Songs for Christmas

If you think about it, blogging is an act of giving. So, in my last post of 2008, I give you a special gift, Sufjan Stevens Christmas songs. These songs come from Sufjan's excellent Christmas box set, Songs for Christmas. Watch the video for "Put the Lights on the Tree" or download two fantastic original Christmas songs, "Sister Winter" and "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever," by right clicking on the links and saving them.

Merry Christmas! See you on Wednesdays in 2009.

Princeton Young Adult Conference

Princeton Seminary is holding a conference on ministering to young adults (especially those aged 18-29) on May 14-16, 2009. Jeffrey Arnett and Rodger Nishioka will be the lecturers. Contact either this site or (609) 497-7914 for more information.

East Regional APCE

The East Regional APCE will be held April 27-29 in Chambersburg. The keynote speaker wil be the Rev. Dr. Joyce Ann Meyer. The theme will be "We Can't Talk About That!" For more information, contact Deb at dmadden@fpcal.pa.net. Mark your calendars!

New Advent Resource

Better late than never. Tired of the commercialization of Christmas? Economy forcing you to tighten your belt this year? A new Advent resource called Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?: Ideas for a Christ-Centered Holiday arrived today from Alternatives for Simple Living.org. This simple pamphlet contains ideas on how to transform your celebration of Christmas from rushing to the mall to a simpler, more meaningful holiday. Order it here or check it out from us today!

NOOMA Tomato

The latest offering in the NOOMA DVD series explores one of the hard sayings of Jesus, “Whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Mt. 10:39) Rob observes that there is a part of us that has to be right, needs to look good, wants to be admired, and wants to win. We spend a lot of mental energy trying to maintain this image of ourselves. He argues that it is precisely this false self that Jesus calls on to die. Most of us refuse to die to these false selves, but Jesus calls us to die to them so we can truly live.

Watch a preview below.

12 Tips for a Low Carbon Christmas

The NCC has just released a list of 12 recommendations to make this Christmas a low carbon Christmas. How many can you implement this year?

Looking to Simplify your Advent?

Tired of spending time in malls during Advent? Looking for a way to simplfy your life and catch a deep breath of peace this Christmas? Help has arrived. Instead of tracking down a gift for someone who really doesn't need it, give a gift in honor of your loved one to someone who really needs a gift this Christmas. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has downloadable and printable cards on their website ready to be given to the people on your list. The cards read:

A gift has been sent in your honor to
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

May the knowledge of this gift
and God’s gift of love
fill you with peace during this
special season
and in the New Year to come.

Advent Wreath Lighting, With a Green Twist

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light has a free and fun Advent Wreath lighting liturgy online. Instead of lighting Advent candles, "Preparing for a New Light: Caring for God's Creation during Advent" leads participants to replace old lightbulbs with energy saving ones. After you have replaced the old bulb, the study then describes different benefits to God's creation of doing so. Go ahead and "light a candle and change a bulb" this holiday season! Click here to go to the study.

An Author Among Us

Our very own Barb Chalfant has an article in the new issue of the APCE Advocate. Her article, entitled "Like in a potter's workshop, we are reclaimed, recycled, renewed, remade," discusses how the Christian life lived out by Reformed Christians resembles the process of working with clay on a potter's wheel. Nice work, Barb!

New Immigration DVD

The Resource Center has just acquired a new video about immigration. Dying to Live puts a human face on the immigration debate. It asks, who are these people who are crossing our southern border? The 33 minute DVD discusses the issues that cause migrants to make the difficult decision to try to enter the United States and follows them as they make the difficult journey through the harsh landscape of the American Southwest. The film was made by Daniel Groody, a theologian at the University of Notre Dame. It has aired on PBS. I highly recommended it. Watch clips of the film here.

The Moderator Has a Blog

The current Moderator of the PC(USA), Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, makes the following provocative statement on his personal blog. "I believe that the cultural, social and technological shifts that are happening in the world are the most pressing issues facing the church." Bruce is the pastor of a new church development in San Francisco. He is interested in moving the church beyond the tired, old conservative/liberal paradigm for being church. He wants the church to face the future and the changes that are happening in the culture. If you would like to read his frequent reflections on his time as Moderator, including what he is finding in the church as he travels and his vision for the church, you can read his blog here.

