So, how are things?

Happy Tuesday and welcome to the first day of October!

I had plans to share a long post today about my experiences at Leadership Institute 2013 this past week.  Unfortunately due to many different things it's just not quite ready yet.  I'm shooting for tomorrow.  

 
I've been busy with a few projects I have yet to share that I can't wait to explore with you.  One, is my new position of Contemporary Music Director at Central United Methodist Church in Lawrence, KS.  I have hit the ground running and playing a little catch up to prepare for worship for the last few weeks.  This hasn't left much time for writing but I am confident my schedule will settle down once a few more things are organized in advance.

I have also been doing a ton of reading about the United Methodist Church and the future of our denomination with an eye towards worship and the arts.  We are looking at ways to rethink what it means to be a church for the future.

In addition to all that reading I have created the rough draft of a vision statement that I have been mulling around for the past few days:

Connecting people of all ages and enriching people's lives with music 

in the church and the greater community.  

Easier said than done for sure but it's a great goal and one that I feel is worth striving for.  I can't wait to see this evolve in the next couple months.

So, how are things with you?  Are things getting busier for you this month?  What are you doing to stay sane?    

A Wesleyan Statement in One Sentence

"A journey of holy discernment enhanced by our traditions, cultivated by our experience, guided by scripture, and enlightened by reason."

This statement was generated as a United Methodist Doctrine class exercise on what it means to be Wesleyan and United Methodist.  This is my statement that came out of that project.

My Journey in United Methodist Doctrine

Recently I shared with you about my new job and the opportunities I have had as an employee for Cokesbury at Saint Paul School of Theology.  One of those opportunities has been to take a United Methodist Studies in Doctrine Course to fulfill the education requirements for United Methodist Certification for Musicians.  

Classroom at Saint Paul School of Theology

I wasn't sure I would even be able to finish to be quite honest and I was getting discouraged but once I started working at Cokesbury I decided it was worth it to ask around and see if it was even possible.  After a long email exchange back and forth plus a few phone calls I was approved to take the Doctrine course that was being offered this Fall semester and to use it to finish my education for certification.  I was thrilled because I had realized before my search that I only had one more year of the ten you get to finish your education or I would have to start all over again.

Taking Notes

I have attended classes on Wednesday mornings at the seminary now for several weeks and I am really enjoying myself.  I have had tons of reading to do which has made keeping up with my blogs a little harder than I anticipated but it is well worth it. As I finish books I will be sharing a book list and my thoughts for anyone interested in independent study.

I am so glad that I am finally getting this accomplished and I can't wait for my certification to take place.  If all goes as planned I should be official this June.  I'll keep you posted!