Uphill idealist

The last time I had a change in my name was my wedding 21 years ago. This time around there is a change to the prefix before my name - that change is "Vicar”. A "Vicar" according to the ELCA  (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) is a seminarian who is assigned to a congregation as an intern for one year. This typically involves the student working with a senior pastor and a committee of the church to support the development of the seminarian. Last Sunday, a Service of Beginning took place at First Lutheran Church to mark the beginning of my year long internship. It's been a whirlwind since last April, when I was approved by my Candidacy Committee to pursue Seminary and the role of Minister of Word and Sacrament. There is a great deal of learning still ahead, but I'm taking a moment to pause and let this change, this prefix, to soak in. Last year at this time, I was looking forward to the hope that "someday" I'd attend seminary and b

This year in our Shared Confirmation Program, we used Sparkhouse's re:form curriculum and DVDs, enjoyed a Autumn retreat together and integrated Art and Prayer elements to the expereince.The heart image below is a prayer process of weaving hopes and sorrows in a visual manner. This exercise was adapted from my friend Lynne Farrow's resource book:  Art Making and Metaphor Last Sunday, this group of youth, their parents and teaching team had an opportunity to meet at Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center to share in a time of games, art making, food and fellowship. The banner project was begun by our Create Fellowship that meets on a monthly basis at First Lutheran Church. This group designed the banner, transferred this design on a canvas painters drop cloth by using masking tape as a guide, and began painting the banner. Acrylic paints (found at a Walmart or Michael's) were applied to the canvas to create the Pentecost themed design with wind, fir