Friday Five: Push or Pull

Today's Friday Five comes from Deb:

 

"I am fortunate to have some great encouragers in my life. The ones who know me the best are great at knowing when to challenge me, and when to just chill and let me figure it out myself. SO… think about the encouragers and challenges in YOUR life and tell us…"

 

1. After achieving a goal, do you set the bar higher, or rest on your laurels?

 

I usually set the bar higher.  But I've got nothing against taking a break.

 

2, Which is better: a kick in the pants or a hug and a cuppa?

 

Oh, definitely the hug.  I am not particularly responsive to criticism.  I mean, I make mid-course corrections all the time in response to feedback, but you can make it a lot easier on both of it if you have something positive to say.

 

3. What’s your baseline motivation? Fear? Competition? Not getting caught? ;)

 

I am pretty damn competitive.  But that driving force has little place in my life these days.

 

4. When you’re facing a big challenge, do you need to talk it out, or puzzle it out yourself?

 

I need to talk it out, at length and with anyone who might have something to contribute.

 

5. Who is in your corner – always? Who helps you achieve more than you imagined you could?  (You don’t have to give names)

 

I have a couple of mentors and colleagues who are always hugely supportive.  And my kids ~ they're amazing.  My daughter at 28 is insightful, compassionate, and articulate ~ often my go-to person whether I'm moving forward or completely stuck.

 

I don't have a bonus piece of art of music.  Just the number . . .

 

3!

 

 

Friday Firsts (Friday Five)

"I'm on a vacation week and in between trips, so it's a good time for a Friday Five from Julie:

This is my very first Friday Five!

Well, actually, that’s not entirely true, I did a guest spot a couple years ago. But, I’m going to be the new third Friday Gal for the next wee while.

 So, I thought we could talk about some firsts this Friday. I have just returned from my annual holiday, and this year’s was very much family oriented. My beloved’s older son lives in Boston, my middle son lives in North Vancouver (between us we have 7 grown up children) so we travelled all the way from Scotland to visit with them, and each was a first time visit. While in Boston we spent some quality time with our granddaughter… Our first!

Play here in the comments, or on your blog, five of your firsts, here are some ideas to get you started. Don’t forget to post a link when you play!"

1. Can you remember the first time you travelled a long way to meet someone special?

I can't!  My extended family and their friends all lived in the same general area when I was growing up, so when we traveled, it was to visit other places, not other people, and to go far away to school.

 2. Share a memory of a first visit to a new country, state or place that was unexpected or unusual.

My grandmother took me on a number of marvelous trips, the first one being to Williamsburg for a week when I was ten and in fifth grade.  It was a great surprise to stop by her house on the way home from school, as I did every afternoon, and discover a large white invitation awaiting me, inviting me to accompany her on an overnight train trip and then for a week visiting the sites of the history that so fascinated me!

 3. What is the first thing you do on waking each day? Is it always the same?

Other than the necessities of life . . . I try to get out and walk first thing every day.  If it's a relaxed kind of day, I indulge myself in reading before I'm even out of bed.

 4. Have you met up with other RevGals? Maybe at an event?

The first RevGal I met was a seminary classmate ~ back when we were all anonymous, she heard me talking over lunch about a blog post, and said "You're on RevGals!" Yikes!  Since then, I have met many others, most recently a group at Fthe estival of Homiletics in Denver  in May and then a group of UCC RGs at their annual meeting here in Cleveland this past summer.

 5. Is this your first Friday Five? If not, can you remember the first time you played?

No IDEA when the first one was.  I'm a pretty erratic player . . .

Songs of Life

Ok, I admit it . . .  the technology has advanced beyond my capabilities, and I don't know how to make a playlist.  But maybe Marie's Friday Five will motivate me to learn

A while ago I noticed that people in a small cyber group of which I’m a part seemed to have playlists for all kinds of situations, so I started finding songs to fit my moods. And I’ll be at the Wild Goose Festival this weekend, so music is on my mind. For today’s Friday Five, tell us about your favorite songs for different situations.

1. What song do you listen to or sing to deal with times when you are sad?

River (Joni)

2. What’s a song that inspires you?

Girl on Fire (Alicia Keys)

3. What’s a song that reminds you of a happy time in your childhood?

We Come From the Mountains (a summer camp song)

4. What’s a song that makes you want to dance?

I hope someone will have some ideas here . . .

