Quote of the Day

Imperfect man in an imperfect world trying, imperfectly, to serve our perfect God. BB

How fabulous is this?

White Flour

by David LaMotte

(a true story about events that occurred on May 26, 2007. © 2007 Lower Dryad Music)

The day was bright and sunny as most May days tend to be
In the hills of Appalachia down in Knoxville, Tennessee
The men put on their uniforms and quickly took their places
In white robes and those tall and pointed hoods that hid their faces

Their feet all fell in rhythm as they started their parade
They raised their fists into the air, they bellowed and they brayed
They loved to stir the people up, they loved when they were taunted
They didn’t mind the anger, that’s precisely what they wanted

As they came around the corner, sure enough, the people roared
They couldn’t quite believe their ears, it seemed to be – support?
Had Knoxville finally seen the light, were people coming ‘round?
The men thought for a moment that they’d found their kind of town

But then they turned their eyes to where the cheering had its source
As one their faces soured as they saw the mighty force
The crowd had painted faces, and some had tacky clothes
Their hair and hats outrageous, each had a red foam nose

The clowns had come in numbers to enjoy the grand parade
They danced and laughed that other clowns had come to town that day
And then the marchers shouted, and the clowns all strained to hear
Each one tuned in intently with a gloved hand to an ear

“White power!” screamed the marchers, and they raised their fisted hands
The clowns leaned in and listened like they couldn’t understand
Then one held up his finger and helped all the others see
The point of all this yelling, and they joined right in with glee

“White flour!” they all shouted and they felt inside their clothes
They pulled out bags and tore them and huge clouds of powder rose
They poured it on each other and they threw it in the air
It got all over baggy clothes and multi-colored hair

All but just a few of them were joining in the jokes
You could almost see the marchers turning red beneath white cloaks
They wanted to look scary, they wanted to look tough
One rushed right at the clowns in rage, and was hauled away in cuffs

But the others chanted louder marching on around the bend
The clowns all marched along with them supporting their new friends
“White power!” came the marchers’ cry — they were not amused
The clowns grew still and thoughtful; perhaps they’d been confused?

They huddled and consulted, this bright and silly crowd
They listened quite intently, then one said “I’ve got it now!”
“White flowers!” screamed the happy clown and all the rest joined in
The air was filled with flowers, and they laughed and danced again

“Everyone loves flowers! And white’s a pretty sort!
I can’t think of a better cause for marchers to support!”
Green flower stems went flying like small arrows from bad archers
White petals covered everything, including the mad marchers

And then a very tall clown called the others to attention
He choked down all his chuckles, and said “Friends I have to mention
That what with all the mirth and fun it’s sort of hard to hear
But now I know the cause that these strange marchers hold so dear

“Tight showers!” the clown blurted out, and hit his head in wonder
He held up a camp shower and the others all got under
Or at least they tried to get beneath, they strained but couldn’t quite
There wasn’t room for all of them, they pushed, but it was tight

“White Power!” came their marchers’ cry, quite carefully pronounced
The clowns consulted once again, then a woman clown announced
“I’ve got it! I’m embarrassed that it took so long to see
But what these marchers march for is a cause quite dear to me!”

“Wife power!” she exclaimed and all the other clowns joined in
They shook their heads and laughed at how mistaken they had been
The women clowns were hoisted up on shoulders of the others
Some pulled on wedding dresses, “Here’s to wives and mothers!”

The men in robes were angry and they knew they’d been defeated
They yelled a few more times and then they finally retreated
And when they’d gone a black policeman turned to all the clowns
And offered them an escort to the center of the town

The day was bright and sunny as most May days tend to be
In the hills of Appalachia down in Knoxville, Tennessee
People joined the new parade, the crowd stretched out for miles
The clowns passed out more flowers and made everybody smile

