Mum's pics of Saffron Walden, Bath, Windsor, Stonehenge, Cambridge, Audley End... England world tour.

Mom leaves in the morning, but has uploaded the pictures from her time here. Enjoy!
Peace,
Chris

Mom's coming!

My mom shows up in England tomorrow morning!!!! I'm excited!

Baby Joy Halverson

Baby is dead. Mom and dad carried her one more time through the park she used to run around in like a little puppy. Then she was put down as she was suffering and couldn't eat.
She was like a little sister to an only child. I'll miss her.
Peace,
Chris

Thoughts on MLK

I've listened to MLK's "Declaration Against the War on Vietnam" and his "I've been to the Mountaintop" speeches. I have to say I know why they killed him. His views on love and the way we should live with one another is so radical! He basicly wanted us to take Democracy to its utmost reaches, making it much more radical than any Marxist idea.
I couldn't help but cry at both speeches. The "Declaration" because of where we are now, "Mountaintop" because it was as if he knew it was it, it was the end and he was Moses. Beautiful.
Peace,
Chris

New Essay up at The Foundation and other thoughts

There is a new essay up at The Foundation. Other than that I fell down a flight of stairs yesterday and hurt my ribs so I've been taking it kind of easy.
Here are some stuff I've been thinking about:

• I read "Paul" by E. P. Sanders. Two big things struck me:

1. "A doctrine of the work of Christ was never achieved and one can only speak in theories of the atonement." This was a bit of a relief, I always kind of wondered if I just missed a specific explaination of how Christ saved us.
2. The French destroyed the Anglo-American understanding of Paul (I'm sure Dan will be pleased to know this). As most of us know when the French conqued England English vocabulary changed. For example the "swine" is what the English peasant in the field tended, whereas "Pork" is what the Norman French ate at the table. For the most part this just made our language more descriptive, but in some cases the old Anglo-Saxon words were removed completely. This is especially true with legal words. Sanders contends that we translate Paul's "dikaioun" and "pistis" were improperly translated with the French "Justify" and "believe" instead of the Anglo-Saxon "rightwisian" (aka "to make right") and "to have faith." This makes us assume that when Jesus died for us he Justified us in a court sense, that is he kind of made an excuse for us, for our opinion of him, instead of that Jesus actual makes us right by our faith in him.

• Also I've been reading some exestantialists and have concluded that they are bookish elitists who have gotten so caught up in studying truth and life that they have lost sight of both. Their only out is to find a worldly woman who pulls them out of the world of the book they are trapped in (no! This post is NOT autobiographical!!!), or fall asleep and be transported to a world that pays ultimate homage and ultimately manifest their ideas about utopia (again, not autobiographical)...or at least thats what they write about. Not entirely sure what to make of them other than they have a lot of angst.

That's actually about it. Right now I'm reading "The Pain That Heals" which is a very mystical look at suffering from a Hinduish Anglican Priest/psycologist... Very weird. I'm also reading Rumpole Of the Bailey, a very British, and very comical collection of short stories about Rumpole, a lawyer who would just as soon quote poetry as defend his client.

Peace,

Chris

My dog isn't doing well

Baby, my old dog from long ago and far away, a little blond mutt that looks like a 6 pound sheepdog isn't doing well. She's not eating in days and is sluggish, now my parents took her in to the vet and it turnes out she's got a bum heart (just like her master), she also has an enlarged liver, spots on one lung, and a small kidney stone. Doesn't sound too good.
This dog is really quite amazing. If I believed salvation was works based she'd be way ahead of me. She's visited the sick and elderly for most of her life, she's been signed up to listen to children read, when I had my seizure she first lept upon me ready to defend me from the Fireman with tooth and claw for her life, then when my mom told her it was okay she allowed the fire man to pass. In short she's a damn good dog, and as pittiful as it may sound one of the best friends I've had. We've walked countless miles together connected by leash and heart. She sat on my lap, listening to me read allowed whatever poetry moved me, Yeats and Aeschylus, are the one's I most remember reading to her, and of course Robert Service.

