I have now read Wicked by Gregory Maguire! (When I say ‘read’ in this, I mean ‘listened to it on CD’.) It was an interesting read and thanks to mom for getting me the CD set for Christmas. Mom and I had gone to the touring company production in Chicago and loved it! The book is very different, as many people have pointed out over time.
There is a heavy political bent to the book. Some of this I understood, and I think that I missed a large amount of the references. But overall, I enjoyed reading the book and getting the full scope of what MacGuire had written in order to see what got changed in the musical theater production. As separate pieces of work, they each have their own merits and I would commend either and both to you.
The book also deals a lot more with development of self, identity, choices (back to those silly thoughts about choice/discernment…). We also get the silence of “animals” – those who are not socially acceptable – and any others who speak out against those who are in power.
So - What happened to those 12 baskets? Vote in the comments!
(This is the outline of the sermon given today. Most of the main points are there...)
| 4 Lent, Year B Christ Church, Winnetka March 26, 2006 |
One version of Jesus’ famous lunch
- 5000 hungry men and their families
- Miracle – Jesus fed them with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish
- Then there’s a ton leftover
Dad’s Lunches
- sandwich, fruit, veggies, chips, raisins/granola bar, milk money, dessert
- always too much – had to share with others
- my need was met, some leftover
God provides for our needs
- we have received gifts in abundance
o friends and family
o community and the desire to be in relationship with others
o material possessions
o life
- society and culture – often focuses on scarcity
o consumed by the scarcity that we miss the abundance of God
o feel this – didn’t plan well, so rushed (no time), something unexpected needs to be done with a house or a car
o trauma, tragedy – missing what we used to have
o my friend had been injured in a car accident and felt empty and alone and abandoned – stuck in grieving health and friends who had grown apart
- now, she can see how she was surrounded by God and by people who cared
- even in times when we feel that resources are scarce, we can reflect and see the overabundance that God has given to us
o in times of struggle, we can feel the support of those who love us
o we can be assured of God’s presence in our lives
- we feel God’s grace in our lives
- disciples – 5 loaves and 2 fish -
o realize that their baskets overflowing
What happened to those 12 baskets of leftovers?
- Maybe - disciples shared with even more people that they met that day
o Those who needed physical sustenance
- Disciples started to realize that they also were overflowing with God’s love
o Provide spiritual nourishment
- We also can take up what has been discarded and distribute to those in need
o rummage sale – providing great stuff for people at a great price
- proceeds – provides for many ministries around the area and world
o how do you distribute your excess to those in need?
o We can also think about those discarded by society
o in the abundance that God has given us, we can give to others
ß be it lunch bags or bread baskets, we can give food to the hungry
ß fight for justice for underemployed, those without health insurance, those suffering because society sees them as worthless or have no energy to fight
ß care for the orphans – help everyone find a loving family
ß help people in other countries stop dying from AIDS or Malaria or find ways to get them fresh water
- we also recognize the spiritual abundance – our souls flowing over from God’s love – we have to share this gift with others
o spiritual gifts – faith, hospitality, mercy, leadership, teaching
o share our stories of God’s love – to encourage others to see how God is working in our lives
- when we start feel that resources, gifts, or love are scarce, we come back to the community for support
o show up to church
o be encouraged by others’ faith stories
o check in with friends and support network
all come to the altar together – hungry to be filled with God’s abundance
Jesus is the bread of life
- Come to the altar today
- Jesus provides himself for us – so much that there is too much to fill us
- Be filled with God’s presence – share that with others
You may have a lunch bag that is overflowing with food, or a soul overflowing with God’s love – and perhaps both. Let us go share with the world who needs both physical sustenance and spiritual nourishment.
I know – I’m a bit behind…
There are these really cool globes made by Ingo Gunther. Makes one look at the world differently. There are more if you play around with that site.
Paper or Plastic – please re-use your bags. Recycle them when they fall apart too much to use again. Borrow books from the library…
Has anyone heard of Dirty Three?
And I would love to see The Real Dirt on Farmer John.
From Utne – Nov-Dec 2005
Also – they say to check out Urgent Message from Mother which looks great – and there will be more blogging about the suffering of the world later. How do we fix these issues? Or at least start to look for equality…
This is connected to Global Fund for Women.
And, in a strange way, Dads and Daughters.
Henry and I went to the Evanston Public Library last night to watch What I want my Words to do to You. What an absolutely riveting movie. Eve Ensler is amazing and the work that she has done should be commended – and repeated in every prison with all the populations.
