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!

Lenten Discipline

It's almost Lent again--a mere two days until Ash Wednesday means there's not much time to decide what kind of discipline you might want to undertake this Lent.
Assuming, that is, that you observe Lent and that you do so with a discipline.


We don't much like the word discipline, but it's so intertwined with "disciple" that it's hard to ignore the connections. And still the Protestant world has pretty successfully ignored them for a while now, because there is such anti-Catholic bias in so many of our Protestant churches. The idea of observing Lent with purple paraments and no alleluias is about as far as we are willing to go--personal discipline is much too Catholic (or too demanding?).

Where Protestants have observed Lent with personal disciplines, we are fond of the "take something on" approach. I have actually heard people say "We're not Catholic--we don't give things up for Lent." As if personal sacrifice or fasting were the sole province of the Pope (who, according to twitter, trumps us all with what he's giving up for Lent...haha).

I'm a fan of taking on new practices--such a fan that I co-authored a book about it, in fact. But I'm also not willing to let go of the idea of giving up, of fasting. In a world that is SO focused on consuming, on being consumers, on having and doing the most, why do we insist that the only way to be faithful is to DO more? Why can't we practice the discipline of letting something go, and when we want that thing, focusing on our real hunger?

I'm not suggesting we give up chocolate or caffeine for Lent. Though I have done those things, and let me tell you they did not improve the spiritual lives of those around me, let alone my own.

I AM suggesting that we re-evaluate why we are so loathe to give something up. Is it really because that discipline belongs solely to another religious tradition? Or because we're not willing to do it, and we've "spiritualized" the reasoning?

in my case, it actually means NOT eating fast food!

For the past several years I have given up eating out during Lent. It's been partly about using the season to be more aware of what I put into my body and when, and partly about sacrificing something that I both enjoy and is convenient, and partly about noticing how much more money I spend when I eat out. Eating only food I make at home forces me to pay attention, to prepare ahead of time, and to limit how much I work (Can't spend all day and night in the office with only a quick run to taco bell...have to get out at some point, or have to have made lunch and dinner and brought them with me...). It's a nice multi-faceted practice, combining awareness with simplicity with justice with sabbath, that I've tried with varying degrees of success. What has not varied is the response I've gotten from fellow Presbtyerians, who universally disdain the idea of giving something up for Lent. Because the most helpful thing to do with a companion on the spiritual journey is to mock their attempts at discipline. (or to snark about them later, I know!)

So, maybe you don't want to give something up. Maybe it really is more meaningful for you to take something on. I would just encourage all of us to consider why it is we have such a visceral reaction to the idea of a fasting practice...why must we DO more? After all, it's not as if we believe we have to earn God's favor (which, strangely, many Catholics do actually believe, and yet...). What if Lent really was a time for introspection and repentance about our consumer culture? Our reactionary feelings against our brothers and sisters in Christ? What if it really was a time to go against the grain of our social system in order to draw closer to God?

If you do decide to go for a new discipline, I suggest letting something go as well. Sort of a two-sided coin--rather than filling up MORE, make a trade-off. Perhaps take a page from Isaiah 58 (which we read at the beginning of the Ash Wednesday service) and go for a justice-oriented in our fast. Try spending 40 days eating like most of the world, or living on $2 a day, and doing some good works with the money we save. Then we both take on and give up, as well as joining our bodies along with our hearts in prayer for others.

Now, having said all that, here are two possibilities for those of you who do want to take on a new practice: one with words, and one with images. Or here's one that's different every day. Try it out. I will. But you also won't find me at a restaurant during Lent (hopefully...), because I'll be praying in the kitchen and the grocery store instead.
(aside: no year has seen a perfect no-restaurant record during Lent. Sometimes things happen. But that doesn't mean I don't keep trying.)

Amen.

This article is asking a good question--why can we focus on debt relief, AIDS, war, Haiti/Katrina/tsunami/oil spill, and climate change but consistently miss the 25,000 people dying every day of hunger?

25,000 people a day...that's NINE MILLION, ONE HUNDRED TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND people a year.

The article quotes someone who says it's criminal negligence...yeah. That's putting it mildly. How do we live with ourselves?

