A Thanksgiving Story...

So the day after Thanksgiving, the three cousins were talking about what our favorite food from the meal was. My cousin, who is a purist when it comes to cranberry sauce, does not like anything but the cranberry sauce from the can. He will eat others, but does not like it. One of the people who came for dinner brought a cranberry sauce that had a lot of ginger in it. When describing it, he said that putting ginger in cranberry sauce was blasphemy, and before I could stop myself, I found myself explaing that it was actually heresy, because heresy is either not going far enough or going going too far, and that by adding the ginger she had gone too far and... my two cousins looked at me like I had grown a third head. Wonder what they thought I learned over internship?

Things I'm Thankful for

So, back at the beginning of November, one of my Facebook friends started posting four things she was thankful for each day. At first, I was like "Oh that's cool." and went about my business for the day. A few days later, I was having a not so good day, and saw her list. Reading the simple things she was thankful for made me rethink my day, in particular the things that had happened that had brought me down. I then decided to try writing a list of my own. Coming up with four things would be really easy, or so I thought. It took me a few minutes to find four things I was truly thankful for, but once I had, those four things overshadowed the negative from the day.

Every day after that, before I went to bed, I would post on my facebook four things I was thankful for from that day. They ranged from rasberry flavored hot chocolate to great friends to hot showers. Small things that you wouldn't normally think about, to every day things like food and shelter. It didn't matter to me if others even read it, but writing them out helped me to remember to look for the good things happening every day.

People started noticing. I started getting comments mentioning how they loved to read my lists every day. One friend commented that "I think you're onto something." I then saw him start to post lists too. It was pretty awesome to see him start posting lists too.

Doing the lists have really helped me change my frame of mind. I have stopped focusing so much on the bad things that happen throughout the day. I may not continue posting all of my lists on Facebook, but I will definately continue thinking about the positive. Here's the list for today:

1) Friends
2) Family
3) Good food
4) playing cards

Whoa, you're back!!

Yes, I know that it has been forever and a day since I've updated... (actually only a month and a half or so, but who's counting??) I've had a lot going in my personal life, including a lot happening in my spiritual journey, so that's what I'll share with y'all.

Now as my last blog post said, on the 18th of September, I led worship solo. Just me. And I'm fine admitting that I was scared out of my mind. What if I completely messed up the service? What if I did something wrong? What if I forgot something? What if someone asked me a question and I couldn't answer it?

That morning, I arrived at the church around 8 in the morning. Service didn't start til 11, and there was no Sunday School, but the routine of showing up and getting ready was something I needed. I made sure that the sermon was still on the pulpit and that it was in the correct order. I made sure I knew all of the hymns that we were singing that day. Looked to see that the prayer book was ready on the alter. And then I prayed. I spent about 45 minutes sitting in the sanctuary asking God to remind me that He was with me, and asking Him to help me not screw up.

Then, people started showing up. I went over the changes in the service with our choir director and our organist. Since I am not yet an ordained minister in the Church of Christ, I couldn't preside at Communion, and the wording of the Confession and Forgiveness. The council president, Bill, walked up to me standing by the alter and said "The book goes in the center of the alter when we're not having communion." So of course, I just slipped it to the center and prayed that no one noticed the almost mistake. Bill also said that he would help me with the announcements at the beginning of the service, which was a big help to me.

Before I knew it, it was 11am, and time for service to start. After explaining to anyone who might have been confused that I was NOT Pastor Rosemary, I went through the changes in the service with the congregation. Bill took over from there, and then announcements were done. It was time for the first big part of the service, and up until the very moment I started talking, I was scared. But as I was speaking the words of confession, peace washed through me. Suddenly, I was not afraid. It felt right, like it was what I was suppose to be doing. The rest of the service went along fine. Yes, there were a few mess-ups. But overall, it went really well.

As many of you know, after my internship ended I was leaning more towards possibly becoming a diaconal minister or an AIM, but not necessarily a pastor. However, after my experience that Sunday, I have brought back the idea of becoming a pastor. I'm still talking with God, or moreso listening to God, trying to discern His path for me, but I think I may be closer now.

God's Peace be with you.

Encore, Encore!!