And what would be the lesson of that shiny southern day?
Can we understand the message that the clowns sought to convey?
Seems that when you’re fighting hatred, hatred’s not the thing to use
So here’s to those who march on in their massive, silly shoes

ht: Prespreacher

The Alphabet Prayer

Amazing, Awesome, Attentive
Bestow, Bless, Begin, Bear
Comfort, console, challenge
Drain, Douse, Deliver
Excite, energize, examine
Fuel, fill, fulfill, forgive
Give, Grant, Glorify
Heal, Help, Hold
Intervene, Inspire, ignite
Justify
Know
Love, Lean, Lead, Loosen
Magnify, Merit, Merciful
Noble
Open, Omnipotent, Omniscient
Pull-up, Pour-out, Peace
Quiet
Revive, Renew, Restore, Rectify
Sustain, Sanctify, Save
Train, Teach, Tame
Underwrite, Understand, Unify
Victorious,
Work in us, Wonderful, Worldly
Your, Yield, Yoke
Zealous

Prayer of Confession

Merciful God, the one who forgives the unforgiveable and loves the unlovable,

We confess that we have not loved you with our whole hearts--
We have given ourselves over to material things, things of this world, worry & anxiety,
and not fully to you, O God.
We have failed to be an obedient church--
We have not served your people, or preached the name of Jesus.
We have not concerned ourselves with the salvation of others.
We have not done your will--
We have been driven by our own wants and desires.
We have broken your law--
We have not worshipped you alone,
We have created idols of money, power, and notoriety.
We have not kept the sabbath holy.
We have murdered, if not in deed, in our thoughts.
We have committed adultery.
We have lied.
We have coveted that which was not ours.
We have rebelled against your love--
we have refused to be loved fully, accepted wholly, and renewed completely.
We have not loved our neighbors--
we have not learned their names or heard their stories,
We've had disdain for their music, their children, and their citizenship.
We have not heard the cry of the needy--
We have left mouths unfed, illness untreated, bodies unclothed, and people unsheltered.
Forgive us, we pray.
Free us for joyful obedience--
liberate us to love, laugh, and live as you intended
Unshackle us from guilt and inaction
that we might truly attend to your Word and your people.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

**This prayer is an adaptation of the prayer of confession from the United Methodist Hymnal.

Joshua Tree National Forest

This weekend a friend came to town for a visit. After exploring our options we decided to head to Joshua Tree National Forest for a tour and a hike. We packed some snacks and water and hit the road. It had been years since I'd been, so I had very little recollection of the landscape. It was gorgeous. It is amazing how many Joshua trees there are. I know, that's why it's called a forest, and the plethora of these bad boys is why it's even a national park--but really, there are so many. When you're in a regular forest it hardly seems like "man, there are so many trees here." Because a forest has lots of trees, right?! But in the desert where flora is often limited, an abundance of anything is impressive.



Also impressive were the wildflowers. Part of why we went was I had heard they were in bloom. As you drive through the desert you see the landscape change and note a little purple or white or yellow here and there. But you actually have to stop and get of the car to see it for all it's splendor. First off because most of the flowers themselves are tiny. The pictures are close ups, so you don't really get the idea, but really, most of the flower heads ranged in size from the size of a dime to the size of a quarter--nothing bigger than that. And yet to intricate and beautitul. It's incredible. Definitely a reminder of this passage.



While it's the desert, the diversity of plants is still incredible. These fuzzy headed guys make me smile!










If you're unfamiliar, this is a Joshua Tree bloom.

A matter of semantics

Recently I have been particularly cognizant of people's diction. Especially their word choice around what it is I do. I'm not sure why, but I have been particularly sensitive to things like:

"I'd like to come and see you perform."

"That was a nice talk."

"What you do is magic."

Generally I don't make a fuss to the person saying such things. I just thank them and move on. If they are closer to me, then I have said things like, "I don't do magic. What I do is of God." Sometimes I find it hard to articulate just what it is I do, or how it is different from other things. And yet on the other hand, it is not terribly difficult for me to articulate what it is I don't do. I do not perform. Worship is not a performance. It is not theater. It is not drama. It is worship. It is experiential, and, despite common practice, can be dramatic, engaging, and full of things other than standing, sitting, reciting, and listening. But it is not a performance. What I do is not an act. It is real. It is authentic. It is genuine. Granted, my worship persona is a bit different than how you might find me if we were hanging out at the beach, but that does not make it an act.

