Rev Gals – Page 3 – Salvaged Faith

Friday Five @ RevGalsBlogPals

Posted on November 14, 20084 Comments

Remembrance

1. Did your church have any special celebrations for All Saints/All Soul’s Day?

We remembered the names of those had passed with a moment of silence for each and the lighting of candles. Our whole worship service however was geared towards a remembrance of the saints and talking about what it takes to become a saint of God… which in the Methodist tradition is simply opening yourself up and letting God work through you with sanctifying grace.

2. How about Veterans’ Day?

We didn’t do anything specifically at the church, but had the day off from normal bible studies and fellowship groups so that our people could attend the local Veteran’s Day ceremonies at the school.

3. Did you and your family have a holiday for Veterans’ Day/Remembrance Day? If so, how did you take advantage of the break?

I don’t really remember having the day off growing up. Perhaps we did, but since it is a Tuesday, there is no three day, or four day weekend to really take advantage of. If we had the day off, we probably spent it with my grandparents, who lived nearby and who took care of us while our parents worked.

4. Is there a veteran in your life, living or dead, whose dedication you remember and celebrate? Or perhaps a loved one presently serving in the armed forces?

My grandpa is now deceased, but he served in the Korean War. I also have connections through a cousin, Jenna, who has served in Iraq. And there are countless people I know through my church family who have served or are currently serving.

5. Do you have any personal rituals which help you remember and connect with loved ones who have passed on?

I’ve never been big on visiting the graves of loved ones. I’m not quite sure why, either. I remember growing up that my mom and her family would often visit the grave of their sister, but the kids always stayed home. And now that I am grown, I haven’t taken my own personal time to visit the graves of my grandparents. But I do remember them. I remember my grandpa whenever I peel potatoes – because I remember stories that he would tell about KP duty in the army. I remember my grandma whenever I see a turtle – she had a fantastic collection of figurines. I remember my great-grandma whenever I see a kolache – she made the best kolaches I have ever had.

Lectionary Leanings

Posted on September 23, 2008Leave a comment

I am SO excited for this week’s texts. I play a MMORPG (Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Game) and I so love the idea of Kenosis that I named my first character that.

Kenosis you ask? Check out the scriptures especially the Christ Hymn for Philippians.

Kenosis translated into English means emptying… self-giving… humility… pouring out

It is the embodiment of Christ into our human form – giving up his power, giving up his seat at the right hand of God, giving up his divinity in some respects in order to become one of us.

It is also the actions of Christ over and over again in his life and in his death. Giving up his power and status over and over to reach out to those who were hurting and sick and were chained by their sin. It is the action of Christ giving up his very life on the cross.

I’m really intrigued by how kenosis affects our views of leadership. A distant family member knew I was in ministry and he and his father are both pastors. We got to talking and they came to learn that I was THE pastor of my church. And not only were they amazed, but they also wanted to know if I called myself the “senior pastor.” Senior pastor? I’m the only pastor was my response. It’s not a question of being the one in charge, of being above everyone else – for me, leadership has always been about servanthood, about humility, about kenosis.

In Powers and Submissions, Sarah Coakley argues that we should come to see the incarnation and the cross as acts of “power-in-vulnerability.” These narratives remind us of our ultimate dependence upon one another and upon God while at the same time reminding us that letting go and opening up to the divine is what enables divine power to work in our midst. This power comes through dependence and relationship, through communion rather than a do-it-alone mentality. The practice of discernment exemplifies this power. Or, as Coakley describes it, “we can only be properly ‘empowered’ here if we cease to set the agenda, if we ‘make space’ for God to be God.”

In his article on postmodern leadership, Leonard Hjalmarson writes:

The leadership style that once dominated our culture is becoming passé. Instead of the Lone Ranger, we have Frodo: the Clint Eastwoods and Sylvester Stallones are replaced by ordinary men. Frodo, Aragorn and Neo (the Matrix) are self-questioning types who rely on those around them for strength, clarity and purpose. Indeed, while they have a sense of the need and a willingness to sacrifice themselves, they may not even know the first step on the journey.

He is describing a form of leadership that takes seriously both the interdependence of the Christian community as well as the idea of kenosis. Authority is shared and the agenda of the formal or ordained pastor is not the sole determinant of the direction of the congregation. At various times, Hjalmarson returns to the metaphor of storytelling and describes the pastor’s role as the narrator who weaves all of the various stories together, much like the mediating interpreter for Nicholas Lash. This vision of leadership is crucial if we are to emphasize the ways in which the Holy Spirit dwells in the community of believers – the body of Christ.