So, I know my internship ended a little over a month ago, but I get to reprise my role at SotH tomorrow. PR's mom is in the hospital, and so she's asked me if I can lead service tomorrow. Not gonna lie, I'm more than a little nervous. However, I'm also greatly honored that she trusts me with something so pivotal. I just pray that everything works out, both at the church, and with PR and her mom.
Peace be with you all!

All's well that ends well...

So yesterday was my last day as the Intern at Shepherd of the Hills... and I have mixed feelings about it. I am very happy to be at home with my family and friends, but I can't help miss being at the church.

This summer has been an amazing time for growth and reflection for me. I have had a couple of really good mentors who have helped me along my journey of discernment. I am still not 100% sure of what I am going to do, but I now know a lot more about the different options of public ministry.

One thing that I am having a hard time explaining to people, both at SOTH and at FLC is that I have NOT made a decision. This summer wasn't ever about making a decision. I still have three years before I can even apply to a seminary, because I need to have an undergraduate degree before going on to a master's program. This summer was about discernment, which I wrote this newsletter article about:

I have used the word discernment or some variant of it many times over the course of this summer. Before going to orientation at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, I had a few vague ideas of what the word meant. I knew that it meant trying to figure something out, or something along those lines. The dictionary definition is: the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend that which is obscure or an act of perceiving something. In Christianity, we believe that discernment is looking inside to find what your vocation is.

Vocation is commonly referred to in the secular world as being a job. However, there is a bit more involved with vocation than it simply being a job. The word vocation comes from the Latin root “vocare” or to call. Therefore, our vocations are occupations that we are specifically called for. Traditionally, it is used to describe a position within the Church, such as a clergy member, but more frequently, it is being used to describe non-clergy jobs.

If teaching is something that a person is extremely good at, enjoys, and feels an inner calling to, then teaching would be considered their vocation. If being a musician is what someone feels the inner call to do, than that would be their vocation. There are so many different vocations that it can be kind of confusing to try and figure out what your vocation is.

So, this whole discernment process is to help me find my mine. I am hoping to do that by lots of reflection, prayer, and mentorship. This summer is a huge step for me, looking into and trying to plan for the future. I appreciate all of the support that everyone here at Shepherd of the Hills has given me. I may not know this month, this summer or even this year what it is, but I have no doubt that I will figure it out.

I have definitely done lots of praying, reflecting and talking with others who have gone before me. I have a few different ideas of what path I'm being called down. I still have three years, and a lot can change during that time, but I'll keep y'all up to date with where my life is going!

God's Peace be with you!

Seven down, three to go

So, yesterday's service went well. PR is visiting her mother, so we had a fill-in pastor, Pastor Rosa. Pastor Rosa arrived at the church nice and early, which gave us plenty of time to talk through the service and what may have been different than what she was use to. Service ran smoothly (no major mess-ups). I was veryh thankful that we had Pastor Rosa. For a while, it was looking like I might have had to lead service, which since I've done it once, it'd be okay, but not my first choice. Thankfully, I heard from PR on Monday or Tuesday that Pastor Rosa was coming. It took stress off of me :)

It is really hard to believe that I have three weeks left. This summer just seems to have flown by! It seems like just yesterday that I drove the four hours up the mountain to get to this wonderful place. I've thought about a lot, learned a lot, and prayed a lot.

After my three weeks, I will be home for a week and a half, and then it's straight back here (this time for actual school). When I come back to SOTH, I will return to being the normal campus ministry student.

I must admit, I'm looking forward to being home, even if it's just for ten days. I'm already starting to plan out those days with what I'm going to do and who I'm going to see. It's the only way to get done all I need to!

Have a blessed week!
Peace

Not gonna lie...

Today's self-defense class was one of the best, and one of the worst I've had. It was great because I got to work one-on-one and go over what the person had questions or fears about. The bad thing was, there was just one person.

That's one of the things about working in such a small community. I had four or five people tell me that they were going to come, and in reality only one showed up. Things happen; stuff comes up. You have to be prepared for having one- or no one- show up for activities planned. I get that now, but it still kind of hurts.

We went over A LOT of different things, though. Basic formation of the fist for punches (fold pinky-forefinger down, thumb resting in between second and third knuckles) to frisbee escapes to running like heck. We covered car defense which was something I just learned about during the past semester in my RAD class and we talked about elevator defense (if you're wary- don't get in).

All in all, it was a good two hours spent. Even though there was just one other person, I showed her things that could help save her life. In my opinion, if I can help one person, then the time was not wasted.

