Catching up

I’m in the midst of such a whirlwind of activity and transition that I haven’t even posted about all the big events going on. On May 20, I graduated from Luther Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. It was a joyous day of celebration with classmates and other family, friends, and great supporters.

Now the great exodus from campus has begun, as we all scatter for our various destinations. We’ve had some great opportunities to gather in revelry before all the moving started.

In a few days, it will be my turn, as I prepare to move. And that’s the biggest news of all…I have been called as pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartington, Nebraska, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Crofton, Nebraska.

Trinity in Hartington

Trinity in Crofton

So in the next three weekends, I will move to Nebraska, be ordained in Iowa, and be installed into my new congregations. As I said…a whirlwind of activity! I hope to return with more regular updates as the transition continues. There will be lots of excitement and exploring to do, after all!

Moving west

I'm headed to Nebraska! I've been assigned to the Nebraska Synod of the ELCA, so I'll begin my ministry somewhere in the Cornhusker state.

Bishop David deFreese called last night with a warm welcome to the synod. They were assigned five graduates, and we will all fly to Omaha at the end of this month to meet the each other and synod staff, and to talk more about our gifts and desires for ministry.

The synod website shows 36 open calls right now. Even though not all of them will be suitable for first-call candidates, it's a good sign. I'm optimistic that I'll be gainfully employed and launching my ministry sooner rather than later, so I look forward to this unfolding adventure!

Region 4

On Wednesday evening I was assigned to Region 4 of the ELCA, so I will start my ministry somewhere within this large area of the mid- to south-central U.S, which includes Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, most of Texas, and Louisiana.





Given the huge geographic variations within this area, I'm eager to hear which synod I'll soon call home. It will make a big difference to the specifics of this new adventure...Nebraska is quite different from Louisiana, after all! I should get that news from one of the six bishops of this region on Thursday or Friday, so stay tuned!

Exciting week ahead

I’ve been away much longer than anticipated! Fall semester was busy and transitioning back to full-time classes after internship took some effort. Now fall semester seems ages ago, January term is in the record books, and my final semester at Luther Seminary is underway.

While I can’t promise a return to regular blogging just yet, I thought an update was in order. Early last fall, I wrote the last essay for my candidacy process. In October, I had an interview with two faculty members at the seminary, and in December, I had an interview with my candidacy committee back in the Southeastern Iowa Synod. The committee approved me for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

(If this sounds foreign, get the lowdown on the assignment and call process in this post.)

In just three days, late in the evening on Ash Wednesday, my classmates and I will learn of our regional assignments. At the same time, we will learn when we can expect to hear from a bishop with news of our synod assignment. Many regions do synodical assignments on March 1, so it will likely be around then.

The mix of emotions among seniors (including me) is out of control. Anxiety, excitement, grief, hope. It’s all the stuff that goes along with most major life transitions, and it’s amplified by the relative lack of control we have in this process that will so profoundly affect our futures.

But, perhaps the lack of control is also a blessing. I’ve expressed my preferences, tried to convey a sense of myself through a mountain of paperwork, and met individually with one of the seminary representatives attending the assignment consultation.

The outcome is now officially and completely out of my hands. There’s nothing left to do but trust that the Holy Spirit will work through the process, and remember that, wherever we’re called, we can follow with confidence as God leads the way.

So...watch for more news in the weeks ahead!

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.