Just as we have been splitting the messages into two parts with two preachers in the morning service, we repeat this pattern in the evening as well. So once again Jeff Gentry and myself (Pastor Phil) are doing the teaching. Jeff is teaching on the first half of James 5, and I and teaching on the last half.
It is slowly growing darker now at 7:05 after we sang together, and prayed about needs. Only the smallest lights in the room are on, and candles are lit. At the communion table there are four candles on candlesticks, and a black box with with an orthodox icon and a candle in it, and a Celtic cross about 16 inches tall.
The evening service is a very small group often, and tonight there are about 10 of us.
One guy, who is a part of the church is sleeping in the back. He's sleeping off a drinking session. It's probably safer here than out on the street.
There is a pile of books on the floor in the middle of the room. It represents our attempt to find answers to life in black and white. A small beautifully carved wooden cross sits atop it.
Jeff is teaching again on patience and gossiping from the text of James 5.
"Patience in suffering" is a part of the text being developed here. Job, Moses in the desert, Abraham, Joseph imprisoned.... Now we are discussing personal models. Jeff suggests Mother Theresa, and James Shewey mentions a professor he had who told his students to prepare for the last days by taking the garbage out for mom when she asks - otherwise live our life now in preparation for the future. The guy in the back mentions Bev and I. He says that from time to time, and Bev an get embarrassed a little but love him a lot.
Now at 8:15 - I taught and connected Pentecost, and the openness of sharing the gifts of the spirit as discussed in ! Cor. 14:26-33 with James 5. The Carlos (the Prof. Carlos Z.) presented communion. Our sleeping friend woke up, and was a little trouble during communion because he was "sauced."
The service was a nice open service with good discussion times, and a little male heavy tonight, which is unique for Sunday evenings.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 31st at The Gathering
This morning it is a nice day. Our doors to the street are open wide, and a few people wandered in while Carl Nystedt led the worship. Carl is good, and people like to stop and listen to him. So if we can open the doors (which face to the walking mall) everyone likes to visit in downtown Salem.
Jeff is preaching now, and started by saying that "eschatology" is a $5 theological word that you don't need to spend $30,000 at seminary to learn.
I teaching through the first part of the 5th chapter of James, Jeff tells about living at Larche, and learning to cultivate life and spirituality by cleaning toilets, and putting away his Merton.
Attendance at service this morning is smaller than typical. Are you a member of a small church? How does it effect you when the numbers are smaller on a Sunday morning? Does it effect you?
Now Jeff is on the subject of gossiping - now he's meddlin'! James meddles. I guess we need to meddle like he does as well. So Jeff is calling us to repentance on the subject of grumbling and gossiping. "Nothing about us without us," is a quote he brought up as a good rule of talking about others - say nothing about them with out them present.
Okay, now Jeff is talking about gopher wood, and wondering how gophers make wood. Hmmmm, what happened to that $30,000 seminary education.
Hey there, it's Jeff now. Phil started finishing up James by pointing us back to the openness and power that is evidenced in Acts 2:41-47 and encouraged in passages like I Corinthians 14. Phil noted that for all his tough talk and assumed heavy handedness, in passages like I Cor. 14 Paul encourages the church to a radical mutuality in which more than one prophet speaks, praises and tongues are encouraged and interpreted and the church shares all good things with one another.
In closing (a phrase that preachers use at their peril, btw), Phil reminded us that James has commissioned us to do what he was attempting to do. Namely, to turn one another from sin and death and so save one another. Hmmm...saving one another...it sounds like Martin Luther had more than one reason to hate this book that he both wanted to strip from the canon and effectively commended in his writing and preaching on a number of occasions.
Paul Drake anchored the service by leading our celebration of Eucharist. In a reading of Mark that I have never thought up myself, Paul reminded us that the first Eucharist was kept among a community that was broken and disintegrating as the disciples worried that they would be the one to betray their Lord. Paul mentioned that his reading of the text was influenced by the relationality that was emphasized in the two former sermons that were preached this day. Maybe we have multiple prophets speaking during our services after all. I wish more of these prophets were women. We've got enough white male middle-class prophets around here.
Jeff is preaching now, and started by saying that "eschatology" is a $5 theological word that you don't need to spend $30,000 at seminary to learn.
I teaching through the first part of the 5th chapter of James, Jeff tells about living at Larche, and learning to cultivate life and spirituality by cleaning toilets, and putting away his Merton.
Attendance at service this morning is smaller than typical. Are you a member of a small church? How does it effect you when the numbers are smaller on a Sunday morning? Does it effect you?
Now Jeff is on the subject of gossiping - now he's meddlin'! James meddles. I guess we need to meddle like he does as well. So Jeff is calling us to repentance on the subject of grumbling and gossiping. "Nothing about us without us," is a quote he brought up as a good rule of talking about others - say nothing about them with out them present.
Okay, now Jeff is talking about gopher wood, and wondering how gophers make wood. Hmmmm, what happened to that $30,000 seminary education.
Hey there, it's Jeff now. Phil started finishing up James by pointing us back to the openness and power that is evidenced in Acts 2:41-47 and encouraged in passages like I Corinthians 14. Phil noted that for all his tough talk and assumed heavy handedness, in passages like I Cor. 14 Paul encourages the church to a radical mutuality in which more than one prophet speaks, praises and tongues are encouraged and interpreted and the church shares all good things with one another.
In closing (a phrase that preachers use at their peril, btw), Phil reminded us that James has commissioned us to do what he was attempting to do. Namely, to turn one another from sin and death and so save one another. Hmmm...saving one another...it sounds like Martin Luther had more than one reason to hate this book that he both wanted to strip from the canon and effectively commended in his writing and preaching on a number of occasions.
