Sermon: “Deep Water” Luke 5:1-11

February 7, 2010 at 6:50 pm | In sermon | 4 Comments
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Adam J. Copeland

First Pres Hallock, Minn.

Feb 7, 2010

Deep Water

Luke 5:1-11

Deep river, my home is over Jordan.

Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

I wonder if that old African American Spiritual is a familiar one to our congregation. Its words are both simple and complex.

Oh, don’t you want to go to that gospel feast,
That promised land where all is peace?
Deep river, my home is over Jordan,
Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground.

What is that “deep river” in the old song? Is it the river Jordan? Is it a generic baptismal river reminding us of salvation in Christ? Or is it code for the Ohio River or the Mississippi River?

Many African American spirituals were just that, “code songs” or “signal songs” that slaves used to send messages of freedom, messages of hope to one another that their masters didn’t understand. So the slaves, when they sang Deep River, were singing of getting to heaven, but they were also singing of getting over the Ohio or Mississippi River to freedom in the north. Those were deep rivers to cross indeed, for if the slave did escape a plantation, one would be pursued by dogs and bounty hunters and, if caught, would meet a horrible fate.

But the slaves sang freedom songs, songs of faith. Their deep Christian faith kept them anchored in the Lord even when they lived in squalor and captivity. Even while enslaved, they sang of their freedom in Christ and their hope that one day, sweet Harriet Tubman, would be coming for to carry them home.

Deep river. Deep faith even while enslaved. A deep challenge for us because we live in relative abundance. As a society, we have more stuff than any could ever need. But how is our faith? As a professor of mine suggested pastors ask on their visits, “How are you with God?”

Today’s scripture lessons flood us with call stories: Isaiah’s, Paul’s, Simon Peter’s. If they share a common theme it is simply that the person called was not worthy. Isaiah says, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips.” Paul says he is the least of the apostles, unfit because he once persecuted the church of God. And Simon Peter fell to his knees and begged when Jesus called him. Continue reading Sermon: “Deep Water” Luke 5:1-11…

Live Blogging Presbytery of Northern Plains 99th Stated Meeting

February 5, 2010 at 3:13 pm | In PC(USA) | 4 Comments
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the following is a bullet by bullet account of the Presbytery of Northern Plains meeting Feb 5-6.

  • the meeting has been called to order; the host congregation has welcomed us to First Pres Grand Forks
  • agenda change: presentation by Presbyterian Clearwater Forest tomorrow
  • silent auction for Chogoria Partnership Ministry Team, our partners in Africa
  • Report by Interim Executive Presbyter, Steve Minnema –>  really pushing upcoming CLP training event on Presbyterian stuff.  Also good for non-PC(USA) folk serving our churches
  • fascinating: First Pres of Colgate granted permission to dispose of old building in any way they can. valued at $0.  no discussion.  property in these parts is very different than others.
  • over $6,000 given to Haiti relief in memory of former EP, Arabella Meadows-Rogers
  • wow, love this. several churches owe the presbytery on loans.  e.g. First Pres Minot borrowed $1500 in…the year 1913!
  • discussion on-going about churches withholding per capita. 2009 total is $55,000 or so.  not good, not bad comparatively?  the big question seems to be why people are withholding, or do they just not have the ability to pay?  [wow, i just asked if we knew why any were withholding.  nobody knew any reasons.  we're working on it, which is dandy.]
  • Council Report–lots of changes to bylaws and junk.  just approved putting a lot more presbytery info — manual and such — online. passed. cool.
  • Beginning Planning/Visioning Process led by our interim EP.  Title: Renewing Our Vision/Discerning our Priorities. Our vision, btw, is to be: “A vibrant, informed, Presbyterian community which nourishes ministry and joins in Christ’s mission.”  /  starting w/ scripture — good idea, steve :)

Renewing Our Vision/Discerning our Priorities process:

  • beginning questions: what tempts you to lose heart and what helps you not lose heart?
  • four speakers presenting statements on our presbytery vision statement.
  • small groups with discussion.  someone says specifically that we do not nurture well.  i totally agree — have had very little support from presbytery so far
  • nice break w/ really tasty cookies and fruit.  thanks FPC Grand Forks!
  • priorities in this order: 1) discern priorities, 2) utilize gifts, 3) re-organize presbytery and all the time 4) engage congregations in the process.
  • shout out to technology and how there’s a need for educating our leaders as to how to use it for mission
  • some great small group discussion and good visioning; people really seem to want to work together and study with one another rather than presbytery just being about procedure
  • gotta take off early before discussion of overture; update tomorrow…

