fellowship Xp

MONKS IN A BOAT

2009-02-28T12:45:00.007-05:00

My fellow crew member of the Colmcille, Peter Macleod from the Isle of Lewis gave me this picture when he visited the US in 2007. The inscription reads, 'Monks in A Boat' Jerr C Dauriczen, Cahersiveen Co. Kerry, Ireland. The picture portrays to me the Lenten season of the Christian liturgical calendar. It shows for me a community of Christ followers on the path where the Spirit sends them.

What is Lent? According to Elesha Coffman ,Lent is the period of fasting in preparation for Easter, has been on the church calendar since the first or second century. It has not, however, always occupied the same dates. According to Irenaeus (c. 130-c. 200), cited by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, the lenten fast originally lasted only two or three days. The 40-day period, first mentioned in the Canons of Nicea (325), was probably adopted to parallel the 40-day fasts of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, though it may also have reflected the 40 hours Jesus spent in the tomb.

In the US in recent times there has been leaning of the Protestant Churches to celebrate the Lenten season that once thought was the purview of the Roman Catholics. It is also being observed by many of the home church movement.

I found myself reverting to past practices of my Episcopalian origins this week. My wife came home to pancakes Tuesday night. She said, Oh, I remember those.

ChristianHistory.com has a good article called, "Stretching Our Faith." To quote the article;

Abba Macarius, Egyptian camel driver turned monk, an original Desert Father (c. 300–c. 390) Lift your hands to heaven, asking, "Forgive me, Lord." If you're still anxious, pray, "Help me." You really don't need to say much. God knows our needs. His mercy is never tardy.

That seems to me a good place to start.

The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work

2008-04-17T22:29:00.002-04:00

Scot McKnight in his Jesus Creed blog has started a reflective thread on Darrell Cosden's book, The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work . Cosden writes about a Christian theory of work. Looking at the "Look Inside" at Amazon this should be a good discussion.

The Love of God

2008-04-10T00:02:00.004-04:00

Tonight, as I walked across the Wal Mart parking lot to my truck, a Ford Mustang with a young man pulled up to me. He asked was I from here? Yes, I replied. He asked could I help him out?

What do you need, I asked him. He needed to get to Lawerenceville VA, about a 3 hour drive from Fredericksburg and he had no money and was out of gas. I saw in the passenger seat a young female.

I looked in my wallet and found $22. I told him to follow me to the gas pumps on the other side of the Wal Mart building. He did. I ran my debit card through the reader and asked him what grade of gas did his car use. As I filled his car, I asked him how he had got in to this situation.

He had driven up to Washington for his wife to see her family. On his back home, he developed car problems and stopped in Fredericksburg. He had spent all his money on repairs and had none for gas. As I topped off his tank he asked for my name and he said his was Chuck. Thank you so much. Chuck, I said God just wants to remind you he loves you. We went our separate ways.

Love your neighbor as yourself, Jesus said. Being a good Samaritan is expressing the love of God to others.

Understanding Heaven

2008-04-05T10:32:00.002-04:00

This past week I had the joyous occasion to celebrate my Dad’s 78th birthday with my sister, Denise and her friend Lily. It was a great evening.

Lily is an avid questioner. She is always asking questions about our faith and what we believe. At our birthday celebration we talked about our understanding of heaven.

I have always felt I had a distorted view of heaven. In my understanding of what I read in the Bible I couldn’t accept the commonly held view and many Christians hold that heaven is one great meet up with all who believed in Jesus while here on earth.

I believed that yes we would be with Jesus. Our spirit (soul) would be at peace with him in Heaven, a spiritual realm not a physical location. I viewed it as peaceful sleep. The more important thing than getting to heaven is what happens when Jesus at his return renews the earth by joining it with heaven as the world comes what it was designed to be. There are spirits would be joined in our new resurrected bodies. A body like the resurrected Jesus displayed in the New Testament.

Here is another posting of NT Wright’s view of heaven that is posted at Time. Maybe you have a thought to share?

ALLELULIA! CHRIST IS RISEN!

2008-03-24T22:00:00.002-04:00

There seems to a recent theme in better understanding what the ancient message of Jesus is in his proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Brian McLaren’s books the Hidden Message of Jesus and recently Everything Must Change discusses it.

Today’s Christianity Today’s daily CT Direct letter has an article by Tom Wright on the patristic understanding of ‘going’ to heaven and our future resurrected bodies. He also explains the crucial mission of the church defined as God’s present body here on earth through his spirit empowered people in advancing the Kingdom.

Wright is right on! Read the article here and we will discuss it more in future posts.

How Jesus Wants to Change the World

2007-12-31T22:21:00.000-05:00

As this year closes, I share this exerpt from a book I’ve not read. Just tonight at Scott McKnight’s blog Jesus Creed he refers to the book, Kingdom Come: How Jesus Wants to Change the World by Allen Mitsuo Wakabayshi.

In reading the first chapter offered by Amazon as a look inside it reverberates my feelings that God is up to something ‘really big’ (Who said that, Jackie Gleason in the Honeymooners?).

