check out my new links

Check out the new links along the side---especially Mandy's Blog

Those are Mandy's stories of life in France!

Some Music

Here are a couple of cool music websites:

Our new Youth Director turned me on to this one. Derek Webb wrote some edgy stuff that many "Christian Bookstores" would not sell his stuff anymore. So, he was giving it away for a while..His sales picked up again so it's not for free any more but you can buy it at itunes.......take a look at his website at:

Derek Webb

The other website is a group that includes a young man who family belonged to a church that I served YEARS ago when he was just a little one! He's the one with the dark hair.

Lady Antebellum

Rev Gals Friday Five: Civic Duties

http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/
Friday Five: Civic Duties

It's that season of the year when lawn signs are sprouting as surely as flowers in the spring; elections are just around the corner. And so today we bring you a Civic Duty Friday Five.

1) How old were you when you voted for the first time?
I think that I was 19, but I'm really getting old because that just doesn't make sense. I thought it was in a Presidential Election that I voted, but it must not have been......because it was Nov. 1983? (oops--it was 1982!) I sat in my boyfriend's dorm room and let him tell me who to vote for on my absentee ballot! ugh! (and that ballot had the little styrofoam punches that leaves hanging chads!)

2) What was the contest at the top of the ballot?
I can't remember (see above!) . It must have been a Senate race or a Governor's Race.... My mind is befuddled because I thought it was the 1984 presidential election. Which actually took place during my sophomore year and our college had a mock convention for the party out of power--which would have been the democratics. I got to be a part of the Idaho delegation and we initially nominated "Mr. Potato Head"--ok, maybe we just thought about that one....but the mock convention ultimately nominated Gary Hart!

3) Can you walk to your polling place?
yes...it's actually in our church and the parsonage is right next door! It's quite unnerving because several of our church members work the polls and I have to walk in and declare my party to get the right primary ballot. It's unnerving because I really feel like the "brite blue dot in a really red state" that I am!

4) Have you ever run for public office?
nope and don't plan on it (even in local politics anymore, it's just too nasty!)

5) Have you run for office in a club or school or on a board?
yes...I always seemed to get elected secretary of every group I belonged to in high school!

what I needed on my birthday

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.

- James 1:2-4

That's when I want you - you knower of my emptiness, you unspeaking partner to my sorrow. That's when I need you, God, like food.
- Rainer Maria Rilke

from Sojouners Daily Verse and Voice

On the Eve of my Birthday

So, tomorrow is my 43rd birthday...what's scary is that that means I am beginning my 44th(!) year on earth. My sister is turning 40 tomorrow as well. (i know, it's strange, I'm not sure how my parents worked that one out!)

I'm not getting my birthday gift until the end of the month, though. RevHub's best friend is getting married in San Francisco, so we are headed there for 6 days! Both of us have been there before, but not together. RH has been to visit his friend several times as well as a "family" trip that he took a few years ago with his father and two sisters (the year before his dad died). My one trip there was as a chaperone for our Youth Choir Tour. It was an amazing and awful trip one and the same time....it was wonderful in every way except for the fact that we were what I would call "transportationally challenged." here are a few of the highlights:

• before we ever got on the plane in Raleigh, they had to fly a completely new plane from Atlanta to RDU for us. Needless to say, we missed our connection in Atlanta and only half of the 65 of us got on another flight that night and made it to Oakland
• Half of us made it there, but for some of us the luggage made it and for some of us (including me) it didn't
• the tour bus that was supposed to pick us up could not be found upon arrival at Oakland--evidentially it did
• one of the children got left on the bus sleeping when we arrived the hostel. When she woke up 20 minutes after he'd dropped us off, she about gave the driver a heart attack when she walked to the front of the bus.
• the next night, the second half arrived --having to take the subway with their luggage from the Oakland airport to the Giants stadium to the baseball game
• we were the last ones to leave the game because once again, the bus could not be found. In talking with a woman who seemed to be using more Chinese than English (and none of us spoke Chinese), we figured out, it had a flat tire.
• One day the driver showed up with a significantly smaller bus and we had seven people who sat on the floor in the aisle
• Finally, to top the week off, the bus failed to show up to take us to the airport. That was after the choir director and most of the choir had decided to stay awake all night since the bus was coming at 5 a.m. anyway and they could sleep on the plane. We got about 15 folks to the airport via alternate means and they made the original flight. when the rest of us finally got to the airport about 10 a.m. on Sunday, we were told that the next flight that we could get on was at 4 p.m. Monday! However, they would good enough to divide us up with a few youth and at least one adult in a group and put us on other flights...the only problem was that we were in Oakland and all the other flights were out of San Fran or San Jose and we had to hire transportation between airports. I was in the last group that flew out at 11 p.m. on Sunday, but we were the first to arrive in Raleigh at 1 p.m. on Monday (we were supposed to be home on Sunday by 5 p.m.)

SO....I only hope that this trip is better transportationally speaking than my last!!!

Well...I forgot to mention, part of my gift is that we are renting a convertible mustang! Surely that will be better!

