Stuff

Several thoughts:

1. Last week went well without corn. The only time we forgot was when Jim grabbed a Dum Dum sucker when we visited his parents, and when getting some snacks I was was hungry for avocados and bought some chips to go with it - I blanked on corn chips being corn! Silly me.

2. I attended a conference last week which had us downtown in a hotel for the week. (rough life, I know) I wrote a report for the conference and here are some of my favorite pieces are below:

Rev. Young Lee Hertig presented “The Prophetic Imagination of Two Queens: Vashti and Esther”. This might be the speaker that effected my thinking about work the most. After working through the stories of both Vashti and Esther marvelously, she spoke of experience learning being the way for prophetic imagination to root itself in folks. She spoke of being addicted to it. She finds that it can be prophetic because “there is no teacher needed to explain, God shows up and explains”. She has chosen to work where she does because of the experience learning that she can oversee as opposed to other places where she has taught in the “regular model” of academia. She mentioned that “nothing is more powerful than pedagogy.” As a part of that she mentioned that she refuses to use white male scholarship in her studies, but rather use folks of the rest of the world to inform her.

Rev. John Kinney, the Tuesday night speaker, mentioned that he was in Jeremiah Wright territory – knowing that because Rev. Wright was telling the truth even if it isn’t what people want to hear. Jim leaned over to me and said – I guess I am like Jeremiah Wright. It took all my might to not laugh out loud. I love my husband but I never thought that he was going to even remotely be the next Jeremiah Wright. However, it is true that Jim points out the niceties of Christianity and usually points to the truth in the wrongs that so often Church girl like me has just accepted.

Rev Moss:

Wednesday: John 9
I really liked his take on being footnotes in the stories. Jesus told the blind man to go find some water to wash his eyes in. Rev. Moss asked – Who helped the blind man get there? The questions of are we willing to be and train folks to be those people who are essential to the story and yet not in the story.
In response to a question about Trinity UCC’s dilemma of being called to attention in the media. Rev Moss said – I follow Jesus, the guy that got crucified and then came back to life. I can look to that model or the model of Moses and wander in the desert and had a headache for 40 years. I can prophetic with a pastoral twist, like Jesus, or be pastoral with a prophetic twist, like Moses.
Thursday: Judges 11
Rev. Moss, on Thursday, taught on the idea of prophetic contradiction. The way he put it is that understanding that presenting the tragedy of life, then understanding that hope buds from that. So there is tragedy, but not despair. This is evident in the Scriptures but also is a way of preaching. The idea that we don’t teach a prosperity gospel, we can praise out of the hope of tragedy.
Friday: Transition from Moses to Joshua
Rev Moss, on Friday, taught about Hip Hop Generation. Starting with the shift from Moses to Joshua and talking about a shift has to take place when new leaders come into the church. He went into the study of how hip hop started; including the breakdown of the FCC and the role of a song “The Message” that criticized President Reagan’s policies which lead to pressure from the government to recording studios to not sell music that raised questions about racism or poverty. He also talked about the death of public space and the need to move from “back porch people to a front porch community”.