On my birthday....in 1964

Many weeks I spend my Thursday evening at my local pub, which has a quiz on Thursdays. Round 6 of the quiz is “on this day”...so I thought I’d borrow that for a little birthday series!

A few years ago I did a series leading up to my birthday, featuring some of the cool people I share October 21st with. This time, it’s exciting events to share the day with!

So, in no particular order, for the week leading up to my birthday...

October 21st, 1964: the film version of My Fair Lady premiered! That’s right, I was born on the 16th anniversary of the first time Audrey Hepburn sang “Wouldn’t it be loverly” on the big screen. Or rather, sang it but then had her voice removed and dubbed over. It was a controversy to cast her rather than Julie Andrews (who played Eliza in the Broadway and West End productions), but what would my birthday be without a little controversy? The ending of the musical provides more controversy too, as sometimes the stage productions differ from the movie, both of which differ from the original story...who knows how Eliza would really have ended it???

My Fair Lady is a delightful musical, and it’s fun to think I was born on the day the movie version was first seen!

Not *quite* fluent...

I have learned several languages in my life—some for speaking, some for reading. There are lots of aspects to learning a new language, from the basic vocabulary, to the different forms of verbs (and nouns, in some languages), to grammar rules, to pronunciation and inflection, etc.

There are also stages to learning a language.
There’s the stage when all you can do is say ridiculous things that bear no resemblance to conversation, because for some reason discussing the cat on the chair or under the table or whatever is the way to learn. (I’ve never quite understood this, but...yeah.)

There’s the stage when you can read relatively well but speaking is still a bit beyond your ability.

There’s the stage when you can speak decently, and though no one would mistake you for a native, they might mistake you for someone who can understand them if they speak back to you at their normal speed.

There’s the stage when you dream in the new language, and that’s usually a sign you’re headed for fluency.

When it comes to my Familiarisation process, I would say I’m somewhere between those last two stages. I feel like, as I try to work out things like Remembrance and Christingles and Watchnight, and to navigate the search process which is far more different from the PCUSA than I think most of us realise, I am at the stage of language acquisition where I can speak decently enough, but when someone starts talking to me I still have to spend a significant amount of energy translating to my native tongue before I can proceed in the conversation.

This is also true of basic life things like temperature (I’ve got my weather app on Celsius because it seems like I should be able to figure that out, but I’m definitely translating that to Fahrenheit in my mind when I want to know which coat to wear in the morning)...and cooking, where directions will say things like “use 200 ml of water to cook 40g of quinoa per serving” (I’m so glad I brought my American measuring cups in my suitcase, lol!)...etc.

So...all of that to say, I may look like I’m getting the hang of things, little by little, but I’m still translating inside my mind and that makes me slow to figure out what you’re talking about, or what I’m supposed to do next, or what to expect from the search process or communication norms or what “lay a wreath” means exactly, or which tunes the Christmas carols are sung to (hint: all different than they are in the US!), or how the order of worship is both the same and different from where I am right now and from all my previous experiences.

But my dreams are here, and use at least some of the language and images and culture, so I’m calling that a good sign. :-)

weekend interesting

Okay, so between being sick, getting ready to go to Europe, and Ideas Week and I've been too busy rushing about doing fun things to actually post all the cool stuff I've seen on the interwebz in the past couple of weeks. Consider this your opportunity to waste all of Saturday sitting in front of the computer, because none of this is particularly time-bound, but it's all awesome....

First, before you do anything else, go over here and support Carrie Newcomer's latest adventure--it'll be worth every penny and every moment!

You need to see this. So much more to the world than we can see or even imagine.

There's also more to us, our potential, our community, our creativity, than we can normally see or imagine. 

And then we break for TEH CUTE:


Ever wondered how it's possible that every single apple looks exactly the same at the store, but they don't ever look like that on a tree? Turns out that's not good, actually. (I know this is not a news flash to those of us who are avid farmers market shoppers...but then why on earth is it still true at the store???)

Want to be happy? If you've ever paused to read the cover (or worse, the articles) of a magazine in the checkout aisle, you've probably accidentally internalized a whole bunch of messages about happiness. Ditto on ever watching TV, seeing an advertisement, or being on the internet. Or, you know, living in western culture. But this is the only article you need about being happy. Seriously.

