The Art of the Mask

About 16 years ago, a movie came out that was, well, quite ridiculous. It starred a rising hot actor Jim Carrey and an unknown at the time rising actress Cameron Diaz.

From zero to hero, is a tag line from the movie's trailer.

The synopsis of the movie is this: ordinary man, who can't say no, who works hard, to never catches a break, finds a mas, in a river, and when he puts it on, this ordinary man, suddenly becomes and entirely different person, a superhero type person.

Honestly, this movie is quite obnoxious for is predictable and there isn't much depth to the humor. However, it was one of the movies which launched Jim Carrey's comical career. Oh where would we be with out the Mask?

Stanley Ipkiss is the man Carrey plays who has become discontented with is life and how nothing seems to work out for him. Perhaps he is a little reserved and not as assertive as he should be, but he tries to be nice to everyone he meets. He lives alone and his closest companion is a dog. The fact of the matter is, Stanley Ipkiss isn't much of a social person and no one would consider him to a social butterfly....

Until he finds the mask.

This wooden, green colored mask, Ipkiss finds in the river has these miraculous powers which transforms him into somebody...something else. This once quiet, respectful, reserved banker, soon becomes an arrogant, out of control, thing who is inconsiderate and disrespectful to all of those around him. Not only does his face change from normal to bright green, but his entire persona changes--his personality and everything. This mask, this thing Ipkiss puts his face in to hide his anxiety and fear, turns him into someone, more like something, who is nothing like who he really is. This mask deceives those who know him and it even begins to mislead Ipkiss himself.

All because Ipkiss didn't want to wrestle with the realities of his life.

Ipkiss didn't know how to wrestle with these realities.

Ipkiss compared himself to those around him and wasn't pleased with who he was.

So he got this mask.

Became an entirely different person.

Began to hurt those around him.

Finally, someone had the courage to tell him, you don't need the mask in order to be loved...

In the end, all we really want is to be ourselves.

Free from masks.

Free from expectations.

Free from stereotypes.

Free from prejudices.

Free from the labels people put on us.

Free to be ourselves.

This Sunday we will complete our masks by reflecting and doing the difficult task of self-exploration and listening to what Thomas Merton calls the inner voice within. Too often we only see ourselves by the way others see us. Literally speaking here: who we are is defined by which sport we play, which car we drive, which group of people we hang out with, which brand of clothes we wear, which movies we like, and this list is endless. We put too much emphasis on the exterior of our lives and give too many people too much power over us.

It is our hope then as we begin to listen to the still small voice and become aware of our own poverty within, we will begin to rediscover those things which make us who we are and become rich in hope and peace. Instead of searching for ourselves in the 'doings' of our lives, we want to be found in the 'beings' of our days.

Thomas Merton says, "We are warmed by fire, not by the smoke of the fire. We are carried over the sea by a ship, not by the wake of the ship. So too, what we are is to be sought in the invisible depths of our own being, not in our outward reflection in our own acts. We must find our real selves not in the froth stirred up by the impact of our being upon the beings around us, but in our own soul which is the principle of our acts."

Come then Sunday night as we continue to walk with Christ, holding ourselves up to his mirror and seeing how we have conformed ourselves to the likeness of Christ. Come ready to wrestle, to explore, to pray, to contemplate, and to the difficult task of being ourselves and not being anyone else. Come ready to contemplate why we wear our masks and who tells us to wear them. Come with the good expectations that in the end, we will see who we really are, a child of God, who is in God, who is in us.

Peace to you all.

Food Drive Results

Food Drive Results
In an age when over 1.2 billion people live on a dollar or less a day and during a time when 30,000 children die everyday of hunger, the children and youth of First Presbyterian Church decided to do something about it. In an attempt to bring an awareness of hunger not only in the world but also in the community of Owensboro/Daviess County, our students extended a one day fund raising/awareness event into an entire month long food drive. After making signs, coming up with clever jingles, and discussing hunger, the Kids for Christ, Junior high, and senior high youth began the food drive known as “Souper Bowl of Caring” on Super Bowl Sunday and ended on the 28th of February. Here is what we came up with:

Kids for Christ raised—81.0 pounds of food
Junior High raised—86.8 pounds of food
Senior High raised—46.0 pounds of food

When we began our food drive, we set a goal of raising 100 pounds of canned goods. We went far and above this goal with 213.8 pounds of food raised!

