Here's a video of the "Children's Offertory" that is a well-known hallmark of Church of the Messiah. It was developed by Megan Jull and Doug Cowling. I'm not entirely sure who shot the video (not me). We've done it two or three times since I came, and we'll be doing it again in Advent. We've also had interest from other churches about doing it there. Enjoy...
-t
Showing posts with label Megan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Megan. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Baby's Got Book
Megan pointed this out to me--I first saw it a year or so ago. Very funny...
"..and if you're Catholic there's even more..." Lol.
-t
"..and if you're Catholic there's even more..." Lol.
-t
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Random Post-Worship Thoughts
Last night I dreamt that I was about to preside at a funeral service for my grandmother (who died when I was in College several years ago). It was in unfamiliar but large church with a full congregation. I was supposed to preach, but hadn't prepared much and couldn't even recall what the lessons would be. Anyway, I survived the dream.
I also survived today's services. Each Sunday seems to be smoother and smoother as I fit into the grooves of the place. Megan and I have worked out a good system for doing announcements at the beginning of the service. We've also come to a nice place with regards to our "altar craft" (there is still some room for improvement here). Today I tried using the brass desk rather than the pillow to support the Altar Missal. It was a good idea, the "desk" works much better, though I appreciate what the pillow is trying to accomplish. The Chancel Guild is now putting the corporal in the burse--which is what I prefer.
One of the decisions you have make in liturgical planning is whether you imagine that you are doing a rite in a place that is already pre-sanctified, or whether you are coming into the place as for the first time. The difference is that in the latter model you spend a lot more energy marking off holy space and defining it as such. So the procession follows the cross and you deliberately put down the corporal as a beat of the liturgy, etc. If you imagine the space to be already sacred, you don't have to do as much sanctifying. Both modes are good and suitable to Sunday worship, it just tends to bias things in one direction or another depending on what affect you are trying to achieve. The only problem comes when you confuse the two approaches. Anyway, we are working on it.
As we recessing down the aisle after the service, a woman from Egypt reached out and touched the processional cross and kissed her hand. I recognized the gesture immediately, and I'd love to implement a similar devotional practice around the gospel book or the processional cross more regularly. They do this at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. This Sunday's devotional kiss was not a deliberate reference to St. Greg's but there are number of other practices at COTM that were, indeed, inspired by the liturgically innovative parish in San Fran. I understand that St. Greg's does liturgical workshops regularly--it's tempting to put that on my list of continuing ed events. But I think the conferences at St. Bart's in NY in June and the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek in August of next year are higher priorities at the moment. Hopefully I can get a COTM contingent together for one or both.
Speaking of ministry, we have a gift of $10,000 to spend towards a new piano. That's about a 1/3 of what we ultimately may need, but it is enough that we may be able to get a fantastic "concert grade" instrument if we can find a dealer willing to give us a deep discount. Or we might simply have to raise a bit more money--but having the seed of $10k makes a HUGE difference to the likelihood that we'll get what we're looking for. I'm very excited.
Megan did a good job with today's sermon. A couple visiting from SMM told me that it was the best sermon they had heard on the subject of money. It is a hard thing to preach about and she did an excellent job of teasing out the implications of the Scripture's sayings on the topic.
That reminds me, I need to fix the sound system. Not sure how premium I should go with that. I think I would probably do well with about $3k worth of equipment. It will be much easier to repair and upgrade than the SMM system. Besides swapping out the ancient amplifier and wireless mics and adding an EQ and a mini-mixer, I'm also thinking about getting a TASCAM HD P2. These are really designed for field recording, but the flexibility it offers would be nice for recording any kind of concerts that might happen here. I could simply put it where I need it, attach to microphones and we are good to go!
But even before I get to that point I need to make more progress on reading the parish histories, develop the website, rebuild my computer, edit and post sermon videos, get the Rectory rented, meet with Merv, pray, pray, and pray. sigh.
