Oddwalk Ministries

Blueprints: Summer Youth Ministry

oddwalk — Tue, 14 May 2013 21:19:19 +0000

This afternoon, Orin was a panelist on a webinar put on by http://www.rebuildmychurch.org on the topic of summer youth ministry – ideas, camps, programs, etc. It was a good discussion, with lots of great ideas and insights. Here’s the video of the webinar if you want to see what you missed live:

Orin mentioned by name two camps: http://youthsingpraise.com and http://youngneighbors.org – check them out for quality ministry programs over the summer! Thanks to our hosts for the good work!

Haiku Challenge VIII (we think)

oddwalk — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:47:50 +0000

Five-Seven-Five

Hey everyone, it’s that time again – visit our facebook page (or the little Facebook window there on the right) for our latest Haiku Challenge, don’t miss out on all the fun!

NCCYM 2012 Workshop Slides

oddwalk — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:38:03 +0000

For those looking for a handy download of the slides from our 2012 NCCYM Workshop (or if you’re just curious), click here! For those who missed it, Shannon and Orin led the room in sharing strategies and tips for connecting teens to the body of Christ – not in specific “use this icebreaker, play this game” sorts of ways, but larger, long-term strategies and techniques. Enjoy!

NCCYM and Wishin’ Wonderland

oddwalk — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 16:08:51 +0000

Oddwalk had a great time at the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry over the weekend in Orlando, FL. We saw a lot of old friends and met a few new ones as well. We also had the opportunity to share our ministry in a variety of settings, including the Center for Ministry Development booth, the Resource Expo Stage, a breakout session, and the Youth Ministry Extravaganza. All of these went extremely well. Congratulations goes out to the NFCYM staff and the Orlando volunteers for a great conference.

Since a few of you have asked us for the lyrics to the song we performed at the Youth Ministry Extravaganza, we’ve decided to list them here. Enjoy!

Wishin’ Wonderland
(parody of Winter Wonderland)
adapted by Shannon Cerneka and Orin Johnson (Oddwalk Ministries)

Orin: It’s staff meeting Monday, I’m falling asleep,
The principal’s fighting with the DRE,
Someone keeps moving the school desks at CCD.

No one really knows what it is that I do,
My office is tiny and my budget is too,
Meanwhile, down at the [superlong mega-seeker-church name]
they have more money than they know what to do with,
I can’t imagine what I’d do with a budget like that…

Shannon: Well, let’s go walkin’ and wishin’ together.
Orin: Together?
Shannon: Together!

Both:
We’d have a pool and a sauna
and the guys at Benihanas,
At youth group they’d make us lobster and steak, just
Walkin’ in our wishin’ wonderland.

Orin: You mean, I’d never ever ever ever ever ever have to eat pizza ever again?
Shannon: No Orin, never.
Orin: Wow!

Both:
And we’d pay off all the coaches
At the high school which encroaches
on ev’ry event we plan ev’ry lent,
Walkin’ in our wishin’ wonderland.

Orin: Wait, could we pay them off all year long, and like the band director
and everyone else too?
Shannon: Sure!

Both:
Then in our fifteen-thousand seat arena
we’d have praise and worship ev’ry night!
Monday-Wednesday-Friday it’s Matt Maher.
Shannon: Chris Tomlin at the others?
Orin: Oh, alright!

Both:
We’ll hire people who seem cooler
just to talk to middle-schoolers
And someone else who will play: hunter, bear, karate
walkin in our wishin’ wonderland

During Holy Week we’ll play a movie,
Probably “The Passion of the Christ.”
Orin: What if all the teens have lots of questions?
Shannon: Jim Caveizel will be there should they arise.

With such success, our pastor’s beamin’
We just might get one whole free weekend
And all alone we will stay, with Downton Abbey all day,

Orin: Hang on, I’m getting a text… it’s my pastor, it says, “Nice prayer at staff meeting, next youth group the pizza’s . . . on him!”
Both: Walkin’… in our wishin’… wonderland!

You Can Make A Difference!!

oddwalk — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 13:46:34 +0000

The map below highlights (in blue) all of the places Oddwalk has been over the years. Some of those states look sooo lonely dressed all in white. They’re bummed because we’ve never been there. Some of the highlighted states are “blue” because we haven’t been back there in a while.

If you’re looking to cheer up a few sad and lonely states, just follow this link:

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/contact-us/

This Public Service Announcement has been brought to you by Oddwalk Ministries. Oddwalk cares!

NCCYM 2012

oddwalk — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 11:29:38 +0000

Headed to Orlando in November for the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry?

We are! Hope to see you there!!

SWAG! – A new pOddcast to delight your ears!

oddwalk — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 16:13:40 +0000

SWAG (6/7/12) – Shannon writes and performs a song about his own personal style (and perhaps a tribute to his favorite musical artist?)

I believe the word you're searching for is "oxymoron."

If you have nothing better to do for three minutes and twenty seconds, listen to this. Even if you have something better to do maybe, it’s pretty good.

And we promise, a video is coming soon, in true Oddwalk styl- er, swag, I guess…

WE HAVE A WINNER!

oddwalk — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:57:55 +0000

It’s true! Yippee!

With some helpful sleuthing from the winner himself, we are please to announce that Matthew Robaszkiewicz from the NFCYM offices is our big winner! Congratulations Matthew, and let us know what you’d like as your prize, and how to get them to you! (You know how to find us.)

Hooray! And thanks again to all who helped us reach this milestone.

About Visitor 40,002

oddwalk — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:30:39 +0000

Well, #40,001 did not step forward to claim the big prize so it’s on to #40,002. Here’s what we know:

• Visited our site from in or near Hyattsville, MD
• At 10:09 Eastern time
• From a windows machine running Firefox at screen resolution 1920×1200
• Came to our site from a facebook posting
• Visited several pages while dropping by (thanks!)
• May have something to do with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network
• Or maybe a theological college nearby?

(It’s a bit frightening how much we can easily find out, isn’t it? And we’re not even Facebook or Google!)

So, this person now has 24 hours to identify him-or-herself. If not, the $40 merch prize will go to visitor 40,003, and we already know who he is! So, a winner in the next day for sure. Thanks again for visiting!

