CHRISTmas Journey

It is amazing to see what can happen when several dedicated folks set their minds to something. This past week a small group of people saw their hard work come into play. This small group of people dreamed up what this walk through experience would be like and then found others to join in. We had three different scenes that a tour guide took groups through, the first stop was the Isaiah prophesy, the second stop the annunciation with Mary, and the last stop the nativity.

It was a beautiful example of sharing the faith at Christmas. We had hundreds of people come through the CHRISTmas Journey. I was blessed to be able to stand around and talk to people, it was amazing to hear people's responses and reactions. A few even admitted to never having stepping foot in a church before. Some asked about Christmas Eve worship other about the mission and ministry of the church. It was a fabulous way to share our faith and what we believe and share the Christmas story with our neighbors.

A glimpse at the Nativity scene

How do you share your faith?
Does your church have any fun or creative ways that you share the story of our God?

Preparing for Fall

Top: shredded health forms from 2011/2012
Bottom: 2012/2013 binders ready to be filled

     Today at work I shredded all of my 2011/2012 health forms and stuff and emptied out my binders and got them all set to go for the 2012/2013 year. There is something exciting about empty binders ready to be filled with the new year's fun. I am excited about a new year and overwhelmed by everything that needs to still happen. It is exciting to be beginning my second year in call. What are you excited about today?

Sanctuaries

Every sanctuary I have ever been in has a certain sense of the holy, despite how the space is being used. It doesn't take me long to become attached to a particular sanctuary, worship there a few times and bam the space holds even a higher level of the holy for me. Yes I know it isn't any more holy, yes I know nothing has changed other than I feel like I have a connection to the place. I like a wide variety of sanctuaries, I like the old, the modern, the new, the remodeled, and the country church. Each church has its own quirks and reasons why I love it.

Since I work at a church I am in and out of sanctuaries all the time, I am in and out of the one I serve in as well as many others. This morning while I was running in and out of the sanctuary getting some things ready for worship tomorrow night I was struck by the light. We don't have many windows in the sanctuary here but we have a few. I was struck by the way in which the light was coming in from the back and through the three windows up top (representing the Holy Trinity). I was struck by how the light was bouncing off the Jesus statue and the cross and reflecting down onto the baptismal font with the texture of the brick. I had been invited into a holy moment for sure. It was beautiful. I paused, I sat, I prayed.

My sad attempt at capturing the beauty of the sanctuary with the light breaking the darkness

Vacation Bible School

This week in the congregation I get to serve alongside we are hosting VBS, Pandamania, to be exact. I love the exhaustingly wonderful week of VBS. I love all of the new faces it brings into the church and I love the energy and excitement of everything going on. Not to mention what a better way to see faith like a child.

There is a portion of me that is jealous of the kids, they come, they sing, they pray, they learn, they believe. I love the faith of a child, which could be part of why children's ministry is such an important aspect to my call as pastor. I love the way in which they ask their questions openly and honestly without fear of "not knowing enough" or someone else thinking they are "dumb." It is humbling to walk alongside the kids and their families.

I also love the way in which a group of volunteers comes together to make VBS happen, I love seeing the varied gifts of people and the ways in which they shine. It is exciting the way God works and moves in and through the lives of people. It is exciting the way God has called us to community. I am humbled and honored to be called into full time ministry.

Jesus in unexpected places

Almost all of the 100 2012 Summer Stretchers

    Often times when I tell people that I get to work with middle schoolers, they laugh, make some sort of an apology, or say something along the lines of "I am glad it is you and not me." Many people detest working with middle schoolers and I can't quite understand why. I know they are middle schoolers, sometimes they smell, sometimes they have an attitude, some times they talk back, sometimes they are rude, sometimes they are hard to understand. Often times middle schoolers are: generous, hospitable, loving, caring, concerned, questioning, confused, open, and willing. There are many adults who I could say sometimes: smell, have an attitude, talk back, are rude, and are hard to understand and there are adults who are:  generous, hospitable, loving, caring, concerned, questioning, confused, open, and willing. It all works out in the end and I love working with middle schoolers.

   Here in the Brainerd Lakes Area there is a ministry known as Summer Stretch. Thursdays middle schoolers from all over the area here do a wide variety of service projects (each church works on their own projects because no one has projects for 100), we eat our brown bag lunch, share in bible study (the summer we are looking at "Living Water"), and then we gather together for fun and games (last week it was games in the yard and ice cream, this week we are playing mini-golf). Together these youth represent five lutheran churches.

