What I Want

I'll miss Presbytery this week.

Here's what I want Presbytery to be:

• fair to everyone. no favorites. no golden boys. interested in all preachers
• for the executive presbyter to drop the "executive" part and fulfill all the obligations in the Book of Order, to be a pastor to pastors, to know each pastor's abilities and interests and to use these to further mission
• a place of encouragement for collegial relationships fostering friendships rather than competition
• to be a place where worship is valued. for every meeting to include worship not just the obligatory opening prayer
• where churches work together to help one another
• where there is a spirit of openness, transparency rather than having all major decisions made before the meeting
• a better place for laypeople to develop skills for ministry both administrative and pastoral
• a clearing house of information about available resources
• a group people love not dread.

Am I willing to work for these things? I'm not sure this week. Politics and meanness are killing my presbytery.

St. Casserole, someone who wants Presbytery to be more

Rain again today. All day long.
Too much thunder and lightening for Sister the Dog who crawled under our bed to pray.
I wore rain boots out to supper tonight.
Thank goodness Cheesehead introduced me to the Betty Friedan line of anti-frizz hair products.

Yours,

St. Casserole

It's raining! It has been raining! It will rain more!

Good news for the parched ground!

St. Casserole

Friends, that sound is my last nerve popping.

Look at the October 15th issue of the Presbyterian Outlook.

Read the Editor's page. Scratch head in wonderment.

Read that Editor Jack Haberer writes about a young adult friendly PCA congregation in New York.

Haberer's point of view is the good work this church does with young adults. Great.

He notes that the PCA is a denomination that "bucks" us. Understatement.

I DO NOT WANT TO READ ABOUT THE PCA IN MY DENOMINATIONAL MAGAZINE.

Independent periodical or not, the Outlook is a source of news for PCUSA people.

The PCA connected adoption agencies will not place a child with a PCUSA family because we are not "evangelical".

The PCA does not ordain women.

In some PCA churches, women do not teach boys older than 11.

The PCA delights in misunderstanding the PCUSA.

The PCA hurts families and churches in my State. Agressive is an understatement.

I've read the Presbyterian Outlook since 1975. I'm about finished.

Say what you will but the column is inappropriate. Like he couldn't find a great PCUSA congregation to visit and review?

St. Casserole

Just sayin'.

Computer probs and work slowed down teh blogging.

Yours,

St. Casserole

The winner of the CONTEST! is Presbyterian Gal. First runner-up is Alex who took a decorative approach and Second runner-up is Little Mary with the whining card. As the rules mentioned, only the Winner winner is the winner.

Congrats to Presbyterian Gal! Send me your address and I'll mail the John Calvin Creamer and Sugar Bowl to you.

About the judging: David took a cheap shot at Calvinism with his "understanding" of predestination. Teri corrected all of youse so she gets an "honorable mention" for being theologically diligent.

It's just as well that Cheesehead wimped over to David because she didn't qualify for the contest. Not really. Y'all would cry "foul" if my G.A. Roommate and Fashion Maven won. Same with Songbird, Sue and the rest of you.

After reviewing the comments with Ernst&Ernst, the cats and drinking a poor excuse for an Irish Cider, the best comment became obvious.

Congrats to Presbyterian Gal!!!! She is a winner!

With Enough Dour Attitude to Share,

St. Casserole

Contest!

Win the John Calvin Creamer and Sugar Bowl!

Rules: Contest open to residents of the contiguous United States only. Sorry, but it's difficult to mail anything outside of my State much less to foreign shores. One entry per contestant. Postage to be paid by me. Judging will be impartial, expert and foreshadow that of Heaven.

In the comments, explain why you should own the John Calvin Creamer and Sugar Bowl.
Please note that this John Calvin set is for decorative purposes only. A good Calvinist drinks black coffee and plain tea. The life of servanthood is not for sissies who use sugar and cream.

Dubbie's leg and foot are not included in the prize!

Winner will be announced on Friday, October 12, 2007 when I get around to it.

You do not have to be a Calvinist to play!

St.Casserole, Judge

Calm Down! This ONLY the Contest Announcement!

In honor of LD getting her braces off today and being in her first High School Play this evening, I am proud to announce a St.CasseroleContest!

Friends, please prepare yourselves to enter the St.Casserole Comment Contest tomorrow!

Grand Prize, to be shown here tomorrow, will be given to the best comment about why you should win the Grand Prize to be shown here tomorrow. There will be no runner-up or place prizes, only the Grand Prize to be shown here tomorrow. This is win or lose, cut bait or fish, drive or get out of the car, saddle up or shut up type contest.

