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"The untenable nature of the experience for me [being a pastor/priest] was being designated the holiest member of the congregation, who could be in all places at all times and require no time for sermon preparation," Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest, said in describing her memoir, "Leaving Church," about her decision to abandon the pulpit. "Those aren't symptomatic of a mean congregation; those are normal expectations of 24/7 availability."

Indeed, unlike doctors or police, for example, pastors are supposed to be people who have dedicated their lives to a spiritual goal and are not expected to focus on themselves and their own welfare in the here and now.

"I really don't think people think about their pastors," said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, research director of the Duke Clergy Health Initiative. "They admire their pastor, and their pastor is very visible. But they want their pastor to be the broker between them and God, and they don't want them to be as human as they themselves are."

A program called the National Clergy Renewal Program, funded by the Lilly Endowment, has been underwriting sabbaticals for pastors for several years; the program will provide up to $50,000 to 150 congregations in the coming year. And places like The Alban Institute in Herndon, Va., are studying the topic and offering expertise and resources to denominations trying to make their clergy healthier...

But experts also say the solutions have to start at the congregational level.

Congregants can encourage pastors to take time off, and not view everything in the church as the pastor's responsibility. They can also be sure to provide healthy food at church events. But clergy must also learn find time to exercise or relax, even if it means saying no to some requests. Otherwise, they won't be healthy enough to serve their flock later on.

Great poster work from eBoy -

http://hello.eboy.com/eboy/category/posters/

Many people - Christians, non-Christians, Atheists, and the like - assert that the Christian holiday of Christmas was stolen by early Christians from a pagan holiday and that early Christians made to be their own in order to promote their new religion.

No so, according to William J. Tighe, then Associate Professor of History at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His refutation of the Christmas-pagan myth appeared in Touchstone magazine, December 2003, entitled, "Calculating Christmas."

Calculating Christmas

William J. Tighe on the Story Behind December 25

Many Christians think that Christians celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25th because the church fathers appropriated the date of a pagan festival. Almost no one minds, except for a few groups on the fringes of American Evangelicalism, who seem to think that this makes Christmas itself a pagan festival. But it is perhaps interesting to know that the choice of December 25th is the result of attempts among the earliest Christians to figure out the date of Jesus’ birth based on calendrical calculations that had nothing to do with pagan festivals.

Rather, the pagan festival of the “Birth of the Unconquered Son” instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on 25 December 274, was almost certainly an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date that was already of some significance to Roman Christians. Thus the “pagan origins of Christmas” is a myth without historical substance.

A Mistake

The idea that the date was taken from the pagans goes back to two scholars from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Paul Ernst Jablonski, a German Protestant, wished to show that the celebration of Christ’s birth on December 25th was one of the many “paganizations” of Christianity that the Church of the fourth century embraced, as one of many “degenerations” that transformed pure apostolic Christianity into Catholicism. Dom Jean Hardouin, a Benedictine monk, tried to show that the Catholic Church adopted pagan festivals for Christian purposes without paganizing the gospel.

In the Julian calendar, created in 45 B.C. under Julius Caesar, the winter solstice fell on December 25th, and it therefore seemed obvious to Jablonski and Hardouin that the day must have had a pagan significance before it had a Christian one. But in fact, the date had no religious significance in the Roman pagan festal calendar before Aurelian’s time, nor did the cult of the sun play a prominent role in Rome before him.

Read the rest here...

Here is a synopsis of the article by Tighe:

From Facebook, a former fellow seminarian commenting on a post by another former seminarian.

"Two strings walk into a bar, bartender says I don't serves strings here, they leave. One ties himself up and messes up his hair, walks back into the bar and says, Give me a beer. Bartender says, Hey aren't you one of those strings I threw out of here. The strings says, I'm a frayed knot."

I just cracked up!

Okay, okay, I know this is the most recent "hype" story, but I've watched Susan Boyle over and over and I keep getting goosebumps.

For whatever reason, this YouTube video can't be imbedded, but go here and watch and be amazed. Seeing Simon Cowell is and the other judges is priceless.

Susan Boyle - Singer - Britian's Got Talent 2009

This seems to be going around e-mail of late. I saw it for the first time a few days a go from my sister-in-law.

Can you read this easily?

fi yuo cna
raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe
out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht
I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch
at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod
are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit
pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed i t whotuit a pboerlm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the
wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
if you can raed tihs forwrad it

This is a great advertisement (public service announcement)!

It is also Kendall Harman's favorite advertisement for 2008. He's got good taste.

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse

I will be upgrading to a new version of Movable Type, my blog software. Not sure how long this will take and what the results will be, but I'm doin' it!

They start 'em off early in what I will presume to be a Pentecostal/Charismatic church.

Kids really do pay attention and mimic what goes on around them.

From: Bishop Alan's Blog and Raspberry Rabbit, who wrote:

Quite obviously a baby who's been listening to the pastor ranting on a Sunday morning. I suppose that Episcopal babies would be lifting their cups up in the air and inviting Teddy, Dolly and Ducky to come up and have a little bits of their teething biscuit no matter what their denominational affiliation might be.

Children do pay attention.

"You Can Vote However You Like"

So, like an idiot I went to see "Saw V" yesterday. Why? Because it is Halloween week and I'm stupid. Now, the first "Saw," while a bit disturbing because of the gore, was nevertheless a pretty good psychological thriller (if that is the right word). In its own twisted way, it was about the possibility of redemption and the dynamics that can go into realizing the stark and fatal consequences of our "sins" and our choices. This is the kind of redemption that Jesus may have offered if he suffered from 'roid-rage.

