Let Us Rejoice

O Come, All Ye Faithful' O come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold him Born the king of angels: O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

It the midst of all that is happening this year, let us not forget that there is still a reason to rejoice: the birth of Christ our lord! Sometimes it is possible to lose sight of that simple fact. The world seems to grow busier with each passing day and it becomes harder for us to simply slow down and rejoice in the season. I challenge you this year to find some time to simply stop and rejoice in that precious gift that was given to us so long ago.

What a difference three weeks make!

Three weeks ago today I was looking at myself in the mirror trying to figure out why I looked so funny. Ok, can the laughter you know what I meant. My face was drooping, my eye wasn’t working right and my smile was no where to be seen.

It truly is nothing short of a miracle that medication, rest and a lot of prayers have got me back on my feet in such a short time. I know that I need to be careful and not rush things, but I am so grateful for the miracle that God has done that I just can’t say thank you enough.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

What’s up With Pastor Vic?

The story begins on Sunday. I noticed that my tongue felt a little “strange” and that things did not taste like they normally do. I Had bit my lip that morning on the right side an just chalked it up to that.

Monday I felt as if a few different times during the day I was slurring my words and speaking differently. I asked a few people but they said I sound ok. I had a bit of a headache and my tongue still felt weird, but I went to bed not really thinking too much about it.

Tuesday morning got up an got ready for the day. Went downstairs to eat breakfast. I quickly realized my mouth and tongue were not working the way they should. I felt a little like a two year old learning to eat. I went to the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror talking to my self and smiling to see if I could notice a difference. There was – drop to the right side, my eye was a little different and my lips were pulling to the left.

So off the ER we went. I was admitted and stayed there until about 230 on Wednesday. The final diagnose was Bell’s Palsy.

What caused it? Well the Neurologist said it was a “Idiopathic” disease which mean we know what the problem is but we have no idea what causes it.

Currently they have me on Valtrex ( an anti viral) and Prednisone ( a steroid). I need I drop s in the right eye due to in not blinking correctly. They also told me I need to rest and not stress out. I have a mild facial droop and when I talk for too long or get agitated I can feel the lips on my right side tightening. I can’t whistle and eating right now is different have to be more aware of what I am doing and how I am swallowing.

I seem to have a mild from currently as compared to what many other go through.

Currently the plan is for me to be out of the pulpit for the next two Sundays and I am working on getting coverage for eth next for emergencies. The recovery period varies form person to person. For some its days, other weeks, most about 4-6 months. Some however do have long last effects.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

If you want to know more I have included a web link to the Mayo Clinic or you can just look up Bell’s Palsy.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bells-palsy/DS00168

Don't Just Ask the Blessing, Be the Blessing

Many of us will sit around a table on Thanksgiving day with a great feast before us. The table will be laden with all our favorite goodies.

Then someone will ask, " who is going to bless?" It some households it wont be a problem, a family tradition will decide whose turn it is to pray. In others there might be a pause until someone offers to take up the mantle and lift a few words in thanks.

The real challenge in life is not who is going to offer the blessing before the meal, but how will we be a blessing to others. This thanksgiving, stop and pause for awhile and think about how you might bless another with all that God has given you.

Press On !

Philippians 3:4b-14

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

What wonderful words of challenge from Paul! No matter what - we Press on.

Sometimes in our personal and corporate walks of faith we are faced with many difficulties. There is a tendency to want to focus on them in such away that it can almost immobilize us from doing anything to move forward. Paul's challenge to us is to do what every good runner knows - Don't look back, but press on towards the goal.

Changing Seasons

As I write this there is a crispness in the morning air that lets me know that Fall is on the way. This personally is on of my favorite time of the year. When enter in to the season of not to warm days and nice cool nights. We begin to see the earth begin take on the beauty of the season with the changing color of the trees.

The changing of the seasons is in some ways reelection of our lives. Our lies also seem to be in a constant state of change. One day things seem to be going well, then next we wonder what happened as life difficulties seem to pile up.

