Worship Arts Festival At Ascension Anglican Church,Pittsburgh

I am posting this announcement from an area calendar posting on behalf of my friend Suzanne Trenney on of the artists involved in the Convergence Worship Arts Festibal Saturday, May 30 2009 in Pittsburgh , Pa. Suzanne Trenney's worship arts have been featured in an earlier blog posting on this site and she has her work also posted on the Ascension church site. The Ascension Church is also the place where the Saltworks Theatre resides. Here is the article copied and pasted from the community bulletin board for your information should you wish to attend:

CONVERGENCE: Community Arts Worship Festival

The Church of the Ascension presents Convergence, an experience in the arts for people of all ages. This unique community arts festival is an exploration into the eddies of art and faith. Experience this kaleidoscopic presentation by local artists in painting, multimedia, drawing, sculpture, calligraphy, mosaic, song, story, poetry, photography, music and much more. Convergence will be held on Saturday, May 30th 2009 from 12:30-4:30 PM at Church of the Ascension, 4729 Ellsworth Ave. in the Oakland/Shadyside area. Admission is free. The schedule includes:

A performance by The Ascension Youth Band, Broken Glass
Scene reading and monologues by Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Park
The Ascension Puppet Troupe
Children’s Stories with Jude Blank
Lucy Scandrett and the Harp Orchestra
Sacred Stories with Roland VendeLand
Alan Irvine performing Parables and Legends
The Music of the Organ with Jeanne Kohn
David Minniefield’s one man show “Ecclesiastes”
Dance by James Gilmer
Blues Guitar with Mike Janiszewski
Poetry Reading by Lucille Seibert
Hands on crafts and Puppet making for all ages

Ascension prides itself on being a place of belonging where a wonderfully eclectic slice of Pittsburgh gathers to learn and worship. Many visual and performing artists have found a home at Ascension. Several area arts groups are active and supported from within the church community. For more information call Alan Irvine at 412-521-6406. Directions are available at www.ascensionpittsburgh.org The image is Suzanne Trenny's "Laundry Day"

Theresa Cates, sojourner with a paintbrush

On February 5, 2009 Theresa Cates will have a solo exhibition at the Red Door Gallery, 3715 JFK Blvd
North, Little Rock, Arkansas 72116. What is the big deal about Theresa Cates , who is she and why should I be interested you may be asking? Well since you are wondering... we are currently mourning the loss of a great American painter, Andrew Wyeth, a man who seemed to capture the essence of the mystery of life on canvas and paper in a simple and evocative way. Just as I was mourning the loss of the visual richness of this man, I stumbled across an article about thirty nine year old African American artist, Theresa, who began her "art career by doodling on the backs of bills. Her work is reminiscent to me of Harlem Rennaisance painter Jacob Lawrence, whom I greatly admire for his ability to use color and shape boldly while telling a story on canvas.Theresa was commissioned to paint switch boxes and bus stops in her native Arkansas and painted what she knew and loved best, people in church worshipping the Lord. She shows all the passion of the African American worship tradition in her work. Having just come from a staid and proper formal worship event at my church, I found her paintings stirred in my heart a longing for more passionate expressions of spirituality. Her her church paintings evoke the type of imagrey and passion that I imagine of the scene in which a woman poured expensive ointment on Jesus's feet and then wiped them with her tears while the rest of the folk sat upright and all proper in their chairs. Here are a few images from the Cates' exhibition. This is an artist whose work I hope to be able to see someday, other than in internet thumbnails. I think she has a lot to say if we will pay attention.

Northwestern Pennsylvania Worship Arts Festival

Saturday, February 28, 2009 at the Edinboro united Methodist Church 118 High Street, Edinboro, Pa. there will be a Worship Arts Festival and Conference sponsored by the Erie Meadville District of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.The registration begins at 8am and worship at 9. Following an inspiring worship service participants will choose one of the eight specialized workshops to attend, providing hands-on opportunities to learn technique, style and acquire the tools to implement the arts in their worship settings. The Rev. John Zimmerman will be teaching a Multi-media workshop. Liturgical Dance and Expression will be presented by Michelle Hunt. Praying in Color and Visual Arts in Worship will be presented by Carole Werder and Suzanne Trenney. Puppet Ministry will be led by Bob Klingler.The Rev. Roy Gearhardt will teach a Drama workshop and Liturgical Weaving will be led by Mathilda Murphy. Glenn Rankin will present Creating Coffeehouse ministries and Alternative Worship and Margo Evans will present a worksop on building Praise Bands and blending worship.A light lunch will follow for all who attend. To register contact the Erie-Meadville District office UMC, 5304 US HWY 19, Cochranton, PA 16314. Make check or money order for 10$ payable to the Erie-Meadville district UMC to cover the registration fee and mail to the district office along with your contact information. Students are free. See you there!

