youth ministry – Page 2 – Salvaged Faith

the world is my parish

Posted on February 28, 2011Leave a comment

Bishop Trimble recently reminded a group of young clergy that we are not appointed to congregations… we are appointed to communities.

It was something I had not really considered before he made that statement… and it was a refreshing thought.

In many ways, I had assumed that my ministry was both in my church and in the community that surrounds it. That’s kind of the way my missionally-minded brain works.

But since he spoke them out loud, I have really taken his words to heart and have felt emboldened in the work I do “out there.”

If I’m honest, it might be one of my favorite parts of my job.

Way back when… okay, only three or four years ago… wait… holy crap… seven or eight years ago!… I thought I was called to be a deacon. I felt that my ministry was as much about being out in the world as it ever was to be in a congregation. I heard God calling me to be a bridge between the church and the world. And that is the essence of what I understood the ministry of a deacon to be.

But then this little whisper started to tug at my soul. It was the sacraments. The bread and the wine and the water kept speaking to me. And then they took hold. My ministry might include the world… but God was also calling me to use the church as the vehicle of my ministry. God was calling me to break bread as much as he was calling me to break barriers.

Long story short… my journey has come full circle. I am now an ordained elder with sacramental authority AND I get to work in my community. God had a plan long before I could ever see it or understand it.

I’ve blogged before about my outreach and relationship building through funerals and weddings in the larger community. I have been the main organizer around the community worship in the park for the last two years – an amazing opportunity to share in worship with one another AND to share in the one loaf and the one cup.

What I have not done as well in my first three years of ministry was to get involved actively transforming the community. But this year, my work with youth got to me. I realized I had to go deeper to help them. And somehow I’m now on a school improvement advisory committee and hosting an ongoing conversation about how the community can better support and encourage our youth.

This work is so completely different from what I do on a day to day basis in the church. Much of that difference has to do with having the authority of a pastor.

My ministry in my congregation is ministry “with” not ministry “for.” I am not someone who throws around my weight… instead I see my role as empowering my people to do ministry themselves. I would rather work alongside my parishoners than lead them.

But in the community, the role of the pastor takes on a different flavor. As one youth parent said a couple of weeks ago, “When I go to the school office and talk about a problem, it’s more of the same. When Pastor Katie says something, they listen.”

To be honest, that authority scares me a little. But it is also exciting. God has put me in a place where I can speak on behalf of these parents and I have a powerful voice. God has put me in a place where I can make connections between people and provide a literal space for those new relationships. God has put me in a place where I have a real and tangible ability to make a difference.

Tonight, our little community group met again. And while the start of this journey is small and the momentum is slow, I can already sense the possibilities. I am energized by the true and living hope that God is doing something in Marengo. And I pray with thanksgiving that I get to be a part of that work.

youth group and hitler

Posted on February 9, 2011Leave a comment

I don’t have the energy or discipline required for 6-9th grade boys and girls. It is exhausting. But I love them, so every Wednesday night, we gather.
Tonight, with Valentine’s Day coming up I found this cheesy game in an email about collecting hearts and whoever gets the most wins and then some even more cheesier questions and love. But the follow-up scripture was a very familiar one that is dear to my heart:

You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength and with all of your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

So we played it. And it was kind of fun.But then it came the time to talk about it.

We got to talking about who our neighbors were. Were they just the old couple who lives next door? Or the cranky mom who won’t let us play basketball? Just people in our town? In our county? In our state? in the world?

In the way things do happen with this extremely talkative group (which was only boys by this point), we got to talking about “illegal immigrants” (I’m trying very hard to encourage folks to use the term undocumented… many of them actually did come here legally but circumstances have prevented them from going home, renewing visas, etc.) and “terrorists.”

We started asking whether it was fair to characterize a whole group of people.

We asked if people who do bad things deserve our hatred or our love if we are Christians.

We started wondering about how folks get to the point where they allow terrible things to happen in their own country, like people in Nazi Germany. We wondered if we would have stood up for our neighbors and faced prison and death on behalf of another person. Would we have gone along, or would we have sacrificed ourselves and our families?

