How much?

This little video was made by some of our classmates, and while made in the spirit of fun, does give you an idea of how much a 4 year seminary education costs.

Seeking the place

Several people have asked us lately about how the call process is proceeding. That is a tricky question to answer, especially in a public forum, but I’ll try. Yes, we have been in conversation with the NC Synodical office; yes, our names and paperwork are with a congregation right now; and yes, this is potentially an opportunity for us to serve in ministry together. We are excited by the possibility of serving in one congregation – and I realized as we travelled – by the opportunity to return home to North Carolina.

I certainly can’t announce where that congregation is, but I can tell you that Ray and I met with their call committee earlier this weekend. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with the members of the call committee, in both a formal interview and more casual conversations over meals. We appreciated the opportunity to become acquainted with them, the local community, and their beautiful facility and grounds. The committee members were gracious hosts. We felt truly welcomed and engaged in what I think was a helpful conversation for all of us.

Ray and I have talked about how surprisingly relaxed we felt during our conversations this weekend. I attribute that both to the hospitality we experienced and to our faith that God has already prepared a place for us. Our job now is not to impress a call committee and convince them to hire us (like many job interviews), but rather to engage in honest dialogue so that we can all prayerfully discern together if this is the place where God intends for us to begin our ministry of word and sacrament.

It is far too soon to tell that for certain, but I am glad that the process has begun. The only real problem is that being involved in the call process and anticipating life after graduation makes it even harder to concentrate on the work that needs to be done in the next couple of weeks! Graduation is now less than three weeks away, but all of our homework is due by May 2, so that our grades can be completed before graduation day.

So now, I'd better get back to the books...

Commencement Contemplations

The announcements went in the mail yesterday. It’s official – commencement is only a month away, on May 9!

Our friend and classmate, David, who commutes quite a long drive every day for classes, announced this afternoon that there are only 17 more days of classes – not that he’s counting or anything! (For more on his calculations about commuting, visit his blog.)

For now, I am just amazed how little time is left and how much work still remains to be done. It seems at bit, well, presumptuous to send out announcements about graduating, when I still wonder how we can possibly get everything done in time!

The To-Do list for just next week looks like this:

+ a 1000 word essay for Christian Ethics on offering advice to a parishioner troubled by her career as an engineer for a weapons manufacturer is due on Tuesday;

+ a one page paper written in response to the book Open Secrets is due in Lutheranism in North America – also on Tuesday;

+ a two page paper on the Lutheran doctrines concerning Mary, the mother of Jesus, is due for Ecumenical Theology on Wednesday;

+ the outline for the final research paper in Lutheranism in North America is due Thursday;

+ there are also several articles and two entire books which need to be read BEFORE these papers are written;

+ plus continuing the research and completing the reading for the final papers and book reports in all our courses.

Did I mention that income taxes are due on Tuesday?

It’s going to be a very BUSY 30 days….

Sermon for Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 (Ps. 116:13)
1 Peter 1:17-23
Luke 24:13-35

The Road to Emmaus – how many times have we heard this story? It is one of those stories that we have heard so often that most of us can probably recite the major points from memory. The question is, have you heard it so many times that you don’t even think about it any more?

We have all heard the various explanations of the story, as well. We know that the location of Emmaus is not known. There are two or three possible locations, but not much proof to make it the town in the story. We know that this story is unique to the Gospel of Luke, and that Cleopas appears nowhere else – only here. We also know that Luke often uses food, and events surrounding meals to make his points. We also know that this story is very similar to Old Testament stories where strangers are entertained, only to later find out that they were angels! So what is new to tell about this story, here and now?

How about this - have you ever put yourself in to the story? Tried to get a new feel for one of the characters in the story? I would guess that the unnamed companion of Cleopas would be our place. We are not given this companion’s name, nor are we told if it is a man or woman! In fact, it has been speculated that this person’s name is not given precisely so that we can insert ourselves into the story!