Peace,
Chris

The Children's Sermon

Basicly I brought the kids up to the front to examine a basin full of water. I had them describe what it felt like, and describe a time in thier life involving water (one kid saw the sea in Greece). Then I talked about Tubing down the Willamet river and my tube popping. Apparently they don't tube in England... When I explained the process I could visibly see the parent's eyes getting bigger, thinking "Bloody Hell don't give our children any ideas." Then in finished off by talking about the Chaotic Waters of Genesis 1 and the waters of Baptism!
Peace,
Chris

The service

Today I not only preached, but also led the service. I think I did a pretty good job, though I felt awkward at the transition points that didn't include a hymn. Still, I think it went rather well. Below is my order of worship:

Notice-not by me
Opening sentences:
The scripture sentence and Prayer of Approach is found on page 4 of the blue book.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord
For his love endures for ever.
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
That we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the mercy of Almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all of our sins. To those who believe in Jesus Christ he gives the power to become Children of God and bestows on them the Holy Spirit. Amen
Hymn "Into a World of Darkness" 325 (1)
Prayer:
Holy God, Holy and mighty, Holy and immortal,
Hear our prayers and let us cry before you.
Gracious God, we pray today that the light of your presence and your sustaining grace may be known by those for whom these are dark times.
We pray for those who are bereaved and struggling with the question why
Who are having problems with relationships and family life,
Who are having to come to terms with a life-threatening disease,
Who are coping with mental health problems.
We pray especially for those in Darfur, and Iraq, Niger and Afghanistan and all places of conflict and famine. We pray that within the chaos and death that envelops our world you may be the light of life.
Individual prayers and petitions may be made aloud or in silence.
Gracious God, may all for whom we pray know the power and strength of your presence
May your love fill their lives and may you be the light that enters their darkness, turning despair into hope and praise. Amen
And now we pray as Jesus taught us to pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, they kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever.Amen.

Talk to children: (water experiences)
Offertory:
Eternal God,
We come with these gifts to offer the praise of our lips and the service of our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn "Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove 299 (2)X
O.T. Lesson- Gen1:1-5 (other person reads)
N.T. Lesson- Mark 1:4-11 (I read)
Hymn "At the Dawn of Creation" 424 (3) X
(Children Leave)
Address (sermon)
Hymn "Breathe on me Breath of God" 295 (4)
Prayers:
(please respond Thank you Almighty God)
Almighty God, you entered the chaotic waters of the world, your Spirit skirting the deep and your Word bringing light.
Thank you Almighty God
Almighty God, you revealed the Word made Flesh to us through the waters of John’s Baptism and the Spirit like a dove.
Thank you Almighty God
Almighty God, you make us Children of God and allow us to address you as our abba.
Thank you Almighty God
Hymn "All Creatures of Our God and King" 39 (5)
The LORD almighty order our days and our deeds.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Amen

The sermon

Today I preached at the United Reformed Church at Abbey Lane. The biggest thing I've learned, and continue to learn is that "speed kills" that is I need to slow down when I preach.
Here is the sermon:


