Resurrection Bay Reflections

A Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Message
April 1, 2010
Seward, AK

Tonight we bring together Methodists and Lutherans and Episcopalians… and maybe there are a few others here as well, which is nice… it is a reminder that this story of Holy Week belongs to all of us… it belongs to the Methodists, and the Lutherans, and the Episcopalians… it belongs to the ones who drink wine in the chalice and the ones who drink grape juice… it belongs the Catholics and the Orthodox and the Baptists… it belongs to the conservative Christians and the liberal ones… it belongs to the folks who are in church every week… the 10% who do 90% of the work… and to the ones who only come on Christmas and Easter… Holy Week belongs to those who think Easter is about baskets of eggs and chocolate bunnies… and I would say that Holy Week belongs to those of every faith and no faith… for Holy Week is the story of God encountering the very worst that humanity can deliver… and the depths to which humanity can sink doesn’t know boundaries of creed, culture, or caste… there is a universality to evil… we live in the midst of it… and when we are honest we admit that not only have we been victims of it, but we’ve condoned it and often turned a blind eye to it… and gotten used to it… and accommodated it… and tried to hide it… or ignore it, and, if we are VERY honest, we will admit that we have sometimes perpetrated it… More… »

Click here to open a PDF file of the April newsletter!

“Symbol of the World’s Redemption”

Luke 19:28-40, Philippians 2:5-11

Today’s scriptures draw us closer to the cross of Christ.  There is an ancient hymn, Sing, My Tongue the Glorious Battle… the battle being the battle for the souls of humanity. The words date back to the 569, when a monk by the name of Ve­nan­ti­us For­tu­na­tus wrote them down and included them in a Holy Week liturgy of the church. One of the verses talks about the cross:

Faithful cross, thou sign of triumph,
Now for us the noblest tree,
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thy peer may be;
Symbol of the world’s redemption,
For the weight that hung on thee!

Jesus’ long journey to the cross has entered its final week.  More… »

Paul and Patty Caseman

I was born in a small town in West Virginia on the banks of the Ohio River. I was raised with four brothers, with me being the middle one, and we all attended the same grade school, middle school and high school. My father was a lineman for the local electric utility company and my mother was a secretary for the Agricultural Extension Service.

I entered the ministry as a third career. My first 12 years of professional life was spent as a public school teacher, I taught elementary physical education in Colorado, New Mexico, and West Virginia. Later I was in business and served as a fund-raiser and sales person for several companies in Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina.  In 1987 I answered a call to ministry and served as a local pastor for two years before moving my family to Atlanta, Georgia to attend Chandler School of Theology at Emory University. While attending seminary I served as a student pastor at St. Stephen United Methodist Church in Monroe, Georgia.  In 1992 I was appointed to Christ Church U.M. in Tucson, Arizona and served five years as the associate pastor and in 1997 was appointed as senior pastor to St. Mark’s United Methodist Church and I have served here for the past 13 years.

I have been married to Patty for 30 years and we have two children, Delayne, 27 and Morgan, 25.  Delayne is employed by Rayeon Corp. as an industrial hygienist and Morgan is completing his master’s degree at Northern Arizona University in family counseling.  Patty is a third grade teacher.

I also have two children from a previous marriage; Fawn lives in Cleveland, Ohio and Joshua lives in San Antonio, Texas and they both have three children.  So I’m a grandfather of six and they bring me much joy.

As you can see I have lived in many places around the country, but never Alaska. I am excited about the adventure that is before us. I’m a “small town boy” at heart and look forward to the qualities that a smaller community can offer.

My greatest thrill in life is helping others to discover and seek a spiritual journey with God and making Christ come alive for people.  My gifts are in relationship building and preaching the Word of God in a manner that invites others to

want to come along. I have a clear vision for the church and a sense of humor that is inviting and helps me achieve these goals.

My interest include, but not limited to, almost any outdoor activity, hiking, cycling and I’m open to snow shoeing and cross country skiing.

Peace,

Paul