Monday, September 29, 2008
Unblocked
The sermon is finished. it has been written, given and posted. (see the link to the right>>>) Although some people said it as ok I thought it to be too didactic. Deb said that was OK as that is my gift, to teach. I hope this doesn't turn off too many people!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Writer's Block
2nd sermon in and already I have writer's block. I am finding it hard to organize my thoughts into something cohesive, or at least intelligible. Although this doesn't seem to be one of those "difficult" texts (Matt 21:23-32) it is still maddening to be frustrating. See the blog on Monday for the results.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Kyrie
One of the more unusual aspects of my intern site is the lack of a sung kyrie or great thanksgiving in the liturgy. At least the pastor and most of the interns preceding me have not done this. However, the congregation does sing the response to the spoken (supposed to be sung) parts. Having had this as part of my home congregation at Pilgrim Lutheran in Puyallup I thought it would be only fitting to cantor the parts. Never having done this before (except once, which is a whole 'nother story) I was apprehensive about doing this. I even woke up this morning with the tune running through my head. With the help of the pianist, Ronda, I managed to do OK with it today. At least I didn't murder it. But, this leads me to a question(and I will leave you with this): If a person murders a part does that mean it is now dead and is of no use?
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Waiting in Line
Well, I did something that I never thought I would do: stand in line for hockey tickets. Single ticket sales opened this morning at 9 o'clock at the Exel Energy arena (home to the Minnesota Wild NHL hockey team). This is a yearly thing and people start forming a line usually 3-4 days in advance of when the sales begin. This year was no exception. So why would I do something like this? After all my thinking has always been, what a bunch of fools. And, they're just hockey tickets. Heck you can watch most games on television. Besides, I am not a Wild fan, I follow the Detroit Red Wings. Do you see where this is going?
Our son Will and daughter-in-law, Crystal are coming to visit over the holidays. The Red Wings will be playing the Wild on Jan 3rd while they are here. What a great time to enjoy both at the same time! Knowing that tickets would be going fast (the Wild consistently sellout all of their games) there could only be one answer; Get the tickets the day they go on sale.
Having arose at 6:05 this morning, the sun still below the horizon, armed with 2 books, the newspaper, a thermos of coffee, and a collapsible chair, I headed out to the "X" (as it is known locally) to wait my turn. At 6:50 I took my place at the end of the ribbon of people, becoming the 172nd person in line or #488922 according to my wrist band (used to prevent people from cutting in line).
The crowd seemed to be eclectic, with folks from all walks of life, all focused on the same goal. Some were sitting on the ground, others standing, still others reclining on blankets or sitting in chairs. There was a smattering of tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and radios towards the head of the line. There were Wild and arena staff handing out newspapers, coffee, muffins, and decals (I do not think the one person appreciated my asking if they had any Red Wing material). The woman who tagged my wrist with my identification number had been there since 8 the previous evening.
Getting to know my neighbors (after all this was community) was fun. To my right was a former staff person from the seminary. Yes he knew who my intern supervisor was, as both had served together in Montana parishes years ago. Behind him was a mom getting tickets for her family, including her 14 year old son who had had a kidney transplant last year. Behind her was a woman and her brother. The woman had had twins 16 months ago. One of the twins was born with a hole in her heart. To my left was a women in a motorized wheelchair with MS. she had been a lawyer by trade but couldn't function in that capacity with her MS. She is now a tour guide and researcher for the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She recounted her story of how she embraced the Christian faith 5 years ago after being raised "atheist" her whole life.
By 8:45 the line began to "slinky" up, and by 10:00 I was at the ticket window purchasing the precious ducats. 10 minutes later I was back in my car on the way home. Never did get to do any reading. Didn't even finish all of my coffee. but we're set. Come Jan 3, 7PM we'll be in the "X waiting for the puck to drop, hoping like crazy that the Red Wings will prevail over the Wild.
Our son Will and daughter-in-law, Crystal are coming to visit over the holidays. The Red Wings will be playing the Wild on Jan 3rd while they are here. What a great time to enjoy both at the same time! Knowing that tickets would be going fast (the Wild consistently sellout all of their games) there could only be one answer; Get the tickets the day they go on sale.