Sat Morning Session:

  • Prior to gavel at 8:30 a.m. I’ve had lots of curious comments about technology this meeting. there seems to be a huge interest by presbyters in how they might use it in their churches.  there’s lots of challenges re access, but it’s also a hopeful sign i think.  overall, the meeting yesterday allowed us some really good discussion and planning in small groups.  hopes the positive vibe continues today.
  • starting 10 mins late — glad to see that it’s not just the meetings I run in Hallock
  • agenda time for free for all sharing of “good news”
  • Doug Kelly from the Board of Pensions is making a report; our plan is still 100% funded which is pretty crazy good compared to what’s going on out there.
  • announcement that the overture on Genetically Engineered Food failed last night
  • COM moves that Trained Lay Pastors be given voice at all presbytery meetings (can’t be given vote as well, though some had hoped.)
  • COM report approved; my pet peeve — how we introduce new pastors who are called to the presbytery.  i wish we could have a bio and faith statement in the packet, plus an email announcement before. a new pastor joined the presbytery since last meeting and we know nothing about him, our new presbyter Rick Kargard
  • Committee on Prep for Min report: Paul an inquirer is up to become a candidate; great statement on his call to ministry!  taking some questions on his call journey and experience at Dubuque Seminary. nice break to talk about the PC(USA) call process and breaking down of the steps towards ordained ministry. thanks madam moderator for slowing us down in a really helpful way. passed. congrats Doug.
  • Committee on Nominations report: several nominated and elected to COM, and Comm on Nom, Clearwater Forest Board slot not quite filled yet
  • Presbyterian Clearwater Forest report. lots of cool camp pictures of life without snow. the adult sea kayak camps on lake superior look really cool. lots of great opportunities for youth, and even a Grands Camp for seniors. awesome lake opportunities, high ropes course, great stuff.  Awesome: they have a building called The Hermitage that is free for church workers to use as a personal retreat.  sounds awesome.
  • Self Development of People report. Doing some great stuff w/ grants for the Immigrant Development Center in Fargo-Moorehead (w/ growing immigrant community). Powerful speaker on the projects–gardening for sustainability, entrepreneurs training, business idea support project.  presentation of $15K grant to this project from national office, I think. [Wow, I'm sort of a PCUSA junkie but have never heard of Self Development of People and its national projects. curious.]
  • plug for General Assembly 219 in Minneapolis. Want us to be volunteers and, if do so officially, you seem to work for 2 hours a day then get a name tag and several other perks. curious.  hope the GA website gets some major work. a little quirky at the moment. oh, and what’s the hashtag for GA219?
  • report from Chogoria Partnership Ministry Team — hoping to bring six from the Chogoria presbytery (that’s in Kenya, btw) to visit our presbytery in the fall,  planning “major cooperative mission project” for the poorest in the Chogoria area in 2011. good hopeful report.
  • Youth Connection Report:  Spring Youth Retreat April 9-11, Triennium July 19-26 hoping for 2 youth from each congregation.
  • dun dun dun:  Belfield Church has been closed as of Dec 20, 2009.  Sadness, but looks like they made some really generous financial decisions. we voted to dismiss the closing commission, but i wonder if we needed to do so.  Doesn’t a commission just automatically disappear after its work is done?  As opposed to a committee?
  • Synod Report: gave $14K of synod peacemaking offering funds to water pump project in Haiti.
  • closing worship service and installation of new officers. ahead of schedule! adjourn w/ worship and such.

The Travel Insurance Rip-off

February 3, 2010 at 11:12 am | In sundry | 1 Comment
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Travel insurance is a rip-off, a swindle, a shakedown. Do not buy it.

At least the type you buy online at the end of purchasing a flight either through Delta.com or another website. It’s worthless insurance — unassuming you don’t lose a limb on the way to the airport or need your body repatriated.

