Van Gogh

This Sunday, we begin our study, Paint by the Spirit, during which we will explore the spiritual significance of great artists. Our first artist is Van Gogh. What an experience it has been studying his life and work! Here is a brief bio of Van Gogh. The worship bulletin is here. Read last week's post for more links. Probably Van Gogh's most famous work is The Starry Night (1889).

Bicycle Commuting

I managed to ride to and from work twice this week: Tuesday and Wednesday. I made it without difficulty, except for the hill that starts at Broadway and Pantano and climbs Broadway eastbound to Sarnoff. I usually make it halfway up and have to walk the second half. Tuesday evening I drove Tyler to band rehearsal, but Wednesday I did not drive at all.

Paint by the Spirit

On September 9, we begin a new 4 week study on great artists and the spiritual significance of their work. We will begin with Van Gogh, and then consider in subsequent weeks Rembrandt, Picasso, and Monet. At a later date we may consider other artists. Feel free to nominate an artist that has touched you with their work!
A video of Van Gogh's work set to "Vincent" by Don McLean
A website with a bio of Van Gogh and links to view all of his works.
An article about the spiritual significance of Van Gogh's life and works.

Sunday September 2

Look here for a description of this week's worship. Included there is a link to Psalm 24. I encourage you to read it before Sunday's worship. I think this will be a unique opportunity to form our worship around one of the Psalms. Here is the worship bulletin.

From the Save Darfur Coalition

U.S. Must Support Peacekeeping Mission

The UN has authorized a joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission for Darfur. Our task now is to ensure that President Bush upholds the U.S. commitment to support this mission when the UN General Assembly meets on September 18th.

Our goal is to send 100,000 messages in the next three weeks urging the president to uphold his commitment to the peacekeeping mission.

Help us reach our goal! Click here to sign petition.

The New Sign

This is the new sign I wrote about last week. It hangs along the front of the roof of the porch in front of the church office building and faces First Street. It can be seen by people in Himmel Park and by our day school parents picking up their children.

New Sign

Today we put up a new sign on the church office building. It faces First Street and Himmel Park and it announces The Refuge worship services. The big print says "Come as you are". You can see it Sunday, and I'll post a photo here next week.

Bike Commuting

I rode my bike to work today for the first time and it went OK. I think it's about 11 miles and it made it in 43 minutes. I rode west on Broadway for the vast majority of my ride and then turned north on Treat Street to the church. By the way, Treat Street is no treat. It is uphill the whole way from Broadway to Himmel Park and it is mostly uneven, broken pavement which is extremely bumpy.

Sunday Worship @ The Refuge

"Could Faith Be as Simple as Breathing?" is our theme for this Sunday, August 29. Click here for the worship bulletin to see Scriptures and notes. We will view a short NOOMA video by Rob Bell. The title for this one is "Breathe". You can see a preview here. We will pray, think, and discuss.

"Worthy to Approach God" is our theme for next Sunday, September 2. This will be a unique service structured around the pattern we find in Psalm 24 . Psalm 24 has three sections, or movements. Psalm 24 is divided into three sections. The first section is verses 1-2, which is an affirmation of faith; a statement of worship to God. The second section is approaching God (verses 3-6). This segment will feature prayers of confession and forgiveness. Then the final section is opening our lives to God (verses 7-10). We will engage in a journaling exercise. All three movements will include music and prayer and Scripture. This will also be communion Sunday. I will post the worship bulletin next week.

"Paint by the Spirit' is our next series. Beginning September 9, we will spend four weeks exploring the spiritual significance of the works of great artists like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Picasso, and Monet.

Sunday August 19

You can read the book of Obadiah here. The whole thing is only 21 verses, so give it a look. The worship bulletin is here. I am really excited about this study. I'll see you Sunday!

Pretty Funny

I laughed out loud at a couple of these. Of course, I'm from the South and am as much of a hick as you can get, so maybe I'm entitled to laugh. Check out the criterion for an EXTREME REDNECK on Marko's blog.

Vacation

We had a great time last week on our vacation. I only wish it could have lasted longer. We left Wednesday and stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Then we went on up to Phoenix to the South Mountain Resort and checked in. Tyler and I got in one of the pools for awhile, and then we did a little shopping for groceries and snacks, then went over to the Arizona Mills Mall to eat dinner, walk around the mall, and see Live Free or Die Hard. That was definitely enough for the first day.
Thursday we got up, eat breakfast, went for a bike ride, and then went to the water park. We ate a late lunch around 2pm and then watched 300 on the hotel payperview. Tyler and I played some ping pong and swam some more. Then we went to dinner at Claim Jumper and went back to the room and Tyler and I taught Mindy how to play Egyptian Ratscrew. Friday, our last day, we rode our bikes a few miles to IHOP for breakfast. I bought Tyler some new shoes at a store in the shopping center, and then we rode back. Tyler and I went to play pool and then we went over to the athletic club and played racquetball. Tyler went back to the room and I stayed and enjoyed the hot tub and steamroom. Then we had an early dinner at Aunt Chilada's Mexican Restaurant and then went to the water park for a couple of hours. We went back to the room and watched My Super Ex-Girlfriend and hung out.
Saturday, Mindy swam some laps while Tyler and I played some more pool. Then we packed up and headed home. Fun, but short. Photos are on my photobucket. Message me for the password if you don't know it.

Obadiah

Obadiah is our study for August 19. It is very short. Give it a read and leave me any comments that you come up with.

AMOS

This Sunday in worship, we consider the prophet Amos. Hold on! It is an intense prophecy!
The worship bulletin is here.

Katrina Relief by the Church

Check out this article in USA Today about different Christian groups that worked for Katrina relief. The United Methodist Church did pretty good.

The faithful lend a helping hand

Although officials say it's difficult to know the exact number of people who have volunteered in the Hurricane Katrina recovery, they estimate that more than 655,000 have served in Louisiana and Mississippi since the storm. Many faith-based groups have helped residents return to their homes.

