Sunday
7-9 PM at 1st UMC—study and conversation—get ready for the week
Monday
11 am The God Delusion—MBSC food court,
7 PM meetup—the Faith Club
Tuesday
11 AM Peer Ministry
6:30 PM dinner at Noodle & Co
8:00 PM Inclusive Spiritual Seekers
Wednesay
3-5 PM The Faith Club; MBSC Omaha Room
Saturday
12:30 PM alternative Spring Break departure for Slidell (28 of us!)
Spring Break
Next gathering is March 24
Monday
11 am The God Delusion—MBSC food court,
7 PM meetup—the Faith Club
Tuesday
11 AM Peer Ministry
6:30 PM dinner at Noodle & Co
8:00 PM Inclusive Spiritual Seekers
Wednesay
3-5 PM The Faith Club; MBSC Omaha Room
Tuesday, March 11
Sunday, March 2
Weekly Schedule
UMCHE calendar for the week of March 2
Sunday:
5:30 PM Taize worship, First UMC, Mead Chapel
7-9 PM Weekly class preparation & conversation
First United Methodist Church, 7020 Cass St.
Bring schoolwork, readings, a positive attitude
Monday
10:00am:"The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins" on Monday, March 3 MBSC food court.
Everyone is welcome for discussion and lunch
Tuesday
10:00 am Peer Advisory Meeting
6:30 PM UCMHE dinner at Noodles & Co
8:00 PM UCMHE Inclusive Spiritual Searchers
Wednesday
Dr. Fred is at Systems Coaching in Lincoln--all day
Thursday
1PM Planning—New Orleans, Alternative Spring Break
4PM United Methodists for Mission and Justice
Saturday
8AM—Second Saturdays of Service, meetup at Caffeine Dreams
we will work the morning at Habitat for Humanity
Sunday:
5:30 PM Taize worship, First UMC, Mead Chapel
7-9 PM Weekly class preparation & conversation
First United Methodist Church, 7020 Cass St.
Bring schoolwork, readings, a positive attitude
Monday
10:00am:"The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins" on Monday, March 3 MBSC food court.
Everyone is welcome for discussion and lunch
Tuesday
10:00 am Peer Advisory Meeting
6:30 PM UCMHE dinner at Noodles & Co
8:00 PM UCMHE Inclusive Spiritual Searchers
Wednesday
Dr. Fred is at Systems Coaching in Lincoln--all day
Thursday
1PM Planning—New Orleans, Alternative Spring Break
4PM United Methodists for Mission and Justice
Saturday
8AM—Second Saturdays of Service, meetup at Caffeine Dreams
we will work the morning at Habitat for Humanity
Monday, February 4
Calendar for the week
This week's schedule in campus ministries:
Sunday:
5:00 PM information session, New Orleans Alternative Spring Break
7:00 PM study and prepping for the week; 1st UMC, 7020 Cass
Tuesday:
10:00 AM Peer Advisory Meeting
12:00 noon, Wesleyan Live
6:30 PM dinner at Noodles & Co, just south of 72nd & Dodge
8:00 PM Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, Tower Room, MBSC
Wednesday
Hanging out on campus
Thursday:
8:30 AM presentation on New Orleans Alternative Spring Break
1:00 PM planning meeting, NOASP
7:00 PM community Response to Violence listening Session,
Lewis & Clark Jr. High
Friday:
3:00 PM Drywall practice session,
Saturday
8:15 AM Habitat for Humanity work morning;
meet at caffeine dreams
Sunday
10:00 AM preaching at Waterloo UMC
Sunday:
5:00 PM information session, New Orleans Alternative Spring Break
7:00 PM study and prepping for the week; 1st UMC, 7020 Cass
Tuesday:
10:00 AM Peer Advisory Meeting
12:00 noon, Wesleyan Live
6:30 PM dinner at Noodles & Co, just south of 72nd & Dodge
8:00 PM Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, Tower Room, MBSC
Wednesday
Hanging out on campus
Thursday:
8:30 AM presentation on New Orleans Alternative Spring Break
1:00 PM planning meeting, NOASP
7:00 PM community Response to Violence listening Session,
Lewis & Clark Jr. High
Friday:
3:00 PM Drywall practice session,
Saturday
8:15 AM Habitat for Humanity work morning;
meet at caffeine dreams
Sunday
10:00 AM preaching at Waterloo UMC
Monday, January 28
schedule for the week
Sunday night is study time:
7:00PM at 1st UMC, 70th & Cass
Tuesday
10:00 AM Peer Ministry
12:15 PM Brittany Williams Memorial
Service, MBSC
6:30 supper at Noodles & CO., 72nd, just
south of Dodge
8:00 Inclusive Spiritual Searchers,
MBSC, Tower Room
Thursday:
1:00 PM Planning meeting New Orleans,
SPO
9:00 am worship with us at St. Luke
UMC, 11810 Burke St.
