Love Came Down at Christmas

Jess: Wes and I have been working in two different churches for 15 weeks now. I know this because that's how many weeks of field education I have to complete each semester. It has definitely been an interesting time for us. We knew that we were going to have to do something like this during our tenure at seminary, but we were hoping to minimize the time we spent working separately. Instead, we seem to have maximized it. Oh well, life goes on. I work for 15 weeks each semester, so I'll have Christmas/New Year's and the summer off from field ed this year and next. We should be in the same church all of my senior year, and then we'll be apart again during my internship and Wes' residence in ministry.

So although we weren't anticipating or looking forward to spending all of this semester in separate churches, it has been a really interesting experience. I have loved every minute of my time at St. Mark. As you might know, I don't have to work too hard there. I'm only there 8-10 hours a week, and Sunday morning worship alone takes about 5 hours of that time. I have loved being back in a Lutheran church, and Pastor Linda has been a great mentor. I'm getting to work on some aspects of ministry in which I don't have much experience, like teaching the middle and high school students, doing visitation, and going to council meetings. I have a ton of experience in the different aspects of worship, I got to preach, and I'm getting better at meeting people and learning their names. The whole semester has been a wonderful, fruitful experience.

On the other side of things, however, I have missed out on a lot at Wes' churches. I haven't been to a service there since September. I'm going to be back for Christmas and New Year's, and then I'll be gone again through May. It's difficult to spend so much time away from the churches and people I've spent the last year and a half getting to know. I really like them and I definitely feel the void left by having to leave the churches for so long. On the other hand, it was too weird for me to be at St. Mark all semester and NOT be there for Christmas Eve, so Wes and I are going to attend their earliest service. I might not see everyone I normally see on Sundays, but at least I'll be with that community on one of the church's most important holidays.

In addition to the strange feeling of being torn between to churches, I am saddened by the fact that Wes and I are not worshiping together on Sunday mornings. There isn't a lot that goes on outside of Sunday morning worship at Wes' churches, so I have only seen his parishoners a couple of times since September. My class schedule interfered with Bible study at St. Mark this semester, so we couldn't go there together, either, and Wes doesn't know many people from the church. It's a weird place to be for both of us, and I'm sure it's not going to get a whole lot easier. Next year, I'll most likely be in a different church, so Wes will have to try to get to know another group of parishoners without attending Sunday morning services with them. It's an interesting dynamic, to be sure.

There is definitely good and bad involved in this situation. We have a great base of wonderful people who want to help us grow in our faith and leadership abilities. They want to know about our lives, give us advice, and watch us develop. Yet we do most of this separately, where we can't see as much of the other person learning and growing through ministry. I'm definitely learning a lot, but I'm also looking forward to the day when we can be in the same worshiping community again.

Wes: So I'm a big fan of Christmas. I like gifts--first I liked getting gifts, now I like giving and getting gifts. :)

And I love the Christmas season. It is the most wonderful time of the year, and I love how it really does make people treat others differently. People smile more, and even up here where the culture is one that everyone is supposed to act aloof toward each other, people actually make eye contact, smile, and nod in your direction. It's crazy. Also, the music is spectacular. There is nothing better than Christmas music. My favorite to listen to this season has been Bruce Springsteen's "Merry Christmas Baby." I've been having fun singing along with the jazz licks and pretending I know all of the words.

But I've also noticed something about myself this year. I've been looking under the Christmas tree a lot more than usual--and even more than that since Jess' mom and step-father got here--and I've realized that there are way too many gifts down there. I mean, I love getting fun stuff, but especially in a house without any kids, we sure have spent a lot of time and money on a lot of things that none of us need. I think that I could see us re-working how we do Christmas in the coming years and trying to do more with less as well as give more to others.

I don't know. I want to figure out a way to celebrate correctly while at the same time honestly evaluating how we are spending our money and using our time to determine if it truly is blessing God's Kingdom and honestly celebrating the birth of Christ. One of my pastor friends has a really cool tradition where they only give three presents to their kids each Christmas, and each of the gifts represents a different gift from the wise men: a spiritual gift for frankincense, a practical gift for myrrh, and a fun gift for gold. I think this would be kinda cool. Maybe for the adults, we make it so that throughout the year, we each get three gifts--a romantic gift on our anniversary, a fun gift for birthdays, and a practical or spiritual gift for Christmas. That might work.

What do you think? What are some of your Christmas traditions? Do you get a lot of presents, or just a couple? Are we celebrating Christmas in a way that honors God?

Let me know your answers. I'm excited and interested in hearing from each of you.

You stay Christmassy, World Wide Web!


-jess and wes

Advent

Jess: In keeping with the holiday theme, we're going to talk about the wonderful season of Advent this week. For those of you who don't know, Advent is the first season in the church year. It's the four weeks leading up to Christmas, when we prepare for Christ's coming, not just as the baby Jesus but also his future return. 

I'm a big fan of Advent. I love blue, so the colors in the sanctuary always make me happy. I love the songs we get to sing (particularly O Come, O Come Emmanuel). I enjoy lighting the Advent wreath. Yet Advent, despite all its glorious awesomeness, is a pretty tricky season. Advent is decidedly NOT Christmas. Each year, pastors of churches around the globe try to remind themselves and their churches that Advent is not Christmas. That's why our hymnals have both Advent and Christmas songs. That's why we have blue, not white. 
 
