tag:www.leslieveen.com,2013://1 2013-05-15T21:04:57Z Movable Type 3.33 tag:www.leslieveen.com,2013://1.551 2013-05-15T21:04:07Z 2013-05-15T21:04:57Z

Moments ago I sent this message to the San Francisco Theological Seminary community: Dear SFTS community. I write to you today to let you know that I will be leaving the SFTS community. I have been a member of this...

Leslie Moments ago I sent this message to the San Francisco Theological Seminary community: Dear SFTS community. I write to you today to let you know that I will be leaving the SFTS community. I have been a member of this community since the fall of 2001 when I came as a junior in the M. Div. degree program. I was delighted to return in January of 2007 to be a member of the staff. I have truly enjoyed my work here and have grown in my ministry and sense of call in ways I never anticipated. I feel that it is now time to seek my second call and to stretch myself in new and different ways. I look forward to participating in the Baccalaureate service and walking in the Commencement activities next week. Due to planned vacation time, my final day in the office will be Friday, 24 May 2013. I will do all I can to ensure a smooth transition for the students and the staff. Many blessings, Rev. Leslie Veen Director of Field Education & Placement San Francisco Theological Seminary tag:www.leslieveen.com,2013://1.549 2013-05-02T23:57:37Z 2013-05-03T00:05:34Z

Since the fall of 2009 I have been reading and researching for and writing my dissertation project for the Doctor of Ministry program of San Francisco Theological Seminary. That work is all completed and I am set to graduate on...

Leslie here.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2012://1.529 2012-12-25T20:03:33Z 2012-12-25T20:04:17Z

God Says Yes To Me I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic and she said yes I asked her if it was okay to be short and she said it sure is I asked her if I...

Leslie God Says Yes To Me I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic and she said yes I asked her if it was okay to be short and she said it sure is I asked her if I could wear nail polish or not wear nail polish and she said honey she calls me that sometimes she said you can do just exactly what you want to Thanks God I said And is it even okay if I don't paragraph my letters Sweetcakes God said who knows where she picked that up what I'm telling you is Yes Yes Yes - Kaylin Haught tag:www.leslieveen.com,2012://1.528 2012-12-17T19:43:15Z 2012-12-17T19:47:54Z

An Advent Meditation on Psalm 42 Thirst. Deep thirst. An existential thirst. Crying out from the very depth of the psalmist’s body. A thirst brought about by separation from God. Removed from the sacred places he once knew. Removed from...

Leslie An Advent Meditation on Psalm 42 Thirst. Deep thirst. An existential thirst. Crying out from the very depth of the psalmist’s body. A thirst brought about by separation from God. Removed from the sacred places he once knew. Removed from the worshipping community that had sustained him. The psalmist is left flailing. Searching. Longing for God. Those who surround him now are of no help. In fact, they only serve to make matters worse. They mockingly ask where this psalmist’s God is as they point out the dire nature of his circumstances. From the depths of his entire being the psalmist cries out. And the depths of creation call back. The awesomeness of God’s good creation demonstrates God’s love and presence and reminds the psalmist of past times when God’s love and presence were very real for him. This gives the psalmist confidence to expect that things will be different, better, in the future. God has been a help in the past. God will be a help in the future. Then the psalmist will be able to once again praise God. Then. But not yet. For now the psalmist must wait. And so must we. In this season of Advent, what deep longing cries out from within us? How do the depths of God’s creation call back? How are we being asked to wait for God as we cry, “Come Lord Jesus, come!”? Prayer: Compassionate God, we find ourselves deep within this time of waiting, longing for you and for things to be different in our lives and in the world. Like the psalmist, embolden us to be confident that as you have been our help in the past so will you be our help in the future. Hear our longings and bless our waiting. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. tag:www.leslieveen.com,2011://1.527 2011-07-09T00:17:06Z 2011-07-09T00:21:08Z

In January 2010 I began studies for a Doctor of Ministry degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary where I earned my Master of Divinity degree and where I currently work. Over the past year and a half I have worked...

Leslie here.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2011://1.525 2011-07-02T01:37:32Z 2011-07-02T01:42:21Z

For the past two weeks I've been in a class that was titled "God and Human Suffering." It addressed the theodicy question inherent in the Christian tradition. That question rests on three assertions that are in tension with one another:...

Leslie My Theodicy Model]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2011://1.523 2011-05-28T03:14:04Z 2011-05-28T03:34:58Z

Saying goodbye is never easy. And sometimes, it just plain stinks! Given that I feel that way, I find it interesting that so many areas of my life include regular leave-takings. First, I was a elementary and middle-school teacher. Granted,...

Leslie Mission Bay Community Church, a small church that caters to a younger demographic. The people that come are often students or early in their careers. This means that a large number of them have moved on to more permanent phases in their lives elsewhere. On Sunday, MBCC will say one of the hardest goodbyes it has had to say in its short eleven-year history - to its founding pastor, Bruce Reyes-Chow. I'm trying to cry now so that I'm not a big blubbery mess then. Bruce, and the elders Beadle and Scott, were three people who reached out to me at seriously low point in my life. They welcomed me in and helped me to laugh when I found it hard to laugh at much of anything. I have greatly appreciated working with Bruce as a colleague. He and I will still see each other around the Presbytery, but I will miss this connection. What a gift he gave me by inviting me into the life of this vibrant community. It seems to me that I should be better at this saying goodbye thing given the many times I have had to do it over the years. But I'm not. It still makes me sad. I guess that just shows that I really care. I sure wish I could receive that message in other ways.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2011://1.522 2011-04-18T05:32:54Z 2011-04-18T05:42:43Z

I've been preaching from an outline now for about a year. It works really well at Mission Bay Community Church where I do most of my preaching. This is a more informal setting where the sermon is conversational - actually...

