Come Away With Me



create your own visited states map

Since everyone seems to be doing it, here's my own version of the Visited States Map. Surprisingly enough, I managed to be really honest with myself by only including states I have visited for meaningful amounts of time during the past couple years. This excludes childhood trips to California (and countless states between here and there) with the family, airport layovers in Salt Lake City or Jacksonville, driving quickly through Deleware or West Virginia, and stopping only at rest areas while heading down to Alabama over the summer.

Yes, of course I'm aware that my strict rules here are pretty well unnecessary and perhaps just silly. But this whole exercise has reminded me of an addition I've been meaning to make all month to my New Year's post:

During 2003, I spent significant amounts of time in the following locations: Charlottesville, VA; Colonial Heights, VA: Richmond, VA; Chester, VA; Herndon, VA; Washington, DC; Petersburg, VA; Farmville, VA; Middleberg, VA; Dallas, TX; Atlanta, GA; Bristol, VA; Beverly, KY; Berea, KY; Big Stone Gap, VA; Greene, VA; Harrisonburg, VA; Paris, France; Taize, France; Glasgow, Scotland; Oban, Scotland; Iona, Scotland; Edinburgh, Scotland; Roanoke, VA; Portsmouth, VA; Palmyra, VA; Doswell, VA; Alexandria, VA; Waynesboro, VA; Blackstone, VA; Lake Anna (VA); Lynchburg, VA; Charlotte, NC; Birmingham, AL; Mobile, AL; Fairhope, AL; Jacksonville, FL; Williamsburg, VA; Virginia Beach, VA; Johnstown, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Shanksville, PA; Gaithersburg, MD; Erwin, TN; Kingsport, TN; Johnson City, TN; Fredericksburg, VA; Scottsville, VA; Princeton, NJ; Madison, NJ; Glen Allen, VA; Madison Heights, VA; Chatham, VA

This year I've spent my time in Charlottesville, Alexandria, New York City, and Colonial Heights. But there are a lot of places I would like to visit, and (this is where this whole digression becomes meaningful to you, I hope) I'll definitely be looking for travel partners along the way. So please click 'Comment' below to make plans to come away with me or to remind me of places I really want to go that I've left off the list: Natural Bridge, VA; Boston, MA; New Haven, CT; Durham, NC; Chapel Hill, NC; Atlanta, GA; Charleston, SC; Orlando, FL; Nashville, TN; San Antonio, TX; Grand Canyon, AZ; Yuma, CA; Fort Yuma, AZ; Colorado Springs, CO; Yellowstone National Park; Grottoes, VA; Philadelphia, PA; Cortazar, Mexico . . .

Shalom, my friend!

Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God; punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work---you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord God made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. --Exodus 20:1-17 (NRSV)

I suppose a compelling argument can be made that the first three verses of Exodus 20 represent an important part of the foundation of what we commonly refer to as 'western culture'. Although I hesitate to join others who are tempted to project their own values and belief systems, or that of their faith tradition (usually Christianity, I'm afraid), onto all 'western peoples' and to thereby establish a rigid 'us' and 'them' dichotomy which functions to patronize and subjugate other cultures, I am also very aware that the three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) have contributed greatly to the development and evolution of western thought and culture and continue to have significant, prophetic things to say to social and political leaders in 'The West'. Each of these religions clings faithfully to this passage of Scripture as an important source of revelation about who God is and how we can come to know God.

Deep within myself, in those places where I am most honest and vulnerable and searching, I believe the words of this text to be both eternal truth and good news. Placing no other gods before the One who led the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt and remained with them through countless seasons of doubt and tribulation is not, for me, some sort of antiquated duty or tedious chore, but rather it's a liberating opportunity---to view the world through the eyes of a Creator and her Creation, to place myself within a proven story of faith, to encounter the God of Israel in new and exciting ways each and every day.