Worship Arts Conference, Jan 31, 2009

This announcement has been shamelessly lifted from the internet verbatim but I wanted everyone in our region who reads this blog to know that a mere three and half to four hour drive away this opportunity exists to learn and grow in knowledge and fellowship among those interested in the worship arts, not just music, but the visual arts. I had a delightful conversation with the preseter of this workshop via dropping in by telephone. SHw was gracious and generous in answering my questions about worship arts. SHe also supplied the information leaading to the link I have supplied at the bottom of this posting which is for the United Methodist Fellowship of those who work in the worship arts ether they be music, dram, visual and liturgical arts or whatever you could imagine. I encourage you to explore their website and join their national effort. They have a national conference coming up in Florida this year. More to come. But for now, this January, here is an item of interest to those of you struggling with worship arts, or maybe not struggling, just looking for encouragement:
***************************************************************************************************

Artistic Creativity Workshop For Worship Centers and Alters- January 31, 2009

Altered Altars- This workshop focuses on designing worship centers as the focal point of the worship service We will talk about the differences between an altar and a worship center, where do we center the altar/worship center and what resources are available. Another topic in this workshop is how to decide what to put on the worship center and how often do we need to change the center.

Creating Sacred Spaces - Although we can dialogue with God , worship and praise our Creator in any setting, we often need to turn ordinary space into sacred space. This workshop explores the purposes of your particular worship spaces, whether it be an Annual Conference setting, church sanctuary, or small meditation room. How can we craft the space to provide the most meaningful worship experiences. This workshop includes looking at the whole environment of the space. We will also look at ways to create the art needed and how to contact and contract with artists to create your ideas

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Linda McMillion Clemow is a Liturgical Artist and Workshop Leader who served as the Arts-in-Ministry Coordinator at First United Methodist Church in Oneonta, New York, a position which she created. Linda’s duties included teaching art to children, youth and adults as well as studying the arts in relation to society, religion and creative spirituality. With her students, she also designed and created liturgical art. Linda now sells her art, leads workshops, retreats and seminars through her own Soul Source Studio. She has led workshops and retreats on the Conference, District, Jurisdictional, National and International levels on: Art and Spirituality, Visuals in Worship, How to Have an Arts Ministry, Techniques for Creating Liturgical Art. She is the first ever Chairperson of the first ever Visual Arts Committee of the national organization The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts.

To register for this workshop go to their website or call:
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
1100 South Goodman Street
Rochester, New York 14620-2589

Main Number (585) 271-1320
Workshop is an affordable $55.00


To contact the United Methodist Fellowship of Worship Artists go to this link:
http://www.umfellowship.org/

Alex Woinski, Jesus Christ Superstar

A 13 year old boy dressed up as Jesus Christ for Halloween.

The boy, Alex Woinski, of West Brook Middle School in Paramus,New Jersey was sent home from school on Friday because he declined to remove his costume when school officials told him to.

Alex,with his naturally shoulder length brown hair, wore a white robe, red sash,sandals,fake beard and a crown of thorns. School officials were all right with the white robe and red sash but insisted that the crown of thorns and beard be removed. The District Superintendent, James Montesano, felt that the entire costume would be too "distracting" during the course of the school day.

Alex, who just celebrated his Bar Mitzvah and is studying Bible scripture,said no deal.
The boy's mother is Catholic and his father is Jewish. He recently celebrated his bar mitzvah and has spent much time studying scripture in preparation.

As a veteran teacher, I have seen a lot of creatures come into school on Halloween in my thirty five years of teaching experience, all of them "distracting". As a faculty we chalked up this past Halloween day to fun and fantasy, maintaining a sense of humor, as we usually do. The children I teach, Alex's age group, eighth grade, are heavy into demonic fantasy and slash/gore. I would have welcomed Alex's Jesus Christ personage and it would have given my students pause to think about their costumes. In censoring him a teachable moment was lost. Even though I can't speak of my religious faith in public school, I could have used the opportunity to note that no one thought to come dressed as Ghandhi,Buddha,Mother Theresa, Benjamin Franklin, Noah, Ghengis Khan or Zeus. All of these aforementioned are covered in the Social Studies curriculum, including Jesus Christ...a teachable moment was lost.

