There is one triune God who is, was, and will be,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - the blessed Trinity.
It is God alone whom I worship, and God alone I serve.
It is God alone who fills me with my baptismal vervei.
Presbytery of Greater Atlanta
September 19, 2009 Page 49
The triune God is in deep relation,
And called into being all of creation.
The Creator spoke the Word to the Spirit that was hovering,
and everything was good until Adam searched for covering.
God wants us to be in good relations and establishes His covenant,
But by our nature we rebel and tell God, “We’ll have none of it.”
And yet God gathers us in again, like a hen gathers in Her chicks,
And establishes his covenant again, despite our past horlicksii.
Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, came to share in our humanity.
Jesus healed, preached, proclaimed, and taught against the world’s insanity.
Jesus shared his message of repentance and gave us the good news,
If we will just believe in Christ our souls we will not lose.
But once again in covenant, we did not want to live,
And so we asked of Pilate, the life Jesus, give.
And Jesus took our sins and bore them, and they died up on that cross,
So we could stand on judgment day, as pure gold without dross.
God raised Jesus from the dead and conquered sin and death,
and to the blessed who here remained he sent his Holy Breathiii.
Through the power of the Spirit, the scribes wrote it down,
And Bible alone tells us what we need to get our pearly gown.
Justified by grace through faith we join them in the chorus,
And following in their footsteps we take the road before us.
To minister to those in need, the weak, exploited, and suffering abuse,
We do this by lending a helping hand and sharing the Good News.
The sacraments we celebrate are the outward signs,
Of something already happening through God’s power most divine.
The breaking of the bread is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet,
And you can baptize adults or babies in wrapped in a blanket.
Yet while we are all broken people, serving in a broken world,
The banner that I serve under is the one that Christ unfurled.
And when I am dead and buried, and to dust I have returned,
I know that my salvation comes not by what I have earned,
but because Christ has paid the ransom for all my earthly sinning,
I know that I will return to God who loved me from the beginning.
i Vitality or energetic style.
ii British slang – making a mess of things, muddling or messing things up.
iii Pentecost
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Luke 4:21-31
21 Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" 23 He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'" 24 And he said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown. 25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.
I am fundamentally opposed to sports analogies when we are talking about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I can see it now. Everything was building up for the return of Jesus to his hometown Nazareth for the kickoff of his ministry. John the Baptist had been telling everybody that he was on the way. The story of a voice breaking forth from the heavens proclaiming that Jesus was the beloved Son of God had made it from village to village like a Holy Spirit inspired wave at the Superdome. Driven out into the desert to face the devil’s temptations Jesus probably felt a lot like Garrett Hartley when Minnesota called a time-out to ice him before the game winning kick. With the victory over the devil’s temptations Jesus was finally ready for the big game and the start of his ministry.
Perhaps it is best not to start a sermon while watching the NFC championship game. While I am sure that there are some who think that this is the best beginning to any sermon I have ever preached – I see Amanda and Glen are enjoying it – I don’t think it captures the essence of today’s reading for most of us…especially us Falcon fans.
For me the second song in the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar really captures what was happening. So let’s listen to how Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lyrics capture the buzz around Jesus. Listen to what Jesus has to say about the buzz.
(Video Clip JCSS)
Word had been spreading, there definitely was a buzz surrounding Jesus. Fantastic tales of Jesus’ baptism, his mysterious disappearance into the desert, and his sudden reappearance in Galilee, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and the amazing things that he was saying. He was teaching in the synagogues and the people responded by glorifying him.
By the time that Jesus made it back to his hometown of Nazareth the word was out, the buzz was buzzing, and everybody was gathered to hear the good news that he had been saving just for them.
And in the middle of the synagogue he opened the book of the prophet Isaiah and read to the crowds:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Everybody was hanging on his every word; everybody was waiting to hear what he would say next.
Then he said to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Jesus’ first word to us that isn’t scripture is the word today.[1] Today the prophecy, the hope of Israel, the revelation of the anointed one, the Christ, Today all of these things are fulfilled. The time has come for the people of God, those held in captivity will be freed from their oppressors, the poor will get their fair share of the resources, today the blind will see and the deaf will hear.