I should have learned this lesson already. My brother bought said travel insurance on his flights to Hong Kong last year. So when the trip was cancelled due to H1N1 scares (Ian will tell you, a complete overreaction btw), he calmly called the insurance people. But no, of course, they did not cover such a circumstance. If Hong Kong had been hit by a nuclear bomb, it would have been covered. But short of that, he was out of luck.

Then a trip of mine last weekend gets delayed due to a blizzard. It was tricky because I was flying out of Minneapolis where flights were going out on time, but the blizzard in Grand Forks meant I couldn’t drive to the MSP airport. Delta representative on the phone said I’d have to pay a change fee. “That’s ok,” I thought, “I bought travel insurance to prepare for just this type of mishap.”

Then I looked at the Access America small print. I was covered in the event of a family member’s death, an unannounced strike by the airline, if I was quarantined or was hijacked on the way to the airport. But, otherwise, I was basically out of luck. I called Access America and a friendly representative said as much as well. So I asked if, then, I was to drive through the blizzard and died in the process, if the flight cancellation fee would then be covered. And, in fact, it would have been! (I could have also lost a a limb, and that would be covered.) But, short of death or limb loss, my $18 travel insurance was worthless.

I ended up finding a lovely Delta person at the airport who changed things for free and even got me an exit row. But, thanks to said blizzard and me missing my ride, I did need to rent a car which was rather annoying and not exactly in the budget. But, indeed, I learned a valuable lesson: do not buy travel insurance.

Access America is crap. It’s not worth it. Save your money. After all, if your body ever needs repatriated, you won’t give a flip either way.

image by czbalazs

Sermon: “Called Together” Jer 1:4-10

January 31, 2010 at 6:47 pm | In sermon | Leave a Comment
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I’ve been quite busy and just collecting a list of posts I want to write rather than blogging as much as I prefer, but all in good time.  Here’s a bit of insight into what I’ve been up to, however–with great thanks to my Pastor Study Group.

Adam J. Copeland

First Presbyterian Church

Hallock, Minn.

Jan 31, 2009

Called Together

Jer. 1:4-10

I spent a few days last week in Montreat, North Carolina with a group of six other Presbyterian pastors. We had a fantastic time delving into what ministry looks like in each of our very different settings. One of our group members is a pastor downtown in a city of 10 million; another works 20 hours a week in a congregation with about thirty souls in worship each week; another serves a congregation in a declining neighborhood–fifteen years ago the church had 1600 members; now the enormous sanctuary dwarfs the 250 members remaining. As we discussed in the New Members/Refresher class this morning, what constitutes a “church” these days is an incredibly diverse, and sometimes quite complicated.

In preparation for our time together, my pastor study group read the book, “Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field” by Paul Borden. It’s a fascinating read and generated some stellar discussion. Borden is a church mission specialist who focuses on visioning, strategic planning, and systemic change. Big change. It was interesting for us Presbyterian pastors to think about systemic change in the first place, after all you know the old Presbyterian joke, “How many Presbyterians does it take to change a lightbulb?” “Change???” Or, the other punch line: “How many Presbyterians does it take to change a lightbulb?” “Well, first you form a committee to nominate a task force to call a meeting to present to the session what committee may decide whether or not the general idea of change is something they may consider in three to five years.”

Sure, change is really difficult in any organization, especially the church. But most of us, myself included, thought this book of Borden’s suggested going about church change in a really dangerous way. Well, Borden talked about looking intensely at one’s community, about prayer, and careful discernment as to what God has in store for a congregation–that part was great–but, the vision for change, what the church should become, for Borden, is almost solely the vision of the pastor. Us pastors thought that was a really dangerous thing–one person, a mere pastor, developing the vision for an entire congregation. Most of my group just had a different idea of how pastors should lead than what Paul Borden suggests. We didn’t think we had all the answers. We didn’t think we had the clear visions. And we did think, for sure, that we make plenty of mistakes.

Maybe another way to put it, after reading today’s Old Testament lesson, is to say that my pastor group shared Jeremiah’s initial hesitancy to his call. And we, like Jeremiah, heard a response and call from God. But the specific words are hard to hear. My group members, and I in particular, do not hear a specific ten-point strategic plan in response to our prayer requests. While God speaks clearly to Jeremiah–even putting words in Jeremiah’s mouth–it’s rare for me, at least, to hear God’s voice directly. Instead, I find that God’s call for me, and I expect God’s call for most of us, comes in quieter tones. God speaks, but in indirect ways, through community, through experiences, through trial and error and never-ending love.

