“I feel like Clark Gilpin” and Props to Panera #0670

Leave a Comment
Feb 25 0

More to the “Clark Gilpin” portion of the title after the jump.


Props to Panera Manager Colin (W Boughton in Bolingbrook). Heidi and I ordered dinner there a couple of nights ago. I’d been searching for much of the afternoon for black drinking straws. You wouldn’t believe how hard they are to find. Target doesn’t have them. The Jewel-Osco grocery store doesn’t have them. Even the Factory Card Party Outlet doesn’t have them — and they have full sets of black plasticware for “Over the Hill” parties. I couldn’t find them … until Panera.

So seeing cups and cups of these straws around the restaurant, I decided to ask the cashier if I could have about 100 of the straws. I even offered to pay. She said, “Hold on, I don’t think I can give out a box without my manager knowing about it.” She went to the back as they prepared our food and then came out with an anxious-looking guy. (I don’t think he’d ever had such a request). He pulled out a box of the straws from a cabinet, came up to me, and said, “You want 100 of these?!?” Then he counted them out halfway and doubled it. (I ended up with 121).

“Can I pay you for these?” I asked him. After thinking about it for five seconds, he asked us if we had family in the area that ever needed catering. I said “No, but she’s a local priest” and pointed to Heidi. He gave us the catering brochures and asked us to use their service at some point. And I’m pretty sure we will!  This Panera is already Heidi’s default place to meet her parishioners, and if St. Benedict’s ever did cater (instead of eating pot-luck style) they’d probably use Panera.  But when Heidi and I were walking to the car and talking about how smart and friendly of a manager Colin is, we realized: we’re going to need food for the rehearsal dinner for our wedding! This is the start of a beautiful case of patronage to our local Panera …

« Continue »

I’m a highly functional addict!

Leave a Comment
Feb 22 3
  • Church of the Holy Nativity, Clarendon Hills, IL

In Practicum last week we talked about a bizarre pastoral situation where one of our classmates had a congregation member make one of his addictions obvious to the entire congregation. I can’t go into specifics, but it brought up the discussion in class of “how should churches practice radical hospitality? Can it ever be completely open and accepting?” As a class, we didn’t come up with many universal statements; for most of us, this case study was a nightmare we were thankful to dodge in our field placements.

It brought the class to full discussion on what to do with people we know are alcoholics. Most of the time it’s not possible to tell when the people sitting in the back seats of the sanctuary are drunk – but sometimes it is. What’s the best pastoral move? Do you confront the person then? Do you let them know you know and then plan a different conversation to help care for them long-term? Do you ignore it as long as you know they’re not causing problems for other people? What, especially, do you do when they’re highly functional alcoholics?

That discussion made me think about how most people have addictions of many kinds. There’s a fine line on whether something is an addiction or just a habit. Will Ferrell’s morning ritual in Stranger than Fiction is a great example; addiction or habit depends on perspective. The Practicum discussion made me re-examine some of my own addictions. One of my newest is coffee. I can certainly go for days without it … but ever since this summer when I started drinking, mornings never seem as good without it.

This really isn’t anything new for me. I’ve been a caffeine addict much of my life. But now the drug has shifted from gallonous gulps of Diet Pepsi to quick sips of coffee. I’m not even that picky about my coffee. McDonald’s is just as good as Seattle’s Best for me. But at what point does my addiction become destructive? I can tell when my body has had too much caffeine; it’s usually with three cups of coffee within two hours. My hands twitch, my muscles ache (I think from dehydration), and I can no longer concentrate.

This Thursday I had one of my most productive days in memory. And I give all the credit to the coffee … so I guess I’m a highly functional addict! The whole day was full of productions. I made it out to Church of the Holy Nativity for a super two hours of work. I was so efficient. I was setting dates for the Eucharist course I’m teaching at three Episcopal churches. Aimée and I set our goals and timeline for the U2Charist service at CHN in May. I did some more work on our MDG curriculum for the CHN Adult Eduction series. It seemed like I couldn’t get any more efficient, even though I had to if I was to make it through the rest of the day.

That evening we had our Ministry Banquet at the Divinity School. Once I drove back to Hyde Park, I had to create a costume transforming me into David Tracy (and digitally film scenes and practice with my group). The mysterious trip to Joliet on Tuesday was for those costume materials. For our annual night of hilarity, each of the MDiv classes and our professors create skits parodying our life at the Divinity School. Last year my class caught a bunch of flack for making fun of students in our skit. Apparently we were too mean and self-absorbed for the class older than us. So this year, we decided to intensify the unofficial competition by doing a full-out musical instead of a just a normal skit.

