Confession and Commitment

I've been beating myself up about my lack of regularity in blogging.  I had good intentions when I started, but I have to confess I have trouble thinking of topics.  Don't get me wrong; I have lots of thoughts, feelings and opinions.  But they come and go pretty quickly from my innerweb and I never seem to hold on to them long enough to share them with the outerweb. At best, I call or text a friend and talk.  Sometime's I can get up a good tweet, but that's about it.  

It was in one of those conversations with a friend where I found the solution.  She asked me rather off handedly, "So, what weird thing are you reading or watching right now?"   And as I told her what I was reading, she gave me a look with which I'm familiar:  the that-is-weird-and-I-don't-know-why-anyone-would-watch/read-that-but-it-is-interesting look.  And I realized I had found a purpose for my blog. I don't know if I have any particular gifts for understanding literature or film, but I do have an insatiable curiosity.  And somehow, even though it often seems random to others, the pieces fit together in remarkable ways.

Here's the commitment:  I'm going to start blogging more often about all the "weird things I'm reading or watching."  If you want to know what I do in my "off" time and how I put it all together in my head, this will be the place.  Right now I'm reading Camus' The Plague, watching Rush on TV, and recently saw the Veronica Mars movie.  And if you come back in a few days, I'll explain to you how they all fit together.

Wordling My Sermonings

I've recently fallen in love with Wordle.   This tools allows you to copy a block of text, then it identifies the most used words and creates an image based on frequency.  You can then tailor the shape, color, font details.  I've been playing with my recent sermons and the results are enlightening.

Here's the Wordle for my most recent sermon:

Scan of printout--rotated

The text for the sermon was Hebrews 10:19-24.  Here it is in the NRSV:

¹⁹ Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³ Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, ²⁵ not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The interesting thing for me was discovering that while I thought I was focusing on the charge to "provoke one another" the word got the most emphasis was "encouragement."  And of course it is good to see that I mentioned "God" a lot !

If I ever get into a congregation with a projector and screen again, I'd love to use this tool to create a background for the sermon slide.  I think it would be provoking.
  
I'd love to hear if anyone else is using Wordle or one of the similar programs and how they are using it.

Evermore,

Mary-Lynn

Where Am I and What am I Doing?

A quick update:

Summer of 2013 has been extraordinarily busy here on the Jersey Shore.  In addition to my ongoing work as Assistant Coordinator for the Sandy Recovery Team of Monmouth Presbytery, I have taken a position as Temporary Interim Pastor of Ewing Presbyterian Church.  I also have been busy fulfilling my responsibilities as a member of the Presbytery's Committee on Ministry.   Blogging has really taken the back seat of a very large bus for me, but I wanted to let everyone know what I'm busy with and that I will be posting some more musings soon.  In the meantime, here are  some pictures of my new kitten to ooh and ahhh over:

It's hard to believe that he is 6 months old now.   That's my "Trouble Maker". 

"I Believe..." part 1

Every pastor I know has at some time had to write a statement of what s/he believes.  In the Presbyterian church they are called our "Statement of Faith".  It is a formal document, limited to one page, and required to cover such a diverse range of topics as the Trinity, Scripture, the Confessions, the Sacraments, the Church, and the Kingdom of God. The advice I was given when I first wrote one was "Don't just copy the Apostles' Creed--be yourself!  Oh, but don't leave anything else or say anything controversial."  Be yourself, but only within the box of orthodoxy.  Quite a feat to fit all that into one page. 


 I have a Statement of Faith which I revise occasionally, much labored over and available for all to see on my website.  It is a formal document, and I've always wanted to write something less structured, less formal and less confining.  A sort of informal list of what I believe.  I was looking at different posts on Tumblr and I was inspired by this post:

Who knew Audrey Hepburn could be inspirational as more than an actress and fashion icon? Although really, I should never be surprised when inspiration comes from unexpected places.  So tonight I've decided to start that list of what I believe.   It is incomplete.  It is informal.  And it feels wonderful to put it down at last! 


Here's my list so far:

I believe.....

....That it is more important to get things started than to get things perfect.