Now - Imagine – you are the unnamed companion – you have just experienced what you feel has been the worst 48 hours of you life. After celebrating the Passover with your teacher and friends, you go out for a walk, and you are suddenly surrounded by soldiers as Jesus is arrested. Then, there is the trial, and the beating, and everyone is crying out for him to be crucified! Finally, Pilate gives in and Jesus is sent to the cross. Tensions are high, and anyone who was associated with Jesus is hiding in fear that they might be next. From a distance, you watch him die. He is taken down from the cross and put in the tomb just before the start of Shabbot – the Sabbath. From sundown to sundown, you hide, you try to pray – as a good Jew should, but you do so with a heavy heart. Your friend – the teacher, the prophet, who you thought was going to redeem Israel, is dead. Finally, Shabbot is over, but now it is dark and there is nothing you can do. Some of the women begin preparing spices and wrappings and other things so they can go to tomb first thing in the morning – to finish preparing the body, which they were prevented from doing during the Sabbath. Everyone else is still hiding, waiting till morning when they might be able to slip away without being noticed – or arrested.

Then, it is morning. Some of the women have already gone to the tomb. You and Cleopas decide that it is time to head for home, back to the life you gave up to follow this prophet, sure that things were about to change. Then suddenly – the women burst back into the room – “He is gone” they shout. “An angel told us that He is alive!”

Simon Peter – the one who had denied Jesus – ran to the tomb with some of the others, but came back to report that it was empty, and that he had seen no one. Now, you are going back home, not quite sure what to make of things but absolutely certain that the events of the last few days are not what you expected. Your hearts are heavy, and puzzled. As you walk along with Cleopas, a stranger begins asking questions, and you wonder, “How on earth can you have missed the biggest thing to have happened around here since the Romans took over Jerusalem?”

Then you begin telling your new companion about all the things that Jesus had done – his mighty deeds and profound words - and about your great expectations of what he was going to do – how he was going to save Israel! But now, he is dead, and his body is missing, and the women are talking about angels, and you are just tired and confused and on your way home to sort things out.

Then, this stranger begins to tell you – you who were there – about Jesus, and his ministry, and what the scriptures said about him and why he had to suffer and die. For someone who did not seem to know what had happened, he sure seems to know a lot of scripture to explain it! Then, just as you get home, the stranger heads on down the road, but you – being the good host that you are – call him back and suggest that he come home for supper. As you lay out supper, the stranger takes his place at the table and as soon as everything is ready, he takes the bread, he blesses it, and he then breaks it and gives you a piece. Suddenly - you realize that you have seen him do this before! This is Jesus – just as he was the last time you saw him, when he blessed bread, and broke it, and gave it to everyone to eat. Just as you realize who it is, He disappears! But you and Cleopas have shared this vision, this conversation, this revelation – Jesus is alive!!!

What a story! You have just been part of one the most told and re-told resurrection stories that we have. Just like the disciples – whom we are told “just didn’t get it” – we don’t get it either, until our eyes are opened. Jesus explains, very patiently and in great detail how all the scriptures foretell that Jesus will come to live among us, will teach us, and do mighty deeds, and then he must suffer and die. Jesus, and later Martin Luther, explains that all that we read in scripture is part of God’s plan for us, and that the key to the plan is that Christ, the Messiah, would come, and be rejected, and be put to death as were many of the great prophets of Israel. Christ leads us from the garden in Genesis to the Cross in Jerusalem; Christ leads us from the cross to meet the Holy Spirit which the Father has sent; Christ prepares us for the coming of the kingdom.

Now, imagine yourself in your daily lives. Imagine that a stranger comes up and ask, “what are you talking about?” We know the story; we can even place ourselves in the story and make it personal. How do we share it with others?

