a poem

I love Jesus, who said to us:
Heaven and earth will pass away.
When heaven and earth have passed away,
my word will remain.
What was your word, Jesus?
Love? Forgiveness? Affection?
All your words were one word:

Wakeup.

-- Antonio Machado

sermon 10/10: Learning to Feel Again

luke 17:11-19

“Learning to feel again”

In my small Methodist church growing up, I became familiar with the question that Pastor Jeff asked every week, “has anyone told you today that you are the beloved? because you are. beloved sons and daughters of God.” This was an idea taken from the great theologian Henri Nouwen who explains that being beloved is being unique and precious in God’s name and that we are blessed.  His ideas on belovedness came about primarily because of his work with people with developmental disabilities. He came to realize that everyone is the beloved, no matter what.  God loves us each unconditionally, and there’s nothing we can do to change that. So, with that, know that all of you are beloved sons and daughters of God, and remind your loved ones of that as well. 

People on the margins aren’t always considered to be beloved. For instance, people with Leprosy.  A problem in Jesus’ day, and still a problem today. The World Health Organization estimates that there are 211,903 cases of leprosy in the world today. These people are still in 2010 considered to be outcasts and untouchables.  Back in the time of Jesus, people with leprosy were considered unclean, and were cast out from everywhere.  Not only were they physically disfigured but they were often considered spiritually deadly. Often times the lepers of those days would bond together and make the best of it.  The only way back into society was if a priest declared them clean--this came from the law in Leviticus. They could then, and only then, rejoin society. 

In the passage, we find Jesus on his way to Jerusalem in the area between Samaria and Galilee and he comes across ten lepers who call out to him, “have mercy on us!” Now, I don’t know about you, but many people today wouldn’t normally stay and hang out with these lepers. Often times we, when approached by those on the “margins” will turn the other direction, and ignore them.  Even cast them out.  Consider for a second the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980’s where affected people were considered to be unclean and many unaffected people were afraid of those with the disease. We avoided them, and even shunned them. Jesus doesn’t shun these people. Jesus takes the time to reach out to those people. Jesus knows that these people are children of God--they too, are beloved.  He doesn’t care that they have a disease, he cares for them.  As he sends them back to the priests, they are healed of their disease.  At this time, nine of the ten lepers continue on to the priests.  That one that stayed doesn’t continue on.  He or She decides to turn around and praise God. 

We know from the text that this one person isn’t just any person,  it is a Samaritan.  The other nine were not Samaritans, making this one significant. The Jews and the Samaritans didn’t have a good history.  They didn’t get along very well.  The samaritans were rarely portrayed in a positive light, so this is a complete shock. In Luke 9, we read about how when Jesus entered Samaria, they did not receive him and his message. They reject Jesus. For his one leper to praise God after the healing was a pretty big deal. Something is out of the ordinary here. However, we know that when Jesus is around, unordinary things don’t usually happen.  Jesus was known for turning the tables and causing a stir. 

The other nine lepers do as they are told.  They did what was expected and go to the priests.  But it is this one leper, this Samaritan who does the unexpected. He comes back to Jesus and feels something deeper and recognizes what Jesus is doing, and what Jesus has done for him and thanks him.  He has “seen the light” and not only been healed physically but has been made whole, restored, and drawn back into relationship with God and humanity.  It’s more than just a physical healing.  In fact, when closely looking at the different translations of the text, Jesus says to the Samaritan (In the NRSV), “Your faith has made you well.” In The Message translation (a more modern paraphrase), the verse is translated as “your faith has healed and saved you.”  The word that gets translated from the Greek into the English “healed” is sesoken, from the root sozo, can be translated as healed, made well, or saved.  It’s not just a physical being made well and magical physical healing. it’s whole body.  This person’s life has been changed, and they are able to function in society.  This person is able tot both live completely and feel again. 

Shane Claiborne, the author of The Irresistible Revolution and the founder oft he Simple Way in Philadelphia, describes himself as an “ordinary radical.” he truly lives out the gospel in ways that i could only imagine and is a firm believer in living out the gospel.  When he was in college, Shane decided he wanted to find a “Christian,” which he defined as “someone else who might be asking, What if Jesus meant the stuff he said?” He came across Mother Teresa, who he described as a sassy contemporary radical. He and his friend decided to write her a letter that said the following: 

Dear Mother Teresa, we don’t know if you give internships out there in Calcutta, but we would love to come check things out.

Time went by and no return letter came. So, Shane contacted a bunch of nuns and finally figured out a way to contact her. He spoke to a nun who gave him the number for mother teresa in Calcutta. Shane calls, and hears on the other line, “this is the Missionaries of charity. This is Mother Teresa.” Shane proceeded to explain that he wanted to come hang out with her for the summer. She said yes, and they went. Shane spent time in Calcutta working in an orphanage, homes for the Destitute and dying, and finally decided to spend some time in a leper colony outside of Calcutta. Shane lived with the lepers, who are still considered to be outcasts and untouchables, even now. People who don’t know how to say thank you because they have never needed to use language of gratitude. 

Shane lived with these lepers, and took care of them, and confessed that he “saw a clearer glimpse of Jesus in this leper’s eyes than any stained-glass window could ever give him.” He watched how they came together to teach each other how to function and to say thank you.  

