It's not been a quiet week in my home state. The floods that have drenched Iowa and other parts of the Midwest have been called 500 year floods, which means the chances of such a flood occurring is 1 in 500. Bad odds this year, folks.
Many of you have heard the news, so I'll give you first-person observations from my family who live near Nashua, Iowa, the northeast corner of the state.
My parents live on a farm on a dead-end road. A creek crosses that road and frequently during the spring, they are stranded on the farm for a day or two when the creek rises across the bridge.
This year, there have been many, many days where the creek was across the bridge. One day, a FedEx man came to deliver a package of vitamins to my mother. She met him at her side of the flooded creek. Mom said the length of flooded road was about two car lengths. She asked him to throw the package across the waters. He did and mom walked it home. Dad noted that while none of the vitamin plastic containers were cracked, the invoice was a little damp.
The Cedar River in Waverly flooded far out of its banks, overflowing onto city blocks in that town where my alma mater Wartburg is located. Friends tell me many of my professors have water damage in basements. My sister Lorna's friend Bill just graduated and bought a house near the Cedar River. She helped him move his possessions to the first floor, but it was no use. The water flooded everything.
So Bill and his younger brother Bob are temporarily living at my parents farm with my sister. Mom says she doesn't mind the extra cooking and Dad likes the help on the farm. None of their fields were affected by the flooding. My sister reports Bill is waiting to see what kind of emergency help he might get from FEMA.
My sister works at Subway in Waverly, which only had minor water damage because employees (my sis included) sandbagged for hours. The Burger King wasn't so lucky. The photos of city blocks and blocks underwater are shocking.
Thanks for listening...and for your prayers for those who were more affected than my parents.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
Be a Sitka Lutheran volunteer
Sitka is an historical site for many reasons. The city was the first capital of Alaska, a site of Russian and Alaska Native conflict, and the site of the "handover" when Alaska was transfered from Russia to the United States. The city (and the National Parks service) has preserved much of this history in buildings and museums. And the tourists love it.
So since Sitka is a tourist destination, the Lutherans play along too. Sitka Lutheran was established in 1839/40 by the Russian-American Company for their Lutheran workers. Imagine: a government/commercial enterprise building a church and hiring a pastor for their employees!
The Russian-American company hired (in those days) a pastor from Finland. So the Sitka Lutheran church has strong Finnish ties. It also has an antique Kessler organ that is still used at services today. Visitors to Sitka Lutheran can view historic displays, read the history of the church, play the organ AND use the bathrooms, all for free.
So who hosts these tourists? The summer volunteers. Those interested can volunteer for several weeks during the summer. They must buy their own plane ticket to Sitka, but housing is free in an apartment during the stay.
Sound interesting? You might check out the church Web site for more information:
http://www.sitkalutheranchurch.org/
So since Sitka is a tourist destination, the Lutherans play along too. Sitka Lutheran was established in 1839/40 by the Russian-American Company for their Lutheran workers. Imagine: a government/commercial enterprise building a church and hiring a pastor for their employees!
The Russian-American company hired (in those days) a pastor from Finland. So the Sitka Lutheran church has strong Finnish ties. It also has an antique Kessler organ that is still used at services today. Visitors to Sitka Lutheran can view historic displays, read the history of the church, play the organ AND use the bathrooms, all for free.
So who hosts these tourists? The summer volunteers. Those interested can volunteer for several weeks during the summer. They must buy their own plane ticket to Sitka, but housing is free in an apartment during the stay.
Sound interesting? You might check out the church Web site for more information:
http://www.sitkalutheranchurch.org/
Sounds like Sitka
Sitka, June 6-8, 2008: Guest preaching at Sitka Lutheran Church, Sitka, Alaska.
(Where's Sitka? Soggy Southeast Alaska...check out the google map below)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sitka,+ak&ie=UTF8&ll=58.631217,-135.351562&spn=20.581038,54.140625&z=4
Church stuff: One Lutheran church, two services, one sermon, zero albs worn, 10 people at the first service.
