| |
Philpott Inside :: May 2004
1 User Online
 Top
Recent Searches
- Find...ralph
- Gary Dumbrill
- Henri Nouwen
- Scholarship
- Gary Dumbrill
Feed
Archives
|
Fri, 28 May 2004
May 28, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news/world]
2004 Trip to Kazakhstan
By Lane Fusilier
I had a wonderful visit to Central Asia this past month. The trip’s purpose was the same as previous years: to teach a course in the history of Christian doctrine at Central Asia Leadership Training Centre (CALTC) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. CALTC has a ten-month program of study for pastors, church planters, and evangelists from across Central Asia. Since its founding in 1995, CALTC has sent out more than 200 graduates.
Each year is a great opportunity for me to communicate the truths of our faith in the context of stories. The beliefs we share about Jesus Christ were developed early in the history of the Christian church. We acknowledge both Christ’s full deity and his complete humanity, simultaneously. That was not a decision that came easily and was not settled until the fifth century. Hearing the story of that development helps the students both understand and remember the doctrine. The person of Christ, the work of Christ in our salvation, the nature of God, the nature of the church, each one of these is given detailed attention in thirty-five lectures over the two weeks of my visits.
Highlights of this year’s experience included seeing new babies born to graduates and staff, counseling some of the expatriate staff, interacting with the school’s leadership regarding expansion of the ministry, and other needs. And, of course, I had a great time visiting museums in Amsterdam and Den Haag during the layovers in the Netherlands.
Thanks for praying for me; I could clearly sense the strength and health that only God can provide!
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
May 28, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news]
The Seniors Go Travelling
By Dawna Vyse
On May 4, about 45 of our Philpott seniors took a trip on a very fancy, comfortable bus. We were heading to the Cambridge area with stops along the way. Our first stop found us at the Brantford information centre, a nice new building surrounded by daffodils. Here we were given lots of information about that area and were treated to our first coffee break of the day… well, it is a long way to Brantford! Did you know that the official flower of Brantford is a daffodil? Why? Because it looks like the old fashioned telephone! That bit of trivia won me a prize!
We continued our drive through beautiful countryside and went to the Castle Kilbride in Baden. This is a lovely old home that was restored back to its original condition a few years ago. The narrated tour through the castle was very interesting. By now it was lunchtime and our tour director had booked us into a country club for lunch. Now, keep in mind we had some golfers with us that day so a few people who were quite frustrated to just eat and leave! But we had a wonderful buffet lunch so everyone was totally “fed up”!
Our next stop was in Cambridge, where our tour guide managed to pull some strings and get us into a tour of the Toyota plant. When we arrived, the first place we saw was a huge show room with all of their latest cars in it. Helen Pritchard headed for the gold convertible, the men seemed to like the Lexus SUV. We are not too sure why Gord Smith felt he had to climb into the trunk of one of the cars to check the size of it— we hope he’s not planning to use that information! We were all directed to shuttle cars and were taken out in three groups for our tour of the plant. It was so clean! Our tour was over an hour long and men and women alike found it informative and interesting. Our only disappointment was that there were no free samples at the end of the tour!
Our next stop was at the “Wings of Paradise” Butterfly museum. What a beautiful spot to enjoy some of God’s most delicate creations. Gord Carey must have been wearing a special cologne, as he had 2 butterflies land on him at the same time. When we first arrived we were led to their cafeteria where all of their tables were laid for us with muffins, coffee and tea. It was a lovely setting for our 2nd coffee break of the day. The last thing some of us saw before we left was a millipede (how many feet would he have?) He was about 8 inches long and as thick as your thumb. How would you like to have him scurry across your room at night!!!
Our trip home went fast because of the fun we had with quizzes and prizes. The weather was perfect, the country scenery was lovely, the fellowship was very special and a good time was had by all! A very special “thank you” went to Don & Joan Cushnie for working with their tour guide friend to plan a great day for the seniors. They are already making plans for a colour trip in the fall, want to join us? Watch your Sunday program for details.
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
May 28, 2004, 14:38
[top/issues]
Your Privacy is Important To Us
By John Vandeweerd
The church has always been a repository of information, just read Numbers!
