The Incarnation in the Stars

Pastor Phil has given a tremendous meditation on how the constellations of the Zodiac (including the Decans) portray the Gospel of Jesus Christ, described in a work called, THE GOSPEL IN THE STARS. I will attempt to later post a link if it becomes available. This teaching might be akin to what a friend of the Gathering engages in when they use a "Jesus Deck" - playing off the "Halloween" theme of the Tarot Deck - as a bridge to talk about what God may be doing in someone's life.

I am not an astrologer. I am an astronomer. I know, for example, that the universe is estimated to be 15 billion (not 20 billion, as it was when I was young) years-old and that the current "initialization theory" holds that the Big Bang (or the last Big Bang) occurred because there were slightly more matter particles (perhaps even just one more) than anti-matter particles.

As a child, at the Boston Museum of Science, I heard an interesting theory that the Magi from the East of the New Testament account were, at the very least, STARTED on their journey due to a triple planetary conjunction (not a direct line-up - just close movement/proximity of three of the visible - at night - planets) in the constellation of Leo. Though these gentlemen were probably adherents of Zoroastrianism, Astronomers, Astrologers, and Sorcerers, I find it interesting that God felt them worthy of a specific invitation to His birthday (regardless of the specific details of "clues" He gave them). I also find the reaction of these Magi (the English term I, myself, prefer for "wise men"/"kings") compelling: they worshiped Jesus. One may say they were simply worshiping another divine being of their pantheon, though Matthew seems convinced of their joy and sincerity. Also of note, God saw fit to speak to them in dreams.

I love how even when being born Jesus was reaching out to others...

To walk and not faint...

Isaiah is a powerful book to me (whether one contends for one, two, three, four or more parts of Isaiah). One part of Isaiah (or one part of one of the theorized "books") is Isaiah 40. I think if I had one chapter of the Bible to carry with me, it would be Isaiah 40. Not only does it begin with tangible, divine, comfort from God, it has an interesting verse of how God relates to us in our time of need. Let me "pen" (via electrons) some of the chapter here...

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.


I know, just as it tortured God the Father to call His Son to die for His obstinate Creation who He loved, I know God was tortured from the wrath unleashed upon Job. And I know when God says, through Jeremiah, "...they will walk and not be faint..." God knows sometimes it is all we can do to walk and not faint, let alone run.

This verse and my musing are not for me, per say. These days represent a memorial stones of blessing and praise that I am erecting, as the Patriarchs did, to remind myself when times get tough again. But, during a season where there is not much light, in the spirit of Santa Claus and the Spirit of Isaiah and the Magi, I hope you find hope in Isaiah that one day, you will "run and not grow weary" and "rise up on wings like eagles."

The little boy that santa claus forgot...

Without sharing details, serving the disenfranchised has been particularly draining these past few months. But all it took for God to encourage me to hang in there was one timely rendition of this song on my mp3 player. Not only am I so blessed but there are so many are the little girls abd boys, just like my son, who santa claus forgot...

---> click HERE for the Nat King Cole version and a video. I first heard the Vera Lynn version ---> here.

The Gathering: Offering Peace, Welcoming Pilgrims, Pursing Gospel Mission

More than a Local Church: A Community Peace Project, a Pilgrimage Location, a Gospel Mission.

Over the last couple months The Gathering at Salem has been engaged in some of the most innovative and culturally appropriate missions work to be found in the United States.

Every October a half million pilgrims pour into our city to celebrate Halloween, experience alternative spiritualities and party with their friends. Every year we welcome these guests by extending hospitality, offering spiritual counsel and inviting them to experience the incredible grace of God. We could not maintain this mission without the hundreds of people serve beside us throughout the season, or without your generous prayer and financial support.

The rest of the year we continue to impact our city through community service, events designed to reach the city of Salem with lovingkindness, which we believe God has expressed to us through His Son.

Although we have been serving the Halloween pilgrims for 11 years, the last 3 we have had the great privilege of serving them from The Vault – a unique location at the very heart of the city. Since The Vault is a “safe place” for people to experience the hope of Jesus, our location has magnified our ability to introduce the city and its pilgrims to the mission of God.