These verses of Jeremiah are usually referred to as “The Call of Jeremiah.” And they do follow some regular patterns of God calling folks in the Old Testament. God usually calls God’s prophets through an encounter with God, and God speaks to them–remember Moses and the burning bush, this story in Jeremiah and the story of Isaiah, and Gideon, and Ezekiel. God calls, and in most cases, the prophet rejects God’s invitation.

It like every time God picks out the fancy paper for an invitation and goes to the bother of writing everyone’s names real pretty-like on the envelope, God gets rejected with some excuse. Continue reading Sermon: “Called Together” Jer 1:4-10…

Sermon: “One Different Body” 1 Cor 12:1-31

January 24, 2010 at 6:17 pm | In sermon | 1 Comment
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Adam J. Copeland

First Presbyterian Church

Hallock, Minn.

Jan 21, 2010

One Different Body

1 Cor 12:1-31a

A member of ours shared with a committee this week how vividly she recalls getting glasses in first grade or so. Glasses then were not as cool as glasses now (now, as you can see, they are the height of fashion). But this member had the old kind with pointy wing tips. Remember those? They were all the rage for a few years.

Well, she remembers the first day she went to school wearing her new glasses. The memory etched in her retina is that of six or seven classmates standing around her desk, staring directly at her. And for some reason she didn’t remember this fondly. That’s the sort of thing you’ll remember forever–half your elementary school class staring at you out of shock and horror of what’s on your face.

No doubt, we all have similar childhood memories of some sort–if we haven’t repressed them by now. There’s just something about children that hone in on anything different. Wear, try, think, be anything out of the ordinary, and you’re the talk of the class (and not in a good way).

We don’t know how the apostle Paul behaved in first grade, but we do know what he thought about differences in the body of Christ. Paul preached that differences are essential, that differences are God-given, that differences–ideally–bring us together to be one strong body of Christ.

14 Indeed, the body [of Christ] does not consist of one member but of many. Now remember the context here. Paul is writing to the church in Corinth, or probably small churches he helped start a few years back. But he eventually left them and then he hears that folks weren’t getting along too well. They had arguments about lots of things, different points of view and different ideas on what is faithful.

That’s not much different from many churches today, actually. A pastor friend of mine says when her session meets, they usually have about twelve session members and at least fifteen opinions. So Paul tries to explain this strange concept of one body but many body parts, many members of the body. Paul writes, Continue reading Sermon: “One Different Body” 1 Cor 12:1-31…

A Different Sort of Call Story

January 21, 2010 at 2:48 pm | In PC(USA), church | 4 Comments
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Deacon training is done. Elder training will be on-going. Both Elders and Deacons are now ordained and installed.

I used ThePresbyterianLeader.com resources for Deacon training to a good result. The curriculum is cool because it comes in two parts — Leaders Guide and Participants Handout. The Participants Handout comes as a .pdf, and can be emailed to new deacons so they read up before a training session. The Leaders Guide is just for the leader, and has many good exercise suggestions that are adaptable to any group. Definitely check out The Presbyterian Leader.

The nominations, training, and ordination process of elders and deacons got me to thinking on the nature of the call process for officers in the Presbyterian church. For instance, I have recently finished around a five year ordination process. Along the way, I probably shared my “call story” twenty times formally, and many more times informally. But — and I’m just being honest here — the call process for elders and deacons in my congregation felt a little more like arm-twisting than any holy call or anything. Totally, God works through arm-twisting, but I’m struck at the huge differences between the call processes.

This leads me to reflect upon the decline of the eldership in the Presbyterian church overall. I don’t have much time here, and I’m mostly just dangerously guessing and generalizing, but ;) … my impression is that the office of elder, historically, carried much more weight than it does now. I’m guessing elders used to see their service as elders in a very different sense than a community board, and now many see their positions as more plain governance than spiritual leadership? Maybe I’m way off here, I hope I am. But if I’m not, I wonder how to reclaim that traditional role. I wonder what pastors can do to lead elders into a new sense of call. I wonder how to make session meetings feel less like board meetings.