About visitor 40,001

oddwalk — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:00:23 +0000

Yes, we have our first candidate for a winner of the $40 in Oddwalk merch – and yes, visitor 40,001, because according to our sitemeter, visitor 40,000 was Orin, checking to see how close we were, and of course, he’s ineligible for the prize.

So, here’s what we know about visitor 40,001 – he or she is:

• from or near Colorado Springs, CO
• visited our site because we posted about it on facebook
• that was around 7:55am Colorado time
• adlephia.net could be their service provider

So, if that sounds like you, let us know! You have 24 hours to drop us a line. If that person can’t be identified, we’ll move on to 40,002 and on and on until we have a winner! So, keep leaving self-identifying comments, just in case!

Thanks all for helping us reach this milestone!

The March to 40,000!

oddwalk — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:21:11 +0000

Hello friends! As of this posting, we at the Oddblog are about 150 unique visits away from number 40,000 (since we’ve been keeping track, anyway). So, it’s prize time again! Our 40,000th visitor will receive $40 in free Oddwalk merchandise – CDs, shirts, fair trade, etc. As always, Oddwalk and our families are not eligible. It would be most helpful for your cause too if you’d leave a comment on this post when you visit so we can try to identify you. If we can’t identify visitor 40,000 or that visitor doesn’t respond to our “You Won!” email, we’ll move on to 40,001 and on and on until we do have a winner.

So, visit the Oddblog early and often, and tell your friends to do so too. We expect a winner sometime this week or early next at the latest. Thanks for all your support over the years, and good luck!

Published Again!

oddwalk — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:34:37 +0000

We assume the book also has a bottom half.

We were excited to learn today that a psalm setting of ours, Psalm 31, “I Give My Spirit” has been included in a large resource for Christian worship titled Psalms For All Seasons. It’s being unveiled this weekend at the Calvin College Worship Symposium. It’s a unique, moody setting of the Good Friday lament, not at all our usual fare. You can listen to a little clip here – it’s on our GIA CD “Walk Away Different” and already included in their great resource “Cross Generation” as well. Thanks for sharing in our good news!

Shannon’s Top Ten of 2011

oddwalk — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:31:21 +0000

Well, here ends another great year for Oddwalk Ministries. We had the opportunity to bring what we do to a lot of great places:

Granite City, IL – Toledo, Ohio – Mascoutah, IL – Breese, IL – Belleville, IL – Davenport, IA – Washington DC – Buffalo, NY – Fairview Heights, IL – Hazelwood, MO – Albany, GA – Savannah, GA – Merrillville, IN – Collinsville, IL – Indianapolis, IN

We also had a good year with the blog. Here now is my list (chronological) of the top blog posts for 2011. Enjoy!

TOLEDO SNOW – In January , Oddwalk traveled to Ohio for a week’s worth of Catholic Schools Week appearances. Due to the same snowstorm that blanketed most of the midwest, almost nothing went right with this trip. Check out the breakdown.

APRIL FOOLS DAY FUN – In past years on the blog, April Fools Day rocked. This year it just Ricked.

DOG DAYS – While news of the Cerneka family getting a dog might not seem like a strong Oddwalk post, I assure you that my kids would disagree. Now if we can get her to stop eating the couch.

VICTORIOUS! – In May, Oddwalk had the honor of being part of the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Victorious Missionaries, providing music for Mass and dinner entertainment.

CONSUBSTANTIAL?!?! – In July, Oblate Media invited Oddwalk to be part of a video they were producing to help congregations get ready for the upcoming changes to the English translation of the Roman Missal. Additionally, Orin’s new Mass setting, “Ever Ancient, Ever New”, was included in the final product!

ODDWALK vs. AIR FORCE – Our friend (and drummer!) Rick works at Scott Air Force Base in Belleville, IL. Some time in October, Rick tried to check out our website from his work computer. Bad move, Rick! Now he knows just how dangerous we truly are.

JEALOUS MUCH? – What would you do if you were a Chicago Cubs fan (shudder) and the band you had hired for your event were St. Louis Cardinals fans. You probably wouldn’t do much. What if, however, the team you followed hadn’t won a World Series in 103 years and the band’s team was only two days removed from winning their second World Series in five years. Would you consider doing this?

LOVE! – In early November, Oddwalk (and band!) had the chance to record a new song, called “Love”. We all really like the song and took the opportunity to offer it as a free download son our website.

A BIG SURPRISE – For years, Orin and I have attempted to write what we hoped would be the theme song for various National Catholic Youth Conferences (NCYC). How great would it be to have 20,000 people singing one of your songs? Eleven songs later, we’re still trying. :) This year, however, we were honored to have our song, “At Your Name”, included as a communion hymn for the NCYC Closing Mass. Cooler than having all those people singing one of our songs, however, was the knowledge that something we had written had accompanied their prayer during Communion. Truly awesome and humbling.

A NEW KEYTAR SUPERSTAR? – During NCYC, Oddwalk offered a new iPod Nano to the the person (or persons) who could grab one of our keytars and take the most rockin’, most face-meltingly awesome pic ever. These individuals then had to post these pics to our Facebook page. Dozens of pic later, we named a winner!

Here’s to more great adventures in 2012!!

Our Annual Warning to Holiday Shoppers

oddwalk — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:36:53 +0000

Retreat Photos

oddwalk — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:15:03 +0000

Thanks, SSPP!

It’s not especially well known – though not a secret either – that Oddwalk does a few retreats each year, for schools, confirmation classes and the like. This is a collage put together from a confirmation retreat a few weeks ago. We promise Orin isn’t being creepy in that last photo – he’s just having a stare-down contest with a young man, for the greater glory of God.

iPod Nano NCYC Winner Announced

oddwalk — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:21:26 +0000

Nicholas, pictured here is our big winner from the NCYC Rocking-the-Keytar photo contest. He has been contacted on facebook on how we can get him the big prize. Congratulations!

“At Your Name” at NCYC Closing Mass!

oddwalk — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:32:34 +0000

Oddwalk’s “At Your Name” (by Shannon) was selected as one of the communion hymns for the Closing Mass of NCYC this past Saturday night! Check out the video of it below. You’ll also see our friends Paul Melley (sax) and Kate Cuddy (choir director) along the way. Great job to all involved!

