Faith Works 12-1

Faith Works 12-1-12

Jeff Gill

 

How It Really Was Back Then

___

 

Pope Benedict is putting out a new book about Jesus, and apparently there's some excitement, or controversy, or just some ginned up debate over what he says about Christmas.

 

It wasn't, we're told (I haven't seen the book yet), exactly like your standard Christmas pageant. Supposedly Il Papa claims there were, at the actual Nativity, no donkeys or cows, and the Magi, aka "wise men" not only weren't named Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, they didn't show up at all until Jesus was two or so.

 

I'll bet he also says the spare room outside the main house wasn't a quaint, atmospheric stable, either.

 

My bemusement at this "news story" is because none of this is "news" in any sense I can recognize. If you've been to Bethlehem itself, you know that the site revered there is actually a rock-hewn cavern which guides tell you served the locals as stables for centuries. And who hasn't had the quiz question go by them at church asking "how many wise men came to visit the newborn king?" to which the answer is "we don't know, the Bible only says 'wise men' in plural." Could have been twenty, might have been two. Gifts numbering three are specified, so three to carry one each (gold, frankenstein, and myrrh, as I recall) just made sense.

 

Did they ride camels? What animals were in or around the stable or guest room for out-laws, or whatever a "kataluma" means in Greek to explain Luke 2.7?

 

If you want to know why the standard Nativity scene has the animals it does, don't look to Luke, but to Isaiah, specifically verses 1.3 & 60.6 (go ahead, look 'em up, I'll wait).

 

See why?

 

They fit the story, just as the appearance of the magi from Matthew 2 is blended in. We know the conventions of storytelling in a graphic novel, and when one character turns in a panel to the left to see one antagonist, then is approached by another person from the right with a different background, we don't overthink the art, we just understand that time passes. Medieval art, which has quite a bit in common with graphic novels, does this kind of compression or multiple appearances of the same figure in a single scene, and the viewer quickly "learned" how to read the plot development.

 

So it went with Nativity depictions; in the thirteenth century, when St. Francis in Assisi gathered up a bunch of local players and creatures to create the first "crèche" scene, he used the stock images of the day.

 

Now, in Italy, there's a tradition whose epicenter is in Naples, on the Via San Gregorio Armeno, a sight I'd love to see someday. Along this narrow, winding street that passes an ancient convent of the same name, there are dozens of makers of "il presepe," or depictions of the Nativity. Mary is whatever ethnicity or style you'd like to see somewhere along the shop windows of the artisans, and Joseph is anything from ancient & elderly to mature but vigorous with bulging muscles and a huge axe in hand (no doubt to cut the umbilical cord).

 

And the rest of the hundreds and thousands of scenes are the stock images of the Bethlehem birth, placed in familiar if wildly inappropriate contexts.

 

To be fair, most of them emphasize quaintness, age, and beauty, so you find the setting in Roman ruins and olive tree groves, or Gothic surroundings and painstakingly detailed oak trees, all with barn wood details and observant animals all around. But there are quite a few that put the story in modern terms, in current circumstances: in a garage and 50's diner elements, or on a recognizable street in today's Napoli, or Roma. There are crèche sets with clowns and acrobats, in a Formula One repair bay (the driver's seat serving as manger), or with popular animated series figures playing the various parts.

 

I think we all know that what we know about the events around the first Christmas aren't accurate. It wasn't how we imagine. What all these representations help us say, to affirm, is that it happened. It happened here, as in here in reality, and the message of why that actual birth is important is that it has an import for us, who we are, and where we live. That's what makes these updated, conflated, and augmented manger scenes so touching, and so meaningful, even if not historical.

 

But I draw the line at a Hobbit-themed Nativity. I think.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; tell him about your favorite crèche set at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

 

 

Faith Works 12-1

Faith Works 12-1-12

Jeff Gill

 

How It Really Was Back Then

___

 

Pope Benedict is putting out a new book about Jesus, and apparently there's some excitement, or controversy, or just some ginned up debate over what he says about Christmas.

 

It wasn't, we're told (I haven't seen the book yet), exactly like your standard Christmas pageant. Supposedly Il Papa claims there were, at the actual Nativity, no donkeys or cows, and the Magi, aka "wise men" not only weren't named Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior, they didn't show up at all until Jesus was two or so.

 

I'll bet he also says the spare room outside the main house wasn't a quaint, atmospheric stable, either.

 

My bemusement at this "news story" is because none of this is "news" in any sense I can recognize. If you've been to Bethlehem itself, you know that the site revered there is actually a rock-hewn cavern which guides tell you served the locals as stables for centuries. And who hasn't had the quiz question go by them at church asking "how many wise men came to visit the newborn king?" to which the answer is "we don't know, the Bible only says 'wise men' in plural." Could have been twenty, might have been two. Gifts numbering three are specified, so three to carry one each (gold, frankenstein, and myrrh, as I recall) just made sense.

 

Did they ride camels? What animals were in or around the stable or guest room for out-laws, or whatever a "kataluma" means in Greek to explain Luke 2.7?

 

If you want to know why the standard Nativity scene has the animals it does, don't look to Luke, but to Isaiah, specifically verses 1.3 & 60.6 (go ahead, look 'em up, I'll wait).

 

See why?

 

They fit the story, just as the appearance of the magi from Matthew 2 is blended in. We know the conventions of storytelling in a graphic novel, and when one character turns in a panel to the left to see one antagonist, then is approached by another person from the right with a different background, we don't overthink the art, we just understand that time passes. Medieval art, which has quite a bit in common with graphic novels, does this kind of compression or multiple appearances of the same figure in a single scene, and the viewer quickly "learned" how to read the plot development.

 

So it went with Nativity depictions; in the thirteenth century, when St. Francis in Assisi gathered up a bunch of local players and creatures to create the first "crèche" scene, he used the stock images of the day.