- Peace

Fun 4th and other things

Happy Fourth of July, to all of my American readers! I've heard fireworks going off the past three nights and hope you all have seen some beautiful ones.

I have to admit, this year is kind of weird for me. For the past, well since I can remember, I've always been in one of two places for the 4th. I've either been at the beach with my family (sometimes as many as 12 of us in a 3-bedroom condo) or I've been in A Place Apart- Lutheridge- with my L-Ridge family. This year, my blood family is at the beach, my L-Ridge family is at camp, and I'm in Sylva. I know it's part of growing up, but it's still kinda weird.

Shepherd of the Hills has a 4th of July picnic every year at a member's house. Bonnie's house is amazing. It is an old farmhouse, most likely dating back to the 1800's. Bonnie made all the trim in the house, and added a whole bunch of stuff. All by herself. It's pretty neat. She has a HUGE yard and a pretty full veggie garden. There are a bunch of trees, so we all had shade to sit in. It was a pretty good picnic.

Everyone brought a bunch of food and we had sausages, hot dogs and chicken. Twas really, really good. We had maybe 45 people show up, including a lot of kids. At one point, I was playing monkey in the middle with two of the older kids while tossing a ball back and forth with one of the younger ones. It was really nice to be able to sit back and relax with everyone from church. I always find it fascinating to see people outside of their normal habitat.

On Sunday, we got to install and bless a new communion set. The one used previously had been the communion set used since the formation of the church in 1974. The new communionware looks really good, and now we'll be able to retire the first set and display it with the Charter. It was the first Sunday in which I was not the Assistant Minister, so PR asked if I would be willing to bring part of the set up to represent the Campus Ministry aspect of the Church. I will always remember getting to help with the installation of the new set. That was pretty cool.

This Thursday, I'm going to be heading to WCU to see something called The Liars Bench. By the sounds of it, I'm gonna hear lots of local storytellers and learn about the Appalachian culture. I can't wait!!

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I'm going to be teaching a self-defense class on Saturday. I'm really looking forward to being able to share something that I absolutely love with others. The things I help teach people may only give them a few seconds, but sometimes a few seconds is all you need.

Next Sunday, I will be leading Sunday School. I'm looking forward to it, because PR has given me free reign with whatever I want to lead/discuss, as long as it deals with spirituality. I am planning on talking about labyrinths, and probably doing a craft with it too. I hope people will be open to doing something like that.

I hope you all have a great Holiday week!
God's Peace

As promised...

Here is the sermon I delivered this morning:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, o Lord our rock and our redeemer.

Amen

In the Gospel reading today from Matthew, the word welcome is used four times within the first verse alone. Four. As I was preparing the sermon for today, that word kind of jumped out at me, just a little bit. So, what exactly does the word welcome mean?

+ It can mean a word of kindly greeting, such as: “Welcome Stranger!”

+ It can be a kindly greeting or reception, such as: to give someone a warm welcome.

+ Another way it is used is to receive or accept with pleasure, or to regard as pleasant or good: to welcome a change.

+ The final one the dictionary gave me was: agreeable, as something arriving, occurring, or experienced: A welcomed rest.

Looking at the word biblically, welcome has several of the same meanings. However the one that struck me as being the most encompassing of all the ideas is: to receive favorably, give ear to, embrace, make one's own, approve, not to reject. The last part of that definition is what really caught my eye: not to reject.

In the scripture, Jesus is talking with the twelve apostles. He is getting ready to send them out among the people of Israel. They are going out without food or plans of shelter. They are going out, counting on people to be welcoming, for people not to reject them.

The idea of hospitality in the days of Jesus was astounding. People were expected to provide for travelers coming through their land, just as they would be provided for while they were traveling.

I can relate a bit to the apostles and their feelings of worry and anxiety. Starting school at a university where I knew all of one person was really intimidating. I was worried that I wouldn’t fit in, worried that people would not approve of me; that they would reject me. What was even harder was finding a faith family in which I would be welcome.

As many of you know, I started attending Shepherd of the Hills back in January, at the beginning of the Spring Semester. What most of you may not know is that during the previous fall semester, I had tried out other campus ministries and churches in the area. All stated that they welcome everyone. However, looking at the definition, they did not. They did not try to embrace me. Though they did not verbally reject me, I could tell that they did not approve of me.

