Spread the Spirit!
Sunday August 16th our new campaign “Spread the Spirit” was unveiled. The minute details are, of course, a work in progress and there will be MUCH MORE coming our way once the steering committee begins meeting. But in review, this is a four-year process where we as a whole congregation commit to BEGIN, BEAUTIFY, and BLESSING. In the first year we will BEGIN by undertaking a series of fund-raising events so as to defray the costs of our plans. The following two years will be years to BEAUTIFY whereby much-needed physical updates—both aesthetic and practical—can be made to our worship space. Finally, the fourth year will be a year of BLESSING, a year which celebrates and basks in God’s blessing of our endeavors.
Watch this space for more details!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Summer reading
So, what have you been reading lately?
Supposedly I'm in the midst of my prime summer reading time, but it seems like I'm not getting a lot accomplished. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the new Dan Brown book isn't out yet....and I'm just dying to have a look at it. Second, summers used to be a time for me to catch up on the latest John Grisham thrillers, but he's been a bit disappointing ever since "The Broker" (2005). On top of that I've been gearing up for a major sermon series on the Epistle of James, so a lot of 'spare' reading time has been devoted to research.
Having said that, I still intend to read "The Shack" (it's on order from Amazon.com), and I'm halfway through a delightful little book called "Where's my jetpack?" This is a fun and hilarious book chronicling what happened to our glorious sci-fi future. If you're of my generation or older, you know that by now we were all supposed to be living like the Jetsons. What happened? This book attempts to address that question in a light-hearted and easy reading manner.
Cheers,
TM
Supposedly I'm in the midst of my prime summer reading time, but it seems like I'm not getting a lot accomplished. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, the new Dan Brown book isn't out yet....and I'm just dying to have a look at it. Second, summers used to be a time for me to catch up on the latest John Grisham thrillers, but he's been a bit disappointing ever since "The Broker" (2005). On top of that I've been gearing up for a major sermon series on the Epistle of James, so a lot of 'spare' reading time has been devoted to research.
Having said that, I still intend to read "The Shack" (it's on order from Amazon.com), and I'm halfway through a delightful little book called "Where's my jetpack?" This is a fun and hilarious book chronicling what happened to our glorious sci-fi future. If you're of my generation or older, you know that by now we were all supposed to be living like the Jetsons. What happened? This book attempts to address that question in a light-hearted and easy reading manner.
Cheers,
TM
Success!
Thankfully the technical difficulties have been short-lived and I am back in podcasting business!
I must say that the silver lining to this whole thing is that I think the *technical quality* of my podcasts is going to be noticeably improved. I am now capable of recording in stereo--which I think makes a big difference even though it's just a sermon.
On the technical side...
If you're a techno-nerd like I am, you may want to know more about the product I'm now using. I decided to move away from Olympus and am now using a Philips Digital Voice Tracer 0860. In addition to being able to record in SHQ stereo, it also saves as an mp3 (thus eliminating a step from my prior process--converting .wav to mp3), AND is recognized by both Mac OS and Windows operating systems as a simple USB drive...making uploads to my system a SNAP!
I am constantly amazed at the development of technology when it comes to these things. I first bought into the DVR world while I was in seminary. Granted, I did not spend a lot of money, but the item I purchased then sounded as though a dishwasher were constantly running in the background. Thank God that's no longer the case.
So, if you care, you may want to do a point-counterpoint comparison between the quality of my podcast from this last Sunday (Jul 19th) using the Philips, and any of the previous podcasts using the Olympus. I'm sure you'll agree that the Philips is a noticeable improvement.
Silver linings are nice.
cheers,
TM
I must say that the silver lining to this whole thing is that I think the *technical quality* of my podcasts is going to be noticeably improved. I am now capable of recording in stereo--which I think makes a big difference even though it's just a sermon.
On the technical side...
If you're a techno-nerd like I am, you may want to know more about the product I'm now using. I decided to move away from Olympus and am now using a Philips Digital Voice Tracer 0860. In addition to being able to record in SHQ stereo, it also saves as an mp3 (thus eliminating a step from my prior process--converting .wav to mp3), AND is recognized by both Mac OS and Windows operating systems as a simple USB drive...making uploads to my system a SNAP!
