Philly

Today we had the afternoon off from our classes here at Princeton, so we decided at the last minute to take the train to Philadelphia. We had a great time with a few new friends Frank and Carlton. Here are a couple of Pictures of Brad Daniel and myself. Philly is an awesome city!
Pax
Stephen

Open Communion

This post over on Real Live Preacher brought tears to my eyes.

Take
Eat
Drink
Remember

Prayer of St. Brigid

I would wish a great lake of ale for the King of Kings;
I would wish the family of heaven to be drinking it throughout life and time.
I would wish the men of Heaven in my own house;
I would wish vessels of peace to be given to them.
I would wish joy to be in their drinking;
I would wish Jesu to be here among them.
I would wish the three Marys of great name;
I would wish the people of heaven from every side.
I would wish to be a rent-payer to the Prince; the way if I was in trouble He would give me a good blessing.
Pax
Stephen

What does MARTA stand for?

I bet you've heard the joke. I heard it when I first moved here. This article by Creative Loafing does a good job of showing just how far Atlanta has to go in racial understanding and sprawl prevention. More roads is definitely not the answer. I hope this is something both city and suburban churches can get involved in.

It's not you, it's me.

I had a great first date last Wednesday night. We were set up by a friend who thought we might be a good match. I knew she had called several of my friends before meeting me to get their opinion on who I was, and that they had all said great things about me. I arrived early, but not too early, decked out in my best looking outfit with my hair looking perfectly messy, but not too messy. I was nervous, determined to make a good impression because I had heard so many good things about her.

Her father had called the day before and asked that I meet with him before the date. I knew this meant she must be really interested, if I was already going to meet the parents. Dad and I hit it off great. We shared common interests and made easy small talk. After we talked for awhile I met my date. She was everything I hoped she would be and more. Over dinner we made easy conversation, laughing at each others jokes without any awkward silences. After dinner we got into deeper conversation, sharing our hopes and dreams for the future. I was sure we wanted the same things and would be together for awhile. I knew she would make me better and I could make her better. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a perfect match. We eventually parted ways with a smile, with her telling me I would her from her again soon.

As soon as it was over I joined some close friends and told them all about it over ice cream and red wine. I raved about how much I liked her and how well I thought the first date had gone. I've been on a lot of first dates lately, and I felt like this was my best one. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I had a good feeling about this one.

She called me Monday, even earlier than I expected to hear from her. I was sure we'd be setting up a second date. "It's not you, it's me," she told me. "You're a great guy and I wish you the best, but I just don't see it working out between us."

I closed my phone, wondering where I had gone wrong. How had I misread the signals? A friend told me, "It just wasn't meant to be." I know that's probably the case, but getting dumped still sucks.

UPDATE 4/22/06

Yes, this whole post was a metaphor for my job hunt. I had an interview with a church's pastor and search committee, and thought I nailed it. My references had already been called and they had said great things about me. The pastor and I talked one-on-one and we got along great. I thought the search committee really had their stuff together and was sure I impressed them. They called me Monday and told me that "The Lord was leading them in another direction." Sorry, but for me that's the same as getting dumped with a "it's not you, it's me," line. I mentioned to Dr. Gannon that I respected their descision, but I'd really like to know their reasons for going in another direction. So he called the pastor and actually got me some good feedback about my interview. If you want to know specifically what the pastor said said, just ask me.

The job search hasn't been all bad news though. The same day I got "dumped" by the church described in this post, another church I really liked called me for a second interview with just the pastor. That was yesterday and seemed to go well. He said I should here from him Monday or Tuesday to schedule a day for me and Jana to meet other key staff and members of the church. I also had a first interview with another church last Thursday, and they called me earlier today to schedule a second interview. So there are good things happening. Any prayers you feel like offering are appreciated though.

Conversion & Martyrdom

Here is an article that I wrote for our parish newsletter. I would welcome comments & stories about your own experience and/or view of conversion.

On a similar note, The Christian Century just published this insightful editorial on modern day martyrs.

The Death of William Sloan Coffin

William Sloan Coffin died Wednesday. He will be remembered as one of Americas great theologians, homileticians and social activists. Here is a fine interview with him from NPR.

Pax
Stephen

Requiem

This past Sunday, Palm Sunday, the combined choirs of St. Mary's & St. Luke's Episcopal Churches performed Mozart's Requiem. With over 70 voices and an orchestra, the choirs mastered this beautiful piece. The word "requiem" means "rest," and is traditionally used to refer to a mass for the dead.

