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Americana Journal Who Am I

Dating at the Fair

 

Keeping a tradition

One of the first dates I asked JoAnne to go on was to the Steuben County Fair.  We remember eating spaghetti at an Italian stand where I learned how to twirl spaghetti on my fork against a spoon rather than cut it up.   After that, one of our annual dates was a trip to the New York State Fair.   While we lived in Syracuse, we kept this tradition going by visiting the fair annually.   We love ogling all the exhibits.  JoAnne seeks out the needlework shows since that is one of her hobbies.  I love the farm animal and farm equipment exhibits because of my farm upbringing.    Both of us enjoy historical and travel exhibits and some vendors exhibits, though there are always more of these latter type than anyone can handle.   We admit, we missed our traditional trip to the NYS Fair this year.   But when we heard about the Big E, an exposition for all six New England states, we jumped at the chance to go.   Maybe this would be much like the Fair. 

The Big E

JoAnne and I arrived through gate 10 in the late morning on Friday, Sept. 27.   It was about the only day we were free to go.  But the weather was perfect and it was the day the big horses were showing –perfect for me.   We start with the nearest farm building which today houses an eclectic collection of alpacas, goats, and sheep.   We ask a question or two of an alpaca keeper and go through the wool exhibit too.   Outside is the butter sculpture.  Now there is a memory—

Continue reading “Dating at the Fair”

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Journal Joy Notes News Commentary

A piece of good news

See you at the pole is a national day of prayer for students.   I was happy to see it made at least one internet news page.   Our nation needs courageous young people who believe in prayer and in the freedom to pray in public.  May God increase their numbers.

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/a-rather-remarkable-day-2.html

 

Categories
Journal Joy Notes Who Am I

Features I am enjoying about living in Connecticut

Our walking path
A big rock
a stream about a half mile up
another rock ledge
a rock wall
Didn't I say it was rocky here?
At the top of Carpenter Falls
Yours truly at Carpenter Falls
Another look at the falls

[Show as slideshow]

If you ask me the proverbial question, “Is the glass half empty or half-full?”  I’m the kind of guy who always answers, “Half-full of course!”  Count your blessings.  So, while I could talk about things we miss from New York, my mind tends to focus instead on what I am finding delightful about living in Connecticut.   Here’s a partial list. 

  1. Number one is spending so much more time with our daughter, son-in-law and wonderful little grandson Sam.   He loves holding my hand and walking around the house at this stage.  I better enjoy it while it lasts.  He is so huggable.   Now I see him about three times per week on the average.   JoAnne watches him two days per week and loves it.  She is a great Grandma, and a very creative care-giver for Sam.   
  2. The church God has given us to serve in our semi-retirement, Copper Hill UMC, is a joy.  I love country churches with history.  This one was organized in 1816 and we have already met many delightful new friends who are receiving our ministry with joy too. 
  3. I wear jeans and T shirts a lot more.  While I was working full-time, I only wore such relaxed apparel for an occasional gardening stint or when on vacation in the Adirondacks.  Now I get to wear it multiple times per week.  It feels good.
  4. There is more sunshine.   After all, Syracuse is tied with Portland, OR for most number of cloudy days so I should have expected it.  But this year, even the folks from CT are saying the weather has been great so I think it has been unusually nice.  We are loving it.  
  5. I am walking more.   The parsonage is about 15 minutes’ walk from a forest preserve with a great uphill trail that has been providing good exercise.  So far I’ve only lost about 5 pounds but I’m in much better shape.  We have lots of good conversations with people we meet along the way too.
  6. Since I am a history buff, I’m loving living where the timeline of local history commonly stretches back another 100 years to 150 years compared to Western NY.   This area of Connecticut began to be settled in the late 1600’s.   For a history buff, it’s like adding one-third more stuff to the pages.  Instead of 2 centuries of local history, there are three.   
  7. The area of CT where our parsonage is located is very rocky.  Our lawn has rock ledges and walls.  Our cellar is a rock foundation.   Walking in the forest preserve, we see huge rock outcroppings.  It reminds us some of the Adirondacks where we often vacationed when we lived in Syracuse.   I had a rock collection as a kid too.  
  8. God has blessed us with a parsonage that fits us very well.  JoAnne and I both have separate roomy offices in it, something we probably could not have afforded if we had purchased a home.  It has lawn and garden spots, a garage, and bedroom space for guests too.   It has also provided more than enough DIY projects to keep me happy. 
Categories
Journal News Commentary Wisdom

Immigrants make an area more prosperous

A new study has found that immigrants help the prosperity of areas where they live.  I have seen this first hand in the boost immigration has given to some neighborhoods in Syracuse NY and Utica NY.   But they would not be surprised at the results of the study if they had read the words of the wise man recorded in Proverbs.  “A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined” (Proverbs 14:28 NIV 2011).

