Daily Information Journal

Date: 9-23-19


6:00 am

Work up, check social media (FB, Twtr, IG), Apple news, caught up on Twins score, etc.

Church Website Quest

For each of the communities I visited, I will apply Anderson/Drescher’s approach to “LACE,” found in chapter 4, practicing the arts of digital ministry.

Social Media Mapping

My accounts: Facebook (contribute to), Instagram (ct), Twitter (ct), FacebookPage (ct), ClassDojo (ct), Nextdoor (ct/read), OfferUp (ct/r), MoundsView (r), Linked-in (r), REI (r), Yelp (r), Podbean (r), CraigsList (r), Vimeo (no longer visit), Youtube (nlv), Spotify (nlv), MySpace (nlv)

My Digital Story - Final Project

I made this as a final project for one of my Seminary courses. It's so fun to put all these elements together to illuminate or create new meaning...



I wrote the song in the video. Here are the lyrics...

Here We Are

V1:
Here we are, we gather here
Frail and unsure, we will sing your praise
Here we are, as one we’re here
Broken and scattered, we lift your name

Pre-Chorus 1:
We’ll see what your love can do
Show us what your love can do

Chorus:
You make sweet music from our broken melody
You do great things, though we refuse to see
You offer love through our cold and callused hands
Bind our hearts and unite our voices, we are here

V2:
Here we are, you call us here
Frail and unsure, you empower all
Here we are, unraveled ones
Broken and scattered, you make us whole

Pre-Chorus 2:
Bring us into your life
Lord, we give you our life

Bridge:
Bring us together then send us out
It’s not about who’s in or out

Over the course of exploring the final project, this original song became new to me, It became a way of understanding the Spirit's work through our social media presence and interactions to bring us together with a more meaningful sense of unity. The vast difference between community and conformity.

Break Free Into Community: A Theological Reflection

Sadness lurks, darkness falls, loneliness stifles. Tears of despair swell, frustration & anger burn. Something is wrong... But wait. Hold up… Joy arriving, shadow lifting, community responding. Tears of hope flow, triumph and agency build. All is right… for now.

No Better Than Me

[originally posted on the Faith Luther Church site on November 20, 2019... I few edits have been made] On Tuesday, as I was leaving my house for the day, knowing I was going to spend time out of doors, in the elements, walking through tough terrain, I remember struggling to find the right gear to wear. “Which hat should I wear? How many layers can I handle? Do I need to bring dry stuff to change into? Puffy coat or wool?” I finally settled on what I thought I needed and drive into the office. The whole day, before I left, I wondered if I had brought enough of the right kind of gear to be warm and dry as I trounced through the woods and city streets, meeting people experiencing chronic homelessness and hearing about the dream of tiny homes.

A Meme is Worth a Thousand (+1) Words

For this assignment, I was asked to choose between an infographic or a meme.

(From Dr. Hess) A meme is a more complicated kind of visual graphic to produce, because it has an ironic, comedic, or in some other way “snarky” dynamic. Humor is a difficult dynamic to engage, particularly in an era of context collapse, in part because humor depends on crossing boundaries. That being said, it can also be a very spreadable kind of information.

If You Love Me, Don't Let Go

The basic assignment for this creative production was to find a psalm that I like and use it as the basis of my creation. For an extra challenge, I used a piece of music which is not explicitly religious (as if we could keep God out of this anyway!) and paired it with the psalm text to evoke new and expanded layers of meaning. In so doing, I wanted to make the psalm more accessible to people who are less familiar with them.

Photo Exercise

For this seminary course exercise, I was encouraged to set a timer for 2 hours and repeat it throughout the day. Each time the timer went off, I snapped a picture of something nearby that caught my attention, something creative or beautiful, a place where God's creative action seemed to reveal itself. It was a full day, and at the end of it I had about 7 pictures from which to choose. I could pick no more than 3 photos, and I could use no more than 3 words to describe each choice. Here is what I finally settled into (read further down for my reflection)...

Post #1: An All Saints Sunday Reflection (Really? ALL of them?)

This is it! I set it up, finally. I think I had a blog, once, way back. Maybe I set one up and didn't use it that often. But it's been so long and I've switched over to so many other devices over the years, and I'm sure I've lost all my logins. It's probably gone the way of MySpace or my Match.com profile (now that I'm married)... Oh well, this time it's for real. I can feel it.