Licensing School Pics

Since I've been writing about licensing school, here's a few (no way) pictures from the school. They aren't in any type of order and most of them won't make much sense unless you were there. So, I'm putting in few notes to try to help. Let's just say that these a kinda family pictures. 44+ close friends and comrades in the faith. I know it seems like a pile of pictures, but these are just some of the over 300 I took. Actually most of the others are a bit fuzzy, from trying not to use the flash. So, enjoy and go back and read the previous blogs about the school.
Welcome to Virginia Wesleyan College for Licensing School 2008.
George getting his stuff in order.
Home sweet home for the next nine days.

Okay, tell the person across from you your favorite Bible story. Huh?
Now, everybody shift down one, tell that new person across from you about your favorite teacher. Double-huh?
I sure wish I was at home.

Break Time!
Signing the Wiffleball bat for John.

Chow time Picnic in the park.

George doing the Hand Jive.

Wiffleball, the sport champions. Okay, the sport of UMC Licensing School.



Memorial Day morning worship service. Check back a couple of blogs.

Remember your baptism.

Baptism class.

This was a fun class; Clergy Tax Laws. Oh joy, oh rapture!
Resource Fair

On the bus to the Eastern Shore.

Okay guys, all you have to sing is three notes.

Ever had that wild urge to high five John Wesley? Oh, yeah!



Family Picture

Licensing School - Take the Test and Go Home

Well, the car is packed and I'm heading to breakfast. At 8:30 we take out test and by 10:30 we're on the road. Carpe Diem!

Licensing School - Last Full Day

Well, its almost over, last day of classes. There's 3 hours of Educational Ministries, then Small Rural Churches, Professional Ethics, and a session on the Local Pastors' Fellowship. We also got a explanation of what we will be doing at the Annual Conference in Roanoke in June. Apart from that we're be getting names, addresses, and emails from each other to keep in touch. Even though we will all be seeing each other at Conference. We have several class members from Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Georgia that won't be at our Virginia Conference. Fortunately someone brilliant soul was inspired to make a list of everyone and their email addresses.

The real high point of the day was evening chapel. The dean of licensing school, John Crawford, is leaving and he did the worship service. At the end of the service we had a gift for him, which included a wiffle ball bat and ball, signed by everyone who played with him. Then he and Beth Downs gave each of us a pocket Book of Worship.

It has been a long nine days. Too much information in too short of a time. Strange bed and a stranger daily routine. I am tired. But, it has been an excellent time of fellowship and worship. The friends will be around a lot longer than my weary joints and worn out brain. I guess that's really what this time has been about for me. Connecting with men and women who are going to be doing the same thing as me and dealing with things like I will, and knowing that I can really call on one of them for advice or prayer. Not a bad deal, trade nine days for a boat load of friends.

Licensing School - Information Overload

Talk about having stuff flying at you all different directions, this was the day. Our first two classes were on Clergy Tax Laws and Regulations & Pension and Benefits for Pastors. That was two hours for each session and we couldn't get close to covering it all. Once again I have a pile of things to read when I get home. That might actually happen some time in September.

Then we had a meeting with the Director of Connectional Ministries as he introduced us to directors of Conference Communications; Ministerial Services; Office of Lay Life & Work, Disabilities and Older Adult Ministries; Office of Mission and Global Outreach; Hispanic / Latino Ministries; Higher Education and Social Concerns; Youth, Young Adults, and Single Adult Ministries; Children's Ministries and Discipleship; and Stewardship. Each one told about their ministry within the Conference and the things the did that you would never imagine would be under their office.

Then we had Resource Fair that had information from not only the groups above, but from groups like Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center in Blackstone; Board of Laity; United Methodist Men; United Methodist Women; United Methodist Family Services; Heart Haven; The Society of Saint Andrew; and the Virginia Conference Historical Society. I know I left some out and I beg their forgiveness but the brain is simply melting. Fortunately for me they all had hand outs or websites for me to refer back to when the brain starts to re-gel.

I guess the school could see the grey matter dripping from our ears because the rest of the day was set aside for a trip to the Eastern Shore. I was stationed at Langley AFB for several years, but this was my first trip across the Bay Bridge Tunnel. We went to Frankland UMC in Frankland, VA. They had several outreach ministries that they do and we had speakers tell us about them. One was a preschool/after school program and the other was a ministry to Hispanic migrant workers. We had dinner in the fellowship hall prepared by their youth. The proceeds are for their mission trip, no destination set yet. Our evening speaker was a pastor who was originally from Liberia in Africa. He had been a refugee because of war in his country and after serving in a number of African countries he ended up on the Eastern Shore where serves as a UMC pastor. By the time we got back I was starting to recover from information poured into that restricted space between my ears.

Licensing School - Theology: Creeds and Sacraments

If there was ever a day that I realized how little I really know and how much more I need to know it was today. Yeah, I know I had theology classes some odd number of eons ago, but that's really beside the point. As we old poots are always ready to say, "I've forgotten more than other folks know!" The problem is that I've let myself remove things to some moldy, dusty corner of my mind and I've forgotten the filing system to pull it back up. I guess I'm going to have to sit down and do some serious reading for a bit and forget watching the TV.

That being said I did enjoy the classes. I love the sacraments. Communion has always been special, I could do it more often and it wouldn't loose the mystery and awe. There is that incredible sense of and knowledge that God is right in the middle of this. That you are taking part in something that every Christian in the world does in one form or another. What an amazing connection.

I realize folks have a lot of issues about baptism, but that really isn't what its about for me. It's that connection with God's people and that expression of faith. It is such a powerful grace thing. I wish I had the right words to explain what an emotional act it is for me, but for now just take my word.

In the Creed class we were asked to write our own creed at our table. Between four of us it wasn't easy. You get a sense of how difficult it must have been when they put the various creeds together to get the wording just right. Did you know that there is no United Methodist Creed? I didn't know that until today. We accept a number of creeds and they're in our hymnal, but we don't have one. I guess they figured out how hard it was to put one together before we did.

Maybe I kinda worry that I'll learn the mystery out of it all. Naw, ain't gonna happen.