Weekly beauty: All Praise to Thee...

The evening hymnody of the church is unparalleled in beauty, in my humble opinion, and we don't have much opportunity to sing it unless we pray vespers (evening prayer) or compline (prayer at the close of the day). I was blessed to do some of that during my internship, so I got to discover this rich treasury of hymns with which I was not very familiar.

My favorite is this one, "All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night," written by Thomas Ken to a lovely tune by Thomas Tallis. It is the standard suggested hymn for opening compline in the LBW and ELW.

Both morning and evening hymns often draw parallels between the cycle of the day and the cycle of our lives, so evening hymns connect our sleeping with our eventual deaths, in very peaceful and hopeful ways, trusting in Christ's promise of eternal life. It makes them excellent for bedside pastoral care for the dying and their families, if you happen to make evening visits.

So here's a video of the hymn. I've included words below for two reasons: 1) The video skips my favorite verse, and 2) some of it is sung in canon (the tune is called Tallis' Canon) so it could be difficult to understand if you don't already know the words.





All praise to thee, my God, this night
For all the blessings of the light.
Keep me, oh, keep me, King of kings,
Beneath thine own almighty wings.

Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done;
That with the world, myself, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Teach me to live, that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die, that so I may
Rise glorious at the awesome day.

Oh, may my soul in thee repose,
And may sweet sleep mine eyelids close,
Sleep that shall me more vig'rous make
To serve my God when I awake!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Another farewell

Or perhaps a "see you later" is more like it.

I've moved back to St. Paul. I finished my final internship evaluation. I wrote and submitted my approval essay. I've started my final year at Luther Seminary. I gave a presentation to my classmates about my internship experience. Now it's time to start focusing on the daily round of reading and assignments and other commitments. Next up: assisting in the Holy Communion chapel service next Wednesday.

A full load of classes, an on-campus job, and other obligations leave little time for blogging, so it's time for a hiatus. I have one more post planned for tomorrow; after that, I'll show up only very sporadically. If you'd like to catch any updates but don't use a blog reader, there's a "follow by e-mail" option on the left-hand side of the page that will save you from having to check here directly.

I'm likely to check in at least a little more frequently next semester, as I'll be taking fewer classes and the assignment process will start to get interesting. Thanks for your support through the ongoing adventure!

Trip to Iowa

I made a very quick overnight trip to Iowa this weekend, mostly to see my sweet niece...the only chance I'm likely to have between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, unfortunately. But it was worth it, and she is cute as ever, of course.





Fascinated with my bling. And my painted toenails. The girl has style sense already.




So big! Nine months old and catching up from a birth weight of less than 3 pounds.




Love that smirk.




This was the first time I'd been to my hometown of Vinton, Iowa, since they were hit by a big storm in mid-July. The winds were 100-130 miles per hour, and I've heard they knocked out about three-quarters of the city's trees. Naturally, it looks very different, and there is still much clean-up to do.

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

It's a sure bet that summer's coming to an end when the Minnesota State Fair rolls around, but, despite that sad omen, it's still fabulous entertainment. I went with my friends Phil and Rachel, and their dear daughter, Annika.





It was a lovely day to go--not too hot, and manageable crowds.








We each indulged in our treats of choice: frozen key lime pie on a stick for Phil, orange-mango sorbet in a half-orange peel for Rachel, s'more on a stick for me. Plus cheese curds, obviously, since they're a main feature of the fair. Rachel has fantastic pictures of all of it on her blog, and Annika enjoyed her own snack as well.





Combined with the excitement of the evening, it was enough to knock her right out. She rode in style and got some good rest while we reveled.





Be sure to check out the wonderful pictures on Rachel's blog, including our very attractive paper fish hats from Gander Mountain. And look for more in the next few days.

Weekly beauty: He Qi

I've featured the work of artist He Qi before (here and here), but I thought I'd offer a bigger sample. He's based in Roseville, just minutes from Luther Seminary, so we have a lot of his work around campus.

I like the variety in his painting, from the softer lines of the last example below, to the sharper lines and brighter colors of some of the others, to the slightly mish-mashed shapes in a couple of these examples. Anyway, check out the gallery here.


Joseph's Coat (Genesis 37)




Ruth and Naomi (book of Ruth)




Peace, Be Still! (Mark 4)




Martha and Mary (Luke 10)




Resurrection (John 20)




As always, you can check out more on the artist's website.

