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Help me find a vibrant Protestant church in the Cleveland area. I'm between denominations.

debbie_ann — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:54:45 -0800

Help me find a vibrant Protestant church in the Cleveland area. I'm between denominations. I love the idea of going to church, but I've yet to find one where I feel comfortable coming week after week. Maybe you know the denomination I'm looking for.

I presently go to children's weekday Mass at a wonderful little Catholic church. I love it for the following reasons
+ The sermons are wonderful. We always learn about a Saint or a story about Jesus, and then the Priest helps us understand how to apply the lessons to daily life.
+ We all sing together. 100 school children, their teachers and many grandparents sing a simple song every week. Last year it was "we are made for service".
+ There is a fantastic sense of community. I know everyone. Everyone knows me. When we pass the peace, we mean it.
+ We all pray together.
+ I leave feeling refreshed and inspired to be a good person, with very clear directions about where a good person should head this week

However, I am not Catholic for all of the reasons that Protestants usually state. I'd like to find a church where I can take communion. I've tried the following... and had the following problems.
- Going to my parents Presbyterian church. It's mainly blue-hairs. I feel lonely during coffee hour. Everyone who talks to me pretty much just asks how old I am now, and tells me how much I've grown.
- Going to a Unitarian service. It seems to be more of a theological class than a worship service. We didn't pray.
- Going to a born again nondenominational church. We sang and prayed for a half hour, which was AWESOME..... but then the sermon would invariably be a half-hour pro-life rampage and during coffee hour teenagers would pass around petitions to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
- Going to a Non-denominational Contemporary church. Very vibrant, but the service lasted for hours. I had to leave because I was faint with hunger....and my ears rang all day from the excessive volume.
- Not going to Church for years. It leaves me with an emptiness... a yearning.
- Going to a Lutheran church. I felt bored and couldn't sit still.
- Going to a different Presbyterian Church. Great sermon.... but we're given about 5 seconds to 'privately confess our sins' before being forgiven. I find myself both too hurried to reflect, and bored after the sermon. Also, just a handful of adults under 40.

The issue is rather pressing because I'd like my son to have Sunday school experiences. I'd like to find a church (in or near Cleveland) with the following qualities, where I can settle down . . .
+ Young people. I'm in my late 20's and would like to be part of a community that includes a substantial number of adults under 50. Other families with kids would be great. People in their 20's and 30's would be awesome!
+ Protestant denomination
+ a sense of community
+ reasonable amounts of singing
+ prayer
+ sermons that teach about Jesus, God, the Bible and how to be a good person
+ vibrant worship (as opposed to the soul-stifling sound of an entire congregation boredly reciting 'Alleluia' and 'it is right to give thanks and praise in unison)

Seeking A Good Remote Computing Software Package

Mckoan1 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:23:13 -0800

I am looking for a commercial software package that allows me to perform REMOTE COMPUTING while on business trips. About every six months, I travel extensively and then there is a lull to my travels. I do not want to pay a monthly fee; yet I want a REMOTE SOFTWARE package that will perform seamlessly. I want, and I am willing to purchase, a good program that will allow me to connect to my home computer to perform various tasks. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Dear Prudence, or whoever you are...

crazylegs — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:36:13 -0800

Whose name do I use when writing a cover letter for a job? I'm sending out a pile of resumes to private secondary schools in an attempt to find a teaching job. I have a directory of private schools with descriptions of hundreds of schools, each of which gives a contact name, but these people are all directors of admissions, as the book is geared towards potential students and their parents. I've checked out a few web sites and most of them don't list a specific person for human resources, job seekers, or employment. To whom should I address my cover letter? Should it just say "Dear [school name]- ? I can't just say "Hello", and really don't want to write "to whom it may concern".
What to do?

Xander Cage + James Bond?

Anonymous — Mon, 26 May 2008 18:22:04 -0800

Resources for thrill seekers and general superhero/spy training in Texas? I've decided to go through a second childhood. And I'm gonna learn how to do all of the things I've always wanted to learn how to do but there's no reason to learn because, come on, I'm a twentysomething secretary living in a small suburb of Dallas - there's no logical reason for me to learn this stuff!

....... but i still want to learn how to do these things!

Instead of looking independently for a place to rock climb, a place to learn how to shoot and learn swordplay and knives and learn how to speak Russian or Serbian and swimming and martial arts and learning to ride a motorbike and learning how to do a 180 AND a 360 in a car and all of that kickass shit... are there any resources that I can use to find various places, instead of me scouring the net, looking for not only legitimate places but also references?

The only thing I can generally find is "thrill seeking", but that's extreme sports - and while I would love to learn to snowboard, I don't want to limit myself to just sports.