And how do people of faith finally get our act together, stop fighting, and put some concerted pressure on governments and other systems to do something about this--not just by sending more food aid (which generally helps prop up our own unsustainable agriculture) but by working SERIOUSLY for development and system change? This is bigger than a mission trip, bigger than the 30 Hour Famine, bigger than the Offering of Letters, bigger than child sponsorship. Those are all good things, and they do make a difference, but we need something bigger. 9,125,000 people this year are depending on us.

This is one of those (many) moments when I wish I had more community organizing training...

hunger

I'm not sure many of us (I mean people who read this blog, or people I interact with most days) really know what Hunger feels like. We know what it's like to want to eat, we know what it feels like to skip a meal, but Hunger (with a capital H)--the kind that is a statistic, the kind where there's no food to eat and no idea where the next food will come from, the kind that's painful--is not part of most of our everyday experiences.

The reason I'm thinking about this is, of course, that I've been sick and so have eaten basically nothing for two-and-a-half days now. And I've been trying to figure out, through that whole time, if I'm hungry or if my stomach is still upset--even the slightest hunger pangs are easily confused with other signals that actually mean "DON'T EAT!!" It's amazing to me how quickly I have forgotten, or how easily I mix up, a message from my own body that I feel every day.

Which probably means I don't really feel it every day--I get a pang and, like most people I know, I eat something. It may not be the healthiest something, or the thing my body actually needs to function well. But something with calories goes into my stomach so the feeling will go away. (I confess that often, especially when I'm sitting in my office, chocolate fulfills this task nicely.) But now, when I need to be able to distinguish the signals from one another, I'm not sure which is which. Maybe it's time to listen to my body a little more carefully before just answering the need with a want. This is what the 30 Hour Famine is all about, too, of course--giving us a taste of hunger (if you will) and helping us think about where and when and what we eat and why...and how that affects others, and how others can't just pop a piece of chocolate in their mouths whenever they have the slightest twinge. (the RCLPC 30 Hour Famine isn't until May, but I've just had my own personal 30 hour famine here and, as uncomfortable and frustrating and icky-feeling as it has been, it might have been good for me.)

Having said all of that: I think I'm actually hungry, for actual food, so I'm going to go find some real food and see how that goes this time!

30 Hour Famine

RCLPC's high school youth will participate in the 30 Hour Famine again this year--and it's only a month away!  We each have a month to raise enough money to feed and care for a child for a whole year--$360.  That's right, just $30 a month can save a life.