 

Now, in Italy, there's a tradition whose epicenter is in Naples, on the Via San Gregorio Armeno, a sight I'd love to see someday. Along this narrow, winding street that passes an ancient convent of the same name, there are dozens of makers of "il presepe," or depictions of the Nativity. Mary is whatever ethnicity or style you'd like to see somewhere along the shop windows of the artisans, and Joseph is anything from ancient & elderly to mature but vigorous with bulging muscles and a huge axe in hand (no doubt to cut the umbilical cord).

 

And the rest of the hundreds and thousands of scenes are the stock images of the Bethlehem birth, placed in familiar if wildly inappropriate contexts.

 

To be fair, most of them emphasize quaintness, age, and beauty, so you find the setting in Roman ruins and olive tree groves, or Gothic surroundings and painstakingly detailed oak trees, all with barn wood details and observant animals all around. But there are quite a few that put the story in modern terms, in current circumstances: in a garage and 50's diner elements, or on a recognizable street in today's Napoli, or Roma. There are crèche sets with clowns and acrobats, in a Formula One repair bay (the driver's seat serving as manger), or with popular animated series figures playing the various parts.

 

I think we all know that what we know about the events around the first Christmas aren't accurate. It wasn't how we imagine. What all these representations help us say, to affirm, is that it happened. It happened here, as in here in reality, and the message of why that actual birth is important is that it has an import for us, who we are, and where we live. That's what makes these updated, conflated, and augmented manger scenes so touching, and so meaningful, even if not historical.

 

But I draw the line at a Hobbit-themed Nativity. I think.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; tell him about your favorite crèche set at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

 

 

Knapsack 11-28

Notes from my Knapsack -- Granville Sentinel 11-28-12

Jeff Gill

 

A vision of sugarplums

___

 

There's not much left of an old fashioned Christmas, by some measures.

 

You don't find "presents on the tree" anymore. The 1943 hit "I'll Be Home for Christmas" had Bing Crosby singing about gifts you might imagine dangling from the branches of that tree back at your folks. It was long after those homesick GI's came back from overseas that the lyrics were bent into "presents under the tree."

 

Get a toothbrush, a new shirt, or an orange as your gift? You'd count yourself as ill-used and neglected indeed. Now we look for weighty consumer electronics and home entertainment systems which would snap the trunk, let alone branches.

 

Baking and canning are niche hobbies for many of the few (!) who still know how to do them. Some have found in sustainability an ethic that affirms the old, hot, time consuming ways to consume our produce and pickings, but for the rest of us, cloves and cinnamon sticks are more likely to be used in art products than in food preparation.

 

But even for those of us who enjoy cooking with odd elements and even pine for a chance to take up blacksmithing, there's those "sugarplums" in Clement Clark Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" aka "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Going all the way back to 1823, if not older (but that's when it saw print), this story of an Old World bishop in his red robes, adapted a bit for northern European climes and perhaps influenced more than a bit by Odin All-father, includes a number of charming archaisms that even so are still comprehendible today. Nightcaps and kerchiefs in homes without central heating, chimneys down which a spritely figure can clamber, dusting their ermine with soot, and even a "bowl full of jelly" – all this we can easily imagine in 2012.

 

Sugarplums, though, not so much. Are they candied fruit? That's what I used to assume. It was in looking up some old seasonal recipes that I learned that, other than in shape, there's no plum in sugarplums. They're sugary candies built up, layer by layer, in a long slow process that starts with a seed, whether rock crystal candy or even a caraway seed. Then the hard rounded sweet is dipped and dunked and added to layer by layer, until you have a final size and shape to your satisfaction coming out of the simmering simple syrup, and then dusted for good measure with . . . sugar! They were very occasionally started with an almond at the center, but no dried fruit was ever used that I've found.

 

It's almost a jawbreaker, with a hint of Everlasting Gobstopper, since a child could get one and work on it for days, even weeks. (Let's not think about where that 1823 child stored it in between chaws.)

 

Having read up on sugarplums, I'm convinced that my best approach to an old-time Christmas is more along the lines of making snickerdoodles or a fruitcake. Fruitcakes can last a long time, too.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County, and he hopes you'll have yourself a merry little Christmas. Tell him your favorite old recipes of the season at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

Faith Works 11-24

Faith Works 11-24-12

Jeff Gill

 

The Great Twinkie Scare of 2012

___

 

Fads and crazes sweep the nation, a broom that pushes everything in its path into a pile of debris and toy pieces and the occasional lost coin.

 

We like to think of ourselves as rugged individuals who are immune to the herd instinct, outside of the arc of the bristles, or at least are the little treasures that stand out in the dustpile and will ultimately be set aside, but a trend is a trend because it catches most of us up.

 

There are the legendary Pet Rocks and Cabbage Patch Dolls and Tickle-Me-Elmos, the hot toys of holiday seasons long ago. People en masse go from never having heard of them to having to have them, to the point of riot and physical violence. Then, not long after, they go from having become suddenly, shockingly valuable to being items no one will admit having wanted, while those who did are mocked.

 

In the last few years, as hunting has slowly faded as a social norm, with fewer deer harvested and less licenses sold in Ohio (though the good Lord knows we have fields ripe for the harvesting, deer-wise), the new tree-stand, the big growth of sales of camping gear and outdoor survival equipment, is for people spending days at a time out in the weather . . . in front of a big box store waiting for the post-Thanksgiving sales. You see mummy bags and hand warmers and camp chairs and little dome tents, all the accoutrements of hunting in the field, albeit (we hope) without guns or compound bows.

 

Why are so many unlikely folk choosing to live the life of Nimrod in pursuit of an ever-larger screen to play video games on? Is it really necessary? Does it truly add value to the experience? The answer "oh, everyone knows it does" should make you suspicious.

 

But if you believe some choice or option or consumer product will make your life happier, more joyful, more complete, you're willing to put yourself through quite a bit to get there. The fact that the new possibility may have little or no support behind it to show why it will actually benefit you is usually not an issue; knowing that this kind of idea has blossomed and faded before doesn't discourage us from thinking "this is the ticket" and joining the line even before we know what's on offer at the end of it.