The "nice talk" comment actually came from someone who was in church for the first time, so there is no real offense there. But I have received that comment on multiple occasions from regular church go-ers and the reference to a sermon being a "talk" or "speech" in my mind diminishes the actual act of preaching, and it seems to be related either to my age or to my gender, or to both. So while the particular incident of this comment is not a valid queja. The others, more often than not, are.

Then there's magic. This one, too, urks me. Seriously urks me. I am not a magician. Neither is God. Feeling better through prayer isn't about magic, it's about God acting. It could be said it's simply a matter of semantics. You say "po-tay-toe" I say "po-tah-toe". But to me it's more than that. One is a negation or diminishing of God and the other is an elevation of God, God's investment in the world, and God's care for the individual. And I can't help but think that some of the general whatever-ness toward God and religion comes from this blurring of lines. (though this might be one of those chicken and the egg questions). I mean, if we make no differentiation between what we consider magic (or luck) and what we consider God's action, then we have little care for the agent. If it's all the same, then choosing one over the other doesn't matter, because they become one in the same. And since magic seems to be much more kosher than God these days (culturally speaking), then it becomes the default for what we believe and trust.

ABCD

When I was in seminary we talked a lot about Asset Based Community Development (ABCD). The premise is that instead of going in and talking all about the deficiencies of a community, we instead look for their assets and try and strengthen and develop those, in turn either addressing or compensating for the weaknesses or shortfalls.

Those of us in the church talk A LOT about the decline in numbers, which is a truth, no doubt. But today I was reading "Faith In Action" and read this:

"The United Methodist Church has a membership of approximately 11 million persons. We are a global church with 8 million members in the United States making us the third largest Christian denomination in the country."

Declining or not, we are still the 3rd largest Christian denomination in the US--that's pretty good folks. So what if we stopped harping on ourselves for our losses and shortcomings, making us feel inadequate, unspiritual, unfaithful, and useless, and instead went, "hey, we're doing alright here, let's keep doing what we're doing and at least stay in 3rd". Granted, it's not all about our place, our #, or even our membership numbers. And I wouldn't say that focusing on being 3rd grants us permission to stop trying to growing.

Nevertheless, as someone who was regularly ranked in my primary and secondary education, knowing my rank helped me want to keep doing well so I wouldn't lose (God forbid)! And I think that, given my inclination toward winning and success, if I had been #151 (out of 158), I might not have bothered to try, I wouldn't have seen things only as an uphill battle, and would have become complacent. But knowing I was #_ (single digit) helped me keep striving.

For the sake of argument, no, competition is probably not the best way to drive our spirituality, but it is part of our nature, and so allowing congregations to "compete" for who can donate the most cans of soup or jars of peanut butter, or who can keep a foothold in the public eye on religion might not be the worst way to go about things. Because with competition comes success, and with success comes motivation...

So what if we became and ABCD church instead of a DWS (Dang we suck/shrink) church?! What if we allowed ourselves a second to breathe before we launched the next attack on all the things we do wrong and Oh, I don't know, let grace take part in our communities...

Wow....

I am working on a prayer workshop and wanted images of various things: world hunger, homelessness, ecological destruction, and then started looking for pictures of politicians. I was somewhat dismayed at what I found when I typed in Condolezza Rice. Click here, here, and here for examples. There's always the argument that highlighting it only makes it more powerful, but I am ashamed at how disrespectful people are. I can't even imagine what it's like to be a world leader and then find such slanderous pictures as these. It's ridiculous.

Baby steps

There's a Korean congregation at my new appointment. They are a both a separate congregation and seemingly a separate church, though those distinctions may have yet to be worked out as they have only been at WUMC for a few months. While I made many Korean friends in seminary and learned much from them, I feel relatively bankrupt in terms of cultural knowledge and even Korean theology. As such, I've started asking friends for suggestions about which books to read and am even thinking of taking Korean classes so I can do a better job of relating to the people.

The task of learning Korean seems a bit daunting, but I figure that even if it takes me 10 years to learn it well (meaning being fully bilingual) that I'd still have years to use it. And with the Korean church growing like it is and so many Korean language ministries in our area, it seems worthwhile to make the investment.