Yet the rest of the U.S. has been talking about Christmas since before Thanksgiving. How do we avoid falling into the Advent-as-Christmas trap? I'll admit that I start listening to my Christmas music on the first Sunday in Advent. That's my cue that it's okay. Sure, I could feel superior to other people *cough* Wes *cough* who had been listening to Christmas music for weeks already. But in a way, I'm doing the same thing. I'm ignoring Advent and skipping right to Christmas. Yes, some of the music on my iPod that's labeled "Christmas" is really for Advent, but that doesn't change it. How am I preparing for Christ's coming? What am I doing?
 
I preached a couple of weeks ago, and the main message of my sermon was that Advent isn't just about the decorations, the present buying, or the cookie baking. It isn't even about reflecting on Jesus' coming into the world so many years ago as a baby. We're also supposed to be preparing for his return. In this way, Advent is very much like the rest of our church seasons: we are simultaneously celebrating something that happened long ago AND celebrating/preparing for something that is happening or will happen. Lent is about remembering Jesus' death and reflecting on our part in that death. Easter is about celebrating Christ's resurrection and anticipating the day when death will be no more. Pentecost commemorates the Spirit's coming upon the disciples and its continued presence today. So Advent makes sense alongside these other seasons. Jesus came into the world as a tiny, helpless baby. But he's also going to return triumphantly. And that's a lot to celebrate.


Wes: I love Christmas songs. If I were allowed to, I would sing Christmas songs all year 'round. But my wife is sometimes mean and won't let me do fun things. I forgive her, though. I mean, it is in the Christmas spirit to forgive, right?


This Advent, I've tried to focus all of my sermons on the prepare idea. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus, but we are also preparing ourselves and the world for Christ's return. This is not always a nice lesson to hear, for as the rest of the world is singing about how it's the most wonderful time of the year, the church is recognizing that our world has not been wonderful for a long, long time and that we as the Body of Christ have our work cut out for us if we really are to join in on the task of seeing "Thy Kingdom come." 


I heard a really cool sermon on Advent by one of my fellow seminarians. She gave a brief history of Advent in it. I had no idea that Advent began as a "second Lent." People would give things up for Advent just like they would for Lent. They would fast. They would spend extra time in prayer. All in preparation and expectation for the coming of Christ. For us, it seems like it is completely the opposite, now. We pile things on, go off of our diets for that one extra Christmas cookie, cut back on tithing so we have enough for all the presents we need to buy... 


I think we've missed the point somewhere along the lines. 


Now, I don't think that Advent always has to be doom and gloom and darkness, but I do think that it should be a time of reflection, of intentionally working to right our hearts for the coming of Christ, so that we--and the world--are ready for when He does come back. 


I say this knowing full well that I am a culprit of culture as well. In the words of Relient K, "I'm part of the problem, I confess, but I gotta get this off my chest." And now that I've said it, I'm done. Soap box away. 


On a different note, it needs to snow up here. I moved up North for a winter wonderland (that seminary thing was a by-product), and we might as well be in Texas. Well... except for the fact that I'm not in flip-flops... But still! 


See you next time! You stay classy, World Wide Web!




-jess and wes

Thanksgiving

Jess: As some of you may know, last weekend was Thanksgiving. My mom and stepdad, Chris, came to spend the holiday week with us, and we had a wonderful time together. Most importantly, they helped us put our baseboards in. We could have lived without the company (just kidding, Mom!). But seriously, we really, really appreciated their help with that, and I think we’re done with home improvement for awhile. And our house looks soooo much better than when we moved in. I hope whoever is the pastor after it’s our time to leave likes color, wood floor, patios, fires, and a beautifully tiled floor!

The rest of Thanksgiving week was spent mostly just hanging out. Last year, we had Wes’ brother and sister, as well as our friends Tim and Brittany, over for Thanksgiving. Somewhere in there, Kevin came to visit us and Heather stopped by for the night. I think both of us really enjoyed having a large group at the house (for a short time), but that just wasn’t in the cards this year. I think it was wonderful in the whole mess of life right now to have a low-key hosting situation. I only had to cook for four people, I only had one guest room to prepare, and we got to spend a lot of time playing Wii.

I’m well enough off as far as school goes that I was able to just take the week off and hang out. I didn’t have to work at all for the Vesseys, and they even gave me Monday off, too. What a wonderful time to just relax. I spent most of fall break working on the house, my homework, and field education stuff. I had completely forgotten what it’s like to just spend time doing what I want to do. What a wonderful blessing for me to receive this week.

I think my favorite part of when Mom comes is having someone who can keep up with about 10 conversations at once with me. Don’t get me wrong, Wes and I can carry on quite a few conversations at once, too. But there’s just nothing like getting together and talking with Mom. We drove Chris completely crazy—he had to just tune us out. It’s like we haven’t talked in years, even though we talk at least once a week for at least an hour. That’s real mother-daughter bonding right there. Gilmore Girls style.