Right now I'm going to go watch some football.
-t
I also survived today's services. Each Sunday seems to be smoother and smoother as I fit into the grooves of the place. Megan and I have worked out a good system for doing announcements at the beginning of the service. We've also come to a nice place with regards to our "altar craft" (there is still some room for improvement here). Today I tried using the brass desk rather than the pillow to support the Altar Missal. It was a good idea, the "desk" works much better, though I appreciate what the pillow is trying to accomplish. The Chancel Guild is now putting the corporal in the burse--which is what I prefer.
One of the decisions you have make in liturgical planning is whether you imagine that you are doing a rite in a place that is already pre-sanctified, or whether you are coming into the place as for the first time. The difference is that in the latter model you spend a lot more energy marking off holy space and defining it as such. So the procession follows the cross and you deliberately put down the corporal as a beat of the liturgy, etc. If you imagine the space to be already sacred, you don't have to do as much sanctifying. Both modes are good and suitable to Sunday worship, it just tends to bias things in one direction or another depending on what affect you are trying to achieve. The only problem comes when you confuse the two approaches. Anyway, we are working on it.
As we recessing down the aisle after the service, a woman from Egypt reached out and touched the processional cross and kissed her hand. I recognized the gesture immediately, and I'd love to implement a similar devotional practice around the gospel book or the processional cross more regularly. They do this at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. This Sunday's devotional kiss was not a deliberate reference to St. Greg's but there are number of other practices at COTM that were, indeed, inspired by the liturgically innovative parish in San Fran. I understand that St. Greg's does liturgical workshops regularly--it's tempting to put that on my list of continuing ed events. But I think the conferences at St. Bart's in NY in June and the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek in August of next year are higher priorities at the moment. Hopefully I can get a COTM contingent together for one or both.
Speaking of ministry, we have a gift of $10,000 to spend towards a new piano. That's about a 1/3 of what we ultimately may need, but it is enough that we may be able to get a fantastic "concert grade" instrument if we can find a dealer willing to give us a deep discount. Or we might simply have to raise a bit more money--but having the seed of $10k makes a HUGE difference to the likelihood that we'll get what we're looking for. I'm very excited.
Megan did a good job with today's sermon. A couple visiting from SMM told me that it was the best sermon they had heard on the subject of money. It is a hard thing to preach about and she did an excellent job of teasing out the implications of the Scripture's sayings on the topic.
That reminds me, I need to fix the sound system. Not sure how premium I should go with that. I think I would probably do well with about $3k worth of equipment. It will be much easier to repair and upgrade than the SMM system. Besides swapping out the ancient amplifier and wireless mics and adding an EQ and a mini-mixer, I'm also thinking about getting a TASCAM HD P2. These are really designed for field recording, but the flexibility it offers would be nice for recording any kind of concerts that might happen here. I could simply put it where I need it, attach to microphones and we are good to go!
But even before I get to that point I need to make more progress on reading the parish histories, develop the website, rebuild my computer, edit and post sermon videos, get the Rectory rented, meet with Merv, pray, pray, and pray. sigh.
Right now I'm going to go watch some football.
-t
Saturday, September 29, 2007
If a Tree Falls on the Rectory and No One is There to Hear It....
Betsy and I stopped by the old Rectory today. I thought I had the key on my key ring but had forgotten it, so we got no farther than a walk around the property. Good thing we took that walk, too, since we discovered a downed tree limb in the back yard that is pinning the cable and telephone lines. Not a pretty picture--so I asked the Parish Administrator to call the tree people we use on Monday to see when they can come out and take care of the tree limb. We still have to do another run through of the Rectory to make a list of needed repairs.
Today our friend Anna moved into the house. She has been looking for a place to stay for a few months and we were happy to offer her our spare bedroom. It seems to us that part of the obligation of being blessed with a house like this is using it to offer hospitality, so we are glad to be in a position to help out our friend. She seems to be settling in without difficulty, and we are glad to have the company.