I am perfectly, blissfully aware that, for David Vaughan, 1913 Thomson Road, Charlottesville Virginia, there can and should be no God other than the One known in Scripture as El Shaddai. I also tend to be a bit of a relativist, though, and am freely willing to allow for the possibility that other people, whose addresses and experiences are wholly different from mine, might call God by a different name or might even have an altogether different language by which they refer to the cosmic action and energy which I know as divinity. This, I think, is the aim of most conversation around the First Commandment, or at least the place where dialogue tends to break down. In the eyes of many fellow Christians (or, for that matter, most monotheists), I have just given permission for people to rightfully violate the very first of God's laws. If God isn't God, folks ask (or, put more accurately, if Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Baha'i, and even atheism can be portals through which people come to know the love and grace and truth through which I too have found meaning and salvation), then what special place does the Bible or the Church or this El Shaddai have anyway?

These questions are natural enough and, no doubt, extremely valuable within the lives and decisions of individual pilgrims seeking to make their way toward full incorporation into the life of God, but I think to ask them is to miss the far more obvious message which we simply must take from this commandment. Allah and Buddha and Reason and Nirvana may or may not represent contenders for God's sovereignty in my life, but the false gods of Money and Power and Fame and Sex definitely do, and as long as the Church permits (even encourages, perhaps?)their worship to exist and flourish within its people, nothing it says about other religions can be wholly legitimate and faithful anyway. The Medieval morality plays understood this when they portrayed Good Deeds, rather than Beauty or Fellowship or even Knowledge, as the only companion capable of accompanying us on the entirety of our life's journey. So, as Christians, why not witness to what United Methodist minister David Wildman calls a 'radical monotheism', trusting that, if there in fact exists only one God, then that God must be bigger than all our imaginings and thus perfectly capable of taking on the tasks of judgment and condemnation alone, and spend our time living and loving in the model put forth by Christ, the author and perfector of our faith?

I Love Wool Socks!

For Christmas, my parents bought me a pair of Rocky boots with Gor-Tex and these Smart Wool socks, and they're just amazing!! I pretty much wear the boots all the time, and the socks serve as great protection on the worst days of this oppressive cold wave which has hit the entire east coast over the past few weeks. Now I suppose this could (and perhaps by all rights should) lead to a post on how wonderfully blessed I am (and am increasingly finding myself to be) to have parents who both offer me unconditional loving support in everything I am and do and have enough faith in me to allow me to make my own decisions and be my own person. And if I were articulate enough to find the words appropriate to express my gratitude to them, that is definitely where I would go, but tonight I will confess my own limitations and just reiterate what a perfectly thoughtful and practical gift this is!

What I do want to explore a little more deeply (and you might say vainly) is the fact that I post on here far, far too infrequently. This is certainly not due to any lack of desire to write on my part or because there aren't remarkably significant and thought-provoking things happening all around me. After all, I've been dying to ask Mr. Bush how he can possibly imagine that Britney Spears's entirely public and selfish 55-hour marriage to a person whom she apparently had little or no intention of spending the rest of her life loving and supporting poses less of a threat to the sanctity of the institution of marriage than does the civil union of two people who are in a loving and committed gay or lesbian relationship or to share with the world how I live and (mostly) die with the success and failure of the UVA basketball teams. I suppose the primary reason I haven't written much since the new year has been that I always seem to be away from home when these thoughts occur to me and by the time I do get back to the computer I've either lost the inspiration or, more often, simply cannot find the time to sit down and record my observations or experiences.

