This week I'm working in Dallas (Tues.-Sat.) on ordination items from meeting with my covenant group to mentor meetings, and all points in between. I'm currently at the Bridewell Library at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. I LOVE this library! Thinking can be worship and this place is a beautiful church of that!
Anyway, it's nice to be in here working on something that isn't due next door tomorrow! (A nice change from school.)
Well, that's probably all the time for a break I've got but, stay strong, friends!
Keep the faith!
Joe
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
A Wesleyan Pilgrimage Part II (or, the adventures of a Calvinist and a Wesleyan)
So, this post iss a "bit later" than I intended it to be...(see A Wesleyan pilgrimage from earlier in the month).
After checking out East Lake and eating at an excellent Thai food place in Decatur, GA, Mr. Baer and I loaded up the Pontiac Vibe at 6:15 Thursday morning and hit the road! Our travels took us through Macon, GA and on into Savannah. I had never been to Savannah before and was quite excited to check it out. Unfortunately, the first thing that greeted us from Savannah wasn't the Intercostal Waterway, or the beautiful old buildings, or the incredibly charming squares, but the smell.
I'm talking a smell that was real bad. Not just bad, but terrible. There are all sorts of phrase that come to mind to describe it and, let's just say they involve something dying in a rectum of a large animal.
Fortunately, the smell didn't stay with us for the rest of the day.
After exiting the highway we found our way to Wesley Monumental UMC. Wesley Monumental was designed specifically to be a "catherdral" to John and Charles Wesley and size-wise, it certainly didn't disappoint. The church looked like it had the seating capacity for around 1200, or so, had a balcony and a recessed choir loft with what appeared to be a more recent pipe organ installation. (The nine-foot Steinway was pretty cool, too!) The distance from floor to ceiling was 43 feet. (That combined with all of the hard surfaces made for a really nice acoustical environment.)
The church was lovely but the ceiling was in obvious need of repair. I am continually struck by how very plain the great majority of Methodist churches are. They did have two pretty stained glass images of John and Charles with the dates they were in Savannah listed but that was really about it on the inside. (The church has two spires out front that are very impressive.)
All in all, it looks like a great place to sing. I was, I must say, pretty disappointed in one of the clergy members of the church. I had called him a few days before we left stating that I would be in Savannah and would love to chat with him for even just a few minutes about the church and any possibilities of having a choir sing there and he never called me back. If you won't return a call to a fellow clergy member, I can't imagine how you treat strangers in your community...Of course, when we got to the church every door was locked but a very gracious gentleman whom I assume had some connection to the church let us in as he saw us wandering about the outside.
It's a sad state of affairs when the church locks it's doors to the community. It is an even sadder commentary on things when you try to make an appointment just come in the church and the pastoral leadership won't even return your phone calls.
This lack of hospitality irritates me because we have a great many people who come to Travis Park and want to see the sanctuary and I am always honored to visit with them and to show them around. It's not like people are flocking to most down-town mainline Protestant churches these days, so if they call trying to make an appointment to come in, it couldn't hurt to return the call!
Oh well, anyway, Ryan and I then took the little self-guided tour of Wesley's sites (which include a square with a large statue of Wesley, several places where he lived, and the site of his first sermon, the text of which being I Corinthians 13) and had lunch on the Savannah River at Huey's (a New Orleans-style kinda place with good po-boys and bengiets).
After kicking it on the river for a bit we hopped back in the Vibe and drove to St. Simmons Island to check out Epworth-by-the-Sea, a 92 acre Methodist retreat center, replete with a motel, youth lodgings, softball and basketball areas, meeting rooms, and the largest annual conference museum dedicated to the Wesley's. We met with my new friend Tiffany and worked out a pretty sweet deal for things to come.
Following our time at Epworth-by-the-Sea (named after John and Charles boyhood home in old England) we set out to try to find a beach. After a several mis-guided attempts to find some sandals we came across a CVS and got directions from to the beach. The cashier at CVS, after giving me directions, promptly informed me that she "doesn't go to the beach." I found that to be really funny! If you live on an island and don't go to the beach, you've got a pretty narrow world-view, no?
On our way to the beach we stopped at the lighthouse on the island. This turned out to be a pretty cool stop because, for the low, low, price of $6 you can climb to the top of the lighthouse (104 feet later). I had never been in a lighthouse before. The view was incredible!
Well, to wrap this thing up, we finally found the beach and it was sweet! The water was cool but very tolerable for October. We soon split St. Simon's and headed back to Savannah and chilled a bit on Tybee Island before calling it a night.
The next morning we headed back to Atlanta and Ryan delivered an excellent sermon in the chapel at Columbia Seminary.
I think I would really enjoy the opportunity to go back to Savannah and really chill there for a few days. The weather was nice, the people friendly (except for the unnamed Methodist minister), and the architecture was fantastic!
After checking out East Lake and eating at an excellent Thai food place in Decatur, GA, Mr. Baer and I loaded up the Pontiac Vibe at 6:15 Thursday morning and hit the road! Our travels took us through Macon, GA and on into Savannah. I had never been to Savannah before and was quite excited to check it out. Unfortunately, the first thing that greeted us from Savannah wasn't the Intercostal Waterway, or the beautiful old buildings, or the incredibly charming squares, but the smell.
I'm talking a smell that was real bad. Not just bad, but terrible. There are all sorts of phrase that come to mind to describe it and, let's just say they involve something dying in a rectum of a large animal.
Fortunately, the smell didn't stay with us for the rest of the day.
After exiting the highway we found our way to Wesley Monumental UMC. Wesley Monumental was designed specifically to be a "catherdral" to John and Charles Wesley and size-wise, it certainly didn't disappoint. The church looked like it had the seating capacity for around 1200, or so, had a balcony and a recessed choir loft with what appeared to be a more recent pipe organ installation. (The nine-foot Steinway was pretty cool, too!) The distance from floor to ceiling was 43 feet. (That combined with all of the hard surfaces made for a really nice acoustical environment.)
The church was lovely but the ceiling was in obvious need of repair. I am continually struck by how very plain the great majority of Methodist churches are. They did have two pretty stained glass images of John and Charles with the dates they were in Savannah listed but that was really about it on the inside. (The church has two spires out front that are very impressive.)
All in all, it looks like a great place to sing. I was, I must say, pretty disappointed in one of the clergy members of the church. I had called him a few days before we left stating that I would be in Savannah and would love to chat with him for even just a few minutes about the church and any possibilities of having a choir sing there and he never called me back. If you won't return a call to a fellow clergy member, I can't imagine how you treat strangers in your community...Of course, when we got to the church every door was locked but a very gracious gentleman whom I assume had some connection to the church let us in as he saw us wandering about the outside.
It's a sad state of affairs when the church locks it's doors to the community. It is an even sadder commentary on things when you try to make an appointment just come in the church and the pastoral leadership won't even return your phone calls.