And this is the good news, the contagious laughter and joy, the buzz about Jesus Christ. That today, in our hearing, the scripture has been fulfilled.
Christ’s the living word of God is speaking to us still, freeing us still, opening our eyes and our ears still. God’s word isn’t just for some future time but it is for us right now.
So what is the buzz that I am hearing.
CTS just finished a three day seminar on the Emergent Church Movement.
But there is a buzz about the use of the everyday, more and more common ways in which we use technology in worship and how this is speaking to a new generation.
During the seminar people were Tweeting and twirping on their phones, sending text messages.
I confess I don’t get it. But the gospel isn’t just for me and isn’t just delivered the way that I want to hear it.
Ken Birmingham’s relative
Jesus is buzzing in the Hispanic community.
For the last 20 years I have been working closely with an underground population, when Atlanta was booming and the construction and manufacturing industries couldn’t get enough labor, our government turned a blind eye to the immigration policies, but today things are different:
Unemployment at 20% or higher.
Roadblocks for driving without a drivers license - $800 to get out of jail
The laws that make it a felony to drive without a license/the fact that they can’t get a license.
Poverty, desperation, isolation, fear.
And yet when you talk to the residents very often the conversation turns to Jesus, and how their hope and strength lies in Jesus. And I am reminded again that in Jesus the unbearable is made bearable, that in Jesus they are able to face the challenges of the day. The buzz is literally on the streets.
These are the very people that Emma Lazarus wrote about with these famous words that sit at the base of the Statue of Liberty:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
At our best we believe this, we realize that this is the ideal way of living. And yet sometimes we are like the people of Nazareth, the good news is meant for us, not them, especially in difficult times like today. Think about how Judas is portrayed in the scene we just watched, he challenges Christ by saying that his message is not for somebody like Mary.
Lately I have been dealing with anxiety about what the future holds for me. As I seek to be ordained, in a process that has taken over five years, and I hear about the limited opportunities available, especially in Atlanta, and as I wait out my mandatory year of candidacy, having completed my ordination exams and all other requirements needed for ordination, and as I face an unsure job market while at the same time dealing with the stresses of running a business during very difficult times both for me and my residents; where I am equally anxietous about what the future might hold. And in the midst of it all I have the image of hippie Jesus from Jesus Christ Superstar echoing the words of Luke.
Don't you mind about the future?Don't you try to think ahead?Save tomorrow for tomorrow;Think about today instead.
Because today is the day that I can live into God’s promise. In fact today is the day that I am living into God’s promise, because despite all my planning and anxiety about what will happen when I am ordained and working in a church, today, this day, I am sharing with you my thoughts and reflections on the text. Hopefully the Holy Spirit is working in you opening your eyes, your ears, and your heart, and healing you, strengthening you, and bringing you to wholeness and holiness. Hopefully in my sharing you hear God speaking to you in a new way.
You see the good news isn’t just for the people who are easily identifiable as poor and oppressed, but it is for all of us, and it isn’t for some future escatological time.
Christ is speaking to us today and in our hearing, the scripture has been fulfilled. Signs of fulfillment are everywhere: in the prayers for those who are sick, in the love poured into casserole dishes and prayer shawls, in our love that extends beyond the walls of the church at Clifton Night Shelter and Norcross Cooperative Ministries where the homeless and hungry are fed and housed. The words of the prophets are that were written on the tenement walls are now being re-written on tweets and blogs,
There is still a buzz about Jesus, thanks be to God.
[1] Craddock, Fred Luke:Interpretation (John Knox Press:Louisville, 1990) 63
I am fundamentally opposed to sports analogies when we are talking about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I can see it now. Everything was building up for the return of Jesus to his hometown Nazareth for the kickoff of his ministry. John the Baptist had been telling everybody that he was on the way. The story of a voice breaking forth from the heavens proclaiming that Jesus was the beloved Son of God had made it from village to village like a Holy Spirit inspired wave at the Superdome. Driven out into the desert to face the devil’s temptations Jesus probably felt a lot like Garrett Hartley when Minnesota called a time-out to ice him before the game winning kick. With the victory over the devil’s temptations Jesus was finally ready for the big game and the start of his ministry.