Free Download – “Love” and other NCYC Info!

oddwalk — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:10:06 +0000

You found the right place! Click the play button to listen to our new song, titled “Love” and released at the 2011 NCYC in Indianapolis, IN. Or, use the direct link to download to your computer or other device (if it supports that).

Love (2/10/10) – A new song, free from Oddwalk Ministries!
♫ Love256.mp3 ♫

This song is dedicated to the memory of Shannon’s cousin, Phillip Nigma, who tragically ended his own life on October 20, 2011. Phillip was only 19 years old. He was a great and funny young man, and his untimely death leaves a hole in the hearts of those who knew him, especially his friends and family.

If you would like to know more about suicide, what causes someone to want to take their own life, and what you can do to try and prevent it, please follow this link: http://yellowribbon.org

Thank you, and please pray for those who might be considering suicide as well as those who have lost loved ones to suicide.

Still at NCYC? Oddwalk is located at booth #122 in Victory Park. In addition to our usual array of merchandise and giveaways, we will have two special features:

1. Get more information about us and the free song download.

2. Take a free picture with the Oddwalk Keytar, post that pic to our Facebook page, and have a chance to win a fabulous prize – an iPod Nano, preloaded with Oddwalk music and pics, and our two CDs!

But wait, there’s more! Stop by to pick up some Oddwalk clearance shirts for only $5!

Also, make plans to see us perform, live, both on Friday, November 18th:

1. We are providing musical support and storytelling for the workshop called, “Peace through Justice – One Person at a Time”, being co-presented by Jane Angha and Joan Weber of the Center for Ministry Development. 11:45-1pm. Round A, Rooms 125-128

2. Musical warmup for the mega-workshop called, “A Faith to Call Your Own”, being presented by Fr. Stan Fortuna CFR. Our set will be from 1:15-1:45pm. The workshop will run from 1:45-3pm. Round B, Halls F & G

Some Sneak Peaks of Oddwalk@NCYC!

oddwalk — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 19:48:27 +0000

Make a few guesses based on these pictures: go on, we dare you!

Now On Google+ — Surely It Will Take Off Now?

oddwalk — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:34:41 +0000

Clicky Clicky!

We now have a rather basic profile on Google+, so add us to your circles or trapezoids or whatever.

Grásta Dé News

oddwalk — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:35:04 +0000

Thanks to Kevin, our host in Gary, IN, for alerting us to this article about the great event we were a part of up there not too long ago! You can find it soon as a pdf perm-linked on our media and promotion page. You can read a bit too about our ministry peer Sal Solo. Enjoy!

Website Facelift

oddwalk — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:37:01 +0000

A nip here, a tuck there...

We gave our site a facelift over the last 24 hours – a little cleaner, easier to navigate, etc. Especially if you’re seeing this from afar – twitter, facebook, rss readers – why don’t you drop by, check it out, and let us know what you think!

This is what happens when Oddwalk’s event is hosted by a Cubs fan two days after the Cardinals win the World Series.

oddwalk — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:44:02 +0000

Why Are All Those Sirens Going Off?

oddwalk — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:31:57 +0000

It has come to our attention that our website apparently “poses a security threat to the Air Force network” and that they have “blocked access to it.”

Must be all the keytar stuff, guessing.

Danger! Warning! DEFCON-5!

Go Cards!

oddwalk — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:29:17 +0000

2011 National League Champs, World Series Bound!

Oddwalk is behind you all the way!

Happy Flight, Happy Flight! Do it for Torty! Something about the Rally Squirrel!

More Folks Getting In On The Keytar Act

oddwalk — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:32:54 +0000

Hey folks, long time no see. Completely our fault of course. Good to see you.

Several folks have brought to our attention that Usher is now in on the keytar act, and in fact, is copying perhaps Orin’s greatest keytar moment, the wardrobe malfunction. That hole in his pants is ceepily similar to Orin’s that day… Had he actually had a keytar in his hands, we might have the right to sue…

Video on the New Mass Translations

oddwalk — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:00:06 +0000

Here is a clip of a new 20 minute video that Oblate Media – videoswithvalues.com – is putting together highlighting the congregation’s changes in the new missal. It features Orin and Shannon (and Kevin and Lisa) on music, and Orin’s mass setting, Ever Ancient, Ever New. The full score of the mass is available as a free download at orinjohnson.com.

In this six minute clip, you’ll see some of the changes from the beginning of mass through the Gloria. Enjoy!

PS – Oddwalk is working on a new mass setting too – stay tuned!

Clever!

oddwalk — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:11:38 +0000

Here are some captions to an amusing photo Orin snapped on Sunday, as mentioned on facebook:

"Like" us on facebook to add your own!

Youth Sing Praise 2011

oddwalk — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:03:12 +0000

All, here’s a video of the Youth Sing Praise camp Orin helps with (and Shannon has in the past too). 2011 was a great year – enjoy the remarks on the program, the spirituality, the rehearsals and the show, from staff, ministers and youth alike!

Also, it’s a rare chance to see Orin in a ill-fated goatee experiment.

More Captions Please

oddwalk — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:52:01 +0000

Seems like this picture could use a few captions. You know the drill. Thanks, Michael!

What’s really going on: Pope Benedict XVI checks the new Vatican web portal on an iPad device at the Vatican June 28, 2011. Benedict XVI will launch the site, a news information portal that aggregates the Vatican’s various media into a one-stop site for all things papal, on Wednesday, the 60th anniversary of his ordination into the priesthood. REUTERS/Osservatore Romano

Visit http://www.news.va/en for more!

Victorious Missionaries Anniversary Celebration

oddwalk — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:03:10 +0000

At the beginning of May, the Victorious Missionaries celebrated the anniversary of their founding at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows with Mass, dinner, and entertainment by Oddwalk. Here’s a video they had made about the occasion. Find out more about them, and look for us helping at mass and singing after dinner!

New Web App!

oddwalk — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:14:54 +0000

Scan Me! Scan Me!

A few months back, iLike discontinued the service that provided our app for the iPhone. If you still have it, it works, but we can’t do any updating of it, and if you don’t already have it, you can’t get it anymore either. Bah.