Our government has recently clarified how information can be collected, used and
disclosed. Philpott’s privacy policy is shown below. It explains that informed
consent is required when we collect information; that we should only collect
necessary information; only keep information for as long as it is needed; and
that personal information will not be disclosed to a third party without your
written consent, unless required by law.
This last exception to maintaining privacy is important because a church has
a significant obligation to protect those under their care. Our staff and
volunteers have a duty to report suspected incidents of physical, emotional and
sexual abuse. This obligatory reporting supports victims when they are unable to
make decisions on their own. There is also an obligation to report the immanent
threat of harm to self or others. Fortunately, we have a community based crisis
outreach and support team (COAST 905-972-8338) that can help in these
situations. Please read the policy and let us know if you have any questions or
concerns.
Phipott’s Privacy Policy
Revision Date: May 20, 2004We are committed to maintaining the highest
standards of integrity in our church. In the course of our ministry, it is
necessary to collect, record, store, process, transmit, and otherwise handle
personal contact information and giving information. We take these activities
seriously and seek to provide fair, secure and appropriate methods for the
handling of this Personal Information. All such activities are intended to be
consistent with both generally accepted privacy ethics and standard church
practices. This Privacy Policy proposal reflects the business standards for
privacy according to the Canadian government. Below is a summary of how we will
approach privacy and includes important information about our purposes and your
rights to this information.
We will obtain your consentThe purpose for which Personal Information
is collected will be specified on or before the collection of the information,
and any change of purpose will be communicated to you. This consent will be
expressed in writing, given verbally, electronically, or through an authorized
representative. In limited circumstances consent can also be implied. Consent to
collect, use and disclose Personal Information can be withdrawn at any time,
subject to legal and contractual restrictions and reasonable notice.
We will limit collection, use, disclosure and retention of personal
information
Collection Only required information for the purpose(s) identified
will be collected. Only lawful means will be used to collect personal
information.
To the extent appropriate:
- Personal Information will be obtained directly from you; and
- Prior to collecting Personal Information from any other source, you will be
notified or your written authorization will be obtained.
Use and disclosure
Personal information will not be used or disclosed for purposes other than
those specified to you, except:
- Where required by law; or
- Where reasonably necessary, to determine ministry needs; or
- To protect the interests of Philpott Church against criminal activity,
fraud, and material misrepresentation in connection with a contract.
Retention of records
We will keep Personal Information only as long as it is necessary, including
for the purposes of updating services we provide or as required by law. When the
Personal Information is no longer required, it will be destroyed either by
shredding or other approved destruction methods to prevent unauthorized parties
from gaining access to the information during and after the process.
We will safeguard information in our custodyWe have developed and will
maintain security procedures to safeguard Personal Information against loss,
theft, copying, and unauthorized disclosure, use or modification. Access to
Personal Information is restricted to employees and authorized volunteers who
need it to perform their work. While Philpott Church endeavours to protect all
information, the most sensitive information, receives the highest level of
protection.
We will provide you access to your file
You have the right to be informed of the nature and source of Personal
Information that Philpott Church has on its records concerning you. Should you
wish to receive a copy of the documents Philpott Church has on its records,
minimal reproduction and handling fees may be asked. You will be informed of the
charge before the documents are reproduced. You also have the right to request
the correction of inaccurate, incomplete or obsolete information in your file.
If demonstrated to our satisfaction that the information held in our record is
inaccurate or incomplete, we will make the necessary changes. Any request to
access or correct information held in our records should be made in writing to:
Board of Elders
Philpott Church.
84 York Blvd.
Hamilton, ON
L8R 1R6
Canada
If you are not satisfied as to how we have handled your personal information
you may register a privacy related complaint by contacting our elder board(elders@getchurch.org). We will explain
our complaints handling procedure and inform you of other complaint procedures
that may be available to you.
If a complaint is justified, we will take appropriate action to resolve the
situation and if necessary change our Policies, Procedures or Practices.
