Kudos to the CPH Bookstores

In college I hated dealing with the bookstore at Seward (not owned by the university, but by our foodservice company). The only thing decently priced their was CUNE gear (T-Shirts, gifts, etc). Their prices on textbooks were outrageous. They also regularly put out flyers that claimed that it was cheapper to buy and sell books in the bookstore.

That of course, was an outright lie. If you’ve ever priced textbooks, the bookstore is normally the last place you want to go. For my last two years at Seward I bought a total of three books from the bookstore. Everything else was purchased from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Half.com. I even sold books online. In some cases, due to the market, I was actually able to make money on textbook sales. I made detailed spreadsheets and showed them to the bookstore manager but she continued in her lies. Oh well… I didn’t have to shop there.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got to the seminary with the bookstore being run by CPH. I’d always had positive experiences in dealing with bookstore personel (at the Seward CPH warehouse sale). In fact, I really enjoyed getting to know the manager who came up from St. Louis. We still greet each other on a first name basis to this day. But what about the prices? I started pricing books and realized that whether I was buying a CPH book or a book from another publisher I was going to get a good price from the Sem bookstore. In most cases book prices were right at the online price or maybe a buck or two more. In that case the higher cost was worth it for convienence sake.

Another plus of working with the sem bookstore was their helpfulness. They always were willing to order books for me and were always friendly. In fact, I had a great conversation yesterday with one of the bookstore employees I’ve known for a while when I called to order something.

Overall… great job CPH. You have fine bookstores and fine employees.

Library Philistine

I’ve been a library philistine most of my life. While I would check out books from our school library in elementary and middle school, in high school I barely checked out any books. Why? Because my family generally has the attitude, “If it is good enough to read it is good enough to buy.” We didn’t have many luxury items in our family (including Grandma and Grandpa). We never had cable or satalite TV, never had a big TV, and I only had a game boy with a few games. But what we did have was books. They were the most common gift in our family. I am so thankful that all my family instilled in me a love of reading and of books in general.

In college my library usage wasn’t the best either, although in a more academic setting it did become necessary. Pleasure reading took a big hit during my college years so I didn’t accumulate many more books to read in that area.

When I hit the seminary I started working in the library. One advantage of working in the back of the library was that I was exposed to nearly all of the new books that were added to our library’s collection. I have a list of well over 50 books that I would like to read just from our CSL Library. One downside to working in an academic library is that you turn into a bit of a library snob. I would go with my wife to the local public library branch and would practically have a fit trying to find stuff. Haven’t these people heard of shelf reading?? And don’t even get me started on the dewey decimal system.

Now on vicarage things have taken a turn. I have plenty of theology books to read. My pile is ever growing. At the same time, the number of “Pleasure Reading” books that I have to read has dwindled. What to do? Buy more? Soon after we arrived we ventured out to the Mead Public Library in Sheboygan to check things out. What a great library! This library has a very large collection and is well organized. We’ve started checking out movies from there and Lisa and I have both started checking out books. I’ve found some great history books to read. I’ve actually got another list started of books from the Mead library to read.

In short, I’m trying to amend my philistine ways. I’m checking out more books and only buying books that I’d like to add to our permanent collection in the Powell household. Hopefully my progress will continue.

What does a seminarian/vicar listen to?

Ever wonder what a seminarian listens to on his iPod?

Here is your chance to find out!

I actually use my iPod for a number of things. I do watch movies and tv shows on it occasionally, especially on trips. I wasn’t sure if I would like the small screen, but I’m sold on it now. I also listen to my CDs that I’ve put on it over the years: rock, alternative, rap, classical, comedy, R&B, movie soundtracks, to name a few of the genres. The only thing not represented: country. Sorry… I can’t listen to it. My wife can, but I can’t handle it.

