A new adventure

For a couple of years I have been contemplating what it would be like to thing through and write about the lectionary readings for the entire three year cycle. You should know that I am not a minister - in fact, I'm nobody. I have a college education and I have had the benefit of a number of friends and mentors who are ministers - or who were educated in seminary.

One of the key things that I've been taught is that one should always state their bias so the reader can process what you read knowing the spin you are likely to put on the content. So to that end you should know that as of this writing I am a 41 year old Caucasian gay man. I grew up in rural North Carolina. I graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in 1986. I graduated from Mars Hill College in 1990. I am a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC - although I do not actively attend at this time. I love ideas and I enjoy reading. I feel that each of us are the hands of God in our world.

I have an evangelical Baptist background - although through the years I have come to a number of different conclusions about what I have been taught in the past. I value a number of spiritual traditions including the practice of Buddhism although I would not count myself as a practitioner.

My life was marked early by the death of family members. My grandfather died when I was eight. My father passed when I was in my early twenties. I have lost a grandmother and two aunts who meant the world to me. The most difficult loss was the death of my partner of almost 11 years to cancer on January 2nd, 2007.

There are many other things that influence how I think and how I view the world but I think you will be able to get a sense of some of my major biases from these broad brush strokes. I will try to remember to call attention to any biases that show up in my writings as I go along - and of course you are welcome to point out what you think may be unacknowledged biases should you feel so moved.

So why now - after thinking about this for so long, why would I choose today to create this blog? The answer is very simple. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the beginning of the church year. I realized all this when I pulled up the Revised Common Lectionary provided as a service of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. I realized as I read today's materials that it is too late to comment on this week's materials in any well thought out way so I will try to do two this week. I will add a post to kick off the blog just so you will have a feeling of what is to come.

I realized that this undertaking is very much like the story line of the movie "Julie and Julia." Where the main character sets a goal to cook through the entire collection of recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking in only one year. Well the lectionary cycle is THREE years. I hope you will be forgiving if I miss a week here or there - but let me know if this matters to you. As we all know there are many things worth doing that are easier to stick to if others care about it too.

Enough for this inaugural post... To the next three years!