20 Years of Ordained Ministry!

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20 years! What an amazing journey this has been. I have served in four different church positions and been a hospice chaplain. If you had told me 20 years ago, that this is where I would be today…I probably would have answered like Sarah with laughter (Genesis 18:12).

As I read over the words of the service of Ordination to Ministry from the UCC’s Book of Worship, these words caught and held my attention.

“Will you seek to regard all people with equal love and concern and undertake to minister impartially to the needs of all?”

And I answered, “I will, relying on God’s grace.”

It has been a joy and a privilege and a challenge to answer and live into the call to ordained ministry these past twenty years. I give thanks to God regularly for those who nurtured my call when I was young, those who stretched and molded my faith, those who welcomed me into their lives as their pastor and chaplain, and those who supported and those who continue to support me on this journey.

I love that I was ordained on Reformation Day as it reminds me of the many that have gone before in the faith. And the Scripture that was read and preached that day continues to bring me hope and strength and challenge, Luke 24:13-35. It is the story of the road to Emmaus. I’ll sum it up for you. It is the day of the resurrection and Jesus walks with two of the faithful. They do not recognize him. He tells the story of faith and still they do not recognize him. When do they finally know it is Jesus? When he breaks the bread at the table with them, they finally know this is Jesus. I love the beauty and simplicity of this story. Where is Jesus among us and I don’t recognize him? When I gather at Christ’s table are my eyes and heart open to see who is standing beside me?

These last 20 years have been full of every single emotions. As I look back at where I have been I will not even try to guess where I will be 20 years from now. I am thankful that God keeps me guessing and always keeps the journey interesting.

For All the Saints

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November 1 or the Sunday closest to it is the day that we remember and give thanks for the saints in faith who have lived and shared God’s love with us. We would not know of God’s goodness unless we had been told by those who have gone before. I love this special, holy day when we say thank you for their lives and remember those who names we know and treasure as well as those who we never knew.

I invite you to light a candle or multiple candles for the saints who have supported you in your faith.

God of All Ages, We give thanks for your saints today who are now with you.

For the saints who loudly proclaimed your word, so we might know you better, we give you thanks!

For the saints who sang your praises and taught us the songs of faith, we give you thanks!

For the saints who showed up each time the church door was open and volunteered by making snacks and counting the offering and mowing the lawn and cleaning the bathrooms, we give you thanks!

For the saints who held babies in the nursery, made crafts with the toddlers, read stories to the children, attended lock ins with the youth, and ensured that no matter the age that everyone knew they were safe and loved at church, we give you thanks!

For the saints who loved you quietly and worked behind the scenes to see that the church was beautiful and ready each Sunday, we give you thanks!

For every single person of faith who preserved in keeping their faith even when times were hard, we give you thanks!

Thank you, God, for all of your saints. Give us strength to be the saints of today who are sharing your love with all those in our lives. Amen.

Jonah Chapters 3 and 4 (for youth)

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My goal for this final time with Jonah was to share the end of the story and include time for a recap of the whole story. I decided today to do this by sending the youth to stations set up around the space.

Here’s how we did it. We divided up into two groups. Each group went to the stations in any order and did what was stated on the information sheet at the station. Then, they took their station information sheet and went to the next station. The stations can be competed in any order. This is because the final step is assembling the story in order using the information sheets from each station.

Station 1-Call from God!

I would have loved to have a telephone with a prerecorded message when they picked up the phone with God’s call to Jonah. What I had was a picture of a telephone and one person was asked to be the voice of God and call Jonah!

Station 2-Build a Boat!

If Jonah is going to flee on a boat, he needs you to build him one. Make a boat using the materials on this table. The boat must float for 10 seconds.

For this station, I sent out a big bowl of water and a random assortment of items from the craft closet (popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, small cups, glue, etc).

Station 3- Rock, Paper, Scissors

While on the boat, the sailors cast lots which could be something like rock, paper, scissors to see who was causing the problem on the boat. Play rock, paper, scissors until someone is the winner-this person is your Jonah and needs to be thrown overboard.

Station 4-Jonah into the Fish

This station requires a cup, string, tape, a tiny figure to be Jonah. I borrowed this idea from somewhere online that I cannot find again to give them credit. The goal is to catch Jonah in the cup, so you need to tie the string around Jonah and then attach the string to the cup. Each person takes a turn being the fish who swallows Jonah.

Station 5-Write a Prayer in the Fish

Working together as a group, talk about how Jonah might have been feeling inside the big fish for three days and three nights. He didn’t know God was going to save him. Pretend you are Jonah and write a prayer to God together.

Station 6-Go to Nineveh!

God called to Jonah a second time. Be like Jonah and walk all around the city (or this room) yelling, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.”