Ministry in Cities

One of the more interesting books the Resource Center has acquired recently is Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence by Bryan Stone and Claire Wolfteich. The book grew out of a Lilly funded study on urban pastoral excellence conducted at the Boston University School of Theology. The book explores practices that sustain ministers working in urban contexts. Two that are highlighted are cultivating friendships and finding practices of re-creation and renewal. The authors do a nice job of highlighting the significance of place in one's ministry, how it shapes the focus of ministry and how it shapes the practice of one's own spirituality. Read a review here.

Advent Candle-Lighting Liturgy

The Winter 2008-9 issue of Ideas! for Church Leaders contains an Advent Candle-Lighting Liturgy, ready to be used in your church this holiday season.

New Advent Study

The Thoughtful Christian has released a new four session Advent study called "Advent Through the Eyes of Those Who Waited." It explores the four characters we meet in the lectionary who exemplify the waiting we will do this Advent, including Isaiah, John the Baptist, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth.

Advent Study

A resource that would pair well with What Would Jesus Buy? is the 6-session study from We Believe called Keep It Simple and Sacred: Alternatives for Advent and Christmas. This study is designed for small groups of young adults, but I think it would work well as a discussion starter for lots of folks. Available now!

Selling Out

It turns out that Bonhoeffer is not representative of the German church as a whole during World War 2. If you would like to have a discussion of religion and politics that focuses on Christian accomodation to political power, check out the DVD Theologians Under Hitler. Click here to read a review. Click here to watch a preview. In stock now!

Religion and Politics

If the lesson plans on religion and politics that I shared on September 3 and 8 do not appeal to you, Adam Hamilton has just released a five-session DVD study on faith and politics. Click here if you would like to see video previews of each session. This resource is now in stock, just in time for the height of the campaign season!

Online Liturgical Prayers

Need help writing liturgical prayers? Help has arrived. I discovered recently that Cokesbury publishes free, online liturgy for every Sunday of the liturgical year. The site is called Cokesbury's Worship Connection. Check it out.

Fair Trade Bible Study

Now in stock! Looking for an engaging Fall Bible Study? A PC(USA) related group called Partners for Just Trade has just released a six-part Bible Study called “Fair Trade: Using Our Purchasing Power for Justice and Hope.” Fair Trade is a model of international commerce that ensures farmers and workers in developing countries receive a just price for their products, which helps them compete in the global marketplace and promote development in their financially strapped communities. The study walks readers through the principles of Fair Trade by means of personal narration, Biblical passages and questions for reader reflection.

While Your College Students Are Away

How can your church stay connected with college students while they are away at school? Click here for a handout with 24 helpful suggestions.

Confused About Young Adults Today?

Attracting young adults is an ongoing concern for most churches. But how do we attract a group of people we really don't understand? Robert Wuthnow's latest book, After the Baby Boomers, is an in-depth sociological analysis of the religious practices of people under the age of 40. The main image he uses to describe this group is "tinkerers."

From the first chapter, "A tinkerer puts together a life from whatever skills, ideas, and resources that are readily at hand. In a culture like ours, where higher education and professional training are valued, tinkering may have negative connotations. But it should not. Tinkerers are the most resourceful people in any era. If specialized skills are required, they have them. When they need help from experts, they seek it. But they do not rely on only one way of doing things. Their approach to life is practical. They get things done, and usually this happens by improvising, by piecing together an idea from here, a skill from there, and a contact from somewhere else. "

If you would like to read the first chapter of Wuthnow's book, click here. If you would like to read more, we have this book in our collection.

Christians & Government

Want to dig deeper into the relationship between Christian faith and government? Try this free five-session study written by Vera K. White and published by the National Council of Churches. It contains scripture lessons to focus on, lists of materials needed, and plenty of questions for discussion.

Christians and Voting

The veeps have been announced, and the nominees have been celebrated at their respective conventions. The fall campaign is on! Though it is a touchy subject in most of our churches, voting is something we all need to think about theologically. "How Should Christians Vote?" is a one session adult Sunday School lesson plan from The Thoughtful Christian that addresses voting. What could be timelier?

Mission Conference for 2009

Looking for an opportunity to teach your youth about mission next summer? The New Wilmington Mission Conference may be just what you're looking for. The dates for the summer of 2009 are July 18-25. For more information, including podcasts of their 2008 conference, click here.

