Can you build a community through Facebook?

I have been really ambivalent about the use of the internet in connecting with people. But I just read a story that is pushing me right to the convinced it's a good place to build a ministry. So here's this story that has pushed me over the edge.

Read the story and learn about how this guy used Facebook to raise people and money for a toy give away for 500 children. Furthermore, he is on countdown to the opening of his church. I'm so intrigued by his story the Nathanial* in me is just bubbling up. I just want to go see.

I don't think that the internet can or will replace people getting together in one spot to worship, praise the Lord, and do the work Jesus has called us to do: those things like feeding, clothing, sheltering, visiting the sick, and in prison. (All those "separate the goats from the sheep"** things that Matthew said that Jesus wanted us to be about doing as the body of Christ.) But it does serve as valuable way to remove layers from our identity, and a means to check in on each other.

Just because something has never been done before doesn't make it automatically wrong.

But then, I guess, if you are reading this you probably don't need too much convincing.

Blessings for the New Year

Barbara

*John 1:43-51
**Matthew 25:31-46 These are good stories in the New Testament, go and read it.

On the third day of Christmas*...

Yup, it's the 3rd day of Christmas. Three french hens anyone?

In the Ancient tradition of the church,(those still practiced in the Orthodox, Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions)the Christmas season is the twelve days following Christmas daywhich includes several important feast days. Today is the Feast of St. John.

Yesterday was the Feast of St. Stephen, the first recorded martyr of the Church. I suppose it seems odd, that we can feast as a way to commemorate a martyred saint. But then, we also remember all the saints are present in our celebration of the Eucharist. Methodist's prefer to call it The Lord's Table. But the geek in me likes the Greek word Eucharist, which means thanksgiving. I like the term Holy Communion too. It says a lot more to me about what takes place in the ritual. All the Saints, those members faithfully present in worship and those in heaven, united in the Spirit of Christ, coming together, "communing" to grow in the grace of Jesus Christ.

John Wesley was a big fan of "communing" as a means of grace. It is also a mark of United Methodism that we practice an Open Communion. I'm particularly proud of that tradition. In it we acknowledge that only the Lord and the individual receiving the elements really know what is on the person's heart and in their past. No matter where you come from, who baptized you or what other's may think of you. You are welcome to receive the Bread and dip into the Cup. And most importantly, it acknowledges that the Host of the Table, the one on whose behalf the invitation is extended is Christ the Lord.

American Methodism also made it's own history by using unfermented grape juice (and special Thanks to the Welch's Family for a pasteurization process too) when the Women's Christian Temperance Movement raised the hackles of many a distiller. Other traditions have suggested that recovering alcoholics just bypass the cup to prevent a step on the slippery slope. I find that smacks of elitism- or arrogance- or just plan inconsiderateness. Being a United Methodist means we work at finding ways to be inclusive and considerate of the diversity of circumstances of others in our faith community.

Part of my preparation for any Sunday Communion is baking the bread. As the pastor, I could ask someone else to bake the bread. Others have in the past. But, in the past year I began baking the bread. At first it was just to help the person who did it monthly when we inceased the frequency of communion. Now, I just find it a to be a spiritual practice of sorts. I don't think it falls under the list of regularly recommended practices. But for me it has become a time of prayerful meditation. I pray for the members of the church. I also use the kneeding as a time of personal confession. I like the time of preparation...most of the time. Every once in a while it feels like a burden, an obligation of more work that I would like a shortcut through. Come to think of it, that sounds like some objections I hear about coming to worship. When pressed for time, I will break down and purchase a loaf at the bakery. I'm usually not satisfied with taking the shortcut. The time at the breadboard is much for fulfilling. I feel more at peace with Christ, more in touch with the Spirit, more connected to the Holy place in myself.