Religious charities	Total volunteers	Homes improved*
Adventist Community Services	2,200	150
American Baptist Men	600	12
Baptist Builders	374	10
Brethren Disaster Ministries	1,608	352
Catholic Charities USA	15,481	2,550
Christian Disaster Response	238	35
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee	2,972	255
Church of Scientology	1,000	N/A **
Convoy of Hope (Christian)	16,962	2,828
Episcopal Relief & Development	18,303	2,471
Friends Disaster Service	1,550	96
Habitat for Humanity (Christian)	71,412	2,896
Islamic Relief	122	22
International Aid (Christian)	1,250	N/A **
Lutheran Disaster Response	26,585	8,242
Medical Teams International (Christian)	437	428
Mennonite Disaster Service (includes Amish volunteers)	9,000	750
Nazarene Disaster Response	15,000	200
Nechama (Jewish)	600	200
Operation Blessing	7,598	1,348
Presbyterian Church U.S.A.	29,345	3,380
Salvation Army	15,232	N/A **
Samaritan's Purse	12,026	5,000
Society of St. Vincent de Paul	4,000	N/A
Southern Baptist Convention	175,378	5,136
Tzu Chi Foundation (Buddhist)	1,319	N/A **
United Church of Christ National Disaster Ministries	4,985	792
United Methodist Committee on Relief	56,656	15,643
Volunteers of America	14,000	430
Totals	506,233	53,226

Source: USA TODAY research

* Improvement may include gutting, repairing or rebuilding. ** These groups have provided services other than rebuilding houses, such as providing food, water, clothes and other needs.

Vacation is ALMOST Here!

Tomorrow begins a SHORT vacation (back home Saturday). We are going to the Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix for a few days of relaxation.

Next Sunday

We will look at the book of Amos. Seriously, take a look at it and pass along any comments you have.

This Sunday

You can find the book of Joel here. The worship bulletin is here. The key concept in the book of Joel is the Day of the Lord. Check out some introductory info on the book of Joel.

double feature results

I really liked both the Harry Potter movie and The Simpsons Movie. I don't know what else to say about it. The Simpsons had me laughing out loud several times. The movie does target Christianity and church (in a small way), but some of the criticism is valid and must be addressed, and if your faith can't stand up to sarcastic comments from yellow cartoon characters, you've got a bigger problem than the Simpsons. Besides, the best person in the movie is probably Ned Flanders, who is the main Christian character.

In the Harry Potter movie, Delores Umbridge was the most entertaining character to me. She was a villain, but an interesting one.

New Bike!!

I picked up my new bike yesterday! This will open a whole new world of bicycle commuting to me. Now, Mindy, Tyler, and I all have bikes we'll be riding around. Save the earth, save money, get exercise. We still have our 95 Nissan pickup, but we want to get to where we are driving it as little as possible. Suntran and bikes will be the main transportation. My bike is an Electra "Townie", in metallic blue. I started riding it last night, but am working up to commuting endurance.

We Sold Our Car!

We struck a deal to sell our Toyota Echo today! As a family, we are downsizing to one vehicle (our Nissan truck) and are planning to drive it as little as possible, too. It's about having a smaller impact on the environment, saving money, being more safe, getting more exercise, and being less dependent on cars. Mindy already rides her bike to work most days (and other places, too) and I'll be getting a bike soon.

Double Feature

I have planned a double feature tomorrow! At 2:40 at Park Mall, Bethany and Tyler and I (Mindy's working) will see the latest Harry Potter. Then at 5:45, Mindy will join us for...are you ready...THE SIMPSONS MOVIE!!!! Tyler and I are big Simpsons fans. Of course, we will be getting (excuse me, already got--I fandangoed the tickets today) the bargain/matinee price for both movies. That's pretty much the only way I'll go to a movie unless it's at the cheap theater.

BTW, Bethany has already finished the latest Harry Potter book (probably TWICE by now), and I'll start it as soon as I finish the one I'm reading now.

August 5 The Prophet Joel

On August 5 we will consider the prophet JOEL. Take some time to look it over and let me know if you have any thoughts. How does the book of Joel inform or impact our lives as followers of Christ? What significance does it have for my life or my faith? Leave a comment with your ideas. You might find your comments part of next week's study! The title of the study is "The Pouring Out of God's Spirit". Joel is quoted by Peter in his sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.14-21.

Sunday July 29

This Sunday, we begin a study on the MINOR prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures (otherwise known as the Old Testament). The minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi) are differentiated from the major prophets mostly by their length. The minor prophets tend to be shorter. That's good for you, huh? Hosea, our book for this Sunday, is 14 chapters long, though. We won't read or discuss all 14 chapters...just the first 13! Not really. We'll take a long view of the story of the book. I called this segment "God's Senseless Love". Take a look at Hosea and try to figure out what I mean. You can check it out in your Bible, or online here. We will also consider Psalm 139 and http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=52493425. The worship bulletin is here.

Sunday July 22

Our theme for this Sunday is "Rhythm: Living in Tune with God". We will watch and discuss Rob Bell's "Rhythm" video from the Nooma series.
Bell's contention is that God's presence in this world is like a song that is playing all around us, and the issue is whether or not you are living in tune with the song. We will journal around some questions, discuss, look at Scriptures, and pray. Here is the worship bulletin for Sunday.

Sunday July 8

This Sunday, our theme is "Remember Your Baptism". This is the second of two messages about the sacraments of our church. Two articles I would recommend are By Water and the Spirit and "Baptism and Remembrance of Baptism in the United Methodist Church" . This Sunday's worship bulletin is here.

Mike Yaconelli

Credit Marko also for this clip of Mike Yaconelli highlights. Mike is my youth ministry hero. He was killed a couple of years ago in a traffic accident.

Women in Art

My wife told me about this video the same day I saw a link to it on Marko's blog. Check it out.

Sunday, July 1

We will begin a study for the next two weeks on the sacraments. July 1 will be "Experiencing Communion" in which we will examine the Biblical roots of our modern day practice, and we will center the whole service around the experience of the eucharist. Scriptures will be Mark 14.22-25, Matthew 26.26-29, Luke 22.17-20, Acts 2.42, 46-47, and 1 Corinthians 10.15-17, and 11.17-26. Sacrament refers to a means of grace. Some denominations do not use the word, holding that grace is only bestowed by God, and there is nothing we can do to invoke it. Others want to be sure to communicate that both communion and baptism are purely symbolic acts with no inherent power or meaning in themselves. United Methodists believe that God does act in communion and in baptism. Grace is indeed imparted to those who participate in the sacraments. This is not magic. This is not human manipulation of the divine. This is God responding to his people when they honor God by observing the sacraments. You can read "This Holy Mystery" which is the result of a United Methodist study on communion, published in 2004. On July 8, we will consider "Remember Your Baptism". There is a United Methodist study on baptism also, "By Water and the Spirit".

