Sing, choirs of angels!

Yesterday, it was my privilege to sing Christmas carols* with two very different groups of people: the residents of the Minnewaska Lutheran Home and the kids who come to our after-school program, K.I.C.K.

At the nursing home Christmas service in the morning, the residents' choir sang "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear":

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold

...and "that glorious song of old" never sounded better than when sung by the voices of God's faithful in that place. Women often tell me that they can't sing like they used to--well, I didn't get to hear these women "back then", so I can't compare, but right now, I firmly believe that their songs are as precious and lovely in God's ears as the voices of the angels.

In the afternoon, we went Christmas caroling to the apartments next door with the K.I.C.K. kids. They did a great job (some of them even volunteered to sing "Silent Night" in Spanish), and even got to the third verse of "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful", which goes:

Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!

And once again I was struck by the thought that choirs of angels never sounded better! Some of the kids have wonderfully musical voices; others are more enthusiastic than tuneful. Some of them obviously love to sing; some of them would like you to think they would rather be somewhere else. This isn't the kind of music you get on recordings of kids singing Christmas carols: so sweet and adorable and perfect. This is real kids, really singing--and I am convinced that the choirs of angels themselves love to hear them, and maybe even sing along.

After all, the choirs of angels didn't sing for the great musicians of the court--they sang for shepherds, who probably didn't have a lot of musical training. And Jesus didn't come to the powerful elite--he came to ordinary people, in an ordinary town, in an ordinary way--so that we can all join in the song.

~Pastor Sarah

*Okay, so it isn't Christmas yet, but sometimes you have to make an exception.

Mission trip 2010 update

If you don't already know, we are planning to travel to the Lake Traverse Reservation in Sisseton, SD on the week of June 6, 2010. We are working with an organization called YouthWorks, and we’ll do some fund-raising in the coming year to lessen the cost for families. CrossWind youth should have received at least one mailing about this already (another is coming)--if you didn't get yours (or lost it), just call the Fron office (or let me know) and I'll send you another.

Now is the time to register. Really. Please call the Fron office, or talk to or email me as soon as possible to reserve your space. You can either turn in your deposit or talk to me if you need to make other arrangements. We need you to commit to this trip as soon as possible, preferably in writing, so that we can make sure there is a space for you. If you're still not sure, please let me know what you are thinking! (Going with YouthWorks offers us all sorts of advantages, but it also means that we need to be really firm about the deadlines.) Anyone in 7th through 12th grade is welcome to register—you may also invite your friends from outside of the parish!

Parents and other adults: Please talk to the youth in your lives about this amazing opportunity! If you have any questions, or if you are interested in being an adult participant (we are allowed one for every five youth), please let me know!

~Pastor Sarah

December newsletter

For those of you following along at home: Yes, I am publishing this post retroactively. Because it's tidier that way. And because I can.

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“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” Philippians 4:13 (The Message)

These were the words that guided our synod’s Junior High Youth Gathering in Willmar, November 20-22. We read them, and sang them, danced along to them, and wore them on our t-shirts. With 1300 other youth (and adult leaders) from around our region, we reflected on how, with God on our side, all things are indeed possible!

Thank you to everyone who supported us on this trip! It was my great privilege to attend with four youth (check out the youth news for a list of names) and one other adult from our parish. Check out our synod’s website at www.swmnelca.org to see photos from the gathering*—our group was small in numbers, but we certainly made our presence known! Going away for an event like this is a great way for us to learn and grow together in our faith. Ask us what we learned! (Also ask us about: laser tag, dodge ball, crazy hairstyles with glitter, and getting to take home drumsticks used by the actual drummer in the actual band.)

The best moment, for me, took place on Sunday morning. Between breakfast and worship, our youth had a little bit of free time. When I went looking for them, though, they were not on the computers in the business center. They were not chatting with their friends in the hallways, or sending text messages on their cell phones. They were not even at the table set up for the band. Instead, they were sitting in the very front row, ready for worship thirty minutes early—because they didn’t want to miss a single thing. And they had saved us seats, so that we wouldn’t miss out, either!

So now we are moving into the season of Advent, proclaiming again the greatest of great news: Jesus is coming! And for the One who came to earth as a tiny baby, all things are indeed possible—and he’s going to come again, and it’s going to be way too good to be missed! So come and worship with us—we’re saving you a seat!

~Pastor Sarah

*Update: You cannot see photos from the gathering on the synod website because they have decided to password-protect them to protect the privacy of our youth. When I get access, I'll find some to share around the parish.

