Fall Bazaar

Grace Lutheran Church held their annual Fall Bazaar last Saturday. They put me to work clearing tables, but there were enough helpers that I got to do more chatting than working. It was great.

It was another very successful event, as far as I could tell. Fabulous chili and all sorts of other good stuff for lunch, plus a pie selection that impressed me with its inclusion of chocolate options. Check out how cute the tables were:




Amazing array of baked goods for sale (in addition to the pie):




Along with the lunch and bake sale, the Sunday school rooms were set up like a giant garage sale.




I found a fun little red throw pillow for $1...




And several brooches for $.50 each. I've been wanting to experiment with brooches, so here was a perfect opportunity!




All in all, a great time at the Fall Bazaar. And I still have a few more annual festivals and dinners to look forward to!

Reconnecting

One of the most joyous discoveries I've made since starting internship is that I some members of my extended family, with whom I had lost touch, attend one of my churches. I knew they lived in the area, but I didn't know they were Lutheran (that branch of my family is historically Methodist), so it was a delight to learn that they're involved at Holden.

After a few attempts that didn't work out for one reason or another, I finally made it to their home for dinner last week and it was wonderful for many reasons. It was a pleasure to find some grounding and connection to my past and my broader family, and it was also terrific to spend some time with the kids.

There are two boys in this family (ages 12 and 7) and they were extraordinarily hospitable. They enthusiastically welcomed me, showed me around the house, and shared their art projects, hobbies, and pets with me.

I taught the pre-school Sunday school class at my teaching congregation last year, and I have really (really!) missed that interaction with kids. Their exuberance is so life-giving that it was like a shot of energy for me to spend time with these boys. Check out all the fun we had!


The 12-year-old is both an artist and a horticulturalist. He has a talent for drawing, mainly with colored pencils, and he is an expert about plants. I couldn't believe how many different plants he was tending just in his home! Here's a project that combines both interests.




The 7-year-old had fun playing with the pets--three cats and a dog. This particular cat, Katie, might be the most easygoing cat I've seen. Here she is stuffed into his stocking hat and perfectly content.




And here are both boys (plus Katie again) with the marble machine...a highly entertaining contraption much like the game Mouse Trap.

Sunday at Gol

I celebrated All Saints Sunday at Gol Lutheran Church. Worship was a lovely experience, as always, and it was great to share it with Pastor Marv Kormann, who was on vacation the last time I was at Gol. I didn't have to rush off to another service this time, so I got to sit and chat with the folks of Gol while we worked on writing thank you notes to international missionaries.


Since I didn't have pictures for you last time, here is the interior of this beautiful building.




Closer view of the table.




The panel behind the altar (actually called a reredos, which I learned in confirmation many moons ago). The inscription appears to be a Bible verse, in what I can only assume is Norwegian, but I forgot to ask someone what it says. Guess I have a reason to go back!




View from the pulpit. Check out the stunning light fixtures.

November 7 sermon

Text: Ephesians 1:11-23
Preached November 7, 2010 at Gol Lutheran Church in rural Kenyon, MN


Grace and peace to you from God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

What do you think of when people talk about “saints”? Chances are, you think of people like Saint Paul, who proclaimed God’s promises to us so beautifully in the words from Ephesians that we just heard. Or Mother Teresa, who tirelessly served some of the poorest people in the world—people no one else wanted to touch.

Or maybe you think of someone who is still living. I sometimes refer to my grandmother as a saint. She is one of the kindest, most caring people I have ever met and she never seems to have a bad word to say about anyone.

In his book Crazy Talk, Rolf Jacobson (and his team of writers) say this: “So you think you already know what a saint is? Let’s guess: someone who is…so admirable that if you died you’d want them to take care of your puppy…but with whom you wouldn’t want to go to an R-rated movie. And you certainly wouldn’t want to be one! As a t-shirt we saw on a little kid said, ‘I tried being good, but I got bored.’”

We tend to think of “real saints” as not at all like us. We want to see them as somehow super-spiritual, extra-holy, and elevated above the rest of us ordinary human beings with all of our flaws.

But when New Testament writers like Paul use the word “saints,” they aren’t just referring to people who live exemplary lives. In the New Testament, the word “saints” always refers to all Christians. This letter to the Ephesians, for example, is addressed “to the saints in Ephesus.” And Paul is not writing only to a select few, but to the entire community.

That’s why this festival called “All Saints” commemorates more than just people like Mother Theresa, Saint Paul, and the people we know who are particularly kind. This festival commemorates all those who have lived and died in Christ.

After all, if we understand saints only as those who have lived exemplary lives, how does God fit into the picture? If we define saints solely by their own good works, we leave no room for God’s grace.

Saints are not saints because of their own good works. In fact, being a saint is dependent solely on God’s work. Saints are saints because of what God has done for them in Christ. Saints are simply sinners claimed by Christ. All Christians are saints. We are saints.

