Prepare Ye

I spent part of this week in Myrtle Beach with my mother. She has been visiting me here in the Garden since before Thanksgiving. I promised her that if she came down here, she would be out of the cold and snow. Boy, did I screw that one up. So we went to Myrtle Beach, and while it was cold for them, it was a great respite for us. This is a combination of different versions of the sermon I gave today (January 17). It was not the sermon I thought I would give when we headed to Myrtle Beach. I was mentally writing a sermon on gifts. That shows up in here. I thought about the greatness of the proclamation of the Isaiah text. That shows up in here. I decided against preaching about the bossiness of the mother of Jesus, at least while my mom was in attendance. But it shows up in here. I don't know what I think of this sermon. I'm conflicted with faith in the face of the death in Haiti. That shows up big time in here. ‘ You save humans and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is your s...

This is my text for the All Saints Day service in the Garden. I focused mostly on the Isaiah (25.6-9 ) and Revelation (21.1-6 ) texts, and only briefly touched on the Gospel (John 11.32-44 - the story of Lazarus). Last Sunday, during our celebration of the Reformation of the Church, we heard the words God said to the prophet Jeremiah, “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. … I will be their God, and they shall be my people. … I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” [Jeremiah 31.31, 33, 34] Today, as we remember the great cloud of witnesses and saints who have gone before us, as we remember our loved ones who have died, we must also remember the promises God has given to us and to them. First among those promises is that death does not have the final word. God does. “It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is ...

It's been a while since a real post. I am enjoying my vicar-ing here in the Garden. It is keeping me busy. I've avoided any real comments on the 800 lb. gorilla in the ELCA, because I would have to force myself to be pastoral. And when posting here, I don't feel like forcing myself to do that. I will avoid name calling and leave that to those who favor Law over Gospel, fear over love. But I'm not talking about that. :D Here's an old song about old friends. Harry Chapin - Taxi Edited to put in a version that did not autoplay.

So I' m checking my Facebook account, and see a message from my good friend (& future Bishop) Faithful Yet Changing who has a message to pray for Glen Beck. And my response is the title of this post, "Are You Freakin ' Nuts??" Politically, I score just left of center, but that is because I hold a couple of far right positions which balance out some of my far left positions. But in the past year or so, I have found myself leaning farther and farther left, mostly in response to the morons (and I apologize to all of the real morons for lumping them in with this group) at Fixed Noise, like Beck, O'Riley & Hannity . The venom they spout comes from either ignoring facts or not being able to understand them or being so deluded that they actually believe the crap they spread. I only clicked on the link because it is Future Bishop Faithful Yet Changing 's birthday, and I was hoping this was going to be a joke, kind of like being Rick rolled. But it wasn'...

This is the outline from which I worked to deliver my August 16th Sermon. Please excuse the partial sentances and phrases, but this was my script for the day. The Gospel was John 6.51-58 . I enjoy watching TV, especially High Definition TV, because you can see so much more. I also enjoy detective shows and mysteries. When I started at LTSG, went for 2 weeks of Summer Greek. Learn about the original language the New Testament was written in. Also learn to look at the little details Realize each version of the Bible has “translator choices” Make the Bible easily read or try and include all of the nuances of original language Discover some subtle differences It’s like seeing TV in high def for the first time and playing CSI detective Today’s Gospel lesson continues what is known as Jesus’ “Bread discourse” Entire chapter goes from the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water through Jesus saying he is the bread from heaven, the bread of eternal life into today’s lesson where Jesus ...

Here is the first sermon I gave in the Garden, for August 9th. I first want to thank God and everyone involved for this opportunity to serve God here in this wonderful setting of Burke’s Garden and Bluefield. I realize what a unique and precious opportunity this is, and I ask for the help of God and of everyone to serve this community to the best of my ability. Today’s Gospel lesson begins with Christ saying, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” This continues the discourse we have heard in previous weeks about bread; the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 and the manna from heaven. Now, he explains that he is the bread of heaven, come down to sustain and provide salvation for humanity. Christ has come to draw people to God and, through Him, to salvation. The word used meaning to draw is the same word used when Jesus commands those who are fishing to pull in their nets once they have captured their ...