One of the commentary writers, in talking about this story, speaks of us as Easter people. We are just like Cleopas and his companion – and the rest of the disciples – we are “foolish” and “slow of heart to believe” but we keep trying. We may not fully understand this kingdom of God stuff, but we understand enough that we offer hospitality to the stranger – who turns out to be Jesus. We may not understand all that the prophets wrote about Jesus and why he must suffer and die – but we are here every week to learn more. We don’t understand the words of Jesus when he gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples and said “Take and Eat,” but we do it every week anyway. We know, as Easter people, that Jesus came and lived among us, that he suffered and died, that he was raised from the dead – so that somehow – through some miraculous work of God - we might have eternal life.

Now the question is, what do you do? A couple of weeks ago, we heard about Mary, who after seeing Jesus, ran to tell the others. Here, in this story, you and Cleopas do the same thing – you run to tell the others what you have seen. You run, because the news is so great. You run, because you can’t hold it in any longer – you have to tell someone! Anyone! Everyone! And so, you run back to Jerusalem – that place where it all started – and ended – and you tell the story. As Luke describes it – you tell the story of the mighty deeds and words of Jesus. You recount all that He has done – in your life, in the lives of the disciples, in the lives of those you know. You tell the story, and you tell it again, and again, and again. You tell it till you don’t think you can tell it anymore, then you tell it again.

In this story, in this walk to Emmaus, we hear this story acted out. We hear Jesus recount God’s salvation story so that the disciples may understand how God’s salvation really works – not by the sword, but by God’s redemption of the world – through the cross.

Here - we hear the story of what it really means for God to have sent His only Son to die on the cross, so that we who believe may have eternal life.

Here - we hear the story – so that we can run and tell it to others.

Here – we come to the table – to meet Jesus in the bread and wine.

Here – we are redeemed.

Thanks be to God!

Amen.

Thoughts for a rainy Saturday

Today is one of those rainy Saturdays where you just don't feel like doing much - not that there are not plenty of things to do! There taxes to finish, a sermon for tomorrow morning, papers to write, and dozens of small household tasks that ought to be done; but somehow - looking out the window at the rain just sort of takes the urgency out of most of those task.

It also puts one into a contemplative mood - which is not bad for sermon writing if one can focus the contemplations only on things to do with the sermon. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case today (hence - an unexpected blog entry to clear out some of the extraneous thoughts). For example, in reading a friends blog entry from yesterday I remember yesterday, standing next to David and his daughters, and Ruth Ann, and about 30 classmates and professors as we all watched a video of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech (link to this in David's post). It had been a long time since I had heard this speech (I may have heard it in 1963, but if you do the math - I wasn't very old) and I had forgotten just how powerful it was. In listening to it yesterday, I was struck both by its power, and by how much truth was in it (although most white, middle and upper class Americans would have denied it). The other thing that struck me is how true it is today - not as much for black Americans, but for those of other countries - particularly Hispanic countries. No - they are not being denied seating in a restaurant, or a bus seat, but they are still discriminated against - in language, and by our attitudes, and our jokes, by our dismissal of them as fellow human beings - focusing instead on their heritage, their possible lack of citizenship in this country, their lack of possessions. They are not like us - therefore they are not accepted.

Even in the neighborhood where we live, where the racial makeup is very mixed, there is mistrust of strangers, a desire to only have neighbors who are like us (middle class with upscale attitudes - no matter what skin color we have). We still claim that there are those who "do not fit" in the neighborhood - especially if they can't keep their grass neatly cut and trimmed. Discrimination is not gone - it has merely changed focus. Rather than skin color (although that still exists) there is much more focus on (against) the poor. Rather than feeling compassion, we feel disgust. We want them to have a place to live and be able to get a meal and health care - but not in our neighborhood. Low income housing, half-way houses, re-hab houses, soup kitchens, food pantries - they are all good things, but not here. Even a seminary in the neighborhood is not necessarily deemed a good thing for the neighborhood - they might attract homeless people looking for help!

