Friday, June 29, 2007

A Few Days Ago...

A few days ago, I prepared a blog with comments from our Bishop Sally Dyck, concerning the two Conference imperatives: (1) to reach new people, and (2) to cultivate spiritual vitality. I wrote it, but then did not export it to you.
Today, you get to read it. Just look down a couple of entries on the blog site.

I will be out of town for a couple of days. Blog resumes, for better or worse, after Independence Day. Enjoy your holidays! --Clay

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Men Without Their Wives at the Movies

The Northfield United Methodist Church men's movie-watching team was on the field again last night. The rules are simple but definite; I had to learn them many years ago, and now I pass them on to recruits.

1. The team or any willing member initiates a move to go see the movie; the movie must ordinarily be a Grade B or worse, but popular and explosive (i.e. loud noises, crashes, bright colors, etc.) movie. For example, last night we saw "Live Hard, Die Free", or was it "Live Large, Die It can be violent or funny, but it cannot be very romantic (this causes loss of interest) or sexy (this embarrasses us because we are a church group, after all, and the pastor is here).

2. You must go to a late showing on a week-night, after the kids are in bed, and with your wife's permission.

3. You buy a ticket, a popcorn and a pop. No foo-foo candy bars.

4. You must sit every other seat, or in different rows, at the theatre. It is not acceptable to sit in the chair adjacent to another guy in the group, unless the theatre is packed, which rarely happens at the movies we go to see.

5. You can talk before the movie, and horse around, and talk about the meaning of life or the meaning of the movie you are about to see before it starts. NO real conversation after the previews!

6. During the movie, you are not supposed to talk a lot, except to make fun of dialogue, plot holes, etc. It is also poor form to laugh at really loud, culminating, explosive moments in the movie (more on that later).

7. After the movie, you go stand in the lobby or parking lot for a couple minutes, saying stuff like, "That was pretty good." Or, "I don't know what that was all about." It is against the rules to discuss the movie much or to find meaning in it.

8. Drive home. Wake up your wife because you forgot to set your pajamas out when you left home earlier. Apologize. Go to sleep.

John Daniels and I had, as I said, to train four new guys for the "men without their wives movie night team", which is sponsored on an irregular basis by the Northfield United Methodist Church. Most of the four did okay, but they made a few mistakes. Our Administrative Council Chair, Tim Goodwin, suggested I should rate their performance here on a four-star scale. In the interests of privacy, I will only use initials. They know who they are. One was a "guest" from another church; I am sorry I invited the outsider. He did far worse than our own kind.

BA **** Went quietly to an appropriate seat with large popcorn and pop.
Laughed at the right times. Did not think much.

TG ***1/2 As above, except seemed to be puzzled by the way we do things.
May have been analyzing things, or wishing he was home with the
wife and kids.

TH **** As above. Threw part of his water bottle on me when I casually
put my left foot near his left ear, and my right foot near his
right ear from the seat behind him. This is appropriate team
behavior for men without wives at the movies.

JS *1/2 Lots of mistakes, some of them intentional. Sat next to me.
Ate some of my popcorn before I sent him to the lobby to
buy his own danged popcorn. Worst of all, laughed
uproariously at every shoot-out, martial arts scene, or
incredible chase-and-explosion scene. I think I also caught him
wondering about the meaning of it all once or twice.

If you wish to join the team, and are willing to go through an extended period of rigorous movie-watching training, please contact Pastor Clay Oglesbee, Northfield United Methodist Church at clay_oglesbee@msn.com

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Bishop Sally Dyck: Two Imperatives > Social Transformation

At the Minnesota Annual Conference this year, two gospel-based imperatives were adopted; they are intended to guide and shape the ministries of every congregation. The first is, "Reach new people." The second is, "Cultivate spiritual vitality." I sent a query to our Conference bishop, Sally Dyck, this week, asking whether a third imperative would follow, possibly something on social transformation, and her thoughtful response follows here.

"In terms of another imperative in relation to change/transformation, I'd be interested in what you have in mind, but I see (the first two imperatives--reaching new people, and cultivating spiritual vitality) as means to change; (the two imperatives) are like eating 5-7 fresh fruits and vegetables. Health is not (the) 5-7 fruits and vegetables; health is the result of eating them. Change(is the result of pursuing) these imperatives....

