Ian's Barrow Blog

Resignation Letter

2010-01-21T19:41:00.002-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Below is the letter I am sending out to each family that are members of the congregation. Since we do not have a newsletter or similar type of communication, I was asked to send the letter before Sunday so that people are not too shocked on Sunday. (Of course I tried to cut and paste again, but it did not work, so I get to type it all in).

The Peace and Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.

Over the past three years, you have opened your homes and hearts to us. We came as outsiders and you continue to shower us with your love and prayers, just as you have received our love and prayers. As you know, our family has had a hard time physically because of health problems and concerns with the lack of available health care. As prayers for guidance and healing continued, a position opened up in Anchorage at Immanuel Presbyterian Church as Interim. I have agreed to accept the position at Immanuel so we will be closer to health care providers. This is not an easy decision, nor is this an easy letter to write.

There will be a congregational meeting called for Sunday February 7th following the morning worship service to dissolve the pastoral relationship effective as of February 28, 2010. My last Sunday in the pulpit will be Sunday February 21st; then we will leave February 25th for the Presbytery of Yukon Meeting in Anchorage.

I know these transitions are always hardest on the congregation; but the congregation just elected two strong classes of church officers of Deacons and Session Elders. They will be able to lead you on this journey as you await your new Interim Pastor. It is my prayer that you will continue to seek the Holy Spirit to fill you and show you the direction of the path God the Father and Jesus Christ has set before you. I know you will prevail, for God is always with you.

In the love, peace and name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Rev. Ian MacInnes-Green

Denial Is a River in Egypt

2010-01-05T18:36:00.002-09:00

Grace, greetings and Happy New Year.

I realize that it has been a while since I have written. A couple of things come into play for this; one I write things out in my head while I am away from the computer, and then when I arrive at the computer, I lost what I wanted to write. Two, as I look back on the past six or seven months, I need to come to terms and admit that I was more depressed than I had realized. (Yes, I was on medication throughout the time, just as I have been most of my adult life).

The depression was different this past year than in other times in my life, which is why I had a hard time seeing the depression for what it really was. Usually, along with my depressive moods and lack of energy, I would have the depressive thoughts as well. But this time, my moods varied and the thoughts were not so depressing; it was more that I did not have the energy to do the things I wanted or needed to do; like keep in contact with others outside of Barrow, via email, telephone or this blog.

Now comes the point in life where I need to move forward; there is nothing I can do about the past. As one person keeps reminding me, in the Bugs Bunny comics, Bugs would pop up out of the ground with a map in hand and say: "I knew I should have turned left at Albuquerque." It was there and then that the adventure started, not returning to the point of the wrong turn. So where do I go from here?

I am not sure where the new year will take us, but I know that God will be a part of it all. I continue to invite you to be a part of it.

Peace and blessings.

All Saint's Day

2009-11-01T21:25:00.002-09:00

Grace and greetings.

This is a day of celebration and remembrance as we look to those who have passed on before us. In my 2 and half years here in Barrow, I have officiated over 90 funerals, including the one that I will be officiating tomorrow and one later this week. Both funeral were unexpected. The one tomorrow is for a full term baby that died in his mother's womb three days before being born. The other is for a man that we do not know how or why he died. I saw him at the post office on Tuesday, and he died Friday morning.

The following is my meditation for tonight's service.

For some reason, neither the cut and paste, or the copy and paste are working, so I will try later to edit this and update it.

Until then, Peace and blessings.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T14:51:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It was a rude awakening here this past week weather wise; for the last couple of weeks we have had relatively warm temperatures, but Tuesday the cloud cover moved away and the temperatures dropped 20 degrees. Then last night an ice fog came through, leaving ice crystals on all metal, it is kind of cool...

But this is Halloween, the week where Sam and I go around and around on how he should focus on life. For him, the only reason to slog through the other 364 days of the year in to live for this night. All week he plans on how he is going to dress up, for school, after school, the Halloween dance, the haunted house, and then of course, tonight. All else takes a back seat to this week, including the script for the two movies he has been working on for the last month. It goes without saying that his homework is somehow non-existence for the past week as well.

Well, it is time to go review tomorrow's two sermons, or at least one sermon and one meditation--a short sermon--

Peace and blessings.

October Saturday Afternoon

2009-10-24T14:47:00.007-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Again, I am late in letting you know what is going on here at the "Top of the World", (at least as far as the United States is concerned.)

I survived the Presbytery meeting, sort of. The Saturday of the meeting, I ended up throwing up all day, and sick Sunday as well. As it turned out, the group from Taiwan and our Presbytery executive filled in for me at both services, so I guess it was okay. The meeting it self had a few moments of concern, but otherwise went well.

We had some disappointing news from Sam's teachers this past week; even if he passes all his classes this semester, and at this moment is in doubt, he will still be half a credit short in math, so he will be sticking around until the May 2010 graduation. Other than that, he is acting out as most teenagers, defying his parents, already knows everything, and trying to go his own way, (as long as the parents pay of course). He is still looking at film school for after high school, but we will see where he ends up.

I got to speak with my daughter this afternoon. She is now stationed at Fort Gordon, Georgia; but the good news is that she is in school for computer work rather than in Haz Met. I feel much better now that she is safe around computers than the dangerous materials. Her family is still in Birmingham, only four hours away, but she does not have gas money to get there. She is planning to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with her family though. Yes, I wish that she were stationed at Fort Richardson outside Anchorage, but feeling good that her training will take her in a different direction.

Last month, Kim ended up with swollen feet, ankles, and legs. We ended up taking the next plane out so she could see a cardiologist and her pulmonologist. After she was given some diuretics, she ended up losing 25 pounds of water weight. Though she is still swelling, it is not as bad as before, she is suppose to see her pulmonologist in November. Both she and Sam are fighting sinus infections, so we will see how the health of the family lasts.

Winter has finally arrived in Barrow, we think. The last several days have been snowy and blizzards, today is just overcast with dark clouds off the coast. The air temperature has been in the twenties and thirties, but the wind chill has been down around zero.

The Angels and Yankees have been rained out for today, but I ask for you to continue to believe, as the Angels will take the next two games in New York and go on to the World Series.

Peace and blessings.

Presbytery of Yukon

2009-10-08T12:00:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

For the next several days, we will be hosting the Presbytery of Yukon. In the Presbyterian Church system, we are set up much like the United States government. Starting at the local level we have the individual congregation; then we have a geographical level called the presbytery, which there are 177 presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church (USA), [PC USA]; then presbyteries are grouped into another geographical organization called Synods, there are 16 synods in the PC USA; then there is the denomination known as Presbyterian Church (USA).

The Presbytery of Yukon is made up of 23 congregations from Anchorage on north, and everything west of the United States/Canadian Border. We meet twice a year, rotating to different places each meeting. This time the meeting is here in Barrow. We will have close to 100 people participating in the three day event. Today is mostly different committee meetings and registration for people coming in. Friday and Saturday will be the actual meeting dates with a worship service Friday evening celebrating communion (also known as the Lord's Supper).

This meeting and worship service is going to be special, as we have a group from the Taiwan Presbyterian Church to sign an agreement between the indigenous people there and here in the North Slope and Western Alaska. The agreement will be signed in five languages; Tiawan, English, Inupiat, Yupik and Korean. The agreement is that the different groups will learn from each other; the Alaskans will share their political knoweldge; while Taiwan will share their success in reclaiming native languages and values.

We are hoping this will be a spirit-filled meeting and that you will join us, physically, mentally or spiritually.

Peace and blessings.

More tragedy in the midst of celebration

2009-10-05T16:24:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It has been a long time since I have posted anything here. It has been a wild a crazy summer, I will try and fill in the past in the next few post. Part of my own personal problem is that I write my post in my mind, but want to post with pictures. But I do not have the pictures I want, so I put off writing the post. So I am back to writing the post and worry about pictures later.

The spring whale harvest was very poor this year, so the fall whaling season was looking for better results. The spring season is usually the big hunt, but this year only four whales were caught. So when the fall whaling started last Saturday, the first three days caught ten whales, and lost one of the twelve possible strikes. (The whalers are allowed 26 "strikes" each year for the eight villages here in the North Slope. A strike is one shot; it would be like having only 26 arrows, if one misses, you lose). So people were feeling pretty good with the whale hunts...

Last Monday, on the way to school, two four year old girls fell through the ice while walking across the lagoon. Once they were discovered, they were not able to revive them, even though they tried all the way to Anchorage.

With the families traveling to Anchorage, and me sick all last week, I was still not sure who the families were, or who was going to officiate the funerals. Part of my problem, was that nobody ever contacted me. As it turns out, the aunt of one of the two girls, contacted her pastor, rather than me, who probably should have been contacted. As it turns out, the mothers' are cousins, so the two girls grew up together.

I met with the families the night before the funeral. Though I was still not sure, I recognized the parents, but not sure of their relationship to the church. We planned the service with the pastor that was first contacted preaching and me officiating the service.

During the visitation, one of the uncles came up to me to comment that the wedding that I officiated only five weeks ago, one of the girls was the flower girl that I carried down the isle at the end of the wedding service. So I probably had met both girls...

Like in life, the two girls were buried in the same grave site together, in different caskets, to remain forever side by side.

Peace and blessings.

Turning our lives around

2009-08-09T21:38:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It has been several weeks since I wrote anything here or on Facebook. I hope to fill you in on our lives here in the North Slope; but tonight I am going to get back in the swing with my meditation from this evening.

“Turning Our Lives Around”
Ephesians 4.25-5.2

This is a continuation of the reading from last week, reminding us that we are one in Christ; One faith, one baptism, one Lord and Father of All. As we hear the writer from the Letter to the Ephesians, how we are to deal with each other. It sounds so easy, but like many other simple ideas and concepts, they are hard to keep up and follow.

As we follow the reading, we are told that it is okay to become angry, and we do. But that we are not to hold on to our anger, especially over night. If we need to speak to somebody about our anger, speak in a way that will build up the Body of Christ, not to tear it down. We each think that when we “speak our peace,” we do so meaning to encourage one another. But in reality, all we do is continue to anger and frustration rather than bringing about true peace.

We hold onto our anger and grief; our resentment and bitterness. I can speak to my own holding on to my hurts and frustrations throughout my twenty plus years of ministry. Soon it becomes too much for me, and I will speak words that I do not mean to speak, and they will come out at the wrong person at the wrong time. We are reminded to be imitators of God. God can be angry with us, but God forgives us, and welcomes us back.

What would the world look like if we were able to live this simple statement? Would the world be a different place if we did not hold onto resentment, bitterness, wrath and anger? Let us start in small places where we have the ability to make those decisions, starting one day at a time, one moment at a time.

What would our lives look like if we looked at each other as Christ sees us, with love? How would that change our responses to each other? This is not something that is going to happen all at once, but we can try. We can try one moment at a time. If we stumble, holding onto our anger and resentment; give it to God, let God hold onto it for you. Let God wash the situation; let God wash your resentment and wash the other person with love. See where that takes us. Then build up on it, one moment at a time, once here, once there, and see how our lives can be turned around by God’s love that works through each and every one of us. “Forgive each other as God has forgiven you. Be imitators of God as beloved children. Live in love, as Christ loves us.” Amen

Peace and blessings

Bright Thursday morning

2009-07-16T10:07:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

We have made it to Anchorage on our two week whorl wind tour. We spent the Fourth of July with my brother and his family in Portland; enjoying the time with them; the fireworks and the excitement of the neighborhood fireworks setting the neighbors lawn on fire that was quickly put out.

We spent a week in Seattle shopping, seeing old friends and being able to spend time with my sister and her partner. We looked at schools for Sam, and the winner so far is the Art Institute of Seattle. They have several Bachelor of Arts programs. The two tracks that Sam is interested in is "Animation" and "Digital Film." He is leaning towards the film making but we will see what happens over the next year or so. One of the pluses for the Art Institute of Seattle, is that it is a three year program, but goes throughout the year, which means one can not spend the summer making money to pay for the next year.

Tuesday Kim finally had her court date with the Social Security Disability judge which was held via video teleconference. The judge had two witnesses: a psychiatrist and a vocational expert. Our attorney was impressed that the judge had done her homework and reading Kim's file. Because of that, after Kim's testimony and the one of the other experts, the judge ruled that Kim fit the definition of disability without all the other testimony we were ready for, including me. That is a big relief for us. Now Kim needs to figure out who she is now that she has been declared "disabled."

The rest of the week here is going to be spent doing the normal vacation type events: catching up on movies, shopping, doctor appointments and seeing a tour of some of the glaciers tomorrow. Since there is no movie theater in Barrow, Kim and Sam came down with a list of movies in mind. The movies we have seen so far: Star Trek, (with my brother and his family), Wolverine, Angels and Demons, Transformers, Night of at the Museum, and Harry Potter. For me, the best was between Harry Potter and Star Trek; for Kim it is those two and Angels and Demons; for Sam it is Wolverine.

Well, it is time to get some breakfast. I will try and post our time with the glaciers later, after I can up load the pictures on our own computer.

Peace and blessings.

2009-07-11T08:56:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Kim and Sam have now joined me in Seattle. We spent the July 4th weekend with my brother and his family in Portland, and we promptly were sun burned.

While we are back in Seattle for this week, Sam has been catching up with some of his friends and so are we. We have done many of the tourist stuff, like buying clothing, shoes, etc; and of course eating out at real restaurants that we have been wanting to try again.

Last night we were able to make it to the Texas Rangers-Seattle Mariners game. We were hopping for good seats but still ended up in the upper deck, which of course the sun beat down on us until the fourth inning, after it finally became a wonderful night. Unfortunately the Mariners lost 6-4, where just like last week against the Angels, the Rangers scored all their runs on home runs.

What is amazing at the moment, is that we have not seen that many movies yet. In the past when we get out of Barrow, the first thing Kim and Sam check out is what movies are playing. We have only seen two so far, "Transformers" and "Star Trek." Though Kim and Sam really loved Transformers, I thought it was a let down from the first one, and too much fighting of the transformers, still had a hard time figuring out who was who.

Today we are on our way to a church retreat to see some friends that we will miss if we go to church tomorrow. Then we will have dinner with my sister and her partner. Then we leave for Anchorage on Monday for Kim's Social Security Disability hearing on Tuesday.

Well it is time to get ready to go out into the "HOT" Seattle weather...okay it is only in the low 80's, but it is hot for us.

Peace and blessings.

A Walk on the Beach

2009-06-30T21:25:00.008-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Yesterday, I went for a walk on the beach. To get down from the retreat center to the beach I had to take a set of stairs that I was told that was equal to a ten story building. Once I got down to the beach, I saw things that I have not seen in a while, sea weed, algae, sand dollars, shells and more algae, and more drift wood. Along the way I found a carving in the sand wall. I was first attracted to the shell below the carving, then I found the carving. As I walked along the beach on Puget Sound, I found a few other carvings as well.

After about an hour and a half of walking, I realized that I did not put on any of the sun block that I purchased on Sunday for just this occasion, oh well. By the time I got back to the retreat center, my arms were a little pink. It was not until over night that the slight burn on my arms and parts of my legs showed up. After all the time out, I was very luck that it was a very mild sun burn, it could have been a lot worse.

We have three more days here, then Kim and Sam will join me from Barrow and we will head to Portland to spend the July 4th weekend with my brother and his family.

Peace and blessings.

Monday in Seattle

2009-06-29T13:34:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

I have made it to Seattle for a conference on Preaching. Like the picture here on the left, I will be looking backwards in this blog. I took the picture while waiting for Samuel to get out of his driving class out at the college. While sitting there, I noticed the telephone poles in the mirror and just liked the way they lined up, one can tell that they go on into the distance, but able to see each pole by itself.

The past week was long; I was trying to get things tied up so I could leave, but also dealt with other matters that drains the person mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. But I also was able to play volleyball again; that by it self can restore my soul. It felt good to be on the court, and not having my knees hurt. I think it goes back to earlier in the year when the doctor injected my knees with steroids and a pain killer, as well as taking glucosamine/chondroitin. I had tried the glucosamine before, but I guess I did not take it long enough, or I did not give it time to work with my body. This time I had been on the glucosamine for about a month before I started to play volleyball.

I had not been able to load my pictures from the camera to the computer, so I had to wait until I got a new cord in Seattle. I ended up buying a card reader, but it would not read the card. Then, while looking around on my computer, I found a SD slot for the card, and it loaded right up. Here all this time I was waiting for something so I could share my pictures, and I had it with me all the time. The same can be said about our relationship with God and each other, sometimes we feel that we need to do something, or be about something, instead of just letting God do the work with us and it happens.

Well, it is a fantastic afternoon here in the Seattle area, so I am going to go out and enjoy the trees, as well as the rest of the area.

Peace and blessings.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T21:22:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Following this morning's service, I had the opportunity to speak with my father, wishing him a "Happy Father's Day." He said they got up and went to church, then out to eat with some friends, enjoying their day. They had arrived shortly before I had called, and being true to my father, he was starting the grill for some chicken.

Here, we had lightly blowing snow, but now it is sunny. Though today is also the Summer Solstice, we are not really affected here as else where, for the sun does not set until August.

Anyway, I got a chance to relax in between services to watch the Angels-Dodgers game, only to get frustrated when the Angels blew both of their chances with the bases loaded and gave the game away. At least Matt Kemp scored the first two runs for the Dodgers. From what I understand from old classmates from Edison High School in Huntington Beach, that is where Matt went to school; not the same years of course...

I am not sure why I am also putting in my message from tonight's service, I feel burned out and tired, and this just seemed flat, maybe it will do something for somebody out there. Then again, it could just be a lousy sermon.

“OPEN WIDE YOUR HEARTS”
2 Corinthians 6.1-13

In the lectionary reading this evening, we pick up a few verses where we left off last week. Paul is still trying to get through to the Corinthians with whom he has had an up and down relationship with throughout the time since Paul helped start the Christian Church in Corinth. In reading of the two letters that we still have in existence, we realize that there are references to other letters that Paul wrote to the church, trying to heal the factions within the congregation.

Paul writes to the church on behalf of the other workers, stating they are “Ambassadors for Christ” coming to them with authority. But he also asserts that as we are all in Christ, we are ALL NEW CREATIONS; we are all made new. Within the newness of Christ, we should be able to put aside our differences and come together and sisters and brothers in Christ. Paul requests that they do not take God’s grace in vain; for God’s time will be when it happens, and it God’s time is now.

Paul appeals to the group in Corinth to trust in the message that Paul and the others working with Paul bring to the people. Paul writes of his troubles that he has experienced, in Corinth and throughout his ministry. Paul tells of his pain, his loss, and his love for the people of Corinth. Therein lays the message of Christ that is so often lost in the world of riches and might. So often in the world, we look to superior military might; we look at the riches of a person or nation. But Christ came with his strength in his weakness, by going to the cross. Paul too expresses his weakness means strength in Christ. The message is not as the world gives, but as Christ gives to us. As we empty ourselves, we find God.

All too often, we end up in arguments in the church. Sometimes those arguments can be summed up with the quote: “The reason that fights in churches get so vicious is that the stakes are so low.” We find ways to divide ourselves over petty differences. We get into arguments over the color of the carpet; over who is doing what for which committee; who got snubbed at the nominating committee; whether a picture or flags belong here or there. The arguments are not over salvation or how to fully use our gifts for the betterment of the Realm of God.

It is this type of arguing, over the pettiness of the church, that Paul is writing to the people of Corinth and to the people of the future church. Paul is telling the people of Corinth, that like any parent of an adult child that is misbehaving, and fighting tooth and nail to prove it; Paul is saying, “We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.” (Verses 11-13)

Open wide your hearts to God, and as we open them wide to God, we will be opening them to each other as well.

Peace and blessings.

Rotarian Again

2009-06-17T21:21:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Tonight I joined the Rotary Club again. I was a member when we lived in Columbus, Ohio. Sam was born while I was a member, and for the first year of his life, I could swear that he had a better attendance record than several members; the same could be said of Presbytery meetings at the time. Now I am a member of the furthest northern club, (any real surprise there?)

After the meeting, Kim and I drove around a little so Kim could have some time out of the house. As we were driving, out of the ice we could see lone seals here and there. This was the first time that I have seen a wild live seal up here, cool.

We are also trying to get the church ready to paint, though the weather has been some what dry, it still has been pretty cool, high 20's to high 30's, but the wind chill around 25. Hopefully we can start painting sometime next week.

Right now, other than trying to get Sam to do something other than watch TV or be on the computer without World War Three, life is going along about the same right now. No funerals at the moment, but several weddings scheduled. I get to get off the North Slope next week with a conference in Seattle for a week. Then Kim and Sam will join me in Seattle, and we will have a little more than two weeks in Seattle and Anchorage before coming back to Barrow for two weddings. Good reason to be coming back.

Peace and blessings.

Four Funeral and a Wedding

2009-06-14T21:51:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

This past week has been another emotional roller coaster and left me drained. After the funeral on Monday for Martha Marie, the murder victim, another prayer was answered but it meant the passing of another person. Martha Aiken, a pillar in the community and church for many decades entered the Church Triumphant with a smile and tear Tuesday morning. She had been ill for the last several years, and truly missed her husband, Robert, who had passed away several years earlier. Her funeral service was probably the longest that I have attended or officiated, five and a half hours. Her sister, the Reverend Mary Ann Warden, helped officiate the service with me. It was a time of mourning, as well as a time of celebration.

Then yesterday, we had another celebration, a time of joy with a wedding. It was good to have the people gather for a joyous occasion. From last Tuesday to yesterday, that meant four funerals and a Wedding. I kept looking around for Hugh Grant to show up...oh wait a minute; the movie was four WEDDINGS and a funeral.

Here is my message from this evening....

“We are a New Creation”
2 Corinthians 5.6-17

As we hear the words of Paul, we can with confidence come together to become one in Christ. With Paul, we yearn to be with God, but we are still here, alive in this place and time; so even if we are not comfortable, or at home in our own bodies, we live them for God. As we go about the business of our own lives, God will call in account of our lives for what we do with the gifts God has given us; do you use the gifts for good or ill?

Christ is giving us the opportunity to choose which of the many answers we may have in life, to choose to live solely for God. Make all our choices for God, in all that we do. Many of us speak of our faith, our ability to pray and sing for God; and then walk by our sister or brother as if they do not exist. We may continue to see others from a human point of view, and make our judgments on what we see and what we know. We make judgments on where they may or may not go to church; what clothes they wear; where they may or may not work; how they treat their families. If we have Christ in our hearts, we are given the gift to no longer see each other in human terms, but as God sees us. Do we see somebody who is intoxicated or high most of the time? Or do we see the Child of God who hurts so much, that the only way they can deal with the pain is to drink?

