Posts Tagged ‘church’

Links to Read with Your Morning Coffee…

October 30th, 2008

So, today I want to share with you all some things I’ve read or found recently that I thought were interesting. So, grab some coffee (or tea, or other beverage of choice) and we can sit and chat about these things that have caught my attention lately:

A friend from high school recently shared this site with me via facebook (I love facebook). It’s called PhotogenX and it’s really a very inspiring and touching organization. Here’s how they describe themselves, “The vision of photogenX is to use photography as a tool for cultural transformation so that issues such as gender based injustice will be issues of history instead of the future. PhotogenX advocates for those who cannot speak for themselves (a voice for the voiceless) and challenges the current global status quo. In addition photogenX seeks to capture the people and places of every nation in the world showing off their beauty but not masking their pain.” I think this is a beautiful and inspiring vision. They have a number of published materials to help raise awareness for issues like gender injustice around the world. They also offer seminars and a Discipleship Training Program that focuses on photography. Anyway, I think it’s very cool what they are doing and thought I’d share it with you all.

I recently came upon this Introvert’s Lexicon and found it interesting. Being a pretty strong introvert myself, this made sense to me. It also gives recommendations for counseling introverts and for issues that introverts often come to counseling with, which I thought were interesting and potentially helpful.

 This is another blog about making church really local. I find the idea of a truly local church to be fascinating. I’ve been wrestling with some of the problems of a local church in this day and age though, but I thought that this article’s assessment for some of the benefits of a truly local church was very interesting and thought-provoking.

This week I also discovered this cooking site that I am now in love with, called 101 Cookbooks. I have loved looking through these healthy recipes but have especially enjoyed the site because the pictures of the food are just so beautiful. If you are looking for a good healthy cooking blog this is one I highly recommend.

Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church has written three (+) posts on pastors and salaries. In this first blog, Pastors and Churches and Salaries, he asks “Can you think of some reasons that a church would not want pastors to ‘work with their hands’ in order to support themselves and their families?” In the next blog, 1 Corinthians 9 and Salaries for Pastors, he makes the argument that only “those who are travelling away from home in order to proclaim the gospel” have a right to support. And in the third blog, Acts 20 and Salaries for Pastors, he uses Acts 20 and 1 Corinthians to argue that the practice at the time, and what Paul was instructing, was that pastors and elders should work with their own hands and support themselves through their work. I found these posts to be really interesting and worth the read, since ministry and finances and sustainability and business as missions have been topics on my radar for some time now.

Ok, I think that’s it for now. Enjoy!

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

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Halloween

October 24th, 2008

“When I dressed up as a child for Halloween, I was captivated by the fantasy, and as I have written recently, the fantasy for me served to provide a glimpse of the divine behind creation. Though I respect parents who decide not to allow their children to participate in Halloween activities due to issues of conscience, that’s not a decision I feel comfortable making for my children. I would hate to deprive them of something of the mystery and “magic” of childhood, something that could well provide a step into trusting the Creator.” – Igneous Quill Blog

“At Halloween our modern cultural rituals are a dim reflection of the historical practice of connecting with and honoring those who have come before. We lost the true meaning, but keep the trappings in hopes that we can connect in some way to something bigger than ourselves. We bring out the ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and black cats not understanding what they mean, but longing nonetheless to grasp hold of a fleeting glimpse of the mysterious. We watch horror movies in hopes that fear, as raw and intense of an emotion as it is, will at least make us feel something beyond ourselves.” – Julie Clawson’s blog

“It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name…That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still.” – Frederick Buechner

So, here’s the deal: I’ve always loved Halloween… That’s right I’ve said it. It’s something I normally don’t admit to. I always felt sort of guilty about it, but it’s the truth. I really have always loved Halloween. And I think that these quotes sort of hint at why I liked it. Because more so than most other holidays Halloween touches on the mysterious, the fanciful, and yes, the dark.