The other big use for my iPod is for podcasts. Here are the podcasts that I currently listen to (by category) with a few notes:

Theology:

• Issues, etc. I’ve been listening to Issues, etc. since 2003 via web streaming and podcasts. Great show with great topics. I have both the old show (pre-cancelation) and the new show on my iPod. 
• Chapel Sermons from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Before vicarage I was in chapel everyday. Even then I still had some sermons I’d go back and listen to again.
• Seeds of Faith Podcast
• Redeemer Lutheran Church Sermons
• Higher Things Radio
• The God Whisperers
• Necessary Roughness

Educational:

• Car Talk. My mom and I would often listen to NPR’s Car Talk while driving home from church. When it came out as a podcast… who could resist? Lisa and I normally save up episodes and listen to them on trips. Yes… we have listened to five straight hours of Click and Clack.
• USGS Corecast. This is a rather new edition that was added to my podcast feeds after the small earthquake that happened last spring in St. Louis. While surfing the USGS website I found the podcast. Very understandable and reasonably short.
• PotterCast
• MuggleCast.

Technology

• Typical Mac User Podcast
• MyMac Magazine Podcast
• Mac Roundtable Podcast
• MacCast (Enhanced)
• MacWorld Podcast
• MacWorld Video Podcast

Now please don’t think that I listen to every episode of all of these podcasts. Many sit in my iTunes directory for a while only to have me delete them…. that is especially true for the Harry Potter and the technology podcasts.

Vicarage!

It is official. I have my vicarage assignment!

Lisa and I are heading to Trinity Lutheran Church, Howards Grove, Wisconsin. More later. We are incredibly excited about what awaits us when we move next month.

Remembering Collective Shame

Remembering Collective Shame

I would encourage you to check out the above link to go to an article by Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto.

I’m a history student and the above article hits home. Why did Hitler rise to power? It was because of a poor economy and national shame after World War I. The people wanted the hope and change that Hitler offered, even ignoring his clear anti-semitism. What is Obama campaigning on? Hope, Change, and the economy. Millions are ignoring the fact that a vote for Obama is a vote for death. Obama has been an accomplice to the murder of millions of children. 

Kyrie Eleison

Chapel Ablaze?

Part of my duties as sacristan include dealing with the candles in the chapel. This morning before our chapel service I was working on an older candle, trying to get it to fit into the stand that holds it for our evening prayer services. Eventually I got it to fit, put the brass follower on top, and realized that it needed to burn for a bit for it to settle correctly. I went ahead and lit the candle (as I have done probably 50 times… in the sacristy), let it burn for a bit, and then lit my candle lighter, extinguished the candle, and went to light the candles in the chancel.

As I exited the sacristy… the fire alarms went off. Sure enough, the small amount of smoke from extinguishing the candle set off the fire alarm in the chapel. I have to say… it is effective! Incredibly loud! Thankfully, a seminary maintenance supervisor was in the building and shut it off quickly. I fessed up immediately and retreated to the vestry to get the student ready for the service. In doing so, I missed the fire department arriving. Two trucks and the chief. 

Thankfully, my boss got a good chuckle out of the whole situation. No harm, no foul. The only think… I was the brunt of many jokes in my post-chapel class.

Debate Tonight

In about thirty minutes I’m heading with Lisa to the seminary to pick up a friend. From there we are off to the Chaifetz Arena at Saint Louis University to watch the debate on the big screens at the Republican Debate Watch Party/Rally. I know a number of other folks from the seminary community are heading there too. 

I know that things will be a zoo around the sem campus because of our location just down the street from Washington University. A staging area is located on the old CBC campus and they are prepared to host overflow parking at the seminary.

Check out Respublica for more info on all the activity that has happend around St. Louis… including a robbery of a bank just down the street from the seminary. The thief was caught on the sem campus. Apparently he didn’t notice the line of police cars down the street from the bank…. or the constant helicopter overflights. Oops.

Carrier Trip Video

From KETC, LIVING ST. LOUIS Producer Anne-Marie Berger traveled to California for a special tour of the USS John C. Stennis, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. As guests of the U.S. Navy, Anne-Marie, photojournalist Scot Page and KETC board member Jeffrey McDonnell began their visit at the Naval Air Station on North Island in San Diego. From there, they flew in a C-2 cargo plane that landed directly on the Stennis, 100 miles off the coast. After 36 hours on board, they were catapulted off of the carrier’s flight deck.