I, of course, cried. Justice issues here…court systems and penitentiaries. It was great to see this side of people – especially some of the women who had been part of high profile cases. The women were really struggling with issues and trying to articulate what has happened in their lives and how they will move into the future. Check it out. Support programs like it.
Utne, Nov.-Dec. 2005
It was an ad, so I can’t guarantee how fair it all is…but at least somewhere to start looking.
A greater gift
All Things Organic
Equal Exchange
Fair Trade Resource Network
Global Crafts
Global Exchange
Oxfam
Pax World Funds
TOYS!Worldwide Child
Of course, you can always shop at Episcopal Relief and Development and order some Bishop’s Blend coffee.
My dad and I were able to check out The Pink Panther at the great movie theater in Otsego/Plainwell ($2.50 per ticket for a matinee)! And on Thursdays, the popcorn is free!
While it wasn’t a fabulously wonderful movie, it was entertaining. Could have been funnier at some point and might have been more stupid than funny. Cute, pretty much predictable. Not a bad way to spend a snowy afternoon.
GO ELLEN!
I had the opportunity to attend the yearly Cabaret in Allegan. What a great show! And my friend Ellen performed. She was so cool that she even closed the show! And she did an absolutely wonderful job. As I was leaving the theater, one man walking next to me mentioned, “I have a new appreciation for Ellen now.”
Congrats to you, friend!
I LOVE this book! I read it because I so enjoyed Blink.
The best part about the book - I finally figured out what I am – a CONNECTOR!
The description was wonderful: (paraphrase): “you know those people who seem to know everyone? Well, they do…” I’m like – YES! That’s me! One of his examples has a database of 1600 people – I’m only at like 450. But I figure that I’m younger than he is – so I have a while to catch up.
I appreciated some of his great stories – especially around deterring crime by cleaning things up. Amazing that little things can sometimes make a big difference.
Though, there is about a third of the book at the end that I just don’t get. Anyone understand? I guess after finding the beginning so accessible and so hoping that he could help me figure out what the “one thing” for Canterbury could be, I got lost somewhere in something. I’d love to chat more about it, if you got it.
If you haven’t read it, it’s another good one to check out.
The other day, someone made a joke with:
“Paul’s letter to the Hebrews – neither of Paul, nor a letter, nor to the Hebrews – discuss.”
Henry and I watched Life is Beautiful. All I could think at the end:
“Life is beautiful – it is neither life nor beautiful – discuss”
What a haunting movie. The devastation to an entire culture of people. Recently, a professor at Northwestern made a public statement about how the Holocaust didn’t really happen. Not so helpful to the understanding of history and how to make sure that it is not repeated. Though, that hasn’t really happened either as we continue to have large numbers of people wiped away.
So, overall, yes, I understand that the movie showed life in the midst of death. And this is so important but completely not comprehensible to me. I’ve never had life that bad before. But in the midst of making light of the situation, it made it even graver to me.
Powerful movie. I know that I'm behind and lots of other people have seen it. But if you haven't, try it out. Take Kleenex.
From Utne, Sept-Oct 2005
Global Volunteers
Action without Borders
Volunteer Vacations: Short term adventures that will benefit you and others
So – Shane threw out some helpful stuff at the first round of this.
I, of course, am still working on processing more deeply the implications of decision making and further discerning where I am going.
So – if we use the word “regret” for the emotion that comes from one who has reached a present that s/he is unhappy with, what can we do before we get to that emotion? How does one make decisions now that later will not be regretted?
Of course, I naturally think about my situation. What job should I get? Should we stay in Chicago or move back to Michigan? How does getting married change my future? While I don’t expect answers to all of these things now, what is the process by which I get to the point where I’ve made the best decision possible?
My co-facilitator for the Canterbury discernment group talked about that when choices are made, often things must be sacrificed. If I choose one route, that cuts off some of my other options. This is not brain surgery – obviously, if I choose to get married, then dating other men is not an option. But how can I help ensure that in choosing one route that things that are important to me are not sacrificed?
Okay – of course I’m back to questions. And on some level, answers are self-evident and are silly to even ask – while, on the other hand are unanswerable until after the decision is made.
But my hope in looking at these questions is that I can help others recognize that decisions are being made and that there are actually choices occurring and that people can influence their futures by making more careful decisions today. So – that later – they do not regret. They aren’t stuck in a corner with very few options because they didn’t take time to discern carefully their options.
So – I guess that I’m really interested in reviewing the decision-making process. In my discernment, things have been very clear because I have taken the time to pray through stuff. I actively check in with several different sources in making decisions. Somehow, I end up making decisions that seem to work out well in the end.
