Matriculation

I realize that I didn't post about matriculation last wed. For those of you not familiar with the Drew Tradition, we have a Chapel service to celebrate our matriculation. We sign a book that has been signed for a 139 years. It was a great service. Len Sweet gave an inspiring sermon about weathering the perfect storm that the church is in now in. It was very memorable. My pastor who is a Drew alum came down. It was great to see her on her old stomping grounds. I feel like everyone here knows her. It's a little intimidating to know what a great student she was here and the impact that she made here. It does give me a little extra incentive to do better. Not that I needed any.... The other cool thing is that I'm starting exactly 10 years after she started. I love that I can share my experiences with her and she understands!

Anyway it is a day that I will never forget!

Work

Well now I don't have nearly as much time as I did before because I started working in the Undergraduate Dean's office. It's only been two days but it's been pretty good so far. A lot of it is similar to what I did in my years spent temping. I actually don't mind doing office work. I guess that will be a good thing when I'm a pastor, but I have feeling then I will not enjoy it nearly as much.

My time at Seminary keeps getting better and better even with a larger work load. The people that I have met and the friendships that are developing are great. Although I have noticed there are very few superficial conversations. Most conversations turn into deep theological discussions. It's pretty interesting.

RevGalBlogPals Friday Five: Brushes with Greatness

1. Tell us about a time you met someone famous.... I've met David Cassidy on several occasions. He comes into the little convenient store that I work at during the summer. He's pretty nice guy.

2. Tell us about a celebrity you'd like to meet.... This one is Easy.... BETTE MIDLER. She is a great performer and has done amazing things for NYC

3. Tell us about someone great who's *not* famous that you think everyone ought to have a chance to meet. ... My pastor. She is a great role model for strong females in Ministry. She is my strongest supporter.

4. Do you have any autographs of famous people? Mickey Mouse and the Disney crew but that's about it.

5. If you were to become famous, what would you want to become famous for? Being active in Social Justice

Bonus: Whose 15 minutes of fame was up long, long ago? Paris Hilton and Company

Title change

I am at Drew, but I had thought about this before, I needed to change my blog title. I need to be inclusive. It has always been about God. When I first realized that I had used exclusive language and I mentioned to my pastor she said I just figured you were talking about Jesus. And yes I'm trying desperately to follow his example, but for me right now it's really about God. Yes, I know for some they are one in the same, and that is a debate for another day.....

Anyway, new title, same blog, hopefully with some more interesting posts coming.

WOW

So it's been two weeks at Drew.. and all I can say is wow. I am home. After a week of orientation an and a week of classes and a two day retreat and I know Drew is home. I have met the most wonderful people and had the must stimulating and exhausting and funny conversations that I have ever had. One of my classmates put it best when he said you don't pass through the school it also passes through you, and I can feel that. The people and the culture are so rich. I just thank God for it everyday

Reason no 1 why the administrative side of drew stinks

In the tradition of Melissa over at Going on to perfection... I am going to complain about the administrative side of Drew... so when setting up our room my roommate and I set up the TV and telephone by the cable and telephone jack only to find out today that those are the new jacks and they aren't working yet. So either we have to rearrange furniture or go with out phone or TV!!! HOW Annoying! Oh and the old phone jack doesn't even exist in out room anymore!!!!

First day

Well I had my first day of Class. It went well. I am really excited about all the learning that is going to occur here, both in and out of the classroom. Especially at lunch or any time when I am with my classmates for that matter. I am definitely off to a great start at making friends. And so far I've been pretty good about working out and getting school work done. Huge steps for me compared to undergrad. I know it's week one but I'[m pretty optimistic about both things staying on track.

Dinner and A day with perfect stranger

So haven't done a book review yet and this one won't quite be one either, but Dinner with a Perfect Stranger an invitation Worth Considering and A Day with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory, are great books. For me they really speak to what my ministry is about right now; developing a relationship with God. And for me right now for as much as I want to be a pastor I don't care if that relationship takes place in the context of Church. It is more important for a person to develop a relationship with God then a relationship to a church. That is not to say that a Church, as it is commonly thought of can't foster that relationship, it is to say that we should not assume because one is not part of a church that they can not have a solid relationship with God.

I think that may be the downfall of current mainline religions. We have put emphasis on our membership numbers and our appearance as the Body of Christ and have not put our focus on building a relationship with God in order to become part of The Body. So often we struggle with the traditions , and rituals that lose sight of what those traditions and rituals are about. They are about having a greater connection with God.

We accept the difference and marriage styles, the different relationship parents have with their children, different styles of friends,etc. We accept that they are different but we still consider them acceptable. Why is that so often we do not feel the same way about a person's relationship with God. We do judge people if they don't meet their friends for coffee once a month as we do, but we are quick to judge them if they don't go to church on Sunday.