Paul Drake anchored the service by leading our celebration of Eucharist. In a reading of Mark that I have never thought up myself, Paul reminded us that the first Eucharist was kept among a community that was broken and disintegrating as the disciples worried that they would be the one to betray their Lord. Paul mentioned that his reading of the text was influenced by the relationality that was emphasized in the two former sermons that were preached this day. Maybe we have multiple prophets speaking during our services after all. I wish more of these prophets were women. We've got enough white male middle-class prophets around here.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Another Great Pub Theology
Tonight - May 27, 2009 a group of us met at The Old Spot, just like we do once a month for Pub Theology night.
Topic: Faith and Works how they fit together, and how they determine true spirituality.
Attending: Tom and Mary, Erin and Jim, The Prof. Carlos Z., Slade, Jeff C #3 (he's only the #3 Jeff because it rhymes with C), Mike C, and me (Phil).
Some random thoughts for the evening:
1) Mary and Tom capsized their canoe and lost their phones and wallets, and piles of other stuff, which is now on the bottom of the Atlantic. Somehow the canoe story became an illustration of faith and works. You know - storms of life, how we respond to them....
2) Mary's story about a relative who went to church all the time, but was as mean and cruel as anyone you ever met was a bit chilling.
3) Jim and Erin gave an illustration from personal life which was beautiful, on point, and you can ask them more. :-)
4) Slade called up James 2 first - "faith without works is dead."
5) Tom did not mention Obama until nearly the end of the evening! Wow, now that was restraint.
6) Jeff did not fall asleep. He wanted to I think, but he played the man, and actually was coherent.
7) Mike connected faith without much in works as a type of predeterminism, or fatalism; and works without much in faith as a type of legalism. This made the discussion take a robust turn for the good.
8) We ended by having everyone in a short phrase describe their idea of God's Government: The answers were Federalist Republic, Monarchy, Tyranny (actually something like a Kingdom Monarchy was meant I think), a Government to help the Weak, Anarchy (2 times), a Government run by the Military (Jeff called this a Hunta and laughed), and Socialism (of course this was the Prof Carlos Z., but you knew that didn't you?). So, if this was a democracy then Anarchy was the winner. Hmmmmm...
But, assuming that the government of God fulfills all the deep needs of humanity, and has all the best dynamics of any government we can imagine, then all the good things of all the kinds of government are a part of God's Kingdom, and all the bad elements of all the styles of government are lacking in God's leadership. Somehow that all tied into the topic of faith and works, and we all walked away feeling like the evening rocked.
Okay, I guess you had to be there to understand the Anarchy thing, but trust me it was cool. Peter Rollins gets it, I know that. Thumbs up Pete.
Topic: Faith and Works how they fit together, and how they determine true spirituality.
Attending: Tom and Mary, Erin and Jim, The Prof. Carlos Z., Slade, Jeff C #3 (he's only the #3 Jeff because it rhymes with C), Mike C, and me (Phil).
Some random thoughts for the evening:
1) Mary and Tom capsized their canoe and lost their phones and wallets, and piles of other stuff, which is now on the bottom of the Atlantic. Somehow the canoe story became an illustration of faith and works. You know - storms of life, how we respond to them....
2) Mary's story about a relative who went to church all the time, but was as mean and cruel as anyone you ever met was a bit chilling.
3) Jim and Erin gave an illustration from personal life which was beautiful, on point, and you can ask them more. :-)
4) Slade called up James 2 first - "faith without works is dead."
5) Tom did not mention Obama until nearly the end of the evening! Wow, now that was restraint.
6) Jeff did not fall asleep. He wanted to I think, but he played the man, and actually was coherent.
7) Mike connected faith without much in works as a type of predeterminism, or fatalism; and works without much in faith as a type of legalism. This made the discussion take a robust turn for the good.
8) We ended by having everyone in a short phrase describe their idea of God's Government: The answers were Federalist Republic, Monarchy, Tyranny (actually something like a Kingdom Monarchy was meant I think), a Government to help the Weak, Anarchy (2 times), a Government run by the Military (Jeff called this a Hunta and laughed), and Socialism (of course this was the Prof Carlos Z., but you knew that didn't you?). So, if this was a democracy then Anarchy was the winner. Hmmmmm...
But, assuming that the government of God fulfills all the deep needs of humanity, and has all the best dynamics of any government we can imagine, then all the good things of all the kinds of government are a part of God's Kingdom, and all the bad elements of all the styles of government are lacking in God's leadership. Somehow that all tied into the topic of faith and works, and we all walked away feeling like the evening rocked.
Okay, I guess you had to be there to understand the Anarchy thing, but trust me it was cool. Peter Rollins gets it, I know that. Thumbs up Pete.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Strange Things on Easter Sunday
Oh my Gosh! Ben wore a tie - no way! Yes it's true, and here is the evidence. Look how surprised everyone is!
Other things happened of course. Glen led the communion service at the end - that's him sitting with the pirate there. Does your church have a pirate? Every church should have a pirate. After the service was over, a young guy who played the guitar, and was busking on the streets outside the church came in, and we asked him to play. He played, everyone clapped, and we had a good time overall.
Yes, of course there was a message, and it was centered on the story of Jesus walking the Emmaus road with His disciples. The focus was that Jesus rose for the purpose of relatioship, and this desire to relate with us on an intimate level was expressed in the Emmaus Road story.
We also decorated thee place up - banners, Easter Lilies, eggs all over the floor for the kids.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Pine Sunday at The Gathering
I've struggled with Palm Sunday since moving to Massachusetts almost 10 years ago. (June will mark 10 years, and the church will be having a 10 year celebration.) The reason for my struggle was based upon the lack of palm trees in Salem.
It is true that each year the Catholic, Episcopal and sundry other higher church traditions celebrate this holyday with far more specificity, and liturgical preparation than any of my fellow Californians ever did, but they bring in wimpy little leaf segments, which they call palms, and make crosses out of them. Then they typically save the those crosses to burn and make ashes for the following year.