So, we’ve found a free, cross-platform way to bring all of the best content of our full site to you in mobile form! Just visit our site with a mobile browser, or scan that QR code over there with your device’s camera. Whee! And enjoy.

Jesse’s New Site!

oddwalk — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 22:17:21 +0000

Our friend Jesse Manibiusan has a new website – and Orin is the webmaster! Some tweaks are yet to come, including an mp3 store, but go check it out!

http://jessemanibusan.com

Meet Dot

oddwalk — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:08:16 +0000

Woof.

Hi All – sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Between the pace of professional and personal lives, as well as just using twitter and facebook more, well, no excuses, but still an apology.

Anyway, meet the newest member of the Cerneka household, Dot, brining the total number of feline, canine, and human residents up to 8.

Oddwalk in the Davenport IA News!

oddwalk — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 19:47:42 +0000

All,

Click here to see a pdf of two articles recently in the Davenport IA diocesan paper, The Catholic Messenger, about their recent Jr. High rally and our presenting at it!

April Fools Day Memories

oddwalk — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:41:52 +0000

Hope you all are having a wonderful, and relatively prank-free day. Since we aren’t planning anything sinister for this year, we thought we would revisit a few Oddwalk posts from April Fools Days past:

2009

2008

2004

Yet Another Caption Contest

oddwalk — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:17:24 +0000

insert witty remark here

This past Sunday saw Oddwalk at the Diocese of Davenport, IA Jr. High Youth Rally, in Iowa City. Thanks again to Pat Finan and the DYMC folks who organized and ran a great event.

Iowa City is home to, among other wonderful things, the ACT campus – yes, that ACT, the cram a bunch of knowledge into your head as a high school junior so you can get into a good college ACT. So we stopped and took a picture for our occasional caption contests. As always, there is no prize, just fun. Leave your entries in the comments below!

Jesus Is Still Our Friend

oddwalk — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:07:42 +0000

Having *finally* been featured – long overdue, if you ask us – on that show the kids all love so much, “Glee,” we thought is was worth a repost of our version of Sonseed’s “Jesus is a Friend of Mine,” recorded now almost 2.5 years ago. It has 30,000 views now, far more than any other of our videos on YouTube.

First, our video, then the Glee tribute from last night, then the original, which still holds a special place in our hearts. Enjoy!

Orin’s Wife is Famous! And Exceptionally Good-Looking!

oddwalk — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:19:05 +0000

Erin and scarf.

Orin’s wife Erin made the Belleville diocesan paper this week as she’s presenting some catechetical sessions on sacraments for the diocesan catechecists. Read more about it here!

More CSW Pics – Toledo, OH

oddwalk — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:37:56 +0000

Shannon warms up the crowd with his thrilling rendition of Barry Manilow's "I Write the Songs"

Here, teachers celebrate the impending snowstorm that was to cancel classes much of the rest of the week.

Orin shares his confusion over the federal tax law changes.

Even after our show, these students are happy to pose with us and their signs which we certainly did not make for them and pay them to hold up during the concert.

CSW Pics – Holy Childhood, Mascoutah, IL

oddwalk — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:43:37 +0000

Here are a couple pics from our Friday show at Holy Childhood!

The band poses with a number of the Kindergartners after the show

Orin is mobbed by a few of them, probably out of gratitude for his masterful keytar playing.

Catholic Schools Week 2011: By The Numbers

oddwalk — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:20:54 +0000

Snowpocalypse! Snowmageddon! Snowtorius B.I.G.!

Mostly due to the colossal blizzard that swept across the country, here’s a statistical wrap-up of our Catholic Schools Week in Toledo and Metro-East St. Louis:

Shows successfully performed: 3 of 9

Flights rebooked: 4

States we visited, not expecting to: 2 (Indiana, Michigan)

States we didn’t visit, expecting to: 1 (Texas)

Airlines flown unexpectedly: 1 (Delta)

Cars rented unexpectedly: 1 (Chevy HHR)

Lessons learned: Avoid American Airlines and ORD at all costs

Hours in hotel: 58 over 3.5 days

Crappy movies watched in hotel: 2

Good movies watched in Theater: 1 (“The Rite”)

Stay tuned, we hope to put up soon a few pictures from the three shows we did get in!

Oddwalk Makes the News – Catholic Schools Week

oddwalk — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:44:49 +0000

The ABC affiliate in Toledo, OH, WTVG, featured our appearance Monday at St Pius School for Catholic Schools Week! We were in a little segment called “Newsreel” which showed the very opening of our concert, doing our little “I’m a little Teapot/We Will Rock You” mash-up. This school came prepared – we had met one of their teachers in New Orleans at NCCYM in December and had passed along a bunch of stickers, and apparently as part of morning announcements, they have been playing our music every day since coming back after Christmas break! There were even some fan signs – we’ll try to post pictures when we get permissions from the school. For now, check out the video below – we’re in the first 30 seconds or so. Guess which one of us that is in the video preview still.

Unfortunately, the “snowmageddon” (snowpocalypse?) that is traveling across the country cancelled our appearances in Toledo today, and likely will tomorrow. We hope we can get back to STL Thursday to do our two masses and shows in Mascoutah and Breese, IL on Friday! Remind us to tell you sometime about our trip up here. The extremely short version is that we’re never likely to fly American Airlines again if it’s up to us. Ah well, everything’s ok now.

Happy Schools Week, all!

Not Just About the Hits

oddwalk — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:39:34 +0000

In his annual message for the church’s World Day of Social Communications, Benedict called for the faithful to adopt a “Christian style presence” online that is responsible, honest and discreet.

“We must be aware that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its ‘popularity’ or from the amount of attention it receives,” Benedict wrote. “The proclamation of the Gospel requires a communication which is at once respectful and sensitive.”

Benedict didn’t name names, but the head of the Vatican’s social communications office, Archbishop Claudio Celli, said it wouldn’t be incorrect to direct the pope’s exhortation to some conservative Catholic blogs, YouTube channels and sites which, with some vehemence, criticize bishops, public officials and policies they consider not Catholic enough.

Read the whole article here.

Tinkering

oddwalk — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:56:25 +0000

We did some mostly behind-the-scenes tinkering with the blog, let us know if you see anything wonky! The most apparent upgrade is the mobile site is refined a bit, check it out from your favorite iGadget (or iGadget-wannabe).

