Sufi Iftar Dinner

Tonight a group of us joined a Sufi group to share in their Iftar dinner. The Iftar dinner is simply the meal after sunset to break the fast during Ramadan. The people were extremely nice and welcoming, and the food was stupendous - reminded me a lot of Meditarranean food, particularly Lebanese.


Sitting down (on the floor) to eat: Myself, Luke, Alison and Barb.

The Sufis are described as the Mystical Muslims.

This was their holy place. Each time they entered or exited, they bowed towards the center of the room.

A local Imam visited the Sufi center to join us for the dinner.
I thought this was classic, with him receiving a DHL letter, and yes, that's a Macy's bag at his feet!

Second-Wind

Lately I have been dragging. I'm not sure what it is, but I know my friend Lydia was feeling under the weather last week and just lacked a lot of energy. I'm tired but not quite tired enough to take a nap, and as a result I just keep pushing through my tired feelings until I get a second-wind.

When I was in high school, I went to JH Ranch, an evangelical Christian camp in Etna, Northern California. They draw a lot from the Southeast and I was probably their first (and only?) person from Delaware. The motto of the camp is essentially testing ourselves physically and mentally, through ropes course work, white water rafting and wilderness navigation, as a reflection or in preparation of testing ourselves spiritually. Essentially, you get to the point where all you can do is rely on God, rather than your own strength, and take that leap of faith to get to the other side. The program was aptly dubbed "Second Wind."

That is what I am praying for: a daily resurrection, a reversal of my myopic reality, a turning of the tide (to conjure up images of LotR). In digging deep, I hope to rely on not on my own strength, but that of Christ, in which I can do everything (Phil 4:13). My God rejuvenate your soul, reverse your circumstance, and deliver you to the other side.

Muir Beach

The beauty of where I am, Marin County, continues to astonish me.
It's so wonderful to have someone with whom to share it!


Not far from Muir Woods is Muir Beach!

Full of fun rocks to play and climb on!

These rocks are called "haystacks," and are left over when softer, sedimentary rock has been eroded away from this harder, volcanic rock.

A nice view of the Marin Headlands.

To Emily's left (your right) there is apparently a (un)designated nudist section of the beach.
(Not pictured: the two naked people we saw before turning back).

A Walk in the Woods

On our last day, I took Emily to Muir Woods, about a half-hour from the seminary. It is one of the few remaining sanctuaries of the Redwood forests, which used to cover much of Northern California.

These trees can grow upwards of 300 feet tall and are straight as an arrow. The bark looks like sinew, being rooted in the ground only 10 feet deep but up to 100 feet in diameter.

Walking in these woods makes me think of Lord of the Rings. Many of the trees grow in families, intertwining their roots for support. Within one grove, eleven trees surrounded a dead one, which had given birth to its "children." It made me think of the Apostles...

It's as if we'res standing between the legs of one of Tolkein's Ents!

Or being eaten by one!

A Reflective Hike

Today Emily and I hiked up Mount Baldy, about an hour's hike up from the seminary.

Taking time to reflect

It was a great time to exercise our muscles and spend some time reflecting.

A distant view of the city

Despite having a limited amount of time together, we have so much to be thankful for: good health, loving family, supportive friends, few financial worries, wonderful weather, ample leisure time...

Taking It All In

There is so much to be thankful for when we take the time to stop, listen and reflect.

Two Thankful, Happy People

I'm thankful to have a partner to join me on this journey of life and faith.

Parks of SF

There are so many beautiful parks in San Francisco! And many of them are at the top of the hills with tremendous views of the city! (Emily's shirt says: "All I need is Love"

In Bristol Park

Nestling

At Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park
(A little smushed, but I don't mind)

A Golden Gate Sunset

We ended our first day together (strategically) near the Golden Gate at Sunset.


By the Golden Gate at Sunset


Looking towards Angel Island and the Bay

A San Francisco Moment

Dusk at the Golden Gate

Emily Arrives!

With much delight and anticipation, I welcomed Emily to San Francisco today!


We spent the day just looking at each other...

Laughing...

A lil' smooching...