NOOMA Rich

One of the best and most popular NOOMA DVDs is "Rich." In this one, Rob reminds Americans of the abundance in their lives and encourages them to share the resources they have. It is a great resource that can be used to teach stewardship or an alternative approach to Christmas gift giving and receiving. Watch the entire video in its entirety by clicking here.

NOOMA She

The newest installment of the NOOMA series, "She," has just been released. The topic of this one is gender. Using a variety of scriptural references, Rob explains that the biblical authors used images of motherhood to describe God's nature and that we need to utlize these images ourselves to get a more well rounded picture of the God of scripture. He does not break any new ground theologically, but if feminine images of God sound strange to you, you owe it to yourself to watch this 13 minute video.

Bonus! If you would like to watch the entire DVD from the convenience of your own computer, preview "She" by clicking here. Enjoy!

I ordered two copies for the Resource Center today. They should be here next week.

Animated Bible DVDs

Over the summer, the Resource Center invested in a set of 24 animated Bible DVDs from Nest Family Entertainment. Watch below for a preview of the Ruth DVD.

Blessing of Backpacks

Stephen Choi called me on Wednesday looking for a liturgy to use to bless backpacks of children before they head back to school. What a great idea! This is a very signicant transition point in a child's life, and it is appropriate that the church bless it. Here is one blessing I found that you can use the Sunday before your children head back to school. (You need to tell the kids to bring their backpacks the Sunday prior to the Sunday that you actaully bless them.)

Teacher Training

Looking for a new way to train teachers for your church school? Tired of hearing that folks don't think they know enough about the Bible to teach? A new resource has arrived. Five North American Reformed denominations (including the PCUSA) got together and developed curricula to train teachers. And it's free! Click here for more information, or watch the short youtube clip below explaining the program. Feel free to contact me for more information.

Putting a Face on the Immigration Debate

On May 14, I mentioned that if I got a chance to see a new film called The Visitor, I would post a review. I finally caught it this weekend at the West Shore Theatre. The main character, Walter Vale, is a mid-career college professor at a small Connecticut college whose wife has died. He slips into depression over her passing and is living on autopilot. When he is sent by his department chair on an errand to New York, he discovers a couple living in the apartment he has owned for 25 years but not visited since his wife's death.

The couple he finds living there are illegal immigrants. After Walter allows them to stay a few days until they can find a new place, Walter is slowly brought out of his shell in his relationship with this young couple.

This a very touching movie. It thoughtfully depicts both the positive things we gain from interacting with those who are different from ourselves and how fragile life can be for those living among us without legal status.

One side of the immigration debate in this country is adamant that those who have entered this country illegally have broken the law. This film shows what a loss it is to lose those who have such potential to enrich our lives. It should be out on DVD this fall and would definitely make a fascinating discussion starter on how to address the broken immigration system we currently have in place in this country.

Planning a Mission Trip for Next Summer?

Thinking of taking youth or adults on a mission trip next summer? Not sure where to begin? Don Richter has written a new book on this topic that was well reviewed by the Christian Century. The book explores why to go, aspects of going on these trips that contribute to their transformative impact, and tips for planning a trip. This book is available today at your Presbytery Resource Center.

New Curriculum for Children

A new resource for children has just arrived in the Resource Center. Around the Moringa Tree: A Bible Study Curriculum is a five session study that introduces children to how Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and the Presbyterian Hunger Program use our One Great Hour of Sharing contributions to address hunger in Africa. The Resource Center received the program booklet. If you order the resource from the PCUSA, you also receive a DVD with the booklet for $10. Feel free to stop by and check out this new curriculum to see if it will work at your church.

Use NOOMA with Youth This Fall

Kelly Wiant-Thralls at Market Square Church has used the NOOMA DVDs quite successfully with her senior high Sunday School class. She has used the videos entitled Rhythm, Luggage, Lump, Name, Rich, and Sunday and gotten great responses from her group. She even has prepared lesson plans for each of these and is willing to share. Plan your fall around NOOMA!

Fair Trade Bible Study

Looking for an engaging Fall Bible Study? A PC(USA) related group called Partners for Just Trade has just released a six-part Bible Study called “Fair Trade: Using Our Purchasing Power for Justice and Hope.” Fair Trade is a model of international commerce that ensures farmers and workers in developing countries receive a just price for their products, which helps them compete in the global marketplace and promote development in their financially strapped communities. The study walks readers through the principles of Fair Trade by means of personal narration, Biblical passages and questions for reader reflection. The table of contents for all six sessions can be viewed here. A sample session can be accessed here. The entire study can be downloaded for $5 here.

