Life as a Senior

Life as a senior - not that kind of senior, but a senior at seminary. While we are not too far away from qualifying for the senior discount at most restaurants, it is still a few years away.

Life as a senior at seminary has its own dynamic. It is both joyful (we are almost done) and frustrating (why do we have to come back?). Internship is a taste of what is to come, a chance to see and feel what vocation in Christ's church is really like, then they snatch us back and tell us to spend one more year in the classroom.

Is it the right thing to do? Probably, but I am having a little trouble seeing it, at least so far. The classes we are taking are great - a couple of them are courses I now wish I had been able to take before internship. I suppose that is the biggest point for making us come back - we now see the real value in these courses after internship whereas we probably would not have seen the value before.

Life as a senior in a Lutheran seminary also has its own unique struggles. Part of being a senior also means that there is another process going on at the same time as your classes. This process is called APPROVAL. Approval means writing an essay, meeting with two members of the faculty who point out all of the errors in your essay, and then they send you off to your candidacy committee so they can point out all of the things that they don't understand or agree with (sometimes the same things).

Once you are absolutely certain that you have not learned anything in your 3+ years of seminary, the committee takes a vote. If they vote yes, it means that you have been approved (assuming that you pass your remaining courses at seminary, of course). If they vote no, it either means that they think you need some specific training or that there is a major issue with your formulation of theology.

Fortunately - both of us have been approved. Not that this happened is a stress-free way. Not at all. But even with the stress, there has been affirmation of gifts, of those things that have been learned, and a few pointers at those areas for continued learning.

One of the things I think I have most learned in this time of seminary, and reflection, and interviewing, is that our faith life is a continuing process which never ends. Whether we are called to ordained service, or to wait tables, our faith is always growing, transforming who we are, and how we live. For some, this growth is seen in a more holistic person - a person with character - in all phases of their life. For others, this growth might seem more drastic - like suddenly going off to seminary. Whatever this growth looks like for you, realize that it is growth, that our faith is never stagnant, that our faith journey is just that - a never-ending journey.

This also is true of our learning - especially as pastors-to-be. I will never know the Bible well enough, or theology well enough, or church history well enough - to not continue to study and learn. This might be the biggest revelation of being a senior. When you first begin internship, you wonder if you know enough. As you continue your year in the church, you find out that you remember a lot more of your seminary education than you thought you did. By the end of internship, you feel pretty good about it, but you know that there are a few things you might want to learn a little more about. Then, after the first few weeks of senior classes, you realize that you don't know anything - that internship was full of mistakes that you did not even see, and that this is your last chance to learn from these people who are dedicated to turning out not just pastors, but good and faithful pastors for the church.

So, this is what it is like, being a senior. Ready to go, to be in ministry, but also aware that there is much to learn, and that it will still be that way on graduation day. We will have learned more by then, but also are aware that continuing education is something that we cannot take lightly (and should not take lightly).

And so, on this eve of Thanksgiving eve, these are my thoughts. Being approved this past weekend lightens the burden, but there are still papers to write, forms to fill out, and spring classes to consider. May your faith journey continue, and may your turkey be filling.

God meets us in the silence

Amidst the craziness of everything, especially the senior year of seminary, it can be hard to find time for prayer and meditation. With approval panels, papers, first call forms, and everything else that happens, when do you slow down?

Fortunately, there are also options available here at the seminary to explore different spiritual disciplines. Spiritual direction and contemplative prayer are a couple of the options that I have been enjoying. As part of spiritual direction, we are reading Richard Foster's book, Celebration of Discipline. I just finished reading chapter 7, on the discipline of solitude. To hear God, sometimes we have to shut out the rest of the world, and just listen. It is not easy to do, especially finding the time, but it is worth it.

In group meetings, we use silence, a form of solitude, to gather our thoughts, to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to hear what God is telling us. While Monday has become a very long, full day, the last couple of hours of the day include a group spiritual direction session, followed by intercessory prayer. It makes for a full day, but in reality, these two hours are among the most relaxing of the week. Time spent in prayer and silence is refreshing, relaxing, and renewing.

The disciplines of silence and solitude, of time spent in intentional meditation, are ancient practices that are being recaptured by Christians. These disciplines are opportunities to find new ways of spending time in prayer and meditation, of allowing God to speak to us in a way that we might actually hear.

For me, this time has become something that I look forward to. Quiet contemplation, a quietly read Psalm, and community prayers help end my Monday. How do you find quiet time? When and where are you able to sit and listen to the Holy Spirit? If you answer no, might I suggest that you check out Foster's book, or find somewhere close by that offers contemplative prayer, or centering prayer, or another form of meditative prayer. One of these forms of prayer may be what you have been missing. Prayer, like other things in our lives, does not just happen - unless we are intentional about it. God meets me in the silence, and assures me that I am His. May He meet you there, also.

Weekends

We often write about how much is going on with school or internship; schedules, deadlines, projects, and papers. Thought maybe I should write tonight about this weekend and what our time off is like. In spite of the hectic school schedule, we do try to spend time each weekend relaxing a bit and since we are not assigned to a field church this year, we have the option of worshiping where we wish on Sundays. Both seem like quite a luxury!

With last Monday-Wednesday off for Fall Break, we have actually had seven of the past nine days off, but most of them seem to have already vanished into distant memory! This weekend was a good mix of homework, household chores, worship, work, and relaxation - which really just means that we are starting out the new week already tired out...

Just to give you an idea of this weekend’s schedule: Saturday was spent doing household chores: bathing our dog Smokey, doing laundry, trimming some shrubs in the yard, and moving some boxes from our carport to more permanent storage. Last night, while Ray watched a NASCAR race on TV and worked on the computer, I did some reading for one of our classes (about 175 pages and I’m still not caught up!).

This morning, we attended worship at one of the many Lutheran congregations in the area (one of our friends is the new vicar there); then went out to lunch with our son, his wife, and our granddaughter. After lunch, we met our daughter and her fiance at the SC State Fair. We enjoyed a concert by Josh Turner, then spent a bit of time watching the delighted 3 year old ride carnival rides! Ray and I left all the “young’uns” at the midway and headed for home. After a quick supper, we went to the library on campus, where I worked the evening shift. Now we are back at home, with time to do a bit more reading (and perhaps another load of laundry) before we turn in for the night.

Where has the time gone?

It is hard to believe that it has been so long since we have posted anything. Re-entry to seminary life has been more difficult than I had expected, especially the schedule.