I am a church going person. In fact I truly enjoy going to church. I feel that is where I most often connect with deeply with God. But it is not the only place that I connect with God. If another person doesn't feel comfortable in a church setting I would never want them to see that as a barrier to their relationship with God. Because their are certainly other ways to meet God and to a foster a relationship with God.

greetings from Drew

I am sorry for the time lapse in blogging, but as you can imagine I was very busy geting ready for school. I feel like busy is the theme of this blog. However. I have arrived at DREW. I am HERE!!!! In case you cna't tell I am so very excited about it. Orientation was very long but informative. I hvae have no doubt that I am at the place God intented me to be at. I am so excited for this journey. Everyone keeps saying there will be ups and downs and I feel that there is no other place where I would like to expirence them.

The community here is so welcoming, open and honest. I have already met some amazing people. I know that this will be another place where I will make life long friends. I can't wiat for classes to start. I have such great anticpation for the discussions and the debates that willl occur.

The icing on the cake was meeting Ben and Melissa from the blogoshere world. They are truly great people and have very helpful to me.

Well I'm off to organixe my apartment some more and do a bit of fun readding before all the calss reading starts

Two weeks

Well orientation at Drew is less then two weeks away and I am super excited!!! I can't wait to start school. I've been buying new things, organizing and packing. I am really really excited.
I just can't wiat to get started and it's less then two weeks away!!! :-)

Practice what i preach....

So I preached a sermon on taking time for yourself to relax and refresh and most importantly to Pray. For about two weeks up until my sermon I as really good at doing that, but this week it just hasn't happened and I can really feel the difference. I know from what people have told me and what I have read that pastors are always told they need to spend time on self-care, and I am really really going to have to work on that and rememeber that both for now and in the future.

My time house sitting is almost over. I'm kind of sad to be leaving such a great space. However I'm very happy my pastor is coming home!

Sermon number 2

Well sermon number two has been preached. I had a Few family and friends there which was very nice. I did the whole service this time which was interesting, I made a few mistakes here and there about what was happening in the service. We moved the special music round and I forgot. More importantly I forgot to ask for other announcements... whoops. But over all it went very well. I didn't think this sermon was as good as the first one . It was ok and I received a few compliments on it. My congregation is very supportive of me, which is great.

The good thing is I'm looking forward to having more opportunities to preach. I'm learning more and more each time. The best advice I heard today was not to worry so much about how I sound or if I make a mistake, people are really listening from the message. Definitely something I need to remember.

Another learning experience with many more to come. Little over a month till school! :-)

House sitting

I was kind of excited about house sitting because it meant two weeks out of my parents house. However, as with most things I was a little nervous. I have never been one for spending time alone in a house. Even as a teen I didn't like it. I always use to leave all the lights on in the house.

Right now though I feel very at home and very relaxed. I'm House sitting for my pastor and I can really feel God in the house. My prayer time has been great. It's not as if there are a ton of crosses around or anything. There are a few and some beautiful ones, but nothing unusual. It just feels very homey and I feel good. I even felt better at work this morning and getting up early didn't even affect me.

I'm pretty sure it's the combination of the sense of freedom doesn't hurt.

But truly feeling God in your living space makes such a difference.

Hair cuts

I have decided if I could only have one extravagance in life it would be getting my hair cut. I'd give up going out to eat, shopping, destination vacations, etc... I went and got a great inexpensive hair cut at a relatively new place just out of town. I hadn't had my hair cut in a few months and it was really starting to show. So today on my day off I got it cut. There is nothing better then someone washing and then blow drying my hair.

Plus, I've decided to let my hair grow for the next three years and then chop it off and donate it to locks of love after I graduate from Seminary. I always get frustrated with my long hair and then chop it off but this time I'm sticking to the plan. In three years it will be long enough so that when I donate it my hair won't be to super short.

Just an Update

So apparently Blogger ate my Friday Five post :-(... Oh well hopefully next week. Last weekend was great to spend four days with my best friend from college. Again, this past week was spent working. Luckily, this week I have a whole day off where I don't have to work at either job which will be nice.

Sermon writing is coming along. It's still not polished ( or finished) but the ideas are coming along. It is definitely a case of needing to practice what I am preaching. I need to take more time for rest and spiritual renewal.

Orientation information came last week for Drew. I'm starting to get very excited, and nervous. I never had really though about going to grad school so soon after graduation and now it's really coming.

Starting Sat. I'm house sitting for two weeks. Hopefully I'll get lots of time to read and blog!

BevGalBlogPals Friday Five 4th of July

Finally I get to do one on a friday!!!
1) Do you celebrate 4th of July (or some other holiday representing independence?) Yes, my family always has it's my dad's birthday
2) When was the first time you felt independent, if ever? Wel.. Oh wait I still live at home... is the three years of grad school over yet!?!?!?!
3) If you're hosting a cookout, what's on the grill? I'm not host but we have a big family one and the grill items are a very small part of what's on the menu.. hambugers, chicken ( both grilled and fried, ribs, pork, clams, you name it it will probably at this pinic
4) Strawberry Shortcake -- biscuit or sponge cake? Discuss. Biscuits all the way with A Lot of whipped cream.. pound cake is acceptable as well, but never sponge cake
5) Fireworks -- best and worst experience worst: the empire state plaza when the ash came down on us Best: The international fireworks competition in Toronto

Family Friends and a Sermon

Well the past week has been crazy again. Last week was spent at work and then it was jazz fest weekend. Which is one of the greatest weekends in Saratoga. Three of my aunts and my parents and I go every year. This year my Dad is working as an Usher at SPAC where the event is held so it was just me and mom getting things ready. You really do miss an extra hand. You see this is an all day event. We bring losts of food and and tables and you have to run at 8am to get a prime spot on the lawn. It is a very interesting expirence. However, a whole lot of fun. I got Jamie Collum's autograph and got to see a great new artist. I had just heard her on the radio a few days before and she is amazing. He name is Sonya Kitchell and you must check her out. She is absolsutly amazaing!! This year Jazzfest also included some friends and their families so it was quite the event!

