I had the opportunity to meet with the bishop of the St Paul Synod yesterday.
No,it wasn't this guy.
It all came about when I bought the rights to have lunch with the bishop at a church auction. For what I paid, I am glad that he paid for the meal. And it was a good thing to meet with him. I think that he had the opportunity to hear a different perspective of the church than he might not have had otherwise. the topics ranged from the nature of the call, to being a user friendly church, to the future of the church post-assembly. I will leave this post with another clip and I'll let you figure out what the bishop looks like.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
40 days
He is risen, he is risen indeed! It is over, it is over indeed! The 40 day journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is finished. It is onward to the next big thing, in this case the Confirmation Sunday (28 students!), as well as PW leaving on sabbatical. In addition I will be working on the approval process, pushing to July 15 when all of the church wide paperwork needs to be submitted.
These past 40 days have been good, albeit busy. In addition to the writing of my approval essay, there have been the weekly Sunday services, Wednesday night Lenten soup suppers, confirmation time, and Lenten services. Again, I am grateful that Pastor Wayne prepares well in advance for the various seasons. Holy Week started with Palm/Passion Sunday. However, the choir does a yearly cantata, which reduces the work load for the pastoral staff. Maunday Thursday is the bookend to the Ash Wednesday service, complete with communion and a stripping of the alter. Good Friday service is a noon with a simple service, comprised of the passion narrative, interspersed with hymns. Easter starts with a sunrise service (we left the apartment at 5am to get there on time), and ends with the normal 11am service. During this time the youth are fund raising with a pancake breakfast.
I am glad that I understand the nature of this time in the life of the church, but I am also glad that it is over. Man I am bushed! But God is good, and he sustains even when we do not think we can go on!
These past 40 days have been good, albeit busy. In addition to the writing of my approval essay, there have been the weekly Sunday services, Wednesday night Lenten soup suppers, confirmation time, and Lenten services. Again, I am grateful that Pastor Wayne prepares well in advance for the various seasons. Holy Week started with Palm/Passion Sunday. However, the choir does a yearly cantata, which reduces the work load for the pastoral staff. Maunday Thursday is the bookend to the Ash Wednesday service, complete with communion and a stripping of the alter. Good Friday service is a noon with a simple service, comprised of the passion narrative, interspersed with hymns. Easter starts with a sunrise service (we left the apartment at 5am to get there on time), and ends with the normal 11am service. During this time the youth are fund raising with a pancake breakfast.
I am glad that I understand the nature of this time in the life of the church, but I am also glad that it is over. Man I am bushed! But God is good, and he sustains even when we do not think we can go on!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Golf Ball!
This is the first golf ball of the season. I found it walking the circuit around the U of M golf course.
Isn't it a beauty!Saturday, March 14, 2009
Vacation Part 3
(Geez, it is hard to believe that it has been a month since our vacation. I hope this post puts it to bed!)
Tuesday
Most of the resorts are time share affairs, with partial ownership of part of the property. In order to sell these, the property offers incentives (free breakfast, dinner, taxi rides, etc) to listen to the sales pitch of how “you too can live the luxurious lifestyle” these resorts offer. That was the beginning of our day. We met a very nice salesperson, “Charlie” from Argentina who walked us through the presentation. 3 hours later, Deb and I were an afterthought as Dave and sue were getting grilled about their other properties and how they could trade up. Deb and I were dismissed, and so we went to the beach. 2 hour Dave and sue showed up, looking haggard, and more than a little peeved. Not only had Charlie tried to get them to bite, but there were 4 other “managers” involved. It is revealing that a) Dave and sue did not yield, and b) how much fine print is not disclosed during the presentation. We all spent the next 2+ hours talking about this, sleeping, and soaking up the sun. Siesta!
After being refreshed we took public transportation to the downtown are and had dinner at a small out of the way cantina. We enjoyed heaping amounts of food, good company, and growing sense of relaxation. The nice thing about this establishment was the warmth we received upon entering. The proprietor, Jesus (Hay Seuss) treated us like family. It sure beat having dinner at the resort which seems like some of the hospitality is forced.
Wed-Sat
To the city! The bus ride to the downtown area (the resort is about 5 – 7 miles to the north) is becoming a normative means of travel. The cost is 80 pesos (at the current rate of $1.320/1 peso) this is equivalent to about ___ cents. Given that both US and Mexican currency is freely exchanged in the normal day to day commerce, we usually give a dollar to the driver, so that he ends up with a tip for himself. Traffic is crazy with speed limits rarely enforced and cars and buses both attempting to get to their destinations as quickly as possible.