 

What I really find hard to understand, though, are the mass hysterias, the sudden clutch of fear rippling through society over something that almost no one had even thought about just days before. Or maybe I do understand it: in an era when life is getting complex and opaque and "do not disassemble this product; there are no user-serviceable parts" labels on everything, we have an ongoing low level anxiety about what's about to break down, and that we're helpless to do anything about it.

 

Will we lose the blessing of Twinkies from our lives? I know they sell in mass quantities (another reason why it's hard to figure out how the makers could go bankrupt, but that's for the business pages), but do that many people really rely upon them as a dietary staple, or even as a vital mental health break?

 

Yet for a few days, cream filling in mass produced sponge cake was on everyone's lips. Other snack food brands may change hands and become owned by a new faceless conglomerate, but the potential demise of Twinkies (and who mourns for Devil Dogs?) seemed to create a near national panic.

 

Then the mayor of Chicago threatens to ban vending machines, after the mayor New York declares large fizzy beverages "anathema!" and there's a national shrug.

 

We have a nervous faith in the fundamental reliability of our culture, where we expect things to work but are constantly on edge about what might be breaking down right in front of us, and we're missing it. Both of the major party political campaigns tried to tap into that anxiety in different ways these last few months, perhaps raising our overall level of unease so that the mere loss of a snack food can set off a ripple from coast to coast.

 

How do you see both faith, and uncertainty, driving your life these days? What do you have confidence in that gets you through the week, and what worries can hold you back? I just hope neither answer has anything to do with Twinkies!

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in central Ohio; tell him what you believe in at knapsack77@gmail.com or follow @Knapsack on Twitter. 

Proud Magazine 2013

Proud Magazine 2013 - Licking County Chamber of Commerce

Andre Dager is a fourth generation ice cream maker, part of a family business known far beyond Licking County as Velvet Ice Cream. Close to home, she and her husband have found the entrepreneurial environment to be a good one for a business venture of her own! In her own words:

 

"Velvet Ice Cream has been a thriving business in Licking County for nearly 100 years, and we will celebrate our 100^th Anniversary in 2014.  We make over 60 flavors and distribute our products to 26 states.  We feel very fortunate to be a part of a growing community where we employ 125 full time team members and 60 seasonal team members.   There is great leadership in this community and great networking available.  Community banks and businesses have been available for us to help us grow through the years. 

 

As for Red Oak Pub, that is truly the vision of my husband Michael Sarap and myself.  We began planning in 2011, after we had heard from our customers that Licking County needed a family friendly, clean, upscale pub where people of all ages could relax and enjoy great food, atmosphere and hospitality.  We're giving Licking County what they were asking for!  We employ 60 team members at Red Oak Pub. 

 

With the economy the way it has been the past few years, we had many people tell us to just franchise, it's too risky to create your own concept.  After much research we never found anything that we really liked or felt was worth the investment.  At that point, we began seriously creating our own concept and hired a chef.  Living and working in a community like Licking County we know that we have the resources to grow our businesses and to become successful, not only for ourselves but for our team members that rely on us for jobs, we couldn't do what we do without them."

 

Red Oak Pub's menu is what could be described as "gastropub," or "better bar food," with sophisticated wings, hearty soups, a variety of burgers and classic American comfort foods: and of course, Velvet Ice cream in the milkshakes!

Proud Magazine 2013 draft

Proud Magazine 2013 – Chamber Round-up

 

Excitement is a common theme among our Licking County senior executives. Leaders and boards are looking forward into 2013 and liking what they see, even as they make plans to improve both their businesses, and the local setting where they work.

 

Park National Bank President David Trautman says "We're excited about serving our communities—schools, local government, aid agencies, businesses and families.  Each year, Park bankers supply thousands of volunteer hours to schools and local non-profit groups. In addition, we help businesses grow and residents thrive. We believe banking is a noble profession and we're always excited to share our time and talents with our community, neighbors and friends. Specifically in 2013, we're also looking forward releasing an updated version of our free mobile banking and other enhancements to our electronic systems that help us our customers manage their money with confidence and ease."

 

*  *  *

 

In Heath, Mark A. Miklos heads up The Boeing Company's Guidance Repair Center as Acting Center Director. From his work as Chief Engineer & Mission Assurance Manager, he states that they "look forward to continued successful performance supporting the nation's nuclear TRIAD through our contracts to repair the Minuteman guidance systems, Air Force bomber navigations systems and the Navy Trident submarine navigator system.  We are expanding our core businesses with new contracts for the Navy Eletrostatically Supported Gyro (ESG) and the Air Force Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) system.  Our Navy customer recognized Boeing's successful transition of work from California to Heath with a ribbon cutting ceremony at our site in April.  We are proud of our energy conservation efforts that have reduce our consumption by over 11% and passing a major safety milestone of over 500 days without loss time due to employee injury."

 

*  *  *

 

Licking County's largest employer, Licking Memorial Health Systems (LMHS), recently added new services that will provide more convenient access to health care for many residents in 2013.  Licking Memorial Urgent Care – Granville opened last fall, and LMHS President & CEO Rob Montagnese explains that its services are perfectly suited for contemporary families' needs.  "Urgent care facilities are designed for patients who have conditions and injuries that are not life-threatening, yet need attention immediately.  Visits to urgent care are, in general, much quicker and less costly than visits to traditional emergency rooms.  Because of these two factors, the Urgent Care – Granville office will transform the way many Licking County families receive much of their medical care."

 

Licking Memorial Hospital opened a new Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit in January to provide inpatients with individualized plans to treat disabilities caused by illness or injury.  The team-approach to rehabilitation provides convenient, on-site therapy services to help inpatients live as independently as possible upon leaving the Hospital.

