Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Segment Start Times:

• Come Home for Christmas-Tom Salsgiver 1:00
• Released Time-Trish Carle- 4:50
• Christmas Scripture and Message-Bishop- 11:12

Come Home for Christmas

We all know, that during the Christmas season, church pews tend to be a little bit fuller than average. Are our churches prepared to give those extra people a warm welcome? I think back to the aftermath of 9/11 when church attendance swelled, as people searched out a higher power to find comfort, security, and hope. How many of those visitors still remain in our church today? Sometimes hospitality gets lost because we only have a short time to catch up with our friends at church.

This Christmas season I pray that our eyes are opened to the visitors to our congregations. We should make a purposeful effort to seek out those people and chat with them, and invite them to church activities, and even outside of church get-togethers.

In the next webcast I talk to Tom Salsgiver about a program called "Come Home for Christmas" that encourages churches to think about ways that they can be open and welcoming to visitors. It asks the congregation to put up signs that might be helpful to guests. It also suggests leaving end seats available for easy access. The main theme is to make the church accomodating to visitors, and begin to build a meaningful relationship with them. Building meaningful relationships is very important. We hear on the news that so often people end their lives because they don't feel that anyone cares about them. 

I'd like to share a short story: There was a little boy that was afraid of the dark and kept calling his mother to comfort him. "Don't worry son. God is with you, there is no reason to be frightened."
 "I know," the little boy said, "but I'd like a God with some skin on!"
 On Christmas we celebrate when Jesus came to earth so that we could have a God with skin on. But now that he has ascended into heaven, we are called to be the body of Christ. We must reach out to visitors this Christmas, and be ready to be a vessel for God to reach out to them "with some skin on."

Christmas webisode

Watch this webcast for Christmas ideas about hosting a party at a U.M. camp site (1:00), gifts from Mission Central (4:20),and a Blue Christmas service (10:50).

Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving season, I give thanks to those who have supported me in switching my major to communications. I took a leap of faith switching from a major with job security, to a major with an uncertain future. However, I found hope and excitement in waiting to see what God has planned. I contacted Jerry about an internship with the Susquehanna Conference, and he agreed to speak with me. He listened to my story, but said unfortunately there were no available positions. However, a few days later he contacted me and said that he had prayed about it, and was able to create a position for me. This was a confirmation to me, that God was with me in my decision to switch to communications. I am so thankful for the opportunity to share God's love with people through the growing avenues of communication such as social networking, blogging, and webcasting. Thank you all for watching, reading, and giving me an outlet for exploring my gifts.

If any of you have stories of when you have been blessed for stepping out in faith, I'd love to read them. You can post them in the comments box, or send them to my e-mail at bspriggle@susumc.org

Christmas Ideas

Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is around the corner, and sooner than we know it Christmas will be here! Susquehanna Xpress has some ideas for Christmas this year.

• Buy a kit from Mission Central in honor of a friend.
• Host your holiday banquet at a U.M. camp site and let the staff do the cooking.
• Attend a service of hope called Blue Christmas.

Look for more in depth descriptions of these ideas on the next webcast.

It's Here!

Jerry and crew have been working hard editing the webcast and the final product is now online! Have a look for yourself.

Film Editing

The filming part of the webcast is finished. Now it is in the editing stage. Ashley, Jerry, and Sandii have been working hard behind the scenes to get the video captured and edited. This includes creating graphics, titles, and music. It has been interesting to watch the process and I've learned a lot. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the video process but I will share with you some of the lingo and techniques that I have observed.

Lingo
(some of these may be our own interpretation of words, and may not match accepted usage)

• Slate- the background screen that displays a title
• Nose shot- close up camera shot used to focus the camera: if it is in focus close, it will be in focus far
• Fade-in - a shot that gradually increases from darkness to light, or quiet to sound
• Fade-out - the opposite of a fade-in
• Dissolve- gradual scene transition, one scene fades-in and the other fades-out
• High Definition- 4-5 times the amount of pixels per frame as standard definition
• Soft box- white material fitted over a strobe that diffuses the light evenly
• Capture-the process of changing the format from tape into a digital file
• Fire Wire-cable with fast method of transferring electrical impulse
• HDMI- transmits high definition video
• Logo- musical intoduction to a program
• Stinger- short audio clip used to link, introduce, or end segments of video

I will probably be editing this list as I learn more terms. I look forward to posting the webcast soon!

A Time for Everything

As the fall leaves begin to change colors all around us I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1 which says: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.


Our society is rapidly relying more and more on technology. Creating this webcast is a season of change for us at  the Susquehanna Conference, The United Methodist Church. We are trying to reach out in new mediums such as facebook, this blog and the webcast as a way to stay connected. I feel privileged that I get the chance to host this exciting new ministry in the cyber world. I'm not the most technologically savvy person though, so there has been a learning curve. The whole webcast production has been a new experience for all of us here, so please bear with us as we figure it out. We are very excited about it, and hope that you find the material exciting as well. I look forward to hearing your comments.

Connectional Ministries

My position at the Susquehanna Conference, The United Methodist Church is in a program division called Connectional Ministries. The Connectional Ministries communications staff produces a newspaper, the Susquehanna Link. It can be viewed online by going to the Conference homepage http://susumc.org/. Put the cursor over the News tab, then click Susquehanna Link from the drop down menu.


The drop down menu under the Connectional Ministries tab reveals other catergories, including: Camp and Retreat Ministries, Board of Church and Society, Health Ministries, Young People Ministry, Higher Education/Campus Ministry, and Discovery Place.


In the upcoming webcast I interviewed Jody Robinson of the Discovery Place-a Chrisian resource center in the Conference. She shares some of her favorite new material, and speaks of how to access them. I look forward to having her back to share more christian resources.


Through the webcasts, we will introduce you to some of the services that the Connectional Ministries provides, as well as encouraging stories throughout the Susquehanna River valley area.

Progress

I'm happy to report, that the webcast is in production! I interviewed Rob Visscher, executive director of Mission Central, today. He shared some touching God moments of how God uses people when they follow His holy nudge.


Susquehanna Xpress now has a facebook page. You are welcome to browse it and give your feedback.


I'm excited to use these new avenues of communication as a way to share God's love with the world.