In the book, Shane describes his experience: “I learned from the lepers that Leprosy is a disease of numbness.  The contagion numbs the skin, and the nerves can no longer feel as the body wastes away.  The way it is detected is by rubbing a feather across the skin, and if the person could not feel it, they were diagnosed with the illness. To treat it, we would dig out or dissect the scarred tissue until the person could feel again.  As I left Calcutta, it occurred to me that I was returning to a land of lepers, a land of people who had forgotten how to laugh, to cry, a land haunted by numbness. Could we learn to feel again?” 

Perhaps Shane is right.  Maybe Jesus not only needs to heal us physically, but also heal our souls which have been numb to going on in the world. We keep hearing about disaster around us but we often would prefer to stay in our ivory towers and watch, and put money in the plate.  But perhaps we should do as Mother Teresa said, “Calcuttas are everywhere if only we have eyes to see. Find your Calcutta.” Shane admits that his Calcutta is the United States, and he only learned that by understanding what it really means to feel and to feel the love of Jesus and to see the love of Jesus in the eyes of the lepers. And to understand that we need to learn to feel again.  And it is through Jesus’ love and acceptance that we are able to do that.  God loving us as God’s own helps us understand and feel and become less numb to what is going on.  God works through us to become able to feel again. 

Amen. 

engagement story

i figure since many of you are really curious and i fail at communicating with my friends sometimes (sorry y'all--it's been a long few weeks...)

i was in london a few weeks ago for a few days...while there, it turns out fiance had contacted my parents and sent a text saying "if you guys have some time, can i talk to you because I have a question to ask you." so, sunday 8/8, he went over to my parents house and asked them permission. of course, my mom was a wreck and matt was shaking (he was so scared...even though my parents knew it was coming, and he already had the ring...). they gave him permission after my dad gave him the mr. responsibility speech. so, i return from london late sunday night after being sick over there and missing my family. he drops me off at home and says that he'll see me tomorrow.

monday comes around and i go to work, am jetlagged, and feel gross. mind you, it's like a thousand degrees in jersey. absolutely gross. i get home from work, and we decide to hang out. so, we go to his house and are hanging out. he turns the tv on and asks what i want to watch. i proceed to say something along the lines of "i don't care what we watch-you should know what i like to watch. blah blah blah" and i went on and on about that for a while until he settled on watching dirty jobs by mike rowe (romantic, right?). so, as mike rowe is being disgusting, matt says "i have a surprise for you. close your eyes and pick a hand." so, even though this is difficult with my eyes closed, i pick a hand, and he says to open my eyes. in his hand is a little container with a fake ring in it (ones you get at a grocery store as a kid) that fit my toe. i was like "what is this? a toe ring? it doesn't even fit my pinky." so he says. "oh, well, try this one." so he pulls out another one and gives it to me and it's a funky ring from the 80's. similar container. in my mind at this point, i'm wondering what is going on, and if he's fake proposing because i had a dream that he proposed with a fake ring as a "placeholder." so i'm like, alright. he gets up and starts moving the coffee table out of the way. i proceed to throw the container at him playfully. and he comes around and gets down on one knee and says "well, how about this one." he gives me the real engagement ring in a similar container and says "kaleigh, will you marry me?" meanwhile, i am going nuts. saying "holy shit. is this really happening? i can't believe this!" this goes on for about five minutes until matt reminds me that i never answered the question. and i was like "wait, what was the question again?" so he asks again, and i say yes. :)

i still can't believe that i'm ENGAGED. i keep looking at this pretty ring and thinking about how this means i'm grown up. it's so weird!

anyway, that's the story :)

peace.

so, i'm engaged and stuff

well, hello there blog. it's nice to see you again. my life has been pretty nuts the last few weeks.

long story short?

went on mission trip, volunteered at music camp, preached my first sermon, went to delaware for skating coaches college and technical panel school, became a technical specialist, went to the beach for two days, went to england, saw alastair and lucy get married, threw up in gatwick airport (damn flu), explored london, got engaged (!!!), celebrated with family, had junior team bootcamp, vacation bible school, skating kick off camps, and here i am today in my quiet office thinking about wedding stuff.

man. my life has been crazy! but yes, i'm engaged, and we are so very excited about getting married. the wedding is going to be in may 2012...a nice long engagement to ensure that i have plenty of time to plan and get everything the way we'd like it to be. so, along with ministry and seminary ramblings, you'll have to hear about that too.

however, in the midst of all this crazy summer stuff, i started reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller (the author of Blue Like Jazz) which is all about our stories, and how to create a better story with your life. i've actually been trying to read it since it came out, and since i have book a.d.d., i never finish books that i start. he tries to figure out how to live a better story with his life. i was talking to one of our off-ice coaches recently and she says "what a year you've had!" and i thought about it for a moment, and agreed with her. what a year i HAVE had. an amazing year. maybe one of the best ones ever. i mean, considering today marks a year i have been at the church i work at...it's been pretty incredible the things that have happened--mainly because i took risks, and listened to where god was calling me to be this year.

two years ago, i read the book eat, pray, love by elizabeth gilbert. the movie is now in theatres. i want to see it, but i haven't had time! the book changed my life. her story inspired me. i wanted to be able to do things like that. move to other places. i always felt that i wasn't doing any of that. i wasn't taking chances. but i'm realizing more and more as i look back, i many telling a story that could be just as inspiring as elizabeth gilbert. it's just not the same. no two people have the same story. but all of our stories were written by god, and god leads us to those experiences.

i got a job at a church, figured out i wanted to go to seminary, with a team of others coached our juvenile team who were the national champions, went to two countries (sweden and england), did a million amazing things this summer, preached a sermon, got ENGAGED, became a technical specialist, did a ton of traveling, and the list goes on!

sure, at times i was exhausted. i was even heartbroken a bit at sometimes. but, i lived a great story. and i am continuing to do that. i'm finding more and more that i need to take chances and do things i wouldn't normally do. i'm growing up in the process as well.

anyway. enough rambling for me. hope you are well. tell your story.

peace.

sermon 7/25 (first one EVER!)

in case you are interested, here's a copy of my sermon from this past sunday. bear with me. i've never had a preaching class or sermon writing. it pretty much comes from the heart.

the scripture i chose was luke 4:14-21.

