Sunday at Dale and Holden

This was the first Sunday I worshiped at two churches instead of just one, and the next three Sundays will also involve two congregations.

This week I preached at Dale Lutheran Church and Holden Lutheran Church, a yoked parish served by Pastor Rell Spickerman. Pastor Rell has been on vacation throughout September, so I've had limited opportunity to work with him thus far. He was in worship this morning at Dale, but the services were led by the supply pastor, Rev. Paul Reppe, who has been a faithful go-to resource for congregations throughout this area since his retirement in the early 1990s.

Here's a look inside both buildings, which are as beautiful as the rest of my churches!


Dale (pronounced "doll-uh") sanctuary. So far, I've only covered the basics in all these photo posts, but each of these churches has its own fun quirks that really give the buildings their unique character. Hopefully I can share some pictures of those eventually as well, because Dale is where I most noticed those details so far.




Closer view of Dale chancel.




View of Dale sanctuary from the front.




One of Dale's windows. They have traditional windows like these in the worship space, and more contemporary stained glass in the narthex.




Holden sanctuary. They call this place "the cathedral in a cornfield." I hope next time I'm back here I can get a better picture of the building in its setting. It really does seem to just rise out of the middle of a field. This is quite a historic church. It was one of the first Norwegian Lutheran churches in Minnesota, and was associated with the founding of St. Olaf College.




Closer view of Holden chancel.




View of Holden sanctuary from the front.




One of Holden's windows.




This coming Sunday, I'm on my own at Gol and Hegre, whose pastors are both on vacation. I hope I don't have any disaster stories to tell!

September 26 sermon

Text: Luke 16:19-31
Preached September 26 at Dale and Holden Lutheran Churches in rural Kenyon, MN


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

“Alas for those who are at ease…and for those who feel secure….Alas for those who lounge on their couches, and eat lambs from the flock,..and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph,” says the prophet Amos in our first reading.

“Joseph” refers to the people of Israel, the many who were suffering while the few relaxed in luxury. Amos paints a picture of injustice, of an imbalance of power and resources, of a lack of concern for the vulnerable.

Amos shows us that God’s people have lost sight of the ways of God. Their vision of God’s kingdom has become distorted.

In our gospel reading, Jesus tells a story of “a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.” He’s really piling on the details here—purple dye, fine linen, and lavish feasts were all expensive. It would be like saying the rich man wore designer clothes, traveled by private jet, and ate at five-star restaurants. Jesus is really driving home the point that this man was more than comfortable.

By contrast, “at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores.” Again, we have a detailed portrayal—Jesus makes sure we understand that Lazarus is desperately poor and hungry, and so sick and weak that he cannot even shoo away the dogs that pester him. And he is right on the rich man’s doorstep.

Later, both men die. Lazarus is taken to be with Abraham, and the rich man is doomed to torment. And even then, the rich man still doesn’t get it. He asks Abraham to send Lazarus to ease his suffering, or to warn his brothers.

The rich man calls Lazarus by name, so it’s clear that he was aware of Lazarus’s presence during his lifetime. But he sees Lazarus as a nuisance to be ignored or a servant to be commanded. He fails to see Lazarus as a fellow child of God.

The rich man has lost sight of the ways of God. His vision of God’s kingdom has become distorted.

I read a post recently on one of my favorite blogs (Dirty Sexy Ministry). The writer is an Episcopal priest, and she described her experience of injustice in taking her foster daughter to a free clinic. Let me share a little of it with you:

I arrived early at the clinic. The waiting room was dirty and almost empty. I gave my information to an angry receptionist and began the process of filling out forms. Then we waited. I looked at the doctors lined up on the other side of the reception window, reading charts and chatting.

Meanwhile we waited. Two other women with sick children entered the waiting room. They waited too. Two hours later, the nurse called us into the examining room. On the floor, there were old band-aids and cotton balls. We continued to wait another hour. The doctor came in and looked at my child.

They did not have her records from the hospital….I was furious, but…if I said anything, I could guarantee they would give me the old heave ho, but where would my daughter go?

I cannot yet take her to the doctor of my choice. She is still in foster care with me. I did not want to make trouble so I closed my mouth. As I walked out, the same two women sat in the waiting room with their sick children….I overheard someone on the street say: “What is that woman doing going to the free clinic? Is she on welfare? She could get a job.”

This is the other side of privilege. This is what it is like with limited options, to be treated as less than, to wait because you cannot do anything else. I never really had to wait like that before. At the clinic, they looked at those waiting with disdain and disgust, like they thought this is what we deserved. I cried that my daughter was treated that way. I thank God that she is a baby and unaware of what happened.