Now this is all fine and dandy, but when we celebrated Palm Sunday in California it was that time of year when the large Mexican fan palms, which decorate the dry landscape of San Diego County are pruned. We would either precede the landscapers, and follow closely behind them, and make sure to gather up dozens of palm fronds. These fronds were often 5 feet across. We would carefully shave the large thorns off the branches, and children and adults would be waving them in the service. Now that's a Palm Sunday!
So this year I thought to myself, "Self." I asked, "If Jesus were to ride into to Salem on Palm Sunday what would we be doing to prepare the road for the triumphal entry of the King into our city?"
I walked through our neighborhood. I looked around as I drove through town practicing hypermiling I noticed that only green trees are the evergreens. I concluded that if Jesus were to ride humbly in on a donkey that we would probably keep our coats on, because it has been so cold, and we would cut down pine branches, because they are the only greenery we have for another month or so.
Well, it might seem a bit silly, but this is an example of contextualizing the Gospel to the times and places we live, and this last Sunday we celebrated Pine Sunday (NOT Palm Sunday!), because we ain't got no outdoor palms here in Salem, and I've not felt so good about celebrating this day for at least ten years.
It is true that each year the Catholic, Episcopal and sundry other higher church traditions celebrate this holyday with far more specificity, and liturgical preparation than any of my fellow Californians ever did, but they bring in wimpy little leaf segments, which they call palms, and make crosses out of them. Then they typically save the those crosses to burn and make ashes for the following year.
Now this is all fine and dandy, but when we celebrated Palm Sunday in California it was that time of year when the large Mexican fan palms, which decorate the dry landscape of San Diego County are pruned. We would either precede the landscapers, and follow closely behind them, and make sure to gather up dozens of palm fronds. These fronds were often 5 feet across. We would carefully shave the large thorns off the branches, and children and adults would be waving them in the service. Now that's a Palm Sunday!
So this year I thought to myself, "Self." I asked, "If Jesus were to ride into to Salem on Palm Sunday what would we be doing to prepare the road for the triumphal entry of the King into our city?"
I walked through our neighborhood. I looked around as I drove through town practicing hypermiling I noticed that only green trees are the evergreens. I concluded that if Jesus were to ride humbly in on a donkey that we would probably keep our coats on, because it has been so cold, and we would cut down pine branches, because they are the only greenery we have for another month or so.
Well, it might seem a bit silly, but this is an example of contextualizing the Gospel to the times and places we live, and this last Sunday we celebrated Pine Sunday (NOT Palm Sunday!), because we ain't got no outdoor palms here in Salem, and I've not felt so good about celebrating this day for at least ten years.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Snow and Forgiveness in Witch City
Well, here I am down at the church a few minutes before 8am, and wondering if anyone will be coming today. A parking snowban is on, and it's still snowing away out side, but it was a nice walk from home (about 12-15 minutes).
It sure is pretty outside, and resembles comments from scripture about sins being forgiven and being made white as snow.
It sure is pretty outside, and resembles comments from scripture about sins being forgiven and being made white as snow.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Bev: Post Surgery
This morning Bev (Pastor Phil's wife) had hand surgery. After an hour and half of surgery in Boston, we were home before noon. It is early evening now. Bev is sleeping and has been doing fine all day. Her thumb (where the work was done) looks good, and she's snoozing with a little smile. Venus and Jupiter are bright in the early evening sky and everything in the world is alright - okay, not everything is alright. In fact the world is a mess, but things are good at the Wyman house.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Pete Rollins - Sunday, December 7th
We're just a week and half away from our Sunday evening visit with author, pastor of the Ikon community in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Doctor of Postmodern Philosophy Pete Rollins.
So here's the deal. He will be with us at 6pm on Sunday evening at The Vault - 217 Essex Street in downtown Salem. This is our standard Sunday evening service time. We will have a smidgeon of music (that means a little bit, smidgeon is not a relative of the pidgeon), and then Pete will do the Pete thing and speak to us. Then following the service it will become a food and drink event. We call it the "Pete Rollins End of the Book Tour Party!"
We'd love to see you. It will be a great time to hang with friends, maybe meet Pete (if you're interested in that kind of thing), maybe hobnob with some seminary professors, or just learn some good stuff about the Christian faith.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Halloween Outreach '08 Update
I am just now getting to telling our Halloween story for this year. The month-long experience of Halloween in Salem is remarkable to behold for those who have never experienced it. Many visit us for a week or a weekend, but for those of us who live here, and serve throughout the month of October it has become commonplace to view Salem as Halloween Town. Like Jack the Mayor of Halloween Town in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" many people in Salem work all year toward October, and Halloween becomes a month long event with its 500,000 visitors.
We have rushed headlong into the middle of the celebration with the hope of being a blessing to all, and this year the event was as spectacular, and life-changing for people as any of the previous nine. Yes, this is our tenth Halloween in Salem.
Trainings occurred, and over 80 people were trained to learn how to treat Witches and Neo-Pagans as regular people. This is not something we as Christians do well. There were returning friends who helped interpret dreams from a biblical perspective, and offered spiritual advice to passing Halloween partiers. Others played music, or served free hot cocoa. Others still served food to those who came to be part of this massive outreach, or provide background support by setting up the outdoor stage, run the sound system, raise money to help support the event, or clean the carpets of the church.
We organized and ran a Children's Day event with the help of Domino's Pizza and had 3,000 attendees. We held a feast based upon experiences of Heaven and Hell, we ran 6 days of live music, gave away 3,000 cups of free hot cocoa (this number was down by 5,000 cups, because it was such a warm year!),
counseled or interpreted dreams for thousands of people, gave 800 people an educational experience highlighting human slavery in the world today, and sent young men dressed as monks to offer free blessings to the people on the streets.Each year this event grows. It seems to have legs of its own, and is moving faster than we can keep up with it. All these things are accomplished by a small church of about 45 people, and the friends and other churches who like to hang out with us.