I did manage to get the grant application I've been talking about in on time. I should hear in a few weeks if it passed the first round. If it does, then there is a ton more work to do. The fuller-application will require a substantial amount of work to process, plus a motion of Vestry (i.e. an assembly of the whole parish). But this idea of a Centre for Children's Faith Formation has a lot of potential at a place like COTM. In the back of my mind is the Children’s Mission of St. Paul & St. James Church in New Haven CT. That program was founded by Gretchen Wolff Pritchard, mother of one of my seminary class mates. (She actually has another daughter that I went out with on a memorable date, but that's another story.) The mission there has been incredibly successful, and I think we can do something similar. We'll see!
Tomorrow is a relatively light day for me. Megan is on to preach--I'm just Presiding and doing my priesty thing....
-t
Today our friend Anna moved into the house. She has been looking for a place to stay for a few months and we were happy to offer her our spare bedroom. It seems to us that part of the obligation of being blessed with a house like this is using it to offer hospitality, so we are glad to be in a position to help out our friend. She seems to be settling in without difficulty, and we are glad to have the company.
I did manage to get the grant application I've been talking about in on time. I should hear in a few weeks if it passed the first round. If it does, then there is a ton more work to do. The fuller-application will require a substantial amount of work to process, plus a motion of Vestry (i.e. an assembly of the whole parish). But this idea of a Centre for Children's Faith Formation has a lot of potential at a place like COTM. In the back of my mind is the Children’s Mission of St. Paul & St. James Church in New Haven CT. That program was founded by Gretchen Wolff Pritchard, mother of one of my seminary class mates. (She actually has another daughter that I went out with on a memorable date, but that's another story.) The mission there has been incredibly successful, and I think we can do something similar. We'll see!
Tomorrow is a relatively light day for me. Megan is on to preach--I'm just Presiding and doing my priesty thing....
-t
Saturday, September 22, 2007
The Centre for Children's Faith Formation at COTM
Megan and I sat down yesterday to make more progress on our concept of developing a "Centre for Children's Faith Formation" here at COTM. In some ways, this is an extension and elaboration of the work she has been doing here for some years, but as she departs at the end of December, we need to have a plan for what will take her place. There is Diocesan grant money available to support new forms of ministry, and this is a perfect opportunity to develop something really special here at COTM.
Part of the idea is to leverage our strengths: the level of integration children already have in our liturgy, our multidisciplinary approach (drama, dance, and music), and our potential for developing a mutually beneficial partnership with our local seminaries.
So we did some brainstorming and I made some notes. Here's a mind map of what I have so far...
Comments, as always, are welcome...
-t
Part of the idea is to leverage our strengths: the level of integration children already have in our liturgy, our multidisciplinary approach (drama, dance, and music), and our potential for developing a mutually beneficial partnership with our local seminaries.
So we did some brainstorming and I made some notes. Here's a mind map of what I have so far...
Comments, as always, are welcome...
-t
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Staff Meeting
Megan (Pastoral Associate), the Parish Administrator, Barbara, and I had an informal Eucharist this morning. The intimacy of such a close quarters liturgy was quite nice, actually, and prayerful. This kind of "staff" Eucharist is likely to become a regular thing for us--really continuing a tradition of the parish that I inherited anyway. Also said Morning Prayer with the crew.
These kinds of intimate prayer moments are suddenly coming a lot to me. Last night I was at Bishop Colin's house for a meeting of young clergy and lay leaders. Because it rained, we ended up having much of our conversation in his living room. There weren't enough chairs, so many of us (including the Bishop and me) ended up sitting on the floor. By that time there was significant sharing of experiences going on and it felt wonderful. The bishop was clearly enjoying the moment as well, and ended the night by reading a passage of scripture, reflecting on it with us, leading us in the Lord's Prayer, and then blessing us. I'm sure these kinds of high-energy conversations about active ministry are much more satisfying to him than many of the things that fill his days.
