kinda random today...
so I haven't blogged in a couple of days, which keeping with the tone and flavor my internship to this point means tons of shit has happened. While I've primarily been engaged in sermon writing this week (seriously, what else can be said about David and Goliath and/or Jesus calming the sea that hasn't already been said...stupid lectionary) the rest of the world continues to do things that baffle me.
So while the rest of the world watches the World Cup, those of us that live in Presbyteria have been watching GA stuff. The Peace, Unity, and Purity (PUP) report, which is quite a good read if you're into fiction, passed with some amendments. The long and short of it is that the PC(USA) is not going to change its ordination standards language in the Book of Order (BOO!) but individual presbyteries will have some flexibility in how they interpret the ordination standards. From what I gather, this has successfully made everyone unhappy. Neither conservatives nor liberals think it goes far enough in their direction. According to my friend who is at GA, alot of discussion has begun about people wanting to leave the church. Oh, and the guy who has pledged to make the $150 million donation is bankrupt. (slight exaggeration)
On to more pathetic subjects than the PC(USA)... Oregon is currently graduating 25% of their African American students from high school. I repeat, Oregon is currently graduating 25% of its African American students from high school. In other words, one out of every four black high school students in Oregon is graduating from said high school. I've thought of seventeen other ways to put that, but the bottom line is that is disgusting!!! It's the lowest percentage in the country. The state should be embarrassed, the school system should be embarrassed, the african american community here should be embarrassed, and of course, the church should be embarrassed. If these folks aren't embarrassed, I'm embarrassed for them. By the way, the national average for african american high school graduation is 51%, which is still embarrassing, but Oregon is not helping our average here.
By the way, Portland is supposedly the whitest city in America. I feel like I've been whiter places. That would explain the bitterness.
Seriously, any thoughts on I Samuel 17 or Mark 4:35-41 would be much appreciated.
The sun has come out, which usually improves my disposition. Maybe if I actually leave the house it will.
So two things I have to be happy about. On Tuesday night my friends took me to this jazz club called Blue Monk. On Tuesdays there's no cover (awesome) and they have really good beer on tap (double awesome) and the trio that plays there on Tuesdays is totally sick (that's a good thing)! Needless to say, I have a Tuesday night hang out! Apparently, they also serve food.
Second thing, on Wednesday mornings I have been going to an ecumenical lectionary study. It has been very enriching. Though the Presbyterians outnumber the other denominations represented, it is great to hear such a wide variety of opinions on scripture, life, and ministry. The group includes UCC, Lutheran, Episcopal, and I think Catholic clergy. They deal with the passages for the next Sundays lectionary readings, thus giving you over a week to mull over the rich conversation. Is there anyway to start an ecumenical denomination without becoming unecumenical? If there is, that's what I want to do.
I've promised that I will write down some further thoughts on Race Matters and the excerpts from A Testament to Freedom that I have read. Maybe I'll do that tonight. For now, I'm going to take a shower and go enjoy the sun!
So while the rest of the world watches the World Cup, those of us that live in Presbyteria have been watching GA stuff. The Peace, Unity, and Purity (PUP) report, which is quite a good read if you're into fiction, passed with some amendments. The long and short of it is that the PC(USA) is not going to change its ordination standards language in the Book of Order (BOO!) but individual presbyteries will have some flexibility in how they interpret the ordination standards. From what I gather, this has successfully made everyone unhappy. Neither conservatives nor liberals think it goes far enough in their direction. According to my friend who is at GA, alot of discussion has begun about people wanting to leave the church. Oh, and the guy who has pledged to make the $150 million donation is bankrupt. (slight exaggeration)
On to more pathetic subjects than the PC(USA)... Oregon is currently graduating 25% of their African American students from high school. I repeat, Oregon is currently graduating 25% of its African American students from high school. In other words, one out of every four black high school students in Oregon is graduating from said high school. I've thought of seventeen other ways to put that, but the bottom line is that is disgusting!!! It's the lowest percentage in the country. The state should be embarrassed, the school system should be embarrassed, the african american community here should be embarrassed, and of course, the church should be embarrassed. If these folks aren't embarrassed, I'm embarrassed for them. By the way, the national average for african american high school graduation is 51%, which is still embarrassing, but Oregon is not helping our average here.
By the way, Portland is supposedly the whitest city in America. I feel like I've been whiter places. That would explain the bitterness.
Seriously, any thoughts on I Samuel 17 or Mark 4:35-41 would be much appreciated.
The sun has come out, which usually improves my disposition. Maybe if I actually leave the house it will.
So two things I have to be happy about. On Tuesday night my friends took me to this jazz club called Blue Monk. On Tuesdays there's no cover (awesome) and they have really good beer on tap (double awesome) and the trio that plays there on Tuesdays is totally sick (that's a good thing)! Needless to say, I have a Tuesday night hang out! Apparently, they also serve food.
Second thing, on Wednesday mornings I have been going to an ecumenical lectionary study. It has been very enriching. Though the Presbyterians outnumber the other denominations represented, it is great to hear such a wide variety of opinions on scripture, life, and ministry. The group includes UCC, Lutheran, Episcopal, and I think Catholic clergy. They deal with the passages for the next Sundays lectionary readings, thus giving you over a week to mull over the rich conversation. Is there anyway to start an ecumenical denomination without becoming unecumenical? If there is, that's what I want to do.
I've promised that I will write down some further thoughts on Race Matters and the excerpts from A Testament to Freedom that I have read. Maybe I'll do that tonight. For now, I'm going to take a shower and go enjoy the sun!