Sermon
Though we are in the Wilderness and the Darkness of the Deep, through Baptism the Spirit proclaims us Children of God.
This morning we are faced with beginnings. The beginning of Creation where God enters into the formless void, and hovers over the deep black waters of primordial chaos. The beginning of the Redemption, where God enters into a fallen world overrun by surging tides and watery white caps of destruction.
This morning we are faced with a loving, yet realistic message. +Though we are in the wilderness and the darkness of the deep, through Baptism the Spirit calls us Children of God.+
We are in the wilderness. We find ourselves out here alone in a dry unnourishing place. Out here we are embroiled in our personal sins, and see that we have been delivered up to our passions, greed, and despair, we are found guilty. We are fools that, as was wrote in the book of Proverbs so long ago "return to our own vomit." In short, we "can not not sin."
Out here in the wilderness we are totally annihilated by this confrontation with our own sinfulness, and feel a total alienation from both God and our fellow man. I don’t know why, maybe it is out of spite, though more likely out of shame, we try to justify ourselves. We look out into the lonely desert and decide that we are a definitive oasis of truth in a desert of lies. We fall into that same sinful trap as Adam did, our own hubris. We become, as Luther put it, "bellybutton gazers." We are like a snake eating its own tail. In this selfishness we see our brothers, mothers, fathers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends as simply an appendage of our self. By ignoring our broken relationship with God and others we are folding in on ourselves.
We are also in the darkness of the deep. All this personal sin and alienation that each one of us experiences is not ours alone. As theologian Rudolf Bultmann writes, "The evil for which every man is responsible for individually has become a power which enslaves the whole human race."
All of humanity, each and every last one of us, is a card within a house of cards. We were all stacked carefully and precariously atop one another. Even the slightest breath, a slight jarring of the table, would cause the whole house to fall down. And that deck of cards has fallen down a long time ago, and we are constantly attaining toward a return to our original placement. Every personal sin is a card falling, knocking down the whole deck. This deck is in a constant flurry of motion, Jacks falling atop crazy eights, and twos upon Kings. Every time a wall of a house is reconstructed two more fall down. The interactions of these cards grow in intensity until they become a splashing, bubbling sea of black, red, and white, the primordial chaos the Spirit hovers over in Genesis one. Whole legions of belly button gazers ignore the fact that 30,000 people dies of preventable diseases each day and the famished cries of those dying of hunger. Brigades of tail eating snakes grasp continually for real or imagined slivers in their neighbor’s eye while ignoring the planks hanging from their own, and they forget to forgive.
Yet, despite our sorry state there is good news this day, there is light to split the darkness, there is a spirit upon the dark waters. For +though we are in the wilderness and the darkness of the deep through Baptism the Spirit calls us Children of God.+ Today John the Baptist, a charismatic wild man, mysteriously "appears" in the wilderness near the river Jordon. John the Baptist is cloaked as the great old testament prophet Elijah the Tishbite was, wearing a camel hair tunic and a leather belt. The prophet Elijah was an amazing figure, known for speaking truth to the powers that be in Israel and facing down the priests of Ba’al. John likewise spoke out against King Herod and faced down the Pharisees and Sad’ducees. For Elijah’s steadfast devotion he is said to have been taken up to heaven by God by means of a fiery chariot, greater still was John, the greatest and last of the prophets, for his devotion in proclaiming God coming down in water and Spirit.
Now it says that John was Baptizing with a Baptism of repentance and forgiveness. Being Christians of the 21st century, having heard this story countless times, "preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" rings as tin in our ears and does not strike us as odd. Yet, at the time of John’s actions the average Jew on the street would be wondering what had got into "all the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem." It would be like us hearing a cat screeching and yowling in the bathroom and we went inside and found a child Baptizing a very wet, confused, and bedraggled, cat in the toilet. Or it would be like seeing a man running down High Street on a particularly rainy day shouting "God’s Baptizing the world!" We’d get the sentiments of what was going on, but we’d still have a lot of questions. What were these people doing out there? Why were they doing it? What exactly was this new thing John was doing? What is this Baptism thing?
This was a new thing. Sure the Jews had Mikvot, that is purity baths, but Mikvot were used to ensure a ceremonial cleanliness, not a moral one. Further, this Baptism thing John preached and performed was a one time event, not unlike the conversion rights non-Jews would go through to become Jewish. Yet John’s Baptism was for Jews!
What then was this thing going on in the desert? I believe John’s Baptism was nothing short of an eschatological act! John was waiting expectantly for the Great and Terrible day of the LORD. He was preparing the Path of the LORD so that God could come and implant a New Heart and New Spirit within humanity. For John there is not time for elaborate ritual, only time to say I’m sorry in a very public and symbolic way.
Then comes that Spirit wielder, that "one who is mightier." Here comes Jesus. He comes and submits himself to the Baptism of John. The Baptism of John, a Baptism of repentance. Some people try to explain this by saying that Jesus was repenting for the collective sins of Israel/ and they might be right, but I think that what happens next points to a much more profound meaning of this Baptism. The heavens are ripped open. (The only other time this verb is used is during Christ’s death when the curtains of the temple are torn in two.) Then the Holy Spirit, like a Dove, descends, proclaiming to Jesus "Though art my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased."
This tearing apart of the blankets of sky separating God from man is the greatest shift of relationship in human history. God did more than blow his breath upon the waters and speak words of creation, but he en-fleshed this Word and enlivened it with Spirit. God’s son, Jesus, the Christ, has entered into the chaotic mush of human existence. This God of ours is in the world in the human form of Jesus. Karl Barth describes the relationship between God and man as that of an hourglass, and in this metaphor Jesus is the smallest point at which the two halves, God and man, meet! In Jesus we meet God in a man anointed in Baptism by the Holy Spirit to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior. In Jesus we meet God bringing good news to the poor, healing the lame and sick, and preaching a radicalized law of love. In Jesus we meet God betrayed, beaten, buried, and abandoned on our behalf. In Jesus we meet God resurrected, defeating the unholy trinity of sin, death, and the devil.
As miraculous as God entering the world is there is still more! +Though we are in the wilderness, and the darkness of the deep, through Baptism the Spirit calls us Children of God.+ This change in relationship brought about by the Christ’s humanity in Jesus is a two way street; it is also a change for us. In Baptism God changes the very character of who we are. The same Spirit that was with Jesus at his Baptism is with us.
How does this change come about? What is it that Baptism precisely is?
Now as I stand here I note the dangerous place I am at. I am an outsider from the traditions of the URC coming to preach about Baptism to a congregation that was once split over this very issue. Yet I will be so bold, as well as brief.
The earliest Christians, Jews themselves, seemed to have as hard of a time defining Baptism as John’s contemporaries had understanding what he was doing out there in the waters. After all how do you attach words to a movement of the Spirit? The early church developed many metaphors. In 1st Corinthians 6 the old language of Baptism as washing can be found, in John 3:5 Baptism is described as a New Birth, in Ephesians it is described as "Enlightenment by Christ" in Galatians it is described as putting on new clothing. In Titus Baptism is a renewal of Spirit, and in Romans and Colossians Baptism is seen as uniting with Christ’s dying and rising. In all of these cases something new is happening! Christ is entering into our life.
From these passages came arguments about immersion, infusion, aspersion, or even Baptism without water. And questions of Infant Baptism or Believer Baptism. But I think these arguments miss the mark. The point that all these arguments are vouching for is the importance of Baptism. For those who emphasize believer Baptism they are saying Baptism is too important to not have a full understanding and commitment by the believer. For those who emphasize Infant Baptism they see Baptism as too important and God as too powerful to wait for any human reason to Baptize.
Baptism is important, and life changing. Through Baptism the desert of sin is saturated, the chaotic deep is drained of its deadly power. Through Baptism we may open our eyes and see God in Jesus. Through Baptism we have a new beginning. +Though we are in the wilderness, and the darkness of the deep, through Baptism the Spirit calls us Children of God.+
A+A

