oops!

'Twas a nice sunny day here today. ANd so I thought it was a good day to turn the fall leaves into the garden and loosen the soil.

HOwever I forgot something.

Later this afternoon,my head was itchy so I gave it a rub. Gee that hurt.

I should likely mention that the top of my head has a rather thin covering of hair. ANd yep, it appears that the skin got a bit too much sun.

I guess it is hat season.

But I also guess I should know better.

A Spirited Friday Five

Presbyterian Gal writes:
...it's Pentecost and my very first Friday Five! Thinking about all the gifts of the spirit and what Peter said of the "last days"......

Have you or anyone you know
1. ...ever experienced a prophesy (vision or dream) that came true? I routinely experience very vivid "deja vu" moments. The details are so clear, accurate, and precise that I'd say they fit this one. HOwever I never remember my dreams when I wake up.
2. ...dreamed of a stranger, then actually met them later? not that I recall.
3. ...seen a wonder in heaven? (including UFO's) Well what counts as a wonder. I have seen many awe-inspiring skies, featuring everything from sun, clouds, stars, moon, aurora borealis....
4. ...seen a "sign" on the earth? Well of course, I see them at every street corner. In the symbolic use though, I am not much into signs and omens.
5. ...experienced knowledge of another language without ever having studied it? Nope, even having studied them leave me doubtful at times...
Bonus Question: What would a modern day news coverage of the first Pentecost have sounded like? Good one. It would hype the sensationalism for sure (and the story is already pretty sensational don't you think?). But since it doesn't "bleed", the story would likely show up late in the newscast as a "on the lighter side" or "stranger things have happened" piece rather than during the "hard news" portion.

And So it Begins...

MAy is birthday month around here -- all three girls have birthdays this month (11, 15, 21). Up until now there have really been no parties.

But now the eldest has gotten old enough to know what birthday parties are so this year it was a must.

We have decided that we are doing a "Storytime Party" at the local library. Party day is next Thursday, with potentially more kids than there is really space for.

Wish us luck?

7 Years Ago -- Part A

7 years ago today I was sitting waiting for a phone call.

The Settlement Committee was meeting and this was the day I would get final news.

By now I had a sense of where the news would be (given some preliminary conversations with the chair of the committee before the meeting and a "first step" call during the meeting) but this call was the confirmation. Later that day I started doing research about my new home.

Pentecost Prep

Next Sunday is Pentecost, also called the "Birthday of the church".

As is begin to work towards a sermon on Spirit-Language, I encourage people to reflect on the meaning of being Spirit-filled. We live in an era where such language is often reserved for sports teams and fans. We live in an era where church is often seen as institutional and even bureaucratic rather than Spirit-filled and vibrant. What would it mean for the church to become more Spirit-led? Would we notice the difference? Might we be more flowing and variable?

This article discusses the way the church moved from being a Spirited and Spirit-led to a more institutional organization. Given that all organizations eventually move toward a more structured way of being it makes sense. But of course that isn't what the church is called to be -- at least in the minds of many.

Read This!

Until I read this post I had never heard of the Day of Silence. A good cause, unfortunately one that is being protested.

In the same line, MAy 17 is the International Day against Homophobia. The FAcebook event page for this day is here

An Old vs (Post)Modern Friday Five

Yesterday I had two separate conversations in which people were musing about how much change is occurring. The WW II generation, of which my mom is a part, went from horse and buggy to automobiles, saw the lessening, or even the end of many diseases, went from widespread use of kerosene lamps and outhouses (in the country, and most folks were rural)) to a totally electrified and plumbed society. The fastest means of communication was a telegraph. The second conversation--gulp--was about MY generation and how much change occurred in the last half of the 20th century. The person said his 13 year old had not seen a vinyl record album until a few days before, couldn't remember a time without cell phones, and on and on.
As for the questions!