Internship is preparation for ministry, and most Lutherans do their internship during the 3rd year of seminary, then come back to the seminary for the 4th year. This makes some sense, in that it gives us a chance to reflect on internship, ask questions about those things that came up during internship, and give us some time to get ready for first call. The disadvantage for those who opt to modify the schedule and do their internship during the 4th year is that they usually end up with several months of unemployment (or at least not church employment) while awaiting assignment. The disadvantage of the "normal" routine of 3rd year internship is the abrupt schedule changes, from school to internship, then internship back to school.

All this said, it is the last year of seminary, we are back in our house, back in classes, and well underway towards graduation. Unfortunately, one of the things that has suffered is keeping this blog updated. It has been almost a month since either of us posted anything. And yes, we really have been busy.

Our first several weeks back, we were busy unpacking, spending our weekends helping with the lake-side services and campground ministry, and trying to re-adjust to seminary life. We also went back to our campus jobs - Ruth in the library and me in the computer lab. I also inherited the student web site, which had crashed and had to be rebuilt. On top of all of this, we had to write approval essays. Well, enough of that. We have been busy, and not posting very regularly.

************

You have probably noticed that the blog has a new look. Blogger has made some changes, and offered new templates, so I decided to try something new. I was not very happy with the way the blog was looking, and during one of the last changes, our picture went away. Now, with the new template, I was able to put it back and have more control over the look of the blog. Hope you like it.

***************

What else is going on? Well, we just had our fall break - a 5-day weekend! It was a nice break, but not all relaxation. Just as we were making our plans for the things we wanted to do, Rusty's laptop hard drive crashed, so we spent a lot of time recovering files. I had just had to replace my laptop, and am still getting files transferred over to it, so most of the first two days of our break was centered around computers - updates, backups, and repairs.

Another things that happened over break was that I had a chance to spend some time with a couple of friends and play with my new hobby some. There have been 2 ham fests in the area in the last 6 weeks, so I have gone to look (but with no money to spend) at ham radios, antennas, and other neat stuff. I now have (thanks to a friend) an antenna and a 10-foot pole so that I can get better signals on my radio. I just finished putting it together, and hopefully will get a chance to try it out soon. It seems that the adapter I bought was not the one I needed so I will have to find another one before I can make the final connections.

Enough for now, and I really do plan to get back into more of a routine of posting. Really.

Catching Up

Sorry I haven’t posted in quite a long while. Somehow, unpacking boxes and writing the massive approval essay seemed to be more urgent for days, even weeks, at a time. Now, whether it is right or wrong, the essay is complete. We have unpacked almost all of the boxes, although we still need to empty out our storage unit. (Oh boy, more boxes and furniture to carry into and arrange in our little house!)

We also had a chance to get away this past weekend, as we participated in a retreat with other members of our class to ‘debrief’ on our internship. While many of us dreaded the weekend, it turned out to be a wonderful time away, filled with prayer and worship, sharing and storytelling, food and relaxation.

We were truly on retreat at the beach, with some free time to appreciate the wonder of God’s creation – the warmth of the sun and the power of the waves. We made time to pray and worship together, and most of all, to share stories. These stories weren’t really about our internships or the congregations that hosted us – in a very real way, they were simply about us and our experiences as we are in the process of becoming pastors.

Many of the stories shared were funny; some encouraging, and some not so. Sometimes we celebrated the times we got things right. Other times we commiserated over mistakes made. Always we experienced God’s presence.

Now we are back at home. Back at work, trying to catch up on all of the assigned reading. Back to look ahead to the next step in the process. There doesn't seem to be any time in this year's schedule to just enjoy being in the moment.

While it seems like this year of classes has just begun, we are already looking ahead to next year. We actually have a meeting this week on campus with four synodical bishops and other church leaders to talk about how the candidacy process is completed and the call process begins.

Hurricane Felix

While Felix appears to be no threat to the US, it appears that it will be a major threat to Honduras and Nicaragua - countries in Central America that don't have the resources to deal with a major hit by a hurricane. For them, I offer this prayer, modified from the ELCA disaster site (http://www.elca.org/disaster/download/Litanyafterhurricanes.doc)

O God of mercy, look with pity upon all those who will be left homeless, bereft, in shock, in the wake of the Hurricanes Felix. God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Holy God, who fed your people in the wilderness, whose loving kindness is everlasting, lift the burdens of all who will be weary from the search for food, and refresh those who will be parched from thirst. God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

O Source of all consolation, comfort with the sure sense of your presence all who feel forsaken, whose hope will be dried up. God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father, who sent your son to bring sight to the blind, hearing and healing to all who asked, open our ears to all cries of affliction, and through us provide healing and help. God, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Merciful God, you ask us to cleanse our hearts, to loose the bonds of oppression, and to repair the ruins. Pour out upon us the Spirit of your love, so that we might pour
ourselves out for those affected by disaster so that they, too, will know your generous healing power. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, we pray.
Amen.

Epistle for Sunday

Sunday is my turn to preach. Not that we spend a lot of time keeping track, but when someone ask, "would one of you preach on Sunday," we do try to take turns. Last year, just before we left on internship, Ruth Ann had the chance to preach at the lakeside service, so now it is my turn.

A suggestion was that I / we consider talking some about our internship on the Gulf Coast. As I thought about it, and read the text for Sunday, it seemed like a good idea. For example, here is the epistle for Sunday from the Revised Common Lectionary:

Hebrews 13:1 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.1 4 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." 6 So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Hebrews 13:15-16 15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

As internship was a lot about hospitality - the housing and feeding of volunteers, the rebuilding of homes and lives for those who live on the coast, the theme seemed to fit very well. Then, this evening, we received an email that seemed to nail the whole thing. Below is a poem, written by a women in Biloxi, MS. I hope the text will stay in the same format that it came in - a cross.

They Came

With warm hearts, they came.
With open arms, they came.
With helpful hands, they came.
With tools and toys, they came.
With bottled water, they came.
With loads of food, they came.
With free medicine, they came.
They left their homes, their jobs and their families.
They saved our lives and they healed our wounds.
They fed our hungry and they brought our clothes.
They cleared our land and they opened our roads.
They carried our burdens and they gave us strength.
They held our hands and they felt our pain.
They dried all our tears.
They showed compassion.
They calmed our fears.
They raised our spirits.
They rebuilt our homes.
They rebuilt our schools.
They taught our children.
They showed their faith.
They planted our gardens.
They raised our businesses.
They restored our lives.
They renewed our souls.
They touched our hearts.
They are called our heroes.
They are our volunteers.
They became our friends.
No one asked them, but still, they came.
They gave us courage to start life again.


