A Two Goal Lead is the Most Dangerous Lead...

So I stumbled across this amazing video of French Midfielder Zinedane Zidane and Brazilian Midfielder Ronaldhino that sums up for me the spectacular show that the World Cup is all about. This is the kind of stuff that inspires me to do great things, of course this is also the kind of stuff that makes me worry about that USMNT squad as well... Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5OpaklUYyo Be well, A+ PS - Anyone up for getting a resolution to Convnetion that would make Soccer the Official Sport of the Episcopal Church???

Today I want to talk a little bit about having faith, particularly the faith we will all need this summer, particularly the faith we will need from June 9th to July 9th... Faith is kind of like a little caterpillar, in the hands of a child who has never seen a caterpillar. I love this picutre of Eliot, and mostly needed an excuse to post it, but I also needed to tell folks about the faith that will be required this summer. After a couple of days off the United States Men's National Team will be leaving for Germany for the World Cup . The World Cup is the greatest sporting event in the world. Greater than the Super Bowl, greater than the World Series and definitely greater than the NBA Finals. It is one of the only sporting events that lives up to its name as a WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! The US Men will be heading over to Germany to take on the world, literally, their first game, June 12th, is against the Czech Republic, second they take on mighty Italy on June 17th and finally they ...

The Rev. Barbara Mraz preached today at the 8 and 10AM services. Her sermon was phenomenal and she named four points outlining Jesus' actions during difficult times, primarily right before his death while he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, in such times prayed, then gathered community around him to eat and share a meal, then served the disciples by washing their feet. Then, in today's Gospel, Jesus handed over to God, the future of the disciples, he prayed for them and trusted that God would protect and watch over them. I loved the sermon, which will be posted soon on our website , so be sure to read it if you missed it. What I thought of though was the effort that we have put into creating our three core values, Worship, Community and Social Justice. I really am coming to believe that God is working among us in powerful and exciting ways. We are being asked to do great work here at the Garden and Barbara's sermon affirmed that. We come together regularly t...

When I was in Seminary in Berkeley Ca, there was only one other person who was under the age of 60. Ben and I were the youngest members of the class, everyone else was very much older than we were which was somedays a whole heck of a lot of fun and others not so fun. (60 is a bit of an exaggeration, but almost true...) Anyway, Ben keeps a blog on Blogger as well, in fact he is the one that brought me over here and got me inspired to do this blogging thing. So thanks to Ben it has been tons of fun doing this whole thing. Ben recently wrote a very funny blog that made me laugh out loud and harder than I have in some time. Being a priest is definitely a VERY HARD THING!!! Click here for the post. Be well, A+

So Ben, from Ben's Restoration, the guys doing the Bell Tower, came storming into my office today and said, "Where are the switches to ring the bells?" We walked into the sanctuary where they are and he pressed one button that launched a little hammer against the largest bell in the tower, and we heard this ringing, ever so quietly echo through the sanctuary, it was exciting. Then later in the day I was outside and asked Ben to ring it again. This time instead of the little hammer he actuly pulled the rope on one of the smaller bells higher up in the tower. It was awesome. Of course it was funny too because all these people were staring at me as I was looking at the tower, waiting for the bell to ring. They thought something might come down on their heads and were quite shocked to hear the bell ring when it finally did. It was funny. Anyway, the bells have rung for the first time in several years, I was saying 50, but George Hoglund said it wasn't that long. I...

This morning at our Tuesday Eucharist we celebrated St. Augustine of Cantebury, not the other Auggie of Hippo, but Augustine of Cantebury, the first Archbishop of Cantebury, and there was something written by Sam Portraro in his book, Brightest and Best, A companion to Lesser Feasts and Fasts , that was very interesting to me. He wrote, "The Middle Way is not always mediocrity. From its inception Anglicanism chose a course for the middle road; for that choice Anglicans are called wishy-washy, noncommittal, even 'chicken'. Yet even the chicken will tell you, if she could, that it is the side ditch, the extreme edge of the road's path, that promises safe haven; the middle of the way is the most dangerous, exposing one to injury and death. The middle of a struggle between warring factions is the place of greatest danger." Part of the piece I did not speak to in my previous reflection, which is right below this one, was about the sense people seemed to have, of a...

So yesterday, Saturday May 20th, I attended, with many members of Gethsemane, the Stakeholders Retreat that was hosted by the Bishop’s Commission for Metro Mission Strategy. It was a challenging day that had good conversation and difficult moments of honest looks at who we are and who we are not. The following are my own reflections: The day spent at Breck School was difficult, it was joyous too, in some aspects, but I walked away from the meeting not sure what to think about the time spent discussing the future of the Episcopal Church in MN. The following is based on my experience primarily in the small group I was part of and a little bit from the large group discussions and presentations. On one hand, I felt as if the BCMMS wanted to make sure that we all knew we were part of dying institution, they wanted to drill it into our head, then pound it into our head, and then mash it into our head, and then add a little extra oomph for good measure to be sure we understood that we are ...