Perhaps most importantly, I got Chris addicted to Mario Kart Wii. He’s pretty good—I actually had to try to beat him. I’m excited to have us all get back together at Christmas, especially since Josiah will be here. Which reminds me, what the heck? Thanksgiving and Christmas are super close together. We’re going to see Mom and Chris again in just 3 weeks, and Josiah flies in next Saturday! I’m super excited, but it’s weird not to have anyone visit from the end of August to the end of November, and now we’re having visitors 5 out of 8 weeks. I love visitors!!!

Wes and I also got some much-needed time together this week. We do our best to hang out whenever we can, and we have great times together, but the time constraints between two school schedules, two work schedules, and working at two different churches is very limiting. Not having school and work for awhile was wonderful. I’m looking forward to our Christmas break and anniversary celebration. It’s nice to have time where we’re not talking about the next day, working out our schedules, etc. It’s nice to just…be.

Wes: So, my Thanksgiving was good, but my Thanksgiving break was not the most fun I've ever had. On Tuesday of break, I got a call from my mom telling me that my Aunt Florene had passed away. About six weeks ago, she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Now, I'm just knowledgeable enough about this kind of stuff to get myself in trouble. I don't know near as much as I should for someone who has lost a loved one to it. What I do know from what other people have told me, though, is that it is a quick killer, and that unless by sheer luck they manage to catch it early, there's not much that can be done to cure or combat it. 

So in about six weeks' time, Aunt Florene went from being seemingly healthy to breathing her last. It really, really sucks. 

So it's been pretty hard on me, not being able to be there for her and for the family. I went to Texas a month or so ago for the Young Adult Ministries Summit, and was hoping that I would be able to see her while I was there. Unfortunately, she was not doing too well the only day that I had free, and I was unable to see her. 

I had to give the sermon at the Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday, and I almost broke down crying during it because I was talking about how even in the midst of heartache and loss we still have reasons to rejoice. I firmly believe this to be true, but man, it hurts sometimes. Like a lot. 

I've never felt more homesick while being up here in Jersey than I felt last week. I flew down Friday night for the funeral. I got in at midnight, got to the house at about 3 am, went to the funeral at 10 am, and was back at the airport by 3 pm. It was a whirlwind trip, and I wish I would have had more time to spend with my family. 

This Thanksgiving, I am extra thankful for my family that has supported me and loved me through everything I have done and strived to do. I am especially thankful for my Aunt Florene who was like another grandparent to me and always treated me with the utmost love and kindness. I miss her dearly and am waiting for the day that I will be reunited with her and all of the other saints who have gone before me. 

Sorry my part was a little depressing... Maybe next week's will be better. 

You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-wes and jess

Penn State Stuff

Jess: Andrew specifically requested that I elaborate my view on stewardship from my reflection blog for my field education. Next time, buddy. Today, I’m going to fulfill Allison’s request for us to do something topical.

I’m sure most of you have heard about the “Penn State Scandal” by now. If you haven’t, you can read a quick synopsis of it here:http://espn.go.com/ncf/topics/_/page/penn-state-scandal.

Moving beyond the obvious issue of sexual abuse of children, this is one of those stories that just makes me deeply sad. How can we keep letting things like this happen to children? What will happen to the children (now youth) who were abused? More importantly, why did it take ten years for someone to speak up about this atrocity?

The whole issue just makes me wonder what we’re teaching people in the US. Most likely, the children were ashamed and terrified of telling someone. They didn’t feel safe telling the truth—is there any way to make this better? Worse than that, there were adults who witnessed all of these events. Where did they learn that silence was the correct response? When did permitting helpless children be abused become okay? Why are our children not safe anymore?

Another problem with this whole thing has been the news coverage. Not only do those poor families have to revisit all of the pain and shame, but they have to do it publicly. What a horrifying experience. At the same time, the media has spent so much time talking about the “Penn State Community ,” the football team, the effects on sports nationwide, and everyone else who might be affected by the scandal. Everyone, that is, except the victims and their families. Why do we care so little about the people most affected by this scandal? Who cares about football when the children of our nation are being forced into terrible situations?

And how do we as Christians respond to this atrocity? And how do we prevent things like this happening in the future? Jesus calls us to care for the “least of these.” He clearly includes children in this classification. Yet it is so difficult for us to intervene in situations like this. How are we supposed to know? Obviously, if we see something happening that is so wrong, we should work to stop it. But we’re not always there in the moment that something happens. We can pray. We can hope. We can advocate for the rights of children, and for punishments for those who betray the trust between adults and children. And we can weep and mourn with those who have been so abused.

There’s no easy way to fix the problems of the world, which is something I have a hard time dealing with. I want to make everybody better, solve all the issues, and make the world a better place. Yet I can’t do that by myself, and I can’t do it with a snap of my fingers. All I can do is keep praying, loving, and striving. And together, maybe we can make a change.

Wes: So, ever since I started at these churches, I've realized just how little I pay attention to the goings on of the world around me. I have grown up in this oblivious little bubble, and I am completely happy in my ignorance most of the time. The problem with this is that the only things that are really able to break through and pop this bubble are the really horrible things that make me sad to be in a world where these things happen. Then, because I hear about these things, I go and spend a good number of hours over a few days searching through all of the horrors that occurred between the present and however long it has been since my previous bubble was popped. This saddens me even more, so I erect another bubble and leave the larger world to its own devices for a while... until my bubble is popped again. 