This morning at church I was still feeling the buzz from that pleasant evening with burgers, ice cream, and ministry talk. No doubt it left me in the perfect frame of mind for all the team building that today involved. After Morning Prayer there was some e-mail and phone calls to deal with. Then Matthew (Director of Music) arrived and we went to lunch at the Pour House. That gave us a chance to tell some stories and enjoy each other's company.
After we got back, Megan joined us again and we had a marathon staff meeting. After we did some planning for upcoming events (including Friday morning's meeting of the Corporation) we did some brainstorming about projects and priorities for near and long term. Lots of great ideas made it onto the flip chart I was using. Some are going to have to wait a bit--others can be implemented easily. For example, our Cantor, Laura, is going to teach the kids some Taize music and then they are going to teach it to the congregation. We are also going to change the position of the organ console slightly and fix some light switches and start working two grant proposals and on and on and on.... Pretty soon it was 5.30 and time to wrap it up--but we all felt as though we had accomplished a great deal. I have a fantastic Ministry Team that is showing every sign of coming to a groove!
I still haven't climbed the belltower--but I will soon. First I have to make a trip to the hardware store so that I have some line to run up the flag pole once I do get up there. I'm also thinking that I should think about getting a safety harness so that I can climb the tower with some security. I'm told that the rungs are very far apart toward the top!
BTW, heard today that there is a rumor going around the parish that I'm only going to stick around for two years. It's untrue, of course, and may simply be based on speculation that I'll leave once Betsy's degree is finished. I suppose I wasn't clear enough in my sermon when I said, "This is my dream job." I should have said, "I'm not going to abandon you!" Anyway, I'm going to squash this rumor on Sunday with a friendly announcement about my intention to stick around for good long while.
Made more progress getting my office organized as well as the house (once I got home). Both are looking more and more like we want them. Really starting to feel at home, now...
Time for bed!
-t
These kinds of intimate prayer moments are suddenly coming a lot to me. Last night I was at Bishop Colin's house for a meeting of young clergy and lay leaders. Because it rained, we ended up having much of our conversation in his living room. There weren't enough chairs, so many of us (including the Bishop and me) ended up sitting on the floor. By that time there was significant sharing of experiences going on and it felt wonderful. The bishop was clearly enjoying the moment as well, and ended the night by reading a passage of scripture, reflecting on it with us, leading us in the Lord's Prayer, and then blessing us. I'm sure these kinds of high-energy conversations about active ministry are much more satisfying to him than many of the things that fill his days.
This morning at church I was still feeling the buzz from that pleasant evening with burgers, ice cream, and ministry talk. No doubt it left me in the perfect frame of mind for all the team building that today involved. After Morning Prayer there was some e-mail and phone calls to deal with. Then Matthew (Director of Music) arrived and we went to lunch at the Pour House. That gave us a chance to tell some stories and enjoy each other's company.
After we got back, Megan joined us again and we had a marathon staff meeting. After we did some planning for upcoming events (including Friday morning's meeting of the Corporation) we did some brainstorming about projects and priorities for near and long term. Lots of great ideas made it onto the flip chart I was using. Some are going to have to wait a bit--others can be implemented easily. For example, our Cantor, Laura, is going to teach the kids some Taize music and then they are going to teach it to the congregation. We are also going to change the position of the organ console slightly and fix some light switches and start working two grant proposals and on and on and on.... Pretty soon it was 5.30 and time to wrap it up--but we all felt as though we had accomplished a great deal. I have a fantastic Ministry Team that is showing every sign of coming to a groove!
I still haven't climbed the belltower--but I will soon. First I have to make a trip to the hardware store so that I have some line to run up the flag pole once I do get up there. I'm also thinking that I should think about getting a safety harness so that I can climb the tower with some security. I'm told that the rungs are very far apart toward the top!