A Good Word to End Worship

January 19, 2010 at 11:12 am | In church, reflections, worship | 15 Comments
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When I lead worship, I try to stay out of the way. Sure, I say plenty of words and all, but if they are led correctly they point to something greater than myself. So, here’s my conundrum: whether the charge and benediction at the close of the service should be my words, as in reflecting the crux of the sermon. Or, whether the charge and benediction should be one common to the tradition and unchanged each week.

[We interrupt this blog post to give a quick working definition of “Charge” and “Benediction.” The “Charge” usually occurs at the close of worship when the pastor says, “Go do this, be this, live like this....” The “Benediction” often follows and is the “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God...” part.]

Partly so I don’t get in the way, and partly just due to my skill-set, I tend to write most of the worship words I lead (or at least their general idea) before I speak them. For example, the sermon manuscripts I post on the blog are probably about 90% of what I actually say, and 10% of the sermon I actually preach is adds or subtracts or rewordings of the manuscript. My prayers are similar, though I ad lib a bit more in the Prayers of the People when the Spirit moves.

But I just don’t know what to think about the charge and benediction. I know a pastor who speaks a different charge each week as he walks up the aisle of the church before shaking hands at the front door. This works for him — speaking new words each week, and “processing” while he does so. The pastor looks folks in the eyes as he walks. That’s great, but I do wonder if the spotlight is a little bright on him at this point in the service.

I know another pastor who speaks the same benediction each week for a given liturgical season, one found in the Book of Common worship. The congregation then responds, participating in the charge themselves (L: Go in peace. Love and serve the Lord. P: Thanks be to God. Alleluia!) I like this fine too, but I also wonder if it’s too repetitive, surely not boring, but maybe not inspiring either.

So help me out here. Do you like benedictions that are mini-summaries, refreshers-almost, of the sermon? Do you prefer strict tried-and-true liturgy? Do you know a better way? I charge you to share a good word with us.

image of Pastor Amy Starr Redwine, Firestone Park Presbyterian Church, Akron

Sermon: “Plans, Upended” John 2:1-11

January 17, 2010 at 5:25 pm | In sermon | 1 Comment
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Adam J. Copeland

FPC Hallock, Minn.

Jan 17, 2009

Plans, Upended

John 2:1-11

It’s difficult to find a native Floridian living in Tallahassee, my home town. A bit different from the Kittson County area, it seemed at least, growing up, that all my friends’ family had moved to Tallahassee at some point not too long ago. And not only that, but they didn’t intend to stay there long.

“Maybe we’ll stay for a few years,” they thought, but rarely did these folks plan on staying in Tallahassee longterm. But there is something about the town that changed people’s plans. Who knows the reason, but I do know there’s many a person now living in Tallahassee–and planning to stay–who in the past hadn’t planned to live there long at all.

Plans change. Heck, plans are often completely upended. Many times for the better. An unexpected child is born and life is never the same. The woman who planned to stay single falls in love with that guy. Or–and I say this as a part-time salesman–you go into the store not planning on buying anything and you end up leaving with a full bag of stuff you didn’t know you needed. Plans, upended.

And, of course, plans also change due to tragic circumstances. Disease strikes. Fire rages. Evil hits. Disaster shakes us almost too hard to manage. Millions of Haitians had never foreseen this week’s horrid events in Port-au-Prince. Nobody plans for natural disasters, particularly not for earthquakes that only strike every 200 years. Or, closer to home, a beloved church building burns to the ground. [For online readers: sadly, the Methodist church in the neighboring town of Humbolt burned down 1/16/10.] We’d never imagine that. Plans, lives, upended.

The gospel of John doesn’t say a thing about Jesus’ life before his public ministry began. We don’t hear if Jesus was a well-behaved child, or if he could identify the alphabet by kindergarten. In fact–get this–the writer of John never even gives the name of Jesus’ mother. John must not concerned with such details. So, perhaps that makes all the more interesting the way John describes the wedding in Cana. Our tale functions as Jesus’ main entrance into public miracles, his coming out party, but it wasn’t what Jesus had planned.

As far as we know, Cana was a pretty small town, about 10 miles north of Nazareth. It’s not clear whether Jesus journeyed to the town to attend the wedding (whoever’s wedding it was, John doesn’t say), or if Jesus and his disciples were just passing through and the wedding party invited them over. Who knows, maybe it was those extra invites that bumped up the guest list and caused the hosts to run out of wine in the first place. But, in any case, John does say: the wine gave out.

