This is an idea for a ministry that has grown out of a car-washing business that a friend and I have started this summer. Tell us what you think.

Scriptural Warrant: Psalm 128.2: You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

Mission Statement: The Car-penter’s ministry shall be a not for profit Christian ministry, rooted in the Wesleyan vision of salvation as encompassing both the material and spiritual realms, but it shall also be intentionally ecumenical and post-denominational. The Car-penter's ministry shall assist the homeless and the so-called 'unemployable' by providing meaningful employment at a living wage, (and safe, clean housing) as well as training in job skills that can be used in the future. In this way, we will convey God's grace to the unemployed by our actions, as well as instilling in them a sense of purpose and vocation.

In Dallas, Texas, on W. Northwest Highway, there are two United Methodist churches, very different in appearance, quite close to one another. An article in the Dallas Morning News some years ago noted that they two churches do not find themselves in competition for members, because they draw such differnet demographics. I took pictures of both of these churches, and am posting them as a study in contrasts. I was allowed to walk around Lover's Lane UMC, and take pictures of the inside as well as the outside. I could not get into Cochran Chapel, so internal photographs are taken from their website

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I have not managed to attend worship at Trinity Lutheran Seminary any day this week, despite the Celtic Christianity class I am attending. I am very sorry about this, because TLS does both liturgical, traditional, and Taize worship very well. I have not found the same quality of worship at local Lutheran churches when I visited them. I mentioned this to an friend from my TLS class, before I realized that this was not something I ought to share. Fortunately, she did not seem offended, and in fact agreed with me, mentioning the quality of worship leaders available at the seminary. However, I then realize that not only was it impolite for me to verbally pass judgment on others worship, it is probably also wrong of me to judge the worth or quality of worship in another tradition, period! Or is it? The Lutheran tradition is not so far from the Methodist or Episcopalian traditions; I do know when a sermon is relevant and Biblical or not, if a liturgy is reverent or not, and if a hymn is played in tune and well and enthusiastically sung or not. But, do any of these things matter if a Christian group's worship enables them to relate to God.

First, I'll introduce myself. I'm a Master of Divinity student at Methodist Theological School in Ohio. signsoflife on academics_anon suggested that I post about my problem here as well. Sorry to everyone who's seen this twice.

My problem right now is that my grades, attendance, written work, and level of motivation are all much higher in the fall semester then in the spring semester. And it's the early part of the spring semester that is so difficult for me. It's not that I cannot do the work, it's motivating myself to do the work and organizing myself so that it gets in on time. My academic adviser has also noticed this cycle and commented on it. I am ADHD and depressive, but other students have these disabilities but don't seem to be affected so strongly. I'm on meds, and have recently adjusted them, which seems to help, but I am not seeing a counselor- I know, I need one, and I'm trying to make an appointment with one. I know that I need to break this cycle. I was wondering if anyone here has struggled with a similar problem, or knows someone who has, and how they overcame it and got through grad school. Also, if anyone has a theory about WTF is wrong with my brain, please tell me.


Edit: Meant to post this in gradstudents. I'm leaving it here, because the more advice I get the better.

Well, another of the Franciscan ware plates Grandma gave me has accquired a chip on the rim in the process of washing and puting them away. :( q_q

I wish they were still makeing the things! Now that I know they're an antique, I feel even more guilty. I mean, china's there to be used, but I wish I wasn't so clumsy. I will try to be more careful in the future.

While I am very much in favor of the UMC moveing to a place where the principal Sunday service at most United Methodist churches is a service of Word and Table every Sunday, I do think there is a very legitimate place in the Church's worship life for services of Word and prayer in which Communion is not celebrated, not just on weekdays but on Sunday as well. I would like us to avoid the trap that Catholics have long fallen into outside of monasteries, and which Episcopalians are increasingly falling into, of having no service which is not a Eucharist, either on Sundays or weekdays.

I grew up in three different Methodist churches, and when I transferred to UTA I may have attended my parent's Methodist church, but it was my choice to attend the Wesley Foundation rather then the Canterbury Association, and I chose to go to a Methodist seminary, and pursue ordination as a Methodist pastor with all speed, rather then going to an ecumenical seminary and waiting on the ordination process. I am currently a member of Broad Street UMC, a congregation I sought out and joined of my own free will. I was thinking of all the things that my childhood formation in the Methodist tradition gave me:

1. A love for the Bible as a source of strength and comfort. I would read the Bible when I was feeling low, even during the period of HS and college when I was not a regular churchgoer.

2. A distrust of easy answers and "because the Bible says so" reasoning- for this I thank in particular First UMC in Fort Worth, which carried me through the fundamentalism of many of FUMC Irving's members (not all of them- we had a very good Sunday School teacher in 6th and 7th grade who did encourage questions and discussion).