Having arose at 6:05 this morning, the sun still below the horizon, armed with 2 books, the newspaper, a thermos of coffee, and a collapsible chair, I headed out to the "X" (as it is known locally) to wait my turn. At 6:50 I took my place at the end of the ribbon of people, becoming the 172nd person in line or #488922 according to my wrist band (used to prevent people from cutting in line).
The crowd seemed to be eclectic, with folks from all walks of life, all focused on the same goal. Some were sitting on the ground, others standing, still others reclining on blankets or sitting in chairs. There was a smattering of tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and radios towards the head of the line. There were Wild and arena staff handing out newspapers, coffee, muffins, and decals (I do not think the one person appreciated my asking if they had any Red Wing material). The woman who tagged my wrist with my identification number had been there since 8 the previous evening.
Getting to know my neighbors (after all this was community) was fun. To my right was a former staff person from the seminary. Yes he knew who my intern supervisor was, as both had served together in Montana parishes years ago. Behind him was a mom getting tickets for her family, including her 14 year old son who had had a kidney transplant last year. Behind her was a woman and her brother. The woman had had twins 16 months ago. One of the twins was born with a hole in her heart. To my left was a women in a motorized wheelchair with MS. she had been a lawyer by trade but couldn't function in that capacity with her MS. She is now a tour guide and researcher for the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She recounted her story of how she embraced the Christian faith 5 years ago after being raised "atheist" her whole life.
By 8:45 the line began to "slinky" up, and by 10:00 I was at the ticket window purchasing the precious ducats. 10 minutes later I was back in my car on the way home. Never did get to do any reading. Didn't even finish all of my coffee. but we're set. Come Jan 3, 7PM we'll be in the "X waiting for the puck to drop, hoping like crazy that the Red Wings will prevail over the Wild.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Random Thoughts on Internship
Two weeks into internship , some observations:
Deb and I are continually amazed at the amount of young families there are in this church. I could never imagine 50 plus students int he confirmation program (7th and 8th grade).
Deb has found a niche in the life of this community, already putting in a stint singing in the "2nd Sunday" praise band. As she says, it felt good to do that as it was something missing in her worship life.
Witnessed my first deer/auto accident last week. This reminds me that I need to be more vigilant in my driving to and from the cities, especially at night!
Pastor Wayne has a very dry sense of humor.
I had forgotten how antsy 6th grade boys can be. I am teaching a 6 week course on Baptism to the 6th graders and golly, these guys are all over the board. I appreciate the more mellow girls in the group!
I am still getting used to worship protocol. For example the preacher for the week sits on the left side of the sanctuary and the worship assistant sits on the right side. The first week I sat with the preacher, causing some confusion for the preacher as well as the congregation. In addition there are also the politics (for lack of a better word) of choosing hymns. the pianist and the organist trade off every other week, and each has their own favorites of preferences in what can or cannot be played. I was also taken aback when PW spoke the Kyrie and the Great Thanksgiving and the congregation replied by singing. To me it was an aural disconnect. Pastor also has a tendency to remove verses from the last hymn if he feels the service has run too long. This will take some getting used to!
The children expect treats after the children's sermon. PW has dibs on handing out Oreo cookies. I am thinking of something more like Tootsie Rolls, although I wonder what parents would say if Pop Rocks were given out instead?
Working Sunday to Thurs is definitely different. The hardest part is getting up at 6AM (to some this is considered "Oh-Dot-Thirty") on Sunday to go to work. This will take some getting used to!
Deb and I are continually amazed at the amount of young families there are in this church. I could never imagine 50 plus students int he confirmation program (7th and 8th grade).
Deb has found a niche in the life of this community, already putting in a stint singing in the "2nd Sunday" praise band. As she says, it felt good to do that as it was something missing in her worship life.
Witnessed my first deer/auto accident last week. This reminds me that I need to be more vigilant in my driving to and from the cities, especially at night!