The AP Press called me and asked for a phone interview this year. You can access the by following podcast of the short radio segment here.
The number of people who spoke of being touched by the gentle presence of God's blessing are beyond the scope of our ability to count. Even the simple gesture of giving a cup of free hot cocoa can illicit a generous response. One college aged young man replied, "This is the best idea I've seen out here." There are new faces visiting the church since the October outreach - locals who were significantly touched by the "spiritual readings," dream interpretation, and blessings from our wandering monks are visiting the church on Sunday now.
In the Old Testament we find the children of Israel gathering in Jerusalem for the feasts. Passover, Pentecost, and the feast of Tabernacles brought the people together into one place to worship and celebrate. This was the manner in which they gathered for "church." Today our society is running to festivals to celebrate, party, and vacation. Haunted Happenings in Salem is one of the great festivals in U.S culture. It has been our goal to "crash the party," and make our little festival within this larger festival called Haunted Happenings one of the "places to be." In a sense we are bringing church to the partying public, and offering gentle touches of God's grace. They effect has been dramatic.
After ten years of serving in Salem in this manner, hundreds of Christians from near and far gather to help us serve. Thousands of people experience the ministry outreach we offer, and now are beginning to return each year to looking specifically for us. These returning people are not necessarily Christians. They come from all walks of life, and have simply recognized that there is acceptance, love, and peacefulness in our presence. This has become our way of bringing the power of the Old Testament festival life to the city of Salem, and the people who visit us from around the world.
For those of you who have supported the large efforts of this little church financially or in prayer - thank you. You are at the base of our ability to continue in the footsteps of our gracious Savior on these cobble-stoned streets of Salem, Massachusetts.
Included below are some photos of the streets of Salem during our month long Halloween season. Notice the unbelievably warm temperature for this time of year. It is on the digital clock above the church. Then you will see the massive crowds in the street, and lastly one of our roving monks - Jeff Tang, who blessed the crowds is standing in front of our century old vault.
May God's Love Be with You,
Pastor Phil
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Kevin Menasco in Surgery Today
Today Kevin Menasco is in the midst of perhaps as much as 10 hours of surgery for his jaw. Please keep him in prayer for both the surgery today, and his recovery.
Thanks for your service and love,
Pastor Phil
Thanks for your service and love,
Pastor Phil
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pub Theology and the Politics of God
Last Night we met at The Old Spot once again. There were eight of us for this discussion on "The Politics of God." It was heated but friendly, and eventually redirected to consider what God wants from us personally. A good time all in all, and Mary saved us from looking like a good ol' boys club.You can read more on the interactions at one of my personal blogs Square No More.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Three Days with Pastor Phil
There are no typical weeks at The Gathering. Salem, MA is a wonderfully diverse, and uniquely strange community, and every day provides the opportunity for little adventures. As an example of this uniqueness I thought that I might tell the mini-stories of three consecutive days and the encounters I've had. These days are not regular events, but perhaps they do illustrate the uniqueness of our city, and the remarkable opportunities for service which it provides.
Day 1
I began my workday at 5:45am at a group home for 5-12 year olds in Beverly, MA (the city just over the bridge from Salem) It's my job to wake them up, and get them off to school (or summer camp) two days a week, and then to act as a liaison to the community and the Department of Social Services. The morning was uneventful as we woke the children up, and encouraged them through basic hygiene, cleaning their rooms, and played a few games together while attempting to teach basic lessons of life to these children who would be homeless or abused if not for the state's intervention, and the group home's involvement.
From the group home I drove to the offices of an owner of a number of local Domino's Pizza locations. He and I get together once a year to plan the logistics of an Annual Halloween Children's Day, which we sponsor as a city event on the Salem Common (a city park in the middle of town), and we made plans for the event on October 18th this year. Our concerns were the entertainment, finding a new resource for vendors, and creating some opportunities for helping under-priveleged kids experience the day for free.
After leaving the group home I ate a quick lunch at home, and arrived at our meeting place - The Vault. Carlos and Chris were working our "Sacred Space": an afternoon spiritual soul retreat open to the community inviting them into The Vault for sacred music, prayer, and meditation. Often it turns out to be a commercial for the church, as people come in and out wondering what we are about.
During the afternoon a handsome, well spoken, nomadic man in his early 40's came by for a visit. He had just rolled into to town from Maine, via North Dakota, having wintered in these very cold locations. We talked. He told his story, which included leaving home at 15, traveling for most of his life, and having been a Satanist - having all the tattoos to prove it. He opened up and shared his frustration with some of the choices he had made, and how difficult it was to get along in society. We talked philosophy. We talked theology. We made friends, and I encouraged him by letting him know that God had blessed him with a powerful gift of communication. He nearly cried at one point, and we have been seeing him pop in and out since that time.
Day 2
Once again I worked at the group home in the morning helping the children in the beginning of their day. Coming from abusive backgrounds, they often exhibit destructive behavior, and we need to teach them better ways of handling themselves, and treating others.
Later that morning, I arrived at the church. I had made plans to help a local homeless man (who had just found a room to rent) get his clothing washed. This young man usually smells so bad that he is regularly asked to leave restaurants, and has even been kicked out of homeless shelters for refusing to shower. I met him at the laundromat, and we got his clothing in the washing machine, and I gave him a laundromat card with enough money to pay for the drying too. I tried to get him to put a filthy jacket he had tied around his waist into the machine, and explained the necessity of washing his clothes to keep from leaving long lasting smells from getting into the upholstery of other people's furniture, but he did not want to wash his coat. I hoped maybe I could get the jacket washed next time.
