Hobbies
10/06/13 04:50
The South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ has just elected a new Conference Minister. The annual meeting this past weekend was the first opportunity for many members of the conference to get to know the new minister. I was interested that the biography and introductions contained so much information about hobbies. We all have hobbies, and the ability to engage in recreation is an important aspect of clergy self-care, so I would be reluctant to say that hobbies are not important. On the other hand, hobbies come and go and in some ways I was hungry for more information about the core commitments of our new minister. What are the things to which he has made undying commitments? Where are the places where his passions have led to lifelong pursuits?
The same criticism could be made of me and my attempts to share my life with others. This blog often has silly thoughts. My website has as much about my boats as it does about my theology. Somehow that simple fact got me to thinking and remembering. Nearly 18 years ago, when I came to this congregation as its new pastor, I was asked to make a presentation to a men’s breakfast group. When I inquired about the topic, I was asked to speak about one of my hobbies. The men in the group wanted to get to know something about what I did for recreation and were eager to get to know me in an informal setting. I did my presentation on stunt kites. I set up a display of a half dozen control line kites that I own. There was a parafoil, a couple of sport and stunt kites, a delta kite and a four-line revolution kite. The calm early morning meeting time didn’t afford an opportunity for a flying demonstration, so I talked about kite flying and showed my collection of kites.
It wasn’t a very good introduction to who I was becoming as pastor of this congregation. I doubt that I have flown kites a dozen times since I made that presentation. I still have my kite bag, but I haven’t added a new kite since that time. What I didn’t realize was how much coming to this new town would change me. As I became pastor of this congregation, my family was going through a big move, our children were entering new schools, our vacation plans were being changed, and I was growing into my new responsibilities.
We had lived in Boise, Idaho before moving here. Our Conference Office was in Portland, Oregon. We often went to Pacific beaches when we had a little time off. There are large sand dunes in Southern Idaho close to our home. I had time, and places to fly kites. It was an important activity that I shared with our children. In South Dakota we soon discovered that while there is plenty of wind, it is often gusty and unpredictable. The open fields are filled with cactus, sagebrush and other obstacles for kite takeoffs and landings. And our family was entering into a new phase. I needed to spend my “off” time at home. I was doing less traveling. I had space to build a second canoe, and that led to more boatbuilding. My hobbies changed.
I’ve still got that bag of kites. Now I have a grandson. We are heading for a family gathering on the West Coast in July and I’ll be taking both kites and boats. Perhaps our family will find one hobby to be more engaging than the other. I’m not worried. We always have fun when we get together. And we are not limited in our fun by a lack of equipment.
What I won’t be doing is any experiments with lightning and kites. Today is the supposed anniversary of Ben Franklin’s historic experiment. The story that is repeated in many different formats, recalls that on June 10, 1752, Franklin used a key, some twine and a large silk handkerchief attached to sticks to demonstrate that lightning is electricity. We know that Franklin had been doing experiments with static electricity that spring. There are records of his activities in May of that year. The now famous kite experiment, however, is poorly documented. Franklin makes his first notation of it about four months after the event is supposed to have taken place and then only in passing in an article in the Pennsylvania Gazette. The long account of the event, reported by Joseph Priestley did not appear until 15 years afterward.
The History Channel television show “Myth Busters” did a demonstration that the producers claimed to prove that had Franklin actually done the experiment as described, he certainly would have been killed by the jolt of electricity. Their experiment with a dummy, heart monitors and “fake” lightning generated by a power-plant testing facility had enough variances from what might have happened to stir up detractors and defenders.
Historians and modern-day experimenters continue to argue about whether the experiment is a myth or a historical event. And, like many stories, it is possible that there was some real event that was reported inaccurately. Exaggeration was not unknown in Benjamin Franklin’s self-promotion.
In the meantime, I hope that modern-day debaters are careful in their attempts to re-create the experiment. It would be a real tragedy if someone was seriously injured or killed trying to prove or disprove their theories about Ben Franklin’s kite.
And, I hope that we don’t get our new conference minister stuck in an image of hobbies that he used to pursue. In fact, I hope that he finds at least one new hobby here in South Dakota. May he find new recreation and new life in this new phase of his journey of faith and ministry.
His resume didn’t mention canoes at all. I think I ought to invite him to go paddling one of these days. It might be a good way to get to know him better. And if he wants to take up kites, I have some he could borrow.
It wasn’t a very good introduction to who I was becoming as pastor of this congregation. I doubt that I have flown kites a dozen times since I made that presentation. I still have my kite bag, but I haven’t added a new kite since that time. What I didn’t realize was how much coming to this new town would change me. As I became pastor of this congregation, my family was going through a big move, our children were entering new schools, our vacation plans were being changed, and I was growing into my new responsibilities.
We had lived in Boise, Idaho before moving here. Our Conference Office was in Portland, Oregon. We often went to Pacific beaches when we had a little time off. There are large sand dunes in Southern Idaho close to our home. I had time, and places to fly kites. It was an important activity that I shared with our children. In South Dakota we soon discovered that while there is plenty of wind, it is often gusty and unpredictable. The open fields are filled with cactus, sagebrush and other obstacles for kite takeoffs and landings. And our family was entering into a new phase. I needed to spend my “off” time at home. I was doing less traveling. I had space to build a second canoe, and that led to more boatbuilding. My hobbies changed.
I’ve still got that bag of kites. Now I have a grandson. We are heading for a family gathering on the West Coast in July and I’ll be taking both kites and boats. Perhaps our family will find one hobby to be more engaging than the other. I’m not worried. We always have fun when we get together. And we are not limited in our fun by a lack of equipment.
What I won’t be doing is any experiments with lightning and kites. Today is the supposed anniversary of Ben Franklin’s historic experiment. The story that is repeated in many different formats, recalls that on June 10, 1752, Franklin used a key, some twine and a large silk handkerchief attached to sticks to demonstrate that lightning is electricity. We know that Franklin had been doing experiments with static electricity that spring. There are records of his activities in May of that year. The now famous kite experiment, however, is poorly documented. Franklin makes his first notation of it about four months after the event is supposed to have taken place and then only in passing in an article in the Pennsylvania Gazette. The long account of the event, reported by Joseph Priestley did not appear until 15 years afterward.
The History Channel television show “Myth Busters” did a demonstration that the producers claimed to prove that had Franklin actually done the experiment as described, he certainly would have been killed by the jolt of electricity. Their experiment with a dummy, heart monitors and “fake” lightning generated by a power-plant testing facility had enough variances from what might have happened to stir up detractors and defenders.
Historians and modern-day experimenters continue to argue about whether the experiment is a myth or a historical event. And, like many stories, it is possible that there was some real event that was reported inaccurately. Exaggeration was not unknown in Benjamin Franklin’s self-promotion.
In the meantime, I hope that modern-day debaters are careful in their attempts to re-create the experiment. It would be a real tragedy if someone was seriously injured or killed trying to prove or disprove their theories about Ben Franklin’s kite.
And, I hope that we don’t get our new conference minister stuck in an image of hobbies that he used to pursue. In fact, I hope that he finds at least one new hobby here in South Dakota. May he find new recreation and new life in this new phase of his journey of faith and ministry.