I am constantly amazed at the development of technology when it comes to these things. I first bought into the DVR world while I was in seminary. Granted, I did not spend a lot of money, but the item I purchased then sounded as though a dishwasher were constantly running in the background. Thank God that's no longer the case.
So, if you care, you may want to do a point-counterpoint comparison between the quality of my podcast from this last Sunday (Jul 19th) using the Philips, and any of the previous podcasts using the Olympus. I'm sure you'll agree that the Philips is a noticeable improvement.
Silver linings are nice.
cheers,
TM
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
experiencing technical difficulties
Remember way back when in the days of only 3 TV channels.....ABC, NBC, & CBS.....(I never counted PBS).....and every now and then they'd experience some kind of "technical difficulties," and you'd just see a screen of colored bars?
Well, something LIKE that is happening with my ability to record my sermons.
My trusty Olympus DVR appears to have died on me. It's been acting up for the last several weeks, and this last Sunday (the 12th) it chose to not record my sermon at all.
A new model is on order--hopefully better, faster, stronger--but until I have it and have learned how to use it, there will be a brief interruption in my ability to post recordings of the Sunday sermon. Watch this space for more info.
Thanks & God bless!
Pastor Manwell
Well, something LIKE that is happening with my ability to record my sermons.
My trusty Olympus DVR appears to have died on me. It's been acting up for the last several weeks, and this last Sunday (the 12th) it chose to not record my sermon at all.
A new model is on order--hopefully better, faster, stronger--but until I have it and have learned how to use it, there will be a brief interruption in my ability to post recordings of the Sunday sermon. Watch this space for more info.
Thanks & God bless!
Pastor Manwell
Monday, March 16, 2009
Lent 3, Morning After Thoughts
A few things are swirling around in my head this morning about the focus of the Ten Commandments yesterday.
Perhaps the main thing is that recent scholarship and the scholarly dialog between Jewish & Christian communities has very much begun to call into question the typical posturing in Lutheran theology that places "LAW" and "GOSPEL" in very distinct and mutually exclusive categories. Such categories, for instance, would see NOTHING gospel oriented in the giving of the 10 Commandments. These are HOLY DEMANDS made by a HOLY GOD, that imperfect/unholy Humanity are incapable of keeping. And yet, this is but one way of viewing the situation. Moreover, it happened to be Martin Luther's way....true....but Luther was a man of his age who was GREATLY [and negatively] influenced by the medieval theology of his day. As it was hopefully brought out in yesterday's sermon, there is PLENTY of Gospel in the giving of the 10 Commandments, most specifically found in Exodus 20:1 & 2.
cheers,
TM
Perhaps the main thing is that recent scholarship and the scholarly dialog between Jewish & Christian communities has very much begun to call into question the typical posturing in Lutheran theology that places "LAW" and "GOSPEL" in very distinct and mutually exclusive categories. Such categories, for instance, would see NOTHING gospel oriented in the giving of the 10 Commandments. These are HOLY DEMANDS made by a HOLY GOD, that imperfect/unholy Humanity are incapable of keeping. And yet, this is but one way of viewing the situation. Moreover, it happened to be Martin Luther's way....true....but Luther was a man of his age who was GREATLY [and negatively] influenced by the medieval theology of his day. As it was hopefully brought out in yesterday's sermon, there is PLENTY of Gospel in the giving of the 10 Commandments, most specifically found in Exodus 20:1 & 2.
cheers,
TM
Monday, March 9, 2009
Lent 2, Morning after thoughts
Well, the main thing that is still swirling around in my mind this morning from yesterday's text(s) concerns the last verses of the Genesis 17 reading, vss 14 & 16:
15 God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
We are told over and over again that the ancient culture that produced the Bible was a male-dominated patriarchal culture. And this is certainly true. And yet knowing this fact, one must be all the more struck by the detail of these two verses. In the narrative, God has just appeared to Abram and given him these wonderful covenant promises. Furthermore, Abram's name is changed to Abraham so as to further bring home this idea of "new responsibility, new relationship & new destiny" that I talked of yesterday. Great. One could even add, in a male dominated patriarchal society, "'nuff said." Yet for God in His goodness, it wasn't 'nuff said. He also turns to Sarai, and in some sense gives her equal billing as Abram. Yes, he shall be the father of nations and kings shall come from him, but she will be the mother of nations and kings shall come from her.
