A ROARING GOOD TIME

I had the priviledge of helping host the 2010 Junior High Conference Youth Rally, this past weekend. It was a tonne of work - most of it rewarding, some quite frustrating. My joy is that I suspect that this rally was a wonderful experience for the youth and adults, alike. It was moving, fun, exhausting and spirit-filled.

OPEN MY EYES

I just got back from the eye doctor.

I have kept up with family tradition and have come to need reading glasses in my mid to late forties. It was exactly the same with both of my parents. A week from now, I can ditch the cheap pharmacy 1.5+ glasses for my own prescription.

I suppose I have been a bit of an anomaly going almost five decades with only my God-given eyes to help me see the world. I certain was a bit odd, not seeing an optometrist for more than three decades.

Vision is such a key sense. And those of us who know good vision can too often take it for granted. I went through a few weeks as the year was changing where my eyes were messed up - trouble seeing distances and then bouncing the other way to having trouble up close. They finally settled back to "normal" which is my new normal of having reading glasses.

Vision is also a powerful metaphor: not just physical sight, but insight and imagination - of dreams and hopes and plans and possibilities. I pray that my eyes may be opened in this metaphysical sense, even as I begin my walk with corrective lenses. I hope to see the call of God, the ministry of Christ, before me.

Open my eyes, that I may see!

LYRICS

Beyond Belief from "Open Hand"
Jesus - called me hypocrite.
When I said that I believe
He said, how can you follow me
Without a willingness to leave

Leave the gates and the passwords,
Known by just your kind
Walk beyond the divisions that religions always finds
And BE the mercy, my people need the peace
This fight over faith won't bring them relief
I love them beyond belief

Jesus - called me a hypocrite,
When I said I'd spread the word
He said, how can you teach of love
Unless you live what you have heard

Hear the hearts of the people, crying out in pain
Pain caused by dominion, and fighting in my name - my
So, BE the mercy, my people need the peace
This fight over faith won't bring them relief
I love them beyond belief

Jesus - called me a hypocrite,
When I said that I was saved
He said, how will your soul be judged
With all the judgments you have made

Faith can't be your fortress, arrogant with pride
Come walk here beside me with the humble ones outside
And BE the mercy, all my people need the peace
This fight over faith won't bring them relief
I love them beyond belief

Jesus called me to be the mercy

Credits: David Wilcox 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f514o3GuxzA

LENT

Longing for the Spirit
Enriching my faith
Nourished by God's living water
Trying to walk Jesus' Way

WILDERNESS: READY OR NOT HERE I COME

I am feeling a bit cheated.

I have been in Saskatchewan for 10 days so far, attending the Ministry of Supervision training course. St. David's has applied to be a learning site for a student minister and this training will allow me to take on the role of supervising that student. The timing of this event has meant that I am here for the start of start of the season of Lent. Today is Ash Wednesday.

It also means that I was here for Shrove Tuesday. I know that the people of St. David's would have enjoyed the fruits of the Men's Club's labours with the annual pancake supper last night. I was expecting to be with them in spirit, here at the Prairie CHRISTIAN Training Centre. I was prepared for the succulent smell of sausages and pancake and syrup as I made my way into the dining room ...

But my senses gave me a different message. None of the smells fit. It was Swiss Steak! [I was not aware that the Swiss liked their steak tough and tasteless] How is it supposed to be "Mardi Gras" (FAT Tuesday), if I don't even clear my plate?

Am I ready to head into the wilderness of Lent, without the "usual" preparation. I still have hungers to fed and yet, I am invited out into the unknown - to wrestle with the most basic questions of life. How should I live?

Thanks be to God, that I am not alone.

Ready or not, here I come!

SNOWMAGEDDON

I learned a new word this morning when I turned on CNN. Washington DC is snowed in and the news spin is bringing up images of the apocolypse. Not the traditional fire and brimstone, but snow and ice.

I must admit that, as I sit in a motel room in Regina, basking in the minus 20 Celsius prairie sunshine, that I laughed a bit at the reporter, who was standing on the already melted sidewalk with no sign of a visible winter breath. But I quickly move to a more compassionate attitude. What is familiar to me, is foreign to them. Not that either of us normally has it better or worse, but that we have grown comfortable with what we experienced most. I have been out of my comfort zone on more than one occasion - and so, I have empathy for those people who may feel that mother nature or father god is moving against them.

But "snowmageddon"?

Un-necessary extremes have a comical purpose, but I submit that we must not let ourselves lose track of the opportunities for growth that come with abiding with the unfamiliar.

PLANNING AHEAD

I enjoyed the Sunday morning service. It was nice to sit and sing and worship without having to plan. St. David's has a long history of recognizing that their clergy are well served by having Sundays to rest and maybe worship elsewhere. A few times a year (above and beyond holidays and study leave) I am given this opportunity. This past Sunday, I worshipped with Devon United Church. It was a familiar place - I now many people and they know me. It was nice and enriching. Thank you DUC!

Then quickly my mind fast forwarded to the next major season of the church year: Lent. So on Monday afternoon, I began planning - looking at the Lectionary readings, thinking about music and staring to outline themes and sermons. I find it helpful to plan a whole season at a time, so I had six Sundays before me between Ash Wednesday up to Palm Sunday.

Lent One will come up fast, as I will be away from Feb 8th to 18th learning how best to be a ministry supervisor. St. David's has applied to be a learning site and hopes to host a student intern in the fall. I will only have three days after I get back before the first Sunday of Lent is here. So an outline is essential - first of all for the church secretary who will need an order of service for the bulletin, but for me so that I can be thinking about the details while I am away.

Add to that the first wedding of 2010 that same weekend and planning ahead will hopefully make my like easier.

I have been down this road enough times, not to assume that all is done ahead of time. Things change and need to be open to change. I can plan the trip, lay out the route, but travelling it is another thing all together. I hope I am surprised along the way and will have need (opportunity) to adjust what has already been planned. That's life and it is good.