First Sunday

This Sunday began early with that nervous excitement that wakes you up 10 minutes before your alarm is supposed to ring. I cooked myself some bacon, eggs, and coffee as I prepared myself for a long day at Church...

There were two services (830 & 11) and I read Scripture and assisted with communion in both and I am looking forward to participating further in services throughout the summer. I apologize that I don't currently own a camera so I have no pictures to post. Hopefully that will be remedied soon.

After the services were over I had some lunch with Pastor Jerome Smith and his family and then retired to my house for a nap and some reading so I could be back at 530 for the cook-out. Thanks to all of you who helped prepare the food and the room. The food was good (especially the homemade ice cream) and the fellowship was even better. This is an absolutely lovely community. I'm trying really hard to remember names, but please don't be offended if I need them repeated a few more times.

All in all it was a great day and I'm excited about getting to know everyone more and I'm especially looking forward to making music with people here.

Books I'm Reading #1

I fell behind this last semester on the secondary reading from my New Testament class so I brought it along with me... of this, there was a chapter from Eugene Peterson's "Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading". The chapter, "Ears Thou Hast Dug for Me", which is a contemporary work attempting to rediscover the worth of the ancient practice of lectio divina.

Thoughts from Eugene Peterson... "Lectio divina is not a methodical technique for reading the Bible. It is a cultivated, developed habit of living the text in Jesus' name. This is the way, the only way, that the Holy Scriptures become formative in the Christian church and become salt and leaven in the world. It is not through doctrinal disputes and formulations, not through strategies to subdue the barbarians, not through congregational programs to educate the laity in the 'principles and truths' of the Scriptures - not in any of the ways in which the Bible is so commonly and vigorously promoted among us as an impersonal weapon or tool or program. It is astonishing how many ways we manage to devise for using the Bible to avoid a believing obedience, both personal and corporate, in receiving and following the Word made flesh." (116-17)

We Begin...

As a part of the training for ministry at Duke Divinity School I am currently working this summer as an intern in Wanchese, NC at Bethany UMC. I would like to thank my hosts Pastor Jerome Smith and Edward and Marcy Mann for their warm welcome and hospitality and I look forward to meeting the rest of the Bethany family this week.

This blog will be a space set aside for my reflections, both anecdotal and theological, on the time spent here and the interactions with the communities of Wanchese and Manteo. I welcome your comments and feedback as we get to know each other throughout the course of the next couple of months.

Peace