In most shots I’m in a blue jacket with white stripes on the sleeves. I’ll hopefully post some of my own video in the future.

Heresy

One of the more humorous parts about being a seminary student is how quickly we can turn on each other.

One example: During Confessions II today, where we are discussing the Formula, my very good friend asks a question about the Two Nature’s of Christ. In the process of asking a hypothetical question, he clearly stated a heresy from the early church (or a combination of two ancient heresies). While we knew what he was asking about and we knew he did not subscribe to that heresy, we of course turned on him like a pack of wolves. In fact, you could probably hear in the background students gathering wood and a torch to burn him. The worst thing is when you are the one talking and you realize that you are going to spout heresy… but it’s too late to stop. You just prepare to be pummeled.

What does a seminarian do over break?

Ever wonder what a seminarian does over break? Do you think that we lock ourselves up in our rooms/houses, eagerly awaiting the start of the next term? Well, yeah… some of us look forward to class… but we also have lives outside of the seminary.

What am I doing this break (two weeks between end of spring term and start of summer term)?

First, I’m helped out at a wonderful church in Southern Illinois last weekend and I will be preaching this next weekend at my home church. This will be my third time helping out there… and my first time preaching… ever! While I am certainly nervous about this… I’m also excited about this opportunity.

Second, I’m doing a lot of work with the American Red Cross. I’ve been a lifeguard instructor for about six years now. I’ve since expanded out to nearly all the available first aid and CPR courses that the Red Cross offers. Yesterday and today I helped with a lifeguarding course at SLU. Tomorrow is a day of rest and preparation. Thursday I teach a First Aid and CPR course at a Lutheran Camp. Friday I will help with testing and skills tests at a lifeguard class.

Saturday I head with my wife to see my grandfather who is having is oil changed… aka… getting a new defibrillator. This will be his third one. Please keep him in your prayers… his name is Elvis (how cool of a name is that!). With this visit to Central MO comes preaching at my home church.

Then the big event begins on Monday… I’m still not entirely sure if the “big event” will happen… so I’m not going to talk about it. If it does… I’ll be posting pictures and videos. All I can say and ask is that you keep me in your prayers as I will be partaking in something that has an “inherent risk of injury or death.” Don’t worry… I will be with trained professionals. 

Then… back to class. Lutheran Confessions II, John and the Catholic Epistles, and (pending approval) Christian Initiation (a independent study course looking at Christian initiation rites and working toward a faithful Lutheran practice of the catechumenate). 

Are we a cult?

Cult:

• a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object : the cult of St. Olaf.
• a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister : a network of Satan-worshiping cults.
• a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing : a cult of personality surrounding the leaders.

Now the question… are we, the Holy, Catholic, and Apostlic Church a cult?

This question got posed to me in my contemporary cults class at CUNE. The general consensus of the class, after some debate was, “Yes, we are a cult.. and that’s okay.”

I started thinking more about this on Friday as I gave a presentation in my Teaching the Catechism with Luther class. I’ve been researching the early church catechumenate, specifically focusing on the mystagogical preachers, Ambrose of Milan, Cyril of Jerusalem, Chrysostom, and Theodore of Mopsuestia. I’m also studying Augustine, since he was a catechumen under Ambrose. As I was describing the early church rituals surrounding the catechumenate, specifically focusing on the Lenten discipline, the Easter Vigil, and the subsequent Mystagogy (preaching on the mysteries), I brought up the secrecy and the mystery that surrounded the church. This was not discouraged, but was encouraged by the Fathers. They didn’t want people to know, prior to Baptism, what took place with the Sacrament. They were encouraged to keep the creed amongst the baptized and not let it “get out.” A fourth-year said, “This sounds awfully cult-like,” to which I responded, “Yup… and I think that’s okay.” I also said, “think about it… we make exclusive claims about salvation, are a relatively small group (the invisible church), we have an exclusive object of our faith (Jesus Christ), and we do things that are considered strange (pouring water on a baby’s head and drinking small sips of wine and eating small pieces of bread).”