Would we have tried to leave? Where would we have gone? Would we have entered a country illegally if we thought it was our only place of escape and refuge? Would people have welcomed us or turned us away? Where are the folks who come here coming from? Would they have come legally if they had the option?

We found ourselves ending with Deuteronomy 10

Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.

You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—
remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.
Reverently respect God, your God, serve him, hold tight to him,
back up your promises with the authority of his name.
He’s your praise! He’s your God!
He did all these tremendous, these staggering things
that you saw with your own eyes. (The Message, verses 14-21)

It was not at all where we thought the evening would end up… but these kids are smart. And when you can get them to talk one at a time, they have some fascinating things to say. My prayer is that they will go home and never look at their neighbors… the grumpy guy next door, or the strangers who live all around us, or the brothers and sisters we see on the television half way across the world… the same way again.

Being Honest about Weakness

Posted on October 20, 2010Leave a comment

Like any one of the rest of us, I have been blessed with particular gifts. I’m lucky enough to have answered a calling that uses those gifts almost every single day. I’m grateful for the opportunities that I have to serve and to put the skills God gave me to use.

But like any one of the rest of us, there are also things that I am not called to do.

I am not a details person. I can see the big picture and how things flow and can give a general impression about something… but I tend to leave out the small details that make the thing work.

I am not a confrontational person. I don’t see things in black and white, so it is very difficult for me to make another person aware that something is absolutely wrong. I see both sides of a situation. I understand where they are coming from. And that makes it awfully hard to say, “no,” at times. I do really well in groups… like standing up for injustice as a part of a crowd of others. But I’m not likely to be the person who is a lone voice in the crowd making the ruckus. Because I don’t think in black and white, I also don’t think with typical logic and have a hard time defending my thoughts. (the flip side of that, is that I’m a GREAT mediator)

And I am also not gifted/blessed with the skills for youth ministry.

I LOVE my youth. I adore them. They make me giggle and inspire me and some days downright confound me with the depth of their questions. They are some of the most energetic and crazy and rambunctious and interesting people I get to work with every day. But I am not built to be a youth leader.

I have done okay in the past. I manage to corral their energy. I have a lot of really helpful resources I have used… and some stuff that has not been so helpful. And the youth themselves have been great. But all along, I have been hoping, praying, waiting, searching, for someone who would hear the calling to help with the youth – someone who IS gifted and blessed in the particular ways that youth need.

We have to be honest about our weaknesses so that others are aware of where they are needed. If we never ask for help, we will never receive it.

So I asked. And I have been so excited this fall to have someone to work with… someone with experience with teenagers, with energy to match mine and theirs, with passion for making a difference in the lives of young people. This year is going to absolutely rock.

Working together as the body of Christ – allowing one another’s strengths to shine – can change the world. When we get out of the way in the places where we are weak, then we have the energy to do what we do best.

Gallup has done some work on leadership and claims the best leaders are the ones who are able to do what they do best every day. Their “strengths based leadership” tools help you to discover your particular strengths (or gifts in Christian language) and then to apply them to your work. Some churches have used this instead of spiritual gifts inventories to discover the best leaders and workers for the various ministries of their churches.

To be the body of Christ – we need to live out and embody those things we know and do best… but then we need to get out of the way. We need to let others teach us and help us. We need to give others a chance to lead. We need to practice saying, I need you.

That is a difficult thing to do in the middle of a rural German community. But it is what Christ calls us to. Get out of the way and let others do their work. Be honest about your weaknesses. Lend a hand when your gifts are called for. It is not a sign of failure… it is a sign of true community.

what I love… part 1

Posted on October 2, 2009Leave a comment

1) I love having someone (or some cat) to cuddle with. My cat curled up under the covers with me and I felt so loved
2) I love watching television and looking for the humanity and redemption in the characters.
3) I love it when someone cooks for me
4) I love eating dinner with friends/family around a table.

Every week, we go to my sister/brother-in-laws house and have dinner with them and our neice and nephew. We each bring something to the table. Tonight, we’re bringing the pizza bread and dessert and they are making homemade soup. We laugh, we talk about our weeks, we plan for our futures, we tease…

At least once a month, we gather around a table at my in-laws with the whole family for a meal. It’s usually the same thing – something off the grill, barbeque chicken, potatoes, green beans, and salad. It’s all simple food and it’s SO good. we do a lot of teasing and we play cards and we have a good time.