This experience is certainly not unique. In our society, the poor consistently receive inferior health care, education, and legal representation. In our society, we routinely throw away food while children elsewhere die of starvation and malnutrition. In our society, people can work hard for 40 years only to see their jobs or their pensions disappear.

We have lost sight of the ways of God. Our vision of God’s kingdom has become distorted.

So if these views of God’s kingdom are distorted and unhealthy, what does an accurate view of the kingdom look like?

When the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn the rich man’s brothers of the fate that awaits them, Abraham tells the rich man that his brothers “have Moses and the prophets” to guide their lives. In other words, God’s word provides us with an accurate vision of God’s kingdom. So what does God’s word tell us?

Jesus tells us in three different gospels that the greatest commandments are these: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12, Matthew 22, Luke 10).

Jesus even explains to us in the parable of the good Samaritan what this love of neighbor looks like (Luke 10). The Samaritan who saw his neighbor’s pain, had compassion on him, and attended to his needs is the one who showed love and acted in accordance with the ways of God.

In God’s kingdom, we care for one another.

The Old Testament is full of laws protecting the most vulnerable members of society, especially widows, orphans, and aliens, and in Matthew 25, Jesus also lifts up the lowly as being worthy of special concern. He says anytime we offer food, drink, hospitality, clothing, and companionship to “the least of these,” we are doing those things for Jesus himself.

In God’s kingdom, the poor and vulnerable are worthy of special concern.

The Magnificat comes early in Luke’s gospel. In this song, Mary sings about the mighty being humbled and the lowly lifted up. This reversal is reflected again in today’s story, where the rich man and the poor man exchange positions after their deaths.

Jesus’ audience would have assumed that the rich man’s wealth was a sign of God’s favor and blessing, and that the poor man must be sinful somehow in order to suffer so greatly. This story, and many others, reverses those assumptions.

In God’s kingdom, the world’s expectations are turned upside-down.

Loving God means loving our neighbors. If we love our wealth and comfort and privilege more than we love our neighbors, then we have lost sight of God’s kingdom. If we aren’t careful, wealth can insulate us from the needs of those around us.

The author of that blog post—the priest who took her daughter to the free clinic—says it this way: “When you usually sit on one side of privilege, you do not really know how the other side lives. You might care, but you can be easily distracted from the struggle for justice when you are comfortable” (Dirty Sexy Ministry).

This distraction is dangerous. When we lose sight of God’s kingdom, not only are we blinded to others’ needs, but we are also blinded to our own great need for God.

The powerful of Israel thought they were self-sufficient. They paid lip service to God, but didn’t consider themselves truly dependent. They learned how wrong they were when the Assyrians and Babylonians conquered their two kingdoms.

As I mentioned before, the rich man probably considered himself blessed and favored by God simply by virtue of his wealth. He learned how wrong he was as he suffered torment after his death.

When we become comfortable and complacent, we may start to feel self-reliant. When our lives are going well, it is all to easy to forget that “we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.” We stand always in need of God’s forgiveness and mercy, and the distraction of comfort can obscure that reality.

We receive a healthy and accurate vision of God’s kingdom not only in God’s word, but also at God’s table, where it is enacted in our very midst. Every time we gather here for Holy Communion, Jesus shows us what the kingdom of God is really like.

At this table, all are present, and there are no barriers between us. At this table, there are no gates or chasms between rich and poor, between privileged and oppressed, between mighty and lowly. At this table, we are all united, and we share one another’s burdens and blessings.

So how do we move toward living out this healthy and accurate view of the kingdom?

First, we claim the good news is that change is possible. In Christ, God offers us the forgiveness and mercy we so desperately need. No matter how often our view of God’s kingdom becomes distorted, God always clears our vision and leads us back to faithfulness.

Second, we hear God’s word often and come regularly to God’s table, where we participate in this vision of the kingdom that Jesus provides. At this table, we who feast sumptuously are united with those who are hungry. This banquet demonstrates for us, and for our whole hurting world, how things are different in God’s kingdom.

Finally, we trust God to reveal his kingdom where we least expect it. I invite you to start seeing the Lazaruses in your life. Ask people about their experiences and listen to their stories. Listen for the needs these stories reveal, and consider how you might act in compassion.

