So a couple of months ago Father John said in a staff meeting, "We still need to figure out who's going to preach for Ash Wednesday?"
Being me I raised my hand and said, "I'll do it."
Once this was on the books I told my parents they should come out and hear me preach for Ash Wednesday which they did. I also got to show them where I live, the beautiful Church of the Resurrection, the hard-working Latino Center of the Midlands, and my parish placement the friendly St. Andrew's.
We (my Mom, my Dad, and myself) visited the Durham museum which was a lot of fun.
However I did not realize that I would be preaching FOUR times until maybe a month before Ash Wednesday. 7AM, 9:30AM, Noon, and 7PM. That is a LOT of preaching. Thankfully I only wrote one sermon and re-used it for all four services. I can't imagine trying to create something in the moment four times in one day. It was a long day and next time before I volunteer I'm going to ask some questions.
I was impressed at how many people dropped what they were doing and attended an Ash Wednesday service. St. Andrew's had a pretty big turn out (don't have the final numbers) but it was inspiring. I think we had a few people who weren't St. Andrew's "regulars" but I loved that. I like the idea of people worshipping in the place and space they are in. You gotta go to a church that is close to where you work. You gotta go to a different church if you are a business traveler and out of town. I say do it! Make the time and space to worship. For everyone that did I want to say thank you. I am so grateful for the wonderful people who to come church. They aren't perfect and I don't expect them to be but things wouldn't be the same without them.
I hope that everyone who got to experience Ash Wednesday enjoyed it. For those who didn't maybe next year. For those of you who have jobs that prevent you from paticipating I hope you find a way to observe it outside the four walls of your local church.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Renewal in Lent
Twice a week I head over to a Nursing and Assisted Living Home to do a Bible Study. We have been working our way through the Gospel of Mark, and we recently got to Mark 12:13-17, where Jesus is asked about paying taxes to Caesar. We all pondered that story for awhile, especially verse 17….
Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (NIV Translation)
As I prepared to move on, a wheelchair bound octogenarian said something profound. She said that everything belongs to God, because God had the grace to make us in the first place. It was great to receive that witness from someone who has a multitude of valid reasons to be bitter and pessimistic.
As the season of Lent approaches, All Saints Episcopal Church is focusing on renewal. One of our offerings, which I will lead, is a book discussion based on the idea of a “practical” Christianity. How can one truly center their lives on the Gospel? Sunday morning worship is a great discipline, but someone wise once told me it’s a little like a huddle in football. You get together, take a breather, get on the same page, and head back out there to really play the game. Worship happens on Sunday morning. Ministry happens during the rest of the week.
How does the Gospel inform what food we buy? Or how we buy our clothes? Or who we make time for in our schedules? There is no cookie-cutter, one size fits all answer to these questions. But if we center ourselves on God, and try to build our house on the rock of Christ instead of sand (Matthew 7:24-27), then the Spirit will guide us.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Lent will be arriving soon
Time is a funny thing. It may be one of the few, never changing, constants in this world. But, for some unknown reason a never changing, set length of time, for example an hour, can seem like
a minute when catching up with an old friend, or a year when running on the treadmill. No matter if we experience a set period of time as a minute or a year the clock still keeps ticking and time still keeps passing us by.
Every year I feel as though Lent creeps up on me like a thief in the night. And, every year I find my- self scrambling to discern what it is I will give up or take on for the 40 days and 40 nights of allotted time for sobering reflection and awareness. It al- ways seems to be the longest and shortest time of the year. Long, for it feels like decades until I can indulge in chocolate, shopping, or a glass of wine again (various items which I have purged during the Lenten season). And short, for it seems that those things I intend to do, or to take on, pass me by day after day. Until, I find myself at Easter wondering if I had truly used the time I had been given to contemplate what it means to be a Chris- tian, what it means that God had to come down to this earth suffer and die so that we could once again live as His beloved children, walking with Him in an eternal journey of love and companion- ship.
This year is different in the sense that I will be giv- ing up, or taking on, a Lenten discipline within my Resurrection House community. Being held ac- countable for my disciplines within the time of Lent will be a completely new experience for me. I am interested to see what it will look like not only to hold myself accountable in the eyes of God, but also in the eyes of my two housemates. The time of Lent, I am certain, will pass by as it has in years before, but I hope this time will be different. With the opportunity to contemplate the meaning of Lent within community, as we take on a Lenten discipline together, it is my hope that this experi- ence will bring me to Easter with new insight and knowledge. That I will come upon Easter Sunday knowing that I, and my community, used the time of Lent to the best of our ability, coming to a better understanding and knowledge of God, Christ’s ul- timate sacrifice and free gift, as well as the power of the Holy Spirit within our world.
a minute when catching up with an old friend, or a year when running on the treadmill. No matter if we experience a set period of time as a minute or a year the clock still keeps ticking and time still keeps passing us by.
Every year I feel as though Lent creeps up on me like a thief in the night. And, every year I find my- self scrambling to discern what it is I will give up or take on for the 40 days and 40 nights of allotted time for sobering reflection and awareness. It al- ways seems to be the longest and shortest time of the year. Long, for it feels like decades until I can indulge in chocolate, shopping, or a glass of wine again (various items which I have purged during the Lenten season). And short, for it seems that those things I intend to do, or to take on, pass me by day after day. Until, I find myself at Easter wondering if I had truly used the time I had been given to contemplate what it means to be a Chris- tian, what it means that God had to come down to this earth suffer and die so that we could once again live as His beloved children, walking with Him in an eternal journey of love and companion- ship.