This lack of hospitality irritates me because we have a great many people who come to Travis Park and want to see the sanctuary and I am always honored to visit with them and to show them around. It's not like people are flocking to most down-town mainline Protestant churches these days, so if they call trying to make an appointment to come in, it couldn't hurt to return the call!
Oh well, anyway, Ryan and I then took the little self-guided tour of Wesley's sites (which include a square with a large statue of Wesley, several places where he lived, and the site of his first sermon, the text of which being I Corinthians 13) and had lunch on the Savannah River at Huey's (a New Orleans-style kinda place with good po-boys and bengiets).
After kicking it on the river for a bit we hopped back in the Vibe and drove to St. Simmons Island to check out Epworth-by-the-Sea, a 92 acre Methodist retreat center, replete with a motel, youth lodgings, softball and basketball areas, meeting rooms, and the largest annual conference museum dedicated to the Wesley's. We met with my new friend Tiffany and worked out a pretty sweet deal for things to come.
Following our time at Epworth-by-the-Sea (named after John and Charles boyhood home in old England) we set out to try to find a beach. After a several mis-guided attempts to find some sandals we came across a CVS and got directions from to the beach. The cashier at CVS, after giving me directions, promptly informed me that she "doesn't go to the beach." I found that to be really funny! If you live on an island and don't go to the beach, you've got a pretty narrow world-view, no?
On our way to the beach we stopped at the lighthouse on the island. This turned out to be a pretty cool stop because, for the low, low, price of $6 you can climb to the top of the lighthouse (104 feet later). I had never been in a lighthouse before. The view was incredible!
Well, to wrap this thing up, we finally found the beach and it was sweet! The water was cool but very tolerable for October. We soon split St. Simon's and headed back to Savannah and chilled a bit on Tybee Island before calling it a night.
The next morning we headed back to Atlanta and Ryan delivered an excellent sermon in the chapel at Columbia Seminary.
I think I would really enjoy the opportunity to go back to Savannah and really chill there for a few days. The weather was nice, the people friendly (except for the unnamed Methodist minister), and the architecture was fantastic!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Shane Claiborne: The Irresitable Revolution
I am reading The irresistible Revolution: Life as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne at the moment. The book is working on me in a big way. I'm only 1/2 though but I will be blogging more soon. In the interim, check out the link!
11:00 Liturgy
Below you will find this week's 11:00 order of service. Lovely material!
Travis Park UMC
Celebration Worship Service
Sunday, October 22nd, 2006
OPENING MUSIC:
The Presence of the Lord is Here
Holy Ground
Be Thou My Vision (LTQ arrangement)
WELCOME (Registration Pads) Rev. John Flowers
PRAYER OVER THE PRAYER CARDS Rev. Gene Hauser
Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying
A WITNESS TO TRANSFORMATION: Carlos Guadarrama & Phil Watkins
OFFERTORY: Be Brave, Be Strong
SERMON: Luke 18:1-8 Rev. Karen Vannoy
INVITATION TO DISCPLESHIP: Siyahamba
POSTLUDE: Be Brave, Be Strong (reprise)
Travis Park UMC
Celebration Worship Service
Sunday, October 22nd, 2006
OPENING MUSIC:
The Presence of the Lord is Here
Holy Ground
Be Thou My Vision (LTQ arrangement)
WELCOME (Registration Pads) Rev. John Flowers
PRAYER OVER THE PRAYER CARDS Rev. Gene Hauser
Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying
A WITNESS TO TRANSFORMATION: Carlos Guadarrama & Phil Watkins
OFFERTORY: Be Brave, Be Strong
SERMON: Luke 18:1-8 Rev. Karen Vannoy
INVITATION TO DISCPLESHIP: Siyahamba
POSTLUDE: Be Brave, Be Strong (reprise)
October 22, 2006 9:00 Liturgy
Whew...what a week!
Below you will find the liturgy for the 9:00 service at Travis Park UMC for the week of October 22nd. (I'm really excited because our violist and cellist (the amazing Emily Watkins and Ken Freudigman from Camerata San Antonio and the San Antonio Symphony) are going to be performing the music of Astor Piazzolla: who was amazing! Tango Sunday!!!!
Travis Park UMC-Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday, October 22nd, 2006
9:00 a.m.
PRELUDE: Milonga en Re Astor Piazzolla
Lana Cartlidge Potts, piano; Ken Freudigman, cello
CALL TO WORSHIP*
Make a joyful noise to Yahweh.
Worship God with gladness and singing.
Know that Yahweh is God and we are God’s people.
Give thanks to God and bless God’s holy name.
For God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Adapted from Psalm 100 by Alison Boone
OPENING HYMN* No. 352 It’s Me, It’s Me, O Lord All
PRAYER of CONFESSION
O God of all that is, we live in a binary, technological world where we are taught to think in terms of yes/no, on/off, black/white, right/wrong. We have come to believe that every question has an answer, and only one answer, if we only research or experiment or think enough. We have even tried to place you, O God, in tidy files and neat categories.
O Divine One, remind us that your ways are not our ways. Remind us that you are more ready to hear than we are to speak. Remind us that you stand ready to do for us more than we dare ask or imagine. Remind us that we are understood even when all we can pray are sighs too deep for words. Amen.
--Alison Boone
SILENT PRAYERS
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
MESSAGE Luke 18:1-8 Rev. Karen Vannoy
A Witness to Transformation Carlos Guadarrama & Phil Watkins
TITHES AND OFFERINGS: Be Known to Us
Text: James Montgomery; Music: Austin Lovelace
Sanctuary Choir
Be known to us in breaking bread,
be known to us, but do not then depart.
Savior, abide with us,
And spread Thy table in our heart, our heart.
There sup with us in love divine,
Thy body and Thy blood,
that living bread, that heav’nly wine
be our immortal food.
(Please register your attendance in the red registration books.)
*DOXOLOGY
(This morning’s doxology is found in the back of The Faith We Sing found in your pew rack.)
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
Leader: The Spirit of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts to heaven
People: where Christ in glory reigns.
Leader: It is right, and a good and joyous prayer, always and everywhere to give you thanks. For
in the beginning, Creator God, You made the earth; round, rich, and fertile, the mother of all life, the seedbed of all growth.
People: You bent low and gently gathered up a handful of clay and shaped and
wonderfully and intricately made man and woman.
Leader: You breathed wind and spirit into flesh and bone.
People: We became like you, formed in your image carrying the stars in our eyes,
the moon in our hearts and the cosmos in every breath.
Leader: And, so with all the saints who have gone before, all the creatures of the earth, and all the
faithful touched by the Spirit, we praise your name and join the unending hymn of praise:
--from Water Words by Larry Peacock
SANCTUS #2257-b in The Faith We Sing ALL
WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND CONSECRATION
Leader: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them become for us the presence of Christ, so that we may be signs of new life for our searching world. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with all creation and one in service to all the world until Christ comes in radiant glory and seats all at the heavenly table.
