We’ll be trying to walk and chew gum this Thursday with a Nurture Committee meeting in room 102 at 5 pm and a Lay Leadership Committee (formerly known as the Nominating Committee) meeting in room 002 at 5:15 pm.
We're Back!
Actually, we’ve been back since late Saturday afternoon, but this is the first time things have been settled enough to post. The lock-in was great. They had 152 youth there. We listened to music from various iPods on the way up and I learned that no one listens to a complete song anymore.
Round-Up For Hunger Extension
The Outreach Committee met last Wednesday night and decided that because we plan to keep all contributions to the Bishop’s Round-Up for Hunger to be distributed locally (from our Food Pantry) we will continue collecting for the Round-Up through the Sunday before Thanksgiving (November 22, 2009).
Round-Up for Hunger Youth Lock-In
Pray for me, the youth have decided to attend the Lock-In at Lawrence First UMC the night before the Bishop’s Round-Up for Hunger and then head over Round-Up to help unload and load packages. They have convinced Jenny (enthusiastic) Elizabeth (very enthusiastic) and I (not at all enthusiastic) to go with them. We’ll be renting a van, driving to Lawrence, staying up late, sleeping on the floor, and heading over to the Round-Up without showering. I get exhausted just thinking about it.
Update: Please don’t misunderstand me, I’ll go, I’ll have fun and I’ll be happy I went. But the idea alone is still enough to exhaust me.
Choir Concert Sunday, November 22, 2009
I heard the choir practicing for their upcoming concert (Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 1 pm, following the Great Thanksgiving Dinner) last night and they sounded great. I’m now even more excited about this special event. The concert will feature multiple drums, a bass, a guitar, trumpets, trombones and, of course, the choir.
Christmas Baskets
The Salvation Army is taking applications for Christmas baskets on the following days and times:
- November 12 from 1 pm to 6 pm
- November 13 from 9 am to 4 pm
- December 2 from 9 am to 4 pm
- December 3 from 9 am to 4 pm
Applications may be filed at Salvation Army Citadel at 102 W 12th, Coffeyville, Kansas. If you know of anyone who could benefit from this program please let them know. First United Methodist has committed to filling 35 baskets this week.
Church Multiple Personality Disorder
One of my favorite collegues, David Livingston, has a new blog post titled: “Church Multiple Personality Disorder” that succinctly summarizes my views on one of the benefits of longer appointments. With his permission, I’m quoting it here in full:
I’ve heard it said that over time a church takes on the personality of the pastor. It makes sense. It’s also one of the problems with short term pastorates.
If a pastor stays for 3-4 years and [the church] takes on the personality of the pastor, then a different pastor with a different personality comes and stays 3-4 years, then another and so on, the church doesn’t know what its personality is supposed to be. It gets the institutional version of multiple personality disorder. Who are we? Where are we going? How do we function? Just as a church is getting used to the pastor’s personality, that pastor gets yanked for another one.
One partial solution is for pastors to be more patient. When the relationship between pastor and church gets rocky, it may not really be because of the pastor or the church. It may just be the multiple personality disorder kicking in. If instead of looking for a “promotion” or an “escape” the pastor is willing to stick with the church through the crisis then perhaps the church will move into a more consistent understanding of itself. If instead a pastor moves at the first hint of problems the cycle just continues for the next pastor and the next pastor and on down the line.
This is one of the many reasons why Jenny and I hope to continue to serve as your pastors for years to come.
Betty Merriman Memorial Services
A Service of Death and Resurrection, the official name of the Memorial Service, has been scheduled for Betty Merriman on Friday, November 13, 2009 at 10 am in the chapel. Our prayers go out to Betty’s family.
H1N1 Resource Page
The Kansas West Conference Website has a page of H1N1 resources.
Platform Lift is Operational
The platform lift from the main lobby to the narthax at the back of the sanctuary is now operational. The call buttons have not been installed and the doors are not yet hung, but it is operational. Thanks to Dave Larimore for all his hard work to date and to Mamie Zenge for helping us test it out.
Voice of the Day: Daring to Lose Our Balance
Via Sojourners:
St. Benedict tells me to run to Christ. If I stop for a moment and consider what is being asked of me here, and what is involved in the act of running, I think of how when I run I place first one foot and then the other on the ground, that I let go of my balance for a second and then immediately recover it again. It is risky, this matter of running. By daring to lose my balance I keep it.
—Esther de Waal, Living with Contradiction: An Introduction to Benedictine Spirituality
Cokesbury Consignment Sale
We will be having some items from Cokesbury bookstore for sale in the lobby of the church on Sunday mornings, November 29, December 6, and 13. We will have a variety of books and other items available. Stop by and check it out.