Sunday June 24

This Sunday, we will again be considering the Lectionary Scriptures. The Gospel reading is Luke 8.26-39, which is the story of the demon-possessed man Jesus encounters in the land of the Gerasenes. This story is also told in Mark 5.1-20. This is a story of change, of radical life transformation. As we have said before, God is a God of change. This story describes the kind of change that can come into a life that encounters Jesus. The other Lectionary Scriptures for this Sunday are 1 Kings 19.1-15, Psalm 42, and Galatians 3.23-29.
The worship bulletin for June 24 is here.

Worship for June 17, Father's Day

Next Sunday we will consider two Scriptures: Romans 8.14-17, and Galatians 4.4-7. Both of these Scriptures talk about the Spirit moving us to cry out to God "Abba, Father!" "Abba" is an intimate term for father, like "Daddy". Wesley spoke much about conversion and assurance of faith by differentiating between the faith of a servant and the faith of a child. What does this mean? How does this work? Do YOU have the faith of a child of God? Read the Scriptures and think about them and let me know what you think. Leave a comment.

Worship for This Sunday, June 10

Our theme for Sunday is "Raising the Dead". This is based on the lectionary Scripture readings for this week. Read about the Revised Common Lectionary here. The Scriptures for this week are 1 Kings 17.8-24, Psalm 146, Galatians 1.11-24, and Luke 7.11-17. Click on each Scripture to read it. You can view this week's worship bulletin here. And further information on the "diamond prayer" is here. My point is this: "Raising the Dead" speaks of change--radical change from one state to another--and this is what God wants to do in us and in this world. How can we get involved?

Wildcat Softball National Champions!!

Wednesday night, the University of Arizona Wildcats defeated the University of Tennessee Lady Vols in the Women's College World Series to claim their 8th national softball title. It was a [sort of] bittersweet [sort of] victory for me since I am from Tennessee. But I am a Wildcat fan now. Period. It is interesting that Monica Abbott, Tennessee pitching ace, was named as the pitcher on the all-tournament team. I guess Taryne Mowatt (Arizona pitcher) will have to settle for being named Most Outstanding Player and winning a national championship.

Mister Rogers

I came across a link to this article today, and it is something you must read.
15 Reasons Why Mr. Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever
This article describes the real life Christianity that was the life of Fred Rogers.

The Desperation of God

This article by Sharon Hersh is a must-read. It sheds a lot of light on my views on the Trinity and the God that we worship.

Sunday June 3

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday in the liturgical calendar for the Christian church. As I considered the lectionary Scriptures for this week, what I think is an important insight came to me. Get a head start on worship by checking out the notes and looking up the Scriptures in the worship bulletin.
The critical question to think about is WHY. Why does God represent himself to as a Trinity?

I made it!

I am sitting in the business center of the Hilton in New York typing this. This is not cheap, so it will be short. It is weird being somewhere besides Catalina on Sunday morning. I'll take some photos and post more later. Mindy is rehearsing this AM and I think we are going to Central Park and a couple of museums this afternoon.

Heading to the Big Apple

Saturday, I am traveling to NYC with my wife Mindy. We were able to get tickets for David Letterman on Monday night, so that will be awesome. Mindy is part of the Sanctuary Choir from Catalina UMC, and they are performing at Carnegie Hall. So we will be traveling with a group that I am not in charge of, for a change. I wonder if it will be easier traveling with a bunch of adults rather than the youth I normally accompany? My guess is that it will be more of a headache traveling with the adults.

Sunday May 13

This Sunday is Mother's Day. We will honor and celebrate our mothers in worship. For some, this is a bittersweet time. I know it is for me. My mother died a few years ago. I wish I could talk to her again. There is a liturgical piece in The Pattern of Our Days (from Iona, a monastic community in Ireland) that says it well:

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
loved words and loving--
reminds us of a God
who is always there,
like a mother with a young child,
knowing our needs,
catching us when we fall,
comforting, bearing, cradling, dancing, and caressing.

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
words of encouragement
in moments of desolation
and loneliness;
words passed down from mother to daughter,
not in cold print but warm with faith.

"Underneath are the everlasting arms"--
now you are dying--
is it hard to let go?
For so long you have been there
to catch, to carry, and to care
Listen, love, I want you to know
that I can cope:
first your faith nurtured me,
and your strength,
but now I have found my own.
Let go.
Into God's hands I commend your spirit;
Underneath are the everlasting arms.

Momma, into God's hands I commend your spirit. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Amen.

Our study for this Sunday is Moving Forward in Sanctification. The subject of sanctification is important to us Methodists. Well, it was important to Wesley, and it should be important to us today, but it often is not. It might be good to read the background material and the Scriptures ahead of time. The worship bulletin is here.

May the life of God be in you today and may the peace of God be with you today. Amen.

Good CD

I am currently listening to this CD: Top 25 Vineyard UK Praise and Worship Songs. It has a great variety of music and I have always liked Vineyard music and it's live worship feel. I saw it at Gospel Supplies where I was able to listen to some samples, but I bought it used on Amazon.com for a MUCH lower price.
I have been burned so many times by CD reviews that I always listen to samples first. You can usually listen on Amazon. I credit Rob Resetar with this idea.

Senior Night

Every year we have a big celebration in the Catalina youth group for our seniors. Last night may have been the best ever. To see the video about the seniors, go here.

Another Piece of Theology: Universal Core of the Gospel

I read this post on the Emergent Village blog. It raises questions, rather than giving answers. Read it and think about it.

"Pale Blue Dot" is a video made by David Fu of a reading by Carl Sagan. It is about the place of our earth in the universe, and how we should live. I didn't agree with all of it, but it is extremely thought-provoking, sometimes beautiful, and supremely artistic. As an aside, how many of the films featured in the video can you name?

Atonement

I read an interesting article online today. It is a pretty heavy theological piece, but I found it remarkably readable. It is by NT Wright, and this article makes me want to read more by Wright. The article is actually a response to a radio address and a book, both of which Wright disagreed with and both of which concerned Christ's atonement for human sin. Check out the article here, and a response by the book's authors here.

