The Practicing Church

A Change in Pastors

2005-05-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

i came across this book and thought some might find it useful as we make the transition in our congregation.

jonathon

Farewell Appreciation Dinner and Scrapbook

2005-04-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

Farewell Appreciation Dinner (and Roast!)
for
Michael, Margaret, Sarah, and Elizabeth Williams
Sunday, June 5 at 6:00P.M.
Blakemore UMC Fellowship Hall

Cost is $10 per person or $30 max per family to cover the cost of the meal and gift.
Make your reservation today by contacting Nancy Sneed at
(615) 356-3301 or Ncsneed1000@aol.com
Reservations must be made before the end of Mugs & Hugs on May 29th.
Beware: If you contact Julie or the church office to make your reservation, you will be charged $15 per person.

Memories Scrapbook for the Williams’ Family
Do you have a favorite memory involving Michael, Margaret, Sarah, or Elizabeth?

Entries can be in the form of hand-written or typed personal messages, photographs, drawings, poems, stories, paintings, collages, or any other form of expression that will fit in a scrapbook*.
Submit your entries to Kristi Walker by the end of the evening on Wednesday, June 1st. Kristi will compile and organize all of the entries for the memories scrapbook to be presented to the Williams at their farewell dinner,
*if you want to design and make your own scrapbook page, see Kristi Walker for appropriate materials.

Politics, Theology, and Hymn Singing

2005-04-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

This is going to be GOOD!!!

Edgehill United Methodist Church, one of our very progressive congregations of Nashville, is hosting an evening with Jim Wallis, founder of the Sojourner Community and author of "God's Politics" at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville TN, May 24.

Wallis will be joined by Ashley Cleveland and Jars of Clay, who will be singing old hymns in new ways.

Tickets are only $10 and like I said- THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD!!!

For more info on tickets- call 615-254-7628

A QUOTE FOR THE PRACTICING CHURCH

2005-04-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Author: Lauren F. Winner

"Practice is to Judaism what belief is to Christianity. Your faith may come and go but your practice ought not to waiver." - Lauren F. Winner

A wonderful quote for a congregation who "PRACTICES" their faith.

Practicing Patience as a Methodist- or- "It Comes with the Territory"

2005-04-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

itinerancy:
"The system in The United Methodist Church by which pastors are appointed to their charges by the bishops. The pastors are under obligation to serve where appointed. The present form of the intineracy grew from the practice of Methodist pastors traveling widely throughout the church on circuits. Assigned to service by a bishop, they were not to remain with one particular congregation for any length of time."
-Source: A Dictionary for United Methodists, Alan K. Waltz, Copyright 1991, Abingdon Press.

I knew that it would happen sooner or later but I was really hoping for sooner. I received a call from my really good friend and mentor- Michael Williams. "Jonathon", he said, "I don't know if you are interested but my church, Blakemore, is looking for a part time youth pastor. I know that you are in full time youth ministry, but I had to lay it out there."

Things had not been going well at my church. I had said at one point that if the opportunity to work alongside Michael came available, that I would jump at it....

(to read the rest of this- click here)

shalom,
jonathon

Do you have an idea for the Blakemore Sign?

2005-04-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

We need your suggestions!

As Jody Lentz mentioned in his previous blog, we need ideas for sayings, phrases, announcements, sermon topic related messages, scriptures, etc. for the Blakemore Sign.
Nearly 600,000 people drive by our sign each day.

As a church, what do we want to say to them??

Your Communicating with Others Team is planning on building and organizing these suggestions into a database so that we can have at least a 3 year cycle of messages (sorta like a sign lexionary). Remember, when making suggestions the sign will only hold 35 characters per line; "M" and "W" count for 1.5 characters; "I" counts as .5. Thanks also to all who have put new messages on the sign: Jody Lentz, Kevin Walker, and Joe Roop to name a few (sorry if I left any one out).

So, pour in your suggestions.
We appreciate your help,
Gary Boling
Co-Coach Communicating with Others Team

Living as Methodists in The Bible Belt

2005-03-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

Reading Being Methodist in the Bible Belt was the first step in moving Blakemore UMC toward becoming a “Practicing” Congregation. Being Methodist in the Bible Belt gives the “what” of being Christian in The United Methodist tradition. If you read the book you know a little more about what United Methodists believe and why.

