renovations and revolutions

attention interwebbers of america:

i need to learn how to use xml and css style sheets. they're awesome for making my blog look snazzy, but terrible when an uninitiated person such as myself tries to edit the small things in them. thus, the random failures you might see scattered around my new layout.

sorry.

to make up for it, i'll try something new: reading music! below is canadian colin munroe's tribute to u2's anthem of the troubles, "sunday bloody sunday."



lots of interesting news on many fronts today. most relevant to the actual adventure - i'm pretty sure i'm NOT working at the east belfast mission anymore. instead, i've been relocated to kilmakee presbyterian church, which i think is in lisburn, south of belfast (i'm not entirely clear on how the european address system works). i've also discovered who my roommate is, we're sharing a two bedroom flat in the area of our placements. awesome. rob, prepare for good cooking.

obviously, this doesn't change the overall mission of the adventure, but my expectations have certainly been thrown for a loop. first of all, i have to let all of the excited friends, family, and supporters know that things have changed (at least a little), not to mention change all the links on the side of this page. but more importantly, i have much less of an idea what the immediate needs of the church are...east belfast mission had a fantastic website and loads of community programs (and was in the heart of urban belfast). kilmakee has considerably less information readily available - not that that's a bad thing, just frustrating for someone like me that's preparing for a year-long job there.

i did, however, discover the blog of the current kilmakee yav, megan. it's available on the yav website, along with this special feature of her latest mission, a one-act play! hopefully, poring over megan's posts will give me some idea of what to expect. but, i also am reminded of something we talked about at our discernment event in march: each year is something new, and each yav brings individual gifts and talents to the table. rev. doug baker, our site coordinator, told me today that the church is excited to have a guy serving as their yav for the first time in a while, and have some 'special ideas' to explore, given that i'm the guy they're excited about.

interesting. in summation, as much as i can prepare for this adventure, i really will have no idea what to expect come september.

on other fronts, derek webb's new album, stockholm syndrome, was released (sort of) today! more excellent music from the former caedmon's call guitarist. he's famous (infamous, i guess) for saying exactly what's on his mind, and for an artist recording on a christian label, has a history of writing some decidedly "non-christian" lyrics. i say that very carefully, because honestly, i believe a lot of what he has to say is exactly what jesus would talk about. what i really mean there is he's not passionate and worshipful (chris tomlin), delicate and gentle (nichole nordeman), or outwardly jesus-y (third day). webb's earlier records are (at least musically) reminiscent of his time with caedmon's call, with folksy guitar, prominent vocals, and smart, reformed-tradition-inspired lyrics. there were always tracks, though, that caused a bit of a stir:

from "wedding dress"
I am a whore I do confess/ But I put you on just like a wedding dress
and I run down the aisle/ and I run down the aisle
I'm a prodigal with no way home/but I put you on just like a ring of gold
and I run down the aisle to you

So could you love this bastard child/Though I don't trust you to provide
With one hand in a pot of gold/and with the other in your side

from "king and a kingdom"
there are two great lies that i’ve heard:
“the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die”
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican
and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him

point is, he's definitely not your average christian lyricist. and he's made a lot of people angry. really angry. in fact, during one concert, that part of "king and a kingdom" caused about half of his audience to up and leave (and miss some really good music). but this new record tops them all. first, it's incredibly different musically than anything derek's released before. it sort of reminds me of the postal service, if ben gibbard suddenly got really angry at mainline christians, and wanted them to change for the better. but here's the rub:

from "what matters more"
You say you always treat people like you like to be
I guess you love being hated for your sexuality
You love when people put words in your mouth
'Bout what you believe, make you sound like a freak
...
Meanwhile we sit just like we don't give a s#!t
About 50,000 people who are dyin' today

he just threw all the rules about contemporary christian music out of the window. after they hit the ground, someone ran them over with a prius. i love it.

buy the album. listen a lot. share it.

love and peace or else,
andy