Posts
By Jeff Webb
Day Three: I See Your Raise
I've come to the conclusion that this year's Annual Conference is a slow burning one. The business sessions and worship services, while good, are not quite as energetic or passionate as they seemed in years past, but that's okay. After tonight's worship service, with an awesome message delivered by Bishop Nhiwatiwa and powerful music performed by the praise band, things really do seem to be heating up.
Like yesterday, I started today with an early morning jog around the track. Then, I headed over to the dining hall for breakfast, where I also checked my mailbox and--surprise, surprise--I had an envelope from none other than Dr. McNamara herself. I opened it to find two graded Irish literature exams and my paper on Samuel Beckett. Good stuff.
I went to the morning Bible study at 8:30AM in the Chapel. It was led by Ms. Harriet Olsen, who spoke about Acts 1 and asked the people in attendance, "If you could serve as an eyewitness for Christ, what would you report on?"
The business session began at 10AM. After a laity address delivered by 16-year-old Mark Evans, who shared his experiences about volunteering in the Dominican Republic and at Spring Heights church camp, the Conference moved on to vote for our first set of resolutions.
One particular resolution, "Support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform," should have caused some debate, but it did not. Surprisingly, the resolution was adopted with little opposition. Who would have thought Christians could actually agree on something from time to time?
At the evening worship service, Bishop Nhiwatiwa challenged the congregation, asking, "Are you the Church?" and instructing us to "go and tell in Jesus' name."
Near the conclusion of the service, Bishop Lyght offered up a prayer for the unchurched before dismissing the congregation by saying, "Our service has ended, but our service begins."
Bishop Lyght also invited people to stop and have ice cream on their way out of the Chapel, as tonight was the annual ice cream social sponsored by the Conference Youth.
Tomorrow, which is the last day for business, proves to be very interesting. We will be voting on a set of constitutional amendments that will probably be cause for some discourse, so that should be fun.
Once again, morning prayer and Bible study is in the Chapel beginning at 8:30AM. Business starts at 10AM.
Shalom.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Annual Conference Update
By Jeff Webb
Day Two: It's On
Annual Conference officially got started today. For me, it began at 5AM when I woke up in my dorm room and couldn't get back to sleep.
After laying in my bed, awake, for a further forty minutes, I got up and went for a jog around the football field. The sun was already up--it came up early--and the sky was a beautiful orange.
Opening worship was at 9:30AM in the Chapel. The Africa University choir, who will be touring the state after Conference's conclusion, sang a wonderful song that got everybody inspired. Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, of the Zimbabwe Annual Conference, delivered the message, asking the congregation, "What kind of Christ do you know?"
Communion was held at the end of the service. It always amazes me how they manage to do communion with so many people in the space provided, but they get it done somehow.
The first business session started at 1:45PM. Wesleyan's Dr. Marvin Carr was presented with the Francis Asbury award "for his countless acts of kindness." In addition, WVWC President Pamela Balch gave a report about the current status of the College, how enrollment has continued to climb, graduate programs have been added, and students continually participate in service-oriented projects.
Next week, according to Balch, the College will start to focus on its Master Plan, which will bring changes to the campus not seen "since the 1960s Stanley Martin era."
The Cabinet ended the first business session with their State of the Church address, referencing scripture about the Tower of Babel and urging churches to work on building bridges, not towers. Wesleyan District superintendent Ken Ramsey stressed that building these bridges and forming connections with people in the name of Jesus Christ is an urgent task.
Overall, it was a good day. Tomorrow proves to be even more interesting as business gets further underway. Opening worship is at 8:30AM in the Chapel, and business starts at 10AM in the Chapel.
On one additional note, as I referenced it in my previous post: Theta Chi no longer needs to cut its grass. It was mowed today, and the yard looks quite lovely.
Day Two: It's On
Annual Conference officially got started today. For me, it began at 5AM when I woke up in my dorm room and couldn't get back to sleep.
After laying in my bed, awake, for a further forty minutes, I got up and went for a jog around the football field. The sun was already up--it came up early--and the sky was a beautiful orange.