In this place, God forgives us for our failings, sets us free from our old ways, and provides us with a healthy vision of his kingdom. From here, we are sent into the world to “go in peace and serve the Lord,” and we do that by serving those in need. The Holy Spirit empowers us for that service, and it is our joyful response to God’s gift of forgiveness and freedom. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Weekly beauty: Early fall landscape

This week, I have really been enjoying the beauty of my surroundings. Now that I'm slightly more organized and on top of things (most of the time), I haven't been running late quite as consistently. That means I can drive a reasonable speed and even slow down to take a few pictures.

The landscape is beautiful right now (though in the last couple days parts of it have become unfortunately waterlogged). I love the way the scenery changes week to week. The trees are just about to explode with color, the harvest is beginning, and the moon was stunning on Tuesday.














I made two trips to St. Paul this week, so I am especially appreciative of the rural scenery when contrasted with this:





The city has lots of charms, but traffic isn't one of them. I'd rather get stuck behind a tractor with wide-open fields to admire any day.

Hegre Ham Dinner

Tonight was the official kick-off of my Annual Church Event Season. At least six of my churches have fall events of some sort, and I will attend and/or work at each of them if my schedule allows (I think I only have one conflict so far).

Each event has its own unique charm and character, of course, and the Hegre Ham and Meatball Dinner was a great way to jump-start these festivities! They served around 300 people, despite the pouring rain, and it all ran like a well-oiled machine, as far as I could tell.

It's a lot of cooking, serving, eating, and cleaning up in a rather small space, so huge kudos to everyone who made the event such a success!





The menu was amazing: meatballs, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, cranberry sauce, coleslaw, homemade pickles, and a dizzying array of pies. There was certainly no excuse to go away hungry!





These inter-church events are really fun for me. I get to see people from my various congregations come together, and they get to laugh about never knowing where I'll turn up!

Meanwhile, three hours on my feet really put my shoes to the test! I thought I had chosen wisely with comfort in mind, but I will have to find a plan B before the Vang Lutefisk Dinner. Another lesson learned.

Awesome pastors

Just to share my excitement...a quick inventory of fun facts about the pastors I get to work with this year. I haven't even spent much time with some of them yet, so there's much more to learn.

And this doesn't even take into account all the other fabulous and fascinating pastors in the area with whom I attend text studies, conference meetings, and other such events. I'm one lucky intern!

Among my seven pastors...

• one started his ministry as a Catholic priest
• one has a passion for social justice and for the church's witness in society
• one has a deep love for the liturgy and its power to communicate something about God and our relationship with God
• one has published a book of devotions and has another book coming out soon
  
• one has fascinating ideas that sound like what you might hear from an "emerging church" leader, even though he's certainly not your stereotypical 20-something hipster
• one is a nurse
  
• one used to do congregational and individual mediation
• one is an avid golfer
• one keeps goats and other such animals
  
• one is a fabulous chef
• one is originally from Norway
• at least two or three of them can polka like pros
• they all have great affection and respect for the people they serve

Sunday at Trinity

This week I was at Trinity Lutheran Church in West Concord to preside at worship. Pastor Chris Brekke and the crew at Trinity are quite the fun bunch of people, with a collective sense of humor that can't be beat. Here's a look at the building....

Chancel. The black sculpture next to the pulpit is a gorgeous fountain with rocks in the top and water that flows over the edge into that sort-of carved-out section. I love flowing water. On the right, the three candles are sitting on top of the baptismal font. We had the joy of celebrating two baptisms today--twin babies! (Incidentally, the girl's name was Amanda Marie, which made me smile since I'm Amanda Maree.)




Closer view of the table.




Sanctuary.




Fireplace at the back of the sanctuary...a very unique feature! I'll get to participate in mid-week evening worship around the fireplace during Advent (when, presumably, the table will be moved).




I also stopped at Hegre Lutheran Church on my way home from Trinity, mainly so I could meet a few more people since I haven't been there yet. I also wanted to catch the end of their service to see them in action, because I'll be there solo in a couple weeks.

Then back to Trinity Sunday night for "Meal and a Movie," which was more good fun with great people!

Polka Fest!

Saturday evening my internship committee hosted a Polka Fest fundraiser to help cover my stipend and expenses for the year. A very well-known local polka band provided music: Ray Sands and the Polka Dots have toured internationally and have appeared on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion radio show.





Several other amazing musicians also shared their talent, including a children's choir with representation from the eight congregations I serve.

Sadly, I didn't get to learn to polka, but I did dance a waltz (or tried to, anyway) with a lovely gentleman named Ralph. With a five- or six-week Sunday morning rotation, I haven't made it to all of my churches yet, so it was a delight to meet more people from the various congregations.

