Friday, November 30, 2018

Poetry from the West Virginia Writers Fall 2018 Conference


I attended four Poetry Workshops at the recent November 17th one day West Virginia Writers Fall 2018 Conference at the Day’s Inn in Flatwoods, WV.

Two of the workshops I joined were led by Kari Gunter-Seymour and the other two by Sarah Elkins.

All four workshops included prompts and time for writing. Thanks to Sara and Kari, and their prompts and leadership, I wrote more poetry at that one day conference than I have written in a long time. I  posted almost all my writing from that day on my blog. Here are the links to the various works.

About my favorite place in all the world, which just happens to be in West Virginia.

Written in response to guided imagery.

Written in response to a chanting prompt.

An ekphrastic poem.

A sample of "Found Poetry" using various lines from a single book.

A tongue and cheek twist of a common phrase.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Brain Power


Using your brain
To gain power
Is always a good option.

When your family can’t afford to pay the electric bill,
Sell your brain to science
And your family can use the compensation
To pay enough on the power bill
To heat the house
For maybe one, two, or more days and nights.

That would really be “using your brain” to gain power.

+ + +


I began working on this humorous piece in a Poetry Workshop presented by Sarah Elkins.  It was the third project I began in response to flipping through the pages  of  Jennifer L. Verdolin’s Wild Connection and following a tangent from the two previous poems, Winning at Love and Sorry Guys – Size Matters.

Monday, November 26, 2018

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 2nd Sunday of Advent Time (Year C)


Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary Ruminations 2.0.  Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral experience.  Believing that the questions we ask are often more important than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged.

Malachi 3:1-4
3:1 I would have expected “Hear” rather than “See.”  Who is speaking?  Note that in the NRSV the first occurrence is “Lord” and the second occurrence is “LORD” – what is the difference?
3:2 Is this a rhetorical question?  What is a refiner’s fire like?  What is fuller’s soap?
3:3 Who are the descendants of Levi?  How are gold and silver refined?
3:4 Why would an offering not be pleasing to the LORD?  How has the offering changed compared to times past? What is the offering?

Luke 1:68-79
1:68 What is the first word in the Latin Vulgate? What has the Lord God of Israel redeemed the people from?
1:69 Is there any savior that is not mighty?
1:70 Is there a grammar problem with a single “mouth” but plural “prophets?” What holy prophets might Zechariah (or Luke) have had in mind?
1:71 At the time of Zechariah, who would the enemies and the haters have been? Note that the mighty savior saves from enemies and haters, not from sin.
1:72 Had the Lord God of Israel forgotten the covenant?
1:73 What oath?
1:74 Can one serve with fear or in fear?
1:75 What is the difference, if any, between holiness and righteousness?
1:76 What child? To who is Zechariah speaking?
1:77 Is there a difference between knowledge of salvation and salvation? How does one gain knowledge of salvation? Note that sin is not mentioned until well into this Canticle.
1:78 What is “the dawn from on high?”
1:79 Who sits in darkness? How does death cast a shadow?

Philippians 1:3-11
1:3 When and how often does the author remember the Philippians?
1:4 How does one pray constantly?
1:5 How does one share in the gospel?
1:6 Who began the good work? What was the good work? What and when is the day of Christ?
1:7 What does it mean to hold a person in the heart?
1:8 What is meant by “the compassion of Jesus Christ?”
1:9 What knowledge?  What is full insight? How does prayer overflow?
1:10 What does it mean to be pure and blameless?
1:11 What is the harvest of righteousness and who has produced it?
1:3-11 I have a sense that Paul might have had a stronger emotional attachment to the Philippian Church than to other churches to which he wrote.

Luke 3:1-6
3:1 What year would this have been?  Why are all these people and their positions named? Is all this historically accurate and does it matter if it is not? Why I am reminded of Isaiah 6:1?
3:2 Why was John in the wilderness?  Was this a prelude to desert spirituality?  What is so special about fierce landscapes like wilderness and the desert? Is the “wilderness” a liminal place? Is Advent a liminal season?
3:3 Would this be both banks of the Jordan?  Is this the Jordan before it flows into the Sea of Galilee or after it flows out from the Sea of Galilee toward the Dead Sea?
3:4 Where in Isaiah is this written?  Did the prophecy dictate that John had to be in the wilderness, or did John’s being in the wilderness lend itself to this prophecy? Why do the Lord’s paths need to be made straight?
3:5 Why fill a valley?  Why make a mountain low?  Considering mountaintop removal mining, this verse raises images of bad stewardship of the earth.
3:6 Does “all flesh” include non-human flesh?
                                                                  
ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00 AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The Trek.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Sorry Guys – Size Matters


What about …
            The size of a man’s brain and his intellect,
            Or the size of his heart and his ability to love?
For men
            It is enough simply to believe that
            They performed better than a male competitor?
            That they thought bigger, better, and longer?
            Or cared longer, deeper and more intensely?

