HOME ALONE

It's Friday, the day of no classes. It's a good day to do some reading, some cleaning, some writing.

Over the lunch hour I went to a service review of the Community Forum. This was supposed to be a session on how to talk about difficult issues, but got conflated with talking about the election of Gene Robinson. For those of you wondering about it, you can read up by going here or here (although you'll have to scroll down for his post on Community Forum). I'm not sure if this fits into the category of irony or not, but the service review was better than the Forum itself.

I also had to talk (and I'm using that term lightly) with the Really Big Insurance Company about a visit to the doctor that I made last month. The letter says that I must respond within 45 days or the claim will be denied. Hmm. Okay. The letter says to call this number, 1-877-123-4567 (you didn't think I'd post their actual number, did you?) and answer these questions: Do you or your family members have other medical coverage? If yes . . . Do your dependents have other medical coverage? Do you have Medicare? All reasonable questions. So I called the number and got a recording that said, "Please enter your Tax ID number." I don't have a tax id number, nor is there one on the letter they sent. So I say nothing. "I'm sorry, I didn't get that. Please enter your Tax ID number." ___________. "I"m sorry, I didn't get that. Please enter your Tax ID number." _____________. "I'm sorry, I didn't get that. Please enter your Tax ID number." I hung up.

Never did this idiot recording say, "Push "0" for assistance." Oh, hey, look. They have a website. So I went to the website. The letter says, "Go to [Manage My Account/Coordination of Benefits]. That choice doesn't exist. Hmm. Oh, I need to register first. So I got all registered AND THEN [Manage My Account/Coordination of Benefits] came up. Okay, I can live with that. Verify other subscribers to this account. Okay, me and The Kid. Then it said, "Finished." Nothing about answering those questions on the letter.

So I called a different 800 number. The gal answered the phone (after the obligatory push 1/push 3/push */push . . . ). Very friendly. I told her the problem and she indicated that the claim had been submitted . . . today as a matter of fact. Wonder if that had anything to do with my verifying me and The Kid on the website. Like, "Duh!"

It sure would be nice if the info in letters matched recordings on phones that matched websites. But I supposed that would mess with some department's mission statement.

AND . . .

The interview last night went well. Three parishes that average 10-12 people on a Sunday, new to this yoked parish thing. They wanted to know if I was an introvert or extrovert. Would it surprise any of you if I said, "Introvert"? (I think my Meyers-Briggs was I/I/I/I).

I didn't think it was an extraordinarily wonderful interview, but nobody shot themselves in the foot.

According to my time line, I figure to hear from all three sites in a week or two.

Relax

ONE MORE TIME

It's 8:15. Fifteen or so more minutes and I'll be getting my second phone interview. For those of you playing along, or saving for Scrabble, this is A-DL-P.

And thanks to Jane over at Hoosier Musings for the pre-interview laugh.

Hopefully it will go well.

Peace

THIS WEEKEND

I flew to Seattle Friday to see my mom. In an attempted career move, she went back to school to become a pharmacy tech. Unfortunately the job market isn't any better for that line of work either. BUT . . . she made it. She graduated from the program with honors and I was there to see mom go through the ceremony. That was cool.

My sister picked me up from the airport and drove me to mom's. She (sis) had told her (mom) that her package was arriving via air mail (male?) on Friday. Mom was duly surprised.

Flew back to Chicago Saturday afternoon. Got some homework done on the plane. Took a look at Heather's supplemental GOE paper. Was home in time to be at Children's Chapel at St. A's today.

Today was the story of the disciples in the boat -- "Fish to the right side of the boat" -- and the fish-fry on the beach. So . . . I sent the kids down the hall looking for fish. While they were doing that, I made fish pancakes (see previous entry about that talent). It was cool.

And in more serious news . . . check out the new link at the top of the page.

Peace

PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST

The Kid went off to camp today. It's the annual 5th grade one-night campout. I remember doing something like this when I was in California, but I'm pretty sure it was longer than one day. Memory tells me it was a week, but then everything happens in slow motion during instances of terror.

Anyway, to send her off I made pancakes today. As stated earlier on this site, I have virtually no talent, except when it comes to making pancakes. So, The Kid, in honor of her impending night of doom . . . er, I mean camping . . . got a tent for breakfast. Mrs. Ref got her obligatory heart, except I managed to put an arrow through it ala Cupid.

