9th grade retreat.

This past Saturday I got to spend with our 9th graders, they are fabulously strange, awkward, and wonderful. They are all on track to be confirmed this October and I have to admit that there is a piece of me that is sad that they are being confirmed because I have loved meeting with them on Wednesday nights, don't get me wrong I am excited for them that they get to move on to high school youth group, but I'll miss them. Yes, this is selfish, I know and I am admitting it.

While there are some who want absolutely nothing to do with junior high and high school kids I have grown to love those middle school aged kids as well as my high schoolers. In the town I serve the 9th graders are in a campus of their own, not quite high schoolers and no longer middle schoolers. Generally by the time they hit high school they are fairly rational and less awkward, strange, and wonderful and have matured a bit. But there really is something to that middle school/early high school age when the youth are trying to truly discover the world around them. It is that stage in which they are not certain which way is up or down most days and are experiencing all sorts of changes physically and emotionally. While yes, sometimes their emotions are over the top and irrational, it is reality for them. It is what they know and how they understand the world. 

I find it a honor to get to journey alongside these kids for a time, it is a honor to hear their story, remind them that they are loved just as they and that God loves them and created them exactly how they are. It is a honor to hear that things that drive them nuts and make them excited. It is a honor to walk alongside their families as they learn what to do with middle schoolers, who are striving for independence and yet at the same time clinging to responsible adults to lead and guide their paths.

Thanks be to God for middle schoolers/early high schoolers and their willingness to let me journey alongside them.

Thanks be to God for giving me the patience and the sense of humor to enjoy middle schoolers & their sometimes stinkiness.
Thanks be to God for the adults who loved me when I was in the strange middle school/high school stage.

Thanks be to God to a congregation who rallies to remind these youth that they are in fact amazing and loved.

Thanks be to God who loves all of us despite our awkward, strange, and wonderfulness.

I'm back.........

Alright, it has been far far far far too long since my last post, I'll be the first to admit, and time slipped away from me and I know that I haven't posted in forever. I kept thinking to myself that I should have posted but life happened and posting didn't. Now that life is semi-settling down I think it is time to get back on the horse and start up again.

Changes in life:
May 15, 2011: I graduated from WTS with my Masters of Divinity degree
May 21, 2011: I ran my 2nd Half Marathon (I am excited to run another)
May 28, 2011: I was ordained to word and sacrament
June 4, 2011: I got a golden retriever puppy, her name is Dakota
June 21, 2011: I bought a house
June 26, 2011: I began my first call as an ordained minister in the ELCA

Ahhhh it has been nuts and I give thanks for my family and friends who have loved me and supported me through this all.

I have a few projects (a couple practical and a couple fun) I am working on and some fun ones to try that  I have found. My project list at the moment:
-take down the wall paper in my bedroom
-paint the bathroom my house
-unpack boxes
-continue working on a crocheted blanket for a friend
-coasters -I saw some coasters that someone had made and I can't wait to try to make them myself
-continue to train Dakota (I LOVE HER)
-train for the Oktoberfest run in Fargo

Life is good.

One Month

     Today marks one month until graduation, I (and my classmates) are graduating from seminary!!! While yes we have always known it is coming and yes it is true that the castle is a place along the journey not a final destination (unless you are faculty or staff) the castle is a place in which we learn and grow and pass through. We grow, we are transformed, we are formed into leaders for the world, we develop relationships, we ask hard questions, we are affirmed, we question some more, and finally we are sent out into the world to live as the heart, hands, and feet of Christ in the world. While I do count down to graduation I also know that I will deeply miss my friends here at the castle and some of the routine. I am done with all my course work which is beautiful so that I can hang out with people and enjoy Dubuque as often as possible.
     All that being said, there is a call on the horizon for me, I am excited and anxious, and so many more feelings all rolled into one. I have been assigned to the Northeastern Minnesota synod and am beginning to look more and more forward to moving somewhere and finally living somewhere longer than a year.
     The photo above is my senior banner made by my internship site, Abiding Hope Lutheran. I post the photo today because in many aspects it does reflect my call to ministry very well. The dove and rainbow symbolize God's promises to all people in which I cling so tightly. The Haitian dancer represents not only my brothers and sisters in Haiti but also my call to the global church. The person on the left is suppose to represent youth/children and the ways in which they grow into their faith and my call to serve the younger generations. The bread and wine represent the sacraments.