This poem was written by Martha S. Boyce of Biloxi, MS, extending our deepest gratitude to the thousands of recovery responders and volunteers making the recovery of Mississippi possible. It will be permanently displayed in the Mississippi Renaissance Garden on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
mboyce@msrengarden.org

Here are a couple of links about Martha and the Mississippi Renaissance Garden:

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=4015628

http://www.msrengarden.org/

Somehow, as this weekend is the first Sunday after the 2nd anniversary of Katrina, this will all somehow find its way into the sermon. It is certainly worth sharing here. As we remember the anniversary of Katrina, and of Sept. 11, and as we read the new reports coming in from the midwest where they have had all the flooding, or as you pass someone on the street, remember hospitality to the stranger.

Dizzy Schedule

As of today, we have completed 5 days of the new semester, along with getting settled into our home, and trying to find a few hours to work and earn grocery money, as well. To say the least, the schedule is hectic, enough to make one dizzy.

On top of all of these other things, our approval essays are due next Tuesday. This essay will be the basis of our approval panel discussions with faculty here at seminary, and then again with our candidacy committee. This essay is about 20 pages long, including a sermon and some very deep, theological questions which must be answered.

Needless to say, all of this has impacted finding time to post to the blog, or send updates, or even talk to each other! We are working weekends on the lake, and I have been tasked with re-building the student web site for the seminary community. This web site has been interesting to work with, but also somewhat frustrating as it had crashed and had to be rebuilt from scratch. An interesting challenge, but not one I really have time for.

Being back at seminary is good, in fact, wonderful at times. Daily chapel is soothing, and refreshing, and calming in a time of chaos. Being back with friends (even though we left friends behind from internship) is also good, especially as we share experiences from our internships.

There was somewhere a false idea that the Senior year would not be as hard as some other semesters - not sure where I got that idea. It certainly is not true, especially not with all of the other demands on our time.

During a class discussion today, there was talk about finding those places where chronos (our time - linear time) meets with kairos (God's time - vertical time). Thinking back to internship, there were many of those times. I am sure that there will be many of those here as well, if only we can slow down to reflect on them occasionally.

Time to fix dinner, then translate some Greek (1 Cor 1:18-25). Then, maybe unpack another box...

On Going Home Again

Apparently it is possible to go home again.

Thanks to a few members of the church, we got everything in our apartment packed and loaded last Wednesday. After some final cleaning on Thursday morning, we left Mobile, and arrived back at our home on Friday afternoon, spent the evening cleaning and then, with some more volunteer help, unloaded the truck Saturday morning. The rest of Saturday, most of Sunday, and a portion of each day so far this week have been spent unpacking and getting settled.

Perhaps the most challenging part of unpacking is trying to remember where we kept things before. “Where should we put the mixing bowls – in this cabinet or that one? Which closet did we keep the sleeping bags in?” Or even deciding if things SHOULD go back in the same places: “Should we rearrange the living room, or put the furniture exactly where it was before?”

Even Smokey, our much-loved mutt, seems to know that he is back at home and has re-discovered his favorite spots to nap!

We are also back at our same part-time jobs on campus – I work in the library and Ray in the computer lab. There is no lack of things to do to help prepare both for the fall semester, so we have both been spending a couple of hours each day at work. This seems to be a productive way to spend the hottest part of the day.

Even the weather seems to be conspiring to make us feel at home – but with current high temperatures in the triple-digits, the heat index here is even higher than Mobile has been for the past few weeks!

Thanks to everyone who has made the past year such an incredible experience and especially to all those who helped us with the move! Wish I could say we are finished, but we still have a storage unit to unpack.

We plan to wait until after this heat wave breaks, then take time to move those things back home again, too…

Q & A

Some questions and comments we have heard lately:


“If we flunk you, can you stay another year?” (from members of our internship committees)
“Get ordained and come back!” (from LDR staff members)
“Aren’t you packed yet?” (from a friend in NC – you know who you are – almost two weeks ago!)
“It’s nice outside today. It’s only 88…” (this quite seriously from Ray, who hates hot weather – can you guess how hot it has been on other days recently?!?!)
“We miss you already!” (from many members of the congregation this last few weeks)
“How is the packing coming?” (from many people we have encountered this past week)

The answers (or retorts, depending on the situation) are something like this:

"No, we must return to school for our last year of studies."
"We’ll have to wait and see where God needs us to be next."
"NO, we haven’t even gotten our packing boxes out of the church attic yet."
"Yeh, at least it’s not over 95!"
"We will miss all of you, too!"

And finally:

"Well, we have really been busy with Red Cross disaster training courses, final internship evaluations, and other work to wrap up at the church and at LDR all week. We finally – this morning – retrieved our boxes from the attic at church.

AFTER worship and a farewell lunch tomorrow, we will finally begin actually packing boxes. Fortunately, we have been working on sorting out some things to donate to a local charity, cleaning out our desks at church, finishing up things in the frig, cleaning out the pantry, etc. I think what is left actually needs to be packed and loaded on the truck. We may just have to sort it all out at the other end of the move…"

Beginning of the End

This is a time of transition for us as our internship year comes to an end. The schedule for these last couple of weeks in Mobile is very full! We need to finish a project or two at LDR and the church, write our final internship reports, have our last meetings with internship committees and other groups, preach our last sermons here, and hand over our files both places.

Some classmates told us they had deliberate time for “disengaging” before they left their internship congregations and returned to school. We, on the other hand, are running full tilt until the last possible moment. Another event for LDR this weekend, two Red Cross disaster volunteer trainings next week, etc. (Never mind the lengthy approval essay which still needs to be written by early September.)

After our last Sunday here, we will need to pack up our office and our apartment, so that we can load up the truck and move back before the school year begins. We already have our class schedules – now it is time to buy our books and settle into a different routine for the last year of our studies!

It has been both an exciting and challenging year and saying goodbye is difficult, because in many ways it feels like we just got settled in. But we know these transitions and farewells are part of the internship experience – preparation for arriving at a new call and practice for leaving well from one in the future…

Random Thoughts on Sunday evening

Well, it seems it might be time to catch up. Rather than try to remember (and find time) to post multiple times on multiple topics, I’ll try to do several topics in one post (he says, trying to remember all the things that could have been earlier entries).