Opening worship was at 9:30AM in the Chapel. The Africa University choir, who will be touring the state after Conference's conclusion, sang a wonderful song that got everybody inspired. Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, of the Zimbabwe Annual Conference, delivered the message, asking the congregation, "What kind of Christ do you know?"
Communion was held at the end of the service. It always amazes me how they manage to do communion with so many people in the space provided, but they get it done somehow.
The first business session started at 1:45PM. Wesleyan's Dr. Marvin Carr was presented with the Francis Asbury award "for his countless acts of kindness." In addition, WVWC President Pamela Balch gave a report about the current status of the College, how enrollment has continued to climb, graduate programs have been added, and students continually participate in service-oriented projects.
Next week, according to Balch, the College will start to focus on its Master Plan, which will bring changes to the campus not seen "since the 1960s Stanley Martin era."
The Cabinet ended the first business session with their State of the Church address, referencing scripture about the Tower of Babel and urging churches to work on building bridges, not towers. Wesleyan District superintendent Ken Ramsey stressed that building these bridges and forming connections with people in the name of Jesus Christ is an urgent task.
Overall, it was a good day. Tomorrow proves to be even more interesting as business gets further underway. Opening worship is at 8:30AM in the Chapel, and business starts at 10AM in the Chapel.
On one additional note, as I referenced it in my previous post: Theta Chi no longer needs to cut its grass. It was mowed today, and the yard looks quite lovely.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Annual Conference Update
By Jeff Webb
Day One: Arrival
I left my house in Charleston, WV, sometime around 5:30PM, and, roughly two hours later, I arrived in Buckhannon for my third consecutive Annual Conference. I drove into town listening to Kiss' "New York Groove," a song that always gets me in the mood for returning to Wesleyan. After turning onto College Avenue and driving past the Theta Chi house (which, by the way, needs to have its grass cut), I ended up in the Chapel Oval, parked outside Rockefeller Gymnasium.
I made my way inside to the gym and registered. Then, I went over to Jenkins, where I checked out my room and also retrieved some items I had stashed on Jenkins' fourth floor at the end of last semester.
After dinner and a quick stop at Walmart, I returned to my room to relax and prepare for tomorrow, for tomorrow is when the real fun begins. Opening worship kicks off at 9:30AM in the Chapel, and the first business session starts at 1:45PM in the Chapel.
At that, I bid you good night. Check back here tomorrow for more updates.
Day One: Arrival
I left my house in Charleston, WV, sometime around 5:30PM, and, roughly two hours later, I arrived in Buckhannon for my third consecutive Annual Conference. I drove into town listening to Kiss' "New York Groove," a song that always gets me in the mood for returning to Wesleyan. After turning onto College Avenue and driving past the Theta Chi house (which, by the way, needs to have its grass cut), I ended up in the Chapel Oval, parked outside Rockefeller Gymnasium.
I made my way inside to the gym and registered. Then, I went over to Jenkins, where I checked out my room and also retrieved some items I had stashed on Jenkins' fourth floor at the end of last semester.
After dinner and a quick stop at Walmart, I returned to my room to relax and prepare for tomorrow, for tomorrow is when the real fun begins. Opening worship kicks off at 9:30AM in the Chapel, and the first business session starts at 1:45PM in the Chapel.
At that, I bid you good night. Check back here tomorrow for more updates.
Annual Conference Updates
This week, the West Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church will be meeting at Wesleyan's campus. Starting today, Assistant Editor Jeff Webb will cover the event, reflecting on his experiences each day and posting the reflections to this blog. So, if you find yourself curious about the going-ons of the UM Church, check back here. Shalom.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
I Admire Your Pictures Very Much
A Review of Drag Me to Hell
By Jeff Webb
Drag Me to Hell is one of the best horror films to emerge from Hollywood in recent years. Directed by Sam Raimi, the man responsible for the iconic Evil Dead trilogy, the film is just pure scary, campy fun.
The story revolves around bank employee Christine Brown, played sweetly and innocently by Allison Lohman, who denies a housing payment extension to gypsy Mrs. Ganush in the interest of earning a job promotion. In retaliation for the bank foreclosing her house, Mrs. Ganush places a curse upon Christine. For three days, Christine will be tormented by evil, and on the third day she will be, as the title indicates, dragged to Hell.