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
Thu, 20 May 2004
May 20, 2004, 14:38
[top/projects/esl]
ESL Potluck
By May Marr
The ESL class held its first Potluck of the semester on Tuesday, May 4. In attendance were over 20 students and teachers. This inaugural event was well received by all that attended. It was an evening of warm friendship, relationship building and awesome food. Centered on an international cuisine, which included foods from Iran, Iraq, Moldavia, Bulgaria, Angola, Turkey, and Holland, teachers and students interacted in describing their dishes and sharing of recipes.
Many of the students invited family members to join in the celebration. It is comforting and encouraging seeing that the students felt welcomed to invite and bring their family members. In fact, it is this warm atmosphere that has been one of the strong points of the ESL classes. Some of the comments from students include:
“This class is very good. I feel comfortable here”.
“Yes, I like this style of teaching. I will come back”.
Furthermore, the ESL classes continue to grow as current students recommend their friends and fellow students to the class.
In meeting the needs of this community in learning English, these classes have provided a wonderful opportunity to develop and extend friendship to our community. Many students have questioned us as to why we are doing this and what the Church is all about.
God has richly blessed this Ministry and in faith and servanthood, we believe that God will continue to work in the lives of the students and teachers.
ESL Teacher Testimony
In our first ESL meeting, Leny shared with us in Exodus, “…Oh Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”, (4:10). This is exactly how I felt; I neither had the skill or the aptitude to teach. However, continuing in Exodus, it reads, “…I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do…”, (4:15). As I read His words, I took hold of God’s promises and went forward serving Him.
As such, the ESL ministry has been a tremendous blessing to me as I have been able to develop relationships with both the students and fellow teachers. I am humbled as I see God’s Hand in this ministry. What a privilege it is to serve. I have received more than I give.
These are exciting times; we are in the midst of Samaria. As it was shared in one of the ESL workshops, I am reminded of Acts 1:8, “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ESL classes at the Vine are our Samaria. Praise God!
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
Tue, 18 May 2004
May 18, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news]
New on May 16th, 2004
Rita Bogle is back home after her difficult time in hospital, and would enjoy hearing from you.
Martha Bradford recently graduated from Heritage College in Cambridge with her Bachelor of Theology.
Wilfred Vandervald reports that the church was fitted with a new furnace and a new air conditioner.
Sharon Weir is serving lunch today in connection with the “Purpose Driven Life” program for the fall.
Patti Hines, her husband John, and son Daniel will be travelling to Langley, B.C. to the annual WEC Conference in July.
Austin Fusillier is continuing with his studies in English Literature, which will be completed in August.
Pat Harvey will be visiting her nephew Jessie in Nairobi in June.
Emily Sutherland witnesses to 2 people at Climathon held at Participation House on Friday May 13th.
Valerie Byron lost her bible on Easter Sunday. It was in a tapestry bible cover. (Picked up by accident from one of the front pews).
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
May 18, 2004, 14:38
[top/contributions]
A Blank Canvas
By Matt Redman 2004-04-30
Contributed by John Harvey
A few months from now, a small of team of us will plant a church in Mid-Sussex, England. We’re excited to join together in worship, venture out in faith, and see where it goes. There’s a fresh challenge ahead of us to shine into our community something of the wonders and worth of God we’ve witnessed. We’re anticipating a challenge – but an exciting challenge. With every new church plant there’s a unique opportunity to strip everything back to basics, and ‘re-imagine’ what our gathered worship and reaching out should look like. We have a blank canvas before us - the space to explore together how to ‘do’ church.
I’m excited by this blank canvas. My experience in leading gathered worship week in and week out at a local church is that it becomes very easy to settle into certain ways of doing things, and never venture outside of those habits. A new impetus like a church plant gives a great reason to run every single thing we do, sing and say in our meetings through the filter of our values once again - and double check that we’re still on track. Sometimes in church life if we’re not careful we can find ourselves getting into certain worship habits which we can’t even remember the reason for!