This isn't exactly the healthiest way to deal with things, and I've learned that especially now that I am a pastor situation, I really have to keep up on current events and goings on so that I can engage in discussion with my parishioners about all of it. 

The Penn State thing might be the last bubble popper. 

Like Jessica said, the whole thing just makes me sad. I don't like believing that people like me--regular people (or at least as regular as one can get)--could act like that and do those things. It's sad. And the thing that saddens me the most is honestly not that this child abuse happened. That is a horrible thing and I can't begin to truly speak on the depth of that. But what is even more horrible to me is that there were people that knew and didn't say anything to stop it. I know that Joe Paterno and so many others are said to be in this boat, and that saddens me deeply. 

It's like that scene from The Incredibles when Mr. Incredible sees a robbery happening during a meeting with his boss. His boss does brushes it off, as if it is nothing out of the ordinary and is too underneath his paygrade for him to care. 

But, as David Brooks of the New York Times writes, the sad truth is that this is the society in which we live right now. People will speak out against violence, abuse and injustice when they are distanced from it by either time or space, but when they encounter it personally, the average person is more likely to allow that injustice to happen than they are to stand up against it. 

To me, this is the systemic issue that must be dealt with immediately. We need to learn, especially those under the banner of Christ, that we are called to stand up against the evils of this world. For followers of Christ, this is part of the call and obligation of the faithful. When we pray during the Lord's Prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven", we are telling God that we are willing to partner with God to see this come to fruition. If we as a people would work to not allow such atrocities to go unnoticed and unvoiced, we would be that much closer to realizing justice for those who need it most and need it now. 

My prayer is that as we sit in the aftermath of the Penn State Scandal and atrocities like it, we will use these times as much as a chance to re-evaluate ourselves and our own reactions to evil as we would as a chance for anything else. 

Sorry this is a little bit of a downer. I promise to have a joke in my part of the blog next week. 

You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-wes and jess

Floors and Young Adult Ministry

Jess: First of all— Allison, we’re going to write about something topical soon, I promise. We’re just trying to figure out what that’s going to be.

Over the last month or so, Wes and I have been working hard to make some improvements to our house. This summer, we worked a lot on the outside—we built the patio and put in the fire pit, cleaned up the flower gardens, etc. Now that it’s getting colder, we’re doing more inside in our path to make this house nicer for ourselves and for future pastors at Crosswicks.

The biggest project was ripping up carpet and fixing up the hardwood floors in the dining room, family room, and hallway. As many of you, especially those who have had the joy of visiting us, know, our carpet was a mess. It was stained, there were still indentations in it from the furniture the previous pastor’s family had. There were also several places where the carpet was coming apart. The vacuum has been further destroying these portions of the carpet. When we got the cats, they decided those sections were toys. Not a great situation. We talked to the church board, and they basically said, “Do whatever you want,” and we took on a task neither of us had done before.

As soon as we had word that we could do the carpet, I started ripping it up one Saturday. Although ripping the carpet up didn’t take a lot of effort, getting all of the edging out did. For those of you who don’t know, there are pieces of wood with nails sticking straight up nailed into the floor around the wall to keep the carpet in place. It’s a pain in the butt to get up. The mat under the carpet is stapled into the floor, so that was fun, too. After ripping up the carpet, we discovered that only the outside edges of each room had been stained before—clearly they had laid down rugs and stained around them. Then we waited two weeks until we had another day free.

Friday, we bought the stain we liked, got wood putty, and asked about renting a sander. Then we went home and I spent a LONG time filling the holes in the floor with the putty. The floor obviously hasn’t been exposed for awhile, and it needed a lot of work. The next morning, we headed out to Home Depot (our second home) and picked up the sander, a bunch of pads for the sander, and another can of stain. Wes, the awesome guy that he is, sanded our floor three separate times before we headed back to the store with the sander. Then it was time to stain…and stain again…and polyurthene…and polyurthene again. But now the floor looks awesome. This weekend, we’ll be putting in room dividing pieces, and over Thanksgiving we’ll be doing baseboards.

The reason we haven’t done these pieces yet is because a couple of weekends ago, I tiled our kitchen floor. This involved ripping up the horrible linoleum, ripping up the boards under the linoleum, pulling up a layer of tiles, and pounding hundreds of nails into the floor. At this point, we had an ugly, concrete floor. While Wes was out gallivanting in Texas, I put down tile and grouted the floor. It is probably my favorite floor in the house because it makes such a huge difference. Our house is finally coming into the 21^st century, and we’re really loving the pride that comes with all this work. And I think we’re done with the big projects for awhile…

Wes: So a couple week's ago, I went gallivanting around in Texas. That's a fun word. Let's take a second to say it a couple times. Gallivanting... Gallivanting... Gallivanting...

Ok. That's enough. Let's move on.