(Asking anonymously because my friends read AskMeFi and will call me an idiot for wanting to learn all of this cool stuff.)

Presumptuous or precocious?

hecho de la basura — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:05:22 -0800

Should I send a personal/friendly email to this potential employer in addition to the cover letter? Backstory:
I worked as a temp a couple years ago for a number of months, filling in for an office manager on FMLA at a small clinic. The directors of the clinic loved me. They were, at the time, applying for funding to create another separate clinic. They mentioned a couple times the possibility of me becoming full time/permanent via this new clinic as the office manager but the funding approval was very, very far off and not guaranteed at all. I loved the directors and the work and would have stayed in any capacity. However, the regular office manager returned to full time duties and I had to leave. I found my current full time job with a different organization immediately before leaving so all was good.

Over time since then I have felt the odd twinge of regret here and there at not following up on the position in the new clinic. I didn't keep in touch with the directors because honestly, being a temp was just awkward for me. I felt particularly awkward because the permanent office manager was very territorial about her job and thusly overtly hated my guts. (I don't hold this against her--she was under a lot of stress, too.) I definitely feel as though I should have networked harder and maintained contact but I just dropped the ball.

Fast forward to last week: Through just a random fluke, I happened to see that the new clinic had indeed received funding and the position of office manager was being advertised. I applied, of course, and reminded the hiring official in my cover letter who I was and when I worked at their other clinic. Is this enough? Should I, in addition, send the director a more personal/friendly email on the side sort of as a "Hi! Remember me?" kind of thing? Sadly, my out-sized desire for this job is short circuiting my cold job applying logic.

In Search of the Lost Sword

Soliloquy — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:45:56 -0800

I know this is a long shot, but... does anyone out there know the whereabouts of my grandfather's (Marine) sword? It was given to Goodwill in California around 1963 or so. My mother's father was a Marine aviator shot down over Korea when she was only three. Her mother eventually remarried and decided to get rid of many of her late husband's possessions, including the sword, and though my mom requested the sword it was given to Goodwill or the Salvation Army over her objections. She has few things of her father's and still laments the loss of the sword, so I thought I'd see if the hive mind could find it. Maybe some collector or theater group got it.

My mom doesn't remember what it looks like, just that there was a lot of silver. After looking at pictures she thinks it was a NCO sword, but it might have been an officer's sword. The blade was engraved with the name "Van Housen".

Finding a design job

O9scar — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 14:46:39 -0800

Trying to find a design job, but generally clueless as to how to proceed. Yes, even after reading this question. For the record, I am also in Seattle. I have also signed up with the Creative Group and every staffing agency. It hasn't gotten me much work. I am a little older than the typical design graduate and have some work experience, but not a lot of "real" stuff in my portfolio.

So it sounds like I need to cold call people, which fills me with dread. How do I make it more bearable? Should I have a script, or at least talking points? Should I ask for the creative director/etc or just talk to whoever answers? Do I say I'm looking for work, I'm a freelancer, or that I'd just like to get feedback on my work (a la informational interview)?

How do I send my stuff in - a book/booklet, my website link (I know, needs work), or a pdf? Is that entirely up to each company?

Am I better of aiming for interactive design, even though my schooling was mainly for print design? It seems like better money/opportunities, but what do I know?

If I respond to a job ad, how long after contacting do I follow up?

If I need more portfolio pieces, should I rework my school stuff? I wouldn't mind doing some pro bono work for the right people, but I don't know how to find them.

Right now I need something that pays the bills more than the all-perfect dream job.

Temping in Atlanta

Constant Reader — Thu, 11 May 2006 07:13:53 -0800

I need advice on temping in Atlanta. I relocated to Atlanta from Boston a week ago and would like to start working as soon as possible. I've been sending out resumes, but haven't had any bites yet. I have a lot of professional administrative experience and have previously worked for colleges and public television. I've had experience with less than great temp offices (Office Team) and would like to know if anyone could suggest a good place to try. I would like to try and focus my search on media/arts/creative or non-profit organizations. My cost of living has been drastically reduced from what it was in Boston so I'm not expecting my past $41K salary to be the norm down here. I'm just starting to get anxious about not having a source of income. I also feel that temping would hopefully introduce me to the goings on of this city I now call home.

How to find an English-speaking techie in Korea?

runkelfinker — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 07:42:17 -0800

How can I find someone in Seoul, Korea, who speaks English and Korean and is reasonably tech-literate? I need to track down someone bilingual and reasonably tech savvy in the Seoul area to help me trial some technology services over there and report their findings back to me. There doesn't seem to be - or at least I've never found - a good way on the Net to find people based on certain attributes (e.g. their location, their language skills). Does anyone have any ideas?