This Sunday

I guess I've been slowing down lately here on the blog. I really enjoy it, but I've been pretty busy lately. This study for this Sunday in the Refuge is Moving Forward with Each Other. We will look at a lot of Scriptures. The best way to get a preview of Sunday's service is to look at the worship bulletin. You could even get a head start on the Bible study.

ArkAlmighty

There is a sequel of sorts to Bruce Almighty called Evan Almighty, which comes out this June. In this movie, the newscaster who beat out Bruce for the anchor job (Evan, played by Steve Carrell) has the encounter with God. Now, here is the interesting part. The movie has spun off a website and movement that encourages churches to do good. The concept is called ArkAlmighty, and works like a version of Craig's List for your church. People enter on a personalized (for your church) website their needs. People can scan these and choose one to meet. A person can also list gifts, abilities, skills, etc. that they can share, and people in need can check this list. if you go to the ArkAlmighty website, you can be introduced to the concept by John Goodman. Is this something we would like to do here at Catalina? I registered Catalina just to get further information; there is nothing entered on the site yet. Of course, one drawback to this approach is that some people with needs may not have access to a computer or the internet. As a solution to this, we could have a table set up on Sunday mornings where people could get the info entered for them, or even a kiosk with an internet-connected computer that people could use as a self-serve access to ArkAlmighty. You could also have people complete a brief survey and then input the results to the website. When we are serving at Casa Maria, or if we are planning a work trip to Agua Prieta, we could list the number of volunteers needed, and people could sign up online. Of course there are art pieces and links we can put on our church website. Lots of possibilities. What do you think?

Thanks, Sarai

Yesterday was Sarai Case's last Sunday on our church staff. She preached in both of our Refuge services and did a great job. The thought that stuck with me was about the miracles she referred to. The healing of the leper (Mark 1.40-42), the story of the hemorraging woman (Matthew 9.18-22), and the story of the blind men (Matthew 9.27-30); all have at least one common characteristic: the people sought healing from Jesus. Jesus was not seeking them to heal them, they came to Jesus and the healing they needed was available, and Jesus was willing. In the case of the hemorraging woman, all she did was touch his cloak. It seems that the faith needed to approach Jesus and ask was all the faith that was necessary. This brings up the question that Sarai asked: What if the healing is already there? What if it has already been allocated by God, and all we have to do is take it? I'm not putting this as well as she did, but we must ask ourselves, what does God have for us that we are not taking? What healing does Jesus have for us that we are not seeking?

Columbine/Virginia Tech

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Columbine school shootings, and this comes just a few days after the tragic Virginia Tech shootings. I understand that the VT shooter was influenced by the Columbine shooters. What do we do? What kind of a world do we live in? How do all these things make you feel?
Here are some prayers/readings dealing with tragic events. Take time tomorrow to pray one or two in honor of those who lost their lives at Columbine and Virginia Tech, and to soothe your own soul as you try to figure things out. (You can always leave a comment here, call me 403-2403, or email me richard@catumc.org.) [Prayers and readings from The Book of Uncommon Prayer by Steve Case]

God, we've read the newspapers
We've seen the video on the news
We talk about faith
Our brains demand evidence
Our hearts long to believe
Forgive us our doubts, God
The world is a cruel place
The hungry and hurting reach out
The questions and doubts rise up like a raging river
We could drown in our own ignorance
Come into this place
We will open our hearts
We will open our minds and souls
Show us
Enlighten us
God, we need to know you are here. Amen.

***
Give us faith to stay on the path
Give us the courage to face the coming days
Give us the strength to pray in the face of things we don't understand
Give us the strength to believe in the mercy and grace you've promised us all
Give us the grace to entrust to you those we lost
Invite them to your table
Serve them their favorite foods
Give them eyes to see how much we miss them
Give us the eyes to see their smiles in the sunrise
Give us the ears to hear their voices in the rain
Give peace to their families and friends, and to the world. Amen.

Psalm 23
Matthew 5.1-12

Sarai Preaching Sunday

This Sunday, April 22, is Sarai Case's last Sunday with us at Catalina before she moves to Chicago to go to seminary. She is preaching in both services of The Refuge. Her Scriptures are below.
Jeremiah 5.1
Luke 10.38-42
2 Timothy 3.1-9, 10-14
Acts 9.1-19

Ignored Beauty

What would happen if a world-renowned violin virtuoso played a $3.5 million Stradivarius in a subway station? Would anyone notice? Check out the video. Look for the post "Ignored Beauty".

Virginia Tech

I may say more about this later, but for right now, I will mention that Lilly Lewin has posted some awesome prayer ideas in response to the shootings on her blog.

Do we worship the God of the past?

I cited Mike DeVries in an earlier post, and he has put another insightful article on his blog. Read it here.

Noticing our presuppositions

A few months ago, Bart Campolo (son of Tony Campolo) wrote an article called The Limits of God's Grace. It was published in The Journal for Student Ministries, and was quite controversial. It was controversial for a couple of reasons. One reason was that Campolo stated that he didn't believe that a loving God would assign anyone to the torment of hell. Secondly, it was controversial because of the reasoning that Campolo used to come to his conclusion. He stated (to simplify) that the kind of God he believed in would not send a deeply loved creation to hell. Campolo has a follow up to his article. This article is well worth reading. It argues that everyone of us comes to the Bible and all theological thought with our own presuppositions that color how we interpret the Scriptures. Very thought-provoking.

Is God Real?

This is the title of an interview/article in Newsweek's April 9, 2007 edition. Jon Meacham interviewed Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Community Church and author of the best-selling The Purpose Driven Life, and Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. The discussion was pretty good, and I would recommend reading the article. I'm not sure if Warren was the best choice for this interview. I would have preferred Jim Wallis or Bono. I dont' think Warren could leave his fundamentalist-evangelical viewpoint long enough to give broad answers. He is a person who lives out his faith and puts his money where is mouth is. I think he could have emphasized Christian experience a little more.

Who is God and what is God like?