"Actually I've spent a lot of time in the last few days thinking about next year's annual conference in terms of change/transformation. I'm pretty excited about possibilities of speakers, themes, worship, etc.!!! I hope we have some celebrations in terms of how cultivating spiritual vitality and reaching new people will help us witness to transformation in our lives, in our churches, in our communities and in our world!"

So, each one of us has this opportunity and adventure before us: how can our personal and active spiritual life (prayer, Bible study,worship, and so on), as well as our reaching out to new people and new relationships also lead to transformed, just, warm-hearted churches, communities and nations? How can we be a people of Jesus' Spirit for the redemption of the world?

Bishop Sally Dyck is asking anyone who cares to do so to join this conversation on her blog which you can find at the Minnesota Annual Conference's website.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

24/7 or 25/10

People these days often talk about being open or busy "24/7". In other words, they are fully engaged or on-call 24-hours a day, seven days a week. It's a sign of the times. However accurate that is, it's probably not a very healthy or sustainable way to live, even if it's just an attitude about availability for work, rather than actual performance.

Benedictine Christian spirituality asks us to exert ourselves, not with workaholic obsessiveness, but with a virtue they call "stability". It is defined as a long faithfulness in a particular direction. It is the willingness to stay with a course of action, a calling, a cause or a community for the long haul. Not to be getting blown off toward new ventures every time the wind shifts, or someone disappoints us, or whenever we are restless, or when we think the career grass is greener elsewhere.

This June, Pastor Mary Keen and I both celebrate twenty-five years in pastoral service with the Minnesota Annual Conference with what we hope has been twenty-five years of pastoral fidelity. At the same time, I am also marking completion of my tenth year with the Northfield congregation. Friends in the church have kindly noticed this, and offered their thanks and encouragements for the future.

What I want to say about this is, simply that I am glad to have served not 24/7, but 25/10, not with creepy perfectionism, but with real-life commitment. I am happy to continue to minister with each of you, and with others from other churches.

God has been kind to give me all of you as companions in the Spirit. Such friendships, encouragements and enthusiasms always deeply affect the work and the heart of any pastor. With them, pastors will joyously strive for the impossible. Without them, we will ordinarily only limp and ache, as anyone else would.

God has also blessed me with Mary Lynn, my wife, who has been my enduring, extraordinary, bright and loving side-kick throughout our years of ministry. She has kept her own life and person, and yet she has been my wise advisor and sounding-board. Much of what I have done well, I owe to her counsels in our kitchen conversations at home.

Much as I hate to admit it, God has also blessed me by means of failures and sorrows, taught to me by people who at one time or another, found me really annoying, disappointing, or unworthy of their trust--how difficult it is to be seen in that way by anyone, and how hard to listen when someone tells you those truths! Humility is the most difficult lesson to learn.

Anyway, let us be a "stable" people faithfully serving God and neighbor, not doing this under compulsion, as Paul says, but because we are loved and able to love.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Lakeville

A Thoreau journal entry from June 1856: To Middleborough ponds in the new town of Lakeville (some three years old). What a miserable name! It should have been Assawampsett or, perchance, Sanacus, if that was the name of the Christian Indian killed on the pond.

We have a "Lakeville" nearby our town, as Thoreau did near his. He is right. What is the point of giving miserly names to our communities and home towns? What is there about the name "Lakeville" that stirs soul or imagination? What ancient stories does it provoke us to tell? What dreams does it spur? Better by far to call it something like "Chub Creek", at least, the name of a nearby lake and creek where we can still at least remember that settler-farmers once caught chub, a free-biting little fish that will take almost any bait--and which even inexperienced fishers can catch. What did anyone ever catch in Lakeville, but a multiplex movie, or a commuter-ride?

Friday, June 22, 2007

Answering the Calls

Well, the black, bedside phone rang this morning while I was in the bedroom. I did not have my "readers" on, so when I picked it up, I couldn't tell which button to press to answer the call. The buttons are tiny, and the print is minute. By the time I pressed a button at random, my caller had already hung up. Later, my wife e-mailed me, "I've tried to call you in three places today! Where are you?"

