Bishop's Biography

Kansas Area Bishop Scott Jones will be preaching at a combined worship service Sunday morning at 10:50 am and leading a workshop on Evangelism Sunday afternoon at 1:30 pm. Here's a very short biography provided by his office.

Scott Jameson Jones currently serves as the resident bishop of the Kansas Area of the United Methodist Church with offices in Wichita and Topeka, Kansas. He was born in 1954 in Nashville, Tennessee and was raised in Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana and Colorado. He received degrees from the University of Kansas (B.A. in Philosophy), Perkins School of Theology of Southern Methodist University (Master of Theology) and Southern Methodist University (Ph.D. in Religious Studies). His dissertation research was focused on Wesley Studies and the History of Biblical Interpretation.

He was ordained deacon in the Kansas East Annual Conference and elder in the North Texas Annual Conference. From 1986 to 1997 he served as pastor of three congregations: the United Methodist churches in Prosper, Howe and Commerce, Texas. In 2003-2004 he served as interim pastor at Stonebridge UMC in McKinney, Texas. From 1997 to 2004 he served on the faculty of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In 2004 he was elected a bishop by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference and assigned to serve as the resident bishop of the Kansas Area as of September 1, 2004.

His most recent books are United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center and The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor: A Theology of Discipleship and Witness, (Abingdon Press). He has been named associate editor of volumes 5 and 6 in the Bicentennial Edition of The Works of John Wesley, the scholarly edition of Wesley’s Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament.

Scott and Mary Lou Reece have been married since 1979. They have three children. Jameson, Arthur and Marynell.

A short (as opposed to the above very short) biography can be found on our website in the downloads section.

Well Done, President Bush

Since my posts in opposition to torture have shown an area of disagreement I have with the current Bush administration, I wanted to highlight an area where I appreciate the president's work: assistance to Africa. The blog Gods Politics has the full story (and the title) by Brian McLaren.

Google Doing Good

Internet search company Google is giving free voice mail to every homeless person in San Francisco. The numbers will be especially helpful for people filling out employment applications or waiting for the results of medical tests. You can read the whole story here at salon.com (Warning, you have to wait a few seconds on an ad.)

I'm Back

It's been more than 24 hours since I registered a fever and so I should be non-contageous. I'll be in the office for a while this morning. Then up to Independence for a LTRO meeting, then back down to First UMC for the Lenten Luncheon.

Voice of the Day: "Do not lose by saving"

Via Sojourners:

Do not lose by saving, but gather in by scattering. Give to the poor, and you give to yourself. You will not be allowed to keep what you have refused to give others.

— Saint Peter Chrysologus, Sermon 43

Tech Post

I know that you don't turn to this blog for technical information, but I thought you might find the Google Advanced Search helpful in your web searching.

Link: http://www.google.com/advanced_search

Marcee Carter to Preach Tomorrow

Jenny, Elizabeth and I all have the flu, influenza, the real McCoy, they took a test and everything. We're been grounded because we are contagious. Marcee Carter, a certified lay speaker from Independence will be filling the pulpit.

Bishop Jones' Sermon

On March 2, we will have only the 10:50 worship service to better welcome Bishop Scott Jones. He'll be preaching on Jeremiah 29.1-14 with a sermon titled "A Future with Hope."

Church Office Closed Today

The church office will be closed today due to ice.

U2 Eucharist Offering

100% of the offering received during tomorrow's U2 Eucharist will go to the United Methodist Global Aids Fund.

Lenten Luncheons

I just posted the following at bricktownblog.com:

The Coffeyville Ministerial Alliance invites you to attend our annual Lenten Luncheons held at the First United Methodist Church in Coffeyville. Doors will open at 11:30 am and a program will begin promptly at 12:00 pm. Our theme this year is “Transforming Lives.” Our first luncheon begins on Wednesday, February 20th. Each week a church will provide a hot meal for $3.00 per person. A sermon will be delivered by a local minister. Please come and join us in worship and fellowship.

John Collins, President, Coffeyville Ministerial Alliance

U2 Eucharist Songs

Songs for Wednesday's Gathering:
Where the Streets Have No Name
Mysterious Ways
Pride (In the Name of Love)
Beautiful Day
Peace on Earth
When Love Comes to Town
Love and Peace or Else
Miracle Drug
Walk On

The article in Interpreter Magazine is back up at:
http://www.interpretermagazine.org/interior.asp?ptid=43&mid=12302

You May Have Noticed ...

That I was in Coffeyville instead of Kansas City today. Elizabeth hasn't been feeling well and I wanted to be ten minutes instead of three hours away.

U2 Eucharist Tomorrow

Carla isn't going to be able to be at tomorrow's Wednesday gathering, so while the pianist is away, the congregation will play U2 music. Interpreter has an article about U2 Eucharist (or eU2charist or U2charist), but their site seems to be down at the moment. So the simple explanation is that a U2 Eucharist is a service of "word and table" (scripture, preaching, and holy communion) where the music of the Irish rock band U2 is substituted for more traditional or contemporary hymns.

Church Office Closed Tomorrow

The church office will be closed tomorrow for President's/Presidents' Day. Does anyone know which (President's or Presidents') it is? In addition, I will be out of town on Tuesday for a continuing education event in Kansas City.