On behalf of the Kids for Christ ministry, Junior high and high school youth group, I want to thank you, the congregation of First Presbyterian Church, for joining with us in assisting in the steps towards ending hunger in our community. We have gathered up the food and put it in the grocery cart, which is parked outside the chapel, and the food will be taken to the H.E.L.P Office. In addition to our 213.8 pounds of food raised, we also raised over $75 which will be donated to the Backpack Ministry.

May we as a church, continue with our compassionate giving in aiding the poor by finding ways to contribute to the need of ending hunger in the community. Perhaps every time you come to the church, whether it be for Morning Prayer, Wednesday book study, choir practices, Circle meetings, or when you come to church on Sundays, you could bring a canned good or drop in some of that loose change you keep in order to by that over priced coffee or soda, and drop it in the money boxes which can be found at the Clinton place entrance and the Griffith avenue entrance.

As a Eucharistic practicing people, may we continue to give to those in our community and the world with our generous hearts and contributions.

Thank you again!

A Community of Fighters Post 1

"No, I do not agree with you. I think what you have to say is completely irrelevant and disconcerting."

About this time, you can feel it, can't you?

You begin to breathe a little heavier.
You notice your heart rate pick up.
Your hands maybe even become sweaty.
You try to speak, and your tongue is heavy and numb.
You feel the steam boiling up within....

The air gets 'thicker'.
You begin to get uncomfortable.
You squirm in your seat.
You might even crack a joke, with hopes it eases the tension...

No one understands you.
You speak up, you voice your opinions, and still, on one 'gets you'.
We know your intentions mean well and their is truth in what you say.
You didn't mean for this to happen...

Perhaps one of the most uncomfortable positions to be in is one where conflict is present.

But why? Why is it when people disagree on something, we become...

Taken aback, feeling as if we are being attacked...
or
Awkward position, so we avoid addressing it by joking with hopes that if we ignore it long enough, the tension will go away....
or
We mean well, we spoke our mind, but we think the world is against us...

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is that we are created uniquely. Not one of us is created the same thus, our thoughts are different. We approach situations differently. Some of us have to problem voicing our opinions, while others of us are a little more reserved and not as 'outgoing' with our thoughts. One is not 'better' than the other and we are who we are. What is important in these situations where opposition may occur, is how we respond, how we present ourselves in conflict, and how we articulate what it is we want to express, not only with our words but with our non-verbal as well. Often times we communicate more with our nonverbal than with our verbal. Our nonverbal communication are things like: facial expressions, body movement and postures, gestures, eye contact, touch, and space. All of the before mentioned expressions have the opportunity to change the mood of a conversation as much as words and the tone of ones voice.

Controlling ourselves is quite important too when we dialogue with one another. Again, the importance of keeping our frustrations under control and hidden, is key to having a good conversation. When we do experience frustrations or something we disagree with, instead of rolling our eyes, throwing our hands up, detaching ourselves from the community and sit with our head down, arms folded, perhaps we need to name our frustration and opposing views. When we see conflict arise, one of the worst ways to deal with it is ignoring it and keeping it to ourselves. You see, the fact of the matter is this, when we live in community, we will experience conflict.

Luke 9.46-56

True Greatness

46 An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. 47But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, 48and said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.’
Another Exorcist

49 John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ 50But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’

A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’* 55But he turned and rebuked them. 56Then* they went on to another village.

Often times we forget we will not always agree with each other. Maybe even at times we forget even those who were with Jesus experience conflict, even within the 12 disciples. What is fascinating about this is that all 3 of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, include this text about the disciples arguing who is the best, greatest, coolest, the ones who's swags are the tightest. They, like us, let their egos get the better of them. They even went as far to say, "Since these folks aren't one of us, can we disown them, stop them, and prevent them from coming to you?" How selfish, right? Jesus holds up the situation and says, "Those who aren't against us, are for us." Although they may not be like us, although they may see the world differently than us, doesn't mean we rule them out and un-friend them on Facebook.