In many ways, I believe that is what kenosis is all about in the church… emptying ourselves so that the Holy Spirit can work through us. Embodying the mind of Christ means to set aside what we are entitled to, what we deserve, what is owed to us, and instead discerning the will of God and living our lives in obedience to it. And it is about coming together as the church – not a pastor leading as a lone ranger, but as the priesthood of all believers.

p.s. i wish i knew who did this watercolor – another blogger had it on their site, with no credits.

Friday Five – Equinox

Posted on September 18, 20082 Comments

(first of all, I can’t believe September is over halfway through and we are staring straight in the face of the equinox… eek!)

From RevGals: It’s that time of year, at least north of the equator. The windows are still open, but the darned furnace comes on early in the morning. My husband went out for a walk after an early supper and came home in full darkness.

And yes, where we live, leaves are beginning to turn.

As this vivid season begins, tell us five favorite things about fall:

1) A fragrance
I think I would have to go with the smell of pies baking… apple, pumpkin, etc… or maybe even just the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon that seems to flavor everything – hot chai tea, spiced cider… all of it just warms up the whole house.

2) A color
As you can tell by my new color scheme, I’m thinking of fall already! I would have to say a deep vibrant firey orange is probably my favorite.

3) An item of clothing
My tweed pants and my brown pointy toe boots. They are just too warm to wear in the summer and really are too cozy to wear in the spring.

4) An activity
carving pumpkins! My husband and I go all out and make fantastic creations. One year we actually carved GW and then some of our roommates threw the pumpkin head off of the roof of our house (it was college, silly college kids)

5) A special day
I really do love Thanksgiving. I am a food person, and we normally have about 4 meals to attend in a day. I love all of the flavors – especially cranberry sauce and stuffing.

FF: Vulnerable

Posted on September 5, 20083 Comments

From Rev Gals: “I have recently been reading a book entitled Jesus wept, it is all about vulnerability in leadership. The authors speak of how Jesus shared his earthly frustrations and vulnerabilities with a select group of people. To some he was the charismatic leader and teacher, to others words of wisdom were opened and explained and some frustrations shared, to his “inner circle of friends: Peter, James and John, he was most fully himself, and in all of these things he was open to God.

So I bring you this weeks Friday 5:”

1. Is vulnerability something that comes easily to you, or are you a private person?

I find myself in situations where I am the person who listens, rather than talks. But there is also always this desire within me to share my story – our stories are really all that we have to share… but I hesitate to share, however much I want to because of a fear of being pitied. My grandfather passed away when I was in seminary, and because it happened to be over fall break and because of my schedule that semester, I was home for 6 days, and missed no classes. I got back and such a monumental hole was in my life, but no one at school knew what had happened. I didn’t have to ask for class time off, so no professors knew. I had a really hard time sharing that with people because in a sense, it was easier to focus on school.

2.How important is it to keep up a professional persona in work/ ministry?

This is a hard question for me. Mostly because I believe a professional persona in ministry is overrated. And yet I do it anyways. I guess the professional persona I embody is a sense of neutrality, which comes naturally to me because I can see all sides of an issue/problem. If I were more vulnerable, my own positions and horror at the things people say would be much more evident. That may or may not be a good thing.

3. Masks, a form of self protection discuss…

Oh – absolutely self protection. But self-protection isn’t always in our best interest. I think that omission is also a mask. I meet with a local group of clergy and I know that I am by far the most liberal among them and there are often sideways remarks that I usually disagree with, but I let them go, rather than become the target. I go to that group to have colleagues and to be around people who understand what it is to be a minister in our town… it is relaxing and not the place where I want to constantly have to defend myself.

4. Who knows you warts and all?

My husband – hands down. And maybe my very bestest friend. The more I think about these questions the more I think about how much I do keep my guard up, even with the people I love the most. The other person who knows many of my warts is my youngest brother.

5. Share a book, a prayer, a piece of music, a poem or a person that touches the deep place in your soul, and calls you to be who you are most authentically.

Manifesto:
The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Listen to carrion — put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go.

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

“Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front” from The Country of Marriage, copyright ® 1973 by Wendell Berry,

Friday Five

Posted on August 22, 20085 Comments

Here are five things to ponder about dates.