I recently read a new book, ‘Exploring the Worship Spectrum’ in which six different writers, each from a different ‘tradition’ of the worshipping church, gives an account of how they express their congregational worship, and the reasons why. Then each of the other writers graciously and thoughtfully responds to this. It’s a great exercise – to have to describe the theology and values of what our worship looks like on the inside, then account for how it gets expressed outwardly. It’s essential that the style and form of our worship is moulded to fit our values, and not the other way around. Values are the foundation onto which we build the structure of our gathered worship. Our values will affect everything from the length of our sung worship times, to the volume and style of the worship. If reaching out to a certain people group is of high importance, for example, then the musical expression will reflect this, as well as any visual elements. If freedom and spontaneous flow are valued highly, then space will be given within the ‘liturgy’ to express that. The same is true of our theological values. We establish that which we value highly, and then implement a style and form to fit these things. Our theological values are, in a sense, the colours with which we paint onto our blank canvas. There are certain ‘colours’ we should seek to see use in every single meeting – certain biblical ingredients that every bible-believing church must paint. (For example, the centrality of the cross).
Other ‘colours’ we have at our disposal when painting onto our canvas, are the many and varied ways in which the saints have worshipped throughout the ages. Forms and expressions of biblical of worship which we’d be foolish to ignore. There is nothing new under the sun, and we have at our disposal a rich heritage which has been and honed throughout the centuries. From a single hymn to centuries old liturgical pattern, all of these things are essential to explore if we’re to paint as full and as rich a picture as possible in our worship together.
So, visually, musically, lyrically and with our whole approach to gathered worship, we start with a blank canvas – and purposefully begin to re-imagine what our worship together should look like. ‘Purposefully’ is ultimately the key word. We should re-visit congregational expressions and verify that there is more of a reason to do it that way than ‘that’s just the way we do it around here’! It’s so important to ask questions about the patterns of the meeting. Just one example:
Do we always have a 40 minute talk after the sung worship time? Why is it that length? Would it ever be appropriate to split it up into two or three shorter pieces? (which might be more digestible and therefore even more effective perhaps for a younger age group or anyone brought up in a TV culture where to listen to one person speak for so long might be en extremely unhelpful way of presenting God’s word?)
These are not in any way ‘loaded’ questions - but they are an important exercise to carry out occasionally to review our approach. One thing I have noticed is that so many of our meetings are heavily front-loaded with ‘response’ elements such as extended sing, and most of the aspects we associate more with ‘revelation’ (such as the talk and celebrating communion) tend to occur towards the end of the meeting. In some instances this might be a strange thing to do – we may be awoken by the revelation of the Word or sacraments as a congregation – yet by that point in the service be all out of time to respond to them together. We should look through our meeting structure therefore and evaluate whether is a helpful flow of revelation and response. I personally love the idea of at times placing the communion time right near the front of the meeting – which serves a few purposes. It would draw us together and remind us that we are one body, one people. It also reminds us of the wonder of the cross and awakens us to the Saviour’s worth early on in our gathering together. It also helps us to get right with God and reminds us of the need to seek cleansing and forgiveness before we can boldly approach Him and draw near with confidence.
With our church plant in England we have a great reason to come before a blank canvas and carefully and prayerfully re-imagine what our gathered worship look like. But whether we’re starting a new venture or not, it’s important for all lead worshippers and church leaders to now and again re-visit the way we do things, and make sure they fit our values tightly, and convey all we wish to theologically. Every song, liturgy, and approach submitted to the foundations on which our church body is built.
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
Wed, 12 May 2004
May 12, 2004, 14:38
[top/contributions]
Music Wars
Singing the Lord’s Song
Travels in sacred music, from Eureka Springs to Salt Lake City.
by Mark Noll
Sacred Song
in America:
Religion, Music,
and Public Culture
by Stephen A. Marini
Univ. of Illinois Press, 2003
395 pp. $34.95
One of the most notable, but least studied, aspects of the 18th-century revivals that led to the rise of modern evangelicalism was the disputed place of hymn-singing. In his very first report on the unusual religious stirrings in Northampton, Massachusetts, from 1736, Jonathan Edwards noted that although his congregation had already learned the era’s new style of singing‹”three parts of music, and the women a part by themselves”‹the revival had worked an extraordinary musical effect: “Our public praises were greatly enlivened, and God was served in our psalmody as in the beauties of holiness. There was scarce any part of divine worship wherein God’s saints among us had grace so drawn forth and their hearts lifted up, as in singing the praises of God.”
