My friend Winston at the Teahouse had this on his site. It is wonderful!!!
Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.
Go to Dancing Matt's site or here for more info on Dancing Matt.
Another one
Another death by ruptured aorta. Slobodan "Slobo" Ilijevski died Monday. My birthday, oddly. He was 58.
I remember watching this guy play soccer in the '80s. He was a goalie for the indoor soccer team in St. Louis. I remember wanting to buy his jersey. I've always been more attracted to defenders. The glory always goes to those who score goals, runs, or points of any kind. Defense is usually under appreciated. He was so fun to watch. He, and the rest of the Steamers were a part of the reason I love soccer so much.
It is such a strange feeling to read about deaths like this. I mean, there is the obvious grief of reading about the death of someone you remember from your youth. But with a death like this, there is so much more. He died of something I have survived multiple times. Saying "Man, I was lucky" gets really old after a while. The fact that I am still alive is unfathomable. All i can do is shake my head, go get more coffee, and get ready for physical therapy.
Well, that and say a prayer for his family and a prayer of thanksgiving for mine. I am really lucky and chances are, if you are reading this, you are part of my family and I love you very much.
Maybe I'll try to work through more of this later. But for now, Suzanne is coming. Time for PT.
I remember watching this guy play soccer in the '80s. He was a goalie for the indoor soccer team in St. Louis. I remember wanting to buy his jersey. I've always been more attracted to defenders. The glory always goes to those who score goals, runs, or points of any kind. Defense is usually under appreciated. He was so fun to watch. He, and the rest of the Steamers were a part of the reason I love soccer so much.
It is such a strange feeling to read about deaths like this. I mean, there is the obvious grief of reading about the death of someone you remember from your youth. But with a death like this, there is so much more. He died of something I have survived multiple times. Saying "Man, I was lucky" gets really old after a while. The fact that I am still alive is unfathomable. All i can do is shake my head, go get more coffee, and get ready for physical therapy.
Well, that and say a prayer for his family and a prayer of thanksgiving for mine. I am really lucky and chances are, if you are reading this, you are part of my family and I love you very much.
Maybe I'll try to work through more of this later. But for now, Suzanne is coming. Time for PT.
Return to work.
Well, I went back to work/church today. It was a nice time. I started the day off with Eucharist. Junior Female Pastor prayed over me. I then wandered around the city and ran some errands. When I got back to work/church, I sat in with Junior Male Pastor (JMP) and talked. Now, JMP and I have become pretty close. It is weird to discover that someone that you look up to as a mentor looks up to you too. JMP and I had a long conversation about my recent adventures. Turns out, he was pretty shook up about the whole thing. Of course, the entire staff was, but JMP and I worked together the closest and spent the most time together. He has spent quite a bit of time pastoring sick folk. So, when lovely wife Mo told him how sick I'd gotten, he began to fear the worst. Turns out, that every time my name was mentioned in the staff meetings, everyone sort of held their breath, anticipating the worst. JMP talked to me about how simply surviving such an ordeal was a ministry to him. He told me I was his hero. He talked to me about how he saw such great faith in me; it took great faith to fight the illness. So often, he'd see people who would ask "Pastor, why doesn't God just take me to him? Why does he keep me here?" He told me how it took great faith on my part to fight to come back. Maybe someday I'll understand that comment. I kinda do, but I think I need to sit with it for a while.
So, after lunch, it was time for the noon service. Senior Pastor talked about his vacation; he and his wife went on a cruise to Alaska! Now, to be fair, this was his first vacation in over three years and it also was their 40th anniversary. So, don't start with the "Never trust a pastor with more than two suits" rhetoric. Anyway, after that we went into his office and talked about the ordination process. I won't bore you with the details, but I have a TON of work to do! But the conversation drifted a bit and I told him the story about the healing service in my hospital room. We started discussing it. We also talked about prayer. He asked" what exactly is it that happens?" "How does it work?" Part of me wishes I knew. Another part is glad it remains a holy mystery. Perhaps that's a cop out. If it is, too bad. I'm tired. I had a busy day at church/work today!