So I was ga.... I was in Texas for the Young Adult Ministries Summit that the General Board of Ordained Ministry hosted in Austin, TX. About 60 or so young adults from UMC's around the nation (and one Presbyterian who was spying on us) met together to talk about the future of young adult ministries within the United Methodist Church and how we can do a better job of reaching this almost altogether unreached group. It is a sad fact that something like 80% of all church-going 18 year-olds stop going to church after they graduate from high school. They are free for sometimes the first time to make their own decisions, and for many, not waking up early on Sunday to go to church is an easy decision to make. This becomes habit, and the majority of them do not come back to church (if they ever do) until they are married and have kids of their own. 

Now, in the UMC, a young adult is defined as anyone between the ages of 18 and 35 (sometimes through 40). This is a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of different types of people comprise this category. There are the single college students, the professional college-aged students, the married without kids, the married with kids, single without kids, single with kids, age groups, etc... So for those who have to try to work with them and bring the Gospel to them, these different groups have to be taken into account. 

So we had a lot of ground to cover. I went in expecting it to be a resourcing and equipping type of conference, but it was much more relationally-driven than that. I had a wonderful time talking with people from around the US and hearing about what has and hasn't worked for them as their churches try to reach out to the young adults around them. We talked about churches that are getting it right, that are thinking outside the box and are truly succeeding in bringing in this age group. We also talked about churches that are not doing it right.

So I thought I would share some of the things that we talked about, so that all of the millions who read our blog would be added into the conversation as well. 

Things TO Do:

-Try different kind of music

-Try new times for worship

-Be open to new forms of communication (like blogging, facebook, and twitter)

-Make sure childcare is provided

-Be willing to go to the people (this might even mean places like bars)

-Do more than just services (take of the last "s" on that last word for a good place to start)

-(If you didn't get the hint up above, it was "service")

-Don't enforce a dress code, enforce comfortability and welcoming for all

Things NOT TO Do:

-Expect what you're already doing to work--if it did, they would be there already

It's pretty much that simple, really. I hope this was helpful. 

:)

You stay classy, World Wide Web.

-Jess and Wes

Are You Ready for Some Baseball?

Jess: It’s about time that I write about something fun. So let’s talk about baseball.

I love baseball. If I were only allowed to watch one sport for the rest of my life, it would absolutely be America’s pastime. Here’s why: baseball is awesome. There are clear cut, easy to follow rules, unlike some other sports (*cough* football). It’s not violent, it’s not people running back and forth across a small space, and the season is half of the freaking year!

I would love to buy season tickets and go to baseball three days of every week from March till October, but Wes said we have to be able to pay our car bill. Yeah, now we know the wet blanket in the family. There’s really nothing as fun as having some junk food, a giant soda, and some cotton candy while watching baseball.

So here we are in postseason and the Rangers have made it to the ALCS for the second year in a row. Last year, they did this thing where they sort of won, then really lost, then had to catch up to make it through the division and league series. This year, we basically blew through the Rays, even though they were on a huge high after beating out Boston for the Wild Card slot. Now, we’re up against Detroit, not (thank goodness) the Yankees for the second year in a row.

Nothing makes me happier than finally watching a team that wins. The Rangers were disappointing for almost as long as I can remember, and literally never went to the World Series until last year. There is something wonderful about watching your loser of a team make it to the biggest game in baseball, even if they did lose. Now that we’ve been there, though, there is a sense that we HAVE to make it back this year and win. I’m not sure if I agree, but I’m pretty excited about the direction we’re going.

“What the heck does baseball have to do with the Metheran life, Jessica?” Well, it depends on how you ask. Right now, Wes and I spend a ton of time talking about and watching baseball, so it’s kind of taking over our lives—mine more than his, but I appreciate his support.

But more than that, baseball is a nice reminder that life is not under my control. No matter how much I scream at the TV screen, cheer on FB, or talk up my team, ultimately, winning is up to their ability to work together as a team and beat their opponents. As a fan, I try to remember this, so that I don’t get depressed if my team loses, and I don’t rub it in anyone else’s face when they win. Life is the same. I can make my plans, I can scream and cheer and laugh and cry, but there are some things that are just out of my control. I have to remember that God is in control. God holds me and my life in God’s hands, and God will always be with me, even when the Rangers lose. Amen.

Wes: So, here's the deal. I'm a Houston Astros fan. That's been a hard thing to be since... Well, since I graduated from high school. And even then, being a 'stros supporter usually meant more heartache than joy. But I was always taught that you stuck with it. There's no reason to be a fan if you're just going to jump on another team's wagon during a dry spell. So, that's what I've done. I've watched the games, traveled down to see them live a few times, and dealt with the disappointment of the recent years. And I will continue to always be an Astros fan. Even after they retired or traded off the Killer Bees, I stayed strong. Even after my favorite player was traded to the Yankees (a cardinal sin, by the way... WHICH IS FUNNY BECAUSE NOW HE'S A CARDINAL!), I was loyal through and through. 

But I was also taught from a young age that you always support the Texas team. You can have your personal preference and loyalty, but your second loyalty is always to the state. That is why even though I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan, I still want the Texans to do well, and even though I'm a UT fan, I still cheer on the Aggies. So when I'm not rooting for the 'stros, I'm rooting for the Rangers. So I'm happy that the Rangers are doing so well, because they are Texans and should be supported. 

And no, this isn't at all jumping on the bandwagon. It's just the Texas mentality.