Blue eyed Jesus

The visual arts are not seen often in the church, except for stock 1941 Kriebel Bates Warner Sallman lithos of a very germanic appearing Jesus reproduced from a print fifty years ago. I recently worshipped in a church with the golden blue eyed Jesus picture prominently displayed in an idyllic fashion at the altar. It made me wonder what the rendering said about the group of people who worshipped there and their world view in terms of "Open minds, Open hearts, Open doors", as well as what a person of another culture or color would think worshipping at the altar of the blue eyed Jesus? In 1941, however, the western world would have been comfortably at home with this image so much so that in the film making industry, the character of Jesus is protrayed as a variation of the 1941 litho standard of which about 500 million images were printed.
It could be said that the art or the music of a congregation is a matter of taste and context, so much of what I have seen traveling around in and out of local sacred spaces has been limited to the few same images, the blue eyed Jesus being one. When I was a child I was comfortable with the image, now it is time to put away childish things, in a sense, as mu personal image of Jesus has become more comphrehensive. It could also be time, in this global age, to rethink the images of Jesus we use in our worship spaces and in our literature. Oh can anyone show me the real Jesus? More importantly, do you see the real Jesus in the way I life my life, or in the way other professed believers live theirs?

The Real Jesus

Wide-Eyed and Mystified
by downhere

Lyrics:

Jesus on the radio, Jesus on a late-night show
Jesus in a dream, looking all serene
Jesus on a steeple, Jesus in the Gallup poll
Jesus has His very own brand of rock and roll

Watched him on the silver screen
Bought the action figurine
But Jesus is the only name that makes you flinch

Oh, can anybody show me the real Jesus?
Oh, let Your love unveil the mystery of the real Jesus

Jesus started something new
Jesus coined a phrase or two
Jesus split the line at the turning point of time
Jesus sparked a controversy
Jesus, known for His mercy, gave a man his sight
Jesus isn't white

Jesus loves the children, holds the lambs
Jesus prays a lot
Jesus has distinguishing marks on His hands

If anybody walks behind the Good Shepherd
If anybody holds the hands that heal lepers
And if you recognize the eyes that see forever, please...

Jesus, Jesus
Oh, can anybody show me Jesus
Oh, let Your love unveil the glory, the real Jesus

Oh, can anybody show me the real Jesus?
Oh, let Your love unveil the glory of the real Jesus, the real Jesus

Let sleeping dogs lie.....

I took Kelsey, my fifteen year old shetland sheepdog, to the vet yesturday for her annual exam. her teeth needed some dental work so she had pre-op blood work done and it was discovered that her liver enzymes were too high to put her under anesthesia. The blood work signaled other pending health issues as well. The vet advised me to number her days in terms of thinking of radical health measures for Kelsey. For her size and breed, she is "geriatric." I was her to have a good end of life and discussed dog hospice care with the vet.

My brother, at age 48, and my mother, at age 75, were both in hospice care briefly until they passed. No IV's, no extra fluids, with the assistance of medication to make them comfortable to deal with pain management and then just letting nature take it's course. They both died quietly slipping away in their sleep. That was my prayer this morning for my dog, that she will slip away in her sleep and I will find her some morning in her favorite spot curled up in a sweet dream. As for now, we went on a very short and slow walk this morning with frequent stops so she could catch her breath. She enjoyed the sunshine and the birds as well as the passing of another dog, which actually caused her to quicken her step a bit. She still enjoys her chow and her naps.

While I watch her age rapidly before my eyes, my body too is going through a similar decline, although not so rapid, would that my souls's willfulness would experience as rapid a decay as parts of my body! Where my dog was trained in obediance and would heed my commands, I am not so often keen to obey the word of my Master. My dog is simply what she is, there is no pretense, and it would be crazy on my part to hold her responsible or be disapointed because in the end of her life she was judged as not living up to her potential as a dog. On the other hand, when I say "I am only human" it is a lie, because Christ lives in me. I will end with this quote, " My ego is like a fortress. I have built walls stone by stone. To hold out the invasion of the love of God." Howard Thurman

The art of practicing surgery or Sunday school

In a few days I am going to have surgery under a general anesthesia. I certainly hope that the surgeon studied hard in medical school and worked on the cutting and suture techniques that will be needed to open and close the wound. The surgeon and the anesthesiologist will have my life literally in my hands when they administer powerful drugs to render me unconscious while the surgery is performed and at the same time make sure all my vital body functions are still carrying on. It is assumed that to maintain their licenses to practice medicine that they must go to training seminars and be briefed and updated on a regular basis on the latest, best practices in their special fields. Myself, the patient, would of course, be the beneficiary of all this training and knowledge, my chances of a successful outcome greatly enhanced. I certainly do not want a mediocre surgeon or anesthesiologist! Nor would the physician want a malpractice suit for practicing sloppy medicine!