I do find the sort of confessional journaling that happens here very therapeutic, though, and so I'm hoping to find ways to allow the time and space for more writing. It occurs to me that one way to do just that might be to begin a string of posts on a given topic, not unlike the conversation about equality in ordination that we had last fall. I've been reading a lot of reflection lately by Martin Luther and other more contemporary theologians, such as David Yeago and Bruce Marshall, about the biblical commandment not to bear false witness against one's neighbor. Luther offers a vision of what this means in the practical life of real Christians which is greatly expanded from what we typically talk about in churches today, writing that "we cannot keep this commandment by first discovering what we suppose to be the hard truth about another's words and deeds; we cannot suppose that we have got the truth about our neighbor's words and deeds until we are sure that we have put the best possible construction on them." By placing such an emphasis on grace and compassion, Luther and his successors call the Church to examine its own life and take more seriously the very concept of witnessing to its Christian faith. This reading has encouraged me to begin a more thorough journey through the Jewish Decalogue, or what is commonly known as the Ten Commandments. So I'm hoping to begin there, with more consistent posts to begin and continue that conversation. Feel free to hold my feet to the fire on this promise.....Christian community, after all, is all about mutual accountability. Incidentally, I'm also writing a lot of short pieces this semester for my classes in theology and sexuality, contemporary feminism, Jewish-American fiction, and fiction writing, so if I ever manage to turn out anything decent for them I may put it up for your perusal as well.

Before I head off to attack this mound of reading that awaits me tonight, there are a couple housekeeping items that you might find interesting. Believe it or not (and I realize that appearances might not make this too obvious), I really do want this site to be an attractive, useful place for folks to visit. And according to the site meter over on the right of the page, a fair number of people are checking in regularly. I think the numbers there may be a bit deceiving, though, as I'm fairly convinced that the 20-25 or so unique visitors that I get each day are more or less the same people....which is really great, but just not an indication of some sort of huge reading audience. (You know, a great way to let me know that you're reading and interested might be to click on the 'comment' link below and share your thoughts....but I digress) In any event, I want to direct your attention to the links on the left. I doubt very many people click on the 'What I'm Reading' function very often, and that's probably for the best, since I've been embarassingly slack in my book completions lately. In my defense, this isn't really because I'm reading less...I just happen to be in the middle of several long novels right now and spending more time reading short stories and articles for class and whatnot. It's still there, though, and hopefully will be more dynamic as the spring semester progresses. I've also added a couple more friends' blogs to the 'Pilgrims' section. Alan Combs (Thrice Mantis) is a far smarter and more sound theologian than me who can say more in a sentence than I could in an entire book, so I think you'll enjoy reading what he puts up. You should especially check out his New Year's Eve post, because it mentions me! Becky Cox (Pretti in Pink) is an awesome lady who works with me at Camp Rainbow and is headed to Randolph-Macon College and into ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church. Maggie Thornton (Fiddlin' Chick) is a young lady who's really active with the Virginia Conference Council on Youth Ministry and has some amazing insights into church life and pretty much everything else. And I probably should have put Rob Bauer (Hokie Pundit) up a long time ago. Pretty much everything he posts I completely disagree with, but he is completely honest and vulnerable in his posts and is always up for conversing and exploring texts, faith, and theology together. I promise someday to do something about the hideous colors here as well, but that day will have to wait. Salaam!!

Grounded in Community

Okay, so I'm willing to at least entertain the complaint that it has been far, far too long since I've posted anything here. Part of the reason for this has been that I spent all of last week in New York City attending a seminar at the United Nations Church Center, a building owned by the United Methodist Church which is located just across the street from the UN itself and hosts offices for Amnesty International, the International Peace Academy, the International Women's Tribune Centre and other non-governmental organizations who advocate for peace and justice around the world. The Seminar Program of the Church Center is one of the truly remarkable and prophetic ministry of our denomination, and I am very grateful that we had this opportunity to gather together in the world's busiest city to learn from important spiritual, political, and academic leaders about the role of religious fundamentalism in both international terrorism and American politics.

When I attend this sort of insightful forum, however, a peculiar thing happens to my understanding of myself. Removed from the historic and institutional biases and prejudices which so often characterize the churches in which I worship and work here in Virginia, but subsequently removed also from the intimate Christian community which knows my deepest brokenness and stands by me as I struggle through God's work of healing and reconciliation, my faith seems to become something very academic and abstract. Although continuing to be fully informed by my understanding and experience of the teachings of Jesus and of his followers throughout the centuries, I begin to approach my Christian belief and practice more as a vehicle through which to live out a broader social, political, economic, and rights-based agenda than as a source of personal transformation and salvation.