The next step is learning about how the people of The United Methodist Church live in the world as disciples of Jesus Christ. We believe living as Christians in the world is a relationship with the God revealed in Scripture and who became one of us in Jesus of Nazareth. Our relationship with God is like a friendship. If that relationship is going to grow and deepen, then it must be cared for and nurtured.

Friends spend time together. They regularly talk with each other, eat together, walk, listen, and care for one another. When friends do these basic “practices” they grow to know and trust each other.

God has given the Church some basic practices that help us grow in love and trust with God: prayer, reading and studying the Bible, worship, sharing with others in small groups, and serving our neighbors (especially the poor). These are the basic practices of Christian faith and life. They are how we spend time with and make ourselves available to God and God’s life-giving love.

On Wednesday evenings, April 6 through May 25, Steve Manskar will lead a study of Eight Life-Enriching Practices of United Methodists by Henry H. Knight, III. This is an opportunity to learn and practice the basics of Christian faith and life. The books are available at church this Wednesday, March 30.

Outline: April 6 Chapters 1 & 2 "A Hunger for God" & "Growing in Grace"
April 13 Chapters 3 & 4 Prayer & Scripture
April 20 Special Guest: Dr. Dean McIntyre, Director of Music Resources,
at the General Board of Discipleship
April 27 Chapter 5 Worship: Word & Table
May 4 Chapter 6 Renewal & Healing
May 11 Chapters 7 & 8 Christian Community & Christian Lifestyle
May 18 Chapter 9 Serving Our Neighbor
May 25 Chapter 10 Sharing Our Faith

PRACTICING PEACE

2005-03-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

Sunday's Prayers for Peace Candlelight Vigil was really nice. Check out pics from the gathering here. I also found out that we were mentioned in the Tennessean on Sunday. Pretty cool stuff, eh?

shalom all,
Jonathon

When you look at the choir do you think Pharisees?

2005-03-19T10:27:00.000-08:00

It is Good Friday and here we sit, you out in the pews watching me with my fellow choir members up in the chancel area. Can you tell by watching me that I don’t like this service? That is probably too harsh. It is more that I have never been comfortable with the part I play. It is a beautiful service, but I always find myself wishing I could stop it.

I have friends who have never understood or accepted my decision not to see Mel Gibson’s The Passion. For me, seeing his version of the events that led to the crucifixion are not necessary for me to be mortified that it happened. No, sitting in a leadership role for the Good Friday service is enough to make my heart break. True, I am not one of “the” leaders of the service, but I’m still acting as part of the leadership. Much like most the Pharisees would have done on that original Good Friday. I am participating in the symbolic act of crucifying Jesus. Even when all the other lights in the sanctuary are dim, they still shine on the place where I sit. Each year, I find myself fighting for control of my emotions and nausea. There is always the slightest urge to leave, to not watch. After all, I know how the night ends.

Two things stop me.

First, who will bear witness to this part of the story? Everyone in the room. Everyone who plays out this event on this day. Imagine, this portion of the story is told and reenacted every hour of Good Friday somewhere in world. To ignore these events would be to take away the power of this sacrifice. A sacrifice I cannot fathom. A sacrifice that gives me hope.

Second, I know about Easter, about the resurrection and the hope it brings. It is yet another example of God’s grace and love finding us in those small dark places, where we think not even God can find us or lead us out of.

While, I am truly humbled by the sacrifice made, I am equally joyous to know it was not the end. This knowledge is why I continue to play the part of a Pharisee on Good Friday, while working every day to not play one outside this annual service.

THE FIRST CUP IS FOR THE GUEST

2005-03-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you a story about two cups of coffee. A few years ago in Cusco, Perucapital of the 15th century Inca empire-I spent an entire morning searching for Edilberto Merida. Merida's clay crosses with an Inca Jesus writhing in agony defined a generation of Peruvian art-the peoples art, the art of the real. Photos of his work were on the covers of books by theologians Leonardo Boff and Gustavo Gutierrez.

Everyone had heard of Merida, but no one knew where he lived. I was ready to give up when a man approached me. Are you lost, he said? I'm looking for the great artist Merida. He was astonished. I am Merida, he said, extending his large rough hands. Are you the sculptor who makes the crosses? I am he....

