Thoughts from a United Methodist Clergy Couple in Southeast Kansas
From the monthly archives:
Bishop Will Willimon has a post up by the same title defending the continued use of traditional elements of Christian worship. I agree with the sentiment and hope that the author of the article he quotes is correct (both for my personal comfort and the continued future of many United Methodist churches).
Link: http://willimon.blogspot.com/2009/08/traditional-or-contemporary.html
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We’re getting ready to mail out paper copies of The Parish Visitor newsletter. At the same time, our email list for the newsletter has grown to 77. If you have email access and would like to receive the newsletter this way please sign up at . You’ll get the newsletter faster and you’ll save us $.44 each month.
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Wisdom and guidance from C. S. Lewis:
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expendicture on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away to little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them. I am speaking now of ‘charities’ in the common way. Particular cases of distress among your own friends, neighbors or employees, which God, as it were, forces upon your notice, may demand much more: even to the crippling and endangering of your own position. For many of us the great obstacle to charity lies not in our luxurious living or desire for more money, but in our fear—fear of insecurity. This must also be recognized as a temptation. Sometimes our pride also hinders our charity; we are tempted to spend more than we ought on the showy forms of generosity (tipping, hospitality) and less than we ought on those who really need our help.
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
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The September 2009 edition of The Parish Visitor, the church’s newsletter, is available on the newsletter page of www.coffeyvillefirstumc.org.
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Beginning Setember 6, 2009, Jenny and I will begin preaching a Sermon Series titled “Bible 101: A Brief Introduction.” The working schedule is as follows (titles and to a lesser extent, topics, are somewhat in flux).
September 6: A Most Unusual Book
September 13: Torah — The Nature of God and the Intended Nature of Israel
September 20: Prophets — Reminders of God’s Intentions
September 27: Ketuvim — A Much More Dignified Word than Miscellany
October 4: The Gospels and Acts — Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
October 11: The Epistles: — Letters to Churches and About Churches
October 18: The Ongoing Role of the Bible in Our Lives and our Life Together
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Update: we have raised $505 so far.
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Because of a conflict with some previously scheduled UMW meetings, the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee (PPRC) meeting previously scheduled for Thursday, September 3 at 5:15 pm has been moved to Thursday, September 10 at 5:15 pm.
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Regular readers of this blog know my feelings about radio preachers and yet even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Heard from a preacher on the radio:
God is more concerned about [what you do with] the 90 percent you keep then the 10 percent you give away.
Amen.
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The book club gatherings for The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis will run 5 weeks. The basic theme of the book is that Heaven and Hell cannot co-exist within us. In the end being in heaven means ridding ourselves of every bit of hell, every bit of sin, even the ones we currently enjoy. The title was meant in reference to and contradiction of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake. The edition we’ll be reading begins with a quote from George McDonald:
“No, there is no escape. There is no heaven with a little of hell in it—no plan to retain this or that of the devil in our hearts or our pockets. Out Satan must go, every hair and feather.”
Wikipedia provides a summary of the book if you want to know more before committing yourself. Spoiler Alert: the plot summary runs all the way through the end of the book.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Divorce#Plot_summary
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Without becoming partisan, Will Willimon, Bishop of the North Alabama Area, offers a Christian perspective on Healthcare.
Link: http://willimon.blogspot.com/2009/08/thinking-like-christians-about-health.html
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