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let’s not jinx it –

20 Aug
– but life in ministry is pretty good right now and I owe it to day camp [among other things].  
First of all, day camp gave me a chance to do what I really love.  Plan a whole bunch of crazy things for kids to do.  And then do those crazy things with them.  It gave me the opportunity to get to know some of the youth at ROG a bit better.  Day camp made me happy.  [I had lunch with my synod friend, Karen, today.  She told me, It was great to hear you so excited about day camp.  And she’s right.  I was excited.  And that is great.]
Second, day camp got me mucho brownie points with the congregation.  The older members LOVE seeing kids at church.  They are, after all, the future of the church.  Older members were astonished at how many kids came and they ate it up.  Yesterday was a wonderfully affirmative Sunday at church and while not all of it was related to day camp, a lot of it was.  The people are excited that the kids are excited.  And that makes me excited.
Third, day camp has given energy and excitement around children and youth ministry at Red Oak Grove.  [I should add day camp AND the national youth gathering of last month.]  I met with a few parents and interested people in working with kids and they are on board with what I have to say.  I think they are learning to trust me.  Not to say that all of my ideas are the right ones or that I always know what I’m doing, but seeing the success of a few things in the past has given me a bit of clout, I daresay.  [We talked about my want of a youth space.  A youth room.  They’re totally on board.  I could carpet that room for you, said one member.  Make it more cozy and a more welcoming place.  Yes!  Deal!]
Ministry is good and it only took me a year of being here and a day of day camp to say that.  
Here’s hoping it continues.

day camping.

17 Aug
Day camp.  R-to-the-O-to-the-G-style.  [which, for those of you who don’t know, is awesome.]
I may have panicked the day before, needing to schedule the day, buy supplies, and find some adult helpers, but it came together [as it always does].  I managed to pull nearly everything together in time which was good because on Wednesday morning, seventeen kids showed up.  Ranging in age from 4 to 8th grade, we were [mostly] ready for a day of fun.
Our theme was feet, taking a nod from Joshua 1:9.  [a la ‘be strong and courageous, not frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you every step of the way’]  We tie-dyed socks and painted our feet to create a new banner for our worship space.  Relay games, fun snacks, and crazy camp games filled more of the day.
My favorite part of the day?  The seventh and eighth graders who signed up – there were three – signed up under the title of “counselor.”  Being so last minute, there was no training involved for their role.  I told them that they would participate along with everyone else but I might call on them to do a few errands or help with activities throughout the day.   Emma, Alec, and Elly were awesome counselors beyond my expectations.  These three had all spent a week at Good Earth Village as campers this summer and they had an idea what counselors do at camp.  They led younger campers around by hand.  They taught their favorite games from camp.  They led small group time with great leadership.  High fives and $5 gift cards to DQ for these awesome kids!
A couple kids told me, “We should do this like five times a year!” I don’t know about that, kids, but we’ll try it again next summer for sure, and maybe for longer than just a day.  The kids loved it, and I did too.  It fed my soul to plan and be a part of this.  Good day.  Good day.
prepping socks for tie-dye.

teamwork to pull apart a frozen tshirt.

On a day like this – part two.

2 Aug
Today was a pretty awesome day.
Honestly, likely the best work day I’ve had in weeks.  Maybe months.
I feel a little guilty that this best-day-ever wasn’t spent visiting the elders of the congregations.  It wasn’t spent in worship with the members of Red Oak Grove.  It wasn’t even spent in conversation with anyone in the congregation.  But it was a necessary ministry day of big picture thinking.
It was a confirmation planning day with my imaginary coworkers, jD and Laura.  [Imaginary in that they are not technically my coworkers, wish as I may.  Not imaginary as in I made them up and talked to the wall all day.]  jD and I met at Red Oak Grove and skyped with Laura, a pastor in Hutchinson.  In a morning, we planned confirmation for the 2012 – 2013 school year and it will be super great.  I even ordered the curriculum today.  [A season of Freaks and Geeks.  That’s right –  you’re curious.  Too bad I can take absolutely no credit for the idea.]
Laura had to depart after the noon hour [I hear she was off to a meeting with you, Pastor Lori!] but jD and I continued our staff meeting over lunch at Applebee’s.  Another goal of ours is a joint confirmation retreat to kick off the year.  Schedule planned.  Details on paper.  Calendars filled out.  Super productive.
This isn’t the first time a day of planning has been a highlight.  Check out this post, a blast from the past of over two years ago.  I just get giddy with excitement about long-term planning with other people who are also excited about ministry possibilities. 
Right.  So let’s think about why this call might not be a great fit in the long run for Pastor Lindsay … but for now, here’s to continuing big picture thinking and making time for visioning with adjunct staff.  PL needs that.