Throw into this mix buses stopping to pick up or drop off riders, taxis doing the same, cars parked halfway out into the road way, pedestrians darting across the roadway. This results in a lot of weaving, close calls and a feeling of organized chaos on the byways. Surprisingly we have not seen one accident.
Downtown the streets are narrow and there is a lot of hustle and bustle. There is a lot of nice architecture as well as a lot of abandoned buildings.
The old mixes with the new here. Not being a shopper, the market as a place to obtain goods does not interest me that much, although the sociology of the place does.
As cruise ships also stop here I get the impression that there are too many vendors chasing after too few gringo dollars. Not only does the market place have many "tourista" goods (hats, t-shirts, various items of silver, beads, beach wear, etc.), but the street vendors selling the same items are also ubiquitous. They can be found, not only in the local sightseeing spots but on the beaches, and on street corners as well.
(A cliff diver performs for the touristas! What this picture does not show is all of the vendors hawking their wares! (by the way this guy is over 60 years old and he continues to jump into water that is 4 to 6 feet deep!)
We end up on the main tourist drag and begin anew our shopping quest.
An example of some of the pottery that can be found
Mexico is full of religious iconic goods
In the center of the Mercado.
An example of the various delicious meat cuts tat can be found
Deb ends up finding some nice items to bring home to the kids (which did not include any meat by-products!), which actually might be practical! This was our life for the next four days.
Sunset on the Del Mar!
It was a lot of fun, but of course reality impinges upon even the most idyllic times. when we got back to the cities it was -2. we arrived home at 2am to get 3 hours of sleep for work the next day.
It is hard to believe that it was a month ago, but the memories will last longer than that.
Tuesday
Most of the resorts are time share affairs, with partial ownership of part of the property. In order to sell these, the property offers incentives (free breakfast, dinner, taxi rides, etc) to listen to the sales pitch of how “you too can live the luxurious lifestyle” these resorts offer. That was the beginning of our day. We met a very nice salesperson, “Charlie” from Argentina who walked us through the presentation. 3 hours later, Deb and I were an afterthought as Dave and sue were getting grilled about their other properties and how they could trade up. Deb and I were dismissed, and so we went to the beach. 2 hour Dave and sue showed up, looking haggard, and more than a little peeved. Not only had Charlie tried to get them to bite, but there were 4 other “managers” involved. It is revealing that a) Dave and sue did not yield, and b) how much fine print is not disclosed during the presentation. We all spent the next 2+ hours talking about this, sleeping, and soaking up the sun. Siesta!
After being refreshed we took public transportation to the downtown are and had dinner at a small out of the way cantina. We enjoyed heaping amounts of food, good company, and growing sense of relaxation. The nice thing about this establishment was the warmth we received upon entering. The proprietor, Jesus (Hay Seuss) treated us like family. It sure beat having dinner at the resort which seems like some of the hospitality is forced.
Wed-Sat
To the city! The bus ride to the downtown area (the resort is about 5 – 7 miles to the north) is becoming a normative means of travel. The cost is 80 pesos (at the current rate of $1.320/1 peso) this is equivalent to about ___ cents. Given that both US and Mexican currency is freely exchanged in the normal day to day commerce, we usually give a dollar to the driver, so that he ends up with a tip for himself. Traffic is crazy with speed limits rarely enforced and cars and buses both attempting to get to their destinations as quickly as possible.
Throw into this mix buses stopping to pick up or drop off riders, taxis doing the same, cars parked halfway out into the road way, pedestrians darting across the roadway. This results in a lot of weaving, close calls and a feeling of organized chaos on the byways. Surprisingly we have not seen one accident.
Downtown the streets are narrow and there is a lot of hustle and bustle. There is a lot of nice architecture as well as a lot of abandoned buildings.
The old mixes with the new here. Not being a shopper, the market as a place to obtain goods does not interest me that much, although the sociology of the place does.
As cruise ships also stop here I get the impression that there are too many vendors chasing after too few gringo dollars. Not only does the market place have many "tourista" goods (hats, t-shirts, various items of silver, beads, beach wear, etc.), but the street vendors selling the same items are also ubiquitous. They can be found, not only in the local sightseeing spots but on the beaches, and on street corners as well.