This year and before, I’ve been trying to get my pea brain to have a better understanding about what Jesus meant we spoke of the ‘The Kingdom of God’. I’m not there yet. In fact I have a long way to go.

Do yourself a favor and follow the link. Happy New Year!

An Irish Christmas Blessing

2007-12-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

An Irish Christmas Blessing

The light of the Christmas star to you

The warmth of home and hearth to you

The cheer and good will of friends to you

The hope of a childlike heart to you

The joy of a thousand angels to you

The love of the Son and God's peace to you.

Survivor China

2007-09-20T22:02:00.000-04:00

I'm probably one of the handful of people who have never seen a Survivor TV show, but tonight I caught part of Survivor China. As I flipped to CBS expecting another show, I heard Leslie give this testimony.

The emcee asked her why she didn't participate in a previous scene which I didn't see (something to do with Buddhism, I think) Leslie said this. I'm not not religious, but I am a follower of Jesus. It seemed to much like worship for me to participate. If people can accept who I am that's good. If they can't that okay, too.

Leslie I think I saw a jewel in your heavenly crown.

RIP - God's Katrina Kitchen

2007-07-27T20:42:00.000-04:00

This week brought sad news that God's Katrina Kitchen in Gulfport, Mississippi would close at the end of the month. You can read about it here.

The Evil One Lashes Out!

2007-07-05T22:42:00.000-04:00

Today's email brought distressing news from two of my fellow evangelists in the Church Army.

James And Mary Giles, of God's Katrina Kitchen informed us that the city council of Gulfport, Mississippi has pulled the plug on their operation that feeds the homeless. I am copying their email below.

From the national office word was sent that flooding from recent rains had flooded the town of Aliquippa along with the outreach coffee house Uncommon Grounds Cafe started and operated by John Stanley. I am copying that email below also.

It's not been a good week for John. One of sons is recuperating from surgery. John is also having difficulty in getting his visa renewed allowing him to continue his ministry in this country.

Pray for these men, their Godly wives, families and ministries. If you are able send financial support for them to: Church Army USA 210 W North Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15212-4625

Email from Mary and James Giles

Dear family,
thank you for your prayers regarding our appearance before the Gulfport City Council yesterday. At this time, we would ask for your continued prayers, as we were DENIED THE REQUEST ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO CONTINUE OPERATIONS ON OUR CURRENT SITE.We are not feeling defeated. We are victorious, in Christ! We believe that since this door is being shut on our current site, God is obviously preparing to open an even greater one.Many, including several city council members, had great things to say about the works being done by God's Katrina Kitchen. It was unanimously decided though to deny our extension, as it was stated that the citizens of Westside of Gulfport were promised last fall that we would only operate on this site till July 31st.Please continue to pray, as we are getting a few calls and information on possible new sites for our ministry.Pray for direction, provision, and the ability to liftt he name of Jesus up during this transition time. We want to acknowledge Him in everything, and He will direct our paths.We will also be in need of volunteers and additional funds to move the camp, so pray for those provisions.We believe that God has the perfect plan, and as we wait on Him, He will continue to renew our strength for serving the survivors of the Gulf Coast.Thank you again for your prayers and support. We will keep you posted on the happenings, as we are anticipating great things.

James & Mary Giles

Email from national office
Today there was a torrential downpour causing terrible flooding in Aliquippa all along Franklin Avenue. Traffic is closed to anyone trying to get in there. The Café was badly flooded with water, in the cellar and the first floor. There is no electricity.
John just said that the water was high on the first floor. When he called me from outside on his cell phone, I could hear the water sloshing, along with a helicopter overhead surveying the damage. The news reported the water was 4 FEET deep coming down from the hills. Police cars were lost. Just terrible, terrible damage.

So, please pray, not only for the Stanleys and the Café, but all of Aliquippa.

Thanks, and God Bless you all.

Erba

Loving Our Neighbors

2007-06-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

When asked what the greatest commandment is Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Luke 10:27

Friday was Brenden's 28th birthday. I work with him at Wal-Mart. To celebrate his birthday some of his friends (& co-workers) were to catch the premiere showing of the The Fantastic Four: the Rise of the Silver Surfer. Afterwards they were going to play some pool and drink a few beer. These 'guys' could be my sons and daughters.

They are closed to the Christian message, but all spiritual seekers.

On Tuesday, knowing that another co-worker Kline was going with the group I gave him $20 and told him to buy a round for me for them in honor of Brenden's birthday. He was sincerely touched by my action.

Much is said about doing acts of kindness (I assume buying beer is one) to be able to open a door in order to share the Gospel with them. For me I care for these folks and wanted to know that and to enjoy themselves. Isn't that some part of the Gospel message?

Colmcille Leaves for Scotland - St. Columba's Day 2003

2007-06-09T10:08:00.000-04:00

FAREWELL DONALD!

2007-06-09T09:19:00.000-04:00

Thursday, June 7th Donald was laid to rest. It was a very powerful service held at St. Andrew Apostle Church in Silver Spring, Maryland.

My wife Sharon and I were the first there. Not risking being late and having to fight the northern Virginia commuter traffic for three hours we left home early. The bag piper was next in arriving. We enjoyed talking to Randy Welch from Annapolis. On his cap he had a crest badge of a blue crab!