Is there a lesson here? If I'd had my glasses, I'd have answered. If I'd built the phone, I'd have known how to answer. If I'd memorized the right button, I'd have answered on time. Since I completed none of these preparations, I could not respond to the calls.

Maybe spiritual calls have some similarities. God is generous with the calls; God phones us again and again, and often leaves messages on voice-mail: "I'm trying to reach you over and over again! Where are you?" However, the call needs a response if anything is going to happen. We need to be ready to respond to the call. Jesus says, "Watch and pray...You don't know the day or the hour" (Matthew 26:41ff). The call could, and does, come at any time.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Feeling the Heat of the Divine Presence

from Thoreau's Journals, June of 1853
The warmest day yet. For the least two days I have worn nothing about my neck. This change or putting off of clothes is, methinks, as good an evidence of the increasing warmth of the weather as meteorological instruments. I thought it was hot weather perchance, when, a month ago, I slept with a window wide open and laid aside a comfortable, but by and by I found that I had got two windows open, and to-night two windows and the door are far from enough.

Our bodies know a great deal more than our instruments and conscious analysis.
We "feel the heat" and recognize what is invigorating and what seems debilitating.
We know "in our guts" whether something seems true, or someone seems honest. We trust our senses on things that are not entirely knowable or entirely visible.
John Wesley and others have theorized that human beings are endowed with what one might call spiritual sensitivities that also exceed our normal awareness. Physiologically difficult to identify, we nevertheless seem to be able to sense after the Presence of what is Holy, or what is not.

There are times in my dreams when I "know" I am in the presence of the Divine, though even in the dream I can see or hear little of it. There are times in life when we abruptly realize we are walking on sacred ground, though we could not explain exactly why a space and time are anything other than ordinary. We simply seek God, going by "feel".

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

"Condemn No One's Conscience..."

I remember very well how during the Viet Nam War, Pastor Robert Bailey at Brooklyn United Methodist Church,a WWII veteran himself, spoke passionately on behalf of Christian conscience--for and against the war in Viet Nam. At the time, I was disappointed in him. In a large church, divided on that and other social issues of the time, his approach was to propose that each person must be responsible for following their own conscience without expecting others to agree--and without personally "excommunicating" other persons when or if they disagreed with you. His counsel was simply to honor, and not to disrespect, another's informed and faithful convictions or actions of conscience. At the time, I thought his stance was a form of cowardice; now, I am not sure. Consider the case and the words of Cardinal John Fisher, particularly his remarks at the end of the article below.

This week the Catholic saints in the Benedictine calendar include St John Fisher (1469 - 1535). The Catholic Encyclopedia reports, "He was born in Beverley, in Yorkshire, in 1469. He studied theology at the University of Cambridge, and had a successful career there, finally becoming chancellor of the University and bishop of Rochester: unusually for the time, he paid a great deal of attention to the welfare of his diocese.

He wrote much against the errors and corruption into which the Church had fallen, and was a friend and supporter of great humanists such as Erasmus of Rotterdam; but he was greatly opposed to Lutheranism, both in its doctrine and in its ideas of reform.

He supported the validity of King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and for this he was briefly imprisoned. When the King had divorced Catherine, married Anne Boleyn, and constituted himself the supreme Head of the Church in England, John Fisher refused to assent. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London on a charge of treason, and on 22 June 1535, a month after having been made a Cardinal by the Pope, he was executed. He was so ill and weak that he had to be carried in a chair to the place of execution.

He was the only bishop to oppose Henry VIII’s (marriages), on the grounds that they were a repudiation of papal authority, but even so he avoided direct confrontation with the other bishops, not holding himself up as a hero or boasting of his coming martyrdom: I condemn no other man’s conscience: their conscience may save them, and mine must save me. We should remember, in all the controversies in which we engage, to treat our opponents as if they were acting in good faith, even if they seem to us to be acting out of spite or self-interest."

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Stained Glass and Lighting

Sanctuary Stained Glass (North Windows) and Lighting

Action: This evening (June 19, 2007), the Administrative Council acted to approve acceptance of a gift from one of our church households to fund purchase and installation of stained glass windows in the 12 long windows on the north side of the sanctuary. The Council also approved expeditures to increase electric lighting in the organ, choir and platform areas. Your questions or comments are welcomed; please call Pastor Clay at 507-645-5689. The design is also available for examination in the pastor's office.