All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, living God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
--from A New Zealand Prayer Book
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
COMMUNION MUSIC: Lana Cartlidge Potts
PRAYER AFTER RECEIVING
Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
--From The United Methodist Hymnal
HYMN OF INVITATION* No. 451 Be Thou My Vision All
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE: La Calle 92 Astor Piazzolla Emily Watkins, viola; Ken Freudigman, cello
Below you will find the liturgy for the 9:00 service at Travis Park UMC for the week of October 22nd. (I'm really excited because our violist and cellist (the amazing Emily Watkins and Ken Freudigman from Camerata San Antonio and the San Antonio Symphony) are going to be performing the music of Astor Piazzolla: who was amazing! Tango Sunday!!!!
Travis Park UMC-Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday, October 22nd, 2006
9:00 a.m.
PRELUDE: Milonga en Re Astor Piazzolla
Lana Cartlidge Potts, piano; Ken Freudigman, cello
CALL TO WORSHIP*
Make a joyful noise to Yahweh.
Worship God with gladness and singing.
Know that Yahweh is God and we are God’s people.
Give thanks to God and bless God’s holy name.
For God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Adapted from Psalm 100 by Alison Boone
OPENING HYMN* No. 352 It’s Me, It’s Me, O Lord All
PRAYER of CONFESSION
O God of all that is, we live in a binary, technological world where we are taught to think in terms of yes/no, on/off, black/white, right/wrong. We have come to believe that every question has an answer, and only one answer, if we only research or experiment or think enough. We have even tried to place you, O God, in tidy files and neat categories.
O Divine One, remind us that your ways are not our ways. Remind us that you are more ready to hear than we are to speak. Remind us that you stand ready to do for us more than we dare ask or imagine. Remind us that we are understood even when all we can pray are sighs too deep for words. Amen.
--Alison Boone
SILENT PRAYERS
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
MESSAGE Luke 18:1-8 Rev. Karen Vannoy
A Witness to Transformation Carlos Guadarrama & Phil Watkins
TITHES AND OFFERINGS: Be Known to Us
Text: James Montgomery; Music: Austin Lovelace
Sanctuary Choir
Be known to us in breaking bread,
be known to us, but do not then depart.
Savior, abide with us,
And spread Thy table in our heart, our heart.
There sup with us in love divine,
Thy body and Thy blood,
that living bread, that heav’nly wine
be our immortal food.
(Please register your attendance in the red registration books.)
*DOXOLOGY
(This morning’s doxology is found in the back of The Faith We Sing found in your pew rack.)
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
Leader: The Spirit of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts to heaven
People: where Christ in glory reigns.
Leader: It is right, and a good and joyous prayer, always and everywhere to give you thanks. For
in the beginning, Creator God, You made the earth; round, rich, and fertile, the mother of all life, the seedbed of all growth.
People: You bent low and gently gathered up a handful of clay and shaped and
wonderfully and intricately made man and woman.
Leader: You breathed wind and spirit into flesh and bone.
People: We became like you, formed in your image carrying the stars in our eyes,
the moon in our hearts and the cosmos in every breath.
Leader: And, so with all the saints who have gone before, all the creatures of the earth, and all the
faithful touched by the Spirit, we praise your name and join the unending hymn of praise:
--from Water Words by Larry Peacock
SANCTUS #2257-b in The Faith We Sing ALL
WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND CONSECRATION
Leader: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them become for us the presence of Christ, so that we may be signs of new life for our searching world. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with all creation and one in service to all the world until Christ comes in radiant glory and seats all at the heavenly table.
All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, living God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
--from A New Zealand Prayer Book
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
COMMUNION MUSIC: Lana Cartlidge Potts
PRAYER AFTER RECEIVING
Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
--From The United Methodist Hymnal
HYMN OF INVITATION* No. 451 Be Thou My Vision All
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE: La Calle 92 Astor Piazzolla Emily Watkins, viola; Ken Freudigman, cello
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
11:00 Liturgy Sheet
Well, here's the run sheet for the 11:00 service. Sorry about the lack of composers, etc. Let me know if you are interested!
Joe
Travis Park UMC
Celebration Worship Service
Sunday, October 15th, 2006
Children’s Sabbath
OPENING MUSIC:
You are Good
Oh Happy Day
Because of Who You Are
WELCOME (Registration Pads) Rev. John Flowers
Halle, Halle, Hallelujah Children’s Choir
READING OF THE NAMES OF THE CHILDREN
AN ORDER FOR THE PRESENTATION OF BIBLES TO CHILDREN
Pastors, parents, teachers, and friends, facing the children say:
Receive the Word of God.
Learn its stories and study its words.
Its stories belong to us all, and these words speak to us all.
They tell us who we are.
The tell us that we belong to one another, for we are the people of God.
Children respond:
We receive these Bibles with our hands, our hearts, and our minds.
Thank you.
We will read and study the Bible together.
The children and leaders face the congregation.
Congregation to children:
We rejoice in this step in your journey with God.
We pray God will guide you, your family, and us
as you use this Holy Bible in your home,
in your church school classes, and in our worship.
We will learn together and grow in our love for God’s Word.
Children to congregation:
The Word of God is a lamp to our feet,
and a light to our path.
Thanks be to God.
PRAYER OVER THE PRAYER CARDS Rev. Gene Hauser
CALL FOR THE OFFERING Everett Glaster
OFFERTORY: Clarence Blueitt
SERMON: “???” Rev. Karen Vannoy
INVITATION TO DISCPLESHIP: God is Good (All the Time)
POSTLUDE: Oh Happy Day reprise
Joe
Travis Park UMC
Celebration Worship Service
Sunday, October 15th, 2006
Children’s Sabbath
OPENING MUSIC:
You are Good
Oh Happy Day
Because of Who You Are
WELCOME (Registration Pads) Rev. John Flowers
Halle, Halle, Hallelujah Children’s Choir
READING OF THE NAMES OF THE CHILDREN
AN ORDER FOR THE PRESENTATION OF BIBLES TO CHILDREN
Pastors, parents, teachers, and friends, facing the children say:
Receive the Word of God.
Learn its stories and study its words.
Its stories belong to us all, and these words speak to us all.
They tell us who we are.
The tell us that we belong to one another, for we are the people of God.
Children respond:
We receive these Bibles with our hands, our hearts, and our minds.
Thank you.
We will read and study the Bible together.
The children and leaders face the congregation.
Congregation to children:
We rejoice in this step in your journey with God.
We pray God will guide you, your family, and us
as you use this Holy Bible in your home,
in your church school classes, and in our worship.
We will learn together and grow in our love for God’s Word.
Children to congregation:
The Word of God is a lamp to our feet,
and a light to our path.
Thanks be to God.
PRAYER OVER THE PRAYER CARDS Rev. Gene Hauser
CALL FOR THE OFFERING Everett Glaster
OFFERTORY: Clarence Blueitt
SERMON: “???” Rev. Karen Vannoy
INVITATION TO DISCPLESHIP: God is Good (All the Time)
POSTLUDE: Oh Happy Day reprise
Liturgy for the 9:00 Service, October 15th, 2006 at TPUMC
Travis Park UMC-Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday, October 15th, 2006
9:00 a.m.