Summer – yes, it is summer in Mobile, and very hot. Looking at the temperatures for Mobile and other southern cities, they don’t seem very different, but if you can find and compare heat indexes, the true story comes out. We are coping, but I think acclamation would take a number of years.

Vacation – not only does this week bring us a holiday, but also vacation time. We will leave on Thursday for an escape to the mountains of North Carolina. Hopefully, cooler temperatures will prevail. The reason for going is my grandmothers’ 96th birthday. We hope there will be more, but we get together each year just in case there are not.

Internship – what a busy time! Our supervisor has been on vacation for the last three weeks, so we have been in charge. It has been a wonderful opportunity to experience ministry together, and to put to use the many skills we have accumulated. It has also been a time of finishing our LDR presentations and beginning to wrap up our Congregational Preparedness program so we can hand it over to someone else. Our last two presentations were to the Mobile District Attorney’s disaster response task force and to the South Baldwin Amateur Radio Club (SBARC). Both of these were interesting, as they were not congregations and were not presentations we instigated. In both cases, they invited us after hearing about us elsewhere.

One of the most interesting things out of the presentation and interaction with the DA’s office is that they have developed a preparedness program called Erik’s Shoebox. It is a great program to help people have important documents in a safe place and ready for evacuation. We are going to help LDR set up an Erik’s Shoebox day in Bayou la Batre later this month. Staff and volunteers from LDR will help residents photocopy and/or scan to CD important documents such as Driver’s License, Social Security card, titles to cars or homes, and other important papers that could be lost in a storm or that are needed to apply for aid after a storm.

Sunday after-the-sermon thoughts – today was my turn to preach, and Paul’s letter to the Galatians played heavily in my sermon. Various discussions this week played off the idea that our freedom in Christ (Gal 5:1) can somehow be tied to our freedom as Americans (being the Sunday before the 4th of July and all). I had trouble with this, even though I did write one version of a sermon that attempted to address that issue. The problem is, even though we are called to be radical disciples of Christ, and Christ has set us free so that we can be radical disciples of a radical Gospel, it has nothing to do with the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. Needless to say, my sermon focused more on being free in Christ so that we can be radical disciples. Someday, I will go back and explore the other sermon option, but on internship, while the supervisor is gone, was probably not the time to pit patriotism against discipleship. Or at, that was my decision on Saturday night.

Sleepless Night

It may be because I drank too much iced tea when we ate dinner last night with the volunteers who are staying at the church this week, or because of physical aches and pains that sent me to the medicine cabinet a few minutes ago for a couple of Advil, but it is 4 am and I’m wide awake – which is really quite rare for me.

At any rate, my mind is racing, thinking about what I will say in my sermon this Sunday as we observe the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. I’m already thinking of this as a ‘special news broadcast’ in the middle of the 'regular programming' of the season of Pentecost – the many, many Sundays of green! I’m not sure yet what I will say, but as the sermon is beginning to take shape in my mind, I find myself looking back over the schedule for the last few weeks…

The last Sunday I preached here ‘at home’ – the last Sunday I even worshipped here ‘at home’! - was a month ago on Pentecost! Even though I have been very much on duty and at work for the last few weeks, many members of the congregation haven’t seen me, because I have been away the past three Sundays. This is what much of this year has been like.

After worshipping here on Pentecost, Ray and I were both out of town for three days, giving LDR presentations in another area of the state. We returned home overnight, to unpack, do laundry, and repack before traveling to the synod assembly. We were both away at the synod assembly on Trinity Sunday.

The following Sunday, I was assigned to preach at another congregation ‘over the bay,’ so I traveled on Sunday morning to worship and preach at both of the services of another congregation in this conference.

Last week, Ray and I split the travels. He traveled early in the week to give two more LDR presentations in the northern part of the state, while I traveled over the weekend to Hickory, North Carolina to attend the annual gathering of the NC Synodical Women’s Organization of the Women of the ELCA. It was a joy to join many of my friends for worship and study and fellowship at that event. I was able to thank the women's group personally for all their support of my seminary studies. (see my last post!) I also had responsibilities, as I presented two workshop sessions on our experience working and volunteering on the Gulf coast, providing information for those who might want to help organize groups from their congregations to come and volunteer.

These past four weeks have flown by, filled with a variety of activities for LDR and within the congregation, and this week, I’ll be back in the pulpit again here. Guess I’d better try again to go back to sleep now – I’ve got a sermon to work on later!

June udpate

I know we have been very bad about updating the blog - just so much going on. Here is the article that I wrote for the July newsletters at both our home congregation and our seminary partner congregation. It will give you an idea of what the past few weeks have been like and wat we will be up to for the next couple of weeks.

It is time again for another installment of “Internship with Ray and Ruth Ann.” This time, though, Ruth Ann is out of town, so don’t blame her for anything I write.

We are beginning wind down mode at our internship site, but in some ways it feels more like windup mode. We are still doing Congregational Preparedness presentations for LDR, but we are trying to only finish the ones we have scheduled and then pass this job along to someone else. Winding down means a lot of presentations in the past few weeks. I have traveled over 1000 miles doing presentations in the past week, and Ruth Ann spent the weekend in Hickory, North Carolina presenting for the NC WELCA annual meeting.

In fact, we have traveled so much that we had to send our dog off for his summer vacation. Smokey spent the last few weeks with our daughter so we could travel without having to find someone to keep up with him. Now that we are down to a couple of presentations, Smokey is on his way home, traveling back with Ruth Ann. We will just about get settled in a routine, and then it will be time to pack and move.

The difficult part of winding down internship will be saying goodbyes. We have already heard members of the congregation here talk about missing us, and we still have a few weeks. I am sure we will hear a lot more of this as we closer to July 29th, which will be our last Sunday. We will certainly miss them, as well.

In the meantime, our supervising pastor is on vacation, and it is time to see if we have really learned anything in the past 10 months. For three weeks, Ruth Ann and I will preach, lead worship, visit shut-ins, make hospital visits, and anything else that comes up (plus 2 more presentations). Our supervisor is only a phone call away, and we certainly have pastors in the area that would help us out, but for the most part, we are on our own – a chance to see what our future ministry might look like.