Their is hope in the midst of this constant change - the love of an unchanging and compassionate God. We can take comfort in the reality that the God who created the universe, is the same yesterday, today and forever. We can find hope in the fact that God will never change in God's love for us.

May that promise bring us peace.

Changing Times - the new TV

I recently came across the following statistic: NBC aired about 1,200 hours of Olympic coverage on its various television networks—and another 2,400 hours online. Where once TV was King - The Internet is catching up.

What dose this say to us about how we do church in the 21st century?

Those under 40 are more and more turning to technology as their medium of communication. It not unusually to see a 20 something texting on their phone, listening to there i pod and using Face book on their computer all at the same time.

How will we seek to meet the needs of this new generation? How do we share the "old, old. story that we love so well" in such a way as to capture the hearts of these new generations?

How we deal with the technological onslaught is perhaps one of the greatest challenges we have in this new age.

Charge Conference

Fall is here and as usual that means Charge Conference is right around the comer – October 6th to be exact.

Charge conferences are often looked at as more of a problem than a help. It involves filling out paper work and who really likes to do that?

Perhaps the most critical part of Charge Conference is the election of officers and the establishing of goals for the churches ministry. I encourage each of us to pray for the church and for the leaders that we might continue to move forward in our efforts to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

While away on vacation I learned a few important things:

1. What you see is not always what you get.. The hotel we stayed at in Lancaster - looked like a really nice place - online. Turns out it wasn't. The room was not at all what we thought it would be, there were problems with the several things in the room and frankly the staff wasn't exactly helpful.

It was a reminder to me to be careful about judging things by what I see or with only knowing part of the story.

2. " Daddy I flew over the sky". Two years ago we had a somewhat disastrous trip to Disney, in part because our youngest just couldn’t handle the rides. After that we figured we would never get her on a ride again. While on vacation her Mom and her went to Dutch Wonderland. They were there a half hour and my phone rang. My first thought was they were calling to come home, but imagine my surprise when I heard Becca say, " Daddy I flew over the sky".

They had a great time and it reminded me with patience and a lot of prayer all things truly are possible.

Afternoon Musings

Monday Morning Musing - got derailed this week by sickness in the Harner household.

Becca camp home from a week at Camp Sandy Cove feeling lousy, no voice and a fever. So today was mostly spent playing daddy - in between trying to get some work done.

It got me thinking though about how being a parent can be one of the most spiritual activities that a person engages in. As parents we play a major role in shaping how our children see God. What we do, what we say, how we live our lives, all of those activities have an impact on what our children think and believe.

What more awesome responsibility could their be than helping a young child come to know Christ?

Service

Service perhaps does not first come to mind when Christians think of Spiritual Disciplines, but it is perhaps one of the most profound of all the Disciplines. Service moves us from beyond ourselves in to a relationship with others. Service to others is a the most basic level the life that we are called to live as followers of Christ. What could be more spiritual than that?

Here are some guidelines for the practice service as a discipline. ( From the Waters Edge Blog)

1) Begin with a right orientation before God. Examine your heart and ask yourself if you are doing it to please God or to please people? Whatever you do, do it in the name of Jesus.

2) Whenever possible do your service in relative secrecy. Do not use deception to conceal your service, and don't be bothered if someone finds out.

3) Pay attention to your desires for recognition, appreciation, and admiration. Humility is about taking your mind off yourself and focusing on God. Meditate on Jesus words in Matthew 6:1-4.

4) Keep yourself open to serve anyone who you meet. Don't force yourself on someone, but don't refuse anyone any good deed.
5) Identify with people of low position. Look at people through God's eyes as someone who is in need just like you. Dallas Willard encourages us to see ourselves as "a particularly lively piece of clay who, as (a) servant of God, happens to be here and now with the ability to do this good and needful thing for that other bit of clay there."

