Time to Celebrate: Vulnerability & Ministry

(aka, LNPC State of the Union)

Mark 1:29-39

Nine years ago on Pentecost Sunday, we pulled out a big piece of chart paper in worship, and we asked ourselves a question together, that it was a new one for us.  The question led to a kind of a counting exercise.  

In a world of measuring and comparing, churches have felt compelled to calculate how successful they are by what some call, “butts and bucks,” that is, they count butts in the pews and bucks in the bank.  If their attendance is climbing and their financials look good, then they must be doing well. 

But Church isn’t a business we are building and it isn’t somewhere we go. It’s who we are. So on that day nine years ago we asked ourselves a different question, How are we being church?  and we started counting people.

We began by counting the obvious – butts in the pews.  Then we thought of some of the groups that used our space and counted them. We branched out and counted the Meals on Wheels volunteers and the people they delivered food to.  We counted the place we volunteered to serve meals and the people we serve them to.  Then we hit a kind of lull, and there was a pause.

And then someone said, “Dee has keys to all her neighbor’s houses, she lets their dogs out and maintenance people in.” Aaah. So we counted Dee, and her neighbors, and the kids she watched over on the bus stop corner every morning, and then the floodgates opened. Meals for a neighbor who was sick with cancer. Rides to treatment.  Tea with a lonely neighbor. A congregation on the other side of the country using a prayer practice we’d developed, we were on a roll.  It was a lucky month to do this in, because General Assembly was in town with a couple thousand Presbyterians in attendance, and our PW had sewn waterfall banners to be hung around a labyrinth there, and our worship team had set up a prayer chapel for the delegates to find respite in the midst of their work.  So when all was said and done, we had, in one month, well over three thousand people that we counted as “being church.”

It was an eye-opening, life-changing moment for our congregation, because it helped us to see that God was doing something here, right now, and we were already participating.

Comparing ourselves to bigger, more “successful” churches with extensive children’s programs and way more butts and bucks, or looking back longingly at the days we more closely resembled those churches, was missing where Jesus was: Here. Now. Instead, we suddenly discovered the gratitude, energy and calling of paying attention to who we already are, where God is already ministering in and through us, and joining in on that ministry on purpose.

It’s nine years later, and I want to bring you back to that focus today.

You all are followers of Jesus, trusters of God, participants in Love. You know that about yourselves, we remind each other of that, we look for ways to join in. That is Church. You are Church. It’s who you are.  Today is for celebrating that.

In our scripture today, Jesus had recently called the disciples to follow him.  The time is right now, he says, the kingdom of God is here, wrap your mind around this and trust in it. Join me and be part of it with me.

But if you were one the disciples that had walked away from your father and fishing business and thought you were going to go adventuring far away, you would be mistaken. Because almost the very next stop on this journey was back home to Peter’s house. 

His mother-in-law was very sick. As soon as Jesus got there they told him about her and he went and took her by the hand and she stood up and was healed.

Where Jesus goes, healing happens. And he begins in our ordinary lives and our own vulnerability. It starts with sharing our own needs and worries and joys, with seeing people and being willing to be seen.

And then the whole town arrives on the doorstep. With Jesus, the sick and demon-possessed are not hidden away somewhere else.  When Jesus shows up, the most vulnerable are brought out of hiding to the center of the community.

And the vulnerable become ministers.  When Peter’s mother in law was healed she got up from bed and reached out to serve them. They didn’t ask her to, she just did it; because in the Kingdom of God we all have a part to play in both receiving and in giving.

You, Lake Nokomis, disciples of Jesus, welcome the vulnerable to the center of the community, and you invite everyone to both receive and give. 

The disciples are about to discover, when Jesus hustles them right out of town and onto the next place, that they are not about to build a career right here at home dispensing Christ’s ministry to others, just like pastors are not actually the main ministers, and church buildings are not the main place ministry happens.  The disciples are called to invite and empower others to do it, because everyone is a minister, and our whole lives are for ministry. We are all meant to receive and to give ministry.

This kind of receiving and giving, this life of ministry, requires courage and vulnerability, which always go hand in hand.  Brene Brown found in her research with over 2,000 people, that no experience of courage ever comes without vulnerability.  

One of the most powerful moments of courage and vulnerability I have ever witnessed happened this year through you.  Marty had been ordained the year before to a Ministry of Dying – and in his vulnerability became a minister to the rest of us.

The moment I am thinking of happened at his Goodbye Service in March.  Just before the service began, Marty told me to please announce that he had been having stomach troubles during the day, and he may need to get up and go to the bathroom during the service, so that if that happened people could just sit tight and pause the service until he returned.