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505143_162-57602552/can-immigration-speed-the-economic-recovery/

Categories
Church Leadership Journal

Summer Sermon Series Planned for Copper Hill Church

Stop in and worship with us
Stop in and worship with us at 27 Copper Hill Rd.

This summer at Copper Hill Church, during the pastors morning messages, we are reviewing together the primary purposes of the church.    There is no better time than the beginning of a new pastorate to undertake this important review.    It gives us important Scriptural perspective for our work and decision-making and it helps us all to be on the same page.   I enjoy preaching in series of messages and when I do I like to post the series so people can follow it.    Here is the tentative plan for the current series.   

The Primary Purposes of the Church
Date Purpose Title Scripture    Key Verse
July 14 Worship Meditation on Psalm 48 Psalm 48 Psalm 48:1
July 21 Evangelism Jesus’ Primary Assignment Matthew 28:16-20 Matthew 28:19
July 28 Communion Remember We Purpose to Remember 2 Peter 1:12-2:3
1 Cor. 11:23-29
2 Tim. 2:2		 2 Tim. 2:2
Aug 4   Guest speaker    
August 11 Discipleship Teaching to Obey is Different Matt. 28:16-20
Psalm 78:1-8
Prov. 4:1-7,13 		 Matthew 28:19
August 18 Service Serving the Least of These Matt. 25:31-46 Matthew 25:40
August 25 Communion Prayer A House of Prayer Matt 21: 12-22 Matthew 21:13
Sept. 1 Labor Day Sunday Fellowship Cultivating Friendship Rom. 12:6-16; Eph. 4:29-32; Col. 3:12-17 Rom. 12:10
Categories
Church Leadership Journal Meditations

Nursing home visitation will be rewarded as a ministry to the least of these

A friend, Phil, in Kirkville wrote me that he was joining a ministry of nursing home visitation.  I thought my comments to him, might be of encouragement to others too.  So here they are as a post.

May God bless you in your new ministry venture, Phil, and all like you who minister in nursing homes.  It is a ministry of love just to talk to isolated people there.   I served as a chaplain in one during my seminary days so I know from experience how lonely some people are and how difficult others are to communicate with.  The first job of the visitor is just to show love by being present and caring about the person genuinely.   Most people they see are there to do a job.  Then, after you have listened to them, by listening to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, you will find openings to talk about your own journey of faith and that will open doors to talk about their spiritual journey or spiritual emptiness too.  Offering to read Scripture or pray for them or for loved ones if they would like often provides openings too.

Nursing home visitation definitely fits in with the ministries Jesus was talking about in Mt 25:37-40 NIV.    It might not be mentioned but it has the same characteristics.    37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Categories
Journal Joy Notes Who Am I

A Personal Testimony

While I usually file my sermons in the sermon section, I decided to include this one here for two reasons.  First, because it is my first sermon at Copper Hill UMC.   Second, because it is very informative about me personally and will be a great addition to the Who Am I section of my blog.

First sermon at Copper Hill UMC

Intro

As I thought about how to begin this morning, I decided that there was not a better way than to introduce myself by giving my testimony—the story of my own Christian journey.  

Telling the story of God’s action in our lives is a Biblically recommended practice anyway, isn’t it.   In the passage Judy read, the servant of Abraham tells of God’s activity in helping him to be successful in finding a wife for Isaac.   In a sense, much of Holy Scripture is the inspired testimony of God’s action among his people, recorded for us to read and profit from later.  In the book of Revelation, in the verses that I read, John tells us that one of the weapons of the Christian church – one of the means that it can use to overcome the enemy of our souls is testimony – reciting to one another the work of God in our lives.  Testimony has several benefits.  Telling others what God has done has a way of confirming it for us too.   Testimony encourages and inspires others as well.  When one person testifies, it helps us to understand how God works and what he can do in our own lives too.  

My prayer is that this abbreviated story of my Christian journey will not only help you get to know me but also inspire and encourage your own Christian walk. 

A Christian beginning

Object: a family farm needlework or picture of my extended family

A Christian home

My journey began in on a family farm in rural Western NY.  I had the privilege of being born into a Christian family.  On Sundays, not only both my parents, but all four of my grandparents would be at our church.  I was told that I first accepted Jesus into my heart at age 6 kneeling in the living room next to my mom.  

.  

Hospitality to God’s Word at six

Key verse:  “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Jn. 1:11-12 ESV

It was an important beginning of giving hospitality to God’s word, God’s work and God’s Spirit in my life.  The Bible teaches us that each of us has an opportunity to do that.  The bible is using a hospitality metaphor.   As when someone comes to the door of our home, we can either let them in our shut the door, so it is with God’s teaching in our lives.   The Bible teaches that God I as one standing at the door of our hearts and knocking.  If we will give Him entrance he will come in (Rev. 3:20).  

