For the past month during our weekly meetings, Scott and I have included a time to talk about endings. My time at Lakeridge will be coming to an end in the middle of June. At that time I will also be finishing up my studies at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. With each one of these formal endings come more informal ones. The schedule that I have known over the last year will be changing. I will be saying goodbye to people in the congregation as well as to friends that I made … [Read more...]
Different Voices
Last week Pastor Scott and I attended the Byberg Preaching Conference, an annual Northwest conference primarily for Lutheran clergy. The sessions led by Craig Satterlee were great and wonderfully informative and the time to meet up with other Lutheran clergy and do a little networking were invaluable. Like most conferences, one of the first questions that anyone asks is "Where are you from?" In this context, the question was more about what church you were from then what area of the Northwest … [Read more...]
State of the Internship: Part 3 of 3
When we are little adults sometimes ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Instead of getting easier this question has gotten harder for me to answer especially since starting my internship at Lakeridge. The following is the final section of a paper I wrote a few months ago which captures a little bit of my struggle with that question. Enjoy! --------------------------- To imagine vocation as that which I love is a profound shift out of the doldrums of expectation. But it also … [Read more...]
State of the Internship: Part 2 of 3
A few weeks ago I wrote a paper for class that states my understanding about the pastoral vocation and its role in my life. Since I am in the middle of my pastoral internship, I thought it would be a good thing to share. Enjoy part 2. ------------------------------------- I have spent a lot of my life trying to figure out if the pastoral ministry was my love. Over time, I developed a lot of knowledge and quite a few ministry skills as a part of different churches and working for different … [Read more...]
State of the Internship: Part 1 of 3
Governor Gregoire gave her State of the State Address to a joint session of the Washington Legislature this week. I think it may be time for me to offer a State of the Internship address to the blogosphere. To do so I'm going to be using a paper that I wrote for a class last semester which summarizes a lot of the ups and downs I have been through over the last few years with what it means to be called. Enjoy! --------------------------- Recently, I took some much needed time away from my … [Read more...]