Last night, my wife and I went to our favorite restaurant for dinner before seeing what might have been the longest play in history. We always go to this restaurant before plays. It’s our tradition. Recently, they got a new chef. And the menu changed. It didn’t change that much, but enough that we noticed….
Category: PCUSA
penny: (noun) a coin or a unit of money equal to 1/100 of a dollar; origin: before 12th century, middle english from old english
At yesterday’s Ash Wednesday service, in an old train station with twinkling lights, I got a penny and ashes. Did you know that the cosmos and everything that exists, all matter, all of it, at one point, could fit onto the eye of President Lincoln on a penny? I didn’t. But it did. And it…
wednesday: (adverb) the day of the week between tuesday and thursday; origin: middle english
Today is Ash Wednesday. I haven’t gone to an Ash Wednesday service in several years. Which, lots of people find shocking considering that I work for quite a large church with lots of services. I haven’t gone because finding a balance between working for the church and being part of the church has been almost…
hurt: (verb) to inflict with physical pain; to do substantial or material harm to; to cause emotional pain or anguish to; to suffer pain or grief; origin: 13th century, middle english
About 2 months ago, I found myself sitting in a community center in a meeting room, at a table with about 10 other people, talking about my faith story and some of my experiences. As I came to a particular part of my story, I found my throat closing up, my eyes becoming blurred, and…
progressive: (adjective) moving forward; happening or developing gradually over a period of time; using or interested in new modern ideas; origin: first known use of progressive: circa 1612
For the last three days I have been attending the Progressive Youth Ministry Conference held at Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago, IL. As the inaugural event there were highs and lows. First off, let me be clear, no conference is perfect. What is important about a conference is that it helps bring about change…
limbo: (noun) a place or state of restraint or confinement; a place or state of neglect or oblivion; an intermediate or transitional place or state; a state of uncertainty; origin: 14th century; middle english, derived from medieval latin
Yesterday an article came out by Carol Howard Merritt on the Christian Century website and made its way around the Facebook inter webs. Last week, I discovered I failed another Bible Trivia Content Exam. What happened you ask? Oh, I blanked. I blanked big time. I mean, I was incapable of telling the story of…
Dying Dead Sea
This post was originally begun on January 12, while we were still in Jerusalem, just outside of the Old City. After working on a draft I decided against publishing any longer until I had returned to the States. You’ll find out why later. I have left part of it in its original format and added…
ugliness: (adjective) frightful, dire; likely to cause inconvenience or discomfort; morally offensive or objectionable; origin: 13th century; middle english
The last time I went public with my thoughts (I’m not counting Facebook or Twitter), was back in April. I had some hard decisions to make. After that last post I ended up making one of the hardest decisions I ever had to. I decided to leave the job I was working at and move…
decision: (noun) the act of or need for making up one’s mind; resolution; origin: 1425-75; late middle english
My job requires me to make a lot of decisions. A lot. These decisions range from what color to order of bandannas and shirts for the camp store, from who to hire for the summer, all the way from how to start dispersing with the camp things like canoes, kitchen equipment, etc. I make a…
ordination: (noun) a decreeing; origin: 1350-1400; middle english
For the third time, I find myself beginning to study for my Theological Competence Exam, and my second for the Polity Exam, for the PCUSA. The first time I took these tests, back in August of 2011 and Jaunary 2012, respectively I was excited and nervous; emotions about taking these tests that I had prepared for my entire…
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