Virtual Methodist

With my first Sunday "off" since arriving in Grand Rapids, it was our first chance as a family to worship in the Shed, which, for those in the know, is the Sunday meeting place of Mars Hill Bible Church ... the Rob Bell one... You know... NOOMA ... Velvet Elvis... Sex God etc., not the Mark Driscoll one in Seattle... Don't, whatever you do, ever get them mixed up... Rob hasn't been there all summer so I didn't get the chance to meet up... I had planned to mosey across a few weeks ago when Walter Brueggeman was speaking, but something else came up and I couldn't... So that is why I was particularly keen to take this final chance to experience Sunday in the Shed. And a Shed it is. A big warehouse space with 2000-odd seats arranged around a central raised platform. There is nothing... Absolutely NOTHING, that marks this out as particularly sacred space... And the build up to worship doesn't help that... There was a distinct lack of welcome (indeed the only gu...

It is getting close to the end of our official time with Faith UMC here in Grand Rapids Michigan, and because of that, hardly a day has gone by this week without some kind member of the congregation taking us out to yet another part of the city that we haven't yet seen... Yesterday Kathy and Herb Ranta took us to the wonderful Mayer May House on Heritage Hill, a 100 year old home, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and refurbished by the local furniture company, Steelcase, 20 years ago. It was beautiful... some of it very reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's work. The whole tour was free, and we were taken round by a guide who clearly loved her subject. But we are very grateful to Herb and Kathy as we would never have seen it if left to our own devices... That was also the case with a tour today through Michigan Natural Storage, a cold strage facility in SW Grand Rapids, based in an old gypsum mine. They don't normally give tours any more because of insurance issues, but ...

One of the things that became very early on in our time here was that Grand Rapids was anything but grand, in the sense of big... It has a population of around 150,000 (about half the size of Belfast proper), and does not have many of the huge skyscrapers of most other big American cities. As someone said a few days ago, it is just big enough to retain a small town feel. However, two areas it punches above its weight are its medical facilities and its civic spaces. Medically, the city has what is known locally as "miracle mile;" a stretch of hospitals and clinics on the north side of downtown which is second to none in terms of facilities and expertise. Thankfully we haven't had to draw on it yet for ourselves, except for getting Owain's fracture checked and his cast removed, which was done seamlessly and speedily in a spotless clinic, but I have had a guided tour of the main hospital and have been in an out visiting a few church members. As a hospital chaplain myself...

Haven't been on for a few days... Partly because of a touch of RSI through using unfamiliar keyboards and mice for sustained periods of time, and partly because I was busy with a wedding - a full 2 day affair here with rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, the service and the reception, all marshalled by a mistress of ceremonies who kept us all in line... and as everyone knows, I respond so graciously to being told what to do... But everything seemed to go well in the eyes of the bride and groom, Liz Strong and Scott Merriman... Who have now jetted off to Disney World for their honeymoon... Appropriate given the film theme for their wedding reception. Once again, it was a real privilege to be so deeply involved in the life of members of the congregation here... I wouldn't be so sure that people back in Ireland would be so happy to have an unfamiliar minister conduct their wedding, even if it were legally possible... which it isn't. But then I discovered that practically anyone can b...

To return, briefly, to my experience in the Bishops' Parlor on Saturday morning, it really did disquiet me a little, and meant that I probably didn't tune in to what was happening in the service as quickly as I might. But I was shaken out of my self-centredness by a group of dancers from the Hearts in Step Dance Academy , performing a liturgical dance entitled "I Belong to You." Now, those who know me as the curmudgeon that I am, will know that I don't have a lot of time for wafty, wavey liturgical dance. And I don't think that "blessed ballet" would go down that well in Ballybeen. However, this particular dance ensemble were a group of physically and mentally handicapped young people... They assembled in their starting positions at the beginning of the piece, then the recorded music started with a jolt... The participant looked at each other... it was clear that something had gone wrong (I found out later that someone had started the music in the wr...

Today, on the hottest day of the summer so far (31 degrees C) I donned my clerical robes to do a funeral here. I wouldn't normally be so insensitive as to blog about a funeral... But I got the permission of the immediate family in this case. The deceased was a lady called Edna Seamons , born Edna Earl Wilhite in Meridian Missisippi in 1925. She had been seriously ill for over 10 years and hadn't been out much, so that, combined with a break up in the family meant that it was a relatively small funeral. But it was a real celebration of her life and it was genuinely a privelege to take part in it. Thankfully I didn't have to do the main address as the family asked the chaplain of the local hospice, Steve Shick, to do that, as he had built up a good rapport with Edna over a prolonged period. It is strange how these things work out, but here I am in Michigan doing a funeral today, and my exchange partner in Dundonald will be doing one tomorrow. And I am sure he will notice many...

