LIVE ! LINE…August 28, 2011
August 26, 2011
Sunday night we’ll celebrate the music of Randy Shepard and Friends. Randy is so very faithful to help us with music – for a decade, at least!
The meditation is from Luke 7:36-50, entitled “Amendment.”
Planning ahead? I hope so, as Sunday, September 4, is the LAST homemade
ice cream of the summer. MmmMmmm!
Finally, see below info about our “Psalms” Bible Study. Orientation is Tuesday, September 6, 7:00 pm. PLEASE let me know your interest (10 have already!).
Peace,
Pastor Steve
10 sessions, 60-90 minutes
Experience required: Beginning to Moderate
Make a deeper connection to the world of the Psalms so that these well known scriptures can help you give voice to all aspects of our human experience—joy, faith, uncertainty and sorrow.
During two weekly video segments, experience a varied presentation of individual psalm texts, including dramatic reading, music, dance, and images. Listen to insights into specific psalms presented by one of two biblical scholars through an informal, roundtable conversation format.
Ideal experience for adults who are interested in the practice of prayer and worship and would like to connect prayer practice with Scripture. The study is accessible for adults with little prior Bible experience.
Chapter titles:
1.† Word of God, Words of Prayer
2.† The Prayerbook of God’s People
3.† Praying the Psalms
4.† The Language of the Heart
5.† The Geography of the Imagination
6.† A Theology of the Imagination
7.† Lament and Praise
8.† Grace and Repentance
9.† Love and Wrath
10.. Hallelujah and Amen
Flash Focus….August 28, 2011
August 26, 2011
F LASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
Ah, the the steady beat of schools’ new beginnings. No matter our age, we feel that – don’t we?
For six years, we’ve been part of the University Stop Hunger Now day, and celebrate being a part of packaging 100,000 meals – Amen!
Our welcome of college students (August 21) is followed by the “new beginning” of both Sunday School and United Methodist Youth Fellowship. Youth are being contacted about the afternoon’s events. Sunday School “launch,” 10:00 am, Worship Center (end of hall). Come one, come all – all ages!!
Worship is around the fourth of four Sundays on Becoming A Praying Congregation. More “When You Pray” books are available, with instructions for their use.
AND, Disciple Bible Study begins with orientation on Tuesday, September 6. “Invitation to the Psalms” begins at 7:00 pm, and will last for ten sessions. PLEASE reply with your interest!
(See below for more detail.)
Pastor Steve
Psalms
10 sessions, 60-90 minutes
Experience required: Beginning to Moderate
Make a deeper connection to the world of the Psalms so that these well known scriptures can help you give voice to all aspects of our human experience—joy, faith, uncertainty and sorrow.
During two weekly video segments, experience a varied presentation of individual psalm texts, including dramatic reading, music, dance, and images. Listen to insights into specific psalms presented by one of two biblical scholars through an informal, roundtable conversation format.
Ideal experience for adults who are interested in the practice of prayer and worship and would like to connect prayer practice with Scripture. The study is accessible for adults with little prior Bible experience.
Chapter titles:
1.† Word of God, Words of Prayer
2.† The Prayerbook of God’s People
3.† Praying the Psalms
4.† The Language of the Heart
5.† The Geography of the Imagination
6.† A Theology of the Imagination
7.† Lament and Praise
8.† Grace and Repentance
9.† Love and Wrath
10.. Hallelujah and Amen
A Day In The Life… KJV@400
August 26, 2011
Have I told you my story of being barely a post-seminarian? The elderly saint-in-the-making had displayed on her coffee table an ornate Bible on an olive wood stand, one I later learned was in the “camel saddle” style. It had metal edging on the cover, and clearly it was in a place of honor. Frankly, I had just about run out of something to talk about… so I said, “Miss __, just what version of the Bible is that?” Several of my loudening heartbeats later, she said, “That there is the Holy Bible.” There have been few moments when I’ve been better put in my place, certainly none more memorable.
Of course, for her there was only one Bible, the King James, so there was no “version” about it. She could not have told me it was published in 1611 in England, and not by believers in the first century – no, it was not unearthed among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Nor would she have acknowledged the archaic verbiage that was so familiar to her. Before you conclude, “He’s no big fan of the KJV,” let me say it’s hard to beat the prophet Nathan saying to the adulterous King David, “Thou art the man!” or the angel Gabriel saying to Mary, “Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” or Luke saying of the shepherds, “And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.” The 23rd Psalm only “works” for me in the King James!
In my travels, many’s the time I heard it referred to as the “Saint” James Bible – he was not ‘xactly what we’d call a saint, okay? According to Jon M. Sweeney* he was a pretty smart ol’ codger though, and knew that a “new” Bible could bring together England’s Anglicans and Puritans. He put them on the same committee, so to speak, and let them duke it out over their differences – and in so doing, leave him alone! Catholics? They were not, uh, invited. They had their own “newbie” published in 1582. Maybe that was part of King James’ inspiration.
