George Martzen "georgos"

I turned 55 this weekend. But what have I done in these 55 years? What is the connection between a skinny, little "tow-headed" boy playing in the mud in his father's vineyard and the United Methodist missionary living and working in Singapore? How is it that a kid who was contented to tend the vineyard and help with the small-town, family photo business ended up on the other side of the world? For the young boy, that central California vineyard seemed like the center of the universe, a playground for the fingers and the imagination. What amazing things can happen when the fingers and the imagination get hold of a clump of mud! Just ask God. But the universe expanded, and so did its center. The family guided me. All the extended family guided. Besides all the things you're supposed to learn in school, I grew into music - singing, piano, flute, the record player. The church graciously guided me along, and slowly started turning me into a leader - an often relucta...

Today is one of those days I will laugh about in the future. It was one of those days that verifies Murphy's law - "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong". Yesterday I had to run a few errands after a day with pastor staff at Paya Lebar Chinese Methodist Church, stopping by several community centres to pick up course lists for my wife, and then to an IT shop in Bukit Batok to pick up my son's laptop which I had put in for repair. It was after the latter that I noticed my tails lights - rather my break lights - did not turn off, even with the ignition off. This did not seem to be a major problem to me. If the problem didn't go away by itself, maybe a sensor needs replacing. I arrived home at almost 5:30, knowing I needed to help fix dinner so I could leave for a wake at 7 pm. No time to go to the Shell auto shop. While home, several people called my wife commenting on the break lights. It will be taken care of. Not to worry. Off I went to the wake. The b...

Everything has a story. That's what I said at the young adult group this afternoon. I don't think many pastors come playing flute. What does it mean? So I mentioned the story my father told me when I was 7 or 8. He recalled his experiences camping out on the make-shift airfields in North Africa with the 48th Fighter Squadron. At night time he could hear echoing down from the mountains the native flutes. When I heard him tell the story, I could visualize it and here the distant flute melodies, or at least I imagined it. And that's sort of why I play flute. Dad's story. Today I recalled that story with the young adults in a church in Singapore. I wasn't very dramatic. Just so, not like Rudyard Kipling. Just so. I don't think my father told it very dramatically, either. But it did its work. Stories have a life of their own. They have a way of getting inside of you and planting a seed and, before you know it, growing into redwood trees. When I heard my fa...

Last year at this time I had just returned to Singapore after an 8-month hiatus in the States, mostly California. After visiting churches that support our mission we moved to Berkeley so I could begin a DMin program. It was an exhilarating experience at the Graduate Theological Union. Great conversations, a marvelous time of updating my knowledge, researching and writing. I loved it. After completely 13 1/2 semester units (out of 18 course work needed before beginning my project) I returned. I thought tentatively to return in a year to finish things off during the January session. But that didn't happen. Reflecting on the value of my time at Berkeley, I see several options: 1) scrap my Singapore plans, go back and finish; 2) enroll with the seminary here (DTh, which is a lot different); 3) Re-enroll in a PhD program; 4) never mind the doctorate idea - be thankful for the exposure and go sip wine under an oak tree. Certainly, there are worse problems in the world. georgos

Two separate headlines in today's Straits Times caught my attention. In the World section, the article from Reuters, More baby boomers take their own lives in US , summarizes a report by two sociologists on a growing trend in suicide rates in America. The article specifically noted a trend among white baby-boomer men, who do not have college degrees. While figures were not given in this short article, it did emphasize that the increase is a break from the norm, where the middle-aged are usually at low risk for suicide due to family roles. Possible factors for these aging baby-boomers is that baby-boomers tend to be the least healthy aging population, and with rising unemployment in these slow economic times, an increasing number in this cohort are simply unable to cope with rising costs. There was another, comparable article in the Asia section, More elderly in China killing themselves , which reported that among urban people between 70 and 74 the suicide rate "surged abo...

Recently Singapore's Mentor Ministor Lee Kuan Yew was interviewed by the New York Times, and the interview was picked up by the Straits Times. At one point in the interview, LKY discussed how a government investment friend, who happened to be Roman Catholic, taught him how to meditate. The point which many of my protestant friends picked up is that the "mantra" or sacred word that he chose was Maranatha. I've already heard two sermons expressing the hope that Singapore's former prime minister might convert to Christianity soon. Maybe or maybe not. LKY, who grew up with ancestral veneration, is a self-professed agnostic. He dislikes superstitions, Buddhist or Christian. He objected to his own brother having his aged father baptized when it was questionable whether his father even understood what it meant. We can only pray. What interests me is the media coverage for an ancient and valuable Christian spiritual practice. Just yesterday, the friend mentioned...

While visiting family in Malaysia we went out to eat at a club frequented by Malays for buka puasa , the evening breaking of the fast during Ramadan. There was a general festive atmosphere as not only the Muslims but other groups found excuse to sample the generous buffet offerings – Penang laksa, nasi lemak,char kuay teow, and satay, as well as some western dishes. Muslims adults fast during daylight hours during Ramadan, not only from food, but also from drinking and sexual activity. It is supposed to be time to slow down, take stock and do charitable acts. Which may be why things were a little quieter in the daytime during this last visit. Ramadan commemorates the time when the prophet received the first verses of the Koran. This makes the decision of a small church in Florida even more incredible. The pastor had planned to burn the Koran on September 11, on the ninth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, to send a message to Muslim extremists. This...