Whenever I begin something new, I typically pray.  A lot. I surround the experience with prayer, and ask people to pray for me, and pray for the people I will meet.  A lot of praying happens at first because I’m anxious and excited, but mainly that I want God to be with me during that time of NEW things happening.  When I was discerning my call to seminary, I prayed.   A lot. I knew that Drew would be a whole new experience for me, and so I prayed.  A lot. It’s amazing that God knows what you need at the time.  So, on my second day of orientation, there was a small worship service in the chapel at Drew.   The worship service was based on the lectionary text for that week, which is the text from Luke that I chose today.  The director of the chapel, Tanya, decided to have a small anointing service, where she placed oil on our forehead in the sign of the cross--an ancient practice--and said to each of us, “Kaleigh, God has called you to bring justice and joy to a world in need.” I have taken those words with me ever since, and often remind myself of the service and hear those words over and over.  These words are similar to when Jesus read the words from Isaiah that say “God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” Those words were spoken at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.  The Holy Spirit was with Jesus as he started something completely new that would change the world.  Just as the Holy Spirit was present with me when I started seminary. It was an answer to all those prayers asking God to be with me.  It was an affirmation of my Christian life, and the fact that yes, God is calling me to bring justice and joy to a world in need. Just like Jesus was called to do. 

But let’s zoom in on how Jesus was called.  That word spirit appears a lot in this passage.  Twice. Jesus was filled with the spirit when he arrived in Galilee and the spirit was “upon him.” An interesting fun fact about the gospel of luke: the word Spirit appears eighteen times in the gospel of Luke; and it’s often called the gospel of the holy spirit.  The Holy Spirit, by definition, is what impels people to act, gives them wisdom and moves them to prophesy.  Throughout the Old Testament we hear stories of prophets who were commissioned by God to bring a message to the people and could speak it because the Spirit was upon them.  The words Jesus reads in this passage are straight from the book of Isaiah, who was called in the same way.  The use of the holy Spirit is the way God enables leaders and prophets (who were often common people like you and me) to carry out God’s will for them.  This happens in the NT as well.  The Holy Spirit is active with Jesus, and is how the ministry of Jesus begins.  It also gives us a link back to history.  Isaiah prophesied the coming of Jesus.  God does a new thing by bringing Jesus into this world and in turn, Jesus does something new in his ministry by reaching out to those in need, those on the margins of society, the broken, the poor, the oppressed.  Bringing justice and joy. Throughout the gospels, we see Jesus encounter lepers, tax collectors, and women.  The mission that God gives to jesus is to engage the world and its people and their needs as a way to be a light, and bring joy to a dark world. 

So, that’s Jesus. Jesus reached out to those in need. God called him to do that.  But it’s not only Jesus who is called to do that. It’s US as well.  When people ask you what being a Christian means, what do you say?  I would bet that your answers might include going to church, reading the bible, and serving others.  My answer? following the teachings of Jesus.  Doing what he did. Reaching out. Loving others. It’s not all about standing up here, or saying my prayers everyday. It’s reaching out.  Francis Assisi once said, “preach the gospel. and when necessary, use words.” It’s by our actions that people know we are Christians. There’s that hymn that goes “and they’ll know we are Christians by our love...” It’s how we use the Holy Spirit to reach out to others.  

There’s a great quote in a book called “Listening at Golgotha” by Peter Storey, the former president of the methodist church of Southern Africa that hits this point well. 

“Some tell us that following Jesus is a simple matter of inviting him into our hearts.  But when we do that, Jesus always asks, ‘May I bring my friends?’ And when we look at them, we see that they are not the kind of company we like to keep.  The friends of Jesus are the outcasts, the marginalized, the poor, the homeless, the rejected--the lepers of life.  We hestitate.  And ask, ‘Jesus must we really have them too?’ Jesus replies, ‘love me, love my friends.’”

I was just at music camp with Mark Miller this past week counseling, and we often sang the song draw the circle wide. I think that’s what Jesus is talking about. We have to draw the circle wide and reach out to those who we wouldn’t normally encounter. On Friday night, we went to Sunrise Mountian, which is part of the Appalachian Trail to watch the Sunset.  We ran into a man camping up there who was hiking the trail for the ninth time.  We explained who we were, he told us he was raised united methodist and is from Georgia, and was headed to Maine to finish up. All of the youth at the camp were intruiged by his story and we spent lots of time talking to him, and giving him leftover sandwiches from our picnic dinner.  We also shared our stories. He was really interested in hearing about my experiences in seminary, and working with youth. And i was interested in what kept bringing him back to the trail.While up there, we were in the midst of a huge thunderstorm.  After it was over, and we were getting ready to leave, we were saying goodbye to Jim. He told us how he was going to leave earlier this afternoon, but felt there was something telling him to stay. And how he needed to hear our stories, and how he thought it needed to happen. No talk about God, but I could feel the Holy Spirit at work. Here we were, ordinary campers and counselors having a picnic dinner, impacting the life of this one man, and maybe giving him some added strength on the journey.  We proceeded to tell him how we learned something from him as well. So, from us spreading our joy, we also received joy and affirmation of God’s call in our lives. 