5. What’s a song that you share with someone you love?

Up On The Roof (JT and Carole King)

Bonus question: What’s a hymn or spiritual song you love to sing?

Bring Many Names

Political Participation (Friday Five)

Today's Friday Five by janintx offers a series of personal questions or . . .  "If you prefer for this Friday Five, you may write about any of the current affairs that you are thinking about." I think I'll make up my own to accompany the latter:

 

 

1. What is the first national tragedy or crisis of which you remember being acutely aware?

 

The assassination of Robert Kennedy.  I had become, at the age of twelve, interested in politics, largely due to his charisma and energy.  I recall being home from my first year of boarding school, wandering out to the living room in my pajamas early in the morning, turning on the television to the Today show, and watching in horror as the events of the previous evening unfolded on the screen.

 

2. What was the first march or walk in which you participated?

 

During the spring of my senior year of high school, many of us participated in a 20-mile walk to raise funds to combat hunger.  I don't remember where we walked ~ Northampton, maybe? ~ but I do remember that my big toenails turned black and fell off a day or so later!

 

3. What was the most moving event in which you ever participated in response to a national crisis?

 

Each spring, my entire school of 700 girls sang a Sacred Concert.  I realize, now, that we were the beneficiaries of an incredible choral music tradition and education.   In May 1970, we were completely absorbed by the Kent State shootings as the concert approached.  Our brilliant music director rehearsed a powerfully slow and stirring arrangement of "Once to Every Man and Nation" with us for the end of the concert.  I have never heard that arrangement since except on my recording of the concert and on the school website.  Many of us have remarked in the decades following that we have never forgotten that experience.

 

4. How has your church responded to racial issues in our society?

 

Last winter, we used some grant money to take dozens of high school students and teachers from two schools to see the movie Selma and brought them back to church for lunch and a panel discussion with community leaders. My congregation is small and struggling, but that event, in which about ten of our members also attended the film and helped with the lunch, created tremendous positive energy for us and helped us see what kinds of contributions we might make to our community.

 

5. What are you doing about Charleston in worship tomorrow?

 

So far, what we have is a statement of prayer and solidarity on our sign out front.  Tomorrow, as part of our continuing visioning process, we are taking time during worship to do an exercise designed to enable people to indicate what areas of mission are important to them.  I had planned about a two-minute sermon to introduce the process, but now I think that I will add a few sentences, referencing the Pope's encyclical on climate change and the Charleston shootings, to remind my people that Christianity is a revolutionary faith, one which asks us to live the whole of our lives differently and in which even the most basic acts of faith can be a risky business, and that we are called to embrace the gospel in many ways we might not expect. 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a Woman in the Pulpit: Not Really a Book Review

 

 

So, Robin, what did you do today (Saturday)? What does a pastor do with her time?

Well, I started with a long walk, because I wouldn't get another chance today.  And then after I showered and dressed, I spent a little time on plans for our upcoming vacation, because I wasn't going to get another look at those either.  I was going to work on my sermon, but I never got to that.  I'm trying something new tomorrow, and I'm thinking maybe it's not as great an idea as I thought it would be a few weeks ago.  But last Sunday was very intense, and today was about to be equally so, and we all need a breather.  Maybe something a little different will be kind of fun.

And then I went to the church . . .

On a Saturday?

Yeah, I try not to do that.  But this month, three Saturdays in a  row.

And?

At noon, we hosted a community meeting with the police.  We'd like to be more of a presence in our neighborhood, which is a bit of a troubled place -- a few vacant houses, several absentee landlords, and more than several young people who haven't yet found their way into college or work.  Not a good mix.  This will be the third time we've hosted an event for the police to bring folks up-to-date on the current state of the two streets bordering our building.

Most of the rest of the afternoon was consumed with a meeting with the consultant who's helping our church and another consider a possible merger.  He's helped us with two post-worship congregational meetings, and today he debriefed those events with the pastors and congregational leaders and helped us begin to plan next steps.  It was a long (three hours) but ultimately productive meeting.

A long day.

Which concluded with a funeral service for one of our matriarchs and a reception for her family and friends.   She was someone to whom I'd grown close during her many months of medical treatments, and someone with strong opinions about how things should be handled, so I put everything I had into getting her service just right.

And then I came home and opened the mail and took a selfie!  And finished the sermon.

This was a very unusual day, actually.  At least it was for a Saturday.   Three essentially one-time events, all on the same day and all on a weekend.  But they were all the things I do ~ just not usually all on the same day.