Over the course of these 11 years, hundreds of people have expressed a desire to meet God, and we have helped them to meet Him. Tens of thousands have been counseled about spiritual issues as we teach them to know the voice of God. They have been served free hot cocoa, entertained by live music, and been blessed freely by our roving "monks." They have received apologies for the times when churches may have hurt them. They have learned about some of the most compelling challenges to social justice in our day, and we have all been gently touched by the Gospel of Love.


Preparation for the Coming Season:

Now, we move into the quieter Winter season. We will gather cold weather clothing for the poor. We will serve the families of Salem with music, and free hot cocoa during the holiday season, and we will create opportunities to meet the community in discussion groups and events in The Vault.


Our small church has become a place, which has been utilized for evangelical mission and social service by dozens of churches and hundreds of individuals each year. Our little group has sacrificially responded to make this mission a reality, but we are in need of help from our friends and those who believe in our mission in order to be able to continue the mission.

Would you consider helping to support the work of The Gathering at Salem this season by offering a one time gift, by joining list of friends who support us monthly and pray for us as we serve both our city and its pilgrims, perhaps with an offering at your church on Sunday morning, or adding our mission to the list of missions your church supports throughout the year? We are confident that God has placed us in Salem for such a time as this and we would deeply appreciate your support.

Miracle sunday at the gathering...

This Sunday, just another Sunday at the Gathering, as always, is a miracle. I want to thank everyone and mention how I was touched by Sunday's service, from the worship, through the message, through the sharing, (and through the bulletins!; eternal kudos to Melissa and Carl! =) both prior to, and prompted by, Greg's sharing.

Each person in the room that Sunday (including the kindly gentleman who snores! =p ) - and out of the room - has touched me and my family so much these past few months and prior to these past few months. I have been overcome, in a good way, by gratitude and a deep sense of worship in November through December - during Thanksgiving and Advent - because of not just the music and the messages (and the printing of the bulletins!) but also because of the worship demonstrated by each one of you, not just on Sundays, but all during this recent "season" of my life (and the lives of Stef and Levi).

Some of us (as myself) may frequently enjoy climbing the "high mountains" of worship. Others spend their time worshiping in the towns and the foothills. Regardless, it has been neat to experience both thanksgiving and worship, not just in moments, but over days and as a process with each one of you and together as a Body.

The question now is what is Gentry, self-admittedly not a Jazz Hands frequenter ( =) ), is going to do now that his preaching has led to a Pentecostal e-testimony?... =p

In Him,

Mike =)
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"The darkness is here..." - an Advent meditation (partial re-post)

Some not-so-readily-apparent holiday-related themes stand out for me at the Gathering this year as we head into a season of Advent. They are "re-creation" (along the lines of our daily and, over time, being re-created for new and exciting things), being a servant, and an openness of church life which invite others to co-participate with us, regardless of spiritual label, as we seek renewal together daily and through the seasons of our lives. Along the lines of these three themes, I am reminded of a scene, two thousand years ago, where wise men who sought the creator of the universe, the King, found, along with the Incarnate Creator, great joy in a weary world and among weary souls. The wise men (and wise women and wise men still) are recorded, accurately, as WORSHIPING Jesus. "Worship and Thanksgiving" is a forth Advent theme we have been considering as we move from the Thanksgiving Holiday and prepare to enter the Advent season.

Arriving soon is another season, the Winter Solstice – the longest night of the year. While walking home from the Salem train station one night recently, I noticed Christmas (Holiday) lights here and there. For me, the colored lights, and the white lights, lingering in the eventide, spoke to me as a reminder of the Risen Creator who entered time out of eternity to be with a weary world so many years ago.

Pastor Phil has mused on the godliness of darkness--> [here]. In some cases, we can imagine darkness as a “thin place” – out of which/where, for him, Jesus, the Light of the World, speaks.


"He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky."