This was sort of the theme for our study Sunday morning in The Refuge. It was the first in our series "Moving Forward", and my thesis was that we cannot move forward in our faith with incorrect or unworthy concepts of God; and that the questions that nag us and doubts that haunt us will hold us back. So, we said 5 things that go with the Scriptures listed in the Thursday post.
1-I can move forward when I realize God is a mystery Isaiah 55.8-9 Read this post by Mike DeVries.
2-I can move forward when I realize my faith is not a superstition. Acts 17.24-27
3-I can move forward when I take risks. Genesis 32.24-32, Matthew 14.24-33
4-I can move forward when I look for God in the everyday. Exodus 3.1-5 Moses was just going to work when he encountered God in the burning bush.
5-I can move forward when I understand the goodness of God. Matthew 7.9-11

SUNDAY Sunday Sunday

We started out at 7am at Reid Park with the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Mindy, Bethany, and I did the 5k non-competitive race (walk in our case) and Tyler and Jeremiah did the 5k competitive. Tyler's time was pretty good (24:42/159th overall) since he is not a competitive runner. I was really blown away by all the Catalina people who were part of Race for the Cure this year! Of course, Friday night the arthritis in my left knee started to bother me. But I made it through! The photo is Mindy and three of the Melchers at the Race. We recognized RACE participants in the Refuge worship at 11, and they were an enthusiastic bunch! In fact, I would say the atmosphere in the hall Sunday morning was as good as I've ever known it to be.

Then during worship at 11am, we baptized and confirmed Chloe Kolaz. This was a special honor for me. Chloe is an awesome member of our youth group. I know this may sound self-serving, but I think it was the best confirmation service I have ever seen.

Eventful Saturday

Saturday Mindy and I chaperoned the Sahuaro Drumline on their trip to the State Drumline competition in Phoenix. We had a pretty good time. Sahuaro won fifth in the state. Not bad. The return trip was exciting: the Sabino bus broke down and we picked them up on the interstate (Sabino and Sahuaro are arch-rivals), and a boy threw up on the back of the bus. Sounds like fun, huh? This is Tyler in his drumline costume.

Sunday Bulletin

The bulletin for Sunday, April 15, can be found here.

The Refuge April 15

April 15 will be a unique Sunday. We will only have an 11am service, since many of us are participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. At the 11am service, we will confirm (and I think baptize) Chloe Kolaz. Chloe is an outstanding member of our youth group and is a fine young lady. It is my honor to be part of this special time in her life.
We will also begin our new study, Moving Forward. We will examine specific steps you and I can take to move forward in our faith. Since the season of Easter (beginning Easter Sunday and lasting until Pentecost) is one that emphasizes new life and growth, we will move forward in our faith. The first segment is "Moving Forward with God". These are the Scriptures we are considering:
Isaiah 55.8-9
Acts 17.24-27
Genesis 32.24-32
Matthew 14.24-33
Exodus 3.1-5
Matthew 7.9-11

Easter Relief

It might seem strange to some of you, but it is (at least for me) usually a relief once Easter is over. It is an occupational hazard of being in church work. It's almost the same for Christmas. I am so busy with Christmas Eve services and seasonal youth activities that it can be overwhelming. I must say that this Easter I was really looking forward to the services, even though it was a very busy season!
I was looking forward to the Sunrise Service (is that a paradox?) because Sarai was taking care of it and it seemed to be under control. I was looking forward to The Refuge services because I was prepared, and the services were simple in nature, and I had a message I was excited about preaching!
The message was that we can be FREE because of the resurrection of Jesus! The lectionary texts for Easter (listed and linked in the last post) said to me that:
Psalm 118 I can be free from fear of rejection by God.
1 Corinthians 15 I can be free from the fear of death.
Acts 10 I can be free from my sins and judgment.
Lukek 24 I am free to take a leap of faith.
We ended the service with communion to the very upbeat "I Am Free" by the Newsboys.
The Sunrise Service included the falling stone. Instead of just being rolled away from the tomb, the stone fell over into the tomb (on to the altar) first. This was pretty exciting since it knocked the communion cup (and juice) off the altar and there was a lit candle on the altar. But all turned out OK. Here is a photo of this year's Easter banner before its launch. That is always a source of excitement: will the banner fly and HOW FAR will it fly?

Easter Sunday!

Tomorrow ends our Lent series "Starting Over"; and our theme tomorrow is "Being Free".
Our Scriptures are the Revised Common Lectionary Scriptures for Easter which are:
Luke 24.1-12
1 Corinthians 15.19-26
Acts 10.34-43
Psalm 118.1-2, 14-24

This is part of our group from the Good Friday Hike yesterday. Apparently the GFH is a Catalina youth tradition that dates back at least to the early 80's. We hiked the trail to the Sabino Canyon Creek and Dam.

Newsboys Lose Phil Joel

Today I was visiting the Newsboys website because I am using one of their songs in the Easter service. I noticed something strange. All of the photos of the band had an empty spot where Phil Joel used to be. I tracked down the story and it seems that Dec. 31 was Phil's last day as a Newsboy. There are no plans right now to recruit a new bass player.

What if Jesus had a talk show?

This article is also from Mike DeVries' blog. It's about a guy in LA who does a call-in talk show as Jesus.

TWO Palm Sunday Processions

Go here to read an excrept from a book by Marcus Borg and John Crossan. The excerpt is quoted on Mike DeVries' blog. It tells the story that, in fact, TWO processions entered Jerusalem on the day we refer to as Palm Sunday. Read about it. It is fascinating and thought-provoking.

Check out Zach Lind's blog

Jimmy Eat World drummer Zach Lind is a pretty interesting person. He is a serious believer and is also quite a thinker. Check his blog at http://www.findingrhythm.com/blog/
Jimmy Eat World is one of my favorite bands and after seeing them at KFMA Day a couple of years ago, I must say they are one of the better LIVE performers that I have seen. Presently I am listening to JEW's Bleed American CD. Good stuff. I'm eagerly awaiting the new recording.

Conversion in the Wesleyan Tradition

This is the book that I am currently reading. It is a series of essays about conversion (duh). The sections are Historical Perspectives, Biblical Perspectives, and Theological Perspectives. I'm just two chapters into it right now, but it is interesting so far. I suspect that the authors are all from the conservative side of the United Methodist Church, but so far that's OK. The first chapter is a discussion of Wesley's Aldersgate experience. The first and second chapters discuss in detail the tension between gradual or incremental conversion and instantaneous conversion. Also, the discussion of Wesley's categories of faith of a servant vs faith of a son is interesting. Click on the photo to go to a link for the book.

