Kansas, here I come

Having been hugged, kissed, anointed, blessed, fed, and otherwise gracefully saturated with love from friends in L.A. over this past week, I now begin the drive eastward thru Nevada, Utah, and Colorado en route to Missioner ministry in Kansas :-)

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Location:4th St,Santa Monica,United States

Power from letting "it" happen

"He pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts about life and career. 'For me, it's all about power versus force,' he says, peering out over the inlet. 'Force is any time you try to do something, and power is when you let it happen.'"*

I'm not familiar with 'JJ' Grey or his band Mofro, but this songwriter's quotable remark struck a chord with me as I fly back to Los Angeles to gather my belongings, say farewell to friends there, and begin a drive thru Nevada, Utah, and Colorado en route to my new home (and life) in Kansas... being welcomed by new friends to a new ministry.

Rather than interpreting his words with a resignation of an exhausted pacifist, I hear in them knowledge of an inspiring strength that emerges from surrender to a creative process beyond our individual force of will.

Coupled with impressions left on my heart from this morning's Gospel reading (Jesus reaching out to a faithful woman, releasing her from all that has ailed her for 18 years), the idea that power is unleashed when you let "it" (read: new life in Christ) happen is nourishing food for this next leg of the journey.

Create in me a clean heart, oh God; and renew a right spirit within me. :-)

_______
*Citrone, John E. "Florida Son" [an interview with singer/songwriter John 'JJ' Grey]. (American Way: Aug 15, 2010).









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Location:Unnamed Rd,Irving,United States

goin' back to Cali

flying 2 final wk n CA b4 driving back 2 KS. hoping 4 grace-filled 'good bye 4 now's this week :-)
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Location:Beirut Cir,Kansas City,United States

The Perils of 'Wannabe Cool' Christianity (WSJ article)

As I embark on this next leg of my vocational journey as Campus Missioner, this pithy WSJ article caught my eye.  At heart, it seems to me that any 'traditional' or 'emergent styles' of church and worship should facilitate a deep relationship with God and neighbor.  And, before that, we'll do well to ask ourselves, over and over, why we are seeking to deepen our relation to God and neighbor... and practice honestly listening to the answers that emerge in different phases of our discipleship.  From there, we can begin drawing from the richness of our liturgical heritage (ancient and modern) to help cultivate those sublime worship experiences that help us get lost in 'opportune time', nourishing us with mystery that remains relevant, as well as challenge us constructively by propositions that, while sometimes seemingly counter intuitive, seem to make more and more sense as we gather life experience. 

• HOUSES OF WORSHIP
• AUGUST 13, 2010

The Perils of 'Wannabe Cool' Christianity

By BRETT MCCRACKEN

..."And the further irony," he adds, "is that the younger generations who are less impressed by whiz-bang technology, who often see through what is slick and glitzy, and who have been on the receiving end of enough marketing to nauseate them, are as likely to walk away from these oh-so-relevant churches as to walk into them." If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that "cool Christianity" is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don't want cool as much as we want real. If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

Arrival well timed in KS

Upon arrival in Manhattan, KS today to begin my search for housing, I was greeted with a number of Facebook and text messages from caring friends alerting that today is, in fact, the 71st anniversary of the original release of the Wizard of OZ... oh what perfect timing, Toto :-)

If you're a human being you've likely watched Judy Garland and friends skipping down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City at least once or at most a billion times in the last seven decades. So join us in wishing the film a very happy birthday. To celebrate the 71st anniversary of its original release (did you notice the Google tribute?), we've collected some thoughts on and memories of the film from the Cinematical team....

follow the yellow brick road...

now heading to manhattan,KS to hunt for housing... crammin' ruby slippers into carry on :-)

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Location:3rd Street Promenade,Santa Monica,United States

Clicking my heels... I'm headed to Kansas

It's now official, Toto... we're headed to Manhattan.  Manhattan, Kansas, that is! to serve as Campus Missioner on Bishop Wolfe's team in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.  As hard as it is to leave Oz/LaLa, we look forward with inspiration and hope -- with God's help, we're building bridges in Christ's name.