Yet as Sunday school teachers we are not required to attend any kind of bible study or retreat to keep our minds sharp scripturally. Once pastors have finished their seminary training or licensing school they are on their own as far as continuing education as well. Knowledge workers: Doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, dentists, therapists, counselors, teachers, pharmacists, are required by their professions to attend continuing education every so many years. It seems to make sense that it should be so for those who work for God. Shouldn't we give our utmost for him? Sometimes what passes for ministry, whether it be music, pulpit, ministry or christian education is mediocre at best because the time isn't put into the practice, study of best practices and preparation. Each one of us is responsible to study and practice to bring into quality the gifts we have been given. It is a discipline and a sacred responsibility. The apostle Paul talks about pressing on to the higher calling. Paul sets a pretty good example. He was never satisfied, never thought that he had attained, or had it made but was always moving forward. We all need to follow that example and keep pressing on. It beats being mediocre like the church in Laodicea, was that God's version of a malpractice suit?

The art of pain management...

Sometimes it is hard to keep a smile on your face. It is downright inauthentic to smile (stoically through clenched teeth maybe?) when life takes a turn of events that are tragic, painful, hurtful, difficult. Pain tells us something is wrong. It may be something we can change but then it also may be something beyond our power to impact. 1 Peter 1: 3-9 brings me comfort at these times.

Praise to God for a Living Hope from the NIV Bible :

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We weren't promised prosperity or peace. Will we go through troubles in life? Jesus said to his disciples in John 16:33 – “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Shalom.

In His Image

We are created in the image of God, male and female. Being that that is the case, is it not strange to look at another human, made in God’s image, as basically one thing, a sex object? As brothers and sisters sharing the mage of the Holy One, we are equal, there is no Jew, Greek, slave or free, just people, mankind, imago dei. Yet the reality is that we live in a world that bombards men, more so than women, with sexualized images daily, although women have their images as well, just not in the abundance. Everything from cars to sports bars are sold with a sexual twist. Movies, television, video games, dolls and toys, images of people, objectified. The God of Love, Agape, reflected and distorted as Eros...a totally different and very limited manifestation at that.

It is difficult for many to move beyond lust-driven intimacy to close friendships in male female relationships given the sexually charged nature of our society. Our young people are suffering. One in four of them will contract a sexually transmitted disease, some of which have no known cure. They tend to have an objectified and gratuitous view of relationship lacking long term committment and integrity.

Our young people see that in the church and in society in general many men continue to frustrate women- denying them the roles they have a deep calling to. They see many women, at the same time, frustrating men- parading their sexuality. So they follow suit. Young people can't stand hypocrites and are pretty pragmatic about doing what seems right and practical in their own eyes.

As Male and Female created in the image of God, in what way has God called us to service in our very being? He has not called us to impede one another, laying stumbling blocks before each other. How can we leverage our unique gifts and identity in building up and serving one another? What would this look like in a church? What would this look like in a confused world where men and women are either stereotypes or suffering from bland androgny? What would it look like to be fully male and fully female in Christ? Christ was fully man and fully God. We are called to be one in him, in His image. What do you see when you look in the mirror? What do our young people see when they look at us? Have we put on Christ?

Truth

• "Our truest responsibility to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find the truth." Something to think about by Madeleine L'Engle.

Work of Art

"It is easy to become a Christian, it is much harder to turn your Christianity into a work of art."
Ash Wednesday service quotation, Rev. Rand Edwards

Be Ye Glad

I want to share the remedy for the winter blahs I have. It is listening to Micheal Kelly Blanchard sing a song he composed, Be Ye Glad. I couldn't find him doing it on utube but found several other artist doing their renditions of his work. The hymn he wrote is compelling and I can't stay down after I have considered the lyrics. I share it with you today. I did the painting almost 37 years ago right after I accepted Christ into my heart. Here are the lyrics to the song:
BE YE GLAD

Words and Music by M.K.Blanchard
© Gotz Music/Benson
(860) 673-5100

In these days of confused situations.
In these nights of a restless remorse,
When the heart and the soul of the nation,
lay wounded and cold as a corpse.
From the grave of the innocent Adam,
comes a song bringing joy to the sad.
Oh your cry has been heard and the ransom,
has been paid up in full, Be Ye Glad.
(Chorus)

Oh, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad,
Every debt that you ever had
Has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord,
Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad, Be Ye Glad.