Follow-up: Captive Free

I just realized that although I posted that Captive Free was coming to Starbuck, I never said anything about how it went! I had a great time at both the Saturday night program and the Sunday morning service. Both were a little light on youth attendance (what's up with that? anyone?), but I got a lot of great comments from the people who were there. The music was lovely (I really love organ and piano music and traditional hymns, but it does my heart good to hear something different from time to time), the team was fantastic, and the puppets were adorable.

So, lots of thanks to Captive Free Central Plains, a talented group with strong gifts for ministry. (And they figured out why my computer was projecting green-tinted images.) And thanks to everybody who helped to make their visit a success!

~Pastor Sarah

Prayers: School sports

I have to admit, I'm really not a very good sports fan. I consider it a win if everyone gets home without any serious injuries, and if the players on both sides can be reasonably proud that they played a good game, that's an added bonus.

That said, there are some great athletes in our area, and all of the student athletes I know are dedicated and hard-working. They have a lot on their plates, too, what with juggling school and friends and church as well as athletics. Right now, the fall sports schedule is pretty much over, except at the state level. So, I'll say a few extra prayers for those like some of the swimmers in our community, who are still hard at work. May they stay safe, do well, and remember that all of the glory belongs to God! Prayers also go to the teams that are just starting out!

~Pastor Sarah

Prayers: Captive Free

It's almost that time! We are expecting a visit from Captive Free Central Plains this weekend, and from what I can tell by a brief phone conversation and reading some of their blogs on the website (which you should really check out), it's going to be great!

So, since we are hosting this event, here are some requests:

1. Pray for the team, that they may be a blessing in our community and we may be a blessing to them and their ministry.


2. Come to the program Saturday night (7 p.m. @ Fron) and tell your friends! Confirmation and high school youth from our parish are welcome to come at 5:30 for supper (tacos!!!) to help us welcome the team.


3. If you have any old Legos lying around that you don't play with anymore, bring them to donate. (It's kind of a weird request but apparently they're needed for a future Bible study. More usual things like phone cards and postage stamps are also welcome. And we'll be taking a free will offering to support this awesome ministry.)

~Pastor Sarah

Lots of thanks!

Many, many thanks go to everyone who helped with the Hallowed Eve Carnival on Saturday. The Confirmation class (and their friends) did an excellent job of setting up and running the games, and the Confirmation mentors were pros at helping to decorate. Many of the ones who were not able to be present on Saturday did a great job on Wednesday setting up.

We had about 89 slips turned in for the door-prize drawings, which gives you a ballpark estimate of how many kids came. (I figure some probably didn't sign up, and of course, this does not include parents, and there were a lot of parents.) They all seemed to be having a great time and were on their best behavior. Thanks to everyone who came! (Including our visitors from the Starbuck Police, who did an amazing job of putting up with repeated "great costume!" jokes.)

Big thanks also to everyone who donated candy this year. It takes a lot of candy to pull off something this big!

~Pastor Sarah

Back in town

Pastor Paul and I are back in town after our synod's Fall Theological Conference, an excellent opportunity for learning and fellowship. It was great to take a break from the regular routine to spend time with colleagues and learn from teachers in our church. Although times are a bit rocky in our synod and in the ELCA, I am constantly amazed at the amount of steady, faithful ministry that is happening every day in our region.

There was also yarn shopping involved, because this is me we are talking about, here. (Yes, I bought some yarn, and yes, it is red.)

We are also moving forward with the planning for next summer's mission trip! Based on the input of the youth and parents who were at the planning meeting last night, we are tentatively looking at an early-summer trip to the Lake Traverse Reservation, just over two hours west of us in South Dakota. We should be finalizing this choice over the next few days, so if you have input, better get it to me quickly!

~Pastor Sarah

Guess the season!

Now it appears to be fall.

This morning, however, was clearly winter.


Tomorrow, I figure, is anyone's guess. (But I'm betting it won't be spring.)

This did not, however, prevent us from having a great time at last night's hayride. Many thanks to the guys who put this together, the youth who came (and brought friends! excellent!), and...well...you know who you are. I laughed so hard I fell over. What a great way to celebrate God's creation! (Yes, even the surprising parts.)

~Pastor Sarah

Too busy to blog! (youth calendar)

I just finished putting together a brief description of youth events for the next month or so, and let me tell you: it's gonna be so much fun! We have a great bunch of youth and a great bunch of people who love to work with youth. We also have an exciting couple of months planned!