Yet soon the fervor of hymn-singing, as well as what the newly revived were singing, came under fire. Not only were critics upset with what Edwards (in a later work defending the revivals) described as “abounding in much singing in religious meetings.” Critics were also complaining that the revived congregations were singing “hymns of human composure,” that is, hymns newly written by contemporaries rather than hymns paraphrased directly from the Psalms, which was then the only kind of hymnody widely accepted in most English-speaking Protestant churches. Edwards, with many of the early leaders of the evangelical awakenings, had in fact begun to sing the hymns of his older contemporary Isaac Watts (“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Join All the Glorious Names of Wisdom, Love, and Power” . And not only Watts, for from the earliest days of the evangelical revival, leaders and participants were writing and singing their own hymns in both Britain, as from Charles Wesley (“Where shall my wond’ring Soul begin? Š How shall I equal triumphs raise, / or sing my great Deliverer’s Praise!”, and America, as from Samuel Davies (“Who is a pardoning God like Thee? / Or who has grace so rich and free?”. The result from the new intensity of hymn-singing, appearing as it did along with newly written hymns that were as evocative to some as they were offensive to others, was an early version of today’s worship wars.
One of the few historians who has attended to the power of singing in the rise of 18th-century evangelical movements, and then to the central place of hymns in all subsequent American church life, is Stephen A. Marini, Elisabeth Luce Moore Professor of Christian Studies at Wellesley College and also the director of a musical group that often performs the shape-note hymns of the Sacred Harp tradition. Over the last two decades, Marini has published a number of path-breaking articles on the place of hymns in American Protestant history. Now he has broadened considerably the scope of his concerns by publishing Sacred Song in America . It is a book that could not have arrived at a more opportune time.
The clash of musical styles, tastes, and practices, which becomes every year more dramatic in America’s churches, is one of the most prominent features of contemporary religious life. Never has it been more obvious that the right kind of music draws people in and the wrong kind of music drives them out. Rarely has the emotional power of music been so fully on display. Contemporary experience on every side validates viscerally what Marini, quoting the documents of the Second Vatican Council, recognizes as the capacity of music to “unveil a dimension of meaning and feeling, a communication of ideas and intuitions that words alone cannot yield.”
Marini’s book does not provide prescriptive answers to the many questions‹practical, artistic, theological, scriptural, architectural, economic, ethical, and ethnic‹that swirl around the religious use of music today. What it does supply, however, may be even more basic, for the book documents the central role of sacred song in a tremendous variety of religious traditions; it explains with special sensitivity the breakthroughs (and problems) for music in the liturgical, charismatic, and seeker-sensitive revivals of recent years; it treats sympathetically the tangled web of economic-religious considerations that now beset sacred music of almost every sort; and it begins to explain why music is and has been so foundationally important for religious believers.
Marini’s strategy was to hit the road in order to visit places where sacred song could be observed in practice. The book describes with as much sympathy as possible what he heard and saw, to which are added historical accounts for the groups under consideration. Marini also includes analysis of two recent hymnals (the Southern Baptist Convention’s Baptist Hymnal of 1991, which reflected the rising conservative tide in that denomination, and the United Church of Christ’s New Century Hymnal of 1995, which did more to incorporate inclusive language and inclusive ideology than any other major American hymnal). And he presents transcripts of interviews with two composers whose works are used widely in church settings‹Daniel Pinkham, whom Marini calls “a nonbeliever of Episcopal background,” long associated with the Unitarian King’s Chapel of Boston, and Neely Bruce, a passionate Roman Catholic believer who from his post at Wesleyan University in Connecticut has long campaigned for the spiritual and artistic renewal of church music.
