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Sunday.

20 Nov
Sunday.  Sunday.  Sunday.
Church at 9am.  I started with a joke today.  It felt right.
[Dear Noah,
We swear you said the ark wasn’t leaving until 1.
Sincerely,
The unicorns]
Har.  Har.  Har.
Then I challenged the congregation to share the peace without touching each other.  They weren’t allowed to shake hands.  They thought it was cute but it was probably the novelty of it.  I don’t think they’ll think it’s cute next week.
Then hello sermon number two.  I had to preach this evening at an ecumenical [read: Lutherans and Catholics] Thanksgiving service.  To heck if I was able to write it while still thinking about my Sunday morning service.  It’s not how I work, folks.
Sermon writing intermission: Mabel and I walked out to the dumpster to throw something out.  I opened the lid of the dumpster and a terrified cat jumped out.  Mabel chased it and treed it.
Print sermon.  Smell something foul.  Find Mabel had gone number two on the hardwood floor of a spare bedroom.  That’s a first.  [And hopefully a last.]
Paige and I had a date to meet at 4pm at one of jD’s church.  It’s church dinner season in Minnesota, donchaknow, and Aurora Lutheran was hosting an oyster stew and chili supper.  We had kept it a secret that we would be attending and surprised the bowtied pastor at the door.  He convinced me I wanted to pay two extra dollars to try the oyster stew.  I tried.  And soon traded the bowl in for chili instead.
From there [and after requesting that our server tell Lauren in the kitchen that we were highly unsatisfied with our food to get her attention – the perfect ploy] I drove to Blooming to prepare for this Thanksgiving service and the preaching of the sermon I was really unsure about.  Lo and behold, it proved true again that any sermon I think is terrible is the one I receive the most positive feedback.  [Unless of course everyone was just super nice to the new girl.  That is also possible.  Pity compliments are always a possibility.]
Long Sunday, folks.  Long Sunday.  A long Sunday to be followed by three long days of busy, busy work in order to prepare to take off for Wisconsin on Thursday for a couple days.  Here we go.
[You can be the judge yourself.  Below is the sermon I thought was mediocre but highly complimented by others.  Pity praise?  You decide or can jump on the boat of pity.]  [It’s a joke, folks,  I’m not really that down on myself or think that everything said to me is a lie through other’s teeth.]
What do you see?  It’s like that popular children’s book Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? The book goes through different animals of different colors, teaching children about animals and colors and patterns.  Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?  I see a red bird looking at me.  Red bird, red bird, what do you see?  I see a blue horse looking at me.  And the pattern continues.  Maybe I should ask you –  people of God, people of God, what do you see?  We likely haven’t seen any blue horses lately so our answers would be much different than the book.  And I would add a second question on the next page – What do you do when you see?
It kind of goes without saying that what we see makes all the difference.  What we see shapes our outlook and our behavior.  If we see snow on the ground outside, we put on our boots.  If we see someone crying, we comfort them.  If we see the stoplight turn yellow ahead of us, we use the brakes on our car.  And if we saw a blue horse like the one in the children’s story, we might be speechless.
What we see makes all the difference.  People who wear glasses know this.  People who have been subject to unfortunate eyesight loss know this.  I wear contacts during the day and so, come night, I take them out and put on my glasses.  I go to bed, putting my glasses on my beside table.  Always in the same place.  One morning, I woke up, grabbed my glasses, put them on, and went about my morning.  I turned on the light in my bedroom and turned on my computer.  Something wasn’t quite right.  Was the light not working properly?  It seemed awfully dark in my bedroom.  And my computer screen was hard to read.  I blinked over and over, leaned in closer to the desk and realized my eyesight was terrible.  Why couldn’t I see?  What we see makes all the difference and at this point, I couldn’t see like I should be able to and my behavior reflected that.  I became a bit crazy, a bit fearful, wondering what could be going on.  I took off my glasses thinking, maybe, just maybe, they were really dirty and needed to be cleaned.  In my morning fog, my still half-awake state of mind, I pulled off … my non-prescription sunglasses.  They weren’t the right glasses at all.  What we see makes all the difference.
In verse 14 of our gospel reading, Jesus sees the lepers who call out to him.  And when he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’  In these times, if a leper was healed, it was a priest who had to certify that the person was clean once again before they could become a part of the community once more.  And as the lepers went as Jesus said to them, they were made clean.  Jesus saw a need and acted to meet it. 
Likewise, then one of the lepers sawthat he was healed and turned back.  Because he saw that he was healed, he praised God and thanked Jesus.  What the leper saw affected his behavior.  When the leper saw that he was healed, he didn’t just celebrate his good fortune on his own or with the other nine, but turned around with gratefulness. 

In both [of these] cases, seeing means more than just physical sight – it means on the one hand perceiving the opportunity to be merciful toward another, and on the other hand the recognition that God’s mercy has touched one’s life.