And then you need another break of adorable and happy.

Now for some church related stuff...

The internet angst about millennials (and everyone else) not being in church continues. This week I've seen articles about why churches don't grow, how to ensure your church dies or doesn't, young people old people in between people and church, men and women and teenagers and church.... And thankfully some research. (in the research, regular churchgoing = 1x a month!! Think about that for a moment...)

Those who stay were twice as likely to have a close personal friendship with an adult inside the church. Millennials need guidance on engaging culture meaningfully, and from a distinctly Christian perspective. 

This idea of finding a way to bring their faith in Jesus to the problems they encounter in the world seems to be one of the most powerful motivations of today’s practicing Christian Millennials. They don’t want their faith to be relegated to Sunday worship, and this desire for holistic faith is something the Church can speak to in a meaningful way. 

Young people want to be taken seriously today—not for some distant future leadership position. In their eyes, institutional church life is too hierarchical. And they’re not interested in earning their way to the top so much as they’re want to put their gifts and skills to work for the local church in the present—not future—tense. 

 Related...

How we think about Jesus matters. a lot. Otherwise how can we be more like him?

Speaking of being like Jesus....I was once a kid on food stamps and free lunch. Let's make sure that a) help is available for those in need, and b) no one grows up shamed for that need.

Ensuring that kids don't go hungry in our own neighborhoods doesn't preclude us from making sure kids elsewhere don't go hungry either:



And while we're thinking about other parts of the world, ponder this for a moment. Just a few years--within the lifetime of many who read this blog--makes a world of difference. Perhaps we should spend our time and energy ensuring that the world of difference is for the better, not for the worse. One way to do that is to be aware that things like this have happened, and it is fascinating and distressing all at the same time. Seriously, be sure to click through this one.

And then to end on a high note: SO MUCH FLOOFY HAPPY ADORABLE!

weekend interesting

so wednesday came and went...twice. sorry. But now it's Pastor's Weekend (also known as Thursday night and Friday), so it's time to contemplate the stuff I've been reading but not writing about.

For that matter, I haven't been writing about much of anything. So it's not just you, dear neglected blog. It's also neglected 25% finished Camp NaNoWriMo novel. It's also every week's prayer prompt. It's also anything that should go on LiturgyLink. Don't feel lonely, blog--you're not the only one I'm not writing for.

But I am reading like a crazy person. I have about 5 books going right now, plus all this stuff:

"All those timesthat I thought I was using my time well -- 'Hey, I've got five minutes, let mecheck my email' -- I was actually using my bandwidth badly."

Mullainathan concluded by urging the audience to think back to Henry Ford.
The automaker famously discovered in the early 1900s that, by increasing his employees' schedules to 60 hours a week, he could squeeze more productivity out of them. But that burst of productivity lasted only about four weeks. Over time, the workers putting in 60 hours a week began producing less than their counterparts who worked 40 hours.
The people working overtime lacked "not just the ability to work hard, but the ability to actually think hard about the problem," Mullainathan said.
The lesson for professionals: Having precious little time doesn't matter. Spending quality time with it does.

David LaMotte brings both the word and beautiful music,every time…  The difficulty with trying to save the world through charity, and a response about the unglamorous reality of what itwould take to change this. (this is part of why Presbyterians talk about doing mission WITH, instead of FOR. of course, that's a similarly incomplete approach.)

speaking of which: the most important word in the bible and how it changes how most people think about the Christian life: 

And then this. (Yes, lots of related stuff this week. Either the universe sends things in clumps so we get the message, or once I see something then everything else is about that...) Interestingly, this particular question has emerged--in both this form and the reverse--in a lot of the things I've been doing and thinking and conversing about lately:

If we can't talk honestly with another human being, how could we talk honestly with God? 

I love Jamie. Her blog is full of the awesome right now as she shares her experiences learning about human trafficking. She's out being the real live church. Meanwhile, she also ponders what the rest of us assume church is, and how we do it all wrong. Or all right. Or something.