Then there is Paul and Cephas' (Peter) conflict in Galatians...

Paul Rebukes Peter at Antioch
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; 12for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. 13And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?’

When we live together, no matter how good of friends we may be, no matter how alike we see the world, there will be parts of it we won't see eye to eye with, and this is OK!!

Regardless of who it is you are with and regardless if you agree or disagree with them, we are called to love one another. We are called to speak positively of one another, saying nothing which is slandering to ones character. Gossipping and talking behind one another's back will do nothing but bring on disunity a conflict which is quite uglier than what we have recently experienced. Perhaps we are in difficult seasons right now and yes, maybe so and so and I are not on the best of terms, but we still need them in our community. Their and your voices add to the cacophony of voices which speaks good, hopeful, truthful, and loving words to us, your faith community.

Again, it can't be emphasized enough that when you share life with someone, whether it be your brother or sister, mom and dad, boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, conflict will arise and yes, perhaps fights will occur. As frustrating as this may be, as disheartening as this may be, there is hope and good things can come from such disagreements and perhaps heated arguments. It takes maturity, responsibility and learning/knowing how to fight well with grace.

We find our community in a crucial time in our formation as we have come to realize our differences and as we move out of a long period of what some could call, pseudo-community, we will need to begin to wrestle with what a community looks like when we may not see eye to eye on things.

It'll be tough.
It'll be a long journey.

But it is one we can get through, for God is in the midst of what may appear to be chaos.

After all, it was God who brought order and life from chaos.

Until then, love the face of Christ you see in one another and embrace that which we are experience with maturity and grace.

Peace of Christ to you friends.

March 2010 Youth PresbyNotes

March 2010 Youth PresbyNotes

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” asks the beautiful yet narcissistic queen.

Without hesitation, because this question has been asked regularly now for years on end, the mirror replies, “You my queen, are the fairest of them all.”

Most of us know where these famous lines come from, don’t we? We hear them asked in the Disney tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Without going into too much of the plot and all the juicy details, we know Snow White’s mother had wished for a daughter “that had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony". Soon after that, the queen gives birth to a baby girl who has skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony. They name her Princess Snow White. As soon as the child is born, the queen dies.

This then is where we encounter this new queen and her magical mirror. One day when the queen was in front of her mirror she asked the question again, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?”

What started out as any other normal day quickly turned into devastation for this queen as the mirror then replied, “Queen, you are full fair, 'tis true, but Snow White is fairer than you." This happens when Snow White turns sixteen and the queen seeks vengeance and does what she can to make sure Snow White is no longer an option for the mirror but as we know, this too did not happen for even after several attempts to kill Snow White the mirror replied, “You, my queen, are fair; it is true. But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you."

All of this started because of the queen’s infatuation with this mirror. All she apparently cared about was looking the ‘fairest in the all the lands’ and not much else. She was so consumed with her beauty that it became an obsession and led her to act irrationally. This due to what she saw in the mirror.

Our culture has a weird obsession with mirrors, don’t we?

Take some time now and think of where you have seen mirrors in your every day lives.

Bathrooms.
Kitchens.
Many rooms in the house.
Small compact mirrors in our purses.
Mirrors on the walls at the YMCA and other gyms.
Dressing rooms have mirrors.
Some ceilings are mirrors.
Restaurants have mirrors.
Mirrors are in microscopes and telescopes.
Mirrors in cars, on cars, and around cars.

Mirrors, mirrors, everywhere. Mirror, mirror what shall I wear?
Now, think about all the times you stand in front of a mirror.

Brushing your teeth in the morning…and at night.
Washing your face in the morning…and at night.
Putting on our make up…
Checking out our clothes as we walk the cat walk in our own rooms.
Running on those treadmills when you are at the YMCA.
You use the compact mirror during the day after you had lunch to make sure you don’t have food in your teeth.