Perhaps it is best not to start a sermon while watching the NFC championship game. While I am sure that there are some who think that this is the best beginning to any sermon I have ever preached – I see Amanda and Glen are enjoying it – I don’t think it captures the essence of today’s reading for most of us…especially us Falcon fans.
For me the second song in the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar really captures what was happening. So let’s listen to how Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lyrics capture the buzz around Jesus. Listen to what Jesus has to say about the buzz.
(Video Clip JCSS)
Word had been spreading, there definitely was a buzz surrounding Jesus. Fantastic tales of Jesus’ baptism, his mysterious disappearance into the desert, and his sudden reappearance in Galilee, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and the amazing things that he was saying. He was teaching in the synagogues and the people responded by glorifying him.
By the time that Jesus made it back to his hometown of Nazareth the word was out, the buzz was buzzing, and everybody was gathered to hear the good news that he had been saving just for them.
And in the middle of the synagogue he opened the book of the prophet Isaiah and read to the crowds:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."
And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Everybody was hanging on his every word; everybody was waiting to hear what he would say next.
Then he said to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Jesus’ first word to us that isn’t scripture is the word today.[1] Today the prophecy, the hope of Israel, the revelation of the anointed one, the Christ, Today all of these things are fulfilled. The time has come for the people of God, those held in captivity will be freed from their oppressors, the poor will get their fair share of the resources, today the blind will see and the deaf will hear.
And this is the good news, the contagious laughter and joy, the buzz about Jesus Christ. That today, in our hearing, the scripture has been fulfilled.
Christ’s the living word of God is speaking to us still, freeing us still, opening our eyes and our ears still. God’s word isn’t just for some future time but it is for us right now.
So what is the buzz that I am hearing.
CTS just finished a three day seminar on the Emergent Church Movement.
But there is a buzz about the use of the everyday, more and more common ways in which we use technology in worship and how this is speaking to a new generation.
During the seminar people were Tweeting and twirping on their phones, sending text messages.
I confess I don’t get it. But the gospel isn’t just for me and isn’t just delivered the way that I want to hear it.
Ken Birmingham’s relative
Jesus is buzzing in the Hispanic community.
For the last 20 years I have been working closely with an underground population, when Atlanta was booming and the construction and manufacturing industries couldn’t get enough labor, our government turned a blind eye to the immigration policies, but today things are different:
Unemployment at 20% or higher.
Roadblocks for driving without a drivers license - $800 to get out of jail
The laws that make it a felony to drive without a license/the fact that they can’t get a license.
Poverty, desperation, isolation, fear.
And yet when you talk to the residents very often the conversation turns to Jesus, and how their hope and strength lies in Jesus. And I am reminded again that in Jesus the unbearable is made bearable, that in Jesus they are able to face the challenges of the day. The buzz is literally on the streets.
These are the very people that Emma Lazarus wrote about with these famous words that sit at the base of the Statue of Liberty:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
At our best we believe this, we realize that this is the ideal way of living. And yet sometimes we are like the people of Nazareth, the good news is meant for us, not them, especially in difficult times like today. Think about how Judas is portrayed in the scene we just watched, he challenges Christ by saying that his message is not for somebody like Mary.
Lately I have been dealing with anxiety about what the future holds for me. As I seek to be ordained, in a process that has taken over five years, and I hear about the limited opportunities available, especially in Atlanta, and as I wait out my mandatory year of candidacy, having completed my ordination exams and all other requirements needed for ordination, and as I face an unsure job market while at the same time dealing with the stresses of running a business during very difficult times both for me and my residents; where I am equally anxietous about what the future might hold. And in the midst of it all I have the image of hippie Jesus from Jesus Christ Superstar echoing the words of Luke.
Don't you mind about the future?Don't you try to think ahead?Save tomorrow for tomorrow;Think about today instead.