Forgiveness? only by God's grace

There have been reports that members of the Amish community have forgiven the man who killed their little girls. When I first heard this in a report, I was astounded and thought, how could anyone "process" their grief so quickly and reach forgiveness already.

Later, I heard another report that said that the community had begun to think about how they could respond to the family of the shooter. They had talked about taking food to his widow. That's when I began to think...what a witness to God's grace.

The power to forgive is not through our own strength or goodness or will. Rather, we are able to forgive, only by the power of God's grace.

Although the report that I have linked talks also about some members of the community believing this was God's plan, I strongly disagree with that theology. But, I do believe whatever happens to us, we have a choice in how we respond and in that response we can witness to God's Grace.

By the River

More sights from Charleston

More of the City

Charleston: What we saw

Here are a couple of pictures from the Battery park (I can't remember the name of it) .

It was absolutely beautiful! Here are a couple of pictures of homes.

Charleston: Where we stayed

My sis finally sent me some pictures from Charleston, so I wanted to share some of these. I think I'll just post a few each day over the next week because she sent me several.

This is the building where we stayed. There is a stairway to the left that you can barely see. We were on the second floor in the back half of the building. Below are pictures from the inside of our "apartment."

The building that is barely visible on the left is a restaurant and the two guys hanging out in front are actually the valets for The Oak.

This is the living area. There is a small kitchen area off to the right as well as a full bath with a washer/dryer.

Here Sis and I are the door to the apartment.

This is the bedroom...and at the far end, you can see the second full bath. What you can't see is that above the bathroom area there is a loft that has exposed brick. I'm not sure that you can tell from the pictures, but the ceilings were probably 12-15 feet. The hard wood floors were beautiful and the bathrooms were lovely.

Here is a link to the website

historic charleston accommodations

It was a wonderful place for us to stay and we greatly enjoyed being right downtown where everything was happening! I post more pictures later....

Mothers and Daughters

Standing in the middle of Walgreen's shopping, my 14 year old daughter is trying to decide which type of Axe deodorant she prefers.

I notice a yellow bottle on the bottom shelf. Picking it up, I show her the Jean Nate. In my memory it is that "smelly stuff" that my mother sprayed all over herself.

I simply tell my daughter that my mother who she never knew wore this. She finds the scent pleasing and then hugs me saying, "that must bring back memories." She senses my meloncholy, but what brings tears to my eyes are not the memories from my childhood. What overwhelms me is my daughter's care for me.

Band is my LIFE

Ok...so it's not MY life--it's controlling my life though! Because it's my child's life. I was so sad to miss her very first performance at the first home football game.

But, when I did get to see the half-time show at the pep rally before the second home game, my eyes filled with tears to see my child march!

I don't think that I have ever felt so proud of something that my child has done. She has put so much time and effort into learning Trumpet and all of the marching techniques!

So, band is now OUR life as far as every Friday night game, Saturday competition, Band practices on Monday, Tues. and Thurs afternoons not to mention the Band Fundraisers including RevHub and I helping with the parking for home games! But, I couldn't be prouder of her and her commitment to doing something with excellence!

Move to France

Yeah....I wish it was me! No...it's my brother, sister-in-law and their almost 4 year old daughter! Here is a picture of where they will be living! I can't wait to visit!

He got a transfer to a plant in Grenoble, in the mountains near Italy. What an opportunity to live in a place so beautiful and to experience another culture.

I will miss them, though. It's a three to five year assignment. We hope to get over there at least two or three times, but at this point, it looks like it will be an entire year before I see them for the first time. We are taking an EO tour (4th journey of Paul) that will be a cruise starting at Athens, including Rome and ending in Nice which is about 2 hours from where they will be. So...planning to tack a few days on the trip and visit.

Alabama Constitutional Reform

In the past year, I have had the opportunity to look at some of the issues faced by those in Birmingham and Alabama who live in poverty. One of the things that I have firmly come to believe is that the situation in AL is not going to get much better until we get a new state contitution.

If you are one of my friends living in Alabama, I encourage you to go to this the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform website and read. Look for opportuntities to participate and advocate. Look for ways to help make systemic change for ALL of us!

trying to post a picture

this is just my attempt to post a picture....still trying to figure this thing out!!

more on my OldFriend and others

Well, the one person that I saw in my visit to Albany was my friend Jodi. She was a friend from school and church and we rode the same bus....It was wonderful to see her and catch up and EVERYTHING that had happened since we were 15 years old! She looks great and sounds like she always did. She caught me up on everyone that we could both remember from school and church....I couldn't believe how easy it really was to pick up a conversation that was left off when we were fifteen and before we'd lived so much of our life.....

Then, I emailed my other old friend, the screenwriter. I had a vague memory of his email address (mine had changed and I had lost my address book) ....I guessed right and he was surprised to hear, but we exchanged a few emails and I sent him some of the pictures I took. He caught me up on a few friends that we had both known. But, the coolest thing was that he gave me email addresses for a couple of our teachers (I find this amazing that he had kept up with these two teachers for over 25 years!) Anyway, I have heard back from one of them and hope to talk with her soon by phone.....
the strangest thing of all to learn is that her daughter attended the same college that I did (many years after me!) But, what is bizarre about it is that her daughter grew up in Georgia and this college is in Ohio! I don't think I ever knew anyone at OWU that was from the deep south!

