Covenant Prayer Project

Ok word nerds and theology geeks.  I am working on a Confirmation Retreat that I'm running in March, and I would like to use the Wesleyan Covenant Prayer in our closing worship.  The challenge is that while I don't want to dumb down the language and theology for youth, I would like to find more accessible language.  (I am well aware that sometimes I think language is beautiful and accessible only to find that my audience thinks its boring).  So I went to work paraphrasing, and I would love to get some feedback, suggestions, etc.  I'll put my version, and the version in contemporary language from the General Board of Discipleship website.  There are some words like "exalted" that I didn't want to get rid of, but I wasn't sure if they were too churchy.  What do you think?


My version:
I’m not my own anymore, I’m yours.

I’ll take any assignment, I’ll accept any status.

If something needs to be done, I’ll do it.

If you ask me to suffer, I’ll get through it.

I’ll be employed for you, or laid off for you.

Raised up for you, or brought low for you.

Whether I’m full or empty, 

whether I have everything or nothing,

freely, with my whole heart,

I give everything to you

to use as you please.

And now,

Glorious and blessed God

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

You are mine and I am yours.

So be it. 

This covenant is made on earth,

But let it be signed and sealed in heaven.

Amen.

Contemporary Version:

I am no longer my own by yours. 

Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will. 

Put me to doing, put me to suffering. 

Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, 

exalted for you or brought low for you. 

Let me be full, let me be empty. 

Let me have all things, let me have nothing. 

I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, glorious and blessed God, 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

you are mine and I am yours. 

So be it. 

And the covenant now made on earth, 

let it be ratified in heaven. 

Amen.

Love in Nicaragua

In October I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua on a mission trip with 8 other people from the Peninsula-Delaware Conference area.  We were hosted by an organization called El Ayudante, which helps to support churches and schools that work to feed and educate children in poor communities.  We visited several schools and churches, where we played, did crafts, sang songs, and encouraged the children to grow up to the be loved and gifted people God created them to be.  We were also able to leave donations of money and school supplies at each place.  

At each location I was blessed with the opportunity connect with a few kids, and I was reminded that kids everywhere are the same!  They love hugs and having their pictures taken.  They love to sing, they get a little too wound up when they have sugar and attention, and the boys can't resist the urge to inflate their empty juice boxes and stomp on them, making everyone jump!  It was hard for us to see such beautiful children living in poverty.  Most of schools and churches provide meals when they can, because many of the children would have very little to eat otherwise.  But, we were inspired by the way God has called people in these communities to help feed and teach these children so that they might have the chance to get out of their circumstances someday.  

One of the most special experiences for me was handing out leftover Pecometh t-shirts and dresses that some of our campers made.  I was honored to be able to connect our campers who are so blessed and generous with these children whose faces lit up when they were given new clothes that were just for them.  

Thanks to everyone who supported me financially and through prayer!  As I encountered poverty and injustice in Nicaragua, I was reminded that we also still have poverty and injustice in our own country as well.  It is a comfort to know that our church family is doing what we can to help people in our own community, in our own country, and around the world.  

Check out my pictures on Facebook... Nicaragua 2011 Part 1 and Nicaragua 2011 Part 2!  

Nicaragua!

Sad backpack, ready for Haiti

Some of you remember that I was supposed to go on a mission trip to Haiti in December, but then we couldn't go because of the growing violence the the days before we were supposed to leave.  The team rescheduled for March, but because of my responsibilities at camp I was unable to go.  I decided to set aside the money I raised, and keep an eye out for future trips.  

While I was looking for a trip to join, I was starting to envy the people I know who were working with kids on mission trips.  I had been focusing on construction trips in Haiti because of the need there and the fact that I don't mind roughing it (even if I don't have any construction skills).  Then last spring I got an email about a mission trip to Nicaragua that would happen October 22-29.  To be honest, I have never had an interest in going to South or Central America, but something about this trip jumped out at me.  The dates would fit well with my Pecometh schedule, I know the pastor co-leading the trip, and the work would be centered around El Ayudante Family Enrichment Center in Leon!  So with that I was planning to go on another mission trip, but this time I already had money raised and had all the right shots!  