And just enjoying God's presence,
thankful that we have this time (6 days!) together.

Coastal Clean Up

Today was National Coastal Clean Up day. A group of us went down to Rodeo Beach off of Marin Headlands to join about a hundred other people to clean up the beaches. We scoured the landscape and picked up all kinds of stuff. There was some sea kelp that I thought was trash - it was huge! It felt good to get up early on a Saturday morning and participate in a national event, as well as get to know a few friends better. I think it's important we are good stewards of this Earth. As I read in a recent IHT article, it is us, and not the Earth, who are in danger.

The Crew: John Scott, Rachel and Pete

Yeah, Man! We're Hard Core!

Now ain't that a clean lookin' beach?

Scouring the Rocks for Trash

Jammin' In

Live music with friends in the den: It doesn't get much better than this. We've gotten together a few times and jammed over the weekend, and it's been a lot of fun... to just listen, to join in, to simply be, letting the music rock your soul. So far, these jam sessions have been a highlight of my time here; a reminder of past and present fellowship.

Talitha on Base

Pete on Guitar, Elizabeth on Sax

Relaxed

Strummin'

Bike to the Golden Gate

Today I ventured out for a short 40-minute bike ride with Andrew...


...that somehow ended up with me going on all the way to the Golden Gate, 15 miles away!

So that makes a 30-mile round trip with some pretty incredible views...

...and I even stopped to play in a pick-up game of basketball.

All in all, it was three hours of much-wanted recreation/exploration time.
Out here in Marin, I'm fastly becoming a biking machine!

Church as Mission: But What of My Mission?

In my Intro to Ministry course, we discussed the different types of theologies behind missionary work. Essentially, there are three broad categories: Missions as Evangelism, Missions as Liberation, and Missions as Social Change. (I'm being quite broad here as I have larger questions on my mind than definitions.)

Perhaps these mission categories could be described as speaking to, for or with the targeted group. As in, we are speaking to the people about faith in Christ, we are speaking for them on issues of economic or social justice, or we are speaking with them about local issues and how redemption comes in a local setting.

I've been praying and discerning over the weekend this question: How will I be involved in the community(ies) here in Marin near the seminary? Will I coach? Will I do YoungLife? Will I do street ministry? Studying just doesn't seem to be enough - I feel the need for an outlet for my thoughts in way of simple action. Yet I do not want to rush into things, as I'm proned to do, and find myself in over my head.

My deepest desire is to speak from my heart, from where I come from (in thinking about community from my previous post, Community Organizing). Yet I'm still trying to discern where I come from... and from there, hopefully where I am and where I am going. It is hard for me to be patient, to not do anything "of use" like reading and studying, yet perhaps that is where I'm called at this point: to focus on my studies and listen to the Spirit calling in my life.

May have the patience to listen, the awareness to hear and the wisdom to discern.

Powerful to the Peaceful

I joined a group of fellow seminarian friends for a wonderful day down in the Golden Gate Park at the 9th annual Powerful to the Peaceful concert event. I was only told that the Indigo Girls were playing, and that it was free, which was enough to get me down there. There were tons of anti-Bush, anti-media, free-thinking, organic produce, contact yoga demonstrations, and hippies galore! If I had any doubt that I was in California, and perhaps more pertinent, the Bay Area, there is none now: Looking around me (hopefully pictures will come from a friend), I told myself I had officially arrived in San Francisco.

Some more thoughts... what does it take to make peace? Must one be antagonistic towards war supporters at the expense of turning them into war-mongers? Is there such thing as democratic voice after people are elected, or must we wait until the next round of voting? Can all people afford to buy recycled or organic products? Or is it just another fashion statement?

These thoughts and others left me with lots to chew on as I adjust to living on the "Left" Coast.

Community Organizing: For What Purpose?

Tonight was my first class at Berkeley through the GTU: Pastors as Community Organizers. I've had some experience before with organizing in Washington, D.C. when I was an intern at Church of the Pilgrims. However, this model is under PICO rather than IAF, with a focus on anyone can be a leader in their community - it's just a question of encouragement and how. I'll have more details soon as I begin the reading for the class.