Sabbath

Sabbath is a concept as old as Creation itself. The word comes from the Hebrew word shabbat, which means “to cease.” It is this word that we read in the story of Creation, when on the seventh day of creation, God rested.

Gods people are instructed to do the same in the 10 Commandments:"But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns."

The practice of a weekly Sabbath can be a means of reclaiming a sense of well being and balance in your life. If you are feeling the need for some Sabbath rest? Here are some questions that will help ( borrowed from a reading on Sabbath by Rachelle Mee-Chapman):

· How much time am I willing to release from busyness right now? An hour after work? One night a week? Half a Saturday?

· At what point in the week would a day of rest be most restorative to me? An unscheduled evening to get through the Wednesday hump? A relaxed Saturday to flip the switch in your mind from ‘I’m working’ to ‘I’m playing’?

· What do I need to stop so I can start doing things I find to be restorative? Saying no to emailing one night a week, to free up time for a bath; avoiding the mall in order to sit in the quiet of the living room…?

· Answer this visioning question: “My perfect day of rest would be…

Fasting

Fasting

Fasting, as a spiritual practice has been a part of the church since the Christians
practiced it every Wednesday and Friday as an exercise in penitence and sacrifice.

John Wesley was convinced that fasting, abstaining from food or drink was a spiritual practice firmly grounded in Scripture. In the Old Testament numerous accounts of fasting are found. These are but a few:

1. Daniel fasted as he confessed the sins of Israel - Da 9:3-5,
2. David fasted and wept for his son while the boy was ill - 2 Sam 12:16-23
3. The psalmist also mentions fasting for his enemies - Ps 35:11-13
4. Day of Atonement. Lev 16:29-31; 23:26-32; Num 29:7

In the new testament we find accounts of Jesus and his followers fasting as well, Matthew 4:2; Acts 13:3.

Wesley saw noting in Scripture to suggest that modern Christians should not follow the practice of fasting as well. His personal weekly fast was to pray and fast each Thursday evening, after the evening meal, until the afternoon each Friday

While fasting form food is the most common and what we find clearly spoken of in Scripture sometimes person will chose to fast from other things that have a hold on their lives: television, shopping, music or anything that seems to hold on a persons life.

Fasting can provide a new way to connect and re-connect with God, but as with all tings that potentially involves ones health. Do some research first. Be careful about what you are doing and if you have any medical conditions talk to your doctor first, explain why you want to fast and ask their advice.

Prayer

If the reading of Scripture is the foundation for who we are as Christians then prayer in the very lifeblood of our lives of faith. Prayer is our opportunity to connect with the divine in an intimate personal way. It provides us a way of communicating directly with a God who desires to be in a relationship with us.

The Apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we are to “pray continually”. While this may seem like a daunting task – it is possible to develop an attitude of prayer that allows one to communicate on a continually basis.

Perhaps what first needs to occur as a simple acceptance that there is no correct form, posture or manner in which we are required to pray. Jesus offers His disciples an example of Prayer with the Lords Prayer, but this should not be seen as the only form or manner in which we can pray.

A very simple practice that an help you in beginning a life of prayer comes from the Eastern Orthodox monasteries in the 18th century. The Jesus Prayer was seen as a way to assist people to pray continuously. The practice itself was very simple: sit comfortable in a quiet place, begin to pray in time with your breathing.

As you breathe in pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God;” as you breathe out: “have mercy on me, a
sinner.” Your goal is to focus on the meaning of the words, praying them from your heart. Offering this prayer to the Lord over and over again for a period help to keep ourselves centered in Christ and our need for his mercy.

Take a risk this week, find a quiet place and give it a try. Remember in the end you are not trying to be perfect “pray-ers” – just someone who prays!

lectio divina: Sacred Reading

The reading of Scripture is perhaps the most basic of spiritual Disciplines. It is in Gods Living Word that we find the bases of our faith and who we are as Christians. Christians read and study scripture in a multitude of different ways.