3. A persistent identification of myself as a Christian, and a willingness to defend the reasonableness of belief in God- once again, even when I was not an active churchgoer.

4. A recognition of the importance of daily prayer- my mom, Grandma, and Grandpa always began the day with their Upper Room.

5. A love for traditional church music- and later contemporary church music as well.

6. Enough of an appreciation for what being a Christian meant that when I read in the Screwtape letters that being a Christian meant going to worship and being charitable, I realized that that was so, and that I needed to return to regular church attendance and be more generous (at the time I did not realize that that meant more then finances).

Does ritual in worship matter? Does it matter HOW we worship God so long as we intend to give God glory to the best of our ability. Liturgical denominations, such as the Catholics, Episcopalians, and Orthodox, as well as some within the Lutheran and Methodist churches would say Yes, enthusiastically. They point to the very detailed regulations of worship in the Old Testament and argue that it stands to reason that the worship of the community of the New Covenant would have similar regulation, and point to tradition for the source of that regulation.

Others, following in the footsteps of Charles Finny, would argue that any style of worship is okay, as long as people are brought to God by it. They note that Scripture is by and large silent on the issue of how the New Testiment Church worshipped- there is mention of preaching, scripture reading, and breaking bread, but not much else. They also note that the worship of the Early Church only gradually became more formal.

Finally, there are those Protestants that argue that ritual in worship is a sign of a dead church which has moved from a focus on God and Scripture to a focus on the commandments of human beings. Frankly, I have no idea why they think this.


I used to be in the first camp, primarily because the first church I attended on my own as an adult was Episcopalian, and I accepted everything they told me as truth, even after returning to the UMC because of family pressure. Now, I'm tending more to group 2- I believe in a big, big, God who loves humanity and loves it when humanity loves God back. I just can't see a loving God rejecting worship because it's done wrong. I still think Holy Communion is critically important, as a recapitualtion of God's saving work and food for our souls, and it forms a critical part of how we see the New Testament Church worshiping, but vestments, liturgies, etc are only useful insofar as they help people relate to God and worship God. If they are a distraction, get rid of them! If the liturgy is something that only the pastor and choir do and the congregation doesn't participate, then it's not even really worship, IMHO.

As for making high-church changes to the UMC's worship, I now think that appart from weekly Communion, such changes should be made only if the laity ask for them. The Church needs to allow for a diversity of worship types, some more formal then others.

I think that ultimately, I am a remaining a United Methodist because people in the UMC have bent over backwards to help me live out my call. People from other denominations have never given me the unconditional support the UMC has- I was never allowed to attend the Episcopalian equivilant of Student Forum, for instance, and people at St. M's Episcopal were quite negative when I mentioned that I might be called to the ministry when I was attending there. Likewise the people at the UCC church I attended turned me down for 'in care' status. By contrast I was fast-tracked to certified canidacy and a local pastor's license in the UMC, and when I decided to return to the UMC after considering the UCC, my current church rolled out the red carpet, to the point of offering an internship! Other denominations have never offered me this sort of hospitality.

1. How important is ritual in worship, really?
2. Is it worth attempting to add Catholic elements to UM worship?

I shall post my groping tword answers to those questions tomorrow.

I don't understand why everyone hates the Methodist ordination process. Yes, it's long and hard, but:
a. Who says that there's a right to ordination! You think you're called, but you could just be deluded. I've certainly wondered that about myself at times.

and

b. Unlike some other denominations, you can start doing ministry well before you are ordained.

Also, the books, at least,are genuinely useful for discerning one's gifts and call. My former DCOM and canidacy mentor were also very helpful, and genuinely interested in my calling and perceived gifts. This can vary from conference to conference, of course... and even within conferences. And my former conference was not open to someone who would not toe the party line on human sexuality, for all that they were open to young candidates. My current conference has a reputation as being bureaucratic and hard to please, but it's willing to let me be me.

If I had to say 'no' to a same-sex couple who wanted to have their wedding in my church because of the UMC's rules, I'd feel like utter shit. I'm not sure if I'd perform a same-sex union and risk my ordination, or obey the church's laws and do something I feel is fundimentally wrong.

I do think that it's important for denominations to place boundaries specifying what is and is not orthodox belief and practice- that's why I'm not UCC right now! However, I have HUGE issues with where the UMC has drawn those boundaries. We ignore, in practice, blatant heresy on the part of some Biblical scholars in our denomination, but we can't allow loving same sex couples to celebrate their God-blessed love in our churches, or allow ministers to join their lives with another person of the same gender. Aren't our priorities really messed up?

