say more.

On September 25th I will become a husband. It is a role and a title of sorts. In November, I will be ordained if I don't screw something up between now and then. I will be given the title of Reverend...a pastor I will be. I have two master degrees soon enough. There are titles or roles intrinsic to all of this. And, though those roles may be cheapened on some level by the inability of some to live into them, I think ignoring their potency is only adding insult to injury.

I hope to live into the title of Reverend...and husband. I hope that people look at me and see the fruition of long journeys. I hope to be able to claim the honor of those titles. I understand Hugo's reverse snobbishness. I really do. But I am not convinced that actually undergirds his theory. I think the way he lives into the role of professor, for example, actually does more to support the title than not. I would probably be compelled to call him "professor" if he were mine.

I know that I need the person in the role to play into that role fully. I also know that I am adult enough to distinguish the person from the role and allow for great flexibility and forgiveness in living into the role. But if I am looking to be tought by a professor, I would rather encourage you to be a professor and hold off the friendship and the comradeship for later...when I have earned it.

not about ordination

Ah...the Kingdom of Loathing. This is a great joy. I have been fighting pitched battles using my eXtreme meat staff to defeat liches in the Spooky Crypt. Now I am fighting batrats. They are vicious creatures!

I may have a recording gig with The Schola Cantorum of St. Peter. This is a cool thing to think upon. I have not recorded music in a long time...at least not that professional choral kind.

1.

Please share with us a concise statement of your faith.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

This is the Apostle�s Creed. Though we are not a creedal people, I believe this to be an appropriate summary of my faith and Christian faith in general. The other reasons I chose a creed to express my belief will become more clear in my answers to the questions which follow. But to summarize, this creed is scriptural, it is rooted in time-honored traditions within Christianity as a whole. It has been used as a formative tool within Christian education and as a part of the liturgical life of Christian communities for centuries. It is, all on its own, a prayer. It is not necessarily a systematic document, a prooftext for Christian orthodoxy. Being a non-creedal people does not mean that the creeds (Apostle�s, Nicean, Athanasian etc) cannot be guides for thinking, prayer and conversation between believers. They can serve as good historical road markers in our faith, both personal and corporate.

'scopes

Rob just makes me laugh. He just does.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Through a friend of a friend of a friend in the publishing business, I've caught wind of a mysterious manuscript that may soon be turned into a book. It's called *I'm the Boss of My Underpants.* My source was maddeningly vague about the subject matter, but it sounds like something I'd love you to get your hands on as soon as possible. In the coming weeks, you'll need to get crystal clear about who exactly *is* the boss of your underpants. You should also devote a lot of thought to defining the rules that will govern your underpants in the future, including the important issues of where and when and with whom you'll take them off.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): There are no longer enough Catholic priests in North America to fulfill all the requests for divine intervention that are received from parishioners. The requests are therefore outsourced to churches in India, where up-and-coming young clergy pray over them at $5 a pop. It's too bad the powers-that-be apparently don't know about me and my team of Prayer Warriors, because we perform the same service absolutely free. To demonstrate our effectiveness, we plan to unleash a series of powerful prayers on your behalf. Specifically, we will beseech God to bless you in the coming weeks with cathartic pleasures that will permanently expand your capacity for happiness.

Trish is the Taurus. She will be off Shakespearing it again this evening. I will be here working on my ordination essays. Yay? I will post the results of my muddled musings and let you know how it all goes. In the extended, you can read through the questions if you wish.

1.Please share with us a concise statement of your faith.

2.What philosophical and theological systems underlie the cognitive side of your faith?

3.What is your understanding of the Trinity? How is it relevant to our faith today?

4.What is the nature and mission of the local church?

5.How do you understand the authority of the Bible? In what ways does the Bible function in your life?

6.How do you understand prayer in terms of your personal life and the corporate life of the church?

7.Discuss what you believe the task of the minister to be. How do you see yourself in relationship to various forms of ministry? What are your career goals?