One form which evolved in monasteries in the Middle Ages is known as lectio divina. Lectio in Latin means reading; divina means holy or sacred. This form of reading follows a fixed format whereby one seeks to enter into communion with God around a particular sacred text. It can be done individually or in a group setting.

Select a time and place that is peaceful. A quiet room with few distractions is a good place. Give yourself ample amount of time as well. This is meant to be done slowly and not hurried through.

1. Slowly begin reading the passage that you have selected for the day. Be careful not to choose too long a section. A verse or two at most. Read it again and again until a word or phrase strikes you, grabs you, invites you or attracts you in some fashion.

2. Reflect on and meditate on, what the word or phrase offers you, or on its meaning in your life.

4. Rest silently with God, waiting for what God offers, you through your reading and reflection
.
5. As a final step express to God the prayers that rise out of your experience with the passage.

While it may take some time to find a way of doing this that is comfortable to you, it can be a way to find a deeper meaning in the scripture. It forces us to listen to what God would say through Word and Presence.

Monday Morning Musings

Spiritual disciplines are practices that help shape us into the image of Christ. They provide a way in which we can draw closer to God and discover new things about our relationship with the Divine. Practices such as Bible
study, prayer, fasting and spiritual direction are common disciplines use over the centuries to help believers go deeper in their faith.

Over the next several weeks we will look at some of the common practices that have been used. You are encouraged to try them out. Some will fit your personality and feel like an old friend. Some may seem a little foreign and not be a perfect fit. Take chance and try them out – who knows – you may just find a new to deepen your faith,

Thought question for today: What disciplines do I currently practice?

Coming soon: Annual Conference!

In ten short days Randy Robertson and I will be off to the 224th session of the Baltimore-Washington Conference.We will be meeting May 22-24 at the Gaylord Hotel in Oxon Hill. This year the theme for conference is "Poured Out: Serve Like Christ

Please pray for Randy and I that we will follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as we make decisions for the church.

General Conference Final Thoughts

General Conference is over for another four years and most likely it will take that long for us to fully understand and figure out all of the changes that were made at this one. Some things stayed the same others changed. Sometimes it seemed as if the delegates passed proposals that seemed to be in conflict, but that’s the way the process works. One can only hope that on the whole the church listened to what God is calling us to do.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

The following is a summary of some of the highlights. It is based on information received from the United Methodist News Service the author was.: Peck, a four-time editor of the Daily Christian Advocate, served as an editor for United Methodist News Service during the 2008 General Conference—his 11th assembly.

The worldwide church

The assembly reflected changing demographics, as membership has shrunk in the United States while growing in Africa and the Philippines and parts of Europe.

This gathering was less centered on issues confined to the United States than at previous assemblies. That was partially because 278 of the 992 delegates came from outside of the United States––100 more than attended the 2004 session. It also was the result of proposals from a task force studying the global nature of the church.

Delegates approved 23 constitutional amendments that would make it possible to change the church's U.S.-centric structure to a more uniform global structure. A 20-member committee will bring recommendations to the 2012 assembly.

Budget

The delegates approved a $642 million denominational spending plan for the next four years built around four areas of focus for the immediate future: Developing principled Christian leaders, Creating new places for new people by starting new congregations and renewing existing ones, Engaging in ministries with the poor, Improving global health, especially attacking the killer diseases of poverty.

Homosexuality

General Conference essentially upheld the status quo on sexuality issues. In retaining its stance declaring homosexual practice "incompatible with Christian teaching," the assembly rejected a majority report from a legislative committee that recommended new language that faithful people disagree on the topic but that "all seek a faithful witness." The assembly affirmed that all people are "individuals of sacred worth created in the image of God." Delegates also retained statements asking "families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends."

Continued the policy of not funding groups that promote the acceptance of homosexuality, retained language defining marriage as a relationship between one man and one woman and let stand language in the Book of Discipline regarding pastoral authority over church membership.