1. What modern convenience/invention could you absolutely, positively not live without? Major appliances (fridge, stove, washer,dryer). Many other things would take a lot of readjusting but these would be very very difficult to lose.
2. What modern convenience/invention do you wish had never seen the light of day? Why? I think I would have to say the cell phone, and all that follwed from them. WHat is with this belief that we need to be available all the time? ANd why do we expect others to be always available? No wonder so many people are overworked.
3. Do you own a music-playing device older than a CD player? More than one? If so, do you use it (them)? The stereo has a dual cassette deck which is only used a very little bit. And the 11-year-old car (2nd vehicle) we just bought yesterday has AM/FM/cassette as a stereo so any trips in it will need tapes...
4. Do you find the rapid change in our world exciting, scary, a mix...or something else? Given those choices I would have to say a mix.
5. What did our forebears have that we have lost and you'd like to regain? Bonus points if you have a suggestion of how to begin that process. This is a tough one. It is so easy to over-romanticize the days of yore/bygone eras. But time. Time with each other I think has declined over the years. But this is osmething we do in fact have teh ability to control. It has to do with priorities. When I was a teen there were many nights in our house where 2 people eating supper at the same time was a bonus. But my parents decreed (to the slight objections of my sister and I) that Sunday night supper would be a family event. It was a good thing.

Earth Day

I dig your scientific minds but use them with care.

You're breaking down my ozone layer up in the air,

your hyped-up farming's turning southern soil into stone,

and some are eating meat while some don't even get bones.

I told you to be fruitful and you sure multiplied,

but the rich took all the land and never learned to divide, so...

Refrain:
Take, take off your shoes You're standing on Holy Ground.
Take, take off your shoes You're standing on Holy Ground.
The Earth is the Lord's And the fullness thereof
From the waters beneath To the heavens above,
So take, take, take off your shoes
You're standing on my Holy Ground,
You're standing on my Holy Ground.

Last Sunday I started the sermon by reading this song (refrain then all three verses). The chief question of the sermon that followed was "what would it mean to live as if we truly believed we were walking/living on Holy Ground?"

In the past much environmental rhetoric has pushed us to take care of the Earth because it would benefit us (or because failing to do so would hurt us). But I think eco-theology calls us to care for the Earth just to care for the Earth. It isn't ours after all.

The benefit and the challenge of this POV is that it relly pushes us to ask how far we go. IF we are only seeking what will benefit us most/cause least damage to us then we tend to stop when the cost/benfitof change balances out. If we are seeking to do what is best for the whole creation (which is a gift from God) then the cost/benefit analysis changes. True environmental change pushes us to make changes that will hurt. True change pushes us to pay real prices, to rethink our base assumptions about how the world works.

What does it mean to live as if we are on Holy Ground? Because we really are you know, n Holy Ground that is.

24 Hours

Yesterday I had the 24 hour flu. I had been told by the people who had it first that it really was a twenty-four hour bug. And so while I dealt with all the blech of the flu, I kept reminding myself that morning would come and I would feel a lot better.

This is certainly a strange way to start out a Friday Five but it made me think about what I might like to do if I knew it would only last for 24 hours. There are no reality boundaries to these imaginings. So here are the five things for you to consider...

1. If you could dramatically change your physical appearance for 24 hours, what would you do? the classic tall dark and handsome. Mainly to test and see if looking classically attractive really changes how one acts and how others react to you.
2. If you could live in another place for 24 hours where would you go? Oh so many places spring to mind. Some positive, some negative. How to choose?
3. You get to do somebody else's job for a day... President of the US, like many others I have dreams about what I would love to accomplish with that sort of influence. Mind you I also have the realism (or cynicism) to know that the chances of accomplishing great things in 1 day or even 1 term are low.
4. Spend the day with another person from anywhere in time and space... Again, so many choices. ANd if you add in fictional characters it gets even harder... I think Gandhi. Honestly that is the first name that jumped into my mind.
5. A magical power is yours. Which one would you pick? The ability to speed up, slow down or freeze time. Just because it sounds like fun.

GO! VOTE NOW!

This conference of the UCCAn is having a fundraiser for the Mission & Service Fund. THE fundraiser is called the 7 Wonders of the COnference. For the last while foks have been invited to submit nominations.

Now the voting begins. Votes are $5 a piece for the M&S fund. This is certainly a case of "vote early, vote often" since there is no limit on how often one may vote. SOme plans for vote-stuffing have already been discussed by some nominees/nominators.

Check it out, information about how to vote is available at the link.