5:00 PM General Meeting, New Orleans
Alternative Spring Break
7:00 PM Study time at 1st UMC,
70th & Cass
7:00PM at 1st UMC, 70th & Cass
Tuesday
10:00 AM Peer Ministry
12:15 PM Brittany Williams Memorial
Service, MBSC
6:30 supper at Noodles & CO., 72nd, just
south of Dodge
8:00 Inclusive Spiritual Searchers,
MBSC, Tower Room
Thursday:
1:00 PM Planning meeting New Orleans,
SPO
9:00 am worship with us at St. Luke
UMC, 11810 Burke St.
5:00 PM General Meeting, New Orleans
Alternative Spring Break
7:00 PM Study time at 1st UMC,
70th & Cass
Tuesday, January 22
This week's schedule
It’s second semester!
5:00 PM Start off with the movie “Crash”
at Trinity UMC, 80th & Q
Sunday night is study time:
7:00PM at 1st UMC, 70th & Cass
Tuesday
2:30 PM Peer Ministry
4:00 Board Meeting, Hoskins
6:30 supper at Noodles & CO., 72nd, just
south of Dodge
8:00 Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, MBSC,
Tower Room
Friday:
7:00 PM Matthew Fox at Lewis & Clark
Middle School
Saturday:
9:00 AM Matthew Fox at L&CMS
7:00 PM Cosmic Mass at Sokol Hall
Sunday
10:00 AM worship with us at
1st Presbyterian Church, Bellevue;
we’ll talk about UCMHE
7:00 PM Study time at 1st UMC,
70th & Cass
5:00 PM Start off with the movie “Crash”
at Trinity UMC, 80th & Q
Sunday night is study time:
7:00PM at 1st UMC, 70th & Cass
Tuesday
2:30 PM Peer Ministry
4:00 Board Meeting, Hoskins
6:30 supper at Noodles & CO., 72nd, just
south of Dodge
8:00 Inclusive Spiritual Seekers, MBSC,
Tower Room
Friday:
7:00 PM Matthew Fox at Lewis & Clark
Middle School
Saturday:
9:00 AM Matthew Fox at L&CMS
7:00 PM Cosmic Mass at Sokol Hall
Sunday
10:00 AM worship with us at
1st Presbyterian Church, Bellevue;
we’ll talk about UCMHE
7:00 PM Study time at 1st UMC,
70th & Cass
Friday, December 21
meditation on the last day
Today is the last day. For many, the last day was some other day, but I’ve talked with enough students who will finish exams today, that today is really the last day of the semester.
And you are no longer the same.
You’ve changed.
The temptation will be to go home and be the same. You’ll try to be the same, but you will have changed and you’ll feel the difference in yourself and how you relate to others, especially those in your family. The change in yourself will because you have accomplished something, often, something difficult.
For some, the difficult piece has been grades. Applying glue to one’s backside for study always makes the world seem different. For others, it’s been surviving the wiles of an intractable roommate. For still others, life in the social lane has exposed you to people with whom you can relate and who even inspire you. For still others, the shootings of last spring’s Virginia Tech reverberated again at Von Maur and caused a painful stirring that has not yet rested.