In our baptism, we are forgiven and united with Christ. We are, as Paul says in our second reading, “marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.” He goes on to say that this is “the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people.” A pledge, in this sense, is like a down payment. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a down payment on the promises of God which are our future.

Now, this designation as “saints” shouldn’t go to our heads! Let me say again that our sainthood is all about what Christ has done for us, not about anything we do ourselves. I know, and you know, that we all continue to sin. All of us.

In fact, Nadia Bolz-Weber points out that “the journals of Mother Teresa…portrayed her as a doubting and cranky person, maybe a little like us.” And Saint Paul persecuted the church before he became Christian. Even after his conversion, he understood his own sinfulness better than anyone. He wrote in Romans, “For I know that nothing good dwells within me.…For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”

One of the mysterious realities of life in Christ is that we are, at the same time, fully saints and fully sinners. We are not half-saint and half-sinner. We are fully sinful, and yet, God makes us fully saints by forgiving our sin and claiming us as his own through Christ.¬¬¬

So what does it mean to be saints? It means that we live, as Paul says, in “the hope to which [God] has called us.”

The first reading from Daniel depicts a vision that initially leaves us with very little hope. “I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.” The verses omitted in our lectionary tell us these beasts were devouring whatever was in their path.

When Daniel asks about this vision, he is told that “four kings shall arise out of the earth.” So, for Daniel, these beasts represent four hostile and powerful kingdoms. What do they represent for us? What are the beasts we face?

I have friends battling the beast of cancer. I know you do too. I have friends facing many other health problems, beasts of all varieties. I know you do too. I have friends fighting beasts like depression, anxiety, isolation, addiction, and despair. I know you do too. All over the world, God’s people are being crushed by the beasts of poverty, hunger, violence, and injustice.

This is the reality of our broken world. Pain, despair, death.

But these beasts, though they are very real, do not have the final word. Daniel’s vision continues: “the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever—forever and ever.”

This is the truth that has been passed down to us through the church. Paul calls it “the Word of truth, the gospel of our salvation,” and we have heard it from the prophets and apostles and faithful witnesses in every age. We know the end of the story. We who live in Christ live in “the hope to which [God] has called us.”

And what is this hope?

This hope is described in our gospel reading: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you…on account of the Son of Man…for surely your reward is great in heaven.”

The hope to which God calls us is a kingdom where the ways of the world are turned upside-down, where justice prevails, and where everything is set right. This is a kingdom breaking into our world even now, when we know God is present in the brokenness, and the hopeless are blessed. And this is a kingdom which, someday, “the holy ones of the Most High shall…possess…forever and ever.”

This hope is also described in our second reading: “God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead….And he has put all things under his feet….” What God has put under Christ’s feet are the beasts we face in our brokenness—suffering, despair, and death.

Death will not have the final word, for it has been put under Christ’s feet. Listen to the words of John from Revelation: “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them…he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more….‘See, I am making all things new.’”

Death and pain will be no more. In Christ, these beasts are defeated. This is God’s great promise. This is the hope to which God has called us. This is the rest of the story which is our future. All things will be made new.

So how do we live as saints? How do we live as those who have been claimed by Christ, and who know the final outcome of our future?

We come to worship to hear these promises over and over again, lest we forget them. It’s easy to do, you know, since they are almost unbelievable.

We gather at the Lord’s table, where we both receive and enact this future God has promised us.

We go in peace to love and serve those around us, working toward glimpses of God’s kingdom, where the hungry are filled and those who weep can laugh instead.

And we claim and proclaim God’s great promise that death, as final as it seems now, will not have the last word, and that, at the end of the story, all things will be made new.

This is the hope to which we are called. And in Christ, this hope is certain. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Trashing the dress (on purpose)

My friend Kristina got married this summer. Last weekend, at her request, we trashed her wedding dress and had a blast doing it. (This is a big new trend for brides. Google "trash the dress" and you'll find some crazy pictures.)

I know some of you will be bothered by the unnecessary destruction of such an expensive garment. I'm on the fence about it myself. On one hand, perhaps it would have been better stewardship to donate it and bring some joy to another bride.

On the other hand, this afternoon together brought a lot of joy to five women who couldn't have made memories like these just sitting around chatting like usual. That's no small matter, either, considering that, in less than two years, we'll all be scattered across the country and chances to get together will be few and far-between.

(So, actually, one could argue that this approach was more life-giving than adding this dress to the thousands of other dresses taking up closet space across this great land, rarely even being looked at, while awaiting that minuscule chance that someone else in the family might actually want to wear it someday. Hmm.)

Anyway, there are lots of ways to look at it but, ultimately, it was her dress and her decision. While I couldn't quite bring myself to do any direct damage, I did have tons of fun participating in less actively-destructive ways.

Hope you enjoy the pictures, even if they make you cringe! All except the last one were taken in downtown St. Paul.


Cone hat. Notice the "Do Not Enter" sign, which we proceeded to ignore. We're such rebels.