This year is different in the sense that I will be giv- ing up, or taking on, a Lenten discipline within my Resurrection House community. Being held ac- countable for my disciplines within the time of Lent will be a completely new experience for me. I am interested to see what it will look like not only to hold myself accountable in the eyes of God, but also in the eyes of my two housemates. The time of Lent, I am certain, will pass by as it has in years before, but I hope this time will be different. With the opportunity to contemplate the meaning of Lent within community, as we take on a Lenten discipline together, it is my hope that this experi- ence will bring me to Easter with new insight and knowledge. That I will come upon Easter Sunday knowing that I, and my community, used the time of Lent to the best of our ability, coming to a better understanding and knowledge of God, Christ’s ul- timate sacrifice and free gift, as well as the power of the Holy Spirit within our world.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Tricks to Preaching
At a Super Bowl party someone asked me, "How do you prepare to preach?"
I think they wanted to know if I had any secrets. Well I don't. Here's my process.
I wait until the week before to prepare the sermon. I know I don't have to but I also feel like trying to do it a few weeks in advance....is
1) cheating the clergy are doing it week to week and
2) too sterile for my tastes. I want to be working with it up until delivery in the hopes that I will let the Holy Spirit speak to me on the topic.
So I start by reading the lectionary. Then I spend some time (typically 24-36 hours) just thinking about it/praying about it. While I'm in the car or waiting for someone to show up for a meeting. When I'm brushing my teeth in the morning or cooking dinner for the Resurrection House.
About mid week I've determined a theme and/or an idea I want to explore. Then I dive into a commentary (or commentaries depending). I spend time reading about what others have to say and where their studies have brought them. They typically provide some historical information and/or they can provide some further insight into the theme I'm trying to teach on.
As the end of the week gets here I actually sit down and type out a draft of the sermon/homily. I don't know if I can call my preaching time a sermon:
1) Because clergy give sermons and I'm not clergy
2) I tend to preach short. I hit an idea try to create a few points
After I've got a draft down I try to put it down and take a little break from it. I come back to it and re-read it and see if it makes sense. (Sometimes I think faster than I type and sometimes I just can't articulate an idea clearly. Both of these things do not need to happen when I'm in the pulpit.)
Then I spend some time thinking about delivery. Trying to memorize some sections so I can look away from what I've typed and look at the people. I think about pacing and flow. I move points around so that there is a process. I make sure that I've included some examples that help illustrate my point (i.e. music, scene from a popular movie, something from a book, current event, etc.)
At this point I'm ready to deliver. And yet EVERY time I get up there I end up saying something that I didn't write down. I don't just stick to the script. If in a moment I'm moved to say something "off book" I do. I try to (even at the pulpit) make space for the Holy Spirit. I use what I've written but I try not to let it box me in.
On Sunday afternoon I try to think of things I could've done better. I think about my pacing and delivery and I consider if I could've gotten my viewpoint across better. I've never had the guts to have myself recorded and REALLY examine myself but one day I probably will. I also like to look online at this point and see some other points of views. Every time I consider doing this earlier but I realize that if I do I may try to preach what the Gospel is saying to them and not what it's saying to me. I realize that can be dangerous so I steer clear.
And that's it. Anyone can do it. It requires preparation, planning, reading and research. Oh and getting in front of a group of people and trying to not let their opinion (whether good or bad) completely cloud the message you are trying to give to them.
I think they wanted to know if I had any secrets. Well I don't. Here's my process.
I wait until the week before to prepare the sermon. I know I don't have to but I also feel like trying to do it a few weeks in advance....is
1) cheating the clergy are doing it week to week and
2) too sterile for my tastes. I want to be working with it up until delivery in the hopes that I will let the Holy Spirit speak to me on the topic.
So I start by reading the lectionary. Then I spend some time (typically 24-36 hours) just thinking about it/praying about it. While I'm in the car or waiting for someone to show up for a meeting. When I'm brushing my teeth in the morning or cooking dinner for the Resurrection House.
About mid week I've determined a theme and/or an idea I want to explore. Then I dive into a commentary (or commentaries depending). I spend time reading about what others have to say and where their studies have brought them. They typically provide some historical information and/or they can provide some further insight into the theme I'm trying to teach on.
As the end of the week gets here I actually sit down and type out a draft of the sermon/homily. I don't know if I can call my preaching time a sermon:
1) Because clergy give sermons and I'm not clergy
2) I tend to preach short. I hit an idea try to create a few points
After I've got a draft down I try to put it down and take a little break from it. I come back to it and re-read it and see if it makes sense. (Sometimes I think faster than I type and sometimes I just can't articulate an idea clearly. Both of these things do not need to happen when I'm in the pulpit.)
Then I spend some time thinking about delivery. Trying to memorize some sections so I can look away from what I've typed and look at the people. I think about pacing and flow. I move points around so that there is a process. I make sure that I've included some examples that help illustrate my point (i.e. music, scene from a popular movie, something from a book, current event, etc.)
At this point I'm ready to deliver. And yet EVERY time I get up there I end up saying something that I didn't write down. I don't just stick to the script. If in a moment I'm moved to say something "off book" I do. I try to (even at the pulpit) make space for the Holy Spirit. I use what I've written but I try not to let it box me in.
On Sunday afternoon I try to think of things I could've done better. I think about my pacing and delivery and I consider if I could've gotten my viewpoint across better. I've never had the guts to have myself recorded and REALLY examine myself but one day I probably will. I also like to look online at this point and see some other points of views. Every time I consider doing this earlier but I realize that if I do I may try to preach what the Gospel is saying to them and not what it's saying to me. I realize that can be dangerous so I steer clear.
And that's it. Anyone can do it. It requires preparation, planning, reading and research. Oh and getting in front of a group of people and trying to not let their opinion (whether good or bad) completely cloud the message you are trying to give to them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)