Throughout the ages, the people in the church have been called hypocrites, because they are seen professing their faith on Sunday morning, and rejecting the existence of their Christian brothers and sisters week in and week out. Being human, we hold on to grudges; old beliefs; past histories of each other. We are called to view each other as God views us, we are called to forgive and to love so that we may become a new creation in Christ.

But that new creation is not just for us as individuals, it is for us as a society as well. We have experienced death in our own community all too often. We mourn our loss, and look to one another to comfort us. Do we hear the call to life? Do we as a community realize that we are a New Creation, called and loved by God?

God continues to bestow gift after gift upon us, as individuals and as a community. Are we willing and able to recognize those gifts from God? Sometimes we think, God answers the prayers of one that may not favor many. Martha Aiken prayed for the last year or so to be lead home. Many of us, myself included, were not ready for her to leave. But now that she has returned home to God, there are others that will be called to step forward to become the pillar of the community that Martha was for us. Sometimes we follow in somebody else’s shadow or footsteps, never to take on the gifts we are given until that person is no longer with us to rely on. As Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure, he told them that he had to leave in order for the Holy Spirit to come and guide them. In Martha’s case, she knew her faults and failings, she knew too, that many people placed her on a pedestal; which is the last place she wanted to be. She wanted to live her life for God, using the gifts that God gave her, that she may be a New Creation and help the Inupiat people to be that beloved New Creation as well.

Go and claim your gifts; proclaim the gifts that God has given you, as individuals and as a community. Become that New Creation. Tell all the world, so that all may know; In Christ Jesus, we are a new creation, our old life has passed away, and everything has become new again.

Peace and blessings.

Children of God

2009-06-07T21:28:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

The funerals for the young couple that died last week are almost over. Friday, we had the funeral for Scooter, who had done the shooting. Tomorrow we will have the funeral and burial of Martha. I am still not sure what I will be saying tomorrow, but I pray that it fills the need and speaks of God's love for us.

I have included my message from tonight's service. As it deals with adoption and the accidents of birth, one person suggested using parts or all of it tomorrow since Martha was adopted, as many are in the North Slope. We will see if I use it or not. Anyway, here is my message from tonight...

“Children of God”
Romans 8.12-17

This past week as people in the group in the internet were discussing this passage, they we attracted by the phrase, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received a spirit of adoption.” As they were telling of stories of individuals that had been adopted or knew of somebody adopted, for they did not know too many people around where adoption took place. Then I wrote, explaining my observation here in Barrow, and I am sure that it is true in most of the indigenous cultures, that adoption is a common place event, affecting most of the families here one way or another. Not only that, but with the adoption, the person is part of BOTH families, the birth family and the adopted family. Then another person commented that she experience the same thing with the Inuit people in Northern Canada. There are many things that the dominate culture of the “white European decent” can learn from the Native cultures, particularly when it comes to dealing with extended family.

In the passage from Romans, we hear that by the Spirit, we are adopted into the family of God. I personally have a problem with that statement. The reason I have a problem is that before anything else, there was God. God formed the chaos into Creation and blessed it. God created us in God’s image and blessed us. So even at the very beginning of time or at the time we were in our mother’s wombs, we were already in the image of God, we were already called by God, we were already in the Family of God, and God continues to create and bless.

There are many times that we forget who we are, and become wrapped up into the chaos of the world around us. We lose the voice that speaks to us of God’s love and God’s inheritance. We abuse the gift we have and need to turn again and remember who we are, that we are the Family of God.

A famous preacher, author and retired seminary professor, Fred Craddock tells of a time when he and his wife were eating at the Big Bear Inn in eastern Tennessee. While they were waiting for their meal to arrive, an older man, about 80 sauntered over to their table and said, "Good evening. Y'all on vacation?" "Yes," said the Craddocks. As they talked with the man, the subject of Fred's occupation came up. It's always interesting to see how people will respond when they find out you are a pastor! When the stranger learned that Fred taught at a seminary, he said, "Oh you teach preachers! I have a story about a preacher," and the man pulled up a chair. The old man said, "I was born back in these mountains. My mother was not married, and the reproach that fell on her, fell on me. The children at school had a name for me and it hurt a lot. During recess I would go hide in the weeds until the bell rang. When I went to town with my mother, the men and women would stare at her, and then they would look at me. It was a painful time. I guess I was in 7th or 8th grade when I started to go hear a preacher. In a way he frightened me, and in another way I was attracted. When he spoke, he thundered. I was afraid that people would say 'what's a boy like that doing in church?' so I would go in just in time for the sermon and then I would rush out. One Sunday, however, some women lined up and I wasn't able to get out. I began to sweat and get cold and I wondered, 'Oh no, somebody's going to say to me, what's a boy like you doing in church?'" Just then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw the preacher! I thought to myself, 'Oh no, he's going to guess.' The preacher looked straight at me and stared into my face. And then he said, 'Boy, I know who you are and I know who you're father is. You're a child of.... you're a child of.... you're a child of God. I see a striking resemblance!' Then he patted me on the shoulder and said, 'Go claim your inheritance, son.'" At that, the old man got up to leave. Fred Craddock asked, "What's your name, sir?" The old man turned and said, "Ben Hooper." Ben Hooper who had served as Governor of Tennessee for two terms!

We are of two families, one of Spirit and one of Flesh. God created us to be in the world around us, but not to be of the world. Jesus, born of the Spirit and Flesh, showed us how to go about our lives without getting caught up in the world around us. God has bestowed many gifts upon us; though sometimes we luck out with the families that we are born into, we are all of the family of God. Like Ben Hooper, go and claim your inheritance.

Alleluia and Amen.

Peace and blessings.

Thursday Afternoon

2009-06-04T12:45:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

I wanted to continue posting pictures for the blog, but something wrong with the cord that transfers the pictures from the camera to the computer; so the pictures may have to wait until after I get outside (off the North Slope-also means outside of the State).

Life is still going on here. Right now we are waiting for the Medical Examiner in Anchorage to release the bodies of the two involved with the murder-suicide. It looks like I will be officiating the funeral for "Scooter" first, maybe tomorrow if his body arrives on tonight's flight. That means Martha Marie's funeral will be either Saturday, Monday or Tuesday. With Martha's funeral, it will mark my 82nd funeral to officiate in the two years that we have been here in Barrow.

At the church, we are trying to get the building ready for the fall Presbytery meeting here in October. The painting season for outside is very limited and short. Right now we are trying to scrape the old paint off, but it starting snowing Saturday afternoon, and I have not tried since due to the rain and work schedule.

Right now, we are trying to get things ready for Kim's Social Security Disability hearing next month. She is very anxious in filling out all the paperwork, but then again, there is a reason we are filling for disability...

Sam finishes up his driving classes tonight; the class only lasted for four weeks, so we will probably wait and give him more driving time before trying for his license.

Peace and blessings.

Day of Pentecost

2009-05-31T21:34:00.005-08:00

Grace and greetings.

I had been writing a blog all week long in my head, but never getting it down in print. The last several days have been emotional rollercoaster. Thursday, snow returned, leaving us with a light blanket of snow which melted by the end of the day. But I also received notice of a death in an Anchorage hospital of a church member who had suffered several strokes. Before his last stroke, he was seen throughout town in one of his two wheelchairs; one motorized that he was able to zip along with; the other he pushed himself backward with his one good foot.

Then Thursday afternoon, a couple from Chicago came to Barrow for the day, and had arraigned for me to renew their wedding vows for their 30th anniversary. This was the first time that I had officiated a service for rededication of vows.

Then on Saturday morning, the community of Barrow woke up to the news of a high school couple whose relationship was not working out; the young man shot his ex-girl friend and then shot himself. He died of his wounds, and she is currently in Anchorage; last I heard was on life support. (Monday afternoon: I have since found out that she did pass away yesterday.)

Saturday night, snow returned, as if to blanket our sorrow and pain with several inches of the white stuff. We went out to dinner to celebrate Kim's birthday, then came home to watch "Gandhi."

Most of the snow is gone as I type, but the pain is still there from yesterday's shootings. But God's spirit continues to flow down upon us, and through us. Here is my meditation from this evening....

“Pray the Spirit”
Romans 8.22-27

On the evening of Pentecost, we gather to worship and pray together. In this passage, Paul starts off that the whole creation is groaning in labor pains. The whole creation, everything in creation is before God, praying. All life, all animals, all mountains, and valleys, beaches and streams are lifting prayers and praises up to God. We join our voices with all of Creation in our worship of the Lord our God. Even those times where we do not know where our next step should be, we worship God.

Yesterday brought out the pain and anguish of prayers that could not find any answers. Prayers that mothers remembered the birthing pains they went through for life, to see life taken from them. Questions continue to be asked, and it seems as though no answers are coming. We know that we are God’s children; we know that God has blessed us and continues to call us forth for adoption to redeem us. But as we hold our dying loved ones in our arms, we continue to lift up our prayers, hoping against hope that God will answer our cries. Paul writes, “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

We come before God, knowing that God will be able to use our grief to bring us into God’s light and love. There is a book that has been out for the last couple of years now that many people have read; it is “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young. The story is that of a father, and family that has lost their youngest daughter to a rapist and murderer. Though her body has never been found, they did find the remains of her cloths, blood stained; but still they hold out for hope. The book tells of the story of the father, Mackenzie, and how he has dealt with the great loss through his depression that he names “the Great Sadness.” Four years after his daughter’s disappearance, Mackenzie is given a note to meet God at the Shack where his daughter’s cloths were found. The story goes on to report about his time and meeting with God. Of course, as in all good books, there are twists and turns, guilt and redemption. Some questions are answered, many other questions remain.

In the Romans passage, we read that as the whole creation in pain, and yet continues to lift up prayers and praise to God. We read that even in the times it is the hardest for us to pray, even when we are in our own Great Sadness, God’s Spirit, comes to pray for us, and intercedes for us even when we can do nothing more than sigh. Along with the Great Sadness, there is the Great Nevertheless; though odds seem to be against us, nevertheless God comes out victorious in the end. Even when the disciples were faced with the death of Jesus, and lost all hope, nevertheless, God brought Jesus back from the dead, and promised the same for us.

This is the day of Pentecost, the day that the Spirit fell upon the Disciples and spread throughout the land and the ages. The Spirit of God continues to come to us, praying for us, lifting up our voices for us, even in those times when we can find no voice of our own. Though we walk through our valleys of shadow and death; as we experience our own Great Sadness; nevertheless, God comes through in the end, God DOES Triumph.

God is here; God is with us; God is here with us always. Alleluia and Amen.

Peace and blessings.

Still Around

2009-05-25T11:37:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Things are still happening here in Barrow, we are alive and kicking. I am preparing for another funeral and thought I would sent a post while I have the internet connection. Last night and earlier this morning I was having trouble, yet again, with my internet connection. Someday I would like to get a real connection for the church.

Here is my meditation from last night.

“God’s Promise”
I John 5.6-13

In the court of law we are sworn in to “Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” In the letter from I John, we hear that God has testified to the truth about the relationship between Jesus and God. Not only is there human testimony, but God’s testimony as well. “This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: The Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater: For this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son.” (Verses 6-9)

God comes before us to testify on Jesus’ behalf, and we the jury, are called on to believe the testimony of God. God comes to us throughout history continuing to speak to the human situation and call us back into relationship with God. All along the way, God gives us divine witnesses along with the human witnesses. Jesus comes along to “drink the same dirty water, walk the same dusty roads, and sleeps in the same fragile tents as human witnesses. That witness is very often indistinguishable from other human witnesses.” (Feasting on the Word; year B, volume 2, page 538.) We continue to read throughout scripture how God’s testimony mingled with human testimony, side by side, together.

Therein lies the paradox that we are called to hear and believe. God comes to us, in the lowly places, and not with trumpets blasting, “here is the word of God…” God continues to come in the midst of our lives to give witness, but are we able to give the ear to hear, and the heart to believe? Many people would prefer that God would silence all other voices, in fact many try to do this on their own; but God continues to come to us, quietly, in our own dusty roads, drinking the same dirty water and sleeping in the same fragile tents as we do. Jesus lives with us, walking with us, drinking with us, sleeping with us, and still giving testimony to us about God, and God gives testimony back concerning Jesus. It is like a comment about the Trinity: “God laughs with Jesus, who sings with the Spirit, back and forth, as they are one.”

As we read in this letter by “the elder,” he does not so much speak to us, but sings with us, in the hope that sooner or later we will recall the tune and melody of our own heartbeats to a rhythm long forgotten but not completely lost, that we too may sing along. In the world of sin and grace, we come to hear God’s call, God’s testimony to the truth. God calls us to join in to be witnesses of the truth; that we too may sing with God; sing to the Creator, who sings with the Son and the Spirit, reminding us of the tune that continues to beat in our hearts. Hear God’s song so we may sing along, giving witness to all that may hear us.

Peace and blessings.

Updates

2009-05-14T08:24:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

A few people have written me concerning Kim and Sam, so I thought I would answer here too since I brought them up in earlier writings.

The story, "The Miracle Boy," though was written earlier this year for a writing class, took place last year at the end of March and beginning of April 2008. Sam is doing better, he still has his days as well, but he will be finishing up the school year with finals next week. Then he will return this coming fall to finish up the two credits he is short from graduating. He is not sure where he will go, but he knows that he wants to go to college. His plan is to live at home for a year or so to save some money before going off to the big cities. He will probably continue his education with classes out at the two year college here in Barrow. Sam started taking Driver's Education out at the college last night and it will run for about five weeks, two nights a week.

Kim is slowly over coming her pulled two teeth and dry socket. After everything is healed, about six months to a year, they will put in permanent bridges. As for her Social Security Disability hearing, the Judge has postponed the hearing for two months so we can find legal representation. We will meet again July 8th, this time in Anchorage. Otherwise, she is still trying to do things without getting sick again, either with the pneumonia or falling down as she still has the weakness in her right side.

My own depression cycle is starting to lift. This morning I am feeling and thinking clearer than the last several days. Time will tell. Of course, one of the problems of living in the Arctic is the availability of services. The counselors over at the Mental Health have gone from missing one clinician, to now they are down four. There is only one clinician for the North Slope at the moment, with another person helping out when she can. The North Slope is made up of eight villages, with the geographical size of the State of Minnesota. Each of the clinicians would take a week in one of the villages and spend three weeks here in Barrow. Now they are down to just the one. Of course when we ask if there is any body coming in the near future, they can not say anything, which means probably not. The loss of the last two clinicians was especially hard on Kim and I, for they were the people we were seeing. It is much harder on Kim, because she has so few that she can trust right now.

Well, I have to go and get Sam to school.

Peace and blessings.

Here in Barrow

2009-05-13T20:43:00.006-08:00

Grace and greetings.

A friend recently wrote asking a variety of questions, maybe some of them can be brought out again. How did I end up here? How long will I stay?

I moved to Anchorage between my junior and senior year in high school. (She knew this part of the story, since she was one of the friends I left behind in Whittier, California). I had asked my father if I could move back to finish high school in Huntington Beach. He told me to give Alaska six weeks; and I stayed for 13 years. We spent the last twenty years throughout the United States; serving churches from Northern New York to Ohio, Montana, Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico, Florida, Pennsylvania and Washington. In December 2006, I came to Barrow to interview for the position of Senior Pastor. Since my wife spent her internship here, we knew somewhat of what to expect. I did not really think that I would take the position, but as time went along, so did the my hearing of God's spirit.

We have been here for two years now; my "contract" is worded that after three years the congregation will pay for the moving expenses back to Seattle. It cost the church $25,000 to move us up here, so that is a powerful incentive to try and make it for another year. My contract does not have an end date, per se, so who knows.

I know that I am called here, but like many places that are so isolated, it is hard at times. Last week we were in Fairbanks, which is 500 miles to the south of us, and there are many trees there. Here in Barrow, we are 450 miles north of the tree line, so no trees. We are still in the throws of winter as it snows outside; that can drain the spirit. At the moment, my spirit is draining.

Where and when do we go from here? My only answer is that is up to God. Right now, consider that not many people can last up here for that long. You have to be called to the place in order to stay, and thrive. With the economy were it is at the moment, it is probably good to have a safe place to be. I love the people here, and I know that I have been a positive influence for many people in the community, not just in the church.

So, I take it one day at a time. If I were offered a dream position elsewhere, would I take it? Today maybe, tomorrow, probably not.

Peace and blessings.

2009-05-07T13:29:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

We arrived back from Fairbanks Tuesday evening; I was tired, angry, frustrated and depressed. Kim made the quick remark that I was already missing those "sticky up things." That is what we jokingly call trees when ever we go somewhere off the North Slope. As I thought about it, the statement made sense. The only "trees" that we have here, are our "palm trees." The trees are made of driftwood with strips of baleen nailed to the top of them.

I have not thought about it before, but I guess I do miss trees. The nearest trees are over four hundred miles to the south of us. Most of the portion of Alaska that is within the Arctic Circle are above the tree line. For me, I guess it was something that I did not think about until after the fact. Most of the people in the polar parts of the world comment that they did not notice they missed the sun until after it had returned. I guess my missing the trees are the same, I did not realize that I missed them until I left them behind again.

We are hoping to make it back down to Anchorage this summer, then I will get to see some of those "sticky things" again, and I will appreciate them a little more.

Peace and blessings.

The Miracle Boy

2009-05-06T12:43:00.007-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Below is a paper that I recently wrote for my creative writing class. I wanted to share it with a few others, but was having trouble emailing it, so I am posting it here on my blog. This is a story of my son, Samuel. I hope that it raises some of the issues that we deal with up here on the North Slope.

"The Miracle Boy"

by
D. Ian MacInnes-Green

He was sitting on the plane to go down to Anchorage along with everybody else on the sold out flight. Everybody was excited about the possibility of the Girl’s Basketball team heading off to the State Tournament. It seemed that everybody noticed him as well. Ten hours before, he was contemplating suicide, the risk was high. But now he was calm a collected. He talked with some of the other passengers, but mostly it was a quiet trip for him and the officer that was escorting him to an Anchorage facility. The officer held the literal keys to his freedom; for he had hand cuffs on his wrist and shackles on his ankles. He was not thinking too much about being a miracle boy at that moment….

Not quite twenty years earlier, his parents were talking about having children. They wanted to have children but were not in a rush to have them. They knew that they needed to be financially secure to have children, but they never were financially secure.

His mother has always had a problem with the medical profession; they would keep telling her that all her problems were in her head. When, in some cases years later, she was able to prove that it was her physical body that betrayed her, not her mental ability. So when conception was still difficult, the doctors said to keep trying. The fact that all her life she had problems with her menstrual cycle was of no consequence to the doctors. Finally, after three years and several doctors, one doctor admitted that she had endometriosis, a problem where the endometrial particles were not completely flushed out of her system each month, and they built up tissue outside of the vaginal area. The doctors performed several laparoscopies to try and clear things out, but it did not work. It was not until she had a laparotomy that the medical world found out that she had stage four (out of five) endometriosis. Once her tubes and other reproductive organs were cleaned out, she was able to conceive. It happened a month after the surgery, not intentional, but it happened.

Because of the issues associated with the endometriosis the pregnancy was watched very carefully. The last several months she was limited to light duty, but not quite complete bed rest. The boy’s parents were excited and nervous. They would watch with excitement as they felt him move around in the womb. It reminded them of a dolphin, so they would call him “fin” for short.

The parents had planned to have the delivery as holistic as possible. They had two friends to go through the Lamaze training with them in case the father was not available to be there. As the boy’s parents were both ministers, the father’s position would sometime take him away. The parents tried to make all the “right” plans for the birth.

Then the day arrived for the Miracle Baby to be welcomed into the world. Early in the morning of that eventful day, the water broke. The mother woke up, thinking that she had wet the bed. She woke up her husband to confirm that her water had indeed broken. Since it was only 2:00 o’clock in the morning, she called the doctor on call, and was told not to worry, and come in to the office later that morning. They changed the sheets to the bed, where as the husband promptly went back to sleep. The mother-to-be could do no such thing. In fact, she became angry and resentful of her spouse to so calmly go back to sleep. So she stayed awake, sitting there nervous, worrying about every small detail, include that fact that she could not go back to sleep herself.

The expectant parents arrived at the doctor’s office shortly after they opened. It was soon confirmed that her water had indeed broken and the baby was on its way. The parents were admitted to the local hospital that the doctor worked with, and they waited.

Part of the problem already was that there were no birth contractions to speak of, so the medical staff hooked her up with medication to help bring on the contractions. AND THEY CAME. She had been on the medication for about five hours, but she still had not dilated beyond a couple of centimeters. (The mother needs to be dilated at least ten centimeters in order for the baby to pass through the birthing canal.) One of the partners who had gone through the Lamaze training with them was a nurse, and this just happened to be her day off, so she was able to be there with them.

The prenatal doctor came in and said that the medications were not working in bringing about the birth. It was time to prepare for a cesarean section; the couple asked for a few more hours. The time finally came: it was closing in on the magic hour of 24 hours since the water broke and she had not dilated beyond the two centimeters, it was time for surgery. The parents finally agreed, signed the papers so that the surgery could take place. At 11:01 PM (23:01 on a 24 hour clock), on this particular Tuesday night, the Miracle Boy was born.

If there was anything constant in the boy’s life, it was change. By the time that he was in his third year of high school, he had lived in eight different states, ten different communities, fourteen different houses, and ten different schools. He could no longer trust that any friends that he made, he would be able to keep. There was one time in his early years, when he made an observation and question to his father, “It is September, are we moving?” That particular September, no they were not moving; but there were too many other September moves throughout his short life.

Finally, when he started high school, he thought that he found a place where he belonged. He made friends that seemed like they would last. The school itself was an alternative school that was geared to the personality and understanding that he needed. Then his father was offered a position far away, in a small isolated village inside the Arctic Circle in Alaska.

He moved with his parents to the village up north, he gave it a try, but he just did not feel like he fit in anywhere in this “new home.” He had lived through too many changes, too many times to move, no real stability. This time he thought he would make one more move; this would be his choice, his decision. He would end the torture that had happened all his life; it would end here and now.

He really wanted to end his life, but ended up being helped out of the situation. The people who were trying to help, including his father, took him to the local hospital, where he agreed to go to the hospital in Anchorage. In the village, they have no humane way to handle anybody who is suicidal except to “arrest” them, put them in police custody, until the person is “transported” to the Anchorage facility. In the case involving the Miracle Boy, this meant flying down on a crowded, overbooked plane, with a majority of classmates and their families to travel with him. Only, he was handcuffed and shackled for his “safety”, the “safety” of the officer escorting him down, and the “safety” of the rest of the passengers. But by the time the flight had actually happened, he was not longer suicidal or even thinking in those terms.

