Still no rain

In a last-ditch effort to get some rain, I will now sing (virtually) the Johnny Appleseed grace:

Oh, the Lord is good to me,
and so I thank the Lord,
for giving me the things I need:
the sun and the rain and the appleseed!
The Lord is good to me!

At camp, we used to shout "the sun and the SUN" to drown out "rain" in case anybody forgot and said it. (If you say "the rain", that's supposed to mean it's going to rain, never a desirable thing at camp.) It never actually worked, but it made us feel better.

(Is that random enough for you, Erin?)

~Pastor Sarah

Mission trip update update

Photo by Daniel G DeBlock
- Leiturgia Communications Inc

Within minutes of the last post, the sixth registration walked right into my office. Yay!

Also, just released: photos from synod assembly. (For the doubters, yes, you can see quite a few good shots of Bishop Hanson's stole about which I posted from assembly.) There are a very few pictures of worship services where you can find me if you know exactly where I was sitting, and there are a couple of others where you can see everyone at my table except me, sometimes quite close up. This, in my opinion, makes this the very definition of a good photo gallery from an event I attended.

~Pastor Sarah

Mission trip update

As of now, we have five official registrations and at least one that is about 99% sure. And a couple to a few more that are a strong possibility. So it looks like our summer mission trip is a "go"! (If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I posted about it last week.)

And, of course, anything can happen between now and the end of June, when the late registration period ends. (We just can't be changing the numbers in July. The nice folks who are providing meals need to know what to plan!) So if you or someone you know is interested in participating (or might be talked into being interested), it's not too late! There is even room for college students and other adults who might be willing to donate just a few days of their time.

~Pastor Sarah

Praying for rain

It seems like every conversation these days comes around to "and we really need some rain" sooner or later. As for myself, I don't much mind that my yard is dry (my neighbors might feel differently), but it's a much bigger deal for farmers. (My basil seems to need something, but I'm not sure if lack of rain would make the leaves turn purplish.)

So it's interesting that this coming Sunday's gospel reading is the story from Mark 4 where Jesus calms the waves during a big storm. It seems a bit ironic, since around here, most folks seem to be hoping for a bit of a storm! It's an interesting twist on the old metaphors--usually we think of storms as times of trial, things to be avoided--but sometimes a good storm is what you need.

I'm not sure if any of this will affect my preaching this week. We'll see.

~Pastor Sarah

Brief report on Synod Assembly

There are lots of things I could say about this year's synod assembly. The worship, as usual, was magnificent and well thought-out. The workshops were good. The dorm rooms have not gotten any better since I left college (although the food was good). And being on the election committee... was probably an honor or something, but it was mostly pretty tedious.

Instead, I think I'll describe one image that I want to take with me. Most people would not be surprised to learn that most of the debate was around the upcoming proposed social statement on human sexuality and related documents. (If you haven't read it, by the way, I recommend that you do. Not just the resolutions, either. The whole thing. There are some helpful FAQs as well.) Not surprisingly, there was a lot of sincere emotion on both "sides" of the debate.

However, at the banquet on Saturday night, I saw people who spoke strongly for certain hotly-debated resolutions and people who spoke strongly against those resolutions--and they were sitting at the same table. If that can still happen, then maybe God is still working here, after all!

(P.S. If you're interested in the other business that happened at the assembly, another synod pastor made a post about the bishop election, and why it matters.)

~Pastor Sarah

Random commentary from assembly

By a strange coincidence, the fringe on the green stole worn by presiding bishop Mark Hanson at opening worship exactly matches the color of our mission trip registration forms. Coincidence...or perhaps a sign? (As in, "a sign that I have mission trip registration on the brain".)

~Pastor Sarah

Assembly bound

By the time this post automatically publishes (coolest invention ever), I will be on my way to synod assembly at Gustavus Adolphus. I have fond memories of Gustavus, which was my second choice (after Kenyon, which won out), and probably would've been my first choice if I had known I was going to go into physics. I got a fantastic education in the Kenyon physics department, but I can't help but wonder what it would have been like!

Aside from having to get up way too early to get there, I am looking forward to synod assembly. It's a great opportunity to meet up with old friends, and maybe make some new ones. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll have internet access, even. (I'm not making any promises.)

~Pastor Sarah