November 2, 2006
You’ve got two opportunities this coming week to support your youth group while eating well!
This Sunday make plans to attend the first 2006-2007 fundraising lunch. All proceeds go to the youth group workcamp fund: previous trips have included work at the Heifer Project Ranch in Arkansas, a trip to Agua Prieta, Mexico, and work in Saint Louis. We’ve not yet decided on a 2007 location, but we’re aiming for Chicago or perhaps an area affected by Hurricane Katrina. $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children gets you two of three items from our “food-court:” American, Mexican, or Italian.
Common reasons for not attending and good retorts:
- For those of you who say “well, I’ll miss the Chiefs game!” I answer “fear not!” We’ll have it broadcast so you can cheer the Chiefs to victory over the Rams.
- For those who are saying: “I might get sick if I go hang out and break bread with all those people!” I answer: “fear not!” Flu shots are available at our flu shot clinic, conveniently scheduled for that same day.
- For those who are saying: “but I really needed some musical entertainment Sunday afternoon” I answer: “haven’t you heard! Dr. Thomas Reed is scheduled to play an organ concert at 3pm that afternoon!”
Friends, this is a great chance to relax and share lunch with your fellow church members while supporting the youth group in its mission. I hope you can join us. While you’re there, buy some homemade baked goods, get ready to rake leaves by purchasing some trash bags, or get an entertainment book (which makes a great Christmas gift!).
THEN, if that’s not enough dining goodness for you, or if you know that you can’t get over the midweek hump without a tasty burger or some delicious onion rings, then the youth have a deal for you: GO EAT AT THE RED ROBIN on 95th and METCALF on Wednesday, November 8th. But before you go: PRINT OFF THIS FLIER and give it to your server. 10% of all the proceeds from people who eat there that night and present this flier will be given to the youth group’s capital campaign fund. There is no limit to what we can get from this fundraiser: share this flier with your friends, co-workers, neighbors, relatives, anyone who you think might be hungry on November 8th.
So there you have it: two great dining opportunities; two easy ways to support your youth. The youth group thanks you!
Posted in Youth 
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November 2, 2006
Joy asked in the comment section if I had suggestions for some other interesting blogs. The answer is: too many! There are a TON of great blogs out there. Really, people are journaling about almost everything under the sun out there. Some of these are informal, some are major productions. Not everything out there is worth the time to read, but some of them really are. And many offer an interesting perspective into what other people are thinking out there. Just remember: don’t believe everything you read out there, and don’t be surprised if you find things you agree with and other things that raise your hackles. Its the nature of the internet, I guess.
So ever so often I’ll post a Blog of the Week or a Blog of the Month or a Blog of the Moment. For now, let me offer a few that are particularly good blogs with a theological bent:
- The Thoughtful Christian Blog, Are you Thoughtful?, offers commentary and resources related to the Thoughtful Christian web-based adult Christian education
service. Published by the Presbyterian Westmisnter John Knox Press, this is an ecumenical endeavor that offers some probing questions about the contemporary life of faith.
- Bill Tammeus is well known to many of us. He’s a member at Second Presbyterian Church of Kansas City and writes in the Faith section of the Kansas City Star. He has his own blog, Faith Matters, and its worth several looks.
- Think Christian always has good red meat for me to chew on.
- Jordan Cooper is a Canadian blogger writing about the emergent church. There’s lots out there from the emergent community, but Jordan’s stuff is very interesting. Some other time, if there’s interest, I could offer a slew of emergent church links.
- Finally, there’s the Presbyterian Bloggers and their associated blogring (or a collection of blogs who identify somehow with the Presbyterian Church. One of them is Westminster Sermons, where the new pastor at the church I grew up at in Saint Louis posts his weekly offerings from the pulpit. Here is a list of the blogs in the blog ring. Or just find a random blog in the blog ring. Fair warning: Presbyterian bloggers are as diverse as our churches, so expect to find a range of views, from very liberal to very conservative, and everything in between.
That’s just a few that come to mind. I hope you find them helpful. If you do, or if you’ve got some that you read, please post about it in the comment section!
Posted in Internet No Comments »
October 28, 2006
A quick reminder that next week Brook and I are hosting a gathering of Southminster 20 and 30 year olds at our place: BBQ, Soda/Beer/&c, Games and Conversation. Come for some good fellowship! If you think you might be coming, send me an email.
And I’m still trying to find a good name for this group. Any suggestions?
Posted in Young Adult No Comments »
October 25, 2006
Here’s an interesting piece of news from RNS.
by Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service
WASHINGTON — A good night’s sleep ranks far above attending church as a favorite activity, a nationwide poll shows.
The Barna Group asked more than 1,000 adults to say how much they looked forward to any of 17 activities, ranging from sleeping to completing tax forms.