Since that flight, and the three week stay in the hospital that followed, he has found a new lease on life. He has started making friends, this time not worrying about who was going to move first. He is looking to graduate from high school and go on to college. But right now, it is just one day at a time. Even though his parents do not always agree with the decisions that he makes, he is still, and always will be, their Miracle Boy.

Peace and blessings.

Saturday Afternoon

2009-05-02T17:52:00.006-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It is another Saturday afternoon, and I am fighting to do a tail spin into a depression. Just like the weather outside, it is overcast and cold, just another depressing day. I am sure that I will be over it soon. Blah, blah, blah...

The picture on the left was taken in basically the same spot as the one I posted on Tuesday. We have lost a lot of snow, but still more to go. Like most of Alaska, spring is usually more about melting snow and showing the dirt, mud and trash that is all around.

Kim had two teeth pulled last week, and she is still down and out. She went back to the dentist yesterday, only to find out that she had a "dry socket." Sam is sitting and watching Disney channel, working on the intellectual part of his life...yeah right. Sam has decided not to try and graduate this school year, so will return in August with two credits to go. In the meantime, he has shocked everybody by deciding to go out for football. He has survived his first three days of conditioning; without understanding anything about the game, they (the coaches) have put him on the defensive line. At 250 pounds, he still has some weight behind him for the others to push around. I am sure once he gets into a physical routine, he will drop 20 or so pounds. We will see how this plays out.

Kim and I leave for Fairbanks tomorrow night so we can meet with Social Security Disability. We have been waiting five years for this hearing, and now the company hired by the Board of Pensions said Kim does not fit their definition of "physical disability;" so the dropped her last month. So we go to the hearing representing ourselves. Of course SSI Disability is TOTAL DISABILITY; meaning can the person sweep the floor? Can the person flip hamburgers at McDonald's? Our reply for the last one is that we do not have McDonald's up here in Barrow. Yeah, that will fly like a lead balloon too. Anyway, that is were we are at the moment.

Peace and blessings.

Explain UP

2009-04-30T10:13:00.002-08:00

Grace and Greetings.

One of the on-line groups that I am a part of, sent this little statement in, and so I am passing it along. I have seen it somewhere else, so it has been around the block a time or two, but still worth pondering.

EXPLAIN Â“UPÂ“

Lovers of the English language might enjoy this. It is yet another example of why people learning English have trouble with the language. Learning the nuances of English makes it a difficult language. (But then, that's probably true of many languages.) There is a two-letter word in English that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.' It is listed in the dictionary as being used as an adverb, preposition, adjective, noun, or verb.

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends and we use color to brighten UP a room. We polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it wets UP the earth. When it does not rain for a while, things dry UP.

At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this up is especially confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now; my time is UP, so time to shut UP!

Don't screw UP. Send this on to everyone you look UP in your address book.

Now I'll shut UP.

Peace and blessings

I am Confused

2009-04-29T22:52:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

I am confused; this evening my 26 year old daughter called me up with her own frustration. A few years ago, my daughter joined the National Guard, then broke her hip while in training and received an honorable discharge. She has since come back from the broken hip, (including baring two children since then) and is back in shape. For the last several months, she has been waiting to sign on the bottom line with the US Army; she finally got the call to come in this afternoon and get her orders. As she sat there waiting, the recruiter came up to tell her that the US Army did not have any jobs for her. They gave her two reasons: she was a FEMALE with PRIOR SERVICE. They then turned around and signed up a male that was sitting there, granted, it was for the infantry, and women are still not "infantry." So basically they told her to go home and check back with them in a few months....

Right now, she is in too much shock to know what to think, or how to respond. Her first thoughts are to sue for discrimination. Her next thought was to check out a few of the other branches, maybe the Marines.

In the meantime, her youngest turned three today, so she had to be of good cheer for her children. I ask that you keep her in your thoughts and prayers...and if you have any suggestions for her and or me, please let me know.

Peace and blessings.

With Spring comes mud

2009-04-28T11:12:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

We have now had three days in a row that the temperature made it above the freezing mark. That means things are starting to melt. Sunday we had the first rain fall in six months. Grass on the side of our house makes its appearance for the first time in 2009.

Of course with Spring rains, comes the melting of the snow. With the melting of the snow, comes mud. This time of year, as in most other places that experience winter snows, is called break-up; as the snow and ice melt, the rivers start to break-up. Here, all our roads are dirt and gravel, (except in the winter, when it is ice and snow). With break-up, comes pot holes. Now of course we are not talking about your occasional pot hole here or there, we are talking about holes on every road. Some of the pot holes can be small enough to just be a quick bounce; where others will break axles. Most of the pot holes do not come in ones or twos, but in bunches. Some are like the small ruts that remind people of the rail road ties; others seem to be big enough to swallow whole cars.

This will be the general story for our roads for the next five to six months...pot holes, graders to try and level out the roads and water trucks to keep down the dust and dirt. All this fun until the next snow fall, to cover and fill in the pot holes with snow and ice again.

Peace and blessings.

Spring is Here...at least for today

2009-04-26T23:14:00.005-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It has been over a week since my last entry; I want to assure everybody we are alive and doing well...sort of. The picture on the left was taken just a few minutes ago, 23:09, or 11:09 PM. I will post the two other pictures as well. For the past week the air temperature has been above zero, right around 10 degrees. Then today it jumps up to 35 degrees, everything is melting and will be a great big mess if it keeps up. But the forecast is for cooler temps tomorrow, back into the teens.

To answer many questions that are out there, let me try and answer them en-mass.

First, concerning Kim: Her lungs seem to be stable at the moment. She did not have to have surgery this past December. She did have two teeth pulled Thursday though, so she is still a little dizzy with the pain medications. On another front, we have been waiting for her to have a hearing on her SSI Disability claim since she fell back in 2003. The company that oversees the paperwork and meets with the official Judge pulled out of Kim's case last month. Now we have a hearing next week in Fairbanks, so we get to represent ourselves. We are not real hopeful for her to get SSI, since their definition is TOTAL disability; i.e. can she flip hamburgers? Our major hope and prayer hangs on the Bi-Polar diagnosis, if the judge will see that as a total disability. The main difference between the Church's definition and SSI, the church defines "anything that disables and impedes from what she has been trained and educated." So the church could see a disability, but SSI would not. Of course she has to apply for SSI in order to be on the church's disability. Of course this hearing in May already has cost us the air fare to Fairbanks, $1,100.00 that we really do not have just to throw away. We were told that we could ask for help since we are more than 75 miles away, but I am not holding my breath. We will see how it all falls out next month. Of course, planning for the worst case scenario, Kim loses her disability and we lose her $2,000 a month to help out to pay off her medical bills from Seattle as well as last year in Anchorage.

Sam is finishing up his school year, they have about three more weeks before finals. He tried to make up credits so that he could graduate next month, but just is not going to get there. He will be two credits short of graduation. So he will be returning to school August 17th, and then in December, he can choose to graduate then, or stay in school until next May. We will see how that falls out then. Other than that, he is the normal teenage trying to get out of as much home work and house work as possible.

I myself am surviving. Kim and I just finished up on a Creative Writing class on how to write our own stories. We turned in twenty page papers at the end of our short five week course. Each week, we had to turn in five page reports on different understandings of writing, (voice, point of view, etc.), then we could put them all together and connect the different papers into one big one paper. The teacher is hoping to "publish" the class papers sometime this fall. Again, we will see if that happens.

Another excitement for this last couple of days is that Willie Hensley was up here, speaking at the college's commencement and then a book signing day at the library. Willie Hensley was one of the main forces in helping the Alaska Native Lands Claims Act get through congress and then President Richard Nixon's signature.

Otherwise, I have a new assignment; I will be heading out to Louisville and then Chicago in July for a Cross Cultural Training. The time in Louisville, Kentucky is with other Presbyterians; then in Chicago will be with other people who serve or will be serving in cultures that they (ministers and missionaries), did not grow up in. I have six books that I need to read before hand, plus a few others that are recommended. It will be a challenge for this slow reader.

Well I think I have gone overboard in the information if you are still reading to this point. I will try and post some more pictures tomorrow....

Peace and blessings.

Finally, the Air Temperature is above zero

2009-04-15T13:01:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

As Spring moves closer to the Arctic, yesterday and today the air temperature has have been above zero, even though the wind chill have been around -10. According to the weather on MY GCI page, is at 6 above, the themomator outside our house is all the way up to 12 degrees. Yeah!

The picture on the left was taken a couple of days before the sun officially rose above the horizon. But is giving you a different view of Barrow.

I am late getting to the office today, so I have to go.

Peace and blessings.

Easter Sunrise

2009-04-13T19:00:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings

Yesterday morning was my third Sunrise service here in Barrow. The first time in 2007, the air temp was -15; last year was -35; yesterday was only -10 but the wind chill was closer to -30.

The other services pictures were published in the Dyersville, Iowa newspaper, because one of our church members was a reporter, and would still be in contact with his home paper. Unfortunately, he and his wife moved the Wisconsin last summer after spending twenty some years here.

The weather was nice and clear in the morning, as you can see from the picture, but by the afternoon, the clouds moved in. With the three services on Easter, concluded a run of 14 services in fifteen days for me. My mind is still fried, particularly now.

The other picture is inside our sanctuary, with the cross and lillies. Yes, we get live plants up here, but they do not always last that long. Anyway, I hope everbody had a great Easter.

Peace and blessings

Angels' Loss

2009-04-09T09:09:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

As most of you know, I have been a fan of the Los Angeles Angels before they moved to the "Big A" in the late 1960's. Even though I moved from Southern California in 1974, I continue to follow the Angels, win or lose. Last night they lost their third game of the season, this time it was their famed Bull Pen who let them down. They lost the game to the Oakland A's 6-4. But that was not the real loss of last night. The starting pitcher for the game, Nick Adenhart, was killed in a hit and run accident early Thursday morning, only hours making his season debut. There were two others killed as well. It turns out that a driver ran a red light, hit two cars, including the one Adenhart was in, and then took off. The police were later able to track down the driver and arrest him.

As we move into the major days of the Holy Week, I ask for your prayers to be with Adenhart's family, the Angels' organization, as well for all the families involved.

Peace and blessings.

Ash and Ice

2009-04-08T13:14:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

For many years I used to write poetry. I had two books worth of my poems, until we accidently left them in Pennsylvania when we moved to Seattle in December 2003. I am trying to start to write again. Last week there was a "Poetry Contest" held at the local library with the topic of "New Beginnings." The following is a poem that I entered:

ASH AND ICE

Black is my night
Fierce is the wind in my heart
I am afraid.
The void in my soul
Will not heal

The Fire is dying
Embers of ash on ice
I implore the pitch
To cover me
As a blanket of endless sleep

The Embers fade
Lost for all time.
Fingers take hold
I do not resist

Not Death, but Life
Answers my cry
I witness hope
I meet joy
I experience life dancing

I observe the last ember
Lost in ash and ice
Brilliance blinds
I AM
The Phoenix rising

Peace and greetings.

Meditation

2009-04-05T22:49:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Here is my meditation from tonight's service, that I wish to share with you. We have just finished up five days of Revival, and right now I am too overwhelmed to write about it. But I will be addressing the Revival within the next few days.

Emptying of Ourselves

Philippians 2.1-11

We come many times to hear this passage, and we hear it with the confidence that all is right in our world; “for every knee shall bend…confessing Jesus Christ is Lord.” But is that really what is being said here? Is that really what Paul was meaning when he wrote to his beloved church in Philippi? He was calling the church to rejoice, but not to celebrate too soon.

Hear the first five verses again, with a different understanding. “Since there is encouragement in Christ, since there already is consolation from love, since there is already sharing in the Spirit, with compassion and sympathy, MAKE MY JOY COMPLETE: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than your selves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” The church then, and NOW, is to MAKE Paul’s Joy complete: everything we do, we do it with the understanding that it is to help others. All that we do, all that we love, all that we are about, is in the humility of keeping the others in our minds.

But the passage is not just to make us a door mat for everybody to step on. Usually when we do that, we become resentful of others, even those whom we are called to serve. Think back to your worst job that you may have had in your life. Cleaning out the honey buckets? Washing the floors over and over again because of all the mud that was tracked in? What about back breaking work, in extreme weather, either the cold or heat? I can think of several jobs that I truly disliked, and even hated. But I think the worst job I ever had was while I was in High School; I was picked up by my “boss” along with 6-8 other teens, and we were dropped off in different neighborhoods to sell magazines door to door. Of course, our pay was on commission, so if we did not sell anything, we did not make any money beyond the minimum wage we were paid. As it turned out, we started after school, between 4 and 5 PM and worked until about 9 PM. By the time we got home, it was late, and there was still homework to be done. In two of my classes my grades dropped from an “A” and “B” to “D’s” in both classes. My mother promptly made me quit my job. I hated it and am lousy at selling door to door. I had to “sell” myself in order to sell the magazines, which is probably why I did not sell too many.

But as we think of our worst jobs, Paul is calling us to be of the mind of Christ, to be able to serve one another with joy in our hearts, and helping others. The only people I helped in selling door to door were my employers, has they still made money on me. Our work should not be about the money, it should be about the Glory of God, and how we are fulfilling the work of God by our employment, our work, our volunteer positions, and our very selves.

Look at your life, what you do. Are you serving God in such a way as to bring Glory to God? Do we serve others with a song in our hearts and souls? Are we of the same mind as Christ in our compassion, sympathy, love and encouragement that we do it freely, without resentment and anger? Even if we answer “no” to the above questions, hopefully it will lead us into the ancient hymn that Paul quotes to finish out this passage:
“Who, though he was in the form
of God,
did not regard equality with
God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient
to the point of death—even death on a cross.
Therefore
God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”

Peace and blessings

Political Resurrection?

2009-04-04T11:12:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

This past week, Ted Stevens was granted a full pardon if you will from the prosecution, as it dropped all charges from his conviction last fall. The trial was flawed, and the prosecution knows that it can not overcome those issues so has dropped everything instead.

Ted Stevens said that this day would come, that he was exonerated from all wrong.

Now, the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin is asking that Mark Begich resign, because he stole the election under the false pretense that Stevens was convicted. Of course, Mark Begich has no intention of resigning. I have not heard or read if the 80 plus year old (I think 84) Stevens would take his seat back if given to him. After 40 years, he probably was use to the job, so he probably would jump at the chance.

My thoughts on the whole thing: Yes, the trial was flawed, the press and prosecution was admitting that throughout the trial. The prosecution is dropping all charges because the trial was flawed, not because Ted Stevens was innocent of all charges. Nobody has ever asked that Stevens spend time in jail, but even the Republican Senators has asked Stevens to step down. We will see where this takes us.

Other than that, the weather is trying to get above zero, but not quite there yet. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, which means next week is Holy Week and then Easter. It will be another very busy week for me.

Peace and blessings.

Remembering and Speaking out.

2009-03-31T09:28:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

I am not sure if you can read the comic strip, but I received it in an email this morning, asking to send on the message that we never forget. Quickly, the girl notices the number tattoo, the gentleman quickly tells her his story of the concentration camps. She asks if he keeps it to remind him; his answer: "no, to remind you!"

The reason I wanted to copy this and place it here in my blog is because for my wife Kim, this conversation, or one very like it, happened to her many years ago. When Kim's mother was in the hospital, her roomate was a survivor. Kim being an innocent little girl asked about the number tattoo, and the woman told Kim her story over the next couple of days. She no longer had any family left alive at that time, so she make Kim her "Legacy", Kim is the one to tell her story that we may never forget; that we may forever speak out. The woman died shortly afterward. Please continue to speak out at the crimes against humanity that continue throughout the world, in the name of God, nation, fighting terrorism or for whatever reason. Genocide must not happen again, and yet it does.

Getting down off my soap box now; I heard back from the person I was thinking of when I wrote an earlier blog about lost friends. Not only did the one person write me back, but two others did as well. Be sure to keep in contact with your friends, where ever they may be.

Peace and blessings.

Revival

2009-03-29T21:49:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

My email is not working again. So I thought I would try and send this to see if we can print on a color printer.

We are planning a Revival here in Barrow. It is the first one in a while at the Presbyterian Church; it will be the first one that I have ever participated and been apart of. We are bringing up the Rev. Joan Gray, who is the Past Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). She has grown up in the South, and Revivals were part of her life, so she is going to lead ours here this coming week, Wednesday April 1 through to Sunday Morning, Palm Sunday, April 5th. I ask for you to join our prayers that God's Spirit renew and revitalize Barrow and the North Slope. We continue to deal with the pain and suffering of those left behind from the loved one who have committed suicide, intentionally or accidentally.

Peace and blessings.

The High Priest

2009-03-29T21:36:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Here is a picture of Mount Redoubt as it erupted earlier this week. The picture was published in the Anchorage Daily News, taken during an early morning eruption and the storm that goes along with it. Though the ash has not made the 1,000 mile journey north, it has blanketed parts of the South Central Alaska, including Anchorage, which has interrupted the air flights, including to Barrow and other villages. For the villages, when the planes do not fly, then we do not get food, supplies, mail as well as the people traveling in and out of our villages.

I am still not feeling 100% yet, and hopefully will get back to writing again. Below, is a copy of the meditation from tonight's service.

The True High Priest
Hebrews 5.5-10

As we come to consider what this passage is about, let us look at the role of the High Priest at the time. In the Jewish temple, there is a place called the Holy of Holies. It is the most sacred part of the temple. Only the priest that is serving for that time can approach. It is part of the family tradition of being from the Levite line, you will serve your time, usually a year as the community priest. This is a person who is totally human, with all the faults, tears and misunderstanding as the rest of us; but for this time, the priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to offer up the prayers as well as the sacrificial acts and prayers of the people to God. The priest is someone just like us, struggling along like the rest of us, who is also called upon to receive, to bear, and to lift before God the needs that are common to us all. It is with this understanding, that Jesus is being associated with the priesthood forever. To be able to see Jesus this way puts him squarely in our nature and our world, and sees his work as intimate, connectional, and costly.

Jesus is the priest that offers up our prayers to God, though he does not offer up sacrifices any more, but offers up the prayers with loud cries and tears. He continues to present himself to God on our behalf. Jesus, being the obedient son, asks that his hardship and suffering be taken away; but knows he has to follow the path that God has set before him; that he goes to the cross, that he may come out on the other side of death and the tomb through resurrection and new life.

As we read this passage, and remember Jesus in the Garden before his death, we remember his anguish, passion, tears and cries to God. He is not lifting up a lamb or dove, or even bread and wine; he is offering up his soul with the prayers for all to understand; the grief of the world is upon his shoulders. Into the presence of God, Jesus offers weeping and screaming in the lifting up of prayers and he is lifting them up to God on behalf of the people.

His passion embodies and suffers not only the guilt of the world, but also the grief of the world, the anguish, isolation, the longing, misery and rage, crying out to the heavens. He comes before God, not only for his own deliverance, but for the cries and tears of us all. The passage declares that Jesus is the “priest forever”, and he is lifting up our prayers, pain, agony, desperation with loud shouts in prayer.

If we are now the Body of Christ to one another, to our community and the world, where does that leave us? I believe that it means we step into the priestly role with Christ to lift up the prayers of the people. We lift up all who have reason for tears and loud cries, mourners, the war-ravaged, the poor, the terrified, the oppressed, those who are too much alone, the hungry and the forgotten. Their tears, cries, and clenched silences are gathered into a groaning divine cry, ceaselessly rising, painfully lifting the suffering world toward hope of transformation. We, as the Body of Christ are not only to hear these cries lifted up to God, but to join in and lift the prayers up as well.

Peace and blessings.

Anticipation

2009-03-25T21:14:00.005-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Have you ever had to wait for something to happen? Rhetorical question, right? Yeah, I know. A couple of years ago I signed up on the classmate web site. It was my hope to re-unite with certain people; of course, after I made contact with the individuals, we just as quickly have not written each other again. There are still others that I wish to get in contact with again. This afternoon, I came across a name that I have been waiting for since I signed up. So I contacted the person, now I get to wait to see if the person will respond.

Once I make contact again, will this relationship be like the others; a quick hi, how are you doing? Let's write again...knowing that the writing will be a long time in coming. Just like coming across a long lost friend on the street, with promises of keeping in touch, and reality comes crashing in; lives that were close thirty years ago, no longer have that much in common.

Well, I continue to hope; to up hold my anticipation that one day, I will keep the commitment to stay in touch, (outside of my blog, of course).

Peace and blessings

Down by not out...Yet

2009-03-24T19:49:00.006-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Sunday morning, I woke up with a sore throat, I tried not to think about it too much.

Yesterday, I had further test from my yearly physical, a stress test. Though I did not make the ten minute mark, due to being too out of shape, the doctor said that I had no heart issues at the moment.

I ran a couple of errands, and then it felt like I was hit up side of the head, throat and everywhere else. I laid down for a few minutes, which stretched throughout the rest of the day and night. I felt so bad that I had Kim go pick up Sam after school, and Kim is not suppose to be driving.

Today I finally went to the clinic and confirmed that I had strep. They gave me a shot of antibiotics, which is some respects, is already working. Kim and Sam decided to go out to eat, which is leaving me a few moments of quiet, so I thought I would up load a few other pictures from my day out on Saturday. Other than that, tonight is going to be a quiet night too.

Hopefully I will feeling better soon.

Peace and blessing

Saved by Grace

2009-03-22T21:37:00.002-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Here is my offering for Sunday Night..

Saved by Grace
Ephesians 2.1-10

Though the writer was writing to a church two thousand years ago, and was responding to different situations and experiences, we still can hear of his call to the people. As we come to hear the words written in the Letter to the Ephesians, we can listen whether the words were written by Paul, or latter by a student of Paul, using Paul’s understanding of God’s grace and love.

Each of us in our lives do not always do what we want to do; in fact Paul even wrote that he does the very thing he does not want to do. There are times in our lives that we try to hide what we do, whether it is something big as an affair of the heart; going to places on the Internet that we know we should be going to; maybe it is the abusing of alcohol and illegal drugs; or something that seems innocent at the time, like a “white lie” to avoid somebody’s wrath or displeasure. For each of us, we have the opportunity to come before God and receive forgiveness.

As we read the passage, we understand that everything here, God does all the work. God initiates the relationship with each and every one of us. God gives us the faith to believe, God gives us the strength to come and ask for forgiveness. God blesses us with grace in our lives that we can reach out to God, and say “Thank you.” This is NOT of our doing, but it is ALL GOD!

So where does that leave us here and now? We understand that our faith in God comes from God. We do not need to spend our lives worrying about our salvation; that is all in the hands of God. We do not need to worry if we are accepted by God; God reaches out and claims us as one of God’s own.