8.As you assess your personal capacities for ministry at this time, what do you consider your strongest points and what do you feel to be the aspects most needing development?

9.What does ordination mean to you? Why have you elected to be ordained to the Gospel ministry or have your ordination recognized in the ABCUSA? What experiences led you to make this choice?

10.How do you see the ABCUSA in relation to the Church universal? What is our understanding of ABC polity and organization?

11.Given the historic Baptist principle of separation of church and state, how do you see the duty of the church toward society?

olympiad

Watching women's gymnastics. Need to go to bed early though. I am so tired and I have another day of standing and cooking tomorrow. I am glad for the income, but it is tiring.

Sly will not stop mewing. He is one of our three cats. They do not get along so we swap them out every 24 hours. It is cruel and I hate it. Sigh.

superfast

Trevor fixed my email and all that mess. Quirky stuff. So, feel free to reset everything back to tripp at anglobaptist dot org

Huzzah.

Oh, I am catering in the morning. This is great news! $$

sojourners article

Hearts & Minds
Take Back the Faith

The best contribution of religion is precisely not to be a loyal partisan.
by Jim Wallis

the text is in the extended...here is the original link.

Many of us feel that our faith has been stolen, and it?s time to take it back. An enormous public misrepresentation of Christianity has taken place. Many people around the world now think Christian faith stands for political commitments that are almost the opposite of its true meaning. How did the faith of Jesus come to be known as pro-rich, pro-war, and pro-American? And how do we get back to a historic, biblical, and genuinely evangelical faith rescued from its contemporary distortions?

That rescue operation is even more crucial today, in the face of a social crisis that cries out for prophetic religion. The problem is clear in the political arena, where strident voices claim to represent Christians, when they clearly don?t speak for most of us. We hear politicians who love to say how religious they are but utterly fail to apply the values of faith to their public leadership and political policies. It?s time to take back our faith in the public square, especially in a time when a more authentic social witness is desperately needed.

When we do, we discover that faith challenges the powers that be to do justice for the poor, instead of preaching a "prosperity gospel" and supporting politicians that further enrich the wealthy. We remember that faith hates violence and tries to reduce it, and exerts a fundamental presumption against war, instead of justifying it in God?s name. We see that faith creates community from racial, class, and gender divisions and prefers international community over nationalist religion, and we see that "God bless America" is found nowhere in the Bible. And we are reminded that faith regards matters such as the sacredness of life and family bonds as so important that they should never be used as ideological symbols or mere political pawns in partisan warfare.

THE MEDIA LIKES to say, "Oh, then you must be the Religious Left." No, and the very question is the problem. Just because a Religious Right has fashioned itself in one predictable ideological guise does not mean that those who question this political seduction must be their opposite political counterpart. The best public contribution of religion is precisely not to be ideologically predictable nor a loyal partisan. To raise the moral issues of human rights, for example, will challenge both left- and right-wing governments who put power above principles. And religious action is rooted in a much deeper place than "rights"?that being the image of God in every human being.

Similarly, when the poor are defended on moral or religious grounds, it is not "class warfare" but rather a direct response to the overwhelming focus in the scriptures that claims the poor are regularly neglected, exploited, and oppressed by wealthy elites, political rulers, and indifferent affluent populations. Those scriptures don?t simply endorse the social programs of liberals or conservatives, but make clear that poverty is indeed a religious issue and that the failure of political leaders to help uplift those in poverty will be judged a moral failing.

It is precisely because religion takes the problem of evil so seriously that it must always be suspicious of concentrated power?politically and economically?either in totalitarian regimes or in huge multinational corporations, which now have more wealth and power than many governments. It is indeed our theology of evil that makes us strong proponents of both political and economic democracy?not because people are so good, but because they often are not and need clear safeguards and strong systems of checks and balances to avoid the dangerous accumulations of power and wealth.