I got a couple of book suggestions from friends, unfortunately none of the books are housed at the Hemet library, but I did start finding other books. I'm starting with children's stories and teen fiction while I wait for a memoir. I actually think children's books are a good way to start--you can learn a lot about a culture by studying folk tales and children's imagery. (For instance, disobedient children are called "green frog" from a Korean folktale--now, I don't know how widely that term is used, I need to do investigation, but it's interesting none the less). I also read "When My Name Was Keoko" by Linda Sue Park. It's fiction, but is good. It's a 4th grade level, which is overly evident in the reading, but it's based on facts for the era between 1935-1945 when Japan still occupied Korea. I'm not teeming with Korean trivia now, but I at least have a start at some details and many things I was unaware of before, like that the Koreans had to take Japanese names, and learn Japanese in school, and that barley was the wartime substitute for rice.

It's all about the baby steps! I'll read another children's book tomorrow and check out another book soon, hopefully the memoir, or something equally as interesting!

that one might have been over the line

The other night we had a spaghetti dinner to raise money for our preschool. When I arrived I saw a husband I hadn't seen in months. I asked how he was and if they were keeping him busy at work. He said yes. I think I must have made a face, and he said, "it's good, it keeps me busy and doing things, and makes the days go by faster." I think I probably made another face, and said something like, yeah it might not be the worst thing though if you had less work (oh yeah, I forgot to mention, he's a homicide detective). He returned my comment with an odd look of his own. I had pretty much stalled the conversation with my looks and comments. I tried to cut my losses and said, "My guess is you'll still have plenty to do for a long while..." and walked away.

I sort of felt like a schmuck later. I wondered if I had insulted him. I wasn't trying to devalue the work that he does; we need homicide detectives, unfortunately, murder is a very real thing in our area. And while I value what he does, I do wish he had a bit less to do from day to day...heck, I probably wouldn't even object if he had so little to do that he had to find another job. Not that I want him to be out of work, not in a way that has anything to do with him specifically anyway, but having too few murders (or say none at all) so that there were no work for him to do--I'd go for that. But next time I think I might keep my overly idealistic what-if-we-actually-could-near-the-kingdom-of-God mouth shut.

Little less talk and a lot more action Part II

I found the clear benefits of shutting down major means of distraction and focusing on the job that had to be done. It was impressive to see how much I got down if I quieted the *noise* that so easily distracts me. Writing sermons is sort of like that email that went around when I was in college about "how to write a college paper". (Can I say that it still cracks me up to read it, mostly for how TRUE it was/is???)

But this post isn't about that--mostly because this post was. This post is about other areas of life--areas where I think we need a little less talk and a lot more action. Areas where I wonder if my time spent blogging should actually be spend doing something. I mean really doing something. Areas where I can't help but wonder why it's so simple (and necessary??) to raise $85 million each for the presidential campaigns, but seemingly impossible to raise that money to fund after school programs, homeless shelters, medical care, mosquito nets, potable water, micro-loans, or simply food for those in need both nationally and around the world.

I mean really, what if we say, this is it, you have the information you have, and otherwise we'll rely on national media--the news (that is their function right??) to provide you with information about the candidates and all that money they would have spent slandering one another, making million dollar commercials, and the like, we'll use to actually change the world, rather than just talk about it?? Honestly, I'd go for the candidate that says, "I appreciate the support you've offered through your giving, it's impressive, and I hope that I continue to have your vote through the end of this campaign, and as a show of my actual and real commitment to the issues I've been talking about, I'm gonna put this money where my mouth is." Isn't that the kind of candidate you could go for??! A little less talk and a lot more action. I dig it.

To be fair, I can't just point the finger at public figures and call upon them to take such actions. I also have to take a good hard look in the mirror and wonder if I'm just talking a good talk rather than walking the good walk. Am I spending too much time doing superfluous things that don't actually matter in making a difference in this world, or have I invested my time, money, and energy into things that will make a long standing difference in the lives of others (or even my own life and development as a person)?