1. Evening Prayer and Compline were lovely tonight.
2. I can live out my call in the UMC- though it does pinch. There are ways around the 'no gay unions' rule, and I certainly don't consider myself a "self-avowed practicing homosexual".
3. I spoke to a professor who had given me a highly negative evaluation, and managed to clear that air.
4. I still have personal growing to do before I am ready to live out my call to the ordained ministry. Not, I think 10 years worth of it, though...and the process is long for a reason.
5. If I could do everything over, I would have taken a breather from higher education between college and seminary, and I wouldn't have sought a pastorate until after my second year. Still, I learned from those experiences.

We are the Starbucks of denominations, with more churches in more locations. In Columbus, OH, there are 57 Methodist churches, and only 15 UCC churches. In Dallas, TX, there are 50 UM churches, and only 8 UCC churches! Despite this, we are in constant decline, while the UCC is growing. In fact, I just read that the UCC is planting churches now as it did in the 1950s! Why? I think that despite the congregational ecclesiology, the UCC has a firmer identity then the UMC. It also does not take humiliatingly reactionary positions on social issues!

The UMC is the largest and most national of the mainline denominations, and so, once we get our act togeather, we are uniquely positioned to make a rebound, I think. We have more churches, we have a strong polity, and we are not tied to any particular region or culture, like the UCC is to New England, or TEC is to the upper middle class. We are also a worldwide church, though not as much so as we could be. How can we make this diversity a strength, not a weakness?

We need to focus on the connexional nature of our polity, and strengthen our ecclesiology, so that we can find a coheasive identity despite our many differences. We need to get our act togeather on social justice, and not alienate our young people with reactionary stands. And we need to streamline our bureaucracy- not eliminate it, but streamline it.

Ok, so I took a long walk today, and I received clarity about what exactly my call experience- a dream in which I was robed like a Catholic bishop and married two men to eachother- actually meant. I see that being robed as a bishop means that I am called to work within 'the system', not prophetically outside of it. I am to gain power and respect in order to make changes. The gay wedding symbolizes the sacredness of the lives of LGBTS, and the way that our relationships can reflect God's love. I am to help LGBTS realize this, and straight people as well.

The question now is, "Can I live out this call as an Elder in the UMC, and if not, where should I go to live it out?"

Trying not to confine myself to ordained ministry positions, I think I could live out this call as a relationship counselor specializing in LGBT relationships. That would not explicitly include the ritual aspect that I saw in my dream, but that might just be symbolic.

MCC ministry would be better for ministering to LGBTs, but less effective for changing the attitudes of straight folks.

Well, UM history went well, I got done with my essay for the Grief Care class, and I am living my life as usual. World of Warcraft proves to be a massive time-sink (how could I have expected it not to be)! It's good to get back into roleplaying. My life goes on... I wonder if anyone I know IRL or on LJ also plays WOW. Anime Club is figuring out a different day to meet. I met someone nice at church and I think they like me back. :D

Watched the inaugration yesterday at the seminary coffee shop. Was fun- President Jay Rundell was furious at Rick Warren for praying such an exclusively Christian prayer, and advised us students not to follow his example if we ever get the chance. Really, I can't blame Warren, myself- Obama knew that he was an evangelical, what did people expect he'd say- though I'd have been more careful. Rev. Lowery's benediction was the best- a happy medium between Gene Robinson's attempt at an interfaith prayer that ended up being very bland, and Warren's sharp exclusivity. It uses language that is Scriptural (and also includes many familiar hymn texts), but was also possible for any monotheist to pray on with the prayer.

Well, it's been a long time since I posted here. The rest of my Christmas vacation went well, actually. Now I'm back at school, and the workload for J-term is driving me insane. I thought I had one one-week course and one two week course. I didn't count on the professor of the one week course assigning something due after the end of the course- and he's refused to give me an extension. This is insane- and I can't be in touch with my usual support networks because of the workload. I hate this.

My United Methodist church, Broad Street, in Columbus, seems to be trying to compromise between "pre-Christmas" and a historical advent fast. The church is decorated with evergreens, and there are Christmas trees, with lights, in the Sanctuary, but they have no ornaments, and the evergreen garlands and wreaths had purple bows. The paraments were plain purple, though the pastor's stole was blue. Overall, the atmosphere seemed to be more somber then it had been on the previous Sunday- particularly, there were no flowers in the Sancuary, just evergreens. The sermon was based on Psalm 80, and focused on the need for prepration and solemnity, so that we aren't burned out by Christmas by the time Christmas actually comes. Said sermon was given by one of our seminary student interns, and he impressed me a great deal.

We also had a chance to rend sackcoth in an 'Advent lamentation' during a reading of Isiaih earlier in the service.

I thought it was a good compromise between giving out some folk religon to go along with our culutres's commercial 'Holiday Season' and an advent sermon so countercultural that it flies over everyone's heads, or offends visitors checking out a church they might want to take the family to on Christmas Eve. The tone was solem, though not penitential outside of our act of confession, and connected the tradtional meaning of advent with what the average layperson is thinking about on November 30.