Beauty and transcendence

One of my favorite blogs, Beauty Tips for Ministers, is written by a Unitarian Universalist minister in Massachusetts. It focuses primarily on the importance of presenting ourselves in a way that communicates to others that we have something of value (the gospel of Christ!) to share with the world and deserve to be taken seriously.

She recently posted some reflections on her recent trip to London. Much of it is specific to particular museums and other experiences, but in the midst of the post was this gem:

I feel very strongly that a huge part of the poverty of soul in America right now is that we are surrounded by mass-produced products and living in aesthetically depressing wastelands of strip malls and chain stores. Signage is utilitarian, our forms of entertainment are an assault on the eyes, and human beings have given up and resorted to the sloppiest, most “comfortable” forms of dress and attire.

My work with this blog and issues of clergy image are deeply connected to the visual arts as a means toward transcendence. I feel that many clergy are enamored of the literary arts (we are people of the Word) and desperately need to attune ourselves to the visual realm of beauty and help our people do the same. We are bombarded by so many manipulative images every day (images designed to get us to purchase or use particular products that are all essentially the same under their packaging), we have lost the appreciation for, and language about, art for art’s sake, and fear to be thought shallow if we speak on behalf of Beauty.

It articulates some of why I post experiences of beauty every week, which I explained way back when (over a year ago already!). We are embodied people with five different senses that enable us to engage with God, with each other, and with the created world in different ways than our linguistic/cognitive abilities allow.

The connection with manipulative imagery was particularly interesting. I think the church has alternative imagery to present (architecture, art, icons, and more) that speaks to invitation rather than manipulation, and abundance rather than scarcity of beauty. But do we pay enough attention to these great gifts?

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

I finally made it to the beautiful Big Woods State Park near Nerstrand. Check out a few pictures from a hike around part of the park. I loved the variety of scenery...mostly woods, but with a stream and waterfall thrown in, and a few spots of meadow and open sky. Breathtaking all around.

The long goodbye

Or, more accurately, the many goodbyes. The farewell process has been quite protracted for me, as I complete my service with eight congregations. But now the final day has come and my internship is over. I moved everything yesterday and stayed one last night in an almost-empty apartment to lead worship at Gol this morning. Now I depart for St. Paul to begin my final year at Luther Seminary.

Here's what I wrote in my final newsletter column:

“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel…” (Philippians 1:3-5).

Dear friends in Christ, my year as your intern is winding down. On August 28, I will return to Luther Seminary, preparing to graduate in May 2012. Thank you for the privilege of learning among you this year. It’s been a pleasure to get to know you and to share in your worship, study, service, and fellowship.

Thank you for your faithful commitment to this internship program. Supporting the education of future pastors is a great gift to the wider church. Your witness to God’s power and love will continue to work in me, affecting all the congregations and individuals among whom I serve in the future.

You have helped me expand my role as a student and begin to grow into my identity as a pastor, a process that will continue throughout my ministry. I am deeply grateful for your warm welcome, encouragement, and prayers. I hope you will continue to pray for me, for your pastors, and for the whole church.

You can be certain I will remember you in prayer, with thanksgiving for all the ways you have blessed me, and with joy at God’s faithfulness among you. I rejoice in your presence among my “great cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1), and thank you once again for a rich and delightful year of learning.

Peace in Christ,
Intern Amanda

These congregations had a life before me and will have a life after me, just as I had a life before and will have one after. It's a strange reality to get used to when I feel such a connection with this place, these congregations, and these people. I'm actually a little surprised at how connected I feel, when I wasn't fully immersed in any one congregation.

But the gospel love that ties us together is remarkably strong, and that connection will continue, as I have discovered with my beloved home church. I'm delighted that they're now a part of my story, and I'm honored to have added my voice to the ongoing story of these congregations and their life in Christ.

Weekly beauty: Rainbow

There was a rainbow in Dennison a few weeks ago. It was a double rainbow, actually, but the second one wasn't bright enough to show up well on camera (at least on my camera). It was very pretty, and it's always fun to catch such a relatively rare event.

"It's Not About You"

A wonderful article by David Brooks in the New York Times: "It's Not About You." It's a couple months old, from the height of college graduation season last spring. Such good stuff that I had a hard time narrowing down the excerpt. Here's a taste; check out the whole (brief) article here.

...many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.

But, of course, this mantra misleads on nearly every front.

College grads are often sent out into the world amid rapturous talk of limitless possibilities. But this talk is of no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself down to. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments — to a spouse, a community and calling — yet mostly hears about freedom and autonomy.