I, of course, got standard issue circles. By the time I get done with the others, I have no desire to get cutsie with myself; I simply want to eat with the rest of the clan.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go clean up the kitchen.

THE DAY AFTER

For those of you who want to know . . . The interview went relatively well. I should have expected this, but didn't -- right off the bat they asked me to offer an opening prayer. I quickly scanned my office for the nearest available BCP and then realized that I would never find one in time. So I did my best Baptist interpretation and prayed for us all. I think it worked.

Questions included: What has been your spiritual journey? Include some of your critical incidents and how have they affected your ministry? How would you inspire the building of community and what would you do to encourage newcomers to stay? What are your views and expectations of lay ministry? What are the strongest areas of your ministry and what areas need improvement?

I thought I was relaxed and that I struck a good balance between humor and seriousness.

These are both very small communities. My one big concern revolves around my family: will Mrs. Ref be able to get a job? How will The Kid cope with this move and living in a place where she will be the only person under 35 (maybe even 40)? Things to consider for sure. But of course it's all speculation now. There's no offer yet -- they still need to interview one other person and then decide whom to invite out for a face-to-face meeting and preach at their congregations on a Sunday. That first part might happen as early as next week.

In the mean time, I wait to hear from them while getting ready for my next one on the 28th.

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT

At least for Round 1. Conference call with VC-S tonight. I received a package in the mail from them today. Glad to have that before this thing kicks off. I also need to look at those questions they want to cover. I know I know. Should've done that sooner. But hey, at least they'll be fresh in my mind.

Pray that I don't come off sounding like a total idiot.

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION

After returning to school in 1996 at the age of 32, and FINALLY graduating from seminary in 2004 at the age of (late) 39, I can say without a doubt, "I AM DONE!!" However, the more I mull this over, the more intriguing it sounds.

For my Genesis class we have to do an annotated bibliography on Genesis 22 (the binding of Isaac). First, let me say that this particular prof is fascinated with Genesis 22; so much so that he assigns a paper on it for everyone in his classes. I know for a fact that OT I in '99, '00, '01, '02, & '03 have written on it. For awhile I thought he was doing his doctoral thesis on it and was using students as cheap research labor. And now, in this class, he's having us put together an annotated bibliography on it.

The first thing I did was look at my old paper and see if I could cull from that (it's not plagerism if you use your own stuff, right?). On re-reading it, I don't now particularly like what I had to say then. So, never one to take the easy road, here is the summarization of what I would have written on had this been a paper.

A Faithful Mistake: Abraham and the Binding of Isaac

The bible is full of myths, traditions and stories. Some of these, like the creation myth, explain how we got here and how the universe is ordered. Some are family traditions that have been told for countless generations and relay God’s promise to one particular family. Some, like the Joseph story and the Exodus, relay a people’s migration from the “old country” to their new home in a far off “promised land.” But none of them (or very few of them) are what they seem to be on the surface. And so it is with the story of Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of Isaac.

Within a variety of biblical stories, we are able to see the presence of lying spirits (1 Kings 22:19-23), the inability to understand and be confused by the speech of another (Gen. 11:7), the propensity to incorporate local custom (Joshua 2:8-13) and the atrocities of human sacrifice (Numb. 25:1-5). Is it possible that the story of the binding of Isaac reflects all of these traits? Whenever people presume to do “God’s will,” a certain amount of discernment should be involved. Abraham doesn’t appear to make any discernment about the impending child sacrifice; could it be that Abraham was responding to lying spirits? Ever since Babel, people have had difficulty understanding each other. Could it be that Abraham did not clearly understand God and that he was made to understand God’s desire only at the last possible second? We continually read of Israel’s turning from God to follow local custom. Could it be that Abraham was so inculturated to accept filicide that this “request” by God seemed normal? I contend that all of these factors played a part in the Aqedah, and that Abraham was obediently faithful to a misunderstanding of God’s will based on his knowledge of, and participation in, the surrounding culture.

Doctoral dissertation? God, please no.

NEW FROM THE FUTURE

Unfortunately it's not next week's PowerBall numbers. But that's another rant.

I heard from the search committee at VC-S, and they have agreed to a phone interview on Wednesday, April 21 in the evening. That's good news.

I also just now heard from the search committee in A-DL-P, and they want to schedule a phone interview for Wednesday, April 28. I replied back with a time. Although that one does conflict with a committee meeting at St. A's.

Hmmm . . . job interview vs. committee meeting? Yeah, it took me about as long as it took you to read that sentence to decide to skip the meeting.