This sermon from Presbyterian Youth Triennium blew up twitter while it was being preached. There have been a number of blog posts about it. I think it's fascinating and prophetic and beautiful and right on. And I think everyone in the church should know what our kids are hearing at these conferences we send them to with our bake sales and car washes.

And while we're at this whole connectedness thing, there's this, exploring Ubuntufor Nelson Mandela’s birthday (which was last week). 

And also this, from one of my favorite researchers. I wish we could be real-life friends, seriously. We obviously would be besties.

While we're on the inspirational track: Malala speaks to the UN:

“they thought the bullets would silence us. but they failed. out of the silence came thousands of voices. … Weakness, fear, and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage was born.”

And this! I KNEW IT! napping is not just awesome, it’s good for you. (also, check out the fabulosity that is the photo at the end of the article…)

Last but not least: this is so incredibly cool. Beautiful, moving, amazing. All improv, too. WOW.

Happy weekend!

Wednesday Interesting

yeah, last week I got distracted and didn't post all the cool stuff I came across. It happens.

Therefore, this week is a REALLY LONG post. But seriously, everything's awesome. Save it for your day off or when you need a brain break or something.

Obviously, this week's news is heavy on Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman/race/guns/etc. The whole situation is so horrifying I don't even really know where to begin. So instead I'll point you to just three things. One is a reflection on the sad reality of life for too many people. One is a reflection by a friend and fellow clergy woman, on the ways that white women (like both of us) play into this story. Otis Moss III is my secret (not anymore) preacher crush. That man can bring a word to just about any situation.


Meanwhile, there might be hope--if we can figure out how to let our kids grow up before we either kill them or ruin them:


While we're on the subject of race and class and opportunity and whatnot, you need tissues for this one. Read it AND watch the video. Seriously--it's worth your time. There aren't a lot of good news stories these days, so you need this.

"'Things like this don't happen to kids like us,' he cried on that unimaginable night, his face beaming bronze, his tears soaking into my shoulder. And he is right. Blind and legless kids from the ghettos don't get college educations and shiny accolades, but they should. And that is why I stayed. Because hope and love and rejoicing and redemption can happen to kids like them."

And in case you were thinking "well, at least we got the women thing sorted out"...watch this. The title "what every woman already knows" is exactly right. There's more to the world than what those in power experience.

There's also more to our experience than we may have thought before. Turns out that some of the external factors of our lives influence our genes in ways that can be passed on to the next generation. So interesting to think about! (and gives new meaning to the business about our sins being visited on our children.)

While we're thinking about things that shape and form who we are, this is a beautiful reflection on church--one of the last places for multi-generational experience. How do we ensure that we are able to speak to multiple generations, formed by such different experiences, with the same gospel?

How do we minister with and to people whose lives and faith are shaped by this emerging new world, who need a form of faith that answers the questions that arise in this new world? How do we at the same time and within the same congregation minister with and to people shaped by a fading world, who respond to a form of faith that was shaped by that world? How do we do both without tearing ourselves or each other apart?

One start would be to not be dismissive of either younger or older generations. While this is pretty snarky, it's also right on when it comes to the experience many of us are having. (says this member of the X-Millennial bridge) Please stop putting "young people" down. For starters: it doesn't make "us" want to listen or engage. Shaming never works, it just shuts people down.

And while we're at it, maybe we could contemplate ways to be an actual community full of kind compassionate people? Yes, we're human. That doesn't mean we have license to be mean to one another. If the church's purpose is to "exhibit the kingdom of heaven to the world" (as per the PCUSA Book of Order) then shouldn't we be trying harder to be that?

I firmly believe that by finally dragging our differences and petty arguments into the light of day, it will be a massive first step in breaking our mean habits. For far too long, while we have been waging a war within our own foxholes, the real enemy has had the run of the place. He has been unchallenged because Christ's army is too wounded from friendly fire to even crawl to the battlefield for the real fight. And an enemy who is unopposed is no longer your enemy. He has actually becomes your ruler.

One of the things I spend a lot of time thinking about is language: how do we use it, what's correct and what's emerging and where do those trajectories meet, what are we saying when we use particular words or phrases? This is one of the reasons I am a proponent of inclusive and expansive language. But the pesky English pronouns....