Oh, yes, you’ve been through difficult times. As a campus, we’ve experienced everything from the selection and installation of a new Chancellor and the real and proposed exit of some of our longest friends; new buildings going up, other ones rearranged and still others becoming strong ideas. Programs are reformatted and put online, faculty are interested in taking leading roles in the community and going off campus. Transition has become a permanent state of affairs. Living in transition is difficult—it requires principles, thought, preparation and action. This adult like process requires the best and the most of us. It’s difficult. Having gone through difficult times, you have changed.
In all cases, there will be people who wish times, people and behavior remain what they’ve been, or at least, what is perceived to have been, “the way you used to be.” The tension will be palpable as you decide if you are the “same old” or if you have the “one in transition”, making decisions with a behavior in line with your new life principles.
Families and close co-workers are the most adept at desiring your old self. That’s the one with whom they are most comfortable.
This was true for Saul, also called Paul. His conversion story on the road to Damascus is will known. What is often forgotten is the story of Ananias, who was called to offer healing so Saul could regain his sight, after being struck blind (Act 9). This is the struggle of Ananias:
v. 10
“Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” He answered. “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
It’s your choice: to acknowledge and be the new person who has gone through difficult times and has new or emerging and powerful principles, or to try to ignore it all and not name it and claim it.
Make a list of those who want you to stay the same (including yourself, maybe?) and those who want the new and stronger you. Let me know how it goes.
See you second semester!
--f
And you are no longer the same.
You’ve changed.
The temptation will be to go home and be the same. You’ll try to be the same, but you will have changed and you’ll feel the difference in yourself and how you relate to others, especially those in your family. The change in yourself will because you have accomplished something, often, something difficult.
For some, the difficult piece has been grades. Applying glue to one’s backside for study always makes the world seem different. For others, it’s been surviving the wiles of an intractable roommate. For still others, life in the social lane has exposed you to people with whom you can relate and who even inspire you. For still others, the shootings of last spring’s Virginia Tech reverberated again at Von Maur and caused a painful stirring that has not yet rested.
Oh, yes, you’ve been through difficult times. As a campus, we’ve experienced everything from the selection and installation of a new Chancellor and the real and proposed exit of some of our longest friends; new buildings going up, other ones rearranged and still others becoming strong ideas. Programs are reformatted and put online, faculty are interested in taking leading roles in the community and going off campus. Transition has become a permanent state of affairs. Living in transition is difficult—it requires principles, thought, preparation and action. This adult like process requires the best and the most of us. It’s difficult. Having gone through difficult times, you have changed.
In all cases, there will be people who wish times, people and behavior remain what they’ve been, or at least, what is perceived to have been, “the way you used to be.” The tension will be palpable as you decide if you are the “same old” or if you have the “one in transition”, making decisions with a behavior in line with your new life principles.
Families and close co-workers are the most adept at desiring your old self. That’s the one with whom they are most comfortable.
This was true for Saul, also called Paul. His conversion story on the road to Damascus is will known. What is often forgotten is the story of Ananias, who was called to offer healing so Saul could regain his sight, after being struck blind (Act 9). This is the struggle of Ananias:
v. 10
“Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” He answered. “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
It’s your choice: to acknowledge and be the new person who has gone through difficult times and has new or emerging and powerful principles, or to try to ignore it all and not name it and claim it.
Make a list of those who want you to stay the same (including yourself, maybe?) and those who want the new and stronger you. Let me know how it goes.
See you second semester!
--f
Thursday, December 20
a meditatioin on taking down the Von Maur Memorial
We helped lay to rest the “shooting memorial at Von Maur. There were probably forty or so volunteers all together, and five hundred onlookers who came for a variety of reasons.
First, there was a sense that it was time for some closure. One of the folks spoke about needing to move on to normalcy. I suspect he meant normalcy being able to move on and not be tied to this event like it’s an albatross, keeping us from functioning. Of course, this would be a life of victimization. How poor would this earth be if that’s what we did! We are not victims, we are confident in God’s love. That’s normalcy: having confidence with love, all the while being aware of the albatrosses in our world. We blessed the place with our hands. Then someone in the crowd started singing “Silent Night.” We all chimed in. There was a four year old girl in the front row with a blanket over her head who sang, and a very experienced gentleman to her right to joined her. It was a song we all knew and a song for the season, and a song of hope because it joined us to That Which Is Beyond Us.