Professor Margaret Mitchell (played by Vince Amlin) used her time-traveling Harper Collins Study Bible to take three students (Ben, Beau and Bethany) back in time to find the “Historical Jesus Christ Superstar”. It hadn’t been fully tested, so they ended up in a bizarro creation story where God (David Tracy, played by me) sang a version of “Razzle Dazzle” before the students and Mitchell transported again, only this time to the 16th century with Susan Schreiner (played by Lindsey Braun) singing a version of “One” trying to court Martin Luther (played by Alex Kindred).

After learning that Schreiner had discovered the time-traveling secret by torturing Rick Rosengarten, the students and Mitchell try to rush back to their own time. However, they end up at Wednesday Lunch at the Divinity School in 2003. In this alternate history, Kathryn Tanner (played by John Edgerton) explains to Kevin Boyd (played by himself) and the rest of the audience how to make a ham and cheese sandwich! Clark Gilpin (played by Matthew Robinson) proclaims that this is way too boring and so he breaks into a self-adulating rap with background music from the Nintendo Mario Brothers game.

The students and Mitchell find a KJV Bible under the table and try once again to return to their own time. They instead transport to a finale worthy of the Wizard of Oz. David Tracy (as a movie on a laptop) commands them to stay away. After they pull him out from behind the laptop, he admits he can’t let them go back in time to find his Historical Son. They still want to return home, however, and so he gives them the book they need — his recently finished autobiography on “God.” He then breaks into the tune adapted from Annie, “My book will come out Tomorrow.” Once the Pope (played by Adriene Zedick) joins him at the end of the song and the students and Mitchell transport back to their own time, the entire cast returns to sing “Oh the Div School!” based on the iconic “Oklahoma!” anthem. Through the entire musical, the second-years were led by piano player Erin Bouman.

The entire day and night were awesome!

MDG 1: Extreme Hunger and Poverty

Leave a Comment
Feb 21 1
  • Church of the Holy Nativity, Clarendon Hills, IL

I swear: one of these adult education MDG sessions at Church of the Holy Nativity, I’M NOT GOING TO FORGET MY CAMERA!!! The scene is set for the perfect lifelong-learner shot: the lighting’s decent in the morning, the faces are bright and anxious. I just keep forgetting the second-most important piece of equipment. (The most important, after all, is the photographer’s brain — NOT the camera!).

This Sunday the Youth of the church led the session and taught about extreme poverty and hunger. They did a great job of mixing up the story (in a good way!) by alternating between their own reflections of post-hurricane work in New Orleans, the global and local stats on poverty, and testimonials and advertisements for their annual 30-hour famine. (They’re fasting on March 7th and 8th; it’s coming right up, CHN!)

Probably my biggest “wake-up!” moment in the session was Eve Lebaron’s description of Six Flags. She painted a verbal picture of the amusement park in New Orleans as an abandoned mess – the roller coasters have moss and grass growing on them. What a tragic image of the death of fun! But it illustrates the point: for the systematically hungry and impoverished, fun isn’t even an issue … it’s an impossibility.

Here are the labels for our journals. The first is an insert for the back inside cover (or wherever you choose to put it!) with some great ways to engage. Even though they’re mostly monetary options, they’re still great causes:

  • Episcopal Relief and Development – http://www.er-d.org – the Church’s outreach organization, focused on immediate disaster response and long-term sustainability.
  • World Community Grid – http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org – Donate your computer’s idle time to aid in socially-conscious scientific research.
  • End of Poverty book site – http://www.earth.columbia.edu/pages/endofpoverty/index/ – A website with research, practical tips, and a hopeful outlook on the future from Jeffery Sachs, an economic adviser to Kofi Annan in the formulation of the MDGs.
  • Kiva – http://www.kiva.org – A micro-lending network loaning money only to those poor enough; similar to the work of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank.


Obsessive? Impulsive? No, mostly Excelling!

Leave a Comment
Feb 20 1

I can’t quite post the full implications of this yet, but this afternoon I left Chicago at 3pm – after a full day of productive work – and went for a drive down to Joliet (to a yet-undisclosed store).  Several classmates and I are working on our skit for our Div. School’s annual Ministry Banquet this Thursday night.  I was ahead on most of my projects, so I took two hours and found the perfect props.  With some blocking and rehearsals, we’re ready!

