Speakifying

Occasionally you will see a list of the top fears of people.  I personally hate spiders.  However often you will find the top two fears being Public Speaking, and Death.  And usually in that order.  Jerry Seinfeld once joked that if you're at a funeral you're better off in the casket than giving the eulogy.

Most high schools, and many universities, have Speech or Public Speaking as a required course.  I dreaded these classes as I'm a generally introverted fellow.  In high school we had to give 3 or 4 long speeches, and that class did nothing to improve my skills.  In college, however, the professor didn't have us do that, rather we gave a quick minute long speech on some topic each and every class.  By the end of the first week we were so comfortable with one another and the idea of having eyes and ears on us that speaking in front of a group became very natural.  I am thankful to this day for that class as it helps me not only in church activities, but in my day job as well.

I work as a Sheriff's Deputy in corrections and if you've never had to walk into a room of 50+ criminals by yourself you learn very quickly that if you can't speak confidently you're going to get steamrolled.

I am very fortunate in that my department has a Peer Support program of officers that take additional training and volunteer their time helping co-workers and their families that are having personal problems, substance abuse issues, dealing with depression/anxiety and other sorts of things.  I was able to take a full week of training which included roll play scenarios (based on actual events) such as going to talk to a family of a staff member who was attacked and put in the hospital, speaking to grieving families, dealing with domestic violence, elder abuse, and all sorts of issues that people face often but seldom gets addressed.  This was some of the best training I've ever received and I wish this kind of program existed in more places.

This week I am going to be going to the Adams County Sheriff's Department in Wisconsin to take an additional training course that is offered by the American Police Chaplain's Association (of which I am a member). 

It will be very similar in nature to the one I have attended before, but will be primarily looking to accomplish these goals through a lens of ministry rather than a secular approach. 

It is VERY important, however, to remember that just because you're in a religious line does NOT mean that you need to tote the religious barge and lift the Jesus bale.  In some settings that is simply not appropriate and you may need to make a secular approach to assist people.  One of my instructors shared an anecdote about someone being in a bad car accident that included the death of one of the passengers and a concerned Christian walking up during the chaos and asking the person if they wanted to "have prayer".  Even though the person in question was religious, he rather staunchly declined at the moment.  Having someone try to get you to engage in an impromptu prayer circle during the carting away of a just deceased loved one is a good way to get cussed out.  Common sense is very important in this business.

I would encourage everyone to attend some sort of crisis intervention training like this.  You never know when you will find yourself in a position like this, and its better to have at least some baseline skills rather than to stumble through some sort of tragedy and end up not only looking foolish, but quite possibly doing more harm than good.

I recently was referred to a website called Coursera.com.  While looking through their offerings I found they have a class (that is starting in May 2015) called "Psychological First Aid".  Designed for non-psychologists to develop the skills needed to assist in these sorts of things.  It is being taught in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University and is free to take.  While I have not taken this class and cannot comment on the quality of the course, I would encourage people either to take it as its a free online course, or to search out for similar forms of training. 

You can quote the bible back and forth from memory, but if you can't figure out how to speak to people it doesn't really matter how much academic knowledge you possess.

https://www.coursera.org/course/psychfirstaid

Honey I'm home

Having recently been raised to the Diaconate and been given permission from my superior to perform a mass of the pre-consecrated I decided I had two choices.  I could either A) sit around and stagnate while thinking about how cool I am to have some very fancy vestments. Or B) Get up off my lazy ass and actually try and engage in some ministry.

The ISM has challenges when it comes to finding places to have service.  The first of which is the fact that we are small.  Small groups mean small pockets.  So buying a giant cathedral with a parking lot is of course right out.  So instead rental is usually the way to go.

There are different options when it comes to rental, each of which has its own headache. 

The first is to rent space from another church.  As many mainstream churches (although certainly not all) have the attitude that they are the true church, and everyone else is being mislead by the devil, often times they are not willing to host other congregations.  But occasionally the necessity of keeping their coffers full will encourage them to allow another group in.  The scheduling of your services will have to go around that of the host, however, and usually ends in some off time and off day celebrations.  Which is certainly fine, and in some cases may even be a point of advertising (God says you can sleep in on Sunday!  Mass is at 2pm).  However I have heard of host churches forbidding the renters from having a Eucharist, or other strange restrictions that make the rental infeasible.

Your next option is the yoga/new age market.  As long as you're not operating a church that is fire and brimstone (which fortunately most ISM churches seem to be free of), and you're inclusive of various viewpoints and lifestyles and just generally not jerks to everyone, you can probably find a home with this type of place.  Often these shops have small areas devoted to classrooms or ritual performance.  In my area there are several of these kinds of stores and all of them have wiccan ceremonies at various times.  As quite a few ISM churches either are accepting of, or directly embrace esotericism, it should be feasible to get along with your neighbors and ask to use the space, making a rental agreement or love offering, or what have you.  The good thing about this kind of place is that they are usually ok with open flame, so altar candles and incense is generally acceptable (just check with the first for the love of God).  Your biggest key to success with this kind of place is going to be what I mentioned early.  Don't be a jerk.  In face you'll find success in pretty much all avenues of life if you live by that rule. 

Next you have your lodges.  Masonic lodges, Moose/Elks, American Legion halls, and all those kinds of places.  They are usually big, almost always looking for renters, generally have good parking situations, and the VFWs/Legions/Moose etc. usually have either a bar or restaurant built into the building.  So you have an instant fellowship after service sandwich option.  The biggest drawback of them is that they are usually quite expensive.

And finally you have your park districts.  Or parks and recreation buildings, depending on the vocabulary of your particular area.  In the town I live in there is a very nice civic center that has a variety of classrooms for rent.  Residents get a discounted rate, as well as non-profits.  If you count as both, you get an even bigger discount.  My particular local building happens to be home to a couple of different church groups that meet there, one of which is closing up shop very soon.  Often these places are conveniently located, affordable, and have good parking.  The biggest drawback is that these places are usually not too fond of candles, which is why I bought a bunch of really nice led candles (that is a blog for another time).

So since there was a vacancy, and the prices were affordable, I went ahead and bit the bullet (or perhaps jumped the gun) and signed my life away.

I am happy to announce that the above is the new home to our ministry in the suburbs of Chicago.  Starting next month the Open Rite of the OACD will be expanding.  I'll post information in the future. :)

I'm all official and stuff

Happy Easter everyone.

On Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.  Esoterically Easter can be seen as the day in which we celebrate the idea of the divine spark within all mankind overcoming "death" or descent of spirit into a physical body and the new life we lead when we realize the presence of this divine spark and allow it to take its rightful place as our true higher self and live our lives in pursuit of manifesting divinity wherever we go. 

In many forms of Sacramental Christianity Easter is also the day that many new members are baptized and welcomed into the church.  In my church, the Community of Saint James, which is a part of the Open Rite of the Oriental Apostolic Church of Damcar,  Bishop Lainie Petersen opted to make this my ordination day.  I very much enjoy the symbolism of being ordained on Easter Sunday.

I would like to thank Bishop Laine, Tau Mikael Basilides, Bishop Ken Canterbury, and the collective clergy of the OACD for accepting me into their community.  Hopefully I won't screw it up too bad.  I would also like to thank everyone who attended and/or who offered congratulations.  And also thanks to the Life Force Arts Center for hosting us. 

I really appreciate everyone's support.

 

www.CommunityOfStJames.org

www.Church-of-Damcar.org

http://www.lifeforcearts.org/