The courageous and deeply vulnerable act of admitting this and not hiding his weakness, and then asking me to tell everyone, and then when I did, feeling the whole room immediately move into that space on the other side of courage where things that scare us become no big deal, was astounding to me.

And then, we all got vulnerable and brave together.  We said outloud that Marty was dying, and it felt so awful and helpless, all of us crying through “what a wonderful world,” that I thought I might not make it, to be honest. 

We tell ourselves that being vulnerable can kill us.  But we stuck it out.  And when the song ended, we were all still sitting there, perfectly alive, with our wadded-up tissues in our hands. We had made it to that space on the other side of courage, and there fearlessness, humor, joy, and even peace, filled us and held us as we shared stories of Marty’s life.

Through courage and vulnerability, we entered into the Kingdom of God, where love is the biggest and truest thing, and all of the demons and ailments that keep us from real life are rendered powerless.  And his friends came there with us! Like the whole village gathered in the doorway that night at Peter’s house to watch what Jesus can do. 

In this community the vulnerable are ministers. 

Children are ministers.  Shy people are ministers.  Artists are ministers, and people with dementia are ministers. In this community the grieving are ministers and the rejoicing are ministers, those who feel settled and sure, and those in upheaval and transition are ministers.  Those of us with extra time on our hands, and those without a second to spare are all ministers.  Those in the prime of their lives and those who know their deaths are near are ministers.  Because we are all vulnerable, and we can be brave together, to bear each other’s burdens and share each other’s joys, and go out from here into our lives to do the same in the world. That is ministry. And we are all ministers. 

On the disciples’ first big gig, things went late into the night, with everyone gathered around watching Jesus do his thing.  But when the disciples woke up the next morning, Jesus was gone.  They hunted for him everywhere – is he in the bathroom? Did he go for a coffee?

No - went away to rest and pray alone.

This is the inhale to ministry’s exhale.  And we are learning it too – we call it Sabbath.  When we practice stepping away to rest and refill, to reconnect with God so we can reconnect with each other, we’re learning how to inhale so we can exhale.  

This makes no sense in a world, or a church, that wants to keep exhaling all the time, do more, help more, save more, say more.

But Jesus never hesitated to step away. 

This is God’s show, God’s world, God’s ministry we are sharing in.  Keeping it all going is not our job. The main thing here is love, and God is moving everything in that direction. Our job is to stay human, to come back to whose we are and who we are.  And then our job is to seek Jesus and join him in that love.

On Saturday Evenings you come in here with your babies and your worries and you set them down and let the music and the candlelight hold you.  You let yourself pray in whatever ways you feel led.  You inhale.  Meals to new parents, Prayer for the Nation, two Sundays a month to stop and be, we have woven it into our life together – watching for ways to inhale, and helping each other inhale too.

But the disciples don’t quite get it yet, so they hunt him down and throw a fit at him for disappearing right when things were going gangbusters.  Everyone is looking for you!  Because, of course, Jesus should stay put and set up shop, right? Build some pews and put butts to count in them? Establish a successful healing and demon-casting out business that grows bigger every year? People will come from miles around! 

But this isn’t about something you can build, compare and measure; this is about participating in the Kingdom of God. The whole village is now filled with ministers. So it’s time to go invite others into this reality too.

Here’s the thing, it simply will not work to try to make Jesus stay in the last place he brought healing and hope to continue doing the same thing in the same way. 

So often the church looks back and says, That was amazing! That is who we will be from now on! And then we try to recapture the magic, and bottle the formula, and sell enough of that idea or program to at least break even.  Everyone is looking for you, Jesus, where did you go? Come back to where we are!

But Jesus doesn’t play that game – he’s on the move!  And so we have to keep asking – Where are you now, Lord? What are you doing in our lives right now, God? What are you doing in and through this community right now? Where are we being called to join you in the world right now?

Already in this new year, your session has spent upwards of 15 hours in discernment together, asking those questions, seeking God’s will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. And on the other side of this process came the gratitude, energy and confidence that God is calling us this year to deeper caring, sharing and community, in three ways:

The first is in our area of WORSHIP:

Worship returns us to trust in God, and reconnects us in belonging to others. It turns out that this practice we’ve been doing of giving 10% of our income to other expressions of God’s ministry in the world is significant and transformative, and can be an act of true worship. We believe God is calling us to deepen our tithing practice - there is much more potential there than we have realized, acknowledged, or tapped into.  How can we connect more with the communities we are giving to?  How can the tithe money be merely the “practice run” that opens us to deeper ministry with and alongside others in the world?  How can we share more widely as a congregation the joy of choosing recipients and giving?  How might God use this act of tithing to continue to change us and call us to generosity in our own lives, opening our hearts more widely to trusting God and belonging to others?