Today’s graduates are also told to find their passion and then pursue their dreams. The implication is that they should find themselves first and then go off and live their quest. But, of course, very few people at age 22 or 24 can take an inward journey and come out having discovered a developed self....

Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.

I'm pleased that he named this reality that life is about commitment and calling. As important as it is to have a solid sense of our own identity, we cannot develop that identity in a vacuum. An outward focus and sense of responsibility to people and things beyond ourselves is very important and too easily overlooked.

Sami's gearing up

It's almost moving time again, and the boxes are starting to accumulate (finally...I got a late start on the packing once again). Poor Sami's about to be uprooted, but for now she's enjoying her lazy days in relative peace.


Chillin' in the window, as per usual. The towels are for cat hair control and protection of the woodwork since this is one of her frequent hangouts. Not so attractive, but worth it.




There has been some window distress as of late. Pudge (the landlords' bulldog) has been tied to the new deck right outside the window. Most of the time it's fine, but twice recently I've been awakened at heinously early hours by the blood-curdling sounds of cat and dog fighting, and a few other times I've heard it when already awake. Thank goodness there's glass between them.




And thank goodness Sami has so many other places of refuge. She's made herself right at home in the new quilts I've received from Dale and First.







She also likes to burrow into the comforter I just washed.




And now that I'm packing, she's my trusty side-kick. Ever so helpful.

Introverts at VBS

I got to help out with vacation Bible school (VBS) at both Holden and Grace this summer. Both groups did a wonderful job putting together a great experience for the kids and I was happy to participate. VBS is a very important ministry for Christian education.

As fun and educational as VBS is, it can be a little overwhelming for some of us, and Aubry Smith wrote a funny and insightful guest post about it for Adam McHugh's blog, Introverted Church. Here's an excerpt highlighting some of the pitfalls.

VBS combines some of the biggest hazards for introverts:

1) lots of people

2) lots of noise and encouragement for more noise

3) lots of new information via the VBS theme, schedule, new people, teaching, material, etc.

4) quick activity change with no time for processing

5) lots of singing, dancing, and other high-energy activities

I could tell which of my students were more introverted or slower processors, because I had to rush them from one activity to the next and they were never quite ready to switch when the time came.

All these same criteria apply to almost every church experience geared toward youth: Bible camp, mission trips, youth gatherings, and more. Smith also envisioned an "Introvert Fantasy Camp," her concept of what introverts would enjoy at church camp. It's pretty great...the key features are below.

1. Actual quiet time
2. Low-key worship
3. Processing time after the message
4. Separate sleeping quarters
5. Group time
6. No guilt for introversion
7. Excitement and volume don't equal devotion

This is right up my alley, and it would have suited me at any age of my life, including my childhood and teenage years. I know I'm not the only one, but I also know it's not easy to fit everyone's personality and learning style in large-group events.

VBS isn't so bad because it's only a few hours at a time. The mission trip I went on was a bigger deal because it was six days and five nights. There was very little downtime for processing and transition and very little privacy, even for sleeping. But if there's too much downtime, the extroverts get restless, and that can be trouble.

And, of course, many other learning experiences cater to introverts. Extroverts struggle to be still and quiet in "traditional" classroom settings, for example, which I certainly encountered during confirmation classes.

It's a tricky balance, and there are many more factors at play than just introversion and extroversion. But at least if we're aware of these different learning styles, we can work toward a mixture of activities to suit both, and we can be patient with the non-dominant styles in any setting.

Weekly beauty: Adagio for Strings

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is from the second movement of a longer string quartet.

It's a very common piece for film and television soundtracks, and has frequently been played on occasions of public mourning in countries around the world. Check out a partial list of both on ye olde Wikipedia.

It's quite sad but also quite moving and very beautiful.

More VBS

I already got to help with vacation Bible school (VBS) at Holden and Dale, and this week I was in on the festivities at Grace.

Their overall theme was "God's Safety Camp," and they had the usual supper, singing, games, and crafts. My contribution was a Bible story and short discussion that tied in with each night's topics. The first night focused on fire safety, the second first aid, and the third (and final) night on personal and community safety.

It made for some great adventures...like Firefighter Nate in full gear while Firefighter Pat explained what it was about.




The kids got to see the water spray from the truck all the way up to the water tower...




...and then they got to do their own water spraying.




First Responder Carmen taught the kids some great first aid tips, like how to stabilize a broken arm.




And she helped them put together their own first aid kits.




Rice County Sheriff's Deputy Dan talked to the kids about all kinds of safety issues, and also about his job as a deputy and DARE officer.




