The preacher at tonight’s Eucharist service on campus asked that question, then answered it with several examples he has seen recently in worship services. Those examples made me think of two places that Ray and I have been on recent Sunday mornings. We were asked to fill in at each of these churches over the past few weeks, while their pastors were on vacation.
(For those who want to know how we handle this – we just took turns. I preached and led worship twice in the city church, with Ray giving the children’s sermons; then he preached and led worship at the rural church. Guess that means it will be my turn to preach next!)
These two Lutheran churches are quite different: one is a stately brick church in a small Southern city, which recently celebrated its 125th anniversary; the other is an even older rustic, white-sided country church. One seems to have grown steadily and prospered throughout its existence; the other has had to struggle to survive, but now flourishes.
But they also have much in common. For God’s grace is clearly present in both places – in the worship services, in the fellowship the members share, and in the ministries they both provide to their communities!
I have had the opportunity in the past few years to learn a bit of the story of both places. The city church was started with only a few members – those in the community who were already Lutheran. The rural church has had its share of challenges - a previous pastor told me that he knew when he served there, that if attendance didn’t increase, the church might close. I have also been blessed to get to know some of the members - to hear stories of their lives and to share some of my stories with them.
What strikes me most is both how alive and alike these two congregations are! They are in different places, with different kinds of pastors, with their own unique challenges; yet God has been present with them and in their ministries; they grow and flourish and worship God and love and serve their neighbors. They have been blessed by God so that they can be a blessing to others (including visiting seminarians).
Grace looks like that to me!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Turning Pages
The past two weeks have been filled with an excellent J-term class on Educational Ministry with Adults. Imagine an entire semester of coursework crammed into eight days of classes. With four books to read and five written assignments to complete, plus a class session to teach, we have spent most all of our time focused on this class. It has been a great course – one which I’m sure will have tremendous impact on our future ministry – but I’m glad to be done and have the weekend to relax before the regular semester starts next week.
In the meantime, I’ll take advantage of the breather to write about two books that Ray and I both read over break – we highly recommend both of them!
The first is Once Around the Track by Sharyn McCrumb. Ray and I have enjoyed many of her other books. Most of them are mysteries with an historical theme, set in the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee – countryside which we know pretty well.This time, she has written a book of fiction about NASCAR, set in the town of Mooresville, North Carolina – which is just north of Charlotte. Ray’s a big NASCAR fan, the characters are bigger than life, the story is captivating, and the scenery is familiar – a winning combination! It should be available in your favorite local bookstore or public library.
The second book we took time to read while we were on vacation is Sunday by Sun
day which is written by a friend of ours from the seminary campus, Cristy Fossum. Sunday by Sunday is written as the journal of a woman, who is determined to grow old not-so-gracefully, but by living each day fully! Her journal entries reflect on her experiences with her family and friends, her life of faith, her experiences in worship, and the weekly lectionary texts from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). This is a work of fiction, but so true to life that it will make you laugh and cry – sometimes both at the same time. I am already waiting impatiently for the next volume to be published – hurry, Cristy!
If you can’t find this in a local bookstore, you can purchase it directly from the author’s website. I also understand that there will soon be a downloadable study guide available – this would make a great resource for a women’s study group. And after the past couple of weeks, I feel fully qualified to make that recommendation!
In the meantime, I’ll take advantage of the breather to write about two books that Ray and I both read over break – we highly recommend both of them!
The first is Once Around the Track by Sharyn McCrumb. Ray and I have enjoyed many of her other books. Most of them are mysteries with an historical theme, set in the mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee – countryside which we know pretty well.This time, she has written a book of fiction about NASCAR, set in the town of Mooresville, North Carolina – which is just north of Charlotte. Ray’s a big NASCAR fan, the characters are bigger than life, the story is captivating, and the scenery is familiar – a winning combination! It should be available in your favorite local bookstore or public library.The second book we took time to read while we were on vacation is Sunday by Sun
day which is written by a friend of ours from the seminary campus, Cristy Fossum. Sunday by Sunday is written as the journal of a woman, who is determined to grow old not-so-gracefully, but by living each day fully! Her journal entries reflect on her experiences with her family and friends, her life of faith, her experiences in worship, and the weekly lectionary texts from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). This is a work of fiction, but so true to life that it will make you laugh and cry – sometimes both at the same time. I am already waiting impatiently for the next volume to be published – hurry, Cristy!If you can’t find this in a local bookstore, you can purchase it directly from the author’s website. I also understand that there will soon be a downloadable study guide available – this would make a great resource for a women’s study group. And after the past couple of weeks, I feel fully qualified to make that recommendation!