Palm Sunday

This Sunday in the church year is actually called Palm/Passion Sunday in the Revised Common Lectionary. You can find readings for each Sunday here. The reason the Sunday before Easter was changed to Palm/Passion Sunday is that a lot of churches stopped doing a full-blown Good Friday service. So, you went straight from the Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday) to the Resurrection (Easter) and the Cross event in between was ignored. To fix this, a liturgy for palms and a liturgy for the passion were both placed on the Sunday before Easter. Thus endeth the lesson.
You can check out our worship bulletin for Sunday, April 1 here. It doesn't have a lot (or actually any) sermon notes, but there is some interesting stuff if you want to get a sneak peek. Our emphasis in our "Starting Over" series this week is "Being Forgiven". I will look at both the palm and the passion narratives and ask the question: What happened to cause the crowd in Jerusalem to go from "Hosanna!" at the Triumphal Entry to "Crucify Him!" a couple of days later? Think about this and come to worship on Sunday. By the way, we assembled all of our "Refuge" signs and they should be in place Sunday!

I got cut...

Yep, I went under the knife at the dermatologist's office yesterday. I had some moles, etc. that didn't look right, so I went to the derm. He cut one off my arm and one off my shoulder. He also cut the wart off my eyelid. You were wondering about that weren't you? It didn't hurt much at all. The doc sent the stuff to the lab but he said he doubted there was anything wrong with any of it. Of course, he gave the lecture about staying out of the sun (this is Arizona and I am fair-skinned and have always been prone to sunburn) and he said something very profound: "Everyone's free to wear sunscreen." OK, he didn't really say that.

The other signs

These are other signs we will be using. The two beige signs will go up front on the stage (that's the plan right now). The white signs are two proofs of the same sign. I believe we are using the bottom one. This is the sign that will hang on the A Building (office building) facing First Street.

The Refuge at Catalina

As I said Sunday, I think our services are awesome! But we do suffer from a lack of identity and a lack of visibility. I have actually been working on (OK, thinking about) these issues for a long time. We batted around some name ideas at a brainstorming session a couple of years ago, but nothing ever came of it. Well, I finally got motivated and around the same time, came in contact with people who could help. Accent Banners and Signs made our pumpkin patch banner for us. They did a great job, had reasonable prices, and were very easy to work with (communicate via email, pick up and deliver, etc.). So, I took the opportunity to get things moving. Worship in the hall will now be…The Refuge. I add “at Catalina” on a lot of the signs because I want people to know that we are clearly a part of Catalina UMC, we are not a separate group renting space. The Refuge stuck out to me for two reasons. I think it says what we want to be: a safe place where people can feel at home and be themselves. I think it also expresses our theology. “God is our refuge and strength, a ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46.10). I say “alternative” worship instead of contemporary. I say this because we are an alternative to the traditional worship service, but also because we may use methods or practices that have their roots in the ancient church—hardly contemporary, but not the traditional worship either. Hence, alternative. We will have 3 sandwich board signs out around campus announcing that there is another worship service on campus. I think most of the time new folks coming to Catalina are only aware of the sanctuary services. Lets educate them! We will have a couple of large banners/signs up on the stage (“up front signs”) announcing who we are. And we will have a banner hanging on the front of the A Building (office building) that will announce to all the folks who drive down First Street, who play in Himmel Park, who jog around the park, and to all the day school parents, that there is a casual, come-as-you-are service on Sundays in the hall. For people who want to give church a try, we want them to know where we are. I will also put announcements in the religion section of the newspaper, and when the traditional service does their ad for the third Sunday music emphasis, I will occasionally add an announcement about us also.

We all probably have ideas about how we can “tweak” our worship to make it even better. Feel free to share those. Leave them as comments to this post.

You folks do so much to make our worship what it is. We want to share you and our message and our worship with everyone around.

Sunday March 25

The worship bulletin for this Sunday, March 25 is here. This is going to be a different week at worship. Our theme is repentance and rest. We will focus on examination, confession, receiving forgiveness, praying to God, praying for others, and communion. We will do this through music and media. The Scriptures that set the tone for our meditation are:
Psalm 50
Psalm 119.145-149
Mark 1.35-42

The music is from Moby's 18 (tracks 9, 15, 16) with one song from Hotel (track 14). You can listen to samples at the links.

From Jesus to Christ

This is an Easter article from March 20/28 2005 Newsweek. I personally think Meacham makes some good points and has a good grasp of many of the issues. Yes, if the body of Jesus could have been found, that WOULD have discredited Christianity. And believe it or not, there was more pressure to discredit Jesus in his day than there is today. So, James Cameron, if the remains of Jesus were available for finding, they would have been found. But they weren't. And Jesus was not discredited. And the claims of the disciples and Paul of resurrection appearances are valildated by the subsequent changes in behavior and life.
Some folks don't like the article. Here is one critique.

My WeeMee

This is my WeeMee I created at weeworld.com
Make one yourself. It's fun and...hey! You could make weemes of OTHER PEOPLE!! That opens up all kinds of possibilities, huh?

Cleaning Up

Those of you who have been in my office recently know it was a mess. Well, today I cleaned it! I started right after staff meeting (11am), and finished around 4:40pm. It was in many ways a reorganization and not just cleaning. It started with "zeroing out" my in basket and "zeroing out" my email (that's right, I have 0 email in my inbox). Then it went from there to getting my desk organized for productivity. That spread to the counters that were stacked, and the huge pile of files that needed to be filed (what else would you do with files?). Well, it's done. I do have some loose ends from the cleaning that I tossed in my in basket. I'm going to deal with those and go home. Oh no! I've still got to lead worship and lead youth group Sunday! You mean cleaning my office doesn't get me out of my regular work??

I couldn't talk about it until today...

The U of A Wildcats lost badly to Purdue in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday. The full story is here. It seemed to me that only reserves Jawann McClellan and Brett Brielmeyer played with any intensity at all. The game was so disheartening that I am tempted to stop being a fan. It's that bad. Well, it's only 8 months or so until the next season starts...

This is funny...

Did you see the skit from MadTV about the "iRack"? Whatever your politics, you must admit this is funny! I saw the video on Mark Oestricher's blog. Blame him.