PRELUDE: Angela Caporale, violin
CALL TO WORSHIP*
Make a joyful noise to Yahweh.
Worship God with gladness and singing.
Know that Yahweh is God and we are God’s people.
Give thanks to God and bless God’s holy name.
For God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Adapted from Psalm 100 by Alison Boone
OPENING HYMN* No. 2236 Gather Us In All
PRAYER of CONFESSION
Look deep, Loving God, and see us as we really are – yearning to be close to you mixed with our fear of what you may ask, our desire to be faithful woven with our hesitancy to go the extra mile, our wanting to be loving and our resistance to caring in particular situations. Loving God, we are tangled vine. Prune us and train us to grow in your holy way. Amen.
Larry J. Peacock
SILENT PRAYERS
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
MESSAGE Rev. Karen Vannoy
A Witness to Transformation ????
TITHES AND OFFERINGS: Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Text: Hymns for the Young, ca. 1830, alt.; Music: David Ashley White
Sanctuary Choir
Savior, like a shepherd lead us;
much we need thy tender care;
in thy pleasant pastures feed us;
for our use thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus!
Thou has bought us, thine we are.
Early let us seek thy favor,
early let us learn thy will;
do thou, Lord, our only Savior,
with thy love our bosoms fill.
Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus!
Thou has bought us, thine we are.
Thou hast loved us;
Thou hast loved us;
love us still.
(Please register your attendance in the red registration books.)
*DOXOLOGY
(This morning’s doxology is found in the back of The Faith We Sing found in your pew rack.)
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
Leader: The Spirit of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts to heaven
People: where Christ in glory reigns.
Leader: It is right, and a good and joyous prayer, always and everywhere to give you thanks. For
in the beginning, Creator God, You made the earth; round, rich, and fertile, the mother of all life, the seedbed of all growth.
People: You bent low and gently gathered up a handful of clay and shaped and
wonderfully and intricately made man and woman.
Leader: You breathed wind and spirit into flesh and bone.
People: We became like you, formed in your image carrying the stars in our eyes,
the moon in our hearts and the cosmos in every breath.
Leader: And, so with all the saints who have gone before, all the creatures of the earth, and all the
faithful touched by the Spirit, we praise your name and join the unending hymn of praise:
--from Water Words by Larry Peacock
SANCTUS #2257-b in The Faith We Sing ALL
WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND CONSECRATION
Leader: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them become for us the presence of Christ, so that we may be signs of new life for our searching world. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with all creation and one in service to all the world until Christ comes in radiant glory and seats all at the heavenly table.
All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, living God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
--from A New Zealand Prayer Book
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
COMMUNION MUSIC: Angela Caporale, violin
PRAYER AFTER RECEIVING
Generous God, we thank you for this meal in which we taste hope, hope for the time when all are fed and all are satisfied. Amen.
--Alison Boone
HYMN OF INVITATION* No. 557 Blest Be the Tie that Binds
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE: Halle, Halle, Hallelujah Children’s Music Ministry
Sunday, October 15th, 2006
9:00 a.m.
PRELUDE: Angela Caporale, violin
CALL TO WORSHIP*
Make a joyful noise to Yahweh.
Worship God with gladness and singing.
Know that Yahweh is God and we are God’s people.
Give thanks to God and bless God’s holy name.
For God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Adapted from Psalm 100 by Alison Boone
OPENING HYMN* No. 2236 Gather Us In All
PRAYER of CONFESSION
Look deep, Loving God, and see us as we really are – yearning to be close to you mixed with our fear of what you may ask, our desire to be faithful woven with our hesitancy to go the extra mile, our wanting to be loving and our resistance to caring in particular situations. Loving God, we are tangled vine. Prune us and train us to grow in your holy way. Amen.
Larry J. Peacock
SILENT PRAYERS
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
MESSAGE Rev. Karen Vannoy
A Witness to Transformation ????
TITHES AND OFFERINGS: Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Text: Hymns for the Young, ca. 1830, alt.; Music: David Ashley White
Sanctuary Choir
Savior, like a shepherd lead us;
much we need thy tender care;
in thy pleasant pastures feed us;
for our use thy folds prepare.
Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus!
Thou has bought us, thine we are.
Early let us seek thy favor,
early let us learn thy will;
do thou, Lord, our only Savior,
with thy love our bosoms fill.
Blessed Jesus! Blessed Jesus!
Thou has bought us, thine we are.
Thou hast loved us;
Thou hast loved us;
love us still.
(Please register your attendance in the red registration books.)
*DOXOLOGY
(This morning’s doxology is found in the back of The Faith We Sing found in your pew rack.)
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
Leader: The Spirit of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts to heaven
People: where Christ in glory reigns.
Leader: It is right, and a good and joyous prayer, always and everywhere to give you thanks. For
in the beginning, Creator God, You made the earth; round, rich, and fertile, the mother of all life, the seedbed of all growth.
People: You bent low and gently gathered up a handful of clay and shaped and
wonderfully and intricately made man and woman.
Leader: You breathed wind and spirit into flesh and bone.
People: We became like you, formed in your image carrying the stars in our eyes,
the moon in our hearts and the cosmos in every breath.
Leader: And, so with all the saints who have gone before, all the creatures of the earth, and all the
faithful touched by the Spirit, we praise your name and join the unending hymn of praise:
--from Water Words by Larry Peacock
SANCTUS #2257-b in The Faith We Sing ALL
WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND CONSECRATION
Leader: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them become for us the presence of Christ, so that we may be signs of new life for our searching world. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with all creation and one in service to all the world until Christ comes in radiant glory and seats all at the heavenly table.
All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, living God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
--from A New Zealand Prayer Book
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
COMMUNION MUSIC: Angela Caporale, violin
PRAYER AFTER RECEIVING
Generous God, we thank you for this meal in which we taste hope, hope for the time when all are fed and all are satisfied. Amen.
--Alison Boone
HYMN OF INVITATION* No. 557 Blest Be the Tie that Binds
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE: Halle, Halle, Hallelujah Children’s Music Ministry
Monday, October 9, 2006
Organizational for the posted sermon
Hello Again!
I forgot to mention that I used a new organizational form to frame the sermon. If you are interested in knowing more about it, please leave a comment and I'll write more.
I forgot to mention that I used a new organizational form to frame the sermon. If you are interested in knowing more about it, please leave a comment and I'll write more.
Another sermon for you...
On September 10th I had an opportunity to preach the 9:00 service at TPUMC. Below is the outline for the sermon.
The Royal Law
James 2:8-13
· Intro. yourself
· Tell where John and Karen are
· Pray
ME
· I would imagine that some of you are like me: to put it mildly, I’m a bit of a news/politics/current events junkie!
· If you were to spend a day with me you’d find that I tend to check CNN at home before coming to the church, I listen to it in the car on SIRUIS radio and I’ll check CNN.com one or two times during the course of the day, just to make I didn’t miss anything. Mostly it’s a harmless addiction that carries only two real consequences 1. The 24 hour news cycle gets a bit repetitive
2. I have to hear that terrible Head-On commercial.
· In case you’re not like me, pretty much the main thing that has been on CNN this weekend has been various stories relating to 9/11, which of course is tomorrow.
