Movember

This is how Greg looked for all of November.  Oddly enough, he had very few questions as to why he was sporting a fu manchu.  Well, it's all related to one particular Aussie that we know.  He's a cancer survivor and Greg decided to support the cause.

Here's some info about it:

The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember. 

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st  clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days. 

The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia.  The plan was simple – to bring the moustache back as a bit of a joke and do something for men’s health. No money was raised in 2003, but the guys behind the Mo realized the potential a moustache had in generating conversations about men’s health.  Inspired by the women around them and all they had done for breast cancer, the Mo Bros set themselves on a course to create a global men’s health movement.  

Greg had opportunity to speak with a couple of guy about the movement and encourage them to remember to look into their health.

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 You know us, we're always ready for a chance to dress up in crazy outfits.  The company we had was awesome, the movie was good, not great but didn't expect it to me.  We're now reading Book VII so that Noel can prove to Greg that the book was nowhere near as boring as the movie made it seem...but familiar with Noel's book-to-movie-inherent-issues rantings, he never doubted it but is patient with Noel and likes it when she reads to him.

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We were able to take a couple days off to go to San Antonio for Thanksgiving.  In addition, we celebrated Ethan's 3rd birthday!

Good aunts give lots of piggy back rides

Habañero's burritos...yummm

Lewis the scary snapping turtle dog

breakfast courtesy of Hope n Joe!

Ethan's new Ice Cream playdoh machine...what kind of cruelty is it that they make an "ice cream machine" and then the whole time you have to tell the 3 yr old ice cream maker that it's not actually edible

hate to hold hands? no problem, just put your hands in your pockets!

sweet potato and apples maker!

Thanksgiving TV and football...evidently, the Rocky marathon currently

Dinner!

"just act natural", i said.

Annual Thanksgiving walk and park playing

playing Connect on Al & Mike's xbox360...it's pretty sweet, not gonna lie--hope n joe are playing ping pong

unfortunately, it records your moves and plays them back for you

dad killin' it at bowling

Collins ladies!

"dance" connect

Ethan's bday party!

giant presents are the best

start 'em early, start 'em right

power tool ethan, but safety goggles first

 It was a good month.  We did lots of homework in there, too...I know we did....

too much too late?

Faithful pfeiferpfilers!

We apologize for our disappearance from the blogosphere for so long.  Our time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has been more amazingly busy than I can ever remember it being.  This was in part due to our part-time jobs that sneak over into full-time range and also being full-time-not-yet-sure-how-to-get-work-done-ahead-of-time students.  But, praise the Lord, we have made it through our first semester (officially finished with all work on Tuesday, December 21st at 12:32 pm...not that we're counting)  But, we're sort of going to go back in time and hit a few things that were missed but that are of course, still interesting, fun and full of interesting and fun photos.
So without further ado:

Post Reading Week Adventures or The rest of October
Oh wait, well, I think technically this happened in October, but our Kneelers game!!!!
This year, we lent our athletic prowess to the Trinity Kneelers flag football team.  We practiced hard, sustaining multiple sore muscles, for Noel an achilles heel that has lived up to its namesake and traveled to the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania for the annual Luther Bowl tournament between Lutheran, Presbyterian and yes, one Anglican seminary.  The Kneelers won their division and proceeded to go head to head with the professional flag-footballers of Princeton Divinity school (literally, they're in a real league and they had already played 20 games in their own league) and held them off to a mere 6-0.  There's always next year...but let's just have a recap from this year, shall we?

 This one is our only action shot.  And Greg did a really great job even if his only action shot is of him on the ground, pushed over by a girl...upon review, he recalls that he was actually knocked over by one of our own girls...don't worry, not Noel.  And then there's Noel over on the sideline, lookin' tough and like she's going to take that guy out that blitzed!  Doesn't matter, though, we beat them.

Also, a visit from Greg's mom for Halloweenie!

Those all speak for themselves, right?  That last one is Greg going to work dressed as a pirate to Staaaaarrbucks.

PT500

Whoooooaaaa.... we're halfway there                              

WHOOOOAAAA-OH!

livin on a prayer!