This week has jsut flown by. I did my Friday Five post and just relaized I headlined it the TuUes. edition but it is really the it is WED. wehere did the time go???? This week has been busy with work as ususal. Tuesday I met with my parents' pastor. I used to attned church there and that is where my grandparnts also attend. I left when she came on board. Not because she came on board but becasue I was in transistion as well. We had a nice "getting to know you" chat.

I'm trying to write Sermon number two, but I don't feel as though i'm having as mcuh sucsess as I did with the first one. I'm not quite sure what it is. Speaking of Sermon I'm meeting with my Pastor tomorrow to get some much need help, but I must do some work before I can get help so I'm off....

Revgalblogpals Friday five Tues edition

Well this is a few days late but things have been crazy again as I'll tell you in my next post, but Ice cream is one of my favorite topics so here it is:
1. Ice cream: for warm weather only or a year-round food? YEAR ROUND FOOD
2. Favorite flavor(s) Cafe Moca Chip , Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz, and M&M oh and how could I forget Cookies and Cream
3. Cake cone, sugar cone, waffle cone, cup? Sugar cone
4. Childhood ice-cream memory I have several, Ben Jerry's Ice Cream cakes on my birhtday, The first time I was allowed to get Bubble gum ice cream, and Driving to Greenwhich to Mann's ( now the Ice Cream Man) to get ice cream
5. Banana splits: I have to be in the mood but when I am YUMMY!

Lots going on

Sorry for no post last week. I'm really trying to make sure I post at least once a week, but that jsut didn't happen. Last week was a crazy week. I started job number two and I had to attend a funeral.

Job number two is at the Polo Club. I'm seating people in their boxes and making sure only those who have paid to get in as VIPs are there.I used to go to polo games with my mom when I was little and I always enjoyed it. I remeber though we were never allowed to go over onto the other side of the field, and I always wanted to. Well now I'm working on the other side of the field and let's just say it's interesting. I am enjoying so far and the crowds haven't been to big, so there haven't been too many problems.

The funeral I had to attend was in Williamsport,PA where I attended college. The younger brother of one of my really good friends from college died. HE was only 20 and died in a motorcycle accident. I was very close to the family when I was in college. Lyndy and I didn't like each other to much when I first arrived at school. HSe was two years older then me and the star of the our basketball team. However, by the end of the season we were close friends. My sophomore she and I were basicly inseperable. I used to go with her to her families house all the time and to her brother's soccer and basketball games.

This visit was obviously a sad visit. However, the family is handling it better then I could ahve ever imagined. It is amazing what community can do for you. All of Mitch's friends (which was almost probably about half of his graduating class of 150-200 kids) were up at the house the day after the accident sharing their memories of Mitch. They had to hold the memorial service at the high school because their were so many peopel there. All with funny stories to share about Mitch.

I don't know how to say this with out it sounding wierd, but it was the best funeral I have ever attended. Not in the way that I was happy that Mitch died. I defintely was not. It was the best in that it really honored Mitch and his Memory. THe music playing the begining was Rap/Hip Hop Music. The pastor was a clsoe family friend and we all knew Mitch wasn't relgious and the Pastor talked about Mitch and his relationship with other people and how he lived his life true to himself. He knew the Mitch would make the right choice when he came face to face with God. He spoke of how to comfort he family. IT was truly amazing and very comfoting. Then two of Mitch friends spoke and then Lyndy spoke. The all truly captured what Mitch's Life was about.

It made me realize that sometimes we get caught up in the traditons especaily funerals. It made realized that these events are about celebration. thee celbration of a life lived on earth and returned to God. It gave me a whole new out look on what a funeral should be.

I'm also preparing to to preach my second sermon in July. I'm still debating on the texts. Right now I'm inbetween preaching Mark 6 :30-34,53-56 or Ephesians 2 11-22. I might write sermons for both and then decide from there. I'm struggle a little with Mark text and I really like the Ephesians text but I'm afriad that sermon will sound to much like sermon number one. Sermon number one was about the inclusion of outsiders based on Acts 10:44-48. So that's goign to be my focus this week....

RevGalBlogPals Friday Five

This weeks friday five Rain:

1. Favorite way to spend a rainy day... Curled up on the Couch with a good book or an old movie
2. Favorite song about rain... Come Rain or Come Shine
3. Favorite movie featuring rain...Singing in the Rain
4. Favorite piece of raingear, past or present... I used to have this bright green rain coat tha had whales on the inside
5. Favorite word for rain...hmm this is hard i love spainsh so i'm going with Lluvia