OK Tell me about the band-aids

The clip art band-aids in the worship bulletin Sunday are places you can write the names of people you have hurt or offended in some way--people that you know things are not right between you and them. Yeah, I know the grammar of that last sentence is off the charts bad. So, print up the bulletin and spend some time in silence and solitude and list some names. This becomes a "reconciliation to-do list" for you.

Be reconciled to God. Be reconciled to each other. Amen.

Race Recycling

This is from an email I received from Tucson Clean and Beautiful:

It's that time of year again for the Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure". If you are not planning to race -- come on out for a couple hours and be a volunteer to help this worthwhile effort.

Not only are there a lot of plastic water bottles used during the race that we do not want to go into the landfill, there is also a lot of orange and banana peels that will be collected and composted at the City's new composting facility. Last year the City was able to recover 56% which is great but why not 100%? With your help we can do it.

Please scroll down for more information and how you can become a volunteer.

We will do a training on Sat Mar 31 from 9 to 10 at Reid Park Ramada 18.

The Race is Sun 15 Apr from 6 AM to 10. Respondents can e-mail me at

wilson.hughes@tucsonaz.gov The link below is to the Race web site.

http://komensaz.org/race/2007/recycle.html

This is another way to be involved and make a difference!

Starting Over: Being Reconciled

This is the topic for worship, March 18. The bulletin with notes is here. There is explanation/info in the notes, so I won't repeat that here. The issue this week is being forgiven by those whom we have hurt, harmed, or offended. This is receiving forgiveness. Last week was about giving forgiveness.
Here are the Scriptures:
2 Corinthians 5.17-21
Colossians 1.15-22
Matthew 5.21-24

Reconciliation with each other is possible because of Christ's reconciling work.

Think about the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. After their sin, they chose to hide from God, and then blame others and make excuses instead of seeking reconciliation. I think this was the biggest wrong. I'm sure it hurt the heart of God. Adam and Eve's behavior was motivated by fear and pride. When we blame or excuse or avoid people instead of making things right, that is also usually motivated by fear and pride. May God give us the grace to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters. More Sunday.

If you look at the bulletin, you might be curious about the band-aids. If you are in worship with us Sunday, you will find out what they are for. If not, my post-worship post on Monday will explain everything.

More on the 'Tomb'

I found an article in Time magazine also. It reinforces what Newsweek had to say.

What's a Christian to do?

A really good article in Newsweek talks about being Christian meaning "caring for others and making sacrifices to solve problems". It is about the Kennedys. Don't miss the last line. If the significance passes you by, let me know and I'll clue you in.

Each Day and Each Night

This is a prayer book that I use. You can look at it here. It has morning prayers and evening prayers for each day. There is also a lectionary with a psalm and a gospel reading for each day. It is simple, but meaningful.

Arizona Faces Purdue in NCAAs

You can read the story here and get the details. The game is Friday at 3:20 or so. I'll be watching. I cancelled an appointment my son Tyler had when I found out it conflicted with the game. More analysis of the game is here.

'Tomb' can't keep Christianity down

The alleged "discovery" (actually the artifact was found in the 80's--James Cameron just got interested recently) of the burial box of Jesus has caused a little stir. Did you notice how quickly the whole thing has subsided? Here is a link to an article in the LA Times about it that I thought was pretty good. It is written by Charlotte Allen, a contributor to beliefnet.com. The article in Newsweek on the subject is pretty good, too.

Race for the Cure

I personally know several women for have survived and are dealing with breast cancer: members of our church, moms in our youth group, friends. This disease must be fought. I think it is part of our imperative as the body of Christ on earth to do all we can to bring the kingdom of God to our world. Eradicating disease is part of that. We want to support God's work in our world. We want to support our friends and moms who have suffered. We want to stand with our brothers and sisters for a cure. Here is what I propose: as a church family, lets get involved with Race for the Cure on Sunday, April 15. We will enter a contemporary worship or general church team. We can enter a youth team and a young adult team. You guys can organize your own teams at school, work, or among friends or neighbors.
Go to the Race website for all the details. I will also have brochures next Sunday (March 18). If you can't be on a team, volunteer! Info for that is also at the website, or you can call 319-0155. We will have one service that day, 11am, after the Race activities are over and as a celebration of our efforts, and the hope that God can give this world!
The Race is April 15. If you would like to be part of helping coordinate Catalina's efforts, let me know! Just email me at richard@catumc.org or phone me 403-2403, or see me at church.

I don't want to talk about it...really.

I came home Thursday afternoon to work at the house and to watch the U of A first round game in the Pac-10 tournament. I shouldn't have bothered. They played terribly and lost by 19. You know, I can take them losing if I don't see it. Well, I saw it. And I may be scarred for life. Lets all hope that the NCAA tournament goes better.

This photo really says it all...

Me? Rich?

I was reading Luke 16.19-31 today, the story Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus. Normally, I would indentify with Lazarus. I'm not rich, am I? I don't ignore the needs of people around me, do I? I am a needy person, aren't I? But today, I thought that maybe I am the rich man. I do have so much. I do need to be much more concerned about people in need around me. I need to be much more diligent about the use of my resources and much more aware of justice issues. The cost of being the indifferent rich man is high. Read the story.

Starting Over: Forgiving Others

This is our theme for this Sunday in our Lenten study "Starting Over". We must forgive other people to be free from our past and therefore able to start over. Below are our Scriptures for Sunday. Take a look at them and ask yourself, "What does this teach me about forgiveness?".
The worship bulletin for March 11 with notes is HERE.

Ephesians 4.32

Matthew 6.9-15

Matthew 18.21-35

Colossians 3.13

Luke 6.37

Luke 23.32-34

Wildcat Basketball!!

