Hello from New Orleans!

Each year, I feel privileged to attend the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) as part of my professional development. It's a very stimulating time of learning and interaction that I always look forward to, but last year, when I heard that the 2009 sessions were being planned for New Orleans, I had mixed feelings.

How do you feel about having SBL in the French Quarter of New Orleans next year? I asked one of my Mennonite colleagues.   Going to seminars in comfort and luxury when other areas are still in need of rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina?  Should we arrange time to visit these areas?  Arrange a work party?  Or would that be an unwanted and crass tourism under the circumstances?  In the end, given the focus of the conference sessions and our short time in the area, we simply left it at that--and now that I'm actually in New Orleans, I'm again very aware of those same questions and the uncomfortable ambiguity of it all.

I suppose that's part of being New Orleans--a colourful city, full of contradictions, "chaotic" as one person described it to me last night, "where luxury and being run down seem to exist side by side" as someone else said to me tonight.

The sessions themselves have been wonderful--too many good things happening at once to go to them all, but so far I've been to sessions on preaching (aptly named Feasting on the Word); a session on why the Dead Sea Scrolls have captured the (North) American imagination; another on images of Jesus in popular art; how 2012 is surfacing in the apocalyptic imagination of some; a Pauline seminar; another session on preaching that focused on how the book of Exodus contributes to our understanding of good preaching.   I've also spent some time at the book exhibits, and connected with faculty friends from Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Canadian Mennonite University, and Tabor College.  It's been a very rich time--and there's more to come tomorrow!

Nov 22, 2009 at 6:55 PM

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The Two-Minute Talk-About - Global Perspective

Last Sunday we tried another "two-minute talk-about" as a response time after my sermon, but this time verbally acknowledging that some might prefer to continue in reflection on their own which was perfectly fine and with one of our music team members keeping time so we wouldn't go over two minutes. Some responses:

- is the two minutes over already??

- when I think of global perspective, it seems overwhelming....I don't know where to start

- I like having different cultures in the church, but sometimes I feel awkward talking to someone of another culture

- part of global awareness means recognizing how what we purchase can affect people in other parts of the world....buying from Ten Thousand Villages may help someone have a living, a pair of pants bought at the mall may have been made in a setting with deplorable living conditions 

Other comments?

Nov 13, 2009 at 8:57 AM

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Peace Vespers

Our first-ever November 11 Peace Vespers was a very meaningful evening of prayer, Scripture, and song. Thanks especially to Angelika Dawson and Allen Harder who had a large part in the planning, to Sarina and Tasha for embodying the Lord's Prayer, to the choir, and to all of our readers!

It was a different way of marking Remembrance Day--gathering in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace; observing a moment of silence to remember and pray for all those affected by violence and war; demonstrating peace among the nations in a small way by having a prayer for peace that involved readers representing different parts of the world and praying in different languages; including prayer of confession for our own lack of peace and peacemaking; including readings that talked about peace not only in the sense of the absence of war, but also peace in families, peace in having enough food to eat.

I would really like us to plan for a Peace Vespers again next year and already have a few ideas:

- this year, we had already started planning Peace Vespers, and then thought it would be a good start to the Arts & Peace Festival, but I'd like us to be more deliberate about the connection between the two--maybe instead of having our own choir, could we be more deliberate in having a Peace Vespers choir where we would actually issue a broad invitation to anyone in other churches and in the community to take part

- in the prayer for the world, I'd like to include Australia next year--it wasn't include in our original source material so we simply left it this time, but for me it was a noticeable gap, and for next year I'd like to plan for Australia too

- could we further develop the prayer for the world by asking people from different areas to prepare a prayer in their own language along with an English translation that we could print in the folder.  That process of preparation would be a wonderful way to engage people in thinking about peace and what it means to pray for peace.

These are just a few ideas I have for next year that I wanted to set down while they're still fresh.  Were you at Peace Vespers this year?  Would you like to see one next year?  If you have a reading, a prayer, a piece of art, a poem, a liturgical dance, or something else you'd like to contribute, please keep it in mind for next year, or let me know and I'll remember for you :-)

Nov 12, 2009 at 8:15 AM

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Gallery 7 - Pride & Prejudice

Gary and I thoroughly enjoyed the opening night performance of Pride & Prejudice, staged with a great deal of humour and with very fine performances from our own John Dawson (as the ever even-tempered husband and father) and Adriel Brandt (and no, he didn't fall off the stage during the sword fight!).

I was glad we chose to sit very near the front (about eye-level to the actors as our seat-mates Cyndy and Sarina pointed out), so we had a great view of Jake's wonderful set and were in the best spot to hear--there were a lot of words! as I expected in a Jane Austen production, and more humour than I remembered which would satisfy even non-Austen fans.

So if you're looking for a good night out, there's still time to catch one of the remaining performances.  Gallery 7 has come a long way from the basement of the Eben-Ezer Mennonite Church to the stage at MEI--congratulations on a great production and a fun nght out! 

Nov 11, 2009 at 9:36 AM

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The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

This book was sitting on my desk at home when we still lived in our house, and I finally started reading it this last week while on vacation. It's subitlted "One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible."

So far, I've only read the first hundred pages or so, but it's certainly living up to it's billing as hilarious, tender, entertaining, fascinating and even inspiring.  Written by a self-proclaimed agnostic, it's a kind of spiritual quest that explores the Bible with intelligence, curiousity, and honesty that I find refreshing and thought-provoking. 

I like the Scripture quotations scattered throughout the book, the clear explanations of Bible stories, the discussion of various interpretative and historical issues involved in understanding the Bible--these are all over-simplified by the author's own admission since any one of these could fill an entire book on its own, but it's done very fairly I think and  makes for a very entertaining and informative read.

This book could only have been written by a man--you'll see why when you see the beard he grows as part of his quest and hear his account of dancing in religious celebration with several hundred Hasidic men--but it makes me ask questions about my own faith and the writing process.  How do I understand and interpret the Bible and live it out in my own life?  If I were to write a book about living biblically--if you were to write a book about living biblically--what would it say?

Have any of you read this book? 

Nov 5, 2009 at 11:33 PM

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