A New NOOMA

A new NOOMA DVD has arrived at the Resource Center. This one is entitled "Shells." This NOOMA deals with our use of time. The stories in the Gospels reveal that Jesus did not do it all. He did not heal every sick person. He did not meet every need or preach every possible sermon. After a busy day of healing, Luke records that Jesus went off by himself to pray. Rob preaches, "Busyness is a drug that many people are addicted to." He asks, "Where are you focusing your God-given energies?" This 11 minute DVD is another excellent discussion starter from Rob Bell.

Top Borrower for June

We have a new Top Borrower at the Resource Center. For the month of June, Rebecca Wertime wrestled the title from one of our presbytery's most avid readers, John Barlow. Congratulations Rebecca! I hope you put those seven Kerygma resources to good use. Teach those Presbyterians the Bible!

Bible Study Idea

Kathy Kuhn (of Camp Hill Church) used The Lucy Show Bible Study for an adult VBS program this summer. And her over-50 crowd loved it! This study weaves together clips from the show, scripture, and questions for discussion. Consider this resource as you plan fall curriculum.

Celebrating the 4th

I grew up in an evangelical church in a small town. One Sunday when I was home for summer vacation during seminary, a member of the church choir sang "God Bless the USA" by Lee Greenwood as the offertory selection. As the accompanment track started up, I slumped down in my seat and started squirming.

Ever since that moment, I have thought about how Christians should celebrate patriotic holidays. Diversity abounds. Growing up in my home church, active duty military wore their uniforms on patriotic Sundays like the Fourth and Memorial Day and were recognized from the pulpit. This, thankfully, is not a practice that all churches follow. (Personally, I see this as a direct affront to the gospel. Have these Christians not read the Sermon on the Mount?)

Not to be left out in patriotic displays, the PCUSA has several patriotic songs in the "National Songs" section of the blue hymnal. Both "My Country, Tis of Thee" (561) and "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies" (564) are available for incorporation into your lituries for July 6.

"America! America! God mend thy every flaw." One reason diversity exists in the celebration of patriotic holidays in this country is because of what the flag represents to different people. Is America primarily a city on a hill, a defender of human rights, and a land of the free? Or is it a nation that often fails to live up to these ideals in its foreign policy, is governed by its own interests rather than the common good of the human family, and a nation that wages war for oil? Do we acknowledge our corporate sins as a nation? Or do see only the victories and sacrifices that have built this vibrant democratic society?

A deeper reason is that many compartmentalize their religion. For most of us, religion is a private matter. While we affirm our beliefs together in the form of the Creed every Sunday morning, things get fuzzy when we read passages of scripture than relate our personal life to the lives of others. Reinhold Niebuhr was right. Human beings are sinners. Too often our public morality is governed by what favors our interests rather than what the life and teachings of Jesus would have us do. Glossing over our own pride and selfishness can give us a blindspot to those behaviors in our nation.

How should we celebrate? Should we sit out all celebrations and look down on those that do? Should we arrange a display of red, white, and blue flowers in front of our houses and plant mini-American flags among them? Should we give up on what America stands for (or used to stand for)? Or should we call the nation to repent and fight for equality and dignity for all people?

One thing we all should do is take the day off, have a cookout, and discuss these issues with our family and friends.

(I recommend reading Ted A. Smith's essay on celebrating the 4th in the current Christian Century.)

Religious Tolerance: What Does It Mean?

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released some interesting survey results this week. One question asked by pollsters was whether many different religions can lead to eternal life. To this question, 79% of Catholics, 72% of Orthodox, and 66% of Protestants agreed that religions different from one's own could lead to eternal life.

In reference to this question, I can imagine someone from my home church (from the Baptist tradition) replying that such a tolerant view of other faiths directly contradicts Jesus' words in the the gospel of John that state "no one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) To someone from this perspective, this means that only Christians (those who confess Christ) will inherit eternal life. Yet the article states that 57% of evangelical Christians accept that other religions can lead to eternal life.

