theadamseven's Xanga

Walkin' in Memphis

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:29:02 GMT

...er, snowin' in joliet, that is.

Tonight, my brother is arriving. Tomorrow, we fetch Kohn from Chicago, and northeatern Illinois shall tremble at the combined might of our physical ineptitude. Then next week, Christopher and Carrie and Mary and Doug! How much awesomeness can be contained in a single major metropolitan area?

We're about to find out...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:55:28 GMT

The sermon was received well Sunday. I'm always a little unsure as to what that means, but I do feel it was a worthy contribution, so I'm happy. I may try to post it here sometime, but I'm not sure.

Holiday parties and hobnobs are the order for the rest of the week, so that should be fun. Draining, but fun.

There's still so much I'd like to share here, but I remain unable to do so.

Caleb Dean is becoming quite the little gentleman. A gentleman who craps his pants daily and seems intent on ignoring everything his mother and I have to say, perhaps, but a gentleman nonetheless. He likes cars, juice, and counting, and I like him. We need haircuts, though. Sarah's going to have the shortest hair in the family soon at this rate. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Nine days until the feast day of St. Thomas the Apostle, kids.

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 16:58:25 GMT

So much to do...

Sermon to write, people to call, staff retreat to plan for Monday. Our holidays are going to be crazy, in a good way. We are expecting to see/hang with:

- Families and friends (Rocky and Julie from NY for a couple of weeks, Christopher and Carrie from LA for at least a day, Kohn from Indy for a week, my brother for a weekend, and (hopefully) Jason, Doug and Mary, the Shafty family, among others, at some point)

- Extended familes

- Santa Klaus

- Trips downstate and weststate would be nice, too, but don't seem likely at this point.

Is it a sign of serious delusion that, after spending twelve weeks working at a homeless shelter with more to come, I would like to work in one, like for real? Not the one I visit now, but maybe even one with similar or greater "issues" to be dealt with? Am I sick? I must be...

In light of the expected, but unfortunate, brouhaha over His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass movie coming out and all), it may be time to finally read Paradise Lost.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:12:20 GMT

So, part of being an aspirant is you have to see a spiritual director regularly. I'm looking forward to that.

Anyway, I'm still in Uptown twice a week for tutoring. Well, this is our last week for this semester, but I'll be going to CCO again next semester.

It's cold in Chicago. Despite my numerous protestations to the contrary, I might like being cold after all. In Chicago, anyway.

I'm preaching again this Sunday at Grace, 114 N Pine in New Lenox if you're looking for something different. Masses are at 8 and 10:30 am.

If it hadn't have been for my horse, I never would have spent that year in college.

Adam the Aspirant

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:53:08 GMT

I'll officially be entering the discernment process for ordination to the presbyterate (priesthood) or permanent diaconate (order of deacons) in the Diocese of Chicago after the New Year. This is a big decision, one that's been almost two years in the making, and one that's been made through a lot of prayer and with Sarah's support. I'll fill you all in on the details as I learn them, but would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as I prepare. The answer to the question, "deacon or priest?" may well be "neither", but those answers will come through a process of speaking, praying, and interacting with my church community, both on the parish and diocesan levels. I hope that wherever this journey ends, either with a bishop placing hands on my head or with a trusted mentor saying, "we believe your unique call to ministry is best expressed as a member of the laity", I will learn and grow and become a better husband, father, and friend because of its lessons.

Almighty God, who has gifted all your people for ministry whether lay or clergy, I humbly ask for your voice to speak clearly through the people of Grace Church and the Diocese of Chicago, as it has and continues to speak through family and friends. Help me to be quick to listen and slow to speak, help me to develop a rule of life consistent with my calling. In all things, remind me yet again that I can indeed do all things through Christ who strengthens me; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:53:34 GMT

Blogposting...

I think Sarah already shared, but we have names picked out for #2: Jacob and Frances (Franny). Can't wait to meet that li'l booger...

We have a new bishop here in Chicago. His name is Jeff Lee, and he is not a lesbian. Yay? I think he'll make a fine bishop, but I also was pretty sure Tracey Lind was the right person for the job, especially after meeting her. Oh well, at least the impending splits in the Anglican Communion will happen for some other reason. Sheesh...