I thought we were going to talk about a book?

Right ~ there's a book!  The RevGals have made a book!  A book of short essays depicting the joys and sorrows, the mystifying things and the funny things, about our lives in ministry.  My essays are about how back when I decided to go to seminary I had somehow missed the whole idea that ministry is a form of leadership (and now here I am, leading a church through a major discernment process), and about how I doubted my future as a preacher after catastrophe flattened me during those seminary years (and now here I am, preaching every week).  The book as a whole is about just the sort of things which made up my Saturday.

Do I want to read this book?

If you are a seminary student, Yes!  If you are a new pastor, Yes!  If you are a seasoned pastor, Yes!  If you wonder about the pastoral life, Yes!  (And if your daughter or daughter-in-law or sister or mom or spouse or good friend is a pastor, then for sure: Yes!)

We went to seminary and we studied Greek and Hebrew and scripture and theology and how to make a hospital visit and how to conduct a funeral and how to work with a couple hoping to get married and how to preach a sermon.

And then we became pastors and were asked to host community meetings for struggling neighborhoods and to figure out what to do with diminishing membership rolls and to manage financial crises.   And some of us have done it while raising young families or dealing with personal crises of our own.  And some of us against resistance having to do with our gender or our relationships.  And some of us while wearing clerical collars and red high heels, and others while wearing jeans and sneakers.

Curious?  I think it's a great read, I think you'll feel that you are among friends, and I think you'll see how astonishing and marvelous this call to ministry is.



There's a Woman in the Pulpit is available from the publisher (linked above) as well as from Amazon and B&N, and in Kindle format, of course. Enjoy!

A Random Friday Five

 

Random ~ just what I need to overcome a sluggish start to the day!

The questions come from Rev Karla:

1. If you could sneak away anywhere this weekend, right now, all expenses paid,

where would you go and what would you do?

 

I've been reading the Inspector Gamache mysteries for weeks now, and I have developed an intense hankering to spend some time in Montreal.  So count me as packed and headed to the airport.

 

2. What is for lunch today? (one of the very first FF I ever played asked this.)

 

No idea.  Not feeling so good, so maybe nothing at all.

 

3. Along that first-FF-I-ever-played theme, what are you wearing today?

 

It's suddenly chilly out there, so . . .  black pants, a given, and a jacket or sweater.

 

4. Along the Today Theme, what are you doing today?

 

Mostly, I am putting first or final touches on too many things, but in midafternoon I get to teach my college class on religion and law.  Today we are discussing an article written about a Jesuit priest about his calling to teach law, so I'm looking forward to that conversation.

 

5. Along the random theme, what is your favorite scent, and why?

 

I have no sense of smell, so scent is a foreign concept to me.  I am guessing that I would like the smell of wet leaves on the ground in the fall, though.

 

Enjoy your day!

Friday Five: Come and Visit!

 

Today's RevGals Friday Five comes from 3dogmom:

"An unexpected road trip last weekend made me aware that there are places along the route traveled where, had there been time, I would love to have stopped to visit and explore. That (missed) opportunity, coupled with a recent article in our local newspaper about things to see and do locally inspired today’s Friday Five.

If someone told you they were coming to your city/state/country for the first time, what five things would you recommend that they be sure to see or do? This might be a city, national park, historic site, restaurant or other attraction. Have at it, and share the link to your blog in the comments below. Be sure to visit and comment on other participants’ efforts today, too. Oh, the places we can go!"

*****

I live in an amazing little city, a near eastern suburb of Cleveland.  Welcome to my home!  And here's where we'd go if you came for a couple of days:

Let's first walk a couple of blocks to Lakeview Cemetery ~ nearly 300 acres of  horticulture, Cleveland history, the work of Italian stonecutters highlighted by stained glass ~ including a Tiffany designed chapel, and miles of walking trails and roads.  It's one of my favorite walking places, and takes us from Cleveland Heights at the top of the hill to the city of Cleveland at the bottom.

Next, we'll cross part of the Case Western Reserve University Campus and head for Wade Oval and the Museum of Natural History.  If your kids are anything like mine were, that will take care of the rest of the day. 

 

But if there's time, we'll cross the Oval and head for the Art Museum.  Both of these museums are world-class, but the Art Museum has just undergone an astounding renovation.  Bring your ipad to connect to the exhibits, and get here soon, for there's only a week left to see the Art of Yoga.