Pastor Wayne has a very dry sense of humor.
I had forgotten how antsy 6th grade boys can be. I am teaching a 6 week course on Baptism to the 6th graders and golly, these guys are all over the board. I appreciate the more mellow girls in the group!
I am still getting used to worship protocol. For example the preacher for the week sits on the left side of the sanctuary and the worship assistant sits on the right side. The first week I sat with the preacher, causing some confusion for the preacher as well as the congregation. In addition there are also the politics (for lack of a better word) of choosing hymns. the pianist and the organist trade off every other week, and each has their own favorites of preferences in what can or cannot be played. I was also taken aback when PW spoke the Kyrie and the Great Thanksgiving and the congregation replied by singing. To me it was an aural disconnect. Pastor also has a tendency to remove verses from the last hymn if he feels the service has run too long. This will take some getting used to!
The children expect treats after the children's sermon. PW has dibs on handing out Oreo cookies. I am thinking of something more like Tootsie Rolls, although I wonder what parents would say if Pop Rocks were given out instead?
Working Sunday to Thurs is definitely different. The hardest part is getting up at 6AM (to some this is considered "Oh-Dot-Thirty") on Sunday to go to work. This will take some getting used to!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Dresser
Internship has started. I am now officially serving at Peace Lutheran church in Dresser WI. Dresser is a small community sandwiched between the larger (relatively speaking) communities of Osceola and St Croix Falls and is located along the St Croix river which separates WI from MN. It is approx 50 miles from St Paul and since Deb and I have not moved I make this commute 5 days a week. Although the community is rural, our church has only 2 farmers in it. The rest of the community is made up of professional people who work in the community or commute to the Cities. There is one other tidbit of info about Dresser. It has a sister city in Illinois, Armoire.
I have a new identity as well. I am no longer Bob, but am now referred to as "Intern Bob". In a way it feels weird to have lost my surname and picked up this other moniker. Of course I also have to dress the part as you can see by the picture below.
Pastor Wayne Deloach and "Intern Bob"
Pastor Wayne has been a part of this church for the last 33 years. I am the 20th intern that he has supervised. He is knowledgeable about the church , the community, and the impact that an intern can have on a faith community. Although you see only the building, this church has an average worship attendance of 270 in two services. The 1st service is the larger of the two, with both services following a standard liturgy.
The entrance to the building. The tower houses the two bells from the previous churches when they merged in 1978
The Sanctuary
The fellowship hall
My office. I think that it is obscenely large!
I have a new identity as well. I am no longer Bob, but am now referred to as "Intern Bob". In a way it feels weird to have lost my surname and picked up this other moniker. Of course I also have to dress the part as you can see by the picture below.
Pastor Wayne Deloach and "Intern Bob"Pastor Wayne has been a part of this church for the last 33 years. I am the 20th intern that he has supervised. He is knowledgeable about the church , the community, and the impact that an intern can have on a faith community. Although you see only the building, this church has an average worship attendance of 270 in two services. The 1st service is the larger of the two, with both services following a standard liturgy.
The entrance to the building. The tower houses the two bells from the previous churches when they merged in 1978
The Sanctuary
The fellowship hall
My office. I think that it is obscenely large!I am sorry that I do not have pictures of the staff. Suffice it to say, They are great! Pat the secretary has been here for 6 years and knows everything! There is a parish nurse, Diane who many things to assist in the healthy living for the community. She even trims toenails for many of the seniors. That is servant hood! Rhonda the education director, also does duty as the pianist every other weekend. And Sonja the youth director is a blessing to the young people of this community.
The one challenge will be learning names and faces! I am continually referring to the pictorial directory, but still have a hard time. And although I feel like I have been preparing for this time my whole life, I still feel unprepared. As my friend Pastor Sue said, "Welcome to the club!"
The one challenge will be learning names and faces! I am continually referring to the pictorial directory, but still have a hard time. And although I feel like I have been preparing for this time my whole life, I still feel unprepared. As my friend Pastor Sue said, "Welcome to the club!"
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