Second, there was a sense that it was time to move on. This resonated well. It is time to note we are in transition toward another time and place in our hearts. It is not healthy, I think, to easily say “good bye” and “good luck” like it never happened. Forgetfulness is a sorry state of affairs. So we must continue to be in touch with that sense of loss and pain, yet reach out to a new future, which we will create with God’s help, and which is the glory of God. At once, we are responsible and hopeful. God Is With Us.
Third, there was great probability that it is good to be together at a time like this. We all could have stayed home and been in out of the cold of the night. Instead, we showed up and did what we could, shared ourselves with one another, called on the God Who Is Larger Than Us prepared ourselves for renewal. Ann Lamott put it this way: “…it’s good to be out where others can see you, so you can’t be your ghastly spoiled self. It forces you to act slightly more elegantly, and this improves your thoughts, and thereby the world.”
A man on crutches in the front row of mourners called out to me as I was readying a teddybear for the bin. “Hold that one up, please. Janet put that there…. Yes, that’s it, it has a red scarf.” “Yes,” I responded, “it has red stripes on the scarf.” “It sure does” (he took a picture). “Thank you, sir,” he finished. “You’re very welcome.” He moved on.
So will we. I am confident we will move on.
P.S. As it turns out, being credentialed means showing up, going to the on in charge, stating who you are and why you’re there. Then you can introduce your friends, and they’re credentialed, too. Sort of like osmosis, we all got credentialed. Of course, this is Omaha, but I’ll be this system works elsewhere, too.
First, there was a sense that it was time for some closure. One of the folks spoke about needing to move on to normalcy. I suspect he meant normalcy being able to move on and not be tied to this event like it’s an albatross, keeping us from functioning. Of course, this would be a life of victimization. How poor would this earth be if that’s what we did! We are not victims, we are confident in God’s love. That’s normalcy: having confidence with love, all the while being aware of the albatrosses in our world. We blessed the place with our hands. Then someone in the crowd started singing “Silent Night.” We all chimed in. There was a four year old girl in the front row with a blanket over her head who sang, and a very experienced gentleman to her right to joined her. It was a song we all knew and a song for the season, and a song of hope because it joined us to That Which Is Beyond Us.
Second, there was a sense that it was time to move on. This resonated well. It is time to note we are in transition toward another time and place in our hearts. It is not healthy, I think, to easily say “good bye” and “good luck” like it never happened. Forgetfulness is a sorry state of affairs. So we must continue to be in touch with that sense of loss and pain, yet reach out to a new future, which we will create with God’s help, and which is the glory of God. At once, we are responsible and hopeful. God Is With Us.
Third, there was great probability that it is good to be together at a time like this. We all could have stayed home and been in out of the cold of the night. Instead, we showed up and did what we could, shared ourselves with one another, called on the God Who Is Larger Than Us prepared ourselves for renewal. Ann Lamott put it this way: “…it’s good to be out where others can see you, so you can’t be your ghastly spoiled self. It forces you to act slightly more elegantly, and this improves your thoughts, and thereby the world.”
A man on crutches in the front row of mourners called out to me as I was readying a teddybear for the bin. “Hold that one up, please. Janet put that there…. Yes, that’s it, it has a red scarf.” “Yes,” I responded, “it has red stripes on the scarf.” “It sure does” (he took a picture). “Thank you, sir,” he finished. “You’re very welcome.” He moved on.
So will we. I am confident we will move on.
P.S. As it turns out, being credentialed means showing up, going to the on in charge, stating who you are and why you’re there. Then you can introduce your friends, and they’re credentialed, too. Sort of like osmosis, we all got credentialed. Of course, this is Omaha, but I’ll be this system works elsewhere, too.
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