Legislative process

Delegates created a 24-member standing committee on faith and order to help bishops and the church reflect on matters of faith, doctrinal teaching, order and discipline. The group also will provide study materials upon the request of the bishops, the Connectional Table or General Conference.

The conference called for a continuation of a study authorized by the 2004 assembly on the church's ordering of ministry. The 28-member study group is to address the ordering of ministry, the separation of ordination and conference membership, and the streamlining of the ordained ministry candidacy process.

Delegates approved the creation of a hymnal revision committee and authorized it to bring a proposed hymnal to the 2012 General Conference. An additional group will investigate the possibility of an Africana hymnal that incorporates music and liturgy from Africa––as well as Caribbean, African-American and other traditions with African roots.

Constitutional amendments

General Conference passed a number of amendments to the church's constitution, which now awaits action from annual (regional) conferences. All constitutional amendments approved by a two-thirds vote of General Conference must be ratified by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the aggregate number of voting annual members.

Other items

General Conference approved a full communion agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in which each church recognizes the other’s ministry and mission, the authenticity of the other’s baptism and Eucharist, and the interchangeability of ordained ministers. The ELCA’s assembly will act on the agreement in 2009.

Delegates learned that church members raised $3 million to restore churches damaged by Hurricane Katrina. More than $60 million was given through the United Methodist Committee on Relief for humanitarian aid in the Gulf Coast.

The assembly increased the retirement age of bishops from 66 to 68 and the retirement age of other ordained clergy from 70 to 72.

People who join United Methodist churches henceforth will promise to be faithful in "their witness" as well as in their "prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service."

Final session

The final gavel came down May 2 at 11:15 p.m., followed by worship, which ended shortly before midnight. The next General Conference will be in 2012 in Tampa, Fla.

Coming to an end.

Its 10:35 pm and the 2008 General Conference is still going on. The delegates are trying to finish the legislation. My shift as a page has ended, earlier this evening. I needed to get away from all that was going on, so I went to dinner and back t the hotel to rest.

I need to spend sometime processing the last few days. So many things were passed that it is difficult for me to tell you all that was done. Somethings stayed the same ( the churches current stance on homosexuality), new studies were authorized, and changes were made in various places.

I will update the issues once I am home.

Tomorrow I hope to spend some time seeing the area that I have been in the last two weeks, but haven't seen at all.

Peace

Short Report

Saturday and Sunday were long days. The worship was good. I really enjoy the message from Bishop Hutchinson - challenging us to be born of water and spirit in order to move beyond our four wall and be excited about what God can do. I had to be good yesterday morning. I sat between our Bishop and one of the German Bishops for worship.

The last two days was helping in committees. I was very tired Sunday night and a bit irritable to be truthful. Sometimes even Christians can be a little temperamental and I ran into a few of them on Sunday afternoon.

I was able to switch my schedule around to be off today. I went down to Innis TX to see our former daycare parents Charles and Polly Smith. They use to live on North Bend Rd in Jarrettsville and watched CJ for 7 years and Becca for 2. I go to see several large fire ant hills at their house as well as the wild pig there sun had just caught in a trap. Apparently the pigs and coyotes visit them often.

The pictures above are the tables being used for worship at conference. They are made from wood that had fallen after Katrina hit Mississippi.

See you soon!

Too Late to type last night!

Got in Thursday night at 11:30 Texas time - too tired to type. Thursday began with catching the shuttle bus from a nearby hotel . The conference is using a fleet of charter buses to help with the parking issue around the convention center. Its not too bad, but last night I had to run to catch mine ( not a pretty sight) or would have not gotten back to the hotel until an hour later.

Thursday morning I was posted up on the stage with the Bishops. I mostly spent the time take notes for one Bishop to another. A little difficult at first - the seating chart was ready when we first got there. So I felt like I was playing " Find the Bishop" for most of the morning. The cool part was that I had a great view of the morning session.

