Long Time, No "C"

You see, I have been very busy with parish business lately. I have been to Wilmar, to the Junior High Youth Gathering, and I have been all over the parish, looking after people in need, and doing my best my best at being a pastor for these people. I also had to fill-in for Pastor Mark when he was needed suddenly to see a parishioner in a Sioux Falls hospital after he was found to have a heart aneurysm, and I have been up to Slayton to visit a man who has been a long time member of First Lutheran, but is now living in a nursing home twenty miles away and is feeling a little lonely. That, along with writing and giving sermons and leading worship have kept me pretty well involved in parish work.

In the meantime, there have been things that have been lots of fun. For instance, ( Notice, that is the first "c" in this whole post, hence the title. I figured one whole paragraph was long enough.) at the Junior High Youth Gathering some of the kids decided to have their hair dyed at the play beauty salon. Of course, none of them wanted a "normal" hair color, no, Kenny went with pink and Rachel went with purple with gold glitter. Perfect. There was also a rock band that the kids had the good sense not to enjoy, and some very good speakers that the kids had the good sense to listen to. All in all, I was impressed with the theological interest of these Jr. Hi kids, and impressed that their questions were both pertinent and thought provoking. I think when I was a kid in Jr. Hi, my interest was pretty much limited to music and trying not to get beat up by the school bullies. I wonder which of these young theologians will hear the call of the Holy Spirit to go to seminary?

For Thanksgiving I had two services to do, one on Sunday the 23rd and on on Wednesday the 26th. Both were fun, and both involved other pastors besides me. The one on Sunday was at First Lutheran, and was co-led by Pastor Mark and me. He had me preach so that he could have an opportunity to listen to me. The one on Wednesday the 26th was in Heron Lake at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and was an ecumenical service with Father Andrew Olson representing the Catholics, Dan Brewer representing the United Methodist Church of Heron Lake, and yours truly representing Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was fun, and Father Andrew was a gracious host, and a funny guy. Dan was fun, too, although Dan is kind of a quiet guy, and it takes a while for him to warm up to a situation and say something candid and funny. But once he gets going he's a riot. The service itself was fun, and afterward the Methodist women hosted the coffee hour with delicious goodies. It's a good thing I'm only here for a year, this area is trying to make me fat!

Now it's Advent, and things are not slowing down. As a matter of fact, things are picking up by a lot. Tomorrow night I have two mid-week Advent services, and for the next two weeks Anna and I will be singing in the Advent musical at two different churches. It will be fun, but it will also be busy. On Christmas Eve I will also have two churches to preach in, and after that, on December 28th I have two churches, plus Anna and I are hosting a holiday open house here at the parsonage. Feel free to drop by if you're in the area. It should be fun. In the meantime, as time allows, there is always calling on people to see how they are doing, checking up on the family across the street, where it appears that both adults have lost their jobs and are sliding into a depression that is affecting their son and dog negatively, and their is the couple down the street that are suffering with health issues. She needs a liver transplant and he is suffering from cancer. Still, in all of this, God remains faithful and just, gracious and merciful, and abounding in steadfast love. I hope you have a beautiful Christmas season. Enjoy Advent, keep your candles burning in anticipation of the coming Messiah, and stay close to those you love and cherish the time you have together. God be with you. Blogged by Don