Once back at the church, a young man I have known since we first moved to Salem nine years ago came into The Vault. He wanted to talk to me about Wicca. He had been looking into this variety of Witchcraft for awhile, and wanted to get some opinions from friends. We talked for about an hour. I walked him through the history of the movement - which although it is believed by many of its followers to be ancient is in actuality only been around since the early 1950's. We talked about the differences between Christian and Wiccan beliefs, and I told him these things without ridiculing his interest in Wicca. He opened up, and shared his reservations about some of things Wiccans believed, but also related some spiritual experiences he has had, which Christians have judged as weird, or even demonic. I related stories of the early church and medieval saints which mirrored his experiences, and suggested that Christians should be pursuers of deep mystical experiences with God. He wanted to keep in regular communication about these things. I have found this young man's search for an authentic mystical experience is exhibited by many who leave the pews of the church for the woods of the contemporary Neo-Pagan experience.
After this encounter, Carlos and I visited the Chamber of Commerce. Rinus is from the Netherlands, and runs the chamber in Salem. He has been good to us. He offered to open the list of his vendors to us, so that we might be able to increase the number of vendors on our Children's Day event. This was an answer to our need for the Halloween Children's Day Event.
After going home and having dinner, Carlos and I met once again. We had been invited to Pagan Pub Crawl. Once a month some of the Witches in town gather for the Salem Pagan Pub Crawl. I usually get invited, because many of them are my friends. Carlos has been to a couple of these gatherings now, and is making friends as well. The owner of the new tattoo parlor in town was there. He is not a Witch, but he considers himself a Thelemite (you can look that one up on Wikipedia if you like). We meet a couple women from Pennsylvania who visit Salem often. We saw many friends we've known for some time. We talked about how people had become Witches after being raised as Christians, and we discussed the resurrection myths of ancient religions comparing and contrasting that to the resurrection of Christ. I suggested that Christianity perhaps did not steal the idea of resurrection, and death and rebirth from other religions, but that it might well be that the appearance of this mythology throughout many different cultures is a prophetic retelling of the story found in Jesus Christ. All in all it was a fun evening, but a long day.
Day 3
As part of my job with the group home I went to a Provider's Fair at one of the many Catholic Churches in Salem. I was hosting a table for the group home among about twenty-five other tables in the room. I met other social service providers who worked with addictions, poverty income level families, and at risk children. I met some of the local DSS administrators, and made some wonderful contacts.
I offered to help with their events in the future by providing our church sound system if they needed sound. The PA at the Catholic church was not sufficient for music, but they gave it a try. I told them that we would like to set up a Provider's Fair at our Halloween Children's Day, and that I was working on getting a number of free tickets for under-privileged children. They were excited. I had my guitar with me, and allowed a woman to play my Martin (you guitar players will know that that's a big deal), and she performed. I performed a few songs as well, and made some great contacts both for the group home I represent, as well as for The Gathering and our Children's Day event. This was a second answer to our needs for Children's Day.
It was a long day at the fair, but worked out to be wonderful for new contacts in our community.
In the evening we showed a surf film at The Vault. Every Friday Night is $1 Movie Night, and we have visitors who are not a part of the church. Some of them are regulars to movie night, and we are there to make friends with them, and to allow them to feel comfortable in our space.
These three days represent a variety of things which occur both in our church location, and around the community in Salem during the weekdays. As you can see, we are involved in social action, relationship development, and sharing our faith on a regular basis. This is Salem, and we believe it is one of the most vibrant communities in the US - even in regards to how open people's hearts are for a true and deeper spirituality.
Day 1
I began my workday at 5:45am at a group home for 5-12 year olds in Beverly, MA (the city just over the bridge from Salem) It's my job to wake them up, and get them off to school (or summer camp) two days a week, and then to act as a liaison to the community and the Department of Social Services. The morning was uneventful as we woke the children up, and encouraged them through basic hygiene, cleaning their rooms, and played a few games together while attempting to teach basic lessons of life to these children who would be homeless or abused if not for the state's intervention, and the group home's involvement.
From the group home I drove to the offices of an owner of a number of local Domino's Pizza locations. He and I get together once a year to plan the logistics of an Annual Halloween Children's Day, which we sponsor as a city event on the Salem Common (a city park in the middle of town), and we made plans for the event on October 18th this year. Our concerns were the entertainment, finding a new resource for vendors, and creating some opportunities for helping under-priveleged kids experience the day for free.
After leaving the group home I ate a quick lunch at home, and arrived at our meeting place - The Vault. Carlos and Chris were working our "Sacred Space": an afternoon spiritual soul retreat open to the community inviting them into The Vault for sacred music, prayer, and meditation. Often it turns out to be a commercial for the church, as people come in and out wondering what we are about.
During the afternoon a handsome, well spoken, nomadic man in his early 40's came by for a visit. He had just rolled into to town from Maine, via North Dakota, having wintered in these very cold locations. We talked. He told his story, which included leaving home at 15, traveling for most of his life, and having been a Satanist - having all the tattoos to prove it. He opened up and shared his frustration with some of the choices he had made, and how difficult it was to get along in society. We talked philosophy. We talked theology. We made friends, and I encouraged him by letting him know that God had blessed him with a powerful gift of communication. He nearly cried at one point, and we have been seeing him pop in and out since that time.
Day 2
Once again I worked at the group home in the morning helping the children in the beginning of their day. Coming from abusive backgrounds, they often exhibit destructive behavior, and we need to teach them better ways of handling themselves, and treating others.
Later that morning, I arrived at the church. I had made plans to help a local homeless man (who had just found a room to rent) get his clothing washed. This young man usually smells so bad that he is regularly asked to leave restaurants, and has even been kicked out of homeless shelters for refusing to shower. I met him at the laundromat, and we got his clothing in the washing machine, and I gave him a laundromat card with enough money to pay for the drying too. I tried to get him to put a filthy jacket he had tied around his waist into the machine, and explained the necessity of washing his clothes to keep from leaving long lasting smells from getting into the upholstery of other people's furniture, but he did not want to wash his coat. I hoped maybe I could get the jacket washed next time.