 

Montagnese also notes with pleasure that "Hundreds of Licking County's youth will become more healthy in 2013, thanks to the Active•Fit Program that LMHS and Newark Advocate Media launched last summer.  The program encourages healthy lifestyles for 6- to 12-year-olds by promoting the benefits of exercise, healthy eating and proper rest.  Active•Fit was created as a way for youth and their chosen advisors to set life-long goals for better health."

 

*  *  *

 

Susan Krieger, Vice President – Operations for State Farm Insurance observes that "Twenty-twelve has been a tremendous year for State Farm, both in growth and in our work to meet our customers' changing preferences, expectations and needs. We're excited to continue on this path in 2013 as we deliver significant advances in our mobile and online capabilities our customers have requested. Here in Newark, our 1,200 plus employees are focused on making sure every interaction with our customers is a remarkable one."

 

Newark Central - Notes from my Knapsack 11-14

Newark Central – Notes From My Knapsack 11-14-12

 

Your elders had their annual retreat last weekend, cut just a bit short so we could come back and help honor one of our elders emeritus, Joe Higginbotham, for his 90^th birthday celebration here at the church building.

 

While we were at Camp Christian, in the Monroe Lodge, we had the guiding principals of Herald Monroe, legendary regional leader of the 20^th century, posted near our gathering space reminding us that the first purpose of Camp Christian is "to build the Beloved Community" (and that counselors have no special privileges "except coffee" . . . Herald was a wise and great man!).

 

As elders, we were in prayer and reflection to ask how God is guiding us "to build the Beloved Community" outlined in the New Testament at Mt. Vernon Road & Rugg Avenue, for the neighborhood around us and the county surrounding us.

 

After a time of Bible study led by Dr. Rintamaa, looking at models of creation in the ancient world, in Genesis, and in the Gospels (John chapter 1 begins with a creation story, after all!), we reflected on how our basic understandings about how God is at work in the world shapes how we decide to work ourselves, and that when we are closest to God's purposes is when we are sharing that work of "incarnation," of embodying God's love to the world.

 

In considering how we are called to embody, or incarnate that love through Newark Central, we put our vision for 2013 into four area where we see healing and renewing needed in our wider community: Family & children, Finance, Health & wellness, and Nature & environment.

 

At the board meeting towards the end of this month, we will share more detail about where we discern God's leading in addressing these four themes, and how Newark Central can offer a healing and transforming presence in Christ's name.

 

In grace and peace, Pastor Jeff

Faith Works 11-17

Faith Works 11-17-12

Jeff Gill

 

Believing in thankfulness

___

 

Thankfulness begins with a sense of "well, things could be worse."

 

In almost any bad situation there's an element that quickly shows itself to be not-so-bad vs. the negative situation as a whole. The car could have broken down farther away, or on a hill; the tumor is operable, or at least treatable.

 

So you're thankful, even in the middle of a tough situation.

 

When times are good, as things are working out, we can always see close at hand the ways that it could have gone the other way. I might not have seen the job posting when I did, the other fellow didn't have to stop and help, we almost fought over it before everyone in the room seemed to take a breath together, then someone laughed.

 

And you're thankful.

 

There are always those circumstances where thankfulness seems not only implausible, but irrational. The death of a child, the loss of a close friend, a diagnosis that is hopeless. The breaks all went against you, and the worst that you fear is what, in fact, has happened.

 

So often I see people in those situations still say how glad they are for the time they had, that we all got to say goodbye, and there are smiles even through a steady rain of tears.

 

It's not a "yes, but…" as much as a "yes, and…I am thankful."

 

There are people who manage to find the cloud in every silver lining, and the fly in each bowl of soup. Thankfulness does not appear to be a genetic or cultural essential in the human creature, it is a learned response that needs cultivating or it can disappear under a drip-drip-drip of "I never get a break," and "good things always happen to someone else," let alone "everyone is against me."

 

You might argue that folks in the last category are simply hard-headed realists, who approach the world and life with the skepticism and paranoia it deserves. The cosmos is governed by entropy, the ecosystem is eat or be eaten, and our economy is devil take the hindmost. Look out! And no matter how carefully you look out, you'll be someone's lunch someday, so gather what pleasures you may before the tiger strikes.

 

Not so thankful (except maybe the tiger).

 

My own sense is that the a-thankful, ag-not-grateful, anti-hope crowd is a small one. The rest of us find ourselves having to work at thankfulness more at some times than others, but the majority view is that thankful living and thinking is rational, and healthier, and ultimately the more joyful way to live. And we give Mr. Btfsplk a wide berth (that's for all the "Pogo" fans out there, the fellow who walked around with a black cloud over his head all the time).

 

There's still the challenge from atheist, agnostic, anti-religious adherents who ask "Why do you have to drag your imaginary sky friend into all this? Good things happen, bad stuff hits you, but you can't control it, and most of you God-botherers admit that you can't pray your way to exactly what you want, or even precisely what you need, right when it ought to happen."

 

A mild "well, we don't always know what's best" usually does not suffice to respond to those complaints. So why is thankfulness usually bound up with a belief in God, a faith in life-beyond-life, a sense of relationship to higher powers? Can't we just see thankfulness as a sort of thinkfulness, a way to train the mind and heart to deal with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?

 

In the end, there's just too much about what we're thinking about when we think about thankful that reaches out beyond ourselves. We are thankful because we know in the end we don't even have to be, let alone be happy. If we think there is a reason we're here at all, and a purpose to which we're connected beyond ourselves, it so quickly makes us reassess our likes, our dislikes, our joys, and even our sorrows.

 

Thankfulness is the prayer I pray when I don't know what else to say to God, to the Cosmos, to my Creator. And it always starts me down a path that leads to peace. May this week take you in that direction, as well.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; he will preach for the Newark community Thanksgiving service tomorrow night at 7:00 pm in Trinity Episcopal Church. Tell him what you're thankful for at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

Faith Works 11-10

Faith Works 11-10-12

Jeff Gill

 

Thanksgiving, together

___

 

A week from tomorrow night, Nov. 18, in a number of locations around Licking County, church groups will be gathering together for a community Thanksgiving worship service.