So, why does this all seems so wonderful and amazing to me? I think that I finally figured some of it out....

We lived in Albany for only three years. My brother and sister are both younger than I and do not have many memories of it. They also did not have as positive of an experience living there as I did. For me it was wonderful; I found myself during those years. I was confirmed in the church and began to have a call to ministry. I began to believe in my own abilities and have faith that I could accomplish goals in my life.

There is no one in my life now who knows that part of my life---my parents both have died (over 10 years ago) and there has been no one else with whom I can speak about those days. Re-connecting with all these folks feels like pulling pieces of my life back together--tying it back up into a neat pattern.

When I was in seminary, the meaning of Psalm 139 really hit me. I was farther away from my "home" than I had ever been and on my own for the first time. I longed to have some one in my life who knew all of my life. However, it was then that I realized that only God knows us so intimately. There is no one else who walks with us from birth to death and knows every part of our life as her/his own. I am grateful for the abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit in my life, but I am also grateful that along my journey I have had companions to walk parts of the path with me. And I have been blessed to walk with them through the valleys in their lives and up to the top of the mountains.

Reconnecting with folks from one "era" in my life has re-affirmed the goodness of companionship and friendship as well as reassuring me that God has walked the entire path with me.

our house

Here is the house in which we lived. It looked smaller than I remembered when I saw it in person....but the picture made it look bigger again to me..not sure what that's about. What was definitely different was the trees! There was not a single tree in our yard! no shade whatsoever!

Junior High Schools

So here are the buildings that housed McIntosh Jr. High (7th grade)









and Albany Jr. High (8th and 9th grades) in the late 70's. The AJHS building sits right behind the hospital and is now owned by the hospital. The McIntosh building is now an elementary school---with a new wing added and some of the old building torn down from what I could see.

I had a devil of a time finding the schools because I had just my "bus ride" memories of how to get there.....

Seeing the building just brought a flood of memories from inside the walls...wish I could have walked the halls a bit to see what the inside like, but then perhaps it would have taken away some of the nostaglia!

Crash

Haven't been here for a while....we were on "vacation" last week. It actually turned into a trip to Ohio to visit my sister because she had a car wreck.

She was t-boned by a truck which ran a red light. Her left arm was nicely bruised and she had at least one broken rib, but they kept her in the hospital for three days because she had a lacerated spleen. She was VERY lucky not to have any bleeding from the spleen.

Preachers and Friends....

On Sunday, we had the pleasure of dear friends visiting us from our last church! It was a blessing to see them and share a meal together after services.

We hadn't spent time with them or even seen them since our move 9 months ago. How wonderful to visit! This is the first time that we have moved close enough to the last appointment that this was really possible--to have folks visit without it being a 10 hour drive! (well, ok, I don't count one church because we were only there a year and there really aren't folks there that would visit us!)

Anyway, at lunch one friend said that she is not going to let herself become friendly with any more preachers--it hurts too much when they leave.

Isn't this a dilemma for us all? How do we form friendships within the congregation? especially us United Methodist who know we will be leaving eventually.....

ears to hear

Rev Hub had some interesting comments after his sermon Sunday....

one said, "It was great to hear an anti-war sermon on the 4th of July"

another said, "So Bush is a bully and the US is goliath?"

but the one who loves President Bush thought it was a great sermon about fear and love

what is interesting is that the first two persons probably know RevHub's personal political views best and they "read into" the sermon things that were not there and not said....

I thought it was a great sermon about "perfect love casting out fear"--the word "war" was not in the sermon --neither was anything about the US or the President.....

isn't it interesting what people hear in sermons that is never said?

To bear children or not?

Ok...so a listserv that I am on has a conversation going right now about the spiritual/biblical/christian issues for a single woman trying to decide about having a children by artificial insemination or by adoption..... below are some of my thoughts....post me about what you think! It's something about which I really struggle!

My husband and I struggled with infertility—at first we thought it was me and then we found it was a problem that could only be overcome by donor sperm. We briefly considered artificial insemination, but I really didn’t want to have a child “fathered” by someone other than my husband. But, even more than me, I really was thinking about the cultural pressures…..that somehow we seem to have this need to have our genetic material in the child we raise. I couldn’t understand why we should create another child, when there are so many children that need homes.

We had some friends that said some very painful things to us during that time. They went through invitro and were talking about wanting to have a child who was “really” theirs—implying to us that our beautiful child who we adopted when she was two years old was somehow not “truly” our child. What really angered me at the time was that this couple was spending LOTS of money to have a child….why not spend that money to adopt a child rather than create one?

I think that there is GREAT pressure within our society to produce children that our copies of our best selves. That’s not all bad, but somehow this need to replicate ourselves seems not exactly "Christian” in some way. What I mean is that my understanding about the Christian faith is that we are all “adopted” (Romans 8:15-17). Within the Roman Catholic tradition part of the point of celibacy is about not having children—not relying on our progeny to care for us in old age, but relying on the church. Within our culture isn't there an “the idolatry of the family” ? OK, not sure that all made sense, but what I’m trying to say that as a Christian, our family is about the church--not about the children that we procreate—which the world tells us is the MOST important part of our lives.

