First Flood Bucket

We just got the first flood bucket returned full to the church. The honor goes to Mary Mitchell. If you would like to participate in this project by filling a flood bucket there are empty five gallon buckets that can be picked up in the church lobby. There is a list of contents in each bucket.

Preaching at Independence First

I preached at both the 8:30 and 10:45 worship services at Independence First United Methodist Church this morning. I was happy to be there but, as always when I'm gone, I missed being in worship here. Independence First is served by another clergy couple, Jack and Marilyn Gregory. Marilyn will be preaching here next Sunday when Jenny and I (and Elizabeth) are gone. It was nice to be able to fill in for Marilyn and Jack while knowing Jenny was taking care of things at home. It's also nice to have another clergy couple so close so that we can trade back and forth so easily.

Flood Buckets

First United Methodist Church is collecting flood buckets in observance of the 2007 Coffeyville Flood. Empty buckets containing a list of necessary contents are available at the main entry (glass doors). Take one home, fill it up and bring it back; the church as a whole will take responsibility for making sure it gets to people who need it (we may warehouse some right here in the church building to have on hand for in-state disasters).

If you are unable to bring in a full bucket, but still want to participate, you might consider parterning with another individual or family to fill one together. Additionally, monetary donations will be accepted. Simply write "Flood Buckets" on your check or offering envelope. UMCOR lists the estimated value of a flood bucket at $45.

Many Thanks

A moment of personal privilege ... Many thanks to quilters Doreatha Moon, Betty Hayes, Betty Chronister and Jewel Hunt for the beautiful quilt they made for the parsonage family. It goes well with the rest of the master bedroom and is greatly appreciated.

Table and Chairs

It's come to my attention that some people don't know that the church kept a number (probably about 200-300) of our old folding chairs and some of our old wooden folding tables for the express purpose of having them available to loan to church members, regular attendees, and community organizations. Contact the church office to make arrangements.

Quote of the Day: Time That Was Saved

Via the July 1, 2008 edition of the Christian Century, this is one of my greatest challenges:

"There's nothing wrong with microwaves or mobile phones–they save time. But God will ask you what you have done with the time that was saved."

–Egyptian Coptic mon Ruwais el-Anthony, who has lived at Egypt's St. Anthony's Monastery for more than 30 years [Reuters]

I'm afraid I will have a hard time accounting for the time I have saved.

Update to the Previous Post

Apparently Blogger had a hiccup and the last part of the sentence of the previous post didn't make it online. I've added it now.

Bridges to the Future Update

So far we've raised $2,338 for the Bridges to the Future capital campaign of the Kansas East Conference. Our Goal is $25,000. If everyone in attendance gave $1 a week we would reach our goal within the five year timeframe of this project.

Thank You Note

Received from Antonia Lawson

"The Field Kindley High School Golden Gales Dance Team and I want to thank you for letting us use your large tables for our rummage sale. The girls did pretty well this year and we really appreciate your help and support of the girls.

Again, than you for helping us!

Sincerely,

Antonia Lawson, Coach"

When we bought new tables, the trustees made the conscious decision to hang onto the old ones for the express purpose of having tables to loan out.

Misgivings

Recently, I've been having some second thoughts about this post of April 8, 2008. I titled it "You Give but You Don't Take Away." I concluded with the statement: "I just don't like attributing evil to God." That is still true, but I'm reading Walter Brueggemann's commentary on Genesis 22.1-24 (the sacrifice of Isaac) and he is developing the ides of a tension in the person of "the God of Job and Abraham who gives and takes away, who promises but also commands and tests ... with these two God-fearing men (Abraham and Job) we are urged to move beyond Job's friends as well as beyond contemporary simply civil piety which knows no dread and which goes from strength to strength." In the command to sacrifice Isaac, God tested Abraham, the promise of many descendants appeared to be taken away before it was restored at the end of the story.

Perhaps it is simply best to not say "You give and take away" casually as an explanation for everything bad that happens, while at the same time recognizing that God is sovereign and God's dealings with humanity are complex.

Disaster Reponse

From the Kansas East Conference

"Following the tornados that hit northeastern Kansas last week, Bishop Scott Jones has issued an appeal for the Kansas Area Disaster Fund, which is used to provide services and relief to storm survivors, and the Rebuilding Kansas Churches Fund, which is used to assist churches whose ministries have been significantly disrupted by a disaster."

