Itinerant Church

Encouraging the church to move out, move on, and move over

Dancing with a Star: Living a legacy to leave a legacy

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A couple months ago my son Tim asked me, “How many ‘Tim Walters’ are there in the world?” Good question, probably a lot. And then I thought, hmm, I bet there’s a website for this question … and, of course, there is: HowManyOfMe.com. According to this website, which uses statistics from the Census Bureau, there are 403 people in the U.S. named “Timothy Walters.” The website offers suggestions of “Famous people with the last name ‘Walters.’” The first name it listed was “Charles Walters.” We all know Barbara Walters, but I had no idea who is Charles Walters, so I looked him up in Wikipedia. It turns out the famous Charles Walters was born in Pasadena, California, as both my father and I were. He was also born with the last name of “Walter,” as was my father’s paternal grandfather. Two strange coincidences.

I wanted to learn more about Charles Walters, so I read his biography by former Joffrey Ballet soloist, Brent Phillips, Charles Walters: The Director Who Made Hollywood Dance. Chuck was one of the most prolific directors during the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals. He started out as a naturally-gifted dancer, made it on Broadway as a dancer, quickly became a choreographer on stage and then for film, and just as quickly became a film director under a long-time contract with MGM. One of his closest friends was Judy Garland, whom he directed several times. Recall a big name from that era and he directed them in musicals and comedies: Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Doris Day, Bing Crosby, and on and on. [Read more…]

United Methodist Church needs imagination to solve escape room?

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umc-escape-roomHave you ever heard of “escape rooms?” They are a global phenomenon and a growing segment of the gaming industry. Stuart Miller, writing for Newsweek, succinctly explained the game: “Room escape games lock players in a room where they must seek clues and solve puzzles tied to a story or theme to escape before time runs out, usually in one hour.”

Is the UMC trapped in a giant escape room?

Like many in the UMC, I am concerned about the escalating tension and anxiety in the UMC regarding a possible split. This is nothing new, however, as divisions and conflict within the UMC have been simmering since the very beginning of the denominational merger that created the UMC in 1968. [Read more…]

“Examine Yourselves” – Closed Versus United Methodist Open Communion

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wimtbum-375x388Recently I read a report from United Methodist Communications titled, “What Does It Mean to Be United Methodist?” This report summarizes the results of a survey conducted of 1250 United Methodists, including 400 lay members, 350 lay church leaders (i.e. past or present committee members), and 500 pastors. The respondents were asked in the spring and summer of 2014 to rate 22 values on a scale of 1 to 5, “not important” to “very important to you.” Not surprisingly, there are diverse opinions about what is important to us as individual United Methodists and there is no substantial agreement about core values. However, there are two values that consistently ranked near the top levels of importance across the spectrum of respondents: “Emphasis on God’s grace” and “Open table – Communion open to all.” That should not be surprising to us. If there are any values that distinguish United Methodists or Methodists in general from other Christian groups, it would be these two values. [Read more…]

Lessons to be learned from 19th century Methodist schism?

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Last Monday, Dr. Donald Haynes wrote his column for The United Methodist Reporter on “Lessons to Be Learned from the 1844 ‘Plan of Separation’.” His main point appears toward the end of his article in a section titled “Fallout.” It turns out his article about the relevant history of Methodist schism in the 19th century was context for his reaction to the proposal, “A Way Forward,” from UMC pastors Adam Hamilton and Michael Slaughter.

The sometimes “heralded” Plan of Separation turned sour. The sad consequence was attorney fees and a protracted acrimonious debate, mostly about pensions, property rights, and the publishing house.

church splitThe implication is that a schism in the UMC would cause much squabbling over property and many lawsuits, not to mention causing great turmoil across thousands of local churches and disrupting, if not devastating, the faith journeys of millions of Methodists. So, I have to ask, is Dr. Haynes implying that we United Methodists keep our heads down and plow through General Conference to maintain status quo? The more I think about it, the more I’m not sure what he means to imply. He does write: “What will we do? It depends on whom we elect as delegates to go to Portland in 2016!” [Read more…]

Achoo, Thank You, Bless You, Bless the Lord!

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Are you bothered by cashiers and others in customer service jobs when they don’t say “thank you?” I am. Recently I was at a national restaurant chain of the “fast casual” type (name starts with “P”), and the young man who took my order was being trained by a young lady. Both of them barely acknowledged my presence, just enough to get my order; they were both focused on the training aspect of their work and almost not all on the customer service aspect. Neither of them said “thank you” after I paid for my order. To be fair, the lady that delivered my order was very friendly and thankful.

This happens to us a lot. We stand in line, we pay money for goods or services, and the cashier, waiter, front desk person, or whoever does not say “thank you.” I am bothered by this. My bothered reaction has roots in my twelve-year experience in my teens and 20s working many service jobs, the first of which was bagging at Jewel at the age of 16. Following that job I worked in the fish market, served the cafeteria in college, sold shoes, worked retail clothing, delivered office supplies, worked in two family-owned pharmacies, and worked as a bank teller. I said “thank you” to nearly every customer no matter how I was feeling. It was the simplest thing I could do to recognize our common humanity in those jobs. [Read more…]