No matter what culture you’re in, that’s bad news. Having the wine run out at a wedding is maybe even worse than having the beer run out during a Vikings playoff game. The situation, clearly, was dire.

So Jesus’ mom comes up to him and just casually mentions, “They have no wine.” And Jesus says, “Woman, what concern is that to you and me?” Now his response isn’t as rude as it might seem to us, “woman” was just a descriptive term, not an insult or anything, but his response was certainly not overly warm. “What concern is that to you and me?” Jesus said, “My hour has not yet come.” Continue reading Sermon: “Plans, Upended” John 2:1-11…

How Twitter Makes Me a Better Pastor

January 12, 2010 at 12:00 am | In PC(USA), ministry, technology | 8 Comments
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As a new 3/4 time rural pastor, I’m surprised to find that Twitter is a hugely important ministry tool for me. Without it, I’d be a much poorer pastor and would feel considerably less connected to supportive colleagues.

Before I began my position four months ago, I never would have guessed how helpful — to mind and soul — I’d find Twitter as a pastor. But here’s one simple real life example from last week. 
 I was planning Deacon Training a few days before the meeting and I realized I had no idea whether I should give the new Elders and Deacons Book of Orders when they were installed. My gut said, “yes,” but that wasn’t the practice of the church — and those BOOs aren’t cheap. So I didn’t know what to do. In such situations, since my experience is fairly limited, I find it’s good to see what’s common practice in the church. So, I put out a Tweet:

do all elders and deacons get new copies of the Book of Order at their installation in your congregation? #pcusa

And within an hour, nine pastors and elders had tweeted back and told me the practice in their experience (incidentally, all reported giving the Book of Order to all elders and deacons).

I could have called my pastor friends around the country and asked the same question, but I saved a good deal of time and had a more public chat about things. Eventually, the thread branched into discussing elder and deacon training in general, which was helpful too.

One of the challenges of rural ministry is that it’s easy to feel like you’re in ministry all alone, unsupported by other colleagues. This is especially true for me as my congregation is located many miles from the next Presbyterian church (I’m thinking the next full-time Presbyterian pastor is at least 50 miles away, if not more). So, what a joy it is to be able to get feedback and support within minutes of a tweet.

I often find good articles from other pastors on Twitter, and support and am supported by others in prayer through tweets. Most importantly, though, I have an overwhelming sense that I’m doing ministry with friends and colleagues all over the place. When it comes down to it, Twitter expands and deepens my ecclessiology — it helps me see what I know makes what I know to be true intellectually, that the church of Christ is so much larger than my congregation. Through Twitter, I can see this church at work.

Sure, Twitter is not a replacement for in-person pastoral care, but it is at least a new and exciting form of pastoral support. Sure, my weekly in-the-flesh text study meeting with four local pastors is probably more essential to my ministry than Twitter, but Twitter augments each day with handy pastoral tidbits that make me a much better pastor.

So, to all pastors out there who think Twitter is just for fun, or simply ridiculous, I assure you it can be a fine ministry tool. Check it out, and @ me some time. Peace, from @ajc123

Sermon: “Baptized to Serve” Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

January 10, 2010 at 2:26 pm | In PC(USA), sermon | Leave a Comment
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Adam J. Copeland

FPC Hallock

January 10, 2009

Baptized to Serve

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; Isa 43:1-7; Acts 8:14-17

Recently, I spoke to a pastor about a workshop she was organizing at a Presbytery conference. The workshop, she said, will address the fact that many folks in the U.S. aren’t growing up with the same exposure to church culture as they used to. In the past, it was more or less assumed that somebody who came into a worship service would at least know how to read a bulletin, find a Bible, and look up the scripture reading. Now, though, we, can’t assume a visitor could distinguish a hymnal from the Bible, so churches need to consider new ways of making worship welcoming to guests.

Maybe we don’t think too much about this in Hallock, but this pastor on the east coast sees it as a really big issue for her presbytery. How do we help new visitors feel welcome if the only time they’ve been in a church is for a funeral? Or another way to think of it: if you’d never been to worship before, what would our regular worship service look like? If you were an alien from outer space scouting out Hallock Presbyterians, what would you report about worship to your mothership?