Because today is the day that I can live into God’s promise. In fact today is the day that I am living into God’s promise, because despite all my planning and anxiety about what will happen when I am ordained and working in a church, today, this day, I am sharing with you my thoughts and reflections on the text. Hopefully the Holy Spirit is working in you opening your eyes, your ears, and your heart, and healing you, strengthening you, and bringing you to wholeness and holiness. Hopefully in my sharing you hear God speaking to you in a new way.
You see the good news isn’t just for the people who are easily identifiable as poor and oppressed, but it is for all of us, and it isn’t for some future escatological time.
Christ is speaking to us today and in our hearing, the scripture has been fulfilled. Signs of fulfillment are everywhere: in the prayers for those who are sick, in the love poured into casserole dishes and prayer shawls, in our love that extends beyond the walls of the church at Clifton Night Shelter and Norcross Cooperative Ministries where the homeless and hungry are fed and housed. The words of the prophets are that were written on the tenement walls are now being re-written on tweets and blogs,
There is still a buzz about Jesus, thanks be to God.
[1] Craddock, Fred Luke:Interpretation (John Knox Press:Louisville, 1990) 63
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
BBT and other sightings.....
Got Barbara Brown Taylor to sign my Feasting on the Word Vol. 1-3. My wife bought her old purse at a consignment shop so I have that tie in as well. She is aware of my web protest of the trickery and let her opinion be known.
I heard that Julia Roberts or Miss Congeniality (what's her name) was at Watershed and I wonder why everybody is going to Watershed and paying $25 for fried chicken when the Colonade has the best fried chicken in town and you can still get an iceburg wedge w/ 1000 Island dressing and a beet for under $10.
I heard that Julia Roberts or Miss Congeniality (what's her name) was at Watershed and I wonder why everybody is going to Watershed and paying $25 for fried chicken when the Colonade has the best fried chicken in town and you can still get an iceburg wedge w/ 1000 Island dressing and a beet for under $10.
Monday, February 16, 2009
St. George vs. Greek Redefinitionism
Senator Rogers and I have had a nice exchange of emails.
His platform is very popular here in Georgia. Basically anything that can be done to make undocumented immigrants' lives in Georgia difficult - so that they leave - is a good idea and will protect us, and the US, from their foreign influences: talking chihuahuas, bean farts, majong, voter fraud, etc. I think that the problem is very real but that the solutions being pushed by the Republican party do not so much resolve the problem, as they punish the immigrant (undocumented and documented). The Catholic church has spoken for a more humane policy and I am saddened that more churches are not speaking out. I was reading in Mundo Hispano that the Catholic church has seen a decline in attendance by over a third for their evening service in Spanish. No doubt the Baptists are elated that the papists are losing members because of road blocks in Gwinnett and Hall counties, but that is for another blog.
Aren't we all wetbacks in our baptism? Doesn't Paul speak of there being "neither Greek nor Jew"?
My objections to these bills are purely religious, again and again we are reminded to treat the alien in our midst as one of us. KJV words it, "do not vex the stranger" which I find kinda cool. STOP VEXING! But we also have Jesus and his parable about sheep and goats and other examples; wasn't Jesus an undocumented alien in Egypt? Perhaps if they had deported him back there wouldn't have been all the confusion about the coming of the Son of Man.
THE MAIN POINT is that Greek in the hands of somebody with an agenda is a dangerous thing. I remember how I wanted so bad for the word in Matthew 21:36 "pleioterous" to mean greater not numerically but in stature. If this was the case then the parable would be a metaphor for God sending lesser prophets, then greater prophets, and finally the greatest Prophet of them all Jesus. Prof. Bartlett held out some hope by saying it was possible although he seriously doubted it; Prof. Johnson said I was just plain nuts. So I didn't get my way with Greek, "pleioterous" just means greater numerically.
On to the Greek lesson.