 

These services are always ecumenical in nature, which means they don't do anything that might make it difficult for others to participate, so there's not communion served or creeds said or other things that might be more particular to one faith tradition or another.

 

In the Lakewood area, the churches around Hebron & Buckeye Lake will be meeting at First Community Church on Walnut Rd. at 7:00 pm.

 

The Granville Ministerium is having their service at First Presbyterian Church, on the four corners of the village, also at 7:00 pm.

 

And at 7:00 pm (there's a trend shaping up here), in Newark, the ministerial association is hosting a community Thanksgiving service at Trinity Episcopal Church, just east of Courthouse Square.

 

(If anyone knows anything about Utica or Pataskala area community Thanskgiving worship, let me know and I'll note it here next week!)

 

Usually, the service includes some scripture readings on the theme of giving thanks, hymns are sung "Come, Ye Thankful People Come" and "We Gather Together" (Thanksgiving has less music than Christmas, but what it has is really good), and the choirs get together beforehand and prepare an anthem they sing as one.

 

Then you have an offering, for groups like the Salvation Army, Habitat, the Food Pantry Network, or sometimes a special effort like a shoe recycling drive for third world water supplies. Finally, there's a sermon, and that frequently falls to the new guy or gal in the neighborhood.

 

Yep, I'm preaching for the Newark service!

 

The fun part of this for me is that I'm in the (I believe) unique position of having preached all three of the aforementioned annual services. And I've done the Newark Thanksgiving message before, when I was associate pastor at Newark Central, but that was a century ago. Well, in the last century, anyhow.

 

Where I grew up, the ecumenical Thanksgiving service was a strong downtown tradition, but it was Wednesday night, and unlike many other gatherings in church life, there were usually more men than women. My mom occasionally came to sing with the joint choir, but more often she stayed home, as did many other mothers, doing last minute work on their preparations for Thursday. (They've since moved to the Sunday before, too.)

 

So my dad and I would go, to the Lutheran or the Methodist or the Presbyterian church building, with everything so familiar and yet so strange inside. And we would go down in the afternoon, before evening fell, in the years when it was at our Disciples of Christ congregation. The heavy old tables with finger-pinching legs, well-battered folding chairs, and rolling coat racks all had to be put in place downstairs, and then up in the sanctuary a little extra vacuuming, cobweb dusting, and neatening of the brochure racks, since company was coming.

 

I have years of Thanskgiving service sermons rattling around in my head, and they rustle together in an agreeable blur like commencement speeches, each with some unique qualities that stand out just a bit, but generally echoing one another in a reasonable commonality. Give thanks, with a grateful heart, for it could be worse; you could miss some good things wanting too much better, so be thankful for what you have; God has promised blessings enough for today, and more in the fullness of time, for which we could be, should be, must be . . . thankful.

 

And I think we are, mostly. We live in an era where it seems the whole of the marketplace conspires to make us discontented, to want what we don't have, always, and to consume without satisfaction: yet I hear most of us marveling at our good fortune compared to [insert your preferred comparison here], and ruefully commenting on what we'd like to have or do or be, while tending to end with "but I'm thankful, I really am."

 

Where we go with that thankfulness, and make a blessing to ourselves and others out of it, is what I think we're going to talk about a week from Sunday night. They tell me I have eight minutes! If you come, I'll be thankful you're there.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor; tell him what you're thankful for at knapsack77@gmail.com or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

Knapsack 11-15

Notes from my Knapsack – Granville Sentinel 11-15-12

Jeff Gill

 

Looking beyond this election, or any

___

 

I'm writing this before Election Day is over, without knowing the results of anything from coroners to constitutional conventions.

 

By the time it runs in the paper, we may still not know how all of these candidates and ballot issues have shaken out. Some votes will be decisive, and others may offer a more ambiguous message. Some decisions by "we, the people" may not necessarily mean what a quick glance over the polling results might indicate.

 

On the much-debated community pool issue, I strongly suspect, for a wide variety of reasons, that it will fail. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

 

Here's what I'd really like to say to everyone who worked so hard, with the very best of intentions and hopes for our village: thank you. What I think this vote does is begin a conversation, not closing a chapter. We've lost Spring Valley, and we're seeing competitive swimming grow, and there's clearly a need for a pool, ideally another year-round pool, that the public can use.

 

It's hard not to drive back and forth out Pearl St. to the intermediate, middle, and high school buildings, and not look longingly at the vast new building housing a natatorium for Denison University. Are there ways to add capacity and create partnerships to get the community inside that building without interfering with Denison's core mission to their students? I don't know.

 

Driving on past, as a non-swimmer myself, I think that what we really need, and are now discussing, is a community push for fitness in general, physical activity in particular, and space for a variety of healthy activities. Rolling in and out of the parking lots of the schools on Burg and New Burg Streets, I wonder: is there a community center plan that can bring together the Granville Schools and the Recreation District to each others' mutual benefit? And would a year-round community center, on land (let's say) between Burg & Loudon be a first step, designed where an outdoor pool could be added when the time & economics are right? I truly don't know, but I'm delighted that we're all talking about health & fitness & everyday sorts of exercise.

 

And then there's the presidential election. I believe it very likely that we won't have a definite Ohio winner, hence no confirmed candidate nationally, by the time you read this. I hope I'm wrong! Regardless, here's what I ask of the winner: please go talk to the other party, and don't let the first rebuff be the end of your attempts. My sincere personal concern is that we've spent much of the last twelve years dog-paddling in the river, as the current is carrying us towards a waterfall. As the roaring gets louder, the left arm and the right arm are blaming each other for not swimming more strongly for shore.

 

Right and left, you need two arms to swim. They have to work together, if only because when you go over the cataract, you'll both hit bottom about the same time. Even with upper income and even middle income tax increases (which I'm sure are coming whomever wins), we can't continue spending at this rate, and it's time to focus on getting to solid ground, which will take co-ordinated effort to achieve.