This is neither the first nor the last specific mention of the role of women in God's salvation covenant history. From a purely biological perspective, one could say "of course women are needed in the process," but it goes deeper than that. In this male-dominated patriarchal society of *human* origin, God breaks in and CHOOSES certain women BY NAME to have special place in his covenant purpose.
May we always see God as a God who "breaks in" to our arbitrarily established 'world,' for it is in this 'in-breaking' that His covenant purposes to reclaim a people for Himself moves forward.
cheers,
TM
15 God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."
We are told over and over again that the ancient culture that produced the Bible was a male-dominated patriarchal culture. And this is certainly true. And yet knowing this fact, one must be all the more struck by the detail of these two verses. In the narrative, God has just appeared to Abram and given him these wonderful covenant promises. Furthermore, Abram's name is changed to Abraham so as to further bring home this idea of "new responsibility, new relationship & new destiny" that I talked of yesterday. Great. One could even add, in a male dominated patriarchal society, "'nuff said." Yet for God in His goodness, it wasn't 'nuff said. He also turns to Sarai, and in some sense gives her equal billing as Abram. Yes, he shall be the father of nations and kings shall come from him, but she will be the mother of nations and kings shall come from her.
This is neither the first nor the last specific mention of the role of women in God's salvation covenant history. From a purely biological perspective, one could say "of course women are needed in the process," but it goes deeper than that. In this male-dominated patriarchal society of *human* origin, God breaks in and CHOOSES certain women BY NAME to have special place in his covenant purpose.
May we always see God as a God who "breaks in" to our arbitrarily established 'world,' for it is in this 'in-breaking' that His covenant purposes to reclaim a people for Himself moves forward.
cheers,
TM
Monday, March 2, 2009
Morning after thoughts, Lent 1
I continue to be struck this morning by the idea that being *IN* the covenant, IN the covenant relationship with God, means that God bears us no ill will. This has immense pastoral care significance, as one's frequent knee jerk reaction to the trials and tribulations of life is that perhaps "God is judging me for some particular sin in my life." On the one hand, this reaction can be understood--if from no other angle, at least the perfectly pragmatic angle that perhaps if I just get that one thing (whatever it is) straightened out, then God's judgment against me will cease.
Unfortunately, the problem with this line of thought is that it is based upon a theological fallacy. The judgment of God that awaits the non-believer is an eschatological event. It isn't currently happening, but *will* happen at the end of all time when Christ "comes again to judge the living and the dead. For the believer, it is also a theological fallacy to think that God is visiting judgment upon him or her for sin, as St. Paul tells us in Col 2:14: "He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." Hence, the trials and tribulations that occur in our lives are the trials and tribulations that occur in life .....given this fallen world we live in.
While it is a thought from a different liturgical season, the angels recognized that God was not at war with us when at the birth of Christ they sang: Glory to God in the highest and *peace* good will to man.
Cheers,
TM
Unfortunately, the problem with this line of thought is that it is based upon a theological fallacy. The judgment of God that awaits the non-believer is an eschatological event. It isn't currently happening, but *will* happen at the end of all time when Christ "comes again to judge the living and the dead. For the believer, it is also a theological fallacy to think that God is visiting judgment upon him or her for sin, as St. Paul tells us in Col 2:14: "He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross." Hence, the trials and tribulations that occur in our lives are the trials and tribulations that occur in life .....given this fallen world we live in.
While it is a thought from a different liturgical season, the angels recognized that God was not at war with us when at the birth of Christ they sang: Glory to God in the highest and *peace* good will to man.
Cheers,
TM
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