Fun stuff: One kayak trip in killer waves, 5 cruise ships docked in Sitka Sound, 3 mile hike around Beaver Lake, one handsome cello player at the summer music fest, 3 (at least) fantastic coffee shops.
I went to Sitka on an offhand remark. Pastor Jim Drury (who serves there) and I were joking that I should come down and be the guest preacher for him.
Suddenly, I was on an airplane. I guess he wasn't kidding.
Then a young woman at church (Lindsey) asked if she could buy her own ticket and tag along. Why not? So we set out for Sitka.
Sitka holds about 9,000 people, living on the Baranov Island, which is otherwise almost all forested. The island boasts a bunch of brown bears in its temperate rainforest climate. Sitka is (of course) only accessible by boat or plane. It's surrounded by mountains with stripes of snow, hills of evergreen forests and dotted with rainforest foliage like ferns. It's lovely.
The first day (June 6), we arrived and had lunch at the airport's restaurant, the Nugget. Not bad for airport food. Also, the Nugget has famous pies, to die for. And I don't even like pie. We stayed in the apartment next to Pastor Jim's house. The apartment is used in the summers for the volunteers at the church (more on this later).
Lindsey and I hiked around Beaver Lake that afternoon and had dinner at the sushi place in town. That evening, we attened opening night of the Sitka Summer Music Festival. Who knew? World-class chamber musicians flock to Sitka for weeks in June to play a variety of small ensembles and solos. They tour places like Moscow, San Francisco, New York and.... Sitka. We heard three amazing pieces by Beethoven, Lizst and Dvorak. The cello, esp. in the Dvorak, melted my heart.
Saturday (June 7) we attended the Parish Life Committee meeting. We heard about various summer activities at the church and community. I presented (and we had great discussion) about young adults and how to be more welcoming as a church to them and just evangelism in general. There were also issues disuccsed around Pastor Jim's upcoming departure (he's taking a call in August in Utah...unbeknownst to me when we first planned this pulpit exchange).
Later that day, Lindsey and I took a 2-hour kayak in the sound in the roughest waters I've seen from the kayak seat and did some shopping. That night, parishioners from Sitka Lutheran had us over for dinner. Our hosts were 41-year Sitka residents and wowed us with stories of life on the island and working for the cruise ships that dock here all summer. Tourist pour from these ships like so many droplets from a waterfall and flood the town's little shops and galleries. It's a great boon to the economy, but leaves people economically struggling in the winter. A couple years ago, the towns pulp mill closed. Last year, the private college Sheldon Jackson folded. Townsfolk wonder what this means for their futures.
Sunday saw two services at Sitka Lutheran, one at 8:30 am with very few people and one at 11 am with the "regulars" and several folks from the cruise ships. I had brought my stole and when I asked Pr. Jim if I could borrow and extra alb, he laughed at me. But I wore my collar shirt, as did he.
Preaching a sermon to a congregation you don't know is like writing a love letter to a stranger. (I told the congregation this). Still, I pressed on. It was interesting to gaze at their faces and see (though somewhat buried) the shock and grief of Pastor Jim's leaving. They've only known a few weeks.
In my sermon I talked about interruptions...as the place God uses to get inside of us and transform us and heal us for the next thing. May it be so for the people of Sitka.
Enough! Next post, I'll tell you about the volunteer program at Sitka Lutheran.
(Where's Sitka? Soggy Southeast Alaska...check out the google map below)
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=sitka,+ak&ie=UTF8&ll=58.631217,-135.351562&spn=20.581038,54.140625&z=4
Church stuff: One Lutheran church, two services, one sermon, zero albs worn, 10 people at the first service.
Fun stuff: One kayak trip in killer waves, 5 cruise ships docked in Sitka Sound, 3 mile hike around Beaver Lake, one handsome cello player at the summer music fest, 3 (at least) fantastic coffee shops.