One line, in particular, stood out to me in the Requiem...

Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuae viae

Translated this means, "Remember, Blessed Jesus, that I am the cause of Thy pilgrimage." I often think of pilgrimages as something for the rest of us, not for Jesus. A pilgrimage means you are searching for something. Imagine Jesus on a pilgrimage whose destination is us! The phrase, "remember that I am the cause of thy pilgrimage," could also be taken as Jesus speaking to us. Jesus is the cause of our searching, our yearnings, our wonderings.

This Requiem was performed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth. Sitting there, listening to this amazing music gave me a sense of perspective on the Church & my own pilgrimage.

Qui Mariam absolvisti
Et latronem exaudisti
Mihi quoque spem dedisti

(Thou who didst absolve Mary Magdalene
And didst hearken to the theif
To me also hast Thou given hope)

Watching the Braves with Jimmy

We went to the Braves Home Opener last night, it was awesome! Jimmy Carter was there so technically I did watch the Braves Game with Jimmy Carter, heck if nothing else I at least got his picture on the Jumbo Tron.

10 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes by Tom DeLay

Here is a great top 10 list from politicalhumor.com

1) "I AM the federal government." –Tom DeLay, to the owner of Ruth's Chris Steak House, after being told to put out his cigar because of federal government regulations banning smoking in the building, May 14, 2003.

2) "So many minority youths had volunteered…that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like myself." --Tom DeLay, explaining at the 1988 GOP convention why he and vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle did not fight in the Vietnam War.

3) "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" –Tom Delay, to three young hurricane evacuees from New Orleans at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept.

4) "We're no longer a superpower. We're a super-duper power." –Tom DeLay, explaining why America must topple Saddam Hussein in 2002 interview with Fox News.

5) "Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes." –Tom DeLay, March 12, 2003.

6) "Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills." –Tom DeLay, on causes of the Columbine High School massacre, 1999.

7) "A woman can take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability. Not that a woman can't provide stability, I'm not saying that... It does take a father, though." -Tom DeLay, in a radio interview, Feb. 10, 2004.

8) "I don't believe there is a separation of church and state. I think the Constitution is very clear. The only separation is that there will not be a government church." –Tom DeLay

9) "Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour [the minimum wage in 1996] are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist." –Tom DeLay, during a debate in Congress on increasing the minimum wage, April 23, 1996.

10) "I am not a federal employee. I am a constitutional officer. My job is the Constitution of the United States, I am not a government employee. I am in the Constitution." –Tom DeLay, in a CNN interview, Dec. 19, 1995

Following Jesus may become dangerous again

I wouldn't call myself the most politically active Christian. I don't believe that the kingdom of God will be ushered in by the leadership of Republicans or Democrats. But the recent immigration debate has caught my interest. This article offers a good summary of the issues at stake. I would love for the House bill to pass because of the comical nature enforcing the proposed law. If it was suddenly illegal for churches to give food to undocumented immigrants, I would stand in line to be arrested for aiding the stranger. The government closing down soup kitchens, clothing banks, and clinics would be the best PR the church could ever get. Leave it to the American Government (currently under the sway of conservative evangelicals) to make following Jesus dangerous again.

StickItToTheManism

I haven't written in a while because The Man has been on my back. Now, understand, The Man is not one person. The Man is really more of a mentality.The Man gets you focused on stuff that is not really important. As we enter holy week, I've been thinking about The Man Jesus had to deal with. Jesus pissed off The Man. Actually, the thing that scares me most is when I start to become too sympathetic to The Man. One of Ben Folds songs, "The Ascent of Stan," tells the story of a stereotypical hippie who slowly buys into the American Dream and ends up becoming The Man he always sought to fight. How do we fight this subtle sickness?

A Great Album

This is just a fantastic album. I ordered it last night and have not stopped listening to it since. The Little Willies, a group comprised of Norah Jones, Richard Julian, Lee Alexander, Jim Campilongo and Dan Rieser. They began playing together in 2003 in New York. On the Album there are four originals and nine covers of songs popularized by Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Townes Van Zandt. I love Norah Jones unconditionally, I will not try to hide that, but her usual subtle sweet hypnotic voice takes on a more playful demenor especially in their cover of the Willie Nelson song "I Gotta Get Drunk". This is a great recording and I recomend it anyone who likes good music, classic country and or Norah Jones.
Pax
Stephen