Gathering In Light

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Interventions: Poetry on the Plain (Luke 6:20-49)

We opened with this video from Peter Rollins. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY8UEaIJAN0&w=425&h=344] [The part from this video that stood out to me and I drew on in the sermon and the poem was towards the end when he talks about

Blog Entries

The Cockeyed Poem on the Plain (based on the Sermon on the Plain Lk. 6)

Here’s my own take, a remix if you will, of some of the things going on in the Gospel of Luke and Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-49). This is a new version of the poem [added august 9th, 7:45pm] This poem is for all people,

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Interventions: Feasting with Tyrants and Tax Collectors (Luke 5:27-39)

Here is the text I preached from on Sunday 8.2.2009. The reflection is on Luke 5:27-39. You can also subscribe to or download the audio version of the sermon from iTunes (or our Church’s blog). This morning our text raises questions around newness of God’s

Church in Mission

Interventions: A Short-Circuit in Mission (Luke 4:14-30)

I was unable to post my talk from last Sunday here this week because I’ve been busy at YM but I did post it on the church’s blog and on twitter. If you’ve already seen it, I apologize for the duplication, but I wanted to have it

Blog Entries

John Caputo on Cyberspace

Far from undermining religious sensibilities, the advanced communication technologies are actually trading in religious goods and thus provide a new space, a cyberspace, for religious imagination. For if, as I have been arguing, religion disturbs our sense of reality and leaves us a little unhinged, if it causes our pre-set

Blog Entries

Camas Friends Church Blog

I’ve just set up a blog for the church I am pastoring, Camas Friends Church. I will be posting my sermons or “dialogues” as I’ve labelled them there, as well as other information about what we’re up to, etc. My hope is to help foster participation during

The Cultural

The Divine Commodity by Skye Jethani (A Review)

I’m way late to be posting about this book, but I still operate under the “better really late, than even later than that” motto. I was sent “The Divine Commodity” by Skye Jethani, editor of leadership journal, [Powell’s affiliate link embedded] shortly before we packed up all our

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Interventions: What Then Shall We Produce? (Luke 3:1-20)

Interventions: What Then Should We Do? John the Baptist and Luke 3:1-20 Peace Playhouse This past week was our peace playhouse, which from all the reports I heard, went well. Because of this, and given the text we are in this week, it seems appropriate to spend a few

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New Quaker Blogger Book: Writing Cheerfully on the Web

Liz Oppenheimer has recently edited a volume of online conversations from a rich variety of Quaker authors and brought them together in “Writing Cheerfully on the Web,” a play on the George Fox’s famous line, “Walking Cheerfully Over the Earth.” Here’s what Quaker Books has to say about

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Learning Poetry Like Eugene Peterson

A favorite blogger of mine, Fernando Gros, linked to a post of Eugene Peterson quotes the other day that are well worth reading. Peterson is a hero pastor theologian to many of us. Here are three I particularly enjoyed: “Children are the best poets up until they get it bred

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Luke 1:5-38 Interventions: Birthing the Impossible (Notes from Sunday July 12th)

This is what we reflected on together as a community this past The kingdom is for the Little Ones We have two parallel passages today, one with a story of two people “getting on in years” as the text says, alongside two young people not old enough to drive by

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Twitter Will Kill You Video

Found this today, and it’s pretty hilarious, especially considering that I use twitter frequently myself. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZWLMdGqu8g&hl=en&fs=1&&w=480&h=295]

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Adult Second Hour (Worship) Resource On Luke 1

A fellow reader of “gathering in light,” Paul, emailed and asked me if he could the sermon notes and queries from last week for their Adult Second Hour in his meeting and I said, “Of course, that’s why it’s there.” Well, he went the extra mile and abbreviated

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Meeting New Challenges Through Repetition

In every generation the church faces new, as well as old, challenges. For many years, Christendom allowed a basic stability within the culture for the church to remain in tact. It was a false sense of security, human capital because people were expected to hold membership in a local church,

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The (Real) Pursuit of Happiness

Came across this today and it reminded me that true happiness is not what we’re told it is: Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, who also

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Luke 1:1-4 Storyboards: Narration as Intervention (Sermon Notes)

This past Sunday we reflected on Luke 1:1-4, Luke’s introduction to his wonderful Gospel. “Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were

Green

Quakerism and Sustainability: Camas Friends Practice A New “Plainness”

I’ve posted about this already on Twitter and Facebook so excuse the repetition, but it seems like it should be here on my blog as well. Plus, I’m really pleased with our church. Camas Friends are doing some pretty cool stuff, and it’s all stuff I cannot

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Interventions in The Gospel of Luke

Tomorrow we begin a series we’re playfully naming, “Interventions in The Gospel of Luke.” Our reflections will not only draw on the text itself, what it says, what it teaches, but it suggests that by hearing, and re-telling these stories we encounter the text in a way that transforms

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Plane activities

Plane activities Originally uploaded by C. Wess Daniels. I just checked my blog and saw that I accidentally posted this picture with no text on my site via flickr. So, here’s a little update. We just arrived home (Camas, WA) last night after being gone for almost two weeks.

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Off and Traveling the Quaker-World-Wide

Tomorrow morning I leave for North Carolina to attend the Friends Association for Higher Education. FAHE is for all Quakers working in the field of education and so I will be attending largely as one interested in teaching Quaker theology and history. This year I am presenting with two other

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Lectio Divina and Acts 2:41-47

This past Sunday we finished up our discussions around Acts 2. For worship, we had a more meditative tempo. The host for Sunday’s worship led the congregation in a simple prayer, shortly after one of the women in the congregation shared about her growing concern for child trafficking in

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Karl Barth on Acts 2:41-47

This Sunday our meeting for worship will be focusing on the last portion of Acts 2: “So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

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Baby Daniels #2 Is On the Way

Emily has been feeling a little “different” these last few months and seemed to be growing a bit in the tummy so I suggested she find out what’s going on. Apparently, there’s a baby growing inside her! Who would have known? I’d like to introduce Baby Daniels

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Are We Still A Dangerous People? (PDX Quaker gathering)

My friends Peggy Parsons and Marge Abbott are giving what I might call a “dramatic presentation” of Quaker history at Multnomah Meetinghouse this Saturday. These two women are well-versed in all-things-Quaker, lively, provocative and will surely make it an enjoyable time for any who wish to attend. I plan to

The Theological

Community of the Holy Spirit: Repentance as a Way of (Dis)believing

This past Sunday we looked at Peter’s Sermon in Acts 2. I struggled over this text for a while. How do I preach a sermon on a sermon and keep it interesting? Actually, I’m trying to avoid using words like “preach” and “sermon” because they feel less participatory