The only thing I'm getting nervous about is that the parish that is looking for an assistant wants to make a decision the second week of May. I don't know what the time line is for these other parishes. Will I have enough time to make a decent decision? Will I be forced into making a decision simply to have a job? Will I be able to make the right decision in that time-frame?

I need a Valium.

OPTION #2

I received an e-mail from the chair of the search committee at VC-S. They want to schedule a phone interview with me. They also gave me a list of questions they want to cover. How cool is that?!?

The prospect of a phone interview is a little daunting. I've never done one of those. I think it would be hard to get a sense of the people through disembodied voices. But, that's what I have to work with.

I told them they could call me next Wednesday.

Footnote: I heard from the L-T search committee. They very politely said thanks but no thanks.

I wonder if I should start pursuing that gig in the Far East? You know, just in case.

MRS REF ISN'T GOING TO LIKE THIS

So, I'm working with the other graduating senior to coordinate as much of our ordination service as we can, with the thought that if we agree on most of the stuff the diocese will be more apt to use our suggestions.

But there is also some personal stuff that is strictly left to the ordinand. Such as who will vest you, who will present you, who will be with you when you sign your life away.

As for the presenters, I figured it would be wise to ask my discernment team, parish rector, and my COM shepherd to present me.

Received an e-mail from my rector: "Sorry, I'll be out of town. The Presiding Bishop has other ideas as to where I'll be on that day."

Just wondering: how many of you ordained types had your rector at your diaconal ordination?

GOOD NEWS

My bishop replied to my latest Ember Day letter. What makes this response especially good is that he said that this was my LAST Ember Day letter. Woo Hoo!!!

Not that I'm overly excited or anything, but it means one more completed hoop in my process to ordination.

I've also been communicating with the other seminarian who will be ordained with me in June. We received an ordination planning sheet and have been trying to get as much of this done as we possibly can. Good News #2 -- We agree on scripture readings, music and most other things pertaining to the service.

Good News #3 -- It's going to be pushing 60 degrees today. That's a good thing here in Chicagoland.

Peace

TOO FUNNY

Tracy over at Shiny Things posted a cartoon about surgeons. I replied that I could use a terminal in the altar to go to liturgy.com if I ever got lost.

Then I found this site today.

It made me smile.

ALLELULIA!!

Woke the family up at 0455 to get ready for the SWTS Easter Vigil. Al . . .le . . . umm . . lu . . . yawn . . . ia??

Saw the new fire kindled and the Paschal candle lit. Alleluia!

Began to process outside around the building, following the Paschal candle, with the deacon chanting, "The Light of Christ." "Thanks be to God."

Watched as the wind caught the flame and extinguished it. "The former light of Christ."

Processed up to the lounge where we listened to the stories of God's saving deeds in history, while The Kid let us all know she wasn't happy about the earliness of the event. Alleluia?

Sang Jack Noble White's version of Isaiah 12:2-6, "Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust in him and not be a-fraid. For the Lord is my strong-hold and my sure de-fence, and he will be my Savior," just as the sun broke through the clouds and shone on our faces. The Kid smiled. Alleluia!!

Processed downstairs for the renewal of the baptismal vows. Alleluia.

Processed into the chapel, bathed in both electric light and God's light of the new morning shining through the stained glass windows, highlighted by Easter flowers, and the re-lit Paschal candle occupying its place of prominence in the sanctuary. Alleluia!!

Participated in the Easter Eucharist. Alleluia.

Completed the Eucharist and sang, "Jesus Christ is risen to-day," "Al-le-lu-ia!!"

Processed over to the refectory and had a wonderful Easter brunch. Alleluia.

That I wasn't responsible for this year!! Alleluia!!

Went home to find three kids in our house looking for Easter eggs. Alleluia?

Found all the eggs, sent two of the three kids home, and took a nap. Alleluia!

May God, who through the water of baptism has raised us from sin into newness of life, make us holy and worthy to be united with Christ for ever.

Amen and ALLELUIA!!

THE PASSION

So I finally saw the movie. As I mentioned below, I went with a group from Mrs. Ref's office that included an almost graduated seminarian, the perceived "always proper" seminarian's wife, a Jewish woman and a Native American (not African American as I originally thought). The conversation after the movie was better than the movie.