+ + +


I began working on this example of “found poetry” at the West Virginia Writer’s Fall 208 Conference as I responded to a prompt in a Poetry Workshop presented by Sarah Elkins. The prompt involved flipping through the pages of Jennifer L. Verdolin’s Wild Connection and lifting out words, phrases and sentences to expand upon.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Aftermath


Frances was devastating
Leaving behind the eerie silence of death, debris, and destruction
Branches stripped bare of leaves
Few structures left standing
A child’s dirty, matted, gray, stuffed Duck
Lies upon a fallen tree trunk
Strewn over the remains of a wooden fence, deck, or boardwalk
A kaleidoscope of plastic, paper, and metal
Scattered on green grass and brown mud
That stinks of raw, rotten sewage
The only hint of former life
And human habitation
Visible in this scene reminiscent of a war zone
Floodwaters of tears swell over my heart
As I am drowned by feelings of distress and abandonment

+ + +


I began working on this Ekphrastic poem at the West Virginia Writer’s Fall 208 Conference as I responded to a visual prompt, the above photo from a magazine, in a Poetry Workshop presented by Kari Gunter-Symour.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Vibrations


Pulsating
            Reverberating
                        Tibetan prayer bowls
Mystical
            Inviting
                        Primitive throat singing
The shaman invokes sacred journey
To the outer edges of the ever-expanding universe
And to the innermost depths of the human soul
I hear the voice of the cosmos
The voice of God
Om

+ + +


I began working on this at the West Virginia Writer’s Fall 208 Conference as I responded to a prompt in a Poetry Workshop presented by Sarah Elkins. The prompt was a chant recorded by Tom Kenyon. https://tomkenyon.com/

Thursday, November 22, 2018

SOL

I am the life giver.
I am the death deliverer.
Shining brilliantly by day,
Hidden in darkness by night,
I am the dominant overseer.
I am Lord and King half the time,
But vassal and servant to the moon,
Her underling and auxiliary,
Riding my chariot across the sky,
Chasing and being chased
By Lunar’s lesser light.
I rise and set.
I set and rise,
In a Ptolemaic universe,
But am dethroned by Galileo’s rule.

+ + +

I began working on this at the West Virginia Writer’s Fall 208 Conference as I responded to a prompt in a Poetry Workshop presented by Sarah Elkins. The prompt was a recorded guided meditation by Cari Cohen.
https://caricohenspiritualhealer.com/


Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Lion’s Head/Rocky Point


It is a chilly, late fall, early winter sort of day—colder here in the mountains than down in the
surrounding valleys.

I am standing in one of my favorite spots in all the world—Lion’s Head, or Rocky Point in the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area of West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest.

I have been to this rock-strewn outcrop and pine tree studded sanctuary many times before. As always, I stand in awe.

Here, where warm summer breezes have caressed bare arms and legs, and winter winds now chill exposed face and hands and even body parts clad in worsted wool and crinkly nylon.

As I stand in the midst of this wooden, tree lined cathedral; I look out over the granular stony apse and altar and look out over the Red Creek drainage far below.

Reaching out to touch a tall, straight, pine trunk in front of me, I feel its rough, corrugated bark, spotted with sticky sap as the trunk reaches heavenward toward the blue sky above.

+ + +


I began working on this at the West Virginia Writer’s Fall 208 Conference as I responded to a prompt in a Poetry Workshop presented by Kari Gunter-Symour. The prompt involved thinking about my favorite place in the world and then describing the scene.

Here is a link to the projects I began at the West Virginia Writer’s Fall 208 Conference.
https://summittoshore.blogspot.com/2018/11/poetry-from-west-virginia-writers-fall.html

Monday, November 19, 2018

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year C)


Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary Ruminations 2.0.  Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral experience.  Believing that the questions we ask are often more important than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged.