The film is full of Raimi’s trademarks: evil spirits, possession, scatological and physical humor, quick camera zooms, absurd close-ups. The overall effect gives the film a somewhat light-hearted tone, despite the dark territory of the story. However, that is precisely Raimi’s objective. Completely tongue-in-cheek, Drag Me to Hell doesn’t make the mistake of taking itself too seriously. As a result, the film is all the more refreshing when compared with most other contemporary horror films, films that tend to be overly serious and exist for nothing more than punishing their audiences. Drag Me to Hell, meanwhile, harkens back to horror films of old, when scary movies would terrify their viewers, but, at the same time, provide an endless amount of fun.
If the film has one major flaw, it is that it indulges in the technology of today to tell its story. Here, Raimi, once a masterful low-budget filmmaker, uses CGI as opposed to good, earnest make-up effects for most of the film. However, most of these CGI effects, while ambitious, come across as incredibly cheap and fake looking, some of them laughably bad. One really must wonder, though, if this was perhaps Raimi’s point. The entire film is purposefully cheesy, so why not the effects? Whether intentional or not, this one flaw—if it is a flaw—does little to detract from the overall effect of the film.
In this still-young summer movie season, Drag Me to Hell ranks right up there with Star Trek as the best of the season. Refreshing, campy fun, Drag Me to Hell is, pun intended, one hell of a film.
By Jeff Webb
Drag Me to Hell is one of the best horror films to emerge from Hollywood in recent years. Directed by Sam Raimi, the man responsible for the iconic Evil Dead trilogy, the film is just pure scary, campy fun.
The story revolves around bank employee Christine Brown, played sweetly and innocently by Allison Lohman, who denies a housing payment extension to gypsy Mrs. Ganush in the interest of earning a job promotion. In retaliation for the bank foreclosing her house, Mrs. Ganush places a curse upon Christine. For three days, Christine will be tormented by evil, and on the third day she will be, as the title indicates, dragged to Hell.
The film is full of Raimi’s trademarks: evil spirits, possession, scatological and physical humor, quick camera zooms, absurd close-ups. The overall effect gives the film a somewhat light-hearted tone, despite the dark territory of the story. However, that is precisely Raimi’s objective. Completely tongue-in-cheek, Drag Me to Hell doesn’t make the mistake of taking itself too seriously. As a result, the film is all the more refreshing when compared with most other contemporary horror films, films that tend to be overly serious and exist for nothing more than punishing their audiences. Drag Me to Hell, meanwhile, harkens back to horror films of old, when scary movies would terrify their viewers, but, at the same time, provide an endless amount of fun.
If the film has one major flaw, it is that it indulges in the technology of today to tell its story. Here, Raimi, once a masterful low-budget filmmaker, uses CGI as opposed to good, earnest make-up effects for most of the film. However, most of these CGI effects, while ambitious, come across as incredibly cheap and fake looking, some of them laughably bad. One really must wonder, though, if this was perhaps Raimi’s point. The entire film is purposefully cheesy, so why not the effects? Whether intentional or not, this one flaw—if it is a flaw—does little to detract from the overall effect of the film.
In this still-young summer movie season, Drag Me to Hell ranks right up there with Star Trek as the best of the season. Refreshing, campy fun, Drag Me to Hell is, pun intended, one hell of a film.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
David Carradine, 1936-2009
Actor David Carradine, best known for his roles on TV's Kung Fu and as the title character in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, died Wednesday, June 3rd, at the age of 72. To remember this talented actor and pop-culture icon, we have included a video below. In it, Carradine, playing Bill in Kill Bill, ponders the mystery and wonder of life and death.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Pharos Joins the 21st Century
Taking a page out of the Chloe O'Brian playbook (anybody? anybody?), The Pharos is going high-tech this summer. Follow us here at our blog, or check out our Twitter page at http://www.twitter.com/wvwcpharos or join our Facebook page at facebook.com.