So, tomorrow morning will be the fourth day of Christmas. It's been snowing# all day. All those "white Christmas" dreams are coming true. That's life in the snowglobe. We remember the most wonderful gift we recieved this year, was unveiled in Bethlehem long time ago and still comes to us each day.

blessings of peace and contentment fall heavily upon you,

Pastor Barbara

*For us liturigally minded church calendar followers Christmas has only just begun. (apologies to Paul Williams, Karen & Richard Carpenter.)
#Snow Diary 5 inches cleared this afternoon; and it's still falling.

Merry Christmas!

Hurray! It's the Christmas season finally!

We slept in this morning. After four winters it still feels odd to be able to sleep past 7AM and still be able to see a sunrise. But this morning, once the sun rose above the horizon all we've been able to see is snow falling. Tim reports the snow is falling at a rate of an inch an hour. We've been keeping a bit of a snow diary this year. It's not always easy to measure accurately. When the Wind comes up everything is in flux. Twice so far this year, we've had our lawn windswept clean of nothing more than a thin layer. But the precipitation has been steady this month.

Later today we will spend our white Christmas in the home of parishioners. But at the present I am waiting the last minutes of cooking of a ham that will be delivered for the inmates dinner our County Jail.

Oh, the timer just went off... must go.
... Back again-

Tim has been on call for EMS today. Thankfully it has been a quiet day. Most people have stayed safe on the roads, and without incident.

The snow has continued to fall all afternoon. By 3:30 we measured 8 inches of new snow, not that we waste time counting such things.

We are blessed to be living in this place, and serving this community. Dinner in the home of members of the Church brings to mind the early church, in that Acts tells us that the believers gathered often sharing all things in common, and "none went without." This Christmas, while we miss being with our own family we have been graciously received and welcomed at the table of a branch of the Atchley clan. We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve and learn about the treasures of living in this region of the Northwest.

We give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for his example of humble servitude and pray that we will be found worthy of the trust placed in us.

So today we join the angel chorus singing and saying "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!"
Glory to God in the Highest!

Today and last night in our Candlelight Christmas Eve service we have been able to recall just what a wonderful gift we have received. For we know the story of our God, who loving humanity so much, deigned to empty himself of divinity, to submit to human suffering to proclaim the release from bondage and opportunity for new life lived in the spirit. May you too open this gift. You will find the gift will never pinch your waist, it will always offer new insights, and bring peace of mind if you only heed the same message the angels first gave to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds "Fear not."

Stay warm tonight. It's a great night to read. I'll be finishing THE SHACK

Merry Christmas! Emmanuel - God is with Us! That alone is cause for rejoicing!

The Holiday Cometh- An Invitation

The holiday songs playing are beautiful, cheerful, silly and amusing. By now we’ve all heard about poor old grandma getting run over by the reindeer, the kid who wants a hippopotamus for Christmas; and ALVIN! There are probably 100 renditions of Santa Claus is coming to town, one of which I really like and still don’t know who it is. I’ve tried to restrain my angst but I’m tired of the commercialization of a really special religious season. So much so I’m just borderline green- Grinch green. My failsafe against the barrage of Jesus-less songs while journeying the hour into Idaho Falls, is to slip in a personal favorite, the one true holiday album, Bing Crosby’s White Christmas. This takes me back to my childhood. *

One particular Christmas season was made special while I lived with my aunt in Los Angeles. We had television, but it was black and white. That year Rudolph the Red Nosed reindeer was being broadcast in color. I can’t honestly tell you if it was the first year ever, because I was only in the third grade. I just remember the trek my aunt planned using the city bus, to one of the shopping areas where a Television Store had turned all the sets to the station and ran them night and day to garner sales. We took a seat out front, and spent the next thirty minutes to watch the show. I was entranced. In those years, I hadn’t really fully educated into the hidden significance of the meaning of Christmas. But I do recall that the Carols of Christmas were much more prominent over the airwaves of radio and television, even if I didn’t understand that the angels’ who sang weren’t actually named Harold.