So, after lunch, it was time for the noon service. Senior Pastor talked about his vacation; he and his wife went on a cruise to Alaska! Now, to be fair, this was his first vacation in over three years and it also was their 40th anniversary. So, don't start with the "Never trust a pastor with more than two suits" rhetoric. Anyway, after that we went into his office and talked about the ordination process. I won't bore you with the details, but I have a TON of work to do! But the conversation drifted a bit and I told him the story about the healing service in my hospital room. We started discussing it. We also talked about prayer. He asked" what exactly is it that happens?" "How does it work?" Part of me wishes I knew. Another part is glad it remains a holy mystery. Perhaps that's a cop out. If it is, too bad. I'm tired. I had a busy day at church/work today!
Hospital thoughts
This is part of a larger piece that I am working on. It is a "spiritual biography." Whatever that is... Anyway, when I think part of it might be of interest to a larger audience, I'll put it up here. Feel free to comment. I'd like to know what you think!
My memory tells me the pastor wore a white robe. My wife tells me she wore a pink shirt and slacks. I remember that she was at the head of the bed with my whole family, including in-laws arrayed about my hospital bed, laying their hands on me. My memory is correct about that. They tell me that despite the tube down my throat, I mouthed the words to the service. That doesn’t surprise me; I had done this service before, so I knew it well. What I remember most clearly is the anointing. She had her hands on me, and then she took a balm of some sort and made the sign of the cross on my forehead. I remember feeling a wonderful warmth come over my body and a sensation of light going through me, piercing my chest and going skyward. I could actually feel the light! As it flowed through me and out my chest, it didn’t cause pain, it made me feel better. It was a feeling I had not felt before but somehow, I knew exactly what it was. I hesitate to name it for fear of minimizing it, somehow limiting it. It is indescribable, impossible to understand, but I think most call it the Holy Spirit.
My Friend Jerry
Rev. Gerald E. Forshey 1932 ~ 2008
Please keep his wife Florence and his family in your prayers. We give thanks for the opportunity to have known Jerry and for the effect he has had on our lives and ministries.
Rest well Jerry. You, of all people, deserve it.
Clergyman strove for social justice
By Trevor Jensen
Chicago Tribune
May 22, 2008
Rev. Gerald E. Forshey, an activist Methodist pastor who regularly questioned church hierarchy and once spent five days in a Mississippi jail for trying to integrate local congregations, was also a film and art scholar who taught in the City Colleges of Chicago.
Rev. Forshey, 75, died of cancer at his La Grange home Saturday, May 17, said his wife, Florence.
Rev. Forshey came to Chicago in 1958 as pastor of Armitage Avenue Methodist Church. He also served a number of Chicago's United Methodist congregations, including as an associate pastor at St. Mark United Methodist Church in the Chatham neighborhood.
In 1963, Rev. Forshey was among 12 people, four of them Chicago-area Methodist ministers, arrested in Jackson, Miss., for trying to lead blacks into three local churches.
"For him, justice was the issue whether it was in the church or on the public square," said Rev. Philip Blackwell, senior pastor of the Chicago Temple.
In the late 1960s, Rev. Forshey was an outspoken member of a group of clergy called the Renewal Caucus that sought to effect change in the Methodist church from within. One offshoot of this group met regularly to consult on appointments made by the church's bishop.
"This group had come to trust each other in a way we did not trust the bureaucracy," said Rev. Martin Deppe, a friend and colleague.
"Within the church, we pushed for a level of flexibility. [Rev. Forshey] was the philosopher, he was the prod, he was the one who made us nervous."
Rev. Forshey's activism covered a breadth of issues as illustrated by the many protest buttons he collected over the years. "ERA, Welfare Rights, Indian Power, Anti-Gambling. Here's one that says, 'I'm not sure why I'm wearing this button,' " his wife said as she looked them over.
The perpetually disheveled Rev. Forshey cut a distinct figure among his fellow ministers. "He was the least genteel Methodist minister I knew," said Roy Larson, former religion editor at the Sun-Times.
Seeking to create a church without walls, Rev. Forshey started the Church of the New City in the 1970s, which met at the University of Illinois at Chicago for a couple of years before disbanding, his wife said.
By this time, he was on his way to a doctorate in the humanities from the University of Chicago and a teaching career. He taught for many years at Malcolm X College and Richard J. Daley College before retiring about 10 years ago.
Rev. Forshey was born in Long Beach, Calif., and grew up in Reno. While at University of California-Los Angeles, he became close to leaders of his Methodist church and decided to join the clergy, getting a master of divinity degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.