The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways.

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Congregations Gone Wild

By G. JEFFREY MacDONALD

Published: August 7, 2010

"THE American clergy is suffering from burnout, several new studies show. And part of the problem, as researchers have observed, is that pastors work too much. Many of them need vacations, it’s true. But there’s a more fundamental problem that no amount of rest and relaxation can help solve: congregational pressure to forsake one’s highest calling. The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them...."

Hmmmm....

waking up again in LaLa

waking up again in Oz/LaLa... 

rubbing my eyes and reflecting on the wonder of the last few days in Kansas.

Loving Spirit, help keep my heart and mind alive with your inspiration, and guide me in this discernment.

Mo. Gwynne launches a new interfaith initiative

Mo. Gwynne launches a new interfaith initiative

I am pleased to announce that The Guibord Center - Religion Inside Out is in formation and will be housed at St. John's Cathedral. The Center has declared as its mission:

To bring people together to challenge assumptions, unleash the Holy, and affirm the faith that transforms the World.

We chose this mission because religion, once a common way of making sense of the world and connecting to beliefs and a code of ethics that unite us, has become perceived as a jumble of justifications that are used to separate and injure those deemed "other." In our dangerously conflicted and rapidly changing world, we urgently need to weave a fabric of firsthand knowledge of different faith traditions into our society. Our ability to hear each other's religious voices without fear and intolerance will bring faith back to the public square in a meaningful and balanced way. At the same time, many of us crave more knowledge about our own spirituality and faith. By looking at our faith through the eyes of other faith groups, we can learn and grow. The Center will offer an educational template for what could become a national path to better understanding of what makes each of us an important part of the whole. Our mission will be fulfilled through mutual discovery, broad and interactive dialogue, shared study and story-telling, and the dynamic discovery of the Holy through experiences of faithful exploration, education and practice together. Our inaugural event is scheduled for February, 2011, and the entire St. John's family is invited. I will be telling you more about this new adventure in the weeks ahead. Your prayers will be deeply appreciated. Stay tuned!!

The Rev. Canon Dr. Gwynne Guibord

Founder and Executive Director

She is a trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. She is past President of the following boards: the Interreligious Council of Southern California; California Council of Churches; the National Board of The Interfaith Alliance; and Progressive Christians Uniting. Interfaith dialogues initiated by Dr. Guibord in Southern California include those with the Hindu community, the Sikh community and the Buddhist community. She is the co-founder and co-convener of the Christian - Muslim Consultative Group.... (http://www.firstchurchlb.com/Pilgrim/100620.html)

She is an award winning preacher and much sought after public speaker. She served as the Officer of Ecumenical and Interreligious Concerns for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles for six years. She currently is the Consultant for Interfaith Relations for the Episcopal Church USA. Concurrently Dr. Guibord is developing “The Guibord Center, Religion Inside Out” that will be housed at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral. (https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://cst.edu/pdf/ClaremontSchoolTheology_Brochure_final.pdf)

Discerning in the Diocese of Kansas

end of day #1 and no signs of Auntie Em, Dorothy, Toto, or Superman. but, I've already met some great folk here... looking forward to more conversations, exploring, and discernment tomorrow :-)

God calls each one of us. We ask, we wonder how God is inviting us to respond.

A nice, pithy ECUSA website about discerning 'call.'  Funny that I should happen across this 'after' my ordination :-)  ahhhhhh (relaxed sigh), there is humor with the Spirit...


God calls each one of us.  We ask, we wonder how God is inviting us to respond.  We wonder where the God we know through Jesus Christ is calling us to go, calling us to serve. We hear this often, but sometimes wonder whether it is true for those of us who are young and in the church. We wrestle with our relationships to our church, delightful and holy: frustrating and mysterious. This website is designed to begin to answer the spiritual and practical questions you might have and to introduce you to young church leaders, both lay and ordained, men and women.