But this does not mean that we can just let God do everything else. God has already set in motion the salvation for the entire world through the saving actions of Jesus. Now we need to go out and tell the rest of the world about God’s love and saving grace that comes about by faith; and even the faith that we have in God is a gift from God. We share the Good News of the gospel, by how we treat our neighbor, acknowledging them, helping them, sharing with them and loving them. It is from the parable of the Good Samaritan that we know who our neighbor is: it is ANYBODY that we come across, or ANYBODY that we come in contact with, whether it is in person, or over the Internet, or over the phone. We are each other’s neighbor where ever we may be located at any particular time. We respond to our neighbor, because of the wonders that God has given us. It is ALL God’s doing.

Peace and blessings.

Writing Class here we come

2009-03-21T23:33:00.005-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Kim and I signed up for a creative writing class, to tell our own story. It will only be for five weeks, until the middle of April. This morning, we started out with an in class assignment to write a 500 word earliest memory or a fond memory. Of course this is the first day of Spring, so eventually my thoughts went to baseball. Since it is only -35 this morning, we are not playing ball too soon here. I have included a couple of pictures of the ball field here in Barrow to go with the story, since I do not have a picture of "The Big A". Though this is not my earliest memory, it is a memory I thought I could write for 500 words. As it turned out, I was the only one in the class of eight to get a 500 word story in the hour allocated. Here is my story before it is graded...

"The Big A"

Being a Cub Scout, my project is about one of the two baseball teams in Southern California area, the Los Angeles Angels. Since it is just before spring training, I search the newspapers every morning to cut and paste to complete my project.

I cut out articles with pictures, paste them into the booklet and sometimes write my reactions. Coach Bill Rigney is standing in this picture with outfielder Jay Johnstone; still not much to go on for my report. I find articles that talk about the owner, Gene Autry; some say he use to act or something.

As a ten year old, I am fairly independent; I get to walk the six blocks to the grocery store. The poster in the front window is advertising a raffle to win tickets to the the Angels first game at the newly built Anaheim Stadium; "The Big A," stands just outside the center-field wall.

I fill out a raffle ticket, slowly filling out my name so that when I win, they will call it out loudly, "And the winner is David Green." The drawing is not for a few more weeks, but I hope to win anyway.

Of course nothing comes about as we think it out in our heads, but in this one instance, I won. What a way to finish off my project, going to the first game at Anaheim Stadium with the newly named California Angels.

The day of the game finally arrives; I wait anxiously as my grandparents drive down to Westminster from Pasadena. My father seems very calm, as he usually is. It is agreed then, my grandfather, Dad and I get to go to the game, after all, I won the ticket. My little sister and brother are staying home with Mom and Grandma.

The drive on the freeway seems confusing, why is it taking so long to get there? Can't we get there any quicker? It seems as though my Dad will never get there. My Grandpa sits in the front seat next to my Dad, as I get the whole back seat to myself, watching the trees and buildings go by slowly. It is another beautiful sunny day in Southern California.

I can see the "Big A" from the freeway, but I also see the long line of other cars. As long as we get in, I can hardly wait to see my first professional baseball game in person.

Finally we get to the front of the line of cars, my Dad pulls up to the man directing the cars where to go and park. Some of the other cars are just driving away. My Dad is talking to the person, I can't hear everything...the game is sold out, we can't get in? But I have a ticket!

"Dad, tell him I already have a ticket!" Dad is already pulling away, "Dad tell him I won the ticket." My Grandpa turns to me and explains that there is no room for all three of us, so we can not get into the game.

Not to lose the whole day, Grandpa suggested another favorite game of mine, bowling. It is not the baseball game, but I get to spend time bowling with my Grandpa and Dad.

(Though the story is true, I took some liberties, my Cub Scout project was actually the year or two before the opening of Anaheim Stadium. Also, this was before I started going by my middle name, Ian, which was not until the fifth grade).

Peace and blessings

Hiding in Plain Sight

2009-03-20T21:32:00.005-08:00

Grace and greetings

Have you ever come upon something that you see everyday, but do not really notice it? When I was taking these pictures back in January, I first noticed the room with windows on the second floor of the Alaska Airlines building. After I noticed it, I wondered what it was used for.

Last week, I found out that it is just a glorified break room for the airline employees, with exercise equipment to boot. I found out, because they will sometimes use the room for other occasions as well, like last week. The mother of the young man that died was flying in from the oil fields where she works, I think for Alaska Airlines. They ushered her directly up there from the plane to meet with her family; as pastor, I was part of the group.

Yesterday, we had the funeral, it was a long and emotional service for the Witness of the Resurrection. This afternoon, I officiated another funeral for a young woman who died from cancer that she had been battling for the past year or so.

How often do we walk, or drive by something everyday and not notice it; whether the "it" is a place, thing or a person. All too often, we, especially I, become too focused that I do not notice things that are out of my line of vision. Just as Jesus taught that anytime we do something for the "least of these", the outcast, the unnoticed, we do it for Jesus as well. The opposite is true as well, every time we walk by and not notice the least of these, we do not notice Jesus.

It is time that I started becoming more aware of where I am looking.

Peace and blessings.

Carrying a Heavy Load

2009-03-18T21:16:00.004-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Just like this large truck we found a couple of weeks ago, there is something so heavy in our community that even this weight bearing truck could not hold, the reality of death and suicide here in the North Slope.

Saturday morning, alcohol and a gun concluded with another death of a young man here in Barrow. Whether it was accidental, intentional or otherwise, it resulted in his death. This is the third death with the same elements in as many months here in Barrow alone, along with other deaths throughout the North Slope. The worst part of the deaths, is that close family and friends are not willing to accept that the young men, (the three deaths have all been males), could have a hand in their own deaths.

Suicide, again, intentionally or accidentally, need to be acknowledged and talked about openly. For some reason, the communities still hold on to the stigma of suicide can only be talked about in secret, and a great family dark skeleton locked away in the family closets.

I understand the hurt and pain that any death will bring, especially that of young men still in their early to mid twenties. I have heard from people, including a young woman who called me a couple of days ago about the death last month. She continued to refuse to hear or acknowledge that the young man had any involvement in his own death. She yelled and screamed at me, as well as those who were with her when the phone call was make, that the young man was murdered, and the murderer was still out there somewhere in Barrow. The young woman's friends were trying to calm her and help her to see the truth, but she just could not accept what others were telling her.

In some respects, the caller was correct, the murderer is still out there; the murderer's name: Alcohol, Guns and Silence. The more the families and friends allow the murderer to continue, the more lives will be lost.

There are groups that are trying to address these issues, of silence and death. People are starting to become organized to talk about the situations; trying to bring understanding and healing to the community. It will take time, energy, compassion, listening and prayer to overcome the great silence.

I ask for your prayers for our communities in the North Slope, that we may find ways to speak out and find a way to stop the deaths. In the meantime, I will be officiating another funeral tomorrow afternoon for yet another grieving family.

Peace and blessings.

Getting Caught Up

2009-03-17T09:25:00.005-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Like the picture to the left, I am trying to get up on something high so I can see the landscape; in my case, it is getting caught up with my blogging. Friday night I asked for some help but did not get any replies; I do not know if that means nobody wears hearing aids, or no body has been reading my blog. Either way, if you wear hearing aids and have a preference to "In the Ear" or "Behind the Ear", please let me know.

I talked with my father last night to wish him a happy birthday, and he commented that they had not been able to pull up my blog since December, I hope they are able to get it now.

In our book club at the local library, we have read two books since I last commented on our book selection. The first book that we read for January was Tracy Kidder's book, "Mountains Beyond Mountains"; it is about the real life story of Paul Farmer and his work through the hospital he helped build up in Haiti. Though it deals with more than just his life there, I admit that I have not finished the book yet, but it is now on my list to do so.

The other book is called "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young. It is a story of one man's journey to heal following the violent death of his young daughter. It is a book that started making its way through churches and other book groups last year, many loving the book; others were put off by it. I enjoyed the book, and would encourage you to read it. It presents God in a different light than a lot of people are use to. For me, it forced me to look at how I looked at God as well; it is a book that is worth passing on to others.

Peace and blessings.

Need your help

2009-03-13T20:52:00.003-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It has been a long time, I know. First I will ill, missing the last day of Kivig. Then I was traveling to Fairbanks and then to Kansas City. Of course while we were out of town, we lost the Internet connection to the house. We are trying to get it fixed, but the people will not be able to come to the house until next week sometime.

I was in Fairbanks, Alaska for our Presbytery of Yukon Spring Meeting. Presbytery is the geographical body of the Presbyterian Church. In our case, the Presbytery of Yukon is most of the State of Alaska, everything North of Anchorage, and from the Canadian Border to Saint Lawrence Island with the communities of Gamble and Savoonga. The next level of government is the Synod, in our case the Synod of Alaska Northwest. There are 176 presbyteries, 16 synods and one General Assembly. While at the meeting, Kim transferred her membership from Pennsylvania to here, (ministers are members of the presbytery, and not the local church). In the mean time Sam was in Anchorage at the Model United Nations high school gathering.

Then I was in Kansas City for a Stewardship conference. It was good to get out, but just too short for the distance traveled.

Now to my request. I returned from Kansas City last night, and this morning had an hearing exam; yes, I need hearing aids. My question to the general population out there of those who wear hearing aids: Do you have a preference to the "In the Ear" or "Behind the Ear?" I have the option, just do not know which way to go...then come up with the money before I place my order. Please let me know of your recommendations.

Well, it is getting late tonight, and I need to head home. I hope the Internet connection is fixed soon, so I can take care of other things at home rather than at my office.

Peace and blessings.

Friday Night Kivgiq 2009

2009-02-13T22:25:00.009-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Yesterday I posted the story behind Kivgiq. It is a long story but very informative. Also, I included pictures for Thursday's dances and gathering.

Kivgiq lasts for the weekend; it starts on Wednesday with greetings and the welcoming of all the different dance groups and communities. There are groups from throughout the Arctic Circle; Greenland, Russia, Canada, and Alaska. I do not think anybody from Norway or Iceland made it this year. Thursday through early Sunday morning, the different dance groups will dance, drum, and sing. It is scheduled to end 3:00 AM Sunday morning, but will probably will go until 4 or 5 Sunday morning. During the week of Kivgiq, Barrow's population of 5,000 doubles, which means family puts up family, all the hotels are booked. The college was housing people when a water main busted in the men's dorm, flooding out the rooms and causing the people to look for other housing. Fortunately, the community came through to help out.

Along with the visitors, there are two Presbyterian ministers from Taiwan, as the Presbytery of Yukon has started a sister relationship with the Presbytery in Taiwan. Along with the two ministers, came our Presbytery Executive and the minister from Anchor Presbyterian Church in Anchorage, serving as interpreter. They timed there trip so that they could come and experience this celebration. The airfare within the State of Alaska, Anchorage to Barrow, then onto Wainwright, then back to Barrow to return to Anchorage cost twice as much as it did to fly from Taiwan to Anchorage.

The dances started out very traditional, some very serious, some for laughter. They all tell as story, which helps to know the culture and language to know what the dances are about. Some are like the Bird Man, (I think) that tell of the story of how birds are part of the tradition of the people. Some of the dances are to make fun of different parts of life, like the mating dance below.

At the end of each group's time to dance, sing and drum, they have a group dance, inviting any and all to join in for the song. Others, like this little girl, was dressed ready to dance, but stayed in the isle to follow along.

I hope that you will enjoy the pictures of the weekend, I will try and post some more tomorrow and Sunday. No, I will not be there when they end it sometime early Sunday morning.

Peace and blessings.

Kivgiq 2009

2009-02-13T01:20:00.007-09:00

Grace and greetings.

I thought I would try and explain what Kivgiq is about, but I think I will use a story that is already written. This is the story behind Kivgiq, filled in by the story teller, Martha Stackhouse, one of the Session Elders at church.

Kivgiq. Traditional Gathering and Feast!

The Sacred Gift of Song, Dance and Festivity Thousands of years ago, from the time immemorial, an Iñupiaq man and woman lived along the northern coast of the Arctic Slope. Retold by Martha Stackhouse (Ikayuaq)

The man was an extremely successful hunter. He hunted for tuttu (caribou), niġliq (geese), and fished from the lakes up inland. He was also very successful in trapping pisukaat (foxes), amaġut (wolves) and qavvich (wolverine). Occasionally he went to the sea to hunt for small sea mammals such as natchiq (seals), ugruk (bearded seal) and nanuq (polar bear). The woman was always busy butchering, tanning skins and sewing garments from the animals that her husband caught. The only thing lacking in their lives was the feeling of loneliness, as they lived by themselves. They longed for children but it just did not seem that it would happen. All they ever seem to do, day in and day out, was to hunt and work. The nights seemed to be the longest when all work had been done. Most of the nights were quiet with occasional small talk between the lonely couple.

At last, the woman became pregnant. When she made the announcement to her husband, he became so excited that he lifted her completely off the ground! Finally the time came when she had a baby son. What excitement they had! They loved him immensely and cuddled him.

It seemed like it was not very long before the son started walking. He showed signs of strength and agility. His Aapa (father) constructed a small bow and arrow for him. Before long, he learned how to master it and soon came home with ptarmigan. Several years later, he started hunting tuttu. He quickly became a highly skilled hunter like his father. He hunted from the land and his father preferred to hunt from the sea. The young son's curiosity caused him to go farther and farther away from home as he got older. He even started hunting from the mountains. One day he had gone hunting towards the mountains as he usually did but he did not return home. His parents waited for him as they thought he might have been caught in a storm. Many days passed and still, he did not return. They both searched for him everywhere but there was no trace of him anywhere. Their lives seemed to be even more empty than ever before.

Before long, the wife became pregnant again. They absolutely ecstatic! Time seemed to pass very quickly and the second son was born to them. Like his brother before him, he was strong and very clever. He grew up to become a strong young man and a successful hunter. He followed his brother's footsteps exactly. He yearned to travel long distances but his parents urged him not to go too far. They told him about his older brother who did not return from his hunt. Try as he might, he could not stay put. He had seen the mountains in the distance which seemed to draw him towards them. One day he firmly told his parents about his intentions to go to the mountains to hunt. He made several trips and successfully came back home laden with furs and a strange new meat from the mountain sheep. Just as the parents became comfortable enough with their son's strange urge to hunt in the mountains, he too, disappeared mysteriously. Again, they waited an allotted time for him to come home but he never returned. They searched endlessly as they grieved. They blamed themselves for not being strict enough on him. They lamented that they should have forbid him to travel into the mountains. This loss brought them to be more depressed than ever. Days would go by without talking. They talked only when it was necessary.

Miraculously enough, the woman became, yet a third time! This time around, the husband pampered her endlessly. Soon the third son was born to them. This one seemed to catch on even quicker than the first two sons. He learned how to walk at an even earlier time; and in no time at all, he began to run around with such speed! Not only did he learn how to handle a bow and arrow with efficiency but he also learned how to use the bola with such accuracy. He brought home ptarmigan when he was a toddler; geese when he was just four winters; a caribou when he was just six winters. He learned how to hunt with such ease that his parents became worried. The parents vowed to be strict with this son and forbade him to spend nights out by himself. He was instructed to come home nightly. He and his father were so skilled in hunting that they had to make several siġluat (ice cellars) to store all the meat they brought in. The son hunted from the land and the father from the sea. One day, the son went up inland to hunt as he usually did each day, when he sighted a large bird coming towards him from the direction of the mountains. The young man watched with curiosity. When it was above him, it began to circle and slowly started descending downward. It landed a few feet away from the young man, took his hood off and instantly became a man. In the ancient days it was not unusual for an animal to transform themselves into human beings; and for humans to transform into animals. To the young man's surprise, the Eagle Man began to talk to him, getting right to the point.

"It was I who killed your two older brothers. I will kill you also if you do not agree to come with me to the mountains to learn how to hold a songfeast and dance called Kivgiq. When you have learned all there is to know about Kivgiq from my Eagle Mother, I will allow you to go back home to your parents. But first, you must promise to teach other humans about what you have learned from my mother and I. Will you, or will you not come with me to the mountains?"

"It seems that I do not have a choice but to come with you; I promise to teach other human beings about Kivgiq but I do not know what a song is; nor do I know what a feast is."

"Will you or will you not come with me? My Eagle Mother will teach you all there is to know. Now answer me! I am becoming impatient! Will you or will you not come with me?"

"I will go gladly to learn this thing that you speak of. I do not know what a song is. I do not know what dance is. I do not know what a feast is," the young man emphasized again.

"I said that my Eagle Mother will teach you all there is to know! Your brothers before you were afraid to learn something new. They were too stubborn and refused to learn so I killed them. You are wise to agree to come with me. Believe me, you have chosen well. Now let us go to the house of my Eagle Mother in the mountains."

Since the eagle had transformed into a human, he could no longer fly. However, his coat was an impressively brilliant coat made from eagle feathers. The two men looked majestic as they were both very strong, agile and sure of themselves. They covered ground quickly, far into the mountains, across rivers and valleys. They walked all day long and finally, a magnificent mountain came into sight. They began to climb the great mountain. The Eagle Man said that their house was on top of the highest mountain. The young man heard a strange beat, like someone making a knocking sound. At first it was soft but as they ascended further up towards the top, the beat became louder and louder. It began to sound like the beating of huge hammers. As they approached the peak of the mountain, the beating sound was so deafening that the young man could feel it within his ears and his chest.

"Do you hear a beating sound?" asked the Eagle Man.

"Yes. What is it?" Asked the young man.

"It is the sound of my eagle Mother's heart. We are very close to the house now."

The house was situated at the peak of the great mountain. The Eagle Man instructed the young hunter to wait outside of the house as he had to prepare his Eagle Mother to meet him. He said that his mother was very old and needed his assistance. As the young man looked out, he was able to see the plains of the Arctic where the humans hunted for caribou. He was in awe by the magnificent view which greatly humbled him as he looked around his surroundings from the top of the mountain. He wondered what the future was in store for him. He wondered what Kivgiq meant but he was determined to learn about it so that he may return safely to his aging parents. He was sure that his parents, at this very moment were going through turmoil again over the loss of their third son. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that it did not seem long before the young Eagle Man came for him and invited him to come into the house to meet the ancient Eagle Mother.

The first impression he had as he entered the house was that it looked so ordinary. The house was made of sod from the tundra and logs from the trees nearby. His eyes had to adjust to the sudden darkness as he entered. Slowly, he began to see the decrepit old Eagle Mother who sat on the platform. She looked so sorrowful that she looked like she might die any minute.

The young Eagle Man introduced the young hunter to his mother, "This young man has promised to hold a songfest when he gets home. He knows nothing about putting words together into songs; he knows nothing of how to sing songs; nor does he understand the beating of a drum and how to dance for joy. Mother, men do not know these things and now this young man has finally come traveling up to our mountain to learn!"

The old Eagle Mother's eyes seemed to glitter as she heard these miraculous words. Her body suddenly seemed to have more life. She said: "Quyannaq! Thank you so much for coming. You will begin lessons immediately. The first thing you will have to learn is how to make a qarġi, a festival house, where many people may come to assemble to sing, dance and feast."

Under the instructions of the old Eagle Mother, the two young men began at once to build a qarġi. It was much bigger and stronger than an ordinary house used by men. It took them many days to construct it. When it was finally done, the young hunter was amazed at the size of the qarġi. The old Eagle Mother told them that they could construct the other necessary objects in the qarġi. She told the young hunter that the qarġi could be used for making hunting implements and festival regalia. She taught them how to make a kissautaq (round drum) made from stretched skin and curved wood with a handle. Next she taught them how to make a special Kalukaq drum made from wood. It was four sided with a hollow cavity. The drum stick was narrow at the handle and thick at the other end. When this stick struck the Kivgiq drum, it gave a deep vibrant booming sound, representing the old Eagle Mother's heart.

Finally, the Eagle Mother taught him how to put words into songs. She showed them how to beat the drums as they sang songs. The younger hunter was so amazed at discovering the feeling of joy in singing such songs! Yet, the old Eagle Mother told him that was not all. They still had to learn how to dance. She told her son to demonstrate how a man should dance, with clenched fists and stomping feet to keep in time to the beat of the drums. Such a dance showed strength and dignity of man. She demonstrated how a woman should dance like an eagle flying. The arms should go out as if flying and the head bent down as if looking for food. As the Eagle Mother danced to the beat of the drum, she actually seemed to have grown younger and was so full of life!

The Eagle Mother's final instructions to the young hunter was that he and his father would have to go out to hunt enough animals to feed many invited guests. They would need to construct several siġluat (meat cache beneath the ground) to store a lot of meat. Then he would have to construct a qarġi like the one that she had taught them to build. They would have to make many gifts to give their guests. "When you have hunted, composed songs and everything is in order, you may hold Kivgiq with your invited guests," instructed the Eagle Mother.

"But we do not know of any other people except ourselves. We have gone hunting to great distances and have not come across any other human beings." Replied the young hunter.

"You must prepare the qarġi, hunt enough to feed many people, compose songs and make the drums like I showed you and sponsor the first Kivgiq. I assure you, when all is ready and you go out to look for people to invite, you will meet them two by two. Human kind is so lonely because they do not have the gift of festivity. They need to learn how to sing and dance in order to survive. Mankind will not survive without feeling joy." She told him that he had learned all that was necessary to hold the first Kivgiq. He was free to go back home to his parents. She instructed her son to take the young hunter to the place where they first met. The young hunter knew it had been quite some time since they had first met. Now they were the best of friends and he would never forget the eagle family whom he had come to know as his own.

The Eagle Man put his coat on, made from shimmering eagle feathers. The Eagle Man looked absolutely brilliant, his manner of walk showing strength, courage and wisdom. He told his friend to walk with him to the highest pinnacle of the mountain as it would make it easier to take off into flight from that point. The young man told the Eagle Mother that he would see her again, as there are no good-byes said in Iñupiaq. He noticed a certain glimmer in her eyes. She looked like she had more strength and quickness that she had previously. It was short quick walk from the house to the top pinnacle of the mountain.

When they reached the top, the Eagle Man instructed him: "Lie across my back, grip me around the neck and close your eyes, for today we will travel quickly.

"The young man did as he was told. As he had his eyes closed, he could hear a swishing sound around him. The young Eagle Man flew with him towards the North, the great stretch of tundra as far as you could see. Before long, they circled and then stopped suddenly. The young hunter opened his eyes and jumped off the huge bird. They had reached their destination where they had first met many moons ago. He noted that it was springtime. He had spent the whole winter with the eagle family! The Eagle Man took his hood off and the two young men hugged, saying they would definitely see each other again someday.