Catholics since Vatican 2 affirm this verse from John, but at the same time acknowledge that salvation can be achieved outside the church for those faithfully practicing other faiths. How? Because Christ is at work in the other faith. This is partly what is meant by the concept of the "anonymous Christian."

Though the survey does not report a figure for mainline Protestants specifically, the number that affirm the statement must be higher than 66%. What does it mean that more than two thirds of us do not believe that salvation is only for Christians?

Perhaps it means that many of us are interpreting scripture in light of its historical context. For instance, Marcus Borg theorizes that the words attributed to Jesus in John 14 reflect a concern among early Christians in the Johannine community that Jewish Christians will drift back to the synagogue.

Or perhaps the tolerance of other faiths is an example of an eclectic approach to religious life seen most readily in the "spiritual but not religious" crowd. Perhaps we mainliners are more secular than we realize. Perhaps the increasingly diverse makeup of our communities, the easy availability of information from all parts of the world, and growing acceptance of otherness of all kinds has made us less dogmatic. Perhaps we are interpreting scripture through this lens. The question is, should we? And, at the same time, how can we not?

New Merton Documentary

There's a new Merton documentary! Morgan Atkinson's film, entitled Soul Searching: The Journey of Thomas Merton, was released on DVD in 2007. Because Merton's life is so rich, this is welcome news. The first Merton documentary, Paul Wilkes' Merton: A Film Biography (1984), was true to its title. Beginning with his early life in France and England, it traces Merton's life from Cambridge, to Columbia, to Gethsemani, to his interests in peace and civil rights, to his interest in Asian religions, and finally to his tragic death in Bangkok while attending an interfaith monastic conference. Along the way, it interviews various people close to Merton to give the viewer a sense of Merton's significance and greatness.

Soul Searching attempts to tell the same story with very similar methods (and even some of the same talking heads). The first obvious improvement is the quality of the picture and visual imagery. In a scene in A Film Biography displaying undergraduates partying in Cambridge that is supposed to give the viewer a sense of Merton's wild days, what really comes through is how bad women's haircuts were in the 80s. Soul Searching does not suffer from this problem. One of the best parts about Soul Searching is the manner in which it uses footage of different settings in which Merton lived (including footage of New York in the 1930s, the inside of Gethsemani as well as its rural grounds, photos of the novices he taught as Novice Master, and the hermitage where he lived in the 60s) to give the viewer a sense of the world in which he lived.

One of the problems with Soul Searching is the scant attention it gives to several important aspects of his life. It does not pick up his story until he reaches Columbia University. One of the important issues in his life is his constant search for home. (This yearning for home was manifest later in his life in his search to find his true vocation.) Leaving out how he got to Columbia does not the give the viewer a sense of how important this quest was in his life. In addition, it spends too little time on his interests in Christian mysticism, peace, civil rights, and especially the Asian contemplative traditions.

One theme Soul Searching develops that A Film Biography leaves out is Merton's romantic feelings for a young nurse who cared for him in a Louisville hospital while recovering from back surgery. I guess this means that I have not read his journals from this period, but this section of the DVD was a part of Merton's story that was new to me. It helped to humanize Merton the mystic, prophet, and saint.

Overall, Soul Searching is very much worth seeing. I wish there was a way to make a documentary about someone like Merton other than splicing together (sometimes without enough attention paid to transitions) the comments of an uneven assortment of talking heads, but I guess most viewers would not be able to sit through a narrator reading from his books for an hour. It's not perfect, but it is another very good introduction to one of the most important Christian voices of the 20th century, one that still speaks very much to our time.

Climate Change Resoures

One of the biggest issues facing the human family these days is climate change. Here are a few resources to help your church address this complex issue.

1.) A Moral Climate: The Ethics of Global Warming by Michael Northcott. In his review of this book in the Christian Century, Sam Wells called this book "the outstanding book in the field."

2.) "Global Climate Change: Facts and Resources" from The Thoughtful Christian. This study can be downloaded for $10 here.

3.) Serve God Save the Planet by J. Matthew Sleeth.

4.) The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life. This book is a collection of essays from one of America's leading voices on the environment.

5.) An Inconvenient Truth. Love him or hate him, this documentary featuring Al Gore is entertaining and extremely educational.

A Creative Idea

Our newest educator is taking a creative approach to Sunday School curriculum this summer. Cheryl Goode at Pine Street is using The Gospel According to the Simpsons curriculum to teach the youth class. You go Cheryl!