Of course, I am entirely convinced that the sort of social holiness to which I felt compelled during our UN Seminar is itself a wholly sincere and appropriate response to the Gospel, and, since I was surrounded by many of my closest sisters and brothers in Christ from our Wesley Foundation (as well as the amazing group from William & Mary's Foundation whom I got to meet while we were there!), it isn't really accurate to say that I was in any absolute way removed from my faith community while in New York. It was nonetheless comforting and refreshing to return to worship at Hinton Avenue on Sunday morning....to worship not with the editors of influential religious magazines or the professors from elite seminaries but with real people who are seeking to live out the Good News of Epiphany in meaningful ways in their own lives. And as I sat, as always, in the first pew, surrounded by the growing group of dedicated and questioning youth with whom I have the distinct pleasure of being in ministry, listening to the adult choir singing 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' . . . as this group of teachers and bankers and retired ministers and housewives, people who spend their time driving car pools and raising children and doing that crucial behind-the-scenes work which allows our church to keep its doors open, boldly procalimed that I could take all my burdens to the Lord in prayer and find my solace there, I was able to understand a little bit of what John Wesley must have been reflecting on when he made this famous observation in his journal on May 14, 1738: 'In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate-Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.' . . . And I knew that all the sense of calling I feel to pursue ministry in exciting places around the world with people of all races, nations, and persuasions, does not preclude, and in fact must be supported by, my own faith community in the small and modest, but amazingly faithful, congregation at Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church.

There is so much more to be written about the life that I live in community. I haven't even gotten to the tremendously meaningful retreat that our Wesley Residential Community (the intentional Christian community which perhaps offers me my clearest witness of the mutual support and accountability called for by living together as people of faith within a community) or the insights into marriage and monasticism (both of which are really experssions of the same discipline, which ask you to put yourself into a community which cannot easily be escaped and which will highlight your faults so that they can be healed in openness and love) which grew out of the first meeting of my course on 'God, the Body, and Sexual Orientation' being taught this semester by Professor Eugene Rogers or the social and relational wisdom from Jonathan Larson's brilliant masterpiece Rent which has been bouncing around my head for a week now. But it's a new year, one in which I will use fewer words, be more available to the people around me in this unique and gracious community, and still manage to get in bed at a more reasonable hour than ever before, so I will close my thoughts here and invite your participation in this journey into what it truly means for us to be grounded in community. Shalom!

Let Hope Arise

When I’m in my car, driving back and forth to work, running errands around town, or otherwise traveling alone, I listen to a lot of AM Sports Radio. A few weeks ago, in the middle of the outrageous debacle that ensued after the Big XII Championship Game, sports talk show host Jim Rome unapologetically declared that, “The BCS is a dog that needs to be taken out back and shot.” As USC just made a compelling case for its place as the nation’s top team by winning the Rose Bowl, and yet we’re still waiting for Oklahoma and LSU to play for the “real” national title, I think my thoughts on the Bowl Championship Series are exactly the same as his.

Too often, though, I’ve thought the same thing about all of 2003. It was a really tough year in a lot of ways, and I've often been tempted to sort of wallow in all that made me unhappy. Thankfully, for you and for me, that is not at all why I intend to do here. Although I know it may be silly and fickle and naïve, for some reason the new calendar year makes me feel like I’m really starting over, in the most significant ways possible. Life is not perfect, by any means, but I think I know myself perhaps better now than I ever have….which means realizing some of those shortcomings I need to work on in my relationships with other people and with God, but also realizing that my friends, family, church, and faith tradition provide me with all the resources and support which allow me to work on those things surrounded by a community of fellow pilgrims who will join me on that walk.