Issue 3 of my blog-ozines are up!

The January editions of Foundation and Universal Bones are up!
Peace,
Chris

Back from Germany

Hey all. I'm back from Germany. It was a lovely time, did a little "shlitshoelaufen", a little "Tanzen" and also saw the two places where the treaty of Westfalia was hammered out!
Peace,
Chris
PS Sorry for people's comments not coming up right away, they have to go through me first, but I didn't have any internet in Germany.

Boxing Day is now my new curse word

So, I tried to take the train from London to Audley End on Boxing Day. It was very strange, went to the station, it's empty except for an express shuttle to Stansted airport. I call my boss to see if I can get a lift from Standsted, am going to buy a ticket, my phone dies. Then when the phone is back in operation it tells me it has no more minutes on it. I ended up taking a few bus trips back and forth from Kate's flat (the missionary who I was visiting for Christmas in London) to Liverpool station, to charge my phone, pick up my bags, etc. Finally I leave for Stansted airport, get picked up there by Sarah W. and am back home in time to wash clothing and pack my bags for Germany.
New Years will be Auf Der Deutch!
Peace and a late Merry Christmas
Chris
PS I finished reading Bultmann's "Christ and Mythology" it was interesting in that it talks about not just demythologizing explicit mythical language (eg the creation stories having more to do with the complete control of the universe by God/marriage than about how the world was made) but also mythical concepts. His example was Escatology, he maintains that it is simply a metephor for explaining how God transcends time and this present time doesn't reflect God.