Sitting in a big ol' digging machine. [What the heck are those things called? Is there a more technical name than digger trucks? Whatever, you get the idea.]




Rolling down a hill in the grass (hoping everyone has picked up after their dogs).




Highlight of the day...Naomi convinced the kind gentlemen hanging Christmas lights to give Kristina a ride in the bucket. It was awesome.




Here we all are in the same park. Photo by the fabulous Rachel Roushey. There's another photo on her blog, and more to come (she took hundreds).




And the grand finale: Cupcakes and hot chocolate at Cupcake on University, our favorite coffee shop. Those of you who know me well undoubtedly realize that, even if I hadn't already been squeamish about the destruction, I would never have sacrificed my perfectly delicious minty-chocolate frosting for the cause. But Naomi and Stephanie were much better sports about it, and Kristina herself also contributed.

Weekly beauty: "For All the Saints"

I told you All Saints Day is one of my favorite church festivals...here we go again with one of my favorite hymns. It's pretty epic, with seven verses in our latest hymnal. Here's a selection:

Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine,
we feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song;
and hearts are brave again and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
through gates of pearl, streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia! Alleluia!

And a slightly different version in video.

Hanging at Skye's

Skye Advent was born September 27, 2010, to my friends Mathew and Lane. I've been lucky enough to visit her a couple times recently, once with other friends. Here she is...the beautiful little girl (with me in the first pic and her mama in the second).








Two of our other friends, Michael and Naomi, welcomed their little Willem Edward in July. (Michael actually missed his chance to be a groomsman in the wedding of our friends Chase and Kristina because Willem was born about the time the ceremony ended. That was one joyous day for all of us!)

Here are the two babies together. Naomi is holding Willem and I'm holding Skye (photo credit to Michael, I believe). We couldn't get over how big Will looked next to Skye, when otherwise he seems so little!





It is such a delight to live close enough to both Rochester (where Mat and Lane are on internship) and St. Paul (where several other friends are doing internship or classes). I love the wonderful people surrounding me on internship, but the additional support and goofiness of good friends like these is invaluable as well!

Voting and more

Random experiences from Election Day...

I got to vote in the cutest little township hall ever. My last polling place was the Lauderdale City Hall. It was just fine as polling places go, but the Warsaw Township Hall (which is nestled amongst some cornfields) was much more charming.








There's a big grain elevator in Dennison. Yesterday it was raining flakes of some kind of agricultural commodity. (Looked to me like little corncob bits but I'm pretty clueless about such things. Do they actually grind up corncobs?) Whatever it was, it looked pretty cool swirling around the curbs.








I got to ride in my first Serious Farm Pickup, complete with broken mirror, brake light that never went off, and an apparent inability to exceed 40 mph. My supervisor (here she is driving) borrowed it to transport some stuff, and I got roped in because we did a pastoral care visit together in conjunction with the transporting. Good thing I didn't chop off my foot with that knife that I didn't see until now!








Just another day in the life, eh?

Sunday at First (and October mileage)

I was at First Lutheran in Kenyon on Sunday to preside at worship (meaning I led all of the liturgy except the Holy Communion segment). It was a great celebration of God's work in Christ, as always, and it was a nice commemoration of our Reformation heritage as well.

It was one of those days when I was feeling a little scattered, but somehow God always manages to make me useful anyway! Thanks to the dedicated help of musician Anna Thissen and Pastor Luther Mathsen, I survived singing an unfamiliar setting of the kyrie (everyone else survived my singing, too, as far as I know).

I pulled double duty at First and led the adult forum in a study of John 8:31-36, our gospel text for the day. We had some great discussion...you never know where you'll end up when you ask people to get into scripture and start talking!

In other news, I managed to put 2,007 miles on my car in October! This time it was largely personal travel, as I was all over visiting friends this month, including the epic trip up north. I still haven't switched from music to books or podcasts, but I should be well-entertained during my travels for the next couple months, because now it's time to break out the Christmas music!

All Saints Day

Today is All Saints Day, one of my favorite festivals of the church. Two aspects make it especially meaningful to me.

First, I consider it a time to celebrate the “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12:1—all who persevere in the faith and pass it along to those who come after them. The “saints” we commemorate are not just people who have lived exceptional lives, but all of God’s people who have “fought the good fight…finished the race…kept the faith” (1 Timothy 4:7).

Second, All Saints Day is a time to lay claim to God’s greatest promises, and to bask in their glow. Revelation 21 is a favorite of mine: “See, the home of God is among mortals….he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” God gives us sure and certain hope that death, painful as it is now, will not have the final word!

Thanks be to God for the great promises in which we stand, and for all who have nurtured our faith in these promises. And thanks be to God for you--my own cloud of witnesses!


P.S. This is (more or less) the column I wrote for my internship churches' November newsletters. Apologies to those who get to enjoy it twice, but I did mean it both times. :-)