Why this blog Moved

I promised a better explanation of why this blog moved a while back. We moved it from coffeyvillefirstumc.blogspot.com to revcollins.blogspot.com and renamed it from "Blog" to "From Behind the Pulpit" (still looking for a better name). The subtitle of the blog went from "Coffeyville First United Methodist Church" to "Thoughts from a United Methodist Clergy Couple in Southeast Kansas." None of this indicates a change in what this blog covers or who contributes that that's really the point. Initially we intended for many people to contribute to the blog, but we haven't been able to make that happen and the blog became, as it now says, "the Professional Blog of the Revs. John and Jennifer Collins." The changes in location and title really just indicate the recognition of that reality. Different pastors have different interests and skills and we realized that we did not want to set a precedent that might be difficult for a later pastor to follow. (Don't read anything into that I'm simply planning well into the future here and both Jenny and I and the SPRC have indicated to the cabinet that we believe this appointment is a match.)

Additional Heat for 005 and 006

Rooms 005 and 006 in the basement (homes of the "Keystone" and "Rock of Ages" classes, respectively) have been upgraded with the addition of vent-less natural gas heaters. They should be nice and toasty tomorrow, irregardless of the outside temperature.

Note: ever notice how regardless and irregardless mean the same thing?

One Worship Service for the Bishop's Visit

Bishop Scott Jones will be preaching Sunday, March 2, 2008. The decision has been made to try for just one service at 10:50 am. We're doing just one service in order to have a larger congregation present. We're doing the late service so that if someone hasn't gotten the word of the change in schedule they can simply come back later. (E.g. if they come at 8:10 they can just come back at 10:50 and if they come at 10:50 they will be right on time.) Following the worship service we'll have a potluck dinner and after that the Bishop will present a workshop on evangelism.

UMW Sunday was Great

UMW Sunday was great, the women did a wonderful job. Please be sure to tell them how much all their hard work was appreciated.

No Yoga Tonight

Our instructor, April, is both sick and contagious.

Parties and Prostitutes

A link from Tony Wood, Lay Delegate to Annual Conference:
http://tucksdenbighblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/parties-and-prostitutes.html

"Awe" by Frederick Buechner

From Beyond Words:

I remember seeing a forest of giant redwoods for the first time. There were some small children nearby, giggling and chattering and pushing each other around. Nobody had to tell them to quiet down as we entered. They quieted down all by themselves. Everybody did. You couldn't hear a sound of any kind. It was like coming into a vast empty room.

Two or three hundred feat high the redwoods stood. You had to crane your neck back as far as it would go to see the leaves at the top. The trees made their own twilight out of the bright California day. There was a stillness and stateliness about them that seemed to become part of you as you stood there stunned by the sight of them. They had been growing in that place for going on two thousand years. With infinite care they were growing even now. You could feel them doing it. They made you realize that all your life you had been mistaken. Oaks and ashes, maples and chestnuts and elms you had seen for as long as you could remember, but never until this moment had you so much as dreamed what a Tree really was.

"Behold the man," Pilate said when he led Jesus out where everybody could see him. He can't have been much to look at after what they'd done to him by then, but my guess is that, even so, there suddenly fell over that mob a silence as awed as ours in the forest when for the first time in their lives they found themselves looking at a Human Being.

—Frederick Buechner, Beyond Words, "Awe," 31.

Calendar Updated

I inadvertently shut off calendar updates a few days ago. It's back up and running now. You can find it through the calendar page of the church website.

New and Improved Web Address

This Blog has a new address if you are a regular reader your probably best off leaving www.revcollins.blogspot.com as your bookmark or favorite, but if you're at a different computer you can simply type in www.revcollins.com and you will be forwarded to this page.

Update: you can also get here by going to www.revcollins.org, but that's really just for people who forget that it's .com.

UMW Sunday

Just a reminder that tomorrow is UMW Sunday. The UMW will be leading worship during both services.

A Prayer from Thomas Merton

An excellent prayer from Thomas Merton:

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

—Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
© Abbey of Gethsemani

There are at least two different versions of this prayer on the internet. I found this one at:

www.mertoninstitute.org

In case you're wondering what a Pyxis is

From the Etruscan Art Virtual Museum glossary:
"Pyxis - a cylindrical ceramic container with a lid."

Reward! Have you seen this Ash Pyxis?

Have you seen this Ash Pyxis?

If so please let us know. It contains palm ash for our Ash Wednesday observance. We have more palms that can be burned to make palm ash, so all is not lost, but it sure would be nice to find it. Bob asked me when I remembered seeing it last. I told him last year on Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday Gathering

Tomorrow's Wednesday Gathering will be an Ash Wednesday Service. It will be at the regular time 7:15 pm.

No Yoga Tomorrow

That pretty much says it all.

This Blog Needs a New Name

I plan to post more information about why we moved later. But right now this blog needs a better name. Any suggestions?

What I (John) am Giving Up For Lent

In case you were wondering, here's what I'm giving up for Lent:

1. Velveeta and all processed cheese food products.
2. Absorbing other people's anxiety.

It's that second one that's going to take some work. Now I know fasting should be done in private, but: 1) my negotiations with a certain party over what I should give up for lent have been pretty public, 2) I hoping to set an example of the varieties of things one can give up for lent and 3) Sometimes, in my effort to feel empathy and compassion for others, I take on more of their anxiety than is appropriate. When I do that I don't tend to be a calm leader or the most effective helper that I can be. So, for the next seven weeks I promise that I will focus on being a calm presence for you. I thought you ought to know.

If you want to see what April Foreman is giving up for lent visit www.bricktownblog.com.

Newsletter Up

The January 30, 2008 Newsletter is now up on the "downloads" page at www.coffeyvillefirstumc.org.