In Communion with 2.5 Million Others

Our mileage total for September 30, the last day to submit miles for God's Work our Feet is over 7000!    That's a one-way trip from our church to New Delhi, India.  We have gone way further than, say, CofCLC to Norway, or Wittenberg, Germany, or even Geneva, Switzerland.

There are 2.5 million Indian Lutherans within the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, connected to the ELCA.  As we celebrate God's Work, our Feet, we celebrate the ministry of Cross of Christ in our community, the nation and the world.

I give thanks for you.  Pr. Adrienne

Dining in the Holy Land

 I am in the Lutheran Holy Land of Minnesota attending a conference, and lefse potato cheesecake is on the menu at my hotel.  During dinner last night, the one where I noticed the lefse cheesecake, we were a gathering of friends going back 10 years, and some going back 10 minutes.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit shows off when gathering groups together -- connections are made that only God could pull off.  May we bask in deep friendships all the while keeping our hearts open and an extra chair available. Because we never know when God will bring someone we need and who needs us.  God is wily like that, and that is good news indeed.

Sandy the Sandhill Crane in Steele

 Friends, at left is a photo of Sandy the Sandhill crane, one of North Dakota's unique attractions. This 38 1/2 foot sculpture was completed in 1999 and is located just south of Interstate 94.  It's inspired by local wildlife and the migration patterns that cross the state.

Sandy is located in Steele, ND between Jamestown and Bismarck.  It boasts both regular and frisbee (disc) golf courses.

A big thank you to everyone who logged their miles this week because we have made it to Chicago and are on our way back home to Bellevue! Way to go Lutherans!

Steele is home to 800 people and four churches:  Trinity Lutheran ELCA, St Francis de Sales Catholic, First Presbyterian, and United Methodist.  In this coming week, may we pray for these faithful congregations as we celebrate our progress in our very own understated way.

To and through Valley City

CofC'ers:  We have made it about 1300 miles so far, to Valley City, North Dakota, home of the North Dakota Winter Show, Rosebud Visitor's Center, and Barnes County Museum.

My cousin played volleyball for the college there and the Schlosser side of my family has deep roots in North Dakota.  My kids love to spend time with their cousins when we visit in the summer.

Nevertheless, the term 'valley' is a relative one.  A valley in North Dakota is quite different from a valley in Washington State.

Valleys can be spiritual too.  Several weeks ago, during my walking office hour at Larsen Lake Blueberry farm, I took the time to read the information signs posted around the trail. I learned that the paths are quite old -- formed by Native Americans who hunted and fished in this region long ago.  The farmland was later cultivated by families of Japanese descent who were interned in camps during World War 2.

It makes me think of Psalm 23, "Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow..."  Whether we will spend time in dark valleys isn't a question, it's assumed. And God's promise is to walk with us, ultimately leading us through.

But we have to keep going.  There's pain and struggle in life, but also deep blessing and joy in loving God and others and being loved in return.  While we can do our best to recognize the mistakes of the past, we can look ahead to our Guide who leads us through, even if we can't see the path ourselves.

Keep up the good work, team!  It's a gift to be sharing the road with you.

One Grace, One Team

A big shout-out to those who joined me for my "weekly office hour" today at noon. Even though it was hot, it's always good to be with CofCLCers!

The picture at left is the Womens National Team playing in the World Cup as I write this. Their motto is "One Nation, One Team." Despite being among the best in the world, the players are careful to root their individual contributions in the good of the team.

President Obama called us to do the same when he preached the eulogy for Clem Pinckney, Pastor of Mother Immanuel Church in Charleston. Whatever your assessment of his presidency, he was spot on.

Grace is not earned, or merited. It's not something we deserve. Rather, grace is the free and benevolent favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings...Out of the killing in South Carolina, God has visited grace upon us, for God has allowed us to see where we've been blind. God has given us the chance, where we've been lost, to find our best selves. We may not have earned it, this grace, with our rancor and complacency, and short-sightedness and fear of each other -- but we got it all the same. God has once more given us grace. But it is up to us now to make the most of it, to receive it with gratitude, and prove ourselves worthy of this gift." 

Toward the end of the eulogy, Obama lifted up the forgiveness the families of the victims extended to the alleged shooter:

It would be a refutation of this forgiveness if we merely slipped into old habits, whereby those who disagree with us are not merely wrong but bad; where we shout instead of listen; where we barricade ourselves behind preconceived notions or well-practiced cynicism."

Grace isn’t for us alone. We don't earn it. Grace connects us with each other, calling us beyond who we’ve been, calling us to contribute to the strength of the team, God’s team. As we earn our miles by walking, praying, and/or acts of service, let's open our hearts to each other. Because the more we can keep our hearts open, the more God’s Grace can enter and use us. May our motto in these coming days be One Grace, One Team.

 

A New Acronym: CDP

Friends, with our combined mileage, we are almost to St. Regis, MT!  What is there to know about St. Regis?  I turned to my trusty companion, Wikipedia.  Evidently St. Regis is a CDP, or a census designated place.

What is a census designated place, you may ask?  It is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places, such as cities, towns, and villages. CDPs are populated areas that lack separate municipal government, but which otherwise physically resemble incorporated places.

In other words, just because St. Regis isn't a top tourist destination, doesn't mean it's not important.  Kind of like Nazareth was, back in the day.

Keep up the good work!

Listen for the Cowbell

This Father's Day the household awoke at zero dark thirty to head down to Kent and cheer on the Dad in a triathlon.  Once caffeine kicks in, the energy and enthusiasm of these events is a blast.  People clap, cheer, whistle.....

And ring cowbells.  I have no idea why.

It's a unique sound and makes me laugh every time I hear it, whether I'm on the race course or a spectator.  The cowbell's only function is to be encouraging.

God is like the ultimate cowbell: cheering, encouraging, empowering.  Whether things run smoothly, we hit a wall, or can't finish our intended route and have to course correct, listen for the cowbell, because we never race alone.

Put a name on it

Today I get to bike through the Snohomish River Valley.  For my husband, it's an easy recovery ride.  For me, it's a big challenge.  For both of us, it's more fun to do together, which is really the whole point.

I have an app on my phone that tells me (literally) the total number of miles I've gone, so it's easy to keep track.

A big thank you to Chris Peppler, an Associate Pastor at Eastside Foursquare in Bothell, and a multisport athlete, who gave me permission to use his idea for my own blog:  Since we can earn miles by praying for others, I'm praying for a different person each mile.

Thanks to washable markers I can write someone's name next to each number.  I asked a group at church this week if I could pray for each one of them during my weekend ride.  There were some miles left over so they shared the names of others in need.

I am humbled and inspired by the stories you have shared about the ways you already earn miles through prayer and service.  If you'd like to put a name on it for future miles, please email me at adriennesh1@gmail.com.  All requests will be held in confidence.

One of my favorite lines on Chris' blog is that we share the Gospel at the speed of relationship.  We're all in this together.  What matters isn't how far or how fast we go, it's that we are on the road together, following Christ's call.  

The Challenge

Last Sunday I offered a challenge to the congregation of Cross of Christ.  Based on:

I'm calling it God's Work our Feet.  As a way to encourage healthy spiritual and physical habits, we can keep track of the miles we travel by foot, bike, swim, or other means of self-propulsion.


Click on the link below to for more details:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-nz0yzXM8yIY2xKc09iSUtjOEk/view?usp=sharing