Anyway, there’s another issue that I think that we as females have to address when it comes to having children—whether we are married or single. Our society expects two things of women—to marry and have children. Even if we marry, there is a sense in which we are not seen as “fully female” if we have not experienced pregnancy and given birth. In my thirties as I dealt with this, it was a true grieving process for me to know that I would not have that particular experience. But, part of my coming to terms with that had to do with my accepting myself as a wholly female person without the birthing experience being part of my life.

Now, having a child who we adopted 12 years ago and is now 14, there are things that I see differently about adoption. Our daughter came with “issues” some of which are considered genetic and nothing that we did or didn’t do could have changed that……. Maybe it’s not that I see differently, but that I see my own situation more clearly, we chose to adopt a child that in many ways was an unknown and for her there are many things that will never be known..there are genetic and health questions that will always be issues. But, I do believe that we are all better persons for choosing to be a family. As our child has reached her teenage years, the “unknown” part has become more difficult and I am sympathetic in understanding that there is more “control” when we have some input in our child’s creation and birth.

Now, for the theological piece of this for me… (Most of my thinking about all of this was formed under the influence of Stanley Hauerwas and his thinking in Christian ethics )…..for me, being a Christian is about living in faithful community and how we do that is perhaps what is most important in our journey with Christ. I think that we are “called” to be parents just like we have vocational calls. Many people don’t see parenting as a call and don’t live like it is one. Children are gifts to us and we are blessed to have them. (not the other way around---I am not necessarily a blessing to my child). I am not the same person that I was before I became a parent and I am hopefully a better person because of it. I’ve learned things about myself from my child that I never would have learned in any other way.

There is part of me that really believes that part of what Christ asks of us is to live most faithfully within the situation in which we find ourselves. The issue may be to figure out whether there are things that we can do proactively to change our situation or if the situation requires us to live within it.

I think that the most important part of the decision making process is about questioning our motives…

Do I want to be a mother OR do I want to be pregnant and give birth?

Do I want to raise a child who is an “unknown” in many ways (ie, adopt someone who has none of my genetic material and/or “create” a child that would be unknown, in the sense of not having as much info on the father?)

How much am I being influenced by what society expects of me? (to bear children,…to raise a child with my own genetic material?)

So, this may sound like I am “against” artificial insemination and invitro, and in some ways perhaps I am… but I think that what I’m against is putting a great deal of money into “creating” a child when there are so many in need of homes. But, perhaps not all persons are called to be parents by adoption…..and I know the difficulties of raising a child that comes with baggage.

OK, I didn’t mean to go on at such length—it’s just something that I have struggled with and still struggle with! What does God ask of us? I think that it’s hard to hear God’s voice above what society would have us think about our roles as women and parents….

Ain't parsonage livin' grand?

Where does all the crap go?

Well, when you flush the toilet at our house, it goes to the septic tank in the back yard--which today decided that it had had enough!

A flooding toilet led to the septic tank having to be pumped -- and then the inside pipes needed cleared (by separate contactors!)

As best we have been able to determine from church members, it has NEVER been pumped--in 40 years!! The guys that opened it up said that it was "as bad as it gets"!

Parsonage living does have wonderful blessings, but sometimes there are disadvantages. For Methodists this can be complicated by a history of "short appointments." For us, this meant that in the past ten years, four families have lived in the home in which we now reside! No one has lived here long enough to have a memory of what has been done and not done!

Most of the parsonages in which I have lived (this is the fifth) have had a couple of common denominators--there is one place where parsonage families "store" things that they don't like, but aren't willing to put out in the trash or give to goodwill. And the other is a drawer where all the paperwork for all appliances, etc is kept. This house has the former, but not the later!

Our first parsonage was a beautiful home that had been built in 1910 with magnificent walnut moldings and pocket doors and built-in cabinets in the dining room as well as a fireplace and 12 foot ceilings. However, it was not air-conditioned and had not been treated well. BUT, it did have that all important drawer of information and the attic was filled with every light fixture ever removed and replaced as well as several old pieces of furniture.

Each of the homes in which we have lived has been newer and more modern. Each as had the obliglatory drawer of handbooks as well as a space (either garage or attic) filled with "stored" junk. I heard a story from a pastor's wife from one of the previous pastors at one of our churches. She said that when they replaced carpeting in the house, the chair of the parsonage committee requested that the worn out carpeting be stored in the basement in case a future parsonage family would prefer the green shag to the new neutral burber carpet.

Well, there's plenty of "crap" stored in the basement at this parsonage as well. But today, it was the real stuff that was the problem....

Still in one peace

That little "tag line" is how I've seen Leonard Sweet sign some of his stuff--had to steal it for this week....
it's been VBS this week and I'm wiped....didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted anything....
I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend of cleaning!! and hopefully a little time to surf the web and post a little about VBS!