NOLA: a summary.

24 Jul
I’ve returned to good old Austin, MN.  phew.  What a trip.  There is more info on the ROG site, which maybe you read.  Maybe you didn’t.  Either way, here’s my summary in true list form. 
The awesome:
— The speakers each night.  My favorite was Nadia Bolz-Weber.  You can watch her talk here.  It is totally worth your 20 minutes.  Not all pastors are stuffy and old and pious.  Amen.
— beignets at Cafe du Monde were pretty delicious.
— walking a mile while carrying a 40 lb. container of water.  It was a part of the 100 Wells Challenge education.  The ELCA is currently raising money to bring clean drinking water closer to people living in Africa.  It’s not uncommon for women and children to walk four miles each day just to get water.  The Red Oak Grove youth and I waited in line to carry 40 lbs. around ten times [which equaled one mile] in an air-conditioned building.  It was only a taste of what people in Africa must do.  And it was hard!  I did one lap and wondered how in the world I would ever do nine more.  Somehow, with a combination of breaks and pushing the jug on the smooth concrete floor for little bits, I made it.  All the youth did too.  [Two of the ladies admitted they cheated a little bit; they coerced a boy into carrying theirs for a segment of a lap.  Oh, girls.]
— bonding with the ROG youth.
— seeing seminary and synod friends!
— flashlight hellos.  I never did run into the Dawson group but twice they gestured hello across the superdome by waving their flashlights and phones in my general direction.  I waved my bright orange hat in return.  For cute.
— worshipping with no leadership role.
— a service project day that took us to a local Boy’s and Girl’s club to read with them.  What a great experience.
— It’s estimated that 38,000 Lutherans each doing four hours of service will be of value to the city of New Orleans worth more than $2million.  How awesome is that?
— a ride in a streetcar through the garden district.  [with crabby kids.  but we’ll forget that detail.]
— great music.  dancing.
— the openness with which sexual orientation and bullying topics were addressed.  It needed to be said; I’m glad they took the opportunity.
The not-so-awesome:
— the bus ride home.  We were part of three buses which caravanned together.  Basically our group and a group from Mankato.  Note to self: If ever a large trip like this is organized again, go with one bus and only one bus.  Three was not so much fun.  Whenever we stopped – be it bathroom or meal stops – the lines were long.  Communication between leaders was not great.  I will say – with my nose in the air – that our group was so well behaved.  It was the other group that, well, had attitude.  The other group also had a child that decided not to eat anything all week and only drink Mt. Dew and Red Bull, which led to a four hour layover in the middle of Sunday night at a hosptial in Memphis.  Our trip home went from an expected 22 hours to a horribly long 29 hours.  It was miserable.
— little sleep.
— having a diet consisting of Subway and fast food for a week.  I went to the store tonight and my cart was mostly fruits and veggies.
— little to no Lindsay time.  Things were tense there for a day or two.
— swollen ankles.  Last night, they looked like they were drawn by a cartoonist.  Swelling is going down but they’ll be elevated again tonight as I go to bed.  
— we depart from the First Lutheran parking lot and we wave to all the family gathered.  One of my youth says to me, Aww.  You have no one here to say goodbye to you.  Thanks for reminding me I’m all alone.
Trust me when I say the awesome outweigh the not-so-awesome, even if the lists seems pretty even at first glance.  It was a good trip.  And now I can say I’ve been to New Orleans and – if I’m honest – I can say that I don’t ever need to go back.  [Unless it were to be to a b&b in the garden district.]  Bourbon Street has no appeal for this girl.  No thank you.  The next gathering: Detroit in 2015.  I’m thankful it won’t require an overnight bus trip!