Once back at the church, a young man I have known since we first moved to Salem nine years ago came into The Vault. He wanted to talk to me about Wicca. He had been looking into this variety of Witchcraft for awhile, and wanted to get some opinions from friends. We talked for about an hour. I walked him through the history of the movement - which although it is believed by many of its followers to be ancient is in actuality only been around since the early 1950's. We talked about the differences between Christian and Wiccan beliefs, and I told him these things without ridiculing his interest in Wicca. He opened up, and shared his reservations about some of things Wiccans believed, but also related some spiritual experiences he has had, which Christians have judged as weird, or even demonic. I related stories of the early church and medieval saints which mirrored his experiences, and suggested that Christians should be pursuers of deep mystical experiences with God. He wanted to keep in regular communication about these things. I have found this young man's search for an authentic mystical experience is exhibited by many who leave the pews of the church for the woods of the contemporary Neo-Pagan experience.
After this encounter, Carlos and I visited the Chamber of Commerce. Rinus is from the Netherlands, and runs the chamber in Salem. He has been good to us. He offered to open the list of his vendors to us, so that we might be able to increase the number of vendors on our Children's Day event. This was an answer to our need for the Halloween Children's Day Event.
After going home and having dinner, Carlos and I met once again. We had been invited to Pagan Pub Crawl. Once a month some of the Witches in town gather for the Salem Pagan Pub Crawl. I usually get invited, because many of them are my friends. Carlos has been to a couple of these gatherings now, and is making friends as well. The owner of the new tattoo parlor in town was there. He is not a Witch, but he considers himself a Thelemite (you can look that one up on Wikipedia if you like). We meet a couple women from Pennsylvania who visit Salem often. We saw many friends we've known for some time. We talked about how people had become Witches after being raised as Christians, and we discussed the resurrection myths of ancient religions comparing and contrasting that to the resurrection of Christ. I suggested that Christianity perhaps did not steal the idea of resurrection, and death and rebirth from other religions, but that it might well be that the appearance of this mythology throughout many different cultures is a prophetic retelling of the story found in Jesus Christ. All in all it was a fun evening, but a long day.
Day 3
As part of my job with the group home I went to a Provider's Fair at one of the many Catholic Churches in Salem. I was hosting a table for the group home among about twenty-five other tables in the room. I met other social service providers who worked with addictions, poverty income level families, and at risk children. I met some of the local DSS administrators, and made some wonderful contacts.
I offered to help with their events in the future by providing our church sound system if they needed sound. The PA at the Catholic church was not sufficient for music, but they gave it a try. I told them that we would like to set up a Provider's Fair at our Halloween Children's Day, and that I was working on getting a number of free tickets for under-privileged children. They were excited. I had my guitar with me, and allowed a woman to play my Martin (you guitar players will know that that's a big deal), and she performed. I performed a few songs as well, and made some great contacts both for the group home I represent, as well as for The Gathering and our Children's Day event. This was a second answer to our needs for Children's Day.
It was a long day at the fair, but worked out to be wonderful for new contacts in our community.
In the evening we showed a surf film at The Vault. Every Friday Night is $1 Movie Night, and we have visitors who are not a part of the church. Some of them are regulars to movie night, and we are there to make friends with them, and to allow them to feel comfortable in our space.
These three days represent a variety of things which occur both in our church location, and around the community in Salem during the weekdays. As you can see, we are involved in social action, relationship development, and sharing our faith on a regular basis. This is Salem, and we believe it is one of the most vibrant communities in the US - even in regards to how open people's hearts are for a true and deeper spirituality.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Latin Tongues at The Gathering Tonight
Tonight we had a unique experience in glossalalia (the gift of tongues) at the Gathering. I was leading a song of worship at a particularly small service this evening. During one of the songs, I did something which is common for me to do on the evening service. I continued playing the chords of the chorus to the song, and broke into spontaneous worship created by singing words of praise which flowed improvisationally from my heart. This is something we have encouraged others to do as well, and so it is a regular practice during our Sunday evening services.Being a good ol' Pentecostal boy (well, that is I believe that all the gifts of the Spirit are active and alive today, and I "speak in tongues"), I began to express my worship in Tongues.
I thought to myself at one point that the words seemed somewhat familiar, but being monoglot American with only a smattering of understanding in Spanish, a few short years in High School (32 years ago) trying to learn French, a familiarity with Koine (biblical Greek, which I taught many years, Prof. Carlos Z., Pastor Phil Wyman, ago, but being a dead language is not something I ever spoke), and struggling to learn Welsh I put the thought out of my head. This expression of worship lasted a couple minutes, and when it was over the Prof. Carlos Z. said to me openly in front of the group, "You were worshiping in Spanish. Did you know you were worshiping in Spanish?"
My response was, "Wow! What did I say?"
Carlos responded by telling us some of the words, and thoughts which were expressed, and then we discussed this gift of Tongues for awhile.
Now that was pretty cool, and something which I have desired to see happen for many years - Thanks God!
I suppose some might say that my subconscious harbors an understanding of Spanish, which was somehow brought out at this particular moment, but that seems as far fetched to me as believing that this gift of Tongues exists supernaturally. I'll stick with the act of God theory here.
By the way, the book pictured above was written in the 60's but is still the best read on the subject I've ever read.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Crossing the Line Mini-Conference
Look for more info on this upcoming conference to make it your way in the next few days. Beth Maynard, Andrew DeFranza, Prof. Carlos Z., and Myself will be speaking at this event, with a number of local social project leaders on June 14th, 10am to 3pm. Hope to see you there!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Mother's Day message from Bev
Every Mother' Day for the last 22 years Bev has been the speaker on Sunday morning. It started the first year we pastored. Someone asked Bev when she was going to speak, and she put it off by saying that she might speak on Mother's Day Mother's Day came, and the people who wanted to hear her speak had called her on it. She spoke that first year, and the following year just expected that it was the thing she was supposed to do. A tradition was born.