There is ritual in it more so than most other holidays and that ritual is mysterious. And I like that. I think there is something in the human psyche that longs for an experience of the Other, that which is entirely different and unexplainable and mysterious. The church (especially the modern church) doesn’t offer those types of experiences at least not very often. I guess we have a small handful of rituals that get practiced in the church but they have lost most of their meaning and most of their dark mystery and otherness. I think I’m drawn to Halloween because there is something about it that somehow feels mysterious and Other…sure it’s mostly just costumes and candy. But, I think there have been moments where this holiday held something transcendent for me, moments where even in my own life the deeper roots of All Souls day came out.

Also, I think there is something in the human psyche that is curious about death…death scares us AND woos us. We feel deeply that this life can’t be all there is, that we were made for something more. We were created for eternity and somehow whether we admit that or not we feel that… we experience longing. Surely, He did put eternity in the hearts of men.

So, maybe I am drawn to Halloween because somewhere at its core Halloween is also about death. It’s about recognizing death. We fear death and so in our fear we dream up ghouls and goblins and zombies but really we are just acknowledging our ignorance. We are curious so we create and explore. We grieve death, we want to know that our loved ones are still around that they haven’t just disappeared from the earth all together so we (in our somewhat demented way) celebrate spirits and ghosts and at the same time as fearing them sort of secretly hope that they exist…secretly hope that our loved ones aren’t just decaying in the grave but that the most sacred and important part of them, their soul lives on.

The original idea of having a day for the dead doesn’t seem pagan or evil to me, it seems human, natural, and even healthy. To have a day to acknowledge and celebrate and grieve for those who have passed on and to pray and hope that something of them still exists in the world…well, that seems right to me. Maybe dressing up in costumes and passing out candy is a silly way to do that but it’s the closest thing we have in American western society to experiencing the mysterious, dark side of life and death.

You may say, “Well that’s all well and good but what about the evil side of Halloween, isn’t Halloween celebrating evil?” I’ve heard this from Christians before, and while, honestly, I think most people who celebrate Halloween aren’t celebrating evil, I think there are those who celebrate Halloween in a way that can be evil, sick, and deformed (member the razorblades in candy). But, here’s my thinking, and maybe this sounds weird or wrong, but I like being reminded occasionally that there is evil in the world. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. But, I like knowing that we have an enemy to fight – it’s inspiring. It gives purpose and calling. And no I don’t think that the evil I need to fight is Halloween or my neighbor who may love dressing up as a bloody zombie. But, there ARE great evils in the world, great injustices, great pain, great wrongs, great poverty, and great meanness and these we are called to combat.

Often in this world our enemy seems hidden or covert but in horror movies, or fantasy movies or fairy tales the evil is evident and clear. Good is pitted against evil and good always wins. Love is pitted against Hate and Love wins. God is pitted against the devil and God wins.

Another reason I like Halloween is the same reason I like fantasy stories and fairy tales because it reminds me in very clear black and white, good vs. evil language of the battle we are all a part of. Things get really hazy and unclear and grey in this world we live in and sometimes it’s nice to imagine that it is all a little clearer. Anyway, those are my thoughts on Halloween.

Really, though I feel like there’s a question I’m left with after all these thoughts… is there a way that the church could better step into this holiday – not just avoiding it all together, and not just by making it “safe” like with the Harvest Festivals that are now so common at American Churches…is there a way for us to keep the darkness and mystery, celebrate and grieve the dead, and recognize that we do not live in a perfect-pretty-in-pink-happy-ever-after-world (yet) we live in a fallen, dark world where evil abounds, but we are called to something higher. We are called to combat that which is truly evil. We are called to Love.

Is there a way to embrace the ritual and bring meaning? I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you disagree with what I’m thinking about or are confused by some of it by all means please push back and tell me why.

PS :

-          Alan Knox at The Assembling of the Church just re-posted his Halloween blog from last year. There are some great thoughts there and it’s well worth the read.

-          Julie Clawson wrote Rejection, Redemption, and Roots: A Dialogue about Christianity and Paganism a little over a year ago, but it’s still a great read.  It isn’t specifically about Halloween but I think it has a lot to say that could relate to how we treat Halloween.