The second calling is in our HOSPITALITY:

Providing a place of hospitality and a community of welcome is central to our calling right now. Session believes God is calling us to invest in this building as an important resource for ministry. Our building has more groups meeting in it than ever, but the roof will need to be replaced soon, and for decades we’ve lamented inaccessible bathrooms, and gathering room doorways too narrow to fit a wheelchair through.  More than a decade ago, the lack of an elevator is all that kept us from housing after school tutoring program, and without one now our space is a barrier to people and groups fully participating in activities here.  Session determined that it is time to begin dreaming and planning for the future ministry in this place, by beginning a capital campaign to upgrade and improve the building.  How can we prepare for who God wants to bring to this place and be ready for the ministry God will do here?

The third calling is, of course, our SABBATH calling:

God is calling us to deeper connection through Sabbath, and particularly this year, through Sabbatical – it’s the inhale that fuels the exhale of ministry.  It’s meant to reground us and reconnect us to God and to each other. As we ponder the three months we have set aside for this, the question to you all is, What would make your hearts sing?

While my family and I are off inhaling and heartsinging, you will be here with each other doing the same.  Today in our annual meeting, you will get to do some initial brainstorming about that. What would feed this community with play, fun rest?  What might deepen your relationships with each other and grow your trust in God’s care? How can you use those three months for renewal and joy?  Really taking this time to inhale as a congregation makes us ready for all that God wants to do in and through us as ministers!

We are not going to do a counting exercise today, because it turns out ministry is not an addition problem that originates with us, it’s multiplication that begins in God, and spreads infinitely through our lives, always inviting us to join Jesus where he is right here and now.  It can only be measured in, of all things, fruit – like joy and peace and patience, generosity and kindness.  And it is encountered in the intangible but most real things, like vulnerability and courage, inhaling and exhaling, trust, and love. The disciples in our story today are just are beginning to learn that, and we are learning it to.

So let’s celebrate today, Church! Let’s share the stories of where God is already ministering in and through us, and let’s join in the Kingdom of God on purpose once again! 

(PS - Perhaps many of you might not think of annual reports as particularly interesting, let alone utterly delightful documents. But I will tell you, this year, our annual report is utterly delightful. Because in addition to sharing some of the ways we are joining Jesus in ministry, it has messages from some of the people who have gathered in the doorway. 

There is a message from a pastor in New Zealand who came to learn from us, an author who wrote about Sabbath and included our story, and a few of the folks who use this building for ministry we might never see.  There are stories about our “Pentecost Practice-run” inspiring the same in Central, and maybe even another one in England!  Prayers we’ve written spread far and wide, and thank you notes came back to us from people in the places we’ve tithed.  When you live in the way of love and trust, it draws others to be part of the Kingdom of God too. Read the report. You'll love it.).

LNPC 2017 ANNUAL REPORT

Dear Congregation...

(Pastor's Annual Report for Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church)

Sunlight streaming in the glass wall between us and the lake, we were sitting in the library of St. John’s Abbey, pondering, What describes our life together right now? We had all just shared what characterized our own personal lives, the themes we were seeing unfold this year for each of us, and now our attention had turned to LNPC.
What is God doing in and through us in this chapter? 
How is God leading us to respond? we wondered.

Every year the leadership team of LNPC goes on a retreat to discern and plan for the next year.  This year the stories that came out were about new babies and new visitors, about Marty’s illness and our longing to care for him well, about some of our older members moving out of their homes.  We began to envision ourselves as a circle, like a donut, the community forming a loving and protective ring, with our most vulnerable members in the middle as our center, our guides in ministry.  And some of those who used to be in the center, we noted, like our younger members, were now moving to the outside. They were able to help care for others and take on expanding roles and leadership, while some who had been strong for others now shifted into the center where they could be held by the rest of us with attention and compassion.  This flowing shape of movement, change, strength, vulnerability, care and hope was a vision we all shared, and what we felt described who we were called to be this year as a congregation.

I love looking back on that day, and seeing that indeed, we’ve lived into that calling this year.  Caring for one another in our vulnerability, belonging to one another and to God – being the people who define ourselves that way and practicing it with each other- has been the focus of our life this year, the shape of our hospitality.

So, now to the question I asked each of you to answer...

How have I experienced God this year?

I personally experienced God profoundly in the care of the congregation when I was laid up for two weeks after foot surgery: prayers, cards, visits, food…  It’s excruciating for me to feel helpless; I am much more comfortable giving than receiving. This was a beautiful learning and growing experience for me, and a chance to glimpse church from another angle. Thank you.

