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Sermon: Easter 3C
Apr. 22nd, 2007 02:23 pmHere's my second sermon for Teaching Parish:
( Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. )
( Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. )
My First Sermon
Apr. 15th, 2007 08:59 pmWell, not really my first; I've preached a couple times before as a lay leader. But I preached today in teaching parish for the first time; thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tgawarmychris for the beta.
Easter C, 2007
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
( Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. )
Pastor said it was too short (only about eight minutes when I practiced before-hand, which probably makes it about six in practice because you always talk faster when it's real), but the congregation thought it was just the right length. Everybody said they liked it, some with enough specifics for me to really believe it; for a lot of them, there's a distinct possibility they liked because (a) they like me, (b) they want to encourage young people in the church and this is my first time preaching for them, (c) they think I'm a cute young thing and I remind them of their granddaughter(s), (d) they liked getting out earlier than usual, or (e) all of the above. We'll see what happens next week when I preach again next week.
So, first service, pastor sat out in the congregation because he has to evaluate my "performance" (voice, gestures, expression, etc.) as well as the content of the sermon. He was sitting off in the corner by himself, so I could only just see him out of the corner of my eye. Lutherans tend to sit there like bumps on a log during sermons; if it moves us, we don't tend to show it externally very well, which can be extremely unnerving for a pastor, particularly a novice, because you really can't judge how well it's going by looking at the congregation. First service (early in the morning when a lot of people are still half asleep) is even worse than second service, particularly at St. Paul's which has no music first service to help people wake up. First service this morning was the first time I'd preached in about three years, and the stone faces I was getting from the congregation--most of whom weren't even looking at me--were more than a little bit discouraging. I finish my sermon, sit down, pastor comes back up and starts the service again. He didn't even look at me, much less say anything (and there are a couple of breaks right after the sermon where we can and have in the past exchanged a few words of private conversation on various subjects without breaking the flow of the service). Nothing. Needless to say, maintaining the proper worship focus for the rest of the service was ... difficult, to say the least.
Note: Easter 2 (the Sunday after Easter) is a traditional day for seminarians to preach. First, after all the extra services of Lent and (especially) Holy Week, most pastors need the break. Second, it's often a sparsely attended service, being right after Easter, so there's less pressure.
On a completely different note, I haven't written any fanfiction besides my Remix fic in over a month because I've been so busy with school. I haven't even had time to beta anything. I'm feeling ... itchy about it. Writing for class is not the same as creative writing for fun, y'know? But the rest of the semester is going to be at least as bad, time-wise, so I really don't see more fics in my immediate future. Grr.
tgawarmychris for the beta.Easter C, 2007
Acts 5:27-32
Psalm 118:14-29
Revelation 1:4-8
John 20:19-31
( Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. )
Pastor said it was too short (only about eight minutes when I practiced before-hand, which probably makes it about six in practice because you always talk faster when it's real), but the congregation thought it was just the right length. Everybody said they liked it, some with enough specifics for me to really believe it; for a lot of them, there's a distinct possibility they liked because (a) they like me, (b) they want to encourage young people in the church and this is my first time preaching for them, (c) they think I'm a cute young thing and I remind them of their granddaughter(s), (d) they liked getting out earlier than usual, or (e) all of the above. We'll see what happens next week when I preach again next week.
So, first service, pastor sat out in the congregation because he has to evaluate my "performance" (voice, gestures, expression, etc.) as well as the content of the sermon. He was sitting off in the corner by himself, so I could only just see him out of the corner of my eye. Lutherans tend to sit there like bumps on a log during sermons; if it moves us, we don't tend to show it externally very well, which can be extremely unnerving for a pastor, particularly a novice, because you really can't judge how well it's going by looking at the congregation. First service (early in the morning when a lot of people are still half asleep) is even worse than second service, particularly at St. Paul's which has no music first service to help people wake up. First service this morning was the first time I'd preached in about three years, and the stone faces I was getting from the congregation--most of whom weren't even looking at me--were more than a little bit discouraging. I finish my sermon, sit down, pastor comes back up and starts the service again. He didn't even look at me, much less say anything (and there are a couple of breaks right after the sermon where we can and have in the past exchanged a few words of private conversation on various subjects without breaking the flow of the service). Nothing. Needless to say, maintaining the proper worship focus for the rest of the service was ... difficult, to say the least.
Note: Easter 2 (the Sunday after Easter) is a traditional day for seminarians to preach. First, after all the extra services of Lent and (especially) Holy Week, most pastors need the break. Second, it's often a sparsely attended service, being right after Easter, so there's less pressure.
On a completely different note, I haven't written any fanfiction besides my Remix fic in over a month because I've been so busy with school. I haven't even had time to beta anything. I'm feeling ... itchy about it. Writing for class is not the same as creative writing for fun, y'know? But the rest of the semester is going to be at least as bad, time-wise, so I really don't see more fics in my immediate future. Grr.