From the dungeon a rumor is stirring.
You have heard it again and again.
But this time the cell keys are turning,
and outside there are faces of friends.
And though your body lay weary from wasting,
and your eyes show the sorrow they've had.
Oh the love that your heart is now tasting
has opened the gate, Be Ye Glad.
(Chorus)

So be like lights on the rim of the water,
giving hope in a storm sea of night.
Be a refuge amidst the slaughter,
for these fugitives in their flight.
For you are timeless and part of a puzzle.
You are winsome and young as a lad.
And there is no disease or no struggle,
that can pull you from God, Be Ye Glad.
(Chorus)

Being called as an artist, Suzanne Trenney

I just finished reading an older child's tale by Madeleine L'Engle, A Wind In The Door. As part of the story she talks about the enemy being the one who "un names". Reading in scripture in the book of Exodus, God tells Moses that he knows him by name, knows who he is the stuff of which he is made. In order to be true to that for which we were created and called, we need to know the "name" by which God calls us. My friend Suzanne Trenney has struggled with her "name" and is finally realizing that she is indeed called to create art for the glory of God. She has a gift and that gift is a blessing with which she is to practice, study to show herself approved by the on going development of her skill and therefore God bless others. Suzanne's work is pictured here. Suzanne Writes:
The piece behind the leaded glass is entitled, "Empty plate, empty bowl, full wallets" and has a second title, "The Great Omission". In it, a relatively well off couple passes the sparsely filled offering plate. Behind them is a stained glass window with individuals who are potential saints(an elderly woman, a troubled teenage young man, a Muslim woman and a starving African child holding an empty bowl) who might turn to Christ if the parishioners truly gave proportionally. Also pictured is a crutch and shackles both of which can be removed by God.
I drew this around two years ago when I was new to Ascension and had not fully left my former church and was also helping at a church plant. I was really struggling with where to give my offerings. My former church (which was really huge) was able to give over a million dollars annually to missions. The church plant seemed to need the money the most. But I was being fed at Ascension. Although I was disappointed with the level of giving at Ascension after attending my first annual budget meeting as well as the amount of the church's budget which directly went towards fulfilling the Great Commission, God told me that my tithes were to go to Ascension as I had, by that time, begun to consider it my church home. This drawing was made during this period of frustration.
Later, I attended a class at Trinity called "Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" which was taught by Ken Bailey. He told us about how he was once teaching about the parable of the servants who were entrusted with money while their master was away and were later rewarded based on their faithfulness. He discussed how they were rewarded based on their faithfulness-not productivity, but that in each case, faithfulness did lead to an increase. He was asked by a woman about a situation that didn't seem to be addressed in the parable where a servant was faithful but what was entrusted did not increase. Though he did not have a good answer for her at the time, he continued thinking about it and realized that Jesus did not include that scenario because it doesn't exist! We do not possess the yardstick to measure productivity. Just as love never fails, Ken Bailey said that he believes that faithfulness never fails. Rather than attempting to measure the productivity or kingdom value of a church, or its members, I need to be faithful with what I have been given and to that which I have been called. We do, however, need to prompt and encourage one another to faithfulness. We have been blessed in order to be a blessing.

The Art of Avoiding Vertigo

(To link to the home site of this art go to: http://www.brickels.com/index.htm )
True vertigo, from the Latin "vertere," to turn, is a distinct, often severe form of dizziness that is a movement hallucination. The dizziness, is a symptom, not a disease. The term vertigo refers to the sensation of spinning or whirling that occurs as a result of a disturbance in balance (equilibrium). The body cannot find it's "center" in much the same way that a compass cannot find north, a scale cannot calibrate accurately to zero, or a piano tuned to middle C. Some things have to be tuned, centered, adjusted or they spin out of control, lean, tilt, crumble, flatten, and falter. This past year has been one of faltering, a year of moral vertigo. I do not mean to pick on just 2007, It's just that as the news media reviews 2007 there is little good news. The popular media my Generation Y students consider their "daily bread" would have made my mother blush, at best, it only makes them shrug. They are jaded by life already for the most part. These are the offspring of corporate scandals, single parent homes, the war in Iraq, school shootings and nuclear insecurity. They have the capacity to smell a phony and a fake a mile away and are looking for adults who are living the faith authentically. The idiom, " A divided against itself cannot stand", was coined by Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address. It actually refers to the words of Christ quoted in Matthew 12:25, 'And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand'. The illustration I present to you today is this image of the "vertigo house" by American ceramicist John Brickels. The link to his site to view more of his delightful work is supplied here. Brickel's vertigo house serves as a visual metaphor for the state of the interior life of the soul manifest in many. A confused potentate, Pilate once asked Jesus, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" JOHN 18:37, 38. May this be a year of tuning to C, finding true north, and standing tall and upright in the Truth.