And I’m off!

16 Jul
To New Orleans!

We board the bus at 4:30 this afternoon and will drive through the night.  The five youth from Red Oak Grove are pretty psyched.  I am too; once I get past the whole sleeping-on-the-bus thing.  [I’m bringing drugs.  In the form of dramamine.  It always used to knock me out.  We’ll see about tonight.]
I’m not taking my computer but will try to do a blog update now and again via the iphone.  [so please excuse any typos, grammatical errors, and the fact that I can’t align it justified via phone … though that will likely bother me more than you.]  I will for sure be blogging [nearly/hopefully] everyday at roglutheran.org/our-stories.  It’s the church website and I promised updates.  Those will be entirely PC and upbeat.  If at any point I feel otherwise, it’s here I will turn.  That is your warning/invitation.
Happy week to all of you!  I’ll feed the alligators a marshmallow or two for you.  [swamp tour!]

tithing.

12 Jul
Please excuse my absence.  Life is ca-ray-zee with no signs of letting up.  I leave on a bus for New Orleans on Monday.  Posts may be few and far between in the next week and a half.  Such is life.
Even in the last five days, I have little to say, but let me tell you a Marilyn-the-administrative-assistant story.  They’re always good.
I went into work on Tuesday around 9:30.  Banker’s hours, Marilyn says.  I don’t even open my office door; I just head straight for Marilyn’s office to check in.  We exchange pleasantries and then she delivers exciting news.
The girls and I went to the casino yesterday, she said.
Oh, really?
I was the big winner of the group.  I always give 10% of my winnings to the church and I’ve decided to give that portion to Red Oak Grove.

That’s very nice of you.
She smirked and pushed a nickel and penny my way.  Here you go.

She won 55 cents and rounded up to a six-cent tithe for the glory of God and mission of the church.  
Thanks, Marilyn.

the good in Sunday.

11 Jun
I think I so heavily focused on that one slightly sexist remark that I failed to see the good in yesterday.  Not once, but twice, I was recognized for the hard work and hours I put in here.  It’s not that I need to be recognized for it but so often – I think particularly in this church given their history with certain pastors – it seems people are skeptical that I actually put in a full week, they feel the need to check in on me, or always think I need to be doing more.  [Welcome to it, I suppose.  People will always think I should do more.  Fact of life.]
I was locking up the church after worship, when I noticed two women in the parking lot.  Two members – a mother and a daughter.  I haven’t had a whole lot of reason for interaction with the daughter in my time here but we had a lovely parking lot conversation about fairy gardens and going out for lunch.  As we were saying goodbye, this woman told me, Thank you for all you do here.  Aww, shucks.  Thank you for saying that.
Second, for miscommunication reasons, I was sitting outside the lutheran church in Blooming last night.  It was VBS and I thought I was needed there but really I wasn’t and so on and so forth.  A ROG member – also involved in the communication – caught up to me as we were both on our way home after not being needed.  We chatted a bit about youth things and what was coming in the next week.  You sure do earn your keep, she said.  You keep so busy.  Yes, yes, I do.  Thank you for recognizing that I am working hard and this isn’t easy!

a confirmation end.

