Sermon: pentecost 4 - year a

Recently, Business Week ran a story on the phenomenon of megachurch marketing. Many religious commentators made a huge deal over the sheer size and scale of some of these churches. The biggest of them all: Lakewood Community Church in Houston, Texas pastored by Joel Osteen, expects weekend attendance to top over 100 000 souls by this July. According to the article, Osteen is laying out $90 million to transform the massive Compaq Center in downtown Houston -- former home of the NBA's Houston Rockets -- into a church that will seat 16,000, complete with a high-tech stage for his TV shows and Sunday School for 5,000 children.

The article goes on to say that the three biggest churches in North America are, right now, in the midst of building campaigns, with the total cost for three new facilities running almost a quarter of a billion US dollars. That’s a lot of money for three buildings. Of course, none of these churches are Lutheran so it’s easy for us to look down our noses at such excess.

But in the interest of full disclosure, I...(the rest here)

Freedom of Religion = Freedom FROM Religion?

This is just silly. via Andrew Sullivan.

And just when I was finishing my Ark...

The rain has stopped. The sun is shining. But I'm told that we have more moisture to come. So, I think I'll leave my tools out and finish the job.

Nine women to defy Vatican to become priests

OTTAWA (AFP) - Nine women, including one Canadian and one American, plan to defy the Vatican and become the first female Roman Catholic priests and deacons ordained in North America during a ceremony on a boat on the St. Lawrence River next month. (read the rest here)

Of course, this is purely symbolic as their ordinations will not be recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Well...maybe it is a little too much rain

I got home and checked my basement, and, sure enough, we had a small flood. I plugged in the sump-pump and the hose broke off sending water everywhere and breaking a lightbulb. Everything is cleaned up now.

But various towns in southern Alberta are in states of emergency.

Wow.

The Rain Still Cometh

The paper said the rain is supposed to stop by Thursday. So today I walked to the church again. It’s not very often I can walk in the rain in Lethbridge.

I’ve been told that a State of Emergency has been called for the town of Coaldale, just east of Lethbridge. It seems that their sewer system is backed up and can’t deal with the excess water. So folks in Coaldale can’t flush, wash dishes, or shower until the problem is corrected.

I suppose there are worse problems to have. But what a hassle!

Children's Sermon: Pentecost 3 - Year A

James was sitting in class one day when Anthony came in and sat beside him. Anthony hadn’t been in school for a few weeks. James was curious to know where Anthony was all that time, but didn’t ask.

“Do you want to come back to my house after school and play video games?” James asked.

“Sure,” replied Anthony, “that sounds..." (read the rest here)

Rain

It’s still raining in Lethbridge. It’s been raining for almost a week. In a semi-arid climate this is unusual. The coulees are looking greener. Our garden is flourishing. My new Australian bushman’s (bushperson’s?) hat that I got for Father’s Day (early, of course) has been broken in.

I love the rain.

Rain feels like New Life.

Sermon: Pentecost 3 - Year A

“Do not take off your jacket,” I was told. “Do not stop at the office. Head straight to neo-natal intensive care. The baby might not last the hour,” my supervisor at the hospital told me on the phone as I was leaving my office at another hospital site.

I had finished a year of seminary and had just begun what is called “Clinical Pastoral Education” or “CPE” in seminary-speak. Another good name for it might be “tear the seminarian’s heart out and show it to him.”

At CPE, they slap a badge on you and call you a chaplain. Whether it be in a hospital, prison, or transition home, you are parachuted into battle. You learn by doing. And I learnt a lot those 12 weeks.

I arrived at the hospital and did just as I was told. I made my way up to neo-natal, the rain was still dripping off my jacket and my shoes tracking mud on the floor.

I asked the nurse where I could find the baby and the family. It was then I was told...(the rest here)

Rick Warren on preaching

I don't like his politics, but this is an excellent take on preaching.

I do believe in confessional preaching. I believe that you should confess both your strengths and your weaknesses. You don't dwell on yourself, but in many ways the minister is the message. The word must become flesh. The best kind of preaching is incarnational preaching. The most effective message is when I am able to get up and say, 'This is what God is doing in Rick Warren's life this week. This is what I am learning. This is what I need to believe, what I need not to believe, what I need to do, what to not do.'

British Abbey rejects Da Vinci Code film plans

LONDON (Reuters) - Producers of the upcoming movie based on the blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci Code" were not allowed to film in Britain's Westminster Abbey after church officials denounced the book as "theologically unsound." (the rest here, also here)

Good for them. Many folks believe the Da Vinci Code is based on historical records, when it is just the fantasy of it's author, Dan Brown. Such books do little but damage the credibility of the good folks in the church who are faithfully trying to do God's work.

Deep Throat Revealed

Deep Throat, the secret source whose insider guidance was vital to The Washington Post's groundbreaking coverage of the Watergate scandal, was a pillar of the FBI named W. Mark Felt, The Post confirmed yesterday. (the rest here, and here, and here)