Hey folks...as Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant once sang, "it's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time." Or as Pink Floyd, reverb-drenched and melancholy, once asked: "Hello...? Is there anybody in there...? Just [comment] if you can hear me! Is there anyone home?"
Okay, enough with the classic rock references. This is meant to be an update, and a bit of a "help me figure out what the next step should be" kind of deal.
I've been pretty AWOL lately finishing up my doctoral dissertation (which, if you're interested, was unconditionally accepted by my examiners earlier this month, making me Brannon Hancock PhD, it would seem), and as has happened through several seasons in the past (coinciding with births of children, relocations, taking a new job, etc) has led to the mothballing of this fair blog. Several of you have contacted me privately and encouraged me to stoke the fires back up - and I *so* appreciate those nudges that remind me that there's an interest and a need and a community that needs pulled back together a bit - so the first thing is, I'm trying to see if there are any glowing embers left, or if it's time for more of a new (yet continuous) endeavor of some kind.
I recently registered the domains sanctifyingworship.com and sacramentality.com - the former with a mind to migrate this blog over to a unique (and catchy!) domain and begin to figure out how to add more content to the site, especially in terms of liturgical resources and ways of allowing folks to share information and materials. sacramentality.com is one I'll probably hold on to for personal use (my thesis title was "The Scandal of Sacramentality: The Eucharist in Literary and Theological Perspectives"), either as I pursue publication of the manuscript or other as-yet-undreamed ventures.
Any thoughts about this? (Anybody out there with mad Word Press site design skills?) Any other thoughts rattling around? The M11 Conference is in February - anybody have an "in" with the organizers? Could we get some kind of formal session on sacramental worship or bringing contemporary and liturgical elements together for worship? I have no idea who's in charge of that or how to propose something. If nothing else, we can have an informal meeting of any attendees who gather round these parts. Probably need to find a way to better leverage the facebook group as well.
Would love to hear your thoughts as we move forward.
8 comments:
Brannon, I'm listening... er, reading. You can host your own domain here on blogger. That's what I do. I own both my URLs. (Preparing for when I'm famous. LOL) Anyway, you can add pages here on blogger in draft. You can add a 'search this site' app for easy reference. Both my blogs have pages if you want to explore. It might be a practical way for you to use your private domains, while deciding the direction you want to take.
Thanks Lily - yeah, I did know I could do that from within the current blogger medium, but I think I'm ready to migrate over to wordpress and begin to expand the site beyond what blogger is capable of (or capable of doing well). Might pick your brain some about web-site stuff though - I don't have a lot of experience outside of blogger, and probably (as you suggest) haven't really tapped into all that blogger can do.
Well, I don't know how to do any of that stuff! - I had pretty much given up on this blog, but I stopped by tonight, and there you were!
I have had some breaks in my own blog, and, since I'm getting ready to move, I will likely have some more breaks during the process.
BTW, on Aug. 1 I will become the pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church in New Albany, IN (it's "back home").
congrats, Todd. I hope that's a good fit for you (knowing your proclivities, I feel hopeful!) and will pray blessings on this new phase of your ministry. Thanks for not totally giving up on the blog. I have realized the need for consistency in leadership and content, and it being my initial venture, shared with a few others like yourself, it is my fault for letting it flounder. that's why I kinda feel like a "re-start" is the better thing at this point, although keeping it somewhat collaborative and having other authors involved. But I am committed to bringing it back and posting at least weekly. Take care, brother, and stay tuned.
Good luck with the new start Brannon, I have enjoyed the conversations here the last several years and oh, congratulations on the PHD. But as I’m no longer an Elder in, or member of the CotN I won’t be commenting much in the future and the reason I have not posted in awhile. Just in case you all don’t know were I have gone I was received into the (Antiochian) Orthodox Christian Church on Palm Sunday through the Sacrament of Holy Chrismation. I simple had to follow my heart as I was no longer Protestant in my beliefs and was becoming more and more Orthodox all the time and had excepted the Orthodox faith in it’s fullness. It good to be a member of the Holy Eastern Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church. God bless you all on your continued journey of faith. Peace Steven.
Brother Steven: while I'm disappointed to "lose" one of our "sacramental nazarenes," I celebrate with you as God has led you East. I understand why your involvement in the blog conversation probably won't continue. Thanks for your contributions over the years. Please continue to pray for the COTN as we pursue God's calling to spread the message of holiness and minister to the poor and downtrodden, and for this small band of Wesleyan folk who believe that this dual mission makes the most sense and is best embodied in the context of a thoroughly eucharistic imagination shaped by sacramental worship.
I've been thinking about the "what next?" alot. The more I am around, the more people I am finding who could/would benefit greatly from a more formalized fellowship of kindred sacramentalists. I wonder what a 'rule of life' might look like?
Brannon, I think getting something going at M11 would cool. While I don't have Word Press skills, I do have a pretty good working knowledge of Joomla (a powerful open source Content Management System).
Since my time at NTS 2000-6 I have heard of more sacramental-oriented persons leaving the CotN. It breaks my heart. But, like you, I bid them the Lord's peace.
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