I made the long drive without music.  I didn’t need the background noise; I needed my thoughts.  Most of my long drive on the interstates left me wondering: “what’s the best way to describe this trip?”  I quickly decided against obsessive and impulsive.  Even though I described myself by those terms in the past, they weren’t quite right for this moment.  Each of those terms has the connotation that I’m blinded from the full picture and acting on emotion.  Luckily, “excelling” was still an option.  In this – my busiest academic week of the quarter – I’m ahead on most of my assignments, obeying my schedule demands as necessary, and still enjoying life!

I’m going to space several of the scheduled blog entries over the next several days.  Some of them need time to craft, while others are there in structure but need the final touches.  I’m also going to start posting previous work (sermons, annotated bibliographies for future reading recommendations!, un-posted FTE summer reflections, etc.) over the coming months.

Oh, and before I forget: our wedding will be on Saturday, August 30th in the morning at St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago, IL (Hyde Park).

Healthy Snacks

Leave a Comment
Feb 18 2
  • Church of the Holy Nativity, Clarendon Hills, IL

I’m behind in my queue of blog entries (I even have the titles and pictures ready!), which means that this site will get updated more frequently in the coming week.

Heidi and my teaching pastor have been giving me a hard time about what counts as a “healthy snack.” It started at CHN when Rich Birch was getting the goldfish cracker snacks out for the kids before Godly Play (the pre-Sunday School activity time). The container was missing and there weren’t snacks. Luckily, the week before, I’d stocked a cupboard at CHN with my stash of Diet Pepsi and Baked Cheetos. So when Rich was needing a quick fix, I said “Hey, don’t worry, I have some healthy snacks in the cupboard. I have a bag of Baked Cheetos.”

Aimée immediately chided me, saying “Adam, cheetos ARE NOT healthy!”

“Why not? It has that green circle with a check mark that says Smart Choice on it!”

“Come on, Adam, it really means smarter choice …”

Heidi unfortunately agreed with Aimée on that one. Which is why, in January, Heidi introduced me to an incredible new snack at Trader Joe’s. For the first two bags I devoured, I couldn’t believe these things were real vegetables. They’re actual snap peas that are baked through and covered with a salty flavoring. Even though they’re veggies, they have the texture of crackers. That company is brilliant!

I’m on the look-out for more healthy snacks (besides the traditional salads/fruit options). If you have any recommendations, leave them in the comments on this blog entry!

Oh! And I included the picture above because I’m getting into the hands-on projects from Strobist (this one’s the DIY Macro Studio) . Here’s the setup shot with my two Speedlites; underneath the bag I had a glass pane my parents were going to throw out over Christmas break).

Bishop Consecration and Ordination

Leave a Comment
Feb 5 0
  • Church of the Holy Nativity, Clarendon Hills, IL
  • Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

I’d spent ten days looking forward to Saturday. Two months ago the call went out across the Chicago Episcopal Diocese for volunteer photographers. As an “amateur” photographer and seminarian, I quickly volunteered. It didn’t require much: an afternoon meeting at the House of Hope to scout locations and then showing up early the day of the ordination/consecration. The event went off well, and Jeffrey D. Lee is now the 12th Bishop of Chicago for the Episcopal Church. Here are my four thoughts on the event:

I really don’t like incense. I was the roaming photographer for this event and I was the one kneeling in front of the processionals getting the close-up pictures. With such close locations, I couldn’t avoid the incense. The FIVE processions of priests/laity/bishops let out a big one (in terms of incense!).

Aimée was insistent in terminology: “This isn’t just a Consecration, it’s an Ordination!!!” For her, the terms mattered. And technically, she’s correct. In the Book of Common Prayer, it’s an Ordination service. I didn’t understand the difference until this past week; and I think, because of it, I (as a Disciple) want to disagree with Aimée. To insist that it’s an ordination means that the person is being ordained to a different level than the rest of the priests. To only call it a consecration implies that it’s a person still ordained to the same level of priesthood, but set apart for ministry as a bishop. Using the language of consecration starts to flatten oppressive interpretations of the hierarchy while still maintaining the functionality. Then again, who am I to talk? I’m committed to the “priesthood of all believers” and the humility of my ordination will probably get in the way of that special event. (By the way, this picture is Aimée with Bishop Benito, the bishop of Southeast Mexico).

