I grew up in Rome, NY – about 45 minutes east of Syracuse in North Central New York. I have been part of the UMC all my life. I have 2 uncles and 2 great uncles who have been or are UM pastors, so I guess it has been in the blood. I have a big family, and everyone lives within three hours of one another, except two stray cousins who are in California and Georgia.
I went to college at Ohio Wesleyan. (Isn’t Battling Bishops the funniest mascot ever?) and seminary at Drew Theological School in NJ. I’m a probationary elder in the North Central New York Annual Conference, where I serve as pastor of St. Paul’s UMC in Oneida (20 minutes from my hometown) and as the Conference Youth Coordinator.
Why do you blog?
For fun! A pastor friend of mine suggested trying it out in addition to my main website, which has my sermon archives and weekly lectionary notes. I had no idea what blogs were – so I checked several out online, and started mine last year. I really enjoy the ‘community’ of blogging, and I enjoy the information and news and ideas from blogs that I don’t find elsewhere.
What has been your best blogging experience?
Going to a conference in DC and having a gentleman from Texas saying, “are you the one with the blog?” Such a small world we live in!
What would be your main advice to a novice blogger?
Pick a general genre for your blog to keep at least some sense of focus. Read other blogs in the genre and figure out what you like. Then, start writing!
If you only had time to read three blogs a day, which would they be?
Aside from my brothers’ blogs (jockeystreet, timmyque, and toddwilliam), my favorites to read are Wesleyblog, Locusts and Honey (not even sucking up to the interviewer) and Hit the Back Button to Move Fwd. However, Dean Snyder’s Untied Methodist has also been moving up on my list!
Who are your spiritual heroes?
For contemporaries, I would say John B. Cobb, process theologian, my friend Julie, and Rev. Dr. Traci West, one of my professors at Drew.
What are you reading at the moment?
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, The Working Poor by David K. Shipler (excellent, excellent, excellent), and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams.
What is your favorite hymn and why?
Be Thou My Vision. I must confess that my musical background makes me inclined to be moved by the music as much as the text, and I just love the melody of this hymn. And the “heart of my own heart” part.
Can you name a major moral, political, or intellectual issue on which you've changed your mind?
Gosh – I think I’ve changed at least somewhat in all of my views over time, but it has mostly been so gradual, it would be hard to explain. I used to think the intentional use of inclusive language was silly, but after watching a children’s time where the pastor said “fishers of people” and a little boy said, “I though it was “fishers of men!” I was converted to believe in this importance of inclusive language. I guess that change in my thought is the easiest to describe.
What philosophical thesis do you think is most important to combat?
I think it is important to combat views like those that hold God directly responsible for things as acts of punishment, such as God punishing America in September 11th because of gays and lesbians in the world, or God punishing Southeast Asia with earthquake and tsunami because of non-Christians. I think those views can be so harmful to people, their faith, and their relationship with God.
If you could affect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be?
I would want to change our foreign policy and the current preemptive strike policy, and our general way or relating with other countries. That is the most immediate need for change that I see.
If you could affect one major policy change in the United Methodist Church, what would it be?
I hope to see a change in issues of ordination and holy union for gay and lesbian persons, as well as removal of language calling homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching” from the Discipline.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life?
Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly – take advantage of his offer!
What, if anything, do you worry about?
What don’t I worry about? I can be a worrier. I worry about my congregation, and whether I am serving them well, and if the church is growing numerically and spiritually, and if I visit enough people often enough, and if my prayers are too long, and if a new worship service will work, and, and, and…
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything that you'd do differently?
Nope. I would love to know how things would have turned out differently if I’d made some other choices, but I wouldn’t change anything.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do now)?
Hm. By a body of water and near (but not in) a big city.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
Taking dance lessons, reading, napping, jogging, spending time with friends and family, going to the theatre.
What is your most treasured possession?
My journals, which I have kept since the 5th grade. They remind me that I do change and grow over time.
What talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to dance and act. I guess if I ever leave pastoral ministry I want to be able to run away to Broadway ;)
If you could have any three guests, past or present, to dinner, who would they be?
Jesus, Judas Iscariot, John B. Cobb, and my late grandfather, Millard Mudge. (Jesus is a given, I think, so I took the liberty of including an extra)
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