The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

Racists & Quotations

hi Rich,
Please do not use any Robert E. Lee quotes. Here in Memphis we do not
allow the kids to wear Rebel flags on t-shirts in church or at church
events.. Racism is a real and present danger here and Robert E Lee was a
racist and misguided fool who lead thousands to their deaths, tried to
keep million in oppression and fought to destroy our country. the quote
in the Hebrews section says "act with determination" but one must ask
for what cause? for a good or evil cause? Hitler acted with
determination for a bad cause right along with Lee.
thank you for listening,
cliff
memphis

Hey Cliff,

Thanks for your concern. Racism is an ugly, ungodly, un-Christian excuse for selfishness, abuse, and marginalizing the crown of God's creation. I would never in any way want to have it reflected in anything we do - unless it could be used as a teaching tool.

Now, here's the dilemma.

The Quotelopedia on our site quotes many, many historical figures, including saints and sinners of all sorts. Hitler and Stalin show up there. So does St. Augustine, Jesus, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quoting someone does not mean we agree with everything they ever said or did. A quote is a quote. People with insight, depth, and a desire to teach will hopefully lead the kids in their care to see the good, the bad, and the ugly of any quote that shows up and interpret it all in light of God's wisdom, God's loving intent for the world, and God's will.

Case in point: I was with Ben Hoogland from Mankato, MN, this weekend at a youth quake. He pointed out that Mankato holds the US record for the most hangings in one day.

39 Native Americans hung by order of Abraham Lincoln.

I imagine some would have us remove any quotations by Lincoln.

Anyway, we'll take a look at the quotation and it's placement in a theme set. If you've got a good replacement that makes a similar point, we're happy to consider it.

We do care, and we thank you for your input in advance.

Rich Melheim

Stones Around the Church

My new friend Clint drove through the ice and snow after Lenten services to be with us for the stones unveiling. Here's what he's thinking right now.

If you'd like to get into the "stones around the church" thing, drop him a line. I'm off for Vegas to go double or nothing with the Sabbatical budget.

Rich

Dear Rich,

Some follow up thoughts to the conference. My first thought is, wow,
thanks for the hospitality and gift of letting me attend. It was
great. You've got a beautiful office complex there.

We have some folks at St. John's that are really excited about the
Stepping Stones materials. I've been loaning out the CDs for youth to
listen to, and I'm getting positive feedback. And I really think we're
going to do the decor thing of setting up "stones" around our church
with art and resources on each of the steps. Whatever you can do in
the way of providing materials for stations of this kind would be
appreciated.

I think the core content of the program is right on. It will be a
stretch for our congregation to get set up to use the Powerpoint
material, because we're a little slow on the technology end. But
centering in evening devotional practices is splendid.

I wonder if you've ever read Maxwell Johnson's history on the Rites of
Christian Initation. Probably you have, given that you focus so much
on youth faith development and confirmation, but in case you haven't, I
recommend it as a historical resource. I'm currently working on an
application for a grant to study post-Christendom, post-literate forms
of RCIA in more detail. I'm especially interested in the relationship
between materials like Faith Ink puts out, and some of the other
"catechetical" programs out there in the church. Alpha is the most
popular, Rick Warren's book has exploded in the past year, the ELCA's
catechumenate is on slow burn, the RCIA in the Roman Catholic Church
has been doing solid things for a while. I want to look at the
connections. I think this is related at some level to your fifth
church stuff as well.

Again, thanks for hosting me. I'll look forward to continuing our
dialogue.

In Christ,

Clint Schnekloth [perichoresis2002@mac.com]

An Easter Skit from the Field

Here’s an early Easter gift for your youth to give the congregation, submitted by Betty Merta, our raving FINK at Christ United Methodist Church in Deerfield, IL. Read through it, hand it to your high school youth, and schedule it as the Holy Week sermon or a special Sunday School event. If you use it, send Betty a “thank you” at BETTYMERTA@ATT.NET .

An Easter Skit (210K PDF)

Phil, Tom & Jason at Aaron Stokes

Aaron Stokes Music Visit

I spent a fascinating morning at Aaron Stokes Music in Minneapolis yesterday. Wow! Fantastic folks and amazing technical quality. Tom Lindquist, our neighbor and friend, dragged me over to see who they put the sound together for Wet Cement Productions and their "Auto Be Good" car-toons. Phil Aaron joined us and we talked philosophy, quality, composition, and a dozen of my favorite themes. They do 5.1 (which is movie quality surround sound) work. Their shelves were lined with awards and their office is almost as quirky as mine.