The young hunter walked quickly towards home and as soon as their sod house was within sight, he began to sprint, shouting: "Aaka, Aapa! Airuŋa! Mother, Father! I have come home!" The parents came out from the house and could not believe their old eyes. Their only son had come home to them! With tears in their eyes, they began to run towards him, they hugged each other, crying and laughing at the same time, everyone talking all at once. They slowly started walking back towards the house. When they reached the house, the mother immediately brought out some food for their son to eat. As they sat down to eat, he explained everything that had happened to him.

"Human beings are lonely in our world because they live alone and they do not know about the gift of festival with singing and dancing. I was taken by an eagle family who had taken my older brothers before me but they refused to learn something new so they were killed by the Eagle Man. I promised to learn from them even thought I did not fully understand what song and dance meant. It is truly a wondrous gift, Aaka and Aapa! The old Eagle Mother showed me how to properly prepare for this feast called Kivgiq. She instructed me to show humans how to make drums and celebrate with song and dance. But first we must build a huge house called qarġi so that many people will be able to assemble. Then we will need to hunt for lots of animals to feed them all when we invite other human beings to come and celebrate. We will also need to make many gifts to give to the guests we will invite! I promised the eagle family that I would teach humans about this wondrous gift of song and dance, and I will do as I promised."

"But where are all these people coming from? Asked his Aapa.

"The old Eagle Mother told me that when the time comes and everything is ready, I will meet people two by two. They will be invited to celebrate Kivgiq with us." said the son.

The father and son immediately started making a huge qarġi, large enough to hold at least fifty people. The mother could not believe what she was witnessing as it began to go up each day. At last, the day came when it was completed. They found that it was much easier to hunt for ducks and geese from the top of the qarġi. The son went up inland to hunt for tutu; the father went down to the sea to hunt for sea mammals. The mother fished from the rivers and the sea. They prepared the meat and fish very carefully and put them away in their siġluaq. The mother was constantly busy sewing parkas, skin pants, maklaks and mittens to give away to their guests. She also made household items and fine pottery. The father and son were also very busy making drums, sleds, kayaks, and umiat, large skin boats. They made many other things such as nets and hunting implements. All the preparations took two winters before they were finally ready.

In the dead of winter, when the sun was just about to peek over the horizon, they decided it was time to hold their first Kivgiq. When all the hunting had been done, meat prepared, all their gifts were made, the young man went out to look for other people. He had never heard of people living other than his own parents. This land was a very harsh country. The winters were fiercely cold with no sign of the sun for two moons. The summers were short and cool. However, the animals were abundant and there was no fear of starvation. He was happy to be back with his parents and he was glad that they went along with the preparations. At first they had gone along with him to humor him but after the drums were made, and he showed them how to dance, they were really taken by it. They loved to compose songs, drum and dance. They were also eager to meet other people. The young hunter began to think about Eagle Mother and her son and wondered what they were doing. He was lost in his thoughts when suddenly he saw two people approaching. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not seeing a mirage. The two people came closer and were very friendly. They were dressed in all wolf clothing. He gave them directions as to where the qarġi was located and he went on to find more people. So there really are more people here! How excited he was! Not too long after, he came by and they were dressed in fox skins. There were others who came two by two, dressed in ground squirrel, wolverine, mountain sheep, polar bear and seals. He decided that he might have enough guests and walked back with the last couple.When all the invited guests were in the qarġi, the parents brought out all kinds of food. They feasted until they could eat no more. As the father drummed and sang songs, the son and his mother gave presents to all their invited guests. They were given splendid furs and all kinds of meat for them to take back home. They were impressed with all the gifts that were given to them by these three people. Next, the father took out the special Kalukaq drum, the box drum. The hollow sound was something they had never heard before. It was deeply resounding and loud! They were told that the sound was like the beating of the Eagle Mother's heart, who had shown the young hunter how to prepare for Kivgiq. The family performed a special dance for all of their guests, using the Kaluakaq drum, with songs especially composed for them. The people were ecstatic! They had never felt so much joy in all their lives. They had always worked, hunted and prepared for the harsh winter. When the long winters came, they became very lonely. Now this was something to look forward to. They danced and sang all night long and into the wee hours of the next day. The guests began to leave with joy in their hearts. As they bent down to go out the door, they crawled on their hands and knees and suddenly they were on all fours. They transformed back into their original beings. It was only then that the three realized that the people they had invited to the first Kivgiq were really animals who had transformed into human beings, dressed in their own skins. They were the special guests sent by the old Eagle Mother. In those days, so long ago, the power of festivity had given the animals the ability to transform into human beings and back into animal form again. They had joined mankind for a brief time to help bring Kivgiq into the world.

When the sun returned and the young man began to hunt for tutu again, he noticed a huge bird approaching him. It circled around him overhead for a while and then landed in front of him. The Eagle Man pushed his hood off and instantly became a man. They hugged in greeting and talked about the first Kivgiq. The young man was so excited because everything had gone so well. He reported that his parents had really enjoyed themselves and are already planning for the next one. First, they will need to hunt again and make more presents. It would probably take another couple of winters before the next one would be given. The Eagle Man told the young hunter that his Eagle Mother wished to see him. He, who had been brave enough to try a completely new idea, had to be thanked properly. The Eagle Man put his hood back on and the young hunter climbed on his back, held on to his neck and closed his eyes. Again, he heard the swishing noise of the wings. It was not long before they reached the top of the highest mountain.

The young hunter was indeed surprised to see that the Eagle Mother was walking around outside. She was no longer old and decrepit. She had actually grown younger! The Eagle Mother told him that she wanted to thank him personally for holding the first Kivgiq. She told him that whenever man holds a festival of song and dance, all old eagles become younger. The eagles had done their part in introducing the festival called Kivgiq where there is not only singing and dancing, but also gift exchange takes place without inhibitions of holding back. It is also a time when possessions are exchanges in trade between settlements. Most of all, it is a great gathering of people to see relatives and friends. It is a time to share, not only material goods but is also a time to share love and peace in the world. It is a legend that many hold to be true. It is a legend that sets the setting of the great trade fairs that originated in the ancient times…. aipanni, since the time, immemorial.

Peace and blessings

Cold days in Atqasuk

2009-02-11T22:58:00.006-09:00

Grace and greetings.

This past weekend I spent in the village Atqasuk, which is about 50 miles southwest of Barrow. I left Barrow at four PM and it was cold, about 28 below with a wind chill of -52. When we arrived at Atqasuk, it was -40 degrees, and I could feel the difference instantly. Like Wainwright, it was just a airfield, no building or desk to sign in or out of, pick up your luggage right out of the belly of the four seat plane.

A member of the community gave me a ride into town, about a half mile, as if I was being expected. (They knew I was coming, just not sure which flight). He took me to a member's house, which surprised me because I was expecting to stay in the small apartment attached to the church. I was treated to wonderful tutu (caribou) soup and freshly made bread.

The next morning was even colder, and there was only about nine of us in the chapel for the morning service. I came as a representative of the Presbytery of Yukon to ordain two new Session elders, since they did not have an ordained minister there. That evening had another wonderful dinner of different tutu soups and again fresh bread. Then there was the cold walk back to the chapel, (on right), for the evening service that went very well. We all went home to listen to the Sunday Night Radio show from the church in Barrow.

The next morning was greeted with another -40 below, but a beautiful clear sun rise, (picture above on left). As I was getting ready to fly out when we heard through the radio that the weather in Barrow was even colder, -50 degrees with ice fog. I contacted the airline to find out that ALL flights were on hold. Then I decided to walk around the village and get a few pictures, but after a few minutes, the cold sucked all the power out of the camera battery. The last picture I was able to take was of the chapel, so I made my way back home quickly. Instead of flying out at noon, at two, I finally heard that a plane was going to land at any moment. But the pilot felt that it was too cold, so went back to Barrow. Then at three, another plane came to pick some of us up. I got home before they cancelled other flights that evening. The picture below was one of the pictures showing the sight throughout the North Slope: flat land reaching out into the horizon.

Today is my daughter, Jacquelyn's 26th birthday. While I was working on this blog, there were fireworks going on outside in celebration of Kivgiq (The Messengers Feast), but I will explain about that later. I took the time to watch the fireworks tonight. We only have fireworks a few nights a year, mainly New Year's Eve and special events like Kivgiq. Usually I would not take that much notice of the fireworks, but I decided that up here you need to enjoy the very simple things of life, especially the wonderment of explosions in the sky. The nice thing about the fireworks here, is that they can only be shot off during the winter due to the dark. Since they are usually launched from the lagoon just out side our house, we can watch them from the warmth and comfort of our house. To see what we would see, check out the picture with the January 2, 2009 blog. I watched them thinking of Jacquelyn, hoping that she was enjoying the fireworks several thousand mile away.

May you enjoy your simple things of life too.

Peace and blessings.

The Inconvenient Truth

2009-02-03T19:03:00.003-09:00

Grace and greetings.

I finally saw the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth" with Al Gore and all. It is a very compelling argument for where we are headed as far as the environment is concerned.

I am not sure where most people stand, I am sure that most are very concerned what is happening. I have commented through this blog as the the changes happening here in the Arctic that we can witness.

It is a fact that the ice is melting sooner in the year, and the open water is still around later and later each year. The air temperature is also rising here. Though we have severe cold, it is not lasting as long as it has in the past. Instead of sub -20 below weather for several months, now it is only for two maybe three months.

February is usually the coldest month, not only for the temperature, but also psychologically as well. The sun has returned, and our minds expect things to get warmer, but instead it still takes several weeks before it finally happens.

If you have not had a chance to see the movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", I recommend that you see it. Then after it is all said and done, you can act upon the information or not. For me, I am going to be aware, trying to do my small part.

Peace and blessings.

Grumpy Old People

2009-02-01T13:27:00.003-09:00

Grace and greetings.

As we are getting ready for the Super Bowl to begin, I am sharing my meditation from this evening's service. I pray that it will open your heart and spirit.

Grumpy Old Men
Mark 1.21-28

This past week, I received an email from an old friend; it was one of those emails that I am supposed to send on to others to share. Instead, I want to share it tonight with you. The email was called, “Grumpy Old Men,” and I am going to paraphrase the email, including the following poem. The story starts out with an unnamed or even unknown elderly man has passed on, and a nurse is going through the pockets of his pants so they could identify him. But all she found was a poem…and I am shortening the poem for space and time…

To the one who cares for me,
You wash me without looking,
You feed me without seeing,
You clean up after me without comment,
But do you see me…

I am the boy of ten waiting for my father
To come home from work so I can tell him of my day.

I am a young man of 18, nervous to ask someone out on a date.

I am the man, standing before my bride
On our special day of dreams and expectations.

I am the man, 30 years of age,
Trying to care for my family as
My own children grow up before my eyes.

I am the man, 50 year old,
Worried about saving for retirement,
Watching my children start out on their own,
Leaving my wife and I alone

I am the man at 60
Children once again are at my feet
Toys spread around to trip over.

I am older now,
Tired and alone
My wife has died,
My children have families and lives of their own

What happened to all my dreams?
What happened to my energy?
My body has failed me.
My mind can no longer do what I command.

I sit here before you,
Old before my time,
Open your eyes
Look into mine
And see me…

Of course the original poem is longer and greater detail, but that is the main theme that I want to share. The email goes on to remind us that all too soon, we too will be that grumpy old man.

We all know grumpy old men AND women, we see them today without the dreams and experiences that has shaped them as the people they are today. Some of the grumpy people we just write off, and say they are that, but there is a reason for the person they are today.

But what does all this have to do with this evening’s scripture reading of Mark? Sometimes we look at grumpy old people as if they too had a demon in them, making them angry and bitter all the time. Sometimes we just write it off as that they are old, therefore they are grumpy. We all wrestle with our demons at times, whether it is constant pain; depression; worry; addictions to drugs, alcohol or gambling. But just as Jesus was able to see into the heart of the person who stood up, and challenged Jesus, then healed him; so too we are able to look into the eyes of the elderly, and see their hopes and dreams; their joys and pains; and OUR hearts as well as their hearts are healed, as we open it up to others. As we allow the healing of our hearts, we are able to look into the eyes of the elderly, and see them for who they are as well.

Just as in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we no longer have to treat one another as the priest did to the one left on the side of the road by walking on the other side of the road. The elder too will be healed, as we continue to treat and love one another as Christ continues to show and command, and not walk by us as well. With the healing of our hearts and eyes, we will see each other in different light; we will know each other with grace and love, to live as the true body of Christ.

May the healing power of Christ begin with each and every one of us, so we can spread the gift of healing and love. Alleluia and Amen.

Peace and blessings.

The Sun Returns

2009-01-31T15:33:00.002-09:00

Grace and greetings.

The sun has returned indeed. Each day we gain something like 9 minutes of sun light. Of course with the sun, came the Arctic cold and wind. As I have commented before, it is not necessarily the cold in the Arctic, but the wind. A gentle breeze of 15 miles an hour can drop a cold 25 below to a very dangerous 50 below, just as it is this afternoon.

I have been waiting to write after I went out to get a picture of the sun, of course the last several days, I saw spectacular suns through the afternoon low clouds, only to be standing there without the camera. So this afternoon, I drove around for a little bit with the camera to get some pictures.

Tomorrow, of course, is the Super Bowl, the Pittsburgh Steelers verses the Arizona Cardinals. Though the game is in Tampa, Florida, which gives the Cardinals a chance, it is the defense of the Steelers that will probably carry the day. Even so, I will be pulling for the Cardinals, whether I am able to watch the game or not.

Hope you are all safe and warm. Enjoy the game if you care.

Peace and blessings.

Sunday Evening Meditation

2009-01-25T22:05:00.002-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Here is my meditation from this evening's service, titled: Live As If There Is No Tomorrow

I Corinthians 7.29-31

As we read of Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians to live as if Christ was returning the very next day, if not that very evening. He writes that people should remain in singleness to better serve God in these last remaining days. If people are married, they should devote their time to serving God rather than worry about what is happening in the pettiness of family life. For Paul, Jesus’ return was to happen at any moment. After two thousand years, we still wait, we marry, we live our lives, and go on with the day to day busyness that fills us with our time. Do we live with the expectance and urgency that Paul lived with? Should we? Or should we just write this off as one of the things Paul got wrong.

But let us look at this in a different light, what if Paul got it right; not with the expectation that he was looking for, but rather with fulfilling the word of God. For shortly after Paul’s own death, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed again; Rome itself was starting to fall apart; and life of the typical person who lived in these areas and times would be forever changed.

As we continue to live our lives out in faith, we need to hold in tension the reality of Jesus’ imminent return and the fact that two thousand years has passed since Paul wrote these words. Following the death of particular people of faith, it is said that the “end of time” is near; and it is. The day of Christ’s return and the day of our judgment are only a few hours away. Just as we do not know the day or time of Christ’s return, we do not know the day or time that our lives here on earth will end and we will be called to account for our lives.
There are groups that will gather waiting for the return of Jesus and then are laughed at when Jesus does not return at the time or place that they expected. Then there are the many other people who live out their lives in faith, but do not give a second thought that Christ may return at any moment; after all, it has been two thousand years since Christ ascended, why should things change now.

We can take Paul’s urgency and hold it out to others, as well as to ourselves, remembering that Christ’s return will happen, but we do not know the day or time. We continue to live our lives in faith we will be able to see where God has already entered the world and bringing about God’s realm and making it a reality.

We do not know the day or time, but Christ will return. Are we ready?

Peace and blessings.

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Day Observed

2009-01-20T00:39:00.005-09:00

Grace and greetings.

The picture on the left is looking down the runway from the Arctic Ocean, back towards town. Again this was taken about 2 PM Friday afternoon, before the sun officially crosses the horizon, giving us more light each day.

Yesterday was, of course, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observed. When I started to compose this blog, it was still Monday; now it is Tuesday morning, a day that many people are celebrating thinking that Obama is the answer to King's vision and dream; but it is just a start, and it is still forty years in the making. Not only did King have a dream about equality for all people, but he also spoke out for equal education which is still a major issue throughout the United States.

Another stance that upset the establishment was that he was against war, speaking out against the United States thinking that they can just show up with their military and expect everybody else to live and think and we do; speaking out against the idea that our form of Democracy and capitalism works and fits all situations. I am not always sure it works here all that well.

The last major portion of Martin Luther King, Jr's, and eventually placed him for his death, was speaking out and protesting against poverty. Poverty is still a root problem not only here in the North Slope, or in the United States, but throughout the world, where ever we have upper-class systems that keep all others down. Poverty is tied into all the aspects of King's visions and dreams, it is the starting point of segregation, of not treating each other as Children of God. Poverty is the reason that many school districts can not afford the appropriate funds to properly teach and prepare our youth for the future. Poverty is the reason war can happen, sending the not so rich into battle while the rich can sit on the side line and watch. Poverty is spoken through out the prophets of the Bible, including the prophets of our own time, whether we chose to listen or not.

While the election of Obama is a major step in the correct direction, we still have a long way to go before we truly hear King's dream of claiming to be the Children of God that we are and finally coming together stating, "Free at last, Free at last. Thank God Almighty we are all free at last."

Peace and blessings.

The Sun is Coming

2009-01-17T12:00:00.003-09:00

Grace and Greetings.

Yesterday I went around this part of town to take some pictures to share on my blog. Here is a picture of some snowmobilers out of the ice returning back to Barrow. I took the pictures between 2 and 2:30 PM while we had some light, but no sun yet, though it is coming. The sun should break over the horizon sometime this coming week.

The weather has been strange in Alaska, (as well as all over the country) the last couple of weeks. A couple of weeks ago, we were twenty degrees below zero, but for the last couple of days we have been in the single digits ABOVE zero. Of course the wind is strong enough to keep the combined at negative temperatures. Anchorage went from -20, which is not unheard of, but unusually cold, to 50 degrees above yesterday. They have lost the two feet of snow they had in a matter of a day and half. Unfortunately, the sewers were still all frozen, so the water had no where to go, but above land and flood portions of Anchorage.

At right is another picture of the Arctic Ocean looking towards the horizon where the sun will be coming in the next week.

Peace and blessings.

Dr. Who???

2009-01-14T19:59:00.007-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Though nobody has asked, I thought I would explain about Dr. Who. (See my blog of "Starting Anew, Again") While I was trying to find an appropriate picture in our very limited library, I came across this picture Sam took of his eye, and in a way, Dr. Who is the one who keeps "his eye" on us.

Dr. Who started out as a children's Sci-Fi show in Britain in the 60's that came over to the United States sometime in the '70's and has taken on a life of its own. Of the ten different actors that have portrayed the title role, Tom Baker is probably the most well known in the United States, playing the Doctor in the late 70's and early 80's.

The Doctor is an alien from a race of "Time Lord's", that make sure everything is kept safe from all the monsters and others who wish to take over the different worlds or affect the time of different worlds. Of course, throughout the thirty years or so, the majority of the Doctors spend their time on Earth. They each end up with "companions" that journey with them throughout their adventures. The Doctors have the ability to "regenerate" rather than die; this gives the series the ability to change the lead from time to time. Of course, as each Doctor takes his place, they all play the character a little differently, because the character is now different.

In 2004 Dr. Who came alive again, at least in the United States, and the latest Doctor, David Tennant has decided to hang up his doctor's coat, passing on the mantle to another Doctor to start filming in 2010, if it is picked up by the appropriate people who make such things happen. David Tennant has been the Doctor for the last three years, and is ready to move on. He (the actor) wanted to do Hamlet on stag, but they would not allow him out of his contract, so before he gets too identified with the Doctor, he is stepping aside. If history has anything to say about it, those who have played the Doctor the longest, like Tom Baker, get stuck as the Doctor, long after they have left the show; so David Tennant getting out while he can.

If you are interested in checking out the Doctor, the best place to start is with BBC Video. It is a great show with very loyal fans.

Peace and blessings.

Sunday Night Freeze

2009-01-11T19:20:00.005-09:00

Grace and Greetings.

Though the picture on the left was taken last May, the cold is settling in around us now. As I wrote yesterday, the Interior gets colder extremes than we do here in Barrow. Tonight, the air temperature is around -40 and the wind chill is around -55. But last week in Tok, Alaska, the thermometer hit -80 degrees. Now that is cold.

Here is my offering for Sunday Night's Service, it is titled, "Baptized in the Spirit", based on Mark 1.4-11

This weekend is the Baptism of the Lord Sunday. It is a day that we remember the importance of baptism in the life of the Christian. As we heard in the Gospel reading tonight, Jesus started off his ministry by being baptized by John the Baptist, and then going out into the wilderness. During the baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus, as a dove. Doves have been God’s messengers from the beginning of time, Noah sent out a dove to find dry land following the flood.

Think back to your own baptism if possible. There are some here who probably were baptized as an older child or adult and can remember; others of us were baptized as infants or small children and cannot remember. If you cannot remember, try to remember of the last time you were present at a baptism, whether it was last month here, or maybe some other place. Baptisms are always public events, it is something that the community of the church comes together to celebrate. It is a time to witness vows, to renew vows and a time to celebrate that we have responded to God’s call to be a part of the family of God.

But baptism is not just the start of our journey with God, it is also a time we receive the Spirit of God. As small children we do not remember or felt anything other than the water upon the head. As older children or adults, we may feel good inside, but not sure exactly why. For most, the feeling is probably forgotten by dinner time; but the Spirit of God continues to work in us, through us and for us whether we are conscience of anything happening on our behalf or not.

Imagine yourselves coming out of the River Jordan, and the Spirit of God descending on you, blessing you and calling you beloved. I challenge you to be aware of God’s Spirit filling you this week. Be attentive to the movements of your spiritual lives. In your daily prayers, ask God to show you the power of the Spirit that lives in you; to give you the wakefulness of God’s grace and blessings. Pray that the Spirit use you to bring about God’s realm here on Earth as well as in Heaven. Pray that the Spirit flow through our church and community, restoring lost lives; healing old wounds; guiding us into the reality that we may show others, God is indeed alive not only in Barrow, Alaska, but wherever God’s creation is found.

Know that in our baptisms, God’s promises to be with us always. We make vows to raise our children, ourselves and each other in Christian understanding and teachings. God’s Spirit descends upon us, feel the Spirit using you in every situation you find your selves in. Just as Jesus rose out of the water, hear these words for you as well, “You are my Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

Peace and blessings.

Starting anew, again

2009-01-10T22:20:00.003-09:00

Grace and greetings.

It is a new year, but just as things continue to change, they remain the same.

I had my annual physical a couple of days ago. I am getting to the point in life where the doctors like to start prodding and probing in places where they have not gone before, at least concerning me. Of course, we do live in Barrow, Alaska, and the medical world is not the same as in other places. What is considered normal procedures in most places are not always available here. Doctors come up from Anchorage to perform procedures, but for once, I am in the minority. Most of the procedures that are performed here are for the Native Inupiats, and all others need to go down to Anchorage. So modern medicine will have to wait for me. In the meantime, as far as the doctors can prod and test, I am alive and doing well, thank you.