JEREMIAH 33:14-16
33:14 Did the author of Jeremiah have Advent in mind when writing about the days that are surely coming?  What days was he thinking of? What promise did the LORD make with Israel and Judah? What is the difference between Israel and Judah?
33:15 Is there any difference between “in those days” and “at that time?”  Is this a mere literary device, or is something else going on here?  In the NRSV, why is “Branch” capitalized?  What is the difference between justice and righteousness?
33:16 Is salvation synonymous with safety?  What is the “it” that will be called “The LORD is our righteousness?” Does “The LORD is our righteousness” translate just one Hebrew word?

PSALM 25:1-10
25:1 How do you lift up your soul to the LORD?
25:2 What is the difference, if any, between trust and faith?
25:3 Is the Psalmist appealing to the LORD’s sense of justice or the LORD’s vanity? Why the emphasis on shame?
25:4 Is this a prayer of supplication? What are the LORD’s paths and ways?
25:5 How does the LORD lead and teach? How long have are you willing to wait for the LORD?
25:6 Can the LORD ever forget? Does the LORD occasionally need to be reminded?
25:7 Apparently the LORD can forget. The Psalmist wants the LORD to remember mercy but forget sins. Forget my sins but remember me!
25:8 Was there ever any doubt that the LORD is good and upright?
25:9 Does the LORD lead the humble, or do the humble follow?
25:10 How many paths of the LORD are there?  What is the difference between covenant and decrees?

1 THESSALONIANS 3:9-13
3:9 Who is the “we” and who is the “you?”
3:10 Is it possible to pray a prayer that is not earnest?  What was lacking in the faith of the Thessalonians? What is lacking in your faith?  How can it be restored?
3:11 What are the possible meanings of “our way?”
3:12 In other words—be like us?
3:13 What is the grammatical relationship between “the coming of our Lord Jesus” and “with all his saints?”? Will Jesus not return alone when he returns but be returning with his saints?

LUKE 21:25-36
21:25 This sounds like reason enough for an interest in astronomy or meteorology, or at least oceanography. How do we interpret this pre-modern and pre-Copernican text in a postmodern, post-Copernican world?  What does the roaring of the sea and waves represent?
21:26 How and why will the powers of heaven be shaken? There will be no fear and foreboding if people in general, and politicians in particular, ignore or even deny the signs of global climate change.
21:27 Who is the “Son of Man” and what kind of cloud will accompany his return?  Cirrus?  Cumulus? Mushroom?  How can we interpret this imagery when some want to take it literally, some want to take it metaphorically, and some discount it all together?
21:28 Once these things begin to take place, how long will they last? Why stand up and raise the head? What redemption is drawing near?
21:29 Why single out the fig tree?
21:30 So we are basically talking about natural signs of the seasons.
21:31 What is the kingdom of God and why has it not been near before? It has been only in the past few years that I learned that the ripe fruit of fig trees, unlike the fruit of some other trees, will not last long before it falls off the branch and rots.
21:32 How did early Christians cope with disappointment when this prophecy was not (apparently) realized? What do you know about “realized eschatology?”
21:33 Heaven will pass away? Whose words? What words?
21:34 Dissipation and drunkenness are one thing, but worries are another.
21:35 What does the image of a trap suggest?
21:36 How can one escape these things?
                                                                  
ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00 AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The Trek.

Monday, November 12, 2018

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for Christ the King/Reign of Christ (Year B)


Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary Ruminations 2.0.  Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral experience.  Believing that the questions we ask are often more important than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged.

PREFACE:
Christ the King/Reign of Christ 2018 marks the end of “Year B” in the three year lectionary cycle.  Next Sunday, The First Sunday of Advent 2018, will be the First Sunday of the “Year C” in the lectionary cycle.

Are you familiar with “INRI” and what it means?

I cannot find the source of the quote to verify it, but I think when John Adams was corresponding with King James, King James asked “Have you chosen a King yet? How can you have a country without a King?”

Here are some other Kings: Nat King Cole, Martin Luther King Jr., Don King, Larry King, The Lion King, Michael Jackson – the King of Pop, Elvis Presley – the King of Rock and Roll. And remember “A man’s home is his castle and a man is king of his castle.”