1) Datebooks–how do you keep track of your appointments? Electronically? On paper? Month at a glance? Week at a glance?

oh goodness. I am terrible about this. I used to do it through outlook on my computer – but then never had it with me. Then I bought one of those fancy franklin covey planners and it is beautiful, but I don’t really use it like I should and it’s too big to stick in my purse on the go. Right now, I’m using the scheduler in my cell phone. Which at least lets me know when i have something coming up due to the great alarm feature.

2) When was the last time you forgot an important date?

I kind of missed out on my dad’s 50th birthday and my parent’s 25th anniversary. The last few years have been crazy and I wasn’t home that summer and so while I as the eldest daughter should have thrown a HUGE party for both occasions – I totally missed out. I don’t think I even realized it was my dad’s 50th until months later. Bad Katie, Bad.

3) When was the last time you went OUT on a date?

I actually went on a strange sort of triple date a few weeks ago, except, one of the other girls couldn’t end up making it because they had to move. As far as just me and my hubby… It would be sometime in Nashville… I can’t even remember. We have done things like going out with friends to dinner and then a thing (a movie, or to see the Whirling Dervishes!), but I honestly can’t remember the last time just the two of us went out. That’s kind of sad!

4) Name one accessory or item of clothing you love even though it is dated.

I have a bunch of my grandmother’s scarves. Silky ones that would be tied around the neck under a blouse, but is totally out of style. I wore some of them in my hair in a more hippy dippy faze of mine, but now they are just in the closet. My favorite is white with orange images and writing – all spices and herbs!

5) Dates–the fruit–can’t live with ’em? Or can’t live without ’em?

I actually really like dates. At our Maundy Thursday service I recreated a sort of last supper with types of food that might have been around at the time. So we had dates and figs, unleavened bread, olives, etc. And then when we took communion, we did sort of a love feast with it and everyone passed around the food and it was a really moving experience for a lot of people. We moved from that to hand washing (which i thought would be a bit less scary than foot washing since they hadn’t done it.)

Friday Five

Posted on August 15, 20083 Comments

For this Friday’s Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.

Bonus: Give us your favorite activity that is made possible by the arrival of fall.

I’m really gearing up for fall at the church – our big kick off is a week from Sunday! It doesn’t seem possible that students are heading back to school already and that fall is almost here – especially when August is usually so hot. We are actually in store for a very early fall according to some accounts – a frost is expected by mid-september, which will wreak havoc on the already late crops here in the midwest. lots of prayers needed here!

As for the five biggest transformations of this fall:

#1 – We are getting another kitty! We love Turbo so much that we think he needs a friend. There are kittens at the local vet and we are going on tuesday to pick one of the gold ones up. He will be about 6 weeks old then and is getting his vaccinations on Monday. I can’t wait to have another addition to our family!

#2 – I will be teaching confirmation this fall and spring at my church. They normally do confirmation for 5th/6th graders, but there are a number who were missed a couple years ago, so we have about 9 kids spread out from 5th – 9th grade. I’m looking forward to working with them!!! and i’m going to be trying out the claim the name resource… but i can’t decide if i want to do it just for the fall or for the whole year. we are doing confirmation during sunday school time – which means that they will be there for church for sure, but if we do the whole year long program, i won’t be involved in any other sunday school stuff all year long. This is my FIRST time doing confirmation… eek!

#3 – My biggest personal goal for this fall is to transform my body. I really need to exercise more and need to build some kind of routine. And I think transformation really is the right word for it, because I need to change inside and out. I’ve done it before, so I know that it is possible… but it will definately take more willpower than I’m currently exhibiting.

#4 – My biggest transformation around the church will be in my personal visitation ministry. While I may seem to others like an extremely outgoing person, I am so anxious about visiting people. I talk myself out of it most of the time. I have been fairly consistent about visiting people in the hospital (when i know they are there) and in the nursing home (I do a service there monthly and spend time after visiting) and somewhat with people who are homebound – but I really need to get out and start making the rounds with the whole church. Especially those people who are members but I have never seen or met in the almost eight months I’ve been there. I know it will make a huge difference, but I can’t work up the guts to do it. I’m pretty sure once I do it, I’ll wonder what the big deal is, but its a step that terrifies me about ministry.

#5 – One thing I have tried fairly hard to do since I have been in this church is to change up the order of worship with every new season. We had one liturgy for the season after epiphany, another for lent, another for after easter, and now we are in another for the season after pentecost. I’m starting a new sermon series with our fall kick-off, and think it’s a good time to change up the liturgy again. that way we don’t get too tied to any one way to worship and it helps the church to be a bit more flexible. I’m excited to think about new possibilities and ways to incorporate prayers, hymns, etc., into the service. For example: in this season after ephiphany, we have sung our prayer for illumination as “Spirit of the Living God” – but during Epiphany we sang “Thy Word.” Other times, it is a spoken prayer. One of my big changes this fall is to add a mission/stewardship moment before the offering each week and to invite people from the congregation to share about an way our offerings and our pledges this fall help to support the ministry of the worldwide/local church.