Station 7-Repent with the People of Nineveh!

Instead of sitting in ashes, we sat in scraps of paper. And in place of sackcloth, we used old painting shirts from the craft closet.

Have someone read out loud-The people heard Jonah and changed their ways. They promised not to eat (fast). They put on sackcloth (old, not fancy clothes) and sat in ashes. They hoped God would see the changes they made in their lives and forgive them. And guess what? It worked. God saw their changed behavior, and God forgave the people of Nineveh.

Station 8-Sit Under a Tree

You might think Jonah would be happy that God was kind and forgave the people of Nineveh. Nope! He got mad. Jonah said, “God, I know you are merciful. I didn’t even want to come here because I knew you would forgive them.”

Take turns sitting in this chair under the tree being grumpy like Jonah was. Remember that God forgives us and loves us just like God forgave the people of Nineveh and grumpy Jonah too.

Once all eight stations have been completed, it is time to put the story in order and tell it to the awesome adults waiting to hear the story.

Jonah Chapter 2 (for youth)

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So, friends for chapter 2 of Jonah we need to get ourselves into the belly of a big fish (some people still say whale and I think there are better things to argue about than fish vs whale).

You can search online and find great plans for huge tarps that you inflate with a fan. This sounds like a bunch of fun. I didn’t have the time, energy, or budget to make this happen.

My cheaper option required 18 blue plastic table cloths, blue duct tape, painters tape or masking tape, a ladder and a hallway at church!

Step 1-Hang up your table cloths!
Keep on hanging them until your whole space is blue.

Next, you need a mouth, so you can get swallowed by the big fish.

I was told it looked like a monster at this point.
Finished fish!

The hard work is done. Now on to the lesson for the youth. Begin by reviewing what happened in Chapter 1. Last time we left Jonah floating in the sea, and now he gets swallowed by a big fish.

Everyone into the fish. You can sit or stand for this part. Ask wondering questions. I wonder what Jonah was thinking? I wonder what you are thinking since you are now in the belly of a fish? I wonder what Jonah did to pass the time? I wonder how you would spend your time in here? I wonder what it smells like in the belly of a fish? (It was suggested that I place open cans of tuna fish around the room to help create the ambiance. I didn’t. You can if you would like).

Read Chapter 2 of Jonah out loud. You can divide it up and have different youth read. Stop before Jonah gets out.

Ask the youth what they would have said or prayed in this situation?

And then together, get vomited out of the fish back onto dry land like Jonah. Give thanks to God for caring for us and sharing Jonah’s story with us. Encourage the youth to come back next week to hear the rest of the story!

Jonah Chapter 1 (for youth)

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My youth asked for ways they could be Jonah, so for three weeks we are making Jonah’s story come to life.

Week 1 was chapter 1 (except the last verse). We left Jonah floating in the water with a to be continued and come back next week.

So for chapter 1, my friend and I built a boat.

We used cardboard and paper and tape from church. We used empty boxes from church as the cargo to be thrown overboard.

And then I rewrote the chapter into a youth friendly play. One of their favorite things they took from the lesson was that casting lots was something like rock, paper, scissors. We are doing more rock, paper, scissors now since they see the connection to the Bible.

We had a great time enacting the story and learning more about God through Jonah’s story.

A Prayer for the Lollygaggers

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A friend sent me a card in the mail recently where she talked about the joy of lollygagging. This is a word I love to use in a positive way. I think we need more time to lollygag! (Also, I just learned that it is sometimes spelled lallygag. I am sticking with the way I have always heard it).

On some recent time away from my normal routine, I took time to lollygag! It was glorious. I read in the morning instead of jumping out of bed and hurrying to the shower. I drove down a two lane road even though a four lane highway was near by and would have had me at my destination faster. I sat in a comfy chair at a bookstore and read part of a book that I then purchased. I played board games with my husband! It turns out that I am good at lollygagging when I let myself do it.

So give yourself permission to lollygag, whatever that might look like for you! Move slower. Look around at creation. Linger over a cup of tea (or coffee, if you prefer).

God! You taught us to rest and we are often not good at it! Slow us down. Help us to make time to lollygag. Remind us that life is to be enjoyed and not just hustled through from one task to the next. Show us that we are enough as we are. It is okay to put our work down at the end of the day. It is good to laugh with loved ones. It is necessary to spend time in conversation with you. Bless us as we lollygag, Gracious God. Amen.

Book Review-Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From by Meredith Miller

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You should read this book! I keep talking about it to anyone and everyone.

This book is my recommendation for the parents to read at the church I am serving. Let me tell you why!

