I always thought I kept my funeral services pretty short. Not that shorter is necessarily better but I figure that people aren't necessarily in a frame of mind to listen to a long sermon. So, I use the funeral liturgy in Evangelical Lutheran Worship and preach a sermon that is probably about half the length of one of my Sunday sermons.
This morning I had a funeral and after I was done preaching and prayed the prayers I asked the people to be seated for the Commendation and I hear the widow tell one of her sons "he could wrap it up by now." I smiled to myself and prayed the commendation and then we made our way to the cemetery.
I decided on the way that I'd make it short out at the cemetery. As we gathered under the tent I again heard the widow remark "I hope this doesn't take too long." So I skipped the scripture that I usually read at the Committal and just said the prayers.
I wasn't offended by her comments. I think it was probably the funniest funeral I've ever done.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Assembly 2008
Well, last week at this time I was into the full swing of this year's Synod Assembly. On the whole it was pretty painless. It was also neat because my oldest daughter attended as our conference youth delegate. Each of our synod's eight conferences is entitled to send a youth delegate with full voice and vote. T is quite shy and I wondered how she'd fare. She was ready to go home on the second day but stuck it out, making friends with the other youth delegates and staying up until 2 a.m. a couple of nights and 4:30 a.m. the last night.
We actually got through the business of the assembly early. If you cut out some of the add-ons we could have probably been finished by Friday evening, Saturday morning at the latest, instead of running from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday morning. The agenda went something like this:
Wednesday afternoon: business session 1
Wednesday evening: opening service of Holy Communion
Thursday morning: business session 2 (including guest speaker)
Thursday afternoon: business session 3
Thursday evening: business session 4 (including guest speaker part 2)
Friday morning: business session 5 (including guest speaker part 3)
Friday afternoon: educational/informational forums
Friday evening: ordination service
Saturday morning: business session 6
Saturday afternoon: business session 7 (including guest speaker part 4)
Saturday evening: banquet
Sunday morning: closing service of Holy Communion
I figure if we left out the guest speaker, left out the Friday afternoon forums, left out the banquet, and maybe even left out the ordination service (made it separate from the assembly) then we could have been done way sooner, saved a lot of cost, and been away from home for much less time.
It's always good to catch up with old friends at these things. I didn't see much of some but was able to spend a bit of time with others. Next year will be the first break I get from these assemblies. Our Synod Assembly is every other year (even numbered years) and our national church convention happens in the odd numbered years. I attended the ‘05 and ‘07 national conventions so I'm not eligible to attend the ‘09 convention. It figures too. The last two were in Winnipeg (maybe a nice place but not one I'd automatically choose to visit). Next year's convention will be in Vancouver, a much more desirable place to visit in most opinions I'd think.
Every convention/assembly I've attended since the one at which I was ordained in 2002 has dealt with some controversy, always to do with how the church includes the participation of and ministry to homosexuals. This one had a bit of that but it wasn't the big issue that it has been at previous assemblies. This time it had to do with a congregation that chose to call and ordain a gay married man. At this point in time the ELCIC's constitutions, bylaws, and enactments to not allow such an ordination. The congregation chose to go ahead without the bishop's approval. Several pastors of our synod vested and/or participated in the rite of laying on of hands. The bishop stated that neither the ELCIC nor any of our Full Communion partners will recognize the validity of this irregular rite and the pastor is not recognized as being on the roster of ministers of this church.
The bishop also stated that he is obliged to carry out disciplinary action. One possible disciplinary consequence available is public censure and admonition and he chose to do so in the case of the clerics who participated in this unauthorized act as well as the congregation. He will also appoint an investigative committee to examine the situation and report and bring recommendations to the Synod Council regarding further disciplinary action toward the congregation.
The bishop also noted his commitment "to working toward ending practices that preclude full participation of all God's people in the life of the church, regardless of sexual orientation." He said that civil disobedience can play a significant role in the process of political change but that such actions are only warranted when legislative mechanisms to achieve change are either unavailable or so corrupted as to be ineffective. That's not the case within the ELCIC.
Later in the convention a motion came in the Report of the Committee on Reference and Counsel encouraging the bishop and Synod Council to exercise restraint in disciplining congregations, pastors, and members who call pastors who are "self-declared and practicing homosexuals" as well as pastors who bless or marry same-gendered couples in compliance with provincial law. That motion received a good amount of discussion and then was passed by the assembly.