We must love those that Jesus loved.  That’s what is being a Christian is about, and is what we are called to do.  When we were on RISE a few weeks ago with the youth from the church, I reminded them that God called them to that place. God called them to work on the houses of the two families. There are a few images I remember from that week which I will likely take with me forever.  We had a lot of time to relfect in car rides on the way home from the sites, and what stuck with the girls I had in my car was the tears that streamed down Elva’s face when we pulled up and introduced her self and proceeded to tell us how thankful she was that we were there and that she had been praying for this for ages.  Also, we’ll never forget Xzavier, Dakota and Cordell, the three grandsons whose smiling faces brought us joy every day.  And of course, seeing the quiet, shy, Harry, smile at the progress we had made. Also, the smiles while Elva and her daughter painted.  This was pure JOY that we had brought them. Not only did we paint their house, but we brought joy to this family who knows what it means to love and to live.  AT the end of the week, when we were leaving, we all cried. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and as we pulled away from the house, I couldn’t help but think what a difference we had made. We brought joy to a family who needed it.  Seven common people answering a call from God to go and paint the house of a family in need. But not only did they find joy.  I think each youth and adult on RISE came away with a newfound understanding of what true joy is.  Seeing Elva’s face when her three grandsons came to visit, and to see how much her family meant to her.  She brought joy to us, which is why it was so hard to leave. 

God calls each one of us-ordinary, common, people--just like many of the old testament prophets to bring justice and joy to a world in need. Jesus wasn’t anything out of the ordinary either; he was a carpenter’s son, born in a manger. Whether it’s helping with IHN, going on a habitat build, sending care packages to soldiers, making quilts for those in need of healing, sending health kits to Haiti, or have you be it, God has called you to it, and continues to call you to bring justice and joy to this world in need. 

Amen. 

tired.

From the UM Portal

Ordination can make you tired

Monday night I had the privilege of attending the Service of Ordination and Commissioning of the North Texas Conference of the UMC. (I say "privilege" not only because of the enormity of the event, but also because even the overflow room became so packed that they had to turn people away. Thank heaven for live web streaming and archived video!)

During the Annual Conference business sessions on Monday and Tuesday, we viewed pre-recorded speeches by each of the ordinands. I know many of the people who were ordained this year, but among all of their speeches, which were limited to two minutes, the one given by the Rev. Marc Corazao stood out:

Bishop Bledsoe and members of the North Texas Conference,

My name is Marc Corazao, and I currently serve as Associate Pastor over Outreach Ministries at Floral Heights United Methodist Church and as Pastor with the Breakfast at the Heights Community in Wichita Falls.

So, I’ve finally gotten to this point of being voted on at clergy session and ordained as an elder, and you know what? I’m pretty tired…

I’m tired of watching pastors and churches cater to the comfort of an affluent constituency.

I’m tired of mission efforts that actually keep those in poverty at arm's length by drawing lines of givers and receivers, privileged and lowly, blessed and cursed, community and other.

I’m tired of coming to Annual Conference and repeatedly witnessing us being more concerned with the outcome of a vote than our sisters and brothers we run over, shut out, dismiss, and demonize to get what we want.

I’m tired of hearing us fearfully talk about our sinking ship that we supposedly need to figure out how to float again.

I’m tired of the part I have played in fostering all of this in the church today.

I’m pretty tired.

So, if I’m tired, and I go to sleep, maybe I’ll dream of something else...

Maybe I’ll dream of a people with the mind of Christ, who encounter the world with basin and towel in hand.

Maybe I’ll dream of a community that lives and works and laughs and serves together with sisters and brothers who live in poverty.

Maybe I’ll dream of holy conversation at Annual Conference that is characterized by outdoing one another in showing honor to each other.

Maybe I’ll dream of the lost, the marginalized, the outcast, the lonely, finding maybe the one place of welcome, acceptance, and counter-cultural love in their lives with us.

Maybe I’ll dream of a church not driven by the fear of self-preservation but by the calling of God to transform the world in love no matter what the cost.

Maybe I’ll dream of my own need to repent and God’s voice calling me and my family in Christ to live and love so dramatically, so humbly, so boldly, so differently, that people everywhere will ask, “What is with those United Methodists?”

And when I wake, you better believe that something’s going to change, and I’m not sitting this one out.

You know what, Marc?  I'm getting tired, too. Thanks for this prophetic word.

thoughts on compassion.

the current dalai lama wrote a great op-ed for the ny times today called "many faiths, one truth." if you haven't read it, you should. it's about all different faiths, religious intolerance, and compassion.

i was struck by the title and thought it sounded interesting. well, the article was great. and so important in this time when we are all trying to figure out how our faith fits in with the rest of the world. at least, that's something that i struggle with. i find it important that we, as "christians," remember the basis of our faith, which is what i think is love. i mean, god created us in god's image because god loves us, right?

with that, jesus' number one commandment to us was that we love others. love others and love god. i think love translates into compassion as well, especially in the parable of the good samaritan. it was the samaritan that was compassionate towards the hurt person, right?

yes.

the second to last paragraph in this article says it best, i think:

"Finding common ground among faiths can help us bridge needless divides at a time when unified action is more crucial than ever. As a species, we must embrace the oneness of humanity as we face global issues like pandemics, economic crises and ecological disaster. At that scale, our response must be as one."

 oneness is so important. no longer can we stand divided. no longer can democrat or republican separate us. no longer can race define who we sit next to on the bus. and what the dalai lama is saying in this article is that no longer can religion divide who we stand with fighting for justice. as believers, as people created by GOD, no matter what we believe, we must come together and fight for justice and a better world. our world needs us now more than ever before.

amen.

a year in the life.

my macbook is almost one year old! which means it's been a year since i graduated college. crap. i can't believe it's been a year since i've seen most of these awesome people:

i miss all of you, dearly!

i would like to run away. do you care to join me?

where should we go?