To read the rest of this wonderful article about hospitality by Rose Marie Berger in Sojourner Magazine click here

Just come to the table (you don't have to set it)

2005-03-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

There's just something about the table metaphor that gets me all misty. Maybe it's that I love to include people in the celebrations in my life. Perhaps I secretly wish to someday be the hostess of a Martha Stewart-like party, a real whizbanger of a soiree. But really, whether it's communion, friends sharing a meal, the welcoming of a stranger or a big celebration, the table idea holds alot of power for me. Officially, the party line of our family practice is that we want our home to be a welcoming, nurturing place for anyone who enters. We want the love (you know, the energy, the chi, the vibe) our guests sense to be about us welcoming and accepting them in the spirit of Christ. I think this is true of Blakemore as well. But, aha! Therein lies the problem of me sometimes forgetting it's about the spirit of Christ! I mean, what if things aren't done just right or something isn't ready or is doesn't go perfectly or it's not big enough or...
I'm confronted socially and spiritually by this simple practice of hospitality. Could it be that while I'm trying too hard to make a space presentable enough for a guest or stranger (Christ hinmself?) I miss out on the hospitable piece althogether? Further, could I be trying so hard to "clean up" enough to present myself to God, that I miss Him entirely in the simple everyday spaces created for someone to be hospitable to me? Why is it slightly surprising to me that it's not always me in charge of hospitality?
I'm grateful for this little space to share and practice our faith together.
Kristi

Spirit Homeless ??

2005-03-02T09:23:00.000-08:00

I had an idea for the sign out in front of the church...

If your spirit is homeless,

you just missed your driveway.

Come on in.

Doc

WELCOMING OTHERS

2005-02-28T22:33:00.000-08:00

"Practices are the things people do together over time that shape a way of life. One of the short definitions of practices is "embodied wisdom": a certain knowledge of the world is embodied and engendered by the way we go through our daily lives. "

- from an interview with Dorothy Bass in Christian Century Magazine

Since Michael wrote about hospitality this week, I invite you to reflect on the practice of "Welcoming Others"

CREATE A SPACE: Welcoming is about creating space in our lives for other people, and especially for "strangers." This means knowing how to be a grateful guest as well as a gracious host. Communities honor Jesus- who was often homeless himself- as they make people feel "at home" and offer them a place at the table.- exerpt from the "Way To Live Study Guide"

So, what form does that space take in the life of the community of Blakemore? Any thoughts?

Shalom All,
Jonathon

Hospitality

2005-02-28T11:01:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday Rabbi Rami Shapiro and Imam Yusuf Abdulla and I gathered with about twenty other folks who are interested in interfaith storytelling at the Scarritt Bennett Center. The session was called The Moriah Gathering, named for the mountain on which Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac (or Ishmael, if you are Muslim). One of the key characteristics associated with Abraham in all three traditions is hospitality.
Of course we talked about Abraham and Sarah welcoming the three visitors who announce to this couple, who could have been members of AARP for 40 (Sarah) and 50 (Abe) years at the time, that they are going to have a baby. We spoke of the hospitality that Jesus extended to tax collectors and prostitutes, as well as to those who betrayed, denied and deserted him. The imam shared stories about the hospitality extended by followers of the prophet Muhammad, even when it meant that those extended the welcome went without. Hospitality is considered a virtue in all three traditions as well.
For us as modern-day Christians hospitality is a practice that has come to us from our Jewish heritage, the ministry of Jesus, the practices of the early churches, and the rules that guided life in the monasteries. St. Benedict’s Rule instructed members of its communities to welcome the stranger as if that person were Christ himself. The Christian practice of hospitality is not to be extended only to those we know and like, but most especially to the stranger and the outsider.
The practice of hospitality reminds us that God can appear in our midst in the strangest and most unlikely of disguises. That person we didn’t want to see show up at our door might be just the person God is using to teach us something or guide us in a certain direction. I have to say, I have learned a number of life-changing lessons from people with whom I disagree or don’t particularly like (and people who don’t like me--if you can imagine that!)
A second insight that comes through the practice of welcoming the stranger is that God doesn’t seemed too concerned with the importance of our schedules. God’s work is not all about our convenience. Strangers show up at the most inconvenient times. Hospitality is something we can not calendar. Like other things you might see on bumper stickers—Hospitality (or the opportunity to extend welcome) just Happens! Or to borrow a phrase from the 60’s, we might say that hospitality is "what’s happening."

- Michael Williams

"an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"

2005-02-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

posted by Jody Lentz
I changed the sign on Monday to this quote from Mahatma Gandhi.
Not exactly sure which "practice" this falls under, but it was a meaningful experience for me. Selecting the letters requires a hands-on, minds-on focus on the message - as does putting them on the sign outside.