We are very grateful for this year – all we have learned and the many experiences we have had. We are very much ready to go back to seminary, though. Not because we want to leave here, but because we are ready to finish seminary and be in our first call. In the meantime, I just have to remember where I put all those boxes…

Hello, Huricane Season!

May has been a very busy month. VOAD meetings and conferences, synod assemblies, Congregational Preparedness presentations, getting ready for hurricane season, and on top of that – a wedding.

Hurricane season is officially here, with the second named Atlantic storm bringing much needed rain to Florida and Georgia. The arrival of hurricane season has also boosted our activities. More presentations and related activity in May than in other months, plus more travel, has kept us away from home many nights. June looks to be just as busy, except for the wedding.

About the wedding – our son was married in May, which also took a few days out of our schedule. The wedding was outdoors, and was wonderful. I’ll get a picture posted later.

We are currently in Atlanta at the Southeastern Synod Assembly (www.elca-ses.org) with our Lutheran Disaster Response display. We are here as seminary interns, as well as displaying for LDR.

In addition to the various things we are doing, here are links to a couple of articles that have been written by other people about things we are doing or are involved in.

Article about a group that worked here - http://www.thecolumbiastar.net/news/2007/0525/Education/017.html

Interview with Ruth Ann about Congregational Preparedness - http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/religion/070526/disaster.shtml

That is all for now. More presentations to schedule and miles to drive as we wind down our internship. By the end of July, we will have preached another 6 or 8 sermons, presented to another dozen or so congregations, and begun packing to move back to seminary.

Words of Thanks

One of the chores that had to be fit into our schedule the past few weeks has been applying for financial aid for the next school year. Many of you know the drill: prepare your tax returns, then complete innumerable forms while hoping that your application will be selected. I was very pleased to receive notification last week from the Women of the ELCA in North Carolina that I would be receiving the Rainbow Scholarship. The very next day, another phone call came to tell me that I was being awarded the Chilstrom Scholarship from the Women of the ELCA. While neither is huge scholarship, they will each help toward paying for tuition and living expenses for our final year of studies.

Here, in part, is my letter of thanks to the Women of the ELCA. One of the questions asked on the application is “Why should the organization invest in your education?”

As I noted in my application, this scholarship is not a new investment! I have been involved since the formation of the Women of the ELCA: as a participant and officer in my local congregational unit, as a conference leader, synodical committee member, editor of the North Carolina synodical newsletter the Carolina Vine, and a member of the SWO board. I have attended uncounted circle meetings, committee and board meetings, conference and SWO gatherings, Churchwide Triennial Conventions, and retreats. Each of those positions and every one of those events has provided me with opportunities to work, study, and be in community with other women of faith. Women of the ELCA have already invested significantly in my development as a leader and mentor for other women through that involvement.

The Women of the ELCA has – and continues to - provide for me exactly what the purpose statement proclaims, the mission areas support, and the current triennial theme celebrates: A loving and supportive community of faithful women, fostering my growth in faith, and encouraging me to respond to God’s grace through bold action!

Even though I am now unable to regularly attend the circle meetings at my home congregation, I am still able to be part of the community of women in this place and remain connected to the women in North Carolina, who have supported me on this journey with their words of encouragement, prayers, and with scholarship funds.

Blessings to all the women of the ELCA!

The Changing Face of Recovery

When we first arrived in Mobile and began working as case managers, we attended a weekly resource meeting which was attended by representatives from a wide variety of agencies working locally. FEMA, Red Cross, Volunteers of America, and United Way, as well as several faith based organizations, especially Catholic, Mennonite, Methodist, and Lutheran agencies were all in conversation together.

It was important for them to meet each week because the available aid was changing so quickly, as new programs and funding became available. And of course, each new program came with its own set of eligibility criteria. My point is, the rapid change was caused by new and additional aid becoming available. Projections were that recovery in the Bayou La Batre area of south Alabama would take another 3+ years, with recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana taking far longer.

Now, sadly, only nine months later, we are already watching many of those programs run out of funds and shift focus or end completely. Resource meetings have become sporadic, as many of the people who were planning or attending have already left these agencies or left the area.

Much of the money that was allocated for southern Alabama has already been spent, while many, many homes still remain unrepaired. Deadlines are beginning to close in. For example, the final date to apply for Katrina aid is May 15. I admit, that deadline seems quite reasonable. It has now been 20 months – almost two years - since Katrina made landfall on the Gulf coast. Those who need recovery assistance have surely had an adequate opportunity to come forward and apply for help.

The much more difficult deadline for me to grasp is the one at the end of August. By that time, all those seeking government funds for assistance with the repair or replacement of their homes in Alabama must have not only applied for the assistance, but their cases must already be approved by the local Long Term Recovery Committee AND the repairs must already be completed AND all the bills submitted for payment. (Fortunately, that deadline has been extended for other areas even more severely affected in MS and LA.)

Now, the rush is on to submit all these cases to the LTRC and get the work done as quickly as possible. But many will not be completed by this deadline. So that means that many will be left hoping and praying for further assistance, primarily from the faith-based organizations like LDR. Fortunately, the end date for those who are receiving FEMA housing assistance has recently been extended into 2008 – so those most in need do have additional time to make repairs, find new jobs, and get back on their feet before they lose that assistance.

Unfortunately, while LDR has a commitment to remaining at work in an area until the recovery is complete, changes are already underway to reduce the expense of running the local office. Now, more than ever, our prayers, donations, and volunteer labor are needed to support the work of LDR and other agencies, so that they can continue to help the victims of Katrina.

Along the Way

If internships have theme songs, ours should be “On the Road Again.” We just arrived back in Mobile late last Friday night after a weeklong trip to Atlanta and Columbia. This morning we are packing again – this time for a couple of days in Birmingham, where we will be giving two presentations on Congregational Preparedness.

I have lost track of the number of miles we have traveled, but I do know that so far, we have taught, studied, preached, led worship, or given LDR presentations in six states: Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. We have also traveled through parts of Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee.

The upside to this is that I have returned to hobby which I had mostly neglected for the past ten years or more: knitting. First I pulled out a couple of long unfinished projects and finished them. After finishing those, I gave myself permission to purchase some new yarn for a couple of projects. I even bought more yarn and made a few Christmas presents! I have now finished a child’s sweater, a shawl, a vest, several scarves, and three ponchos.