· On Monday, at 8:30 eastern time, CNN is going to rebroadcast their entire coverage of 9/11 ‘in real-time, as it happened’.
· ABC is about to run a fictionalized account about the events leading up to 9/11 called, The Path to 9/11.
· If there was ever an event in recent human history that we shouldn’t be fictionalizing, I’ve got to believe that it’s 9/11.
· 9/11 is all over the papers, the net, the cable news, magazines, and talk shows, it is everywhere.
· It’s been five years. Where are you with all of this?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
· As I think back to that day, so many images and emotions come running back at me, fresh as if they were yesterday.
· I remember being confused, afraid for friends who lived in New York and D.C., I remember participating in one of the most meaningful and beautiful services I have ever participated in that was held at Perkins, I remember reading passages out of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and having the epiphany that for the first time in my generations life, we had something that we could see and that was tangible that we would lament.
· I also remember going to a service that night at the church I was serving in and being disgusted by the service. I don’t think we actually sang “Onward Christian Soldiers” but we might have well has. That was a moment for me that confirmed that theology does matter! It was a hurtful service to me because I just wasn’t in that place; I wasn’t ready to be triumphant.
· I was ready to be sad, but frankly, I was also angry. And I mean really angry.
· Perhaps the memory that stands out the most was a conversation I had with one of my classmates about the whole thing.
· I remember leaning on my car at seminary and talking about how there was an aircraft carrier being dispatched to be stationed outside of New York harbor and we both agreed that, while we wanted to be pacifists, in the face of this kind of evil act, someone had to pay for this, and pay for it in a way that would keep them from ever doing it again.
· Then I remember the next day reading an internet response by an incredible musician named Victor Wooten that this was the time for Christians and all religious people in the country to stand up, to respond with acts of love, acts of questions and with mercy, and to turn the other cheek and I remember feeling ashamed that I was training to be a Christian minister and my first thoughts were of retaliation through violence.
· I recently went to see Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center and all of those emotions came flooding back: lament, anger that people could perpetrate such senseless violence on others, anger our leadership who seemed to disappear in the face of an attack while I felt incredible pride and admiration for the first responders who didn’t disappear but rushed head-long into those places of death, and destruction to help people they didn’t even know.
WE
· Are you experiencing these same kinds of emotions this week?
· I imagined that you experienced the same kind of tension in the days following September 11th, 2001 that I did: we had been wronged and we have the power to crush the people who did this and, in a worldly sense, we would be right to.
· We had the power to seek more than justice but to seek vengeance.
· But the tension that many faithful Christians experienced (and continue to experience) is that, somewhere deep inside of us we know that violence won’t solve the problem. Jesus says to turn the other cheek, not in a passive way, but to invite shame on our attacker.
· Are you with me? Have you experienced this tension?
· The raw craving for more than justice but for vengeance in the face of an overwhelming wrong all the while knowing that violence really wouldn’t change a thing?
· I know I am not alone in this because a recent poll has shown that 84% of Americans still feel strong to very strong feelings of sadness about 9/11 and 74% still feel strong to very strong feelings of anger about that day.
· It is important for us to acknowledge these feelings, even from half a decade ago. The Psalms teach us that we are to carry to God the whole range of our emotions, from love, to fear, to hate, and for some of us, for shame in the way our country has conducted itself: God can handle all of these emotions.
· It’s also important for us to acknowledge those emotions because, if we are not careful and thoughtful, those emotions lead us to places God would not have us to go.
· So we are stuck in the middle of this tension: we have been wronged and we want to do something about it but we know that our natural response, our natural inclination to violence and reprisal isn’t right. So what do we do?
GOD
· The good news in this is that fortunately, for us, we are not the first people in history to struggle with this.
· The lectionary has placed before us today the Letter of James, (the authorship of which most scholars agree was probably the brother of Jesus)
· James is often called the “how-to” book of the Bible.
· James primary concern in the section of the letter we will look at is the integration of the Christian life, the intersection of faith and works. What does it mean to have a useful faith, to lead a Christian life?
· I would invite you to turn to page 1059 in your pew Bible and follow along as we look at James 2:8-13. Read passage….
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
· Now, as you look at and hear this text, we’ve obviously jumped into somebody else’s sermon!
· Honestly, James is of course not addressing 9/11 but rather he is addressing new Christian communities that are composed of primarily Jewish people.
· These communities have been showing partiality to the rich over the poor, these communities would often show preference to rich because they were frequently their patrons and would do benefical things for them because of the deference paid to them.
· James was letting the community know that that kind of behavior was (and remains) unacceptable in Christians.
· Certainly, we know James is right on this point but there are many things in this passage that are of importance for us at this moment.
· James tells us in verse 8 that we will do well if we really fulfill the “royal law.” The royal law that James speaks of is the law that Jesus elevated and is found in all four of the gospels, to love your neighbor as yourself.
· James is reminding us that the law of the kingdom of God that Jesus preached about, is a law of love.
· In verses 9-11 James preaches to us a scary word: if you break even one part of the law, than you are guilty of breaking all of it. Some scholars suggest that, because James cites only the Ten Commandments that he does not expect Christians to keep the entire Jewish law, but even still, think of the Ten Commandments, if you covet your neighbor’s car, you are just as guilty as if you killed her! Ouch!!!!!!!!! Just think about that for a moment. (pause)
· So when we get to verses 12 and 13, we are instructed to act as “those who are to be judged by the law of liberty,” or the law of the kingdom.
· We will be judged by how we followed the royal law, how did we love our neighbor?
· In verse 13 James echoes the Lord’s Prayer: judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
· We will be forgiven as we have forgiven others.
· Mercy triumphs over judgment….mercy triumphs over judgment…
· We will be given mercy when God judges us if we give mercy to others…
· It’s a tough truth for us to swallow, especially as we apply it to the events that we will remember tomorrow.
· So, how do we wrestle with this tension of wanting vengeance over the wrong that was done to us but all the while know our natural response is wrong?
· The answer that I believe God gives us is this: you must obey the law of the kingdom, in all times, and in all places. You must always love your neighbor as yourself.
· You must remember and you must live the truth that mercy triumphs over judgment.
· That is how the tension is resolved: we must change our field of vision from that of the world, to that of God.
· We must learn to view the world and consequently our neighbors as God views them.
· How do we do this? This answer is simple and direct: we do it first through prayer.
YOU
· So I’d like to issue you a challenge for the rest of the week.
· When you feel that someone has wronged you and whenever you begin to feel the need for vengeance, or for retaliation, or even when you feel the need to be sarcastic, or caustic, or hurtful, or spiteful, take a moment to pray.
· This prayer is a an ancient Eastern Orthodox prayer dating from the 6th century that can be prayed in a variety of ways. We will try the breath method of the Jesus prayer.