Rationale:
• The original aesthetic vision and architectural design by Ed Sovik would be completed. His drawings called for stained glass windows throughout the sanctuary, which the church could not then afford (1964). Special gifts have made this possible on the South side (Wegner gift) and on the West side. The remaining need is on the North side, and an anonymous church household has offered to make a gift of the stained glass purchase and installation.

• Shadowed, poorly-illuminated areas around the organ, choir and platform would be eliminated. Lighting from new track-lighting fixtures would be increased from 8 foot-candles to about 28 foot-candles, significantly improving the functional and aesthetic appearance of the sanctuary.

Design: The David Kjerland Studios have created a flowing, lightly colored and clear stained glass window design, which connects all twelve windows together in an aesthetically pleasing, abstract Creation theme, while preserving roughly half clear window panels to allow a clear, undistorted view of nature and weather outside the window.

Costs:
$55,000 Stained glass windows and installation (David Kjerland Studios)
$10,000 Sanctuary Lighting Improvements (Tony Guth Electric)
$65,000 Total Cost (est.)

Resources
$60,000 Memorial Gift from one church family
$ 5,000 Contributions from congregation, memorials, etc.



FAQ

Has this been thoroughly discussed in the church?
Yes, the Gifts and Investments Committee first considered this and recommended it to the Council. The Visuals Team was consulted and recommended it to the Council. Many on the church staff and a number of church members were privately consulted. A "town hall" gathering of any interested members (about 60 came) met a few weeks ago to discuss this and generally favored the plans for the windows. Finally, the Administrative Council has reviewed the proposed action in detail at two different meetings.

Will we still be able to see the natural beauty outside?
Yes, the design uses about 50% clear panels; other panels will be lightly colored.

When will it be completed?
It should be completed by the end of 2007.

How long will the windows last and what are the maintenance costs?
They should last a century or longer, and maintenance is minimal when properly installed.

Will the stained glass help with heat conservation?
Yes, marginally.

How much natural light will be lost if we put in stained glass?
We estimate 20% may be lost. However, the quality of the light entering will diffuse better throughout the sanctuary without the bright glare factor of the windows as they currently are. In addition, the plan calls for added electric lighting which will end some lighting issues near the organ, choir and platform which have been problematic for many years.

Who are the donors?
The family will remain anonymous for the time being. They ask that a memorial plaque be placed near the windows in honor of family members when the stained glass windows are installed and dedicated.



Correction re: June 20

Regarding the All-Church Meal (6:00 p.m.) and Charles Wesley Singers' Performance (7:00 p.m.) on June 20:church members are asked to bring salads, side-dishes or chips, not desserts. Sandwiches, beverages and desserts will be provided.
Please come and enjoy a pleasant summer evening together with your church family and our guests!

Monday, June 18, 2007

Eating and Singing on June 20th

Keep us little and unknown, prized and loved by God alone.
– Charles Wesley

A last invitation and reminder to join us on Wednesday, June 20, for an all-church meal (6:00 p.m.) with the 90-person visiting Charles Wesley Singers from Damascus, Maryland, and then to hear them perform with the Saint Cecilia Orchestra. The performance begins at 7:00 p.m. We ask that each household bring a salad or side-dish to share. The performance is free and open to the public. This event is meant to honor the memory of prolific hymn-writer and Christian leader, Charles Wesley, whose 300th birthday occurs this year, 2007.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Shoe-Laces and the Spiritual Walk

Part of any "journey of faith" will routinely require pausing once in a while to re-tie your shoelaces, so to speak. We plan to do that soon.

We're looking at options for our worship and ministries in the fall.
In order to develop those ideas creatively, without undue pressure on anyone to come up with the perfect choices, we plan to have a fairly free-flowing "town-hall" meeting after worship on Sunday, June 24. We will be discussing the Conference's two imperatives for every church: (1) to reach new people, and (2) to build spiritual vitality. This involves thinking and praying about how we invite others, how we worship, how we build up the spiritual life here, and how we serve our neighbors. We hope you will linger for a bit to talk these things over. We will meet in the Reception Room.