When we gathered around Marty on Palm Sunday and laid our hands on him (a ring of children touching Marty and the rest of us surrounding them), and commissioned him to a Ministry of Dying, I felt God’s presence.  I continue to experience God in Marty’s ongoing courage to share honestly with us his journey of dying, and his willingness to allow us to be in it alongside him as it unfolds.  He is teaching us how to live even as he is facing death.  I am so grateful for Marty, his strong and gentle spirit, and his desire to live fully and wholly.

Marty on election day,
showing off his collection of
campaign pins from the past

I experienced God in Lee Widga’s funeral – which felt in some ways like the end of an era, a generation that has shaped this congregation with love and tenderness, handing it on to those who are to come.  The patterned dishes his beloved Agnes helped pick out decades ago and the silver tea set were used to host his funeral, the way Agnes had hosted for so many others, for so many years.  God’s faithfulness glimpsed through the light of Lee’s life.  It was a holy day.

I experienced God in the vibrant life and wiggly newness of this year – Helen's and Robby’s baptisms, Baby Louisa’s birth, Jonathan, Brittney and Laurel Anne’s joining, the cohort of tinies and their parents that have made us their community of worship: Helen, Ava, Laurel, Ben, Robby, Svea, Louisa: This is your church, little ones, and we are so blessed to be your people of hope and faith!

I experienced God in our Saturday services, worship designed to give space and rest for prayer and connecting with God.  As a pastor, I am trained to help shape people’s beliefs and thinking about God, (and I do love preaching)! But in these services, it’s my job to hold the space and get out of the way, letting God encounter each person however they need to be met.  That takes courage, and trust that the Holy Spirit is the one who mediates our encounter with God (not the pastor!), which I believe, but it makes me practice and renew that belief on a regular basis.  Every time, I am humbled and grateful, and reminded that when we stop, God will meet us. This is true.

I experienced God this year in the “milestones” times in Sunday worship, sharing the ordinary, notable moments of our lives with each other, and in the prayers, being able to hold each other’s grief and joy, and lift up our prayer for the world in a way that feels shared and powerful.  We are not alone.  And again, God is right here.

I experienced God in Sunday school with our kids, who, in case you didn’t know, are paying attention to life and God and questions.  And I get to sit in that with them, and we wonder together, and explore together, and think about how we are going to teach you grown ups the things we are wondering about and exploring each week.  That is a gift.

            I experienced God in the way the community has supported and empowered me to share our life and learnings with others.  I led a marriage seminar with Andy in Michigan in February, led worship for a Pastor Sabbath event in Kansas City in April, and was the keynote speaker for another Sabbath event in October.  In November I served as a Spiritual Director at an annual youth ministry conference, doing one-on-one what I see my role in ministry as with our whole congregation, that is, noticing together what God is up to in our lives and in the world, and seeking to join in.  Every year when I do this, I feel regrounded in my calling and strengthened for my work with you.  I also led a Sabbath workshop there that was attended by forty-some tired pastors and youth leaders, who left feeling hopeful and inspired by the stories of our life together.  I wish so much that you all could see the ways God is using you in the larger church to bring a message of restoration to so many other congregations and individuals.  Our life together is more unique than you may realize, and people are hungry for experiences of rest, belonging, and trusting in the Way of God instead of the Way of Fear. 

Our story was shared by the Duke Journal of Leadership, Word and World Journal, and Horizon’s Magazine, including visits from a reporter and photographer for a few weeks.  I coached two other pastors through beginning their own Sabbath pattern in their congregations, and gave ongoing advice and direction to a pastor and D.Min. student designing a Sabbath retreat component to congregational ministry with parents and children in his large congregation.  Session recognized these things as an extension of LNPC’s ministry and my own calling, and shifted my job description in October to begin formally including 10 hours a week on “special projects,” with the front and center goal for now being to write a book.  I want to tell you I have begun this, and it is really hard, and I am really grateful for the encouragement and accountability the elders are giving me.

 I experienced God in the many ways other people and communities intersected with us this year.  We joined with six other South Minneapolis congregations to host a racism workshop by Penumbra Theatre company, (a follow-up to our series in Lent on racism), and hosted a half-day grief workshop for the community with Beth Slevcove, author of Broken Hallelujahs.  Iris Logan’s mosaic

Westminster's Day Camp!

pieces and Anne Tiller’s quilts provided the backdrop for so much joy and life within the walls we share.  Westminster’s children flooded our space with songs, games, and stories for their weeklong summer camp (And even though Westminster’s building construction will be finished then, they want to come back next year!).  The young people from St. Joe’s came over for Movie Camp for the 6^th delightful year, finding themselves and their world within the parables of Jesus.  Did you know a whole class of spiritual directors from Sacred Ground were trained in our space this year?  And that classes for women coming out of prostitution were held here too? Did you know that La Leche League has been gathering in our building for years and years, and every Tuesday I get to see new little babies come through our doors?  Did you know that a spiritual director meets with clients upstairs, actors practice in the basement, Girl Scouts gather here, and there are so many other people we never see, who think of our space as their own place of sanctuary, learning, support and hospitality?  Speaking of this, I am so thankful for Central Fellowship and for Iglesia Fuego Pentecostes, for whom we get to provide space to gather as church, and with whom we share trust in God’s love and a calling to love others with unrelenting faithfulness.  Gorgeous.