IT?S WHY WE DOUBT the goodness of all superpowers and the righteousness of empires in any era, especially when their claims of inspiration and success invoke theology and the name of God. Given human tendencies for self-delusion and deception, is it any wonder that hardly a religious body in the world regards unilateral and pre-emptive war as "just?" Religious wisdom suggests that the more overwhelming the military might, the more dangerous its capacity for self and public deception.

The loss of religion?s prophetic vocation is terribly dangerous for any society. Who will uphold the dignity of economic and political outcasts? Who will question the self-righteousness of nations and their leaders? Who will question the recourse to violence and the rush to wars long before any last resort has been unequivocally proven? Who will not allow God?s name to be used to simply justify ourselves, instead of calling us to accountability?

In an election year, the particular religiosity of a candidate, or even how devout they might be, is less important than how their religious and/or moral commitments and values shape their political vision and their policy commitments. Understanding the moral compass they bring to their public lives and how their convictions shape their political priorities is the true litmus test.

Jim Wallis is editor-in-chief of Sojourners.

Take Back the Faith. by Jim Wallis. Sojourners Magazine, September 2004 (Vol. 33, No. 9, pp. 4). Hearts & Minds.

home

Whew...wah...made it...long day yesterday, but it was a good one. Now I must clean the apartment. Trish has been house sitting and the cats have had their wicked way for almost two weeks with the joint.

Anyone have an industrial strength cat hair "getter-upper?"

leaving on a jet plane

but before I go...someone suggested that this might be my future. Hm...

homeward bound

Today was good.

A's won. This is good. I saw Dave Hedges. This too was good.

Saw The Princess Bride. Huzzah! A great time was had by all. It is a tremendous film.

Um, yeah. There was napping in there somewhere. You know, I never quite get over this kind of jet lag. It is 11:00 here in Oakland and I am utterly beat. Not that I am ever a late night person, but it is always this way when I visit west of where I live. I am use-free for many days before I finally get used to the new time zone.

Tomorrow I get on a plane for Chicago and Sofie's birthday party. Trish has two shows tomorrow, so I will not see her until much later in the day. This is a sad thing for me. I have missed her. I think I may have mentioned that once or twice.

'Nite.

done and done

It was a good party. Jane posted about it.

I smoked a cigar...awoke wishing I had a sand blaster to get the crud off my teeth. Nothing like a $5 cigar and bar-b-que at 1 am to make you fun in the morning. The leftover ribs and fruit cocktail for breakfast made my morning. Mmmm.

The sermon that I mused over in the previous post came out very differently. I have to say that preaching, even briefly, to a group of strangers at such an intimate occasion as a wedding is an interesting experience. I would not say that I enjoyed it, per se, but neither was it a bad thing. It was just different. It is like shooting in the dark. The practice of preaching to one's self worked fairly well. It was hard not to look at Jane and Sarah and not blubber myself. They were blubbering aplenty for the whole lot of us, but I like to contribute when I can.

The reception was great. I danced with Sarah and Cathy. I danced a lot. I am not a good Baptist...at least I don't drink, but that has nada to do with being Baptist. I've simply had my share. I was told a couple of times while wearing my red hawaiian shirt that I looked more buddhist than Baptist. Hmmm...that bodes poorly. Hah. Or maybe not. Should I be one of those Northern California Baptists? I wonder if they need a monastery here.

So, it is not all done quite yet. There is an A's game this afternoon. They are playing the Royals. I will root for the A's. Can't stand the Royals. I am certain that Jesus feels the same way. Ya just can't root for Kansas City. You can send a Jonah to ask it to repent, but ya can't root. Heh. After the game there is an outting to see The Princess Bride at some outdoor theater. Fun.

So, one wedding down, how ever many more to go. This was a great way to start. I'll be flying home tomorrow. I miss Trish. We spoke this morning on the phone. I wish she were here. I miss my baby. So pitiful am I.

Okay...shower and sandblast teeth...right! Adieu!

wedding homily

I have been given five minutes to say something nifty at the service this afternoon. I think I will talk about the Christian discipline of feasting.