How do you make decisions? How do you help other people make decisions?
Shane handed me Abarat a pretty long time ago. I had started it once and only got through the prologue – which is a very oddly written piece of work. So, I finally went back to read it again. The prologue is still odd, but once you get to the real meat of the book, it’s written like a real story. It’s a great piece of work and a very wonderful piece of art – the illustration is beautiful. I hope that they didn’t remove that for the paperback printing. It makes for a really heavy book (not convenient for trains or planes) but beautiful.
I’m excited to read the next one now.
I went to the Field Museum to see the Pompeii exhibit. It was wonderful. I went on Monday – the last free week for the Jan-Mar free time (sorry that I didn’t realize that before).
I just wandered through the entire exhibit with the headset, which had some great extra information. Interesting to look at the many items that have been recovered. The horror of that day is unthinkable and the suffering apparent on faces that have been recovered through a casting technology.
The exhibit is open until March 26. Check it out if you can make some time.
So – I’ve been a lot of thinking about what people do with their lives.
I just started a group at Canterbury called “What (in the hell) am I going to do with my life?” that now meets weekly. This was a chance for people to start discerning what they would like to do. It’s been going really well. We’re starting with spiritual journeys and having a great time sharing them and getting to know each other better. I’m hoping that through the group, people can start articulating what it is that God is calling them to do.
I saw Brokeback Mountain and just couldn’t believe that the character (Ennis) ended up in a place where he had ever imagined himself. I mean, he had to make choices with life, but then ended up in a really lonely, isolated place, living in a trailer park. He’s separated from the one that he truly loves, and separated from his family. The dreams of living in on the open range are left shattered and scattered, shards on the memory room floor.
This reminded me of people who are places that they never would have dreamt that they would be.
Now, I understand that I’m also not where I thought that I would be – 32, single, a priest. This is not the exact life that I ever dreamed of when I was little. HOWEVER, it’s not completely contrary to it either. I have ended up working as a professional, making a living, and feeling great about my life.
I do have some friends who have made choices that they have impeded on their dreams. They make one decision that gives them part of what they want and desire, but in the process has to sacrifice other major goals and aspirations. (Calls to ordination, basic care due to lack of funds, sacrificing college educations even as top of HS class.) Now, these would not be back if the person looking back says, “Yes, I’m happy with this.” But in some of the cases that I know, people are really unhappy with some of the choices. Looking back, they regret some of the major decisions that they made and implications of some of their choices.
In an article at Charisma (which I read to be in touch with what other groups of Christians are talking about), Paula White talks about how God is Good and how her life is wonderful just because she followed Jesus. Really? Wow – I mean, what about those who are faithful and still suffer? Where their life doesn’t result in magazine articles that talk about those faithful to God will have fabulous lives.
So – it leads me to my place of major discernment. To find a job where God is calling while balancing it with a spouse-to-be. To lively fully into my call as priest and find those areas where I can help organize the world (my general call that I’ve had most of my life). We’ll see how it goes for me.
I’m open for job options. Write me if you know of something cool!
So, I’d just like to rant:
When a person leaves a message, that person should say their number two times. Slowly. I get a ton of messages every week (wandering around campus and not sitting in the office) and there are so many people who just rattle off a number - and sometimes so fast that I have to listen to it three times before I get all the numbers.
I learned this during my first “real” job – from a priest.
Name, number, message, number, (name)
Then you have the number at the beginning and at the end – two chances for the person to get it and write it down. It also means that if the person missed the number, s/he could go back to the beginning and hear just the number before deleting (assuming a digital answering machine). The extra (name) at the end is in case the person doesn't know who you are - then you've given that person an opportunity to get your name down to know who to call back.
So, I beg anyone reading this: consider how you leave a message, especially for someone who doesn't know you or doesn't have your number. It doesn't take much longer and is very helpful.
And if you're doing it well, encourage others to leave nice messages.
Henry (Systems Engineer at Donnelley Logistics) and
Heather (Chaplain at Canterbury Northwestern)
are excited to announce
their engagement to be married!
We’re looking at November – more news to follow.
Yes, I know…some of you already know this. But being a priest and getting engaged is a slightly tricky thing – informing families and bishops and whatnot before getting general announcements out. But it’s out. We’re still having fun. We have some plans and I’m sure that we have lots more to go. But there’s the big news!
But, no, we're not planning on a wedding planning podcast and there probably won't be much more mention of it here until the day. If you would like to be on the invite list, send me an email...