Casualty Report
Feb. 16th, 2007 10:23 amAs of yesterday, the casualty list for LTSG due to the current iciness was a broken arm, a torn ligament, and a blown knee that required surgery. Plus the usual minor bruises, slips, and cuts. On the bright side, the sledding is fantastic. Pastor-President is from Minnesota, and he lives just a little ways down from Valentine, the main classroom and office building. Closer than any of the students, in fact. So if he can get to class, he assumes everyone else can, as well. I just wish I'd remembered to bring my boots to PA with me when I came back from Christmas break. They're sitting under my bed in Oregon right now. Not doing me any good there.
The junior class (i.e. the first-years) is planning a group activity for tomorrow: shoveling out everybody's cars so that people can get to Teaching Parish on Sunday. (Assuming our church services aren't canceled--I know at least one church has already made that decision.)
I helped serve dinner for the internship matching workshop last night, along with Melissa and Rachel. We get paid, and we got fed some delicious chicken cordon bleu and chocolate pie, and got to bring leftovers home (due to weather, a lot of people were either late or canceled).
The junior class (i.e. the first-years) is planning a group activity for tomorrow: shoveling out everybody's cars so that people can get to Teaching Parish on Sunday. (Assuming our church services aren't canceled--I know at least one church has already made that decision.)
I helped serve dinner for the internship matching workshop last night, along with Melissa and Rachel. We get paid, and we got fed some delicious chicken cordon bleu and chocolate pie, and got to bring leftovers home (due to weather, a lot of people were either late or canceled).
Snow and Superheroes for Valentine's Day
Feb. 14th, 2007 11:09 pmIt's Valentine's Day, so:
According to the Super Hero Dating Quiz, my ideal match is Beast, from X-Men (aka Hank McCoy, he's the big furry blue doctor), with Spider-Man and Madman (who I'd never heard of, but is apparently a member of the Superhero group the Atomics (whom I had never heard of), published by a comic publisher named Image, (whom I had also never heard of). And apparently if I were a guy, my ideal match would be Ms. Marvel (I think I've heard of her), with Moira MacTaggert (definitely never heard of) and Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) of the X-Men (the little girl who can walk through walls).
Today was also a day of horrible weather here in Gettysburg; we had a lot of snow last night, but temperatures that fluctuated today. So there was a little bit of snow melting, then freezing, with more snow coming down today. And, guess what? The road through campus belongs to the Feds as part of the battlefield, so the local government can't plow it and the park service never gets around to it. Which means it's up to our very own maintenance guys to clear, in addition to the sidewalks and things. One of the guys has worked here for 42 years, and he said that while they've had more snow at once many times, today's combination of snow, slush, and ice was the hardest to clear that he can recall. Lovely. Watching big tractors with incredibly heavy chains sliding across the road they're trying to clear is an interesting experience. Particularly when one is walking next to the road, and is in fact abreast of said tractor when it starts to slide.
I sure hope things get better before Sunday; I have to drive to church early in the morning (unless they cancel church). Still, about 90% of the drive is on Route 30, which is one of the main highways through this part of PA and as such is one of the first to be cleared, or so I am assured by the last student to be assigned to my parish.
A few years ago the Episcopal Church of the USA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (of which I am a member) entered into a very close fellowship such that Episcopalian priests can serve in Lutheran congregations and Lutheran pastors can serve in Episcopalian parishes. (I can't speak to how it was received in the ECUSA, but in the ELCA it was accompanied by much angst, much of which was due to the way in which it was handled on our end.) Anyway, as part of this agreement the ECUSA became the first non-Lutheran church body in the world to accept the Augsburg Confession as part of its theological belief system, and the ELCA agreed to teach the Book of Common Prayer (the Anglican equivalent to the Augsburg Confession) in its seminaries. So today's Worship class was an introduction to it. One of the main functions of the BCP, apparently, is to serve as a "glue" to hold different theological factions within the church together. So that no matter what you believe, you can pray the prayers and participate in the worship service with a clear heart (this requires a certain ... blandness to the language and a bit of what Luther would have described as "pussy-footing").
This is, needless to say, very different from the way that Lutherans have historically approached, well, anything. Our professor quoted an Anglican friend of his: "Anglicans will court heresy in order to prevent schism. Lutherans will court schism in order to prevent heresy." And, having had a course in Luther and Lutheranism in college which included a unit on 19th Century American Lutheranism, and at one point having been so foolish as to try to diagram out on paper the intertwinings of various Lutheran church bodies as they went through successive schisms and mergers, my response was: "Lutherans are willing to do more than court schism, we'll marry it!"