The twilight is growing longer now, as we look forward to the returning of the Sun. Still, it is cold here, -25 but with wind chill at -45. Though as cold it is here on the Arctic coast, the inland parts of Alaska, Fairbanks and surrounding areas, get the extreme temperatures. They will have the colder air temperature, but we get to include the wind chill. Of course we have the colder parts about six weeks before and six weeks longer than the interior.

As things start out new again, they continue to remain the same. I officiated my first Witness to the Resurrection this afternoon, for another still born. My prayer is that we do not have to experience as much death and loss as last year.

Well, Kim received her Christmas a little late, all four seasons of the new "Doctor Who". So she has been going through the DVD's one by one...four seasons....times five or six disks...times three or four hours a disk...comes up with a little bit of time. Right now she is up to the middle of the Second season...we will see if she has the dedication to watch every hour for the next several weeks. But this is a woman who would read the entire "Lord of the Rings" every year for twenty years, so I think she is up to the challenge. Good thing Sam nor I wanted to watch anything else for a while. (Of course, as Kim sits and watches, I write with a wink and a smile).

Peace and blessings.

A Mid Week Pause

2009-01-07T11:17:00.004-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Yesterday ended up being a day of rest for me. After all the services for the last several weeks, Sam returning from Anchorage Monday night, along with the normal stressors of life; Monday night I went to bed at 9:00 PM and did not wake up until 3:00 PM Tuesday afternoon. To tell the truth, I think I could use a few more sleep times like that.

In the picture, it is the covering that is on the altar. Of course, in Reformed Theology, we do not have altars, we have communion tables. Here, we have both. But the cover is hand made of calf's skin, along with a fur lining. It is one of those things that have been around so long, that nobody really remembers who made it or when. The offering "cans" covering was made at the same time, or shortly there after, and we use them at every service that an offering is collected. Of course, the picture and my description do not do the cover justice, it is a true treasure of this church, and I wonder at its glory everytime I gaze upon.

Peace and blessings.

In the Flesh

2009-01-04T14:18:00.005-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Here is my meditation from this evening's service. If you have not had the chance to read, "The Boy in Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne, please do so. I read it in its entirity in two sittings, so I am sure most people can read it just as quickly if not faster. For those who do not want to read the book and wait for the movie, it is suppose to be out in theaters, if not now, very soon.

In the Flesh, John 1.1-18

We are reading the book, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” by John Boyne for the book club that meets at the Tizzy Library the last Friday of each month. It is a story about two nine year old boys on both sides of a fence, and they become friends by sitting and talking with each other. The two boys come from different worlds; one, Bruno, from Berlin, Germany and the other, Shmuel, from Poland. Bruno is a naive boy whose father is the commandant of the camp that he cannot correctly pronounce, so he ends up calling it Out-With; Shmuel’s family live inside the camp. They find out that they share a birthday, even though they are forever separated by the fence. As the two boys sit opposite each other throughout the year, Bruno cannot imagine the camp as Shmuel is describing it; after all, his father is in charge of everybody there. As luck would have it, both boys are given the opportunity to see how the other lives. Bruno, who wants to be an explorer when he grows up, agrees to explore the camp and help Shmuel find his lost father the day before Bruno moves back to Berlin. During the exploration, the boys make discoveries that frighten both of them, but they hold onto each other, hand in hand, to the end of the adventure.

Bruno and Shmuel, though the society at the time was telling them that they are mortal enemies, become friends to the end. They end up hand in hand during the times that seemed the darkest for them. That is what Christ is for us, somebody who will walk with us during our darkest times, our brightest of times, the times inbetween and hold on to us, even during the times we cannot feel Christ there.

God and Creation, mainly humanity, are like the two boys. They sit opposite each other at a fence, and talk with each other, but are not allowed to be on the same side at the same time. Humanity is naïve about God’s world, much as Bruno is about Shmuel’s world. In order to close that gap that separates us from God, God sent us Jesus. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through The Word, and without The Word not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (Verses 1-5) “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (Verse 14).

In order for God to fully understand us and to give us a chance to understand God, Jesus came. Jesus came to hold us and to show us the Light that shines in our darkness, and our darkness cannot overcome the light. Jesus came, full of grace and truth, that we might receive from his fullness, all of us, all of Creation, grace upon grace. Jesus came and became flesh just as we are flesh.

Jesus came…

Peace and Blessings.

Another year has passed

2009-01-02T13:59:00.001-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Here it is 2009 already. New Year's eve I spend over at the church. We had a Wednesday Night Service, and then a Watch Night service at 11:00 PM. The Watch Night service is a time to admit our wrongs over the past year and then renew our covenant with God for the coming New Year.

The picture is taken out the window of our dinning room, across the lagoon looking towards the Post Office. At midnight on New Year's Day the community enjoys a firework display, shot off from the middle of the lagoon. Of course, this gives us a perfect place to watch the fireworks safely from the comfort of our warm home.

With Sam in Anchorage for the week, things are fairly quiet in the house, as Kim and I slept most of yesterday, getting up in time for the Rose Bowl. Having grown up in Southern California, it is a tradition that I have a hard time giving up. Of course anytime that USC marches on to victory is always helpful. Now we only need to get Wisconsin back in the Rose Bowl so I can root for a Big Ten school.

I pray all had a safe and wonderful New Year's Day.

Peace and blessings.

If Jesus were born today

2008-12-29T17:05:00.001-09:00

Grace and greetings.

This is a picture of inside our santuary, looking back from the front of the church. In the back is a mural painted by one of the "greats" of this congregation and of the North Slope, the Rev. Samuel Simmonds. The hopspital in Barrow is named after him.

But that is not what I wanted to write about today. One of the online organizations I belong to is Ecunet, a gathering of church people around the globe. The following is one of the comments I read this afternoon that I wanted to share. I am not sure if the person who posted the story is the author, but here is the story that I titled "If Jesus were born today", since there was not real title attached to the story. Enjoy...

If Jesus Had Been Born Today

Message #10332 Subject: [NO SUBJECT] To: ECULAUGH

From: RAY KERLEY Date: 12/27/2008 02:05 EST

INFANT DISCOVERED IN BARN
Child Protective Services Launch Probe

Nazareth Carpenter Being Held On Charges Involving Underage Mother

Authorities were today alerted by a concerned citizen who noticed a family living in a barn.

Upon arrival, Family Protective Service personnel, accompanied by police, took into protective care an infant child named Jesus, who had been wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a feeding trough by his 14-year old mother, Mary of Nazareth.

During the confrontation, a man identified as Joseph, also of Nazareth, attempted to stop the social workers. Joseph, aided by several local shepherds and some unidentified foreigners, tried to forestall efforts to take the child, but was restrained by the police. Also being held for questioning are three foreigners who allege to be wise men from an eastern country.

The INS and Homeland Security officials are seeking information about these who may be in the country illegally. A source with the INS states that they had no passports, but were in possession of gold and other possibly illegal substances.

They resisted arrest saying that they had been warned by God to avoid officials in Jerusalem and to return quickly to their own country. The chemical substances in their possession will be tested. The owner of the barn is also being held for questioning.

The manager of the Bethlehem Inn faces possible revocation of his license for violating health and safety regulations by allowing people to stay in the stable. Civil authorities are also investigating the zoning violations involved in maintaining livestock in a commercially-zoned district. The location of the minor child will not be released, and the prospect for a quick resolution to this case is doubtful.

Asked about when Jesus would be returned to his mother, a Child Protective Service spokesperson said, "The father is middle-aged and the mother definitely underage. We are checking with officials in Nazareth to determine what their legal relationship is. Joseph has admitted taking Mary from her home in Nazareth because of a census requirement. However, because she was obviously pregnant when they left, investigators are looking into other reasons for their departure.

Joseph is being held without bond on charges of molestation, kidnapping, child endangerment, and statutory rape. Mary was taken to the Bethlehem General Hospital where she is being examined by doctors. Charges may also be filed against her for endangerment. She will also undergo psychiatric evaluation because of her claim that she is a virgin and that the child is from God.

The director of the psychiatric wing said, "I don't profess to have the right to tell people what to believe, but when their beliefs adversely affect the safety and well-being of others -- in this case her child -- we must consider her a danger to others.

"The unidentified drugs at the scene didn't help her case, but I'm confidant that with the proper therapy regimen we can get her back on her feet."

A spokesperson for the governor's office said, "Who knows what was going through their heads? But regardless, their treatment of the child was inexcusable, and the involvement of these others frightening.

"There is much we don't know about this case, but for the sake of the child and the public, you can be assured that we will pursue this matter to the end."

Ray Kerley
Murray, Utah 84123
(Written on 12/27/08 at 4:07 am MST)
This email is printed on 100% Recycled Electrons.

Adoption of the Spirit

2008-12-28T22:38:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

This evening's service was about our adoption into God's gracious gift of life. Here are some of my thoughts and comments.

Adoption
Galatians 4.4-7

The Sunday after Christmas is always the lowest in church attendance, in any church throughout the “Western Church”. With the four weeks of Advent, expectations are set high for Christmas morning, both in the church and at home. Many times, if not all times, the expectations are ever met. We go through the waiting of the Christ child to be born, and then we can go back to our regular lives. We hope that Christmas will turn our lives around, fulfill hopes and dreams of a better life, better situations, for our families and ourselves. We pray for World peace to break out upon God’s Creation; we pray that all those who are sick will be healed, and all the wrongs will be made right. But the question we need to ask ourselves, during all this time of preparation, did we give birth to the Christ child in our own lives?

Paul is calling the church to understand the gift that God gave the world that first Christmas, that day “when the fullness of time had come.” We know the story, that Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem, and Jesus was born. We know that he grew up, lived, taught, loved, ached, and died in our flesh, as a human being. Yet this same Jesus calls us, and continues to call us to be in a relationship with God. Not just a relationship where we are strangers passing on the street; or as best friends who send each other a Christmas card each year; but in a relationship with God that fulfills the promise that we are God’s Children. We too are the heirs of what God has promised to all, throughout the generations of prophets, writings and teachings. We have been adopted into God. We are the daughters and sons of the Living God, the God of All Creation.

Does a child know when she is born? Does an infant know he is being adopted? We learn as we grow up who we are, and more importantly, whose we are. We learn that as we grow in the spirit of God, we learn that God is our Parent, one that Jesus called Abba, one that we too can call Father, Creator of All. It is out of the womb of God creation came about. It is through the womb of God, by water and spirit that we are reborn into the Spirit of God. But again, I will ask the question of the day; did we give birth to the Christ child into our own lives?

We have been through all the pageants, plays, music and wonderment of the season. Now we move into the New Year, preparing for the New Hope that God gives us, but do we really take on the complete understanding that we are God’s Children. We are adopted into God. We are no longer strangers, we are no longer slaves but we are the Children of God. We are the sisters and brothers of the Christ who has redeemed and adopted us so we might enjoy the same rights and privileges and obligations of being in God’s family.

Only you can answer the question, only you are able to live out the answer, one way or another; Is Christ born again in you?

Peace and blessings.

Overcast in Barrow

2008-12-20T20:17:00.000-09:00

Grace and Greetings.

The last few days have been very similar to this picture taken while we were in Denali Park earlier this summer, overcast inside a fantastic view.

While trying to keep things going, through four funerals, a wedding, four services as well as Christmas season, all I tend to see right now is the overcast, grey weary day. In the midst of the chaos in my life right now, I do not see the wonder of this time of year.

We, my wife and I, agreed to head up the "Christmas Eve Pageant." The requirements told to me was that they did not want a lot of dialogue to memorize, and try to keep things simple. So I did just that with a "Readers Theater" type of play, with characters in and out of time and space. Basically people from different time in history coming to tell of "their story", and then tie each story that would be read "in character" to a Christmas Carol. No memorization, simple to stage, no problem. I guess I did not receive the memo that the "Christmas Pageant" was first and foremost a presentation of the "youth" of the church playing Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, just as they have done for the last twenty-five years. One would have thought I was telling all the little children that there was no Santa Claus as reported in "The Night Before Christmas." Well, now that we only have three days left, either the people will come screaming, or they will not come on Christmas Eve...

I know, I am probably making a mountain out of a hill, and there are only a few that are giving me the dirty looks and demanding that we put more of the "pageant" back in. So we will see. I think if the people give it a chance, it will work out well. Maybe I am just another white man in a native world too.

The weather had jumped 40 degrees this week, going from 20 below to 20 above, and even Thursday and Friday up to 28 degrees. Today, the cold wind is back, and the air tempature is starting to drop again, currently it is 10 above, with the wind chill at minus 2.

Well, it is time to try and rest tonight so that I can be ready for tomorrow's services and play practice.

Peace and blessings.

Warning

2008-12-18T09:36:00.001-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Two things, I am become more frustrated with my inability to regulate the look of the blog. I am not able to distinguish paragraphs like I would like, very frustrating. I just put seven returns between this paragraph and the next, yet when it is previewed or published, it will not show any lines between the two.

The second is a warning. While I was typing the previous blog, I received a telephone call, it sounded legit. They claimed to be from Card Services, stating that I am being offered a reduction in interest for any Visa or Master Card I had. As I started to ask for more information, basically I asked if they already had the names of my cards to confirm that they were with the card company, they hung up.

Just like the picture of the bear, he looks innocent at the moment, (because it turned out that he had already been shot), but polar bears are not known for their kindness once they get a scent. Be wary of the telephone calls, be sure you know with whom you are talking and they already have the appropriate information before giving any of your own information out. A legitimate call will already have your information in front of them.

Peace and blessings.

Flying in and out of Barrow

2008-12-18T09:19:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

At left is a picture of the Alaska Airlines building. If you are coming to Barrow from anywhere other than one of the villages in the North Slope, you will come through this building. The building itself is not that large, the waiting room sits maybe 35 people comfortably, more with standing room. I do not know why the spots on the picture, for it was not snowing and it came out with both pictures I took, and the lens was clean. Oh well.

Kim is flying home tonight from Anchorage after meeting with the doctors there. They have decided to hold off on the surgery, until the lungs become more affected. The doctors said they could do a proactive surgery, but in the long run doing more damage to the lung than necessary. So we will wait, and the doctors will keep there eye on Kim, having her check in every so often, or when ever we are in Anchorage.

Peace and blessings.

Monday night white out

2008-12-15T21:38:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Here it is Monday night, a night where things do not look like the picture. Though this is a picture of our "satellite city", where all the satellite dishes are outside of town. As you might notice, they are all pointed to the horizon, and not the sky. One of the reasons is that most of the satellites in space, all orbit below the Arctic Circle, so all of our dishes are pointing down rather than up.

The last two days have been very warm, up 40 degrees from the 20 below of the last several weeks. But today, it has been the 30 mile an hour winds that have caused the problems of the day, white outs everywhere, all day long. White outs are where the snow is so thick, either falling or being blown around, that you can not see through it. It makes driving real fun....NOT.

The picture to the right, is the road from the satellite city back into Barrow, coming up onto the airport, on the far right if the picture were to go out that far.

Anyway, I wanted to try and post a picture as often as I can. Though these pictures were taken last month, it still shows some of the landscape of the Barrow area.

Peace and blessings.

2008-12-13T10:37:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

To the right here is a picture of the Arctic Ocean, made up of several seas, in this case, the Chukchi Sea. As we look out our windows from the house, it is the Chukchi Sea that we see. When I drive to the "end of the road" as I mention in other blogs, then I end up between the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. This picture was taken the same day as the family pictures were taken, Halloween day, October 31, 2008.

You can notice the sun setting here about 3:30 PM. The sun has now set for the winter, though from about 11:30 AM to about 1:30 PM we still have twilight to see with, so it is not completely dark the whole time.

Peace and blessings.

Finally

2008-12-12T22:48:00.000-09:00

Here is the picture I tried to publish originally...I am not going to put anything to chance....

Peace and blessings.

ARRRGGGGGHHH

2008-12-12T21:34:00.000-09:00

It is very frustrating when the computer or software do not respond as they were programed to respond. In my previous blog, I lost a picture of Kim and Sam, now the software will not respond when I try to upload the picture. Then the spacing was all off, not as it was written, and when I tried to "fix" it, the software lost items and whole paragraphs. VERY FRUSTRATING!!!

I will try publishing the picture again later.

Our Christmas Card picture

2008-12-12T20:54:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

It has been a couple of weeks since I wrote. I started to write last week, but after I was almost done, the entire blog disappeared into cyberspace, so I took the hint and turned off the computer. Tonight I am going to try again.

At left is a picture of Sam and Kim taken Halloween afternoon out by the Arctic Ocean at the edge of town. Below right, is a picture of Sam and I taken a few minutes later.

Kim wanted to send pictures out to friends and family, so here you are, we do exist. These were going to be our Christmas card pictures, but this is as far as they are going to get, at the moment.

I am hoping to go back to my original idea of a picture a day, are at least several a week now that I have downloaded the pictures into the computer and labeled them. I will be posting pictures from this past summer along with other pictures more recently taken.

For those who are still praying for Kim, she returns to Anchorage this coming Monday to meet with the surgeon and other doctors. We hope that a surgery date will be set while she is in Anchorage. Right now, everything is more or less on hold until we know more about the surgery date. Depending on what the surgeons find once they are inside of Kim's lungs, will determine how much of her lung they will remove, right now the possibility is up to half of her right lung. Then following the surgery will require about a week in the hospital to recuperate, longer depending on how things work out. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Peace and blessings.

Radiant Curves

2008-11-26T10:52:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

After writing the last couple of entries about the wind, I thought I would write of my experience this morning. I came out to warm up the car, and it felt warm. Though the temperature was at minus nine degrees, it was a comfortable cold. Then I realized that there was not wind, ahh, nice and warm.

After I dropped my son off at school, I took a drive out to the end of the road. Without the wind blowing the snow around, the sky and area was very clear. Upon arriving at the end of the road, I could make out the clouds in the still dark morning sky; looking around I was even able to see some of the stars coming through.

On the way out, the sparkles of the weekend drive returned, thought not as spectacular as the other night, it was still a wonderful sight. I caught a couple of Arctic foxes in my headlights; their eyes reflected a brilliant blue. It made the drive just that much more enjoyable.

I was listening to Native American Call-in while I drove, and today was their "Book of the Month" show. The book was from a Navajo woman, Lucy (I can not remember her last name), but she is a teacher at Arizona State University. The book, Radiant Curves, were stories of her past and other poems of life. The title comes from the Navajo word for Rainbow. As I was driving and watching the still dark Arctic early morning (9 AM), I thought of all the wonders of the world, and the wonders in my life at the moment, the interconnectedness of all of life, and it is indeed radiant curves all around.

May you have a fantastic Thanksgiving Weekend.

Peace and blessings.

A cold end

2008-11-22T17:31:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

As I wrote yesterday, it is not just about the cold air temperature, but the wind that continues to blow here are well. This afternoon we gathered at the "new grave site" for yet another committal. Though the air temperature was only 8 below, the 17 mile an hour wind brought the wind chill down to minus 30. Of course, here in Barrow, it is the family and volunteers to dig the grave and then fill the grave afterwards. Even before the casket was in the grave, frost was forming on beards of those who had facial hair. To say the least, it was very cold.

It is amazing to see the youth, particularly the teens who will run around in this weather without coats, hats and gloves. They just run to the car/bus/truck and then into the building. During the freezing winter, it is amazing that the school district has to send out a statement that students without appropriate winter gear will not be allowed to ride the bus. It seems that is the only way that some of the older "kids" will dress appropriately. Each morning, my son and I have this same discussion concerning how to dress for the cold. He seems to not listen. Yet, there are times when I am not able to pick him up, and he has to walk home. It is not quite a half mile, but by the time he gets home he is cold. He will wear the winter parka for a couple of days, then will go back to his hoody and leather jacket. As he continues to tell me, fashion before bulkiness.

Oh well, just as life, and trying to tell the young how to live their lives. Some children will just not listen. Isn't that what my parents told me last week?

Peace and blessings.

Snow and wind

2008-11-21T16:08:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

As I drove out to Spenard Builder Supply earlier today, I noticed that the wind was blowing the snow across the road. One of the things I miss about other places it the wind blowing through the trees, throwing the branches back and forth. One could see the strength of the wind by how the trees bend over. Here, we have the flags and the snow to show us how the wind is strong or just blowing. Also, I noticed that all the sparkles from yesterday were no longer there.

Many people assume that because we are inside the Arctic Circle, that it is cold, very cold all the time. Well, yes it is cold here, but it is usually colder in other places in the State or even the Upper Midwest States. The real kicker is the wind, what can be a pleasant 20 above can turn dangerous with a 25 mile an hour wind to below zero degree weather. During the winter months, what is usually a 20 below can drop quickly with the wind sometimes reaching 40 miles an hour.

For those of you who are following Kim's struggles, she is being released from the hospital this afternoon, and will fly home on tomorrow afternoon's flight. They are giving her four weeks to try and get the blood clots, and pneumonia in her lungs to clear up. So they are looking at surgery either sometime near Christmas or soon after, depending on how things are looking at the time. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Peace and blessings.

Sparkling Snow

2008-11-20T18:35:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Samuel and I went for a car ride this evening, and it was wonderful to watch the snow sparkle as we drove. It was like little lights the flashed off and on as we went by. It was really amazing, and Sam even liked it too. Of course by the time we got out to the end of the road, we realized that the cloud cover was too much to see if there were any other heavenly bodies that would twinkle for us.

Of course the big news for us in Alaska is that Senator Ted Stevens conceded to Mark Begich who is now our new Senator-Elect. Whether one agreed with his policies or politics, we must admit that Senator Stevens was good at bringing money into the state, making it one of the largest, if not the largest state to receive federal funds. Yes, it will be hard to replace Stevens in that respect, but I believe in the long run, the State is better off with Begich. (Not to mention that Stevens turn 84 this past week).

As far as Kim is concerned, we are still waiting on the doctors to see if they will operate. I believe the issue now is that the main cause of her infections in her lungs, Histoplasmosis, is a Midwest fungus, so the doctors are thinking that maybe it would be wise to have her go to a place with they deal with it more often. She is meeting with the surgeon in an hour or so, and will hear what the doctor and patient have to say to each other.

Other than that, life continues here on the North Slope, parent arguing with teenage to do homework, laundry to do, housecleaning to be about, dinner is in the oven, etc., etc., etc. Everybody else has the same daily issues as well.

Peace and blessings.

Going into the Dark

2008-11-18T20:53:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Here it is Tuesday, 18 November, and as far as I understand, the sun has risen and set for the last time in 2008 in the Arctic Circle. Yet this afternoon, the sun seemed to be up long enough that it should come again tomorrow, but we will wait and see. Last year, I was surprised that even on the days of December, it seemed like the noon time was twilight; I had been expecting a complete darkness.