I heard recently about a neighborhood that fought tooth and nail against a church that wished to expand their facility. The project would bring more traffic, and the larger church would create parking issues, and the addition of a food pantry would bring "undesirable" people into the neighborhood. Rather than "welcoming the stranger" we want to find somewhere else to send them. Rather than opening our homes and neighborhoods to help those struggling to pay for prescription medicines, food, basic shelter, we want to find ways to keep them out. Some neighborhoods put up fences; others hire security guards. Cities pass laws against pan-handling or loitering. We install alarm systems and put up signs. Anything to keep us from getting involved, from actually making a sandwich for a homeless person, or taking one of them to lunch with us, or encouraging our own church to open its doors as a soup kitchen or as a shelter or as a food pantry. Instead, we want "someone else" to do it.

The Gospel text this week is the Road to Emmaus story. Many of you know the story - two of the disciples, worn out and discouraged, are walking home to Emmaus. On the road, they meet a stranger and discuss with him the events surrounding Jesus suffering and death. The stranger then tells them all that the scriptures have to say about the coming of the Messiah. As they reach Emmaus, they invite the stranger to join them for supper. In the breaking of bread, Jesus reveals himself to them, as He does each time we celebrate the Eucharist.

As we welcome the stranger, we are reminded that the stranger may not always be who we think it is. There are many who believe they have unknowingly entertained angels, or even Christ himself. There are several Bible stories where angels are unknowingly shown hospitality. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, tells those on His left and on His right - that they have or have not fed Him when He was hungry, or clothed Him when He was naked, or given Him drink when He was thirsty - for even as we do to the least of these - we do to Him.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not take us to this biblical image - but he did call us - the people of God - to remember that we are all created equal - that we are to treat our brothers and sisters - all of them - with respect. This call, this dream - was not just an address to this nation, but to all who claim Christ as Lord and Savior - to the Church that is His body here on earth. Open your doors - feed the hungry - cloth the naked - and see Jesus in the breaking of bread.

Wonderful and Wandering Worship

The weekly Eucharist service here on campus last night was wonderful! For those of you familiar with the new cranberry hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, we used Setting # 7. This worship setting, which can be sung entirely in Spanish, contains liturgical music with an Hispanic/Latino flair. While the melodies weren’t familiar to most of us, and the rhythms can admittedly be challenging for those of us who are stodgy German or Scandinavian Lutherans, the music was truly delightful to sing and a wonderful break from the routine. We also had the advantage of a small group of musicians, who are all students here on campus, who led the music. This group calls themselves Unexpected Harmony; they certainly did add an unexpected joy to our worship service.

Now on to the “wandering” part of this post: as seniors, we are not assigned to specific congregations in the area, as we were during our first two years of study. Ray and I have committed to regularly attending worship here on campus – both daily chapel services and the weekly Eucharist services – as part of our spiritual life and as a way of participating fully in the seminary community.

We are also intentionally using this year to worship on Sunday morning in different congregations around the area. Since we returned to campus last fall, we have had some opportunities to supply preach and to return to our home congregation, but most weeks we worship as visitors in a new congregation. This has given us the opportunity to experience worship in a wide variety of styles and worship spaces. These opportunities to visit have been very educational to us, as we get to experience firsthand how visitors are welcomed (even given gift bags or welcome kits) or virtually ignored; how clear the bulletins and worship instructions (both printed and verbal) are; what follow-up visitors receive (notes from the pastor or lay leaders); and whether or not we are remembered on a return visit a few weeks or even months later.

I know it sounds a bit like being a “secret shopper” or as though we are intentionally testing congregations or looking for weaknesses, but we really aren’t. You might be amazed at what kinds of things we have learned about how to welcome visitors well - and we know these experiences will certainly guide us in our future ministry.

Easter Morning

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark (John 20:1)…” we gathered on a hilltop in a cemetery to worship and proclaim the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

It was dark and quite cold this morning at 7:00 am in Boone, NC when we joined with others for a community worship service. The sky in the east was just beginning to lighten and the wind grew even colder as worshippers drew close together to stay warm; but by the time we had prayed together, sung Jesus Christ is Risen Today, and heard this morning’s appointed text from the Gospel of John, the sky had grown much lighter. By the time the sermon ended, the bright sun was peeking over the top of the mountain to the east, and as we sang the final hymn, the sun was fully visible in the eastern sky!