What I Liked:
There were four spots that I thought were very well done. The first being the opening scene of Jesus in Gethsemane. The dialogue between Jesus and Satan was great, although I thought the crushing of the serpent (Gen. 3:15) was a little obvious (I don't know about anyone else, but I had that one figured out as soon as the snake peeked its little pointy head out of Satan's robes). Additionally, I thought the interaction between Jesus and the soldier who had his ear cut off was wonderful.

The second was the flash-back scene of Jesus working on the table and being called to lunch by his mom. That was a great scene that reflected the strong bond those two people [may have] had. As a son, I could relate to it very well.

The third was the close-up overhead shot of Jesus on the cross. I thought, "Man, if you could freeze that and paint it, you'd have a great icon." The way he looked right there was very powerful.

The fourth was after Jesus was pulled down from the cross and mother Mary looked directly into the camera -- directly at me. WOW. That was really amazing.

What I Didn't Like:
The perpetuation of the myth that Mary Magdalene was the woman caught in adultery. Mel could very easily have made that flashback a healing of Mary's demons, but instead chose to show her as an adulteress.

The destruction of the temple at Jesus' death was over the top. According to the gospels, it was the temple curtain that was torn in two, not the entire temple (Mark 15:38, Matt. 27:51, Luke 23:45). For you history buffs, the temple wasn't destroyed until 70 ce.

The tearing in half of Jesus' clothes by the Roman soldiers. Mel showed a group of soldiers playing dice, but if he's trying to at least be accurate about what's in the bible you would think he would have got this right. In Matt. 27:35, Luke 24:34b and John 19:24, the authors say that the soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothes, and John mentions that they were careful not to tear it.

The final scene. I didn't time it, but I'm guessing 60 seconds. Sixty seconds for the resurrection? Are you kidding me? The resurrection, not the crucifixion, is the central tenet of Christianity. God is not god of the dead, but the God of the living (Matt. 22:31-32). The resurrection is about life. Jesus' death unites us to him because, eventually, we all die; but because Jesus lives again, we, as believers, will also live again and be reunited with him in everlasting LIFE.

Other Thoughts:
In our "debriefing" after the movie, I was asked if it inspired me. The answer is no. Whoever said that this was a stations of the cross on film was right. I think this is a good movie for Lent, and especially for Good Friday. But I don't like the fact that the resurrection is virtually ignored.

Did I think the flogging and other general beating scenes were too much? No. What Jesus experienced was torture, pure and simple. I think Mel got this right. And if you think it was too much, just think about other instances of how humans treat other humans: Nazi death camps; the Trail of Tears; Japanese POW camps; the Inquisition; the Hanoi Hilton; the Americans held captive in Afghanstan 444 days; the institution of slavery in the U.S.; the civil war in Rwanda; and on and on and on.

All in all, I thought it was a good movie. Not great, but good. However, based on the actual counting of the 39 lashes (again, not actually in scripture) and the soundtrack, I would recommend "Jesus Christ Superstar" over "The Passion."

GOOD FRIDAY

Man, I don't know. The service today at SWTS was different. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, we do things "different" all the time here. One of my favorite sayings to people who complain about SWTS services is, "Hey, this is our lab. We don't get to blow things up, so instead we mess with liturgy."

More than anything, I think I'm bothered with the fact that this service seemed to be more of a performance than worship. I don't mind performances around Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, as long as we know that that's what they are. This was to be a worship service that ended up being a performance. Kind of like a liturgical bait and switch.

I couldn't really watch the performance, because at some point I (the congregation) had a part in it. I couldn't pay attention to the ordo because I would miss the performance.

But, as almost always, the people behind the service did a good job of putting it all together, and you have to give them kudos for doing that.

And speaking of Good Friday, I'm actually heading out to see "The Passion of the Christ" tonight. I've heard it described on more than one occassion as a "cinematic stations of the cross." Probably an appropriate thing to do on Good Friday.

To be honest, I probably wouldn't go see this movie on my own, but there are a group of women from Mrs. Ref's office who want to see it. So, we have an almost graduated seminarian, the perceived "always proper" seminarian's wife, a Jewish woman and a black woman (I'm not sure why that matters, but we have almost all of our bases covered). Afterwards we are going out for food and debrief. Not sure about the movie, but the post-Passion conversation should be interesting.

Peace

AND SO IT BEGINS

Yesterday was Maundy Thursday. This has always been the hardest service in Holy Week for me. There's something about the subservience (sp?) of washing the feet of another, and the risk and vulnerability necessary to allow another to wash your own feet.