17 May
Last night was the bittersweet last evening of confirmation for the school year.
We begin every night with sharing our highs and lows – things that have gone well for the week, and things that have not been so great.  I think three out of the four seventh graders included a low that confirmation was ending.  They ask to stay later.  They wonder why confirmation classes don’t go through the summer.  They like confirmation.  It makes me melt.  
And, last night, things felt sad.  These seventh graders were really sad that it was over.  It felt like we should have ended with a group hug or something.  I promised that we would try and have a few confirmation get-togethers this summer and they liked that idea.  Honestly, I’ll be sad too.  [Though also a bit excited to have my Wednesday nights free.  Hence the bittersweet.]
For our last night, we had pizza [including a s’more dessert pizza] and went on a culminating Bible knowledge-esque scavenger hunt.  We chatted a lot and we prayed.  And I invited them to fill out some casual evaluations.  Ready to see a few samples?  This was the last question and you may need to refresh yourself on this background story first.  It seems I will never live it down … also, these kids just really like ninjas.  

three funerals and a wedding.

28 Apr
If my current life were a movie, it would be titled much like Four Weddings and a Funeral.  Do you remember that one?  Hugh Grant and the movie in which the first dozen words are all curse words.  The movie in which there are four weddings and one funeral.  If it were my movie, it would be called Three Funerals and a Wedding.  By next Sunday at 4pm, all of those will have taken place. 
One funeral has already been.  A funeral for a four-day old baby.  I hate Marilyn, the admin assistant, for saying, “Your first one.  There will be more.” but I also know she’s right.  Seeing the baby in the tiny white casket, born months early and weighing under two pounds, was absolutely heartbreaking.  Absolutely.  I know the family has a long road ahead of them as the healing begins and my whole heart goes out to them.
The next day I was called to the hospital.  I walked into the room and this member, a member long knowing she would die soon, greeting me by saying, “I won’t be in church on Sunday.”  It was her sense of humor and if there is peace in any of it, it’s knowing that she was ready to die.  She’d said it many times.  She was ready and at 90 she had lived a great life.  They were making plans to put her on hospice and bring her home, but she died only a couple hours later.  She was ready.
The day after that I was called to the care center and sat with a couple as they watched their sister/sister-in-law struggle for breath.  This member, nearly 90, was the sweetest, tiniest little lady.  She died shortly after I left.
Thus my week is heavily loaded on the far end.  Funeral, wedding rehearsal [with three baptisms included], wedding, Sunday morning worship, a two-hour youth meeting, and funeral.  If you don’t hear from me, you know why.  But knowing how crazy and tired it will make me aside, it’s been quite the holy, emotional week.  I’ve been invited into places and spaces at the end of life.  I feel humbled that my call reaches those places and that I can comfort, pray, and deliver the news that death is not the end.  Holy places, indeed.

another first.

4 Dec
My weekend without sermon writing was true in its title – besides some touch-up work on the sermon Saturday night, I spent no time writing.  It was wonderful.
However [yeah.  there’s a however.] it was anything but a weekend free of work.
I had a board meeting on Friday afternoon at the nursing home in Austin.  Have I told you I’m on a board of directors at a nursing home?  I’m a warm body in a chair and that’s pretty much it because I still can’t read the financial sheet they hand out each month.  I spend an hour driving to and from and the 1.5 hours there in a daze.  It is on my day off, after all.
And then [yeah.  there’s an and then.] I went to the post office to drop off a bulk mailing.  From there, it was to the funeral home.
That’s right.  This girl has her first funeral at ROG this week.
I met the funeral director to get the scoop [the family had met earlier that day and I was not invited into that conversation.  weird?], drove home, and went to the office.  [Sidenote: The funeral director?  Surprisingly young.  And married.  I looked.  But I do wonder what makes a person want to become one who arranges funerals and preserves bodies.  I admire them.]  I had phone calls to make, funeral church arrangements to secure, and my own bearings to find.  
I met with the family on Saturday morning to plan the service.  It was good to meet them before it all – I had only met the husband once [when I visited he and his wife – now deceased – in my first month here].  We chatted.  We planned.  Now tomorrow my task will be to prepare for it all on Tuesday.
Tuesday is December 6th which marks exactly my three month anniversary at ROG.  It’s as if the universe is saying the easy part is over.  It’s real now.
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