Rapture or New Creation?

Dan Epp-Tiessen says that he has the best job in the world, and this weekend that will include spending some time with us to challenge some popular misconceptions about the Bible. For details on his three sessions (Fri night and Sat morning at Eben-Ezer, Sun morning at Emmanuel), please see our calendar listing, and

for more on Dan, check out his profile at http://www.cmu.ca/facultystaff/depp-tiessen.html

Feb 2, 2012 at 10:30 AM

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Social Media for Churches

This morning I took part in an online session on Social Media for Churches put on by WaterBrook Multnomah Press--very informative, great set up so I could see the slides online, hear the speaker, ask questions, and interact with others online in a sidebar chat. We're already doing some of the things suggested--having a website that gets updated regularly, a blog, making sure our email and website address appears on all church materials. I really appreciate the checklist of other things we can do--too long to repeat here, but here's a sampling:

Create a church Facebook page
Create Twitter accounts for the church and as an individual
Create LinkedIn accounts for the church and as an individual

List our church with Foursquare (so people can "check in" where they're at)
List our church with Google Business (not because we're a business, but because it will make it easier for people to find us)

There were lots of other ideas, including hiring an online staffer at the church, since of course all of this takes time to manage!

But the two key things I came away with were:
 - the need for an overall strategy (which wasn't addressed in this session) and
- the need for consistency (which was addressed) e.g., posting at the same time each week so people will be encouraged to check in since they know there will be something new....from our web stats, it looks like we get more visits toward the weekend, so I think I'll start aiming for Thurs noon for blog posts.

Jan 27, 2012 at 10:49 AM

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Where I went to church last Sunday

Now that I'm on a partial leave from the church, Gary and I still try to worship on Sunday mornings, but as on my previous leaves we generally try to choose a church where no one knows us--in part so neither of us gets surprised by an unexpected, last-minute responsibility (it happens!), in part to learn from other churches we may not be familiar with, and in part so we never forget what it's like to be a stranger in a new church.

So two weeks ago, we worshipped at First Baptist Church in downtown Vancouver--great preaching, great music, a great example of a church with a 125-year history that has also been able to change with the times into a multi-age, multi-cultural church, lots of students, still solidly grounded in the Word. I'm still feasting on the experience! (and afterward, we both had a Japadog for lunch, but that's another story!)

Then last Sunday, we departed from custom and went to Peace Church in Richmond where we still know a lot of people, and met up with friends for lunch. There was a lot that was familiar, but a lot was new too--like new faces in the congregation, and a whole rack of nametags used by the Chinese church that was worshipping right afterward. It was also a great experience worshipping in a different setting that gave me a lot to think about.

But I'm already looking forward to this Sunday at Emmanuel, our home church--morning worship and communion and Guess Who's Coming to Lunch potluck in the banquet room afterward....I hope to see you there--as long as we're not all snow-bound of course!

Jan 20, 2012 at 10:04 AM

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Still Writing....

A couple of church members have expressed surprise that I’m spending my partial leave time to write at home. “Why aren’t you writing at the church? They asked. “How can you get anything done at home?” For my part, I’m surprised that they’re surprised!

I love my office at the church, but I actually find it harder to write there than at home, mainly because the church office can be a very busy place—with other staff, with members who drop by, people from other ministries who want to share what they’re working on, people with needs from the community, phone calls…I’m not sorry for any of that--all of that activity is actually why I go to the church office, and why I almost always work with my office door open, because I want to be where the action is and to connect with other people. I’m sometimes even disappointed when someone drops by the church but doesn’t stop in to say hello because they don’t want to disturb me. I like interruptions—maybe even too much! And while I can write in that environment too, and often do work on my sermons at the church, I find I have more uninterrupted time at home which is very helpful on a sustained writing project—besides, for the last while I’ve had all 21 chapters of my book spread out on the floor at home, and I can’t imagine moving all that back and forth between home and church and back again!

Jan 13, 2012 at 8:30 AM

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A Writing Sabbatical?

"I just finished searching the Emmanuel website for news of the dates of your writing sabbatical. Which months are you officially away?"

Well the short answer is January 1 – March 1, but it's only a partial leave, so in some ways I'm still here (like for our first coffee house last night—good tunes and good turn out, using the stage in the banquet room transformed with soft seating and candlelight—thanks everyone, I'm already looking forward to the next one!). How it works is

I’ll be in the church office Tuesday and Friday mornings to connect with staff and be engaged in leadership/admin/pastoral care as usual, and beyond those mornings I’ll still be engaged with deacons, council, worship committee, Vietnamese ministry support team, our annual general meeting, and some limited visitation.  That might all sound like a lot, but it leaves out a lot too (like my other usual office hours where people from the church and community often drop by, MCBC pastors meetings, our January prayer evenings, etc.).

But the big difference is that I won’t have Sunday morning responsibilities during this time apart from our communion service on January 22—I should say that makes a BIG difference, since for me, preparing for worship leading and preaching takes the same kind of energy as writing, but I find the other leadership/admin/pastoral care parts are quite different.). It should work out to about half-time for these two months, so according to the church's Operating Guidelines, I will still have another 3 months leave coming possibly later in 2012 or 2013.