(A cliff diver performs for the touristas! What this picture does not show is all of the vendors hawking their wares! (by the way this guy is over 60 years old and he continues to jump into water that is 4 to 6 feet deep!)We end up on the main tourist drag and begin anew our shopping quest.
An example of some of the pottery that can be found
Mexico is full of religious iconic goods
In the center of the Mercado.
An example of the various delicious meat cuts tat can be foundDeb ends up finding some nice items to bring home to the kids (which did not include any meat by-products!), which actually might be practical! This was our life for the next four days.
Sunset on the Del Mar!It was a lot of fun, but of course reality impinges upon even the most idyllic times. when we got back to the cities it was -2. we arrived home at 2am to get 3 hours of sleep for work the next day.
It is hard to believe that it was a month ago, but the memories will last longer than that.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Vacation Part 2
Saturday
Visited w/Leslie at the “Flying Pig” a nice little neighborhood pub and grub. Swapped internship experiences and realized that both of us had pretty decent sites and supervisors. Also to be going back in sept w/only one semester left. It was good to see Leslie be more confident about her self, her gifts, and her abilities.
Went to Agape and it was there that the questions began about where I, was what I was doing, and when would Deb and I be returning to W. WA. do not get me wrong it was great being back in the Emmaus community. It was good to be with old friends and to get caught up on what was happening in their lives. And it was good to serve the pilgrims on the walk. Frankly though this stuff can wear me out. After arriving back at the Hotel Jepsen I was asleep by 1am.
Sunday
Up at 6 am to get ready to assist Pastor Gary in worship. Had to get there early top meet up with the accompanist to rehearse the liturgy (now the feast). This too was great to be back in our home community, to be among those who have supported Deb and I through this whole process called seminary. To assist them in worship was a privilege and an honor. And everyone here too wanted to know when we would be back to W WA, how everything was going at sem and what the next step was.
At this point it doesn’t seem like much of a vacation, although in one sense it was in that I was not doing the usual, and that this was in some ways a new experience. After both services it was time to race to the north to be reunited with the Emmaus community for the closing service. More people to see. More questions. And although I was tired (!) the outpouring of love was overwhelming.
The closing was, as always, an amazing time. To hear the testimonies of 30+ women speak of how their lives had been changed in 72 hours, reaffirmed the power of God’s love. There is no better way to spend one’s Sunday afternoon! And then to hear of Pilgrim’s pilgrims, talk about their weekend over pizza later and to be within the smaller community is always a blessing.
It was on to the Reed’s (thanks guys!) to shed excess clothing, get a shower for Deb, repack the bags for our flight to Mexico, and to get a little bit of rest before leaving for the airport at 2am. (Seriously, this is a vacation?)
Monday
2am. It takes us a half hour to get away from the Reed's. Fortunately there is no traffic at that time of day to impede our travel to return the rental car. And there are few people out around the airport as well (not surprising that it is now 3:30). Who really travels at this time of day? Why would an airline schedule a departure at 5 in the morning? Going into the terminal it is empty except for the line at the US Air counter. People, bags, kids who are beyond tired, workers who are putting up with sleep deprived travelers. Deb and I are second guessing ourselves as to whether this was a good idea. Through the line, and on to the TSA checkpoint. Closed. Opens in 7 minutes. We are the third in line. What happened to the rest of those who had checked in before us? Through the line and to the gate where waiting for us are those who had been checked in earlier. Must have been another TSA checkpoint. We continue to wait at various stages until at last we leave the gate, the tarmac , and the ground, bound for Phoenix and beyond. Sleep intervenes.
Phoenix. We depart the plane we will get back on in 50 minutes. Restrooms, more line standing, Starbucks to refuel, more line standing, and departure. More sleep until we arrive in sunny Mexico. Even before we land it is evident that this is different. A brown landscape viewed from the air is our first clue. Very few roads are evident. We land in what seems to be a remote area (as it turns out we are at least 20 miles from the city). On to retrieve our luggage and to pass through customs. Smiling faces and strange words greet us. We pass unmolested into the concourse and find out taxi. The ride from the airport is otherworldly.
One of many signs advertising the resorts in the city
In addition to the scrub brush, I was not able to get pics of cows, chickens, and horses that would graze right up to the sides of the roads
Not surprisingly it is different. Gated communities with bars on all of the dwellings. All surrounded by small farm plots with one room houses. Everything made of concrete (termites!).
