Gathering In Light

The Cultural

Dowd on (Role) Modeling

I came across this today while I was doing some back reading from this weekend’s newspaper. It struck me as really insightful: After the baseball steroid scandal and the disappointing news that Tiger’s a cheetah, as the New York Post headline put it, it’s time to accept

The Cultural

‘Dont Buy It’ – Slam Poetry from the Climate Camp for OneClimate.net

Came across this today while reading Jarrod McKenna’s post on climate change over at the sojo blog. The poem is really intense and has that prophetic edge we aren’t real comfortable with but I think it’s worth watching and considering. His message also resonates wtih Rev. Billy’

Blog Entries

Home From a Retreat at the Beach

This past Friday I gave a bit of a cry-for-help and have been feeling under a lot of pressure lately given my schooling, job, and the recent (beautiful) events in our lives.  So what better time to take a retreat and do nothing?! This past weekend our church has scheduled

Blog Entries

Finding God in the Chaos?

With the new baby having arrived, working on a final paper for my methods course this quarter, having been sick for a week, signing for the title of our new house, plus all the regular things we do this past couple weeks have been, to say the least, chaotic. While

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Our Own Mini Advent: Baby Daniels #2 Arrives!

As most of you know by now, thanks (or no thanks) to my facebook and twitter, we’ve had our baby. In keeping with the trend of announcing big life transitions here I wanted to let you all know that my wife Emily gave birth to our daughter this past

Blog Entries

Organizing Ministry in DevonThink Pro

[This is a tutorial on software I use for writing and organization.] When I started pastoring I created a DEVONthink database for all things ministry oriented ((See my other posts on DTP here and here). I personally use a handful of databases regularly to help me keep things organized: academics,

Church in Mission

Cancel Our Debts?

In my reading of the Disciple’s Prayer (the anabaptist/Quaker name for the Lord’s Prayer), we have to make sure that we don’t limit what forgiveness includes ((See part 3, part 2, and part 1)). Our (Western) tendency is to think of forgiveness in terms of personal

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We All Know That Reality has a Well-Known “Conservative” Bias

One of the things my favorite (fake) newscaster Stephan Colbert says on a regular bias is that “Major media has a well-known liberal bias.” And this is definitely something many people believe. This perspective has cropped up again recently all over the web, and yes on The Colbert Report has

Blog Entries

Freedom Friends Church Faith and Practice

Freedom Friends Church in Salem Oregon is currently an independent meeting that has recently written their own Faith and Practice. A number of Friends, Monthly Meetings and Yearly Meetings, have been interested in reading about this unique  meeting and some of the practices they espouse. I have done a decent

The Theological

Old Quaker Discipline on the Poor

While I was researching for a recent sermon I came across some great quotes on poverty from 18th Century Quakers. One thing I loved was that the section on plainness and living an unfettered life is right next to the section about caring for the poor. These two things, how

Blog Entries

Check Out The Kingdom Experiment (Book Review)

I recently subscribed to the new magazine Generate,  which I highly recommend for all of you in church ministry and thinking  about alternative, ’emerging’ ways of ministry. It is a great magazine  (first one just came out this fall). I read through the whole thing in  an evening I enjoyed

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Confession: The Prayer of Vulnerability (Matthew 6:12-13)

My first six months of youth ministry were a bear. The church I served in had three kinds coming to the youth group when I arrived, one was the pastor’s son and the other two were the daughters of the previous youth leader. But building a youth group from

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Chesterton and the (il)logic(ality) of life.

Just stumbled across this in my reading this morning, it works well with what I’m reflecting on with “confession as vulnerability,” confession is what keeps us open and subject to change. Here Chesterton says it well: “Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians.” The

Blog Entries

A Common Trashcan at Camas Friends

This past Sunday we piled new and gently used items for homeless people in Camas into a new galvanized trashcan I picked up from the local hardware shop here in Camas. We did this as a part of our discussion on the Disciple’s Prayer and the petition/mission “Give

Green

Food, Inc. Documentary on Where Our Food Comes From (Review)

The tag line for FOOD, inc. is “You’ll never look at your dinner the same way again,” and well, they’re right. This for some of you may be the very reason why you decide in advance to not watch it, or to not read the rest of this

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Eat. Enough. Give. (Matthew 6:11)

This is the sermon on the Disciple’s Prayer from Sunday morning. This morning we step foot inside the second strand of the Disciple’s prayer, the ethics strand, the strand that gives us guidance on how we are to live in the day to day. We see that even

The Theological

An Old Mennonite Rendering of The Disciple’s Prayer

I came across this old Mennonite rendering of the Disciple’s  Prayer  and love it. Abba Father God, Bless your holy name. Let your reign come now, Let your desires be carried out. Bring your peace to birth, As in heav’n, so on Earth Give us bread, daily; Free

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Dive! The Film: A Review of Jeremy Seifert’s Documentary on Dumpster Diving

At Camas Friends Church, we’ve been doing a monthly film and discussion group we’re calling “Last Sundays for the Earth.” The purpose of the event is to watch a film, or have a person come in and facilitate a discussion, around issues in sustainable living (and what we

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Limiting Access: Flickr and Archiving Our Children’s Lives

I’ve been pretty open about sharing our lives online. I regularly post photos on flickr, videos on vimeo, post updates to twitter and facebook and even blog here (on this blog and our family blog “Weird Fishes”) and there about what’s going on with our family. But It’

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(Untitled)

This is an extended version of what I preached on Sunday morning November 1, 2009 Last week we began a new set of conversations, where we are exploring what I’m referring to as, in keeping with other Quakers and Anabaptists, the Disciple’s prayer. This stresses the point that

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Mission and the Disciple’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13)

Here is the text from my sermon this morning. How many of you have prayed this prayer before (at least once)? How many of you pray it often? What has been your experience with the prayer? My hope is that we can renew our interest, gain an interest or learn

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Interventions: The Final Intervention is Also the First (Luke 24:1-7)

This is the text from my sermon last week. Compost: What do you notice about compost? What does it do? Observe the compost — what can you tell from it. Is it at all like resurrection, in what ways, how is it different? What I want to stress this morning is

Blog Entries

Resources for Studying the Disciple’s Prayer (Matthew 6 and Luke 11)

This Sunday morning we are beginning a series of discussions around the Disciple’s Prayer in Matt. 6-913 and Luke 11:1-4. The Our Father (Catholic) or Lord’s Prayer (Protestant) is also known among Quakers, and Anabaptists as the Disciple’s prayer, that is, it is the disciples who

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My choices for the Quintessential ‘It’s Alright Ma’ Dylan Playlist

The other day I got a message from a friend and former professor of mine from our Malone days, John David Geib, who is in the middle of facilitating a class on all-things Dylan. He’s calling the class, “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m only Bleeding) Deconstructing The Song

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Interventions: The Drawing of A Sword, the Healing of an Ear

“While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” When those who were