My email to Sen. Rogers (edited so as not to bore you with my tedium)
As a seminarian, I find the Biblical witness to how we are to treat the strangers in our midst, unequivocal in its teachings. The laws are already on the books to accomplish what SB 20 addresses. Peace of Christ, George Tatro
His response (Remember that this is about Greek, not about his political position and so I have deleted the political stuff. He claims a much more moderate position than the critics of his policies would have you believe - no doubt the truth lies somewhere in the middle .)
Finally, while not a seminarian, I am quite familiar with many biblical passages and their original meanings. The passage you refer to is Ephesians 2:19. The term "Sojourner" (or Foreigner) comes from the original word "Paroikos". The actual original definition is "an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship."
My response.
My point remains that the Biblical witness to the alien in our midst is unequivocal. I didn't know that I was going to have to draw on my Greek exegetical resources as I was actually not thinking of Ephesians as much as I was Leviticus 19:33-4 and Matt. 25. Your understanding that the "actual original definition is 'an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship'" for the use of "paroikoi" in Ephesians 2:19 is not lifted up in Bibleworks, nor Sakae Kubo's Greek Lexicon, nor in Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. They all fail to make this distinction - they all simply state that the word means "alien or stranger"; I will have to run this by Prof. David Bartlett, Professor of Greek at Columbia Theological Seminary (he has written lots of books and is very knowledgeable about Greek), with whom I will be reading the Bible in Greek for the final course of my seminary career - it starts in March and I am really excited.
The point being that we take from the Bible what we want and are pretty sure that we have it right. I just don't want to be so right that there is no room for the HS to work on me. I think it is probably better to err on the side of treating our neighbors as we would want to be treated and I think that the OT and the NT are pretty clear about what constitutes good neighborliness.
Anyway I am not going to change his mind. I am as close to changing his mind as he is to convincing me to move from Decatur to Woodstock (which he represents). And I may not know much about policy writing and law making as I do about rule breaking and break-dancing, but I do know a little Greek. And I know that there are too many white people in Woodstock and that makes me nervous. I think I would have named Woodstock, Laommi. (Hosea 1:9)
His platform is very popular here in Georgia. Basically anything that can be done to make undocumented immigrants' lives in Georgia difficult - so that they leave - is a good idea and will protect us, and the US, from their foreign influences: talking chihuahuas, bean farts, majong, voter fraud, etc. I think that the problem is very real but that the solutions being pushed by the Republican party do not so much resolve the problem, as they punish the immigrant (undocumented and documented). The Catholic church has spoken for a more humane policy and I am saddened that more churches are not speaking out. I was reading in Mundo Hispano that the Catholic church has seen a decline in attendance by over a third for their evening service in Spanish. No doubt the Baptists are elated that the papists are losing members because of road blocks in Gwinnett and Hall counties, but that is for another blog.
Aren't we all wetbacks in our baptism? Doesn't Paul speak of there being "neither Greek nor Jew"?
My objections to these bills are purely religious, again and again we are reminded to treat the alien in our midst as one of us. KJV words it, "do not vex the stranger" which I find kinda cool. STOP VEXING! But we also have Jesus and his parable about sheep and goats and other examples; wasn't Jesus an undocumented alien in Egypt? Perhaps if they had deported him back there wouldn't have been all the confusion about the coming of the Son of Man.
THE MAIN POINT is that Greek in the hands of somebody with an agenda is a dangerous thing. I remember how I wanted so bad for the word in Matthew 21:36 "pleioterous" to mean greater not numerically but in stature. If this was the case then the parable would be a metaphor for God sending lesser prophets, then greater prophets, and finally the greatest Prophet of them all Jesus. Prof. Bartlett held out some hope by saying it was possible although he seriously doubted it; Prof. Johnson said I was just plain nuts. So I didn't get my way with Greek, "pleioterous" just means greater numerically.
On to the Greek lesson.
My email to Sen. Rogers (edited so as not to bore you with my tedium)
As a seminarian, I find the Biblical witness to how we are to treat the strangers in our midst, unequivocal in its teachings. The laws are already on the books to accomplish what SB 20 addresses. Peace of Christ, George Tatro
His response (Remember that this is about Greek, not about his political position and so I have deleted the political stuff. He claims a much more moderate position than the critics of his policies would have you believe - no doubt the truth lies somewhere in the middle .)