So I've really enjoyed watching the post-season these last two years. And the thing with which I've been extremely impressed isn't just Nelson Cruz's olympian-like prowess with the bat; it's the camaraderie shown between all of the players. 

And I mean all of the players. 

Last night, while one of the Rangers was at bat, a somewhat wild third strike ended with him able to beat the throw to first. This was the last inning, and things were stressful as we all wondered whether or not Cruz was going to be able to get up and seal another game by knocking the laces off the ball. But as the camera zoomed in on first base, you didn't see tension or anger or even determination on the face of the runner or the first baseman. Instead, you saw them joking around with each other; laughing and patting each other on the back. 

It reminded me of the Giants-Eagles game a couple weeks' ago where a fight broke out because a player on one side bro-hugged a player on the other side. 

I am astounded by the sportsmanship of so many of the professional players right now. I've seen the opposite happen so much in different sports that it is actually surprising when I see people being not only polite but friendly with each other. It gives me hope for the game and the world. 

We still have a long way to go before the world is perfect, but the game of baseball shows me that forward motion is still happening. Praise God for baseball. 

Also please pray to God about the Astros.

Well, that's all for this week. You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-wes and jess

Tap'd out Theology

Jess: I’m pretty sure we’ve never written about the awesome Bible study we attend on Sunday nights. It’s a Bible study that our good friend Josh Scott started when he was an intern at Prince of Peace Lutheran in Princeton Junction. We go to a local restaurant, read some Scripture or a book or something, have a few drinks, eat some good food, and talk about Jesus. It’s called Theology on Tap, because Lutherans are awesome. We drink and talk about Jesus.

This group has seen a couple of reincarnations over the past year and a half. Wes and I first started attending during Lent in 2010. Josh had started the group as part of his field ed work, and they were going through a book study during Lent. Wes and I attended off and on, since I was at work sometimes on Sunday nights. We made a couple of friends and were  happy to see friendly faces in worship on Sunday mornings.

After Lent, the Bible study ended, and in June, Wes and I stopped going to Prince of Peace because he started work at Crosswicks and Ellisdale. We spent some time with our friends from Theology on Tap, having a couple of parties and hang out times together. Then in the fall, a couple of the people from the group decided to start it again. And they invited us, even though we weren’t at Prince of Peace anymore. What a blessing that has been!

Since last fall, we have gone through a couple of different changes. Without Josh to lead us, we were unsure of what to do at first. We eventually decided to appoint a different leader to read a passage from Hebrews, then read some resources and make up a little Bible study on the text. We eventually decided we were talking about the same thing every week, and we wanted to move on to something different. We ended up doing the Bible study that Prince of Peace did as a church. For the summer, we read Love Wins. We have gotten to a pretty organic Bible study. We read something, and then at some point during the dinner, we ask questions, bring up points, and generally discuss what we care about in relation to the text.

The people in this group have become some of our best friends in New Jersey. We have deep connections with them through our shared faith and Bible study experiences. I don’t know where we would be without this group, and I love each week spent in conversation and Christian fellowship. Thanks be to God for the many blessings he rains down upon us!

Wes: I love my TOT friends and the conversations that we have. It's been a special blessing to me because I was never really able to plug myself into the seminary community. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are some amazing people at the seminary and I am blessed by the relationships I have formed with the people there, but I have never really felt like I was really a part of the life on and off campus. 

Chapel services are wonderful, but I go in there, sit down, worship, and then leave. There is no community fellowship time for me afterward like there was at TLU and like there is for so many people that go to PTS. I look around the chapel, recognize many people by face or even by name, but can only find one, two, or at the most three people that I could really call my friend. It has been disconsolating for me at times, causing me to disconnect from worship. My classes are wonderful and I am blessed that I have yet to find myself in a position where I feel like I am fighting against the other people in my class for a grade, but I don't really have a group of friends to sit with during lecture, or a group to study with or commiserate over paper assignments. 

Really, with the exception of a handful of people I truly have connected with, the only time I feel integrated into any part of the PTS community is during The Well, the tuesday night praise and worship service. I look forward to it every week, and last semester when I was unable to attend because of scheduling conflicts, it really messed me up spiritually. It is my one corporate worship outlet where I get to really let loose and worship. No one there looks at me funny for bouncing while I sing REALLY loud (or at least they do it behind my back), and after I get to talk to people and fellowship with other students. It's been wonderful. 

But my true time of fellowship and community growth is TOT. I love the people that come to it, and I love the close friendships that have grown out of it. The youngest guy that comes is a great guy who tries to play it off like he just comes to drink and hang out, but he is one of the deepest-thinking people I know and always brings wonderful insight to the discussion. One of the couples has not been able to come recently because they just had a baby, but I loved having them because I felt like we fed off each others' energy and made the discussions even more fun. Another of the couples is made up of good ole southern folk like me, so we end up making fun of our roots a lot and can talk about the same struggles in the church growing up. And the last couple have become some of our best friends because they're Cowboys fans, so we spend a lot of time outside of TOT watching football together. 

I've absolutely loved our time together, and cannot wait to see how else we grow together in the future. 

Well, that's all for now! Good day! Good night! Good bye!

You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-wes and jess

Anti-Racism and Ministeriums

Jess: Last Friday, my fellow juniors and I had to attend the Anti-Racism seminar. Eight hours of anti-racism. Anyone who was on Facebook that day probably noticed my quickly escalating anger from the class. 