 

Come to think of it, I learned how to do that in a pool.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor; tell him what you learned from your swimming lessons at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

Re: Newsletter

Newark Central -- 10-31-12 Notes From My Knapsack

 

Thank you for welcoming me home!

 

Joyce and Chris and I want to thank everyone, both here at Newark Central and all the family and special guests from other churches in town, and of course Dr. Ann Updegraff Spleth & Rev. Steve Bentley from the region, for such a wonderful occasion of worship . . . and installation!

 

It was a wonderful day and part of a great week where we continue to live out that vision and mission we have for God's good news here at Mt. Vernon & Rugg. It really started with the neighborhood trick-or-treat and so many of you helping greet and welcome over 200 kids, plus lots of parents, who came by the church during Newark's official "Beggars Night." Lots of great conversations with parents around the edges, and plenty of orange colored notes with the candy letting families know when our services are, and how to learn more about us.

 

Then the Holiday Bazaar, a great tradition of the Christian Women's Fellowship of our church. The funds they raise go to mission work around the community, Ohio, and the world, plus we get to welcome many who might not have entered the building otherwise . . . but pie and crafts get them in the doors, even on rainy days!

 

And our – I would say *our* installation – where we looked back over ministries and stories of this congregation that have shaped us, and looked ahead to where God is calling us, and for which you called me to shepherd and pastor (and herd cats!) towards.

 

Ann and I got to ramble about town and see the Cedar Run Lodge her father also helped build, and told her more "John Updegraff stories" I've heard from you all, and yes, I took her past the earthworks, too.

 

We both agreed that it was a truly special thing you did in presenting me not only with the "shepherd's staff" – a tradition begun by Dr. Rick Rintamaa which I suspect will be part of this church for many years and ministers to come – but also a reminder to take time away for family, and for personal renewal. Ann as head of our Disciples' Homeland Ministries saw in those years of service how clergy can forget that, and it happens most appropriately when it's the congregation saying "we want this for you, because our ministry together will be stronger for it." Steve Bentley said much the same on behalf of the region.

 

So your example, in this as in many things to date, will be spoken of far afield. What we do here has an impact beyond what we see, just as our role has reverberations even into Heaven itself, or so the Boss, the Good Shepherd, clearly said!

 

In grace and peace, Pastor Jeff

Faith Works 10-27

Advocate team: this was a surprisingly hard one to write. And long. This (for obvious reasons) won't be an issue for me again! Anyhow, if space is tight, feel free to drop the paragraph beginning "Mills Memorial" and even the next para starting "Zion Reformed" if necessary, although I already feel bad about the places and people I don't mention as it is! If you can find a place on page D-2 or 3 for the rest, I would appreciate it, but I know it's a beast of a column. Bad, bad columnist!

Shorter and sooner next week, back to our regular programming . . .

pax, jeff

Faith Works 10-27-12

Jeff Gill

 

What's a supply preacher? Nevermind.

___

 

 

No doubt about it, I will miss being a supply preacher.

 

For most of the years I've written the Faith Works column for the Your Faith page, my "sign off" has said variations on "Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and supply preacher around central Ohio."

 

That's gotten me a fair number of inquiries as to "Jeff, what's a supply preacher?" Fair question.

 

Many people in congregations have gotten used to the concept of "interim ministers," who come in after the regular preacher, pastor, or pulpit minister (variously called) has moved on, and while the congregational leadership is searching for a new parson. Methodists and Catholics and other traditions where there are appointed clergy don't have this, but in communions which allow churches to "call" their own leadership, you have a process, and the process takes time.

 

Well, that's not what I was doing these last seven years. What I was doing was something that is regularly needed, but doesn't have much of a structure around it the way interim ministry does. The best comparison is to a substitute teacher: when a teacher just needs to be gone for a day, you call a sub. When a preacher needs to miss a Sunday, you call . . .

 

There's the problem. It used to be that pastors called some lively retired person, but these days even "retired" clergy tend to have a part-time smaller congregation of their own . . . and that pastor needs a Sunday off from time to time, too!

 

And preachers, contrary to what you might think, want a good sermon preached while they're gone. True, it can be good for people to be glad you're back, but a really bad experience from the pulpit can lead to your congregation not wanting you to take time off again soon, or ever. So supply preaching really meets a need, and it's good to provide that kind of support to hard working clergy.

 

For just over seven years, that's what I did. I "filled the pulpit" in a variety of locations, mostly in Ohio but occasionally further afield. Locally, there were places I kept coming back to, where I began to feel downright at home, and whom I will miss.

 

St. Paul's Lutheran here in Newark was kind to me as I worked to master the full liturgy they use, and I managed to sing it (sort of) my last time at the altar with them. I'll always proudly be Bill Rauch's vicar pro tem!

 

Mills Memorial UMC in Lancaster had me back time and time again, to the point where I know where all the little steps are around the platform. I also got to master the art of preaching a triple charge on a Sunday morning with St. Louisville, Chatham, and Liberty UMCs at 9, 10, & 11 am across the northern swath of Licking County, driving right past Highwater Congregational UCC where I got a number of opportunities to preach, even bringing my parents along for a visit.

 

Zion Reformed UCC also is place I've gotten to worship, let alone preach, on the beautiful road to Somerset in Perry County, literally on a High Point (Rd.). Their history is the history of this region, and their Mercersburg tradition of worship & spirituality is a gift to the UCCs and my own Disciples of Christ (and their pastor, Dr. Herb Hicks, has standing in both). Due west of them, St. Michael's UCC on Bickel Church Rd. has paid me in turnips to preach, and they were GOOD turnips.

 

My wife has been a worship leader for New Life Community UMC at Lakewood Middle School since they began, and Brian Harkness has not only invited me to preach when he was gone, but we even did a number of "duets" preaching together (and no, it didn't go twice as long).