Friday, May 22, 2009
I Admire Your Pictures Very Much
A Review of Star Trek
By Jeff Webb
The new Star Trek film, directed by J.J. Abrams, is perfect entertainment for the summer movie season. Full of action, adventure, romance, and special effects, Star Trek has all the elements and spectacle of a big-budget blockbuster. Though lacking some in thematic depth, the film more than makes up for it in other arenas, its dialogue and acting and directing firing on all cylinders. It is an amazingly consistent and absorbing film.
The film begins with an epic space battle that is both suspenseful and sad. From there, viewers meet a young James T. Kirk, not yet a legendary Starfleet captain but rather just an arrogant and thrill-seeking adolescent rebelling against all forms of establishment. However, after a conversation with Captain Pike, played by the underrated Bruce Greenwood, Kirk’s fate begins to take shape. He joins Starfleet, and from there the Star Trek characters audiences know and love are introduced. Spock, Bones, Sulu, Scotty, Chekhov, Uhura. They’re all there, albeit a bit younger than their 1960s counterparts.
The film’s casting is near perfect. As Kirk, Chris Pine is perfect, emoting a playboy charm but also a melancholy depth. He is a reluctant hero, carefree and sarcastic, someone who wants to live life for himself and no one else, but that all changes. In many ways, Star Trek is a coming-of-age story for Kirk as much as it is a story about time travel and space exploration.
Likewise, Zachary Quinto as Spock is wonderfully cast. He brings a coldness to the character, yet also a desperateness to succeed. His human side forever in conflict with his Vulcan side, Spock is a complex character, torn between two ways of life, between reason and passion.
Abrams just might be a great director someday. Almost with the ease of Spielberg, though not quite, Abrams understands the balance between commercialism and depth. He has a sense for cinematography and a sense for atmosphere, yet there is also an undeniable sense of fun running throughout the film. Star Trek is, if nothing else, a great adventure story.
The heart of the film, though, is the relationship of Kirk and Spock. It is a film about friendship, about the discovery of that friendship. For audiences, the film is nostalgic, a rediscovery of the friendships we all had with these characters, and perhaps a rediscovery of the humanity within us all. Star Trek is full of diverse personalities, from whites to blacks to Asians to alien creatures all working together for the common good. It is an optimistic thought, an inspiring thought, that maybe, someday, in the 23rd century perhaps, all peoples and creatures can come together and boldly go, together, to where no one has gone before.
By Jeff Webb
The new Star Trek film, directed by J.J. Abrams, is perfect entertainment for the summer movie season. Full of action, adventure, romance, and special effects, Star Trek has all the elements and spectacle of a big-budget blockbuster. Though lacking some in thematic depth, the film more than makes up for it in other arenas, its dialogue and acting and directing firing on all cylinders. It is an amazingly consistent and absorbing film.
The film begins with an epic space battle that is both suspenseful and sad. From there, viewers meet a young James T. Kirk, not yet a legendary Starfleet captain but rather just an arrogant and thrill-seeking adolescent rebelling against all forms of establishment. However, after a conversation with Captain Pike, played by the underrated Bruce Greenwood, Kirk’s fate begins to take shape. He joins Starfleet, and from there the Star Trek characters audiences know and love are introduced. Spock, Bones, Sulu, Scotty, Chekhov, Uhura. They’re all there, albeit a bit younger than their 1960s counterparts.
The film’s casting is near perfect. As Kirk, Chris Pine is perfect, emoting a playboy charm but also a melancholy depth. He is a reluctant hero, carefree and sarcastic, someone who wants to live life for himself and no one else, but that all changes. In many ways, Star Trek is a coming-of-age story for Kirk as much as it is a story about time travel and space exploration.
Likewise, Zachary Quinto as Spock is wonderfully cast. He brings a coldness to the character, yet also a desperateness to succeed. His human side forever in conflict with his Vulcan side, Spock is a complex character, torn between two ways of life, between reason and passion.
Abrams just might be a great director someday. Almost with the ease of Spielberg, though not quite, Abrams understands the balance between commercialism and depth. He has a sense for cinematography and a sense for atmosphere, yet there is also an undeniable sense of fun running throughout the film. Star Trek is, if nothing else, a great adventure story.