It’s not only what you see but it is what you do when you see. 

When Jesus saw people in need, when he saw people on the outside, he acted.  Jesus restored them to fullness.  With the healing Jesus pronounced upon the ten, those ten lepers would no longer need to live outside of the community.  Those ten lepers would no longer need to cry out, “Unclean, unclean” if someone were to approach them.  Christ invites them into a wholeness of life once more, into a lifemuch unlike the one they were forced to live before.  And the one who returned recognized the mercy of God that had touched him and made him clean; for that, he was grateful.

Seeing can make all the difference. What do you see?  Make sure you are not wearing your sunglasses instead of your prescription lenses and take account of what’s around you.  It’s not even always about what we see – it’s what we feel, touch, and smell.  Are you aware of what goes on around you?
Take account of the people around and the needs that are present in our lives and the lives of our neighbors.  Jesus saw the need of the lepers – people cast outside because of a disease.  What needs do you see?  What do you perceive about the world around you?  Around us?
Let’s take our community of Blooming Prairie as context.  Some people might guess that the needs in our community are small.  Blooming is a small and proud community; the kind where people know people and directions are given by landmarks instead of street addresses.  Yet, there are still needs present in this community and in communities around us.  It’s true that sometimes people in need simply do not catch our attention. A coworker we label as crabby may be struggling with a difficult family situation, and we might learn that if only we ask. Who notices an international student far from home and family, or the person separated from family during the holidays? Other times, we simply pass by people whose lives are a day-to-day struggle to survive. There are people who need care, families who need help, and people who may simply need to feel that they are loved.
Remembering also the tenth leper who returned to give thanks once he saw he was healed, let’s touch on his reaction to what he saw.  There’s this second part of seeing and acting present in the text.  What do you see for which you can give thanks?  How do we live grateful lives in response to how we see God is working in and through us?  In this season of thanksgiving, we focus on the gratitude piece.  I asked the confirmation students at Red Oak Grove to put together a wall of thankfulness.  Everything from friends to pets to family to music to chores showed up on their lists.  I would wonder what you see each and every day – this season and throughout the year – for which gratitude is a wonderful and proper response. 
Remember the big question is this – what do you see and what do you do when you see?  If you go home with one thing stuck in your head, think about what you see and how you act.  Do you see the need for food shelf availability and purchase extra food items at the grocery store?  Do you see a lonely neighbor in need of conversation and so you knock on her door?  Do you see the blessings of parents, children, and friends in your own life, and make them aware of the gratitude you have for their love?  Do you see God healing someone you love and thank God in prayer and praise? 
As we read this text and as we are a part of this thanksgiving, soon to be advent, and upcoming Christmas season, perhaps what goes forward with us is that faith is a way of seeing.  Believing in Christ calls us to open our eyes and employ all our senses to the world around us.  Which of our neighbors need assistance?  How can we help?  What are our blessings for which to be grateful?  A rabbi says it this way – “Religion is not primarily a set of beliefs, a collection of prayers or a series of rituals. Religion is first and foremost a way of seeing. It can’t change the facts about the world we live in, but it can change the way we see those facts, and that in itself can often make a difference.”
If we believe that faith is a way of seeing, what we see should lead us to act.  Reaching out, helping others, and making a joyful noise in response to God’s mercy and grace.  Thanking and praising God along the journey.   What do you see and what will you do when you see? People of God, people of God, what do you see?  Amen.

thankful with scones [3].

17 Nov
I’m being unconventional.  [That’s code for lazy and procrastinating.]
I didn’t say thank you with paper this week.  I said thank you with lemon scones.  These lemon scones.

I said thank you to Marilyn, the administrative extraordinaire at ROG.  She’s awesome.  She puts together the bulletin and listens to my questions, my tears, and my outbursts.  Marilyn has had a bit of a crazy week and another crazy one ahead of her as her husband has surgery.  I figured scones were necessary.  We had a staff meeting with a scone and coffee, and I sent the rest home with Marilyn.  She deserves them and more for all she does for me and for the office.  
In other Thursday news, I think I might have pink eye …

roglutheran.org

29 Oct
I had mentioned briefly before that I was caught up in a new website for ROG.  I was finding the former website format to be incredibly difficult to update and use; it was a confusing program.  Away with that, I said.  The fact that the website was hard to update and edit [an out-of-date website is the worst] and the fact that the church was paying a fair bit of money for the site led me to the user-friendly [and free] WordPress option.
And viola.   A new church website.  You are welcome to check it up, keep tabs on the pastor, and read the blog that is a part of it.  It’s a blog that I hope to update with cool stories, holy moments, and guest bloggers.  It’s a work in progress.  Let me know what you think.

excuse me?