Most recently, I pulled out of the closet a container full of yarn that I had purchased several years ago for an afghan, found a different pattern, and am knitting myself a sweater. I’m only brave enough to tell this on myself now because the sweater is nearly finished! I’ve already finished the back and both sleeves. I’ll be working on the front as we travel the next few days.

The good news about this is that it means I’ve been able to accomplish something useful in the long hours spent riding along the highway while someone else (usually Ray) is driving. I’ve also put my knitting bag beside my favorite chair in the living room, so I can knit when I occasionally sit down to watch TV. Knitting has always been a calming activity for me, so I’m glad to be able to have time to enjoy it again!

I’m even planning the next project already! You see, I have a skein of lovely, soft lavender yarn that was given to me, but I can’t quite decide how to use it. I’ve been looking at it for several months now, trying to decide what to make. I’ll let you know what it turns into…

Easter Blessings

It has been a very busy Lenten season for us. Holy Week especially was filled with a variety of worship opportunities which we helped lead: a healing service on Monday, Stations of the Cross on Tuesday, vespers on Wednesday, a communion service on Maundy Thursday, and a Tenebrae service on Good Friday. Several members of our internship congregation thanked us for our part in the different worship services, telling us how much they were moved by the services during Holy Week.

Finally, Easter Sunday arrived, complete with white paraments, lilies, and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” While I hesitate to claim that you can’t truly appreciate sunshine without knowing what storm clouds are, it does seem to be true that the joy of Easter – the triumphant glory of the Resurrection - is best experienced if one has spent some time contemplating the pain and passion of the crucifixion.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in celebrating Easter is realizing that it’s not just one blow-out day filled with flowers, colored eggs, and candy. Instead it is an entire season. The church traditionally allots several weeks for this, even though most of us usually return to our normal lives after just a day or two.

I want to pass along to you something from today’s edition of an email devotional that I receive regularly. It begins with the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus from Luke 24:13-36, then concludes: “Here’s wishing a blessed…eye-opening, faith-confirming, community-gathering, Eucharist-receiving, story-telling … Easter season to each and every one of you!”

(If you would like more information about these daily devotions, go to:
http://www.covenantlutheran.org/devotions.html)

Morning Thoughts

Today is the last day. The last day that we have to get up at 5:00 a.m. for morning Lenten services, that is. The practice here at our internship congregation has been to have 3 daily servcies for Advent and Lent - 6:30 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 6:30 p.m.

As for getting up at 5:00 a.m., those of you who know me know that this is a rare feat - I don't do mornings. It is not that I don't do them well, I just don't do them. I am the one who, when I was traveling the world, would sometimes stay up all night when I had to leave for the airport at 5:00 a.m. (knowing that I had a 12 hour flight during which I could sleep). Early mornings just are not my thing.

But there has been something about 6:30 a.m. Morning Prayer that has touched me. There is something about getting up and dressed, and being in the sanctuary as the sun comes up, praising God for the day to come. Morning Prayer at 9:00 a.m. might be just fine, but there is something powerful about Morning Prayer as the sun rises.

It is easy to understand why many cultures begin their day with prayer as the sun rises. It is not something we do often as Christians, except for those who still have a sunrise service on Easter Morning. It may be a practice that we should reclaim more often.

Try it sometime. Get up before the sun rises; take your favorite hymnal or devotional, and have morning prayer as the sun rises (for Lutherans, try LBW p. 161). Morning prayer, or devotions, become more powerful as we witness the wonder of God's creation at the same time. Whether it is watching the early morning rays of sunlight as they penetrate the stained class windows of the sanctuary, or watching them rise over the trees in the back yard, or come in the kitchen windows, pray as the sun arrives.

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24 , NRSV).

Finally, a new post!

Well, it happened again. I had about ½ of a post written, and then IE shut down on me (I know, I have said before that was going to write the post in Word, then cut and paste it into Blogger, but I was in a hurry…).

As I think I was writing, it is hard to believe that it has been so long since either of us has been able to post anything. I guess it just goes to show how busy Lent can be. In addition to usual business of Lent, we have had lots of volunteers come in (college spring breaks) plus we have both spent some time in Enterprise, AL. For an update on Enterprise and LDR, click here.

While I am sure that we did expect our internship to be somewhat unique, I am not sure that we expected it to be as different as it has been. We have learned a lot about disaster response – on many levels – and have learned a lot about the various organizations that help make things happen. For example, a year ago, I had no idea what VOAD stood for, or that I would have anything to do with it. VOAD stands for Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and is one organization that we have become very familiar with. We attend both the Mobile County VOAD meetings on a regular basis, as well as the state VOAD meetings. We have even shared our work on Congregational Preparedness at these meetings.

In addition, a group at St. Paul’s have decided to get our HAM radio licenses so that we will have communications in case of another disaster here. We had classes so we could pass the test, bought radios, and now are having classes so that we can operate our new rigs. If you are interested, my call sign is KI4UDZ.

All this adds to the confusion that arises when someone ask, “What do you want to do after seminary?” The first answer is that we will go where God calls us; the second answer is that after this internship, it will probably be somewhere unique (or at least very interesting). Our candidacy committee recently sent representatives to visit with us, and I think they were overwhelmed with what they found here. I can imagine that most anyone would be – disaster response work is never easy. It certainly puts us in unique situation.

For the meantime, we pray for the strength and stamina to get through Easter; then we can take a few days off and recharge. Enterprise is about to enter a new phase where outside assistance such as LDR has been providing will be minimal, so we won’t be spending as much time traveling. On the other hand, internship is on the downhill side and we still have things to finish, goodbyes to prepare for, and packing to do. August will be here soon enough. Then we move and start a new adventure – that of senior seminarians.

Seeing God at Work

A few weeks ago, Ray and I traveled to southeast Alabama to give two presentations on congregational disaster preparedness. One of those presentations was at a LC-MS congregation, Christ the King Lutheran Church, in Enterprise, Alabama.

As we do each time in our presentation, we explained what LDR is and described the work LDR is doing in Alabama, we discussed what kinds of disasters are mostly likely to occur in Alabama, and then talked about how congregations can help their members prepare individually, how the congregation can prepare to care for their members and their facility, and how the congregation can do ministry in the community following a disaster.

Less than three weeks later, we heard on the news of the devastating tornado which struck Enterprise. I know that both of us were struggling with our emotions and our memories of being at Christ the King as we listened to the news reports of the extensive damage to the community and the nine deaths – eight of which were students killed in the collapse of the local high school.