“'We in Kansas know that storm disasters can happen anywhere. The beauty of our United Methodist connectional way of following Christ is that when one church or community suffers, we can all respond,'” Jones said. “'You can be part of our loving response by praying, by sending volunteers and by contributing to the Kansas Area Disaster Fund or the Rebuilding Kansas Churches fund.'”

We will be receiving special offerings for the Kansas Area Disaster Fund and the Rebuilding Kansas Churches Fund this coming Sunday.

Energy Efficiency

We've been doing a lot to improve energy efficiency in the church building and parsonage. Below is a list of everything I can think of:

Done:

• New more efficient HVAC in the church building. (Including an outside (the building) thermometer that regulates the boiler temperature relative to the outside temperature)
• New more efficient HVAC in the parsonage.
• Additional insulation in the parsonage.
• Additional insulation in the pastors’ study in the church building.
• High efficiency washing machine at the parsonage.
• More efficient refrigerator at the parsonage.
• More efficient dishwasher at the parsonage
• Turned down the water heaters at the parsonage and church building. (This may have to be turned back up during the winter)
• Installed a digital thermostat in the parsonage.
• Installed programmable (set-back) thermostats in the church building.
• Replaced all incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents in the parsonage.
• Higher efficiency florescent fixtures in the parsonage.
• Better doors at the main entrance of the church building.
• New storm doors on three doors of the parsonage.

In Process:

• Replace all incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents in the church building.
• Higher efficiency florescent fixtures in the church building.
• New high efficiency windows in the parsonage.

Send me an email at johnandjenny[at]revcollins.com if you have any further ideas or suggestions.

No Yoga Tomorrow

There will be no yoga class tomorrow because our instructor has a shindig to attend. We will have class Saturday at 10:00 am.

Feedback Received

I received the following by email from a clergy colleague:

"I have spent some time in the last 8 years looking at church's websites. This includes new churches, old churches, big churches, small churches, rich churches, poor churches.. you get the point."

"The combination of your site with your blog makes your online presence better than most of the websites that are out there. Thank you!"

"It is easy on the eye, easy to navigate, no dead links, and very good information."

I appreciate the feedback from my colleague, but I also want to share the credit with you. Coffeyville First has realized the necessity of a solid web presence and I thank you for giving me the time to make it happen. I also need to give credit to Tony Wood, whose help has been incalculable.

John Wesley's Birthday Today

Today (June 17) is John Wesley's birthday.

A more complete explanation can be found below. I'm not responsible if you get a headache.
Today (June 17) is John Wesley's birthday under the old Julian calendar. In 1752, Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar by skipping 11 days, and so it could be argued that Wesley's birthday is actually on the date we now know as June 28. (Another way to think of it is that in countries that had already adopted the Gregorian calendar by the time Wesley was born, it was June 28 instead of June 17.). Either way Wesley was born in 1703. You can read more about Britain's switch to the Gregorian calendar at wikipedia.org. I found the reference to both dates at the website of The Methodist Church in Great Britain.

No Wednesday Gathering Until July 2

Jenny, Elizabeth and I are all taking some time off (we had a great time in Olathe/Kansas City), but I wanted to get a post up that we won't be having a Wednesday Evening gathering this week, or for the next several weeks until July 2, 2008.

Reponding to People's Needs Hurts the Church

The Alban Institute, a respected think tank, research center and teaching center for the congregational life of churches. They have a new article provocativly titled: "How Responding to People’s Needs Hurts the Church." It's a good read and I highly recommend it.

Link: www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=6156

Confidence Monitor in the Sanctuary Fixed

The problems with the confidence monitor in the sanctuary should now be resolved. Thanks to Brian Walker for helping with diagnostics and to Dave Larimore for most of the work of running the new cable.

Flood Buckets and School Supplies

The Vision Team and Outreach Committee had a joint meeting today. It was decided to try and fill 50 "flood buckets" to give to UMCOR for disaster relief. This project is meant to be done around the time of last years flood here in Coffeyville. The second project, of collecting school supplies for students of Community Elementary will begin sometime later this summer.

Quote of the Day: Warren Buffet on Hell

The June 3 edition of The Christian Century has a symposium titled "What to say about hell," in another section they also have this quote:

"Capitalism without failure is like Christianity without hell."

–Investment billionaire Warren Buffet, arguing that not every failing business or investment bank should be rescued, but that homeowners who were deceived about the terms of their adjustable rate mortgages should be helped.
[Chicago Tribune, May 5]

Taize Worship Service This Wednesday

We'll be having a Taize worship service this Wednesday (tomorrow) at 7:15 pm.