But, even with the last few hectic weeks I am "still in one peace"!

conference hopping

I never did finish my thoughts on conference memories....just wanted to clarify something....I am United Methodist and was ordained in West Ohio Conference. Served a small congregation for two years there (this is the church created when the church I served, Calvary UMC, merged with the church RevHub served, Memorial). We then transferred to the North Carolina Conference. In NC, I served as an Associate pastor of a large, growing congregation, Orange UMC, and worked on a ThM at Duke. After 5 years at Orange, I went to work for Society of St. Andrew. When the RevHub's parents both became very ill, we decided to move closer to his family so we are now in North Alabama Conference were we have been for five years now.

final conference thoughts

Now, for what I would consider the "low point" of Annual Conference this year....

There was only one resolution that was presented to the Conference. It was presented in the "pre-conference journal" so that all the delegates had it for a long time before conference. To see the original resolution click on the link and then go to page. 34.

What was actually passed was a substitute resolution that is virtually the opposite of the original. (Haven't got a link to that one, will post it if I can find it.)

I would term this the "low point" because of the tenor of debate and conversation around this issue more than what was actually passed.

(As an aside, I was disappointed in what was passed because it sounded very "pro-war" to me--not just a "support the troops," but support the President and everything that has happened. Additionally, the resolution also included an apocalyptic reference about "wars and rumors of wars" at the end of time.)

But, more than the resolution, I was disappointed in the way that people choose to couch their arguments and the cheering and clapping that accompanied debate. I would have hoped that the Bishop might have asked for perhaps a more "prayerful" attitude in our discussion. While it has become the practice of this conference to meld worship and work--- or "worshipful work," this debate did not feel very worshipful in any sense!

Most assuredly, folks had made up their minds about this war and no amount of "debate" was going to change anyone's thoughts. But, if you add to this that our conference rules limit debate to alternating speeches of 3 minutes for and against--and no more than 3 on each side. That would mean that there was a total of 9 minutes of "debate." on the subject. There was no prayer, there was no time of silence to hear God's voice.....it was merely a counting of how many folks stood on each side of this issue.

So...to me this was nothing more than an exercise in divisiveness...without much "worship" of God.

conferencing

so, conference took more time than I had to spare! No time to write!

I started writing about "conference memories" and now this year's is already a memory as well!

Thursday was enjoyable--seeing friends...lunching with the other "extension apointment folks.....singing "And Are We Yet Alive?" (to a very strange contemporary tune)....participating in the executive session...I have to admit to skipping the evening Commissioning Service---had to rush home to clean for the friends that were staying with us during conference.

(As an aside---it was the first Annual Conference during which I have stayed in my own home because we now live so close to the location! Last year, we were in a hotel and previous to that we stayed with friends who live close by. Since those friends moved last year, we now returned the favor for them and they stayed with us! )

Back to conference....Friday was a wonderful day for me as well....some background to explain why--I transferred into this conference --The RevHub is from here-- he has DEEP roots here as his father served in this conference and both his parents were sent as missionaries from this conference. Many folks know him, but I have no roots here. I have a few folk that I knew in seminary 20 years ago, but most I've just met in the last five years.

But, Friday, RevHub was with a church member having surgery, so I was truly "on my own"---and I felt more like I was a part of the conference than ever before!

Business was usual--discussion over funding priorities dominated the debate.

What I've realized though, is that so much of what is important to me about Conference is the informal "conferencing" that happens...the places where we gain support and encouragement from others -- where we discuss the practical theology of living a faithful life....

The other aspect of conference that is deeply moving is worship times...our conference has moved to a model of "worshipful work" which means that worship is often blended into business and there are moments of worship and prayer and song throughout....

BUT--the part of conference that I enjoyed the most this year was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of full clergy rights for women! The conference had a special video presentation of several clergywomen talking about their call and ministry. The bible study sessions were centered around the theme of the work of clergywomen. In the closing communion service, clergywomen of the conference served the eucharist. But, most meaningful was the women in ministry lunch.

At this lunch, we heard from two speakers. The first was the daughter of a clergyman who had attended the 1956 General Conference--not as a delegate, but as an observer. Her father was also a friend of one of the first women to receive full clergy rights in the conference. She shared some memories of Rev. Estelle Pinegar.

But, the second speaker brought tears to my eyes. She is the longest serving, still active clergywoman in the conference. She finished seminary in 1976, but there was not an appointment for her until her home church received her as an Associate Pastor--not a common occurence in the UMC. But, what was so overwhelming was the JOY that she felt at facing a room full of women--many of whom were also ordained.

What all of this brought home to me was how RECENT it has been that women have been accepted as full members of the clergy. OK, well...perhaps I'm not saying this correctly, because I was thinking that it wasn't that long ago since I started seminary, but it just dawned on me that 20 years is a LONG time!! So maybe what I mean to say is that when I started seminary, it had only been 30 years that women had been receiving full rights and I actually had never met a clergywoman until I reached seminary. The most amazing thing is that that never made me think that it wasn't possible....I never thought twice about being a "woman in ministry." It was my calling.

Thoughts on the eve of Annual Conference

Annual Conference starts tomorrow....whipee!

Conferencing is a certainly a Methodist tradition, but we sure do it lots of different ways.