Rejoicing in the journey -

Bethany

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A Good Day

October 19th, 2008

Today was a really good day. This morning Bryan and I made pancakes and I put homemade pear sauce on them that I made yesterday – it was so yummy. Over breakfast we were chatting and came up with a fun idea for a photography project that we are going to do (even if it ends up just being the two of us doing it). Basically, the idea is to have a few different photographers who all commit to taking one picture a week of “life in Prague” for one year and then we will post the pictures up on a web site. Bryan’s been working on creating the site all day. I’m really excited about it and feel like it will be a fun project that will be challenging, but not too overwhelming.

Then I spent some time catching up on some blogs and looking at photography sites and getting inspired. I love the blogs I read and it was so great to spend some time reading through posts from this past week. I also spent some time reading on of the many yoga books I have to read for my certification program. The one I was reading today deals with anatomy and yoga – it was so interesting.

Then on the way to church we walked past this dumpster and sitting next to the dumpster was a big box of books. I love books, especially old hard cover books, and there were so many beautiful books in this box it made me sad to see them just being thrown away. So, I took 17 of them. It was my first excursion in “dumpster diving” and I loved it. I was soo excited to get all these beautiful old books for free and to rescue them from being thrown away. I love the idea of reusing something that someone else discarded and think that the metaphors that can be drawn from this are so beautiful. I’m planning on using these books for decorating and making my own journals out of some of them. I’m thinking I might have to start checking out dumpsters more often…

Then we had church and discussed the last supper together. There was a lot to talk about in this story and we had some really interesting conversations. I’m sure that we could have gone even deeper in some of the things and even though I have read this story and heard it literally hundreds of times I still walked away with a lot to think about.

Then I came home and got to talk to one of my best friends in the world, Laura Johnson. It was so truly lovely to hear her voice and laugh and commiserate and share our lives together even from thousands of miles apart. My favorite quote from the conversation: “We’re so dynamic. We’re like two elements that when you combine them they explode. We explode!” Seriously, I laughed through so much of the conversation and it felt soooo good! I love my friend, Laura.

Now I’m going to eat some chocolate and hang out with my wonderful hubby. Maybe I’ll watch some Pushing Daisies. I’m thankful for days like today – days filled with creativity, reading, beautiful books, good food, redemption, salvation, deep conversations, laughter, and sharing life with good friends. Thank you, Lord, for today.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

Photographs by Beth Stedman

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Thoughts and Links on Recession and Economic Crisis

October 11th, 2008

Well, it seems pretty official now (well, it has been official for a little while but I’m just getting around to writing about it) – America is definitely in a financial and economic “crisis”. People are clearly stressed and worried about where it’s going to go and what’s going to happen next.

Bryan and I may be all the way across the ocean in Europe, where the effects of the American financial down turn are just starting to be felt, but we personally have been feeling the pressure for months. I feel like in some ways we were feeling the pressure and stress of all this before most other people. We were laid off back in July, before the markets crashed and all the talk turned to bailouts. We left on fairly good terms with our boss and actually talked with him this past week and found out firsthand about how much has changed for the company in the past few weeks. Honestly, I couldn’t help thinking “wow, it’s a really good thing he fired us when he did.” Not that I think we deserved to be fired, I don’t at all, and not that I’m glad we were, I would much rather have a steady pay check, but I know good and bad business when I see it and it was good business for him to fire us. Our jobs were helpful and beneficial to the company but not essential or necessary. I have a few business owners in my immediate circle of friends and family and I understand that sometimes firing people is just good common sense.

Anyway, enough of my random tangent, what I really wanted to do in this blog was pass on to you some articles about the economy and stress and dealing with this financial crisis that I thought you might find interesting. So, here it goes…

I just read this article on Yoga Journal’s web site about the Yoga of Money, I thought it was interesting and thought I’d share it with you.

I was reading Christine Sine’s blog today and was both humbled and inspired. First I read this blog she wrote about financial stress. I have been struggling to trust God during this time of uncertainty and her words were a good reminder that God does still provide for his people and he will provide for Bryan and I, at just the moment when we really need it. It was also a good reminder to continue to live generously and openhanded even in times of uncertainty. The second blog of hers that I read was even more touching for me. She will occasionally share liturgies that she has written on her blog and the one that she shared this week was all about Faith in Turbulent Times. It was beautiful, and inspiring and encouraging and challenging all at once. It will be a prayer that I come back to often in the weeks and months to come.