This year she spoke from 2 Kings 4:1-7. The passage about the widow of the Prophet Obadiah. Obadiah had been a rich man, but during the reign of Ahab and Jezebel hid 128 prophets of God in two caves, and fed them to keep them from being killed by Jezebel. He spent all his money, and accrued debt to care for the prophets. When he died his wife and his children were left with this debt. You can read the passage to find out how God helps his widow by sending the Prophet Elisha, and the miracle of the ongoing flow of oil which sustained her.Adam was painting up front during the service while Bev spoke, and the result off his work is seen here.
So, that is the short version of Mother's Day at The Gathering.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
the gathering welcomes: will sampson
hey all, on monday, april 28th at 7 pm will sampson will be stopping by the gathering to discuss how we can pursue justice in the midst of our ordinary lives. this discussion is sure to be engaging, relatively open ended and absolutely free.
this discussion evening is a part of the two dollars a day event that is being co-hosted by boston's emergent cohort and the crossing community in downtown boston.
if you have questions about this event, please feel free to contact me directly at gentry13ATgmail.com. for more info on the two dollars a day event, check out the cohort website.
hey all, on monday, april 28th at 7 pm will sampson will be stopping by the gathering to discuss how we can pursue justice in the midst of our ordinary lives. this discussion is sure to be engaging, relatively open ended and absolutely free.this discussion evening is a part of the two dollars a day event that is being co-hosted by boston's emergent cohort and the crossing community in downtown boston.
if you have questions about this event, please feel free to contact me directly at gentry13ATgmail.com. for more info on the two dollars a day event, check out the cohort website.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Chris' Baptism
Chris' baptism reminded me, yet again, what a beautiful thing it is for God to call a person to Himself and incorporate that individual into the body of Christ.
this was a day i won't soon forget and i thought y'all would want to see the video.
jg
Further Notes from "Jeremiah:"
Chris was baptized last Sunday. It was a wonderful moment for all of us.
Most of us at the Gathering hold to some sort of born-again experience. Just as there are many forms of our "capitulating" encounter(s) with Jesus, God presents baptism, a core sacrament in every believer's life, in many ways as a unique, individual, relational encounter with God. For me, baptism is more than just symbol, but also not a magical, protective incantation. Jesus knew we were folks trapped in space and time. Baptism provides with a "living liturgy" to remind us through the rest of our life in Jesus of His encompassing love.
Welcome to the family Chris - not just the Gathering family, but the family of the worldwide
Saturday, March 22, 2008
ecclesiological musing - on maundy thursday service
on thursday night i had the opportunity to oversee the maundy thursday service at the gathering.* i began thinking about the service on sunday afternoon and in about 5 minutes i developed the following liturgy, which i think is one of the most innovative services i've had a hand in.
---
when the participants walked in they entered into a dim and quickly darkening space that was lit only by a trinitarian triangle of three candles. as the liturgy began i shared a few brief thoughts about the intricate relationship between intimacy and desolation** that i perceive in the gospels and then we immediately headed to the front of the church where we celebrated the institution of eucharist by sharing the sacrament together.
we shared the sacrament sinners and saints style*** and it was beautiful. as we stood around the table newly baptized Christians practiced our common priesthood for the first time; local, first-time visitors served out of town guests; and the utterly broken offered this means of grace to the utterly broken.
after eucharist everyone returned to their seats, all of which were encompassed by the trinitarian triangle of candles, and the first reader read matthew 26:36-41. after the reader spoke of Jesus' desperation for support and the disciples resultant slumber, the blew out the first candle then sat down.
immediately following five long, uninterrupted moments of silence followed. i knew that the silence would be awkward and unnerving, but i did not know that it would be so uncomfortable that i would find myself eventually staring at the second reader and inwardly pleading that she would get on with it.
eventually the second reader read matthew 26:42-43. after she had spoken of Christ's willful submission to unrelenting agony as well as the disciples' second failure, she blew out the second candle, then sat down.
five more, slightly less awkward minutes of silence followed. i tried to meditate a bit as i counted in my head to 300 and tried to work up enough courage to enact my portion of the liturgy.
finally, i stood, read matthew 26:45-46. after i read "rise, let us go. here comes my betrayer!" i asked the congregation to rise, picked up a large mirror, handed the mirror to a friend, looked in the mirror and said "here comes Christ's betrayer." then i quickly took the mirror from my friend, held it in front of her face and said "here comes Christ's betrayer." i then proceeded to stumble around the room, holding this large mirror in front of each participant and repeating this rather offensive indictment that clearly resounds through the narrative.
after each participant had faced the mirror and i faced the mirror a second time another three minutes of silence followed. then i clumsily plugged in a spotlight that shone upon a lone cross, took thirty seconds or so to gather my senses and offered a benediction.
---
i share my reflections on this service not to draw attention to myself, but to record one of my first attempts at developing a liturgy that draws the participants into an experience that resonates with, and hopefully reflects, the encounter recorded in the text. years ago my college preaching profs encouraged us to shape sermons that reflected the shape of the text. i have long realized the wisdom of that teaching and have often tried to fashion my logocentric sermons in such a manner that they reflect the biblical writers' flow of thought. however, it was not until last night that i realized the value of shaping a liturgy that physically, intellectually, spiritually and emotionally draws people into the narrative of the text.
i suppose i also share these reflections as a way of repenting of the derogatory and, i fear, mostly uninformed accusations i have aimed towards folks like dan kimball in the past. i have long been disinterested with the practices and thought of those who i have labeled programmatic emergents since many of the alt.worship experiences i have had have been too individualistically focused and often, in my not-so-humble estimation, trite. i am now beginning to see how potentially meaningful communal liturgical services that are shaped by the text can be. i suppose the next step is for me to explore how meaningful liturgical services can also be shaped in part by the history of Christian practice throughout the ages, but the pixie is staring at me right now and i get the feeling that i need to get off this damned computer.
one more quick note: the first sunday of the coming months, starting april 6, my friend kieren and i are going to be visiting emerging faith communities throughout the boston area. we will be reporting on our travels on this site as well as kieran's emergent wrestlings page. if you're interested in hosting kieren and i at your faith community or you know of a local boston community that you have wanted to explore but haven't yet found the time to do so, please drop me a line at gentry13@gmail.com.
peace be with you throughout this holiest of holy weeks.