There's a blog I read that's written by a priest out on the East Coast. He's gathered quite a community in the comments section, and just now, one sweet little evangelical proselytized, er, presented the gospel to, another poster there, a fellow believer she's "known" (in the online sense) for at least a year now. Why? I don't know, the best I could tell was because his theory of the atonement is different than the one most popular radio and television preachers espouse. I mean, she talked at him like he'd never even heard of the gospel before. Man, Christians are weird.

If I believe that what Christ accomplished through his crucifixion and resurrection is more than just a tad mysterious and/or symbolic, and if I believe that propitiation, a blood sacrifice for sin, has very little to do with it, am I out of the club too? Really? There's no way that Good Friday was a condemnation of humanity's need for a scapegoat instead of its ultimate affirmation? Isn't Easter Sunday about a whole lot more than just a resuscitated corpse?

Sorry, I was in a pretty good mood when I got here, I promise.

Life really is pretty good right now, I've very little worth complaining about. So I'll stop.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 19:39:14 GMT

I really actually thought I'd post MORE on here... oops. You'd think that tutoring homeless kids in one of the city's largest and most chaotic shelters would generate blog fodder. And so it has.

But we're without the ol' cybertubes for the foreseeable future (we did get settled in Joliet, btw), and even if we were connected, my afternoon/evenings have become absolutely exhausting. In a good way, I think, but still exhausting.

However, I get two whole weeks off for Christmastide (yay, CPS) and, when not tracking down voyagers from the Pacific coast, I hope to be using my free CTA passes to visit about northeastern illinois and northwestern indiana.

Maybe I can finally tell some stories by then...

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:26:00 GMT

I like Chicago. I love Chicago, in fact. Can't leave.

Soon, we will be where we're supposed to be (in Chicago, not only near it). Need to stay southish for now, though.

That's okay.

New baby soon. Baby #1 is loud, petulant, and still amazing. I think we're going to be friends...

Baby #2 is already a challenge, so maybe less so once he/she/Herbert is here. Right??

The last few weeks have been peppered with flashbacks. I get off the train every morning at Union Station for the time being. It's loud, and dark, and everything is orange...

And I'm back on my grandmother's shoulder with a blanket over my head, screaming in terror as the diesels roar in cacophony. I'm two, maybe three?

Was in Lincoln Park, DePaul neighborhood a couple weeks back. Decided to stroll east on Fullerton to catch the Clark bus, and take in evening prayer/said mass at Ascension before heading home. This neighborhood looks awfully familiar, and suddenly I'm at the main entrance to Children's Memorial...

Haven't completely unpacked those memories yet. Might have to step inside, ask for a tour next time. On that night, though, couldn't move for a minute or two. Overwhelmed.

Then just yesterday, after the first tutoring session at Cornerstone, I take the Wilson/Michigan Express back downtown, as is becoming my habit. Unexpectedly, one of my favorite people joins me, headed for Northwestern hospital downtown. Afterwards, I'm alone again, southbound on the Magnificent Mile...

And I'm back in a cab with grandma and mom and dad en route to Union Station, yelling at the top of my lungs,

"I love Chicago! I'm going to live here someday!"

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 02:34:10 GMT

If you haven't seen the slide show Sarah put together over at her Xanga, check it out.

My boy is cuter than you.

Structural Violence

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 01:02:37 GMT

Dr. Paul Farmer will be speaking to the Episcopal House of Bishops at the end of this month in New Orleans. It could very well be (and I pray that it is) that his presentation "steals the show," capturing the hearts and minds of these bishops at a time when Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, will be making a momentous visit on the eve of what some perceive to be a crucial deadline that will determine TEC's place in the larger Anglican Communion based on how the bishops respond to a set of toothless demands by a minority of foreign archbishops.

However, in the midst of all this politicking, the bishops will roll up their sleeves and participate in service projects around the devastated city that continues to stand as an indictment of the failure of a society lulled into apathy. And, as I stated earlier, the bishops will take in a keynote address by physician and anthropologist Paul Farmer.

The doctor's theory of "structural violence" is gaining a lot of traction in public policy and social justice, and Katrina-ravaged New Orleans, particularly in its continued aftermath, seems to be a pretty clear snapshot of the extent of institutional oppression. If the church can take a prophetic stand on these types of issues, then the lesser controversies threatening to split Anglicanism (and several other denominations and traditions in the years to come) will become very superfluous indeed.

Come, Lord Jesus, and make it so.