I think, though, that this assembly won't be seen as a "one issue" assembly like many of the past few have. Here are the gists of some of the other motions:
- encouraging Canada and the Provinces to adopt the "U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
- encouraging the synod and her congregations to stand in solidarity with the Anglican Church of Canada and our Aboriginal brothers and sisters as they implement and live out From Truth to Reconciliation: Transforming the Legacy of Residential Schools.
- calling on Federal and Provincial governments to implement concrete Poverty Reduction Strategies.
- calling upon governments to prohibit uranium exploration and mining on Indigenous lands without the approval of local communities and a full comprehensive independent environmental assessment; a comprehensive review of the Ontario Mining Act in consultation with Aboriginal peoples and affected stakeholders; develop effective regulatory measures to safeguard Ontario's water resources and exercise responsible stewardship in developing a socially and ecologically sustainable future for future generations.
- encouraging deeper theological study and ethical reflection by the church concerning the urgent crisis posed by climate change.
- asking synod council to explore the possibility of forgiving, in whole or in part, a $500,000 loan that was made to Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.
- giving the option of receiving electronic rather than paper copies of assembly documents for future assemblies.
- reporting the mandate and guidelines for the investigating committee involving the extraordinary ordination that took place.
- encouraging churches to participate in and respond to the ELCIC Sexuality Study that is underway.
- asking the synod to review and study the Kirby Report on a Canadian Mental Health strategy with a view to encouraging Federal and Provincial governments to develop a national mental health strategy.
- providing an optional service/servant event during, or a day prior to, future synod assemblies.
I suggested that cutting the guest speaker would have shortened the duration of the assembly. I have to admit, I thought she was very good. It was Tana Kjos of A.R.E.: A Renewal Enterprise who spoke about the six mission priorities of our synod's vision for mission. Those priorities are:
1. We want to be a synod that is passionate about our relationship with God, in Christ.
2. We want to be a synod that nurtures leaders who encourage and equip other leaders.
3. We want to be a synod that works in partnership with others.
4. We want to be a synod that reflects the diversity of our society.
5. We want to be a synod that is generous.
6. We want to be a synod that is engaged by challenging questions.
Tana is very good at holding up an outward looking missional focus, and at pointing out that business as usual doesn't really cut it anymore.
We actually got through the business of the assembly early. If you cut out some of the add-ons we could have probably been finished by Friday evening, Saturday morning at the latest, instead of running from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday morning. The agenda went something like this:
Wednesday afternoon: business session 1
Wednesday evening: opening service of Holy Communion
Thursday morning: business session 2 (including guest speaker)
Thursday afternoon: business session 3
Thursday evening: business session 4 (including guest speaker part 2)
Friday morning: business session 5 (including guest speaker part 3)
Friday afternoon: educational/informational forums
Friday evening: ordination service
Saturday morning: business session 6
Saturday afternoon: business session 7 (including guest speaker part 4)
Saturday evening: banquet
Sunday morning: closing service of Holy Communion
I figure if we left out the guest speaker, left out the Friday afternoon forums, left out the banquet, and maybe even left out the ordination service (made it separate from the assembly) then we could have been done way sooner, saved a lot of cost, and been away from home for much less time.
It's always good to catch up with old friends at these things. I didn't see much of some but was able to spend a bit of time with others. Next year will be the first break I get from these assemblies. Our Synod Assembly is every other year (even numbered years) and our national church convention happens in the odd numbered years. I attended the ‘05 and ‘07 national conventions so I'm not eligible to attend the ‘09 convention. It figures too. The last two were in Winnipeg (maybe a nice place but not one I'd automatically choose to visit). Next year's convention will be in Vancouver, a much more desirable place to visit in most opinions I'd think.
Every convention/assembly I've attended since the one at which I was ordained in 2002 has dealt with some controversy, always to do with how the church includes the participation of and ministry to homosexuals. This one had a bit of that but it wasn't the big issue that it has been at previous assemblies. This time it had to do with a congregation that chose to call and ordain a gay married man. At this point in time the ELCIC's constitutions, bylaws, and enactments to not allow such an ordination. The congregation chose to go ahead without the bishop's approval. Several pastors of our synod vested and/or participated in the rite of laying on of hands. The bishop stated that neither the ELCIC nor any of our Full Communion partners will recognize the validity of this irregular rite and the pastor is not recognized as being on the roster of ministers of this church.
The bishop also stated that he is obliged to carry out disciplinary action. One possible disciplinary consequence available is public censure and admonition and he chose to do so in the case of the clerics who participated in this unauthorized act as well as the congregation. He will also appoint an investigative committee to examine the situation and report and bring recommendations to the Synod Council regarding further disciplinary action toward the congregation.