This is the text I worked off of to give my sermon on August 23rd. I deviated from it somewhat when I gave it in the Garden and again at my supervisor's church. The texts for the day were:Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18; Psalm 34:15-22; Ephesians 6:10-20 and John 6:56-69. Pray for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. Pray that I may declare it boldly. AMEN. When I coached football, we had a saying we told our players during the most challenging parts of practice, “Go hard or go home.” It meant we coaches wanted all they could give. When the players came to practice we wanted their total focus and maximum effort. If they were not willing to do that, then they were not being helpful to the team; they should go home. I had one player I coached ask me one day after I had been on him because I knew he was not giving his maximum effort what more wanted. I told him, “All I want is all you’ve got.” From the Gospel, for the pas...

This isn't going to be a full blown post, but things are going well here in the Garden. I'm settled in, completed my first solo service (preaching and presiding) and did not commit any major trespass. Well, the sermon did go 18+ minutes. But people said they learned a lot. (Key word = Lot) So here are some photos of the Garden. I'll post the sermon when I convert it from outline form. This is my "2nd office." It is my deck just outside of where I've put my office. You can see why I move outside when the weather allows. This is a view of the church's cemetery from my deck.

After chatting with a friend back in Michigan, I realized I never posted the pictures I took when I visited my internship site here on my blog. Oopsies. So, better late than never. front of the Garden's Lutheran Church, and this is a picture of the inside of the church looking from just inside the door. --> Below it is a view from the alter looking back. You can see the pulpit and the church does have a balcony. --> porch of the house I will be staying in, as is this view. ---> I plan to post more photos when I get down to the Garden, which will be at the end of this month. The Garden is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, and I'm planning on taking pictures as I go out and about in God's Thumbprint (on of the nicknames for the Garden.)

So, here are a series of links full of information on the site where I will be spending the next year as the Vicar. From Wikipedia , and about the varmint . Information about the Garden is here , here , here and here . You can explore the Garden by Google Maps street view (yeah, they've been there!) If you go about 1/2 a mile to the west from where the marker puts you, just at the first curve on 623, you will see Central , the church I will be primarily serving. The church , and its cemetery , is in the National Register of Historic Places . The post office has been closed , but the general store remains open and for sale. A nice magazine article about the Garden is downloadable from here .

For the past couple of weeks, I have been on a break. Not a Ross & Rachel break, but days of rest. It feels like I've been going non-stop for so long, I don't know what to do with time off. So I have been a couch potato. I've been going through what stuff I want to take back to Michigan when I go back for about a month to spend with my Mom, y'know the stuff I dragged out to G'burg, but haven't used in 2 years. I had been looking at taking back some books, especially ones I knew I wouldn't use in the Garden on internship, but decided to put those into storage here in G'burg. But I've spent time flipping through some, especially some that I bought pre-Seminary when I was trying to deepen my understanding of exactly what I am doing. And I've realized there are as many takes on the role and nature of God, salvation and the relationship between humanity and the Divine as there are people willing to put their thoughts to paper. Sometimes, many time...

It's a time of transition here at The LTS. Those who graduated in May are, or have moved out, as they have been called. Those who are still here have been writing call sermons and interviewing with churches. Most of the members of my class have left campus. Some have gotten, or are getting, married. Some are vacationing, but all of us are getting ready to go on internship. First year students have started CPE, and, according to some FBk posts, are stressing and freaking. Some of us who are going on internship have gone scouting, visiting the sites we will be serving beginning later this year. I came back from my scouting trip late Sunday night. I had posted earlier that this site wasn't "one of my top choices." That was a mis-statement on my part. It was one of my preferred choices, but it wasn't where I saw myself going. I feel called to urban ministry. It is the setting I have grown up in, and where I feel the most comfortable. It is also where I thought I woul...

So, today was the announcement of the internship matches for the Middler class here at The LTS. I'm trying to think what the best Biblical verse is to sum up the feelings. The choices are: a) "And all the people went up following him, playing on pipes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth quaked at their noise."1 Kings 1:40 b) "Throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”Matthew 22:13 c) "A dispute also arose among them." Luke 22:24 The answer is somewhere in the middle. Most people were happy with where they have been assigned, but a few were not. I'm in a group in the middle. I did not get one of my preferred sites, but am happy with where I'm going. I wanted to go to an urban site because that is where I feel called. Instead, I'm going to a detached parish (my supervisor is a pastor at a near-by church, and I will work under his leadership primarily at another church who is currently without...