Now my trip is less than a month away, and I'm starting to get really excited!  We had a meeting with the team last month and got some more information.  In Nicaragua, many kids are placed in orphanages by their families who are struggling to make ends meet; for this reason the Nicaraguan government has placed an emphasis on placing kids with family members rather than keeping them in group homes.  El Ayudante used to be an orphanage but now that all of the kids have been placed in homes or adopted, they focus on resourcing families.  During our time there we will probably do some work at the center (possibly painting some rooms), as well as visiting schools to do crafts, hand out snacks, and donate school supplies!  In addition we get to spend time with some of the kids who are served by the center (which might include taking them out for ice cream, and taking kids buy new clothes).  

Most of my money has been raised, but if you would like to donate money or supplies to the team, please let me know.  And of course please keep me in your prayers!  I never wanted to go to Nicaragua before, but now that I am getting ready to go I am excited about learning about a new culture, and doing my small part to support families who are struggling to raise children in poverty.  I am going to take some dresses that the Girls II Greatness program made during summer camp, and I'll also be getting together some school supplies and other things.  Thanks for your support! 

Supplies need at El Ayudante:

• flip flops, over size 1
• pencils
• pens, red, black, blue
• permanent markers
• dry erase markers, dry erasers
• paper, plain
• plastic rulers
• play dough
• glue
• printer paper
• 3 ring binders, inch and a half
• washcloths
• hand towels
• mattress covers and sheets for twin beds
• notebooks
• hygiene items, shampoo, soap, toothpaste

Sermonizing

I was really excited to be preaching at camp again this summer... until about 2 weeks ago when my ideas stopped sounding good to me.  Writing my first two sermons this summer felt really forced, like I couldn't quite grasp what I was supposed to be preaching, and nothing I planned felt right.  Both times preaching (especially the first time at staff Galilean) I ended up feeling in the moment that God was guiding my words.  So maybe God is trying to teach me to be more spontaneous, more in nimble in my discernment of what I'm supposed to be doing and saying.  But I don't like that.  I like to have an outline that feels right.  I want to go in knowing what I'm supposed to say.

Usually when I am preaching during camp, I have an idea for a sermon by about Wednesday, and by Saturday it is has taken shape in my head into a fully formed sermon that just needs to be written down.  I like it when that happens, because I don't really have much time during the camp week to do sermon prep.  Yesterday as I picked up books for inspiration, all I knew was that I am feeling led to preach on ecclesiology this summer (what it means to be the church).  So I walked into the staff lounge, ready to read and struggle, and another staffer, Leo, asked me when I wanted him to preach.  He's a student in seminary to be a Catholic priest, and I had previously asked him to consider preaching this summer but we hadn't nailed down a date.  I joked that this weekend would be great, but I wouldn't do that to him, and I was surprised that he seemed to be ready to preach.  I was hesitant to have someone preach on a day's notice (although my first time preaching at camp was on a day's notice), but he seemed to have been mulling over his sermon idea already... so I went with it.  I think that was the Spirit's leading?  Or maybe I was just tired?

Anyway, this morning I came to worship relieved to not have to preach.  I led the first part of the service, but because I was not thinking about my sermon I was able to really relax and get into the songs.  Amy, our music leader, played "It Is Well With My Soul" and something inside me just clicked.  Leo started preaching right after that, and within the first two minutes of his sermon I had a sermon for next week (mostly unrelated to his sermon, but I swear I was paying attention).  So... I guess the Spirit knows what the Spirit is doing.  It took a few minutes in worship for me to reconnect.  And the sermon today was on prayer by the way.... go figure.  I wish I could remember, when I am frustrated by how my sermonizing is going, that I need to spend some time in prayer and worship to get going again.  Duh.