What a glorious way to welcome the dawn and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection! I pray that each of you also had a blessed and joyous Easter. In the words of this morning’s preacher, “Let’s run” to proclaim this good news to others!

And now time to rest!

It has been a busy week here on campus – or at least it has seemed so from our perspective. It has also been a week filled with cooking, with music, and with celebrating our (well, at least my) ethnic heritage.

This really all started last Friday, as we prepared salad, chicken noodle soup, and bread to serve dinner to a visiting choir that performed here on campus Friday evening. After dinner and some hurried clean-up, we enjoyed their concert of both traditional and modern music.

Seminary Days, a semi-annual event here on campus, was early this week. This is an opportunity for those who are considering attending school here to visit classes, learn about the campus, and meet faculty, staff, and students. One of the campus wide activities during this event is a dinner on the quad. So again we were cooking, to make a dessert to share.

We had a special group project due this week in our Lutheranism in North America course. Ray and I were both part of the group researching German Lutherans of the Midwest. By the time the presentation was done Tuesday – complete with a display of books and documents, typical German foods (including a homebaked Almond Kringle from our kitchen), and a lengthy Powerpoint – we were both exhausted from being Midwest Germans. Which does present a bit of a conundrum, because we are both at least partially of German descent, with ties to Lutheran churches in the Midwest!

More music came in the form of choir practice and two special pieces the choir sang during the weekly Eucharist service Thursday evening. (Thanks to a fellow student, we have a digital recording of both, so we got to hear them too!)

Then to wrap up the week, some friends on campus had an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration – including bagpipe music by one of our classmates! It was a real treat and quite an ending to the busy week. It also allowed me to celebrate the other half of my heritage by appreciating all things Irish!

Now we have a week off for Spring Break – which is really just a thinly masked opportunity to catch up some reading and other homework and hopefully some sleep!

Gulf Coast Recovery campaign begins

While this may seem a bit unusual, for those of you who have followed this blog, and our journey, it should not surprise you in the least. Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) is beginning their spring campaign for the Gulf Coast recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This will include over 1000 people who will assist as part of spring break, and the many, many others who have made trip after trip after trip to the Gulf Coast to assist since Katrina. We have met many who have gone at least once a year, sometimes 4 or more trips in a year, by themselves and with others, to help those with no other means of recovery.

For all those who were helped with funds from Katrina Aid Today, there at least that many more who did not qualify, or who still have needs. A friend recently returned from the Gulf Coast and was proud that their church group had completed two houses during their stay, but admitted that there were 10,000 more homes to be done. The only way it happens is one house, one family at a time.

For everyone who reads this, and has donated, and/or has given their time to the recovery of the Gulf Coast, we give thanks to God what you have done. For those who have not yet helped, this may be your opportunity.

If you are reading this blog for the first time, go to the beginning as we went to Mississippi just a few months after Katrina and read of the time we spent there. If you have questions or comments, feel free to post them here.


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March 4, 2008

Sisters and brothers in Christ,
When the 2005 hurricane season battered communities along the U.S. Gulf Coast, the response of Lutheran donors was amazing, even overwhelming. Through your support, Lutheran Disaster Response has played an integral role in the initial stages of recovery from these terrible disasters. But the work is far from over. Urban planners and other local officials estimate that recovery could continue for years to come. Now, we ask you to renew your commitment to the Gulf Coast by giving to an unprecedented second funding campaign.All gifts received through this campaign will support the work of local long-term recovery organizations, through staff expertise, volunteers, and other resources. What is a long-term recovery organization? In short, it is a not-for-profit organization formed as a sort of local response headquarters. By working with these committees, local leaders from any active response organization have the opportunity to contribute resources to a wider group and broaden their influence on community restoration. Through long-term recovery, all available resources are multiplied through the collaborative commitment of everyone involved.