After several phone calls and emails within the LDR staff here in Alabama, I quickly packed a bag and drove to Enterprise to join other staff already on site. On a Sunday morning exactly three weeks after our presentation, I found myself worshipping at Christ the King and attending a special called meeting of the congregation to discuss their plans for ministry following the disaster.

I stayed for a day and a half, helping run the volunteer reception center as over 600 volunteers came into Enterprise to help with the cleanup and removal of debris in the first few days following the storm. I talked with many volunteers as they arrived to help, some from the community and some who had traveled much farther to be there. I also talked with the members of the congregation – especially those who were taking active roles in their newfound ministry to the community.

For this small Lutheran congregation, in the center of town, just a few short blocks from the heavily damaged high school and other devastated neighborhoods, surrounded by many much larger churches of other denominations, is taking an active role in the recovery of their community. While other churches are feeding and housing victims of the storm, Christ the King has been designated by the mayor as THE location for all volunteers to check in, so that they can be registered, receive safety training, and their hours of labor can be tracked, which is crucial to help the city reduce its emergency-related expenses.

While I know that the congregation did not have time to develop concrete plans after our presentation, I also know that our presence and our presentation did help make them more aware of LDR and of ways that the congregation could respond in the event of disaster.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to walk with them both before and after this event, and I know that I will be returning to continue to walk with them as the recovery process continues. A few nights spent sleeping on the nursery floor in my sleeping bag, and a couple days without a shower are a small price to pay for the opportunity to see God at work among his people!

New and Improved

I know that I had a specific idea in mind when I first began the sign-in process tonight, but after fighting with Blogger and the requirement to change from the old Blogger sign-in and system to the new Google system, I have completely forgotten what it was. Change, especially a difficult change, can make you completely forget what you were going to do in the first place.

Why are we like that? Why is change so hard? Why do we fight it so much? I suppose that these are good subjects to reflect on in this season of Lent. Reflection, repentance, change. Lent is a time to reflect. It is a time to repent. Reflection and repentance should lead to change. But we usually do not want to change.

Change is one of those things - like death and taxes - that happens, whether we want it to or not. We are never ready for it, we usually fight it, and are never sure it was a good thing. Change is especially difficult when it is someone else's idea, rather than our own. We might diet if we want to improve our chances of fitting into last springs new suit, but not if the doctor tells us to. We might change how we perform a particular function if we decide that it might be easier another way, but not if someone else suggest it first. We might live differently if we thought we had something to gain, but not because God told us to. The 10 commandments might as well be the 10 impossible things that we'll never get around to, because they are just too hard (or the 10 suggestions, for similar reasons).

Reflection is hard because it causes us to examine ourselves. Why is learning a new system so hard? Why is creating a new user name and password so hard? If it was something new that I wanted to do, I would think nothing of creating a new log in and password, and reading the instructions to make it work more smoothly; but let Google force me into it and I want to fight it - one of the reasons I have ignored their suggestion for the past 4 months about switching over while it was optional - I had to wait until they forced it.

We are like this when it comes to examining our own lives. Why don't I treat people with more respect? Why do I not follow a healthier lifestyle and diet? Why can't I see that these things would be better for me? Because I am human; because I am a sinful creature who wants things my way.

During Lent, the challenge to each of us is to reflect, repent as needed, change as necessary. Most of all, ask forgiveness, and pray that we might become better creatures. We know that God will forgive us. Can we see that we need forgiveness and ask for it? Can we forgive ourselves? More reflection. And so the season of Lent.

Studying the Sermon on the Mount

We have had an unusual opportunity for the past few weeks to study the Sermon on the Mount with Dr. James Bailey, Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Wartburg Seminary. He has been teaching a five-session class in three separate locations in the conference. In order to fit into our schedule, we have attended this class in two of the three locations over the past few weeks, so this has turned into not only an opportunity to study the Bible, but also an opportunity to get to know members of two local ELCA congregations better.

As part of last week’s lesson, we took a closer look at the Lord’s Prayer, which is at the center of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. At the conclusion of this session, we were asked to write our answers to one or both of these two questions.

From your experience, what does it mean to ask for “our daily bread”?
It means that we admit our dependence on God’s providence, that we take time to ask him for:
• the basic necessities of daily life
• the means and abilities to earn those essentials through our own work
• freedom from worry about the essentials for ourselves, so that we can really act and work in God’s kingdom here and now
• justice, that “all of us” might have the necessities and this same freedom from worry
• all of us to experience God’s gracious and abundant love!

From your experience, why is forgiveness so essential to our living?

I have shared my answer to the first question from my class notes and invite others to reply with their answers as well…

Work to be done

It is my turn to post to the blog, so I have been told. The difficulty with this is that we have been so busy the past few weeks that it is hard for either one of us to find time. Since time has been the issue, let me catch you up with what is going on with internship.

After our trip to Texas (see On the Road Again), we came back to a funeral and a site visit from our seminary. Site visits are normal, expected, and so on, but they can also be intimidating, time consuming, and exhausting. Ours went well, but over the course of a week, it took several hours and phone calls to pick a date, set an agenda, notify everyone of the agenda, and then modify the agenda when someone was not going to be available. This happened a couple of weeks before. We returned from Texas Monday night, late, and then dealt with the funeral on Tuesday, then picked up our contextual education professor on Wednesday morning. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much one meeting after another, with some driving in-between. By Friday, we were both exhausted, and still had sermons to write for Sunday. We also had 41 volunteers sleeping at the church and working for LDR. Friday afternoon sermon writing was interrupted to open the travel agency office as several people were trying to arrange (or re-arrange) their travel home.

By Monday, our normal day off, we might have rested, except that we had not really had a day at home for almost three weeks, and the apartment really needed cleaning and the cupboards were bare. That means that our day off was really as much or more work than a normal day! Much of the week was spent catching up on some things from the previous week, plus some planning based on suggestions made by our professor during the site visit.