-Psalm 18:11 (New International Version)


The title of my post is in quotes because I borrowed it from a facebook friend. My sense is, this friend, too, finds solace in the darkness – maybe because there is sometimes felt power in mystery and secrecy – but also, perhaps, as my friend Phil, because he finds comfort in the darkness. For me, the darkness of Winter Solstice, interspersed with lights, makes me think of my favorite Christmas Carol…

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth…

…Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth…

…He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger...

…Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother...

…A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…

…Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born…



-image found at www.copperflatsfarm.com/babypage.htm

Stories from Halloween (Part 4) Bridge Church Friends

From a letter to John Harding:

I had the opportunity to be on a prophetic team a couple of weeks before Halloween. Not surprisingly, the people who came for the "spiritual readings and dream interpretations" were very open to and hungry for the supernatural. (This made our jobs easy and exciting!) We were able to give several people encouraging words. They all seemed receptive and intrigued by how we got this insight into complete strangers.

A moment that stands-out for me, was when our team leader got a word for one of the young women who came for a reading. The word was that her view of her future was being limited by past hurts that were still affecting her. He then offered to stand in as the man who had wounded her and apologize. She was deeply moved and I think we all shed a few tears. She and her friends have since stayed in touch with our team and have shown an interest in finding out more about the supernatural.

What I personally took away from the day was a deep sense of the Father's urgent yet patient love for His lost sheep and the exhilaration of being able to participate in the revelation of that love to them. Giving prophetic words puts us in a place where we are given a glimpse of God's perspective and it forever changes our vision.

Olivia

Today's sermon: the s-word (submission...)

Philippians 2

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

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Gentry delivered a timely message with regard to biblical submission today. All of us have opportunities to exemplify biblical submission: at work with a difficult co-worker or boss, on the road, we can biblical submit through stewardship (not just money but time as well - this author saw too much time on facebook or blogging as an opportunity for himself to reconsider biblical submission), we can be thankful/grateful and worshipful for what God is already doing in our lives, not always needing to (scene from Empire Strikes Back) "have our eyes to adventure and the future - not on where we are, what we are doing..."

Jesus, at many times during his life, was not submissive, particularly with regard to unjust applications of God's law. And Gentry emphasized we are not called to be, for example, subjects of abuse in our relationships or guilt-ridden into emptying our bank accounts for the cause. Nevertheless, Jesus granted all of us eternal life through "resolutely [taking] the road to Jerusalem" to submit to an unjust verdict and a deplorable death. Gentry also reminded us that folks such as those pictured below are the true leaders of the Church/inheritors of the Kingdom of God...

Braveheart and Ezekiel 37

"And now for something completely different..."

I am going to compare Stephen the Irishman with Ezekiel 37. Many might be close to the mark in guessing this is another "close-but-not-quite" typical 'casserole' of mine where apparent connections are found mainly in a slightly-odd imagination. However, I'd like to give it a shot anyway.

Stephen the Irishman guards William Wallace (in the mostly-fictitious account of Wallace's life in the movie Braveheart) from the shadows. Shadows, typically connotate (by Jung, for example) as "dark" or "evil." In this case, Stephen's use of concealment in battle is, from his perspective, less dark and evil, and simply more hidden.

Alot of what occurs in the Kingdom of God, for ill and for good, is hidden and unseen - though just as real as the seen. This is particularly applicable, I feel, in the realm of prayer. We can advocate for friends from the "shadows" of the "forest" or the privacy of our homes. God can direct the trajectories of our spiritual weapons.

Another scene in the bible, Ezekiel 37, begins just as grimly as a hopeless rag-tag band of madmen against the English army. But instead of defeat in the midst of betrayal, as the heroes suffered in Braveheart, Ezekiel 37 describes the ultimate triumph, not only in the next life, but, on occasion, in this life of new life out of something not just from something "mostly-dead" but from something as "completely-dead" as "dry bones" are.

Below are two links that have recently inspired me to pray for new life on a local through a global basis...

***warning - the first link is a video with violence, foul-language, and hunting - things I typically dislike. But I like Stephen the Irishman. Go figure.

