The Bible and the Environment

Caring for the environment is all over the news these days. Going "green" is very fashionable. Leaders from all over the world are very concerned about climate change. What does our faith have to say about environmental issues?

The Resource Center has a book that is very helpful on the issues surrounding creation care. The book is called Earth-Wise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues. It was written by the highly respected evangelical scholar of environmental studies, Calvin DeWitt. This thin book would make a great resource for a book study or adult education series. Check it out today!

The Perfect Gift

If you're looking for a gift that you won't have to shop for, one that will simplify your life and makes someone else's better, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance(PDA) has your back. Click here to download Christmas cards from PDA that benefit missions around the world.

Advent is the Perfect Time for NOOMA

The NOOMA DVDs Rich, Shells, Noise, and Corner are perfect messages for the Advent season. Check one out today!

Advent Retreat

An Advent Retreat entitled "Waiting for Grace" will be held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Saturday, December 5 from 9-noon. St. Luke's is located at 8 East Keller Street in Mechanicsburg. The phone number is 717-766-5182. The brochure does not include a price, so I assume that it is free. For more information, email Melissa at roland.stock@juno.com.

Advent Consumerism

Looking to start a discussion about consumerism during Advent this year? The DVD What Would Jesus Buy? addresses our obsession with Christmas gift giving (and our resulting debt) in a fun and entertaining way. The video is a documentary about Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir's cross-country tour to save the souls of Americans from the evils of consumerism. Rev. Billy warns of a coming Shopocalypse (the end of humankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt.) The DVD is 90 minutes long, but you only need to watch a portion of it to start an important discussion about how shopping has become our principle Advent practice. Watch the trailer below.

Free DVD and Study Guides for The National Parks Documentary

On September 27, PBS broadcast The National Parks: America's Best Idea. As a proud outreach partner of this beautiful 12-hour portrait of our national parks, Earth Ministry is offering free downloads of two religious study guides to complement the film: a four-session Christian Education course (And God Saw That It Was Good), and a one-session interfaith course (Awakening the Spirit). By going to Earth Ministry's website, you can order a free DVD containing clips from the film that complement these adult education resources. Click here for more.

Looking for New Church Music?

Bifrost Arts is "a non-profit organization that exists to enrich the church and engage the world with beauty and truth. In Scandinavian mythology, the "bifrost" was the bridge connecting heaven and earth." They tour the country doing HymnSINGS of old Christian hymns set to contemporary arrangements. I saw them this summer in Harrisburg, and they were amazing. They sing old hymns accompanied by guitar, violin, cello, and whatever else people bring to make a joyful noise. They have a new CD of "hymns and spiritual songs" entitled "Come O Spirit!" It is excellent. Listen to two tracks from the album and order your own copy here. You can even download for free the complete folder of song sheets (lyrics, melody, and chords) for the album.

Did You Know

Did you know that less than 50% of lay women and men in PC(USA) churches read the Bible at least once a week? (The Bible August 2006 Survey)

The devotional reading of scripture is one of the central practices of Christian spiritual formation. Lectio Divina is a great method to help guide one in this type of reading. For a simple guide to the practice, click here.

One of My Favorite Authors

For many of us, there are a few writers of whom we read almost everything they write. For me, one of those authors is Stephanie Paulsell. A well respected scholar of Christian Spirituality, Paulsell also writes for ministers and lay readers. Her "Faith Matters" pieces in the Christian Century always stir my spirit. Check out her latest piece, a beautiful meditation on the advent of the fall season, here.

A Recommendation

I enjoy the very human portrayals of the work of ministry and life of the pastor in the essays of Lillian Daniel and Martin Copenhaver that appear in the Christian Century. These two authors have recently written a book together called This Odd and Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers that looks like a real yet hopeful look into this difficult but joy-filled calling.

A New Video Resource

The Resource Center has a new video resource that can transform the way you teach the parables of Jesus. It's called Modern Parables and it adapts six parables into short films. You can watch all six videos online by clicking here.