· The prayer is very simple: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” You say the first half of the prayer as you inhale the second half as you exhale.
· Try it with me (obviously you say it in your mind, it’s pretty tough to inhale and speak at the same time!).
· This prayer will remind us that, because we are all sinners, we are guilty of breaking the law of the kingdom. It will also remind us that we need mercy and we need to give mercy.
· After you’ve breathed that prayer, then decide how to act.
· If you are uncomfortable saying that Jesus is Lord than trying coming up with a prayer of your own that is short and easy to say.WE
The Royal Law
James 2:8-13
· Intro. yourself
· Tell where John and Karen are
· Pray
ME
· I would imagine that some of you are like me: to put it mildly, I’m a bit of a news/politics/current events junkie!
· If you were to spend a day with me you’d find that I tend to check CNN at home before coming to the church, I listen to it in the car on SIRUIS radio and I’ll check CNN.com one or two times during the course of the day, just to make I didn’t miss anything. Mostly it’s a harmless addiction that carries only two real consequences 1. The 24 hour news cycle gets a bit repetitive
2. I have to hear that terrible Head-On commercial.
· In case you’re not like me, pretty much the main thing that has been on CNN this weekend has been various stories relating to 9/11, which of course is tomorrow.
· On Monday, at 8:30 eastern time, CNN is going to rebroadcast their entire coverage of 9/11 ‘in real-time, as it happened’.
· ABC is about to run a fictionalized account about the events leading up to 9/11 called, The Path to 9/11.
· If there was ever an event in recent human history that we shouldn’t be fictionalizing, I’ve got to believe that it’s 9/11.
· 9/11 is all over the papers, the net, the cable news, magazines, and talk shows, it is everywhere.
· It’s been five years. Where are you with all of this?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
· As I think back to that day, so many images and emotions come running back at me, fresh as if they were yesterday.
· I remember being confused, afraid for friends who lived in New York and D.C., I remember participating in one of the most meaningful and beautiful services I have ever participated in that was held at Perkins, I remember reading passages out of the Lamentations of Jeremiah and having the epiphany that for the first time in my generations life, we had something that we could see and that was tangible that we would lament.
· I also remember going to a service that night at the church I was serving in and being disgusted by the service. I don’t think we actually sang “Onward Christian Soldiers” but we might have well has. That was a moment for me that confirmed that theology does matter! It was a hurtful service to me because I just wasn’t in that place; I wasn’t ready to be triumphant.
· I was ready to be sad, but frankly, I was also angry. And I mean really angry.
· Perhaps the memory that stands out the most was a conversation I had with one of my classmates about the whole thing.
· I remember leaning on my car at seminary and talking about how there was an aircraft carrier being dispatched to be stationed outside of New York harbor and we both agreed that, while we wanted to be pacifists, in the face of this kind of evil act, someone had to pay for this, and pay for it in a way that would keep them from ever doing it again.
· Then I remember the next day reading an internet response by an incredible musician named Victor Wooten that this was the time for Christians and all religious people in the country to stand up, to respond with acts of love, acts of questions and with mercy, and to turn the other cheek and I remember feeling ashamed that I was training to be a Christian minister and my first thoughts were of retaliation through violence.
· I recently went to see Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center and all of those emotions came flooding back: lament, anger that people could perpetrate such senseless violence on others, anger our leadership who seemed to disappear in the face of an attack while I felt incredible pride and admiration for the first responders who didn’t disappear but rushed head-long into those places of death, and destruction to help people they didn’t even know.
WE
· Are you experiencing these same kinds of emotions this week?
· I imagined that you experienced the same kind of tension in the days following September 11th, 2001 that I did: we had been wronged and we have the power to crush the people who did this and, in a worldly sense, we would be right to.
· We had the power to seek more than justice but to seek vengeance.
· But the tension that many faithful Christians experienced (and continue to experience) is that, somewhere deep inside of us we know that violence won’t solve the problem. Jesus says to turn the other cheek, not in a passive way, but to invite shame on our attacker.
· Are you with me? Have you experienced this tension?
· The raw craving for more than justice but for vengeance in the face of an overwhelming wrong all the while knowing that violence really wouldn’t change a thing?
· I know I am not alone in this because a recent poll has shown that 84% of Americans still feel strong to very strong feelings of sadness about 9/11 and 74% still feel strong to very strong feelings of anger about that day.
· It is important for us to acknowledge these feelings, even from half a decade ago. The Psalms teach us that we are to carry to God the whole range of our emotions, from love, to fear, to hate, and for some of us, for shame in the way our country has conducted itself: God can handle all of these emotions.
· It’s also important for us to acknowledge those emotions because, if we are not careful and thoughtful, those emotions lead us to places God would not have us to go.
· So we are stuck in the middle of this tension: we have been wronged and we want to do something about it but we know that our natural response, our natural inclination to violence and reprisal isn’t right. So what do we do?
GOD
· The good news in this is that fortunately, for us, we are not the first people in history to struggle with this.
· The lectionary has placed before us today the Letter of James, (the authorship of which most scholars agree was probably the brother of Jesus)
· James is often called the “how-to” book of the Bible.
· James primary concern in the section of the letter we will look at is the integration of the Christian life, the intersection of faith and works. What does it mean to have a useful faith, to lead a Christian life?
· I would invite you to turn to page 1059 in your pew Bible and follow along as we look at James 2:8-13. Read passage….
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
· Now, as you look at and hear this text, we’ve obviously jumped into somebody else’s sermon!
· Honestly, James is of course not addressing 9/11 but rather he is addressing new Christian communities that are composed of primarily Jewish people.
· These communities have been showing partiality to the rich over the poor, these communities would often show preference to rich because they were frequently their patrons and would do benefical things for them because of the deference paid to them.
· James was letting the community know that that kind of behavior was (and remains) unacceptable in Christians.
· Certainly, we know James is right on this point but there are many things in this passage that are of importance for us at this moment.
· James tells us in verse 8 that we will do well if we really fulfill the “royal law.” The royal law that James speaks of is the law that Jesus elevated and is found in all four of the gospels, to love your neighbor as yourself.
· James is reminding us that the law of the kingdom of God that Jesus preached about, is a law of love.
· In verses 9-11 James preaches to us a scary word: if you break even one part of the law, than you are guilty of breaking all of it. Some scholars suggest that, because James cites only the Ten Commandments that he does not expect Christians to keep the entire Jewish law, but even still, think of the Ten Commandments, if you covet your neighbor’s car, you are just as guilty as if you killed her! Ouch!!!!!!!!! Just think about that for a moment. (pause)
· So when we get to verses 12 and 13, we are instructed to act as “those who are to be judged by the law of liberty,” or the law of the kingdom.
· We will be judged by how we followed the royal law, how did we love our neighbor?
· In verse 13 James echoes the Lord’s Prayer: judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
· We will be forgiven as we have forgiven others.
· Mercy triumphs over judgment….mercy triumphs over judgment…
· We will be given mercy when God judges us if we give mercy to others…
· It’s a tough truth for us to swallow, especially as we apply it to the events that we will remember tomorrow.