 

And then there's Centenary UMC in Granville, where I've hung my spiritual hat for longer than any church other than the one I grew up in, almost eight years. Steve Cramer has been my pastor and friend, and the congregation welcomed me as an erratically attending quasi-leader, and it's a wonderful place to preach three times on a Sunday without driving!

 

So many more than I can list here, with my last providential supply sermon here in Newark at the Brethren Church on 26^th St., where I'd long wanted to worship, and finally did on Memorial Day weekend, and Pastor Ellis asked me if I had a Word to preach that day . . . what a blessing, I hope all around.

 

Then Newark Central asked me, this past summer, if I'd fill in for the retiring Rick Rintamaa; we kept up the conversation, and they've asked if we could just keep on going. To that request I was happy and honored to say "Yes."

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor; he's ready to settle down, and is pretty sure what he wants to do when he grows up. Tell him about your travels in vocation & employment at knapsack77@gmail.com or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.

 

Faith Works 10-20

Faith Works 10-20-12

Jeff Gill

 

Speaking in public, dying, and other hazards of ministry

___

 

You've probably heard that for most Americans, according to surveys (and they're always right, aren't they?), death is preferable to having to speak in public.

 

Is this really what people say? Maybe so. I've been at meetings where the darndest people didn't speak, and the dad-drattedest people did.

 

In just a few more Sunday afternoons, I will have yet again the honor, for the fifth time (fifth time!), to walk out onto the stage of The Midland Theatre and be the master of ceremonies for the annual Coalition of Care Gospel Concert.

 

Another great lineup of college and church choirs, quartets, and soloists is being brought together by the desire of local faith communities to work together, to meet needs of those who need assistance with the necessities of life like rent and utilities and transportation. (Tickets are just $20 or $15 for a full program of joyful voices.)

 

So Sunday November 4^th, in downtown Newark at 4:00 pm, I will walk out in front of a few hundred of my closest friends and talk and read and sing. Since I'm a pastor, this is no strange thing, right?

 

Welllllll . . . there's a story here. And it goes back to John Dean. You recall the Watergate fellow, the former White House counsel? In 1981 he was speaking at my university, in a vast cavernous hall built off of the blueprints of Radio City in NY, seating 6,000 when filled but leaving only a few thousand to rattle around inside like change in a pocket.

 

For years I had known all too well that if I went to an event where questions could be asked, and if I raised my hand and had even a few moments to wait expectantly for my turn to speak, things would not go well for me. My face would flush, my heart would race, and the world would start to spin. When I say "my heart would race," I mean something in the Formula One division, with a pounding in my ears like Gene Krupa or Keith Moon, and a shortness of breath that I was decades away from associating with heart attack. The longer I had to wait, knowing I would have to speak in front of a group, whether the size was a couple dozen, or a few thousand, the harder and faster my heart would pound. It was, to put not to fine a point on it, terrifying, and the smart man would just pull his hand down, back away from the microphone, and go back to his seat, where the symptoms would recede as quickly as they arose.

 

But I had a question, darn it, and when was I going to get to ask it of this fellow ever again? There was a certain insistence to my wish to hear what John Dean had to say in response to my particular question, and the fact that not long before I'd been through some fun and games with the United States Marine Corps, and I ended up saying to myself "Your heart is NOT going to beat itself out of your chest, and you can just stand here and be terrified, and still speak your piece."

 

And I did. In fact, I got invited to join Mr. Dean backstage in the green room afterwards, and spoke to him for quite some time, and received some wise counsel that has stood me in good stead for lo these many years, but that's a whole 'nother column.

 

But my point, such that I have one, is that it was only years later that I realized I was having panic attacks. In fact, I still often have them. And I am thankful that mine are mild, and manageable, and that I was able to get past them. But they've never gone away.

 

As I work with our local mental health service providers these days, it occurs to me that there are many folks who experience, even just on facing walking out the door of their house, a physical and mental experience akin to what I felt in class and in lecture halls and in the Elliott Hall of Music. And for some it's stronger, more debilitating, and they need to know it's not weakness, not just fear (which we all have from time to time), and it's okay to ask for help from others.

 

In fact, even a preacher can feel it on a Sunday morning, or afternoon, and we do. You even start to enjoy it, but the anxiety never quite goes away. But it's amazing what a prayer and a song can do to dispel the terrors.

 

"Tell Me Why" is especially effective.

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in central Ohio; yes, he has panic attacks from time to time, but it makes sense at the time. Tell him your crazy anxieties at knapsack77@gmail.com.

Visitors' Guide 2013

LCCVB 2013 Visitors Guide

*  *  *

An invitation to a different sort of downtown

Newark Metropolitan Hotel & The Midland Theatre

 

Ten years since the historic Midland Theatre re-opened to rave reviews and sell-out crowds, downtown Newark has been waiting for a hospitality showcase to match the welcome at the Midland.

 

Newark Metropolitan Hotel is the ideal counterpart to the classic experience of the 1928 theatre just up the block. Completely refurbished from top to bottom, from the exterior to the interior, what had welcomed guests at "The Place Off the Square" as a quality hotel is now a high-tech, contemporary lodging experience.

 

With 118 rooms and suites and over 5,000 square feet of infinitely adaptable meeting space, with all new furnishings and interior finishes, it is an entirely new hotel. The latest in exercise equipment in the fitness center overlooking the indoor pool for your down time, and state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment for when the work needs to get done.

 

For many, the Newark Metropolitan will be all play and no work, using it as a base to explore Licking County sights as well as nearby attractions like the Longaberger Homestead, just across the county line to our east. The staff of the Metropolitan will be delighted to help you plan anything from a long golf weekend to a family wedding, and make it all go well.

 

Easiest of all is the stroll around the block to The Midland Theatre. Over 1,200 seats and not a bad view in the house, The Midland hosts the biggest of names and fan favorites as easily as children's theatrical events like the holiday Nutcracker and interactive science programs. Entertainers like Arlo Guthrie, Switchback, Wynonna, Charlie Daniels, and comedian Bill Engvall are just a few of the upcoming shows, and there's always more to come.