Bring your walking shoes!

Saturday, June 9, 2007

"This Is My Body Which Is Given for You..."

Friends, the life-transforming story below is from Al Neuharth of USA Today. It concerns the recent kidney transplant at Mayo-Methodist in Rochester for our friend, Bruce King. It calls for prayers of joy, and also for self-examination. When have we heard of our neighbors' needs and made acommitment as deep as James Abbott's? Jesus said, "This is my body which is given for you..."



Plain Talk by Al Neuharth, USA TODAY founder

ROCHESTER, Minn. รข€” Kidneys are the most sought-after human organ transplant. Wait lists are long. Currently, about 72,000 people across the USA are hoping for help, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Last year, there were only 18,341 kidney transplants.

This week, at the renowned Mayo Clinic here, a kidney transplant took place between these two remarkable but remarkably different people:

* The donor is University of South Dakota (USD) President James Abbott, 58. He was born of modest, white, prairie parents in little Irene, S.D., population 410.

* The recipient is USD's chief diversity officer, Bruce King, 44. He was born a poor black kid on the south side of Chicago, population 2.8 million.

When King was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure in 2005, Abbott found out that both had type O-positive blood and volunteered to help. He was tested here for a possible match but was told he had to lose weight and bring his blood pressure down before he could be considered.

Abbott went to work on his own health, while King was waiting and hoping without any other donor prospects. King said that when he shared with his Chicago friends that a "white guy from South Dakota was trying to save my life, it blew them away."

As a USD alum, I've known and admired both Abbott and King. Thoughts after visiting here Wednesday, two days after the transplant:

Abbott has been president of USD since 1997. His stated goal is to make that the best small public university (enrollment 8,496) in the country. But he also may make it the university known to have the most thoughtful and generous president. Donating part of your body is the ultimate gift.

Friday, June 8, 2007

A 55 Miles-Per-Hour Life

I tried an experiment on my drive to-and-from Annual Conference in Saint Cloud this year. Rather than drive at my usual "five-miles-above-the-speed-limit-so-I-won't-be-ticketed", I decided to drive at 55 miles-per-hour. The Environmental Defense Fund, and other organizations, have long pointed out that you can "improve your gas mileage 15 to 20 percent by driving 55 miles per hour (mph) rather than 65 mph."

So I guess I saved money on gas, and presumably saved the world a bit on emissions. I noticed something else, too. My world is a lot quieter and calmer a place when I am traveling at 55 MPH. I wasn't rushing. I wasn't racing. I wasn't raging. I wasn't trying to beat a deadline. I wasn't constantly adjusting my driving and speed to adapt to the other vehicles around me. I just drove my own journey. I was content to be the tortoise in a freeway drag-race of hares.

When you decide to be slower than everyone else, there is more time to listen to Jesus, more time to reflect, more time to respond to what is happening around you.Now, if I could slow down more often to a biking pace--let's say 12 miles-per-hour, or a walking pace--let's say three miles-per-hour, or to a mulling pace--let's say about zero-miles-per-hour, perhaps my life would be all the better for its unusual slowness. I would be more fit, happier, healthier, and I would know the Lord, my neighbors, and the living earth better. Perhaps people would say of me, "There goes the slowest guy in town!" They would say with envy and admiration: "Amazing!How does he do it?"

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Happy Birthday, Dear Charles Wesley

Two weeks from now, on Wednesday, June 20th,at 7:00 p.m., our church will host the "Charles Wesley Singers", a long-standing and excellent choir of over 80 high school singers and instrumetalists, who are traveling from Damascus United Methodist Church (Damascus, Maryland) to perform a concert celebrating this year of Charles Wesley's 300th birthday. He was actually born on December 18, 1707.

Charles Wesley, brother to John, aided the early Methodist movement--and Christian worship and renewal in general ever since-- by writing over 5,500 hymns, many of them still widely sung today. He is especially remembered, for example, for "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". Charles Wesley was elected in 1995 to the Gospel Hall of Fame for his songs and hymns. I do not know what he said when he received the award.

Please plan to join us for this unusual event. Invite family, friends and neighbors for a pleasant hour of Wesleyan hymns.