2 SAMUEL 23:1-7
23:1 Why on Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday does the Lectionary present us with the last words of King David? What is an oracle?  What is the significance of the fourfold designation, three of which relate to God? Read through this verse and the rest of the passage and see how many designations of God you can identify.
23:2 Prior to any Christian doctrine of the Trinity, how did David understand and mean to use “spirit”?  Is David describing a continual or the situation of this oracle only? How do you hear politicians and elected leaders today who claim to know God’s will, speak for God, or even represent God?
23:2-3 The spirit speaks “through” David, but God speaks “to” David. Who does the spirit speak through and who does God speak to today?
23:4 Is David touting his own horn, or laying the foundation for how future monarchs will be judged?
23:5 From a later perspective, how did David’s “house” measure up?
23:6 Ouch, those godless thorns!
23:7 This sounds like last judgement language.

PSALM 132:1-12 (13-18)
132:1 What hardships did David endure?
132:2 What did David swear? What did he vow?
132:3-5 Does this answer the previous two questions? Did David keep his word?
132:6 Is there anything particularly significant about Ephrathah or the fields of Jaar?
132:7 Whose dwelling place and whose footstool.
132:8 This makes it sound like the LORD is a localized, place-significant LORD. Does the LORD need to rest? What is the “ark of your might?”
132:9 What were priests usually robed in?
132:10 Who is the LORD’s anointed one? The psalms usually ask the LORD not to turn away the divine face.
132:11 How many sons did David have?
132:12 This sounds conditional with the “If.”
(132:13) What is the meaning of the word “Zion” and where did the word originate? What does it designate?
(132:14) Read this considering verse 8.
(132:15) What are its “provisions?” Might Christians read this as a reference to Christ and the Eucharist?
(132:16) Will only the priest be saved? Consider again verse 9.
(132:17) What is a “horn?”  Is the horn the lamp? What might the lamp signify?
(132:18) This is quite a contrast between the anointed and his enemies.
132:1-18 In light of the history of the Nation of Israel and God’s people, including the Babylonian exile and the Shoah, how shall we read this passage?

REVELATION 1:4b-8
1:4b A Classic Christianized Greco-Roman Salutation. Who, or what, are the seven spirits?
1:5 How is Jesus a witness? Is Jesus the ruler of the kings of the earth now or only in the age to come?
1:6 How are Christians a kingdom and priests?  What is the difference between glory and dominion? Maybe this kingdom is not so much about the King as it is the people, more of a “kindom” than a “kingdom.”
1:7 Is there any significance to the admonition being “look” rather than “listen?”  Why will all the tribes of the earth wail? Does this verse mean the Christ will return only on a cloudy day?
1:8 Is there any difference between Alpha and Omega in contrast to first and last?

JOHN 18:33-37
18:33 What headquarters? Headquarters of what? Why was Pilot asking this question? It seems odd, a week before Advent, to be reading a passage usually associated with The Passion and Holy Week, but it makes absolute sense.
18:34 What sort of question is this?
18:35 Is Pilate’s first question a rhetorical one?  What has Jesus done? Does this verse bolster antisemitism?
18:36 This must have sounded rather cryptic and enigmatic. Where is Jesus’ kingdom from? Was Jesus being handed over to the Jews or to the Romans? Was Jesus not a Jew?
18:37 Was Pilate’s deduction correct?  Did Pilate really say that Jesus is a king?  More than any time in the recent past, we are all asking “What is truth?”
                                                                  
ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00 AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The Trek.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)


Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 is a further revision and refinement of my Lectionary Ruminations and Lectionary Ruminations 2.0.  Focusing on The Revised Common Lectionary Readings for the upcoming Sunday from New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible, Lectionary Ruminations 2.5 draws on over thirty years of pastoral experience.  Believing that the questions we ask are often more important than any answers we find, without over reliance on commentaries, I intend with sometimes pointed and sometimes snarky comments and Socratic like questions, to encourage reflection and rumination for readers preparing to lead a Bible study, draft liturgy, preach, or hear the Word. Reader comments are invited and encouraged.