We talk about the fast. Prayer, service and other disciplines come to the fore as well from time to time. Richard Dean Foster wrote a great book entitiled Celebration of Discipline. I encourage you all to read it. One thing that does not show up in the book is the feast...at least I don't recall it being in the book. Maybe that says something as well.

I find that, for myself, when the word "dsicipline" comes up, I get nothing but images of struggle and strife, of some kind of abstaining. Not that abstaining is not a good discipline. Fasting is a good thing to practice. Honest. I keep a fast once in a while. I keep a discipline of prayer. I wrestle with these things, but I do not thik I have ever kept a discipline of feasting.

When I was living in Richmond, VA, I had a friend who was a Catholic priest. He would always take me out for a big dinner on Sundays during Lent. That always seemed so strange. Aren't we supposed to struggle, to suffer along in Lent depriving ourselves of chocolate or something? Why should we get a break?

Because we are to celebrate, we are to mark time with a discipline of feasting. Feasting is more than spiritual optimism, a looking on the bright side of life. It is honoring time, it is honoring relationship. It is a way to hold a relationship together. So often we can fall into habits where we say, "This thing about you irritates me. But I put up with you. This is my sacrificie for the realtionship." We will make sacrifices. Compromise can be a great thing. But feasting, celebrating the relationship, celebrating God's gift of grace as it pours out into a marriage. We have to remind ourselves that marriage has within it a dicipline of feasting. It is generous. It is foolish. It is free.

It is the feast for the prodigal son. It is the Wedding feast at Caana. It is the Lord's Supper. It is the feast of Marthan and Mary. It is the feeding of the Five Thousand. It is God's generosity outpoured, the presense of Christ in our midst.

It is a discipline easily forgotten. It is often relegted to the realm of birthdays and graduations. But today, at this feast, we may have before us the reminder that our lives together are a feast, are a grace-filled gift from God...foolish and generous, prodigal in their own right. And the disicpline fo the feast holds us together...

These are my thoughts...I'll have something more coherent in 10 minutes. I just thought I would share. The sewer backed up in the garage this morning. Somehow Sarah wants me to work "poo" into the sermon. I think I might.

Heh.

oakland day two

The coffee is brewing. It smells great. As good of a cook as Jane is, brewing coffee is beyond her. She does not drink it, so she never bothered to learn how to brew a proper pot. Sarah is doing the honors. I do not know how nervous they are, but I am nervous for them.

I think I slept about 10 hours last night. I was that tired. My back is making me pay for being in bed that long, but boy howdy did I need it. We got home about 9:30...10:30 Chicago time. Trish and I arose about 5am to get to Midway on time. It was a long day. Dinner at Sarah's parents place was great.

I met the other officiant last night. She is an Episcopal priest here in the diocese. She knows the people I do. Small world syndrome. She is an interesting woman...climbed Mt. Rainier just a bit ago. When she's not presiding over east-facing liturgies, she is training for marathons. Wow. Too much talent. Very cool.

So, there is today's update. You can read more at Fiendish Plot and on Cautionary Tale. They are in town for the same wedding. I am off to read the peper in bed with Sarah and Jane and their dogs. It's a good house. It would be a perfect weekend if Trish were here.

oakland

Here I am in the Bay Area...my cellular reception is drek here in the canyons, but I am in the canyons and that is cool. There was a mountain lion sighted last week. Cool. I know they are deadly critters, but somehow I am thinking "cool!" and not "aieeee!"

I am sleep deprived. A nap is in my immediate future.

Tonight we run through the service a couple of times and then we are off to Crawford's parents' place for dinner.

must-have songs for the wedding reception

This is what Trish has been up to.