The first time I had an experience with members of this church was the first Lutheran Campus Ministries meeting after the start of the semester. Somehow, I had gotten it into my head that the dinner and meeting started at 6:30, not 6. So I arrived at about 6:10 to find Pastor Rosemary and the rest of the group about to bless the meal. As I tried to quietly slip in, Pastor Rosemary looks at me and says “Are you Tara? Come, join us! We’re just about to pray.”

I felt more welcome in the first thirty seconds of LCM than I had in a semester of some of the other campus ministries. After the blessing, I talked with Pastor Rosemary a little more to find out that one of my home pastors had contacted her and asked her to watch out for me.

I came that first Sunday to Shepherd of the Hills, not quite sure what to expect. Thankfully, you all were just as open and welcoming as everyone at LCM. That day, I learned more names after service during the fellowship time than I could remember! Everyone was interested in me, the student and fellow sister in Christ, and how they could help me.

Throughout the semester, everyone continued to be as welcoming as they had that first week. In fact, that is the reason I am here this summer. You all agreed to welcome me as I try and figure out what God is doing with my life.

Even as I have new and different ideas, such as signing parts of the worship service, my ideas are welcomed. The sign for welcome “welcome” really fits the concept of the word, in my opinion. The word is signed with a smile on the face and open body posture, giving the appearance of being happy to meet someone. The sign is very similar to quite a few other signs including “good” “accept” and “mine,” which all conceptually fit with the definition of welcome.

Jesus said “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” In today’s society, I feel like sometimes people focus on embracing only those people they feel are acceptable and have things to offer, rather than focusing on not rejecting anyone, even if they don’t seem to have much to share. Not too long ago, I read an article about a young man with cerebral palsy who was asked to leave the sanctuary and watch the service from a different part of the church. I greatly appreciate you allowing me to try and welcome everyone by signing.

The good news, though, is that even if all we can do to welcome someone is give them a place to rest and a glass of water, that even then, we will not lose our reward as long as we do it with good intentions.

Having said that, I would like to leave you all with a parting thought in the form of a song. It is called ‘I Saw a Stranger Today’ and is based upon the Celtic Rune of Hospitality. There is an insert with the lyrics on it in your bulletin.

Here's the lyrics:

I saw a stranger today; a poor man wandering my way.
I put food for him in the eating place, and drink in the drinking place
And music from a violin in the listening place.

And in the name of the Holy Trinity
He blessed myself, and my family
And the lark with her song seemed to say:
“Often, often, often goes Christ in a stranger’s guise.”

I saw a young girl today, and why she wept I could not say

In her slender arms lay an infant child; she herself a forgotten child

She clutched me as I wiped her eyes, and the young girl smiled.

And in the name of the Holy Trinity
She blessed myself, and my family
And the lark with her song seemed to say:
"Often, often, often goes Christ in a stranger’s guise.”
“Often, often, often goes Christ in a stranger’s guise.”

I saw a stranger today.

Amen.

Another one bites the dust

My streak of bad luck seems to finally be coming to an end. At the beginning of this week, an ear issue had me traveling to the health center to see what was going on. They sent me home with the usual... "Oh there's nothing we can do for it. Take Sudefed and ibeprophen and it'll get better." Let's just say I was back the next day, because instead of getting better, it got worse. Now, after antibiotics and other fun stuff, I appear to be returning to healthy me.

This week has been an interesting week for me, because it's been the week of preparing my sermon. I am pleased with how it turned out and I hope everyone enjoys it tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, my mom and sister are coming up to hear me preach :-D I can't wait to see them!

Today, PR and I went to the Sylva Quilt Show, held at the new Jackson County Library. The library looks really cool, and I can't wait to go and check out a few books. I really enjoyed looking at all the different quilts, too. There were quilts of all shapes, sizes and colors! After viewing the quilts, we went to the luncheon, where PR did the invocation. The food was not bad, especially the chocolate cake! It was cool to get to meet some of the older population of the area. There was also a fashion show, spotlighting hand-made garmets. It was really cool to see what people are able to make. I wish I could do what some of those ladies can do!