Just FYI, to get this into a more manageable form, the timeline is something like this:
Wed. October 7 - Return of K.I.C.K.
Sun. October 11 - Hayride and Bonfire (invite a friend!)
Wed. October 21 - Meeting about next year's MISSION TRIP!!!
Sun. October 25 - Reformation/First Communion
Wed. October 28 - Set up for Hallowed Eve Carnival
Sat. October 31 - Hallowed Eve Carnival!
Sat. November 14 - Captive Free! (+Sunday morning)
Sat. November 21 - Junior High Youth Gathering

This, of course, does not include the regular weekly stuff like Confirmation, First Communion classes, our adult discussion series on The Shack, or K.I.C.K. (once it gets started). For more information about any of these invents, talk to me or call your church office.

As I've been saying a lot lately: Yes, it's busy. But it's a good busy.

~Pastor Sarah

General updates (or, Monday is office day)

Today is one of those busy but-it's-a-good-busy kind of days. Which happens to involve a lot of sitting in my office, which is not my most favorite thing in the whole wide world (I would much rather be out visiting), but sometimes it has to be done. (In other news, I just don't like Mondays. Never have. Too much time spent as a student. I'm working on it.)

Yesterday afternoon at our meeting to discuss the recent Churchwide Assembly, I mentioned that our synod staff were working hard to produce resources to help us all navigate through faithful responses and reflections. Some are already available here.

We have started to receive information about the Captive Free team that will be coming to Fron in November. From what I've read about this year's team, I'm getting pretty excited! (You can even look on their calendar and see us listed. We are official!)

I am also (and this is the one that is causing me to be in the office all day) working on material for your youth/family meeting tonight. (We're having it at Indherred, and I'm excited about getting the committee out into the community.) One of the big things we are considering is the possibilities for next summer's mission trip. Right now we're looking at going through YouthWorks, a fantastic organization that I've worked with before to great success. (Their model heavily influenced my planning for this summer's "trip" to Starbuck.) Feel free to check out their website and let me know what you think!

~Pastor Sarah

News from VBS

So far, we have about a dozen kids at our second VBS for the summer. This time it's CrossWind Parish VBS at Fron. And you know it's been a big hit, because this little guy tried to sneak in:
All you could see were his (?) little bat fingers sticking out from behind the picture of Jesus. Obviously, his heart was in the right place! But since bats and small children do not mix, he had to be evicted, as gently as possible, before the kids arrived. Too bad, because I'm sure he would have had a great time!

~Pastor Sarah

Report from the VBS front

I got to spend the morning hanging out at St. Johns VBS, which was awesome. But that leaves the afternoon for office work, so I have to try to motivate myself. (Almost anything is a letdown after VBS. Office work, more so, especially since it's my day-before-the-weekend.)

This afternoon, the kids went on a field trip to the nursing home in Starbuck to sing for the residents. I'm sure it was great, because I heard them singing--fantastic! They're a little rough around the edges--more enthusiasm than musicality--but that's the way I like it. I love the sound of children really singing--not like they do on most recorded music, all sweetly in tune, but like they do in real life--crazy and all over the place! I wouldn't be surprised if I learned that was God's favorite sound--practically the definition of "joyful noise".

~Pastor Sarah

Prayers: VBS

Today is the halfway point in our parish's first Vacation Bible School of the summer! This week it's happening at St. Johns. On Monday, there were 24 kids! VBS at St. Johns is particularly special because it shows how you can't measure a congregation just by its size. (Many congregations with hundreds of members would be happy to have 24 kids at VBS.) Though it is the smallest congregation in our parish in terms of membership, there is nothing small about the ministry that happens there!

So, lots of prayers this week--prayers of thanksgiving, and also prayers that God will continue to richly bless the ministry of the people of St. Johns in our community. And, while we're at it, prayers that the other Vacation Bible Schools in our area--both Fron and Minnewaska have VBS in August--will also be faith-filled, vibrant places where children and adults can explore God's love together.

~Pastor Sarah

August newsletter

We did it! Our 2009 youth mission trip (to Starbuck!) was a great success! How do I know? Well, we had a great time—but more importantly, we all learned about what God is doing here in our own community.

We discovered that God is present in the natural beauties that surround is: in the hills of the State Park, in the tiny little toads by the lakeshore; or even in the small and angry swallow that was nesting outside the nursing home. We discovered that God is most definitely present in the lives of our youth, who pitched in with a smile even when the chores were boring, who were brave enough to try something new, and who were even brave enough to invite their friends.

We saw how God is active in this community, in the warm welcomed we experienced everywhere we went, and especially at our time at the nursing home. And discovered that God is present and active in all four congregations of CrossWind Parish, each one full of generous people of lively faith, showing by our ministry together that the one Lord Jesus who unites us is stronger than anything that could divide us.