Leslie Mission Bay Community Church where I do most of my preaching. This is a more informal setting where the sermon is conversational - actually inviting feedback from the congregants during the sermon itself. But I've also used it in more formal settings like the church where I did my internship as a seminarian, Old First Presbyterian Church. I was happy to receive positive feedback from a parishioner at Old First after my most recent visit to their pulpit. She told me that she noticed how much I had grown in my preaching since my time as an intern. Most especially she noted how much more eye contact I had with people while I was preaching. Preaching from an outline has allowed me to have a more conversational tone while still getting my main points out in the order that makes the most sense. And it allows me to have a greater amount of eye contact with the people I'm interacting with. I have really enjoyed learning to use this style of preaching. Having said that, I still use a full-on manuscript when preaching to the seminary crowd. My motto is: know your audience. The conversational tone doesn't play as well there. So I'll stick to my notes there (for now). This evening I preached a Palm Sunday sermon from MBCC. I called it: I need a hero!]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2011://1.520 2011-02-17T23:26:00Z 2011-02-17T23:38:53Z

I'm posting again so that must mean that I preached somewhere! On Monday I preached for the SFTS community at our noontime chapel service. It was an opportunity that came up quickly - I was only given 5 days to...

Leslie Not Either/Or but Both/And.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2010://1.518 2010-09-10T19:29:31Z 2010-09-10T19:45:18Z

This morning I was the preacher in chapel. As I began to plan my sermon for the service I was aware of the fact that it would be the first sermon of the semester. There had been a worship service...

Leslie here.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2010://1.516 2010-04-05T21:37:01Z 2010-04-05T21:49:49Z

I have had the privilege of preaching in a service of the Seven Last Words of Christ for Good Friday services eight times now. The first seven years I was able to get a new "word" each time. That means...

Leslie here.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2010://1.514 2010-03-08T19:20:37Z 2010-03-08T19:33:15Z

And status updates are killing my blog. That and the amazingly large amount of work that I have had heaped upon me (and have heaped upon myself). So I'm just going to own the fact that I will not be...

Leslie this one from yesterday. And, who knows, maybe the act of taking a break will inspire me to write once again. Thanks for reading.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2010://1.512 2010-01-06T19:18:38Z 2010-01-06T19:32:34Z

As a guest preacher there are certain times of the year that I can be pretty certain to get an invitation from pastors to fill in for them. These are the weeks just following the major festival periods of the...

Leslie Christmas sermon that I had preached elsewhere several years back. Some weeks after agreeing to that preaching opportunity, I learned that I would be the only pastoral person from the staff of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco for this same Sunday. So I got talked into taking on the sermon for that service as well. This was possible since MBCC meets in the evening and the church where I was guest preaching meets in the morning. As it turned out, I was required to write a new sermon for the service with MBCC because we were starting a sermon series on the book of Galatians and I was asked to do the kick-off sermon giving the overview - not something I've had the opportunity to do before. So I did it. In the middle of reading lots and lots for my upcoming D.Min. program, I paused and worked on writing a sermon on Galatians. I actually ended up enjoying writing it. But I was rather anxious about the whole day going into it. Luckily the people of both congregations showed me a lot of grace and God was definitely worshipped in both communities. But I'm hoping not to do that again any time soon.]]> tag:www.leslieveen.com,2009://1.510 2009-12-26T03:57:32Z 2009-12-26T08:50:40Z

On this day when Christians around the world pause to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, I am also pausing to reflect on choices we make. Or more specifically, the choices I make. It is my choice to believe...

Leslie On this day when Christians around the world pause to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, I am also pausing to reflect on choices we make. Or more specifically, the choices I make. It is my choice to believe that this day is different than the rest. It is my choice to believe that the one called Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, God in human form. I know all too well (thanks to many friends who never or no longer hold to these beliefs) the improbability of this being true. I know that this belief flies in the face of reason. And yet, I choose to believe in something that is bigger than reason. I choose to believe in something my mind cannot fully comprehend. I choose to believe in a God who desires wholeness for God's creation so deeply that God became a part of it. Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly." This from the Son of the God who told the Hebrew people, "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." I choose to believe that God does offer me life and blessings and that I must turn toward God in order to see what that means in my life. Many of my choices this fall have led me to focus on the difficulties and holes in my life. But I am choosing this day to once again remember the offers of Jesus and God the Heavenly Parent of life abundant. It's there for the taking. As I write this I am reminded that this is a choice that I have to affirm and reaffirm constantly. It is all too easy to forget God's promises. So with great thanksgiving for all this day means for me, I choose to reaffirm my belief in the life-giving God made real in the Christ child. tag:www.leslieveen.com,2009://1.509 2009-11-26T18:05:39Z 2009-11-26T18:17:03Z

It's that time of year again. The time when we in the United States stop and purposefully take stock of ours lives to give thanks for what we have been given. It's a practice we should engage in often, but...

Leslie preach both at MBCC and other places - The ability to be physically active - The opportunity to live in such a cool place as San Francisco - The wonders of the interwebs that have allowed me to make, deepen. and renew relationships with friends far and wide And I could go on. But you get the feeling. I am deeply grateful for all that I have been given. And I'm glad to have a day that allows me to share my thanks with you all for being a part of my life. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!]]>