Claimed, gathered and sent

For those of you who aren't aware, RevGalsBlogPals is a tremendous site. Not only are there resources, help with sermons, etc., but it fosters a community of faith and fellowship for those in ministry, seminary, or considering ministry. Today is their third anniversary and one of the gals, Singing Owl wrote this for the celebration: Three years ago today, RevGals was on it's way The preachin' gals and then their pals Made history that day! The blogs are fun to do, The preachers party too, And Friday Five and all that jive, Give us a place to play! We gripe and pray and blog, And sometimes go whole hog With cyber parties, real ones too, There's always something new! So Happy Birthday, Gals, And Happy Birthday, Pals, Three years today--HIp hip hurray, It is a party day! That about says it all. Thanks for putting my feelings into words, Singing Owl. Give them a visit. Picture from flickr.

Thanks to RevHRod at RevGals for this week's Friday Five. So how did you come up with your blogging name? And/or the name of your blog? I use my own name. The name of my blog comes from a line in the ELCA mission statement, "Marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world.” Are there any code names or secret identities in your blog? Any stories there? I'm afraid not. What are some blog titles that you just love? For their cleverness, drama, or sheer, crazy fun? Tribal Church , Reflectionary , Lutheran Chick's "L" Word Diary , Cheesehead in Paradise , Proclaiming Softly ...there are so many. What three blogs are you devoted to? Other than the RevGalBlogPals blog of course! Tribal Church , Law and Gospel , The Heart of a Pastor . Who introduced you to the world of blogging and why? I came across it out of sheer necessity. For an assignment in an undergraduate course, I wanted to have a webpage so I could k

One of the greatest blessings I have experienced this past year has been a relating to a spiritual director . We met together this afternoon for the last time before the move to Gettysburg for seminary. It has been just one year that we've been meeting monthly. We have connected on such a deep level that it seems as though we've been together on this journey much longer. I feel our time together has been great preparation for seminary and future ministry. Before we began, Pastor Linda went to her office and brought out a package for me. In it was a beautiful pink prayer shawl made by one of the women in their prayer shawl ministry. What makes it so special is that prayer is knitted right into it as the knitter prays for the person who will receive the shawl as she knits. There was a card with it explaining the meaning of the shawl and with some prayers. This was a recurring scripture theme . What an unexpected blessing--a reminder of God's presence and love as well as t

There are differing opinions on the war in Iraq. Please read this short post on Jim Wallis' "God's Politics" blog. Let us keep God's church in Iraq in prayer as they generously, lavishly spread the seed of the Word as today's gospel declared. Lord in your mercy... Picture from flickr .

There was a letter on the LTSG website from the professor of Summer Greek, which will be my first seminary course. Think of the tune to "The Twelve Days of Christmas." "On the first day of Summer Greek the professor's giving us, a quiz on the Greek alphabet." But that's only the beginning. This is quoted from the letter: "The assignment to be completed prior to the first class session is: Read Lesson 1 in Croy and the Introduction in Lamerson. Memorize the Greek alphabet (small case letters only) Memorize Greek vowels, diphthongs, breathing marks, punctuation The quiz on Friday morning will be on the alphabet, vowels, diphthongs, breathing marks, and punctuation. Do not worry about the rules for Greek accents (pp. 3-4 in Croy). We will cover this material at a later point but not on the first day." OK, I'm officially nervous. Somehow in my mind I thought those first couple weeks on campus before

Sally at Rev Gals posted today's Friday Five. And here they are! 1. Barbeque's or picnics ( or are they essentially the same thing?) They ' re essentially the same thing, but we call them picnics. 2. The park/ the lake/ the beach or staying at home simply being? Normally we'd enjoy getting together with friends at home or at their place. I like gathering at the park or lake, not the beach. This year it's just the two of us at home. 3. Fireworks- love 'em or hate 'em? I love them. 4. Parades- have you ever taken part- share a memory... I have only watched them. When I was little my brother was in one an we went to watch. Today we're watching the Bristol, RI parade, the oldest continuous running 4th of July parade in the country. 5. Time for a musical interlude- if you could sum up holidays in a piece of music what would it be? The "1812 Overture" performed by the Boston Pops. Oh yeah, "Stars and Stripes Forever" too. Now a que

I just discovered Wordle through the Boar's Head Tavern . It creates word clouds from text you provide. For instance, this is the result of putting in Matthew 25. Enjoy!