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs32/f/2008/206/3/e/run_away_too_far_away_by_cloud_room.jpg

sometimes, i think god cries.

when you were little did your parents ever tell you that when it rains, it is god crying?

i'm not sure that mine did. i always remembered them telling me that it was angels bowling when there was thunder. i think i made that evolve into the rain being the gingerale from their party. i was a strange child...although some could agree that not much has changed.

anyway. so, it's raining today and i can't help but think about the world. not just our world, but there is so much going on in our country right now, i can totally see how god would be crying.

1. there's a huge oil spill on the gulf coast that could destroy ecosystems. that would affect the entire world.
2. the state of arizona passed a terrible immigration law. it makes me sick.
3. i heard on the radio that 550 people have drowned in an attempt to cross a river trying to get to america. to have a better life. so, someone brought this to the city it is located in, and asked if they could put in buoys or rafts or something.  so that even if they do make it across, they don't die. if they have to send them back, let's do it alive.
4. there were bombs found in a car in times square. so close to me.
5. there is really bad flooding in nashville.
6. all of the people in boston without clean water right now.

that's not the extent of things in our country. those are just the BIG problems.

and then once we look outside the borders of america, wow. i mean, people are starving. there are earthquakes, volcanos, hurricanes, etc. women are being treated unfairly. children are being forced to work for next to nothing.

somewhere, there is a 22 year old female like myself farming, trying to take care of her children, and maybe wondering how she is going to provide dinner for her family. maybe she doesn't know how to read. she's probably never used a computer, and maybe has to keep her face covered simply because of her gender.

and i'm sitting in my air conditioned office with my macbook, drinking dunkin donuts coffee, awaiting a text message from my boyfriend, listening to music that i purchased and thinking how can this be?

where is god in all of this? how can god allow disaster to strike? why is sabitri in india starving?

i don't often listen to christian music, but there's a song called city on our knees by toby mac. i don't love the song, but i love this particular line:

through the fog there is hope in the distance
from cathedrals to third world missions
love will fall to the earth like a crashing wave. 


my prayers lately have been for god to show love to the world, kind of like that "god is love" song i posted a few weeks back.

let's continue praying for justice, peace, mercy, hope, and change.

shalom.

what if the tea party was black?

http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html

this is important.

small girl in india :)

i love children.

this past weekend, my youth participated in a 24 hour famine where they went 24 hours without food to become aware of what it's like to be hungry. this is an event sponsored by world vision (they call it a 30 hour famine...we only did 24). what a powerful experience to hear that every seven seconds a child dies from hunger.

it made me want to do something about it.

i've been talking a lot about sponsoring a child lately. two of the blogs i follow are of people who are going with world vision to visit children that have sponsors...i was so inspired that this family with not a lot of money make sure to budget to sponsor eight children every month. to give them the opportunity to live a life that has clean water, health care, hygiene, medical checkups, etc.

so, matt and i talked about it recently and realized that if we gave up going out to dinner two or three times a month, we could sponsor a child instead.

today we took the plunge.

i'm honored to say that matt and i are the proud sponsors of Sabitri from India.  She is 11 months old and her birthday is two days after mine, which is pretty neat :)

wow. i'm just overcome by a sense of love and empowerment knowing by giving something up, i can take care of this baby who is on the other side of the world.

amazing. truly amazing.

please pray for her and for us as we embark on this journey.

:)

xoxo

god is love

i like this video. however, there is no use of gender neutral pronouns. oh well.

spin on classic easter egg hunt.

around a month ago, one of my youth asked me if we could have an easter egg hunt for youth group one sunday. i toyed with the idea and then when i realized i had nothing planned for 3/28, i was like, well, that'll be fun.

so, i was telling one of my volunteers about it, and he was all like "we should put bible verses in the eggs!" and i was like, yes, that's a great idea. keep jesus in easter. not just make it about chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits...i decide to buy the eggs and a bunch of candy...and suddenly i had an epiphany.

and what was it, you may ask? i decided to take the resurrection story from each of the four gospels, type out each verse and just put "John 20" or "Mark 16" with no verse numbers. and each verse from each of the four gospels got put in its own easter egg along with candy. once they found the eggs, all the bible verses then had to be put in order by gospel.

my middle schoolers were really into it. they had a blast and did a pretty good job. man, it's pretty difficult! the winning team got peeps. we then read them all out loud and talked about the differences between the stories. some of them really picked up on it.

it was a lot of fun. we did some hardcore egg hiding. we stuck some to the ceiling, hid them in trash cans, coat pockets, all over the church. i think there may still be one or two missing. we knew there were some missing if some of the verses from the gospel lessons were missing.

i had a GREAT turnout. i think it was the best other than the corn maze. 12 middle schoolers for the jr high group and 8 high schoolers. they all had a blast. i think we should do easter egg hunts every week.