I found this post on Cerulean Sanctum entitled Still-in-the-Red Friday? – Further Thoughts. This post asked churches and Christians if they were ready for recession and how they were preparing to respond to the problems that so many people will face in a recession. The body of Christ clearly has a responsibility to provide for and assist and help the “least of these.” What does that look like in a recession when it is likely that the so many of the church’s members will have lost jobs and tight belts? Even if this we recover quickly from the current economic crisis these are important questions to ask – is the church prepared and how do we help those in need around us?

I love how the Mustard Seed House in the Seattle area is wrestling with these questions. The first article I read there discussed how a few weeks ago they had gathered a variety of people from their community in Seattle to discuss ways that Christians and churches should prepare for recession and how Christian communities could prepare to help others during times of recession. They share here some of the ideas they came up with at that meeting. I also found this article from them with ideas about things people and churches have done during recessions in the past. It talks about some great ways to live simply in community and how that can help financially.

EDIT: I just found this site that explains the whole mortgage/financial crisis through a cartoon of stick figures – I found it to be a helpful, creative and easy way to understand what’s going on and how we got here.  

Hope you enjoy reading these and maybe they will get you thinking about how you can be prepared and actively involved over the coming months of recession.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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Experiencing the Church Seasons Through Art

September 12th, 2008

A while back I heard about a group in London doing an art exhibit for Lent. A number of artists (mostly photographers and painters) got together and all created art work having to do with Lent and journeying through Lent. I thought this was a really cool idea and thought why can’t we do something like this in Prague?

One of the things that I have done this past year is tried to enter into, and walk with Christ through, the different seasons of the church calendar (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and “Ordinary Time”). It has been an incredible experience for me and God has really spoken to me through each of these seasons. God has drawn me into deeper truths about my life and my own walk with Him as I have journeyed through Christ’s life and the life of His church during the church year. One thing that I have wanted though was to make that journey more in community and to do so in creative and artistic ways that touch more than just the mind but also reach into the heart – I wanted a journey through the church calendar that would not just be mental but symbolic.

God has shown me a lot over the past few years about the power that symbols and pictures and stories can have and the special ways that God can use these things to draw us to himself. So, I started to think about getting a group of artists and creators together to make an exhibit of pictures and symbols and stories for each season of the church calendar for one year. I dreamed of a group that would consist of all types of artists (photographers, painters, sculptures, potters, writers, movie makers, etc, etc) each bringing their own unique talent and gift to the table to show the different church seasons in an artistic and creative way that would help people to enter into the redemptive moving of God in the world, whether they are far from God or near to him. I imagined a group that would be made up of artists from all different backgrounds, nationalities and churches, united with a common desire to create something that would bring glory to God.

So, that was my idea or vision and honestly I don’t really know what will happen (or not happen) with it. But, I want to take a little step towards it and create an art exhibit for Advent. The weeks before Christmas are often so hectic for people and we all spend a lot of time preparing externally for Christmas day – buying presents, decorating the house, going to parties, etc. But, I would love to see a place and an experience that would help people prepare their hearts and souls for Christmas. I’d love to create a place, through art, where people could experience Advent and what it really means – a place where they could remember that Christ has come and is coming and will come again. And I think that art can speak to that and draw people into the story of Christ and his church better than anything else.

So, I don’t have any of the details worked out. I don’t have a venue or anything yet. I do have a small handful of people who have expressed an interest in being involved though and for that I am really thankful. So, if any of what I’ve written here resonates with your heart I would love for you to join me in praying about this and for it. If you live in Prague and are at all interested in helping make this happen by creating art (in any form) for the exhibit I would love to have your help. If you have any connections with art galleries and know of a venue that might work for this I’d love to hear about it. Or if you are just curious and want to hear more about it I’d love to talk with you about it.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

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