Out with the old, In with the new!

I am finding it very hard to believe that 2007 is almost over. In many ways this was one of my best years in recent memory, but at the end of the day I must say that very little in 2007 has gone the way I expected it to go.

So here's to high-lights, low-lights, and everything else that I can remember happening in 2007!

January - Started off as usual when I literally "rang" in the New Year at my home church by ringing the church bell a dozen or more times and totally annoying all the sleeping neighbors. Returned to Princeton to write papers and take finals before coming home again because my grandmother remained in the rehab unit. Then returned to Princeton to begin my last semester as an M.Div'er.

February - As far as I know nothing of great importance happened in February, at least in my little world. I even looked through my day planner and the most exciting thing I could find to remember was the "Fiscal Fitness Seminar" put on by the Board of Pensions. Not terribly exciting, but worth remembering because it was freezing inside Stuart Hall that morning (Feb. 3) and I sat with a scarf wrapped around my legs. Remember Jenny?

March - This month was much more eventful. On the 2nd I preached in Miller Chapel at Princeton Theological Seminary thus completing some strange right of passage for PTS seniors (for those of you who didn't do this you weren't missing all that much). Then a week later Noah, Jenny, and I left for Scotland to visit Josh. We had such a wonderful time, so wonderful in fact that Noah and I got to stay an extra day and Jenny an extra two (or three) days all because of weather (American not Scottish). The 30th was also my third and final Gold Patrons Party on fourth Alex. A good time was had by all!

April - Just as boring as February. Really nothing of note. On Palm Sunday I went to Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City and was treated to a particularly bad sermon. Holy Week was filled with wonderful services, probably my last on that side of the pulpit! And towards the end of the month my home church also had to fire our pastor because of a rapidly deteriorating situation. The last Sunday of April I was privileged to hear Avery Cardinal Dulles speak at Princeton University - I never cease to be amazed at the opportunities I had there!

May - Saw the end of my seminary career and the long good-bye to a wonderful place and wonderful people who helped me grow in ways I never thought possible. We gathered for Baccalaureate on the 18th at the historic Nassau Presbyterian Church and then for Commencement on the 19th at the Chapel of Princeton University. Before that we finished papers and finals and then lounged for two weeks attempting to put into words all the experiences we had together, which I found out cannot be done in whole or in part. We spent a lot of time at bars and on the quad drinking, perhaps to forget much of what we had gone through, but we made it through together. My family came for the festivities and we left quietly on a Sunday morning, the sun shining brilliantly, to return to Ohio and my past.

June - After adjusting to life in Ohio I was also forced to adjust to Lutheran liturgy as I served St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Bedford and St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baltic for the month. It was a good month and I am glad to have some ecumenical street cred now.

July - On the first I began my current gig, temporary supply pastor of the Fredericksburg Presbyterian Church. After a rough start we've moved on to calmer waters. I started to meet a lot of new people and find out what solo ministry is really all about.

August - Another dreadfully boring month, though that was helped by the fact that we got high-speed cable internet service at home and I was finally able to update my blog.

September - The month of angst. For the first time since 1987 I didn't go back to school. I thought I wouldn't make it for a while, but I did, and all has been well ever since. Though I miss school and my friends and the structure and the opportunities, I have adjusted. Also: Jenny found my blog, I celebrated my 26th birthday, I participated in my first funeral, and the Buckeyes continued their winning streak!

October - Churches actually started contacting me to see if I was interested in them! The change in seasons helped me to realize that the changes in my life were for the better. The trustees cleaned the steeple at Fredericksburg (without me). I also had my first solo funeral for a woman I never met and didn't know. October was also pastor appreciation month, and boy was I appreciated!

November - I headed to Louisville to interview with a PNC from Tennesee (kind of rhymes!). Though I ultimately decided not to pursue further conversation with this church it was a great experience. I continued to have more phone interviews and some turned out to be very bad experiences, while others were very helpful and enlightening. The temperature continued to drop and we finally had snow! I preached my first Thanksgiving sermon for a community service - From Heavenly Manna to Stove-Top Stuffing. Thanksgiving was really great, especially since this was the first Thanksgiving I was home for in three years. Needless to say it was markedly different from last year when I spent Turkey Day in NYC at the Macy's Parade and a crowded apartment in Princeton with 15 friends!