17 Oct
*clears throat*
It was an interesting morning of visits.  [And this was all after an hour of quilting and a stop at First Lutheran in Blooming to check out the lutefisk prep for the Cadillac of all church lutefisk dinners tomorrow.  I’ll be the one in the red apron.]  Allow me to share.
I visited a woman for the first time at a care center.  We had a delightful conversation and then I asked if she would like communion.  Oh yes, she said.  I did the words of institution, had prayer, and then together we said the Lord’s Prayer.  Except I heard a third voice.  The roommate began to pray along with us from the other side of the curtain.  I poked my head over, introduced myself, and asked if she would also like communion.  Oh yes, she said.  She’s Catholic but her children attend ROG and she doesn’t see the big deal about Catholic vs. Lutheran.  We’re all the same, she said.  It was fun – to meet another person, to hear a voice join us in prayer from behind the curtain, and chit chat with both women.
I visited an elderly gentleman for the first time too.  We also had delightful conversation except for the parts in which he insisted on being involved in my marital status.
Do you have children?
No.
Are you married?
Nope.
How old are you?
27.
You should get married.
Sometime.
You’re running out of time.

Excuse me?  We were able to continue the conversation on another topic and stayed from the relationship status of the pastor until the end.
It was great to meet you.  Take care!
You too.  Now you go find yourself a man.
[insert fake laugh/effort to not cry]

Right.  Because I haven’t been trying up until now.

a fall festival.

17 Oct
About 25 Red Oak Grovers [I’m coining a new term.  Grovers is to be those of Red Oak Grove.  Not multiples of the blue dude from Sesame Street.] celebrated and dwelled in fall weather yesterday.  We began with a scavenger hunt for the kid grovers that included decorating a gourd pumpkin as they went.  From there, we hopped on hay wagon racks and traveled where Tom the Tractor Man [not his official title] drove us.  
We ended on Tom the Tractor Man’s property by the river where Tom the Tractor Man’s wife had attempted to build a fire.  It was no fire-starting disability of her own but terribly windy out today.  [I’m sensing a fall theme in SE MN.]  There was enough heat for s’mores to go along with our hot cocoa and cider and that’s all we needed.
It was a fun afternoon and a great chance for me to get to know a few more people on deeper levels.  The kids are great and I think the families are excited for more opportunities like this one.  But note to self: Be a better planner.  Invite other people to plan with me.  Don’t be forced to scramble last minute.  That was not cool, PL [Pastor Lindsay].  Not cool.

reasons why –

11 Oct
– I love my job:
I spent two and a half hours at a care center, first yelling into the ear of a man who was hard of hearing while I attempted to give him communion in a public space.   [This was after we cleared up the fact that I was not the pastor’s wife but indeed the pastor.]  Second, visiting with a woman who, in the middle of a story, pointed to her television and asked, “Did you see my head of Christ?”  Why, yes, I did notice the statue of Jesus’ head that lights up on top of your tv.
Before I went to the care center, I spent close to two hours at a downtown Owatonna eating establishment with Paige, jD, and new friend, Amanda the intern.  I so appreciate the opportunities to check in and ask, “What would you do with this?” and “What are you doing for a children’s sermon this week?”
I now have a giant easel pad of paper on a giant easel in my office.  Marilyn fetched the easel for me – she thought it was necessary.  I stole the paper from her office.  Operation: Internet has begun and it requires a large visual.  [I’m listing every internet possibility and writing down details/crossing them off as I make phone calls.  After phone calls.]  It was finally realized that if I want internet, I need to start with the yellow pages and do it myself.  [Even though most of the research has been done; it just can’t seem to be organized.  Color me frustrated.]  The easel pad and a flower pot of new Crayola markers will help.
I spent yesterday morning quilting with the women of Red Oak Grove.  I do love a good quilting morning.
I can build a website/blog and it’s considered work.  I plan confirmation and it’s considered work.  I can call Karen from Stillwater at the synod office and it’s considered work.  A lot of mornings, I just stand in Marilyn’s office and talk.  I think that has its place too.

they’re onto me.

10 Oct
Yesterday at coffee hour, I stood chatting with a group of women.  One of them commented on how pretty my ring was.  It was a blue/green middle-finger ring day.
A second woman commented on how I wear a lot of rings.
Yup, I said.  And the bigger the better.
Then the third woman piped up.  Rings AND scarves.

Shut the front door.  They’re onto me.
Once they pick up on the cardigans, I’m done for.  
I also had a man tell me that I could only ever get rid of my dog if I found a man.
Excuse me?
We won’t get into that right now.

excitement.