Choosing the Right Urinal

oddwalk — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:45:44 +0000

Our friend Kyle of Popple fame has a new micro-book available today, as either a free download or a very affordable actual book! Aimed at men, it’s titled “Choosing the Right Urinal” (really) and is designed to question the decisions you make on a daily basis.

Go check it out!

New “Stay Connected” Flyer

oddwalk — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:10:20 +0000

So, if you were just thinking, “Gosh, I wish Oddwalk had a downloadable flyer that I could hand out to folks so that they knew how they could stay connected with oddwalk and also find their music on the interwebs,” have we got just the thing for you!

Also available as a pdf on our “Media and Promotion” page!

Ping!

oddwalk — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:09:01 +0000

"Ah, I see you have the machine that goes..."

Lookie! We have a profile on iTunes Ping now! Go check it out!

Two Items of Note

oddwalk — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 15:09:53 +0000

Our friend D. Scott Miller recently had a caption contest over at his blog. Yes, yes, we probably should have told you while there still was time to enter, but still, go and enjoy – very funny stuff over there.

Chris did this to himself, really.

And the winner was another Oddwalk friend, Chris Weber (pictured, left), who has some exciting news for everyone at his new blog, Nowhere to Run. Enjoy!

I Can Already Smell the Pine Tar

oddwalk — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:34:51 +0000

Already tired of winter? Need a warm thought? Pitchers and catchers report in just 39 days!

Happy New Year!!

oddwalk — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 13:03:03 +0000

From everyone in the Oddwalk family, (including Shannon and Erin’s kids seen below) have a very happy and very blessed 2011!

Pic is courtesy of Erin Cerneka’s Facebook page.

The Oddwalk Holiday Concert Experience

oddwalk — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:02:43 +0000

Live in the St. Louis/Belleville area? Planning to pass through soon? Have money to burn and feel like flying to St. Louis?

If so, come join us for the annual Oddwalk Holiday Concert Experience. The concert is being held this Sunday, January 2nd in the Visitors Center lobby at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows and will begin at 6pm. This show promises to be a lot of upbeat fun for the whole family, combining both holiday classics and Oddwalk favorites! Joining us for the show will be our bass player, Daniel Lang and our drummer, Rick Turcotte. For directions to the Shrine, click here.

While at the Shrine, be sure to take advantage of the spectacular Way of Lights. Learn more by clicking here.

We hope to see you on Sunday night! From all of us in the Oddwalk family, have a very Happy New Year!!

Shannon’s Top 15 of 2010

oddwalk — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 14:30:55 +0000

Well, it’s that time of year again. Time for me to select my top Oddblog posts for each month of 2010. In a few of the months, it was difficult to pick just one, so I didn’t. Feel free to praise me, disagree, or offer your own list. Happy reading!!

JANUARY
While we didn’t blog much in January, this post about how my wife was vowing to update the “Cerneka Family Adventures” blog on more of a regular basis DID produce a funny picture of two of our kids, Madeleine and Noah.

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5311

FEBRUARY
Summoning a bit of inexplicable post-Olympic Canadian pride, this post finds us offering our rendition of “Oh, Canada!”, the national anthem for our friends to the north

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5683

MARCH
During the 2009 National Catholic Youth Conference, which had taken place four months before, Oddwalk had a number of cool liturgical and performance opportunities. The following posts are from two of those moments. “These Are the Chords…” is from when we played a warm-up concert for a Concurrent Session which featured Fr. Tony Ricard. “Bless the Lord, My Soul” is from one of the two daily Masses we played for.

“These Are the Chords…”: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5711
“Bless the Lord, My Soul”: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5743

APRIL
So…there was only one post in April. Sadly, it was a post about how we hadn’t posted in a while. Enjoy!!

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5777

MAY
During this month, the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows (where Orin works) sponsored a retreat led by well-known speaker and author, Joyce Rupp. The following video was shown during that retreat.

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5818

JUNE
In June, the Cernekas headed to the Smokey Mountains for a family vacation. We’re not sure what prompted Noah in this moment. Was it the Holy Spirit? Boredom? Cabin (literally) fever? You decide!

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5888

JULY
Each year, during the last week of June, The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows sponsors a Christian music/theater camp called Youth Sing Praise. While I have helped with it in the past, Orin and his wife Erin get to help ever year. Here is a song from last year’s production of “Moses”.

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=5914

AUGUST
Picking this month’s post was kind of difficult. On one hand, if I’m thinking with the Oddwalk part of my brain, I would have to choose the release of “Failure”, our collection of NCYC theme song entries which were not selected. If I’m thinking with the personal side of my brain, I would no doubt choose the post about Madeleine’s first day of Kindergarten. I decided to include both posts here. I’m sure I will get in trouble for this.

“Failure”: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6093
Kindergarten: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6159

SEPTEMBER
Chris Weber is an Iowa-based friend of Oddwalk and recent winner of a bet with Shannon concerning the outcome of the Insight Bowl. (Shannon and his Mizzou tigers lost). Chris alerted his twitter followers to this pic, suggesting that it demanded a caption contest. We decided to oblige him.

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6260

OCTOBER
This month gave us a great example of what love and sacrifice are all about. The man featured in this story is a former neighbor of Orin and Erin.

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6346

NOVEMBER
Two of Oddwalk’s performances in November were featured in news articles. The first comes from our appearance at the Junior High Youth Rally for the Charleston Diocese in South Carolina. The second comes from a concert we did at Holy Childhood Catholic Church in Mascoutah, IL.

Charleston: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6449
Mascoutah: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6472

DECEMBER
This month found us in New Orleans, LA for the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry. While there was some amount of work involved, this was mostly a chance to catch up with friends and take advantage of some cool performance opportunities. The following posts feature Orin and I (and my family in one video) dancing, being hams, and playing music.

GregCast and Flash Mob: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6511
Exhibit Hall Stage and YM Extravaganza: http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?p=6541

And the Word Became Flesh

oddwalk — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 14:49:49 +0000

And the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.

A light shone in the darkness, and darkness did not overcome it.

Merry Christmas from Orin and Shannon and our families to all Oddwalkia!

