Synod Assembly

This past weekend I spent at my church's synod assembly. Essentially it is all the churches of my denomination who gather together once a year to evaluate, pray, discern and try to figure out what God is doing in our world around us as well as deal with some church politics type stuff. We gather in a centralish location and spend the weekend together.
It is great in the sense that I get to see a ton of my colleagues and friends and I get a weekend where I just get to attend worship without having to have any form of a leadership role. It is a welcomed break, although it is exhausting for this introvert. It is a mandatory event for all clergy and rostered leaders.

The painting that was made during worship.

While it was nice to not have to work in the traditional sense on Sunday it was hard to not be working because I know all of the things I am missing out on and the things I wish I had gotten done. It's a catch 22 - it is great to go away but it is also wonderful to come back home. I can't complain, not to mention I missed my sweet puppy like crazy and getting up early to get my runs in wasn't the same without her. Funny how you get accustom to running a certain way and then when things change it feels different.

One sweet thing that happened during worship was Pr. Paul Oman did a painting during worship (above you see the picture transforming) - it seriously was amazing. He began with a blank canvas and transformed it into this beautiful work of art as the service progressed - worship wasn't more than about an hour and fifteen minutes! IT WAS IMPRESSIVE.



It was a great weekend. It was wonderful to help out with the 5k run/2 mile walk - I was thankful for all the people who showed up to run and help to raise some money for our outdoor ministries in this area.

Cardia Deo 2013: Called

This past weekend I got to spend with a couple hundred or so of the high schoolers from around my synod. We dove into what it means to be called, spent time in prayer, worship, and bible studies, work on a couple serve projects, and played and laughed hard. It was a glorious weekend. High schoolers renew my hope for the future. These youth are AMAZING, seriously, their generations is already moving mountains and I can only imagine the impact they will have when they no longer live hearing that they are too young, or not smart enough, or not old enough, or simply just not enough.

It is an honor to gather alongside them, to hear their joys and struggles, and to accompany them as we walk this road of faith together. I am always impressed with the ways in which this peer led weekend goes so well and God shows up in big ways. I had a fabulous group of kids from the congregation I serve (twelve of them) and it was wonderful to see how they worked together, grew as a group, challenged one another, and most of all supported one another.

I give thanks for this generation of youth coming up.
I pray for wisdom to know how to continue to equip them to do ministry in the world.
I give thanks for the gift of accompaniment.
I pray for energy to keep up with the youth and the changing technology.
I give thanks for the congregation who continues to affirm my call to full time ministry.
I pray for a diligence in listening to the stirring of the Holy Spirit.