As an added bonus, my parents and my grandma came to join in the festivities! My parents were in Minnesota for the unfortunate purpose of attending two funerals this weekend, so they were close enough to come hang out for a couple hours. It was quite a treat, since I no longer have the luxury of visiting them regularly.

We had some very talented dancers in our midst! (I wasn't really trying to be artistic with this photo. I just don't like using easily identifiable pictures of people without their permission, so my options were limited. But it looks kind-of cool with the sunset, no?)





We all enjoyed the crisp fall day, along with brats, root beer floats, and other goodies.





Even Sami got to enjoy the fun indirectly. Whatever smells I brought home on my coat (brats would be my guess), she was a fan. She settled right in for the night.

Going with the flow...to Rochester

One day this week I had lunch with the pastor of one of my churches. Then we went out to that church so I could take a look around and get acquainted with their worship habits. This was important because the first time I lead worship (and preach) at that church, he'll be gone and I'll be on my own.

Then he told me he needed to go to Rochester for a quick stop at the Mayo Clinic, and asked if I'd like to ride along. It was a perfect chance to get to know him better, so off we went together. An unexpected, yet very pleasant, way to spend a Thursday afternoon. Mayo is quite the photogenic place, so here are a few pics.


The Plummer and Siebens Buildings, taken from the fourth floor of the Gonda building, all part of the Mayo complex in downtown Rochester.




A closer view of the beautiful Plummer Building.




A view of some kind of street festival or concert, between the Kahler Grand Hotel on the left and the Siebens Building on the right. In the background is the Peace Plaza in front of the Shops at University Square.




Finally, a couple works of glass art in the Gonda Building. The bowl was in the fourth-floor hallway and the hanging pieces were in a sort-of atrium between the subway and first levels.







P.S. I also attended two church council meetings this week, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I could have gone to a third Friday evening but decided that one would have to wait. And I had my first (since living here, that is) close encounter with deer. I saw them in the ditch in time to stop, which was luckier than one of the pastors, who hit a deer on the way home from our internship committee meeting last week.

Weekly beauty: Touches of home

Whereas, I really enjoyed the Seeking Beauty series I did a few weeks ago, and
Whereas, this is my blog and I can do whatever I want, be it
Resolved that I will henceforth try to post glimpses of beauty on a weekly basis. Or whenever I feel like it (see above point re: doing whatever I want).

So here is your first installment. This week what caught my eye and warmed my heart are the cozy little additions to my apartment that are starting to make it feel like home. Especially meaningful are some of the things I've acquired recently as reminders of the friends who are no longer present in my daily life.

This pillow was a gift from my friend Jennifer. She bought it for herself last winter and she couldn't wait to show me because she knew I would love it. And, sure enough, I warned her that it might mysteriously disappear from her apartment at some point, and reappear in mine. Before I moved, she gave it to me so I could have a visual reminder that her thoughts and prayers are with me even when she isn't. (Incidentally, it also fulfilled the Ikea Alvine craving I posted about before.)





The other item isn't as beautiful in the aesthetic sense, but it is functional and it makes me happy. It's "Amanda's Amazing Chair Lap Desk" from my friends Rachel and Phil. It fits perfectly across the arms of the chair I'm borrowing from them, and it keeps my computer from scalding me to death. Also, it's infused with wonderful memories of the night this summer when we weathered a bad storm together with our computers, stand-up comedy on Netflix, and some wine. Good times.








These items are particularly special because these friends are now the furthest away from me. (In fact, Jennifer is headed to Liberia in a couple weeks.) Having tangible reminders of them around is a great reminder that God provides for our needs, including companionship on our journey.

Sunday at First

This Sunday (and this evening as well) I preached at First Lutheran in Kenyon, where I was welcomed very warmly by Pastor Luther Mathsen and the rest of the congregation. The services were very nice, and it was a pleasure to meet a few more people at First. Take a look at the beautiful building!


Sanctuary after the Sunday service.




One of several amazing stained-glass windows. This one of the ascension. Others depict the nativity and Peter's failed attempt to walk on water.




Chancel, with the stained-glass window of Jesus praying in the garden.




Closer picture of the baptismal font. One of the loveliest elements of Sunday's worship was a blessing ritual for the eighth- and ninth-graders starting (or re-starting) confirmation classes. Pastor Mathsen asked the youth and their parents to come to the front, behind the font, where the students affirmed their commitment to these studies, their parents promised to support them, and the congregation promised to encourage and nurture all of them.