Posted on Dec 1, 2017 by admin in Youth Happenings |
My how time flies! It seems like we just started this year and it is already almost over.
This coming Sunday is the beginning of Advent. During the season of Advent we celebrate the hope that comes with the anticipation of the Savior’s birth, but so many of us get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping and baking and parties and programs and decorating and … and … and … (feel free to fill in the blanks here – there always seems to be one more thing to add to the list). We are overcome with anxiety rather than joy and we anticipate the end of the madness rather than the celebration of the coming of the Christ-child. We are too busy to really take the time to remember why we are celebrating in the first place.
This year at Grace, our children and youth will be spending time getting ready for the annual Christmas pageant. While they are doing this we are intentionally taking time to build that spirit of anticipation that is meant to be felt during Advent. I would like to challenge you to do the same. How will you embrace anticipation? What brings your hope to life?
Many say that it is already Christmastime, but I say it is not quite here yet. Christmas is coming and I look forward to searching for daily reminders of that hope.
Posted on Jul 26, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
I ha
ve read several books on this journey. Professor Bart Ehrman’s book, “Jesus Interrupted” was among those and it turned out to be the perfect provocateur with a background of world religions developing over 8,000 years paired with the development of Christianity over the past 2,000. I will not try to reproduce the numerous insights from a three hundred page book and it would make a fabulous group study book, let me give a few key points of Ehrman’s which, by the way, are nothing new to my seminary training nor to anyone who has taken Education For Ministry. It was a good survey book for me and reminded me of some important things. Read more…
Posted on Jul 22, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
Religion has developed a bad reputation in the western world. A major reason for this is that certain ideologies and political opportunists have hijacked Christian religion (in the west. Same thing happens in the east with other religions.) to maintain political dominance. As a result of this all too obvious fusion of Christian religion with a particular political and ideological position, those who don’t buy the politics simply discard Christianity and religion in general as a stooge for what they see as oppressive politics. In this note, I would like to demonstrate that what is needed is exactly the opposite of what all the “I’m spiritual but not religious” and “I’m atheist because your religion is bad” claim. Read more…
Posted on Jul 20, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
We fled back to the Cyclades Islands to escape the oppressive 107 degree heat of the mainland cities. The islands always have a breeze and because of the blue Aegean Sea all around, the temperatures are always moderated between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Here on the island of Naxos, the largest of the Cyclades, we took a bus tour of the island where you can learn about 6,000 years of civilization. One the highest mountain on the island (1,000 meters or about 3,300 feet), you can visit the Temple of Demeter.
Demeter was the goddess of grain and the harvest. People believed it was Demeter who made the crops grow each year, so the first loaf of bread made from the harvest each year was offered in sacrifice to her (sound familiar?). More broadly, she was the goddess of the earth, of agriculture and fertility (including human). She also presided over the justice of sacred law and the cycle of life and death. Her cult predated the Olympian Pantheon by centuries. Read more…
Posted on Jul 20, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
I am, and many Americans are almost reflexively opposed to any conjunction of church and state. But if you think about how the modern state and modern religion got started (in 1500 BC), you will find there were lots of mutually reinforcing and important connecting points. Things such as adjudicating common civil disputes such as land boundaries, commerce, weights and measures, contracts, etc. In ancient Israel, from Moses to the second century AD, religious authorities also served as civil magistrates. To the north, in Greece, temple priests served similar roles. The system worked for centuries. Read more…
Posted on Jul 13, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
After two solid days of touring Athens with its fabulous archaeological sites, museums, churches, restaurants and shops, we made our way to Corinth. You will recall Corinth (“Korinthos” in Greek) as one of the Greek cities where the apostle Paul founded a community of believers (they would not be called “Christian” for another 30 years). Today there is a modern city of Corinth (population 37,000) located right on the water. One part of the waterfront is devoted to small scale commercial import/export and fishing, while the majority of the waterfront is dedicated to tourism with hotels, bars and restaurants. We will visit the ancient city of Archaea Korinthos (five miles inland) later today, but from our hotel room I keep staring across the water at the northern shore of the Gulf of Corinth. There is a formidable, 3,000 foot high mountain rising straight up from the water, running ten miles east and west. The water is crystal blue, the winds are light and variable. Who wouldn’t enjoy sailing in paradise?
Posted on Jul 11, 2017 by admin in Youth Happenings |
At VBS Hero Central, kids will enjoy an interactive, energizing, Bible-based good time as they discover their strength in God. They will become Heroes and explore how to serve God and God’s mission for their lives.
After a high-energy opening assembly at Hero Central, the Heroes make their way to the Bible Story Headquarters. Interactive Bible lessons reveal Hero Codes to equip your Heroes for an active life with God. Our Heroes will discover a Hero Verse (Bible memory verse) that will remain with them in their faith long after VBS.
The kids will expand on what they’ve discovered by participating in a variety of activities: making their own art projects at Craft Headquarters, singing new songs at Music Headquarters, exploring the wonders of creation at Science Headquarters, playing games at Recreation Headquarters, and enjoying tasty treats at Snack Headquarters. Along the way, the Heroes will hear about our mission project and respond to a call for action!
Let’s go!
Click Here to register.
Posted on Jul 4, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
I borrowed the title of this entry from Clinton-era poet-laureate, Maya Angelou’s book of poetry by the same title. It hints at knowing oppression (caging) firsthand; understanding why; and giving voice to that. In almost two weeks in a country infused with Greek Orthodox Church tradition, I have yet to find a single person who attends church even once a month on Sundays. My brief exposure to “the church” attending a couple of services underscored the fact that, at 65, I was the youngest person attending each time.
Last night I watched while the Orthodox priests took down the Greek flag from the church yard. No solemnity or reverence for the flag – why would they feel that? The act was done with the same emotional content as taking out the trash – just another chore at the church. But on this 4th of July, when we celebrate the sacrifices made by the founders of the United States, makes me look at the differences in church-state relations with a new perspective. Read more…
Posted on Jun 27, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας or τῆς πίστεως
The Symbol of Nicea, Symbol of Faith
One of the dozen or so books I will devour in the coming weeks is titled “Do I Make Myself Clear?”* by Sir Harold Evans, (hard-hitting British journalist who resides in the US and has held leading journalist positions with US News and World Report, The Atlantic Monthly and currently editor-at-large for The Week). I commend this book to every English-speaker who wishes to be clear in their written and vocal expressions. We have a clear warrant from scripture for this where Jesus tells us to basically say “Yes” or “No” to things and not insert a lot of words. Words are important. They can commit murder and they can lift up the brokenhearted.
I see our American language and culture as a victim of marketing gobbledy-gook. First the marketers used words to tell lies. For example, they changed the size description of ordinary laundry detergent from “Small,” “Medium” and “Large” to words more attractive to the consumer such as “Economy,” “Value” and “Giant.” God help us. This process has continued ad nauseum with commercial products, but worse, with politics. I’m not sure who came first in this arms race to the bottom, but here is what George Orwell says in his 1946 polemic Politics and the English Language, about the use of words in politics, “Political language—and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservative to anarchist—is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” Read more…
Posted on Jun 25, 2017 by admin in Sabbatical Blog |
I have traveled abroad dozens of times on business. When you know all the flight attendants by name on particular airline routes, you are probably flying too much. But this time was different. We went to seminary together as a family and it was a great adventure for all of us. The business travel was all just so much road warrior stuff. But this time was different. Read more…