The first Annual Conference that I remember was in 1979 in the South Georgia Conference. I was in ninth grade and the conference was being held at my home church. I worked as a "page"-- my most vivid memory of the week is of making crank phone calls from the "phone bank" where we were supposed to be taking messages!

After that year, we moved to Ohio and I was elected a youth delegate in my jr. and sr. years of high school....what an experience. the Ohio conferences meet at Lakeside: the Chautauqua on Lake Erie. What a great place!! What is so wonderful is that clergy families come along and get to know each other--PKs get to know each other. OK...so my most vivid memories there are of sending donuts to the Bishop during the business session and perhaps more scary...having a yacht pull up at the pier and several of us deciding that there was safety in numbers and getting on board! (with some college kids driving the boat that had us sign a release form as soon as we got on the boat!)

Eight years later, this is the conference where the RevHub and I were ordained...deacon and then elder...my most vivid memory there was of those ordination services....

well.....this is longer than I expected....it is getting late and I have to finish getting ready......will write more later....

the puppy

I don't think that I shared this before but we do have a new puppy! About three weeks ago, a church lady found seven puppies in the cemetary while walking. someone had obviously dumped them there. It was late in the afternoon, so we decided to put them inside the fenced backyard of the parsonage. I suggested this, thinking that we would call animal control or take them to the shelter on the following day....

Little did I know what an adventure would begin! The fact that they would probably have euthanized the puppies in a week kept us from taking them to the shelter...So....could we find homes for all of these?

Within a day, people were "fighting" over the puppies and the RevHub and LoudTrumpetGirl had decided that one had to stay at our home! As it turned out, both the worship leader and the youth director at the church have each kept a puppy!

Our little girl pup is know called Gracie....if she had been a male, she would have been "marvin" since she was found in Marvin's Chapel cemetary!

How does my garden grow???

Saturday, the UMW had a "garden tour" with eight of the woman sharing their gardens with everyone for the purpose of raising money for remodeling of the church kitchen...As one gardener's husband reflected, "they might have raised more money if they had just donated the money that they spent on their gardens!" maybe...

The surprise of it all was how much the RevHub enjoyed it! It took us over 5 hours to visit all the gardens and it really was an education for me! I have not really been much of a gardener over the years--mainly because it does take some $$ to really "landscape" but the lesson I learned Sat. was that good gardeners LOVE to share!!

I came home with several "clippings" and then overnight there appeared three flats of other plants! My problem--I didn't know what they were or whether they needed shade or light!

But, the funniest moment of the day was when one of the older gardeners (89 years of age!) asked if the RevHub would like a cucumber. In the warmth (think HOT--very HOT) of the day, he thought a cucumber might be very nice...He was handed a little cucumber plant!!

Well, I did come home and dutiful plant the cucumber plant and several others in some lovely planters here at the parsonage. They sat on the back stoop in the shade for a couple of days, but Yesterday, I decided to move them to the sunshine on the deck. When I arrived home at the end of the day, I was very dismayed to find several of the plants (including the cucumber plant) and MUCH dirt all over the deck! I did try to put them back into the planters, but alas, I'm afraid the one plan that really didn't survive was the cuke!

RevHub told me that at one point yesterday, he found the puppy asleep in the planter.....I've decided to plant the rest of the plants in the front yard--away from the puppy!!

Not So Newly-Weds

Seventeen years! On Saturday, it was seventeen years ago that the Rev Hubby and I said our vows. For us, this was actually a big milestone! We are quite glad to have "made it" this long.

Most fun this year was participating in the "Not so Newly-wed game" at the RevHub's church on Sunday. It's a tradition--this was the third annual event...after the pot-luck we participated in this down home version of the old game for those of us who have been married more than just a few years! After learning that previous questions had included, how many chairs are in your home and how many windows do you have, we decided that any question requiring a number we would answer as "17"--figuring it wouldn't matter whether it was right or not--just that we gave the same answer...ok, so maybe that's on the line of cheating...but they never asked us a "number" question....

As it turned out there were four couples, and seven questions...The one question that we missed was one that I had to answer first and then RevHub was to match my answer. This question was, "You know the honeymoon is over, when your husband brings a ____to bed." My answer was, "a sleeping mask." Other answers included "the TV remote" and "a book"--the biggest laugh of the night was when the answer given by the longest married man was, "another woman"! At the end of the regular questions, there was a tie--us and the youngest couple! Oddly enough, apparently this is common--the couple who usually has won has been married the shortest time...

While after one more question, it was still tied. Then, one last question, "What would you say was the happiest day that you have spent together? The day you met, your engagement, your wedding day or some day since?" This question was actually rather difficult....
The day we met, the RevHub and I were in seminary and neither of us was very impressed with the other...our engagement was a bit of a fisasco---it's a long story---so it was between our wedding day and some day since. Our wedding day was probably very happy, but also I would have to say there have been MANY happy days since....finding out we would receive our child was one! also, our fourteenth anniverary spent in England was wonderful.

so, I finally decided to answer what I thought he would say, "our wedding"-- I could tell from his reaction to the question, he had the same response--trying to figure out what would be my response....Unbelievably, the RevHub and I won!