The hearse and Lise’ arrived. Lise’ wore a striking magenta dress. She told us that she had worn it for her son’s wedding just a month ago. Mr. Welch had piped for the wedding.

The other pall bearers arrived and we received our instructions and went in to the church with Donald’s casket. Lise’ impressively greeted each attendee at the sanctuary entrance. A Mass of Christian Burial was performed. The celebrant Father Paul Dudziak spoke at times emotionally of his friend of thirty years.

Donald’s eldest, his daughter Martine spoke powerfully about her father. She shared with us incidents of his big heartedness and his powerful Christian witness. The same mantle it was apparent that she had received from him. She contributed his greatness as a father to his Christian character.

A co-worker of Donald’s, Bob Keane spoke of Donald’s excellent naval architectural skills and abilities. Donald was Donald and his Christian witness glowed at the work place. It was apparent that the light of Jesus shone 24/7 through our friend.

A member of his parish, Annette Oleniewski spoke of the 20 years she had known Donald and all the ministries he had been involved in. Donald was a true servant.

At the end of the Mass, we went to the Gate of Heaven Cemetery for internment. Afterwards we departed to a family friend’s home for a reception.

David Levite of the 2003 Colmcille crew attended. Sorry David we did not get to chance to talk. Of the Clam McCallum/Malcolm Society, Doug McCallum of Alexandria was there. Doug cleared up a misconception for me. I had thought he was the webmaster of the Clan website. No, that was another Doug McCallum living in Florida. Donald’s son Andrew proudly wore the McCallum kilt which was a gift from his Dad.

It will be June 9th St. Columba’s Day when I am able to post this. How fitting as four years ago to the day that the 13 voyagers following in the wake of St. Columba would depart from Ireland for Scotland. As a way of honoring the memory of Donald McCallum, I am taking on the ambitious task of opening a new blog, Remembering Donald that will give an account of the three Celtic Christian pilgrimages that I journeyed with Donald; In the Wake of St. Columba (2003), In the Footsteps of St. Columba (2004) and In the search for Celtic Ogham Writings in the Hills of West Virginia (2005). I beat you didn’t know about the last one! Stay tuned!

Donald Goes Home

2007-06-04T21:32:00.000-04:00

Sunday, I received a call from Lise' that her husband and my friend Donald McCallum had left this life to be in the presence of Jesus. For a year Donald had battled lung cancer.

Donald had place an article in the Malcolm/McCallum Clan Society newsletter, The Argent Castle in the winter of 2002, inviting men of the clan to join him in reenacting St. Columba's Voyage from Ireland to Scotland. As St. Patrick before him, Columba would be a catalyst in bringing Christianity to a pagan land, Scotland. We would row a 6th century replica of an Irish curragh across some of the world's dangerous waters. In our case the cow hides would be canvas for the hull. Donald was searching for 12 others to join him.

When I finished the article, I called to my wife, Sharon who was in the kitchen that I believed God had placed me in front of an open door. She replied then I must go through it. I called Donald immediately and signed up! Later my wife asked about the door God had placed in front of me. After I told her she asked are you sure it's from God! Yes, I was.

That encounter would be the beginning of a close friendship. The next year Donald organized another evangelistic trip, this one reenacted Columba's journery from Iona to Inverness through the Great Glen Way to King Brude's fort.

Donald was a visionary who prophetically saw a revival coming to his home country of Scotland. Donald will see it from the throne of God. There has been no other person whom I've encountered that reflects the image of Jesus more than Donald. A strong man, yet tender to all those he encountered. A humble man who sought what was best for others and not for himself. A man who loved life to the fullest. A man who loved his God with all his heart, mind and strength.

Thank you, Donald for being my friend.

Purpose

2007-05-27T04:21:00.000-04:00

This blog's purpose is to discuss several themes of being a Christian in our post modern times. One is the personal spiritual journey seeking the Kingdom of God. Second, an account of experiences as workers in the harvest field (Luke 10:1-3). Third and probably not last, sharing experiences as we chase the Wild Goose (Celtic expression for Holy Spirit) as revolutionary disciples of Jesus.

You reader are encouraged to be part of the conversation.

The name of this blog fellowship Xp needs some explaining. Most of you reading this would have seen the movie or have read the book by J. J. R. Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring. The term fellowship in this context is a small group united in common purpose. In the case of Frodo's band of adventurers, they were united in purpose in assisting Frodo get the ring to Mordor. In our case the fellowship is a group of disciples of Jesus following His Spirit in advancing the Kingdom of God.

The XP is not the prior version of Micro Soft hardware. It is the the Greek letters Chi (X) and Rho (P) from the Greek work Christos or Christ. It's the second oldest Christian symbol used by followers of Jesus Christ. The fish <>< symbol or ichthus being the oldest. The cross actually came later.

Now here comes the tricky part. It's pronounced fellowship in Christ, not fellowship 'x' 'p'. Saint Paul writes often in in his epistles of being 'in Christ'. So we are a fellowship in Christ.