When I first moved here to Tucson, I didn't understand the fervor of the U of A fans, nor did I understand the great tradition in the Arizona basketball program. But for the last 4 years or so, I have followed the Wildcats religiously. I watch every game unless it is impossible. I know who the players are. I want them to win and I am upset when they lose. They are the ONLY team I care about in the NCAA tournament, and once they are out, I pretty much stop watching. I have no idea who won last year and I didn't watch the championship game.
After a really rocky patch this season, I am very happy that the Wildcats have won their last two games. I hope they can win at least one, and hopefully two, games in the Pac-10 tournament, so they will look strong going into NCAA tournament selection. I don't want them to have to play a top seed at the beginning of the tournament. The next game is Thursday at 12:20pm and I will be in front of my TV to watch it.
Check out Arizona Athletics. Ivan Radenovic's (see photo) 37 points against Stanford was phenomenal, especially his 11-11 free throw shooting which pretty much decided the game.

online prayer chapel

I like going to this online prayer chapel. You can click to add a candle and a prayer request. These requests are then read and prayed for all over the world. You might make it a practice to visit this site and just pray for other people. Since these are people you don't know, and you can in no way receive anything back, this would be a good way to do something really selfless.

Do you know what's on your ipod?

Today as I began my treadmill workout, I couldn't decide what to listen to, so I chose "shuffle songs". I didn't even know this was an option until a couple of months ago I had a conversation with Jim Caldwell. I mentioned that most of the stuff on my ipod I had never listened to. He replied that it was for that reason (having music you never listen to) that he put his ipod on random play. So, inspired this morning, or bored by my usual choices, I chose "shuffle songs". Here is what I heard:
The Voice of the Irish by Jeff Johnson
The Air that I Breathe by The Hollies
You Know How I Do by Taking Back Sunday
Winter Wonderland by Steve Taylor (a mariachi version--that's right)
Countin' on a Miracle by Bruce Springsteen
Hells Bells by AC/DC

I got drilled!

Last Thursday night as I flossed, something hard came out of my mouth. It was two small pieces of what looked to be tooth material. My dentist doesn't work on Friday, but I was in no pain, so that was OK. I went in this morning. My mind was reeling. What if I have to have a root canal and/or a crown? What would be the worst part: the fear? the cost? the pain? What if this is one of my two (I think) remaining wisdom teeth and the dentist recommends getting it pulled? That was fun last time. Or maybe it will be OK. Maybe it is a filling that came out. Maybe the dentist will just plug me up with a filling. You see, I am really afraid of the dentist. (For no good reason, actually.) What happened was that I had broken a tooth, but it could be fixed with a filling. But I had to get drilled. So there was novacaine, etc. I felt no pain at all in the chair, but after I got home, it started up. It has pretty much subsided now, but it was pretty bad there for an hour or two. You could make a horror movie out of stuff like this.
But I'll tell you one thing: there's nothing like a dentist appointment to make me pray. And pray hard, and fervently, and long! So maybe that was the good side of this.

Leaving Regrets Behind

Peter and Judas were both people who felt bitter regrets. Judas betrayed Christ to the authorities, and Peter denied that he even knew Jesus. The Scriptures tell us that both suffered bitter regrets from these actions (Matthew 26.69-27.5). But Peter and Judas had different responses. Judas was so overcome by his guilt and regret that he took his life. Peter stayed with the disciples and kept going. John 21 records the first one-on-one encounter between Jesus and Peter after his denial. The biggest thing that I notice is that Jesus did not berate Peter at all. Jesus didn't start with the "after all I've done for you..." speech. Jesus simply asked him "What's it going to be?". Are you going to follow me or not? Jesus had obviously let go of Peter's past and he invited Peter to do the same. And we know from history that Peter did.
Try this (we did this in worship Sunday): Get a piece of paper and a pen. Take time to think and pray and write down regrets you have--your "if onlys". If only I hadn't said... If only I had said... If only I had spent more time... If only I had made a different decision...
After you've got a list, give them to God. We brought them to a cross in an act of contrition in worship, but you can simply pray, "God, I give these regrets to you. I know you have let them go, help me to let them go." And then tear up your list.
Jesus was more interested in what Peter was going to do than in what he had done. Jesus had work for Peter. Jesus wants us to follow him also. Put down the past and focus on following.

Next Sunday March 4, 2007

We will continue our study "Starting Over" and we will discuss letting go of regrets and past mistakes. Our worship will include communion, a special media meditation, and an interactive worship/prayer experience. The worship bulletin is available on this page. The Scriptures for this Sunday are:
Philippians 3.7-14
Hebrews 12.1-3
Matthew 26.69-27.5
John 21.15-17
John 6.66-71

Healing Hurts

Last Sunday we began our study for Lent, Starting Over. The first installment discussed healing past hurts as a condition for starting over. We must be free of things from our past that hold us back if we are going to move forward. A process for dealing with past hurts and losses is detailed in the worship bulletin for February 25. It can be found from a link HERE. This process combines steps from Laurel Mellin and a couple I added. Here are some Scriptures that relate to each step.
Thinking Journal John 8.32
Feelings Letters Psalm 34.18
Essential Loss John 8.32
Earned Reward Romans 8.32
Letter to God Psalm 62.8
Letter from God Matthew 11.28-30

Feel free to leave comments or questions.

Rule of Life

We spent parts of January and February talking about developing a rule of life in worship. A rule of life is a framework, a list of guidelines for your spiritual life (and the rest of your life as well). A rule of life allows us to be INTENTIONAL about living out our faith. The worship bulletins with notes for the rule of life series is HERE. A possible discipline for Lent would be to spend time developing a rule of life.

Vacation Days

I took a couple of days of vacation last week. Monday was a holiday, then I took Tuesday and Thursday off, and worked Wednesday. Friday is my usual day off. Did I have a good vacation? I had a GREAT vacation!! What did I do? I got plenty of sleep. I played lots of x-box. And I did LOTS of work around my house--stuff that was on my to-do list for a long time. I really had quite a sense of accomplishment. As I was working, I was able to listen to several podcasts. My favorites are still the ones I listed on centering prayer and finding God in the other.

Finding God in the Other

This is the title of a sermon by a Eastern European secular muslem converted to Seventh Day Adventist pastor. (Now THAT'S a conversion!) This message is very stretching, and very thought provoking. You can listen at the website or download the podcast. It is about an hour long. My favorite quote is when he calls Christianity a "God-mangement system". I will listen to this again. And again. And I will visit his website. Listen and leave comments if you like.

Centering Prayer

Centering prayer is a form of contemplative prayer that I have found helpful, but also hard to understand. I found two interviews that were very informative and inspirational. The interviews are with Cynthia Bourgeault. They can be listened to from the website, downloaded to your computer, and imported as a podcast. Give them a listen and post comments if you like.