Not only great in the Rockband experience between readings and assignments, but no greater singing prophet of the 80s than bon jovi could've given us this gem of truth. Halfway through the semester and we're looking to be in good shape. We're still hunting for and of course praying for balance in the force of our lives: schoolwork, workwork, playtime and praytime.

To focus on the schoolwork, this week we highlight Spiritual Formation with Martha Giltinan. A quick aside concerning Martha (as it is inevitable): We were warned about her more than any other professor as someone who is difficult to follow and “a little over-the-top”. She's a Drama Queen Empress and “little over-the-top” is far too insufficient, however, she has offered some of the richest in-class experiences we've had in some time and she approaches the material from such a sense of pastoral conviction that this class is one of the highlights of the week. She doesn't strike me as one who would offer benefits for brown-nosing, so I'm very comfortable lauding her... I'm also comfortable going on record as saying that when I first heard her launch into soliloquy I thought she sounded like a cross between Bullwinkle J Moose and Billy Sunday (what higher praise is there for a first impression?)

Spiritual Formation classes I've (Greg) had in the past have been very basic, “let's read some Dallas Willard” and learn about spiritual disciplines and talk about all those things we want to do for our growth in the Lord but certainly don't have time to do. Good stuff, but always the same stuff. I don't believe we've cracked open any Dallas Willard yet, but the disciplines and the quest for virtue hasn't changed all that much... now we're just reading everyone who likely influenced the Willard. This is great news! We don't have to try and be inventive or creative about fasting, lectio divina, Sabbath rest, the practice of the presence of God, etc because learning how to grow in Christ-likeness and abiding with God through the continual and active presence of the Spirit isn't new either... the people of God have been getting it wrong (and getting it right) for centuries!!! Blessed be the Name!

So, from this class we've learned to envelop ourselves in the great cloud of witnesses that we might learn a lesson or two and go and do likewise, trusting that God will draw us close and conform us to the image of his Son as we walk on that way of becoming like Jesus (status viatoris for the Pieper fans out there). We're going to forget to read our Bibles somedays and we're gonna forget about the blessing of fasting and just be cranky; but all glory to Him who loves us and calls us His own and nurtures us with His Spirit that sometimes we will get it right (whatever that means in this crazy world of spiritual formation) and we will mature and grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Since I opened with a hymn, I figure it's good to close with one as well:

             

We thought it was like "Fall Break"...

...boy, were we wrong!  So, when we read "Reading Week" in the middle of October on the Academic Calendar, we did mental high fives.

But, as we perused our syllabi and all our due dates, we gradually realized that it was nothing like a Fall Break and that we would be unable to go visit people or Niagara Falls or even just experience what the bourgeoisie refer to as a "staycation".  Alas, this was not our lot in life. 

First and foremost in our minds was our four Early Church essays and quiz to be turned in and taken by Thursday.  The class is excellent and the questions fair, and the essays only a page.  Easy shapeasy, right?  Have you ever tried to write all your thoughts about Ignatius of Antioch's historical context on a single 12-point font, 1 inch margin page?  I didn't think so.  Sadly, it was fairly easy to fit the place of women in the early church on one page...and that was even with the added business of having to support your claim with reference to the Didache.

We thought about posting all of our assignments for your perusal, but we will pick and choose because we don't want any pfeiferphiles to become pfeiferfoes.  Pictured above is Greg, chagrining as he attempts to put his finished essays in the dropbox online only to find that the internet has gone out...again.  More on that little problem later.
By the by, Greg highly recommends The Change of Conversion and the Origin of Christendom by Alan Kreider.  It it a fairly small book, with ridiculously small font, but which packs a lot of information on the nature of the church and the changes she underwent as Christianity became the religion of the empire.

Noel, pictured above, immensely enjoys Early Church, perhaps a little too much.  But, she was also pre-disposed to the idea that this would be her favorite class at Seminary.  In any case, doesn't she look so studious and intellectual in this picture?  If you'd like to see her answer to one of the "essays"-a creative flyer, click here.