Centering Prayer Group in Mechanicsburg

A Centering Prayer group meets every Tuesday morning at 8:30 AM at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Mechanicsburg. I know from experience that they welcome Presbyterians. This group is a great introduction to Centering Prayer for those who want to check it out. It is also a great discipline to keep you focused on your spiritual practice. Check it out next Tuesday! For more information, you can call Melissa Stock at 697-6210.

Curriculum Sale!

Cokesbury is selling all of their curriculum at 50% off until July 31.

Giddyup!

Great Resource on Christian Practices

John Roberto has edited a fine new resource on religious practices. There have been a lot of theoretical pieces written on religious practices over the past decade. This resource takes a practical approach to Christian formation by breaking the Christian life down in to 12 essential practices. It is very practical. From the Introduction, "You will learn about each practice and its foundation in Scripture. You will discover a variety of practical suggestions for living the practice and how to make it an integral part of everyday life." There are even free online learning activities and study guides available.

Preview the new NOOMA online through Wednesday

You can watch the new NOOMA video entitled "Whirlwind" for the next 46 hours by clicking here.

Enjoy!

Great Youth Mission Trip Idea

Last week, I accompanied our youth group on their annual mission trip. We spent a week in Philadelphia participating in Broad Street Ministry's Summer Youth Immersion Program. It was an excellent experience. I highly recommend it.

From their website,

The summer immersion program begins with our regular Sunday evening worship service. Groups should arrive by 5 pm. We provide several days of service learning and opportunities for authentic relationship building with the people of Philadelphia. An effort will be made to take groups to different neighborhoods in the city and discuss poverty, homelessness, hunger, and health care all grounded within a theological framework. A particular goal will be to engage youth with the poor and disadvantaged who are trying to make a difference in their community through social action. Stereotypes will be broken not re-enforced. The week will end in a service of commissioning to send students back to their own communities where faithful transformation may continue.

Why your youth group should consider Broad Street's Summer Youth Program:

1.) It's close. No long van ride necessary. Our group took the train from Harrisburg.

2.) It's well run. Rev. Erika Funk, the staff of BSM, and their talented summer interns do an excellent job of leading, teaching, and inspiring young people.

3.) It's reasonably priced. The program costs $390 per person for the week.

4.) As a leader, you just have to get your youth to Philly. The BSM staff takes care of all the logistics and programming!

Spirituality Centers

Are you thinking about starting a spirituality center in your church? The Fall 2009 issue of Ideas for Church Leaders has a short, stimulating article on one church's experience of setting one up. Who knows, after reading these two pages, you may just be inspired to start creating one in your church.

Just Arrived

The new We Believe! curriculum has just arrived. Stop in to check out all the new changes to this popular curriculum.

Fall Book Study Option

If you are looking for a book to use for a fall book study (or just something to renew your spirit), here is my recommendation. Barbara Brown Taylor's latest book, An Altar in the World, is excellent. In it she shares 12 religious practices that are meaningful to her. Hers is not an otherworldly or monastic spirituality. Some of the practices she addresses included groundedness, Sabbath, and physical labor. As always, her prose is a joy to read. But what really grabbed me were her insights into life with God that made me put the book down to figure out how to incorporate them into my life. Highly recommended.

The Misunderstood Jew

I was on vacation last week and took along Amy-Jill Levine's The Misunderstood Jew. Levine is a Jewish New Testament scholar who teaches at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Because she is Jewish, she brings a different perspective to New Testament scholarship. Because of her background in rabbinical sources, she illuminates the Jewish context of Jesus' life and teachings. She also educates her Christian readers on interpretations of the text that are anti-Jewish. This is a fun and interesting read. I highly recommend it.

The Story of Stuff

Where does the stuff we buy come from? What happens to it when we're finished with it? This entertaining video addresses our extraction-production-consumption economy and why this process is not sustainable. I found out about it from this New York Times article. Showing this video would be a good way to talk to all groups (especially young ones) about consumption (where our treasure is) and creation care.