1.Music from Josie and the Pussycats Soundtrack

2.Harvest Moon- Neil Young

3.At Last � Etta James

4.Grow Old With Me � Mary Chapman Carpenter

5.Groove is in the Heart- Dee-lite

6.House Quake � Prince (Any Prince for that matter)

7.Mustang Sally-The Commitments

8.Righteously � Lucinda Williams

9.Lust for Life � Iggy Pop

10.Grist � The Joy Poppers

11.Night and Day � Ella Fitzgerald

(Feel free to go crazy with the jazz, Big band, and Swing)

12.Oh L�amour � Erasure

13.Chains of Love � Erasure

14.A Little Respect � Erasure

15.Human Nature � Madonna(Feel free to also go crazy with Madonna, good club music)

16.Hell � Squirrel Nut Zippers

17.Just Like Heaven � Cure

18.Jump, Jive, and Wail � Brian Setzer Orchestra

19.Are you Gonna Be My Girl �The Jets

20.Are you Gonna Go My Way � Lenny Kravitz (He is another good one to play with)

21.For Once in My Life � Dionne Farris

22.Caramel � Suzanne Vega

23.Drum Trip/Ecstasy � Rusted Root

24.Sin Wagon � Dixie Chicks

25.Some Days You Gotta Dance � Dixie Chicks

26.White Trash Wedding � Dixie Chicks

27.One Way or Another � Blonde

28.Shame on You � Indigo Girls

29.Leeds � Indigo Girls

30.Deborah � Beck

31.Loser � Beck

32.Where its At � Beck

33.Devil�s Haircut � Beck

34.Silly Love Songs � Wings

35.My Love � Wings

36.Mull of Kintyre � Wings

37.Human Behavior � Bjork

38.Big Time Sensuality � Bjork

39.Pass the Peas � Maceo

40.Angel � Sarah McLachlan

41.I Love You � Sarah McLachlan

42.Sombody � Depeche Mode

43.Lie to Me � Depeche Mode

44.Perfect Drug � Nine Inch Nails

45.Been Caught Stealing � Jane�s Addiction

46.Son of a Preacher Man � DustySpringfield

47.Girl You�ll Be a Woman Soon � Urge Overkill

48.Anything from U2 (Tripp�s Favorite Band)

49.Anything from the Beatles(Trish�s favorite band especially later stuff)

50.One Week � Bare Naked Ladies (Anything by these guys is good)

51.Falling in Love � Lisa Loeb

52.Anything By Nancy Griffith

53.Anything from the Buena Vista Social Club Soundtrack

54.If you were the Woman and I was the Man � Cowboy Junkies

55.Anything from Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs Soundtracks

56.Aything from Big Night Soundtrack

57.Anything from Mambo Kings Soundtrack

58.Army of Me � Bjork

59.It�s Oh So Quiet � Bjork

60.Isobel � Bjork

61.Baby Got Going � Liz Phair (Actually any of her stuff is awesome)

The following are artists that we also love. Feel free to pick from their body of work.

62.Sheryl Crow

63.Hot Club of Cowtown

64.Sarah McLachlan

65.Southern Culture on the Skids

66.Beastie Boys

67.Indigo Girls

68.James Brown and Maceo

69.Lots of 80�s Music too many to name individually

Couple Song-Entrance with dancing
Smooth - Santanna

Couple Slow Dance alone
She � Elvis Costello

Father Daughter Dance
Across the Universe � Beatles

wedding planning

Here are the lyrics for the song that Trish and I wanna dance to. Heh.

Man it's a hot one
Like seven inches from the midday sun
I hear you whisper & the words melt everyone
But you stay so cool
My mu�nequita, my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa
You're my reason for reason
The step in my groove

BRIDGE:
And if you said this life ain't good enough
I would give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
'Cause you're so smooth

CHORUS:
And it's just like the ocean under the moon
it's the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin' that can be so smooth
Gimme your heart, make it real
Or else forget about it

I'll tell you one thing
If you would leave it would be a crying shame
In every breath and every word
I hear your name calling me out
Out from the barrio
you hear my rhythm on your radio
You feel the turning of the world so soft and slow
Turning you round and round

BRIDGE:
And if you said this life ain't good enough
I would give my world to lift you up
I could change my life to better suit your mood
Cause you're so smooth

CHORUS:
And it's just like the ocean under the moon
it's the same as the emotion that I get from you
You got the kind of lovin that can be so smooth
Gimme your heart, make it real
Or else forget about it

So, Trish has the night off from the show. We will get the last of the invitations out. If you have not received oen and you were told you would, go to The Knot and look for our website. You will find all the information you need there. I think i am starting to look forward to this wondrous fiasco.