Merry Christmas from Noah, and Madeleine a Little, and Aiden Kinda-Sorta

oddwalk — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:53:20 +0000

Some NCCYM Videos

oddwalk — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:22:50 +0000

Enjoy a couple videos from NCCYM, and play “Spot the Oddwalkers (and Family)!” First, the Flash Mob we were a part of, promoting the Youth Ministry Extravaganza:

And a “Behind the Underbelly” look at the folks in the Extravaganza:

Dance of the Reed Flutes

oddwalk — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 19:49:42 +0000

All – enjoy this relatively amazing video!

And, lest we forget, happy feast of the Immaculate Conception, and come by and see us at NCCYM!!

Oddwalk CDs on Sale!

oddwalk — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 13:39:51 +0000

Hey everybody! Now through December 15th, if you purchase both the “Walk Away Different” and “Alright Now” CDs through our website, we will take $5 off the original total price. Normally $30 together, right now you can get them both for only $25 plus shipping!!

Check it out:

http://oddwalkministries.com/oddblog/?page_id=2873

Don’t forget to check out our other merchandise – songbooks, shirts, fair trade items, and especially our reduced-price clearance shirts for gifts everyone will love. Have an aunt who already has everything? Probably not an Oddwalk CD, or a shirt with a keytar on it!

More Oddwalkia News

oddwalk — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:38:11 +0000

Oddwalk-n-band had the honor of sharing a night of ministry at Holy Childhood in Mascoutah with Justin Fatica. Click here to read an article about the touching night online, or click the pic to view a pdf of it.

A “Christmas Shoes” Warning from Oddwalk

oddwalk — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:28:56 +0000

Not to encourage the commercialism of the season, but here’s a timely reminder from Oddwalk that, with Black Friday approaching, con artists come in all shapes and sizes. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Real Riches

oddwalk — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:28:13 +0000

Folks, here’s a nice article about an event a couple saturdays ago we did in South Carolina, themed on the scripture passage “For your heart will always be where your riches are” (Mt 6:21). Thanks to Christina for a nice piece of writing, and thanks to the Diocese of Charleston, especially Jerry White, for their commitment to the young Church.

Read it online here, or click the pic for a pdf version.

Baby Monkey (Going Backwards On A Pig)

oddwalk — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:53:07 +0000

Someone (okay, it was Orin’s wife) suggested Oddwalk cover this song and/or act it out – thoughts?

“Just Because” – Sorta.

oddwalk — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:16:32 +0000

We would like to observe the following:

1) The Ibendahl kids may be our biggest fans in St. Louis.
2) Chapin had just finished eating a chocolate cupcake.
3) The movie was shot, edited, and uploaded from Orin’s iPhone!
4) He gets a lot of the song right – sometimes more than we do.
5) Find the original here and here and here!

Birthdays-a-plenty!!

oddwalk — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 15:16:07 +0000

Turns out, October 16th is even more of a special day than we had originally thought. As some of you already know, Madeleine Cerneka (Erin and Shannon’s oldest) turns 6!

Also in our thoughts and prayers today is this morning’s arrival of Josephine Grace, the brand-new daughter of our friends, Ricky and Tania Willmann. Some of you may remember Ricky as being part of the Oddwalk backing band from time to time. Ricky’s facebook says says:

Baby Josephine Grace was born at 12:58am! After a long week it is such a great reward. She is 5 pounds 4 ounces. Both her and mom are doing great. Thank you so much for all the prayers and support we received, in the end everything turned out beautiful.

On this very special day, Happy Birthday to Madeleine and Josephine from all of us in the Oddwalk family!!

Hardly is There a Greater Love Than This

oddwalk — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:57:43 +0000

Of course, Christ’s selfless death on the cross in the pinnacle of loving acts, but this modern-day story comes close. And to top it off, it’s a former-neghbor and still-friend of Orin and Erin’s that is the center of this story! Watch the video report below, or click here for the article.

Reminds me of this snippet from Romans 5:

For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life.

Never Say No to Panda

oddwalk — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:25:10 +0000

Highly amusing, aside from the wanton Macintosh destruction. Enjoy!

YouWhoDoThru

oddwalk — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:54:43 +0000

YouWhoDoThru!

A friend of ours just posted at his blog a method of improvised prayer that he and Orin have been using for years, “You Who Do Thru”. He’s got a pdf of his own over there, here’s a jpg Orin created and has used at YSP a few times.

Many folks feel they can’t improvise prayer – especially public prayer – very well – hopefully this structure makes that a little more easy to do.

Enjoy!

Marcel the Shell with Shoes

oddwalk — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:16:32 +0000

Enjoy!

Be Who You Are, Youth Ministers!

oddwalk — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:48:41 +0000

me|Church repost

oddwalk — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:33:00 +0000

I know we’ve put this up once before, but I (Orin) rediscovered it while Erin and I were working on our Theology on Tap presentation Tuesday night (Schlafly Tap Room, 7pm “Faith on the Edge: Spiritual but not Religious”). It’s worth another viewing – and see if you can tell what this video might have to do with those who claim to be spiritual but not religious!

And So Should Her Ministers Be

oddwalk — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 21:41:48 +0000

Benedict XVI last week in Scotland: “The Church does not seek to be attractive in and of herself, but must be transparent for Jesus Christ and to the extent that she is not out for herself, as a strong and powerful body in the world, that wants power, but is simply the voice of another, she becomes truly transparent for the great figure of Christ and the great truth that he has brought to humanity.”

Chris is Absolutely Right – “This pic DEMANDS a caption contest!”

oddwalk — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:07:42 +0000

Chris tweeted this pic a second ago, with the statement you see above, “This pic DEMANDS a caption contest!” We offered to host it here. So, go crazy! Just add a comment with your amazingly funny caption.

PS – No one has yet officially identified the keytar player pictured below, at least not here on the blog. Who can pass up a chance at a free Oddwalk Button? If you need a hint, do some digging on facebook, you’ll find your answer over there. :-)

Insert clever or witty comment here

Name That Artist!

oddwalk — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:06:27 +0000

First correct ID in the Oddblog comments of this post wins an Oddwalk Button (to see your choices, click here and scroll down) of your choice!