Out of the eight hours, seven hours and 50 minutes of the class were devoted to A) Proving that racism still exists today and B) Making white people feel guilty about their privileged position in society. Most of the students were a little perturbed about this, to say the least. None of us were under the impression that racism was eradicated in the 1970s. We didn't need to have that drilled into our heads for 7 hours. What we needed was some sort of practical use of the class. 

There were a few other major problems I had with the class. First, I think that, in this day and age, it is inexcusable to talk about racism and not have some sort of comparable class about sexism, heterosexism, xenophobia, etc. Most of the class brought up this issue in either the large or small group sessions. At the same time, even if it were okay that nothing outside of racism was addressed, the only racism we focused on was whites being racist toward blacks. We have a Puerto Rican student in our class. This did NOT make him happy at all. There are whites in the class who have been discriminated against for being white. What about these issues?

So that's enough complaining. Now what do I do? The class obviously gave us no practical outlet for social justice. But as Christians, we're called to change the situations and systems that allow racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc. to continue. The closer I get to being a pastor, the more I realize that I need to not only practice what I preach, but practice BEFORE I preach. I can't go into the pulpit and tell someone to work on social justice ministry, then go back to my house and watch my big TV and ignore the problems of the world. So what do I do? 

My classmates and I were clearly troubled by the prevalence of racism today in the system. Our government is creating and sustaining systems that allow racism to continue. Helping an individual is great for that person, but what do we do about the inherent injustice in the system? Where do we go from here? Those of us in positions of privilege HAVE to do something. Recognizing the problem is a good start, but how do we change it?

I don't know yet. I do know I want to start an advocacy group on campus. I want to invite my class and I want to see where it goes. I want to be in marches, I want to write to my congressperson, I want to vote in a way that changes the system. But everything starts at a smaller level. And there are SO many problems. Which one do I start with? Is there some sort of domino effect? What will happen?

"“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me...‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"


Wes: You want to know what's weird? Princeton never made us go through anything like that. Apparently it's just the Lutherans who need to be informed that racism still exists :-P. But seriously, Jess' story just goes to show how good the church is at talking about the problem without really ever addressing how to tackle the problem. It's a sad state of reality for many people...


I want to share with you a blessing from God to Jess and I. For the past year and two months, I have been pastoring the two-point charge of Crosswicks UMC and Ellisdale UMC. Crosswicks, the larger of the churches, is located in Chesterfield Township, which is a small town off of Bordentown, which is a larger small town in between Hamilton, Burlington, and Trenton. Now, in Bordentown, all of the pastors from all of the different churches and denominations have a standing breakfast appointment together at the Town and Country Diner. This group, called the Greater Bordentown Ministerium, consists of Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, and Pentecostal ministers, with as many as 15 showing up on any given Tuesday for breakfast. I have been as faithful to this group as I possibly could, attending weekly with the exception of the semester that I had a Tuesday morning class. This group spends anywhere between an hour to two hours talking about life, ministry, theology, history, books, movies... absolutely whatever. There is never an agenda; we just spend time in each other's lives. 


Jessica and I were talking a couple weeks ago about this ministerium breakfast, and I realized something: If for no other reason, it was worth us coming to Crosswicks and Ellisdale just to be a part of this group. The pastors are encouraging and challenging. They keep me accountable in my studies and challenge me to push harder than I want to. They are willing to be questioned and stretched, willing to walk through process with Jess and I as we continue our education toward ordination. 


And not once have I felt like a 23 year-old sitting around the table with a bunch of soon-to-be or actual seniors who have been doing ministry longer than I've been alive. They make me feel like a colleague, like a partner in ministry. They include me in everything, ask my opinions and listen when I give them. It is a wonderful feeling, and I am completely and utterly thankful to God for this group. I honestly do not know if I could juggle everything that I have to juggle each week if it weren't for their love and support. 


When we leave, whenever that may be, I am definitely going to miss this group. I don't know of any other place that has such a wonderful ministerium set up. Denominational differences, gender boundaries, and racial limitations dissolve when we are together, and we can engage in true Christian community. 


I pray that everyone, especially those in ministry, get to experience something like this at least once in their ministry or their life. 


Well, that's all for now. Love love love!


You stay classy, World Wide Web!




-jess and wes

Seminary is Taking Over Our Lives!

Jess: So I'm in my third week of class. I haven't drowned in reading and writing yet, and I'm really enjoying all three of my classes so far. I don't think I can pick a favorite because the topics are so different and the professors have a lot of styles, but I'm enjoying each class. I think the most difficult three hour block to get through is Scriptures of the World, simply because it doesn't end until 10 p.m., and I'm pretty tired by then.

I’ve really enjoyed the topics we’re talking about in my Sex and Scripture class. The main focus of the class is women’s role in the Old Testament, New Testament, and today. My professor is a female ELCA pastor who was ordained in 1974—this was before women were generally ordained in the ELCA overall. I am continually appalled by the completely irrational and idiotic sexism she has faced throughout her life. At one point, a Presbyterian pastor said that women should not be allowed to be pastors until after menopause. She had no female role models in the church. She was the role model.