New cars and cars that look like they should have come off the road years ago. Open air taxis built on VW chassis. And traffic that beats Seattle’s hands down.
These taxis are called "pulmonias". the reason for that is that after riding in one of these a person will catch a cold.
Thee vehicle on the left is a taxi, also. it will fit up to 8 people in the back under the tarp. The bus is typical for that type of public transportation. They are loud, and the drivers have two speeds: stop and GO. they are constantly racing each other down the streets!
A Home Depot! An Applebee’s! What are they doing here? We travel out towards the resorts, large edifices that greatly contrast with their surrounding neighborhoods.
We arrive at the resort, are greeted by Dave and Sue, tour the room and the grounds, eat get caught up and then nap. Dinner, more catching up and thankfully and finally to bed.
The beach where we spent many a day relaxing!
Visited w/Leslie at the “Flying Pig” a nice little neighborhood pub and grub. Swapped internship experiences and realized that both of us had pretty decent sites and supervisors. Also to be going back in sept w/only one semester left. It was good to see Leslie be more confident about her self, her gifts, and her abilities.
Went to Agape and it was there that the questions began about where I, was what I was doing, and when would Deb and I be returning to W. WA. do not get me wrong it was great being back in the Emmaus community. It was good to be with old friends and to get caught up on what was happening in their lives. And it was good to serve the pilgrims on the walk. Frankly though this stuff can wear me out. After arriving back at the Hotel Jepsen I was asleep by 1am.
Sunday
Up at 6 am to get ready to assist Pastor Gary in worship. Had to get there early top meet up with the accompanist to rehearse the liturgy (now the feast). This too was great to be back in our home community, to be among those who have supported Deb and I through this whole process called seminary. To assist them in worship was a privilege and an honor. And everyone here too wanted to know when we would be back to W WA, how everything was going at sem and what the next step was.
At this point it doesn’t seem like much of a vacation, although in one sense it was in that I was not doing the usual, and that this was in some ways a new experience. After both services it was time to race to the north to be reunited with the Emmaus community for the closing service. More people to see. More questions. And although I was tired (!) the outpouring of love was overwhelming.
The closing was, as always, an amazing time. To hear the testimonies of 30+ women speak of how their lives had been changed in 72 hours, reaffirmed the power of God’s love. There is no better way to spend one’s Sunday afternoon! And then to hear of Pilgrim’s pilgrims, talk about their weekend over pizza later and to be within the smaller community is always a blessing.
It was on to the Reed’s (thanks guys!) to shed excess clothing, get a shower for Deb, repack the bags for our flight to Mexico, and to get a little bit of rest before leaving for the airport at 2am. (Seriously, this is a vacation?)
Monday
2am. It takes us a half hour to get away from the Reed's. Fortunately there is no traffic at that time of day to impede our travel to return the rental car. And there are few people out around the airport as well (not surprising that it is now 3:30). Who really travels at this time of day? Why would an airline schedule a departure at 5 in the morning? Going into the terminal it is empty except for the line at the US Air counter. People, bags, kids who are beyond tired, workers who are putting up with sleep deprived travelers. Deb and I are second guessing ourselves as to whether this was a good idea. Through the line, and on to the TSA checkpoint. Closed. Opens in 7 minutes. We are the third in line. What happened to the rest of those who had checked in before us? Through the line and to the gate where waiting for us are those who had been checked in earlier. Must have been another TSA checkpoint. We continue to wait at various stages until at last we leave the gate, the tarmac , and the ground, bound for Phoenix and beyond. Sleep intervenes.
Phoenix. We depart the plane we will get back on in 50 minutes. Restrooms, more line standing, Starbucks to refuel, more line standing, and departure. More sleep until we arrive in sunny Mexico. Even before we land it is evident that this is different. A brown landscape viewed from the air is our first clue. Very few roads are evident. We land in what seems to be a remote area (as it turns out we are at least 20 miles from the city). On to retrieve our luggage and to pass through customs. Smiling faces and strange words greet us. We pass unmolested into the concourse and find out taxi. The ride from the airport is otherworldly.
One of many signs advertising the resorts in the city
In addition to the scrub brush, I was not able to get pics of cows, chickens, and horses that would graze right up to the sides of the roadsNot surprisingly it is different. Gated communities with bars on all of the dwellings. All surrounded by small farm plots with one room houses. Everything made of concrete (termites!).