The great success of the book is Marini’s ability to make every one of his on-site visits come alive. The great complexity that the book reveals comes from the striking variety of what he found during those visits: to the Denver March Powwow featuring Native American song and dance; a Chicano Holy Week pilgrimage in Chimayó, New Mexico; a Sunday of Sacred Harp shape-note singing at the Little Vine Primitive Baptist Church in Blount County, Alabama; a morning worship with the thousands packed into the Apostolic Church of God on Chicago’s south side; a concert of klezmer music and Sephardic song in Cambridge, Massachusetts; an evening of New Age music in Ellsworth, Maine, featuring wiccan Kay Gardner; a rehearsal with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square in Salt Lake City; a visit to John Michael Talbot at the site of his community of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity near Eureka Springs, Arkansas; and personal interviews with members of the Lewis and Isaac families at the Peaceful Valley Blue Grass Festival in Shinhopple, New York. In order to make sure that music remains central in a book about music, Marini also adds a 45-page appendix of musical examples keyed to the various chapters in the book.
Marini’s reports illuminate musical traditions that are often little understood, or even known, by those outside the specific groups involved. As an example, his clear explanation of how West African ritual practices, the evangelically sponsored hymns of Isaac Watts, and the performance practicesof early jazz and the blues flow together into the controlled improvisation of urban African American worship makes sense out of what to first-time Caucasian visitors can sound wildly incongruous, or simply wild. Likewise illuminating is his account of how the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has exploited classical Christian repertory and good-feeling American patriotism as a powerful advertisement for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .But as with so many of the groups Marini visited, Mormon musical practice contains substantial ambiguities‹in this case, some Mormons who worry that their choir is not aggressive enough in propagating their faith, and other Mormons who feel that the spectacular attention lavished on this one choir takes the steam out of musical efforts at the ordinary services of local Mormon worship.
Marini also subjects the growing commercial entanglements of sacred music to fair, but searching analysis. He quotes sympathetically John Michael Talbot as saying, “I believe that American Christianity is a heresy and I believe that the industry of the Christian Broadcasters Association has become a Whore of Babylon.” But he also notes the dependence of Talbot’s Brothers and Sisters of Charity on the success of Talbot’s albums (and now also videos) and the anomaly that Talbot practices his simple lifestyle and promotes his intentionally simple music from a corner of Arkansas overrun with outlandish Christian kitsch. In addition, Marini’s attention to successes and problems in the world of Christian Contemporary Music structures his discussions with the Lewis family, which features what Marini calls “Christian entertainment,” and the Isaacs, whom he describes as practicing “music evangelism.”
The payoff from Marini’s careful work is not going to resolve the musical conundrums that now bear down with such intensity on congregational councils, pastors, worship leaders, and church musicians. Yet by showing so clearly how forcefully music acts to establish community and communicate deep conviction, how it both reflects a church’s values and actively shapes those values, and how‹above all‹music acts as a “dynamic whole” reflecting the deepest levels of “human religiousness,” this book explains why those conundrums are so important. It is now one of the best resources available to show why, for better and for worse, we have arrived at the state of religion in contemporary America where, as Marini quotes one Mormon leader, “we need better music and more of it, and better preaching and less of it.”
Mark Noll is McManis Professor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College. He is the author most recently of America’s God: From Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln (Oxford Univ. Press). Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today International/ Books & Culture magazine.
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
Tue, 11 May 2004
May 11, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news]
New on May 11th, 2004
Valerie Byron writes two exams to become a certified floral designer at the end of June.
Lane arrived safety May 9th at Al Maty, Kazahkstan after a 20 hr trip.
Prayer for Jim Whyte - eyelid surgery needed.
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
Tue, 04 May 2004
May 04, 2004, 14:38
[top/family_news/thanks]
From McMaster Divinity College
Dear Philpott Memorial Church,
Thank you so much for opening your church to us for our recent Gladstone Preaching Festival. We were very blessed by the warmth and hospitality shown by all of your church members. You provided wonderful, helpful people including greeters, sound persons, custodial staff and caterers, who were an asset to the day. We are grateful for all of your efforts.
May God continue to show favour to your church and its ministries.
Sincerely,
Jenn Bowler
for McMaster Divinity College
[this date]
[0 comments]
[]
|
|