So here we are in the twenty-first century and we think that we’re past sexism. We see books like Man Down by Dan Abrams, saying that women are pretty much better at everything. We see women in positions of power: running for president, serving as CEOs of companies, juggling work and families, etc. Yet sexism is certainly not dead. Even though I haven’t been exposed to a lot of it, Wes pointed out that, on one of the two times I preached for him, people came up to me after the sermon to challenge what I said. They would never dream of approaching Wes in the same way, signifying that he has more authority to preach than I do.

My professor made one point about our continued difficulties with women in positions of power, especially within the church. When a man is in power, we can very easily separate the man’s vocation from his family life. How many times do you think of Obama as being a father first and the president second? More to the point, when the pastor’s wife is pregnant, do we automatically think about the pastor as a soon-to-be father or as the pastor? Yet if a woman were in this position, there would be no denying her sexual, maternal, and family life. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

In Old and New Testament times, women were the property of their fathers until they were “sold” to their husbands. Women had no place in society outside of their father’s or husband’s family. In fact, they were not even considered a part of their husband’s family, yet they were no longer a part of their father’s once they were married. This made their place childbearing, bringing the next heir into the world. They were useful for nothing else, and had no power except that which their husband was kind enough to grant them in the moment.

Although Jesus turned this system inside-out (see his teachings on divorce, inclusion of women, healing of women, acceptance of children, etc.), we see this tradition continue to play out today. Women who go to work and leave their children in the care of others are seen as terrible mothers. Yet mothers who stay at home with their children are told they don’t have a “real job.” There seems to be no way to be a mother and satisfy society. We must choose between motherhood and work, yet no choice is the right one.

I’ve rambled long enough. I think I’ve been privileged to not experience a lot of sexism, but I know that this is something I’m going to have to be prepared to attack head on as I go into the ministry. Women pastors are a minority in the ELCA, and I will have to be ready. Part of this preparation will come through the paper I plan to write on this topic in Sex and Scripture. More preparation will come in working with women pastors, building a community of mentors for my future in ministry. And, most importantly, I will pray for God’s guidance and care throughout this path…and thank God for revealing this reality to me early in my ministry education. Amen.

Wes: First off, which seminary looks more exciting/worth attending, Jess' or mine?


Jess'------->

(Weird pointy sign. Lose)

<-----Mine
(Marble Freaking Columns. Win)


That is all on that front.

So. I started my classes this week. It's going to be a busy year, but a good year. I am taking a class on Methodist Studies, a class on Preaching, and a class on Revelation in a Post-Holocaust and Post-9/11 World. I am very excited about all of them.

My United Methodist Studies class fulfills one of my candidacy requirements for becoming an elder in the United Methodist Church. Apparently, they want you to know a little bit about where the church has come from and what the church believes before they agree to let you become a leader of the church. What's up with that? But seriously, it should be very interesting. We are living in a time when every belief system is being questioned, and having a strong foundational understanding of my denomination will help me personally in owning up to my faith as believer in Christ and as a member of the United Methodist Church as well as help me professionally in better articulating to members of my church and visitors alike what it is that we stand for as Christians who worship in United Methodist Churches. I am excited to learn this and then to immediately apply it as I work to teach my first round of Confirmation at Crosswicks UMC. 

I must admit that, already, my Introduction to Preaching class is better than I thought that it would be. Now, I'm not trying to sound boastful or haughty, because I know that I still have a lot to learn and that I am nowhere near perfect at this, but I've been preaching twice a week every week for over a year now. I figure that I have the fundamentals of it down. I'd love to be in an advanced class where I can tweak what I'm already doing and fine-tune things that need to be adjusted, but I figured that this class would just be a redundant waste of time. Wow. I was wrong. My professor is amazing. He just finished his doctorate in homiletics (preaching) from Fuller Seminary, where he did his dissertation on Creative Preaching. I have a lot to learn from him, and I am excited about doing so. I also love that this is not going to be a straight-up lecture class, but is much more a forum and practicum. Even if I do have most of the basics down, he can help me fine-tune and perfect what I am doing so as to be better. 

My last class, Revelation in a Post-Holocaust and Post-9/11 World, is going to be especially interesting for me. A few years ago, after engaging in one of the infamous peat-repeats of the United Methodist Church--God is good all the time and all the time God is good--a friend of mine asked me if I really believed that. Then he asked me if I thought that the Jewish people in Europe after WWII would say that. It really made me think, and really made wonder not only how we as Christians can work to answer to the question of evil in the world, but how we can make such blanket statements like that without any regard for the way that afflicted people might interpret that. What does "God is good all the time" mean for the parent who is watching her children starve because she doesn't have the means to feed them? What does "God is good all the time" mean for the soldier coming back from war who is struggling to understand his experiences of death? How do we find and share God with the world today, in light of such horrors and atrocities? 

I have a lot of reading for my classes. Already in this first week, I've had the whole of three different books assigned to me, and I have about 750 pages more to read by the end of next week. Suffice it to say that the XBOX is going to go untouched for the majority of the semester. 

Well, that's all from us for now! Pray that we still have time to talk to each other in the midst of school, homework, and church! 

You stay classy, World Wide Web!

-wes and jess