* take a minute and check out our new digs. it's simple, informative and infinitely more accessible than our old site. thank you rhonda and elijah!
** i.e., Jesus is baptized by john in the jordan and immediately heads to the desert; the disciples experience the wonders of the transfiguration only to be warned by Jesus on the way down the mountain that they are not to speak of their experience until after His death; peter's magnificent confession is quickly followed by Christ's denunciation, etc.
*** look the person in the eye, speak their name, offer words of orientation (the body of Christ, the bread of heaven, the blood of Christ, the cup of salvation) and then the recipient becomes the servant.
Post by Jeff G.
---
when the participants walked in they entered into a dim and quickly darkening space that was lit only by a trinitarian triangle of three candles. as the liturgy began i shared a few brief thoughts about the intricate relationship between intimacy and desolation** that i perceive in the gospels and then we immediately headed to the front of the church where we celebrated the institution of eucharist by sharing the sacrament together.
we shared the sacrament sinners and saints style*** and it was beautiful. as we stood around the table newly baptized Christians practiced our common priesthood for the first time; local, first-time visitors served out of town guests; and the utterly broken offered this means of grace to the utterly broken.
after eucharist everyone returned to their seats, all of which were encompassed by the trinitarian triangle of candles, and the first reader read matthew 26:36-41. after the reader spoke of Jesus' desperation for support and the disciples resultant slumber, the blew out the first candle then sat down.
immediately following five long, uninterrupted moments of silence followed. i knew that the silence would be awkward and unnerving, but i did not know that it would be so uncomfortable that i would find myself eventually staring at the second reader and inwardly pleading that she would get on with it.
eventually the second reader read matthew 26:42-43. after she had spoken of Christ's willful submission to unrelenting agony as well as the disciples' second failure, she blew out the second candle, then sat down.
five more, slightly less awkward minutes of silence followed. i tried to meditate a bit as i counted in my head to 300 and tried to work up enough courage to enact my portion of the liturgy.
finally, i stood, read matthew 26:45-46. after i read "rise, let us go. here comes my betrayer!" i asked the congregation to rise, picked up a large mirror, handed the mirror to a friend, looked in the mirror and said "here comes Christ's betrayer." then i quickly took the mirror from my friend, held it in front of her face and said "here comes Christ's betrayer." i then proceeded to stumble around the room, holding this large mirror in front of each participant and repeating this rather offensive indictment that clearly resounds through the narrative.
after each participant had faced the mirror and i faced the mirror a second time another three minutes of silence followed. then i clumsily plugged in a spotlight that shone upon a lone cross, took thirty seconds or so to gather my senses and offered a benediction.
---
i share my reflections on this service not to draw attention to myself, but to record one of my first attempts at developing a liturgy that draws the participants into an experience that resonates with, and hopefully reflects, the encounter recorded in the text. years ago my college preaching profs encouraged us to shape sermons that reflected the shape of the text. i have long realized the wisdom of that teaching and have often tried to fashion my logocentric sermons in such a manner that they reflect the biblical writers' flow of thought. however, it was not until last night that i realized the value of shaping a liturgy that physically, intellectually, spiritually and emotionally draws people into the narrative of the text.
i suppose i also share these reflections as a way of repenting of the derogatory and, i fear, mostly uninformed accusations i have aimed towards folks like dan kimball in the past. i have long been disinterested with the practices and thought of those who i have labeled programmatic emergents since many of the alt.worship experiences i have had have been too individualistically focused and often, in my not-so-humble estimation, trite. i am now beginning to see how potentially meaningful communal liturgical services that are shaped by the text can be. i suppose the next step is for me to explore how meaningful liturgical services can also be shaped in part by the history of Christian practice throughout the ages, but the pixie is staring at me right now and i get the feeling that i need to get off this damned computer.
one more quick note: the first sunday of the coming months, starting april 6, my friend kieren and i are going to be visiting emerging faith communities throughout the boston area. we will be reporting on our travels on this site as well as kieran's emergent wrestlings page. if you're interested in hosting kieren and i at your faith community or you know of a local boston community that you have wanted to explore but haven't yet found the time to do so, please drop me a line at gentry13@gmail.com.
peace be with you throughout this holiest of holy weeks.
* take a minute and check out our new digs. it's simple, informative and infinitely more accessible than our old site. thank you rhonda and elijah!
** i.e., Jesus is baptized by john in the jordan and immediately heads to the desert; the disciples experience the wonders of the transfiguration only to be warned by Jesus on the way down the mountain that they are not to speak of their experience until after His death; peter's magnificent confession is quickly followed by Christ's denunciation, etc.
*** look the person in the eye, speak their name, offer words of orientation (the body of Christ, the bread of heaven, the blood of Christ, the cup of salvation) and then the recipient becomes the servant.
Post by Jeff G.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Pub Theology #2
Pub Theology #2 is happening at The Old Spot in Salem - across from the Hawthorn Hotel. 7pm on Tuesday Evening is the time. The subject of discussion will be the benefits, excesses, harmful results, and purposes behind asceticism. Is it still a practice worth considering? Has it lost it's medieval and brutal interest, or is there something we still might gain from it today? Whadayathink of that for a hot topic!? Hope to see you there.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Pastor Phil's Radio Interview Now Online
The radio show Premier Drive, which I was asked to speak on a couple weeks ago sent me the audio file of the interview. The show was an interview about the Witches in Salem, and the Christian community living here. I've downloaded the file onto our website at The Gathering at Salem Website.You'll find a link to the podcast of the show on the front page.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Pastor Phil
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