***warning - the second link is a video of fantastic artists - though they and the audience could use a little more 'soul...' =p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gHH0ih867U

http://www.christiantube.net/video/223-ernie-haase-signature-sound-dem-bones

Even More Stories from Halloween Outreach '09

Here are three more tales from the October Outreach in Salem, MA. May they bless you as much as the people who were involved in them.


The experience I had at Salem was one of the most challenging times of my life. I tried to force the Lord to work through me and give each person the kind of experience that I wanted him or her to have. The Lord revealed to me the absolute need to trust in Him. Without His Spirit working through me, I am capable of nothing. The times that the Lord chose to use me as his instrument were so powerful, yet humbling. I realized that the encounters were not for me, but were meant for the benefit of the person sitting in front of me. Feeling the love the Father has for his people was so overwhelming and is something that I will never forget.
-Liz Koch
Intern Streams School of Ministry

A young woman came to our team looking to have a re-occurring dream interpreted.  She had dreamed several times over the last ten years about snakes in her bed.  It would terrify her so much she would jump out of bed screaming.  She admitted that she is generally terrified of snakes even in the natural.  We felt the meaning of the dream was simply that her general fear was so great it was ruining her rest.  Upon sharing this with her, she began to open up to us about her fears.  She seemed to have a great deal of trust in us even before sharing the dream but as we talked further her trust grew.  After talking through some of the sources of her fear, she explained to us that she has recently left the Mormon Church of which her family is still heavily involved and even has family ancestry that can be traced to Joseph Smith, the father of Mormonism.  Upon her sharing this, a marvelous shift came in the atmosphere.  Though her experience was marked with harassment for leaving Mormonism both from the people in her life and from the spiritual realm, we suddenly saw in her a courageous and bold seeker of Truth. And in that moment we watched as her concept of God transformed before our eyes.  He went from being a dictator that cruelly demanded things of her to a great big Goodness that Loved her immensely and knew her intimately! The Presence of God became so heavy and sweet as we communicated this to her that all of us were moved to tears.  I found myself filled with awe as God revealed to all of us (including this precious woman) what He felt about her.  It was truly an honor to meet this over comer and to encourage her that, contrary to what others may have pressed on her, she is on the right path as God draws her into her destiny!
-Ali Carter
Staff Streams School of Ministry


It’s October 31 Halloween and the streets are packed with more people than ever. As the night goes on our lines get so busy the wait become about two hours to receive a spiritual reading or dream interpretation. After ministering all day I begin to break down our tents and a man walks up to me. He asked if I could interpret a dream for him. To be truthful I was far too tired and weak to help him but I still agreed. He started by telling me that he had an experience 25 years ago that he has not understood since he has had it. He said others tried to interpret it but did really understand it. Their interpretation didn’t really stick with him. The Dream started out with Him in the back seat of a cop car in hand cuffs. There was also a cop car in front of him. From the side he saw a Buffalo charging the cop car in front and hit it with extreme force. He was so excited and continued to encourage the buffalo to hit the car. Soon the car was off the road and destroyed. A moment later the buffalo was charging the car he was in but just before it hit his car the buffalo changed into the most beautiful Native American women he had ever seen. She stood next to him with a love readapting from her that he had never felt before. He said this love changed him. It was like he tasted of something that was not from this planet. Since that day he has never forgot the Love he felt. He also told me that since then he has never felt a love so real and fulfilling. This man had given me tremendous favor to speak into his life. I then began to tell him that the Holy spirit had given him Justice where he was imprisoned. I was able to share a visitation I had years ago that was very similar to his experience. I told him how God wanted a relationship with him. He wanted to give him the Love he felt from the Native American women. This story taught me a lot, when I am weak and tired God has those he wants to touch. This man had waited 25 years for a interpretation and it amazes me that Jesus touched him so powerfully that 25 years later he was still searching for the answer.
-Lance Carter
Staff Streams School of Ministry

More Stories from Halloween Outreach '09

The following stories are just a few of the many that come from the gang at The Streams Ministries Internship in New London, New Hampshire. This team has joined us faithfully for the last 6 years, and October in Salem has become one of the life changing events for the interns, and a primary training ground for their prophetic proclamations and blessings.

