CCCC

Today we had another regular meeting of the group putting together the CCCC (Christ-Centered Character Curriculum). We are making good progress and even managed to outline what kind of content we want in the finished product. Lots of work to do, of course, but it's satisfying to have a group of diverse ideas begin to coalesce into a unified whole. Catherine Keating even managed to find a priest down in the states doing her D.Min. on the subject of Character-based Christian Education. I'm eager the read the draft of her thesis.

Lots of busy-ness around the church right now. Tonight we are having a big annual COTM party called "Caribbean Night." As the name suggests, the members of our congregation from that part of the world pull out the stops to make a great party. I'll try to get some pics and video of the action. (For once, I'm not the star. I'm looking forward to letting someone else lead the festivities.)

BTW, interesting experience to catalog in the bin for "weird experiences in a collar." A few weeks ago I was at a meeting of faith leaders from various religions and denominations. I was wearing my collar. A Jewish man asked me, seriously, whether I was Roman Catholic. That's understandable, but when I told him I was Anglican he was incredulous. He said he was positive only Roman Catholic clergy wear collars. When I explained that many Christian traditions follow this custom, he was surprised. It just goes to show that our symbols that we wear to identify ourselves don't necessarily convey what we think they do. That's why I stopped wearing my collar when I worked in the Hospital--I simply found that it did more harm to my ministry as a Chaplain than good. Not everyone feels that way in chaplaincy, of course, and your mileage may vary. But the times are changing for what we can assume about how the signs and symbols of our faith will be understood.

-t