Archive for May, 2006
Synod Schedule
If you’re attending Synod, like I am, with a less-than-official status and wondered what happens when, you may have noticed that the workbook doesn’t include a schedule. Ron (one of my Elders) to the rescue!
I’ve scanned it; the thumbnail below goes to a link with a full-size, printable version (it’s .jpg format, if you […]
Maybe a little Strange
You may consider this strange, but I LOVE General Synod.
This year, since my wife used up much of her vacation time with maternity leave, our vacation amounts don’t match up, so I’m taking a week of vacation and heading down to Synod — for the fun of it. Yes, “the fun” of it. […]
Ooofta.
I can’t believe it’s been a full week since the church picnic…went very well.
Yes, it rained, and the potluck/picnic had to be moved indoors, but it quickly got amazingly beautiful outside, so we migrated for games (bocce, hill-billy-horseshoes, age-specific games for Sunday school classes). This year we had Cotton Candy and Pony Rides too! […]
The Mother of all Potlucks
Tomorrow.
Yes, tomorrow.
Tomorrow is our all-church picnic. I have joked that “we may be the only church on the face of the earth where gluttony is considered a virtue.” Tomorrow I will prove it.
Seriously though, there are two activities I particularly look forward to every year, our annual harvest festival and our […]
Could it Be?
It’s possible that I’ve found the book that will serve as one of the essential pillars of my D.Min. thesis (which I hope to be starting in less than a year.
It’s called Deep Conversion Deep Prayer by Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M.
It’s a small, quickly read (slowly digested) book described as giving “practical advice for a […]
Why I Wear a Collar
I’m not a particularly controversial person. I don’t like conflict. I detest the church’s innate talent for turning mole-hills into mountains. Yet one aspect of my existence regularly brings raised eyebrows and confused looks….I wear a clergy collar.
When I was first ordained, it was my earrings that people were confused with (although, […]
Potential, and #4 of the Rule
I don’t know how other ministers do it. It, of course, being “ministry.”
Two things lie at the core of my desire to keep ministering at Dunningville:
1) I strongly believe I was called here and don’t believe that’s changed, and
2) I believe Dunningville has tons of potential.
I […]
Sunday’s Sermon
Miracle of miracles….It’s only Thursday and I’m about 1/2 finished with Sunday’s sermon. (For those of you that don’t know me, that happens about twice a year.)
I’m preaching on the most substantive statement our special speaker offered up Monday at the Regional Synod of the Great Lakes “special event” (for lack […]
Congregational Health = Numerical Growth
Here are two of the statements I learned today….
1) Numeric growth is directly perportional to congregational health.
2) It is essential for apple churches (0-200 members) to “act like” orange churches (200-45,000 members) until they actually live into their orange-ness.
This is the kind of stuff the Synod of the Great lakes wants its chuches to embrace?! […]