To give a gift to the appeal or learn more, click here. Updates on the progress of the appeal, as well as success stories about long-term recovery, will also be posted so please check back regularly. Please share this message as broadly as you are able -- forward this e-mail to anyone who might be interested, post this information on your Web site or blog, share this message in your church bulletin or newsletter, tell others about your experience as a Lutheran Disaster Response volunteer. The response of the Lutheran community to this appeal will help to define our presence in the Gulf Coast recovery into the future.

In 2008, Lutheran Disaster Response celebrates 20 years of bringing help and hope to disaster survivors. Over those 20 years, Lutherans have earned the well-deserved reputation of being committed to the long-term needs of recovering communities from Grand Forks to Oklahoma City, eastern Pennsylvania to southern California, New York City and New Orleans. Thank you for your continued commitment to this amazing and life-changing ministry!

In service,

Rev. Kevin A. Massey
Acting Director

Lutheran Disaster Response
Bringing Help and Hope...
Phone: 773-380-2748
Fax: 773-380-2493
Visit us on the Web at www.ldr.org

Resting a While

As you can tell from Ray’s recent post, it has been a busy weekend in our house. I must admit that I have quite willingly missed most of that busy-ness, as I answered a call to “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” (Mark 6:30, NRSV)

I journeyed this weekend with a small group from campus to the Snail’s Pace Retreat Center, in Saluda, North Carolina. I have often attended retreats in the past, but they were often really planning sessions or board meetings in disguise, so I have rarely been truly ‘on retreat.’

This weekend away was a delightful and restful time of worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. The weather was wonderfully crisp and clear, so our group spent an entire afternoon outdoors, doing a bit of browsing in the shops of downtown Saluda and visiting the nearby Pearson Falls. I spent quite some time simply sitting on a bench near the falls, with my eyes closed, soaking up the warm sunshine and listening to the rush of the water. Ray would have called this my ‘lizard on a warm rock’ imitation!

We also had quiet solitary times for reading or napping. (One often leads to the other for me!) We also enjoyed the wonderful food prepared by the staff and the companionship of others visiting the retreat center. It was a wonderful restful and calming experience in the midst of a busy semester – and a welcome respite from concerns about the call process.

I can highly recommend this as a delightful place away from the routine for those who are weary! If you go, please give my greetings to Randy and Linda, the gracious and hospitable staff .

And the winner is..

Last night the seminary community had a chili night - with a contest for the best in several categories. Now in some ways, my entering the chili contest might have been considered unfair, as I have been making chili longer than most of my classmates have been alive, and I have made chili professionally (my parents were in the restaurant business for many, many years). I probably have also made more gallons of chili than most people I know. All that said, I do enjoy making chili, and the fellowship of the night was great.

The categories for chili included Best Vegetarian, Best Beanless (meat only), Best w/Beans, Most Unusual, and Hottest. Now, I take my chili pretty seriously - beans and meat with lots of onion and green pepper. Spicy, but not too hot (or no one else in the family will eat it), not too thick and not too thin. Oh - and lots of tomatoes. Canned diced tomatoes work best, unless you just happen to have a bunch of fresh ones that need to be used, and you have the time to peel them (no tomato peel in my chili, thank you very much).

When I made chili in the restaurant, or even when I am in a hurry, I make chili with Bush's Chili Beans (no one else's will do). They are a good, canned bean and the seasoning is pretty good without being overpowering - which means you can add in your own special seasoning and still be able to taste it. These days, I prefer to make the chili from scratch - dried beans and all. I have also developed a taste for black beans, so my chili always has plenty of black beans in it, as well as kidney beans and pinto beans. For this batch, I started on Thursday evening, rinsing and soaking beans. I had to pick someone up at the airport around midnight, so about 1:30 a.m. I was able to give the beans one last rinse and turn the slow cooker on. By morning, the house smelled like beans and tomatoes. At lunchtime, I added cooked ground chuck (well seasoned, with onions, garlic, and green pepper) and more liquid. I like to use V8 juice along with tomatoes, because it adds a nice bit of flavor. During the afternoon, I stirred and adjusted the seasonings, adding chili powder, cumin, black pepper, red pepper, and something new this year - Smoky Tabasco sauce.