There's some really cool stuff going on in the world, in addition to all the drama and horror of life. Check this out--there could one day be streets that eat pollution! I just think that's worth more exclamation points. !!! Of course, the ideal is a world in which we're not producing pollution, because we've moved beyond fossil fuels. But one thing at a time, right?

Also, gorillas were observed learning and applying their knowledge in the wild.  So cool. And I confess there's a part of me that wants to say something like "take that, evolution-deniers." But that's neither kind nor helpful, nor exactly accurate. But still. Cool.

For everyone who's forgotten, Egypt is still happening. While some days are promising and other days terrifying, this article (admittedly 10 days old now--what happens when I skip a week) is a pretty good meta-analysis. Thought-provoking too, about the consequences of approaching things this way. (As an aside: please remember that our own revolution took over a decade to solidify into a constitutional government, and we weren't even being watched every second on the internet. Why do we expect others to happen overnight?)

"The price Egypt has paid and will pay for the consequences of this decision are too high. It has created a generation of Islamists who genuinely believe that democracy does not include them. The post-June 30 fallout reaffirms this belief, especially with Islamist channels and newspapers closed down, as well as leaders detained and held incommunicado, apparently pursuant to an executive decision. For 30 years, Mubarak told them that due process is not for them, and a popular revolution is confirming that. It is Egyptian society that will pay the price of the grievances this causes, and the fact that, with a silenced media and no coverage from independent outlets, they have been left with virtually no channels to get their voice heard."

This column beautifully weaves together a typical day at the beach and a reflection on our calling and responsibility as people of God. Love it.

And, last but never least, a treat for those who made it to the end. Today is the anniversary of the opening of Disneyland! I heart Disneyland, and while I never see anyone dressed this way there anymore (how would you go on rides in those skirts???), it's fun to see how much is the same and how much has changed in nearly 60 years. Not to mention the celebrities. :-)
 

down in the ATL

This week I'm at Columbia Seminary for the closing retreat for the S3 project--my peer group has created LiturgyLink through this program. LiturgyLink is an online collaborative worship planning resource. It's awesome.

Last year when we began, we introduced ourselves via a parody video.

This year, we introduced ourselves by writing new words for a song from the Book of Mormon and performing it for everyone at dinner last night.

Now we report what we did with money and time, and then we continue the work going on at the site.

In other news, a few of us CTS alums realized this week that we started seminary here 10 years ago this summer/fall. Holy Long Time Ago, Batman!

video wednesday

It's not the end of the week, but it is the end of the alphabet...Video Wednesday. get it?

anyway, this is awesome. I love so many things about this. I love that the president is all "no, really, I mean it--move out of the way." I love that the kid says completely matter of factly "it shoots 172 feet at 30psi."

But most of all, I love that the president, on learning that the cannon shoots marshmallows and that it'll probably hit the wall, asks the most important question in the entire world.

"Will it stick?"

Way to support kids and science and being a real person!!

hee!

I don't have anything to say today, because I am busy being in awe of Peter Sagal.

a little fun

in the midst of all the craziness of my life, this makes me happy. I watch the pandas several times every day, for a few minutes at a time.  It's like enjoying creation without going outside!  Plus pandas are cute and cuddly and funny.  Hopefully I'll get to visit in person at christmas time!  until then, watch away...

it's coming...

the conspiracy!  I'm hoping we can all conspire together...(learn more here)

master procrastinator

Okay, so I was looking around the web for inspiration for this sermon (umm..yeah, that's what the kids are calling it these days) and I came across this video at Queen Mum's place:



Which of course made me think of this video (thanks to RM for bringing the new version to our attention a couple weeks ago!):


.

Neither of these has anything whatsoever to do with my sermon, which must be finished in the next, oh, hour or so.

Back to work...

calling and fishes

The gospel text for tomorrow is about Jesus calling the first disciples, who were fishermen. (Matthew 4)
As Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

For some reason, when I begin to think about children's time, all I can think of is this:

at last the Christmas season REALLY begins...

...and to kick off these 12 days, my favorite men's a capella group:

oh.my.goodness

You need to see this. I thought it would be depressing, but instead it made my day.
(shamelessly stolen from Will Smama)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Thanks Amy...this made my day...