I went to Sitka on an offhand remark. Pastor Jim Drury (who serves there) and I were joking that I should come down and be the guest preacher for him.
Suddenly, I was on an airplane. I guess he wasn't kidding.
Then a young woman at church (Lindsey) asked if she could buy her own ticket and tag along. Why not? So we set out for Sitka.
Sitka holds about 9,000 people, living on the Baranov Island, which is otherwise almost all forested. The island boasts a bunch of brown bears in its temperate rainforest climate. Sitka is (of course) only accessible by boat or plane. It's surrounded by mountains with stripes of snow, hills of evergreen forests and dotted with rainforest foliage like ferns. It's lovely.
The first day (June 6), we arrived and had lunch at the airport's restaurant, the Nugget. Not bad for airport food. Also, the Nugget has famous pies, to die for. And I don't even like pie. We stayed in the apartment next to Pastor Jim's house. The apartment is used in the summers for the volunteers at the church (more on this later).
Lindsey and I hiked around Beaver Lake that afternoon and had dinner at the sushi place in town. That evening, we attened opening night of the Sitka Summer Music Festival. Who knew? World-class chamber musicians flock to Sitka for weeks in June to play a variety of small ensembles and solos. They tour places like Moscow, San Francisco, New York and.... Sitka. We heard three amazing pieces by Beethoven, Lizst and Dvorak. The cello, esp. in the Dvorak, melted my heart.
Saturday (June 7) we attended the Parish Life Committee meeting. We heard about various summer activities at the church and community. I presented (and we had great discussion) about young adults and how to be more welcoming as a church to them and just evangelism in general. There were also issues disuccsed around Pastor Jim's upcoming departure (he's taking a call in August in Utah...unbeknownst to me when we first planned this pulpit exchange).
Later that day, Lindsey and I took a 2-hour kayak in the sound in the roughest waters I've seen from the kayak seat and did some shopping. That night, parishioners from Sitka Lutheran had us over for dinner. Our hosts were 41-year Sitka residents and wowed us with stories of life on the island and working for the cruise ships that dock here all summer. Tourist pour from these ships like so many droplets from a waterfall and flood the town's little shops and galleries. It's a great boon to the economy, but leaves people economically struggling in the winter. A couple years ago, the towns pulp mill closed. Last year, the private college Sheldon Jackson folded. Townsfolk wonder what this means for their futures.
Sunday saw two services at Sitka Lutheran, one at 8:30 am with very few people and one at 11 am with the "regulars" and several folks from the cruise ships. I had brought my stole and when I asked Pr. Jim if I could borrow and extra alb, he laughed at me. But I wore my collar shirt, as did he.
Preaching a sermon to a congregation you don't know is like writing a love letter to a stranger. (I told the congregation this). Still, I pressed on. It was interesting to gaze at their faces and see (though somewhat buried) the shock and grief of Pastor Jim's leaving. They've only known a few weeks.
In my sermon I talked about interruptions...as the place God uses to get inside of us and transform us and heal us for the next thing. May it be so for the people of Sitka.
Enough! Next post, I'll tell you about the volunteer program at Sitka Lutheran.
Monday, June 02, 2008
Is the Church Dead? A Meditation on Lime Jello
So let's be honest: attendance at Central Lutheran Church ain't what it used to be. Neither is financial giving. Somehow, in transitions, we've lost a few folks and a few dollars.
Is it time to panic?
Some think so. It seems every couple weeks someone pops into my office with a high level of anxiety regarding this slow but steady downward trend. I hear the anxiety. I appreciate the worry.
But I don't think God intends for us to live like that. If you want to know what Jesus though about worry, see Matthew chapter 6.
Anyway, I'm not going to lecture about trusting God or listening for the invitation of God's spirit into our uncertain future. Insert your own sermonic points here.
I want to tell you about having folks from Central over for Lime Jello. With crushed pineapple.