Last night, I had dinner with a few of my good friends. We ate and then played a few rounds of a board game called "Last Word." It's a really fun game to play, especially with a group of chatty college women! Then we went to the local icecream shop. Jack the Dipper's has probably 50 different Blue Bell flavors. It's always a challenge for me to decide which to choose. I usually end up getting the Southern Blackberry Cobbler. It has pieces of cobbler crust in it!! But the best thing about Jack the Dipper's is that they make their waffle cones right when you order. You can choose from either vanilla or cinnomen. Then they mold it into a cone, put your icecream in it, and hand it to you. The cone is still hot. Sometimes the icecream starts to melt!

I am really enjoying this summer. Having this specific time to be with God and to really talk with him is starting to help me figure out my path. I love working in the church, because I can always walk the 30 feet to the sanctuary and just be if I need to.

I can't believe that this summer is almost half way over! It really seems to have flown by. I'm looking forward to starting back at WCU, especially working with my students. We're getting four new participants in the program, for a total of eight students with intellectual/developmental disabilities attending college. It's really cool to see that happen.

Well, I hope you've been able to follow this somewhat random post, and I'll catch you all later!!

God's Peace

Tornados, laptops and vehicles

This past week has been insane. I was planning on updating at the beginning of the week, when to my dismay, my laptop battery completely died. So, I had no computer until Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday evening, a line of severe storms moved through the area, spawning a tornado which knocked power out, both at the house I'm staying at and the church. Duke Energy was saying that power wouldn't be restored until 11pm, SUNDAY NIGHT, so you can imagine my surprise when I walked out of my room Thursday evening and saw the glorious sight of lights on in the house.

It's kind of cool to see how communities come together when something like this happens. The first strip where electricity was restored was where all of the stores/restaurants. So, you can imagine where everyone spent the days without electricity. I went to Wal-Mart the morning after the storm, and everyone there was really polite. No one was pushing or complaining about the really long lines. The people working were all at least putting on smiles. Whether they be real or fake I don't know, but there were smiles. The University, which also was one of the first things to get power back, opened its facilities so that people could come take showers.

I'm preparing a sermon to give next Sunday, on the texts of Jeremiah 28: 5-9, Psalm 89: 1-4, 15-18, Romans 6: 12-23, and Matthew 10: 40-42. I have a few ideas on where God is leading me, so we'll just have to see how it turns out.

PR and I talked about prayer, and the different ways of prayer. One of the things she mentioned was that I might like to try out a different way of praying. I decided to make prayer bead chains, and I really like them! It helps me have something to do with my hands while I allow my mind to talk with God.

One of the projects I am working on is signing the Sunday service. One of my passions is to work with people with disabilities, and providing translations to people who cannot hear is one way I can do that in the church. As of right now, I have The Lord's Prayer and The Words of Institution translated. Currently, we do not have any members who cannot hear, but who sign. I hope that as it becomes public knowledge that it is a service we're offering, that we will start to have some deaf/Deaf people come.

I am also employing another of my talents that I never considered to be ministry-related. As some of you know, another of my passions is Martial Arts, especially Tae Kwon Do. I will be leading a self-defense class for the members of the church, and any friends that they might want to bring. I never knew my interest in TKD would be something that I could turn into ministry.

I wonder what else there'll be?

Busy week, eh??

Hey Guys!

Sorry that it's been about a week since I've updated, but boy was this past week a doozy!
Last Thursday, Friday and Saturday were spent at Lenoir-Ryhne University, which was hosting the North Carolina Synod Assembly. Having been my first time going, I was kind of overwhelmed. I believe the last number I heard put the total people gathered around 600... Pastors, rostered leaders, lay voting members, and just plain old visitors, such as me.

But it was a lot of fun. At opening worship, during offering, a woman painted. At first, what she was painting was hard to figure out. I thought it might have been a candle, or maybe an angel. Looking back and forth, however, from the screen to the actual picture, I figured it out, but waited to say anything until she revealed it. When she was done, she flipped the painting over and "AHH's" could be heard from almost everyone. She had painted a portrait of Jesus, upsidedown, so that it was really hard to see it until you flipped it.

Later that night, I sat in on two forums that I thought would be cool. There was one on how to try and help get more youth into a congregation, and one on the 2012 NYG, being held in New Orleans again. While I was there, I ran into an old friend, Sarah Embry, so it was good getting to see her again. The next day, I had a fun job. Before the Assembly, PR made a white stole for Bishop Bolick, on which we were going to ask all the participants to leave a thumbprint. So, Friday was the day of painting. Since I knew what was suppose to happen, PR left me with the stole while she went and taught her forums. By lunchtime, we had the stole full of prints, and we were letting it dry. All this had happened without Bishop Bolick knowing, which was a feat in and of itself.