Finally, while not a seminarian, I am quite familiar with many biblical passages and their original meanings. The passage you refer to is Ephesians 2:19. The term "Sojourner" (or Foreigner) comes from the original word "Paroikos". The actual original definition is "an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship."
My response.
My point remains that the Biblical witness to the alien in our midst is unequivocal. I didn't know that I was going to have to draw on my Greek exegetical resources as I was actually not thinking of Ephesians as much as I was Leviticus 19:33-4 and Matt. 25. Your understanding that the "actual original definition is 'an alien who dwells as a sojourner in a land without the rights of citizenship'" for the use of "paroikoi" in Ephesians 2:19 is not lifted up in Bibleworks, nor Sakae Kubo's Greek Lexicon, nor in Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. They all fail to make this distinction - they all simply state that the word means "alien or stranger"; I will have to run this by Prof. David Bartlett, Professor of Greek at Columbia Theological Seminary (he has written lots of books and is very knowledgeable about Greek), with whom I will be reading the Bible in Greek for the final course of my seminary career - it starts in March and I am really excited.
The point being that we take from the Bible what we want and are pretty sure that we have it right. I just don't want to be so right that there is no room for the HS to work on me. I think it is probably better to err on the side of treating our neighbors as we would want to be treated and I think that the OT and the NT are pretty clear about what constitutes good neighborliness.
Anyway I am not going to change his mind. I am as close to changing his mind as he is to convincing me to move from Decatur to Woodstock (which he represents). And I may not know much about policy writing and law making as I do about rule breaking and break-dancing, but I do know a little Greek. And I know that there are too many white people in Woodstock and that makes me nervous. I think I would have named Woodstock, Laommi. (Hosea 1:9)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
St. George vs. Specificity-less-ness
I will be submitting these words to Websters for inclusion in their upcoming dictionary. I will also be very careful to use them often and correctly in written and verbal corrispondence.
Presbymergency - noun. often attributive c. 2007 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. what we have when the Presbymergent movement begins to take itself too seriously.
"The church is facing a major Presbymergency when people begin to discuss the theological implications of Twittering."
Presbymermaid - noun (f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1.a. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who cleans up after Wednesday Night Suds, Sushi, and Saviour. b. Any female Presbyterian emergent who cleans up after an emergent event.
2. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who lives in Copenhagen.
3. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who dips Copenhagen.
4. Presbyterian mermaid. (Calvin reportedly fell overboard while sailing from from Calles to Geneva and was saved by a Mermaid named Areil. As she swam him to shore he converted her to Calvinism from her pagan worship of Neptune. Her descendants have migrated to Scotland and are reportedly often seen around Loch McLaughlin.)
"The faded 4 inch ring in the back of her blue jeans was formed by her Copenhagen tin and as she emerged from the Reform school gates, with tobacco spittle running down her left cheek, I saw my Presbymermaid for who she really was."
Presbymermaiden - n.(f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. Female emergent in Presbyterian church.
"Tired of the blatent sexism and gender exclusion of the Presbymer-gent movement the girls got together to form the Presbymermaiden Movement."
Presbymergency - noun. often attributive c. 2007 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. what we have when the Presbymergent movement begins to take itself too seriously.
"The church is facing a major Presbymergency when people begin to discuss the theological implications of Twittering."
Presbymermaid - noun (f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1.a. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who cleans up after Wednesday Night Suds, Sushi, and Saviour. b. Any female Presbyterian emergent who cleans up after an emergent event.
2. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who lives in Copenhagen.
3. Female emergent in Presbyterian church who dips Copenhagen.
4. Presbyterian mermaid. (Calvin reportedly fell overboard while sailing from from Calles to Geneva and was saved by a Mermaid named Areil. As she swam him to shore he converted her to Calvinism from her pagan worship of Neptune. Her descendants have migrated to Scotland and are reportedly often seen around Loch McLaughlin.)