Sappy Advent-ish animation

It caught my eye, the only thing that bothered me some was no direct referance to Christianity. It could have just as well been an exposition on Pandora's box. That said its worth watching.
Peace,
Chris

What kind of Lutheran are you (My first quiz)

Remeber my rant about these online quizes well, I'm not practicing what I preach. I've made one of my own. Its quite fun, try it out and tell me what type of Lutheran you are!
Peace,
Chris

The Fourth Newsletter!

Chris at St. Mark’s
Newsletter 4
The wonderful program that has made this whole thing possible? Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM)
http://www.elca.org/globalserve/youngadults/

Christmas in England:
No, its not Christmas yet, but since the end of November it has been Christmas here at St. Mark’s. We have put up multiple trees (including a 12 foot one in the front yard), decorated the lounge, and have been playing quite a bit of Christmas Music. We have also been serving three course Christmas dinners to various groups. It’s hard work, as Viktor said “I’ve peeled more potatoes this month than I have the whole rest of my life.” We’ve been busy serving a lot of posh food, from fancy French cheeses on crackers to a Salmon dripping with sauce and cranberries to traditional English Christmas pudding. I always imagined missionary work would involve feeding the hungry, I just didn’t realize how we’ll I’d be feeding them!
The English treat Christmas much different than we Americans. To them it seems to be much more of a carousing kind of celebration, compete with little paper party crowns and “crackers” which are a cross between a box of crackerjacks, a Christmas present and a fire cracker. They are little paper cylinder that you and a friend pull, one on each side, they kind of crack open with a slight explosion (not the gunpowder kind)
Chris, Bartender:
Another activity I never imagined I’d be doing as a missionary is bartending, but part of serving Christmas dinners is manning the bar before and after the meal. It is an interesting job, mostly it involves pouring wine for old English women and collecting the 1 quid 90 per glass. On top of that there is the task of dispensing spirits and sherry. The only odd incident to date was a man who tried to steal our bottle of port (he claimed it was a misunderstanding, he thought he got the whole bottle for 1 pound 90).
RYPpers
Contrary to the jokes I made about the program when I was still back in the states RYPpers has nothing to do with a London serial killer named who’s first name is Jack. RYP stands for Rural Youth Program. It is the youth group of St. Mark’s College. We had our first game night last week. We didn’t have many children show up, but those that did enjoyed playing pool, table tennis, and Dance Dance Revolution.

Chris on Christmas
The first worship service for RYPpers will be this Sunday. It is entitled “Chris on Christmas.” I have a slide show and sermonette planned about the Magnificat (Mary’s song that beings “My soul magnifies the Lord) and the Birth of Jesus in a lowly stable.

Preaching
RYPers won’t be the only group that gets the joy of listening to ol’ Chris Halverson preach the Good News. I’ve managed to get noticed by several churches around town and will be preaching at least twice at the United Reformed Church and at least once at St. Mary’s, the Anglican church of Saffron Walden.
My first sermon at the URC will be on Baptism, which should be interesting, considering this particular congregation actually split over the issue of Baptism! I’ll let the Spirit blow where it will, and as they say “No guts no glory!”

Greek and German
There is an old saying “you can take the tiger out of the jungle but you can’t take the jungle out of the tiger.” (I believe the Minnesota version goes something like “You can take the Scandinavian out of Scandinavia, but they still are attracted to cold dark snowy places.”) Though I am out of school, I can’t stop learning. I’ve decided to re-learn German (so I can read Luther in the original language) and teach myself Ancient Greek (so I can read the New Testament, not to mention the philosophers). I’ve already gotten some favorite Greek words! Edos, meaning Shape or Form(think Plato), Pollou, meaning The Many(again Plato), Logos, The Word (In the beginning was the Logos!), and the phrase “Panta rei” meaning everything flows, or as William Faulkner put it so well in The Sound and the Fury “All things impermanent.”