For some reason, by the time we got to Friday again, we were heavily involved in doing some repairs around the church. With the number of volunteers we have staying with us, and the remodeling project that is almost finished, there always seems to be something that needs to be fixed or modified or replaced. Since we had no volunteers in this weekend, it seemed like a good time to get some of these items finished. Saturday (and some of Sunday afternoon) was spent going up and down a step ladder, installing new smoke alarms in the areas that the volunteers sleep, repairing a light fixture, finishing the battery replacement project for our emergency lighting and exit signs, and fixing a couple of door stops. All of this was followed by a couple of hours of cleaning (cleaning up after ourselves, and after volunteers, and after the sexton as well)

I suppose it is appropriate to follow up a post titled The House of God with one about the work done in and on the house of God. In small congregations, with a mostly older population, there are always things to fix and work to be done. One project begets another. There is always something to do. Lest we become bogged down in these projects, though, we must also remember that we (even lowly interns) are called to care for each other. This weekend is past; tonight a new group of volunteers arrive; tomorrow we travel upstate to learn how to handle facility closings in a pandemic. Chores need to be done, but life cannot be spent on them. The world calls; the people call; there is work to be done out there as well.

The House of God

We often talk about the church building as the house of God. But how many times does the church building seem more like a sterile, empty building than a house? We usually think of a house as a place filled with a family, their belongings and their activities, but the church often stands empty and quiet for hours or even days at a time, we don’t bring in many personal belongings, we eat only the occasional meal there, and we treat at least parts of it as though they are too special or sacred to be used for routine activities.

I was struck the other afternoon by the image of the church as the house of God AND God’s people. With over forty volunteers living here this week, nearly every room in the building is filled with inflatable mattresses. Most are covered with a pillow and blankets. In every corner, there seems to be a suitcase, many open with personal belongings spilling out into an area around the bed. These beds are in all the classrooms, the church parlor, the choir room, and even in the sanctuary. Every room is filled with the signs of people who live, at least for a short time, together in this place.

By mid-afternoon, the church was mostly deserted with a meeting going on quietly in one room, and most of the volunteers out working on jobsites, but there was a flurry of activity in the kitchen – and the enticing aroma of dinner began to fill the entire building.

In that moment, the church really seemed like a home; a place where a family lives, eating together and sleeping under one roof. A home where the family takes turns using the available shower facilities. A home where you have to really look for a quiet corner if you want to sit quietly and read, or pray, or just think. A home filled with activity as later in the evening, music filled the choir room, the sounds of the television came from one room, and the sound of conversations mixed as dishes were washed and the kitchen was cleaned up, while others gathered around a table to play a board game. Outside, rain fell and a cold wind blew.

Inside, the building was filled with people, happy for the shelter from the cold, wet weather. People not afraid to use every room in the building. A family, truly at home, in the house of God. What a delightful concept.

On the Road Again!

You might think that interns would stay close to home, preaching and teaching mostly in their internship congregation. But we seem to spend large portions of our time on the road. It felt like we had just gotten home from the Carolinas, but we were on the road again this weekend. We had an invitation from a classmate to visit her congregation and give a presentation on what LDR is doing on the Gulf coast. So, last Friday, we packed up the Cruiser and set out for Texas!

We made a stop in Slidell, Louisiana to visit the LDR site at Peace Lutheran. There is an amazing transformation taking place there – repairs to the flood damage in the church building, renovations and additions to house and feed about 90 volunteers at a time who come to work in the area. Pastor Barb and her congregation are doing great things – with the help of volunteers from all over the country.

We then drove through New Orleans for the first time since Katrina. Even from the interstate, the devastation was appalling. Block after block of stores, homes, and apartment buildings stand empty – with gaping holes in the roof or all the windows broken out. The parking lots are empty, the buildings dark and abandoned. Words fail me, but pictures wouldn’t do it justice, either.

As we drove through, a couple was being interviewed on the radio to talk about their experiences – their escape from New Orleans before Katrina, the months spent living with family in Baton Rouge, their return to New Orleans, the additional months spend trying to decide if their home could be repaired. Fortunately, their story has a happy ending. They had insurance and were able to locate a building contractor who could do the work for the amount the insurance company was willing to pay. Now they have just moved back into their home. Unfortunately, those stories are far too rare.

Thanks to Vicar Christi, Pastor Steve, and the wonderful people of St. Mark’s in Cuero, Texas, we had a great experience on the rest of our trip. We preached at both the Saturday evening and Sunday morning worship services, spent the Sunday school hour talking with the youth and adults about our internship experience at LDR, and following a potluck lunch, gave our congregational preparedness presentation.

Monday morning found us back on the road, heading east for Alabama. It was a long drive in the rain, but we stayed in front of the sleet and freezing rain that some areas were experiencing, so we arrived home safely and right on schedule – and ready for a good night’s sleep! After a morning off to catch up on laundry and chores, we were back to work, with a funeral to attend this afternoon and an LDR presentation tonight at a nearby congregation.

Coming Home

Being in ministry (on internship or as a pastor) means that you don’t have Christmas off. On top of the decorating and shopping and baking and sending cards and wrapping gifts, we had many preparations at church. I taught adult Sunday school on the morning of December 24th (we were discussing the birth of Jesus as recorded in the second chapter of Luke); then assisted with worship for the fourth Sunday of Advent. After worship, the sanctuary underwent a transformation from the blue of Advent to the white of Christmas. A busy afternoon followed.

By evening, we were back at church again – to celebrate Christmas with a candlelight communion service. Home then to fix a late supper, finish the laundry, and pack. We left first thing in the morning to travel home to visit family for a few days. On our drive we listened to a variety of Christmas music on the radio. One holiday favorite kept repeating: “I’ll be home for Christmas.” We could identify with those lyrics as we sped along the highway on our way home to spend a week visiting with family and friends.

Before the end of the week arrived, though, I realized that I was ready to be home – back to my own pillow and bed and other familiar surroundings. But just as I said that to Ray, I realized that I wasn’t so sure where home is anymore! We call North Carolina home, but haven’t really lived there in over two years. We have library cards in two major cities, cars registered in two states, phone numbers in three area codes, and belongings in storage in one place and in an apartment over 500 miles away. You could say we have roots in one place, but are roosting in another.

Just as I began to be melancholy about not feeling like I can really call anywhere “home” anymore, I realized that this is a very real part of our seminary education. We haven’t just left behind too much stuff and our ties to one place, but have gained so much more. We have had the opportunity to learn so much, to meet so many people, and worship in so many different congregations and settings. We now have many new friends in several states just because of this amazing journey. We are becoming “at home” in many different places. Something tells me that this is a lesson God needed for us to learn…

I trust that God has a plan which he will reveal to us at just the right moment. Most of all, I know that we always have a home with him. In the meantime, I can’t begin to imagine where the path of this journey leads, but I do know that it felt good to be back in our apartment last night, and to be welcomed “home” by someone at church today!