This comes from one of the Leaders, Brandon Crummer:
I was standing outside of our ministry tents with a group of us that were doing “healings” and “spiritual encounters.” A lady came out from being ministered to and said, “It was okay, but I wish they had said something about my eyes.” I overheard her say that and then I asked her, “What’s wrong with your eyes?” She then began to say, “No, it’s ok I am not going to worry about it.” Again I said, “No seriously what’s wrong with your eyes I really want to know?” She began to tell me how she has Macular Degeneration and is losing her eyesight. I told her that my Grandfather has the same disease and was one of the first people to receive all the experimental tests. This instantly gave me favor. I then asked if I could pray for her. As I prayed she took off her glasses and began to look around. At first she said it was a little better but the second time I prayed she yelled, “Oh my God I can read that guys shirt!” While praying, I watched as the cloudiness in her eyes began to shrink to just a small spot in the corner of her left eye. As we prayed one last time she cried, gave me a big hug and then disappeared into the crowd.
-Brandon Crummer
Staff Streams School of Ministry

My experience at Haunted Happenings in Salem, Massachusetts was a life changing one.  I’ve never felt so much overwhelming love in my heart for complete strangers before.  I went into this outreach doubting the Lord’s ability to move and left with a much greater knowledge of His unconditional love for His people. I remember one woman who came into our tent who was oppressed by a demon, lonely,  depressed, and lost. We got to minister to her for almost 45 minutes and she left released from the demon that was following her, alive in her new life in Jesus, and overflowing with the Joy of the Lord. Her countenance was completely switched around by the time she left our tent.  The funny thing was, she asked for an encounter with Jesus!  She was so open to a touch from the Lord and ended up asking Jesus to come into her heart and change her forever.  I cried for about 20 minutes after that encounter.  It no doubt touched her life, but it surprisingly touched mine deeply as well. All we had to do was be there.  We both left Salem with a new revelation of God’s love, and I am so, so grateful for it.  I will never be the same, and I’m sure every person who walked into our tent, whether by happenchance or on purpose, were forever changed as well.
- Jourdan Meyers
Intern Streams School of Ministry

For me, the Haunted Happenings outreach was a first for many things. I quickly realized that in addition to never traveling to Salem before, it was a bit intimidating attending my first formal outreach and giving my first prophetic words in an environment swarming with psychics and witches. Once we began to minister, however, I saw how the thirst of the people in Salem for deep spirituality drew the presence of the Holy Spirit in such a thick and powerful way. I no longer needed to worry about performing because it was not me touching those people anyway. My weakness, combined with their hunger, was a perfect situation for the Lord to pour out His love on them. Whether it was the lady who walked away with her glasses in her hand after being healed of Macular Degeneration, or the countless people whose jaw hit the floor when they found out that the Lord knows and loves them, God was thoroughly demonstrating love to His people in very powerful and intimate ways. Many who came expecting the typical festivities of an October weekend in Salem were surprised to find that the Lord had other plans. They entered our tents with mere curiosity and exited completely changed from the experience, as was I.
-Kyle Koch
Intern Streams School of Ministry

Silence is golden...

Preaching these last two Sundays at the Gathering by Phil and Jeff (Gentry) has left me inspired...

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[One item I left out when this post was originally submitted is how worship and thankfulness (Phil two weeks ago) combine with lamenting in silence before the Lord (Gentry this past Sunday) to enable us to become that refined gold...]

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[Please don't let the fact that, in the examples from the Bible below, I'm examining two male characters (instead of gals) distract you; there are just as many, if not more, heroine's of the faith as heroes...]

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One man followed God perfectly, even personally atoning for the sins of close friends and family. The other man was used by God in a cosmic display of God's power over the enemies of God.

But when Job, after sitting in silence for seven days with his friends, and after a few dozen chapters of Epic Prose, when he requested an answer from God, along with a few dozen more chapters of God's majesty displayed, as an answer from God, Job received... silence...