The morning session included several major keynote address. A sampling of three of them follow.

1. A first ever Young People’s with persons ranging in age from 16 - 29. One of the speakers Rev. Annie Arnoldy, 29, of Grand Junction, Colo "What I know about the church is that it yearns for young people,” said Arnoldy. “What I know about young adults is that they yearn for a place to belong. This seems like a pretty fruitful situation"

2.Lyn Powell, lay leader of the North Georgia Annual (regional) Conference, gave the laity address. "If the laity of The United Methodist Church want to reclaim the Methodist heritage of winning communities for Christ, they have to invite people to church, carry the name of Christ with them and claim a personal ministry."

3. Illinois Area Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher gave the Episcopal address.It was filled with songs and multimedia and multi-sensory images about how people received and experienced hope, gave hope, and were transformed by encounters with Christ. "All around this world there is physical, mental and spiritual hunger for the bread of life," she said.

On of the most interesting presentations of the morning for me personally centered around the nothing but nets campaign that is currently going on to raise funds to send bed nets to fight the spread of Malaria in Africa.

Katherine Commale learned at age 5 that—somewhere in the world—a child dies from mosquito-borne malaria every 30 seconds, she said, “Mom, we need to send them bed nets right away.”Her mother, Lynda, agreed. Now age 7, Katherine has collected more than $40,000 . Her goal is that everyone in Africa who needs net will get one.

It really gave me pause to think. If a 7 year old girl can raise over $40,000 to help others. What could and should we a Christs church being doing for others?

The evening was devoted to the various committees beginning their work. I was assigned to the Board of Church and society for the first night. The pages normally rotate between groups so i will most likely be in a different group this afternoon.

All in all in going well. Making new friends, renewing relationshipswith others. Trying to take it all in and not get too exhausted. Thanks for your prayers.

First Day is Over - for me!

It 910 pm Texas time on Wednesday. The day is over over me - but the evening session of General conference will most likely go on until about 11:00 pm.

The day began at 8:00 am at Forth Worth Convention center. Training went until 1230. We learned the dos and donts of Pages and Marshall's. Number one rule: smile! We had a short sensitivity session as apart of the training to help us remember we are dealing with a wide variety of cultures ( even with in our own country - I mean this is Texas you'all).

We spent about 1.5 hours practicing for the opening worship. Had a short break and then had to be at our station by 4:30pm. The evening was devoted to an hour of music before the service and then a two plus hour Communion service. It was incredible. The music, the visuals, the use of person praying in there native tongue, even the preaching wasn't all that bad.

I was amazed at how the organist could play everything form classic hymns to African spirituals to music that sounded and awful lot like funk! I didn't know an organ could do that.

I had the privilege of helping two of our bishops serve communion. Many of those who came to that station were the interpreters for the general conference. It was interesting to see all of the languages that they represented.

There are over 50 countries represented. 1000 delegates, about 250 support staff, lots of bishops and lots of visitors. All who need your prayers!

Speaking of prayers: right now I am sitting in my hotel while a huge thunder storm is overhead and a tornado watch is on for this area. So a prayer for Fort Worth would be helpful

My day starts and 5:30 tomorrow. The morning is spent up on the stage with the Bishops, the evening serving in a committee dealing with fiances of the church.

Good night to all!

Packing day !

It's Monday the 21 of April and that means it time to pack for General Conference. I leave tomorrow morning for Fort Worth Texas and 10 days of serving the larger church as volunteer page.

We begin bright and early Wednesday with training and then the real work begins. The first week is filled with legislative work in committees as well as worship, full sessions and other special events. The second week is devoted to full sessions from morning until night.

Please pray for the delegates who will be voting on issues that will affect our church for the next four years and beyond. Please pray for me and that I will be up to the tasks given to me. Please pray for my family as they go it alone with out me.

I hope to be able to log in and do some updates from on site, so be sure to check back!