Seven out of 10 — 71 percent — of respondents said they relished the thought of getting enough sleep. That contrasted with 40 percent who said they looked forward “a lot” to attending church services, which was the fourth most appealing activity…
Given people’s hectic and overbooked lives, this isn’t that surprising. More people are just plain exhausted after a long week at work and watching their kids. Some days staying in bed is exactly what I want to be doing.
The other two activities in the top four were being with friends and listening to music, both of which, when you think about it, can be something that we do at church.
Church needs to be a place where people are fed: spiritually, emotionally, and sometimes literally! It needs to be that place where weary people can go to be rejuvenated. What can we do to do that part of church better?
Posted in Religion and Culture Comments Off
October 24, 2006
One of my favorite websites to visit when I’m surfing is Dave Walker’s cartoonchurch.com. Walker is British (so far as I can tell), Anglican (again, so far as I can tell), and has a keen eye for all sorts of everyday details about being part of a religious community. Often his drawings cut at the heart of some of our deep problems; sometimes they are lighthearted pokes; sometimes they make me burst out in laughter. And then sometimes I just don’t get British culture and the humour is lost on me.
Here are some examples of my favorites:
Understanding the Sermon:
Sometimes it is useful for the pastors to remember that one major point of preaching is that people understand what you are saying…
Bible Duel:
This one makes me laugh and cry at the same time: the bible is supposed to be life giving, not used to bludgen each other upside the head to prove a point or end an argument…
Finally, here’s today’s entry.
It Is Raining:
Walker intended this to be a comment about how much spam he gets, but I think it is indicative of the demands being placed on our lives every day. The demands to be perfect, or to subscribe to some external, artifical standard, can just be overwhelming sometimes. I think this cartoon is much more meaningful if you see it as a commentary on that part of our lives; and hopefully, the church is a good place for us to come in out of the rain and dry off for a while.
Anyway, I wanted to share cartoon church with you. I hope you enjoy.
(For conditions under which I posted these cartoons, see here.)
Posted in Faith 1 Comment »
October 20, 2006
Since launching the blog a few days ago, I’ve gotten some good questions about what blogs are, why people blog, and so on. If you want way too much detail, check out wikipedia’s entry on blogs. (Wikipedia is a free, public-edited encyclopedia). Basically, a blog is an online diary or journal in reverse chronological order. In this case, Roeminations is my journal about the ministry taking place at Southminster Presbyterian Church and how it intersects with my life and thoughts. You can read a bit more about why I put this blog together by reading the About Roeminations page.
By the way: three cheers for our first commenter, Gretta Ross! I’m thinking about a prize for her.
Posted in General Comments Off
October 17, 2006
When they talk about it, the youth in Southminster’s youth group talk about how tight-knit they are. They celebrate the fact that they all know each other so well, particularly since our 25 or so youth go to nine or ten different schools in the Kansas City area and are spread out all over the place. They know that their time together is important–whether it is doing “serious” work in service or worship, or “not-so-serious” fellowship and fun time (ask a youth about what hosehead is when you get a second).
When people ask me, I say that what our youth group is all about is building connectionalism: bonds of friendship between each other and with God. These are bonds which are strong, with the potential of being lifelong friendships even as the youth graduate from High School and embark on the next stage of their lives at college or elsewhere. The memories they share shape them, and become part of who they are as adults. Its part of the reason that youth ministry is so rewarding, and why our youth group remains one of the strongest ministries at Southminster: even in a time when our youth are more scheduled and busy than ever, these youth take each Sunday night to gather together, share a meal, and then do something meaningful together.
This past Sunday we did something that expands on this notion a bit: we made care-packages for former youth group members that graduated recently: many of whom are at college. The pictures to the right show the fruit of our labor: each package packed with goodies, a letter from a youth, and artistic-greeting on the outside. (Some of our youth are more artistic than others, but all are done with love).
Whether the youth know it or not, these packages are so meaningful to those who get them, and when we did this last year we received wonderful notes from former members. It is a way for the youth to feel connected with these former members, and to know that, when they themselves graduate, there is a community here that continues to hold them in our hearts, no matter where they go. And for those who get a care package, it is a reminder of where they came from, a community that cares for them.
There is an argument out there that talks about Christian Formation through the practices we engage in: the activities (often ritual) that we as a church do matter in the way we see the world, in the form of our faith and our interaction with the church. So I’m glad that we are making these care-packages into a ritual of connectionalism, reminding our youth that what they are doing now has importance for them even after they move on to the next place life takes them.
So I’ll mail these later this week. And next week we’ll gather again for more fellowship, learning how to love one another as Christ loves us.
Posted in Youth 2 Comments »
October 17, 2006
Brook and I are going to launch a fellowship group for young adults next month, with a gathering at our home. We’ll have BBQ and a few hours of games and conversation. We’re hungering to get to know the young adults in our church better (particularly since we’re still pretty new here), and we know that, because we’ve got such a big group of new young-adult families in our midst, there’s ample opportunity for this group to get to know each other better.