 

Now let's walk down the street for a Cleveland Orchestra concert.  If you love music, then you know that we have one of the greatest of orchestras right here, a mile from my house.

 

And finally, if it's not too late, or if the Orchestra isn't playing, we can walk back up the hill through Little Italy for dinner and art gallery browsing.

 

I've stuck to a walking tour, but Cleveland is a wonderful place to live. If you wanted to get into a car, I'd take you to the Lake, to the West Side Market, to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, to dinner on East 4th Street and brunch in historic Ohio City, to art galleries in Tremont, and then down to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for a hike on the Towpath Trail.  I guess you'll have to stay for a week!



Image: Severance Hall, home of The Cleveland Orchestra

Church Libraries - Friday Five

Jan posts today's Friday Five, which for obvious reasons I think is a fun one:

 

Church libraries seem to be diminishing and even disappearing in some churches. Our church is full of scholarly books that no one looks at, and how should it change, be developed, or continue? As the de-facto chairperson of the library, I need ideas and suggestions about church libraries in this day and age. Please help!
1. Does your church have a library? What is it like?

 

The church I pastor has a very small library.  The shelves are filled with the novels my folks like ~ think Mitford and stories of Amish heroines ~  and a number of cheery self-help "Christian" books.  There's very little in the way of scholarly material.  I've brought in a couple of stacks of back issues of periodicals, such as Weavings, but I don't think anyone looks at them.

2. Has this church library changed in recent years? 

 

I don't think so!

 

3. Does your church library serve as space for other activities, such as meetings or as a multi-purpose room?

 

It mostly serves as a space for small meetings and prayer groups.

4. Is a church library necessary? What does a library need?

 

A church library needs people who want to use it!

5. Imagine the library your church would use and describe it.

 

See below.

Bonus: Any suggestions or ideas about church libraries that you'd like to offer!

 

A few years ago my home church (I was still in seminary) re-designed our library into a Spirituality Center.  It was the last committee I chaired there, and we had so much fun!  It's a fairly large room, so it now includes a meeting space with a beautiful oak table and chairs, another meeting and reading and conversation space furnished like a living room, a huge stained glass window (donated by members whom I think found it in their basement) as the focus of another small seating space, and beautiful art work.  (We have a separate computer room and a separate children's library with books and seating and rugs appropriate for smaller people, so we didn't need to incorporate those.)

 

Oh, and . . .  books!  A recently deceased member who was a spiritual director donated his wonderful collection.  There is some good scholarly material, including  a set of commentaries.  And each year books are purchased to complement the educational, spiritual formation, and pilgrimage opportunities the church offers.

 

The library used to be an emphatically boring room in which session meetings were held and into which a few brave souls slipped to borrow an occasional book.  Now it's such a delightful space that groups enjoy meeting there and people are excited to find materials relevant to what they've been hearing about elsewhere in the building.

 

RevGals Birthday: Dreamtime

What's your dream for RevGals?

From the website, with a request for posts for this week's Blog Carnival:

"It's hard to believe it's been eight years since the comment-conversation that led to t-shirts and a website, then later a board and an annual event and now a staff person! We are growing almost as fast as an eight year old, and we love every minute! As many of the founders can be heard saying: 'we made a thing!' It's always said with an exclamation point, of course.

I have a friend who always wishes people happy birthday with the greeting "happy new year!" It's a reminder that a birthday both marks things past and looks forward to things to come. So may our birthday be an occasion for looking back (as we have done the last two weeks) and looking forward at what God has in store for us next!

Because eight year olds love things that are slightly complicated but not really, and because 8 year olds are some of the most imaginative people I know, we'll be doing a two-part carnival this week!

1. What's your birthday tradition?
2. If you were blowing out the RevGal birthday candles, what would you wish for us? What's your dream for RevGalBlogPals?"

Hmmm . . . my own birthdays are pretty much non-events.  I thought this year might be different, but reality has once again conspired against me.  But for RevGals . . .

I've been reflecting a lot about the topic of leadership of late.  I'm not sure I even know what it means.  On today's morning walk, I realized that I have a lot of questions about women in leadership in particular.  Then, remarkably, another website I frequent raised a question about leadership this morning: Are you a leader?

My response:  Beats me.  Officially, yes.  But I often find myself scratching my head . . .    .

 

And so for RevGals, I would love to see a big event, whether online or irl and not necessarily on a boat ( no pun intended), focused on women in leadership, construed as broadly and imaginatively as possible.  Or maybe a whole separate website or something, I don't know what, addressing leadership spirituality and skills.  I think I probably know a lot more about these topics than I realize, but I need a framework in which to explore and design and create and build.  I might even be willing to help create such a thing.