The bishop also noted his commitment "to working toward ending practices that preclude full participation of all God's people in the life of the church, regardless of sexual orientation." He said that civil disobedience can play a significant role in the process of political change but that such actions are only warranted when legislative mechanisms to achieve change are either unavailable or so corrupted as to be ineffective. That's not the case within the ELCIC.
Later in the convention a motion came in the Report of the Committee on Reference and Counsel encouraging the bishop and Synod Council to exercise restraint in disciplining congregations, pastors, and members who call pastors who are "self-declared and practicing homosexuals" as well as pastors who bless or marry same-gendered couples in compliance with provincial law. That motion received a good amount of discussion and then was passed by the assembly.
I think, though, that this assembly won't be seen as a "one issue" assembly like many of the past few have. Here are the gists of some of the other motions:
- encouraging Canada and the Provinces to adopt the "U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."
- encouraging the synod and her congregations to stand in solidarity with the Anglican Church of Canada and our Aboriginal brothers and sisters as they implement and live out From Truth to Reconciliation: Transforming the Legacy of Residential Schools.
- calling on Federal and Provincial governments to implement concrete Poverty Reduction Strategies.
- calling upon governments to prohibit uranium exploration and mining on Indigenous lands without the approval of local communities and a full comprehensive independent environmental assessment; a comprehensive review of the Ontario Mining Act in consultation with Aboriginal peoples and affected stakeholders; develop effective regulatory measures to safeguard Ontario's water resources and exercise responsible stewardship in developing a socially and ecologically sustainable future for future generations.
- encouraging deeper theological study and ethical reflection by the church concerning the urgent crisis posed by climate change.
- asking synod council to explore the possibility of forgiving, in whole or in part, a $500,000 loan that was made to Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.
- giving the option of receiving electronic rather than paper copies of assembly documents for future assemblies.
- reporting the mandate and guidelines for the investigating committee involving the extraordinary ordination that took place.
- encouraging churches to participate in and respond to the ELCIC Sexuality Study that is underway.
- asking the synod to review and study the Kirby Report on a Canadian Mental Health strategy with a view to encouraging Federal and Provincial governments to develop a national mental health strategy.
- providing an optional service/servant event during, or a day prior to, future synod assemblies.
I suggested that cutting the guest speaker would have shortened the duration of the assembly. I have to admit, I thought she was very good. It was Tana Kjos of A.R.E.: A Renewal Enterprise who spoke about the six mission priorities of our synod's vision for mission. Those priorities are:
1. We want to be a synod that is passionate about our relationship with God, in Christ.
2. We want to be a synod that nurtures leaders who encourage and equip other leaders.
3. We want to be a synod that works in partnership with others.
4. We want to be a synod that reflects the diversity of our society.
5. We want to be a synod that is generous.
6. We want to be a synod that is engaged by challenging questions.
Tana is very good at holding up an outward looking missional focus, and at pointing out that business as usual doesn't really cut it anymore.
Monday, July 14, 2008
...about kids growing up.
The column below appeared last week in our local paper. It was a week late so the reference to my son's birthday was a week late. But here it is:
My wife and I find that there's not a whole lot on TV these days that's appropriate for family viewing. Reality programming has all but pushed sitcoms off the air. The sitcoms that are still being made might be funny to me but often the subject matter isn't exactly family friendly. So, over the years we've been buying DVD collections of the sitcoms we used to like watching.
Recently we watched an episode of The Cosby Show where the oldest daughter Sondra is having twins and her husband Elvin is terrified about not knowing how to handle and raise newborn babies.
It took me back to when we had our first child. I wasn't totally prepared but I was a fast learner. I discovered that you figure things out, you do the best you can, you pray a lot, and things turn out okay. By the time we had our fourth child we were so laid back, he's pretty much raising himself.
But a cute part of the Cosby episode had Cliff using a doll to teach Elvin how to properly pick up a baby. And I recalled picking up my own babies and holding them. They were so small that I could cradle them in the crook of one arm.
Then I looked around the room a my four children. The oldest has just finished her first year of high school. I bet I could still pick her up but she's a woman now, taller than my wife. The second became a teenager this spring and is nearly as tall as her older sister. So far neither of these girls has shown me any cause to dread the teenage years.
The third hit double digits this spring, 10 years old already and he impressed me recently on a long bike ride where he had to pedal twice as much as I did because his bike's a lot smaller than mine, but he pushed on and did it. And our youngest will be 6 this week. Last week he jumped over the line at his Kindergarten classroom door and will be going to school full days in the fall in grade 1.
Sometimes it seems like forever since I was changing diapers on these kids, pushing them around in strollers, lifting them in and out of their cribs. Other times it seems like just yesterday.