And about this time, they recalled the word study due for BI600 (endearingly called this because nobody ever remembers the real name and thus far, it seems strange to have a grammar class in seminary)...and in addition to the Word Study, an Exam on the first half of the class.  This means, the entirety of a "little" book called "Greek for the Rest of Us" and all the English and Greek grammar your brain can hold, and some that it can't, for that matter.  Pictured to the left are Noel's lifeline, her flashcards and the Greek book sprawled on their dining table in receding light to accentuate the feeling of dread which accompanies them.  Please be lifting up the exam which happens Monday, the 25th, and for especially Noel's memory to be entirely alert.  Greg had 5 semesters of Greek and is already a grammar guru.

 We also have a book review, reflections and our regular reading assignments as well as 22 hours of work each week.  So, we're starting to feel the pressure big time. 
Are you wondering how on earth we survive all this chaos?

Fellowship of the Cheese

The Dolly Sods area was first explored by the Fellowship of the Cheese during a brief period of Seminary angst in 1746 to find the limits of West Virginian lore from the British Crown. The area was generally avoided as too impenetrable until the late 1800’s. Charlie Treichler wrote an early description of the area, published in Gmail in 2010:

"In West Virginia, via Maryland en route from Ambridge, Pennsylvania, is a tract of country containing from seven to nine hundred square miles, fairly well frequented , yet so savage and inaccessible that it has rarely been penetrated even by the most adventurous, like Geoff Mackey, who has yet to explore any place via backpack and camping tent. The settlers on its borders speak of it with a sort of dread, and regard it as an ill-omened region, filled with inbreds, panthers, impassable (except to Noel who decided to tumble on into them despite the dangers) laurel-brakes, and dangerous precipices ie big rocks. Stories are told of hunters having ventured too far, becoming entangled, and perishing in its intricate labyrinths...or stolen by the hillbillies, verdict's still out. The desire of daring the unknown dangers of this mysterious region, stimulated a party of  [handsome] gentlemen and two gentlewomen . . . to undertake it in October, 2010. They did actually penetrate the 'disgusting' country as far as the landmines allowed, and returned with marvelous accounts of its savage grandeur, massive quantities of pulled muscles and troop bonding to be found there.  All was recounted at Piper's Pub in the urban Pittsburgh, any embellishments likely owed to Irish Car Bomb ingestion."

Sometimes, Noel leaves for urban backpacking adventures...

which makes Greg look like this

Noel had never been to West Virginia before and she was terrified, her only experience with WV is the movie Wrong Turn. And as you can tell from the title, WV was the wrong turn.  So, I take back my bias of West Virginia as the incest bred terrifying hillbilly state...at least for now. After all, it was really beautiful.

I hope you can read this sign. If not, here it is: WARNING: Highly Explosive LIVE BOMBS from WWII training can still be found in Dolly Sods.  Do not touch!  Happy Trails.

The Fellowship--sorry, Wes!  My backpack was too tall.

 

The Survivors! Thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed the journey.

Some Enchanting Evenings

Trinity School for Ministry has a rich heritage of academic rigor which has typically been hidden behind an incredibly pastoral outlook and focus on practical ministry.  All of the professors are actively involved in their local churches while also teaching full-time and the expectation is that students follow that lead.  Some of this is built into our program through Mentored Ministry or our 1hour/week Trinity community service. We are also involved in a number of extracurricular activities while at Trinity as a way to supplement our studies with an opportunity to exercise our theology.  Please be praying that we find a new church home while we're out here so that we can reactivate our love for doing ministry.  In the meantime, Greg has jumped into an often overlooked, misunderstood, or ignored ministry of the church:  chanting.

Geoff Mackey, 2 time Allegheny County little league chanting champion leads a group of monastic wannabes (myself included of course) once a week on the basics of Anglican style chant for the purpose of worshiping the Lord and adding a little more spice to the already red hot Book of Common Prayer. This has been a great aside to ministry study that conveniently happens to also be ministry study. So far we've gone through the better part of the Prayer Book that can be chanted, ending every evening chanting through the Compline. It's really marvelous... to be worshiping the Lord with a handful of good friends, joining with the community of worshipers who have been chanting their prayers for centuries. Below is a sample of what we're doing musically... there's more reverence involved when chanting the Prayer Book or Psalter ; )