All in all, it was a great pot of chili. By starting with dried beans and using No-Salt-Added tomatoes, it was a low-sodium dish (important in our house), low-carb (also important) and high fiber (very important for those of us 50 and over). It also tasted great! The black beans not only add great flavor, but also are a nice contrast to the red kidney beans and tomatoes.

So how did my chili fair in the contest? Many people liked it, partly because it was not so hot as some others (hot should be added by each person to suite their own taste, not forced upon them). It, of course, did not win the vegetarian or beanless categories, but it did carry the day for most unusual. It was not the only chili there with black beans, but a couple of the others had corn added (corn is NOT something I want in my chili). Whatever the case, I was happy to have my chili recognized, but the best reward was that I brought home an almost empty pot, so someone thought it was good.

The best part of an evening like this is that it brings the community together for a very family-fun based evening of fellowship. Especially, at this time of life at seminary - first call for seniors, internship for middlers, CPE for juniors, mid-terms approaching for all - we all have plenty of stress in our lives. This was a great chance to just let go for a little while, and enjoy some time together.

Tonight's Evening News

No omens in the night sky tonight. Just a pleasant dinner on campus with two of our classmates and the bishop of the North Carolina Synod of the ELCA. That’s right – we were invited to join Bishop Bolick for dinner tonight because we have been assigned to our home synod of North Carolina!!

We were very pleased to learn that we have been assigned to NC and have a chance to talk about what to expect during the call process. We certainly don’t have many details yet, but we have been told to expect that our paperwork could be sent out to some congregation(s) to consider in just a couple of weeks. The call process will begin in earnest then.

I still haven’t found the right graphic to illustrate this post, but I’m thinking about finding a nice garden flag with some North Carolina theme – maybe the Cape Hatteras lighthouse…

Eclipse

Tonight was a lunar eclipse, one that was easily viewed in the South Eastern United States. For a great look at the timeline and other info on this eclipse, check out this article.

For a great interview about the eclipse, check out this video.

I have included a couple of pictures that I took, but they quality is not great – they are from my digital camera, handheld using the car for bracing. They do show a couple of stages of the eclipse. For us here in the SE, there will not be another eclipse that is this visible until at least 2010. Since tonight was very clear, it was a great night to be watching.

For an interesting article on the eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus, read this article.

For us, this eclipse was an omen of impending news – today was the announcement of the ELCA regional assignments for first call. We have been assigned to region 9, but will be another 24 hours before we know much more. Check back soon!

Monday Musings

Dodge is off to a great 2008 season by winning the Great American Race – the Daytona 500. The new car (COT) made its debut at Daytona and the 2008 NASCAR season is off and running. And how about Toyota? Dodge placed first and second (Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch), but Toyota placed 3rd and 4th (Tony Steward and Kyle Busch)! Not bad for their second year in NASCAR.

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Gasoline prices have soared up again. I bought gas early last week (Monday or Tuesday) for $2.70 a gallon; by Saturday the same station was at $2.85 per gallon. We worry about stimulating the economy, and yet there are people who cannot afford to buy gas to get to work! The divide between the haves and have-nots grows every day. As one who definitely was on the “have” side a few years ago, but is now closer to the “have-not” side (life as a middle-aged student is definitely a different tax bracket than we were used to), this is pretty obvious. For most of us, we cannot see it. As long as our economic situation does not change, we think the world is OK. What happens, though, when your job depends on you having a car (because our public transportation is inadequate) and you cannot come up with gas money, on top of groceries and car insurance, and the other necessities of life? No – we do not have and are not guaranteed the “right to drive” in this country, but then, we make it so hard for those who need other options. Our streets are not pedestrian friendly, we only have bike lanes in the “nice” neighborhoods, and we as drivers do not show the proper respect to our neighbors on foot, or bicycles or mopeds – we just want them to get out of our way so we can get to where we are going. We even complain about the public transportation that we do have – busses that stop in front of us and block our travel lane. We even complain about the small percentage of our taxes that are used to support public transportation, and yet, most of us are not willing to car-pool or offer a ride to someone standing at a bus stop.