BTW, heard today that there is a rumor going around the parish that I'm only going to stick around for two years. It's untrue, of course, and may simply be based on speculation that I'll leave once Betsy's degree is finished. I suppose I wasn't clear enough in my sermon when I said, "This is my dream job." I should have said, "I'm not going to abandon you!" Anyway, I'm going to squash this rumor on Sunday with a friendly announcement about my intention to stick around for good long while.
Made more progress getting my office organized as well as the house (once I got home). Both are looking more and more like we want them. Really starting to feel at home, now...
Time for bed!
-t
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Messiah...
I'm here, at Church of the Messiah. Got my computer working and some of my books unpacked. Today was a day for unpacking and for making decisions about things coming up this weekend that simply must be decided. For the moment I'm taking the advice of my wiser friends (such as Mary Gates) and making few changes at COTM. This first Sunday or two is a chance for people to meet me and for me to begin to get to know them. No need to scare them utterly this first few weeks!
My "Induction" Service has been scheduled for Sunday, 23 September, at 7 P.M. This is the occasion for Bishop Patrick Yu to welcome me to the parish and for everyone to celebrate the beginning of a new ministry. It fits alongside my "Welcome Sunday" this weekend and the "Institution" service held in the Diocesan Chapel last week and my farewell service at SMM on the 14th of September. I don't anyone can say there hasn't been sufficient liturgy to mark the beginning of my term here!
So far--so good. The Parish Administrator and Megan and Matthew have all been very gracious to me. It feels great to be here. My wings feel less cramped already!
-t
My "Induction" Service has been scheduled for Sunday, 23 September, at 7 P.M. This is the occasion for Bishop Patrick Yu to welcome me to the parish and for everyone to celebrate the beginning of a new ministry. It fits alongside my "Welcome Sunday" this weekend and the "Institution" service held in the Diocesan Chapel last week and my farewell service at SMM on the 14th of September. I don't anyone can say there hasn't been sufficient liturgy to mark the beginning of my term here!
So far--so good. The Parish Administrator and Megan and Matthew have all been very gracious to me. It feels great to be here. My wings feel less cramped already!
-t
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Updates
Megan, her husband Chris, and Matthew were over last night for dinner. They left 5 1/2 hours later after a very stimulating night of talk and food. There are so many juicy projects to start at COTM its hard to know where to start. Yet I know the answer to that: "it's about the people, stupid."
We might have come up with a T-Shirt design, as well. Imagine a picture of COTM converted to black outline with a pirate flag flying off the bell tower. The caption would read: "The Church of the Messiah / Under New Management." Lol. I think that might be too cocky even for me! Perhaps just as a coffee mug?
-t
We might have come up with a T-Shirt design, as well. Imagine a picture of COTM converted to black outline with a pirate flag flying off the bell tower. The caption would read: "The Church of the Messiah / Under New Management." Lol. I think that might be too cocky even for me! Perhaps just as a coffee mug?
-t
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Ninja Priest
Word went out on the Diocesan List-Serve that I'm going to COTM. Various friends and colleagues have called or e-mailed with congrats. Makes one feel good. Also I've had a bunch of minor back-and-forths with Megan and the Parish Administrator about COTM stuff in advance of my arrival. There are plenty of details to coordinate without me even being there, yet.
Met with a nice couple that I'm marrying at COTM in my first week there. It will be my first wedding in Canada, which will be fun. In Ontario you have to be licensed to perform weddings, so I dug my paperwork out and confirmed that I am, indeed, legal. Marriage is one of those cases where the separation of church and state breaks down a bit. For precisely that reason I've heard theologians argue that we should give up doing "legal" marriages and instead only offer "sacramental" marriage. This is what they do in France, for example, where you get married in a clerks office officially and then in a church (if you wish) to receive God's part of the deal. Yet, still, I find it satisfying and appropriate that the church wedding "count" for something in the eyes of the civil authority. Anyway, this couple and I hashed through various details for the upcoming ceremony. Sounds like it will be very nice.