6 Oct
I’ve been at Red Oak Grove for officially a month.  I started with my first day in the office on September 6 and have been through emotions, introductions and lots of firsts.  There is much to be excited about here in the grove but, of the story I’m about to tell, much of this has primarily been focused here in my last week.
In the October newsletter and last week in the bulletin, I introduced a new approach to moving forward together in ministry.  Well, new to me and the congregation – not new to ministry or the greater church.  I propose that we meet in small groups – ideally no more than 12 people – in people’s homes for coffee, treats, and conversation.
These cottage meetings – spoken of highly in many my seminary courses – are safe places for members to speak about what’s exciting in the church, where the strengths of the congregation lie, and where they hope to be in the next ten, twenty, and 150 years.  I proposed these cottage meetings first to the council and I was met with … hesitancy.  They weren’t sure and were reluctant to give me a substantial go ahead.  
I struggle with the idea that I’m the sole pastor and have some sort of power.  I hate to even call it that – power – but ultimately, I’m in the place to make such decisions.  [Just like I’m in the place to buy Bibles for our three year olds … but just can’t get myself to spend the money without running it by someone else first.  That’s what I’m used to!]  And so I made the decision.  I was going to throw the idea of cottage meetings out to the congregation and see what happened.
In this last week, I’ve had three people contact me and tell me that they are willing to host a conversation! Yessss!  Three people plus another one at the parsonage [I’ll have to borrow folding chairs from the church!] and another potentially in the church fellowship hall, and there we have five possible meetings.  By golly gee, people seem to be on board.  This is exciting – super exciting!  I know these meetings will be invaluable to moving forward in ministry.
The next step is to put up sign up sheets so people can choose a cottage meeting that fits their schedule best.  From there, we meet, we talk, and we dream about the ministry at ROG.  I feel strongly that ROG has great gifts and is ready to move forward in ministry, trying new and innovative things to reach and draw people.  [They’re ready for new and exciting – they did just call their first ever female pastor!]  It’s an exciting time, and I’m excited to be their pastor.  

comfy clothes, tv & a beer.

6 Oct
Thursday is the new Friday.
Friday and Saturdays are my days off which means that come Thursday night I am so anxious to throw on the sweats, put in a movie [or a few episodes of a tv show] and be completely lazy.  By this point in the week, I’m so ready for it.
It was a good, terribly busy week.  It somehow sneaked past without me being able to do any home visits [which makes me feel guilty].  But I did meet with parents who are having their son baptized next Sunday.  I planned the confirmation year and met with those families.  Wednesday morning was spent with 100 WELCA woman from ROG and surrounding congregations.  I had dinner with the Blooming ministerium.  I spent this morning in Blooming hanging out at First Lutheran with Heidi and Charlie, the pastors there.  [Both of whom are AWESOME and will be great colleagues to have.  Heidi is fun and super helpful and Charlie is one of those pastoral presences that I could sit and talk with for hours and likely reveal my deepest darkest secrets.]  Then, from 3-9pm today I was off at a synod event, gaining energy around mission and stewardship, all while texting Paige who sat at the next table over.  [throw in worship planning, website design, mail sorting, and necessary conversations with Marilyn, it was a busy week indeed.]   
I arrived home at 9 tonight, took Mabel outside, and the sweatpants were donned.  I’m in an Irish mood so Leap Year is the movie of choice.  I might drink a beer and soak it all in tonight because, truth be told, tomorrow I’ll be working.  There’s a sermon, a visit, phone calls, and a Blooming homecoming football game to attend.  [What’s the Blooming Prairie mascot?  A flower.  They’re the Awesome Blossoms.  True story.]  All things that can’t wait until Sunday.  This is where that whole conversation about self-care comes into place and how terribly hard it is for pastors to ultimately take care of themselves.  
I tell myself I’ll take comp time next week but who are we kidding?  I’m having company next weekend [Luther homecoming bound!] so the sermon prep will need to be done early and time dedicated to the fall festival we’re hosting at ROG on Sunday afternoon.  It will be busy but it will also be good.  Welcome to ministry.

installation.

2 Oct
I was installed today.  Much like an appliance.  Or carpet and laminate flooring.
Installation – according to the congregation members who shook my hand following worship – means that I’m official now.  It’s real now.  I’m the pastor at Red Oak Grove.
Installation meant that Larry from the synod office came to preach and do the installation portion of the service.  It meant that the service was changed to 10am to better suit the dinner that followed.  It meant that I was extra nervous and that I was lucky to have visitors representing my happy places – Aunt Kari and Grandma Julie representing from Edgerton; Mark and Karen from Stillwater; C. and family from Dawson.  It was so wonderful to welcome guests to ROG and my home.  Mabel was quite excited to meet new friends too.
I received lots of “Congratulations!” [Is that what you say to a newly installed pastor?  No one really knows.]  “It’s official now!” was heard a lot.  Hugs and kisses on the hand from C. and his sister.  I got a “Congrats, kiddo!” [Kiddo?  Really?] and many “We’re glad you’re here!”  
I’m glad I’m here too.
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