Fear: It's Everywhere

This NYTimes article makes me feel ill. Not because I don't believe the article, but because I know it is true.

If all we have to fear is fear itself, then I'm getting afraid of the level of fear and anxiety I see around me.

We need strength to be available to those who need us. To offer companionship through these times.

Lord, help us not smite those who put odd apocalyptic spin on current events. Amen.

Hope, trust and humor help us. So does a listening ear.

Holy Week, it lasts a month,

St.Casserole

Garden Report

The Southern way of gardening says, "don't put your seedlings and young plants out until Good Friday." I put out a few plants mid-March because the weather turned warm.

It's chilly here at 42 degrees this morning.

The azaleas are finished blooming although I have a few still showing flower. The Bradford pear bloomed several weeks ago. The magnolia trees are full and ready to bloom, but not yet.

In my courtyard, the wisteria from the grounds of the College of Preachers at the National Cathedral survived the winter and is leafing out mightily. Mr.C. can't stand wisteria because of the invasive tendencies but enjoys I brought home as seed Summer before last and planted it in a large clay pot.

My hydrangea are coming out with leaves. Gerberra daisies bloomed through the Winter with 7 blooming right now. The purple mandivilla survived Winter with some freeze damage and is blooming again. The bridal wreath is going strong, too.

A pot of tiny purple flowers with yellow centers emerged from Winter sleep.

My soil is improving with added topsoil and fertilizer making a great day for all the weeds. My weeds changed with the new topsoil and the blow around of Katrina. I wish I knew all of their names! One weed looks like a giant heather with a pod crown and must be part of the Scottish heather family. My version isgrand but it's a weed.

I'll try to wait until Friday to put out the seedlings and small plants but Holy Week isn't a great time for gardeners who are preachers.

How's it growing at your home?

St.Casserole, delighted with dirt

If your mind and heart are full of concerns about people, and you've prayed your early morning prayers, the best thing to do is pick up A Wrinkle In Time to read.

Really.

Here and There,

St.Casserole

Slow Blogging

Felder Rushing, our native Gardener and teacher, touts "slow gardening" as the way to go. "Put some lettuce in a pot", he says, and watch it grow.

I'm into slow blogging during Lent. Not that I didn't slow down in the pre-Lent weeks, too.

I'm busy with Little Church, children and home. I'm reading more. Seems like sermon prep is part of every day.

I am moving into new terrain this season.

Yours,

St.Casserole

Oh No! Not Again!

A barge hit one of our important bridges.
Go to the Gallery to see the pictures.

What a mess! Hurricane season begins AGAIN in June.

Arghhh,

St.Casserole

I'm blogging less and less. I'm busy with many activities.


And, I don't have a verger.




If I had a verger, I'd blog more.

Where is my verger? I need one. I'm serious.


St.Casserole, working under difficult circumstances without a verger

Invention Needed

I live among oak leaves, pulled weeds, grass clippings and pruning debris. I am determined to have the best yard mulch possible to cover my plantings to conserve water.

Here's what I need: a chipper shredder machine.

I wish our neighborhood would buy a machine to loan out to neighbors.

These machines are gas powered.

Even better, I want someone to make a stair-stepper exerciser to power the chipper shredder.

If Dr. Joe Stirt of Charlottesville, Va. can use his treadmill to work on his blog, why can't my feets power a chipper shredder so I can recycle plant material into lovely, lovely mulch?

It takes oatmeal to power my imagination,

St.Casserole

The Language of Ministry

I'm concerned about a colleague who is missing ques from his congregation.

He's got a vision of where the church should go and a plan for getting there.

Too bad the congregation cannot hear his vision. It's bad for the colleague who finds the congregation frustrating and confusing. He is critical of them and not happy. The congregation sees him as friendly one day and aloof the next day.

If he speaks to me about the situation, I suggest he pivot to another direction to share the vision. Push less and listen more, I suggest to him.

When I hear complaints about his ministry from his congregation, I remind them that he needs to hear from them about the issues. Talk to him, I suggest. He wants to do well in your church as much as you want the church to do well.

I think I know what is going on. The pastor wants to prove something. Maybe he wants to prove his competency or brilliance as a leader. He came with a mission. But did he listen to understand the congregation's understanding of mission? Does he know the language of this congregation or has he been busy teaching them his ideas?