December - Still more interviews and phone conversations, only this time I think I may have found a match. We will continue the process in the new year, but hopefully things will work out. The big news was my conflict over Advent/Christmas music and the ensuing issues of worship in the Presbyterian Church. It was also determined, again, that I am a Calvinist. Christmas Eve saw me preaching my first Christmas Eve services (that's right there were two) and then being totally drained for Christmas day, but having a tremendously fun time nonetheless!

And now we come to the last day of 2007, indeed the last hours are upon us. Despite the great changes of 2007 I can say it was a good year. I can also say that I am now even more ready for 2008 and even more big changes which are in store. Bring it on!

Thought o' the day:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
- Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Peace out!

What a day!

What a day today! I had intended to only go to the office for a half day today, but I ended up going much earlier than I had wanted (I was there by 10, usually I'm there at 9 or before) and I stayed late. So much for a lighter week.

As soon as I got to the office this morning I had to turn around and leave for Canton to see a parishioner in the hospital there, a 68 mile round trip later I was back in the 'Burg with mounting piles of work on my desk. Arggghhh! I wasn't even gone that long because the guy I went to see really wasn't up for a visit (see it pays to check before you go) and so I only stayed about five minutes, then prayed with him and left.

The bright spot of the trip however was a bill-board I saw for Starbucks on my way in. So on the way back to the church I got off the highway and found my way to a large no water chai latte, the first I've had since leaving Princeton in May. It was so good. When I got back to the church I told the secretary that the only thing that could make this day better was if Jesus Christ himself came back to earth!

On a more serious note, the death of Benazir Bhutto is certain to only add fuel to an already tense situation in Pakistan and that part of the world. I think that it is hard for many Americans to understand the situation (I know I don't) especially when you see people rioting in the streets. Most people find that distasteful. (Side note I once asked the church I'm serving how many of them had ever gone to a real protest, either to observe or protest, and I kid you not, of about 85 people only one man had gone to a protest when he was in college, and he had found it distasteful too!) I guess when we see images of people running around shooting guns and starting fires and turning over cars we think that those people aren't civilised. (Anyone who has that perceptions should take a trip to Ohio State some weekend after the football team wins (or looses) and see the student riots there. They usually don't have guns though and only set couches and dumpsters on fire.) Hopefully this will force the Islamic world, and indeed, the larger world to condemn this sort of political violence and all violence. - Don't read into that last remark too much, I'm no pacifist.

In other news today I set up my new alarm clock that I got for Christmas and it works like a charm. I got a lot of "practical" gifts for Christmas this year, like a crock pot, a nice new blanket, a really cool teapot, and the alarm clock. My parents said it is for when I finally set-up "house keeping" whatever that means.

I was talking to my secretary today about Wal-Mart. Now I don't have that much against Wal-Mart. Their prices are great, but I don't like the fact that so much of their stuff comes from China. I'm also not thrilled about their labor and insurance practices, but that's another post altogether. Anyhow she was telling me about a local town that had a Super Wal-Mart, but it apparently wasn't big enough so they built a new, bigger Super Wal-Mart right behind the old one, and when the new one was finished they razed the old one. That makes me wonder what a bigger Super Wal-Mart is called? An Uber Wal-Mart???

On a side note my senile grandmother has always and still does call it Wal-Mark for some odd reason.

Nothing terribly theological in today's post. I didn't have to write a sermon this week so I haven't been in theology mode much this week.

Peace out.

Thought o' the day: Even if Christmas isn't all that biblical it's still fun to give and get presents!

Not that "wonderful time" yet...

I have struggled throughout Advent this year. I have struggled with the whole concept of Advent. It is not biblical to be sure (for that fact neither is Christmas) but it is a tremendous time for the church and it can be very helpful for peoples' faith journeys.

I struggle with the fact that I don't want to celebrate Advent or even Christmas in church. Most good Presbyterians throughout history would object to these days as "papal" or "innovations" which have no place in the church. I kind of want to agree with them. On the other hand I see how marketers and businessmen have taken over Christmas and used it. Used it badly to their advantage so that the bottom line at the end of the year is in the black. How is it we celebrate the Saviour's birth and our subsequent freedom from sin by becoming enslaved to debt? Part of me wants to just rip Christmas out of the greedy hands of all those who only look at it as a time of profit, and reclaim Christmas for the church, but then another part of me wants to throw it away altogether.