Here's the thing..l answered wedding because I thought that would be the "right" response--isn't our wedding day supposed to be "the happiest day of our lives." But, from standing on the other side and walking couples through the process of planning a wedding ceremony, I've come to see what a stresser that day is and how couples don't always recognized the "religious" nature of the ceremony.

The RevHub hates when i say this , but I'd rather preside at a funeral than a wedding. Not because I would wish death on anyone, but with funerals there is more often an immediate recognition that it is a worship service. However, with weddings, there seems to be so much more "cultural" baggage. As folks stand up to say vows at a wedding, there isn't always the recognition that it is a time of worship.

But, I in going back to my "happiest day" thought....so often weddings are not seen for what they are...just the beginning --not an end...Anyway...seventeen years since my wedding, there have been many happy days.....lots of tough ones too, but I'd say that I'm continuing each day to learn what it takes to make a marriage!

so back to biblical interpretation

so, I never did explain why I had posted that silly piece about "God's Word" when I was thinking of The DaVinci Code....

I'm afraid that too many average pew-sitting Christians think that somehow that Bible just appeared in its current form. Or at least, that it was translated from a very complete version in Hebrew and Greek. And many had no clue that there are "other" Gospels out there.

I know more about the New Testament than the Old, but I would assume that it is probably similar. When I took Greek, I was amazed to find out how many fragments of all of the New Testament books are out there.

Bart Ehrman, from the University of North Carolina Religious Studies Dept. has written a book called "Misquoting Jesus" (which I haven't read yet, but I have heard him speak about it on a couple of Radio Shows ). This book takes a look some of the "corruptions" to the text that have happened place as the Bible has been translated through the years. (Here is the link to Bart Ehrman's website that has more information about all the books that he has written).

Anyway, the point is that a lot of "average" Christians may not really understand how the Bible came to be what it is and so The DaVinci Code has opened this up to them and for some that creates a crisis of faith. How to believe the Bible when it was not what you thought? For others, it makes faith more "believable."

Finally!! saw the movie

The Rev. Hubby and I finally got to see the DaVinci Code on Saturday night...I'm still thinking through what I think of the movie.....Haven't had a chance to go back and look some things up in the book. My initial impression is that the movie follows the book fairly close, with some changes for the sake of time. Some flashbacks are interspersed in the film and I've heard that these are a little confusing if you haven't got an idea of what they are (this is one of the time-saving/storytelling techniques used to condense the book). BUT, I think that there were some changes made to the movie to make it more "palatable" to religious folks.

It seemed like they softened the character of Robert Langdon (played by Tom Hanks). I read the book with the sense that he was more of a lapsed Catholic--probably agnostic or at least more of a humanist than a religious person. Even though he studied religious symbols, he was academic in approach and not motivated out of personal faith.

The main thesis behind the book is that Mary Madgalene was "the Holy Grail," that she had a baby fathered by Jesus and that the Priory of Scion protected this secret over the last two centuries. In the movie, the Langdon character becomes the one who argues against this theory and when it appears that this is true, he says, "so what?" It doesn't change who Jesus was. This seemed completely against what I remembered from the book, but as I said, I haven't checked back in the book (which I read last year). This just seemed "out of character" for the Robert Langdon of the book.

For me, the book was like any other mystery novel--about the mystery and the search. I think that the movie did a fairly good job of keeping the mystery and suspense.

The bottom line is that it is FICTION. It's a movie based on a book that is based on faulty scholarship.

Here are what I understand the problems are

1. the Priory of Scion seems to be a hoax--there were documents that seemed to show the existence of this organization, but it has since been proved that these were not authentic.
2. so much of the plot is based on DaVinci's Last Supper and the argument that what was in the painting reveals the secret is based on DaVinci's participation in the Priory of Scion. Since this is not true, it would follow that what DaVinci painted was his own interpretation. The representation of John that is interpreted as Mary is merely DaVinci's representation of a young man.
3. the texts that are used to "establish" the relationship between Mary and Jesus are fragments and the interpretation of them stretches beyond reason what is actually in the text.

Here's a link to a great source to find more info and links to more "debunking" http://www.beliefnet.com/story/167/story_16783_1.html

So, if you love a good mystery, read the book (it is better than the movie) or see the movie if you don't want to read. But, know that it is a work of fiction.....

BUT, I have to say that my feminist side, is loving the attention to Mary of Magalene and the opportunity to look at the place in of woman in Jesus' ministry and their place in the early church. Elaine Pagels has written some good scholarly works on this--the Gnostic Gospels and Beyond Belief.

Check out my new counter in the SideBar!!

more da vinci thoughts

ok so that previous post really wasn't about DaVinci....we haven't gotten to the movie yet...(I'm not sure what time this will post has--I haven't quite figured this thing out yet...I think it might post as Thurday because that's when I started writing this...but it's actually Saturday...)

Anyway, hopefully, we will get to the movie today--celebrating 17 years of marriage with the Rev. Hubby who safely returned from Atlanta yesterday afternoon. He had a great week and I can tell he feels "refreshed"--perhaps a better word might be "re-spirited"!