As a Lenten discipline, maybe we could just try being nicer while driving. No road rage, no yelling at other drivers, and maybe, just maybe, give the right-of-way to a pedestrian or bicyclist once in a while. If you are in a great mood, offer a ride to someone who is struggling to carry their groceries down the street.

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Tornadoes again – more tornadoes so far this winter than most of us remember in a long time. We offer prayers for those in Florida and Alabama, struck by tornadoes yesterday. May God bring you peace, and comfort you in your loss, and bring you volunteers who will help, and pray, and become a part of your life as you rebuild and repair.

If you wish to help out, contact your local Red Cross, or Lutheran Disaster Response, or check with any member organization of VOAD.

From David at Here I Stand:

This meme has been making the rounds, and since I have little time for blogging today I will play along rather then publish another of my awe inspiring, inspirational posts. It is called the 1-2-3 Meme, and to play along one needs a book. Being that I am sitting in the seminary library right now, that shouldn’t be a problem. Here are the rules for the meme.

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more. (No cheating!)
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people
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The book I picked up is a textbook for Lutheranism in North America (sorry, it was the first book I could reach with at least 123 pages). The next 3 sentences are:

Shaking off the grief which had weighed on him after the death of his young bride, he [Samual Simon Schmucker] feverishly wrote letters to men who he knew to be supportes of the General Synod. "I have within the last six weeks written sixteen letters to different parts of our church," he wrote in his diary. There were letters to North Carolina, urging the synod to send delegates at the appointed time to Frederick, Maryland, in spite of the action of the Pennsylvania Ministerium.

(And we think there are issues in the Lutheran church today!)

Like David, I am a bit short on time (but this sounded like fun), so if you read this, consider yourself tagged.

Turning 50

It seems that 1958 was one of those years - a lot of things began in 1958. From a recent mailing inviting us to join AARP was a list of celebrities who, along with AARP, turned 50 in 2008. In addition to that list, last night the Grammy Awards turned 50. This next Sunday, another major event turns 50, the Daytona 500. Why all this interest in things that turn 50 in 2008?

I guess it is because we both turn 50 this year, as well. In fact, Ruth Ann has already had her 50th birthday and mine is coming soon. We recently had a joint celebration, and had to work to convince the cake decorator that, Yes, we really did want the cake to say Birthdays (plural).

So, you might ask - if you have been following this blog for long, what is it like to turn 50 during the senior year of seminary? It is quite interesting, to say the least. While many of our classmates are straight out of college (expected to graduate at the ripe old age of 25 or 26), we also have several classmates who are about our age, or even older. Seminary is no longer full of 20 something men - it now includes men and women, from every age - straight out of college to a retired doctor who decided to come to seminary a week after closing his practice. About half of seminarians at Lutheran seminaries these days are second (or third or fourth) career and the rest come right out of college. Programs like Project Connect are helping to bring more young people to seminary, but more and more people seem to decide on a mid-life career change that includes going back to school - to become a chef, a pastor, a doctor, or something else that did not seem to be an option when they younger.

So yes, we are a bit preoccupied by the number 50 this year. Like everything else, we are thankful to reach the age of 50 in good health and to be able to attend seminary. We are thankful that so many have remembered us as we turn 50. And yes - we look forward to graduating this year - school is hard at 50!

As I turn 50, I have memories of reading Jimmy Buffett's book, A Pirate Looks at 50. I really enjoyed that book a few years ago - I think it is time to read it again.

What does Grace look like?

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!

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 Sunday 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!

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…

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.