Valentine's Day

Today I had the opportunity to preach at Rider University's chapel this evening on "A Different Kind of Love" based on Ruth 1:1-18. It went well.

Rehearsals for the play are coming along. Still trying to get those lines down. "The ancient saying is no heresy. Hanging and wiving go by destiny."

I've been in my new apartment for over a week now, and my kitchen is pretty well furnished. Tomorrow I'll be making chicken chimichangas. Because I can. And because chicken was on sale last weekend.

That's about it for me.

Replying to the Open Letter to the PCUSA

My seminary is on fire discussing the "Open Letter" document that came out on February 7th. A lot of us see things differently, particularly the young (under 30) Presbyterians who are on the ordination track. We are all committed to the unity of the PC(USA). We made the decision to come to seminary rather than pursue other (probably better paying) careers. To many of us the church is not dying. It's being renewed. The church in the coming century will not look like the church in the 20th Century or the 16th Century or the 2nd Century. The church is constantly hearing the Holy Spirit speaking in different ways. It is not the number of church members that makes a church alive. It is the presence of the Spirit.

I would like to point you to Rev. Margaret Aymer Oget's reply. She puts forth a much better reply about the other issues than I could at this time.

I respectfully decline the invitation to the gathering this August. I will be in Hebrew, preparing for Ordination Exams, and living into my call in the PC(USA).

Two Awesome Things

Two awesome things have happened in the last couple of days. I moved into my first grown-up apartment, and I got cast in the part of Nerissa in The Merchant of Venice which the seminary is putting on this semester. A good friend of mine got cast as Gratiano, the dude Nerissa marries; and we're going to have a lot of fun. Merchant is a tragic comedy with lots of interesting religious and cultural questions you can discuss with your friends after you've seen it. Most of the scenes Nerissa is in are the comedy scenes, although looks like I'll be standing through a long court scene with nothing to do again this year. Hopefully next year the play will have no court scene. The apartment is fabulous and most everything's still in boxes. I don't have many storage things yet, and I'll be hitting thrift stores next weekend. Bookshelves I'm in desperate need of. The parents have mailed me a kitchen-in-a-box, and until then it's sandwiches, salads, oatmeal, and microwavable soups. Sounds great to me.

Spring Semester

I realize I have lapsed a bit in my blog writing, and I apologize. The middler year has been very intense but awesome. Over the January term I took Presbyterian Worship where I learned to worship Presbyterian-ly and prepared for the Sacrament and Worship Ordination Exam.

Here are my classes for the spring semester:
Presbyterian History and Theology
Crossing the Deep River (exploring the Exodus event and the interpretation of the event particularly focusing on African-American experiences from the 19th Century to the modern day)
Jewish Biblical Interpretation (taught by a professor from Jewish Theological Seminary in NYC)

I am also trying out for the play, "The Merchant of Venice." It's a fascinating play with lots of interesting religious questions that arise from it.

I'm also still working at Rider University. This semester I will be leading a Lenten reflection group.

It's going to be a busy semester, but I'm very excited about it!

First Hymn

Ok, I realize it may have been confusing that my last post was labeled "Another Hymn." I apologize. I thought I uploaded my first hymn earlier. For my Congregational Music course I had to versify a Psalm to a well-known hymn tune as part of my final. Here it is. My rendition of Psalm 13 "God, I Cry Out to You in Woe" to the tune HAMBURG which is the tune of the hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

Another hymn

As part of a theological reflection in my Feminist and Womanist Theologies class I decided to write a hymn. Well, actually, I didn't quite decide to; but inspiration struck, and now I have another hymn to share!

Tune: DIX (known most popularly in the Presbyterian Hymnal as "For the Beauty of the Earth")

Last Week of Classes

This week is the last week of classes at PTS. What a semester! I have so much work to do before going home. Today I had a rehearsal for a faux wedding for my Word and Act class, run around like a maniac making sure everything was in place for worship in the evening, worked at the Speech Department, attended a two hour lecture on arts and worship, led the service and preached at Rider, worked on my final for my Congregational Music class, began making flash cards for my worship class final, and talked to my parents. I told them I was going to bed an hour ago. I was just going to return a couple of e-mails! It took an hour!

All this is say, this is the season of Advent. This is a season where we can get caught up in the hustle and bustle. I encourage all of you to take some time to allow the Spirit to move. Don't get caught up like me! I promise I'll try to be better. Every day is a new day in God's creation and a new chance to work for peace in our lives and in our world.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Matthew 5:9