Since most Presbyterians (at least of the PCUSA variety) now fully accept Advent and Christmas we do the Advent and Christmas things in church. Monday evening, for instance, I will lead my first ever Christmas Eve worship services. I am a little nervous, but mostly because there will be a lot of people there and I won't know all of them.

On Christmas Eve we will also sing all the great Christmas Hymns (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing being my favorite) for the first time this season. I have run into my first real test and controversy as a pastor with regards to the music we have sung during Advent. The congregation wanted to sing the Christmas hymns all through Advent. I disagreed, because Advent is a time of preparation, and I really tried to emphasize that through my sermons and Sunday School lessons, but I'm not sure it has stuck with them. Anyhow we've been singing good music, but I know that hate it because it isn't Joy to the World or Away in a Manger. I really thought I picked great Advent music (People Look East, Comfort, Comfort You My People, Lift Up Your Heads Ye Mighty Gates, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Saviour of the Nations Come, Come Thou Judge of Quick and Dead, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and Come Thou Long Expected Jesus) but no one seems to be much interested. I have to admit I've been hard-nosed about the whole thing, refusing to budge more than giving them a hymn-sing 15 minutes before worship one morning when they could sing Christmas carols if they so wanted. And I even managed to boycott that under the guise of "preparation" for the service!

In the end I know I am right theologically, but I also know I have hurt people. Try as I might to explain my position (which was also badly damaged by my off-hand remark that I didn't think it appropriate to put a Christmas tree in the sanctuary) they have rebuffed my well-reasoned arguments with passionate pleas for Christmas hymns. They just want to sing carols. Some have told me flat out "I don't feel in the Christmas spirit yet because we haven't sung _______ in worship." To which I wanted to reply "You're not supposed to be in the Christmas spirit, you're supposed to be preparing for the Christmas spirit!" See how much the secular celebrations have infiltrated even the church! So I am at a loss.

One bright spot has been a lady who has been coming to the church for a couple of years now. She isn't a member (yet) and she came out of a free church/Campbellite church (Church of Christ) which never did Advent. She has been intrigued by Advent and has really enjoyed the Sunday School lessons and sermons. I don't think she's cracked up about the music but she is giving it a try with all her might and she tells me about her experiences, so I am thrilled that she is having a good experience with Advent.

Should I have caved and let them sing? Or was I right to hold my ground? I guess at the end of the day I was willing to hold my ground not so much primarily for theological reasons (though they are very important to me) but because I wanted power and this was the one thing I was able to completely control. I felt I was able to burn bridges because I know I'm not staying at this charge much longer. I honestly don't know if I would have behaved differently if this was my permanent call...

Any one have anything to add?

Peace out and almost Merry Christmas.

Thought o' the day: maybe I should have just let the organist pick the music!

Surprise, Surprise...

Interesting results of an on-line quiz on Eucharistic Theology.

Eucharistic theology created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Calvin You are John Calvin. You seek to be faithful to Scripture, and to harmonize difficult sayings. You believe that in the Lord's Supper those who have faith are united to Christ, who is present spiritually, yet in a real way. Calvin 100% Zwingli 69% Orthodox 69% Luther 44% Catholic 0% Unitarian 0%

Who would have guessed?

Excitement!

Lots of news to report today, especially since it has been awhile since my last post.

1. It snowed last week! Bunches! I even took a couple of pictures of part of our back-yard for your viewing enjoyment (well mostly for Jenny's viewing enjoyment because I know just how much she misses snow what with being in California and all this year and not Princeton). The above picture is about 6 inches of snow in our backyard.

2. I finished all my Christmas shopping on-line tonight. What a relief.

3. Even though I'm a Rockefeller-Republican I think I may be supporting Mike Huckabee in the 2008 election.

4. Since new readers here at Confessions of a Double-Predestinarian are few and far between, we warmly welcome Benjamin Glaser to the reading community!

5. My sermon on Sunday, which I had fully anticipated bombing, actually went quite well and I had a lot of good responses to it. So it goes to figure...

Thought o' the day: What's on your list?