· So, how do we wrestle with this tension of wanting vengeance over the wrong that was done to us but all the while know our natural response is wrong?
· The answer that I believe God gives us is this: you must obey the law of the kingdom, in all times, and in all places. You must always love your neighbor as yourself.
· You must remember and you must live the truth that mercy triumphs over judgment.
· That is how the tension is resolved: we must change our field of vision from that of the world, to that of God.
· We must learn to view the world and consequently our neighbors as God views them.
· How do we do this? This answer is simple and direct: we do it first through prayer.
YOU
· So I’d like to issue you a challenge for the rest of the week.
· When you feel that someone has wronged you and whenever you begin to feel the need for vengeance, or for retaliation, or even when you feel the need to be sarcastic, or caustic, or hurtful, or spiteful, take a moment to pray.
· This prayer is a an ancient Eastern Orthodox prayer dating from the 6th century that can be prayed in a variety of ways. We will try the breath method of the Jesus prayer.
· The prayer is very simple: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” You say the first half of the prayer as you inhale the second half as you exhale.
· Try it with me (obviously you say it in your mind, it’s pretty tough to inhale and speak at the same time!).
· This prayer will remind us that, because we are all sinners, we are guilty of breaking the law of the kingdom. It will also remind us that we need mercy and we need to give mercy.
· After you’ve breathed that prayer, then decide how to act.
· If you are uncomfortable saying that Jesus is Lord than trying coming up with a prayer of your own that is short and easy to say.WE
Saturday, October 7, 2006
A Wesleyan Pilgrimage
On Wednesday of this week I left San Antonio on a 7:30 a.m. flight to Birmingham, Alabama to begin an American Wesleyan pilgrimage of sorts. Upon arriving in Alabama I rented a car and headed east to Atlanta. (This was my first time in the beautiful state of Alabama. I felt like I was back in East Texas but with bigger hills. Southwest deviated from their published flight schedule and so I got into Alabama five hours early, which was a wonderful gift!) On the way to Atlanta I started seeing signs off I-20 for Talladega Superspeedway. I'm not much of a NASCAR fan (I've never been to a race and don't watch them on tv) but since my schedule was running so early I thought I'd take a detour and just drive by and checkout the scene. Little did I know, but this week is raceweek at Talladega. Even on Wednesday, there were RV's nearly as far as the eye could see. One could purchase t-shirts (3 for $10), bundles of firewood and, my personal favorite, a $5 shower! While I didn't actually get out of my car I felt like I got a decent taste of the NASCAR expereince (minus the actual cars). As I drove by the speedway this morning (Saturday) I could see the RV's parked all the way up to I-20. Perhaps the most striking view from the highway was of the many, many, many confederate flags flying over some of the RV's. Interestingly, they all seemed to be grouped in little pockets. I imagine this is intentional? Even as a Texan, I felt like a yankee!
I certainly don't mean to pass judgement on an entire American subculture but all of the "Rickey Bobby" stereotypes seemed to be nearly confirmed from the interstate...
Back to the main story...
As I arrived in Atlanta (East Atlanta, specifically) I stopped and stayed the evening with my friend Ryan Baer. Ryan is a seminarian at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. (A Presbyterian school that is the home of Walter Brueggeman.) After an excellent Thai food dinner, we went back to East Lake and called it a day.
A quick aside: East Lake used to be known as Little Vietnam in the 70's and 80's. The area was very depressed economically and was home to many who were on the margins of society. As philanthropist in the late 80's, after attending a conference in a recently revitalized neighborhood decided to make East Lake his new project. While I'm sure there were many bumps along the way, it looks like a smashing sucsess (as most of the original residents still live their and the neighborhood has retained its original demographic makeup).
I wish I had a link to the history of this project for you to check out but I"m sad to say that I don't.
Check back for part II in a bit...
I certainly don't mean to pass judgement on an entire American subculture but all of the "Rickey Bobby" stereotypes seemed to be nearly confirmed from the interstate...
Back to the main story...
As I arrived in Atlanta (East Atlanta, specifically) I stopped and stayed the evening with my friend Ryan Baer. Ryan is a seminarian at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. (A Presbyterian school that is the home of Walter Brueggeman.) After an excellent Thai food dinner, we went back to East Lake and called it a day.
A quick aside: East Lake used to be known as Little Vietnam in the 70's and 80's. The area was very depressed economically and was home to many who were on the margins of society. As philanthropist in the late 80's, after attending a conference in a recently revitalized neighborhood decided to make East Lake his new project. While I'm sure there were many bumps along the way, it looks like a smashing sucsess (as most of the original residents still live their and the neighborhood has retained its original demographic makeup).
I wish I had a link to the history of this project for you to check out but I"m sad to say that I don't.
Check back for part II in a bit...
Can't Technology Be Great?
You know, when it works, technology is a wonderful thing! I am blogging at the moment in the Birmingham, Alabama airport. I should be working on a few other things but I thought I'd post while I had a chance and the wireless internet connection was free!
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
11:00 Liturgy--John 4
The order of worship for the 11:00 service at TPUMC is below. I will return to make more comments about the reasoing behind the new order.
Travis Park UMC
Celebration Worship Service
Sunday, October 8th, 2006
OPENING MUSIC:
My Soul Says Yes
In the Sanctuary
I Will Bless the Lord
WELCOME (Registration Pads) Rev. Karen Vannoy
PRAYER OVER THE PRAYER CARDS Rev. Willie Glaster
Who We Are Statement Rev. Deana Kirby
A WITNESS TO THE FAITH Carolyn James
OFFERTORY: More of Your Glory
QUESTION TIME (Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying on piano)
SERMON: “Speak to My Heart” Rev. John Flowers
BAPTISM & RENEWAL OF VOWS
INVITATION TO DISCPLESHIP: I’m Gonna Live So God…
POSTLUDE: My Soul Says Yes Reprise
Travis Park UMC
Celebration Worship Service
Sunday, October 8th, 2006
OPENING MUSIC:
My Soul Says Yes
In the Sanctuary
I Will Bless the Lord
WELCOME (Registration Pads) Rev. Karen Vannoy
PRAYER OVER THE PRAYER CARDS Rev. Willie Glaster
Who We Are Statement Rev. Deana Kirby
A WITNESS TO THE FAITH Carolyn James
OFFERTORY: More of Your Glory
QUESTION TIME (Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying on piano)
SERMON: “Speak to My Heart” Rev. John Flowers
BAPTISM & RENEWAL OF VOWS
INVITATION TO DISCPLESHIP: I’m Gonna Live So God…
POSTLUDE: My Soul Says Yes Reprise
Monday, October 2, 2006
9:00 Sunday Service Liturgy John 4:39-42
Below you will find the liturgy for this Sunday's 9:00 service at Travis Park. The call to worship and prayer of confession this week were written by Alison Boone, who is a member of the church and a wonderful writer. Alison has written litrugy for several years and is very involved in the church and in the Academy for Spiritual Formation. The text for this week is John 4:39-42.