(He did receive some careful instructions about how he could save his well-intentioned but misguided friends from cosmic incineration, and Job did receive double back for all he lost, but no answer to his question...)

Elijah, after repeating his lament to the Lord for forty days, and then, when given a personal audience with the Almighty, just as God had granted Job, millennia before, repeated his lament, word-for-word, again, Elijah did not get an answer either -- only a few leading questions and instructions. Elijah also received, for his efforts, and as an answer to his specific complaint, silence...

A moral of these two stories seems to be God cares about our laments but does not necessarily address them directly. He provides us with pathways to new pastures and blessings and rest. But since we generally grow the best this way anyway: God's "answers" and silence always seems to, well, carry us beyond our troubles (not above - ignoring the troubles - just beyond).

Also of note is that Job and Elijah, who at times went to great lengths to "pour our their lament before the Lord" (c.f. King David), spent a significant amount of time in silence. And in spending time in silence, in the midst of distress, before God, is what becomes for us, golden.

Another verse in scripture says, "I charge you to buy gold from me, refined in the fire, and precious silver." It is here where we may get a hint of the fact that silence before the Lord is, in fact, golden. I cannot tell you for how long I've longed to sit in silence before the Lord with Christian friends, not just alone, whether things are going well for me or poorly. That is what we did today at the Gathering. For many, including me, often, silence is troubling. For me, the moments we sat in silence today, if you can believe it, was not quite long enough.

O, how I wish I were more able to cultivate the discipline of silence before the Lord as I am refined as gold and precious silver...

Job did not get an answer - only restoration and blessing (a.k.a "thankfulness and blessing")

Job didn't get an answer. At least, he didn't get an answer to his specific question, "why did this happen to me?" Sure, we readers, maybe 4,000+ years after the events, got a little backdrop of the cosmic dealings behind the scenes, perhaps "retro-prophetically"
( =p ) - and Job got a RESPONSE - God displayed in all his wonder and majesty. But Job got no answer to his question - and he was, indeed, blameless - at least as far as mortals go.

Job consistently worshiped and thanked God daily, with every core of his being. Job even worshiped and thanked God for his loved ones, in case they forgot to do it. Sure, bad things happen to good people. But catastrophic things good people, perfect as one can be, short of Jesus? I guess we only have to look to recent hurricanes and tsunamis for example...

But Job wasn't Jesus. And his response, which I wish was more like mine when God moves in my life, with blessing to blessing, should be repentance in awe and reverence. And to always remember, to who much is given, much is required - particularly thankfulness and worship.

rehashing halloween by g13

so i'm way behind on the halloween rehash and i'm disinclined to write at the moment that i have had to bribe myself with the king of kong in order to push this puppy out. so please forgive my errors, failure to praise everyone and any other unintentional offense.

first, it was a remarkable halloween season. on the first saturday i served (10/16) i had my requisite, "oh God, i really don't want to do this!" moment, but thanks to the steady presence of rennie and old practice, i quickly got in groove and enjoyed the season thoroughly.

for the first time, this year a number of our friends and family invested in our efforts. dozens of our friends partnered with us to raise $800 so that we could match equal exchange's gift and make our hot cocoa slave free. that was excellent (and expect the ask will be repeated next year so that we can take our cups down the bio-degradable route)! my own family and close friends donated $1100 in operating support to our little adventure. those dollars came in quite handy during a year when The Gathering has found it difficult to keep our heads above water, much less purchase supplies for the outreach. we were seriously humbled by the generosity of our friends and family. thank you for honoring God by setting us free to serve!

we also had a wonderful, diverse group of friends serve beside us throughout the season. for the first time in six years of serving at haunted happenings several friends from our christian churches, churches of Christ tradition came out to serve beside us. i hope that tim and the sojourn crew as well as jessica from manchester know that their presence meant the world to me. deep down in the part that i don't like to talk about at parties, i think i wrestle with rejection issues, so the distance that has developed between me and the ccoc has often pained me. so the presence of these friends was nothing short of sacramental.