Electricians are repairing the "Corona" lights in the chancel. They had to put up this scaffolding to accomplish the task.
Now, A Ninja Priest like myself looks at something like that and says, "I should really climb that." The excuse is to take some pictures of stuff that doesn't normally get photographed.
The Altar from above
The Electricians doing their thing
How else could I
get this shot?
I love my job.
-t
Met with a nice couple that I'm marrying at COTM in my first week there. It will be my first wedding in Canada, which will be fun. In Ontario you have to be licensed to perform weddings, so I dug my paperwork out and confirmed that I am, indeed, legal. Marriage is one of those cases where the separation of church and state breaks down a bit. For precisely that reason I've heard theologians argue that we should give up doing "legal" marriages and instead only offer "sacramental" marriage. This is what they do in France, for example, where you get married in a clerks office officially and then in a church (if you wish) to receive God's part of the deal. Yet, still, I find it satisfying and appropriate that the church wedding "count" for something in the eyes of the civil authority. Anyway, this couple and I hashed through various details for the upcoming ceremony. Sounds like it will be very nice.
Electricians are repairing the "Corona" lights in the chancel. They had to put up this scaffolding to accomplish the task.
Now, A Ninja Priest like myself looks at something like that and says, "I should really climb that." The excuse is to take some pictures of stuff that doesn't normally get photographed.
get this shot?
I love my job.
-t
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Projects Projects Projects
Here is a picture of Megan Jull--the Lay Associate Pastor at Church of the Messiah....
We had a long lunch to talk about the church and where what we are going to do first. By all accounts she done a remarkable piece of pastoral work in the last year or so keeping the place together, and she will be an invaluable resource as I move into my role in the place. Alas, she will be departing from COTM (Church of the Messiah) at the end of December for the happiest of reasons (she's expecting). After that she will probably be going to parts unknown to continue to pursue ordination. She certainly has the gifts for it, so I'm sure she'll do well.
One of the things are thinking of doing is grabbing Matthew (Director of Music and Liturgical Arts) and going on a leadership retreat. Two or three days of meeting and praying ought to really move things along nicely. They say that going on vacation with a boyfriend or girlfriend accelerates a relationship--in the same a nice retreat can accelerate the team discernment process.
The Capital Campaign flier is coming along nicely. Rob Castle, SMM Warden, has had helpful feedback. Should be ready in the next day or two.
Betsy and I looked at another possible "Rectory," but decided that we liked one that we saw last week better. So now that we've decided on a property our Realtor, Fran, will help us negotiate the deal. The place we are looking at is gorgeous. It will be fantastic for entertaining. I'll have to have an open house in September and then regular parish events frequently after that, as well. Perhaps football parties in NFL season? (I have a hard time taking the CFL seriously, I must admit, it just reminds me too much of High School sports.)
Tons of other projects on the books, but I do feel like I'm getting some stuff done in my days....
-t
We had a long lunch to talk about the church and where what we are going to do first. By all accounts she done a remarkable piece of pastoral work in the last year or so keeping the place together, and she will be an invaluable resource as I move into my role in the place. Alas, she will be departing from COTM (Church of the Messiah) at the end of December for the happiest of reasons (she's expecting). After that she will probably be going to parts unknown to continue to pursue ordination. She certainly has the gifts for it, so I'm sure she'll do well.
One of the things are thinking of doing is grabbing Matthew (Director of Music and Liturgical Arts) and going on a leadership retreat. Two or three days of meeting and praying ought to really move things along nicely. They say that going on vacation with a boyfriend or girlfriend accelerates a relationship--in the same a nice retreat can accelerate the team discernment process.
The Capital Campaign flier is coming along nicely. Rob Castle, SMM Warden, has had helpful feedback. Should be ready in the next day or two.