"The faded 4 inch ring in the back of her blue jeans was formed by her Copenhagen tin and as she emerged from the Reform school gates, with tobacco spittle running down her left cheek, I saw my Presbymermaid for who she really was."
Presbymermaiden - n.(f) c. 2008 first coined by Seminarian George Tatro 1. Female emergent in Presbyterian church.
"Tired of the blatent sexism and gender exclusion of the Presbymer-gent movement the girls got together to form the Presbymermaiden Movement."
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Saint George vs. Deceptive Advertising
I share with you now my letter to correct a grave injustice perpetrated on me.
Dear Editors (but most especially Dr. Bartlett),
I know that after you read this you will probably be thinking that I have a lot of free time on my hands today, but I hope that this finds you in good health and spirits.
I purchased my copy of Feasting on the Word and was elated - for here is the book that we preachers have yearned for. A commentary that is comprehensive yet very user friendly. I have been preaching these last two weeks and I noticed something which is very disconcerting - after only two sermons - I was half way through the book. This book set me back nearly $35.
Upon further review I have discovered that this commentary covers only from Advent to Transfiguration. This sir is no feast of the kingdom; it is but a mere aperitif. So the first item I take issue with is the deceptive advertising and marketing.
Of course this information is printed in extremely tiny letters (Presbyopians - which is a subset of both Presbyterians and Episcopalians - cannot read this tiny print. 70% of Presbyterians have presbyopia, something which you relied on in your villainy!) This was no doubt a deception that you and the publisher agreed would lead to increased sales of Eating at the Buffet: Feasting on the Word Volume 2: Transfiguration to 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time. (I know that the Right Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor would never be a party to such as this, so I direct my comments directly to you Rev. Dr. Bartlett.)
But my complaints are not limited to the deceptive print manipulation.
I preached this past Sunday - guided by observations made about Simeon - highlighting the work of the Holy Spirit. In attendance was my mother-in-law, a much more devout Baptist than yourself, and she was not impressed. She told me that I needed to slam the pulpit to get people's attention; and stare them down, so that they would know I was serious. While the congregation was blind to this - and indeed many came up after-wards and thanked me for the powerful Word I shared with them - my mother-in-law was not taken in.
Upon further review - while giving a great deal of direction in dealing with the Word - you utterly fail to give guidance in presenting the Word. Might I suggest that there be a fifth category added in future additions with cues as to appropriate times to slam the pulpit, point fingers, yell, bark, etc. ala Billy Sunday. This is truly valuable information which you have carefully omitted...I hope this doesn't ruin your plans for a separate supplemental volume at some later date. No doubt it would be $24.00 plus tax.
Last, but not least, I do hope in Year A and Year C you will discontinue the deceptive practices of selling half or a third of a book. I have copied this email to several contributors so that they will be aware of what I have just discovered. My hope is that you were going to be forthcoming with royalty checks from Year B Vol. 2, 3, 4 and 5 and not cheat them out of their share - but if not, they are now aware. Remember the laborer is worthy of his/her wages.
I hope that you will take these comments in the spirit in which they are intended. Other than these major flaws I am enjoying the book immensely and I hope to see you all on campus soon as I wind down my seminary career.
A Fool for Christ,
George Tatro
Dear Editors (but most especially Dr. Bartlett),
I know that after you read this you will probably be thinking that I have a lot of free time on my hands today, but I hope that this finds you in good health and spirits.
I purchased my copy of Feasting on the Word and was elated - for here is the book that we preachers have yearned for. A commentary that is comprehensive yet very user friendly. I have been preaching these last two weeks and I noticed something which is very disconcerting - after only two sermons - I was half way through the book. This book set me back nearly $35.
Upon further review I have discovered that this commentary covers only from Advent to Transfiguration. This sir is no feast of the kingdom; it is but a mere aperitif. So the first item I take issue with is the deceptive advertising and marketing.