A Good Earth (Fri)Day

Mountains, now scarred by MTR mining

Last year I spent three weeks in Appalachian Kentucky.  During that time I fell in love with the beautiful landscape and the warm communities, but my heart broke over the systemic poverty as well as the environmental and social damage that the coal industry has done in the communities we visited.  We heard stories about how the coal companies cut corners, putting workers at risk.  People there were frustrated at the disconnect between their own struggling communities and the communities all over the country that are powered by the hard work of coal miners.  About 2 months after I returned, 29 miners were killed in the Upper Big Branch mine disaster in West Virginia.  In the past year there have been more mining accidents around the world.  A major oil spill has devastated the Gulf Coast.  The world is still struggling to fathom the extent of the nuclear crisis in Japan.  On this Good Friday that is also Earth Day, I can't help lamenting that we need to do better.  

In Genesis 1, God creates the earth, and places humans in the center of it.  We are given a habitat where all of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs are met.  We are blessed with the charge to live in shalom with others, and to maintain the shalom of the earth around us.  But today as we look at the news in the Gulf Coast or in northern Japan, or even when we look out our windows, we don't see shalom.  Our TVs are able to stay on because of industries that are destroying mountains, dumping oil into oceans, oozing radiation into the land and sea, blasting chemicals into our backyards, and pumping the air full of toxins - not to mention endangering the lives of their own workers.  We are only now awaking to how harmful our major sources of energy are.  For too long we have been content to trust corporations to keep us safe and tell the truth about the environmental impact of what they do.  But the story is the same over and over: corporations cut corners on safety and lie about their impact on public health and the environment.  We don't know what to do about it, because lets be honest... we want to keep our laptops plugged it.  

The same view, a few decades ago

When I arrived in Kentucky last year, I knew very little about the coal industry, except that I was vaguely against it in a suburban liberal tree-hugger kind of way.  What I discovered was that getting rid of the coal industry would but something like pulling a big nasty weed out of your garden - it will be hard work that must be done carefully or you will risk destroying the other plants. The fossil fuel industries are impossibly entwined in the power structure of this country as a whole, and the communities in which they are digging.  But I also witnessed the complex relationship that individuals in Appalachia have with the coal industry: their homes are being destroyed, their loved ones are endangered in mines and come out with terrible health problems, and they know that the government agencies who are supposed to look out for them are actually in the pockets of King Coal.  And yet if coal goes, their communities will finally be defeated by the poverty against which they have been struggling for generations.  This poverty, by the way, has its roots in industries repeatedly swindling people out of the rich natural resources of the region.  If that isn't a example of systemic poverty and economic oppression, I don't know what is.  

In eastern Kentucky I spoke with dozens of people - pastors, miners, environmentalists, families of miners, activists, and students.  As I started to realize just how clueless I was about the complexity of the coal problem, I began to ask people what they wanted "outsiders" to know about the coal industry.  A common theme began to emerge.  Know where your energy is coming from.  I was told that about 50% of US energy comes from coal, and most people don't appreciate the work and risk that goes into powering the grid.  (The same can be said about the oil industry and petroleum-based products).  An environmental activist and the owner of a small-scale mining operation told me the same thing: use less energy.  Unplug things you aren't using.  Turn off the lights if you don't need them.  Don't keep your laptop plugged in all the time.  I asked the miner what he wanted us to know about the coal industry (he seemed surprised that I was asking).  He thought for a moment, and responded that we need to find a better way, but right now lots of people are doing the best they can with the resources they have.  His company goes in after the big coal companies sloppily get the easy coal; he gleans the smaller coal seams and then does the best he can to restore the site to something resembling a mountain.  I was moved by his honesty; here was a man who was mining coal, and he was trying to be a good steward of the coal resources and his workers.  

Crazy mutated Easter daffodil

The debate over energy policy, like any political issue, is contentious and complicated.  But rather than arguing environmentalist vs. capitalist or liberal vs. conservative, maybe we should be taking a few big steps and lots of little steps toward restoring shalom.  We need to think big about sustainable sources of energy, and in the meantime we need to stop consuming energy without restraint or reason.  We need to stand by the people whose communities and livelihoods are tied up with these industries, and support them in finding ways to breathe new economic life into their region.  In religious language, we need to repent of our environmental and social sins, and seek reconciliation with each other and with the created world.  We are in a Good Friday moment environmentally... we are realizing what our sin has done to the gift that God has given us.  Now is the time to repent and change our ways.  Anyone who has paid attention to spring knows that the created world has a lot to teach us about Easter.  