the best part? me and my volunteer got a bit bored while stuffing the eggs for the sr. highs. so he was all like "i wish we had some vegetables...that would be funny." instead, we went and raided the fridge and found CROUTONS, sugar packets, and a creamer. it was hilarious. we put those items in around ten eggs (out of 80+). their reactions were priceless when they opened the eggs...especially the ones filled with BOTH chocolate eggs and croutons.  haha.

that was my easter adventure with my youth. i'm thinking it will be a yearly event...

hope you have a blessed easter...off to help with maundy thursday service.

peace.

confession.

i have a confession to make:

i am a prayer slacker. it's really hard for me to sit and focus on one thing for more than a minute. so, i often lift prayers up to god throughout the day, even if it's just a random thought like "man, those people in haiti...they need you god" or "wow, driving through this inner city neighborhood reminds me of how fortunate i am." you get the point.

i did join a prayer group at my church on monday mornings before i started seminary and we went through a book that discussed different kinds of prayer. it was really eye opening, and it introduced me to the labyrinth which i absolutely love as a method of prayer. we also discussed prayer walks, breath prayers, singing, etc etc.

i follow the blog of pastor pete wilson from cross point church in nashville (don't ask how i found it, i just randomly find things through the blog of matthew paul turner...

i've never been to cross point, but this pastor has great wisdom at times. today, he posted on prayer, and said this, as he found it in a book called The Me I Want to Be....I've never heard of it, but here's the nugget of wisdom:

When I pray, I end up praying about things I think I should be concerned about: missionaries, world peace and global warming. But my mind keeps wandering toward stuff I am genuinely concerned about. The way to let my talking flow into praying is this: I must pray what is in me, not what I wish were in me.

i like that. i tried to use this other book about contemplative prayer during lent, and that was a failure. it lasted for about two days. it wanted me to sit in silence for twenty minutes each day. needless to say, that didn't happen. HOWEVER. pete wilson also brought up the following book: Confessions of a Prayer Slacker by his friend Diane.


i think i should read this.

i confess, i am a prayer slacker.

health care reform

why i'm for it:

…Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my [God], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

- Matthew 25:34-36

ash wednesday service at drew.

twe had an awesome ash wednesday service today at the drew chapel (very experimental space and emerging church). i suppose i could venture to say it was one of the most meaningful services i've been to. until last year, i never really understood the meaning of ash wednesday. however, today i really got a good sense of what it's about. the service started with the reading of isaiah 1:11-20. it wasn't a normal reading though. one person started and read a line and then others could add in as they wished. or, they could repeat phrases that they felt strongly about. it was really neat and moving hearing all of those things repeated that were meaningful. my favorite part:

"your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, i am weary of bearing them. when you stretch out your hands, i will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, i will not listen; your hands are full of blood. wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow" isaiah 1:14-20

then, after that really neat reading. the seminary choir sang the mark miller piece, "ready for a change":

"take this broken sprit, create in me a clean heart, heal this wounded healer and point me to the good road. lord, i'm ready for a change, only you can make me change, lord i'm ready for a change...wipe away these tears, lord and end my night of weeping, wash away the old ways, replace my pain with your joy! lord, i'm ready for a change, only you can make me change, lord i'm ready for a change. Give my life a new start and plant in me a seed that grows and blossoms into the fruit of blessing."

then? this was the coolest part. they had three prayer stations set up:

1. water: a reminder of our initiation into a lifetime of discipleship in Christ.

2. clay: a reminder that we are always being molded and re-molded in the image of God.

3. oil: a reminder that we are anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit to bring the good news of justice and compassion that ushers in the holy reign of the holy one.

and they had a giant labyrinth set up, encouraging us to remember who and whose you are, reclaim yourself as a child of God, and give to God all that keeps you from loving yourself, loving God, and loving your neighbor. of course, was the imposition of ashes on our forehead. they mixed them with yummy smelling oil (i think lavender).

anyway. very meaningful. i'll reflect more about my lenten practices later on, after class :)

hope you have a blessed ash wednesday, and remember that you are the beloved!

peace.

avatar!

ahh. it's going to be a quiet week this week and next. we don't have any youth activities this upcoming sunday because of the spring break. tons of people around here go away. so, that means next week will be kind of quiet too. alleluia.

i'm exhausted! it's only monday and i'm already tired. perhaps it's because of my crazy weekend.

i went to see the movie AVATAR on saturday. let me explain for a second: we are having a staff discussion about it at the beginning of march. therefore, i had to go see it. i dragged my feet about it because i typically don't like sci-fi movies. as wynne said "all hell has frozen over if you liked a sci-fi movie". well, it was true. i loved it! i don't know what it was, but it was great. the cinematography was excellent, the 3D was really cool. i also liked the story, which a lot of people didn't like. oh well. there was science, romance, action-james cameron had it all. there was also the religious aspect of it all. i just loved it! i can't wait to have our dinner/discussion about it. it should be interesting.

that's about it around here. things are crazy. doing more reading than i have ever done in my entire life, but i suppose that's seminary for you. i've been doing a lot of thinking about my future. especially with ordination and whatnot. i'm still not sure what i want to do. i met a guy at seminary who is doing the camp and retreat certification. anyway, he's been helping with my youth groups (which is AWESOME since i need help). we were talking camp ministry, and it reminded me how great my years at aldersgate were...and how i always thought about being a camp director or something like that. it would be pretty cool. but i dunno if that's realistic or kaleigh's dreamland. probably dreamland. however, methodist ordained ministers (either deacon/elder) i suppose can be appointed to camps? or maybe one would have to be a deacon. who knows. have plenty of time to figure it out.

ok. back to work.

peace.

henri nouwen quote

This was posted on a blog I follow, and I like to put things here for future use. so, enjoy.