A lifelong fan of art, film and opera, he was drawn to Chicago by the local cultural scene, his wife said. Enthralled by metaphor, he wrote his doctoral dissertation on symbolism within cinematic religious spectaculars like "Ben Hur" and "The Ten Commandments" and filled his home with artwork depicting Don Quixote.
Last year, Rev. Forshey led a group on an art appreciation tour of Italy. He could discuss any number of works in great depth and length. "We'd still be there if we hadn't had a co-leader with a watch," said Blackwell, who was on the trip.
"His theology was very deep, a lot had to do with the redemptive nature of our imagination, that we could imagine things could be different," Blackwell said.
In addition to his wife, Rev. Forshey is survived by a brother, Ron.
Visitation is set for 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 W. 31st St., Brookfield. A memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at First United Methodist Church of Chicago, 77 W. Washington St.
ttjensen@tribune.com
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune
Please keep his wife Florence and his family in your prayers. We give thanks for the opportunity to have known Jerry and for the effect he has had on our lives and ministries.
Rest well Jerry. You, of all people, deserve it.
Clergyman strove for social justice
By Trevor Jensen
Chicago Tribune
May 22, 2008
Rev. Gerald E. Forshey, an activist Methodist pastor who regularly questioned church hierarchy and once spent five days in a Mississippi jail for trying to integrate local congregations, was also a film and art scholar who taught in the City Colleges of Chicago.
Rev. Forshey, 75, died of cancer at his La Grange home Saturday, May 17, said his wife, Florence.
Rev. Forshey came to Chicago in 1958 as pastor of Armitage Avenue Methodist Church. He also served a number of Chicago's United Methodist congregations, including as an associate pastor at St. Mark United Methodist Church in the Chatham neighborhood.
In 1963, Rev. Forshey was among 12 people, four of them Chicago-area Methodist ministers, arrested in Jackson, Miss., for trying to lead blacks into three local churches.
"For him, justice was the issue whether it was in the church or on the public square," said Rev. Philip Blackwell, senior pastor of the Chicago Temple.
In the late 1960s, Rev. Forshey was an outspoken member of a group of clergy called the Renewal Caucus that sought to effect change in the Methodist church from within. One offshoot of this group met regularly to consult on appointments made by the church's bishop.
"This group had come to trust each other in a way we did not trust the bureaucracy," said Rev. Martin Deppe, a friend and colleague.
"Within the church, we pushed for a level of flexibility. [Rev. Forshey] was the philosopher, he was the prod, he was the one who made us nervous."
Rev. Forshey's activism covered a breadth of issues as illustrated by the many protest buttons he collected over the years. "ERA, Welfare Rights, Indian Power, Anti-Gambling. Here's one that says, 'I'm not sure why I'm wearing this button,' " his wife said as she looked them over.
The perpetually disheveled Rev. Forshey cut a distinct figure among his fellow ministers. "He was the least genteel Methodist minister I knew," said Roy Larson, former religion editor at the Sun-Times.
Seeking to create a church without walls, Rev. Forshey started the Church of the New City in the 1970s, which met at the University of Illinois at Chicago for a couple of years before disbanding, his wife said.
By this time, he was on his way to a doctorate in the humanities from the University of Chicago and a teaching career. He taught for many years at Malcolm X College and Richard J. Daley College before retiring about 10 years ago.
Rev. Forshey was born in Long Beach, Calif., and grew up in Reno. While at University of California-Los Angeles, he became close to leaders of his Methodist church and decided to join the clergy, getting a master of divinity degree from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.
A lifelong fan of art, film and opera, he was drawn to Chicago by the local cultural scene, his wife said. Enthralled by metaphor, he wrote his doctoral dissertation on symbolism within cinematic religious spectaculars like "Ben Hur" and "The Ten Commandments" and filled his home with artwork depicting Don Quixote.
Last year, Rev. Forshey led a group on an art appreciation tour of Italy. He could discuss any number of works in great depth and length. "We'd still be there if we hadn't had a co-leader with a watch," said Blackwell, who was on the trip.
"His theology was very deep, a lot had to do with the redemptive nature of our imagination, that we could imagine things could be different," Blackwell said.
In addition to his wife, Rev. Forshey is survived by a brother, Ron.
Visitation is set for 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday at Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 W. 31st St., Brookfield. A memorial service will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at First United Methodist Church of Chicago, 77 W. Washington St.
ttjensen@tribune.com
Copyright © 2008, Chicago Tribune
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