Well this morning at least, an alien would have even a more difficult time than usual. The gospel reading is on Jesus’ baptism, the epistle reading declares the power of the Holy Spirit in baptism, the Isaiah passage is all about God’s creative power and redemption. And, as if those weren’t enough theological high jumps, today we ordain and install Elders and Deacons to leadership in the church. That’d be quite a lot to explain to a worship newbie.

Now there’s no way one sermon can really address all these issues, and it’s probably not even a good idea to briefly skim the surface. But, if we had to put this morning in one sentence to a first time visitor we could say: We are all called into ministry through our baptism (some called particularly to be Deacons and Elders) and our ministry is empowered by prayer and the Holy Spirit. Continue reading Sermon: “Baptized to Serve” Luke 3:15-17, 21-22…

Books I’ve Recently Enjoyed

January 6, 2010 at 11:20 pm | In books | 4 Comments
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Serena by Ron Rash

A lovely tale — no, a rather dark and tragic tale told in a lovely manner — of a logging camp west of Asheville, NC in the early part of last century. Rash’s main character is almost unique to American literature, a remarkable majestically powerful woman of utter selfishness and homicidal tendencies.  Alluring, though.  I recently also enjoyed Rash’s previous novel, Saints at the River, and am glad to have found such a talented author who seems to bask in the natural beauty and cultural complexity of the Appalachians.

Rural Ministry: The Shape of the Renewal to Come edited by L. Shannon Jung.

I enjoyed this primer on rural ministry, though it does feel its publication date of 1998. Jung and a group of rural ministry folk describe the history of rural ministry, current challenges, and a vision for the future. I found the historical and contextual discussions quite interesting, (e.g. a good discussion of the farm crisis) but got annoyed at some more prescriptive parts (e.g. though there was discussion of non-traditional ministry becoming more common, it seemed like the assumed rural pastor was still a full-time stay-long pastor with the ability to make very little money). I’m eager to read more in the genre, though, so please suggest other newer rural ministry books. Ultimately, I do accept the book’s message that a renewal of rural ministry is coming, but I’m unsure of the details and the book doesn’t suggest many.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Frankie Landau-Banks, a rich, smart, high schooler at a New England prep school finds herself asserting her mental muscle by messing with an old boys club, literally. Part mystery part coming-of-age tale, Frankie balances her feminist instincts with her desire to date the popular guy. How does a gorgeous young woman deal appropriately deal with an entrenched patriarchal culture? The tale is more of a modest proposal than a blueprint, but it’s done with wit, at least. It’s a fun (young adult) book, a quick read, but able to be analyzed for many larger questions. I do recommend it.

image by lusi

Pastoral Vacations

January 4, 2010 at 12:17 pm | In ministry | 4 Comments
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I took my first real vacation last week, real in that it was a paid vacation taken from an almost-full-time job. I did so very aware that many U.S. workers, let alone workers around the world, cannot take vacation time. (Sure, the standard annual vacation benefit in Europe is six weeks but I’m thinking of other “around the world” places.) All that said, I really needed the break and enjoyed every minute of it.

In my experience, many older or retired pastors are all about giving advice to younger ones, so I’ve had my fair share of vacation advice over the years. One pastor told me to take my vacation all at one time, four weeks straight, and to go to a far away place from which it was certain I could not return to conduct a funeral. In fact, it’s pretty common to hear the advice to travel a good distance from home and stay incommunicado.

I suppose this first vacation was pretty successful on most accounts, then. Mainly, I enjoyed reading many books for fun, taking long walks on the beach, and not wearing a winter jacket for a week. I am intrigued now, though, of the idea of a two-week vacation. Time wouldn’t seem as precious over two weeks. Also, I definitely now understand the annoying nature of one’s first day back being a Sunday and having to write a sermon while on vacation. I enjoy sermonizing so it wasn’t a chore, but it did result in a full day of vacation gone.

In the near future, though, I’m going to focus more on making sure I have one day off a week. The 3/4 time nature of my pastoral position means that my part-time position in retail sometimes has me working there every other day I don’t work for the church. A few weeks of working every day gets rather annoying, and it’s just time for 24 hours off. But I guess it’s all a part of the challenge of part-time pastoral ministry. Check back soon for some beach reading suggestions.

image credit to Megan, without whom no vacation is complete

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