Of course, one amazing way I experienced God this year was through Lisa’s own journey of discernment and eventually ordination to Minister of Word and Sacrament, where another one of our crazy “what if…?”s became a reality.  Not daunted in the least by a financial barrier, session moved forward in trust with what they knew God to be calling us to, and the money followed.  And we got to hold this enormous party, welcoming friends from around the country to celebrate with us what we experienced all along but now made official: Lisa is a pastor to this community.  I say it every year, but I am grateful beyond words for her collaboration, creativity, and depth of care for this community. 

When Dee had to move to assisted living, the community rallied, visited, brought housewarming gifts and treats.  Dick hung pictures and Sue drove over some furniture.  Lisa supported Dee’s niece, Kathy, as she did the hard work of getting Dee to accept a new home, and even though it wasn’t easy, it was a good thing. 

Visits with those who can’t come to worship have been lovely.  Remember when we tried to sneak a visit in on Lee, but he was such an avid internet guy at 95 that he’d read the announcements and knew ahead of time that we were coming, and told us when we got there that we were an hour early?  And not just visiting, but all those who drive with others, picking folks up for worship and special events! I experience God in all the ways this community is in it together – meals, prayers, cards, calls, chomping at the bit for a turn to pay for housekeeping for Marty – you all love each other so well and it is beautiful to behold.

I experienced God in our garden blessing for St. Joseph’s Home for Children at the end of May and our neighborhood prayer walk service in July, moments of recognizing God’s presence and sharing God’s blessing in the world around us.  

And what great conversations we have!  From our chatty Coffee and Donuts with the Pastor, to PW’s theological digging around the women of the Bible over yummy cakes, to Adult Ed discussions, Connections monthly gatherings at Fireroast Café, and our summer Home Church services, we find solidarity, learning and support with each other in conversation. We are lively talkers.

I experience God in the generosity and faithfulness with which LNPC handles money.  Did you know that, between our monthly tithes and our monthly food shelf giving, (which alone totaled $4000) when the year is out this little congregation (with a 2016 budget of $160,000) will have given over $20,000 to other small, shoestring ministries, organizations and congregations this year?  The thank you notes we get back tell stories of God’s ministry unfolding all over our city and country, and we get to be part of that! At the same time, others are part of what God is doing in and through us – Westminster, in particular, continues to be a huge cheerleader and financial supporter of us.  We all belong to each other, and it’s all God’s ministry; we are the grateful, joyful participants.  

And did I mention yet the wisdom and thoughtfulness of your session? Discerning and intentional, we had some deeply memorable experiences together this year – particularly I am grateful for our meetings with Brittney and Jonathan, and Chris and Jen.  Bearing each other’s joy and pain, your leaders are leading with integrity, insight and compassion.

I experience God through those who sneak in and do things around the building to make it more hospitable for others – Gary repairs things regularly and Kathy keeps things clean. Folks from Fuego Pentecostes come in early Sunday mornings and scrub down the basement, then go home and change into church clothes and come back in the afternoon.  Remember on Palm Sunday, when we arrived and the glass front door had been smashed? The police with their dog checked out the building, then, during Sunday school a few people swept up glass, a few more built a temporary wooden replacement, another person called a glass repair shop and by that afternoon the door was good as new.  Every week Linnea and Jose change the sign, and they serve as hosts to parties that rent the basement on weekend evenings.   Linda D. has slipped in countless times and sorted and organized choral music. The water cooler gets magically filled, the coffee cups in the gathering room get washed from time to time, the sanctuary gets decorated, the communion bread gets baked, the front walk gets shoveled, and it’s not always the same person!  What an impact those with quiet gifts and hidden blessings have on our community.  “We all share responsibility for the ministry of the church” is one of our guiding convictions, and I witness this in action all the time.