 

Something fun with which to start, from dictionary.com:

 

Origin:
before 900; Middle English leden, Old English lǣdan  (causative of līthan  to go, travel); cognate with Dutch leiden, German leiten, Old Norse leitha

 

Look at that!  Travel!  Maybe a boat will be involved after all.


 

Galship!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over at RevGalsBlogPals, the blogging community for women in ministry and those who support women in ministry, we're hosting a July Blog Carnival to celebrate some changes and expansion in the blog site!

 

From the site: This week's blog carnival topic is: What does Galship mean to you? The phrase was originally coined to refer to RevGal Fellowship--all the ways we build community, share our lives, support each other, and have fun. So blog about Galship--have you had an experience of galship in person or online? Has galshipping changed your life or ministry? what's your favorite part of our galship? Or whatever way you understand the question--there are no wrong answers! What does Galship mean to you?

 

The Big One: Support

 

I'm not sure when I connected with RevGals, but the first post I could easily find this afternoon was a Friday Five from August 29, 2008.  Such energy and anticipation and hope in my life, reflected in my answer to the fifth question, and such joy radiating from the answer to the bonus:

 

"5. What will change regarding your work as summer morphs into fall? Are you anticipating or dreading?

Back to seminary, back to spiritual direction program, onward to church internship. Mostly anticipating, but a little apprehensive about my ability to pull off this balancing act for yet another year.

Bonus question: For the gals who are mothers, do you have an interesting story about labor and delivery (LOL)? If you are a guy pal, not a mom, or you choose not to answer the above, is there a song, a book, a play, that says "workplace" to you?

My twin boys were born on Labor Day week-end 24 years ago! Bullet points: overdue, induction over Friday and Saturday, c-section, and by Saturday night I was a nursing mother of two! OR photos show one baby settled peacefully into a satisfied sleep and another baby wide-eyed and frantic about the new turn of events. Nothing much has changed."

 

Four days later one of those twenty-four year olds would die of suicide, and I discovered that, unknown to me, everything had in fact been changing dramatically. When I made the announcement a few days later, 85 condolence comments appeared, most of them from RevGals I did not know.   The friendships which have evolved over the past five years have been a remarkable gift of support and love.

 

Resources

 

The RevGals are my go-to group for all sorts of questions related to ministry.  No matter the issue, someone somewhere has lived it and survived to flourish. 

 

Encouragement

 

Thanks to RevGals, I've gained the confidence to experiment with my approach to ministry, had the opportunity to lead an ecumenical women's retreat, and been published in the Huffington Post.  Thanks to RevGals, we all get to discuss our preaching every single week ~ and we get to read amazing sermons, and play games, and lift one another up in prayer, and be . . .

 

Friends!

 

 

 

 

Suicide Survivors

 

 

I'm over at RevGals today, talking about pastoral care for suicide survivors.

 

Please come on over and read and comment.

 

And then come back later this afternoon for the Wednesday Festival!

 

Wednesday Festival

 

 

Things always get worse before they get better, but for today I'm at RevGals with some great posts for Lenten practice.

 

 

RevGals: AMAZING!

I just got off the phone after a long conversation with a RevGal who has been in my shoes, more or less.

Breast cancer, surgery plus reconstructive surgery, a congregation, and all the attendant issues that pop up when it's the new pastor who needs care.

I've just been sitting here thinking: Wow.  I have been navigating some incredibly complex territory for the past six months.  And it hasn't even occurred to me that I've done it reasonably well.  As has she.  Maybe more than reasonably.

I feel a whole lot better.   :)

So I went looking for a new window image.  One with two women.  They're almost all of women shopping!  So I found a better one.

RevGals Interview!

If you're a regular here, you know that I've found great support and sustenance from the RevGals as I've made my way through seminary and now through the call process.

The RevGals community is a remarkable example of the capacity of women for networking with warmth and hospitality.  And now, Martha Spong, one of its founders, explains its origin and its many facets of opportunity and encouragement for ordained women and those who nurture and support women in ordained ministry.

Listen to the  interview here !

Oh, and there's more.   Carol Howard Merritt, who's also a RevGal and interviews Martha on this program, and Landon Whitsitt continue the discussion about RevGals, blogging, and the redemptive nature of community.