By request, I'm live-blogging** the Clergy Benefits Academy education event sponsored by the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits. This is my first time to "live-blog" and most of what I did was by hand, since I left my power cord to my lap top at home.
These entries will be more response and what was going through my mind and less rehashing the training event itself. I highly encourage anyone who may have the opportunity to attend one of these events to do so. We have the best pension plan of any other denomination and it is as good as any retirement program regardless of industry.
So let's begin:
1:05 Walked in late because I was looking for a motel room. No motel room yet. I left without a reservation. Many rooms are booked because of the hurricane, holding both relief workers, people evacuated, relocated events such as the one I'm attending that might have been held on the coast. I tried to allow some time before arriving at the event to find a room. Struck out. If I have to, I'll drive the 2 hours back home and come back in the morning.
Our Academy begins with a worship service and an introduction to the services of the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits (GBOPHB). Bishop Hope Morgan Ward is preaching. Told a very good illustration about her mother and some Christmas money that she had been given. Talked about a story that came out from Pass Christian post Katrina. A person went back to their home that had been completely destroyed by the hurricane and found the rememants of her Christmas village collection. But of the collection only the "bank" survived. She wondered why God would have spared her Christmas village bank and not the "church" or something. And then she realized that more than anything else she was worried about her money. She couldn't get to her bank and this was God's way of pointing that out to her.
Bishop Ward is a good, solid preacher. Shouldn't a bishop be a good preacher? I'm not sure if it is in the "qualifications" to be bishop but it should be--not to the expense of all the other important things, mind you.
Digression: Doesn't the Bible say something about how beautiful are the feet of those that bring good news? A few weeks ago at our called session of Annual Conference, our bishop was wearing sandals and I took a picture of her feet. I'll upload it when I can find my usb cord and let you be the judge.
Our prayer litany used a response from the hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth":
Lord of all, to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.
Bishop Ward is very creative in interweaving hymns and prayer. So far the academy is off to a good start.
**I'm not truly "live-blogging". These are my notes with pencil and paper as I went through the sessions.