....That all humans were created to live and grow and learn from each other.


...That fear is the opposite of faith and the enemy of love.


...That it is greater to master the art of listening than the art of speaking.


...That God's love is real and demonstrated by Jesus Christ and specifically defined in 1 Corinthians 13 and that we are all called to imitate this love.



...That the idea of different races is offensive to God and the cause of some of the greatest evil in human history.


....That Church is a place we go to share ourselves and our experiences with others, not a place we go to find others who are just like ourselves.


....That none of us is perfect.

....That hierarchical thinking (ie, my suffering is greater than yours, or my injuries are nothing compared to yours, or your sins are greater than mine) is in itself sinful.  All of us are sinners.  All of us have troubles.  All of us are called to help each other, not to judge each other.  


....That playing games is fun in and of itself regardless of who wins.


....That it is as important to our development to learn how to lose and play again as it is for us to experience winning.


....That as trite as it is, children ARE our future.  Thus when we harm children or neglect them we are undermining the future of humanity.  


....That God's Kingdom will come and God's Will will be done.  However I think it will be a great surprise to all of us when that happens because I don't think anyone has truly imagined what the experience will be like.


....That I wish I'd said this:

That's what I've got so far.   I encourage everyone to start their own list--for clarity, for self discovery and yes, for fun!


Evermore and evermore,


Mary-Lynn

Letting Sleeping Dogs Lie

In case you've never seen it, here's the clip from "It's a Wonderful Life" I refer to in the below post.
Happy viewing!


Evermore and evermore,
Mary-Lynn

Ranting about Raving

(Warning: this is not pastoral, it's prophetic):

I'm starting to see vast parallels between the reaction to the coverage of the Supreme Court decisions and the reaction to Orson Welles' radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. 

Here's the hint--just because someone with an announcer voice says it doesn't make it true. And regardless of who is saying it, it is not the end of the world, I promise; I am 100% sure it is not the end of the world. I’ve read the Bible: you don’t have to worry about the world ending until you see plagues and rivers on fire and horsemen and such. How about we try something novel, like waiting and seeing how it actually affects us before we pack our bags and head for a camp in Idaho or someplace more remote, like Canada? Let see, that shouldn't be until about 2014, so let's all just calm the heck down before we all get collective aneurisms.

Now, for all of those friends who are declaring that they are going to "vote out all incumbents" I love you but I would hate myself it I didn’t point out 2 things.
# 1: We tried that in 2010 and look at the mess Congress is. Voting for someone just because they are against something doesn’t solve problems; it just guarantees that nothing gets done but fighting.
# 2: How about we try something really novel and educate ourselves about the issues, decide where we stand on them, and then vote for the people who best represent our view? I know it seems like a strange concept. I know it may sound like hard work, but that’s the how the system works best. At least that is what they taught me in 10th grade civics class. That’s where our power as citizens comes from; I suggest we calmly and thoughtfully exercise that power.

Every Frank Capra movie I’ve ever (which is every Capra movie) seen has a point where the powers-that-be try to stir up the mob for their own purposes and it all goes out of control. Think “It’s a Wonderful Life” when there is a run on the bank and the people go crazy demanding their money. How about we as educated people of conviction try to model ourselves on George Bailey in that scene and try to calm folks down instead of stirring up the mob with our fear and paranoia? If we join the mob we create the destruction of our society and our individual selves. Now more than ever it seems that society needs us to be calm and responsible citizens.
Ultimately, for people of faith, the future rests in God’s hands. Grace to you and Peace to you. Perhaps the words of Psalm 63 (NIV translation) will be of comfort to you:

You, God, are my God,

earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you, 

my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary 

and beheld your power and your glory. 

Because your love is better than life, 

my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live, 

and in your name I will lift up my hands. 

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; 

with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;

I think of you through the watches of the night. 

Because you are my help, 

I sing in the shadow of your wings. 

I cling to you; 

your right hand upholds me.

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; 

they will go down to the depths of the earth. 

They will be given over to the sword 

and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God;

all who swear by God will glory in him, 

while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Evermore and Evermore,
Mary-Lynn