It was rush hour, the light was getting dim, and it was pretty cold. Being out in front of God and everybody to change the message that - somewhat - defines our church to the outside world was moving - especially this message.

It's even meaningful to announce our Blood Drive, but something of this conviction speaks loudly for us as followers of Jesus. Those outward signs - ahem - of faith are part of receiving Grace, I suppose.

A wonderful meditation - I highly recommend it...
But hey! Do YOU have any great ideas for the Blakemore sign?
Please post a comment and let us know...

Fasting

2005-02-22T07:53:00.000-08:00

Lent has traditionally been known as a time for fasting for Christians. Fasting is choosing to give up some food, drink, activity or attitude for a defined period of time. Some give up a single food, drink etc like meat, sweets, coffee or alcohol. Others choose not to eat anything for say a day or three days. John Wesley fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays, which meant that he didn’t eat anything until mid-late afternoon on those days. We might choose to give up watching television or listening to music or going to movies. Every major religion practices fasting in some form or other. That says to me that there must be something to this practice. Besides which, Jesus doesn’t say “if you fast,” he says “when you fast.”
You may have noticed that none of the things or activities I listed above is evil or even harmful in moderation. Christians don’t fast from certain things because they are bad. Absolutely not! We fast from things that we would enjoy at other times because they are good—but not the ultimate good. Fasting helps us remember that life is more than food and fun. These are good gifts of God, who is the source of life and all that is good in it. While today some folks choose to give up gossiping or try to control their anger (both of which are noble pursuits), the Christian tradition usually involves fasting from something that is good and enjoyable.
In our day and time fasting may take on even greater importance for Christians. We live in a society in which our very identities are entangled with what we buy and consume. To advertisers, and, sadly enough, to many in the “religion business” we are consumers and little more—in short we are what we buy!
Fasting allows us to exercise a true choice (not just between brands) of a renewed relationship to the gifts of God. We can choose not to consume even those things which we enjoy. We are not defined by what we eat, buy, or do. We are beloved children of God, loved not because of what we can buy, but because it is the very nature of God to love. And we were put here on this earth to love others, not simply to consume what they have to offer.
Fasting may be the most countercultural thing a Christian can do these days. Besides fasting might just bring us closer to the God who is the source of love and all that is good. Which would be the point, I guess.

A Bit About How We Got Here

2005-02-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

I have the priviledge of serving as pastor of a congregation that "does church" the way I believe church ought to be done! For the past several years we here at Blakemore United Methodist Church have been in a period of discernment. We have been actively and prayerfully seeking to answer the questions, "Who is God calling us to be?" and "What is God calling us to do?" as individuals and as a community of faith. We have spent the past few annual retreats and time at our Wednesday evening dinners and in our Parish Council meetings attempting to come to a deeper understanding of God's specific call to this particular community. One of the fruits of this process was what is called a "Rule of Life." This rule is essentially a set of guidelines for how we are to live out God's call. We call it "This We Believe."

The people of Blakemore

UMC

believe that:

we are called to love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.
Jesus intended for the commandments to be woven together in the life of each individual disciple and in the collective life of our community of faith.

our love of God is to be lived out through the practices of baptism, communion, corporate and individual prayer, scripture reading and study, and conversation with others both inside and outside our denomination and faith community.
our love of neighbor is to be lived out through feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, and visiting the sick and imprisoned.
our love of self is lived out in placing out trust in God, asking for help from God, claiming and employing our God-given gifts (spiritual, intellectual, emotional and material), taking Sabbath time, and setting appropriate personal boundaries.

disciples at Blakemore have a particular calling to offer hospitality to the “spiritually homeless” among us.
we are to welcome all people as beloved children of God.

Another fruit of our discernment is that we have reconfigured our ministry around Christian Practices rather than around a committee structure. So our Ministry Teams organize their work around such practices as

Invite Others
Welcome Others
Worship God
Make Music
Communicate with Others
Care for Others
Learn from Others
Reach Out to Others

Of course, we still have Trustees, Staff-Parish, Finance, and Lay Leadership Committees as required by the Book of Discipline, and we have age-level coordinators. This is an exciting time and place to be in ministry. I can't wait to see what God is going to do with this--and with us!
Michael Williams

Shalom Friends

2005-02-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the online community of Blakemore UMC, where we come together to discuss how we as a community and personally practice our faith. I hope that the experience of discussion, discernment and prayer through this blog will help us work out our faith together.

-Jonathon