Nouwen writes how he imagines what God might be saying to him:

"I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother's womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother and her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will not hide my face from you. You know me as your own as I know you as my own. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover and your spouse...yes, even your child...wherever you are I will be. Nothing will ever separate us. We are one."-Henri Nouwen

i love seminary.

i will post a more updated post sometime soon.

xoxo

some quotes from my fb

"teamwork makes the dream work"

"do you love jesus?"-one of my skaters, after hearing that i voted for obama.

"change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. we are the ones we've been waiting for. we are the change we seek"-barack obama

"i've got a phd in horribleness"-dr. horrible's sing-along blog

"my heart is an autoclave"-caitlin

"unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. it's not."-the lorax

"by night we hasten in darkness, to search for living water. only our thirst leads us onward, only our thirst leads us onward..."-taize chant

"preach the gospel. and when necessary, use words"-st. francis of assisi

so be sure when you step. step with care and great tact and remember that life's a great balancing act."-oh, the places you'll go!

"have faith in life. above all else, have faith"-elie wiesel

"life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forwards"-kierkegaard

"do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." - john wesley

"give love to the ones who can’t love at all. give hope to the ones who got no hope at all. stand up for the ones who can’t stand up at all. instead of a show-i hate all your show. instead, let there be a flood of justice. an endless procession of righteous living. instead, let their be a flood of justice. instead of a show. i hate all your show."-jon foreman

“if it’s loving, if it’s just, if it promotes right relationships, and if it scares the hell out of you, it just might be a call from God.”-south african united methodist bishop george irvine

wynne just told me the following: "you have a friend named frisbie and a friend named chaires!"

this is my version of the lord's prayer

This was said in chapel at Drew the other day, and i love it.

our god

in heaven

holy is your name

your kingdom come

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven

give us today our daily bread

and forgive our sins

as we forgive others who sin against us

lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil

for yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever.

amen.

did you know it's a census year?

i was talking to a friend today about life, and she reminded me that it's a census year. makes sense, because the last one was in 2000, and they happen every ten years. and she proceeded to tell me that she couldn't believe that it's 2010 already. for a moment, i was like "yeah yeah, 2010". and then i realized, in ten years it will be 2020. that's just weird!

around the new year, i read a lot of blogs where people documented what had happened to them in the last ten years. i can't say that a lot has happened to me in terms of major life changes. yeah, i graduated high school and college, but i'm now back home in the place i've known forever. but to think about the next ten years? i mean, i'm 22 and in ten years i'll be 32. i suppose the next ten years hold some major life changes. let's start with the fact i'm starting grad school tomorrow. and i hope to get married, have some babies, have a career. those are major life changes! it's so weird to think that ten years can hold so many changes in comparison to the time period between 12-22. don't get me wrong, i'm excited, it's just so strange!

meanwhile, i'm starting seminary tomorrow, which is even stranger. i just saw something on the news that it's the one year anniversary of obama's inauguration which also was the day i found out i didn't get teach for america. that was a rough day, and consequently a rough few weeks following that email. i have grown so much in the last year, and i'm so thankful for it. i cried and had my "existential" crisis and had no idea what to do. here i am a year later, starting seminary and with a job that i love. it's amazing what a few short months can do for someone.

it's so strange to think that i'm starting seminary. SEMINARY. with other people who think like me. and don't, i'm sure. i'm going back to SCHOOL. i have to get used to writing papers and taking exams and reading a whole heck of a lot. i'm excited, don't get me wrong :) i love learning, and i love school. i was thinking back to my freshman orientation at bsc, and how i wore tie dye and everyone knew me from then on as "tie-dye" girl. this will be a bit different tomorrow, although i may try really hard to pull off something tie dyed, just for old times sake ;)

i had another friend who posted something on my facebook using the "social interview" thingy. the question was "what is one thing you wish you knew about kaleigh tomich?" her answer?

"how does she hold such a strong, unwavering faith?". i was absolutely touched that someone thinks that about me. i try, and fall short so often. but that's what grace is about, right?

well, those are my life ramblings of the day. i'm not being very productive here at the church, but oh well. i'm just so tired. and have a zillion things running through my mind.

love!

i like.

"there is no use trying," said alice;

"one can't believe impossible things."

"i dare say you haven't had much practice," said the queen. "when i was your age, i always did it for half an hour a day. why, sometimes i've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." -lewis carroll

putting things into perspective.

ok. yesterday's post was a rant & rave. sometimes that happens, and if i don't get it out, i explode.

however, it is really sad what has happened in haiti. i am mourning with those who have lost loved ones, or still haven't heard. there is a little girl on one of the skating teams i coach who has family there. her parents still haven't heard from the family. man, does that put things in perspective. let's pray for her and her family. and stand along side with them, and others who haven't heard from loved ones.

in the mean time, i have been SO BUSY the last few days :) i love being busy and having a zillion things to do. hooray!

pat robertson, you infuriate me.

i am angry. and i know i posted a little something on my facebook, but i wasn't going into detail.

pat robertson-you are a JERK. if this wasn't on the internet, i'd post more.