I usually report that there were eight participants in the mission trip—six youth and two adult leaders. But the truth is, it took a whole lot more than that to pull it off! So an extra “thank you” goes to everyone who was involved--those who prepared meals, those who helped with service projects, those who shared their time, those who greeted us as we were passing by, and especially those who remembered us in their prayers.

But wait! We’re not done yet! This is when it gets exciting, when we get to take what we learned from our trip and apply it in our everyday lives! So here’s the challenge: think about how you have seen God present and active in our community--and tell somebody about it. And always keep your eyes open to catch what God will be doing next!

~Pastor Sarah

Prayers: National Youth Gathering

Right around...now...ELCA youth from around the country are converging on New Orleans for this year's National Youth Gathering.

In our parish we decided to devote our time to local efforts this summer. However, the national Gathering is also a worthy event, and given that apparently over 37,000 Lutheran youth and adult leaders are supposed to be there, probably also in need of lots of prayers! There are lots of new ways to connect with the Gathering through the Internet, including opportunities to give an offering.

I was a participant at the last gathering in New Orleans (I still have the scrapbook in my office). My youth group was one of a small percentage that participated in service projects in the community. Despite the heat and humidity, we had an awesome time--I still remember seeing neighbors come out and work on their yards as we worked on the public area--and the one who had a tiny baby, and the one who...you get the picture. That was such a success that every gathering since has tried to include a larger service component--and this year, in New Orleans, service is the main focus. This is a massive organizational challenge, not only for the planners but for each individual youth group and leader! So, really, the prayers of those of us who stay at home are just as important as the efforts of those who go!

P.S. I'm sure that New Orleans is fabulous, but this is what we saw:

~Pastor Sarah

Thank you, CrossWind Parish!!!

I have spent the past couple of days industriously writing thank-you notes to anyone I can think of who helped with our mission trip. That's a lot of people! Wow! So, here is another big THANK YOU to everyone who contributed--the youth, their families, all the folks at the congregations and the nursing home and around the community...you can see how it gets to be hard to list everyone!


One thing I keep saying (because it is true) is that we can all be proud of our youth, our congregations, and our community! We had plenty of generous support--without it, the "trip" would not have been so much fun! I did a rough estimate the other day and figured that at least 50 or 60 people were directly involved--and that's not even counting all the folks who were indirectly involved, or who gave us the great gift of their prayers.

Something like this seems to involve a small group of people (6 youth and 2 adults), but really it is a much bigger group that is affected. That's how the church works--all of us pitching in with whatever our gifts and talents may be. Together, with a big added boost from the Holy Spirit, we see that God can do amazing things with us!

~Pastor Sarah

Mission trip photos

I've got a display board full of mission trip photos that is currently making the rounds of our parish (that means it goes to St. Johns and Immanuel next Sunday). Afterwards, it will probably stay at Fron for a couple of weeks (most of the youth being from Fron) before I distribute the photos to some of the youth. I don't like to post recognizable photos of youth on the Internet without their permission, so if you want to see them, you'll have to come here!


Here, however, is a preview shot from our faith walk at the State Park on Tuesday.

I am also looking to collect more photos from some other folks, especially the ones who caught things I didn't. (Youth who went on the trip are welcome to email me for a link to an online album, as well.)

~Pastor Sarah

Back from the Mission Trip

I had a super-fantastic, amazing, Spirit-filled, all-around-GREAT time on the mission trip. We could not have wished for a better bunch of youth or a more supportive community. Our parish totally rocks!

Right now I still think I need another nap (and my muscles are still really sore), but I'm sure I'll have lots and lots to say in the days and weeks to come!

~Pastor Sarah

July newsletter

I neglected to post this earlier. (My mother was visiting at the time. That's not why I forgot to post this, but it sounds good, doesn't it?)

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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

When Jesus read these words from Scripture at the start of his ministry, he wasn’t in some far-away place. He was in Nazareth—his own home town! And although he did go to the bustling city of Jerusalem, most of his work was done not far from his own backyard, in the small towns and countryside where he grew up!

It is in that spirit that we embark on an exciting journey this summer. With youth (and adults) from our parish, we will travel as missionaries—not to far-away places, but right here to our own community. Jesus invites us to participate in the mission he described in Nazareth, and that mission starts right where we are. So we will spend some time this month exploring what God is doing right here in our midst—and perhaps discover that because God is working here, we truly are in one of the most exciting mission fields in the world.

What does it look like to “bring good news to the poor” and “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” in Starbuck? In your neighborhood? In your family? For this month, in celebration of our youth mission trip, I invite you to keep your eyes open and share what you see! Who are the missionaries in your life? Who are the people in your life who could stand to hear the good news? How might God be calling you to be a missionary?

~Pastor Sarah