Well, really, version "V?" Did I really think that the movie would be worth seeing in its fifth sequel? No, not really, but I thought it might be cheesy enough and a "frightful" beginning to Halloween. Saw V, wasn't.

Of course, I absolutely love "The Simpson's" Halloween special episodes... can't wait!. I wonder what a "Reno 911" version of a Halloween episode might be like?

Gov. Sarah Palin spent a good deal of time in the Assemblies of God, just about the largest Pentecostal denomination around the world. This is the denomination I started attending during my senior year in college, and with whom I spent the next 8 years working as a campus pastor in their campus ministries.

I departed this Christian expression in1992 for Anglicanism in 1992 1994 - I saw what was coming in the politicization of American-Evangelicalism. I'm glad I grew up Pentecostal - my developmental years where spent in The Foursquare Church, which being based in Los Angeles is a little more laid back and, well, "hip" I guess - the A/G is based in the Springfield, Missouri in the Ozarks. Hillbilly vs. Southern California. I am so glad I am not there, now!

A lot of people find it very easy to dismiss the Assemblies of God. That is a mistake. In Anglican Land, we brag about being the third largest expression of Christianity in the world with our 38 autonomous provinces and 77 million adherents.

Um, consider this:

"An Assemblies of God study from 2006 found 60 million adherents in more than 300,000 churches worldwide. About 2.8 million of these are in the U.S."

I believe it. This one denomination (with cooperative agreements in many nations with indigenous churches that came out of their missionary endeavors) is just about as large as the whole Anglican Communion! It is larger than The Episcopal Church in the U.S.

Here is the Beloit College's "Mindset List" of characteristics that describe the new incoming Class of 2012. Considering that this is my "Summer of Harry Potter" (I'm reading all the books for the first time), I can appreciate the first characteristic!

Read it and weep, those over, say, 40.

--------------- From Beloit:

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
12. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38. Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
42. Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Milken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.

The Bible is a GPS for life. We trust that a GPS will get us to our destination. Why do we wonder whether the Bible can get us to our life destination?

We only need to know where we want to end up!

This was a comment made by a women on a website for new software that "cleans up" our iTunes library. I cracked up!

"thank the lawd bb jesus for this one. can't wait for the mac version because my itunes definitely needs a tune up. forrr sho'."

"Lawd bb jesus, weejus ask that you take care of sister..."

I feel like I should be posting something...

Has anyone noticed how Harry Potter and Jacob (son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham) are a lot alike?

I celebrated at a different parish this past Sunday (yesterday).

At one point, I equated Harry Potter with Jacob wrestling...

I explained that the reason I brought up Harry Potter is because to a generation of people, Harry Potter exerts a great deal of influence upon their understanding of their times. They see in Harry and Ron and Hermione, themselves. They see their own life stories in the characters of the Harry Potter books.

Scripture used to play that kind of role for far more people than it does, today. People much more easily experienced the stories of Scripture by seeing themselves in the lives of the characters of the Bible. The West made Scripture into an object to examine and deconstruct, rather than seeing a story through which we better understand ourselves. We have to prove it, rather than feel it. People feel Harry Potter. They don't have to deconstruct or prove anything.

We lost the forest because we focus so much on twigs.

Kind of like the different between Latin and Sanskrit.

Okay, this is just cute, except for when his eyes roll back and all you see are the whites of his eyes. Not so cute. And, yes, I know it is not yet Christmastide.

Squashed Philosophers

As I was waking up this morning, I listened to NPR news and they reported that American Airlines was now going to charge $15.00 to check a single piece of luggage. This makes a difference because I am trying to find a flight for my nephew to come and visit me this summer. According to the report, AA is adding the surcharge due to the cost of fuel. Market forces will make it so they have to raise prices, but...

I understand why the airlines don't simply raise the base price of their tickets - after all, when using Travelocity, Orbits, etc., most people look for the lowest price rather than the final price. Yet, at some point the add-on charges will get ridiculous.

So, here is what I think a "bill" for an airline ticket will look like next year:

Cleveland to New York on a big airline:

Ticket Price: $300.00 (Okay, decent price!)
Fuel fee: $20.00 (to cover the increased cost)
Luggage fee: $15.00 per piece of checked luggage
Carry-on fee: $10.00 per additional carry-on luggage after the first piece
Walk-on fee: $5.00 (after all, all those feet walking wear out the carpet)
Pilot fee: $15.00 (unions, you know)
Stewart fee: $ 5.00 (see above)
Poundage fee: $2.00 (for every pound a passenger is over 200 pounds - additional thrust needed for take-off, more fuel needed, etc.)
Convenience fee: $10.00 (it's a lot more convenient flying than driving, or an airline fee to pay for the inconvenience of having to deal with passengers)
Safety fee: $10.00 (having the stewards read the escape plan and a seat cushion life-preserver provided in case of a crash)
Insurance fee: $25.00 (to cover the cost of having to defend themselves when passengers sue the airline.)
Inspection fee: $20.00 (making sure there are no wire short circuits or fuselage cracks costs a lot of money - unions, again, and the pesky government)

The final airline price is: $445.00 (Doesn't $300.00 look so much better when trying to find a cheap flight?)

Oops, I forgot Food & Beverage fee: $5.00 drinks; $15.00 booze; $3.00 peanuts; $20.00 meal. (Paid by cash only on the plane.)
Add to that, a fee for a headset if you want to watch movies or listen to music: $10.00 (and you even have to turn it in at the end of the flight, else you can't get off the plane! There could be an exit fee somewhere in the future, too.)

Pillows and blankets are still for free! For now...

Of course, then one must add the airport fees, landing right fees, city, county, state, and federal taxes.