Part of my Lenten discipline has been to give up TV. It wasn't hard since my actual television is sort of on the blink. I just decided I wouldn't have it fixed until later and would give up TV as a part of Lent. And while it has only seemed like a minimal sacrifice, it has been really powerful. I've been bored at night, which makes me see how much time I spend vegging out watching TV. (Most of which is not the discovery channel or A & E where I might actually learn something, but rather "Clash of the Choirs" or "Dance Wars" or "Law & Order"--entertaining? yes. Food for the brain? Not so much.) As such, with all that extra time on my hands, I've been wonderfully, okay maybe just fairly, productive. I've read books. I've had more Bible study and prayer time. I've broken out the UFOs and set to work (and now have 3 quilt tops ready to sew!) and an almost finished wall hanging. And I've been pondering this whole "little less talk and a lot more action" thing quite a bit. What if I worked on public policy with my free time? What if I volunteered more? What if I wrote my senators and representatives more often?

And acknowledging how much unproductive time I have during the day, I can't help but wonder about other people and their *wasted* time. What if we all did something meaningful with our veg time? Don't get me wrong I am a FULL-FLEDGED proponent of sabbath and self-care, but I think there's a lot of fluff in our days, where we don't a whole lot done, what if we changed that? Couldn't we change the world?

I was talking with a mentor the other day and he was talking about how he grew up in the 1960s and it was a time of radical thought and radical activity. And how he looks around now and sees all the technology but doesn't see it bringing us closer together or toward something greater (in the existential sense). I joked (but in all seriousness)--"yeah, you'd think that now that we can communicate and do things 10 times faster that we could also change the world 10 times faster."

I can't help but wonder how much good could be done if instead of making youtube videos people tutored young children. Or instead of hours of reality TV if we worked on rehabilitation of released inmates. What couldn't we accomplish with a little less talk and a lot more action?

Little less talk and a lot more action Part I

When I was little and had homework to do, or chores to do, or needed to clean my room and had a serious case of the "I don't wanna's" my dad would say, "Just do 15 minutes" or "Just work on it for 30 minutes". Suffering from serious objections to any form of labor or productivity, I wasn't very keen on his suggestion, but knowing it had to be done, 15 minutes generally sounded do-able. So I'd wander out of the room and toward my necessary task. Generally spending the 15 minutes would get me started in a focused way that I could keep going and get the job done. Or sometimes it only took 15 minutes (or less!) to finish and I'd be done.

Today I employed my dad's tactic. As I hemmed and hawwed about writing my sermon and my lack of inspiration for so doing, I decided I'd shut down the email, the chat, and the phone, and just focus on the sermon for an hour. After that I could take a break, but only after the solid hour of work. Lo and behold it worked! (Good job Dad!) I read a number of helpful articles, refused to let procrastination take hold, and got a bit of inspiration. Then I treated myself to a nap! (Good, focused, effort deserves a decent reward, right?!)

Naturally, the sermon wasn't completed in an hour, even though I had done some work before, so later in the day I did more reading, and then set up another hour of email/chat/phone free time to work. Not allowing myself to use the means of communication as distractions (even if I really did need to call ________) allowed me to stay on track and get lots of work done. So now it's 8:20 and my sermon is written. (I know for those of you who aren't procrastinators, that's not really an accomplishment, but for me, procrastinator extraodinaire, who regularly works on sermons until 11 o'clock at night on Saturdays and then again on Sunday mornings, that's a big deal). It still needs some transitions and some cleaning up, but it's written, which in my book is fabulous; yet again--Thanks Dad!

All I needed was a little less talk and a lot more action! (Okay, so not quite the Toby Keith variety, but you get the idea...).

Floja

Maybe it's spring fever, or maybe general malaise, or maybe the fact that I am gearing up for a major transition that is both exciting and terrifying at the same time....but I really don't want to work. I do not have the ganas to sermon write, or read, or prepare for the rapidly approaching MAJOR holy days...nada. And the days I do seem to feel excited and inspired, other stuff pops up...so I end up doing that instead and waste my good animo for the stuff that really does have to get done. Yeeesh.

If you like to laugh at white folks...

