George Martzen "georgos"

It's the last week of the semester (two papers yet to complete), and after two family funerals, I may be experiencing the word noted by my former bishop - kanashimi . When I googled that word I came up with nearly 600,000 hits, mostly Japanese Anime. "Of course," my 14-year-old said. "I could have told you that." The experience of suffering or pain honoring another. I felt that pain when news reached me of Aunt Esther's passing in November. It was the renewing of an old pain that comes from being part of a large extended family. Each passing "celebration of life" is also another root cut out from under the tree. Those who in life connected me to my past have now receded into that same quiet past. Again when Uncle Vern passed away another root was cut away, but also joyfully commended to the One who always remembers. Now in the midst of Advent we celebrate in prayers, songs and anticipatory activity, the One who remembers our human suffering, o...

Having moved to the Berkeley over the weekend we took the BART to SF on Sunday morning and did the Glide experience. Ok, our son was doing a mission trip with El Segundo UMYF serving meals to the homeless, so we wanted to check it out. I had known about Glide UMC since I was a youth, hearing both rave reviews and grave ones, depending on the reviewer. But here we are in the Bay area, so we stopped in. It's a popular place. Before 10:30 there was line half-way around the city block. On en tering, we walked up a flight of stairs to the sanctuary, where the rosette and south-facing columnar stained glass windows poured soft rosing light on the antique pews. It was warm, and some folks were handing out fans, which could be kept for a small donation. A jazz band was warming up on stage left. Men and women were casually greeting each other. Eventually the band began playing a mix of cool jazz and gospel, and the Glide Ensemble trouped onto the spare platform. The service proceeded with ...

I love to observe and learn from animals. Last week, with a day off in San Diego, we spent some time at the SD Zoo. It is much more than a zoo now, with interesting botanical sections and educational programs. Here are a just a few pictures and observations. I'm not sure what the guy on the right was really up to, whether he wanted to get out and run across the open savanna or just join in with whatever the wild boars were eating next door. Speaking of lunch, we observed numerous animals, including the Siberian Brown Bear here, gnawing on some bones, and speculated what unfortunate visitors might have turned into satisfying meals. Could it also be that animals have a form of spirituality? Might some parent animals teach their young to kneel in prayer? We observed the flamingos strutting around the stream and noticed that the grey-feathered youngons were in the posture of confessional or practicing their bed-time prayer. While some animals are loners, others are very social and m...

One of the joys of missionary itineration is to visit previous places of ministry and witness the growth of past initiatives. One such place for me is Baldwin Park UMC where, in the late 90s we began mapping out possibilities for an intentional hispanic ministry. With the help of Rafael and Toña Rios and some grants cobbled together we began visiting the neighborhoods and community agencies to develop initial networks. Seeing a need to address the concerns of women and children, we established Fe, Comida y Arte as a Saturday program for organizing neighborhood families through music and the arts. Since those days, the couple has gone on to local pastor training and certification. Part of the outcome of these efforts is this group of folk-dancing youth. I was surprised to see them first during one day at Annual Conference. They performed as people emerged from a morning session. They danced energetically again last Sunday during lunch after I preached at Baldwin Park. I bear witness to...

We arrived in LAX yesterday, after nearly two weeks in the southern states - Tennessee and Georgia. The three and a half hour flight from Hartsfield airport to Phoenix, and then to LA moved us from the lush greens of the the Georgian broadleaf forests to spotted green and vivid tans of the southwest deserts. I love the dense green forests of Georgia. Walking the paths of the reserve around the Emery president's residence stirs my historical imagination, to marvel at the desparate attempts by Confederate soldiers to defend their turf against Sherman's haughty soldiers. Or what was it like as the European settlers first encountered the Cherokees? The forests are full of mysteries. We joined a great mob of Americans and friends at Stone Mountain, Georgia for the Fourth of July and although they didn't sing it, I've got Woodie Guthries old folk song spinning in my head, "This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York Islands, to the Redwo...

We are staying for a week in Atlanta while we get our GBGM medicals. How nice it is to stay put in one place for a few days. Last weenend we were in Nashville at Scarritt Bennett Center for the Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia Missionary Reunion. We were the only "live" missionaries present; all others are retired or teaching in the US. To be in the presence of people who served before us was quite humbling and educational. We saw pictures of Singapore in the 50s and 60s, and we heard stories from the time of Singapore's independence. I also found useful the discussions about the future of missions, particularly Robert Hunts observations about the transformation of missions, particular from the influence of entrepreneural and short-term missionaries. The era of big, centralized mission agencies is waining and the era of networking between local churches and mission field is growing. Interestingly enough, while short-term missions, with it's strengths and signific...

I use the word "sketch" because I don't have full details on everything that happened, nor do I have a handle on the long-term implications of some of the critical actions taken. First, it was wonderful just to see colleagues. The 2009 session of California-Pacific Annual Conference was one day shorter than last year, for obvious reasons. The price did not seem to be less. Oh well. My family and I caught a ride with Rev Samuel Chow, a good friend and colleague, now serving at San Gabriel UMC. After settling in at Founders Hall at the University of Redlands, we took our lunch. Walter quickly jumped into action with the other PKs waiting tables in the cafeteria. It gave him some meaningful activity with others in his age range and the potential to make some spending money. In the afternoon we joined the Orders of Ministry session where we were introduced to Dr Randy Maddox of SMU/Perkins. It was a pleasure to hear him that afternoon and for the rest of the week as he led Bi...

Actually, we have been back in the USA for a week and a half now, having flown in on Friday, June 5, from our mission assignment in Singapore. We have spoken at four churches so far - Shepherd of the Hills UMC in Monterey Park, Santa Barbara 1st UMC, El Monte UMC and El Segundo UMC. Our theme has been "A Song of Hope" which captures two significant elements of our lives and ministry in Singapore. First, there is a need for real hope in our world and second, hope often springs forth in a song. In the biblical tradition, there are tons of hopeful songs, along with some depressing ones. See who comes back after singing Psalm 137 in your praise & worship set. But the song of Moses in Exodus 15 raises the hope of settling in Zion. You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance— the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established. And what powerful hymn did Paul and Silas sing that rock...

Better not be in a hurry on New Year's Eve in downtown Medan. Located in the northern half of Sumatra, Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia. The exuberance and dynamism of its people seem to exceed the capacity of its social and physical infrastructure. In other words, traffic is terrible. We had just returned to Medan after spending several enjoyable days at Lake Toba, including Samosir Island. Sitting at a comfortable 900 meters elevation, Toba is considered the Asia's largest lake filling an ancient volcanic crater. Samosir sits in the middle. It is larger than Singapore, and can only be reached by ferry. More on that in the next blog. Since we were to return to Singapore on New Year's Day, we returned to Medan on December 31. Thinking to have a New Year's Eve dinner with our hosts, we decided to go to the mall, after which the rental car was to be returned. When we emerged from the mall, all the roads were clogged with cars, pedestrians and cars, mov...