Then they all had a chance to try out the lights and siren in the car. (Seriously, all of them. My ears haven't yet recovered.)




The committee put together a very educational and engaging experience for these kids, and I was delighted to be a part of it.

Another women's retreat

I recently helped facilitate a retreat day for the Trinity ladies, and last weekend I had a chance to do something similar with the ladies of Gol.

We gathered for refreshments, with an emphasis on healthier options (veggie spread, fresh fruit, and dark chocolate).




We did a little exercising.




We studied scripture. A table full of open Bibles, soon to be surrounded by faithful women eager to read and discuss...it's a lovely sight.




And, finally, we packed about 20 kits full of basic toiletries and health supplies for use with AIDS and hospice patients internationally (sadly, I missed the details of where they'll be sent).




That table of stuff turned into these neat little packages, ready to bless their recipients after already blessing the women who prepared them.




It was a beautiful day of fellowship, study, and service with a wonderful group of women.

August 14 sermon

Text: Matthew 15:21-28
Preached August 14 at Dale and Holden (my last internship sermon!)


Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Jesus has really been busy these past few weeks. We recently saw him feeding a crowd of thousands with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Then he popped up walking across a lake in the middle of a storm. Next thing you know, he’s on the other side of the lake and he still can’t catch a break from his work!

Jesus has left the southern part of Galilee, where his hometown of Nazareth is, and he is now in northern Galilee, near the cities of Tyre and Sidon. There were Jews living there, but most of the people in the area were gentiles, or non-Jews.

It seems that no sooner has Jesus arrived in the area than he’s accosted by a Canaanite woman shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” And Jesus’ initial response may seem surprising to us. Matthew tells us that, at first, “he did not answer her at all.”

How painful do you think that was for this woman? How painful has it been to you when you felt like God seemed silent?

Perhaps you’ve watched news reports of tsunamis or earthquakes—hundreds of thousands of people dead in one fell swoop. Perhaps you’ve been troubled by the injustice that seems rampant all over the world—rich stepping on poor, dictators killing their own people, rebels who won’t give donated food to starving children. Perhaps you’ve sat in the depths of grief, facing the death of a loved one or a broken relationship.

And perhaps you’ve struggled to hear God’s voice in the midst of such suffering. What does it mean when God seems silent? Sometimes it means we’re looking for answers in the wrong places. Sometimes it means we’re only looking for the answers we expect to find, and we miss the response God actually offers. Sometimes it just means God’s ways are not our ways, as he so often reminds us.

The more important question is: what do we do when God seems silent? We do exactly what this woman does. We trust that God’s intention toward his people is gracious. We remember those to whom we are bound in love, and we persevere in faith.

This Canaanite woman is compelled by love for her daughter, who was “tormented by a demon.” She certainly couldn’t heal her daughter on her own, so she goes to Jesus, overcoming her own limited abilities by turning to the one whose power is unlimited. It could have been socially or politically risky to seek out Jesus, but love is consuming, and this woman wasn’t about to pass up a chance to help her dear daughter.

This woman is also bound by love for Jesus. She calls him “Lord,” and “Son of David,” titles used for Israel’s expected Messiah. She recognizes and respects Jesus for who he is, and she kneels before him. Her love compels her to worship.

Jesus had recently been rejected and driven out of his hometown of Nazareth. Just as so many Jews were refusing to hear Jesus’ message, this outsider falls at his feet in worship. Even Jesus’ most faithful followers can’t seem to match this woman’s devotion. Just last week we heard Jesus call Peter “you of little faith,” and now he commends this gentile woman for her “great faith.” It’s quite a sharp contrast.

This woman is compelled by love for Jesus to ask for help and beg for mercy. She demonstrates not only great faith, but also great humility and awareness of her own unworthiness. She doesn’t even argue when Jesus responds less-than-graciously: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

Instead, she says, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables.” In her love, she looks past Jesus’ apparent dismissal, trusting that he can and will respond to her need. And she knows that even the crumbs of what Jesus has to offer are of great worth.

The disciples had long since become annoyed with this woman, saying to Jesus, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” But she persists. She knows that Jesus can provide the healing her daughter needs. She knows that the only thing that breaks the silence of sickness and death is Jesus’ word of healing and life. She will not settle for the silence when the Word himself stands right in front of her.

And, of course, Jesus cannot stay silent forever, because he, too, is bound by love.