I’ve semi-jokingly said that my New Year’s Resolution is going to be to talk less, so that I can be more friendly, more available, and more productive. This might actually work quite well, and I know that most people around me would greatly appreciate it, but I think what I really intend to do is make an effort to embody the words and spirit of this song, written by (who else?) the Montana Logging & Ballet Company, which reminds me that I really have choice and agency in many of the things that go on around me, or at least in the way I perceive and respond to them, and calls me to let the hope (which in truth I neither create nor possess myself) arise within myself and within the life of the world. After all, 'Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all' (Emily Dickinson):

Anger burns within her eyes (Let the fire burn)
Sick of years of years of leers and lies (Let the fire burn)
Dressing pretty, acting dance (Let the fire burn)
What did it get her? Fifty-Nine cents (Let the fire, let the fire, let the fire, let the fire burn)
Let the fire, let the fire, let the fire, let the fire burn

The child has been hit far too often (Let the healing start)
Mental scars take years to soften (Let the healing start)
Love and safety we must use (Let the healing start)
To stop the cycle of abuse (Let the healing start)

Let the fire burn, let the healing start, let the hope arise from the change within my heart
Let the fire burn, let the healing start, let the hope arise from the change within my heart

She is going back to college (Let the hope arise)
A piece of paper proves the knowledge (Let the hope arise)
Her drive to make it is intense (Let the hope arise)
Now all she needs is self-confidence (Let the hope arise)

He looked out for number one (Change within my heart)
Came home to find his family gone (Change within my heart)
Selfish plans were rearranged (Change within my heart)
From some disaster comes a change
Let the healing find the hope that comes from change within my heart
Let the healing find the hope that comes from change within my heart

Let the fire burn, let the healing start, let the hope arise from the change within my heart
Let the fire burn, let the healing start, let the hope arise from the change within my heart
Let the fire burn, let the healing start, let the hope arise from the change within my heart
Let the fire burn, let the healing start, let the change arise within my heart!

On her first blog post, Sasha had this great idea of just going through the year and listing great things that had been blessings in her life. When he saw that I also was doing this as a way of remembering reflecting on all the great things that have also happened in my life during the past year, he said that, given all the hopeful and exciting things going on now, mine would be a real cliff-hanger. You can be the judge on that, but (to cut down on your extreme boredom as you peruse the highlights of my calendar) I have tried to include links to lots of cool pictures and websites that capture some of what has gone on. Click ‘comment’ below to share your own stories and ideas, and have a very happy New Year!!