  It was amazing to see the kids as we were gathering last Thursday for the first time and they were shocked to see which of their friends were also participating and to realize that they too go to church, just not the same church. The kids are beginning to see that they are a part of something bigger than they are and that God has in fact called them to love and serve in the midst of a community, they have not been sent out into the world to fly solo, rather to live in community.

  The group I get to work alongside (8 boys and 1 girl) went to serve at the middle school here, this was the service project I was most nervous about. I wasn't certain how the kids would view cleaning up a locker room. So as we arrived they met the janitor, Ron, and they all said things along the lines of "we have seen you around but never knew your name" and so they became fast friends. Ron equipped the kids with buckets, rags, and gloves and sent us off to the 7th & 8th grade boys locker room. (Talk about stinky) The task before us was to clean up the lockers: wipe them all down with a special solution and clean out anything that is left in them.

   At first there were a few grumbles about the task ahead but soon the kids saw the ways the lockers were looking and became proud of their work and the work that they were doing. They talked about how they were helping Ron out and all the middle schoolers. They discussed life, upcoming movies, and plans for the summer. In the midst of it they said that they were excited to come back next fall and share with their classmates that they got to clean these lockers. As we walked out of the cleaned locker room the boys pushed the cart of buckets back to in front of the office, they asked about coming back, knowing that there were several more locker rooms that needed cleaned. They held their heads up high knowing that they had made a difference in their middle school community.

   It was there in the locker room with those boys that I met Jesus. I met Jesus as the boys (my 1 girl was not present last Thursday) scrubbed the lockers clean and made them shine. As the boys scrubbed crusty old deodorant out of the lockers, Jesus was there using these middle school hands to help out the community. The Holy Spirit was working in and through the lives of these middle schoolers for the betterment of the world. In the middle school boys who many want to label as less than or not worthy or something else I saw Jesus moving, speaking, working, and continuing to transform the broken world. I have hope for the future - I see good in these middle school boys as well as the other 100 middle schoolers I get to walk alongside this summer.

  Thanks be to God for middle schoolers.
  Thanks be to God who loves and works in the lives of everyone, despite what the world may think of them.
   Thank be to God for the opportunity to journey with these youth.

2012-2013 Calendar

AHHHH my colleague and I just set our 2012-2013 calendar for church, it is crazy exciting and crazy overwhelming. We have tons going on and lots of new things happening all of which I am super jazzed about but when I see everything that needs to get done it makes my head spin!

Excitement for 2012-2013 at Bethlehem -- we are going to try Family Faith Journey Sunday School for our 2-4th graders and their parents - parents and youth in Sunday school together! I am jazzed about this prospect because all the research shows that kids learning alongside their parents is the most effective means of ministry. I am excited to see where this leads us. This is a daunting task to me as it means I need to write a years worth of curriculum. We are going to try a 3 year rotation focusing one year on the old testament, one year on the new testament, and one year on lutheran basics. We are opting for a very non-traditional Sunday school type model for our 2-4th graders with the potential to expand it to more grades after we try it for a year or two to see how it goes.

The way I understand my role as pastor is that there are three key aspects to passing on the faith to youth/kids - one is the role of the parents, one is the role of the church (pastors included), and one is the role of other adults - together we all get to share the faith and help kids and youth to grow in the faith.

Our Family Faith Journey will have several aspects: serving in worship (ushering, greeting, reading, leading the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed, and communion serving), learning the faith (learning the stories and the Lutheran basics - grace, law, gospel, saint, sinner, trinity), community (community building activities - fellowship), and service (reaching out to the world). Through the course of the three years we will also be focusing on faith practices such as prayer.

I am excited to see how the Holy Spirit moves in and through our learning and growing as families. I pray that this will help to take away from the parents dropping their kids off for Sunday School and leaving to go grocery shopping or whatever and will help them to learn and grow alongside their kids.

Come Holy Spirit, Come.

I love my call.

   I will admit that there are days in which I wrestle with if I should be an associate pastor of children youth and family ministries or a youth director. Eventually I always come back to the fact that I LOVE MY CALL. I love the people I work with and I can't fathom not being a pastor because I love baptizing and presiding at the table. This is from a baptism a couple weeks ago, he was a precious little guy! I love my call and I give thanks and praise to God.