going public

I realized I've neglected to update this blog with some exciting news. After applying and interviewing, I'm excited to announce that I've accepted a position as a Pastoral Resident at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania.

The last few weeks have been full of applications, interviews, and discernment.

Easter came early for me this year with an offer from BMPC the Wednesday before Holy Week.

I'm excited to move out of the holding pattern and into full time ministry. The last two years have brought about a lot of good changes...painful oftentimes, but ultimately good.

We'll be leaving A2 at some point in July...details are fuzzy at this point.

I just know that we'll be living above the poverty level for the first time in two years and have health insurance. And, that feels good!

Meanwhile, Peter is wrapping up his last semester and starting the job search in Philadelphia. His graduation is a few weeks away.

I can't believe we're back at this place again. Preparing to move, starting something new, moving forward.

Reading

I've been reflecting some on challenges the Church faces. I think one of the greatest challenges for the Church, and the mainline in particular is intergenerational ministry. Working with students in campus ministry, I have observed the loneliness and isolation of students and drifting away from community. A young twenty something myself, I've had countless conversations with friends about our generation. Looking ahead to serving the Church as a young clergy woman, I see a difficult path...generational divides, and a great need to strive for intergenerational ministry, a better understanding of what it means to be the Body of Christ.

So, I've decided to read up on these questions.


Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation by Carol Howard Merritt

Written by a Presbyterian pastor, who also falls into the young clergy women category. I devoured this book last week. It's intelligent, accessible, and would be great for a small group or Session to use in a study.

There's also a great chapter on young clergy and our own struggles. This section in particular resonated with me.

Perhaps I'll review it later. Check out her blog at: TribalChurch.org



After the Baby Boomers by Robert Wuthnow

The sub-title offers a clearer picture of this sociological study: "How Twenty- and Thirty-Somethings are Shaping The Future of American Religion."

I'm only several chapters into this one. It's a primary source to Merrit's book.


Passing on the Faith: Transforming Traditions for the Next Generation of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. edited by James L. Heft, S.M.

Just scratching the surface of this one.

Candidacy

Last evening I was moved to Candidacy by my Presbytery. I'm still processing the moment, but it was overwhelming to stand before Pastors and Elders after my examination and be welcomed. I feel such a sense of peace, of God's faithfulness, and of gratitude to so many "witnesses" that encouraged me along the way. All night long I kept thinking about the watershed moments in my journey...significant people, nudgings, and places.

I chose the title of this blog, traveling mercies, in my last year of seminary when everything felt up in the air. There's still that sense about life, but I've come to realize we're always traveling, always moving.

Looking ahead, I'll be a candidate for one year. Candidacy is a time for folks to solidify their sense of call and prepare for final assessment. Mine is scheduled for June. At that time I'll preach a sermon and then be orally examined on theology, Biblical literacy, polity, and general character. Looking for a call cannot begin until then, and that's a whole 'nother process.

And, so life goes on!

December 30 sermon

I had the opportunity to preach at Littlefield Presbyterian Church in Dearborn.

The lectionary texts that week were brutal, but provoking.

Check out my sermon here

Special thanks to Emily for thinking to record and to folks for welcoming me.

CPM and Advent

It seems fitting that I would approach candidacy during Advent. Tomorrow (Tuesday) I meet with the Committee on Preparation for Ministry (CPM) to move from the Inquiry phase of ministry/ordination toward Candidacy.

I'm excited to meet the committee and have a conversation about this journey. A year ago I was pretty anxious, ready to get on with the process, to "get back on track." At that time it seemed like I was "off track" becauase I wasn't in a call and starting a process all over again in a new denomination.

Now, I'm realizing I'm not off track at all. In fact, this extra time has given me an opportunity to look at my gifts and calling anew outside of seminary and in a new denomination. I've had a chance to live into acceptance...internally. To know and feel more fully the grace and love of God, and hopefully to be able to point to that in new way.

Tonight I'm content. And, I'm approaching this meeting and this season of advent with expectation and hope.

Advent One

This is a sermon I wrote and preached for a chapel service at Princeton Theological Seminary December 2005. Enjoy.

Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort Ye

What liturgical season are you? Advent is my favorite liturgical season. During college I came to love Advent as a result of choral music. I converted to Advent during my freshmen year of college. I’ll never forget the first time I sang Handel’s Messiah with the Calvin College Oratorio society. I went through an entire semester rehearsing the piece, often grudgingly, too focused on my range or confidence in my part to understand the piece. During that first performance it all clicked. The progression from the opening “Comfort Ye” to the crescendo of the Hallelujah Chorus through to the end where we proclaimed the worthiness of the lamb who was slain brought me to tears. When I sang the Messiah the first time I got the meaning of Advent in a way I never had before. Singing that piece I finally understood the spiritual anticipation of Advent. I understood in my head and in my heart the significance of Christ and the anticipation of his coming again – they were built into the entire piece.
Today we heard the tenor, soprano, and alto voices proclaiming the opening recitative from the Messiah, Isaiah 40 – “Comfort, O Comfort my people.” This text was originally proclaimed not in a concert hall, but to the Israelites during their long exile in Babylon in the middle of the 6th century BCE. Israel had lost her city Jerusalem, her temple, her entire way of life and threats were bearing down around her new home – Babylon. The sense of despair and lament were evident.
Chapter 40 sits in the middle of this despair and lament, and marks a turn of hope. In this section of the book the anonymous announces to Israel the imminence of her freedom. But before he announces the end of exile, the prophet introduces freedom with words of assurance and hope in Isaiah 40. In this poem God issues the imperative of comfort in the plural to Israel. Through this imperative we are reminded that God will keep God’s word, Israel has paid her penalty, and the period of punishment in exile will soon be over.
As the text progresses several other voices chime in, painting a rich picture of this hope in the form of deliverance. The comfort that God offers is not soft and fuzzy. God does not comfort us with swaddling cloths. No, this comfort is a strong imperative recalling God’s covenant with Israel. As the text goes on we gain a fuller picture of this comfort and of God’s saving act. This comfort is active, one of movement, of journey down the highway through the wilderness. This sense of movement crescendos in verse 9 when yet another command comes forth to “get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings. Lift up your voice with strength O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up do not fear.” Comfort and deliverance are active. The Israelites are gathered up from their despair down the highway of faith, and in turn are called to proclaim their faith. And, in turn, God comes with strength and might, tender and attentive as a shepherd, loving and nurturing as a mother who holds her child to her bosom. The images are powerful. Gathering, traveling, protection, deliverance, and strength. I like to think of this as a circle of love. God reaching out, Israel responding, and so on.
We too live in this circle of love. We all have testimonies of God picking us up, setting us aright, and planting our feet on solid ground. All of us at one point or another have extended an arm of love to our brother or sister. Can I get an Amen?
We live in hope because we know the fulfillment of Isaiah 40 – we know that John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ. We hope because Christ died, Christ rose, and Christ will come again. We know that we could not possibly extend love without first receiving the love of God.
Yet we also know the pain of exile, of life in the wilderness. We know the suffering and weight of grief, the anxiety of future plans, the trauma of crisis, or the uncertainty of transition.
We know and mourn with our brothers and sisters all around the world who are struggling under the weight of warfare, are suffering from AIDS, are sinking under the yoke of tyranny, our earth is groaning under the pressures of our consumption and the list goes on. We live the reality of the already but not yet. We are waiting. We know full well the context of Isaiah 40.
People of God, take comfort, for God is faithful. When our human systems fail us, when we fail ourselves, know that God is strong, God is tender, and God is with us. During this season of Advent remember that God has gathered all of us, God protects us on the highway through the wilderness, and God preserves us. Wait for the Lord, take comfort.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Gratitude

Tis the season to pause and reflect on bounty and blessing. Since I'm supposed to be doing exegesis for a sermon this Sunday, I'll keep it short.

1. Family: each year I'm thankful for this, but especially this year. My spouse P has been a tremendous support...especially after a marathon of a summer and fall.

2.Jobs: I didn't have a job lined up after CPE and now I find myself with two major jobs and few side projects here and there. Together they pull on my gifts. I'm most thankful for the people I work with/for...my supportive board at True North, great staff at CRS, and the many students I get to hang out with and listen to.

3.Health: other members of my family struggle in this area. I'm so thankful for a healthy mind and body.

4. Shelter: The economy in southeast Michigan is rough right now. I don't take for granted the fact that I have a roof over my head and a great landlord.

Looking over the list, it's pretty standard. I'm realizing that it's the basic things that keep us all going. Happy Thanksgiving!