Sweeney offers an interesting list of what our culture probably thinks are just “idioms,” all rooted in the KJV: eat, drink and be merry (Luke 12:19), the apple of his eye (Deuteronomy 32:10), an eye for an eye (Matthew 5:38), can the leopard change his spots? (Jeremiah 13:23), and more. My dad even titled one of his books after 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly.”
In the midst of the many seminars and in the aftermath of a flood of translations (ie, NRSV) and paraphrases (ie, The Living Bible, The Message) comes a new translation, the Common English Bible. A group even more diverse than Anglicans and Puritans has done the hard work of sorting through the most ancient manuscripts (many were not available before 1611), phrasing their translations in ways that are readable and able to ”reach the masses effectively and responsibly.**
Some might say, you know, I just don’t have the energy – I bet I’ve got ten Bibles in my house already. Hey, no problem here! But for the one who wants to go deeper, to be able to converse more openly about what the text says (not what it’s alleged to say!), this is an interesting solution. No, I haven’t bought a copy, but I did use the “pilot” New Testaments, of which we distributed 50 copies.
Wonder if I can get it in paperback? Or a hardback with metal edges, mounted on an olive wood camel saddle… a boy can dream, can’t he?
Pastor Steve
* The Christian Century, July 12, 2011, p. 30-32
** Hodges, Sam, The United Methodist Reporter, August 5, 2011, p. 1.
LIVE ! LINE…August 21, 2011
August 19, 2011
LIVE ! LINESunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends!
Sunday cometh! And with it, our old friend Alvin Banks. Alvin has performed several times at SNL!, and is a former member of the Fairmont Gospel Revue. I venture to say, you will love his style!
The meditation continues our examination of a wide array of New Testament “characters.” this the nameless “woman at the well”:
John 4:7-15
Woman, Reborn
Hope to see you Sunday!
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
FLASH FOCUS…August 21, 2011
August 19, 2011
F LASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
Did you know… Fairmont was organized in 1937 in order to be a “Methodist” presence to students at State College? That is our legacy, it’s in our DNA! So Sunday is a really special time: we will welcome students to worship, host them for lunch (we all are bringing dishes to share generously!), and Kirk Oldham will preach! This only works when we turn out it large numbers!
As the mission luncheon “season” begins, we add a monthly feature – the UMCOR “coffee project” see below. One of our number read the piece in the bulletin a few weeks ago and has organized this!
Keep in mind the Sunday School and Youth “launches” on August 28!
Praying for a BIG day,
Pastor Steve
* Kirk Oldham is United Methodist campus minister and director of the Raleigh Wesley Foundation.
The UMCOR Coffee Project is an innovative way to reach out to small-scale farmers in the developing world while enjoying fellowship and an excellent cup of coffee. As Christians we can address a consumer dilemma by buying coffee that is fairly traded. United Methodist congregations that participate are helping small scale farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia earn a fairer share of income, obtain access to credit and technical support, and gain a trading partner they can trust, a fair trade organization called Equal Exchange.
A Day in the Life…"Fair" Trade?
August 19, 2011
I like a good cup of coffee as much as the next one, and maybe more. As I have gained some insight into the coffee’s origins, I join with many in questioning the coffee’s source: Have rain forests been traded for my pleasure? Have children been exploited in its growing? Do the farmers closest to the crop get a fair price?
Three months ago, I shared in this space piece called “Coffee Time,” reflecting on an initiative by our United Methodist Committee on Relief. UMCOR had partnered with “Equal Exchange,” whose imprint can be found on a number of fair trade products. What is meant by “fair trade?” The dictionary says it means something that comes out of a fair trade agreement. But that is not the origin of the phrase.
BusinessDictionary.com says “fair trade is”
A movement which strives for fair treatment for farmers. In a fair trade agreement, farmers, who in other situations might be more susceptible to the will of the purchaser, will negotiate with the purchasers in order to receive a fair price for their products. Farmers who engage in fair trade also aim to pay their workers a fair price, and engage in environmentally-friendly practices.
Elsewhere in this bulletin, look for an announcement about how “we” are becoming partners with UMCOR and Equal Exchange. Ten Thousand Villages carries a number of these products (coffee, tea, chocolate), so go see the non-profit if you get a hankering between “shops” at Fairmont luncheons.
On Wednesday, the weekly email from UMCOR included this notice:
FAIR TRADE: GIVE KIDS A REAL TREAT
Many of the chocolate candies that will be given away to children this Halloween will come at a great price to children in other countries. Many cocoa farms that provide chocolate to major manufacturers use force child labor and do not pay farmers a fair price for their product. When you purchase fairly traded chocolates you know that it was produced using ethical practices.