 

With the clean, crisp modern lines of the Newark Metropolitan Hotel, and the classic terracotta exterior and opulent interior of The Midland Theatre, you might expect a contrast, but the two compliment each other on the northern corner of Courthouse Square. Between the two, the staff and management of each make sure that the focus is on you as the guest, and the quality of the experience for everyone.

 

Come enjoy the hospitality of both on your next visit to Licking County.

[Let me know if you need phone, email, address, or GPS for these; I've got 'em all, just didn't know how you wanted to format pages.]

 

*  *  *

 

Cool times in four seasons

Lou and Gib Reese Ice Arena

 

You don't think much about ice rinks in August, do you?

 

In central Ohio, it's time to open up and prepare for hockey teams, beginner's lessons, and the all around fun that is skating!

 

This is especially the case if you're off of Sharon Valley Road in Newark, and you host the Ohio state champion Newark Generals, a high school club team. Ice is serious business in hockey, let alone for any sort of skating activity.

 

Along with the growth of popularity of the National Hockey League, spurred in central Ohio by the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets, interest in hockey has, well "caught fire" in this area, and with the support of local benefactors Lou & Gib Reese, Licking County has a centrally located ice arena that is open nine months of the year, from August to April.

 

During those three "down" months, the ice making equipment is being renewed and updated for another long season ahead: meanwhile, the arena area is air conditioned, allowing for rental to groups needing a large, indoor space for car shows, conventions, even indoor soccer. The arena never sleeps, even if the ice has to take a summer break.

 

Another plus of the long season is the opportunity to serve not only hockey teams from young to old, of men and women, but also the growing figure skating community in central Ohio. Add in plenty of free skate sessions for those just wanting to try out a few laps on shaky legs, and you have a major recreational facility, with plenty of parking as well.

 

If you're interested in casual skating, lessons, or joining a hockey league, just check out the website or give them a call: www.newarkicearena.com, (740) 349-6784.

 

Lou and Gib Reese Ice Arena

936 Sharon Valley Road

Newark OH 43055

 

*  *  *

 

The secret ingredient of Licking County

 

Manufacturing and business have long been vital parts of the Licking County landscape. We make things here, all sorts of things, and we're proud of the ingenuity and quality that goes into what we send from this wonderful place to waiting customers around the world.

 

There are the old, old elements of trade that still color our image across the continent: Flint Ridge flint, a useful mineral for ancient hunters whose rainbow color is utterly unique, is found in the archaeological record all across North America, and the trade goods of the ancient world, such as mica, obsidian, copper, and sea shells, are found here in millennia old ruins just as our flint has been identified there. The quarry pits used by Native Americans can still be seen up at Flint Ridge State Memorial.

 

More recent engineering took everyday elements of the earth, like glass, and added skill, chemicals and dyes to create works of beauty, such as at the Heisey  Glass Company, whose artistic and collectible products can be seen at the National Heisey Glass Museum in downtown Newark – also in all the colors of the rainbow!

 

More practically, research engineer Games Slayter and a product team at Owens Corning worked on how to make, and use "glass fibers." They came up with a practical method of manufacture that is still largely in use today, not only making fiberglass insulation possible, but also distinctively pink.

 

Trade secrets and proprietary methods can be found in large factories, or even in small shops down quiet streets. In Licking County, there are two branches of a single family, both of whom make chocolate and candies according to recipes brought over from "the old country." Each branch of the family asserts that theirs is the true mix, the proper blend, the real sweet deal.

 

But both have up on the walls of their respective shops an image of the same old, handwritten recipe used by their father. That list is out in the open for anyone to see, because the elements, the ingredients, they would tell you, are not the most important part.

 

And in a way, their dispute tells the story of all of Licking County's business and industry: the difference is in the people. What makes our products unique is the care our friends and family and neighbors put into everything that goes from Licking County to around the world.

Newark Central – Notes From My Knapsack 10-17-12

Newark Central – Notes From My Knapsack 10-17-12

Jeff Gill

 

Dick Hamm, our Disciples of Christ former General Minister and President, once pointed out that it's kind of odd that we insist on having an "Installation" service for pastors.

 

It does sound a bit like putting a new appliance into your kitchen; hook up the test meters, run some current, say no to the delivery guy making one last pitch for the extended warranty.

 

The fact of the matter is that your new preacher is already ordained, already had their trial sermon, already has had a whole series of "first" usually, and then there's this thing, this event, this "installation," which we will hold at Newark Central on Oct. 28^th.

 

One reason we do this is because it is an occasion to affirm and celebrate connections as much or more than it is an installing sort of event.

 

Rev. Stephen Bentley, our longest serving regional staff member, will offer a special prayer and responsive reading that connects us as a church, in all our servant roles, to each other, and his presence reminds us of our connection to the Christian Church in Ohio. The message on Oct. 28^th will be from Ann Updegraff-Spleth, who has served in the general church through a variety of roles, with Homeland Ministries and at Christian Theological Seminary, while she now is in a "ministry" to help stamp out maternal tetanus as head of the Kiwanis International Foundation.

 

Meanwhile, the regular work of mission and ministry goes on: we're looking at making November a "month of membership," talking about what it means to "belong" to a congregation, and inviting people who may be wondering what that involves to come and join, starting with Nov. 4^th.

 

And for our youth, with the co-ordination of our youth director, Samantha Frizzell, the senior high youth will meet with me after worship on Nov. 11^th for another installment (!) of our ongoing series "God, and stuff." Why "stuff"? Because as any parent of a high schooler knows, if you ask what they did today, the invariable answer is "stuff." So we will converse together over lunch about "stuff," and how God relates to it.

 

So what's an installation service, really? It's God, and stuff, and how we all are connected in sorting our stuff out. Plus, it's another reason to have a dinner after church!

 

In grace and peace,

Pastor Jeff