I experience God in the unexpected moments that spring up out of nowhere.  On our family vacation to the Black Hills, I found myself on a side journey to visit Dick’s son’s grave, outside the former sanatorium where he lived as a child.  It was so moving, and a deep honor to pay respects there.  
A couple of weeks ago Jeanne and I found ourselves sharing conversation, soup and coffee with a homeless couple who had stopped by the church building.  They ended up keeping one of the crosses from our collection – a cross Barb Day had donated some time ago that said, “rooted in love,” that brought the woman great comfort to imagine carrying with her. When I emailed Barb in Florida and told her about this, she wept at the thought of that gift being a passed-along blessing to someone else.  I am telling you, we DO belong to God and we DO belong to each other, we humans, and that is not a shallow or simple thing.  It calls us to be deeply present, willing to suffer with each other and see each other, and willing to allow ourselves to be seen and known as well.  We meet Jesus, who is with and for us, when we are with and for each other.

In more ways than I could describe or count, I experienced God this year in our life together. We are not trying to be perfect, but to be present, to remember that we are free to be for one another and God.  And we learn from our missteps and keep adapting as we go, seeking always to keep asking, What is God doing now? And now? And what about now?

I am so grateful to be your pastor and co-journeyer in this messy and exquisite life of noticing God, following Jesus, and being with and for each other.

Here’s to another great year!

Kara

Thank you, Lake Nokomis Church

Every year I struggle to write my "annual report" for church.  This year, it suddenly stopped being hard when I realized I just really wanted to say "Thank you"...


Dear LNPC,

2013 marked my fifth year of sharing life and ministry with Lake Nokomis Presbyterian Church.  What a gift it has been to be on this journey together!   Stepping away for a three-month sabbatical gave me a chance to see you anew.  As I reflect on our year, I would like to share some observations and gratitude I have about you.

I am thankful for your bravery.

It’s quite something for a small congregation to send their pastor on a sabbatical and do most everything in-house.  You are a strong and wildly gifted bunch of folks, and a community that isn’t afraid to take risks.  You’re also brave in sharing real life with each other, in dreaming and in trying new things.  I can’t tell you how many times this year, upon hearing about the way we live out worship, hospitality and Sabbath, people have commented to me, with great respect in their voice, what a brave congregation you are.  And I whole-heartedly agree.

I am thankful for the way you welcome.

Young adults, retired adults, tiny babies and teens, busy children, tired parents, doting grandparents – you embrace each person where they are and appreciate the gifts they bring.  Everyone’s voice is respected and contribution is honored and celebrated. This is an incredible thing, and I am profoundly moved by it and grateful for it. 

This year we stood with so many as their journeys took them to new places.  We celebrated our graduates Lindsay (college), Maggie and Ben (high school) and Cyndi (seminary), we confirmed Ben and Andrew, and bid joyful and sorrowful goodbyes to Lee and Barb as they headed to Florida, and to Theresa on her move to Michigan, and blessed Cyndi as she was approved for ordination.  We baptized Soren, Svea and Sigrid, welcomed Andrea, Linnea, Jose and Will (this Sunday!) into membership, and honored the life of Sylvia with wonderful stories, laughter and tears.  And every week I watch you all warmly welcome one another, visitors and friends into this sacred space between us that the Spirit has shaped.  Thank you for receiving each other with an open heart.

I am thankful for your vulnerability.

‘nuff said.  It’s powerful.

I am thankful for your commitment and investment.

You are invest in each other, in this community. You stand by one another and keep showing up.  This is a defining mark of this congregation.

I am thankful for our little people, and the ways you support them.

LNPC continues to grow – we have begun to regularly have a dozen children in worship and Sunday school.  They have invaded our worship with joy and curiosity, and you have welcomed them with open arms. 

This year they have led us in worship by sharing their own learning every week, collecting for the food shelf, writing and leading offering prayers, sharing story on Christmas eve, guiding us through Advent with candle lighting and liturgy.  At LNPC children contribute with their artwork and singing, their prayers brought up and bravely shared right alongside adults’ and their small hands offering us communion.  Their insightful comments and happy contributions, tearful meltdowns and occasional giggly toddler laps around the sanctuary mid-sermon are all held in love by you.

Carolyn and Linnea shape Sunday school lessons that help our kids engage worship and encourage them to embrace their lives as part of God’s love in the world, and we get to hear about that from the children themselves.  For a short time this year we had a Church Nanny who supported parents and children in worship, but we unfortunately lost both Camille and our de facto children’s host Lee to out-of-state moves.   But we continue to adapt and embrace the changing needs and strengths of our congregation, and to be blessed by our children’s participation and leadership, even.  Watch in 2014 as they begin stepping into more roles, including ushering.

I am thankful for the care with which you tend our resources – our space and our gifts – both concrete and tangible, and what we each bring to the table. I spent some time on sabbatical in other church spaces, some of which clearly were filled with love and community like ours, but in need of some TLC.  It made me appreciate this about LNPC – you care for one another well, and take good care of that of we’ve been made stewards. 