jessie and libby browning and the good folks from their home church in beverly monked up on halloween and spent six hours in the street laying hands on and blessing people they had never met. i didn't have the courage to do anything more than serve hot cocoa during my first experience in 2003, so i was amazed by their boldness! i am also thankful to my hetero-life partner james for reprising his rector role and accompanying this group for the first couple of hours. james, you are the only one i want wearing my habit.

on hallows eve and halloween the incomparable anita coco and her not for sale crew offered people an opportunity to experience "death by chocolate" for a second year. this was the second year to host this event, we had over 300 guests attend and many, many more folks than last year were interested in discussing fair trade and acting upon what they had learned. extra props to the guy whose name i'm forgetting who made the kickin' sign for this event. it really made a difference.

did i mention how amazing carrie erwin was throughout the whole halloween season? i had no idea how she would take to it, but within minutes of starting she was barking at guests in the street, anchoring the cocoa booth, dancing with strangers dressed as gasoline. seriously, she was amazing.

paul, joyce, jeff c and other first time volunteers were amazing as well. did i mention how impressed i was with carrie erwin?

ben corey, the independent baptist from maine carved an unexpected niche by becoming the master of the Jesus deck and a spot on dream interpreter as well. i wasn't sure how much time he could commit, but he consistently under-promised and over-delivered and we were all so blessed by his presence.

joe riffe, who i think is mortified by the picture above, led a prayer room for us, stepped out of his comfort zone to bless strangers and talk to reporters and provided some of the vital, Spirit-filled energy we needed to make it through the last two days of the season. thankful for him.

my remarkable Friends' friends callid (like "salad) and kristina worked beside us on the big day. kristina works for an organic farmers cooperative in upstate new york so she was a perfect facilitator for death by chocolate. callid has treasures of past experience that i was unaware of - such as performing street magic - so he was a wizard on the streets. for instance, callid composed my favorite bark of the season: "come to death by chocolate. a terrifying experience that will completely change your life! or not." there were a number of small moments, such as kristina's discussion of the almost paramilitary training that activists from the civil rights movement had to go through in order to be assigned to a lunch counter, that i treasure from their visit. they also left us with a bottle of amazing upstate new york wine. please come back soon.

this season i realized, much like i have been realizing at work lately, that my days as a non-stop, hands-on street minister or service deliverer are on the wane and i am being led into more of an administrative role. this transition is bitter-sweet for me - right now it's much more of the former than the latter - since i have grown to love laying hands on strangers*, helping young adults find jobs, finding the perfect h1 n1 pitch that simultaneously repel and attract people to our cocoa booth. however, it is clear that my role is more about training and deploying than about being front line all the time. a friend named tim hawkins recently quoted another friend who said that discipleship, or training up people in the way they should go, is 99% encouragement. if that is the case, and i suspect it is, and administration has any part to play in discipleship, and i think it does, then i have a lot of growing to do.

i could go on, by explaining in great detail what an honor it is to serve beside pastor phil wyman or outlining the many, many unexpected lessons i have learned from my benediction laden brethren from the bridge church and streams ministries, but that is enough for now.

i hope that gives you a little taste of what the season was like. now that we're a couple of weeks beyond it and i've had a chance to rest, i cannot think about october without cribbing little preston: "again, daddy. again!"


* that doesn't sound quite right.

Stories from Halloween (Part 3) Three short stories

Today's stories come from Mike Crockett from The Gathering, and from one of the Bridge Church gang in Beverly. Below are the posts as they were sent to me. They exemplify the change which often happens in us as we seek to help others.