This week I had two other table meals. First for a funeral supper. And while I sat at a table with people who were strangers, by the time we left, we were acquainted. We talked about what a good man the gentleman who had died was. We talked about the food – and holy cow was that walnut nut cake GOOD! We talked about where we were from – and everyone was curious about who I was – how old I was – where I cam from.

Our other table meal was at the church. We are starting a new monthly tradition of a potluck during youth group time. And so around this table was some of our normal youth group crowd, plus parents and grandparents and other people from the congregation who just want to be there. And when we finished eating around that big huge table, we played games together.

What do I love about eating around a table? It’s eucharistic. We get to know one another better around the table. We have to look other people in the face. We talk. We share. We pass the plates and we pass stories. Especially when young and old, rich and poor, strangers and friends gather in one place there is a sense that without this larger community, we are nothing. We need one another. Our lives are incomplete – the table is incomplete – unless they are there.

Sometimes the table is awkward. Many times we do start as strangers. There were times during each of those last two meals I mentioned when there were silences we didn’t know how to fill, or clique conversations that left others out.

But there were also moments of pure grace and fellowship. An older gentleman who reconnected with a youth that hasn’t been in church for a few years. A beautiful woman who is 93 years old who wanted to send me one of her cookbooks – that she has handwritten. The congregation seeing glimpses of the lives of our young people and the ways that they take care of one another. Hearing hurts and pains – and knowing you were in a place safe enough to share them.

There is a reason that we gather at the table. There is a reason Christ gathered his disciples around a table. It is where community happens.

My husband and I rarely eat at the table. Dinner time comes at the same time some of our favorite shows are on and so we normally fill our plates and plop down on the couch together. And for some reason, to be honest, the table for just two seems pretty empty. But when we have friends over, we eat at the table. When family comes over, we eat at the table. And when our family gets bigger – eating at the table will be required =)

First Mission Trip

Posted on July 17, 20091 Comment

In about 20 hours, we leave for my first youth mission trip… as an adult that is. I’m excited, nervous, hoping I have all of my i’s dotted and t’s crossed, but I’m also absolutely positive that I have forgotten something major.

I’m not a details person. I am a big picture person. I am an optimist. And so I plan the big stuff and just pray the details sort themselves out. Which makes people crazy. Like my mom and husband in the weeks before our wedding. Or people at the church when a big event is coming up. The details are better left to other people. They aren’t my strength.

That being said – we are using group workcamps to do the details for us. They have given me a list. I think all my boxes are checked! I have things printed out and in a binder. I think I’m ready.

Now I just need your prayers. Prayers for safe driving… especially since it has been a while since I have driven a 15 passenger van. Prayers for our 5 kids and two adults going. Prayers for all of those we will serve this week. Prayers for the 100 people total who will be on the trip. Prayers for all of those who lead us. Keep praying!!!

the incredibleness of sms

Posted on June 27, 2009Leave a comment

I think I never realized how SMS really is impacting the world and has transformed how we communicate until I listened to this story a while back on NPR: Mobile Phones Do Much More Than Make Calls

In the phone calls that ensued on the show, people called in about living in a mud hut in Africa, but using a solar charger to keep her connected through cell phone with her daughter 100 miles away in the city. Or fishing off the coast of India and texting to the buyers on shore what the catch of the day was so that nothing went to waste.

I don’t think I realized how different SMS was than regular phone calls until last week when we literally had no coverage because the network was jammed with people stuck on the interstate due to flash flooding, but I could update my facebook status from SMS and people were sending back comments instantly.

There is something about the instantaneous nature of communication that is both really exciting and really troubling. Some of the comments had to do with how health workers were able to finally sync their data and know when outbreaks were occuring and then respond. But then others spoke about how dangerous it was to have locating technologies built into these same devices that made them increasingly vulnerable.