And then, of course, there's the final Eucharist until Easter. That finality is driven home by the removal of the elements and the stripping of the altar, leaving the sanctuary bare of any furnishings, decorations and sacraments. God is gone. But God didn't leave us; we left him. We deserted Jesus when he needed us; and as a man, he really could have used some friends right about now. The barrenness of the church points our betrayal, rebellion and sinfulness. No, God didn't leave us; we kicked God out.

This is a time to reflect on all the other times in my life when I have pushed God out of the way. It's a time that drives home the point, "This is what life looks like without God -- empty and barren, cold and lonely."

No, God won't abandon me or you. But sometimes God does leave when we ask him to.

IT'S NICE TO BE AFFIRMED

Maybe this is why typing my posts sometimes takes so long. Or maybe this bodes well for whatever parish hires me. Or maybe this is why Mrs. Ref gets annoyed with me.

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You are a GRAMMAR
GOD!


If your mission in life is not already to preserve the English
tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!


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WELL, THAT WAS FUN

I flew out to BSC Friday. The rector picked me up at the airport and took me to the rental car place. Got checked into the hotel, relaxed, took a nap, and then changed for the "meet the prospective new guy" social. I wore one of my football ties.

The house where this was held was incredible. A terrific view, and one of the owners is a woodworker -- he's got all kinds of beautiful stuff around the house and showed me pictures of more. There were about 30 people at the shindig. We had a few drinks, munched on some hors dee overs ("or dervs" -- never could spell that word), and I answered the same set of questions three or four times. "Have you been to M before?" "Where are you from?" "What did you do before seminary?" "What do you think about the Gene Robinson issue?" "What does your wife do?" There were a few others thrown in there, but those were the most common.

It was a really good evening. Got to meet alot of the folks from the parish. Said a couple of things that they thought were funny, and was generally myself. As the rector and I were leaving, he asked me how I handled the Robinson question. I told him that I answered it straight up (no pun intended) and that I wasn't trying to impress anyone.

I spent Saturday meeting with the rector. He showed me the church and we talked about everything from my personality to his personality to what he wanted the assistant to do to "what's the one thing that will piss you off to no end" to parish history to, well, you get the idea. We talked about alot of things and it was a good conversation. I indicated to him that I would be inclined to take the position were it offered, but that I still want the opportunity to interview in some of the other places that are looking.

Sunday we did church. It was more "low church" than I was used to, but as long as he's open to other liturgical styles this could work out.

Now I need to get ahold of the d.o. for the diocese and find out what kind of time-line they have for me and we'll go from there. Holy Spirit (the parish I visited) is looking to interview one other person in maybe two or three weeks and wants to make a decision in early May. That might be a problem, simply because I might be interview at Plan B then. We'll see.

So now the big decision is this: Do I opt for the assistant position in a large (relatively speaking) city where my wife would have an opportunity to land a job and The Kid would have more kids at school and church, or do I opt for a vicar position in a small town where my wife might have to drive for miles to work, or not work at all, and where The Kid might actually be the only one in Sunday school? That's not going to be a fun decision. Of course, it's also assuming that I'll have multiple offers. The decision could be made for me. We'll see what happens.

Pray hard. For what, I don't know. But at least pray for the right resolution.

Peace

WHAT A WEEK

This has been a terribly hectic week for me. I got back from Seattle Monday night in time to have some left over goodies from PSD. However, my ears never quite fully adjusted (or popped) during either the flight out or the flight back, so I feel like I'm in a cave. It's rather quite humorous when Mrs. Ref has to yell 3 or 4 times to get my attention. And I assure you, this is not the norm for our household.

Trying to do homework while away isn't fun. I managed to write a paper for Genesis Wednesday night, as well as write my sermon for Play Church. It was actually a really good sermon and has potential for re-use.

Today I went to the doctor because my ears are actually worse. I was told I have enough fluid to drown a small animal in them. Hmmmm . . . I wonder which one I would choose???

Got some antibiotics, nose spray stuff, and ran a couple of other errands. Now I need to work on packing -- for those who don't see me in person, I'm off for a job interview tomorrow in BSC. We'll see what happens. I'm almost more interested in seeing if my ears will explode fluid all over the plane window.

I interview tomorrow & Saturday, worship at the parish on Palm Sunday, and return home on Monday in time to make my 3 pm class. Somewhere in all of this I need a nap.

Peace