From the website:

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

Free VBS Curriculum

We have an extra copy of Camp EDGE, Cokesbury's 2009 VBS curriculum. I will give it to the first church in the presbytery of Carlisle that emails me requesting it.

Clergy Under 40 Conference at Montreat

If you are a PC(USA) clergy person under the age of 40, you are younger than the average Presbyterian in your church; you are online, energized, underpaid, frustrated, prophetic, misunderstood, innovative, post-modern, disillusioned, hopeful, all of the above....and perfect for this conference.

Connect with a community of young clergy for spiritual renewal, mutual encouragement, relevant workshops, and worship you don't have to lead.

Bruce will be there. Montreat June 8-11. For more info on alt7 2009, click here.


alt7 2009 from Montreat on Vimeo.

New NOOMA!

Many of us spend our lives striving for newer and better things, but have ceased to be grateful for our good gifts. Rob makes the point that it is in sharing with others that we actually receive what we seek through the acquisition of more stuff. Click here to watch a preview.

Spirituality and Fund-Raising

Spirituality and fund-raising. When I saw these two terms in the same phrase, I truly thought I had seen it all. Give credit to Henri Nouwen for making me a believer that they are not mutually exclusive. In a small booklet titled "The Spirituality of Fund-raising," Nouwen shares some powerful insights into fundraising. Some nuggests of wisdom include: Fundraising is a form of ministry in which we announce a vision and invite others into our mission, we need to ask our donors to participate in our vision and not just write us a check, we need to confront our fears of asking for money, and his invitation to explore whether our security is found in God or money. This is a truly powerful and insightful piece of writing. Make a note to read this before your next Stewardship campaign.

On Shelves Now: Calvin DVD

The Calvin DVD produced by Witherspoon Press to commemorate the 500th birthday of the great reformer has arrived. John Calvin: His Life and Legacy is an excellent introduction to the great Reformed theologian and pastor. Featuring excellent footage from Geneva and expert commentary from a variety of scholars such as Martin Marty, Brian Gerrish, and Richard Mouw, the hour long DVD contains chapters on Calvin's context, his views on God, the church, culture, and his legacy. I recommend viewing a chapter at a time in a Sunday School setting, followed by analysis and discussion, as a means of exploring Calvin's thought and continuing relevance. Study guides are available in the Extras section of the DVD. Watch a preview below.

Understanding Young Adults

Do you ever wonder how young adults approach religious faith today? If so, take a gander at my new article. It appears in the latest issue of Hungry Hearts: A Journal of Reformed Spirituality. Click here to read the article. What do you have to lose, it's only 2 pages long!

Princeton Youth Ministry Conference

Princeton Seminary is holding a youth ministry conference April 27-30. Click here for more information.

New Environmental Resources

We have three new environmental resources you should know about. The first is Earth-Wise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues. This short book looks at creation care from a biblical perspective. It includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter and is written by Calvin DeWitt, professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The second is simple pocket book called How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Christian? This fun little book gives plenty of suggestions of ways you can shrink your carbon footprint.

The third resource, Clean Water for All of God's Children, is a DVD that highlights the work of Living Waters for the World, a mission project of the Synod of Living Waters, that trains and equips mission teams to share the gift of clean water with communities in need.

Two Good Devotionals

We just received two books that would make excellent devotional reading this Lenten season. The first is entitled Alive to God in Jesus Christ. It is a basic 40 day, daily devotional written by Joseph Small. Small is the Director of Theology and Worship for the PC(USA).

The second is a book that highlights women's contributions to the spiritual heritage of Reformed Christians. In Trusted Voices: Spiritual Wisdom for Lost Generations of Women, Diane Karay Tripp lifts up twenty-five Reformed women whose stories have been forgotten, yet who offer spiritual wisdom pertinent to our lives today.