This book is very readable. In Part 1 (Chapters 1-4), she encourages families to find their own way to be faithful families. We are not given one right way to live our faith. Instead we are encouraged to live out our faith in our families and communities in ways that work for us. One of her ideas that I love is replacing the idea of a wall of faith that we build higher and higher with a web where the strings support each other and it grows stronger by connections. If your web has a string that gets weaker or breaks (a new understanding or change in your theology), your web is still strong and able to adapt unlike a wall that would tumble. She also pushes us to use all Bible stories to focus back on God instead of as a lesson toward obedience by children or adults.

In Part 2, she gives us 6 examples of what this looks like with different attributes of God (God is Good, Powerful, Just, Joyful, With Us, and Lord). In each chapter, she highlights a characteristic of God with a Bible story, ways to live out this characteristic of God, and suggestions for answering the hard questions.

I encourage you to read this book and let it nurture your faith while you prepare to nurture the faith of the children/youth in your care!

Sink or Float (Matthew 14:22-33)

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Helping make the Bible understandable and relatable can be a challenge. Here’s a fun way I encourage our children/youth to engage in this story of Jesus walking on water from Matthew 14:22-33.

So I did this both as a kid’s sermon in worship and as a longer outside activity for youth on our family faith night. Both were fun!

You will need a clear pitcher or clear bowl if doing this inside during worship or a kiddie pool if attempting outside during youth group. And a bunch of things you are okay getting wet as we are going to drop them in the water to see if they sink or float. I recommend looking around your space and finding a variety of things.

Invite all gathered to guess whether each object will sink or float and then have them place it into the water.

Then read the story from Matthew 14:22-33. I recommend reading it twice. The first time read it as written. The second time read it while pausing to ask questions. Notice that Jesus took time to be quiet in prayer (Matthew 14:22-23). Do you ever need time to be by yourself in silence? Jesus was walking on the water toward the boat (Matthew 12:25). Try to imagine how you would feel if you saw someone walking on water. Peter asks to join Jesus on the water (Matthew 12:28). If you were in this story, would you do the same or would you be like the other disciples watching from the boat? Peter notices all the scary things around him and begins to sink (Matthew 12:30). When have you ever become frightened when you saw where you were and what you were doing?

This story reminds us to trust in Jesus even when we feel like we are sinking or are overwhelmed or scared. Jesus never leaves us. (This is where I ended the kid’s message in worship).

For the youth activity, we made “ourselves” as a reminder that with Jesus we float and can handle the big waves of life. We used a collection of random items from the supply closet including styrofoam balls, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes. Everyone had fun creating and then took their creations home as a reminder of that night’s story.

And a prayer to end the night-

God of the Wind and the Waves and Silence, you never leave us. You never abandon us. Even when life is hard or scary or unfair, you walk beside us on the water and lift us up when we start to sink. We are grateful for your constant love and support. Give us the strength we need for today. And thank you for this community of faith which supports and loves us too. Amen.

A Prayer for Jury Duty

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I have jury duty the entire month of July. I might be more excited than the average person about fulfilling my civic duty.

Also, I might have gotten called in and then not gotten selected. I did enjoy getting to see the process unfold, and there is still time this month for me to make it on a jury. Fingers crossed.

This whole experience inspired me to write a prayer for jury duty. Although it is often a hardship to have jury duty, it is a right for citizens of the United States to have an impartial group of peers decide if they did or did not break the law. So, the next time you are called to serve, try to keep a positive attitude even while it is disrupting your life. You might even enjoy it like I did.

Gracious God, You encourage us not to judge one another. And yet, that is just what is being asked of jurors. Grant us a sense of calm and listening ears. Give us patience as we hurry up and wait to see if we will be selected for the jury. If picked to serve on the jury, help us to remember that each person here is your beloved child. Send us your spirit of peace. Let us listen for your voice as we make this important decision. Amen.

Midweek VBS Prayer for the Volunteers

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If you find yourself halfway through VBS, this prayer is for you. If you have VBS later this summer, save this prayer for when you need it. If you are done with VBS for the year, you can say this prayer knowing you made it. If you aren’t doing VBS this year, pray for those who are because we need it!

Faithful God! What a week! And it is only Wednesday. Thank you for a great week so far. Acknowledging, the week has not been perfect. It has been good because children of all ages have seen and heard that they are loved. We, the volunteers and staff, are tired. It is a good tired. We know we have been doing your work. We know you have been present here. You have opened our hearts so we can love you more. You have increased our patience when it was needed in hard moments. You have given the volunteers courage to show up the first day and keep coming back. Holy God, give each one of us what we need for the remaining days of VBS. Help each of us to see you in each other. We will thank you and praise you with our laughter, our singing, and our prayers. Bless us as we share your love with everyone who enters the doors of your house. Be our rock and our redeemer. Amen.