If you're ever needing an amazing production piece for advertising your church, business, or personal run for American Idol audition piece, check them out at www.aaronstokes.com.

Rich

Chicken Butt

Rich,

Thanks for the opportunity to go through your Faith Stepping Stones system last week in Stillwater. Very inspiring and we have lots of ideas going through our heads.

One thing I wanted to add when you asked at the beginning of the day, "What do you think when you hear the word incubator?" The picture that came to my mind was a big chicken butt instead of the incubator we in which we place preemies or eggs. I thought of the chicken butt because the butt belongs to the parent of the egg being nurtured. Not smartest or most noble animal but one that will protect it's eggs through a fire, attack of a predator, or just the harsh cold reality of the world.

The individuals with the greatest impact on a child are the parents (we could also go into a long discussion and analogy on Piaget's study of imprinting and birds). Instead of the sterile environment of the incubator (Sunday school with stickers on handouts to take home and throw away, kids need the messy end of the chicken--an imperfect but forgiven Christian parent.

As you always say, "Parents, we can't teach the faith to your children, butt we can do it with you!" Time to go build some healthy nests that the deceiving fox cannot enter and destroy.

Blessings on the new endeavor of your expanded FSS ministry materials. We plan to sign up as soon as it is available and are looking forward to beta testing the next set of materials for you.

Peace,

Carl A Eliason[SMTP:CARLATHOME@JUNO.COM

News Flash

He Qi, our wonderful artist friend from Nanjing Theological Seminary, will be moving to Stillwater, MN with his family May 21! He will be living in the Faith Ink apartment for three weeks, then settling in my house for the year I'm away. We are cleaning the upper office in Badlands Studios for his office and art loft for the transition year as well.

His wife, Yu Hua, is a renowned musician who has regularly directed choirs on Chinese national television. His son, He Songyang, 17, will be doing his senior year at Stillwater High School.

We will be looking for a donated car, a permanent home, and meaningful work for both Yu and He. If you've got an interest in helping make their transition year in America a wonderful experience, please drop me a line!

Rich

Stones for Adult Baptism

From: Paul Owens
Sent: Wednesday, March 10, 2004 12:06:07 PM
To: Rich A. Melheim
Subject: RE: My Bible presentation audio link

Hi Rich,
Here's a something for your creative, faithful juices:
For many (almost half) of the families who are coming to us for the Baptism Stepping Stone, their kids are already in elementary school...( not to mention the 8 adults who we baptized in '03). I have tailored previous classes to fit the group, but done that all prior to the latest FSS power points & other resources y'all are providing.
My questions are: Given what you know, what key elements would you include for families preparing to baptize older children? ... how would your approach differ from the current "Raising a Healthy Baby" Stepping Stone?... and what FINK resources (existing or not yet dreamed up) might you make use of? Some of the "Basic Fink Think" principles and slides? And the 50 pt. bonus question: got any thoughts on a "Stepping Stone class" for Adults preparing to be baptized?
We are just finishing the "Healthy Baby Stone" with one group and already have two families with preschool and elementary age kids "circling over the airport", waiting for the next class... so I am already grateful for whatever thoughts you may send our way.
God's peace,

Paul Owens, Lead Pastor
paul@stpaul.org
St. Paul Ev. Lutheran Church
Alpena, MI
www.stpaul.org

Hey Paul,

It's wonderful that the Baptism Stone is attracting families who need to baptize older kids and adults! That means it's an outreach tool, not just an inreach education piece.

Fact: The average Lutheran church baptized 1/2 an adult each year.

(I don't know which half.)

We'll put some thought into what a baptism class for adults would look like. For now, I'll throw this, plus your email address, on my blog and see what kind of conversation we might engage.

Blessings,

Rich

Bible Sunday Address to Parents

Here is a link to an audio clip of Pastor Paul Owens leading parents in presenting Bibles to their kids in worship after a My Bible FSS.

http://www.stpaul.org/sermons/media/s040229po-bible.wma
Thought you might find it helpful. Keep up the good Kingdom work of helping families grow in faith together!

Pastor Kurt Jensen
St. Paul Lutheran, Alpena, MI
www.stpaul.org