It is an amazing tool that connects us to one another, and yet 140 characters is also especially limiting. It has literally changed the way that we write and speak and SPELL! I am constantly amazed at how “what” is now spelled “wut” in my youth group’s correspondance to each other on facebook or even on papers they turn in to me. I wonder what kinds of hair-pulling frustration their English teachers are having.

There is also an expectation of always being connected – of having instantaneous response. If you send an email or a text message – you often hope the person is right there, ready to respond to get you the information you need. But at least mediums like twitter and facebook (and their SMS applications) have the benefit of responses from multiple directions. As an example – a pastor friend I know who was working on writing a funeral sermon for a tragic death of a young couple in a car accident connected quickly with colleagues to get some really helpful advice. Not everyone needed to respond instantly, but enough did.

But language changes, people adapt, and at the age of 27, I feel almost as if I’m on the brink of being an old-fogie. While I love my cell phone, I’m only just now figuring out how to take it with me everywhere. I’m quickly trying to figure out twitter, I’m staying connected with facebook, I’m building relationships through new medias, so I’m hoping that I have the skills I need to be an adapter and not someone who just grumbles at the changes happening. The key is to figure out what really is valuable about these new technologies (or in the case of SMS – new uses of technology) and still be able to critique the faults of the medium.

my very first confirmation class

Posted on June 2, 2009Leave a comment

Sunday morning our church witnessed seven young people profess their faith. They did so in song and in words and in jokes, in standing up before all of the church and their families. They were terrific.

Teaching confirmation has been a really exciting and a very strange experience. There is SO much that I want to share with them and yet I think I realized how much I have to learn about being a teacher – especially with young people. I was always someone who just took information in and wanted to learn more and more and more. It’s hard to remember that not everyone functions that way =)

My theology of teaching is to lead by example. I asked questions that “you’re not supposed to ask.” I made it okay to doubt things that I had said. I wanted to peak their interest by showing how excited I was about certain things. We used our cirriculum, but probably not as well as we could have. We used our mentors, but definately not as well as we should have. Both of those are pieces that I need to include better next time… because leading by example also means that it’s not just me doing the leading. I got to have a lot of personal time with the kids, but I really wish that we had the kids meet one on one with a single mentor throughout the entire process. I was trying to lure people to do it with the promise they only had to commit to one Sunday a month – and I think that all of us would have benefited from more regular contact.

Other than that, it was exciting to see the young people up there. It was exciting to help them share pieces of their story with others and to take leadership during worship. It was exciting to see the church supporting them the way that they did.

soil conservation

Posted on April 19, 2009Leave a comment

This morning, I preached a sermon on soil conservation.

Yah, it may seem like a strange topic – and definately not in line with any lectionary passages or a sermon series.

But this spring, I auctioned off a sermon during our youth fundraiser. And the winning bidder got to choose the topic or scripture for an upcoming sermon. Hence, the topic.

What I was blessed with was the resources this congregation member passed along. I learned all about the National Association of Conservation Districts and recieved their amazing church resource packet.

Because of a series we are starting next week on what it means to belong to the body of Christ, this was the weekened I chose to preach on the topic – but Stewardship Week actually kicks off NEXT Sunday – so I want to pass along the site for any who might be interested! HERE

For our worship, I talked about what it is that makes good soil – both in the earth that surrounds us, but also in more metaphorical terms, what makes good soil for our faith to grow in. Using some of Gary Gunderson’s congregational strengths from “Deeply Woven Roots” I lifted up four necessities.

1) Good soil needs roots… both to protect the soil from erosion and also as the tradition and scriptures and stories that ground us in our past.

2) Good soil must be abundant and have a common purpose… a clump of dirt can’t grow the planet’s food and neither can individual Christians reach out and embody God’s will in the world – but together, we can bear fruit.

3) Good soil must be alive… filled with minerals and living organisms and water and soil and air – it is the diversity that makes life able to survive. And our body of Christ requires all of us working together, with our unique gifts to bring to life the word of God in our world.

4) Good soil must be nourished by nutrients and water… without these things, the soil would be dead and worthless, unable to produce abundance. And as people of faith, we need the refreshing power of the Holy Spirit, the waters of baptism, the bread of new life and to live in the Word of God in order to do God’s will.