According to the Super Hero Dating Quiz, my ideal match is Beast, from X-Men (aka Hank McCoy, he's the big furry blue doctor), with Spider-Man and Madman (who I'd never heard of, but is apparently a member of the Superhero group the Atomics (whom I had never heard of), published by a comic publisher named Image, (whom I had also never heard of). And apparently if I were a guy, my ideal match would be Ms. Marvel (I think I've heard of her), with Moira MacTaggert (definitely never heard of) and Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) of the X-Men (the little girl who can walk through walls).
Today was also a day of horrible weather here in Gettysburg; we had a lot of snow last night, but temperatures that fluctuated today. So there was a little bit of snow melting, then freezing, with more snow coming down today. And, guess what? The road through campus belongs to the Feds as part of the battlefield, so the local government can't plow it and the park service never gets around to it. Which means it's up to our very own maintenance guys to clear, in addition to the sidewalks and things. One of the guys has worked here for 42 years, and he said that while they've had more snow at once many times, today's combination of snow, slush, and ice was the hardest to clear that he can recall. Lovely. Watching big tractors with incredibly heavy chains sliding across the road they're trying to clear is an interesting experience. Particularly when one is walking next to the road, and is in fact abreast of said tractor when it starts to slide.
I sure hope things get better before Sunday; I have to drive to church early in the morning (unless they cancel church). Still, about 90% of the drive is on Route 30, which is one of the main highways through this part of PA and as such is one of the first to be cleared, or so I am assured by the last student to be assigned to my parish.
A few years ago the Episcopal Church of the USA and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (of which I am a member) entered into a very close fellowship such that Episcopalian priests can serve in Lutheran congregations and Lutheran pastors can serve in Episcopalian parishes. (I can't speak to how it was received in the ECUSA, but in the ELCA it was accompanied by much angst, much of which was due to the way in which it was handled on our end.) Anyway, as part of this agreement the ECUSA became the first non-Lutheran church body in the world to accept the Augsburg Confession as part of its theological belief system, and the ELCA agreed to teach the Book of Common Prayer (the Anglican equivalent to the Augsburg Confession) in its seminaries. So today's Worship class was an introduction to it. One of the main functions of the BCP, apparently, is to serve as a "glue" to hold different theological factions within the church together. So that no matter what you believe, you can pray the prayers and participate in the worship service with a clear heart (this requires a certain ... blandness to the language and a bit of what Luther would have described as "pussy-footing").
This is, needless to say, very different from the way that Lutherans have historically approached, well, anything. Our professor quoted an Anglican friend of his: "Anglicans will court heresy in order to prevent schism. Lutherans will court schism in order to prevent heresy." And, having had a course in Luther and Lutheranism in college which included a unit on 19th Century American Lutheranism, and at one point having been so foolish as to try to diagram out on paper the intertwinings of various Lutheran church bodies as they went through successive schisms and mergers, my response was: "Lutherans are willing to do more than court schism, we'll marry it!"
Teaching Parish
Oct. 22nd, 2006 05:15 pmEach year at seminary has a practicum component; for the first year, it's Teaching Parish. We're assigned a local church and have to be there each Sunday for worship service and meet weekly with the pastor for mentoring and have lunch with a different member of the congregation each Sunday, for a total of 7-10 hours per week in the congregation. Today was the second Sunday I wrote/said the Prayers of the Church; they're a lot more difficult to write than I thought they would be, but I must be doing something right because I got two compliments today.
( Prayers of the Church: 20th Sunday After Pentecost )
And the young daughter of the family who had me over for lunch colored some pictures of angels for me. My Teaching Parish pastor says when I have a congregation of my own I need to make sure I have a place to display such works of art in my office so the kids won't be disappointed.
I'm supposed to teach during the Sunday School hour twice this semester; I'm thinking of doing a two-week session on grace in the Old Testament. I've led classes and Bible studies before--I've even preached--but I've never done so while wearing a clerical collar and thus Someone In Authority who Knows What She's Talking About. That's ... pretty nerve-wracking.
( Prayers of the Church: 20th Sunday After Pentecost )
And the young daughter of the family who had me over for lunch colored some pictures of angels for me. My Teaching Parish pastor says when I have a congregation of my own I need to make sure I have a place to display such works of art in my office so the kids won't be disappointed.
I'm supposed to teach during the Sunday School hour twice this semester; I'm thinking of doing a two-week session on grace in the Old Testament. I've led classes and Bible studies before--I've even preached--but I've never done so while wearing a clerical collar and thus Someone In Authority who Knows What She's Talking About. That's ... pretty nerve-wracking.
Buy a biretta at seminary!
Sep. 17th, 2006 01:48 pmThat's right, folks, you too can own your own biretta. And you can get it at seminary.
Now, I'm not talking about a Beretta (i.e. a gun made by the famous Italian gun company). I'm talking about a biretta, the funny hat sometimes worn by Catholic and Anglican clergy.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Now, I'm not talking about a Beretta (i.e. a gun made by the famous Italian gun company). I'm talking about a biretta, the funny hat sometimes worn by Catholic and Anglican clergy.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
