Shane Claiborne w/ NJ Faith & Justice, SUNDAY
December 1, 2007
NY Faith & Justice is bringing Shane Claiborne to NYC this SUNDAY. Shane is the author of The irresistible Revolution and on the forefront of the New Monastic movement. Isaac and I have both read his book and seen him speak and recommend him whole heartedly!
He’s the media-subversive, politically-radical, dreadlocked-hippy St. Francis of our day.
If you’re free on Sunday evening from 7:30-9:30, GO! And if you want to learn more about the NEW NY Faith & Justice group, they are having a service at 5 with meal following. All FREE wtih RSVPs.
———- Forwarded message ———-
Advent begins this Sunday!
 Advent is the season when the church waits for the arrival Jesus.
This year NY Faith & Justice invites you to enter the season asking one question…
“Is Advent just a celebration of the time when Jesus first came as a baby or is it a current day prayer for Christ to come today?”
THIS SUNDAY December 2, 2007
NY Faith & Justice @ All Angels Church!
251 W. 80th Street @ Broadway
Keynote Speaker Shane Claiborne (author of The Irresistible Revolution)
The Bridge (@ 5pm) AND Christianity and Transformational Development Seminar (@ 7:30pm)
Sabbath Poem (Fall)
November 29, 2007
Fall into Night
by Bowie Snodgrass
Written last year for a time longer ago.
That Fall, I felt like I got thrown into the ocean –
All waves, rocky cliffs, unknown chaos reigned,
But you were my great beacon of hope, my lighthouse.
When Christmas tide came, the days became short –
You turned out your light, and turned me away,
Set me out to find my own way, row my way home.
And thus the metaphor began: when no wind, row –
So I picked up my oar, enjoyed calm days, starry nights,
And made it through winter storms, waves, and hurricanes.
When the last waves washed me up, pummeled me into
The shore, I looked up and saw bright rays at night –
Realized I was on dry land and there before me, Light.
Bible Study on “Some Dude”, Thurs Nov 29
November 28, 2007
Tomorrow, Thursday, November 29th, we’ll be meeting at Mi Floridita’s for Bible Study.¬† Dinner and social time begins at 7 pm and Bowie will lead Bible Study from 8-9.¬†¬†
We’ll be discussing the gospel reading for this coming Sunday (Advent 1), Matthew 24:36-44, in conversation with Genesis 32:22-31, Jacob wrestling with the Angel.¬†
For good¬†laughs and context for our conversation, check out jSnodgrass’ recent blog post¬†below on¬†”Some Dude” (Expect the Unexpected)
Mi Floridita’s is at 3219 Broadway
Take the 1 train to 125th, cross to the NW corner, walk N to the end of that block
See you tomorrow!  Bowie
“Some Dude” (Expect the Unexpected)
November 25, 2007
by j. Snodgrass
Matthew 24:42-44 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
The Lord, breaking into your house at night. Expect the unexpected.
My wife is in medical-school, and has learned that in Emergency rooms across the country, legends abound to tell the exploits of that mythological character known only as “Some Dude.” “Yeah, I was just minding my own business, and some Dude shows up with a baseball bat and starts whaling on me.” “Yeah, this lady asked me to hold her purse for her, and I was, and then some Dude came up out of nowhere and beat me down, and gave the purse back to the lady…who had asked me to hold it.” “Yeah, I was just having a smoke outside my building and some Dude shot me five times.”
Oddly enough, if Emergency Rooms had existed in the times of the book of Genesis, Jacob would probably have showed up with the following story: “Yeah, I was just crossing the river with my two wives, two girlfriends, eleven sons and all my stuff, when some Dude jumped me! And he beat on me all night, and pulled my hip out of its socket. I never saw his face, ’cause it was dark. As the sun came up he said ‘alright, I’ve gotta go,’ but I said ‘Dude, you’re going nowhere till you’ve blessed me.’ And the dude said, ‘Alright, from now on your name is Israel.’ And then he was gone.”
True story, paraphrased from Genesis 32. The name he was given by this mysterious Dude was “Israel,” meaning “Struggled with God.”
God jumped Jacob. Expect the unexpected.
Earlier in the book, Genesis 19, a man named Lot was living with his wife and two daughters in the city of Sodom… And looking out his doorway one day he sees these two guys walking around and invites them into his house. But the Sodomites see the guys go in, and a great mob gathers – they start banging on Lot’s door, demanding the opportunity to give these visitors a proper Sodomite welcome. Lot says everything he can think of to make the mob go away, but it’s no use.
Genesis 19:9-11 They kept bringing pressure on Lot and moved forward to break down the door. But the men inside reached out and pulled Lot back into the house and shut the door. Then they struck the men who were at the door of the house, young and old, with blindness so that they could not find the door.
It turns out these two Dudes happened to be angels of the Lord. I can just see the scene in the Sodom Hospital Emergency Room – “Yeah, we just wanted to give these dudes some presents and they blinded us!” Of course, the Sodom Emergency Room would have had bigger concerns, what with the entire city being destroyed later that evening.
Expect the unexpected. Is this going to unexpectedly tie in with the theme of Advent?
I don’t know what kind of prenatal care they had in Bethlehem around the time of Jesus’ birth…I know he was eventually born in a barn. But it must have been a fascinating scene when Mary told her fianc?© Joseph she was pregnant with the son of the Most High God. “Yeah, I was just minding my own business when some Dude showed up, told me I’d be getting pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” Somehow I doubt that Joseph was so impressed with this – in fact, according to the Gospel of Matthew, old Joe started hatching plans to let her go. Couldn’t call that unexpected. But a few days later, Joseph came to Mary and said “Hey, everything’s cool. We can still get hitched and then we need to leave and hide out in Egypt for a while, because the powers that be are gonna be looking for this kid.”
That was unexpected. Joseph? The Biblical character best known for what he didn’t do? And just how did Joseph come across this information?
Yup. Some Dude told him so.
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Written for the Marble Collegiate Church, Marble Connection (Young Adults in Their 20s & 30), Sunday Conversation, November 25, 2007
Advent Meditation Pieces
December 4, 2006
1)
The wind has changed
I can smell you again
In the soft open air
Beneath the mountains of the moon
In the stillness of the night
I sense your sweet scent
2)
we speak of matters of the soul
when we’re alone in this world.
men and women trying to figure
it out and our insides to know.
we work to know ourselves, and
thereby accept the other folks, we.
work together in the struggle for
liberation and peace in our land.
3)
some goals for the new liturgical year…
be honest about your life.
cherish your inheritances and pass on to other people.
come to know yourself by taking time to think and worship god.
be creative. move ideas around. be curious.
struggle for justice.
be flexible. breathe.
be kind to living things and appreciate nature.
share. believe.
love.
what else? please comment with additional goals.