I'm not sure how I first came upon this blog, but it makes me laugh. Not all of it. Some of it is offensive and most of it is over-generalized, but there are parts that are SO true they just crack me up. If you're white and are willing to laugh at our idiosyncrasies, I recommend it, if you're not white and like to laugh at our idiosyncrasies, I highly recommend it. =)

Wall hanging project

I'm thinking of setting a quota on how many UFOs (unfinished objects) I am allowed to take from one house to the next. From Atlanta to CA I think I only brought one. Currently I am making baby blankets out the wazoo since everyone decided October was a good month for baby making, as well as a comforter for my bed, and a couple of wall hangings. With part of my Lenten commitment being no TV, I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands. So I've dug out the projects and started working. Yesterday I did some work on one of the wall hangings. There a few areas that are particularly "bojanggedy", but it's coming along fairly well. I'm no Molly, but I do what I can. It's still a work on progress, but here's how far I've gotten (it's supposed to be the city scape in Jerusalem...)

Prayer: Individual vs. communal

I lead a prayer group every Thursday night. Normally we are a small group of 5, though we recently added a new member. The regular folks often express their desire for more people to attend and they are convinced that more people praying there with us would change the state of affairs for the church. Now, I am whole-heartedly convinced about the power of prayer, so it's not that I don't think more prayer wouldn't help. But I do know we have many faithful folks who pray at home. So then the question becomes--does it matter if we pray in community? Does God hear us differently if we pray the same thing as a group or as separate individuals? Why should people come to communal prayer? Will it make a difference? (either for them or for the prayers being offered)? In large part, I think the benefit of praying together is sharing with the community and having people who care and who are invested. I think intercession (praying on behalf of another) is also a benefit, but both of those things seem to be more about us than about God.

So I'm looking for input/feedback/opinions--does communal prayer make a difference? if so, how?

Morning Prayer

Merciful One, Bind this day in love. Cleanse my spirit as I wash my body. Rid me heart of all impurities. Take from me all residue of anger, hurt, and unforgiveness. Give me courage to fully accept what you offer from the cross rather than linger in ideas of vengeance, pity, or woundedness. Give me courage to be made whole. Fill my spirit with your joy, your light, your compassion. Open my eyes that I may see the world as you see it--help me see hope and promise where there is despair, healing where there is brokenness, justice where there is injustice, and beauty where there is darkness. To the great I AM--the one who was and is and is to come, help me to see with the fullness of you. Shine on me. Shine through me that I may be a reflection of your light always and everywhere. Amen.

Women in power...

Along similar lines as this post, is this secular version...well, at least sort of related. You get the idea. Thanks Chai!

What happens with the men?

While I was at the youth event over the holiday weekend I noticed the cool Christian guy band, as well as their attire of blue jeans, t-shirts, and a button down shirt or sweatshirt thrown over the top. I noticed some of the other (older) cool guys in similar attire and wondered about the discrepancy between age and attire. I also noted the difference between the image of the guy band and the image of the ladies' duo--casual/everyday vs. stylish with cleaner lines. I don't want this to sound like a critique, because it's not, but the differences made me think about transitioning with age, and the general lack of men in church, versus the presence of the feminine counterpart. I had to ask myself: What happens when the cool, hip worship guys start to age and lose their appeal? How do they find a new identity/role within the church? How do we, the church, help them make the transition?

I noted, at least in my experience, that women fill similar roles across the age lines--singing, dancing, teaching, and more and more, preaching. Whereas men, especially of the contemporary music variety, are in the band, and I guess some are teaching, though I see more women at that, and then of course preaching, but then what about when they aren't cool anymore? What about when they are supposed to be "grown up"?

In seminary I talked with male friends a number of times about image--about how they didn't want to "fit in" necessarily with regular Christian men because of the connotations of being pansy, whimpy, unmasculine, too nice, etc. And I wonder if the lack of men in our churches couldn't be attributed to that idea in some way--that men aren't attracted to the church because of the image factor--like that of my seminary friends, or that when they start to get older they leave because they can no longer feel cool and hip as a member of the band (as they get displaced by younger members).

So, back to the question(s): What happens when the cool, hip worship guys start to age and lose their appeal? How do they find a new identity/role within the church? How do we, the church, help them make the transition?

Praise God for the small things!

All season I have been lamenting how EARLY Easter is this year. It's coming way too fast. Today I received the following good news:

Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008

• As you may know, Easter is always the 1^st Sunday after the 1^st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20).

• This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Here are a couple of things you might be interested in!

• Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

• This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:
  

• The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

• The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

PRAISE GOD!