I am very grateful for this time, although I'm not quite used to it yet--this last week has been a bit of a juggling act as I'm still getting caught up with some things left from 2011, and as I get used to the new rhythm (which explains why I’m writing this on a Saturday morning!), but my writing has gone well this week anyway, and I’ll plan to put something in next week’s printed bulletin about this since some people get their information that way. (I’ve also been asked several times: Why aren’t you writing at the church? How can you get anything done at home? I’ll have to answer that next time!)

Jan 7, 2012 at 9:40 AM

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A Collaborative Christmas

“Who planned Christmas Eve?”several people have asked me over the last week. My first thought was “I did”--I talked with the Worship Committee about the overall concept and drafted the outline; I chose and adapted the readers theatre and found the readers; asked Sarina to do a dance; talked with Vanj about doing a children’s feature. But it was definitely not just me--

Vanj chose the children’s book, contacted the author for permission to use his pictures, got the children together to practice, and arranged for a special guest to help us. Sarina chose the music and planned her dance. Gerald coordinated the music—practiced with the choir, chose the carols, inserted them into the outline, got the powerpoint slides together. Aaron offered to do special music, and got together other musicians to help him. The Worship Committee decorated and made sure there were enough candles. The readers theatre held their own practice. Terry ran the mics and lights. Roberta printed the bulletins and the ushers handed them out. Greeters were on hand to welcome people in. So who planned Christmas eve? We all did!

I think the best worship is a collaborative effort—not just Christmas Eve, but every Sunday, where Scripture, theme, worship leader, speaker, music team, children’s feature, drama, and every other element of worship works together. For me, that’s what it means to have “corporate” worship—not just that we come together physically as a group of people, but that we serve and work together. And it’s not only about those who might be “up front” during worship, but every person in the pew is part of that collaboration. Part of what made Christmas Eve such a wonderful time of worship I think was that people came prepared for Christmas eve.

How might we all be better prepared for our “regular” worship? This is a question for all of us—for those responsible for planning and leading worship, and for everyone. Do we need to get more sleep the night before? Leave earlier in the morning so we’re not arriving in a rush? Ask God to help us focus? Greet everyone we see instead of walking past absorbed in our own thoughts? How is God calling all of us to collaborate in worship?

Jan 6, 2012 at 12:50 PM

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Effective Communications

When I taught at Columbia Bible College years ago, the school offered a course in “Effective Relationships,” and as we’ve been talking about “communication” at council, I’ve been thinking more about “Effective Communications”--both about new ways of communicating and also how can we be more effective at what we already do. For example, have you ever thought about using Emmanuel’s homepage as the homepage on your own computer? Or subscribing to the church blog through your web browser? For some, that’s already way too basic, but for others, here’s how:

To make Emmanuel your homepage: If you use Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, go to www.emmanuelmennonite.com, then go to Tools, Options, and in the homepage section, click on use current, then click on OK, and you’re done.

To subscribe to the church blog: when you’re on the church website, click on blog, then look for the rss feed icon that looks like the one below, click on it and subscribe now. After that, you can use your own feed to stay in touch more easily.

Dec 29, 2011 at 2:43 PM

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Merry Christmas Orange Breakfast Granola

So I'm up early as usual and just remembering that I had been asked to post this recipe. I've been experimenting with different granola recipes, and made this one as a little Christmas treat for our wonderful staff. Here's the recipe:

Merry Christmas Orange Breakfast Granola
Mix together in a large baking pan: 6 cups rolled  oats, 1 cup wheat germ, 1 cup almonds, 2 cups flaked coconut

Bring to a boil in a small saucepan: 2/3 cup honey, 2/3 cup orange juice, 1 tsp finely grated orange peel, 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Pour over oat mixture and stir well to coat.

Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 deg F oven (stir at the 15-minute mark).

Eat as a breakfast cereal with milk, or serve sprinkled over fresh fruit, yogurt, or ice cream.

Dec 25, 2011 at 6:16 AM

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Cranberry Banana Ring

This is one of my newest-to-me recipes--with the cranberries, it's kind of Christmas; baked in a ring (my Mom's old angel food cake pan), it seems festive; yet it's quick and easy (so very well suited to baking in the morning and taking to staff meeting or to my Saturday morning new member orientation). Here it is by request (adapted from The Harrowsmith Cookbook, Volume Two)

Cranberry Banana Ring (milk-free since I'm sensitive to dairy products, or you can omit the soy milk powder and use 1/2 cup milk instead of the water)

Mix together in small bowl: 1 mashed banana with 1 cup cranberries (halved)

In a medium bowl, combine: 1 3/4 cup flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp soy milk powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 c. sugar, 1/4 cup walnuts

Mix together and add to dry ingredients: 1 beaten egg, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup oil

Add banana and cranberries, stir until just mixed.

Spoon into a greased angel food cake pan and bake at 400 deg F for 35 minutes. Delicious served warm (but I think adding a simple glaze would dress it up nicely too!)

Dec 22, 2011 at 5:35 PM

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Relational Investing

Each year, there's a financial institution in the US that calculates the cost of the 12 days of Christmas--buying the item(s) or renting the services listed for each day in the song. This year the estimated cost is $100,000!

But the more important cost of Christmas is the cost of relationship--think how much it cost God to send Jesus into the world, and how that relational cost has changed lives and impacted the course of history!

As we continue to reflect on the meaning of Christmas, let's also think about what Christmas might require of us in relational terms: spending time with our spouse, travelling to see grandparents, reconciling with an estranged relative, working at a deeper relationship with our teenager. How else might we invest in relationships?

Dec 22, 2011 at 4:18 PM

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