January 1---Rang in the New Year in Cville with Matt, Joel, and Tim
January 2---The Two Towers (for the 3rd time) with the Brain
January 3---Lunch w/my all-time favorite English teacher and ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ at the Byrd Theater with Caitlyn
January 4-5---Clubbing in Washington to celebrate Kristen Barbiere’s Birthday
January 10---Approved as Certified Candidate for Ordained Ministry by the Petersburg District Board of Ordained Ministry
January 12---Began work as Director of Youth & Children’s Ministry at Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church (As soon as I got home from my first youth group meeting, I was calling everyone I knew to tell them that I had the perfect job!! That has never changed.)
January 26---Souper Bowl Sunday Food Collection for hungry people after church, then a wild and crazy youth group Super Bowl party at the Moosetrap
January 31-February 2---Wesley Service & Spiritual Growth Retreat with Petersburg Urban Ministries
February 7---Lunch with my great friend, Jim Garwood
February 7-9---Keynote Speaker for Youth Retreat at Camp Highroad
February 10---Wesley Dinner at On Our Own
February 11---‘Bowling for Columbine’ w/Alex, Lindsey, & Sasha
February 12-15---Camping Out for the Duke game (the game itself was anything but a success, but we had a blast during the week, despite our frozen and flooded tent!)
February 15--- ‘Kangaroo Jack’ on the Downtown Mall with the youth group
February 19-23---Inside Perkins event in Dallas w/Alex, Sasha, & Meredith (in addition to being stranded in Atlanta for an extra night….wow, were we ever thankful for the abundant kindness of Jessie Smith and her housemates!)
March 2-8---Spring Break Mission Trip at Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Kentucky
March 21-22---Youth Group Lock-In at Church
March 22---Lisa Hovey’s Birthday Bash!!!
March 26---Journey to Dulles with Sara to pick up legendary civil rights leader and United Methodist minister James Lawson
March 27---2nd Annual McDonald Lecture, given by Rev. Lawson
March 29---Chi Omega Formal w/Kristen & Missy’s Cocktail Party at the Cottage
March 30---Very First Youth Sunday at Hinton Avenue
April 1--- ‘The Hours’ on the Downtown Mall w/Sara
April 4-5---Camp Rainbow Orientation and Planning in Blackstone
April 5---Nickel Creek in Cville w/Chris & Courtney
April 11---Wesley Foundation Coffeehouse (complete w/a very memorable rendition of ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song’ by Gampy, Studmuffin, & Special Edition)
April 17---Wesley Maundy Thursday Service
April 18---Wesley Good Friday Tenebrae Service
April 19---Bingo at The Cedars Nursing Home w/the youth group, then ‘Big Love’ at Culbreth w/Andrew & Lisa
April 20---Perhaps the most amazing day of the entire year!! Spent 1-3am at Hinton Avenue prayer vigil, then hiked Humpback Rocks for Wesley Easter Sunrise Service, then served as one of Brian Lee’s baptismal sponsors at Wesley Memorial UMC
April 23--- ‘Buried Child’ at Live Arts w/Sasha
April 25---Had the distinct privilege of introducing Lauren to the joys of Little John’s, then saw ‘Motherland’ at Helms w/Caroline
May 1---Wesley Grad Roast
May 3---Dinner & Bowling in Richmond w/Chris, Andrew, & Heather
May 4---Student Service at Wesley Mem.
May 15---Morningside Devotions & Green Valley Book Fair w/Chris
May 17---Wesley Graduates’ Dinner & Baccalaureate Service
May 22-25---My Big Move from the Moosetrap to the Dwelling
May 24---Youth Group Bowl-a-Thon
May 25-June 8---Wesley/Westminster Pilgrimage to Taize & Iona
June 8---Began work as Project Transformation Chaplain
June 11---Lunch w/the youth group (this was so popular that we continued to do it, every Wednesday afternoon, for the entire summer, and it turned out to be a great way to grow closer as a faith community and to invite new people to be a part of the group!)
June 13---Brian’s High School Graduation!!!
June 15-19---Annual Conference in Roanoke
June 19---Norah Jones in Portsmouth
June 20-22---Youth Group Retreat at Lake Monticello
June 24---Led Program for Hinton Avenue United Methodist Men
June 26---Project Transformation Family Fun Night at Hinton Avenue
June 27---Harrisonburg Emmaus Gathering w/Ken
June 28---King’s Fest at PKD w/youth group (where Jeremy & Meredith started our youth group love affair with Rachel Lampa!)
June 29---Youth Sunday
July 4-5---Independence Day in Washington, DC w/Amy & Lisa
July 10---DuPont Circle for lunch w/Kristen, then back to Cville for the PT Closing Celebration at Hinton Ave.