Not the Oddwalk Keytar, but still awesome.

OddPoll – Shannon’s Facial Hair

oddwalk — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:40:51 +0000

Shannon today is presently clean-shaven – this post author (Orin) can only assume this is a result of some unfortunate lawn mower accident, due to inadequate training and experience. I mean, really, have you seen his yard?

Anyway.

As a public service, we are offering you, faithful Oddwalkia, a chance to weigh in – what should Shannon’s next facial hair project be? We have set up an OddPoll in the blog sidebar, just a little ways down. Your options are:

Or, of course something else. If you pick “other” then come back up to this post, and comment as to what you’d like to see. If you’re seeing this at facebook or elsewhere, head over here to the Oddblog to vote and leave your comments! The Oddpoll is open for a week, so happy voting!

Oh, and there’s no guarantee that Shannon will actually go along with the results of the poll. We do, however, aim to please…

Pope Bans Vuvuzelas

oddwalk — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:16:34 +0000

No really: Pope bans vuvuzelas on British tour

THE pope has banned faithful followers from bringing vuvuzelas to his public appearances on his UK tour next month.

The controversial horns made famous by fans at South Africa’s World Cup in June, were among a number of banned items at Pope Benedict XVI’s events during his four-day tour, the papal press office confirmed.

More here.

New Flyer Posted

oddwalk — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:53:56 +0000

Behold its glory.

We’ve tweaked our fill-in-the-blanks flyer on our media/promotion page. I know, just calm down. Take a deep breath. Breathe into this paper bag.

There, feeling better?

We just though a flyer with, you know, a lo-res pic from, say, five years ago wasn’t going to cut it anymore, so there you go. Enjoy!

More Social Networking-y Goodness

oddwalk — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:34:09 +0000

If you look real close at the bottom of each post, you’ll notice that we’ve removed the facebook, twitter, myspace, and everything-else sharing buttons (to the right) that have been there a while, and we’ve added a facebook “like” button on the left, next to the “categories” capsule. Please “like” lots of things. Or click the button even if you don’t – we’re not above the occasional “pity like.” We’ve also added a different way to tweet our posts on the left there too!

And, you do like us on facebook already, right? And follow us on twitter?

A “What if Justin Bieber and Garth Brooks had a child and that child one day did a cover of ‘Jammin’ With Jesus’” pOddcast

oddwalk — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:52:56 +0000

Jammin’ Redux (8/18/10) – “Jammin’ With Jesus” as you’ve never heard it before!

Welcome to Kindergarten, Miss Madeleine

oddwalk — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:56:44 +0000

FAILURE

oddwalk — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:58:30 +0000

Well, the big release is here! A new, digital download-only album!

Click here for more info and for a free download!

Prayer Meme Keeps on Keeping On

oddwalk — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:36:44 +0000

Hey folks,

We’ve been tagged by friend Bob Rice in a prayer meme, to list our three favorite prayers. He was tagged by the catholicymblog, and you can trace more of its genealogy there.

As Orin is composing this post without Shannon around, I’ll only list two favorite prayers, and let him add one in the comments!

Orin’s favorite prayer #1: Glory Be – I like it as being so simple and complex in its brevity. An expression of praise, of trinitarian belief, of eschatology, and of the eternal nature of God.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end, amen.

Orin’s favorite prayer #2: Salve Regina – a beautiful chant melody to a beautiful prayer asking the blessed mother’s intercession for us, especially upon our death. In English, it’s the “Hail, Holy Queen.” (Listen to it here.)

Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiae,

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

ad te clamamus

exsules filii Evae,

ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos

misericordes oculos ad nos converte;

et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

We’ll wait for Shannon to chime in, in the comments, with favorite prayer #3. Now, Orin has another favorite prayer, but it just didn’t seem right to officially list it here, but here it is, as a “bonus” favorite prayer!

Bless us O lord, and these thy gifts,
which we are about to receive from thy bounty,
through Christ our Lord, Amen.

The trickiest part of this whole exercise was tagging 5 more bloggers who haven’t already been tagged! How about: lolsaints.com, popple, claytonimoo.com, JohnBigJohn, and (while not strictly a blog) Bryan Murdaugh. Go get ‘em, folks!

Another Hint

oddwalk — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:09:16 +0000

For that coming-soon new project. Any more guesses?

New project soon, here’s a hint!

oddwalk — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:03:31 +0000

Ewww!

oddwalk — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:09:13 +0000

Did some fishing around on YouTube today, happened upon the channel for our Popply friend, Kyle, and found proof that we really are evolving as a human race. Enjoy!

…For the dark things cannot stand the light…

oddwalk — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:27:31 +0000

Shannon’s son Noah taking lessons from the Green Lantern:

Pop v. Soda. v. ???

oddwalk — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:33:13 +0000

Orin grew up in pop country, visited his cousins in coke country, and now lives in soda country – what about you? Visit this site to find out!

“Groan and Grumble” – YSP 2010

oddwalk — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:20:27 +0000

Here’s a quick clip of some Israelite slaves lamenting their pre-Moses lot in life. Remember, one week before this was recorded, these folks didn’t even know the show, let alone which part they might have! Youth Sing Praise really is a miracle each year. Thanks to Erin B for recording!

Orin Thinks He Will Like This Show

oddwalk — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:04:43 +0000

Thanks to Fr. Maes at the Shrine for the heads up! (And, I love the headline, in the 7/2 Wall Street Journal!)

Making a High School Musical When It Isn’t

‘The Choir,” which begins Wednesday on BBC America (10-11 p.m. ET) follows British choirmaster Gareth Malone as he sets out to bring choral singing, and classical music, back to U.K. schools that long ago gave up on them. The result is what might be called a nonfiction mash-up of TV’s “Glee” and the 1967 movie “To Sir, with Love.”

Like the Fox television series, “The Choir” revolves around young people who are drawn, or dragged, to competitive singing—and who learn about much more than music along the way. Many of these students come from less-than-privileged backgrounds in forlorn-looking towns on the outskirts of London. That gives the series an echo of the above-mentioned ’60s movie about an idealistic teacher in London’s grim East End whose most important lessons for his students are about self-esteem.

Read the rest here!