The heart of the film, though, is the relationship of Kirk and Spock. It is a film about friendship, about the discovery of that friendship. For audiences, the film is nostalgic, a rediscovery of the friendships we all had with these characters, and perhaps a rediscovery of the humanity within us all. Star Trek is full of diverse personalities, from whites to blacks to Asians to alien creatures all working together for the common good. It is an optimistic thought, an inspiring thought, that maybe, someday, in the 23rd century perhaps, all peoples and creatures can come together and boldly go, together, to where no one has gone before.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
2009-2010, Volume 101
The Pharos congratulates next year's Editor in Chief, Alic' Shreves. Her assistant editor will be Jeff Webb.
Best wishes to everyone next year, and thank you to the current staff of The Pharos for a great year of publication!
Best wishes to everyone next year, and thank you to the current staff of The Pharos for a great year of publication!
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Message From the President
Note: Due to space constraints, this week's Message from the President was not run in the print edition. It is being run here instead. Questions? Comments? Email pharos@wvwc.edu.
As I sit here and write this column, it is the evening of the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts. Today is truly a huge success for Wesleyan. This center has been years in the planning and making and another goal will have been achieved for Wesleyan. I believe this campus should give a big hand to President Balch, the Trustees, and Wesleyan’s entire administration for taking this project from a picture to a completed success that stands on College Avenue.
The ribbon cutting ceremony is the kick off event for the spring Board of Trustees Meeting. Also to be included during this spring session is a tour of the new research center and also the Fleming renovation project. I am very excited to see the progress of both projects and also to see how much closer Wesleyan is to complete more goals.
In thinking about the goals that Wesleyan has completed, I think of the leaps and bounds we have made as a Student Senate this semester. For those not directly involved with Student Senate I would like to update you on our completed goals. We have raised and continue to raise funds to be offered to student organizations, we have pushed and continue to push the Student Bill of Rights and the Honor Code through the channels of approval, and also we have increased attendance tremendously. Julie Keehner spoke up at our Student Senate retreat and shared with us that when she arrived at Wesleyan, there were approximately 4-5 students that attended each meeting. Now, we have over 40 students that attend each meeting.
Since I arrived at Wesleyan as a freshman I have been involved with Student Senate and I have personally seen how it has grown not only in attendance but also in the tasks that it achieves. This has been a very successful semester for Student Senate and for the Wesleyan Community. I hope we will all stay focused on Wesleyan’s goals and as President Balch says, “continue to take Wesleyan from good to great!” I wish you luck in the last few weeks of the semester. Our last meeting will take place at Dean Julie Keehner’s house on April 21st at 6pm.
All the best,
Eric Hillyard
President, Student Senate
As I sit here and write this column, it is the evening of the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts. Today is truly a huge success for Wesleyan. This center has been years in the planning and making and another goal will have been achieved for Wesleyan. I believe this campus should give a big hand to President Balch, the Trustees, and Wesleyan’s entire administration for taking this project from a picture to a completed success that stands on College Avenue.
The ribbon cutting ceremony is the kick off event for the spring Board of Trustees Meeting. Also to be included during this spring session is a tour of the new research center and also the Fleming renovation project. I am very excited to see the progress of both projects and also to see how much closer Wesleyan is to complete more goals.
In thinking about the goals that Wesleyan has completed, I think of the leaps and bounds we have made as a Student Senate this semester. For those not directly involved with Student Senate I would like to update you on our completed goals. We have raised and continue to raise funds to be offered to student organizations, we have pushed and continue to push the Student Bill of Rights and the Honor Code through the channels of approval, and also we have increased attendance tremendously. Julie Keehner spoke up at our Student Senate retreat and shared with us that when she arrived at Wesleyan, there were approximately 4-5 students that attended each meeting. Now, we have over 40 students that attend each meeting.
Since I arrived at Wesleyan as a freshman I have been involved with Student Senate and I have personally seen how it has grown not only in attendance but also in the tasks that it achieves. This has been a very successful semester for Student Senate and for the Wesleyan Community. I hope we will all stay focused on Wesleyan’s goals and as President Balch says, “continue to take Wesleyan from good to great!” I wish you luck in the last few weeks of the semester. Our last meeting will take place at Dean Julie Keehner’s house on April 21st at 6pm.
All the best,
Eric Hillyard
President, Student Senate
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