Your best hope is your wit, brainpower and not telling another soul about this contest so that I get so few entries that every one's comment looks good because I will be humiliated by desperation to be shown here tomorrow.

This is, however, not about me but about LD's no brace's smile and her play tonight and about you who should be sharpening your comment skills to be shown here tomorrow.

Until then, I remain, ever your,

St. Casserole

P.S. You could practice by leaving sucking up kinds of comments today!

More about Obituaries...

*Local obituary of an older woman records her involvement with the senior citizen's program along with names of her survivors only. Did this woman do nothing in her earlier years? Was the writer of her obit familiar with her latter years only?

Shouldn't obituaries, even with cost restraints regarding length, include something about the person's life? Was she a member of the Ruth Bible Class? Did her recipe for duck a la banana die with her? Was she a reader or knitter or great with little children?

*What's all this with "special friends"? If the deceased lived with Denise for 15 years, wouldn't "companion" be more exact? A recent local obit listed the young man's girlfriend as "Tiffany" with no surname. In years to come, will survivors wonder which Tiffany?

Obits are supposed to be a final historical record of the person's life. Where was she born? Where did she die? Who preceded her in death? Who were her people? What did she do? etc. etc. The local paper will not say how the person died. I respect the privacy of those who died while cleaning gutters standing on a paint can holding a live electrical wire and eating a Hot Pocket microwaved pepperoni "sandwich" at midnight in the rain but a tad of information may be helpful to survivors.

Write your own obituary and keep it updated (like served the Riverside Church as Pastor) so survivors will know what you want included.

Tom Long has a good audio lecture at the Calvin Institute of Worship about re-thinking Christian funerals. He mentioned some of these things at the Fest o' Homies this summer.

Just saying,

St. Casserole

Riverside Church has not called me. I'm growing moss waiting to get the call to be their next pastor.

I do not know why. I do not understand this.

Here's a tip about me: I'd rather you tell me than not tell me.

For example, I love my broker. She's a wonderfully smart gal with a generous heart. She's trim and looks great in her clothes. However, she wears a rectangle of dark eye shadow over each eyelid and it looks odd. If she blended the eyeshadow, it'd look like she punched herself in the eye. The rest of her make-up and hair are well done. I do not know why anyone hasn't said something to her about this. It's just weird looking. Other people comment on it but no one tells her.

I'd rather be told.

Why haven't I told her? I'm trying to live by Mr.C's advice. He says, "St.C, everyone doesn't need to know your opinion of them."

Excellent, excellent. But what if there is a wild flaw I need to know about? I know I interupt too much. I dress from thrift shops so I can look like a groomed bag lady on my best days. I go on about cats too much. Etc. Etc.

Not to be gross but I heard a pal at the Young Clergywoman's Conference say that she had a "booger patrol" at her church. Choir members were supposed to tell her if she had "nose dirt" showing before she entered the sanctuary. We need this.

There's nothing like dragging toilet paper on our heels or having our skirts tucked into our pantyhose as we walk around life.

But, who tells us?

I'm just saying, if you need to tell me something, tell me.
If it's dreadful, tell me in private.


Oh? Is that Riverside calling me? BRB!

St. Casserole

One Blogpost for Burma.
Free Burma

Thanks, Karen!


St.C.

Here's Proof I Went to a Football Game

Mr. C. escorted me to a football game uppada LS's school. LS and Friend went with us. LS's school team had a rotten time of it until We left at half-time (school night for LD and F.) Twenty-five miles out of town and the team recovered enough to lose by two points, which was better than 31-7.

See my shoes? See those Skittles? I ate popcorn without salt and drank a Diet Coke.

Kept wishing I had a tape to record the good ol'boys sitting behind me. Accents were priceless as were their comments.

A Real Sports Fan Here,

St. Casserole

Obituary Troubles New Series!

I read obituaries. I read to be aware of pastoral needs and lately, for entertainment. The "good" obit is a thing of beauty, an art form but here in the Sticks, we have odd things happen when we rhapsodize our dead. For example, the "Ken" of this story is 47. Assuming that his partner is around his age, is it fair to think that the remaining years of her life will be spent burning up time to join him on his heavenly fishing boat? What if his partner heals from his loss enough to love again?

"Please envision Ken floating above us in a great boat with a feisty fish on the line, cheering for the LSU Tigers, reunited with all the adoring pets who passed before him, smiling and patiently waiting for his wife Alice, the "love of his life and best friend", to join him on board to resume their life together on the best journey ever."
Turning a steel eye toward others,

St. Casserole