You can read in different places in the Bible about raising children. I wouldn't exactly call the Bible a guide book to child rearing. It was written centuries ago in a different time and a different culture. Everything might not be applicable to raising a child in the internet age. But some lessons might be learned there.
Early on in the Bible Moses tells God's people, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise" (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). I think Moses is telling the people that spiritual matters aren't just a Sunday morning thing, and don't leave the teaching of the "God stuff" to the pastor and Sunday School teachers. Make room for God in your family's every day life.
In the book of Proverbs there's a familiar saying (familiar to me anyway) that goes, "Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray" (Proverbs 22:6). Now I don't know that you can take that as a guarantee. Children have their own minds and you can't say that if you do this and this and this then they'll turn out exactly the way they should or the way you want them to. But parents can try to present a good example, they can try to impart the teachings of the love of God to them, they can pray for them, bring them to church, nurture them in faith. Then, with the help of God, children may learn to trust God and live a life of faith.
I think the most important thing we can do for our growing children is love them and pray for them. When I think of the way I used to cradle the tiny babies that my children once were, I'm reminded of a hymn by Michael Joncas that paraphrases Psalm 91. The refrain says:
And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of his hand.
Whatever else we do as parents, whatever we might do right in raising our children or the mistakes we so often make, we can trust that God holds them, and us, in the palm of his hand.
That's my prayer and my trust for my own children. May it be for yours as well.
My wife and I find that there's not a whole lot on TV these days that's appropriate for family viewing. Reality programming has all but pushed sitcoms off the air. The sitcoms that are still being made might be funny to me but often the subject matter isn't exactly family friendly. So, over the years we've been buying DVD collections of the sitcoms we used to like watching.
Recently we watched an episode of The Cosby Show where the oldest daughter Sondra is having twins and her husband Elvin is terrified about not knowing how to handle and raise newborn babies.
It took me back to when we had our first child. I wasn't totally prepared but I was a fast learner. I discovered that you figure things out, you do the best you can, you pray a lot, and things turn out okay. By the time we had our fourth child we were so laid back, he's pretty much raising himself.
But a cute part of the Cosby episode had Cliff using a doll to teach Elvin how to properly pick up a baby. And I recalled picking up my own babies and holding them. They were so small that I could cradle them in the crook of one arm.
Then I looked around the room a my four children. The oldest has just finished her first year of high school. I bet I could still pick her up but she's a woman now, taller than my wife. The second became a teenager this spring and is nearly as tall as her older sister. So far neither of these girls has shown me any cause to dread the teenage years.
The third hit double digits this spring, 10 years old already and he impressed me recently on a long bike ride where he had to pedal twice as much as I did because his bike's a lot smaller than mine, but he pushed on and did it. And our youngest will be 6 this week. Last week he jumped over the line at his Kindergarten classroom door and will be going to school full days in the fall in grade 1.
Sometimes it seems like forever since I was changing diapers on these kids, pushing them around in strollers, lifting them in and out of their cribs. Other times it seems like just yesterday.
You can read in different places in the Bible about raising children. I wouldn't exactly call the Bible a guide book to child rearing. It was written centuries ago in a different time and a different culture. Everything might not be applicable to raising a child in the internet age. But some lessons might be learned there.
Early on in the Bible Moses tells God's people, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise" (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). I think Moses is telling the people that spiritual matters aren't just a Sunday morning thing, and don't leave the teaching of the "God stuff" to the pastor and Sunday School teachers. Make room for God in your family's every day life.
In the book of Proverbs there's a familiar saying (familiar to me anyway) that goes, "Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray" (Proverbs 22:6). Now I don't know that you can take that as a guarantee. Children have their own minds and you can't say that if you do this and this and this then they'll turn out exactly the way they should or the way you want them to. But parents can try to present a good example, they can try to impart the teachings of the love of God to them, they can pray for them, bring them to church, nurture them in faith. Then, with the help of God, children may learn to trust God and live a life of faith.
I think the most important thing we can do for our growing children is love them and pray for them. When I think of the way I used to cradle the tiny babies that my children once were, I'm reminded of a hymn by Michael Joncas that paraphrases Psalm 91. The refrain says:
And he will raise you up on eagle's wings,
bear you on the breath of dawn,
make you to shine like the sun,
and hold you in the palm of his hand.
Whatever else we do as parents, whatever we might do right in raising our children or the mistakes we so often make, we can trust that God holds them, and us, in the palm of his hand.
That's my prayer and my trust for my own children. May it be for yours as well.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)