Warrior Day of Service

I have the best job/call in the WORLD. Seriously. Don't even try to argue with me, today, you won't win (catch me on an off day and perhaps I will compromise with a tie for world's best job/call).

Part of having the world's best call is the fact that I have the world's best colleagues, both at the church I serve and in the area in which I serve. Once a month, we intentionally get together, drink coffee, commiserate, and think up brilliant plans. (Really let's be honest here, we hang out all the time, we just make sure once a month we actually do it during work hours, which what are those anyways, and see what God is up to.) A couple months ago some how, someone (I think Vicki is guilty here) came up with the plan of creating what has become known as "Warrior Day of Service."

During homecoming week, the kids are released from school at 1:00 pm. (I don't know whose brilliant idea this was to let all that energy out early - really the teachers probably think it is wonderful) We decided that we needed to channel all this beautiful energy into something good. So we created service opportunities for all kids 6 through 12th grade (yes we are nuts), feed them dinner, and then have a community worship service. We had high hopes of 200 kids signing up (this was our first go at this and we didn't want to dream too big, and weren't exactly sure what we were getting ourselves into with less than a month before the day).

Much to our surprise about 350 kids signed up. And it was AWESOME.

Wednesday we spent the day serving all over our community, enabling youth to use the gifts and talents they have to serve the community we live in. They painted community hockey parks, the football team painted elderly fingernails at a nursing home, we cleaned up yards, we organized for other nonprofit groups, we cleaned up a local park, helped at the local library, and sooooooooooooooo much more. IT WAS AWESOME. Kids from different churches, teams, and individuals came together, to work side by side, to love our neighborhood, to prove to the world that they are capable, able, and willing to make a difference in the world. They served with their whole heart, laughed those contagious laughs, smiled from ear to ear, served unconditionally, filled their bellies with pasta, and loved as they first have been loved.

It was an honor to walk alongside them as they made a difference in our world, one day at a time.



Do you volunteer anywhere?
Do you accompany young people to make a difference in the world?
Where is your favorite place to serve?

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.

Looking Back

Lately I have been trying to be really intentional about finishing up projects before I begin another one - including my shutterfly books. Suz and I finished our Disney book (that I shared last week) and since then I have caught up on my 366 in 2012 book and have gotten back into getting my summer mission trips & summer stretch book done. Well not done but at least back to working on it (I am not actually sure why I never got around to it). Anyways, in the process of going back to that book (I now have a list of the ways in which I am going to work through my shutterfly projects and the order in which I will be finishing them [Summer 2012 Mission Trips, 2011, 2012] and then I plan on every month keeping up with 2013 so that I don't have to do this massive catch up crap) I have also spent a little bit of time reflecting on the summer. Seriously this last summer was CRAZYTOWN in terms of running around from here to there and the demands of my call (which I am thankful for) but it has been wonderful to be going back through the pictures and being reminded of all the ways in which God worked last summer and how humbling it was to be a part of it. I also have spent a little bit of time looking through old photobooks (I do this quite often actually - I love looking back at photos).

I was taken back to the flood in Duluth and the ways in which it worked out perfectly that we were able to go walk alongside our brothers and sisters at Gloria Dei Lutheran and help to take water out of their basements. I was reminded of the people who we met and shared their stories with us that inspired us and gave witness to the God we love and serve. I was taken back to the Synod Journey and how exhausted we were by the time we got home but how overwhelmingly wonderful God was in the midst of everything. I was reminded about how there were some of my youth that I felt the need to re-introduce them to their parents when we arrived back home due to the transformation that we saw take place within them (and even continue to see in them today). I am thankful for the stories we share and the ways in which the body of Christ works in the world. While often times I think God is off God's rocker and could just do what needs to get done in the world, it is an honor and a privilege to work as God's hands and feet in this world.

While all people are called into full time ministry, and all people get to do God's work day in and day out I know what a joy (most of the time) it is to be in full time paid ministry. Thanks be to God for the call to ministry and today in particular I give thanks for the congregation who enables me to be in full time ministry.



How do you like to organize your photos?
Do you like to go look back at photos?
Do you scrapbook or make photobooks of any kind?

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.

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.

My friend Grace

 

Krumkake

      This afternoon I was baking krumkake for the youth bake sale at church tomorrow. I began to think a bit about my friend Grace, she no longer remembers me, her mind has been taken over by Alzheimer's Disease but today while making krumkake she was close to my mind and I gave thanks for Grace. As a young child I remember Grace bringing krumkake to every potluck, bake sale, and other event at the church. Grace's krumkake is famous amongst our small church as clearly being superior to all others.
      One day my mother asked Grace to teach her and I how to make the cookies. I remember her coming to our house and I was maybe a third grader and at that time I was close to being able to look Grace straight in the eyes, she is a petite lady. She brought with her all the supplies we would need including her krumkake iron, she had the kind that goes on the stove, it looked well loved and treasured, I could tell then that it had been used countless number of times (I now have an electric one - it hasn't quite made the thousands of batches that Grace's has). I remember her patience with me as I put far far too much dough on the iron and I all too often wanted to open the iron to check on the cookies. Grace had it down to a fine science, she put on just the right amount and knew exactly how long to let the cookies cook. I on the other hand have a variety of sizes due to my still inability to get it quite right and I still open the iron far too much due to my lack of patience. But I remember Grace patient with me and carefully showing me the art of krumkake an old Norwegian favorite. And today I give thanks for Grace and her willingness to pass on an old traditional cookie to another generation and for teaching me about patience and love.