I love that Jeff Lee “preached to the choir.” He didn’t literally preach, but the people to whom he made his vows included the choir. How do I know? He made a conscious effort to rotate and look at everyone – including the choir behind him – as he made his vows as Bishop. It was a dramatic move in every sense of the word!

My favorite moment of the service was the prayer the entire assembly (~5000 people) prayed as the bishops gathered around Jeff Lee and laid hands on him. The prayer was a simple chant that added new layers of harmony with each repetition. Veni Sancte Spiritus. It was a moment when all photography was inappropriate; the common prayer was one of yearning to encounter instead of yearning to “capture” (as we do with photographs). Come Holy Spirit. Our eyes saw stillness, but our ears heard pulsing movement.

Worship services like Saturday’s made me glad I’m a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), but also glad to be marrying an Episcopal priest. Both she’s (Heidi and the church) are awesome. 😉

Millennium Development Goals

Leave a Comment
Feb 4 0
  • Church of the Holy Nativity, Clarendon Hills, IL

I try not to admit this, but I “fly by the seat of my pants” more than I should. This morning I led the Adult Forum (adult education) with Terry Johnson at my church. We’re starting a three-month series on the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. I didn’t know exactly what I’d say, but I knew Terry and I would have trouble limiting all we’d planned. The 45-minute session was way too short for the wealth of the MDGs … which is why we have nine more Sundays to work on them.

I didn’t know what I’d say, but I did know what we’d hand out. Our series is trying to make the MDGs practical and inescapable. We want to constantly be thinking of them and always have ways we can act (and think of new ways to act!). So we’re using journals. They’re a little low-tech — perhaps even a little old-fashioned — but these journals are great!

CHN has taught me the magic of labels. The parish forwent creating permanent name tags by using disposable, one-use address labels. People don’t have to worry about turning in their name tag before they leave or remembering to bring it back the following Sunday. They just stick a new label on each week. Well, the same logic works for our curriculum. We didn’t want to create content or worksheets or anything that was formulaic; none of those would have worked. People think, write, and reflect in different space. If their journals were to make an impact, the structure needed to be customizable. Enter the sticky labels.

We started with the cover. The bland non-dimensional images from Episcopal Relief and Development weren’t going to work. Last Thursday I wasted two hours as I held my head and hoped for Photoshop inspiration. (I’m sure it looked pretty funny to Bettie working in the office beside me). Then came this logo. 20 minutes later, I left CHN just after the last journal cover printed.

I love the logo: broken world; shadowed countries in the “2/3 world”; hopeful highlight below the borders. Hopefully the logo works. 😀

In addition to the cover, they each got “stickers” with the eight MDGs and these reflection questions:

More to come … and I’m excited. As Terry said at one point in the session: “Adam, they’re salivating!” Our congregation is so ready for this … !!!

A foot

Leave a Comment
Feb 1 0

Last night we had a foot of snow. Driving back to Hyde Park this morning was miserable. 2 hours 45 minutes in a trip along Interstate 55 that should have taken just 40 minutes. I never went above 20 miles per hour. Even worse: the plows hadn’t been able to get onto the interstate and the snow was deep enough that my car was bottoming out!

I’ve decided I like Hyde Park when it’s completely shut down by weather. It’s a peaceful place. Cars give pedestrians the right of way because they have to go so slow. The snow drifts to the point that parallel parking is almost impossible, so people don’t even try and instead use the parking garage (which is what I did at 9:15am for my 9:00am class). Time and convenience – or, I guess the constant lack of both – are no longer issues that plague the neighborhood. It just seems right.

When I was walking in the snow on the way to class and seeing my feet sink in to mid-calf, I noticed that there’s a softness about snow. Like fine beach sand that is really light, this snow didn’t give much resistance as I padded along the paths of others, returning it step by step into the sidewalk pattern we tread. This morning the inconvenience reminded me that a foot can show us the lost art of enjoying life afoot

UPDATE (8:04pm): So I should have learned my lesson.  I impaled my car in a snow drift when I tried to move it closer to the Disciples House.  I had kicked out enough snow that the tires were on concrete, but that wasn’t enough.  Then a kind, random stranger pulled up and pulled a shovel out of his back seat and let me dig enough so I could park the car.  His name is Cliff and he works at Quality Car Wash up on 53rd Street; someone (ME!) is having his car washed there soon and leaving a tip just for him.  :)