From Mike Crockett:

Dennis and I (dressed in a Monk’s robe) met with Nancy, who asked for a “spiritual reading.” Nancy was a committed Christian who was going through a difficult period in her life, caring for a loved one. She also was distraught about what she felt were failures in her life and had been teased and bullied by fellow classmates years ago in High School, something that was difficult to get over. Nancy was also in her 30s and wanted to have children and didn’t see this as a possibility with her spending so much energy caring for a loved one. I shared with Nancy that sometimes, life just stinks, without rhyme or reason. I mentioned the FOOTPRINTS poem and the passage in Isaiah where sometimes all we can do and all God asks us to do “walk and not faint” instead of “run on wings like eagles…” I shared with her the difficult adoption experience my wife and I had which turned out for joy and shared with her that I had gone through difficulties similar to hers, particularly after graduating college, and described God had brought me through. She was so encouraged to know not just I but millions of Christians around the world often feel, like Nancy, that they suffer in silence. Dennis prayed with Nancy and we talked for a while longer. Nancy left the Vault overjoyed. -----

Diane shared with me a dream of her and her two youngest daughters driving in a car. In her dream, a boy her older middle school daughter liked waved from the side of the road. Her daughter, who didn’t want to be embarrassed by having a boy she liked see her, hid in her seat. Suddenly, in Diane’s dream, the car went in reverse spontaneously and landed in a lake. The car began to sink, and water began to come into the sinking car. Diane was afraid. The boy her daughter liked called from the side of the lake, “You guys need help?” Then Diane woke up. She shared with me she was afraid of the dream, and felt it might mean a bad event in the future – event death. I shared with her that even though, in her dream, the car sinking in the water, that it did not mean death. I demonstrated that a dream with an encounter with water, particularly a large amount, even a fearful encounter, can speak to a significant spiritual encounter in ones life. The boy her daughter liked could represent someone, or even multiple individuals, such as a community, who are ready to help her and her family through life’s difficulties. Diane left greatly encouraged, feeling her wonderful experience with us in the Vault was worth any amount of time waiting in line.


From one of the Bridge Church Gang:

I was able to minister to an older military vet who had been through a lot in his past in the war.
He was testing the ministry team to see if we were accurate or not. After we ministered to the others in his group we asked if we could get a spiritual word for him. He agreed and we all were able to connect and give him some encouraging words from God that were accurate. This opened up a little discussion afterward and we were able to encourage him to be the man of God that God had made him to be. We were using his language and I believe that all three in their group were blessed by our encouraging and life giving ministry to where they were in their walk with God that day.

Stories from Halloween (Part 2) from the Prof. Carlos Z

The following stories come from the Prof. Carlos Z., one of the crew from The Gathering. Carlos worked with the Bridge Church gang from Beverly interpreting dreams, and doing what we call Spiritual Readings. Here is what Carlos had to say about his experiences:

Two stories come in mind when looking back and reflecting on Halloween.

The lst instance occurred on Saturday the 24th. I was on a team with Drew and Beth from the Bridge Church and we were doing Spiritual Readings for about an hour. A woman came who said that she had a dream. The dream was an invitation from God to join him on his earthly kingdom. I did not realize that she connected with me, and Drew said "Carlos why don't you begin and help this woman invite Christ into her heart." She had already agreed to accept Christ because of the revelation from the dream and the spiritual readings. You must understand I had never said the sinners prayer or accepted Christ in the typical way, so I felt awkward in trying to do it with this woman. But I went forward like a child trying to not look stupid in front of a class. I was blown away and she thanked us. A week later she returned and thanked me again. I was in awe how the Holy Spirit helped move this woman into a relationship with Christ.

The other story occurred the following evening. Two young ladies from Americorp in Maine had come to us. They wanted a spiritual reading. They had waited almost 30 minutes since I did not feel comfortable doing one by myself. No one was around at that time. because they were tearing down the sound equipment from the stage. I asked Matt the Pirate if he could jump in since these women had waited and I felt bad. He said that he had not done anything like it in almost a decade. I him it was okay just to give it his best shot. I explained to the two young ladies what a Spiritual Reading was as we started. The moment Matt looked at them and opened his mouth the Holy Spirit surrounded us. Unbeknownst to us these ladies needed spiritual healing from a lot of pain. Both the words from Matt and myself helped these girls heal. Tears rolled down their faces and ours. They had pain from their work and from personal issues in their lives. We inspired them to turn to Christ as the Redeemer and Comforter in times of trouble, and we spoke blessings them to continue their work in Maine. I was left speechless and felt blessed to be able to help these two girls. Also I thanked Matt and told him he has gift that he should open.