New cars and cars that look like they should have come off the road years ago. Open air taxis built on VW chassis. And traffic that beats Seattle’s hands down.
These taxis are called "pulmonias". the reason for that is that after riding in one of these a person will catch a cold.
Thee vehicle on the left is a taxi, also. it will fit up to 8 people in the back under the tarp. The bus is typical for that type of public transportation. They are loud, and the drivers have two speeds: stop and GO. they are constantly racing each other down the streets!A Home Depot! An Applebee’s! What are they doing here? We travel out towards the resorts, large edifices that greatly contrast with their surrounding neighborhoods.
We arrive at the resort, are greeted by Dave and Sue, tour the room and the grounds, eat get caught up and then nap. Dinner, more catching up and thankfully and finally to bed.
The beach where we spent many a day relaxing!Saturday, February 14, 2009
Vacation
This is the first official vacation (that which is actually paid time off) since I left Schwanns 2 1/2 years ago. Deb and I are headed to Mazatlan for some sun and more importantly- heat! Deb left Wed night so that she could serve as a cha-cha on the Walk that is happening this week in Edmonds WA. I followed a day later.
This is the first time traveling with a laptop. For being a wireless society, it is amazing how wired you need to be to travel with one of these. Power cords. ear buds, more power cords, mouse, more power cords (heaven forbid if the batteries go down!). Once I reached the airport the first thing I did was look for an outlet in which to plug into, knowing I wanted to save the batteries for the airplane. This is not as easy as it sounds. this is not like your basic house which has outlets on every wall and then some. after 15 minutes of looking I found a set under the payphones by the gate. With that accomplished, I watched "Ratatouille" while waiting to board. It sure beats watching basketball on the big screen in the lobby.
Met an engaging young man on the plane. Alim Kassim. An IT whiz for a major company. Passionate photographer. You can see his work at: http://www.alimkassim.com. we spent the flight talking on a variety of subjects and also watched "Wall-E" as he had never seen it before.
Puyallup has and has not changed. Meridian is still as congested as ever (do you think Mucinex would help?) There is more commercial development which is not a good thing. Although Deb and I want to get back to the Puget Sound area, I am not sure South Hill is the place.
Everett and Edmonds are next.
This is the first time traveling with a laptop. For being a wireless society, it is amazing how wired you need to be to travel with one of these. Power cords. ear buds, more power cords, mouse, more power cords (heaven forbid if the batteries go down!). Once I reached the airport the first thing I did was look for an outlet in which to plug into, knowing I wanted to save the batteries for the airplane. This is not as easy as it sounds. this is not like your basic house which has outlets on every wall and then some. after 15 minutes of looking I found a set under the payphones by the gate. With that accomplished, I watched "Ratatouille" while waiting to board. It sure beats watching basketball on the big screen in the lobby.
Met an engaging young man on the plane. Alim Kassim. An IT whiz for a major company. Passionate photographer. You can see his work at: http://www.alimkassim.com. we spent the flight talking on a variety of subjects and also watched "Wall-E" as he had never seen it before.
Puyallup has and has not changed. Meridian is still as congested as ever (do you think Mucinex would help?) There is more commercial development which is not a good thing. Although Deb and I want to get back to the Puget Sound area, I am not sure South Hill is the place.
Everett and Edmonds are next.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Obituary
This morning at 9 am our beloved cat, Cider went to be with her Creator. She was 14 and half years old and was in failing health the last 2 months. If at times she was a pest (missing the cat box, horking up on the carpet) she was for the most part an easy cat to live with. Although she was not a playful cat, she was a great lap cat and had a purr (25 cps) that could be heard ten feet away.
She came to us when she followed Will and Deb home one summer evening. Despite Bob's protestations, she became an integral part of the Sinclair family for the last 13+ years. She was very friendly to all who met her (w/one exception [sorry Kristen]). She will be greatly missed.
With the pain of losing her, the question I have is: who pastors the Pastor? Despite the fact that I was allergic to her, and never wanted the cat to begin with, there is this profound sense of loss. It will not be the same coming home and not be able to greet "Stinky" at the door. Goodbye friend.
With the pain of losing her, the question I have is: who pastors the Pastor? Despite the fact that I was allergic to her, and never wanted the cat to begin with, there is this profound sense of loss. It will not be the same coming home and not be able to greet "Stinky" at the door. Goodbye friend.
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