Travis Park UMC-Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday, October 8th, 2006
9:00 a.m.
PRELUDE: Camerata San Antonio
CALL TO WORSHIP*
God is here!
We are in God’s presence.
We come to sing and pray.
We come to praise and listen.
We come to worship!
--Alison Boone
Opening Prayer
Eternal God, we live surrounded by talk. Televisions blare, radios squawk, headphones send sound directly to our ears. We are addicted to a constant stream of babble. We are unable to hear the things that are true.
O God of sound and silence, open our hearts to be attentive to those around us. Open our mouths to speak your words of grace and love and hope. Open our ears to hear those words spoken to us. We pray in the name of the One who is still speaking. Amen.
--Alison Boone
OPENING HYMN* No. 577 God of Grace and God of Glory
PRAYER of CONFESSION
Coming from Alison Boone
SILENT PRAYERS
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
MESSAGE “Speak to Me” Rev. John Flowers
A Witness to Transformation Carolyn James
TITHES AND OFFERINGS: Jesus Calls Us
Text: Cecil Frances Alexander; Music: Joy Patterson
The Sanctuary Choir; conductor, Patty Riggle Bonner; accompanist, Mark Rubinstein
DiAnn Grimes, soloist; Rev. Joseph Stobaugh, soprano saxophonist
Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
of our life’s wild, restless sea;
day by day his voice is sounding,
saying “Christian, follow me.”
Jesus calls us from the worship
of the vain world’s golden store,
from each idol that would keep us,
saying “Christian, love me more.”
In our joys and sorrows, sorrows, Lord
days of toil and hours, and hours of ease,
still he calls in cares, in cares and pleasure,
“love me more, more than these.”
Jesus calls us! By your mercies,
savior may we hear your call,
give our hearts to your obedience.
Serve and love you best of all, best of all.
(Please register your attendance in the red registration books.)
*DOXOLOGY
(This morning’s doxology is found in the back of The Faith We Sing found in your pew rack.)
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
Leader: The Spirit of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts to heaven
People: where Christ in glory reigns.
Leader: It is right, and a good and joyous prayer, always and everywhere to give you thanks. For
in the beginning, Creator God, You made the earth; round, rich, and fertile, the mother of all life, the seedbed of all growth.
People: You bent low and gently gathered up a handful of clay and shaped and
wonderfully and intricately made man and woman.
Leader: You breathed wind and spirit into flesh and bone.
People: We became like you, formed in your image carrying the stars in our eyes,
the moon in our hearts and the cosmos in every breath.
Leader: And, so with all the saints who have gone before, all the creatures of the earth, and all the
faithful touched by the Spirit, we praise your name and join the unending hymn of praise:
--from Water Words by Larry Peacock
SANCTUS #2257-b in The Faith We Sing ALL
WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND CONSECRATION
Leader: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them become for us the presence of Christ, so that we may be signs of new life for our searching world. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with all creation and one in service to all the world until Christ comes in radiant glory and seats all at the heavenly table.
All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, living God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
--from A New Zealand Prayer Book
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
COMMUNION MUSIC: Camerata San Antonio
HYMN OF INVITATION* No. 2137 Would I Have Answered When You Called
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE: Camerata San Antonio
Travis Park UMC-Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday, October 8th, 2006
9:00 a.m.
PRELUDE: Camerata San Antonio
CALL TO WORSHIP*
God is here!
We are in God’s presence.
We come to sing and pray.
We come to praise and listen.
We come to worship!
--Alison Boone
Opening Prayer
Eternal God, we live surrounded by talk. Televisions blare, radios squawk, headphones send sound directly to our ears. We are addicted to a constant stream of babble. We are unable to hear the things that are true.
O God of sound and silence, open our hearts to be attentive to those around us. Open our mouths to speak your words of grace and love and hope. Open our ears to hear those words spoken to us. We pray in the name of the One who is still speaking. Amen.
--Alison Boone
OPENING HYMN* No. 577 God of Grace and God of Glory
PRAYER of CONFESSION
Coming from Alison Boone
SILENT PRAYERS
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
MESSAGE “Speak to Me” Rev. John Flowers
A Witness to Transformation Carolyn James
TITHES AND OFFERINGS: Jesus Calls Us
Text: Cecil Frances Alexander; Music: Joy Patterson
The Sanctuary Choir; conductor, Patty Riggle Bonner; accompanist, Mark Rubinstein
DiAnn Grimes, soloist; Rev. Joseph Stobaugh, soprano saxophonist
Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
of our life’s wild, restless sea;
day by day his voice is sounding,
saying “Christian, follow me.”
Jesus calls us from the worship
of the vain world’s golden store,
from each idol that would keep us,
saying “Christian, love me more.”
In our joys and sorrows, sorrows, Lord
days of toil and hours, and hours of ease,
still he calls in cares, in cares and pleasure,
“love me more, more than these.”
Jesus calls us! By your mercies,
savior may we hear your call,
give our hearts to your obedience.
Serve and love you best of all, best of all.
(Please register your attendance in the red registration books.)
*DOXOLOGY
(This morning’s doxology is found in the back of The Faith We Sing found in your pew rack.)
SERVICE OF HOLY COMMUNION
Leader: The Spirit of God be with you.
People: And also with you.
Leader: Lift up your hearts to heaven
People: where Christ in glory reigns.
Leader: It is right, and a good and joyous prayer, always and everywhere to give you thanks. For
in the beginning, Creator God, You made the earth; round, rich, and fertile, the mother of all life, the seedbed of all growth.
People: You bent low and gently gathered up a handful of clay and shaped and
wonderfully and intricately made man and woman.
Leader: You breathed wind and spirit into flesh and bone.
People: We became like you, formed in your image carrying the stars in our eyes,
the moon in our hearts and the cosmos in every breath.
Leader: And, so with all the saints who have gone before, all the creatures of the earth, and all the
faithful touched by the Spirit, we praise your name and join the unending hymn of praise:
--from Water Words by Larry Peacock
SANCTUS #2257-b in The Faith We Sing ALL
WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND CONSECRATION
Leader: Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them become for us the presence of Christ, so that we may be signs of new life for our searching world. By your Spirit make us one with Christ, one with all creation and one in service to all the world until Christ comes in radiant glory and seats all at the heavenly table.
All: Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all, living God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the people of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and forever.
Amen.
--from A New Zealand Prayer Book
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS
COMMUNION MUSIC: Camerata San Antonio
HYMN OF INVITATION* No. 2137 Would I Have Answered When You Called
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE: Camerata San Antonio
Sunday, October 1, 2006
A little Heschel for your Sunday...
“We can never sneer at the stars, mock the dawn or scoff at the totality of being. Sublime grandeur evokes unhesitating, unflinching awe. Away from the immense, cloistered in our own concepts, we may scorn and revile everything.
But standing between earth and sky, we are silenced by the sight…”
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, as found in I Asked for Wonder: A Spiritual Anthology, ed. by Samuel H. Dresner
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