By the seventh grade my mother had started attending the Episcopal Church. I sang in the youth choir and went to a junior high youth group each Sunday evening. In that year, I was finally learning about the real story of Christmas through the church. Advent as a season of preparation was introduced to us by the priest.

In all my years as a child I know I never went without some gifts under the tree. The tree rarely came into the house before December 15th. That was probably as a matter of financial constraints for my parents. My step-father was a disabled veteran of world war II able to work an unusual profession as a clown which meant money was often tight, although I never was really aware of that fact either until many years later. Our Christmas gifts often included generous benefactors who signed the cards “Santa.”

I love getting the letters from friends and family that tell of the year’s highlights. When Tim and I first married I sent out cards to lots of family and some friends. Then we moved to Denver and had to expand to a letter every year to more distant friends and family. There was the annual Christmas picture of our son, then both boys together in 1982, 83, 84. The list has grown over the years but my time hasn’t expanded to keep up with it. I’m absolutely not able to get a letter out before Christmas Eve. Fortunately the Church Calendar calls for 12 days that FOLLOW Christmas Day as the season of Christmas. So now my goal is to have a letter that arrives before Epiphany, which is January 6th.

So it’s 26 hours, 30 minutes before the Christmas Eve service which will be held at 7:30 PM. I’m mulling the message and thinking about Max Lucado’s Cosmic Christmas and letting my mind wander to other places. I’m missing my family California and now being distracted by text messages from our son who’s serving in Iraq. Technology has certainly shrunken the time for feedback, even if it hasn’t been able to eliminate the distance.

There’s no Christmas tree in the parsonage, because Tim and I chose to dispense with the ritual since there aren’t children to gather around our tree. Instead, the tree in the Sanctuary is our focal point. Thankfully the lights are now working on the tree. The candles will be ready for our guests, complete with the handy plastic holder to protect our worshippers from the dripping wax. If you are wondering where you can go to hear the reading of the nativity with carols sung by the congregation, Join us at the United Methodist Church as we commemorate the incarnation of Christ, the light of the world. To quote a hymn, “Come and worship, Come and worship, worship Christ, the newborn king”**

There are so many blessings for us this year. While the world is definitely in a state of uncertainty, we have one sure thing to rely on. Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God, the Word that became flesh, offers us a rock solid relationship to hold us through thick and thin. I pray that you too will be able to claim this as the most prized gift you unwrap for Christmas 2008.

*Especially “Adeste Fideles”
** “Angels from the Realms of Glory” (James Montgomer, 1816)

Mindfulness

I’m a person of routine. It forms my life with ritual and meaning. I walk as many mornings each week that I can to keep my heart healthy. I eat oatmeal with 1 T ground flaxseed, two spoons of brown sugar, ¼ c Silk and ¼ c Milk added. Each morning making my oatmeal is a task in mindfulness.

But this morning my mind was located other places, in prayer for friends in ministry who are really struggling this week instead of mindfully paying attention to a little detail, the timer on the microwave. The routine requires the correct bowl, the exact measurements and the correct time and power level. 4 minutes 30 seconds at 40%. But today I mindlessly set the bowl (discovered to be the best after several unsuccessful trials) into the microwave, set the time and pushed start.

The unintended results are wasted oatmeal, a dirty microwave and a meditation on the need for mindfulness in daily activity.

Mindfulness requires attention to self and surroundings. It is applied as a deep meditation practice in Zen Buddhism and therapeutic settings. I’ve not practiced mindfulness in that capacity, only in the rituality of daily life.

Being Mindful in social settings is a must in a small town. Too often words can come out of our mouths that are heard as an attack against another person either present in the room or not. Even a blog, well especially a blog entry, can cause unintended consequences. So I weigh my thoughts and ask, who will read this and what will they think about it.

So, just to set it on the record, blogs should be read mindfully also. Civil disagreement is always welcome. Petty attacks are not appropriate. Your comments are always welcomed. Just know that this blogger intends only to uplift others and expose my own self in the interest of spiritual growth for those who wander onto this blog.