1 SAMUEL 1:4-20
1:4 Who was Elkanah? On what day did he sacrifice?  He would give portions of what to his wife? Were Peninnah’s sons and daughters not also Elkanah’s sons and daughters?
1:5 Who was Hannah and how was she related to Elkanah?
1:6 Who was Hannah’s rival?
1:7 How many years might this have gone on?
1:8 How many wives did Elkanah have?  So much for family values!  How would most wives answer the question Elkanah asked Hannah? I wonder how couples trying to conceive but have been unable to conceive hear this passage. I wonder how couples who are childless by choice hear this passage.
1:9 Who is “they” and why are “they” at Shiloh? Eli was what sort of priest in what temple?
1:10 What might have been Hanna’s prayer?
1:11 What is Hannah’s misery? Is there a problem with Hanna’s prayer?
1:12 Why was Eli observing Hanna’s mouth? Was he lip reading?
1:13 When you pray silently, do your lips move? Why would Eli have thought Hannah was drunk?
1:14 Read this in light of the First Christian Pentecost. I assume Eli never had a pastoral care course or CPE.
1:15 What does it mean to pour out one’s soul before the LORD?
1:16 Vexation is probably not a word we often hear, especially in a sermon.
1:17 How could Ely say this when he did not know Hannah’s petition?  Who or what gave Ely the right—the power—to answer prayer? Or was Eli simply but politely asking or telling Hannah to leave, to move on?
1:18 Were Eli’s words that powerful?
1:19 What do you know about Ramah?  Ya gotta love these Biblical euphemisms for sexual intercourse!
1:20 Why do many people no longer give their children names with personal, existential meaning?

1 SAMUEL 2:1-10
2:1 Did Hannah pray, or did Hannah sing?  Who said, paraphrasing, “the person who sings their prayer prays twice”? When was the last time your heart exulted? Who were Hanna’s enemies?
2:2 What, or who, do you think of when you hear the phrase “Holy One?”
2:3-10 This sounds more like a sermon than a prayer. Are these words addressed to God?
2:4-5 This reads like a tradition New Testament reversal of fortunes.
2:6-7 What does the LORD not do?
2:8 What does the second half of this verse have to do with the first half?
2:9 This verse seems to echo 1:4-5.
2:10 How does this verse relate to the verses preceding it? Who are the LORD’s adversaries? Who is the LORD’s anointed?

HEBREWS 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25
10:11 Why, in the New Testament, are we talking about priests offering sacrifices? Why were sacrifices made daily?
10:12 What single sacrifice did Christ offer? See 1 Samuel 2:8.
10:12-13 What source or sources are being quoted? Does God have a footstool?
(10:14) Who are sanctified?
(10:15-18) When and where did the Holy Spirit say this?
10:19 What sanctuary?  Does the blood of Jesus give us confidence or is it a ticket of entry?
10:20 What curtain might this be alluding to?  How was Christ’s flesh like a curtain?  Think about that one long and hard! Is anyone else thinking about the final scene in The Wizard of Oz movie?
10:21 I find it interesting that we find “a great priest” rather than “a great high priest!”
10:22 How can hearts be sprinkled clean from an evil conscience?  Note that while hearts are sprinkled clean, our bodies are washed. What might “house of God” refer to? Are both sprinkling and washing an allusion to Baptism?
10:23 What is the confession of our hope?  What is our hope?  How do we confess it? When have you ever wavered?
10:24 Is “provoke” the best translation of the Greek?
10:25 To what does this “meeting together” refer? I like to think of encouraging one another rather than provoking one another. What “Day” is approaching?

MARK 13:1-8
13:1 Who came out of the temple and what had he been doing in there?  This sounds like something a tourist in some world class city, like Paris, Rome, London, or New York says on their first visit.  Was this a particular disciple’s first visit to Jerusalem and the temple? I wonder why we are not told which disciple said this.
13:2 Is this prescient on the part of Jesus or a post AD 70 author writing with hindsight about an earlier event?
13:3 It was usually Peter, James and John who were privy to special moments with Jesus.  What is Andrew doing here?  Why two sets of brothers? How would the author know what the four asked? Did they all ask this in unison or was one of the four, perhaps Peter, a spokesperson for the group?
13:4 Think again about the question I raised in relation to 13:2.
13:5 Who might have led them astray?
13:6 To whom was Jesus, or the writer of the Gospel, referring? How many messianic pretenders were there?
13:7 I think the key message is to not be alarmed.
13:8 Whew!  At least there is no mention of hurricanes, nor’easters, or blizzards.  What do birth pangs signify?  Is this describing the end of things as they are or the birth of something new? Must the old pass away for a new thing to emerge?
                                                                  
ADDENDUM
I am a Minister Member of Upper Ohio Valley Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and am serving as the Interim Pastor of the Richmond United Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Ohio. Sunday Worship at Richmond begins at 11:00 AM. Some of my other blog posts have appeared on PRESBYTERIAN BLOGGERS and The Trek.