I’m curious as to the number of hours a person spends in front of the mirror in a lifetime. In fact, if one of you finds out and tells me with proof, you will win $50.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, sometimes you don’t make me feel good at all.

Mirrors reflect. What you see in the mirror is what you get. Some days we are happy by this and other times, not so much. Because we use the mirror to see what is on the outside of ourselves. How strange would it be to have a mirror which can show what we look like on the inside? In fact, perhaps the closest thing we have is that little mirror dentists use to stick in your mouth to check out your molars. Even then, this is quite uncomfortable.

Much like mirrors, we can get hung up on what we see. Often times we judge ourselves by what we see, our own appearances and if we are feeling “good”, we approach the day with perhaps more confidence than if we looked in the mirror and weren’t happy with what we saw. Some days, we wish we would never have had stepped in front of the mirror because of what we knew we’d see.

Lent then is a season which is like a mirror for our lives. For forty days we pray, read, search, and pray some more as we reflect on our lives and examine them. We sort through the lies we have been told, we wrestle with those lies we have believed, and we long for the truths we know but have hidden them deep within our souls. In general, we take a step back from the routines and habits in our lives, to adjust our lives accordingly to the life of Jesus Christ.

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.” ~Luke 4.1-2

This past Sunday in worship we read from the Gospel of Luke and his account of Jesus’ time in the wilderness. For forty days Jesus spent time alone with the wild beats and angels which accompanied him, and he wrestled with the Devil. Temptations were thrown at Jesus where he wouldn’t have to worry about food, where he could be powerful, and he would have all the protection in the world. As this tempter offered him these attractive baits, Jesus responded with truth, confidence, and trust God was with him. Jesus had the opportunity to fall to these temptations, to have his life become quite comfortable, but instead, he resisted. His companions, the Spirit, the Word, and the traditions of his faith comforted him and got him through these forty days.

It has been suggested that perhaps Jesus wasn’t wrestling with a half man, half cow person, who carried a pitch fork, but instead, Jesus was looking in a mirror, a mirror which revealed his heart and wrestled with what was going on internally. Perhaps this is the case and I find it to be life giving as I think about those temptations in my life which cause me loneliness and despair. Greed, unhealthy guilt, lust, selfishness, hatred, bitterness, and the list of ugly words could go don. Instead, Jesus resisted but he didn’t do it alone. He found strength and courage through the Spirit which is always with him and us, through God’s word which reminded Jesus and us of God’s faithfulness and the traditions of his faith as Jesus and yes us too, were reminded of how God loves us. Jesus fasted, prayed, wrestled, and then gained the strength to go about his ministry.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, is it possible that I am beautiful after all?

Yes, yes you are. All of us carry around those things which make us feel as if we are unbearable and there are things we have done and said which were indeed ugly. But the fact of the matter is this, beneath all of these faces we put on and the lies we tell and believe the truth is God loves you the way you are and wants you to be this person at all times. Find those things which bring out your beauty and let your true self shine. In fact, apply them daily to your life as you stand in front of mirror, reflecting on who you are. Stand in front of the mirror and with an erasable marker, write all the words you know are true about yourself: beautiful, funny, creative, kind, caring, selfless, humble, and go until your hand cramps up. Then during this season of Lent, take these words which are truths and share them with those who may perhaps cause you great pain and hurt. Trust and know God loves you and is with you wherever you go.

Friends, Lent is a time to rely on the Spirit to aid you in your exploration of your life as you reflect on where you’ve been. Like a mirror, use this time to consider what adjustments need to be made in order for you to align your life to the calling God has on your life. As you do, you might be surprised at just how beautiful you really are and in fact, those things people get hung up on, like the queen’s thought of Snow White, will not prevent you from being who God has created you to be, no matter how scary this 40 day journey may be.