In walking through our building, reflecting on our artist Mark’s basement studio, Field Regina Neighborhood Group’s office, the various yoga, women’s and parenting groups that meet in our space, Terry’s spiritual direction office “Storyteller’s Lodge," the times when our sanctuary hosted Trinity choir and orchestra concerts, the surprising number of community parties, and wedding and baby showers that fill Nokomis Hall and the many more incidents and ongoing experiences of offering our space to others, I recognize that sharing is important to us.  All this, and our building looks well cared-for, and looked after. 

Thanks to Kathy for that, and for all the countless volunteer hours people (like Dick and Gary and Aleta and many others) spend putzing on repairs and tidying up.  And to each person who pitches in on dishes or helps the kids’ straighten up, thank you.  We have a church building that feels like home. That’s part of our ministry of hospitality.

I am thankful for your flexibility and generosity.

These two things go hand in hand, and have to do with truly valuing one another.  You are great at adapting to the situation and the need.  Whether it is pulling out soup and bread for an impromptu meal, taking a baby into your arms to give a dad or mom or grandma a break, watching big sister when little sister gets hurt and needs help, giving each other rides, subbing for Meals on Wheels, offering a helping hand, you are a congregation that is willing to bend preset plans in order to stay true to one another in the moment.

I am thankful for your creativity.

Stunning handmade crafts, jams and banners, music and visual art, delicious food, and an eye for beauty and delight in life shines through at LNPC.  From our Lenten journey to the cross with candles and flowers to our Advent stars hanging from the ceiling, our stylish photo directories (Thanks, Ani!) and the lessons the children gave us in tokens and handouts, creativity enlivened our life together this year.

I am thankful for your resourcefulness.

LNPC operates on a shoestring found for a steal at Savers and spruced up with handmade embroidery.  This year you did great things with great resourcefulness; you specialize in homegrown and elbow grease!  I returned from sabbatical to find a brand new paved area in front of the church with a bike rack and public garbage can, beautifully installed by members and paid for by a grant. 

People contribute from their strengths and joy and generosity – garden planting, snow shoveling, inspiring children, preaching, praying, leading conversations in adult education, number-crunching, making music, listening, feeding kids from St. Joe’s at Movie Camp and people of all ages at Ham and Cherry Pie Dinner, secretly cleaning and organizing the nursery, collecting and sharing food and money for the food shelf or a friend of the congregation, visiting with each other, donating diapers, pitching in to cover unexpected expenses like boiler repair or sidewalk assessment,  leading liturgy, and turning strangers into friends.  You used what you have, and brought who you are, to being church together.   Thank you.

You give to others without knowing it.

The space of QuietWednesdays became a holy gift every week to a friend of the congregation who slipped in and spent hours in peace.  The service of blessing we shaped for twin babies embraced a neighborhood family in love.  I received inquiries about our worship and life together and shared what we’ve learned with congregations in Delaware, New Jersey, California, Georgia and Kansas.  We’ve been asked to share our story at a conference this coming March, to help congregations seeking inspiration and new vitality, and have been written about in several more articles this year.  The sabbatical task force is finding itself a source of encouragement and learning for several congregations on the brink of their own sabbaticals.  I have heard countless comments from visitors about the warmth of their welcome, and the inspiring way children are involved and empowered in our worship.  Our life together is a gift, and God uses it to bless others.

I am thankful for your questions.

For a whole three months this year, you sat in questions.  Where was I surprised by God this week? Where do I need rest?  In Lent you pondered what it is to confess.  We wondered through Advent and sat in the wonder at Christmas.  The children in Sunday school and adults in Adult Ed press into questions again and again without hesitation.  You are honest and willing to engage life thoughtfully and intentionally.  Faith is not a pat answer for LNPC, it’s a real journey of trust, and your questions keep opening us to the Spirit’s activity in our lives and helping us search for and join in God’s mission in the world.  Thank you.

I am thankful for your passion.

This little congregation is filled with people faithfully joining Jesus’ love in the world in inspiring ways.  We support each other in our causes and journeys, from Ben’s work helping congregations become more open and affirming of all and Carolyn’s work supporting women caught in domestic violence to Sue’s fiber and visual art and the amazing grandparenting regularly in our midst.  People at LNPC pour themselves into their lives with enthusiasm and gratitude, and share their passions with all of us, which inspires each of us in our own living.  Whether in adult ed, session meetings or coffee hour, there is no shortage of lively discussion and thought-provoking disagreement, ready laughter and dedicated listening.  PW Christmas party games, donuts with Dick and Jan, starry night walks on retreats, pie at Movie Night, and goodbye blessings all shared LNPC’s spirit of life and joy, and the desire that what we do matter.  I love how passionate you are.