Is this a hassle? A little one, especially at the beginning – if one is not doing it already, one might say, “You mean I have to read labels to see where things have come from? And check on corporations to learn their practices?” Well – yes. That’s what it means to live with a conscience – doesn’t it?
Can so small a thing make a difference? It’s like the old “stranded starfish” story – we may never get them all thrown back in the ocean, but to each one we do, it makes a difference. Each purchase helps the farmer of that product, the children and family of that farmer, and the community in which they live.
Once a month at our after-worship luncheons, these products will be available. Take a look today, see what you think. Maybe one purchase at a time, one product at a time, one ethical act at a time, the movement toward justice gains momentum.
Pastor Steve
LIVE ! LINE…August 14, 2011
August 12, 2011
LIVE ! LINE
Sunday Night LIVE!
Fairmont United Methodist Church
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, LIVE! Friends !!
Has the heat wave begun to waver? Is this tide of titanic temperatures about to tap out?
OK, so I can’t write text for the old Batman TV series…
Sunday will be cool – at SNL!
Old friend Gerald Hayes will be with us.
The next character is one whose name is forgotten but certainly not him – or his legacy!
Peace, Be Still!
Mark 5:1-20
See you, LIVE! and in person, at the next SNL! ??
Pastor Steve
Flash Focus…August 14, 2011
August 12, 2011
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
What’s this? A less hot day?? Amen!
Sunday we will be joyed to welcome back our church choir. We are so thankful for their leadership in worship.
We move to part two in “Becoming a Praying Congregation.”
Matthew 5:43-48, “Even THEM?”
Thanks to all who are offering sponsorships for our twenty participants in the Stop Hunger Now
University Million Meal event! We are fortunate to have this link with both the University and Stop Hunger Now, and a chance to partner with both.
Remember the covered dish (or if you like, pot luck!) meal after worship on Sunday, August 21. Bring some extra food, as the college students are our special guests. This works best if we ALL participate! (The bonus is that Kirk will be preaching in worship!)
Peace and Prayer,
Pastor Steve
Day in the Life … Give it up for the “glampers!”
August 12, 2011
In the age of “Facebook,” one comes across some truly marvelous things. Brian Dodd (churchleaders.com) wrote about “glamping”—a form of luxury camping started by wealthy British people on, of all things, African safaris. Instead of “roughing it” (amen!), these aristocrats camped (!) with “glamorous” accoutrements such as soft beds, fluffy pillows, and all the modern conveniences—such as televisions. Hmm.
He says this form of relaxation has made its way to the United States, as KOA last year cranked up its luxury lodge rentals by 26%. After a week of that, one looks, well, not so seedy. Where’s the fun in that?
Dodd transited that experience of glamorous camping into that of being “too comfortable” in church—and I don’t think he was talking about the thermostat. He says we’ve become a nation of too comfortable Christians. As you read this list, be aware that he wrote by way of confession… I won’t mark the numbers that apply to me (Hah! You’ll have to guess!), but you’re a pretty perceptive lot.
10 Signs Your Christianity Has Become Too Comfortable
1. You are not attending church with a high level of expectancy.
2. You no longer seem to be concerned about the spiritual condition of neighbors, family members, or your co-workers.
3. You haven’t had a spiritual conversation with a non-Christian in a long time.
4. The Bible seems like a history book. It’s lifeless to you.
5. Your happiness on Sunday mornings is more important than what it takes to reach the unchurched. As long as you get your parking spot, your seat, and hear the music you like, everything’s fine.
6. The plight of the poor doesn’t concern you.
7. Pictures of overseas suffering do not move you to action.
8. You do not give your financial resources sacrificially.
9. Your prayers don’t seem to be making it past the ceiling.
10. It doesn’t even dawn on you that God could do something incredibly radical in your life at any moment today. It’s not even on your radar.
Any “shoes” fit? I’m guessing it’s at least a pair for all of us, maybe a closet full. In any case, it’s the sort of thing worthy of our reflection, isn’t it? And no, I don’t regard these ten’s opposites as “roughing it”—do you?
I’m sure glad Dodd included number 9. This whole month is about “Becoming a Praying Congregation.” May our ceilings come to have plenty of openings.*
Pastor Steve * and may our roof not leak!
Flash Focus…August 7, 2011
August 5, 2011
F LASH FOCUS
Fairmont United Methodist
2501 Clark Ave, Raleigh, NC 27607
Hello, Friends of Jesus!
Welcome back, Louisiana Work Team! We’ll hear from them in September.
The next four Sundays, we will concentrate on Becoming A Congregation of Prayer. I “pray” you’ll be in our number!
Sunday is a “first” Sunday, so as we gather for communion, we’ll do as John Wesley taught us and remember the poor.
Keep in mind the welcome-student luncheon, Sunday School launch, UMYF, and more …
hey, just read the Day in the Life!
Blessings aplenty,
Pastor Steve