For now, though, I'm struck by how many people are coming into the class from active ministries in their communities. From pastors to elders, from urban to suburban, from American to South Pacifcers, I am struck by how much raw experience these folk bring into the class. It makes me feel very humble, as I come into the class without a specific ministry or community to which I'll be returning. I have some experience, like in D.C., along with youth work and missions, but I feel very disconnected from how I will use the knowledge in this class.

I came to seminary not really knowing how God will use me when I graduate. I suppose even if I did know, it would change over time. Even so, it's hard not to get anxious about what lies ahead in the future - more so when I think of all the people who are supporting my studies here. After all, this profession is different that others: We are being trained to serve others, and secondly to support ourselves. I'm struggling to see how my present "investment in myself" is going to benefit others.

And so I turn my eyes toward the hills, in search of something greater than I can fathom.

"Oh ye of little faith..."

"Hurricane Architecture"

Today we had our fall convocation for us, the new students, as well as new faculty and staff. We heard from our President, Dr. Phil Butin, preach on "Hurricane Architecture." He spoke of two entities within the church that were most theological 'chewed-on' at the turn of the 20th Century: the church as Institution and the church as Movement.

The institution side of the church tends to be well-established and grounded, and thus is built to resist change for the sake of continuity. The movement side of the church does better to catch the flow of spiritual change, but can easily wither away without a strong base. Dr. Butin said the two entities, while often seen at odds with each other, do best when working together, as the pendulum of the Holy Spirit might move from one side to the other.

He then likened the building of sky scrapers as an example of how to build a physically robust structure that uses natural designs, such as the golden ratio, to exist with the forces of nature; his "Hurricane Architecture." For much of recent history, humans have built structures to withstand the onslaught of nature, and are proud when their structures are left untouched after a horrendous storm. Most recently, however, architects are now using technology largely derived from nature to have buildings actually move during an earthquake or bend slightly to hurricane winds in an effort to stand with rather than with-stand nature.

I thought it was an excellent example of how to balance two trends, institution and movement, with two goals, continuity and change.

Mountain Biking: An Introduction

Today I was introduced to mountain biking in the Bay Area, by a friend, Jonathon Evans. Jonathon and I met when I visited SFTS 2 1/2 years ago. He's since graduated and working as a chaplain at a local elementary school in San Jose, CA.

The view overlooking Santa Cruz and towards Monterrey Bay.

I began the day down at Valley Presbyterian Church in Portola Valley outside of San Jose. Former PC(USA) GA Moderator and current moderator of Prebyterian Peace Fellowship, Rick Ufford-Chase, spoke about the future of the church. He sees mission as vital to the livelihood and strength of the church, getting people involved in mission work that moves the heart and soul... quite inspiring to listen to! He also only 'lasted' one semester at seminary - we'll see how I do!

About to bring down the hammer

In the afternoon, we headed out towards Santa Cruz, and about half-way through the mountains turned off onto Summit Road to do some serious trail-riding. We climbed for about 45 minutes, pausing to take these pictures before turning our wheels downhill for an exhilerating blast down the mountain on intense single-track.

Two Studs, Ready to Gid 'er Dun

At times it felt like I was skipping down the hill, so fast I was going and how many stair-drops there were on the trail. (However, I was never too out of control, Mom!) At the end of the day, I could not deny what a beautiful place this is, especially for the adventurous, and how fortunate I am to have friends to show me around!

Barbara Evans, who kindly opted not to come and show us up, was more than happy to join us for dinner back at the ranch... and introduce me to another exhilerating experience, but one I couldn't quite handle: olive oil and black pepper on vanilla ice cream!

Seminary to the Sea

As part of an ongoing tradition at SFTS, I joined a group of students and faculty in a hike from the Seminary (San Anselmo) to the Sea (Stinson Beach). It was an excellent bonding experience with other classmates, and I had several good conversations over the six hours (12 miles!) of hiking.

Myself at Lake Lagunitas

Bon Tempe Lake

Bearded Glasses: Myself and Pete!!!

Gettin' 'er dun