Balance. Discernment. Listening. Trust. We need all of these gifts in ministry.

I can speak to this issue because years ago, I went to a family type church run by one family who called me only because no one else would go there as pastor. I saw the church as a great white field ready for harvest. I saw the growth potential and the mission possibilities. I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

Great for me! No one else wanted growth. Growth meant accommodating people outside the accepted "family" of the congregation. No one wanted mission. Mission would mean giving to others when the congregation's needs were greater than anyone else according to them.

I became frustrated. They became hateful. It was a PAR-TAY of bad communication.

I did not listen to them. They did not listen to me. I had too much energy for a maintenance congregation. They had too much unease with my gender to accept me. I was not blue collar in their eyes. It was a mess.

My colleague is in a similar situation without the class issues. He has cultural dis-connect with them as a non-Southerner. He doesn't listen. They can't hear him.

This is on my mind,

St.Casserole Photo from I Can Haz A Cheeseburger/lol cats

Being Civil in an Uncivil World

I'm adding to the "why pay attention to a blowhard" conversation going around about Rush Limbo by commenting here. Not sure if this is a good idea. I like the days when it was clear to everyone that Rush was just a voice selling ad time.

It is kind of the RNC Chair to apologize for remarks, however true the remarks are, to Limbo.

To quote Thumper, "if you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all."


St.Casserole

Before Worship, Please Do Not Fall

down the floor vent hole.

Especially if you are wearing vestments and visiting with visitors.


Watching the Pastor fall backwards into a deep hole* in the floor is upsetting and should not be used as an evangelism tool.

I'm O.K. I have a perfect bruise above my knee (that's where my leg stopped going through the building), scrapes and cuts. I can walk, talk and didn't use language unbecoming a minister at the time of the accident.


One almost-new-member took me to the bathroom to help me unfurl my shredded stockings and try to keep the blood off my alb. She used her R.N. skills to advise me on what to do about tending the wounds but my mind was on my broken shoe.

Dang! I ruined a pretty pair of preaching shoes.



Gals, learn from me.

Keep out of construction areas in your church unless you keep your eyes open and your feet on solid floor.

Love,
St.Casserole

*Little Church is a raised wooden framed building, no basement, open foundation.

Q. Why Am I Carrying A Bright Pink Purse?

A. Because winter is on my nerve areas.


Getting Crabbier by the Day,

St. Casserole

On the Way to Little Church

Driving to Little Church under clear blue skies, I saw:

-6 shiny brown chickens enjoying their escape from the yard

-a dead: opossum, raccoon and snake

-one very unusual motorcycle

-a herd of goats

-several pastures full of cattle

-the old man in overalls walking along the road

-green fields, burned fields, empty fields

-two garage sale signs

-a flock of buzzards

I organized my sermon again. I listened to "Speaking of Faith" on Public Radio. I felt content.

St.Casserole

Our presbytery offers a lay pastor program for elders who wish to serve churches as lay preachers. We are building a faculty and seeking students to have a new class this year.

If you read the Book of Order, the description of ruling elders is clear. The ministry of teaching and ruling elders is similar reflecting the reformed tradition of priesthood of all believers and clerical/laity equity.

Part of me thinks it is unnecessary to designate some elders as certified lay pastors. All elders should be prepared to assume the duties of that office. In reality, I know not all elders receive the preparation needed. Elder training in congregations varies from not much, if any, to a year's worth of Saturday meetings for study.

The new student roster may include a person who is not an elder. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of providing CLP preparation to someone who has not been called to this work through the congregation and who has not been ordained. The person may decide not to participate, so my concern may be moot.

The new class of CLP's will study preaching, teaching, theology and pastoral care. Along with these classes, they will begin to form their pastoral identity where they see their faith being transformed into the role of pastor. This formation will help them realize the resources they have in one another and as a group.

Having a student participate who has not yet received the approbation of God's people as an elder will detract from the purpose of the group.

One of the weaknesses of this presbytery is the fluidity of rules. While this may allow grace to flow at times (cannot think of an example here), we never know what is going on. One pastor's reception into the presbytery happens with little "vetting" or comment; another pastor goes through the pit of hell on the floor of presbytery. One pastor is allowed to make decision contrary to the B of O and our presbytery manual. Another pastor is criticised for not following the guidelines. Makes no sense to me.