Upgrade

oddwalk — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:37:27 +0000

We think we’ve successfully upgraded the WordPress installation that powers the OddBlog to version 3.0. Let us know if you notice any wonkiness (technical term) other than our usual efforts.

Micro-rant from Orin – 99.1FM

oddwalk — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:47:24 +0000

Friends, I know this isn’t our usual flavor of post around here, but I wanted to share.

As someone with one foot in classical music (STL Chamber Chorus, etc.) and one foot in Christian (Catholic) contemporary music (Oddwalk etc.), I mourn the loss of Classic 99.1 in St. Louis, especially after hearing the new Joy-FM staff “pray” this morning at about 8:45am. I don’t think St. Louis needed more contemporary Christian music more than it needed any classical music on the airwaves, especially given the apparent motivations as evidenced in the prayer I heard earlier. It was rather self-centered and grandizing, and didn’t mourn the “death” of the old and their staff but rather thanked God for what they had received (without acknowledging what God had also apparently taken away), and hoped that folks who had not heard the sad news and had tuned in that morning might be equally touched by their musical offerings. The prayer was also in part a plea for financial support, a tactic which always irks me.

This is to say nothing of the often theologically shallow (not incorrect, not false, just shallow) and inward-turned lyrics of much the music (i.e. “God, you are my God, and I will ever praise you”). That sort of praise and evangelization has its place, but I prefer my music and worship generally to be a bit more profound. Praise and evangelization is only the first step – the who and the what. Given the usual brevity of lyrics, thats about all that music can be, typically. When we start praying (and singing) about the hows and the whys, then we have entered true theology (faith seeking understanding, said Anselm) and a greater understanding and worship of our God and our faith – and the Christian community, who we are and what we are to be doing, via God’s will. To be sure, much of the music has lately switched its language more directly to God and not self, but there is still very little “us” and “we” in the music, and very little about, for instance, the trinity, or other deeper aspects of the divine life.

Classical music, to be sure, is not necessarily sacred – even some of it with sacred texts! – but I’m sure it reaches some people on a much higher plane than Christian contemporary ever will, and who is anyone to deny someone what connects them with the faith, their God, and their community? I’m not sure that the classical station had to “die” in this instance to give new life even to a generally worthy cause. Were the other (at least) five Christian contemporary stations and countless other religious “talk” stations not enough? How does an organization (radio station, city, society) determine what should stay and what should go, between two worthy choices, if only one choice may be made?

Feel free to answer, disagree or agree in the comments (here on the blog, or if you see this over on facebook or wherever). Now, back to your regularly scheduled internet.

Noah the Preacher Man

oddwalk — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:25:17 +0000

While on vacation, Noah practices his preaching skills. He certainly does get right to the core of the message, that’s for sure.

Famous Brother-in-Law

oddwalk — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:17:32 +0000

Shannon’s brother-in-law Andy continues to be a media darling! Click this link or the pic so see a little interview he did for Discovery News about asteroid collisions with Earth (couldn’t embed it here, unfortunately).

“Lost and Found” at YSP

oddwalk — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 23:42:05 +0000

No, not the show we did a couple years ago (written by Rory Cooney)… Orin misplaced his binder earier today and had the honor of eating a dollop of sourcream without his hands to get it back. The video is on facebook now, so I don’t think we can embed it here just yet, but maybe you can see it on Orin’s profile or the Oddwalk fan page, or at this link.

More updates later!

Busy Times

oddwalk — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:28:10 +0000

With Shannon on a family vacation, and Orin starting on Youth Sing Praise at the Shrine, posts here will be a little slim for a while.

Not that you’ll notice the difference.

Keep us all in prayer please!

Keytar Hero? For Realz??? (The ‘z’ shows we’re very street.)

oddwalk — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:29:12 +0000

Exactly what we’ve been waiting for, announces engadget:

“Rock Band 3 purportedly gaining keytar peripheral, infinite amounts of our love”

This was Orin's life, truly

But why pink??

And have you seen the keytars all over the TV shows Glee and Community lately? Does that mean we can finally buy this shirt? (And wear it with only mild amounts of embarrassment and shame?) And thanks to Chris for the heads up!

30,001 is our Winner!

oddwalk — Thu, 27 May 2010 23:12:08 +0000

As visitor #30,000 failed to identify him-or-herself in the allotted time, we move on to visitor 30,001 to find our $30 in free Oddwalk merchandise winner. This person was much easier to distinguish based on the sitemeter data – and the is winner is…

Winner!

John Rinaldo

Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry

Diocese of San Jose, CA

John has been contacted to claim his prize. Congratulations to all who tried, and better luck to you next time!

PS – Make sure to check out mpower28, a ministry of his which aims “To see every church receive quality tools and resources to support their leaders in effectively inviting all people to a deeper relationship with Christ and to committed discipleship.”

Catechesis Is Hard

oddwalk — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:03:37 +0000

Visitor no. 30,000 was searching for…

oddwalk — Wed, 26 May 2010 21:32:35 +0000

Big Brother is watching you.

… an inflatable keytar. Yes, that’s right. Our potential winning visitor hails from perhaps the Stanford Medical School and/or Redwood City, CA, and at 2:15pm pacific time, came to our blog while searching google for “inflatable keytar” – no kidding. See more incriminating stats to the left.

So, should this person identify themselves in the next 24 hours – expiring at 3pm Thursday, pacific time – they will receive their prize, $30 of Oddwalk merchandise of their choice. Just drop an email identifying yourself to oddwalk@oddwalkministries.com. Unfortunately, we don’t carry inflatable keytars in our store – perhaps we should. We have used one before though for keytar appreciation day a few years ago.

The winner of the inflatable keytar on keytar appreciation day, 2007

Anyway. If this person can’t claim their prize, we’ll move on to visitor #30,001 and on until we find our winner. Stay tuned – if you didn’t win yet, you just might! And, there’s always the hope for a giveaway at visit 40,000!

Where Do You See Compassion?

oddwalk — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:46:06 +0000

In a retreat at the Shrine this past Saturday, Joyce Rupp played this video and asked those who had gathered about the moments of compassion within. Where do you see compassion? Any new insights on what it takes or means to be compassionate? What about Christian compassion?

“Historia de un letrero, The Story of a Sign”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyGEEamz7ZM