Growing in faith in a small church like this one

Object: Haskinville plate

Childhood Sunday school

The church I grew up in was a lot like this one. 

Continue reading “A Personal Testimony”

Categories
Journal Joy Notes

Naughty bear

 

surprise visitor at our country home
surprise visitor at our country home

 

 

Our new home is in the country and we love it that way, except for the poison ivy, of course.    There is a trout stream across the road from the parsonage.   Yesterday we had a great illustration of our country status.  I had forgotten the garbage day so the garbage can outside the garage was getting a little ripe.  In the middle of the afternoon we had a visitor.   The picture tells the story.   Probably a yearling bear, he (or she) was only as tall as the garbage can when standing as you can see.    But still the bear probably outweighed me.   He was skittish and moved quickly when he sensed movement inside the house.  But returned he later and that is when we got this picture.  He tipped over the can but Keely tapped on the window and he was gone.   We moved the garbage inside the garage lest we create a nuisance bear that goes for garbage.  Our Adirondack camping experiences had trained us well.   Mark held Sam up to see him.   Sam dubbed him the “naughty bear” for getting in the garbage.   I agreed since I had to clean it up.  

Categories
Journal News Commentary

All private schooling endangered by the Justice Department’s arguments

I never thought I would see the sad day when the US government argued against both educational and religious freedom.  But it has just happened.  It sounds more and more like they are borrowing pages from totalitarian rulers of the 20th century.  The article below details a frightening argument advanced by the Justice dept. against the German homeschoolers who were seeking asylum.   The hidden agenda is obvious.  Use a low profile case to set a precedent against homeschoolers and religious schools in general.  If the arguments against the rights of parents to choose the education of their children that are advanced here were to become case law, it would soon endanger Catholic schools, Jewish schools, Amish schools, etc, as well as homeschooling.  This is unconscionable, un-American and even devilish as it represses religion too.   

I do not overstate the case as there are several fundamental freedoms disregarded and violated by the Justice department’s arguments.   First, the government serves and acts as an agent for the parents when it creates schools, not vice-versa.   The fundamental rights belong to the parents, not the government.   Second, if the schools created in a local area violate the religious or educational values of a family, it is the parent’s duty to seek or provide proper schooling for their children apart from the inadequate school.  If the reasons for change are religious, to force the family to attend the public school in violation of their religious principles is to violate their religious freedom.   If the reasons are educational, to force the children to attend the inadequate school is likely to suppress their achievement—their right to seek their own best welfare or happiness as the Declaration of Independence put it.   Either way, to deny the validity of such choices in America is unheard of until now. 

http://www.christianpost.com/news/banning-homeschools-teaches-tolerance-of-diverse-views-justice-dept-argues-99354/

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Journal Joy Notes Who Am I

Moving Day part two

Our new house in the country
Our new house in the country

 

Monday July 1 was long anticipated.  We arrived at our new parsonage at 7:50 am to await the moving truck’s arrival.   We had been told they would come between 8 and 10 am.   That was the same window we were given when they packed us out and they had arrived about 9:30 am.   But this time, we had no sooner gotten out of our car than the big orange cab of the Allied truck crept slowly into view.   We were just in time.  

Organizing helps

JoAnne’s organization proved extremely helpful.  She had made sure all packers labeled every box with a big letter and a number.  The letter designated the room of the new parsonage where the movers could deposit it.  The number was used to keep track of contents which were also written in brief on the box and on a list.   The rooms all had big letters posted to identify them.  This organization greatly speeded up the unloading process.  It has also enabled us to find things we needed without unpacking everything.  JoAnne also tried color-coding the boxes with markers but that proved not so useful.   JoAnne and I mostly served as traffic directors to guide the larger pieces to their intended spots.  We had made drawings ahead so we each knew what the plan was and we also had it posted on the wall. 

Humor and hospitality

Humor helps so much when packing and unpacking household goods.  We joked with both crews all day.   They are hard pressed to get things done this time of year and it is very hard and physical work.   We bought subs at Subway for the crew that unpacked us.  It took them until about 6 pm.    By then the rooms were piled with boxes and the garage door would hardly close.   

We have felt blessed by God

We have felt very blessed in this move.  God provided financially to help us move through gifts from both churches and the CNY Wesleyan district.  Very little was damaged in the move.  We have enjoyed the hospitality of our daughter and son-in-law for two weeks in the middle and played with our grandson everyday too.   Personally, God has impressed me with more than one special verse in the process of the move.  All this has helped us combat the emotional grief of leaving Kirkville after a 22 year stay.   Thank you all for your prayers.