Yup… I think we are a cult… and that’s okay.

What do you think?

Desk of a seminarian

Some time ago Pastor Weedon posted some nice pictures of his study. However, being the seminarian that I am… I don’t have a study. I have a computer desk that I share with my wife, a kitchen table, and a study carol (which I am eternally thankful for). My wife tolerates my organizational method… stacks of books. An example follows. I’m not sure exactly how many books are stacked on there… but I know at least one English Bible, a Biblia Hebraica, three volumes of Pieper, two Hebrew grammars, and probably 50 pages of copies. Oh… and some Luther!

Library Fun!

Check out the library thing blog with two great games. One is a Library of Congressing book reshelving game and the other is a reference desk type game.

Library Thing

Liturgical Beauty

We normally sings the Psalms unaccompanied in the chapel at the seminary. There is great beauty in this with the entire congregation singing in unison. What makes it even better is the Gloria Patri at the end. There is always a change in volume as a large portion of the congregation bows its head reverencing the Holy Trinity and then an increase in volume as the words “as it was in the beginning” are said.

Pure beauty.

Ack! Christian News

The words that no seminarian ever wants to hear are: “You’ve made Christian News!”

A friend of mine from Ft. Wayne, vicaring up in Wisconsin calls me this afternoon and utters those very words. The various four-letter words that came to my mind are not for print. Thankfully the mention of me (by way of this blog) was just in a list of Lutheran blogs that the publisher prints from time to time.

Whew…

Sacristan Dream

I’m the new Sacristan for the Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. I took over from Tutal. A sacristan does many things including taking care of the preperations for daily chapel services and general duties around the chapel.

Last night I had a dream that I showed up right before chapel on a Wednesday (our normal time to celebrate the Lord’s Supper) and I had somehow forgot that we were having it that day. Instead of waiting until I finished preparing the altar area they started chapel and things went crazy. Also, for some reason there were like six professors involved instead of the normal three. Very weird…

Paul Gerhardt – Meyer Minute

Posted from the “Meyer Minute” that Pres. Dale Meyer sends out daily:

Today is the 400th anniversary of the birth of hymn writer Paul Gerhardt. Born March 12, 1607 , Gerhardt experienced terrible suffering. His childhood home was destroyed in the Thirty Years War, a war that killed over 20% of Germany ’s population. Gerhardt’s wife and four of his five children died from disease. Struggles between the government and church cost him his job. So when this hymn writer wrote about troubles in life, he knew whereof he spoke.

“Entrust your days and burdens / to God’s most loving hand; / He cares for you while ruling / the sky, the sea, the land. / For He who guides the tempest / along their thunderous ways / will find for you a pathway / and guide you all your days.” Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto contrasts that Gerhardt verse to the following contemporary Christian ditty: “He is able more than able / To accomplish what concerns me today/ He is able more than able / To handle anything that comes my way.” Which song offers more substance to support you in times of trouble?

Christian Moeller says Gerhardt belonged to an era “which was attentive to doctrinal clarity, and therefore sang with clarity. I do wish the days of doctrinal clarity came back…leading to more clarity in people’s lives and song.” (“The Lutheran Witness,” March, 2007; pp. 24-25).

Copyright (c) Dale A Meyer 2007
http://www.daleameyer.com

Paul Gerhardt Hymn Festival

Paul Gerhardt Hymn Festival
March 18, 2007
3:00 p.m.
Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Concordia Seminary will hold a Paul Gerhardt Hymn Festival on Sunday, March 18, at 3:00 p.m. in The Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. The festival will commemorate the work of Lutheran hymn writer Paul Gerhardt, in celebration of the 400th anniversary of his birth.