Your Favorite New Prayer Book

This book of prayers is in the tradition of Walter Rauschenbusch's For God and the People: Prayers of the Social Awakening. The editors have assembled a fine collection of prayers from a wide variety of Christian authors that address concrete social concerns. I plan on using Stanley Hauerwas' prayer "For America" in the service I will be leading on July 6.

Does God Care about the Poor?

Bono, frontman of the Irish rock band U2, thinks so. Check out this short sermon he preached in a decidedly non-church setting. (If you are in a hurry, fast forward to the 3 minute mark.)

Study Bible Showdown

A friend asked me recently which study Bible I recommend. There are newer options available than my red Oxford NRSV Study Bible, so I thought I would solicit the wisdom of my learned readers to help me advise my friend. I will even narrow it down for you. Do you prefer the Harper Collins Study Bible or the New Interpreter's Study Bible? (Please vote by leaving a comment.)

Top Borrower for May

It was a close race, but we do have a clear winner. John Barlow is the Resource Center's Top Borrower for the month of May. Congratulations John! What makes this even sweeter is that John has won this meritorious designation two months in a row. (John, we recommend that you list this prestigious award on your CV.) We salute you, John, for your commitment to loving God with your mind. We also salute you for returning items in a timely fashion.

One of the important questions facing this presbytery is who can unseat John in the month of June. Who will wrestle this illustrious title from his able grasp?

Sitting at the Master's Feet

One of our Christian educators, Debby Madden, has written a very creative piece in the summer issue of Advocate. Her article, "Spiritual Discipline: The Year I Didn't Buy Shoes," describes a yearlong spiritual discipline she took up in 2006. Jesus said, "Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt. 6:21) She discovered that her love of shoes had become the treasure of her heart. They had, in her words, "become a god to me."

The article recounts how difficult it was for her not to buy a pair of shoes for an entire year. Some may dismiss Deb's discipline because of her admission that she already owned 137 pairs of shoes before she started. Those who look deeper will see a challenge to uncover what is the treasure of their heart. What they will find is a challenge to remove whatever it is that impedes their relationship with God.

DVD Study Promo

Are you looking for an adult education resource from a progressive perspective? Living the Questions is a high quality DVD resource featuring many of the most significant voices in progressive Christianity. Click here to view sample clips from this exciting resource.

Bible Study Resources

The "For Today" series is a great series of books that can be used to lead bible studies or book discussion groups. The books are current. Chapters are compact and concise. Discussion questions are found at the end of each chapter. The series includes volumes on the Beatitudes, Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Life of Jesus. Check one out today!

Another Immigration Resource

A feature film addressing the immigration issue is playing at a local theater. The critically acclaimed film The Visitor is playing in Harrisburg at the Midtown Cinema. Showtimes can be found by clicking here. If I have a chance to see it this weekend, I will post a review next week.

Resources on the Immigration Issue

Immigration is a huge concern these days. In our culture, different interests are lined up on opposite sides of the debate. Below are a few resources to help your congregation sort out this complex issue.

1.) Debating Immigration, edited by Carol M. Swain. This collection of 18 essays on the immigration debate explores the issue from the perspectives of religion, law and policy, economics and demographics, and race.

2.) Immigrant America: A Portrait by Alejandro Portes and Ruben Rumbaut. Recognized for its superb portrayal of immigration and immigrant life in the US, this book probes the dynamics of immigrant politics, examining questions of identity and loyalty among newcomers, and explores the psychological consequences of varying modes of migration and acculturation.

3.) Vicki Lantz at Second Carlisle is tackling the issue this month. Kudos to Vicki for taking this on. We look forward to hearing about your experience.

4.) David True is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Wilson College in Chambersburg and a member of Carlisle Presbytery. Dave is very interested in this topic. He taught a class at Wilson on it this spring and is giving a paper on it at the American Academy of Religion meeting in the fall. He made a very interesting presentation on the topic in the fall of 2007 at Market Square Church.

And the Winnner Is...

The Top Borrower at the presbytery Resource Center for the month of April is John Barlow. Congratulations John! Since we could not find a picture of you, we celebrate your achievement with an image of a true American hero.

My Two Cents on Preaching

I have heard (and preached) a few sermons in my day. Below are my current thoughts on the art of proclamation.