OK, so far this post isn't able the Da Vinci code either really.. Here is why I posted that ?poem? (have to come up with a better word--it's not poetry--just thoughts..) Anyway, here it is.....Dan Brown's book takes it's thesis of a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magalene from the Gospel of Phillip. But, the scholarship is very poor....

OOOPS..the Rev. Hubby called and I have to go meet him to do some shopping and see the movie!

will finish my thought later....

RevGalBlogPals

There is a really cool blog!

revgalblogpals

I have enjoyed reading it this week especially because Rev. Hubby is at the "Festival of the Homies" that several of them are blogging about. It's fun to see what these women are saying about the same event that I am hearing about from Rev. Hubby.

Haven't joined yet though...little hesitant to make my blog so public...(see previous post)

Blogging--Public vs Private

Trying to think about blogging every day as a way of writing in a more disciplined way; I would like to make this one of my habits.

This blog thing is strange because it's pretty public, yet it feels awfully solitary. Also, it seems a bit dangerous to put too much identifying information on the web---you never know who might find it! What if I wanted to rant about the Bishop or my boss? I wouldn't want that to find it's way back into their computers.....

Then there's the issue of who to invite to read your thoughts? If you're actually going to tell people that you are posting things, then perhaps you ought to try to write things worth reading creating a "pressure to perform." Or what if you are posting things that people never knew about you--like my Democratic leanings (yeah, no one ever knew that one! Well...I try not to let my politics enter my work-life.)

Ok...so this is a "making it up as I go thing" without much purpose or focus....maybe in the course of writing, I will find more focus....

Moulton vs. Stratford-on-Avon

Recently, my Rev. Hubby and I went to the graduation of our nephew from a community college. This was an interesting event because of the "mix" of folks in attendance. Many of the graduates received 'certificates' in vocational trades, while others were receiving two year degrees that will move them into a profession. Then there were still others like our nephew who are completing degrees but transferring into four year degree programs.

The commencement speaker was an English professor at the school and I must say, with as many graduation speakers as I have sat through, he was about the best--short and point. Recognizing that most of the students come from the surrounding small towns and "crossroad communities" nearby, he gave some examples of world changing folks who came from small towns.

In the course of this, though, he mentioned Stratford-on-Avon as Shakespeare's hometown. He called Stratford-on-Avon the "Moulton, Alabama of England." At this point, the Rev. and I were seated at opposite ends of the row, but both of us leaned forward to "catch the other's eye." We spent our 14th anniversary in Stratford-on-Avon. And then, on another afternoon, we sat by the River on a bench and read Shakespeare's sonnets.

(I don't think that I could have imagined Moulton being anything like that English village. I guess he meant that Stratford in Shakespeare's day was like the Moulton of today.)

Anyway, right then and there I said a little prayer of thanks for my husband of almost seventeen years (this Saturday!)..... There we were in the middle of a strange commencement service and sitting a good distance away from each other, and what the speaker said caught us both and made of think of each other--and the beautiful days we spent in Stratford-on-Avon!

I am grateful to be married to the other Rev. Gonia. We laughed over this little instance because we always think that we are so different, and yet the longer we have been married, the more we seem to think alike!

thoughts of my mother on Mother's Day

This was written about the time that my mother died....over 13 years ago now.....

She lived her life so fully
exemplifying virtue,
never limiting my dreams.

Showing me Your way,
answering questions,
kissing boo-boos
and chasing away nightmares.

Welcome her home
to the place You prepared
that she might hear the words,
"Well done, good and faithful servant."

Poetic thoughts?

I've often found that writing can be good therapy--even if it's not good writing... Poetry or not....it's just my way of writing. So, I may post a few of those theraputic writings...here's one written a few years ago...

Child of My Labor

You are not the child of my flesh
But you are the daughter of my labor.

The pains have come from
Contractions of my heart
Squeezed by your tiny hands

The pain of your loss
Cannot be understood
No mother’s milk for you
To soothe, to settle
To still your stomach and soul.

No sweet mother’s voice
To hush and lullaby your fears

But now, you are born to me
On the wings of angels
And our labor begins

And I shall nurse you
With my mother’s heart
I shall soothe, settle, and still your soul
With my lullaby

Hushaby Baby, you are the child of my labor.

Can I be this old?

I remember when I was 12 years old and thought I wouldn't even live to see 16...can I really have lived 30 more years?! Gosh the black and white pic really reveals the changing color of my hair! OK...so I posted this picture just so I could upload it to my profile--it's too big of a file!! I really wasn't trying to be vain...just wanted to see if I could actually manage the technology!

When I thinking of getting older, I wonder at what technology will bring next. My grandmother was born before the automobile and lived to see people walk on the moon. My hope is to always be curious enough and confident enough to engage myself in learning the "new" technology.

My daughter has an I-pod--it is the coolest thing!! I remember having a "walkman" and only wanting to carry one cassette tape along because I didn't want to have to hold on to the others! How wonderful to carry 1,000 songs in a little device!

like I said ....mundane ramblings.....

A Tentative Start

Having recently discovered various friends with blogs, I have decided to enter into this cyberspace and take my chances. Hopefully, this will be a place that I can leave thoughts--mundane and perhaps less mundane....