Participating in the celebration will be the Concordia Seminary Chorus and Pro Musica Sacra, under the direction of Rev. Henry V. Gerike, and eight guest organists from Lutheran churches in the St. Louis area. The service will include commentary and Scripture readings, in addition to hymns.

Song of the Gospel, Vol. 2—Chorale Preludes on the Hymns of Paul Gerhardt, published by Concordia Publishing House, will be released and available for purchase at a reception in the Seminary’s library following the festival.

A buffet banquet, featuring guest speaker Carl Schalk, Lutheran composer, professor and historian, will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Wartburg Dining Hall. Tickets to the banquet cost $18.

Born in Gräfenhainichen, Germany, in 1607, Paul Gerhardt was one of the greatest hymn writers of the church. He authored over 100 hymns that are still being sung throughout the world today, including “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” “O Lord, How Shall I Meet You?” and “Awake, My Heart, with Gladness.” In addition to being the most well-known German hymnist next to Martin Luther, Gerhardt was a faithful and orthodox Lutheran pastor who served amidst much turmoil and adversity.

For more information or to order banquet tickets, please contact Seminary Relations, Concordia Seminary, 801 Seminary Place, St. Louis, MO 63105; (314) 505-7370; SemRelations@csl.edu.

Banquet Reservation Form

St. Louis 80 – Ft. Wayne 50

I’m proud (but not too proud) that the Concordia Seminary Preachers defeated the Concordia Theological Seminary King’s Men 80-50. It was a great game to watch. The Seminary Chorus sang the National Anthem before the game, the brass choir served as the pep band, and the stands were full. The half-time “show” was a two-on-two basketball game between a team  made up of Drs. Gibbs and Voelz and a team made up of Drs. Marrs and Raabe. Drs. Gibbs and Voelz schooled Marrs and Raabe.

All in all a good game. Props to Ft. Wayne for playing hard and making this one of the best basketball games this year.

Concordia Seminary and iTunes

If you haven’t heard already Concordia Seminary has partnered with Apple to get set up on iTunes U. You can either download directly to iTunes or you can subscribe to items as podcasts. In addition, there are video files to be downloaded in addition to some documents. Most files you can download in a high or low quality if you have bandwith problems. To access this media go to the seminary website, look at the right hand column and click on iTunes U. You can also access it directly by clicking here. The links don’t always play nice with Firefox (they’re working on it) so I encourage you to use Safari (for those blessed with a mac) and IE for those who must trudge though life on a PC.

Here is what is currently available on iTunes:

• Semcast: A dialogue between our President, the Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer and various professors and church men from around the world. Topics have included Old and New Testament perspectives on homosexuality, the Da Vinci Code, and Pastoral Formation.
• Theological Symposium 2006: Files from our 2006 symposium that was centered around the topic of “Recapturing a Full-Bodied Theology of the Resurrection: Christ and Our’s.”
• Lutheran Confessions: An Overview: This is an opportunity for a person to go through the Lutheran Confessions with Drs. Charles Arand and Robert Kolb.
• Dellinger Lecture 2006: Cal Thomas was the presenter. Evaluate for yourself… I haven’t had a chance to listen to this yet.
• Convocation 2006: There is only one file up now… Dr. Charles Gieschen from Ft. Wayne presenting on “Antichrist: Has the Biblical Evidence Been Left Behind?” I’m sure more files will be posted as we have more convocations.
• Chapel sermons: This is self-explanatory.

Professors have also begun using iTunes U for coursework. This also includes our Greek and Christian Doctrine pre-seminary courses. The current courses up on iTunes U include Hebrew Readings and Exodus and the Torah.

The final section of our iTunes U site is “Congregational Resources.” This section includes:

• Lectionary at Lunch: A group of professors who go through the lectionary readings for the following week. Highly recommended.
• Lay Bible Institute: Evaluate yourself. I haven’t checked this one out.
• Hebrew Club: Evaluate yourself. I haven’t checked this one out.
• Evangelism DVD Project: Evaluate yourself. I haven’t checked this one out.