Believe Out Loud Conference

Firstly: I am healthy! I feel well!
Secondly: I had a fabulous time at the Believe Out Loud Conference. And we were mentioned in "USA Today!" We are going to be getting to the airplane shortly. And back to the grind of real life, especially as I am making up work from sick week!

Peace and Justice Lock-In

We did a peace and justice lock-in at University UMC last night. The Conference Council on Youth Ministries joined us. It went incredibly well, and I got to see a bunch of people from the Conference I hadn't seen in a while!
YAY!

Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross was a lovely service. There were a few moments when I didn't like what was read aloud at each station, but they were helpful to reflect on. Our liturgy was written by Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine sister from Erie, PA who serves as co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, which focuses in large part on women peace workers in Israel and Palestine. She lectures on peace, human rights, women's issues and interfaith religious issues. Seems like an interesting person...
I'm off to bed, calm and reflective on Holy Week, rather than trying to get more work done tonight. Lots of love to all!

Ash Wednesday

We had a very ash-filled Ash Wednesday...the ladies set up a beautiful candle display for our evening Taize service on the altar. And then left it. We came in the sanctuary to start the service and there were a few extra flames dancing around...

No one was hurt. Nothing was seriously damaged. Mostly the altar shroud was a bit scorched. I think most of the damage came from the fire extinguisher...

Church Today

Got to sing in choir! It was fun. I sit on the upper edge, so I had to lead in and then lead the choral recession out...fun. I am transferring membership next week, so I attended the "Inquirers" Sunday school to chat about UUMC and Methodism. The others in the class were previous Methodists as well, so we didn't do any absurd "what is the Church" stuff. But we chatted a lot about the make-up of UUMC and John Ross made me talk about General Conference.
Next week I'm on nursery duty but will have to sneak down after the sermon to be received into the Church. I'll be in Church service the week after that, then gone for two weeks for other Church meetings. Oh well; I'm there when I can.
Also had a meeting with Chris, the youth director. Chris Heffner (friend from dorm) helped with the middle school youth group and is looking to continue that; UUMC is just starting to have separate groups, so Chris came on at the right time. It's going to be very confusing having two young male Chrises in leadership, though.

Wall-E and the Church

The ministry intern at Wesley preached today for the first time...she used "Wall-E" as the basis for her message; claiming the movie as an allegory for the "old" and "new" church. The sermon was very good, and I thought Granna might enjoy hearing about the many ways that "Wall-E" is such a fantastic movie.

Nursery Duty

I've been drafted...happily so. I'll be volunteering in the Church nursery every once in a while when the paid folks are unable to do so. We've got a young lady coming on board who's from near Thailand and has been here for two and a half years. She loves children but hasn't had a lot of experience with infants, so I'm helping to train her. But yesterday we didn't have any babies...sadness.
I did, however, go to the Welcome Back Reception for Bishop Keaton, and Kennetha brought the baby. So I got to hold Kamden for a solid hour and he fell asleep in my arms. Happy Becca!

Church Fun

Went to church yesterday to steal candles for the Peace Vigil Students for Peace and Justice are hosting today at "the Rock." Also had a meeting with the children's ministry supervisor, choir practice, and Wesley worship.
So they need a new pair childcare worker for Sunday mornings. I would love to do it, but also love church...someone else has expressed interest but has virtually no experience with infants. So I'm going to be with her the rest of September in the nursery to help her learn to work with them.
Went to choir practice, though I won't be able to sing until October.
Wesley worship was good. Saw some new people there, always a plus.

Super Sunday

Today was just fantastic. Church in the morning - I was liturgist. The passage was Romans 13:8-14, so I got to say "debauchery" and "licentiousness" from the lecturn on my third Sunday at a new church. Fun...
There was a brunch after Church; had several wonderful conversations. Turns out a friend I met on the Boys' Honors Floor has started singing with the UUMC Choir. Guess I'm getting to know him better in the future...
Home to my philosophy research.
Went to dinner with the gang, then went to my Students for Peace and Justice meeting.
And now I'm watching "Dogma" with my floormates. Fantastic movie.

Wesley Worship

Had worship for the first time at Wesley. Enjoyed myself thoroughly...good service, good music (with just the right blend of music that I knew and didn't know). Saw the church choir practicing immediately before that; I need to make sure I talk to the music director this Sunday and check out exact times and commitments. Met a lot of knew people, always a plus. One in particular was fun to meet..."I just figured out who you were. I had suspicions about who you were, but I wasn't sure...Well, I know you're not Charlie. So I won't treat you like you are. But I like Charlie a lot...you're taller than I expected." Entertaining. But I look forward to getting to know him better.

My First Sunday

I've been asked to speak about my weekend. Suffice it to say that Saturday was pretty much free...there was a U-Fest that I went to briefly but was crazily crowded and therefore not much fun (for me; I know others loved it).
Sunday, however, was busy and lovely. I attended University UMC, where I know both pastors and their families. Kennetha Bigham-Tsai, chair of the Board of Church and Society, is a pastor there but was gone on vacation this Sunday. I was hoping to see her, but she'll be preaching next Sunday! The other pastor is John Ross Thompson, former Conference Director; his wife is also on the Board of Church and Society.
Sunday afternoon I worked on my room andd did something...but I can't remember what. How pathetic is that?
Sunday evening was my first MSU Wesley time. Good dinner - I sat with a member of the Board and her husband and two older young adults. One worked with the Detroit Conference Mission Interns; that was fun to talk about. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's because you're not a United Methodist geek. And that's okay...but consider becoming one! It's a good life.)
Sunday night we had a floor meeting, so I left Wesley early to go to that. I'll usually skip floor meetings for Wesley stuff, but I did want to get to know people a bit. Then someone from my floor and I went to the boys' Honor Floor on Phillips and distributed cookies. Met someone who lived in Battle Creek and went to Harper Creek...and a bunch of other people.
Sunday was good!