Bonus: I’m actually pretty excited for high school and college football to start back up! I’m a big fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and so I can’t wait to catch a few games (we often had the SEC games when we lived in Nashville) – either on tv or in real life… and my family has tailgated in Iowa City at the games, so we might go join them a few times. It will also be neat to see what the spirit is around this small town with their local high school for football games. I’m looking forward to getting more involved with the students in their school activities and showing up a bit more.

Friday Five – Dog Day Afternoons

Posted on August 8, 20084 Comments

1. What is your sweetest summer memory from childhood? Did it involve watermelon or hand cranked ice cream? Or perhaps a teen summer romance. Which stands out for you?

Hmm, I think the closest thing I came to a sweet teen summer romance was on a camping trip my family took around the Wisconsin dells when I was in probably 8th grade. I can’t remember his name, but I do remember how much fun we had in the water park at the campground!!

2. Describe your all time favorite piece of summer clothing. The one thing you could put on in the summer that would seem to insure a cooler, more excellent day.

I guess probably just lazing around in a bikini and one of my sarongs from hawaii would have to be on the top of that list. I also have a great new pair of mesh shorts with the heat wicking technology that I love to wear when I disc golf – that and a white tank top totally keeps me cool. But NOT a ribbed tank. I didn’t realize how much that extra ribbing traps in heat until I almost died of heat stroke the other day (okay, I just felt like I was going to die)

3. What summer food fills your mouth with delight and whose flavor stays happily with you long after eaten?

Sweet corn. I LOVE sweet corn. And it stays with you because it gets stuck in your teeth!!!! I also love a great glass of sangria. I have a friend who made white sangria and it was to die for.

4. Tell us about the summer vacation or holiday that holds your dearest memory.

I would have to say the first time we went up to raft on the Menominee and Peshtigo Rivers in Wisconsin. This last time was fun, too, but I love playing cards and being outside and it seemed like that was all we did that first trip. That and drinking wine.

5. Have you had any experience(s) this summer that has drawn you closer to God or perhaps shown you His wonder in a new way?

I think getting myself back into my devotional life has been really good – and I did it on vacation while i could sit outside and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.

Bonus question: When it is really hot, humid and uncomfortable, what do you do to refresh and renew body and spirit?

When i was a kid, the sprinkler would be running. Now as an adult, I just head for the nearest air conditioning… how boring is that?

Friday Five (backdated… because I had to play!!!)

Posted on July 26, 2008Leave a comment

what are the five things you simply must have when you are away from home? And why? Any history or goofy things, or stories?

I thought this was absolutely apropo (or however you spell that) because I was just ON vacation! So… here goes!

1. My Phone & Charger

I inevitably always forget my phone charger… and then my phone dies. Luckily, I remembered this time, and didn’t miss any important phone calls!!! PLUS – since I got facebook mobile – i got all of my birthday wishes posts right on my phone – the whole drive home!!! It was fantastic!

2. My Keeper!

Ladies… if you don’t know about the keeper – you should! It is a woman’s best friend. Never again will you or your significant other have to make midnight runs to the store for tampons or pads. Never again will you shell out tons of money for overpriced products. Never again will you clog up dumps with all that waste… It is simple, easy, affordable, and the absolute most wonderful thing you can have when you are out in the backwoods of northern wisconsin… or traveling across Europe. any questions – feel free to ask me about it!!!!!

3. A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People

(see the next post for more details)

4. My Camera

a must have for all of those amazing pictures and video clips to remember it all by. What I love about this particular camera is that it is small (about the size of a deck of cards), it takes pretty good pictures, but that it also has a 2g memory card! And I like the fact I can take short video clips on the same camera that I’m shooting pictures with – it’s always there when I need it… like to capture my neice singing “who stole the cookie from the cookie jar” for 20 minutes straight…

5. A Deck of Cards

My family (well, both mine and my husband’s) LOVE to play cards. Pinochle, Cribbage, Hearts, 500, Garbage, Golf, Mao, Crap on Your Neighbor… you name it, we probably play it. All time favorites of mine are pinochle and cribbage. The image included here is the double run with double pinochle that my brother-in-law recently got that helped us to win the game!