At Central we've been doing this little campaign called Central Community Desserts. We grouped folks in area codes and asked one or two people to host a fellowship event. During the gathering, there would be facilitated conversation about Central: what connects people to Central, our mission/ministry, and what else we could be doing.
14 people gathered in my small living room, ages ranging from 14-60 plus. I say that because it's possible someone there was in their 70s but I don't want to hazard a guess. Two of the boys from our Drop In Center attended. Some sitting around the circle were life-long members of Central. Others were pretty new, members for less than a year.
I served Lime Jello. And cheese and crakers, chocolate cake and a luscious fruit salad. (Shout out to Mary and Les Krieger for helping with food and punch). And we talked.
People said what they liked about Central.
"I always feel welcome," one said. Another remembered her first reaction: "I am home." And yet another: "Central has become our family."
We brainstormed about how to better witness to our faith (like, could we practice sharing our faith stories with each other?) and discussed more opportunties for fellowship (more potlucks, was the enthusiastic consensus).
We also read quotes from recipients of Central's benevolences (Lutheran Social Services, Dillingham Lutheran Church, Sandra Rudd (an intern pastor at St. Mark). Amazed at the scope of where and what we give, someone said, "Why don't we blow our own horn a little more?"
All of this over Jello salad.
My main point is this: our life together in Jesus Christ is NEVER defined by numbers or dollars. Our life in Christ is ONLY defined by what Christ has already done for us and how we live out that love in community. And I saw that community in my living room, where we were so cramped that some sat on the floor with their lime Jello.
And I saw it as folks left, too. They were hugging each other. They were wishing one of the Drop in Center students good luck on his upcoming school trip to Russia. They were asking if he'd give a photo presentation for all of us when he returned.
There was nothing to fear. There was only hope.
Is it time to panic?
Some think so. It seems every couple weeks someone pops into my office with a high level of anxiety regarding this slow but steady downward trend. I hear the anxiety. I appreciate the worry.
But I don't think God intends for us to live like that. If you want to know what Jesus though about worry, see Matthew chapter 6.
Anyway, I'm not going to lecture about trusting God or listening for the invitation of God's spirit into our uncertain future. Insert your own sermonic points here.
I want to tell you about having folks from Central over for Lime Jello. With crushed pineapple.
At Central we've been doing this little campaign called Central Community Desserts. We grouped folks in area codes and asked one or two people to host a fellowship event. During the gathering, there would be facilitated conversation about Central: what connects people to Central, our mission/ministry, and what else we could be doing.
14 people gathered in my small living room, ages ranging from 14-60 plus. I say that because it's possible someone there was in their 70s but I don't want to hazard a guess. Two of the boys from our Drop In Center attended. Some sitting around the circle were life-long members of Central. Others were pretty new, members for less than a year.
I served Lime Jello. And cheese and crakers, chocolate cake and a luscious fruit salad. (Shout out to Mary and Les Krieger for helping with food and punch). And we talked.
People said what they liked about Central.
"I always feel welcome," one said. Another remembered her first reaction: "I am home." And yet another: "Central has become our family."
We brainstormed about how to better witness to our faith (like, could we practice sharing our faith stories with each other?) and discussed more opportunties for fellowship (more potlucks, was the enthusiastic consensus).
We also read quotes from recipients of Central's benevolences (Lutheran Social Services, Dillingham Lutheran Church, Sandra Rudd (an intern pastor at St. Mark). Amazed at the scope of where and what we give, someone said, "Why don't we blow our own horn a little more?"
All of this over Jello salad.
My main point is this: our life together in Jesus Christ is NEVER defined by numbers or dollars. Our life in Christ is ONLY defined by what Christ has already done for us and how we live out that love in community. And I saw that community in my living room, where we were so cramped that some sat on the floor with their lime Jello.
And I saw it as folks left, too. They were hugging each other. They were wishing one of the Drop in Center students good luck on his upcoming school trip to Russia. They were asking if he'd give a photo presentation for all of us when he returned.
There was nothing to fear. There was only hope.
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