Out With The New

Via Christianity Today (June 17, 2008, page 9):

By a ratio of almost 2 to 1, unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like medieval cathedrals to the modern, utilitarian church facilities that currently are being constructed. This preference for the Gothic, found among both unchurched Catholics and unchurched Protestants, is even more pronounced among people between the ages of 25 and 34. 'I don't like modern churches, they seem cold,' said one survey respondent. 'I like the smell of candles burning, stained-glass windows [and] an intimacy that's transcendent' (survey by LifeWay Research.)

If we can figure out how to use it, this is good news for us.

Confidence Monitor Issue Located

This evening during youth group, Brian Walker and I managed to pinpoint the problem with the confidence monitor in the sanctuary (the screen visible from the choir loft and the pulpit). It's the cable. What a relief, that's the easiest and cheapest thing to fix.

T-Shirt Problems

We're still having "early adapter tax" issues with the t-shirts. I'm going to take the link off the website. Don't order any right now.

The Purpose of the Old Testament

The Old Testament isn't written in order simply to "tell us about God" in the abstract. It isn't designed primarily to provide information, to satisfy the inquiring mind. It's written to tell the story of what God has done, is doing and will do about evil.

–N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, page 45

Conference as a Means of Grace

While Annual Conference is in session, it seems appropriate to post a link to this article by Bishop Scott Jones, in which he talks about conferencing as a means of Grace (a means by which God conveys God's grace to us).

Link: www.kansaseast.org/bishop_column_detail.asp?PKValue=31394

Jenny Recieved The Francis Asbury Award

Jenny just received The Francis Asbury Award for "outstanding leadership in supporting, strengthening, and promoting the church's higher education ministries." I've known since Thursday but managed to keep it a secret.

Health Insurance Proposal Approved

Yesterday, the Annual Conference approved a proposal from the Board of Pensions and Health Benefits to switch to a "High Deductible" health insurance plan. The cost savings will be $172 per month for the church. My contribution will drop from 4.5 percent of my salary to 3 percent of my salary.

Inspirational Plenary Speech

Dr. Myron McCoy, President of Saint Paul School of Theology, just finished giving his second Plenary speech. It was inspiring, hopefully we can get a DVD of it.

Brian Walker Elected to CCYM

Congratulations to Brian Walker on being elected to the Conference Council on Youth Ministry. Jenny says she knew it was only a matter of time.

Voice of the Day: Overcoming the World

Via Sojourners:

"The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this."

–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Meditations on the Cross

Not Much Going On So Far

Mostly just receiving reports.

At Annual Conference

Annual Conference started today. As you can tell by this post, I have been able to go online here at Baker University. Expect to see some posts as annual conference progresses.

Non-Synoptic Church Leadership

I have long respected pastor, author and teacher Will Willimon, now bishop of the North Alabama Conference. He has an excellent article on his blog, A Peculiar Prophet, on "Non-Synoptic Church Leadership." Let me know what you think at johnandjenny@revcollins.com.

Trustees Meeting Postponed

Because of Annual Conference the Board of Trustees Meeting has been postponed until Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

A Long Arc Bending Toward Justice

From Ezra Klein:

"On March 31st, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. preached his final Sunday sermon. 'We shall overcome,' he said, 'because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' Four days later, he was dead."

I've always liked that quote and, more importantly, the concept it embodies. Until now, I never knew those words had been spoken so close to King's death.

Habitat for Humanity

Received from Habitat for Humanity: Guests are welcome to attend the next Habitat Board meeting, June 23 at 7:00 pm at the Science and Technology Center, 125 South Penn, Independence. In addition we recently recieved an email from Jack Gregory, asking us for leads on possible board members. In his words, These do not need to be people who are experts in construction. We need people who can keep books, make speeches to local organizations, organize fund raisers, keep records and lots of other needed skills." Let us know if you're interested and we'll be more than happy to pass your name along.

Annual Conference Begins Tomorrow

Annual Conference begins tomorrow at 2:00 pm with registration and adjourns at 12:00 pm on Saturday. Please pray for the Annual Conference in general and for our delegation in particular.

Cleaning Up Bad Communication Habits

The Alban Institute has a good article titled "Cleaning Up Bad Communication Habits." I plan to share this with the PPR Committee and anyone else I can get to read it. That said, I should emphasize that it isn't focused on pastor-parish relations, but is instead applicable to all of the many relationship that exist in a church.

Link: http://www.alban.org/conversation.aspx?id=6138

Shout Out to Tracer McClellan

Many thanks to Tracer for running the slides during the second worship service this morning.