July 11---Project Transformation moves to Basic UMC in Waynesboro
July 12-18---Split time between Project Transformation in Cville/Waynesboro and Camp Rainbow in Blackstone
July 18-19---Lake Anna w/the interns
July 23---Project Transformation Ice Cream Social at Hinton Avenue
July 24-28---Mobile, Alabama
August 1---Visit w/the bishop in Richmond, then an afternoon at the beach
August 2---Colonial Heights for Brian’s 18th Birthday
August 5---Catching up w/Steph at Damon’s in Cville (after my car broke down on the way to Harrisonburg)
August 6---Andrew & I led an Iona worship service of justice & peace at Salem UMC in Burrowsville
August 8---PT Closing Celebration at Basic, then Interns’ Closing Circle back at the Foundation
August 9---Nikki & Shawn’s Wedding!!
August 10-16---Youth Group Mission Trip to Johnstown, Pennsylvania!
August 16-22---Missed SCC & Residential Community Retreats to be in Tennessee with my Uncle Gene, who had gotten much sicker
August 23---Helped move first years in at UVA
August 26---Fall Activities Fair!!
August 28---Wesley Kickoff Picnic
August 29---Dinner Theater and Canal Walk to celebrate Kelly’s Birthday
August 30---Nat’l Gallery of Art
August 31---Youth Sunday at Hinton Avenue and Hot Fudge Cake Sales at the Albemarle County Fair
September 5---Fight Crime Fundraising Dinner w/all 51 contestants in the Miss America Pageant
September 7---UMYF Fall Kickoff
September 14---Youth Group at Lake Monticello!
September 16---Wood’s UMC Revival, with Rev. Jim Fry preaching
September 18---Hurricane Isabel (and all the power outages, gas stoves, fallen trees, and college-aged recklessness that came along with it!)
September 19---Visits to Princeton Theological Seminary & The Theological School at Drew University
September 20---An afternoon in NYC
September 24---Babysitting & ‘Underworld’ in Northern VA w/Emily
October 4---Women’s Soccer victory over Florida St. w/the youth
October 5-8---Erwin, Tennessee for my Uncle Gene’s memorial service
October 10--- “Who let you out of your cage?” (Harrisonburg for dinner and fun times w/Sara’s family)
October 12---Charlottesville District Conference at Aldersgate UMC
October 13---US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Wesley Theological Seminary
October 15---Wesley Mini-Cookie Bake
October 17---UMYF Parents’ Night Out
October 18---Jeremy’s Soccer Team wins in the morning (and J-Mo scores himself a goal!), but UVA football falls just short against FSU
October 19---Consecration Sunday at Hinton Avenue, w/Bishop Kern Eutsler preaching
October 25---Troy State win & Birthday Celebrations in the Moosetrap!!
October 27---Audible at the line on Brian’s biopsy at MCV
October 28---Joint Praise & Worship w/BCM & CSM
October 30---Parted with the Wisdom Teeth (and not a moment too soon!), then served as a semi-delirious, fairly pathetic host for the Wesley Progressive Dinner
October 31-November 1---Mom, Mamaw, Abby, Tammy, and Johnathan are all in town for Family Weekend festivities---Intermediate Honors, Ring Ceremony, Wesley Parents’ Dinner, and much much more!!
November 4---Arch’s Run with some amazing first-year Wesley folks!
November 7---Men’s Soccer Game w/the youth
November 8---Elizabeth’s Senior Recital
November 12---Wesley Ad. Board Folding Party
November 13---About a million people in our living room for UVA @ Maryland
November 14-16---Virginia Conference Middle School Retreat at Camp Eagle Eyrie in Lynchburg
November 18---Brilliant Jewish rabbi, professor, and ethicist Eugene Borowitz visits and lectures at UVA
November 20---Wesley Rotunda Dinner
November 22---Brian in town for GA Tech win!
November 23---Women’s Basketball loss to VA Tech w/youth group
November 27---Thanksgiving Dinner w/the grandparents and all these great cousins!
November 28---Men’s B-Ball win over Tech
November 29---The Game
November 30---Hinton Avenue Youth Sunday and Residential Community Thanksgiving Dinner
December 5-7---VA Conference High School Retreat at Eagle Eyrie
December 9---Dwelling Study Break and a moonlit walk with the most amazing girl ever!!
December 15---Simon & Garfunkel at the MCI Center
December 16---JMU @ UVA w/Van Gelder
December 17---'The Return of the King'
December 18---Camp Highroad Christmas Party
December 19-20---UMYF Lock-In
December 20---Christmas Shopping w/Brian
December 22---Exchanging Christmas Presents w/the Family
December 23-26---Tennessee for the holidays
December 27---Continental Tire Bowl in Charlotte
December 30---Wow!
December 31---UVA comes back to defeat Iowa State…and perhaps I’m not dreaming after all . . .