Alaskan Politics may have come to a place where we can turn the page; our Governor is back in the State; and it looks like that even though we may have a new Senator; though we still have the same Congressman. It is frightening that we almost re-elected a Senator who was convicted of seven counts of corruption. But even after the verdict was handed down, our Senator Ted Stevens, proclaimed his innocence, and then campaigned during the last several weeks stating that he had not been convicted of anything. He was going by his legal understanding that conviction is only AFTER the sentencing, so therefore he had not been convicted yet...The scary part is that it took two weeks of counting ballots before a winner was announced. Now, comes the time to wait and see if Senator Stevens will ask for a recount.

In the meantime, our Congressman, Don Young, is under investigation, but Alaskans seemed to turn a blind eye and re-elected him, after all, he has not been officially charged of anything...yet.

Then there is our Governor, Sarah Palin, who just several short months ago was unknown to the rest of the nation, but is now on the center stage, setting herself up for a run for the White House come 2012. I was very surprised to find out how far right her beliefs were, and very scared that she is a serious candidate for the next election. She has even thought of running for the Senate if there was to be a special election if Ted Stevens won and expelled by the Senate. She may even run again fellow Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski when her term is up.

Through all this fun and excitement, Kim is still at Providence Hospital. It has been confirmed that the pneumonia is now in both lungs. Now they, the doctors, are debating when she will have surgery to remove cysts in her lungs. The calcium buildups are from old infections and the scaring of her lungs are permanent. The cysts are large enough, that they are rubbing on the lining of her lungs, and eventually, if left alone will puncture her lungs. When they go in, they will have to go through the chest or back, and she has a good chance of losing up to half of her right lung. Right now we are just waiting to hear from the surgeon as to a date, then Sam and I will join her in Anchorage.

Until then, we are a little more than a week away from Thanksgiving, to remember why we are thankful for the wonderful gifts from God, our Creator. Concerning Kim, the fact that she is still around is something of a miracle. Your thoughts and prayers are asked for and welcomed.

Peace and blessings.

Same old, Same old

2008-11-12T15:47:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Sunday, the temperature in Barrow finally dropped below zero, but the winds have continued to be strong, up to 25 mile an hour winds. Today is more of the same: cold and windy.

Kim is back in the hospital in Anchorage with more lung issues. Saturday afternoon, ten minutes before I was heading out to officiate a wedding, Kim thought she should go the hospital because she was hearing noises during her breathing. I asked if she could hold on until after the wedding, so between the wedding service and the reception that followed, I dropped Kim off at the hospital and returned to have the wedding license signed, then returned to the hospital to wait for the doctors to finish up with their test.

After seeing the doctor, we were on our way out the door, when the doctor asked us to stay a few minutes longer. After consulting with another doctor on staff, they decided to admit Kim for observation overnight. With her heart rate up and oxygen levels slowly dropping, she was medevaced to Anchorage yesterday. It does not look like she will be there long, maybe a day or two more. Of course the doctor in Anchorage looked at her and told her that if she lived in Anchorage, she would not be in the hospital. But that was one of the points, we DO NOT live in Anchorage, we live in rural Alaska. As the saying goes, "If the rest of the United States gets a cold, Alaskans get the flu." To continue the statement, (and I guess this could be true in the majority of rural areas), "If Anchorage gets the flu, the Bush (rural Alaska) gets pneumonia." We are still waiting to see what will happen, as of this afternoon, they, the doctors, are still looking at her lungs. Though they are filling up again, it is not reacting like "normal pneumonia" rather filling in other areas of the lung. They still may go in with a needle to drain the lungs this time, rather than with a larger tube like last time; but that was also to help re-inflate the lung as well.

It is getting near the time when the sun will set for the last time here in Barrow for 2008. Though we officially have about six more days of "daylight", with the overcast skies, you would not know it.

Thank you for reading my blog, and your patience during my times of absence.

Peace and blessings.

Finally a vote for a winning President in a while

2008-11-04T20:42:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

Yes, I voted for Obama, which brings my voting record for President, 3 wins and 9 loses. I guess with hindsight, I would have voted for Carter instead of Ford if I had been paying attention at the time. Of course, the next time Carter ran, he had already conceded to Reagan in 1980 before I got off work and could vote. (I think I ended up voting for the Green Party in that election.) Of course at that time, what were to be close races, for US Senate and Congress in the State of Alaska, very quickly went to the Republican party. I wonder if McCain's concession before the closing of the polls in Alaska, (alright, not that 30 minutes would make that much difference) but that gave Hawaii an hour and half to affect the votes.

With prayers that we may now come back together; As Obama said in his acceptance speech, "that we are not red states and blue states, but we are the United States of America." Hopefully, healing will happen.

I read a editorial a couple of weeks ago from the Rev. Dr. John Buchanan, Pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. In his observation, or comment about the conservatives verses liberal/progressives: "The conservatives wake up thinking of ways to destroy the liberals. Whereas the liberals would wake up in the morning and thinking of ways for inclusion." (the quote is a paraphrase, but the meaning is there). Following that observation, here are more prayers for inclusion.

Peace and blessings.

Ian

Kim is home

2008-11-03T22:55:00.000-09:00

Grace and greetings.

I am sorry that I have not kept up with the communications lately, but here is what is going on:

Kim came home a little more than a week ago, she still has a long way to go, but is not on the IV's, so the hospital released her. Anyway, here is a list of what the list of what the hospital wrote up:

1. Acute respiratory failure (the survival rate for two years out of the hospital is at 45 %)
2. Streptococcal Midas empyema causing number one. (Lungs are permanently scared)
3. Acute renal failure secondary to streptococcal Midas empyema. (expected to heal with time).
4. Severe sepsis with systemic inflammatory response syndrome.
5. Hyperkalemia
6. Altered mental status secondary to sepsis
7. History of underlying bipolar disorder.
8. Hypothyroidism.
9. Coagulopathy secondary to sepsis.
10. Anemia
11. Right lower quadrant abdominal pain secondary to constipation
12 Constipation
13 Hematuria with possible underlying urinary tract infection. CT kidney stone did not show any abnormalities.

And here we thought it was just pneumonia with a collapsed lung...anyway, the doctors here that are working with her are saying that it will take one to two years for her to completely recover.

So, the long and the short of it, is that it will be day to day. She has been up and about, and the doctor has suggested that she start singing again to exercise her lungs and getting her breath back. Again, one day at a time.

Tomorrow is the election, I hope you have been able to vote or at least will be able to tomorrow. We took Sam to the polls Friday, (Halloween), his favorite holiday, for his first official voting experience.

Peace and blessings.

Ian

Another week in Anchor town

2008-09-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It has been one week since Kim and I were flown down last Tuesday. Kim is getting better slowly, out of CCU, she is recognizing people and remembering where she is and what the day of the week is, and the month. Of course it is written on the board in front of her when she answers the questions. Now we wait for the doctors to tell us about her lung and how long she will be in the hospital.

In the meantime, I have seen a lot of wildlife here, on a daily basis. The moose are out and about; have seen moose while going and coming from the hospital, as well as a buck with a HUGE rack on his head slowly walking through the hospital parking lot, with cars having to slowly follow behind; saw a black bear the one night, jumped out in front of the car and dove into the bushes along the side of the road near my parent's house; and our son was with his aunt when they saw a mother black bear and three cubs walk in front of the car Friday night a little further down the road than where I saw my bear.

In the paper on Sunday, saw a quick little comment by a woman that runs a daily column in the Anchorage Daily News called the Ear. I guess she is not a fan of Sarah Palin; her suggestion was to make a donation to Planned Parenthood in Palin's name. Of course, Palin is anti-choice, and political donations are not tax deductible, but they are deductible to Planned Parenthood, (and any other non-profit organizations). When a donation is made in Palin's name, she receives a notice of the donation. Of course, this can be used for any politician and what ever their cause (or anti-cause) of choice may be.

Well, it is time to regain strength and energy before meeting with the doctors tomorrow, hopefully.

Peace and blessing.

Wet Friday in Anchorage

2008-09-19T10:30:00.001-08:00

Grace and greetings.

For those who are reading my blog, I am requesting prayers. After going to the hospital in Barrow seven times in the last four weeks, the medical staff finally admitted that my wife's illness was not just the normal respiratory cough. Tuesday, we went in and they took another x-ray. It turns out that yes she has pneumonia, but also her right lung had collapsed. We were flown to Anchorage Tuesday night and have been here ever since. There is a mass in her right lung the doctors are not sure what it is, hopefully a second CAT scan will be able to tell more. She is still disoriented and not sure where or even who she is at the moment. Hopefully things will start to clear up for her soon.

Our son was able to fly out yesterday, even though the flights were full through to the weekend, as there was teacher in-service yesterday and today. Even though he wants to be here with his mother, he dislikes hospitals, so I need to find something for him to do while he is here in Anchorage.

On our way to the hospital. Thank you for your prayers in advance.

Peace and blessings.

Another week has passed

2008-09-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Thursday I wrote about the bear that just laid in the sand while everybody stood around and took pictures. At times, it looked like the bear was trying to stand up, but was not able. I thought that it was just too tired. Later, I heard why. It turns out that if you look at the back right hip, you will notice a red spot that looks like blood. If the story is right, it turns out that somebody had shot the bear, and he made it to the beach before collapsing. The police let the bear rest for a couple of hours then tried to chase the bear back into the water. The bear was not able to get up, so I guess that "they" (not sure just who they were) ended up killing the bear. This was the second bear in a week that was shot and killed when there was really a question as to the need to kill.

But this leads me into tonight's meditation: Living with Others. It is based on Romans 14.1-13.

During the past several weeks, we have been following the Lectionary through the Letter to the Romans. Tonight’s reading is the last that we will be going through in this part of the Lectionary cycle. Basically, in the last passage, Paul tells the Romans, and all others, that hear the letter, to “play nice with each other.”

We are encouraged to welcome each other, or as Paul writes, those who are strong (in the faith) and those who are weak. We do not welcome others so that we can change their beliefs and habits; but rather we welcome each other so that we can be supportive of each other, help each other grow and remain faithful in our walk with the Lord our God.

Paul uses an example of eating meat verses those who do not, but only eat vegetables. Those who ate meat did so with the understanding that God gave the meat to be eaten. Other worried that the meat may have been sacrificed and offered to some other god, or maybe they already knew that too much of a meat diet can cause the body harm. Of course each group felt superior over the other. In some respects it is like alcohol, there are those who can have a glass of wine with their dinner every so often. The other group says that all alcohol is not good, so they abstain altogether. Paul is calling us to be able to stand together and support one another in their faith, encourage them to remain true to their walk of faith whether we drink or abstain, eat meat or abstain. The issue is not whether we eat or drink, but how we help each other in their Faith Journey. We each have a time, when we come before God with an accounting to our own lives, not in how we did in comparison, but how true we lived, how true we walked our own talk.

Paul writes that we are not to judge each other in who walks a more Holy Walk, but to help each other remain faithful to God, not to cause another to stumble or fall because of what we may say or do.

Support each other to walk the path that they have chosen; encourage each other through prayer and love. While we do that, we will realize that we have our own wrongs to worry about, rather than somebody else’s wrongs.

Paul continues his letter with encouragement and personal greetings, but I want to finish with the verse Romans 15.13. “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Alleluia and Amen

Peace and blessings.

Happy Patriot's Day

2008-09-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

This morning brought a lot of excitement in the village, as a bear was found wandering around and then later took a nap on the beach. It was lying around for a while, so I went down to get some pictures along with about twenty other cars and vehicles. The bear was about 10 to 15 yards away from all the people, and about 5 yards on shore. It must have been too tired to do anything, but lie there. Without the ice, the bears are having to swim sometimes hundreds of miles before getting any rest. Here are a couple of my pictures. I can now say that I have seen my first Polar Bear in the village of Barrow.

I was looking at a calendar yesterday while waiting in the hospital, and noticed that today, (September 11) was named Patriot's Day in the United States. I did not realize that it had become an official stated day. I am sure most of us can remember where we were seven years ago. (I cannot believe that it has been seven years already). We were in the process of moving from Iowa to New Mexico. Kim and Sam were already in Roswell, and I had closed out things in Iowa. I left Davenport, IA about noon on Monday September 10th and took a detour to Birmingham, Alabama to see my daughter and my grand-daughter, already 5 months old. I had driven until three in the morning pulling into a hotel just outside Birmingham. I woke up about 9 AM or so, just in time to turn on the TV with pictures of the one Tower on fire. Just then, the second Tower was struck. I have always associated this day to my first day "in the South". Since

I was driving, it did not really effect my travel plans, but I know it effected many others.

I also received a message this morning that one of the more mainline Imams in the United States has died this week. Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, who was the former leader of the Nation of Islam and later broke with the racially tinged teachings of his father, Elijah Muhammad, and inspired thousands of African-American Muslims to follow mainstream Islam. (Minister Louis Farrakhan later broke away from Mohammed and claimed the leadership of the Nation of Islam as his own.) According to a press release, "Imam Mohammed was the first Muslim to offer the invocation in the U.S. Senate, in 1990. He was well known as a strong proponent of civil rights and community development, and of better interfaith relations...including with the Presbyterian Church (USA)." The article does not mention any involvement trying to heal the impact of the 9/11 event, but I am sure he was one of the National leaders trying to address the fear that gripped the world for those first several weeks. Unfortunately, there are still people who lump all Muslims together, which is very unfortunate. There is no one group who can speak or act for the entire body of believers. Just as the Religious Right or the Moral Majority in its day, did not speak for all Christians, nor did those who participated in the acts of violence speak for all Muslims.

I hope you are able to take a moment to remember all loss of life that day, and the days that followed.

Peace and blessings.

The Angels are In, the Yankees are probably out.

2008-09-10T22:07:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim has clinched their division with a win over the evil empire of the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners win over the Texas Rangers. Now hopefully the Angels can heal up their hurt players before the playoffs come around the beginning of October. As for my thoughts on this situation, I think the title says it all.

Another thought that has been rattling around in my mind for the last 24 hours is from a story I heard on NPR last night. It seems that the GOP was able to get two anchors from MNBC forced out of their positions for the remainder of the Presidential Election. I guess Keith Obermann and another anchor made comments that were seen as "too liberal". My questions, does that mean that only "too conservative" anchors are okay? Talk about having control over the media.

I guess I can find no way to end this blog tonight, other than what has been said.

Peace and blessings.

The Time is Now

2008-09-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

The following is my Sunday evening meditation based on Romans 13.8-14.

“Owe no one anything, except to love one another”. Paul, the Hebrew scholar, quotes from the Ten Commandments and includes the quote from Leviticus 19.18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If we can learn to love our neighbor, we will be fulfilling the Law. It seems so easy, just love one another, but it gets hard to follow it through.

If we love our neighbor, we will not want to hurt, steal, oppress, speak ill of them along with everything else we tend to do to each other. This means to love those who do not love us; to love those who do not think, act, or worship like us. It means to love those who dress differently, eat different foods and have different rituals and habits than ours. As we know, loving our neighbor is to show compassion on those to whom we maybe at war with; at war mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or even physically. We are taught to pray for our enemies; can we pray for our enemies and then go out to hurt them? Not if our prayers follow the understanding that we are to love our neighbors.

Paul goes on to express the need and urgency of the lack of time to follow through with this. As Paul writes the night is nearly over, and the day of the Lord is to dawn upon us. We do many things in the dark, hurt full things, mostly so that we will not be seen by others and most of all, by God. Now is the time to realize that we live in God’s light forever. We are to continue to show God’s love to one another, particularly to those we have our differences.

I have struggled to live this out in my own life. Though I teach, I preach, I study, and I love, I too hold grudges. I would like to think that God thinks like I do on the political, social and theological issues of our day. I want God to show the “other group” how wrong they are. Does it really matter who the “other group” is: the liberals; the conservatives; the moderates; the Republicans; the Democrats; gays; the anti gays; those who support the right to legally and medically safe abortions or those who feel abortion is wrong at anytime; the warmongers; or the peace advocates.

As our own time grows short, we are being called to put our lives in order, to reconcile with those who have differences, to make peace with those that we are at war with. We are called to love one another, and let God do the judging, let God hand out the punishment, let God be the one whom chooses who is right and who is wrong, at the time of God's choosing. It is not as if we really know the whole score and scope of life everlasting. We are not called to judge others, we are called to love, here and now, because the Dark of Selfish Night is coming to an end, and the Day of the Loving Lord is dawning upon us.

Peace and blessings.

Re-looking at our Governor Sarah Palin

2008-09-06T12:19:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

After my first blog statement concerning our Governor Sarah Palin, I have been doing some more research and stories are coming out of the woodwork.

My thinking that she was a moderate GOP was entirely off track, except that it still maybe true in some parts of Alaska. As I ask around it seems that many Alaskans are finding out just who Sarah Palin is along with the rest of the United States. My problem, like many others, I did not look beyond the pretty face and big smile.

Yes, Sarah is smart and hard working. Yet, it is like the bear in the picture, as long as you do not get too close you will not get hurt. As Sarah's past is slowly, (or quickly) catching up with her, we are finding things out. Many people know and call her by her first name, Sarah, rather than more formal greetings. But it seems that once someone gets on her bad side, or not good list, they remain for a very long time.

When Sarah was mayor, she tried to pressure a librarian to resign because the librarian would not ban book that Mayor Palin deemed bannable. There was a story in Thursday's Anchorage Daily News about the event, and how the people involved are still targets for Governor Palin's revenge.

There is the story that I was not following concerning the firing of the top Police officer in the State. As Governor, she had the right to fire the person, but the story that continues to go with the firing is that she want the person to fire her sister's ex-husband, an Alaska State Trooper. Of course the person refused, so he was fired.

Claiming to be a fiscal conservative, she raised and spent more money as Mayor of Wasilla, mostly in remodeling her office. While Mayor, she got into enough trouble with firing people there, that there was a recall campaign.

Governor Sarah Palin has only been Governor of Alaska for less than two years. Outside of the politics of running a "small town" (5,000), she has no real experience in the wide political arena. Sarah Palin seems to be everything our current Vice President is, except being a woman; a vindictive, pro-life, gun toting NRA, grudge holding person, that is asking for our votes to become a heart beat from being President.

As one Alaskan has commented on her acceptance speech written by President Bush's speech writer, she took several shots at Obama as just as a community organizer; Jesus Christ was seen as just a community organizer and rabble raiser by another Governor, Pontius Pilot.

I realize that many people do not hold to my beliefs, but I think Sarah Palin deserves the hard second look beyond the pretty face and smile.

Peace and blessings.

Wet Friday Morning

2008-09-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

It is overcast and drizzling outside, which makes for a good morning to just hang out inside on my day off before I have to head into the office anyway.

I thought I would share with you a picture of the bear that walked right in front of our bus through the Denali National Park. Of course, he (I think it is a he), walked about four feet in front of the bus. Unfortunately, I was sitting in the wrong place to get a better picture.

Other than than, life is continuing here in Barrow. There is still the fall out of Governor Palin being nominated for the Vice President position on McCain's ticket. Just like the rest of the United States, there are new tales being told, but like anything else, can not confirm the correctness of the stories. Be sure to keep an open mind of what you read.

Peace and blessings.

Labor Day again

2008-09-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

We have made it to our second Labor Day here on the North Slope. It is overcast and cold here in Barrow. While my wife is still dealing with her respiratory fun, I came down with my own stuffed up head and sinuses. I thought I would start to share a few of my pictures from our trip south.

While we were in the Denali Park, we came upon this caribou during the bus ride. Of course the buck was facing the wrong way the majority of the time, then quickly looked up, then returning to his feeding. How I was able to get this shot, I am not sure, but here it is.

In other news that broke today, Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant. Of course the Republicans are saying that the Democrats forced their hand in announcing it. Regardless of how and why it was announced, I think Obama summed it up correctly, "Family, especially children are out of bounds". Which of course the National News service is raising it every few minutes. Drop it all ready.

We will see how things fall out in the near future. Hope your Labor Day was restful.

Peace and blessings.

My take on Governor Sarah Palin

2008-08-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

This blog is in response for a couple in Iowa asking for my take on our Governor and now McCain's running mate. I tried to respond to their letter, but for some reason, it kept being denied, so I thought I might as well post it, in case Jim or Pat are still reading my blog.

----- Original Message -----
From: Jim or Pat
To: Ian and Kim MacInnes-Green
Sent: Friday, August 29, 2008 1:56 PM
Subject: Choice
Hey, you three ---as the only Alaska residents I know, I'd love it if you would share with me your opinion of Sen. McCain's choice of your governor as his running mate. All comments, serious or lighthearted will be appreciated! - Pat

(my reply)

I hope things in Iowa have been drying out, and all is well.

As for Sarah Palin, there is not much I can really tell you. Like Obama, she has been in local government for a while before getting on the "big stage"; a soccer mom who was on city council then mayor of Wasilla, one of the fastest growing cities in Alaska and ran for Governor in 2006. She seems to be a moderate GOP, but with the last election, (last Tuesday), she supported a very contested amendment in favor of the big business of oil and mining. She came in following the corruption of the past Governor, Frank Murkowski. The fall out is happening here in Alaska as top elected GOP State officials are still being investigated and charged. As everybody knows, Senator Ted Stevens will be having his trial in Washington D.C. His son, Ben, is still under investigation for his dealing while head of the state senate. This past month, the first Democrat has been under investigation as well.

Anyway, Sarah promised to come in and clean house, which she seems to be doing. Last month she fired one of her cabinet members without any notice, so there has been a commission to look into the firing. But right now, she seems to be the darling of the GOP without too much history behind her to muddy the waters. The Republicans still feel she is the savior of Alaska politics, at least for the party. She even gave birth to her fifth (or sixth?) child earlier this spring; all her children have names after places in Alaska.

As a moderate, she seems to be able to work both sides of the aisle without too much strong arming through the press. Not sure how she will handle to national spotlight. Just like the Democrats with Obama, the GOP is striking while Palin's ore is hot. Time will tell how far she will go. (But it is nice to know that we will have our Governor back in Juneau come January :-) ).

Hope all is well with you and everybody there. I am still trying to keep my blog going, hopefully I will be adding pictures more often now that we have a digital camera.

Here the cold/flu/respiratory bug is kicking Kim's butt, last night she coughed for close to three hours before she agreed to go back to the "hospital". It was the third time this week she has gone. (The hospital is not known for their advanced medical abilities, anything that requires any real medical attention needs to be sent to Anchorage or Seattle.)

Give my love to all in Columbus Junction. Talk with you later.

Peace and blessings.

Ian

First Day Off after coming back to the office

2008-08-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Today is my first day off since returning to the church office. We had a good time off the slope, but still did not get everything done we needed to while in Anchorage; of course we did not realize that until we returned home and started saying, "Oh, we forgot..." Oh well, such is life.