Eventually, I hope this grows into a group for young adult families and a group for young adult socialites (not exactly mutually exclusive, and the last description is misleading: I don’t know what to call our young adults who don’t have kids at the moment). There may be some opportunity for spirituality growth, but that’s way down the road. Right now we need a chance to get together for fun and fellowship.
Here’s what I need: I need some help with a name for this group. Whether you are part of the described age-range or not, I’d welcome your suggestions. Either email me or, even better, submit them as a comment to this note. And keep your eyes peeled for an announcment of this social gathering in early November…
Posted in Young Adult No Comments »
October 12, 2006
Well, not all of those who walked the links Wednesday at Tomahawk Hills for the Annual Southminster Golf Turnament can be called Hackers. Then again, some of us (myself included) really can’t play. I was along for pastoral support, though I’m not sure that my prayers did any good. In golf, alas, God shows no partiality. Here you see the team I started off with. I don’t own clubs, but if I did, this would be my best stick (hint: I’m the one with the water-hazard ball retreiver).
But a great time was had by all. The weather was cool but sunny; a good day to walk outdoors. These fellowship opportunities are such a good gift, and I thank God for them.
Posted in Southminster General 1 Comment »
October 10, 2006
I’m guessing that everyone who reads this blog knows that I’m a new parent of twin girls, the joy of my life. While I am relatively new to the community, I care strongly about a strong, vibrant children’s ministry at Southminster, as do other parents of small children. This is for reasons both personal and professional, and because I think that’s what God wants here at Southminster.
This is a hopeful and excited post, but we need to start with some observations that are its context: Southminster has had a rough go over the last several years, demographically. Our numbers are lower than they used to be. Many of our families with small children now live a good distance from the church, having moved to larger housing farther away. This has not been the only factor that has challenged our children’s ministry, but it is a contributing one.
To be sure, there is a lot that attracts and keeps families here–a warm, welcoming community, vibrant and blended worship experiences, opportunities for hands-on mission and enriching fellowship. Jeff and I agree that these can be strong draws throughout the metropolitian area, and for more local families as well.
But we’ve had our challenges maintaining a strong number of our infants, toddlers, and elementary aged school children. With the challenges of busy lives and difficult scheduling added to the mix, it has been hard for some to drive the extra distance to be here among us. This reality will not change for some of our families, and many continue to dedicate themselves to this community of faith. We ought to celebrate those who do drive in from a good distance away, and recognize how these families do so at some extra burden. And we celebrate that there is something about Southminster that nourishes them in such a way that it makes that extra burden a worthy one. At the same time, we are receiving many visitors from the areas just around the church, and several of them have become new members.
The challenge to Southminster is how we structure our ministry to meet the needs of a diverse population. And I think we also can observe that the tide is moving us forward in some exciting ways:
Southminster recently engaged in a restructuring of our elementary Church school program–Southminster Stages–retaining the best of the multi-sensory rotational model but adapted for our circumstances. The past 18 months have shown a stronger attendance and interest in this program. Our numbers are up! And, perhaps most positively, we’ve seen a large influx of young children in our midst.
Something is working that makes parents of young children feel at home here! We’ve got our work cut out for us in restructuring our current programs–the nursery, treasure time, Sunday School–to serve these children and their families. And we need to examine what we can do to increase the feeling that these children are at the center of our life together as a people of faith. But, in my mind’s eye, things are really headed in a positive direction.
And so much is happening around here! We’re about to renovate our worship space, and in so doing we mark a dedication to honor those who currently worship among us as well as a desire to reach out and attract new families, some of whom will help us build our children’s ministries even further.
One hope I have for my work with the Christian Education committee is that we recommit ourselves to the service of the youngest members of our community. I’ve highlighted some of what we’ve done to that end above. In addition, we’ve started some vital programs aimed at increasing the presence and participation of our children in worship, such as a revised Baptismal liturgy that includes a child in the Baptismal ritual. Indeed, it will be a through an examination and reaffirmation of our baptismal promises that can lead us to renewed energy towards serving these our children. And that can have exciting ramifications for our entire church.
I’m excited about where we are headed. I hope you are too! Because there is a place for you in that journey. We need the entire church to contribute to the spiritual formation of our children, and we need to celebrate and support those who are already giving of their energy, imagination, and skills! I’m not sure yet what the next iteration of our children’s ministry will look like. What will Stages look like in three years? What will our treasure time be in 10 months? How will the large number of infants impact how we offer preschool in the next few years? I’m not sure, but I’m ready for the journey.
Posted in Children's Ministry 2 Comments »
Chad Andrew Herring :: creature of dust :: child of God :: husband of 9 years :: 
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