During the afternoon session,  PR, Tammy Jones West and I presented the stole to Bishop Bolick, and I think he was really surprised, and really liked it. He almost ruined it by walking backstage while we were getting ready with it, but PR and I distracted him by talking about Project Connect. Plus, he was too busy with other things to really notice his surroundings too much :)

Saturday morning came around, and we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Living Waters church in Cherokee. It was really cool, because the Pastor there, Jack Russell, led our closing worship. I have now experienced smudging, singing in the Cherokee language, and their directional prayers. It was really cool to see how they have been able to incorporate their traditions in with our Lutheran teachings.

We came back Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday morning, I got to help with communion for the first time at Shepherd of the Hills. That was a really good experience for me. I also got to sing the Kyrie again, which I love to do!

This week has  been a week of catching up on things around the Church itself. I got to have youth time again, with our one sole youth. He is such an adorable 2 1/2 month old!!

Tomorrow, I might be going tubing with one of the besties, as long as it doesn't storm! It's been thundering all day here, and two days ago, we had a horrible hail storm! The weather is kinda wacky here in the mountains... But the views are beautiful. We visited with some of the parishoners yesterday, and they have the most gorgeous view, westward facing the mountains. They said that when the sun sets, the whole sky turns the most beautiful shades of reds, pinks, and oranges.

Thank you, God for the BEAUTIFUL mountains!

Kronos, Kairos, and Zelot, among other things.

So, I definitely have been meaning to post the past day or two, but it's been CRAZY! I'm not sure why, exactly, but it just has been. Last week, we had the orientation for the internship, and this week we have Synod Assembly. Luckily next week doesn't look so hectic.

Today was kind of a rough day, because it was the day that PR and I went through the hymns I chose, based on the scripture verses. We had to look at the last time the hymns had been sung, if at all. If they were new ones, we had to decide whether or not we thought the congregation could learn them. It was frusterating, because I had found some really good ones, scripturally, but we had to veto them because they were challenging for some reason or another. But it was a good insight as to what pastors have to do each time they start at a new church, or new lectionary year. And again, people who choose songs on a regular basis, MAJOR KUDOS to you.

Speaking of words that start with 'K,' I had fun learning the difference between kronos and kairos- two forms of what can be translated as time. It came up when PR and I were translating some of the verses into the original languages during sermon prep. From Acts 1:

4 While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

Time translated is Kronos. Periods translated is Kairos.  Kronos is time like we understand it, whereas kairos is God time. If I remember it right, kronos is time as we move through it. We won't know the time, literally, but we also won't know kairos, or the universe, when He will return.

Another interesting thing I found out is the word we get the word 'zelot' from is the same word that, in Hebrew, means knife. So a zelot was someone who would literally kill for Christ. Scholars also believe that the Zelots were like a political party, so for Simon to be called Simon the Zelot (in Acts 1: 13) is interesting to me.

I hope you all are having a wonderful first week of June. As for me, it's HOT here in the mountains.

Peace be with you all!

It is well with my soul

So, as I'm sitting here with PR watching the 2008 IW dvd that I have (yes, I know, I'm a guard nerd), I realize that I haven't written in a day or two. So here's another post :)

PR told me the story behind "It is well with my soul," which is really sad. It added a whole new meaning to the show.

In church duties, I want to give a shout-out to Karen, Brian, Luke, Emily and Elizabeth. I have been put in charge of choosing three of the hymns for the service, and it is taking me FOREVER to choose the three for each service. So major shout-out to you folk!!

On Sunday, I was officially installed as the intern. I also was assistant, meaning I got to sing the Kyrie, write and give the prayers, among other things. It was really cool :-)

We're preparing for the NC Synod Assembly later this week and in doing that, I was in charge of folding a bunch of campus ministry brochures that I will be in charge of to pass out at the campus ministry table. I'm looking forward to Assembly!

Peace be with you all!!