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Living in the Eye of the Storm
The last several weeks have passed by so quickly! I can hardly believe that Advent and Christmas are past and the New Year has arrived. Here we are in the season of Epiphany already! I hope that the anticipation of Advent and the joys of Christmas were blessings to others as they were for us. May we all continue to grow in our awareness of the active presence of God in our daily lives as we move into and through this Epiphany season in the weeks to come.
After worship on Christmas Eve, as we greeted the pastor, he asked us how we were doing in this in-between time – for as he knows, we are between semesters and between approval and call. We realized then that this is for us, in many ways, the eye of the storm. And given some of our unique experiences on our seminary journey, it seems like a very appropriate image!
The past semester has indeed passed like the front wall of a hurricane with its triple threats: the heavy rain of homework assignments; the high winds of the approval process, and the rising tides of anxiety as we felt like we were holding still and the storm was moving over/around/through/past us!
After the work for the semester was done and the quiet begun, we had another flurry of activity as we prepared for Christmas and accomplished some long-delayed household chores, like installing a new storm door before the cold winds invaded our home!
Now, we are experiencing a week of quiet rest and vacation, trying to fully enjoy this time away while still anticipating the return of the second wall of the storm. We are fully aware that the storm is not yet over. Our final semester of seminary will begin very soon, since we have enrolled in a J-term class which begins next Monday! This two week intensive course on educational ministry with adults will get our semester underway. Then at the end of January, the regular semester begins.
Along with the pounding rain of schoolwork, we face gusting winds again as the long anticipated assignment event occurs in late February and the process of being called to serve in a congregation begins. And I have no delusions about either of us remaining totally calm in the face of all this. In spite of our excitement at the prospect of graduating and accepting calls to serve and our faith that God is with us through every step of this journey, the tidal surge of anxiety will no doubt come as well!
For now, we are deliberately savoring this calm and peaceful vacation time, while preparing for the storm to return…
After worship on Christmas Eve, as we greeted the pastor, he asked us how we were doing in this in-between time – for as he knows, we are between semesters and between approval and call. We realized then that this is for us, in many ways, the eye of the storm. And given some of our unique experiences on our seminary journey, it seems like a very appropriate image!
The past semester has indeed passed like the front wall of a hurricane with its triple threats: the heavy rain of homework assignments; the high winds of the approval process, and the rising tides of anxiety as we felt like we were holding still and the storm was moving over/around/through/past us!
After the work for the semester was done and the quiet begun, we had another flurry of activity as we prepared for Christmas and accomplished some long-delayed household chores, like installing a new storm door before the cold winds invaded our home!
Now, we are experiencing a week of quiet rest and vacation, trying to fully enjoy this time away while still anticipating the return of the second wall of the storm. We are fully aware that the storm is not yet over. Our final semester of seminary will begin very soon, since we have enrolled in a J-term class which begins next Monday! This two week intensive course on educational ministry with adults will get our semester underway. Then at the end of January, the regular semester begins.
Along with the pounding rain of schoolwork, we face gusting winds again as the long anticipated assignment event occurs in late February and the process of being called to serve in a congregation begins. And I have no delusions about either of us remaining totally calm in the face of all this. In spite of our excitement at the prospect of graduating and accepting calls to serve and our faith that God is with us through every step of this journey, the tidal surge of anxiety will no doubt come as well!
For now, we are deliberately savoring this calm and peaceful vacation time, while preparing for the storm to return…
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, October 12, 2007
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, September 03, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, August 31, 2007
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.
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
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:
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.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
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 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...
Thursday, August 09, 2007
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…
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…
Saturday, July 28, 2007
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!"
“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…"
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
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…
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…
Sunday, July 01, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, June 22, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, June 18, 2007
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…
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…
Saturday, June 02, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
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!
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!
Saturday, May 05, 2007
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.
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.
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