Of course this information is printed in extremely tiny letters (Presbyopians - which is a subset of both Presbyterians and Episcopalians - cannot read this tiny print. 70% of Presbyterians have presbyopia, something which you relied on in your villainy!) This was no doubt a deception that you and the publisher agreed would lead to increased sales of Eating at the Buffet: Feasting on the Word Volume 2: Transfiguration to 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time. (I know that the Right Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor would never be a party to such as this, so I direct my comments directly to you Rev. Dr. Bartlett.)
But my complaints are not limited to the deceptive print manipulation.
I preached this past Sunday - guided by observations made about Simeon - highlighting the work of the Holy Spirit. In attendance was my mother-in-law, a much more devout Baptist than yourself, and she was not impressed. She told me that I needed to slam the pulpit to get people's attention; and stare them down, so that they would know I was serious. While the congregation was blind to this - and indeed many came up after-wards and thanked me for the powerful Word I shared with them - my mother-in-law was not taken in.
Upon further review - while giving a great deal of direction in dealing with the Word - you utterly fail to give guidance in presenting the Word. Might I suggest that there be a fifth category added in future additions with cues as to appropriate times to slam the pulpit, point fingers, yell, bark, etc. ala Billy Sunday. This is truly valuable information which you have carefully omitted...I hope this doesn't ruin your plans for a separate supplemental volume at some later date. No doubt it would be $24.00 plus tax.
Last, but not least, I do hope in Year A and Year C you will discontinue the deceptive practices of selling half or a third of a book. I have copied this email to several contributors so that they will be aware of what I have just discovered. My hope is that you were going to be forthcoming with royalty checks from Year B Vol. 2, 3, 4 and 5 and not cheat them out of their share - but if not, they are now aware. Remember the laborer is worthy of his/her wages.
I hope that you will take these comments in the spirit in which they are intended. Other than these major flaws I am enjoying the book immensely and I hope to see you all on campus soon as I wind down my seminary career.
A Fool for Christ,
George Tatro
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
St. George vs Twittering Presbymergents
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at Me.
Matthew 11:6
I have been checking out the Twittering Presbymergents and all there new fangled ideas and I must say that I am wholly unimpressed. I am having a real hard time finding what it is that they are so excited about. It is strange to me because I know some really smart people who are excited or at least interested in what the Presbymergent movement might mean for the church.
My hope is that something else emerges from this emergence because we have a Presbymergency on our hands!
"You just don't get it." "You are just afraid." they twitter amongst themselves.
No, I am afraid of picking up snakes and drinking strychnine, which they do on Sand Mountain.
So I don't go to Sand Mountain because I don't have enough faith.
But their seems to me to be an overabundance of faith in this new way of being they call Presbymergent. And the limits of their preferred medium of communication become instantly clear because they can't tell if I am joking or serious, because emotion - that tricky thing that separates us from Vulcans - cannot be conveyed in a blog; we must get together.
Unfortunately, we can't get together; I would find you tedious and you would find me unbearable and it wouldn't be pleasant for either one of us. So go in peace to love and serve the Lord, pray that God is at work in my life, and take no offense in me.
Matthew 11:6
I have been checking out the Twittering Presbymergents and all there new fangled ideas and I must say that I am wholly unimpressed. I am having a real hard time finding what it is that they are so excited about. It is strange to me because I know some really smart people who are excited or at least interested in what the Presbymergent movement might mean for the church.
My hope is that something else emerges from this emergence because we have a Presbymergency on our hands!
"You just don't get it." "You are just afraid." they twitter amongst themselves.
No, I am afraid of picking up snakes and drinking strychnine, which they do on Sand Mountain.
So I don't go to Sand Mountain because I don't have enough faith.
But their seems to me to be an overabundance of faith in this new way of being they call Presbymergent. And the limits of their preferred medium of communication become instantly clear because they can't tell if I am joking or serious, because emotion - that tricky thing that separates us from Vulcans - cannot be conveyed in a blog; we must get together.
Unfortunately, we can't get together; I would find you tedious and you would find me unbearable and it wouldn't be pleasant for either one of us. So go in peace to love and serve the Lord, pray that God is at work in my life, and take no offense in me.
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