I have a meeting this afternoon to talk with a guy about the possible use of a room for our church plant. It is, of course, in a coffee shop. This is to adhere with the long standing emergent church tradition from the 7th century. Heh. I'll let you know how it goes.

In the mean time, I am working on another wedding that is this Friday. I am off to San Fran on the early plane tomorrow...way early! *urggle*

home

Back in Chicago...for two days...then off to San Francisco.

*urggle*

huddleston redux

I am back from visiting my father and step-mother in Doswell. Things are continuing apace. We are narrowing in on all the rehearsal dinner information. If you think you are gonna be at the rehearsal (You know who you are), think 6pm at the church...dinner at 8pm at the hotel. Dad wants to invite people up to his suite for boozing afterward.

I was able to see my friend Scott in Robber Bridegroom at the Dogwood Dell last night. It is a cute show and he steals it. My friend Scott has a gift for character acting that is fabulous. Very cool.

Saturday I went into the city (Richmond) with Judy. She and her sister have given me my grandfather's preaching robes. I have the black Geneva/academic robes and the white "summer" robe. This is a generous and thoughtful gift on their parts that took no prompting from me whatsoever. I was hopeful, but did not wish to pressure the decision or thinking. But now they are in the suitcase. I will need to get them both drycleaned and the black robe stitched up a bit...but they are great and fit perfectly. It is odd. He was 6'6" and they fit perfectly. Wow.

Tonight I am off to meet with more people and talk about wedding stuff. It should be good. Tomorrow I am on a plane to IL. Thursday, San Francisco!! Wahoo!

Regarding email: I have been in contact with my e-mail provider. We are working on it. I'll get back to all of you. In the meanwhile, my hotmail account is still up. gvh3rd@msn.com Feel free to use it.

cookin'

So, this morning I went up to Lakeway. It is a local general store, gas station, bait shop and diner. Yeah...all of those things rolled into one. I like it! Ingrid, the owner and the woman responsible for getting Trish into her very first show, cooked me a very large breakfast. She loves Trish. Between her and Janet I got an earful. We talked about church and Trish and food and Trish and weather and Trish. Yeah...we talked a lot about Trish. She once appeared on stage as "Twinkle." She was a star. Literally. Robin Starveling never had it so good.

Here is something you need to see to believe. This is a video that was filmed just a couple of days ago. In First Folio's production of Midsummer there is a doowop song. Yes, doowop. It works.

huddleston

I made it! And we have dialup!!!

The plane was a little late getting out of O'Hare, but it was a good flight. A couple of noeworthy things about it...I had to wak out onto the tarmak at O'Hare to get to the smallish jet (50 seats). We had a female pilot...the ranking captain was a woman. This is the first time I have flown where the pilot has been a woman. I fly a couple of times a year...not a whole lot, but I was surprised and somewhat shocked to make that realization.

Janet picked me up. She's fun. Janet loves to talk. I know no-one else who talks as much as Trish's mamma. Whew! But she's fun. We got cought up in about three minutes. Jerry, Trish's daddy, on the other hand does not speak nearly as much. He and I have been having fun, though. He's got a wicked sense of humor and likes to pick on Janet. I just sit in the back seat and giggle. He winks at me through the rearview mirror. I think Jerry and I may be in league with each other that way. You tease the ones you love.

He and I watched The Pianist on Starz last night. Wow. What a great movie. He seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. There are about 100 sermons in that film...the last 20 minutes being the most powerful interpretation of giving someone your cloak I have seen. It just further convinces me that mostly people try to do the right thing. As heinus as something may be, it is rare that people are setting out in their minds to do wrong. As clearly evil as something may be, it is what they think is right given the way they see the world. Curious.