My Lenten Practice

Have you chosen a Lenten discipline yet? My advice to you is this, don't give something up this year. Add a practice instead. Because after Lent, if you give something up successfully, all you will have is a story to brag about. (Or, more likely, something to feel bad about not being able to sustain.) Will power is important, so let's channel into doing something that will add to your life once Lent is over.

My discipline this year is that I am going to engage in a time of examen every evening. In the examen, you simply share with God things you are thankful for, then things you are struggling with, and then talk to God about them. For a simple guide, go here or here. Engaging in this discipline will help you to begin "listening to your life" and learn to see God's presence in your everyday activities.

Whatever practice you choose, may God bless your discipline this Lenten season.

A Very Relevant Book

My first memory of the guy is how dignified he looked while walking his dogs. Louis Weeks was the president of Union-PSCE while I attended there. He certainly looked the part. Wasp-y. Distinguished looking grey hair parted on the side. Always dressed like he just stepped out of an Orvis catalogue. When I first saw him, I thought, man, this guy really looks the part.

It didn't take long for my initial positive impression to change to one of dissappointment. Maybe it was his thick southern accent. Or perhaps it was the fact that he never learned my name despite having met him many times. Or maybe it was how he ran the school. I can't remember exactly why he annoyed me so much, but I was definitely not a fan.

That's why my enthusiasm for his new book is so strange. It is strange because not only am I not a fan, I am even less fond of church administration. Let's face it, administration is not the reason anyone goes to seminary. This is not the call they are answering. "My child, please serve me...in endless committee meetings."

Yet, I have come to discover that this is what actual day to day ministry entails. Ministry consists of thousands of little decisions and projects that in the midst of them don't seem very holy or meaningful. These are the jobs that Weeks calls "scutwork" and the ones that he holds up as vital for church workers to reclaim.

For a nice teaser of Weeks' argument, check out his short piece in the January 27, 2009 issue of the Christian Century. The book this article is promoting is called All for God's Glory: Redeeming Church Scutwork. It is published by Alban.

VBS Open House

The Resource Center is hosting a VBS Open House on Tuesday, February 10 from 4 to 8 PM in the Resource Center. Come and see for yourself the PCUSA's Discovery Canyon, Cokesbury's Camp EDGE, Group's Rome: Paul and the Underground Church, Habitat for Humanity's Under Construction, and (if it gets here) Gospel Light's SonRock Kids Camp. One lucky church will win a free copy of Camp EDGE!

Watch NOOMA Flame Online Today!

The good people at NOOMA have put the entire Flame DVD online. Running time 11:07. I'm not sure how long it will last, so check it out soon. This a powerful one dealing with romantic and sexual love. Click here to watch.

Advice on Running Meetings

If there is one thing Presbyterians know, it's meetings. People are in and out of the Presbytery office for multiple meetings a day. And that's on top of all the meetings they have at their individual churches. A question that many who sit through these meetings have is whether their time is being used efficiently or not. Reid Hastie's New York Times article this week addresses how to run an effective meeting and use the time of everyone involved wisely. I can't think of a more timely topic for Presbyterians.

Lenten Preaching Help

Need some help getting ready to preach this Lenten season? The Presbytery of Carlisle has your back. On February 12 from 10 AM to noon at the presbytery office, Lancaster Seminary professor Julia O'Brien will be leading a seminar to help you think about some of the issues in the lectionary passages for Lent. Please call 717-737-6821 to RSVP. Click here to see a publicity flyer for the event.

Getting to Know Alban

Are you familiar with the Alban Institute? The Alban Institute is an independent center of learning and leadership development with a focus on congregations. Alban stands at the forefront of knowledge and experience regarding congregational vitality and positive trends across denominations and faith traditions.

The Presbytery has an Institutional Membership with Alban, which means that we get a copy of each of the practical, congregation-focused books they publish each year. If you need practical help on a congregational issue, chances are Alban has something for you. And your Presbytery Resource Center is the easiest place for you to access this wealth of useful information. Click here to see a list of new and forthcoming titles.