if you don't know what happened, he said that haiti had made a 'pact with the devil'.

you are the reason so many people only see the 'religious right' and want nothing to do with christianity. there are people who think otherwise. smarter people who actually believe that god is loving (WOW WHAT AN IDEA). our god is not a wrathful, hateful god who puts people through situations like this to "teach them a lesson". no, not my god. god loves those who are suffering and suffers with them. he didn't just send jesus to be 'wrathful'. sorry, no way. saying that haiti deserved this is WRONG. it's like the same people who said hurricane katrina was because new orleans is a city of homosexuals. NO. WRONG AGAIN.

that is not my gospel. my gospel is about god helping those on the margins of society. what happened to "loving our neighbor"? the people in haiti are our neighbors. this is NOT justice. justice is helping these people out after this disaster. our god is a god of grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness. not of wrath and judgment.

ok. that's the end of my rant, i think. thanks for listening.

take this and apply it to the current situation:

Some tell us that following Jesus is a simple matter of inviting him into our hearts. But when we do that, Jesus always asks, "May I bring my friends?" And when we look at them, we see that they are not the kind of company we like to keep. The friends of Jesus are the outcasts, the marginalized, the poor, the homeless, the rejected - the lepers of life.

We hesitate and ask, "Jesus, must we really have them too?"

Jesus replies, "Love me, love my friends!"

From Listening at Golgotha: Jesus' Words from the Cross, by Peter Storey, Bishop in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.

my experiences thus far

ok, so let's count the things that have gone wrong in the past few days with seminary. i start in 2 weeks, so good thing i caught them early.

1. IT thought i was starting in fall 2010, so forgot to assign me an email address. don't worry, they emailed admissions, who fixed it.

2. they told me my meningitis shot was not up to date. fail, because i totally had to have one for undergrad.

3. however, this was only a big deal because they think i'm living on campus. which i am not. so, now i have to deal with that. i didn't even send in the housing sheet! how does that happen?

4. because they thought that, i was charged an extra $3,500 dollars in my account due to "housing charges".

5. THEN, i look at my account again and realize that my financial aid hasn't come through. and i start getting frantic because I wasn't sure if maybe I forgot to send in forms. Let's pray that my scholarship comes through.

6. in all the scholarship mess, i realize that wait--i only registered for 7.5 credits, which is part time. AND i never had the dean switch me over to extended track (which means i keep my scholarship and go part time). however, dean saved the day and fixed that.

so, an update: i was switched to commuter status, the redlight went away on the meningitis, waiting on the business people to change my billing status. and waiting on silly financial aid people to call/email me back. that's what i'm most worried about.

GOOD THINGS:

1. registration went SO EASILY! it took 2 minutes, which was so much better than all the crap i put up with at bsc trying to register for classes all the time.

2. i know what classes i'm taking :) want to know? i'll tell you!

• biblical literature 2: gospels, epistles, and apocalypse. pretty much new testament.
• church history 2: protestant reformation-21st century
• pastoral formation: exploring different vocations? i have no idea. there's no description really.

i'm really excited!!! i start on the 26th. orientation is the week before (21/22). let's just pray that things work out in terms of financial aid. i know they will, but it's just making me crazy.

ok, back to work.

2009.

so. i don't believe in resolutions, because i believe we should always work on becoming better people. whether that means physically, emotionally, or what have you. my best friend, did a post about what she learned in 2009. i'm going to copy her and do one as well. some are funny, others are serious.

1. virginia is a really boring state to drive through.

2. if you put "national archives" in a gps and try to walk there, you get to an alleyway.

3. burger king's medium size drinks are more like extra-larges.

4. helping out a church secretary during christmas is a present to her.

5. i figured out what i'm doing with my life.

6. working hard in college paid off by getting a full ride to seminary.

7. graduating college is scary.

8. distance is a bitch.

9. working in a lab with yeast can be boring. and smelly.

10. that i care about politics.

11. talking about health insurance to parents can be really stressful.

12. my parents love me, even if i was impossible to deal with this summer.

13. living alone gets lonely.

14. praying is so much more than just words out loud.

15. i gave up soda for lent. it was freeing.

16. i tend not to listen to things if i'm not interested, or if it's irrelevant. i need to get better at that.

17. learning about the bible in my christian scriptures class was neat. i learned so much.

18. bono is an awesome person.

19. the #1 thing white people like is coffee.

20. the little things in life make me happy.

21. wall-e is an amazing movie, and can make me happy.

22. so is 27 dresses. and music and lyrics.

23. friday nights can be fun, even when you stay in, watch "say yes to the dress" and bake cookies.

24. electric blankets might be one of the best inventions ever.

25. during winters in nj, one should own an ice scraper for their car.

26. youth ministry is so much fun!

27. salvation is a really big word to try and dissect.

28. coaching with your mom can be difficult, but also really rewarding when you figure out what works.

29. i judge people, even though i shouldn't.

30. i get excited about things and take action. i should really wait and process before i do that.

31. going to concerts alone is pretty cool. you meet neat people!

32. going to movies alone is similar.

33. i can be an independent woman.

34. so many people are getting engaged young. i'm not. matt and i have a while.

35. taking a three month break from a serious relationship can sometimes be a great thing.

36. sitting home and doing nothing from may-august sucks. you might get depressed, and fight with your parents a lot.

37. i have incredible friends, who despite the distance, do their best to care about me and make me happy :)

38. cars have flywheels. i know, cuz mine broke.

that's all!