Presbytery should allow us to work together without chaos. Should, but doesn't.
Whoever has the biggest voice or assumes the most authority or has the largest congregation, greatest age or whatever determinant, gets to pick the rules.

My "fairness meter" beeps incessantly.

St.Casserole, call me an Old School Presbyter

What I Saw Yesterday

*dead craw fish thrown out on the tarmac at the Quick Stop

*bumper stickers reflecting the driver's resistance to our new President

*temperature of 70 degrees in February

*two words I did not recognize in Whistle the Cat's subscription to The New Yorker in a review of Hedda Gabler with Mary-Louise Parker as Hedda: crepuscular and termagant. The reviewer, John Lahr, used both four words apart. Thanks, Mr. Lahr, I enjoy unfamiliar words.

*crepuscular means resembling twilight. For you Twilight fans, Hey! thanks for dropping by. crespuscular sounds like a medical condition gone awry.

*termagant refers to an overbearing, nagging woman. Great. What's the word for a flustered, incapable man?

*Our early blooming azaleas are. How about that for a sentence? Camellias are finished, tulip trees are beautiful.

*Five days of moderate temperatures bring out the carpenter bees.


Love,

St.Casserole

New York Times has NEWS

Good grief! Here goes ecumenical relations

St.Casserole, speechless

Read The Associate

A friend said to me when I couldn't remember something, "well, you are busy upstairs". Is this why I couldn't recall which year I met Mr.C?


Last night, I wandered toward Mr.C. thinking about how fortunate we are. We've been married for almost 29 years. Our courtship was brief because when I met him, I waited only 6 weeks to ask him to marry me. But did we meet in February of '80 or '81? Somewhere in those days is an anniversary of our meeting.


Mr. C. says it was '80. I couldn't get my mind around that but I know I was the minister for his law school graduation. When was that I asked? December of '80?


This means I prayed over John Grisham's law school graduation ceremony. They were classmates.


I can remember the cute outfit I had on, some kind of Harris Tweed blazer which was right in style in 1980 and preppy enough to hurt your teeth.


As my conversation ended with Mr. C, I forgot about the 29th anniversary of our meeting and pondered why I hadn't put together that I prayed over John Grisham. I've read his books for years.


Which means, as I see it, another reason for all of us to read The Associate, Mr. Grisham's new book.


Yours, but I won't remember it,

St.Casserole

How to Have a Happy Life

Stop the tyranny of Cat Parties! Put the cats and dog outside of the bedroom. Make sure the lock catches when shutting the door. Sleep well without: cat fights, dog snoring, dog jewelry jangling and cats wandering up to see if you are sleeping. Move legs freely without dislodging cats who complain.

Ignore meows, woofs and notes slipped under the door by cats who "just want to talk".

Relish sleep.

St.Casserole, rested and ready for the day

From the Local Newspaper

The Mississippi legislature is discussing a bill to allow the adoption of fresh or frozen embryos.

From an obituary: "This is a homecoming celebration, please dress appropriately."
(awkward suggestion, like asking for funeral expenses, but needed in an area where people wear shorts and flip-flops to funerals)


The day is brilliant blue and very cold for us at 29 degrees. Adventure Cat shortened his morning walkabout to 15 minutes.

St.Casserole, fascinated by the World

I Need Help Finding A Primer on Pastoral Care for Lay Adults

I'm teaching a lay ministry program in the Spring on pastoral care.
Can you suggest a basic primer on pastoral care for a varied group of adults? Many are educated, as many are high school graduates only. All are active in church.

Thanks, I need suggestions!

St.Casserole

Ministry Things

Do not forget to take up the offering. If a church member waves a check at you, consider that you may have forgotten.

Take all food offered to you. If you have a new or newish car, please do not bring home a crock pot of hot soup. Just don't.

If you forget where you are in your sermon, you are in trouble. Look down at your outline and begin praying.

Even if the Holy Spirit is watching your back, wearing your chasuble inside out will show.

Pick a few hymns the congregation knows. Just a few. No one is asking you to be perfect.


Arghhh,
St.Casserole