A REVELATION or two

So something that PR and I discussed on Wednesday night was the "Rapture." With last weekend supposedly being the time for the Rapture, imagine my surprise at finding out that my idea of the rapture could be completely incorrect, to the point of maybe there won't even be a rapture in the sense we think of it. From the NRSV:

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

The only mention about a rapture is found in the book of MATTHEW, not REVELATIONS REVELATION. And it doesn't even say that the people who believe in God will ascend into heaven, leaving the nonbelievers to suffer all the horrible plagues and diseases. It only says that "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of  the Son of Man."

Umm... I could be wrong, but in the story of Noah, who was left on the earth? I am pretty sure that it is indeed Noah, the good guy, who was left, and all of the bad people died (see previous entry on Noah and the Flood). So why does everyone talk about the Christians disappearing from the earth, leaving the non-christians behind?

And besides, even if a 'rapture' happens, and all of the believers are taken into heaven, I'm pretty sure that the point was made clear:

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

Meaning that no one will be able to predict when such a thing is going to happen. God will come when we are least expecting.

So, remember: Revelation does NOT have an S on the end of it, and if a rapture occurs, it may not be what or when we expect.

When it rains, it pours.

As I am sitting here, listening to the rain pounding the roof, I think about what it must have been like for Noah. We all know that "It rained for forty days and forty nights..." I use to think that it literally meant it rained for forty days and nights. Apparently, forty is one of those numbers in the Bible that has a different meaning. When the number forty is used, it basically means until. So, it rained until.

Until what?

Until every living thing had perished. Except Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. Thinking back on it, I'm surprised that I wasn't more afraid the first time I heard that story, because God allowed EVERYTHING to die, except those few chosen.

The reason, I believe, that I wasn't as afraid is because of the final part of the story: the rainbow. It's kind of cool to think about how God's rainbow is like the bow of a soldier coming in from the war. The soldier hangs it on the wall, out of the way because the fight is over; he's not going to need it again. God hung the rainbow in the sky as a reminder to Himself of the covenant He made with all humanity and the earth: I will never destroy the earth through water again.

That really struck me, because I have always learned that the rainbow was a reminder to US, the humans, of God's covenant.

The rain's slowing up, so time to go spot some rainbows!

Day One: Almost Done

My first official day as an intern is almost over... well kinda. One of the first things that I have learned in the few short days that I have been with Pastor Rosemary is that even things you might not think of as ministry, such as sharing a meal with people in the community, is indeed ministry! Therefore, a pastor can easily be 'off the clock' but still be working, especially here in rural western North Carolina.

I arrived in Sylva mid-day on Monday, after five hours of driving. For someone who hasn't driven a lot, driving five hours was quite tiring, but I made it. After lunch with PR and Dee Dee, we all went back to the church and worked on things. PR and I discussed what my 'job' would entail, and then I helped Dee Dee finish putting together the bulletins. Dinner and then NCIS watching (debating happened as well... PR is pro-Ziva, whereas I am pro-Kate...) followed as well as an early bedtime.

Tuesday, we left Sylva around 10:30 for our drive to Columbia, SC. "What's in Columbia, SC" you may ask? Nothing other than the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, one of the three Lutheran Seminaries in the Eastern Cluster. LTSS was indeed our destination, for that is where the orientation for my internship was held. I shared a three-bedroom apartment with five other girls. Luckily, there were two twin beds in each room, so no one had to sleep on the couch.

It was a good orientation. I discovered that PR and I were the only two who were actually from the south. There were a lot of people from Pennsylvania. Like A LOT. And a number of the Pastor/Intern people had just met that day. I personally am glad that I had already had a chance to get to know Pastor Rosemary before my internship began. We had a leg up on some of the groups because we had already pretty much put together a learning covenant ahead of time through our discussions. I also already trust her, and know the congregation that I will be serving in. I know how they will respond to me and I know some of what the community needs are.

Tonight, I learned that there is truth behind the "Father Abraham had many sons, Many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you, So let's all praise the Lord" and to be honest with you, it's a pretty simple answer. But if you don't know the back story to it, the meaning isn't as full as it could be.

To leave you all tonight, I have a thought for you:

The Muslim people are descendents of Ishmael;
The Jewish and Christian people are descendents of Issac.

Both Ishmael and Issac are brothers, albeit half-brothers. Their father was Abraham. But it means we, Arabs, Jews, and Christian, are all brothers and sisters. So, we, in our wars against each other, are fighting family. We are killing members of our own flesh and blood.