Whilst my "brethern" were walking the highways and byways of the traditional routes of Northern Ireland on Saturday, I was sitting on my backside looking after the boys at the "parsonage" of Faith UMC in Grand Rapids, because Saturday was a "ladies day" over here. Sally was speaking about her work with Dundonald Family and Community Initiative at a United Methodist Women's event in the morning, and then attended a "Life Party" in the afternoon. For the uninitiated a "Life Party" is another term here for a baby shower. Anyway, I asked Sally if she wanted to post any reflections here as in a "guest slot" but she declined, saying that there wasn't anything extraordinary to report... Except, that is, for the big question she was asked after her presentation in the morning... After speaking about the difficulties and the delights of working in a community development programme in Ballybeen she opened the floor to questions....

Acheived a lifetime ambition yesterday in making the back page of a Saturday newspaper... OK it was the religious section and not the sports section of the Grand Rapids Press ... But a man can dream. Mind you, it should have been the fiction section as it begins by telling readers that I "fled" Northern Ireland in 1985... For those who want a laugh the link to the internet version is printed above, although I'm not sure how long it will stay live... so I have also included the text below. Neither includes the best part of the paper version: a photograph of me in the sanctuary of Faith Church which is one of those rare ones that don't make me want to run out and buy up every copy of the paper and destroy them all! It's the text that makes me want to do that. A classic case of a reporter hearing what he wants to hear through a filter of years of dramatised/romanticised accounts of our conflict. The quotes from me are generally verbatim, but the surrounding bits are ...

Last night found me and my family eating sloppy burritos with friends before taking a dip in their pool and then sitting and chatting on their deck in nothing more than a tee shirt and swim shorts. Slightly different from my normal 11th night of recent years which has involved walking around the local bonfires and chatting to people in various states of intoxication. But that was not the only dramatic contrast with home yesterday. During the day Sally and I also went on a tour of 3 social engagement programmes/programs of Methodist origin... Community House , a family support centre in south west Grand Rapids, and both NECOM and SECOM (the North End and South End Community Outreach Ministries respectively). The former programme could have been any one of a hundred similar ones back home (although much better thought through and professional than most... but then they have been around for over a hundred years, giving them time to get their act together.) However, the two Community Outre...

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear David. Happy birthday to me. Yes. I am now officially one year older. 21 plus taxes... But it doesn't look any better whatever exchange rate you use. It was a slightly weird birthday this year. First I woke up feeling less than A1 after a somewhat nauseous night... I think I had a dodgy sandwich from a deli yesterday... Won't be going back there again. But then I spent most of the rest of the day in the company of significantly older people. First, I and the rest of my family shared a wonderful potluck lunch with the members of the "Young at Heart" Group at Faith UMC. They even made sure there were sugar free desserts for me to enjoy. Then this evening we all went across town to Clark Retirement Community , where we had supper with Rev. Bob and Mrs. Bea Horton, before speaking at their midweek chapel service. It is a huge complex for around 400 residents, ranging from those who live independently in townh...

Cead mille failte... A sign that you see all over Ireland, although perhaps not in Ballybeen where I work, since Gaelic is not the lingua franca there. But it wishes guests a hundred thousand welcomes... And frankly I feel as if I and my family have received a hundred thousand welcomes since our arrival here in Grand Rapids. I only hope and pray that my exchange partners Geoff and Pam Hayes feel as welcome back in Belfast. Both Geoff and myself decided to preach on the theme of welcome this morning since the lectionary reading from the Gospel for today was from Matthew 10 when Jesus sent his disciples out telling them "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.” (Matthew 10: 40 Revised Standard Version) But its all very well when the person you are to receive comes with a lot of notice and wearing a clerical collar, but how welcoming are we when Christ comes incognito and unannounced. A few years ago I spent a 3 month sabbatical going rou...

I am a hypocrite of the highest order... I'll come back to that later, but first to say that I haven't posted anything for a week because I have been working flat out to get ready for my US exchange in Grand Rapids... clearing my desk... preparing material to take with me... cleaning house (well Sally largely did that, doing without sleep in the process)... preparing material for our exchange partners etc. Add to that the fact that I had another funeral (people die at the most inconvenient of times), had to dash back and forward to doctors and hospital with Owain (who not only has a broken arm but also tonsillitis) and I just ran out of time to even look at the internet, never mind post anything. But now I am safely ensconced here in Grand Rapids, and I thought I would start as I mean to go on by posting some reflections... And in this case it doesn't reflect too well on me. You see, I'm forever telling people things like "The journey is as important as the destina...