This year the 30 Hour Famine has the option of fundraising online, so I thought I'd try it out.  If you'd like to sponsor me as we starve for food--fasting for 30 hours to raise money and awareness of hunger issues worldwide and here in our own community--just click this link!  Thanks!

~~~~~~~~~
Here's more information about World Vision and the 30 Hour Famine program:

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, World Vision serves alongside the poor and oppressed as a demonstration of God's unconditional love for all people.
World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
World Vision's 30 Hour Famine is an international youth movement to fight hunger. Students typically fast for 30 hours to spread awareness and raise funds to help provide food and care for children worldwide, including here in the US. Every $30 raised helps provide food and care for a child for a month (worldwide average).
For Fiscal year 2007, World Vision's overhead rate was 14%, meaning that 86% of total revenue went directly to our efforts in the field. For more information about World Vision's financials and stewardship, visit World Vision's web site.

It's that time of year again...

Time for Heifer gifts!



This year I've decided on a variety of things...



...things that go to a variety of areas...



...and help people and the planet in a variety of ways.




Ending hunger, working toward sustainable agriculture...what a great way to give to friends and family and to other children of God this Christmas. I'm excited!

Get your own here!

Sunday...check

It was a good day in church today--good music, good feel, etc. The choir was amazing. The post-church hours were taken up by the CROP walk--4 miles in the rain. One of our youth walked it with one of those electronic fake babies for a class, and that baby cannot get wet. But no complaining from her--it was great! Our church raised about $2700, which is more than our goal, so that's pretty good. I'm sure we could do better, though. Next year?
It was plague day in confirmation. That's right, we read the stories of the plagues and then the confirmands draw pictures of each plague on its own poster. The fellowship hall is currently covered in plagues. Awesome.

when I got home I reheated some risotto (yesterday's dinner: butternut squash and spinach risotto, with all ingredients except rice coming from my local farm, including my homemade veggie broth!) and watched episode 4 of Cadfael. It's a highly amusing show. Only 13 episodes were made (each 75 minutes). My library has only the first 4 so I have to determine whether I can ILL dvds or not. oy.

I am so tired. My body is tired. I have a headache, probably because I'm dehydrated (you don't think about that walking in the rain!). My brain is worn out from talking with 8th graders about plagues and the power of God and whether God is spiteful, mean, or hate-filled. I'm not really sure how to lean toward a process view of God when we're talking about God killing off the first born sons of Egyptians. What was that about not overpowering/coercing/forcing?

There's a lot going on in the world that I want to blog about. Condy in Israel. the 20 year civil war in Uganda and how Tappert Smiley stated that the Israelis have been successful in their "never again" so why can't the rest of the world...and somehow that had to do with Uganda, where 12,000 people are killed every (day? week? month? I can't remember). Perhaps he should ask a Palestinian about that. This whole business with Armenian genocide not being called what it is because we still want to be friends with the people who did it, and they aren't willing to admit a mistake on the part of their forbears (remember, it happened at the end of Ottoman rule...between WWI and II). A whole school district in my area is under emotional/psychological siege after a student threatened to come in and "shoot up a school"--only days after tragedy in Cleveland. How we are willing to talk about being disturbed by non-democratic trends in Russia but not blatant democracy-killing in Egypt. The fact that military officials are calling the war a disaster. the story of a marine of our church family, shared in worship today. The 3,000 children that have died while I've typed this post. The people who have nowhere to go tonight and it's cold and rainy outside.

My brain is full. My heart is full. My body is tired--and I do not have to walk 4 miles for food or water tomorrow like the people we were supporting today.

It's NPR pledge season. If you listen to a local NPR station and you're not a member, you should change that. In Chicago they are offering an "Eco pack" as a thank you gift for $180 and above. It has a nalgene bottle, reusable (and washable!) shopping bags, and some other green stuff. A great way to save the planet and support public radio! Just do it.

I tried to determine whether I could go to bed at about 8.30 and not be lame. The verdict? that is not lame on a Sunday. other days? well...case by case. We'll see tomorrow.....when our first ever Ministry Team Night is over at 9, I may very well be ready to sleep immediately! RCLPC members reading this--now's your chance to get on one of those coveted teams! 7pm. Be there or be square. :-)

more about food...

so it's no secret that I love food.
Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pizza, gardenburgers, stir-fry, pad thai with tofu, grilled cheese with tomato, ice cream...mmm.....and now I'm part of a CSA co-op here in my area. A local organic farm sells 50 shares of its produce every summer. Each week, beginning in a month!, I'll go out to the farm and pick up a 5/8 bushel box of veggies, which I'll share with my lovely friend Sherri (and some of which might get frozen for winter). mmm, local fresh organic veggies. yum.

It's also no secret that justice is important to me. And it makes me sad how many people are hungry in the world, and right here in my own town.

At the 30 Hour Famine, RCLPC youth collected enough money to feed almost 9 children for a whole year, and they collected 70 pounds of food for our local food pantry on our one-hour scavenger hunt.

If you're looking for a way to help, try this out. Just put canned items next to your mailbox on Saturday and your mailman (mailwoman) (I think "letter carrier" is the newly appropriate term) will take it away and it will go to feed hungry people right there in your own community. Pretty awesome, pretty easy. Just do it. Hungry people thank you. Cuz hunger isn't just a winter issue. and not everyone can afford the $500 co-op.

30 Hour Famine

Our senior high youth are participating in WorldVisions 30-Hour-Famine at the end of April. Between now and then, we are collecting sponsors to help feed hungry people. Last year the youth and their leaders--600,000 of them in 21 countries--raised enough money to feed 29,000 children (the number who die each day from hunger and hunger-related preventable disease) for a WHOLE YEAR. That's pretty awesome, and we're excited to be part of it.

If you would like to help our youth group meet our goal of feeding 10 kids (one for each of us participating in the famine) for a year, you can sponsor me by clicking here! All the money goes straight to WorldVision, and most of it then goes to feed people. None of the money stays here or goes to us. We'll be fasting 30 hours on April 27-28, and the money we save on snacks/food for the lock in will be added to our total as well.

Please help us help others by donating! Here's the link again, in case you need to copy and paste: http://www.firstgiving.com/rclpc.

Thanks!