Shalom,

Pastor Barbara

It's Really White

Winter will officially begin on December 21st but the early signs of a White Christmas are already present and collecting.

Life in this region is beginning to feel like one is living in a snow globe now. Friends who use facebook keep throwing snowballs my way and I refuse to participate. I am a pacifist! Well really I just have plenty enough snow around and know that I probably will have it for much longer than anyone else in my conference to get any fun out of virtual snowball wars.


On the plus side, I've already had both sets of skis tuned for a month now. So I'm looking forward to fitting in afternoon shushing cross country as often as the sun peaks through and the pastoral calls can be shifted around. It was a disappointment that we didn't get to use the downhill skis with our grandchildren while we were in Southern California but still, all in all, life is good.

Now my colleague in ministry out in La Grande Oregon is boasting about living in "the Sticks" because, like me, he comes from the urban southwest; for him Dallas, Texas to be exact. He thinks it's cool that he can gab with his friends about which rancher has the best meat direct (1/4 or 1/2 cow splits). What he can't boast about is being the church whose Men's club holds the yearly Community Groundhog Supper which has it's own special blend of sausage prepared locally.

True, he can boast about the culture of Eastern Oregon State music Department, but can he boast about the High School Musical Dinner Theatre Fundraiser which uses the entire senior class and uses a community orchestra composed of the local Pharmacist, former students, retired and active teachers, School Board Trustees and high school musicians?

He also boasts about his proximity to great natural lands- the way God intended them. But we know that Fremont County, Idaho is the richest wilderness region in the state of Idaho with Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton NP, Henry's Fork,Snake River, Island Park, Caribou Targhee National Forest.

Ashton also has one Fine Flea Market, with new items everyday. The only thrifty priced previously owned goods shop in town is cooperatively operated. Each week a different charitable organization will take a turn at operating the shop with all net proceeds supporting their cause.




Thinking about winter and cooperation reminds me that Ashton has it's famous annual Dog Derby held every February. A community event where all hands come out to help pull off a two day dogsled race event in subzero weather that brings mushers from all across the nation to compete.

Ashton has changed over the years.It used to have three grocery stores. Now it has one. It had two theatres. Now it has none. Ashton had a newspaper of it's own once but now the main gathering of local news comes when the neighbors gather for coffee in the farmers section at the Trails Inn. We have a Newsletter put out by the Chamber of Commerce twice monthly and the Island Park news (certified politically incorrect) provides some of the finest community and wildlife reporting a person could hope for. And of course, there is always the announcements from local church pulpits to gather the prayer concerns and expose ministry opportunities.Yep, belonging to a church helps a body stay connected and in the know in a small town. Ashton has several to choose from. I just happen to serve the more liberal of the options available.


In this county people live in homes that are mostly known by who lived there when it was built, no matter that they've gone on to their eternal reward. And we don't have any red lights on main street to stop your scenic ten block run through the city limits. If you built your home recently, your land will be known by the homesteader or farmer that sold the property for it to be built. The people are proud of their heritage as pioneers, homesteaders, farmers, and immigrants to America.

The people are friendly and welcoming, eager for new people to join in the community projects. In this town, if a neighbor has a crisis, people respond generously. Knowing that bad things happen to good people is the foundation for our working together to bring about change in difficult times. In Ashton the community has a great bunch of people who have always done alot but it is also a community that is working together to empower new leaders to create a thriving community.

Early Christmas

After all the frustrations I related about the internet in the office I have to give a follow-up report.

It seems that the best way to upgrade your internet service in Ashton is to wait until the modem just fizzles out. After techno talk that drove me up the wall, me being directed to check every conceivable cord, outlet and configuration of the telephone system they "referred me up." 24 hours later a nice guy on the other end, Lee, said we would need to replace the modum. "Easy to do and the fastest way" was to have me come down to St. Anthony to pick one up and install it myself. But I don't like denying those who are specialists in their field the opportunity to show off how capable they are. And I didn't want to add a drive to St. Anthony to my schedule either. I agreed to wait until it could be scheduled as a discipline in patience.