Dinner last night was grand. We went to Country Kitchen. They have a $5.00 all you can eat buffet. So, I tried a little of a lot of things. Baked chicken, meatloaf, creamed potatoes, blackeyed peas, green beans, corn, salad...bananna pudding...a little of a lot. It was all good. The place was clean. I give it four stars out of five. The service was less than perfect. I gotta say, however, the sweet tea was awesome. I love sweet tea.

So, today I am off to the mall with Adam, Trish's brother. He's one of the groomsmen. We have to get rolling on the appropriate duds for him. Also on the docket is a visit with the pastor of Mentow Baptist Church, Tim Mathia. I need to talk to him about the hordes of Yankess, Episcopalians and other barbaric peoples who will be coming to the wedding. We may overflow the joint. Um, yeah...overflow. It's a little country church, seats about 175 people. We will most likely top that. No guarantees, but I gotta make sure that there are enough communion cups and find out how we go about setting up for this thing.

More later...

adieu

It's raining. Will the plane leave on time? Will it be an extremely bumpy ride? Urggle.

Only time will tell. Have ye all a good week or two. I will try to find a way to post, but I can make no promises.

church plant

I am playing with one of the options here in MT. Interesting. How long witll this popup work? Hmmm...

We had a great planning session last night. The church will officially launch First Advent (November 28th). Between now and then...constitution, incorporation, get the 501c3 thing rolling, invite people, invite people, invite people, secure a location to worship.

Golly. It is a lot of work, you know?

eastern jaunt

Wassup?

I will be away from my computer off and on over the last couple of weeks. I am headed East to get some stuff settled for the wedding. It is my turn to wrangle with the Virginia caterer and all that Huddleston/Lynchburgh craziness.

After that I am off to San Francisco to do something incredible. Heh.

Thinking about incredible things, I met with Ruth, my thesis advisor, yesterday. She was very helpful. All seems to be progressing well enough. I am glad for it. I will have something akin to a complete rough draft in her hands by the end of the month. It was so nice to see her. Really. That always bodes well, I think. You know? It helps to like the person who is helping you with your academic work. It's a good perk.

The first round of wedding invitations went out today. Huzzah! More will follow shortly. I just have to write down the addresses. Heh.

Oh...and I am getting my hair cut today. Oh. My.

fun...

Category X - The
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shakespeare's bawdy

He really is, or at least you would think so after experiencing First Folio's Midsummer Night's Dream. It's a carnival. It's the Great Gatsby. It's American Pie. Oh my was it outlandish and crude and base and generally insulting. I would say it was perfect. I know that I have a huge bias (Trish plays Robin Starveling.), but the audience seemed to agree. When Hermia chases Demetrius through the audience (picnicing politely as they do in the suburbs) and stops to grab a piece of fried chicken, the audience roars. My sources tell me that there is no fourth wall in most of Shakespeare's opera. The audience is usually another character in the play. This can, generally, be assumed. Well, in this production, the players literally jump off the stage and eat your dinner, ask you to conspire with them for the love of another and just watch out for Puck and Oberon. There are no rules. Puck breathes fire and Oberon is a master of disguise!

Rating: PG...for copius penis jokes at Wall's expense. If these stones could speak, indeed. Ha! 'Twas funny! Verily! Hie thee away! Anon, even. Well roared, lion. Well shone, moon. Truly the moon shines with a good grace, but I am partial.

In other news, we are already surprising people in VA. There will be an open bar atthe reception. Horrors! Well, some people find it ill-fitting for a Baptist wedding. Yeah. Oy. That is the culture, though. I hope they get over it enough to enjoy themselves...or, well, the unoffended can just enjoy themselves that much more.

The invitations are mostly addressed. Monday we will send out a batch. Huzzah!

Adieu! Adieu! Adieu!

Exeunt AngloBaptist.

listening barAn English Ladymass - Anonymous 4