One year ago, (on August 29th, to be exact) I moved to Franklin Lakes, NJ, to begin my second appointment. Today is the one year anniversary of the official beginning of my appointment here. In some ways, I can't believe I've already been here a year - the months have gone by so quickly. In other ways, I feel like this has been a long year - the first year in a new appointment is full of so much learning, meeting people, familiarizing, transitioning - this year has been so full that it seems like I must have been here longer than a year already.
This is only my second appointment - my first year here has been much different than my first year in Oneida. The learning curve in a first appointment is huge. Here, I come with knowledge and experience, even if it isn't decades of ministry yet. But I'm also in a much different place and, in some ways, a much different congregation. I'm serving outside of my annual conference of membership,
North Central New York, the area I grew up in and lived in for all of my life, outside of time at school. I went to seminary at
Drew, but actually living in the community in Northern New Jersey is quite different from attending school on a somewhat secluded campus.
Greater New Jersey is a different conference from NCNY in many ways. It is more diverse in membership and clergy membership, it covers much more urban areas, it is more 'politically active' in the denomination, etc. These are just a few surface differences. Of course, there are practical differences - I know most of the clergy and lay folks active in the conference in NCNY. In GNJ, I'm still trying to get to know the folks in my district, much less folks in the whole conference. These things take time.
My congregations are in many ways similar - roughly the same sanctuary architecture, almost identical congregation sizes, same difficulty in paying apportionments, same struggle reach young people, same issues of slow decline, wondering what has happened, thinking about days gone by when the Sunday School was packed with kids and you always had enough people to help with events.
But they're also very different. Bergen County is more affluent, more educated, more traveled, more urban-focused than Oneida. People work, from what I can tell, a crazy number of hours each week, added to commute times that are generally significantly higher than in CNY. One of my colleagues who works in congregational development looked at the demographics of the area for me, and his figures and comments confirmed it - people here are most likely to look for how a church fits into their schedule than anything else. Offering options, offering different times, shorter times, more time options - these are all important to a congregation in this area. This summer, we introduced an early morning communion service - and though it is still a small service, it is casual, and shorter, and I think we're meeting a real need with it. One of our focus areas this fall in that service will be rest and Sabbath. My goal will be to talk about rest and Sabbath without making people feel guilty that they don't take enough Sabbath!
I'm also different here too. The difference goes beyond even a first-appointment, second-appointment difference. I find myself, in many ways, back at square one when it comes to discerning God's call on my life. Obviously, I still feel called to the ministry of ordained elder! But for so many years, including most of my time in Oneida, going through the candidacy process and seeking ordination was the way I was answering God's call. Now, I'm ordained, and that part of answering my call is thankfully completed. But now what? I believe God is always calling us - and I'm struggling to discern God's purpose now, and how I respond to that. I'm struggling to balance what I want to do with what I think God might want me to do. What does ministry look like for me in the next 5 years, 10 years, 1 or 2 years? I feel like these are open-ended questions right now. I'm used to having a plan and answers, and I don't have many right now, and it is a position I'm not comfortable in. So, I'm discerning.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to more first with this congregation, like teaching my first class (here) of confirmands this fall. I'm enjoying the recent wave of baptisms - six this summer, I think. I'm excited to be working on the Lay Leadership Nominations Process and actually know who people are this year, and feeling like our team is really matching people and ministries in some creative ways. I'm excited about our fall worship focus, using themes from Bishop Schnase's
Five Practices. I'm anxious to try and move forward together, try some new things together, and see where we end up.
donald miller giving a talk to folks at willow creek on arts, the artist, and spirituality. Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io
we are in the midst of chaos of our physical environment at hfumc. we are building and it is great, we've been discerning it, planning it, talking it, raising funds for it, and waiting on the church for three years....
if you are in or close enough for a trip to nashville on october 18th, i'd suggest making it to barcamp nashville. erin & i made the first of the 'un-conferences' it was great fun and we talked it up...
After almost 4 1/2 years of the same design on my blog, I decided to try a new template. I still have to replace some of my widgets, probably tomorrow. But for now, let me know what you think of the new look! (I totally am not into designing my own template, so check the link at the bottom for a link to the designer, who has several templates.)
this is my home for the next few days. the in-law fam and i will be houseboating it for the weekend. i think after last year the rest of the family is comfortable enough that i won't be the solo...
Here’s a post using the editor for Flock (thebrowser for Social Networking)
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Readers of the Ivy Bush will know that one of the organizations I link to is Feminists for Life. (see sidebar under 'alternatives to abortion'). I was interested to see that Sarah Palin, the Republican nominee for Vice President, is a member of the organization, as have been some of my favorite authors and theologians, such as Frederica Matthewes-Green and Amy Laura Hall.*
In its website and in its in-house publication, Feminists for Life describes itself as being opposed to all forms of violence, including the death penalty. I don't know if they have said anything about war, but to know that the VP nominee belongs to an organization that opposes the death penalty is a good thing.
*Frederica Matthewes-Green is no longer a member of Feminists for Life. Amy Laura Hall was a classmate of mine in college at Emory. She has an interesting story to tell about her theological development, which I have watched with interest over the years. : )
interesting set of events happening down in atlanta with adam hamilton facilitating, participating, and blogging a meeting of pastors from some of the largest united methodist churches in the united states. it has given john some point to reflect on....
we are not necessarily a house divided, but an sec house none the less. there isn't any love hate between south carolina and bama, so we get along famously in our house. one thing though, we are passionate about our...
More than 8,000 churches in the U.S. use the rotation Sunday school model for children's classes. They've found that using different experiences each week helps kids better absorb Bible stories. A feature by staff writer
Bill Fentum.
In
A Christianity Worth Believing, Doug Pagitt shares his own faith narrative and how it has been shaped by his questioning nature. He spoke with staff writer
Amy Forbus about the book.
so i leave this to your interpretation. but if you want a more expanded, and probably excessive, action figure jesus exegesis then hear what dixon has to say (i especially like the jesus has nipples vid).