"by the way," I asked "can i get a wireless modum?" "Oh sure."

could this be an opening for more new technology for worship?

Happy Advent-uring to you!

Oh blogger me

A couple of weeks ago my internet service in the office went south on me. It took me several days of patiently, well not too patiently, waiting. On the first day, turning off all things and reconnecting them several times didn’t work. Checking all the connections reaped no reward. So I just went to plan B. I went home to use my own connection to complete the important correspondence of the day. And I did this repeatedly for several days until the problem resolved itself. Later, talking to an older member of the church about this frustration, more in passing than serious lament, she commented that I was spoiled by the internet.

“O contraire!” was my reply. She just didn’t understand that the internet is now our primary means of communication on so many levels. Internet has become the primary means of delivery and connection in the Oregon Idaho Conference. United Methodist organizations at all levels communicate to pastors, and laity with increasing reliance upon the Internet as the medium.

Within the same week a short article came across my desk, (yes, it actually was printed on paper and mailed) which raised the issue of the church and Digital Natives.
I am not a digital native. I’m far too old. My first introduction to computers was after I began working in the banking industry somewhere around 1975 or ‘76. ATM’s were just coming out at that time. Banks sorted and cleared checks using row upon row of computers and keystroke operators. A whole fleet of people and machines worked to sort out the daily work of every branch office in San Diego County for San Diego Trust and Savings Bank. The building was kept at a very cool temperature of about 66.7 degrees in order to keep the machines from overheating.

About a year after that I took my first class in computer programming. If you are a digital native this probably means very little to you unless you are also a digital geek. Those of us who took any programming classes in the 70’s had to use punch cards to write our programs, one card for each line of a program. I wrote the simplest program, prayed not to drop the stack of 70 lines of command in a some foreign language cobal or fortran I think, and shouted for joy when I completed the class with less than an A but better than a d plus.

Since those early days of learning to embrace the technology of computers I’ve taken other classes, and determined that minimally I’m just a user. GUI -Graphic User Interface- made it so much easier than those early days. And now, like 10,400 others who list themselves as pastors in their profile, I’ve taken to using a blog as a means of reflecting – hopefully also inspiring, those who may never once step their foot within the door of any church that I preach in.

My husband kicked and complained about the use of the internet for business purposes until about 6 years ago. Now within just the last 24 hours he too is seeing the value of the blog for connecting. For him and the rest of our family we are setting up a private space, thanks again to blogspot, a place where we can connect with our family which resides in Iraq, California, Missouri, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, and who knows where else.

My son and daughter in law were sharing about their experience selecting a church for their family. Their search started with the internet. She studied the mission statements and vision statements of every church around their community. Not being present on the internet with a complete website automatically eliminated a lot of prospective congregations.

Now I know that what I blog is supposed to be "fresh" and "in the moment". So let me confess, I started writing this about two weeks ago. I saved it, and put it aside. But again today, my internet in the office "NO tabaja!" Once again I've had to pack it up and head to the parsonage, and that just to check email and download documents that my denomination dutifully requires me to file annually. And that, my friends led me to pulling out this piece of bloggerity.

Back to the younger set looking for church on the web. Out here, on the edge of the timber, I wonder who is searching for a connection with the Divine, Methodist version or otherwise, through the World Wide Web? And after they've found it, what do they think of us once the walk through the doors to discover that they quite likely, on that particular week are the youngest in the room?

Will they want to worship when I'm also reduced to using DIGITALLY recorded music for our worship through the winter because our accompanist has gone south for the winter?

So tell me, if you're out there, what are you looking for from a church? What will keep you coming back, well, at least once or twice every quarter? How can the church be the church for you?