Jesus’ initial hesitation is similar to his prayer in the garden before his betrayal, isn’t it? In both cases, Jesus would prefer to avoid what lies ahead, because it involves great suffering. Jesus is about to cross dangerous social boundaries, which will help put him on the road to death. But he cannot hold back, because he is bound by love to this woman and to all of us.

So he dives in. He commends the Canaanite woman for her faith. He breaks the silence and the sting of rejection with a word of life: “Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed.

God’s disposition toward all of creation is one of love, and love is consuming and compelling.

In our first reading, God speaks through the prophet Isaiah a word of invitation: “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants...these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful….My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

God has always been open to receiving everyone who calls on him in faith, because God is bound to his creation in love.

Paul writes in our second reading about the Jews who had not come to faith in Jesus as Messiah: “I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means!...God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew…for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” God has not abandoned his people, Paul says, because God is too consumed by love for them to turn his back.

In Jesus’ response to this Canaanite woman, he does not ignore who she is. The person confronting Jesus is both woman and gentile. And she’s not just any gentile but a Canaanite, historic enemies of the Jews. Jesus hesitates to respond, and when he does respond, he doesn’t try to convince her that everyone is the same and she’s not really an outsider.

How insulting that would have been! This woman certainly knew from her years of life that all people are not the same. She was a woman in a culture where she had few rights. She was a gentile professing faith in a Messiah who didn’t seem to see her as part of his flock. She was an outsider, and she knew it; she didn’t need Jesus to try to persuade her otherwise.

Jesus does not ignore the particularities of this woman’s identity. God himself became incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth—a particular person, at a particular time in history, in a particular place in the world. The Incarnation of Christ teaches us that particularity matters, because God uses the particular for broader purposes.

God made a covenant with Abraham—one man—in order to bless all the families of the earth. God chose the people of Israel—one nation—in order to draw to himself all nations. Rather than painting over our uniqueness, God loves us for it, and he bears it all on the cross.

Jesus overturns all the rules about insiders and outsiders, and doing that puts him on the road to his death. Jesus bears all the specifics of our sinfulness, putting himself on the line for each of us. Jesus makes room at the foot of the cross for all people in all their particularity.

Jesus does not ignore the particularities of this woman’s identity, nor does he ignore ours. Instead, he goes to the cross to give us all a new identity, born of the love that compels him to die for us. On the cross, Jesus makes us each a child of God and a new creation. On the cross, Jesus binds us each to himself in all of our uniqueness.

Now, Paul can say to the Galatians, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” And so we are—one in Christ, united in love, no longer defined by the categories that divide us, but still uniquely gifted and precious in our particularity.

So God invites us into his story with all of our uniqueness. God works through specific people with individual gifts and passions and quirks that make a difference. This Canaanite woman showed great faith in Jesus, even as an outsider, Her faith was a witness to all those around her, and it couldn’t have been provided by someone else.

So we too become witnesses to the love of God in Christ Jesus, which binds us to God and to one another. God speaks again through the prophet Isaiah in our first reading: “Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.”

How does God gather people? By the proclamation of his word of life. The same word that brought creation into being. The same word that healed the Canaanite woman’s daughter. The same word that makes us children of God at our baptism.

And guess whose job it is to proclaim this word of life as God gathers people to himself? It’s my job. It’s Pastor Heather’s job. It’s your job too. All of us who know the story of God’s consuming love for us are compelled to tell that story and share that love. No one can tell the story of God’s love in your life as well as you can.

God’s word of life breaks the silence of sickness and death. God’s saving power in Christ Jesus is for all people. And we, in all our particularity, are the witnesses who can make it known. Amen.

Weekly beauty: Pottery

I mentioned that First recently got a new baptismal font, and I got to help shop for the pottery. So the beauty of pottery is fresh in my mind, and here are a couple of the artists we checked out.

Guillermo Cuellar and James Grittner made the bowl and pitcher we selected; sadly, I can't remember which artist made which piece!





We also visited Bungalow Pottery, studio of Ken Chin-Purcell. It's in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, just a couple blocks from Luther Seminary.

His pottery is gorgeous; I adore his glazes. I think it would have been a strong contender if there had been something fitting already available. You'll see from the chalices below that he's done work for other churches. (Photos are from the artist's online kiln log.)














Then, just this week when I had lunch at Central Park Coffee Co. in Owatonna, I saw these ridiculous and delightful little mugs for sale. Once again, I love the glazes. They're made by Bob and Corina Neher of Clay in Motion Pottery Studio. They have an online catalog full of these handwarmer mugs, table settings, and many other pieces. (Photo is from the artists' website.)