The Art of Christmas Gift Giving

As I write this message it is Black Friday, the biggest retail event of the year. A woman was interviewed on the television news broadcast this morning. She was waiting in line with other consumer hopefuls in front of the Walmart on Peach Street to be the first, when the store opened, to buy a big screen television at a reduced cost. She had arrived during the wee hours of the morning to secure her spot. If she manages to get one she figures it will be worth the wait, she tells the reporter. The national financial prognosticators are foretelling holiday sales will be down due to a slumped real estate housing market and rising interest rates. Savvy advertising experts know that while playing "Joy to the World" throughout the shopping mall in December will bring joy to the cash registers of shop owners, "Silent Night, Holy Night" will work even better causing many shoppers cave in to the pressure to spend beyond their means. There’s always that anxiety though, when the bills roll in on January. Many other folks will feel a sense of sadness because the Christmas promised in the movies and magazines does not match their reality and buying more things is only a temporary fix. For many it has become a secular holiday, a time of giving gifts to family, friends and coworkers. Some of the gift giving is done in a spirit of love and generosity, some with obligation and strings attached. There are Several web sites can be googled for those who need nine steps to stress free gift giving this season. Once the gifts are purchased and wrapped, there’s the cards, letters, the tree, the lights, the employee parties, cookie exchanges, concerts, wait, isn’t something important being missed while everyone around us is in a frenzy preparing for the physical trappings of holiday season, this time we call Advent. Did I just see Santa boot the baby out of the manger?Centuries before Jesus was twinkle in Mary’s eye, the prophet Isaiah wrote:
Isaiah 7:14  
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel. God with us.
In this time of preparation, how is God with us? Can He be found in the frenetic shopping at the Mall, in the long lines at the cash register or the traffic congestion on upper Peach Street? God became man secretly wrapped under Mary’s heart waiting to be revealed to us . How do you wrap an indescribable gift? how do you wrap Love? Did Mary fully realize the nature of the precious cargo she was carrying to term? That God loved human kind so much that He came to earth as tiny child born of a poor working class woman. In the eyes of mankind a real god or king would come in spendor and wealth with a display of power.Mary was surely familiar with the further Messianic prophesy in Isaiah:
Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder :
and His name shall be called Wonderful , Counselor , Mighty God
Everlasting Father , Prince of Peace.
Later the baby, as a grown man, would tell his disciples, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. The world or earthly peace, Jesus was speaking of lasts only as long as happy hour or until the baby wakes up, the boss calls, the bully shows up, the house is broken into, or the next ruler decides to commit an act of aggression. On the contrary, the Peace of Christ is God given, a gift, and is a state of heart.
Our culture, instead, would like us to have our thoughts focused on Santa coming to town “You had all better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.” He’s making a list a checking it twice, going to find out who’s naughty or nice”... How much of what we think we know about Jesus is really the theology
expressed in this song about Santa Claus? I admit my view of God has been a Santa view in the past, resulting in many a misunderstanding between myself and the Savior. Santa like God is portrayed as omniscient, all knowing. Judgment day comes annually at Christmas when only good children are rewarded with gifts and bad children get coal and sticks. What if you are having a bad year financially? What if every year is a bad year? For those among us who are in financial difficulty Christmas can be cruel and anything but “good news to the poor”. Children don’t understand that getting a gift is not dependent on their behavior but on their parents disposable income or line of credit.
In Isaiah 53 we find a prophetic description of the One who understands when there is nothing under the tree no food on the table, no room in the inn,a God who stepped down from His throne on heaven on our behalf and was willing to take the rags of our sorrow, pain and failure upon His shoulders and give us the riches of His Kingdom:
1 Who has believed our message
       and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
       and like a root out of dry ground.
       He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
       nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
 3 He was despised and rejected by men,
       a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
       Like one from whom men hide their faces
       he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
       and carried our sorrows,
       yet we considered him stricken by God,
       smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
       he was crushed for our iniquities;
       the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
       and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
       each of us has turned to his own way;
       and the LORD has laid on him
       the iniquity of us all.
 7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
       yet he did not open his mouth;
       he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
       and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
       so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
       And who can speak of his descendants?
       For he was cut off from the land of the living;
       for the transgression of my people he was stricken. [b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
       and with the rich in his death,
       though he had done no violence,
       nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
       and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering,
       he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
       and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
       he will see the light of life [d] and be satisfied [e] ;
       by his knowledge [f] my righteous servant will justify many,
       and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [g]
       and he will divide the spoils with the strong, [h]
       because he poured out his life unto death,
       and was numbered with the transgressors.
       For he bore the sin of many,
       and made intercession for the transgressors.
How can we make meaningful of this time of Advent and not miss the God With Us, Emmanuel? With the media bombardment we are tempted to hunger and thirst for more and more stuff. More holiday drink, more holiday goodies, more holiday treat and surpises, more, more more.This is a joyful season but we don’t want it to miss it’s significance by allowing it to be buried in rampant commercialism. Jesus, the humble savior, whispers to us” Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” As we desire for more this season, Jesus says in Matthew 5 “Blessed are you who hunger, blessed are you who thirst”. He doesn’t say that those who are satisfied are blessed but those who are yearning and grasping for something. Jesus is blessing the emptiness not the fullness, He is blessing something that we think makes no sense, unless
you look at it from the point of view of the Kingdom of Heaven, not this world. In the Kingdom of Heaven, It is better to come empty, being hungry and thirsting is the precondition for being filled. This season consider opening up your heart anew, presenting it as an empty container for the Divine One to fill with the gift of His righteousness, “Let every heart prepare Him room,” goes the line in Joy to the world. May this be a season when all our hearts expand to hold and treasure the indescribable gift, God with us, Immanuel.