I am thankful for the space you gave me.

It was incredibly difficult to step away from you for three months. The first ten days were easy – a breeze, really! - but after that it was hard.  You respected the space we had set up – I didn’t get a phone call, an email, a message of any kind for three months.  For twelve weeks I imagined you bobbing on a boat far out in the sea, sails open, merrily on your own, held by God and holding me in prayer.  For twelve weeks I sat in the expansive space held by God and you, and grew in trust, strength and peace.  I felt myself filling back up, rejuvenating, exploring my creative side, feeding my intellectual side, stretching my spontaneity muscles and letting them lead.  I got to rediscover presence –with my children, with Andy, with myself and with God.  I slowed way down, and came back to you awake and present.   I might have caved had you not been so gracious and firm about the boundaries of sabbatical.  Thank you.

I am thankful for your wisdom and realism.

This year LNPC has been facing facts about finances, seeking with transparency and practical approaches (cutting expenses and beginning to explore alternate forms of funding) to move into the future faithfully.  We begin 2014 with a strong commitment to strengthening our financial life. 

You’re good at knowing when to say yes, and ok with saying no.  This year we recognized the gift Saturday meals had been to the congregation under Cyndi’s leadership, and for a time many others stepped in to make meals to be shared.  We also recognized when they had run their course and that it was ok to let them go.  Then we were able to make meals on Saturdays for special events and as specific times of hospitality- a guest preacher, a goodbye party, a welcoming back of old friends. 

It is not easy staying in touch with where things are and being willing to respond in the present- far easier to fall back on “tradition” or be compelled by obligation.  You are honest and willing to talk about hard things, and it makes what we do continue to have meaning and significance. Thank you.

You understand God’s ministry and God’s Church to be far broader than ourselves.

This year we invited the possibility of sharing space and worship with Familia de Fe, and this opened up rich and challenging discussion about who we are, how we can best share what we have, and what it means to be church. Ultimately, they decided to nest elsewhere, but I was grateful for the discernment and intentionality that went into the beginning of that conversation.

We shared Family Camp this summer with Humble Walk Church at Bay Lake Camp.  The LNPC contingent was outnumbered three-to-one children-to-adults, and we had a wonderful long weekend with grandparents, parents and children, playing, praying, singing and swimming (with Barb Day leading the fishing crew). S’mores were consumed and skits were performed and it was the beginning of a much-anticipated annual summer tradition.

Four times a year we share worship at St. Joseph’s Home for Children.  Every time we go, we come away in gratitude and awe for the ways we experience God in sharing worship with them.  Most notably this last time, two young people asked for one on one prayer and conversation, and we frequently hear from staff how meaningful it is to them as well.  Our annual Movie Camp experience – led by Dean and Kirsten Seal and assisted by Westminster- has continued to be a simple and powerful way God uses LNPC in people’s lives.

I have served this year on an Administrative Commission to a congregation seeking to leave our denomination.  It is our life together that has given me words and prayers to shape our time in these sometimes very difficult meetings.  Despite differences that will ultimately divide us, we have found common faith and hope and the ability to appreciate each other’s humanity and faith in Christ.  It was a profound gift when the team from the departing church asked if they could lay hands on me and bless me as I set out on my sabbatical.  I have felt strengthened by our work together in compassionate communication at LNPC and the mission of hospitality that compels us to truly seek to know and be known.  It has shone a light into this conflict and kept us connected with these sisters and brothers in Christ.

This year I led two workshops on Sabbath at Luther Seminary’s Convocation in February, and Sue and Carolyn helped me set the space and share the story of our journey in tangible ways.  I also shared about Sabbath rest with a group of MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) in Owatanna and a Women’s group at Knox Church just up the street.  We continued our (now) tradition of a joint Ash Wednesday service with Edgcumbe Church, practiced writing and sharing our stories in a Lenten writing workshop with Marie Theilen, cooked and served meals at Our Saviour’s Housing, welcomed Boy Scouts from Texas and North Carolina to camp out in our building, and welcomed a new generation of servers and kitchen assistants to our 78^th Annual Ham & Cherry Pie Dinner. 

From supporting ARCretreat center and Tapestry Family Center to welcoming the baptismal class of Judson Memorial Baptist Church to talk faith with our confirmands, Diane walking in the TRUST Parish Nursing Fundraiser to Dee walking neighbors’ dogs- the ministry of God is relentlessly drawing us into the world in love and service to others, and LNPC helps us see and participate in God’s call – both together as a community and individually in all the many ways we are beckoned.  We are connected to all that God is doing in the world, and get to see that unfold in each other’s lives.  You live this out faithfully.  That is a true gift!

Thank you for a great year of worship, hospitality and sabbath together!

Kara