MBCC Blog

WMWJA - What meetings would Jesus attend?

Greetings all,

Happy Monday to you all.  Okay, maybe Jesus wouldn't be as concerned with facility issues and classes about a particular church in his day, but who knows how he would react today . . .

We are pretty sure we are moving in some good directions here at MBCC, so we press on trying to be the discern God's will and vision for the church, our roles in it and how we manifest God in the world.

For this reason, I would encourage, prompt, poke you a bit to engage in the life of MBCC in a couple of specific ways.  I mentioned these in last week's eZine, but Leslie and I need to get some more folks confirmed for the following two events.

ONE - Consider getting more involved at MBCC.  If you are committed to finding out more about the Christian faith, have some questions or generally want to find out more about MBCC, you really should attend the three-week series, "Embracing You Inner Bobblehead" lead by Leslie Veen.  From the announcement, " . . . we will be holding three weeks of classes on what it means to be regular attenders of MBCC, how to get more involved in the life and community here, and how to become a member."  [READ MORE]

TWO - If you were at the Town Hall after service two weeks ago, you heard my PLEA for folks to put on their "creativity hat" and be part of the Facilities Task Force that will help think about a fiscal solution to help us stay in and expand our current location.  As they say, no ideas are off the table at this stage so if you are interested, please eMail me with questions and or a commitment to come.  We will be having our first meeting on Saturday, May 3, from 8:00-10:00am at Sundance Coffee on Third Street (Between 20th and 21st).

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop us [leslie] [bruce] a note!

Laters - Bruce

we need you!

For Pentecost in a couple of weeks, we will be filling our worship space with the spirit of the day, including the phrase..."I will pour out my spirit on all people"... in as many languages as I can get.  So, if you speak any language other than English and want to help out with this endeavor, translate this phrase and send it to me at agkkaiser@gmail.com

Thanks! 

Embracing Your Inner Bobblehead

Things are really hopping at MBCC. For several weeks now we've had well over 100 people in our Sunday morning worship services. Among those faces are long-time attendees (well, as long-time as we can get in a highly mobile society). But we've also noticed a large number of newer faces sprinkled in as well. This makes us very happy. We like to welcome new folks into the craziness that is Mission Bay Community Church.

To extend that welcoming spirit even further, we will be holding three weeks of classes on what it means to be regular attenders of MBCC, how to get more involved in the life and community here, and how to become a member. If you would like to explore these topics, please mark your calendars and plan to attend. Attending the classes does not commit you to any hard and fast decision. We would simply like to explore these topics and help those who are ready to join in the craziness at a deeper level to do so.

Here are the important details:

Sunday, May 4, 2008 from 12:30 - 2 pm
"Who You Calling a Bobblehead?"
Explore what makes MBCC what it is and why people are drawn to it.
Light lunch provided.

Sunday, May 11, 2008 from 12:30 - 2 pm
"Set Your Head a Bobbing!"
Find ways to be involved in the life and ministry of MBCC.
Light lunch provided.

Sunday, May 18, 2008 following community potluck until 2:15 pm
"Add Another Head to the Roster"
Discover if membership at MBCC is right for you.
Bring something for the community potluck.

To learn more about these classes or to RSVP you attendance at them, please contact Leslie Veen at leslie at veen dot com.

MBCC: calm in the chaos

Just got this note from someone who used to attend MBCC.

Hi. I moved back to XXXXXXX  just under a year ago after doing some traveling and being a vagabond for about a year. I heard you moved to a new place? How is the ministry going?? I think about you folks pretty often and I should say thank you for being there. It was my comfort place away from home. It was a big breath of fresh air every week to gather and worship, even if it was just for the morning, in such a busy, hectic life in the city.

I get notes like this and all the struggles about stability, longevity, etc. become worth it. For those of us here and now, our call is to continue to be a place where folks find some calm in the midst of chaos.

Sometimes we get it right.

is God in art?

On Saturday, some of us went to see Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005 at the Legion of Honor.  It was a huge show, with almost two hundred photos, and it was so busy.  I was surprised how many people wanted to see art on such a beautiful Saturday. 

The photographs spanned all kinds of photography.  Family portraits were hung next to images documenting wars which were hung next to celebrity cover shots. 

I was in my element.  I love looking at art... and everywhere I looked, I saw God in her photographs.  There was a pair of photos of Annie's partner Susan Sontag's collections, one of shells, one of stones.  A testament to the beauty and variety of creation.  She had been to Rwanda in 1994, either during or just after the genocide.  There was a picture of bloody hand and foot prints, evidence of the massacre of dozens of children in a school.  I saw God weeping, suffering, along with God's children who were tragically murdered.  There was a portrait of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis (though without a label, it wouldn't have been identifiable as such) during Demi's first pregnancy.  It was the most beautiful testament to the beauty of a partnership that brings a child into the world that I have ever seen in art (okay, I exaggerate, but it was incredible).  To me, God was there too.

In art museums, I am notoriously slow.  So, though I started with some of the other MBCC folks, by the end, everyone (besides my faithful husband who is used to my museum pace) was long gone. 

And I always long to hash out art with other folk...

So... if you have seen this show, either with some of us on Saturday, or on your own... what do you think?  Was God present in this artwork?  Were their any theological images?  It is even possible to read the work that way?  Comment... start a discussion.  Or just email me... agkkaiser@gmail.com.

May Book Group: Founding Faith by Steve Waldman

The MBCC Book Group
DATE: Friday, May 2, 2008, 7:00-9:00
LOCATION: The Miner's (Dog Patch)
BOOK: Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America by Steve Waldman.  Book is available at MBCC for $17.50.
FACILITATOR: Bruce

NPR Interview with Steve Waldman

In the past MBCC'ers have gathered around a meal to have some conversation about some great books.  We have touched on all sorts of topics from in the hopes to broaden our understanding and experience of faith. 

Other recent books we have read:

• Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion by Sara Miles
• Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart Eerdman