A sermon needs to have a point. Retelling the scripture lesson is not a sermon. A series of random thoughts which include an incident from the preacher's life, something he or she has read in a commentary, a piece of news, and a quote from the Christian Century is not a sermon. A sermon without a clear point is vague and leaves the hearer wondering what the point of the sermon actually was.

There are several possible points that can be developed in each scripture passage. Pick one.

A sermon needs to have a story. Please don't obtain this story from a book of illustrations. Unearth something from your reading. Or, mine your own life. Pay attention to your day. Live with the text. What is God saying to you this week in coversation with this text?

A sermon is different from an essay or an article. It does not develop a point. A sermon illustrates the point the preacher is trying to make. I like to think of a sermon as having four scenes. The different scenes include the point of the sermon, the connection of your point with the text, a good story, and a bit of nuance that comes from something the preacher has read in a commentary, theology text, or novel. The creativity comes in as the preacher arranges the four scenes to fit the message of the day.

Caring for Children as Spiritual Practice

Caring for and raising children is an extremely demanding job. One of the many difficulties it raises is finding the time to practice one's spirituality. If we think of the spiritual life in terms of silence and solitude, does this mean that parents with children must postpone life with God until the kids have left the nest? Renowned practical theologian Bonnie Miller-McLemore's newest book examines how parents can reconceptualize the spiritual life to find God in the midst of all the demands of life with children.

The difficulty of this work is that it is targeted at a group of people who have little time to read! I think this book can serve as the basis of a fantastic study for parents at your church.

Pray as You Go

Looking for something to help you practice your spirituality, but simply too busy to find five minutes of quiet time? If you have an mp3 player, the Jesuits of Great Britain offer an incredible resource at http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/. This site has free, downloadable audio files for each weekday. The files contain soothing music, a scripture lesson, and a questions to help you reflect on the passage. Perfect for commuters and other busy people who need to take their spirituality with them (rather than leaving it at home).

Need Some Help with Spiritual Formation?

Do you think that your congregation needs to work on spiritual formation? Do you feel inadequate leading groups in spiritual practices? The Office of Spiritual Formation has your back. Their publication Lord, Teach Us to Pray is a very good resource that teaches you in very simple terms how to teach and lead groups in simple spiritual practices.

Preaching and Personal Experience

In her book Preaching as Testimony, Anna Carter Florence contends that preachers today recognize that they are living in a different world and that the rules of preaching have changed. They're just not sure what they are. She claims that in this new world, the history of women’s modes of preaching is especially relevant. In her study of the history of women’s preaching, she discovered that women have been preaching for a long time (as early as 1636 in America). Since they were not able to do so as ordained preachers until relatively recently, they gave "testimonies" rather than sermons. What does "testimony" mean to Florence? In short, testimony refers to the incorporation of human experience into proclamation. As she states in the Introduction, "Preaching in the tradition of testimony offers us a view of what it takes to become a preacher and to be a preacher: by rooting ourselves so deeply in text and context that we embody the Word we proclaim–and must testify to what we have seen and believed. Preaching in the testimony tradition calls us to live in and live out the Word of God."

Florence is not primarily concerned with the practice of "giving one's testimony." She is interested in redefining the task of preaching away from the crafting of a message toward living in the text and reporting one's experience with it. Those who have a problem with personal stories from the pulpit and those who think personal narrative enhances the communication of the Gospel will find an able dialogue partner in Florence. Highly recommended for all who preach.

The Thoughtful Christian

There when you need it. Whether it's Saturday and you really need a Sunday School lesson or you are simply looking for timely education materials on topics such as the impact of video games on children, The Thoughtful Christian is a great place to look. I just finished reading the lesson on Celtic Christianity and think it would be a very interesting and engaging session for adults. (Thanks to Cindy Sproat at MSPC for the sample.)

For the Bible Tells Me So

I saw the powerful documentary For the Bible Tells Me So in a packed Market Square Presbyterian Church sanctuary on January 25, 2008. It has now been released on DVD. The filmmaker, Daniel Karslake, is a native of Camp Hill. The film has two overarching themes. First, it explores the experiences of five Christian families and their journeys to accept a gay family member. Second, it uses interviews with biblical scholars and religious leaders to argue that Christian and Jewish discrimination of gays is based on a misinterpretation of the Bible. It is a wonderful film and highly recommended. Check it out today.