Wild Curls Can't be Broken (Well they shouldn't be anyway)

If you or a loved one has curly hair, you know that it can be a bit of a struggle to strike a balance that keeps curly hair happy and bouncy, rather than frizzy and uncontrollable.  But of course I am also trying to slowly cut out products around the house that contain chemicals, and replace them with natural alternatives.  So I was intrigued when the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast (a invariably entertaining and interesting podcast for women) did an episode on the No-poo movement, followers of which say that you don't need to shampoo your hair - there are better natural alternatives that aren't harmful to your hair, your health, and the environment.  

Of course, I already knew that curly hair generally does not need to be washed as often as straight hair, and that many products we use strip our hair of the moisture that is so essential to our curls.  Shampoo actually strips our hair of sebum, the natural oil that protects the hair follicle.  Conditioner becomes necessary to restore moisture artificially, but most shampoos and conditioners contain other things that weigh down hair.  Wait a minute - the last thing we want to do is weigh down our curls! Shampoo free people instead use natural rinses to rinse out the gunk without stripping out the sebum, and then they condition with natural chemical-free conditioners.  One of the best, apparently, is vinegar of all things.  

In doing some of my research, I started to see the straight-hair bias that is in the hair care industry.  In Organic Body Care Recipes, which we use for our Girls II Greatness program, and author Stephanie Tourles writes the chapter on hair as a curly girl.  She says, "Society often deems straight-haired people as the most intelligent, organized, beautiful, and clean-cut... Those with curly or kinky hair often feel compelled to "tame" or smooth their mane in professional circles so it won't be perceived as wild, untidy, or unabashedly sexy."  She says that after years of trying to tame her hair, she discovered that curly hair should be shampooed no more than every 2 weeks, and she recommends several recipes for rinses and conditioning treatments similar to the ones described by the No-poo people.  

So, a few months ago I started experimenting with washing my hair less, and also using Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap (which you can use on everything from your hair to your kitchen floors), which is organic and fair trade.  Several of my friends at church have started using it, so I went on their recommendation.   The other day I replaced my Panteen conditioner with Dr. Bronner's Conditioning Hair Rinse and Leave-In Conditioner.  I have read some other blogs about those products, and decided to go ahead and try them.  It seemed like the people who had the best luck with them had curly hair, or discovered that their hair was wavy after they started using them.  

So far its only been about a week - I've already noticed that my hair is less frizzy and my curls are a little bigger and better defined even without using other product.  I'll update again on how things are working.  For now it seems that working with my hair instead of against it might be the key to getting my hair to cooperate.  And I'm working on ignoring the stereotypes about curly hair.  When I straighten my hair people always say things like "You look so professional!" or "You look so nice with straight hair - why don't you just leave your hair straight?"  The answer to that question is that it takes 45 minutes just to straighten my hair (not counting blow-drying, which generally takes another 30 minutes), and also I don't want to destroy my hair.  And also because it just goes against the grain to try to stifle my curly nature.  

Stir This Batter, While I Create the World

Lately when I reflect on what it means to be in ministry in the world, I am transported back to Christmas 1985.  I was three years old and my Grama Char and I were baking thumbprint cookies in her kitchen.  Anyone who has baked with a three-year-old knows that one does not invite a toddler into the kitchen out of a need for extra help; I am sure I contributed more to making messes than baking cookies.  


I was in the kitchen because I was (for one more year, at least) my Grama's only grandchild, and she wanted to make cookies with me.  And I wanted to help.  I wanted to be like her.  So much in fact, for at least part of the time I wore blue knitted mittens in imitation of her oven mitts.  I felt so prepared for baking.  This memory comes to mind lately, whenever I am trying to tackle the question of why God created the world and gave humans "dominion" over it.  My hunch is that when God tells us that we have dominion over the earth, it less like a landlord handing over the keys to a superintendent, and more like a grandparent inviting a three-year-old into the kitchen.  

Read more »