Betsy and I looked at another possible "Rectory," but decided that we liked one that we saw last week better. So now that we've decided on a property our Realtor, Fran, will help us negotiate the deal. The place we are looking at is gorgeous. It will be fantastic for entertaining. I'll have to have an open house in September and then regular parish events frequently after that, as well. Perhaps football parties in NFL season? (I have a hard time taking the CFL seriously, I must admit, it just reminds me too much of High School sports.)
Tons of other projects on the books, but I do feel like I'm getting some stuff done in my days....
-t
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Half of today was consumed between Morning Prayer, saying Mass, and then participating in the fellowship after the Mass. Attendance at the Wednesday Mass is kind of soft because it's summer: only seven of us today. But I'm sure the rafters are crowded with the angels and archangels.
The other half of the day was mostly filled up with two print projects: an ad for The Whole Note and a very complex flier to publicize the SMM Capital Campaign. Interesting how it only took me half a day to get a pretty good result--my skills with Adobe Creative Suite have really improved in the last two years. I left a hard copy for Fr. Harold to look over before his vacation. I'm also getting feedback from one of the Wardens.
It falls under evangelism, but in an ideal world we'd have volunteers doing this. On the other hand, asking volunteers to do this kind of thing can be tricky. Even if you find someone with the right expertise and a willingness to take direction, projects often take a lot longer when volunteers are involved. Just the sheer effort of coordinating the project between the various players can take months in the church environment when it would only take days in the business world. In seminary they teach you that volunteer recruitment and management is one of the most challenging and important tasks in running a church. Unfortunately, they gave us very little training in this regard.
Anyway, I was thinking about this volunteer issue yesterday evening as Betsy and I took a walk by The Messiah. I could see that many of the bushes and shrubs on the Avenue Road side of the building need some TLC. Probably some kind of Saturday Work-party is in order. I'll have to discover what the volunteer culture at Messiah is like. It's actually a relief that everytime I look into the details of the place I see things that I would like to address or change. That's good, because I'd hate to arrive and have a hard time coming up with things to do!
Tomorrow I'm having a lunch meeting with Megan Jull. She is the Lay Pastoral Associate at Messiah. By all accounts she has done an amazing bit of pastoral work there in the last year or two. She has amazing passion for the place and has developed deep pastoral intimacy with many (if not most) of the people there. So I'm sure we are going to have a great conversation.
-t
The other half of the day was mostly filled up with two print projects: an ad for The Whole Note and a very complex flier to publicize the SMM Capital Campaign. Interesting how it only took me half a day to get a pretty good result--my skills with Adobe Creative Suite have really improved in the last two years. I left a hard copy for Fr. Harold to look over before his vacation. I'm also getting feedback from one of the Wardens.
It falls under evangelism, but in an ideal world we'd have volunteers doing this. On the other hand, asking volunteers to do this kind of thing can be tricky. Even if you find someone with the right expertise and a willingness to take direction, projects often take a lot longer when volunteers are involved. Just the sheer effort of coordinating the project between the various players can take months in the church environment when it would only take days in the business world. In seminary they teach you that volunteer recruitment and management is one of the most challenging and important tasks in running a church. Unfortunately, they gave us very little training in this regard.
Anyway, I was thinking about this volunteer issue yesterday evening as Betsy and I took a walk by The Messiah. I could see that many of the bushes and shrubs on the Avenue Road side of the building need some TLC. Probably some kind of Saturday Work-party is in order. I'll have to discover what the volunteer culture at Messiah is like. It's actually a relief that everytime I look into the details of the place I see things that I would like to address or change. That's good, because I'd hate to arrive and have a hard time coming up with things to do!
Tomorrow I'm having a lunch meeting with Megan Jull. She is the Lay Pastoral Associate at Messiah. By all accounts she has done an amazing bit of pastoral work there in the last year or two. She has amazing passion for the place and has developed deep pastoral intimacy with many (if not most) of the people there. So I'm sure we are going to have a great conversation.
-t
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