The Art of Remembering

Sometimes when you have a traumatic even that occurs in your life you can't remember it, or you don't remember it completely. Professionals in the field of psychology will say that the memory has been repressed. Sometimes people choose not to remember things that happened in the past because they can't bear the horror of the recall. Someone I love is struggling with trying to deal with a traumatic memory of abusive events that occured in their life in their childhood so that they can get on with their life and heal.

Someone else I love is refusing to remember they were the perpetrator of abusive events in my past. I have dealt with this issue of memory with this individual for a long time, incredulous that this other person in my life will not come to terms with what they did to me. They simply refuse to remember any wrong doing they have told me I am crazy, but others had seen. I agonized in prayer, asking for the ability to be able to forgive, spent time in therapy and still struggled with an empty sadness over the violation of a trust. Finally I had a realization that this person was choosing not to remember and in fact denied these events even took place, because it was too painful for them to remember. They were as traumatized by the fact that they had committed the offenses as I was. They could not face themselves, let alone me. God has since given me the compassion and grace to be able to freely love this person I cannot "escape" as they are "family" . I am no longer tormented by sad or angrey feelings about them, my relationship today is no longer defined by what happened in the past. I have moved forward and have been able to develop a new relationship, different too, because I am no longer a vulnerable child, but a wise woman, and they are elderly.

I pray someday this person will be able to know that they are accepted by God unconditionally. As for now, when I see them they ask, "Do you love me?" I can honestly say yes. Yes, from the bottom of my heart. Love is a gift of God. It was freely given to me and I have been finally able to be set free enough to give it freely to them. I remember with thanksgiving, the comforting love and grace of God that brought me through the struggle and pain, then the joy of being set free of the bondage of anger and sadness. It didn't happen overnight. It took many years, praying continually, until the breakthrough came.

Luke 17, 11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

I remember with Thanksgiving what God has done for me, may you be blessed to do the same. Happy Thanksgiving.

Staying Alive, The Art of Praying with a Disco Beat

Do you remember 1977 and The Brothers Gibb? The Bee Gees' U.S. Top Forty chart domination began in 1977. "Stayin' Alive" was the then number one hit and a major song for the movie Saturday Night Fever. It was then replaced in 1978, with the group's younger brother Andy Gibb's single, "Love Is Thicker Than Water", followed by the Bee Gees' own "Night Fever". This was then replaced by Yvonne Elliman's "If I Can't Have You". Since Barry Gibb had a hand in writing all four of these songs, he became the only person in history to write four consecutive US Number One singles; this feat has not been matched to this day. Robin Gibb was quoted as saying, "Stayin' Alive" is about survival in the big city—any big city—but basically New York."

I have been humming the refrain to "Staying Alive" for the last two three weeks. I'll probably be humming it until Christmas. I'm a little over booked in terms of committments and overwhelmed at the present. So right now, I am trying to stay alive and keep my heart and mind focused on Christ while being pulled in many directions. Both of my grown and living at home college student children became very ill these past couple of weeks so there was a flurry of medical activity and extra care. It was like being beseiged when we discovered that their illness was a class 1 communicable disease and the county health department was called in.

I was reflecting on the actions of the prophet Jeremiah who, while his city was besieged, bought some real estate, as an outward prophetic expression of hope. The Lord said to him, " Jeremiah, when you brought the field, you showed that fields will someday be bought and sold again. You say that this land has been conquered by the Babylonians and has become a desert, emptied of people and animals. But someday, people will again spend their silver to buy fields everywhere---It will happen because I will give this land back to my people. I, the Lord, have spoken.

Sometimes I am just staying alive, and that is the best I can do under the circumstances, until the season is passed. God knows that I am an experiential learner. I learn best by doing,experiencing, not by reading books. I have to live through overcommittment and fully rely on God rather than reading about it. For those of you who can learn from reading about the mistakes of others, I post this piece. God is good all the time.