Yesterday

     Yesterday was one of those days that, as seminarians, we have dreamt about since before we even begin seminary. It was reading and research days here on campus and I stuck around campus for the break. The day was as normal as an empty day on campus could be. Most milestones here on campus are marked by: the community gathering, the community upholding in prayer, the community worshipping, and the community rallying around the days events. This one however was semi-unexpected and as I walked down to my mailbox I had no idea what I was going to find. I got to my mailbox and did the normal, squat down and was excited to see that there was something in my box, I am semi-convinced that my mailbox is a black hole for what can feel like weeks at a time.

     I spin my lock to open the box and naturally couldn’t get it to open, so I tried again (3 times) and finally opened my mailbox. I was expecting to find a letter from my mom, my grandma, or another loved one, I could see that it was a larger envelope (the kind that holds a full sheet of paper) and so I was trying to think through what my mom may have mailed me that she wouldn’t have wanted to bend. When I looked at the envelope I realized that it had come from the Northeastern Minnesota synod! I was surprised and anxiously opened the envelop there standing in the hallway, not a person in sight and no one could be heard.

     As I opened my envelope I found a letter from one of the assistants to the bishop describing a bit of what I would find behind the letter, A CONGREGATION’S PAPERWORK! The moment was surreal, I couldn’t believe what I was holding in my hand. A congregation’s paperwork describing themselves and a little bit about what they are looking for in a pastor. The assistant to the bishop has sent my name and paperwork to them and their paperwork to me?! This is a step in the direction of taking a first call.

     I realize that just because this is the first set of paperwork that I have gotten it does not mean that it is the call I will take, but it is still something to discern. I must discern, the congregation must discern, and together we will see what God is calling us to do. Is God calling us to journey together or is God calling another to live and serve amongst these people and calling me elsewhere? Time will tell.

     While this doesn’t really seem like a very big milestone it was one that caught me a little off guard, while I knew the paperwork might be on its way, it was still a surreal experience. It is hard to believe that while I look forward to graduating, it is a little strange to think that my classmates and I are now the candidates being sent out to congregations all across the United States. I am excited at the ways the Spirit is moving and calling us and meets us in all the unknowns that are before us. I am nervous and unsure at the same time. I trust the Spirit’s moving and guiding, knowing that the Spirit is everywhere and I am being called to live alongside God’s people in a new place, and the Spirit is already there working and moving, and will be there while I am there, and will remain when I am called elsewhere. God is present, God is moving, and it is humbling to see the ways God is moving and that God is in fact calling me to love and serve a particular congregation.

    Well its official. I have been assigned to the Northeastern Minnesota synod and it comes by complete surprise. I was under the impression (as were several of my friends who had been assigned to region 3) that eastern Minnesota was not taking any candidates due to a lack of openings. This must not be true, due to being called there. I will also admit that a piece of my heart had committed to either the western side of Minnesota or one of the North Dakota synods or even South Dakota. These preferences were mostly based on the high number of my friends and family in this area. Although I a not opposed to Northeastern Minnesota by any means.
    My synodical assignment comes with mix emotions and feelings (which is true of pretty much everyone who is assigned). I am excited to explore and learn a new area. I am excited by the prospect of living near a lake (I love being out on a lake). I am excited about first call and the ways in which the Holy Spirit moves and works in all people. I am nervous because I am a native South Dakotan who LOVES to see my horizons, NE Minnesota has a lot of trees and while I enjoy camping for a weekend in such locations I have never fathomed living there. It'll be interesting. I am also a little bit sad that I don't have any friends already up in that area and that none of my classmates were assigned to that same synod. I am a little saddened by the distance from my family and many of my friends. In my heart of hearts I was hoping to be close enough to one of my relatives so that I could drive to them on major holidays, while I greatly appreciate people who on internship invited me into their homes for holidays, it isn't the same as being with family, being a guest during holidays is hard for me. I know I will need to develop new traditions and figure out what it means to celebrate the holidays as a single female living in Northeastern Minnesota.
    I trust the Bishop has something in mind for me or knows of some calls opening up. I am anxious to talk to him or one of his assistants. I have my fingers crossed I'll hear from someone this week to let me know what to expect and can maybe grant me a glimpse into what the future may hold.
    "Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and you love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." (One of my favorite prayers out of the ELW)