Monday in the office seemed like I was not away at all, received three calls for food, (the Deacons of the church have the only food bank in town), and a request for another funeral. This funeral was expected for a while, as the person had incurable Leukemia, and was not expected to live very long. It was a hard funeral, the person was a few years older than my own daughter, and children about the same age as my grandchildren. Tuesday another death happened in the community, so I will have my 50th funeral tomorrow since arriving on the North Slope, May 2007.

Of course, the big news of the morning is the release from CNN that McCain will pick Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Of course this is news, as the Republicans choosing a woman as VP is pretty historic. The only other Alaska Governor to leave Juneau for Washington D.C. was Wally Hickel to be Nixon's Secretary of Interior; if I remember correctly, he only last two years or so. If the news is true, this will be a historic election regardless of who wins: an African-American President, or a woman Vice President. Personally I would love to see Obama win, but recent Presidential elections have a habit of being questioned on more than one state level, which impacted the national election. We will see...

In other news of our family, our son turned 18 last week and now is registered to vote. (I guess I better get him to sign up with the Select Service as well, but I guess he would only be in harms way if he signed up with the National Guard. Not to make light of our war in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places, but what is the National Guard doing over there in the first place?) On the right is our living room, you can see the decorations and balloons. (This picture is particularly for certain family members who wanted to see pictures in side the house). Yes, our Christmas tree is STILL up; Christmas is a season of the heart, and we have been needing that reminder throughout the past year.

The picture on the left is the table that was set up by our son, with the plastic "blood" filled glasses and the cake with the words of his theme for the past year or so, "Monkeys Rule".

I have a few pictures to share of our trip, but will try and spread those out over other posts.

Peace and blessings.

Coming home to find the real wildlife

2008-08-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

We went north to the Denali National Park for a couple of days. The drive was a little longer than I had remembered it, about five hours. But for once, I had planned ahead and we had a hotel reservation waiting for the three of us. The hotel was north of the Park in Healy. I had spent a summer there some odd many years ago working for the Alaska Railroad. Of course, I could not recognize one thing from the time I was there. After driving around a little bit, we returned back to the Park where all the travel agencies had build up the place and many a tourist traps lay about. We found a place to eat dinner then returned to the hotel for the night.

The next morning, we got up and took a tour of the National Park. There are only certain times and circumstances you can drive your own personal car into the Park. You can drive into the Park if you are staying in one of the several camping spots within the first ten miles; the other way to drive you own car in is to win the annual lottery. For two weeks in September, the Park will pick 40 parties to drive their own car into the Park. So we did not qualify for the car lottery, so we took one of the tours. They have several tour buses leaving throughout the day. There are a couple of tours that only have one or two buses, because they go completely into the farthest part of the Park, a 12 or 15 hour round trip. We took the 8 hour that did not go as far into the Park as I wanted, but I knew that my wife and son would not want to go any longer.

The buses have a couple of planned rest stops, and will stop for any wild life that is seen along the way. Also, the buses will stop to let people out any where that is open to hike or camp, except in closed off areas due to known wolf dens and other places where the young could be endangered by human contact. The hikers/campers just need to flag down another bus at another time to continue further into the Park or to return.

For our trip, we saw some caribou, bears and Dahl Sheep for the large animals; saw a few golden eagles and other wild life as well. We ended up on one of the 12 or so days that had actual sunlight for the majority of the day this summer. Headed back to our hotel after dinner and checked out for the drive back to Anchorage.

Once arriving in Anchorage, we found out that we missed out on the wild life here in Anchorage. A black bear found its way into my parent's garage and the dog treats they keep around for the neighborhood dogs. While reaching for the dog treats on top of the refrigerator, the bear knocked over a jar of beets and splattered beet juice all over, probably scaring the bear out of the garage, with the beet juice bear prints for evidence. Needless to say, the garage door has not been left open for the last few days.

We have some family gathering for a meal, so I am going to join the fun down stairs...

Peace and blessings.

Out and About

2008-08-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

As we are enjoying time on vacation, life continues to happen in the world: the melting ice, Olympics, rain, and even death. There was a man who fell overboard at another village in the North Slope, his 13 year old son dived in to help; it took the Coast Guard three days to find both bodies. I received another phone call yesterday telling me of somebody being sent to the Anchorage hospital, but when I got there, they could not find the person, so I was not able to visit with her or her family.

Other than that, my wife and I enjoyed two out of three days of sun in Homer and Soldotna. Homer is known for its fishing port, king crab and the Homer Spit. The summer all over Alaska as been a very overcast and wet one, not just in Barrow. Even as I sit here and type this, looking out my mother and step father's window overlooking Anchorage, it is overcast with dark clouds.

Now that our son has joined us, we will be getting caught up with shopping, (eye glasses for all three; clothes; food, etc), watching movies in theaters, and maybe heading up to Denali Park sometime this week. With the high gas prices and the wet weather, the tourism industry has been down this summer, so we maybe able to get some good deals heading north for a couple of days.

In the meantime, we are enjoying life as it comes, not following any particular script right now, just going with the flow.

Peace and blessings.

Politics in Full Bloom

2008-08-06T10:30:00.000-08:00

Grace and blessings.

We, (my wife and I), have finally made it to Anchorage to start off another part of my vacation. We went to see "Momma Mia" last night, and it was much better than I expected it to be. The music is all written by the writers of ABBA of the '70s and '80s fame. It became a Broadway classic and now is on film. The cast does all their own singing, which surprised me. If you get a chance to see it, it is a fun movie, and the music will carry you away.

The blog comment that has been running through my mind the last several days is the emails that I have been receiving at the office. Some are wonderful emails of how God works through our lives, then there are others that make the rounds. Realizing that the presidential elections are this year, politics continue to try and separate one another. Some of the emails are wonderful statements of how some of the soldiers are being received on their trips home, and on their way back. Whether the soldiers are really being received with applause throughout the airport, I do not know. But their are political statements that are added at the end of the notes, making statements like, "if you support your country, support the soldiers, pass this on. If you do not love your country, just delete this message." The message that is not so subtle, "To be a true American is to believe this way, all others are not true Americans."

During the 9/11 days and the war that followed, there appeared to be a hijacking of what it means to be a "true patriot", and I believe it is still true today. Of course this is true concerning any war, of any country. One email that I received at the office, the underlining message that I received was: "To be a True Patriot and American, you must be a member of the Conservative Christian movement as well as Republican. We are the TRUE PATRIOTS." I know that the majority of the people do not believe that way, but there are times...

One of the things we all need to remember is that any one political party, any one church, any one country does not have all the answers. When we try to declare that we alone have the truth, the one and only truth, we are farther away from the truth than we want to believe.

We all like to think that we believe the "right way", vote the "right way", live the "right way". But when we set ourselves up as the "only way", we are heading to trouble.

Just a quick thought that has been hanging around for a while....

Peace and blessings.

Snow in July

2008-07-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

After the forecasters kept promising rain and snow for the last several weeks, it finally happened. Yesterday was a rainy day, but up in the low 60's. Got to play some softball last night, misty at first, but stayed dry until the game was over. (We got our first win after 4 losses of the 4 week season. I will miss the last couple of games as we leave Barrow for a couple of weeks for vacation.) The snow this morning started out very fine, then grew into large flakes being driven by a fairly strong wind. My wife and I took a drive around after dinner, through the driving snow, into the tundra. The snow was not sticking very much in town, nor on the few miles of dirt roads that we have, but by the evening, it was starting to stick to the grasses in the tundra. In town was just a muddy mess, but such is life in Barrow.

Of course the big news here in Barrow, as well as Alaska, is the indictment of Senator Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in the US Senate. Of course he has been under investigation for several years now, as has been his son, Ben Stevens, one of the leaders in the Alaska State Senate. Of course this is a re-election year for Ted Stevens, and he is, and has been stating his innocence ever since the investigations started. But one of the things that gives the indictments more weight, is that they were filed in Washington D.C. and not here in Alaska. I think that it is just another blow to the Republican Party here in Alaska as they have been indictments, convictions and jail time for Republican State Senators and Representatives. The past Governor, Frank Murkowski, has been tied to many insinuations of wrong doing, but has not been officially indicted or charged. So we will see how this plays out.

In other news, there is the shooting of Church members in Tennessee, because of their social activities on behalf of women and gay/lesbian rights. As of tonight, it sounds like the shooter is being charged with murder in a hate crime. As a pastor of a church, I must admit that there has always a thought in the back of my mind that some radical will take exception to what I have to say, or what the Presbyterian Church (USA) may have to say on any particular social subject. Though the denomination is not as progressive as the Unitarians/Universalist, I too speak out for the rights of women, gays/lesbians and others that the Religious Right as declared deviants; granted, I try not to force my beliefs upon the congregations I serve or upon anybody else for that matter. Yet, as I have said to others in the past concerning the persecution within judging other's worship beliefs: Since the time of Cain and Able we have been killing each other over worship.

In lighter news, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, obtained first baseman Mark Teixeira from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Casey Kotchman, who has been the MVP of the Angels this season. We will see where that takes the Angels. Of course, I am always pulling for the Angels.

I will check in and let you know how my vacation is going. Right now, besides all the above, it has been nice and quiet. Well the sun is trying to come out through the clouds as I come to this end.

Peace and blessings.

Time for a vacation

2008-07-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

I have been more sporadic in my writing than I would have liked, but such is life. As of last Sunday, 20 July, was the 30th week of the calendar year, and on Saturday, 19 July, I officiated my 27th funeral of the year. I am tired and ready for my vacation.

The past week in Barrow, the rain has been early and often. It seems as though we received as much rain in the last two weeks as we did all last summer. We were hoping to paint the outside of the church, but the rain saw to it's postponement. Here on the North Slope, we live in a desert, less rain than the Sahara. So, after the wood dries out, and it rains, the wood soaks up all the rain deep into the wood. If we paint over the rain, the paint would just peel off, as it is doing at the moment. We had a group ready to come up from Anchorage to help us, but now it looks like it will be sometime next summer that we will try again.

The last two days have been wonderful, sunny and in the mid 40's. But today the clouds are back, not sure if it is just fog clouds or if the rain is returning. It is suppose to rain all weekend and into next week, (hence the canceling of the painting), which is just as well, since I did not really want to spend my first week of vacation painting the church. I am looking forward just to sit back and do nothing for a little while, but we will see how far that goes. There are still projects that I have not been able to do since we moved in 15 months ago, so I will be doing some of that as well.

We are planning to get off the slope for a couple of weeks, where hopefully I will be able to purchase a digital camera for my blog space.

Hope all is well were ever you happen to be.

Peace and blessings.

Three Cups of Tea

2008-07-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Last month a person suggested that I read the book "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Relin. It is about a mountain climber who had just failed to climb K2 and got lost on the way back down. He ended up in a village who took him in and nursed him back to health. During his time there, in the midst of a very Muslim country, he noticed that there were no schools for the girls to attend and learn. He promised to return with supplies to build them a school.

The book is the journey Greg Mortenson took from Pakistan to the United States and back again. How he was able to build schools in the most remote villages for the children, first starting in Pakistan, then moving on into Afghanistan. It is almost as if he knew of "Charlie Wilson's War" before anybody else. (After Charlie Wilson was able to supply military aid for Afghanistan, his cries for rebuilding the villages with schools fell on deaf ears). For Mortenson, his pleas and cries fell on many deaf ears as well, but was able to get funding through the extended climbing community.

The book follows Mortenson from 1993 through to post 9/11 era and how he tried to get the attention of our elected officials and present Administration. I admit, by the time I was nearing the end of the book, I was becoming even more angry with our government, and the lack of foresight and humanitarian outreach for the people. Greg Mortenson still travels from his Montana home to Afghanistan and Pakistan every year. He is still building schools for girls in villages where no other United States citizen has been.

I encourage you to read the book or at least Google Greg Mortenson and see the true miracles he has performed this past 15 years and continue to do so. There is a strong movement in trying to get Mortenson nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The library here in Barrow will be discussing the book Friday night for their monthly "Book of the Month". After reading this book, I may have to stick around and find out what is on for next month.

Peace and blessings.

Meeting far away from home

2008-07-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

This is one of the several welcome signs throughout the Barrow area. It seems strange at the number of people we come half way around to world to meet.

Last week, a visitor came to visit Barrow and walked in for our Sunday morning service. While talking with the person, he said that he was from the Columbus, Ohio area. Upon asking for a further clarification, he was from the area that my wife and I served churches. In fact, the church that he in a member of, the minister serving the church is the husband of the minister who followed me at Condit Presbyterian Church, in Sunbury, Ohio. My wife was called to one of the larger churches in Columbus, while I was called to a small town church. She later ended up leaving the larger church shortly before becoming pregnant with our son who was born at Grant Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The same week as the visitor, I received an email from a member of another congregation I served in Columbus Junction, Iowa. Like most of Iowa during June, flood waters were rising to take back the flood plains. In the email, I was told that the person who runs the cleaners here in Barrow, is from Columbus Junction. Columbus Junction is a community of less than two thousand as of the last census. When I went over to check it out, it turned out that it was the father of the person who I usually communicate with at the cleaners. As I talked with the daughter, she said that her grandmother still owns property on Main Street.

Of course, one of the best story of people meeting in far away places, I heard during the first wedding I help officiate in Weyauwega, WI. In meeting with the bride and groom we were talking about how they met, and some of the stories there. Me being from Alaska, was interested in hearing that they had met in Alaska the summer before. But what was the story behind the story: the father of the groom came up to visit his son in Alaska and to meet the "new" girlfriend. He was talking to another person who was visiting the State. As they continued to talk, they asked were each other was from. As it turned out, they own adjacent farms to each other in Wisconsin.

Another story is how my wife and I met. Neither of us were suppose to be in Fairbanks, Alaska for a Presbytery meeting, but we were, and we met, and later married. But that is for another post at a later time. Well, it is time for yet another funeral, I think this is number 48 or so since I arrived a year ago last May.

Peace and blessings.

Fourth of July weekend

2008-07-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Happy fourth of July, the anniversary where the colonies declared their independence from the British empire. It is usually accompanied with parades and fireworks. Things here are a little different.

This is part of the summer celebration, it is a four day event. They start with games on the third: foot races and egg balance race according to age groups.

Then they finish each of the nights with Anauragauraq (Eskimo Baseball). I think it is more like cricket than baseball as we know it in the United States. They divide up into two teams, and have two bases, or lines. Each person gets the opportunity to hit the ball, then the team that is at bat, can choose to run to the other base or not, everybody, nobody, anybody. The idea of course is to go from one base to the other and back home to score a run. There is a twist here though, as you run from base to base, you can be tagged out or thrown out with the other team throwing the ball at any running team member; but if an out is made, everybody has to switch sides quickly, because the ball is still live, and the team that was just thrown out, can pick the ball up and throw out somebody on the other team before they get to one of the bases safely. It is a game of all ages and abilities. Of course no score is kept, it is just for the it is all for the fun of the game.

On the Fourth, they start the day with a parade at noon, then move on to the Claire Okpeaha Memorial Marathon, three laps around Barrow, which comes out to be about a eight to ten mile race. Then it is on to the "Beauty contests" starting with the Top of the World baby, then Miss Teen, and Miss Top of the World. (I believe each winner goes on to the State competitions to represent the Barrow area). Then it is on to more races, this time gunny sacks for all ages according to age group, the Eskimo Dance and then more Anauragauraq.

On the Fifth, includes, one foot hop, egg toss, rock juggling, Umiaq (tradition skin boat) races, tug of wars and more baseball. On the sixth, ends up with more games during the afternoon: two foot hop, and nail pounding contest.

This is all for fun, smiles and laughter.

Wednesday night, our son wanted to go for a walk and my wife and I joined him as we wandered over to the games. The foot races were only about 75 to 100 yard dashes, so I thought I would wait and see about my age group. As they got up into the "older" ages, the distance became shorter. By the time they got to my age group, 51-55, I thought I would give it a try. Both my wife and son told me not to run because of my bad knees. I won my race, and then won the egg balance as well. In the egg balance, the leader dropped his egg about ten feet from the finish line, allowing me to come across for the win. They paid the first $15, Second $10 and third $5. This was the first time in my twenty year career of running that I got paid to run. I donated the winnings to a boy who needs surgery at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Of course outside of the races, everything remains the same, I had three funerals this week, and another person died on Friday, the Fourth.

I pray all have (had) an wonder-filled, and safe Fourth of July celebrations.

Peace and blessings.

What can one say?

2008-06-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

This morning I was woken up with a call that pastors hate to receive and is one of parents worst nightmare. While the community was getting ready for a celebration in response to a successful whaling season, three boys rode on one four wheeler having fun on the beach. Four wheelers are one of the main ways of getting around in town, year a round. Four wheelers are used by children, teenagers and adults alike. Since they are an off road vehicle, one does not need a drivers license to operate one. Very few people wear helmets, and kids who look as young as 8 or 9 are driving around town. The police will usually pull over those who have too many people on the four wheeler, or if they are driving in an unsafe manner.

But I guess this morning, two boys were heading to the beach, and picked up the third boy. Though I do not know all the details, my guess that the one boy was bounced from the vehicle and died from his injures. This is where I became involved. The Pastor is the one who has to give the news to parents/siblings/family of somebody passing away; regardless of where the person died.

I received the call from a family member, who came with me to look for the mother; she was preparing for the Nalukataq, (the Blanket Toss). It is a community wide celebration, as each crew that caught a whale shares with the community. It is an all day affair, and with 11 crews catching whales, the celebrations are spread over five days in a two week period. We could not find the mother, until after we searched several different places. Her sister found her and flagged us down. She was screaming at the sight of myself and the family member. We took her to the hospital, where she shook the boy to wake up, as the rest of the extended family made their way to the hospital. Soon we had twenty or more people in the room, wailing and screaming, hoping against hope that the news of the 12 year old boy was wrong. I stayed a while, praying with the family and trying to console people I had never met before this morning; as well as other people I knew. Death is always hard, but a 12 year old boy who was to turn 13 next Tuesday? What does one say? His death was the third in four days. There are two others who are near death, but until then, the families can only wait.

Later during the day, I took a walk over to the celebration, then walked up the beach towards home. As I continued to walk on, finally into the silence of the water and shore, I walked for another hour or so. It is a beautiful day, the sun is out, though cool, 38-40 degrees, it was a nice walk. At one point, I came upon a seal about five yards out in the water. It's head was just above the water line, it looked at me for a moment or so, then dived back underneath. That was my first seal I got to see up here in the wild.

The walk helped my mood some what, but the boy is still dead, and we get to continue on living.

Peace and blessings.

Point Barrow

2008-06-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

Against my better judgment, I am posting a picture of the three of us on the web. We are out on "the Point"; Point Barrow, the farthest northern piece of land in the United States. It is about a six mile drive out to the Point, three miles of road, (I always thought it was farther out), then another three miles off road. The vehicles require four wheel drive, plus larger tires. The gravel/sand is very loose and very deep, and it is easy to get stuck out there. But for all of the family members who have been wanting a picture of us, here you go.

One of the joys of the trip out there is what we got to see. Usually when people go out to the Point, they are looking for Polar Bears, and usually they are very disappointed. In fact, most residents will tell you that you can go out there, but you will not get to see a bear. Fortunately, our tour guide for the five of us, (a couple from New York and ourselves), spotted something moving out on the ice. The people we were with was able to get a picture of the bear on the ice and sent us a copy of the picture; and I get to share with you the picture on the right. There are other pictures, but it probably not come out nearly as clearly as this picture did. Of course it was good that he has a zoom lens on his camera to be able to get the picture, otherwise it would just look like a part of the ice from where we were. While we watched the bear, he turned and watched/smelled us, even though he was a good way out on the ice. To tell you how rare it is to see a bear, our guide called another guide who was on his way out about the sighting.

Well it is time to head home. I hope you enjoy the pictures that are posted, giving you an idea of what Barrow is like.

Peace and blessings to all.

Summer Solstice

2008-06-21T20:52:00.000-08:00

Grace and greetings.

This morning we welcomed a couple from New York who came to experience his birthday in the land where the sun does not set. He is also an Episcopal priest and offered to do an Episcopal service while he was here. I had been advertising the service for the last several weeks; it ended up being four of us, the priest, his wife, the organist and myself. So instead of a service, we sat around and shared stories for a little while.

I had arranged for a tour out to Point Barrow with one of the several tour groups here, going with a tour guide that was a member of the congregation. It is the farthest northern point in the United States. I had never been out there since one could not just drive out there in a normal truck. So I arranged for the couple from New York, my wife, son and myself to go. The morning started out overcast, so things were not starting out as I had hoped.

During the night, I remembered my camera, that I had not used at all since we have moved up here, mostly because it was a 35 mm camera and everything is going digital. Well, I ran over to the store to pick up some film and was told that the store does not care 35 mm film anymore. Bummer. Again, everything has gone digital. Well, I knew that my cell phone camera would not be that useful but I brought it along anyway; along with my 35 mm camera because I had telephoto lens that I could use.

After we were picked up and the tour was underway, the blue skies from over the Arctic Ocean came our way, and it was a wonderful sunny day after all. I picked up more history that I did not know.

We drove out the three miles to end of the road, then he drove off into the soft sand for the final three miles to the actual Point Barrow. It was a beautiful sight, then the miracle of miracles happened. We spotted a Polar Bear. It is very unusual to spot a bear out there, but our guide was able to see the bear out on the ice. We had a couple of binoculars to share between the six of us. We all had out time checking out the bear; as the bear checked us out, though at a very safe distance. Fortunately, the camera that our guest possessed had to ability to zoom, and got some wonderful shots of the bear. He promised to send us a copy of the pictures, as well as other pictures of the day to us after he got back home. One would think that bear sightings happened all the time, but they didn't. In fact, the guide quickly called his cousin who was guiding another tour following ours, and told him where to look if the bear was still around by the time the other tour van got out there.

Well our tour guide had to head back into town to pick up his next group, so we headed back with him, as he had the vehicle, and we were given certificates stating that we had been out to the Point, but also had the certificates embossed with a seal that we had seen a bear while we were out there. Cool.

After watching the Angels/Philly's game for a while, (the Angels won after I turned off the game), we went out to see some of this season's first Nalunaq, also known as the celebration after a successful whale hunt and blanket toss. Since the blanket toss was not going to be until later, we went out to eat at Pepe's for dinner, then returned to the Nalunaq. The kids were doing the blanket toss, we watched for a little bit, but decided not to wait for the adults to do the "real" blanket toss. So I dropped our guest off at their hotel, came home, wrote my blog, and will head for bed soon. Man, I am not as young as I used to be...

Peace and blessings.