The Art of being married twenty five years

"If we commit ourselves to one person for life, this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather, it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation."
(Madeleine L'Engle,The Irrational Season, 47)

In the second act of the broad way musical Fiddler on the Roof, preceding their daighter Huddle's marriage, Tevye looks at his wife Golda and asks her "Do you love me?". Golda, does not directly answer her husbands question at first. She does bring to his attention, however, all of the things she has done for him during their twenty five years of wedded bliss, such as cooking, cleaning, bearing and raising children, and milking the cow. Tevye wants more from her than a litany of all she has done faithfully through the years. He wants to hear the words spoken from her lips. "Do you love me?", He asks again. Golda sings in reply, "For 25 years I lived with him, fought with him, starved with him, 25 years my bed is his, if that's not love what is?" Tevye responds: "Then you love me..." and Goldie answers, "I suppose I do." Tevye responds, "I suppose I love you too!" Finally they sing together: "It doesn't change a thing but even so, after 25 years it's nice to know."

I have thought often of another song. The song by Elton John written as a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, " Goodbye Norma Jean". The first part of the refrain grabs me over and over, "And it seems to me, you lived your life like a candle in the wind never knowing who to cling to when the rain set in". I think about this person having difficulty and not having anything solid to hang on to, to act as an anchor to be a steadying object or a compass as a guide. Goldie and Tevye, the two characters in Fiddler on the Roof are are very different than Marilyn. They are, like my husband and I, common folk, trying to do our best, sometimes blessed, other times, beset with difficulties.

Today is my husband and my twenty fifth wedding anniversary. I don't know how we got here, one day at a time, "sunrise, sunset, swiftly fly the years". It really was nothing remarkable, we were young, then suddenly middle aged! The good times flew by, they always do, but it was through the difficult times our personal faith sustained us. Like Goldie and Tevye, there have been many times that we have taken each other for granted and forgotten to say those all important words,"I love you," yet there has not been a time when we havn't known who to cling to when the rain set in. If there was a visual representation of what our marriage looked like it would be a braid, three strands plaited together. One strand would be my husband and the other interwoven would be myself and the other strand binding us together would be God. We began our marriage twenty five years ago as a covenant between us and our heavenly Father. Today we celebrated and gave thanks, dinner out and new wedding bands, as we had worn out our old ones. If we live long enough to see the next twenty five years, we will be quite elderly. "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be" the front of the card read, I gave my husband.

The Art of Managing Stress

What causes you the most stress, is it big things or the small stuff ? For me it is the big stuff topped off with the whipped cream and cherry of the small stuff. The big stuff is so obvious that I know it going to be stressful so I am on guard and I do all the things I know to do to maintain calm but add the whipped cream and cherry of life events and I 'm over the edge with a migraine, stomache ache, foul mood, sleeplessness and irritability.

Exercise, especially if it is a prayer walk, is a great stress buster. I put on my shoes head out the door, listen to an inspirational tape or music and then pour my heart out to Jesus while I am pounding the pavement. Cleaning the house while eating chocolate and listening to good music helps too. The house cleaning part makes me feel like I did something to sove the problem. Chocolate is just plain good and reminds me to taste and see that the Lord is good. Boy and I rationalizing here or what about the chocolate? A trusted friend that will listen and prayerfully offer Godly council and not just what they think will make me feel better is worth their weight in gold. Nothing beats reading God's Word and reflecting on the psalms of the lives of the saints, especially if there is a cat curled up in your lap at the same time!. I like to read the blogs of people who are on a journey of faith. They inspire me to keep moving in mine. I find blogging or jouranling and doing art work also helps me unwind and focus on my real goal, to love the Lord my God with all my heart soul and mind and to love my neighbor as myself.

What is your favourite music to chill out to? I find myself humming James Taylor's, "Going to Carolina in my mind." I imagine Carolina being like heaven and being there with others who are looking for refuge. I love Twila Paris's "God is In Control" and will put that on and belt it out with her. I need to sing it at the top of my lungs to drown out my own thoughts of wanting to grab control of my life at the moment. Isn't that what get's us into trouble most of the time with this stress thing? Feeling a sense of entitlement that we deserve a break today, yesturday, tomorrow? That we deserve to be on throne seated at the right hand of God, not Jesus?

Anywhere I can find where I can be alone is good to get focused again. The woods are the best for me. They draw me with the smells of earth and green living things. Our back yard is woodsy. In the wintertime in the snowbelt, in a small house with dogs, cats, kids and a husband finding a quiet place isn't always easy. Some of my best setling down then is done driving the car on the highway to a grocery store. I can say I am getting groceries, but I really have an ulterior motive. Where do you go to chill?

I am pretty introspective and reflective although I do love being around people. I find after a day teaching school surrounded by people that I need silence and time alone. A party is the last thing I want to attend. I prefer small gatherings of people around a shared meal of well prepared food in a quiet place.

I have shared some of my stress busting tips, please feel free to share your favourite.