I was sitting on the pew out in front of the Church on 4th Avenue waiting for my lovely and beloved wife to pick me up. Our other car was in the shop and due to rushed-ness we had to just drop me off at Church today. Anyway, I was sitting out there for about 15 minutes waiting for Sara to come and pick me up and I noticed something very odd. I didn't keep a number tally in my head, but I bet half of the people walking toward me crossed the street, not in the crosswalk at the corner, but at some other point before arriving at where I was sitting. Now, I was wearing my collar and sitting in the pew reading a book. The pew has been used frequently I have noticed by many passersby, I even saw a young man take off one of the round parts of the pew, it had kind of fallen off, so no longer attached, but just stare at it and look it over as he walked on. So the pew has not been an intimidating thing, it was definitely me and my collar, and no, I didn't smell, because many others w...

Not much to tell today, although, the Diocesan Email came out and there are two Gethsemane pieces in it, very cool... If you have not yet seen them, go to: http://www.episcopalmn.org/News_051706_Gethsemane.htm for the article on the Gethsemane Marketing Plan or go to: http:// www.episcopalmn.org/Images_051706_Aron.htm for another picture from the Maibock blessing! Hope you are having a great day! Be well, A+

I was recently asked to come up with some thoughts about what the Episcopal Church might have to offer people who are seeking to join or explore a community of faith. This is what I came up with, any comments or additions??? In the past six months at Gethsemane, I have discovered that when people walk through the doors they feel at home. They feel at home because they understand it is a place where they can let all the pretense of their busy lives go and truly live into God's call to simply be humans, being. I have also discovered a vast interest in the study of scripture; people want to know more, not just details of the biblical stories, but history, context and application. How does the commandment Jesus gave us, love one another as I have loved you really impact our life of faith. Our percept data tells us that people overwhelmingly are seeking "historic Christian" Tradition. To me that means people are seeking deeper meaning, and more "vintage...

Bob Hain, the man with the camera at the Maibock Blessing, took these pictures, many of which are great and funny, check them out if you get a chance. Here is the link: http://www.menet.umn.edu/~bob/photo-album/Maibock_2006/ Thanks for the link Bob! Be well, A+

So I just returned from ur Bell Tower. The owner of Ben's restoration, Ben, just took me up to the Gethsemane Bell Tower and it is amazing!!! I am covered in dirt from head to toe becasue ALL of the tuckpointing that was done when the tower was built in 1883, yes, 1883 has dissolved and turned to dust. There is nothing up there except stones stacked on stones and rotting wood. It is amazing. Scary too, coming down was a real treat. Anyway, these guys who are here will be here for sometime, as they have to gradually work their way UP, because there are no floors to stand on up there. I got to look at the bells though, and they would have taken me up to the roof, but I decided I had had enough. The bells are glorious and the sound they make is tremendous, deep rich and very very loud. There are three of them up there, one of them has an inscritption on it telling the story of some family, the Steele family, sound familar to you Minnesotans??? They are gorgeous. Very very coo...

This was written by the Rev. Neil Elliott, a very smart, witty and creative priest in the Diocese of MN. The response after each statement is "Good Lord Deliver Us." It is a sung response and fits great with the whole litany. From wasting money on thin beer and time on thinner conversation... From jerks, creeps, mashers and the pathologically boring, and those who think they are your gift to those in the bar... From thinking beer has made us clever when we are only beginning to sound stupid... That is a taste of the litany, I figured I better not publish it all, but if you want it, let me know and I will send it to you! It is realy funny. Be well, A+

So I received a call last Thursday about doing a blessing ceremony I never imagined I would participate it. I am not talking about a Marriage or anything like that. Beer, yup, beer, Maibock to be exact, some sort of beer that is really good. Anyway, I received a call in desperation to be at this blessing because two other folks couldn't. I said yes, of course, cause this is what I have been talking about, mission in a brand new way. Very exciting. I arrived around 5:30PM and met with Matt, one of the officials at the Town Hall Brewery , a very cool guy who got us all hooked up and ready to go. When the festivities commenced, with the able help of Jay Christopherson, we marched into the bar, swinging incense and preparing to chant and bless and do some churchy like things. I proceeded to the brewery where I blessed the large vat of Maibock, then we walked into the bar and proceeded with the ceremony. It was hilarious, I bet there were around 100 people singing the Chant alo...

I am reading a book in preparation for the Vision 500 meeting next month called "Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the church in North America". I just finished the first chapter which spoke clearly to the model of Western European Mission spread throughout the world. The Church is steeped in a racist structure, an empire like structure that promotes and condones the oppression of people unable to participate in that structure. It is interesting to read it after this last Anti Racism training we experienced. But what I really want to focus on here is the sense of mission and its changing nature over the years. It is clear to most that mission is no longer something that is done outside of the context of our own regions and areas of life. Mission is no longer just something done in Africa or South America or Asia. Mission has revealed itself mightily in our back yard as this post Christian world has grown up and claimed the Church as irrelevant. It is intere...

I recently returned from vacation on the North Shore, and then Sunday night through Wednesday afternoon, the Clergy Conference in Buffalo, MN. The Clergy Conference was an Anti Racism training, and it was very interesting, not because of the content, unfortunately, it was not very productive in my eyes, but because of the way clergy interacted and the tension between the facilitators and the clergy. I won't get into it, but it was quite a long conference with much frustration and anger. The biggest learning I had through the conference, was that the seemingly endless attack on Homosexuals in America and in the world, as well, way to go Canada, check this link out, is important but may also be clouding the issue of racism in the Church. One of the comments made in the weekend was that racism is a greater problem than homophobia. Hard to imagine as Episcopalians as we teeter on the edge of supposed schism, over sex, not race... But then again, this is a battle between the south...