March 2010 Youth Group Calendar

Thursday 4th – Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8:00pm
Sunday 7th -- Youth Group 5-8 pm (Kirk Night—Kids for Christ Too)—Also we will be heading to the Hermitage to visit with the residence there!
Thursday 11th -- Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8:00pm
Sunday 14th -- Youth Group 5-8 pm
Thursday 18th -- Sanctus Bible Study 6:30-8:00pm
Sunday 21st -- Mission Trip Meeting in Madisonville @ 2pm. Bus will leave at 1pm. All parents are encouraged and all Youth MUST attend.
Destination Unknown 5-8pm
Thursday 25th -- No Bible Study
Sunday 28th – Mission Trip Fundraising Breakfast for Sr. High @ 8am; meet at the church
Easter Egg Hunt will follow the 10:30 service outside in the prayer garden on Psalm Sunday.
Youth Group will be that night from 5-8pm

Happy Birthday to…
4th—Reid Thomas
4th—Brock Brubaker
19th—Adam Quine
22nd—Meredith Zengel
28th-- Jordan Walling and Hallie Walling

Happy birthday gang! I hope you have a great day!
Break Down of the Calendar
March is a pretty laid back month which also finds us in an in-between stage of weather. For most of March we will be on campus participating with the church at our Kirk Night and continuing our Lenten journey as we anticipate Easter morning. Here are a few things to take note of:

March 7th—Kirk Night host by Presbyterian Women as we celebrate the Gifts of Women in our church. Dinner will be served at 5pm and the study will begin. All groups will meet this evening! Around 6:15 we will pile in the bus and head towards the Hermitage Place where we will visit with the residents there. Come ready to have a smashing great time!

March 21st—We have our 2nd Mission Trip meeting and all students are REQUIRED to be there. The meeting will be held in Madisonville and the Madisonville Presbyterian Church. We will leave via the bus at 1 pm and the meeting will begin at 2. We shall return around 5pm. Again parents are encouraged but mission trip participants are REQUIRED!

March 28th—The beginning of Holy Week and we will kick it off by our annual Easter Egg hunt which will happen in the prayer garden, granted the weather is nice. We will gather in the prayer garden following the 10:30 am service. In the mean time, bring in plastic Easter eggs and candy, leaving them in Adam’s study!

March 28th--We are encouraged to eat breakfast every morning and we are also told this is the most important meal of the day. Sometimes it is difficult to grab that bagel, pour that bowl of cereal, or eat the yogurt and granola as you head out the door to start your day. Don’t you worry, the youth ministry will help you out with this important meal. Starting at 9 am on the 28th of March and the 25th of April, the youth will be hosting a pancake breakfast in the fellowship hall to help raise funds for our 2010 mission trip to North Carolina. The meal will be on us but we will be accepting donations. We hope you can attend as we provide an opportunity to start your day off right! (These 2 breakfast dates will be in place of the Annual Sunrise Service Breakfast. There will be NO Sunrise Service breakfast this year.)

April 4th—There will be NO YOUTH GROUP on April 4th. Happy Easter everyone!

Kids for Christ—We are in full swing again KIDS FOR CHRIST and March will be just as exciting for you all. You will meet March 7th and 28th! Some come ready to have a good time, bring a friend, and come hear about how much God loves you!
Events Down the Road
May 15th—All youth are encouraged and invited to attend the Senior Celebration Dinner which will be held at 6pm, Saturday, May 15th. On this particular evening we will be honoring Katie Duncan and Jillian Thomas and their lives as they embark on a new journey in their lives. More information will come soon.

May 15th—Our 2nd Annual Boot Sale will take place in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church to act as a fundraiser for our varied trips. All youth are encouraged and needed to help with this great event from 6:30am-11am Saturday, May 15th.

Students in the News
Congratulations to Sydney and Wil Smith who both made all A’s the past two grading periods. Keep up the hard work!

Congratulations to Jordan Walling who made the All A honor roll at Estes elementary and Hallie Walling who made the All A/B honor roll at Estes elementary. Great work girls!

Congratulations to Sarah Bowley and her recent gymnastic achievements!

Good work to Graham and Katie Duncan, along with their parents, who participated in the KHSAA Sate Swim tournament. Keep up the great swimming!

Congratulations to everyone! Parents and youth, please remember to send me the highlights of your student’s achievements so we can recognize them in our newsletter!
Parents do not forget to check out who is preparing meals for us. You can email Adam or revisit our youth blog to see the list of who has which month. Thanks!