Adventures in Rural Immersion

The Last Supper!

2012-01-15T21:05:00.001-06:00

We got one final day in Nebraska, and what a day it was. We have learned, loved, laughed, cried, and let’s not forget eaten our way through Nebraska. Ten days with people who have become great friends, and now our trip comes to an end. As I reflect on the day from my apartment in Chicago I am saddened that we have left our new friends, but grateful for the time we spent with them and the things that we learned from them.

Today we got to witness first-hand the workings of a two point pastor. Beginning with a 9 a.m. service from the old red book and moving quickly to a 10:30 service from the green book, we saw the quick changes and hard work of a pastor serving two parishes. We then had the opportunity to sit in on a fifteen minute annual meeting, followed by a free lunch. We enjoyed our final Nebraska meal, lasagna and garlic bread, with Pastor Katherine and her congregation.

After lunch, the Spruth-Janssen family and some of our other friends from SE Nebraska came to see us off. We took pictures and told stories, then ended with a blessing ceremony. After the ceremony we said our goodbye and headed for the airport.

Now we are home preparing our projects and reflecting on our time in Nebraska. As I look back on the last ten days I can’t help but smile. Thank you to our host families and the pastors who gave us your time, your homes, and your wisdom over the last ten days. I speak for us all when I say we will never forget you. May God continue to bless all you do. And may this crazy world of ours bring us together again someday.

In the words of Green Day, “So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind. Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time. Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial. For what it’s worth it was worth all the while. It’s something unpredictable but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.” I know that we did.

May God bless you all. And God bless Nebraska.

~Josh

Seeing yourself in Nebraska

2012-01-14T06:49:00.002-06:00

There are several recurrences that have risen to the surface during the course of our immersion in Nebraska and truly stuck me.

The first thing people want to know is where you come from – more precisely, what place on this planet – outside of Nebraska – helps to make up the your cells and your soul? A strong sense of place is as innate and instinctive here as my ability to detect any hint of crisis in the voices of my children. There is no separating the soil, the air, the waters of Nebraska from the people who come from the towns and rolling hills we've visited.

My standard line has become, “Well, I'm from Chicago originally, but I've lived in Michigan most of my life and feel most connected to the Upper Peninsula.” They'll nod with tacit approval. My response is acceptable for now, but I have the feeling that if I were here for the long haul there would be more efforts to determine if I really have an unbreakable connection to the place I call home. The fact that I have moved around a lot in my life might undermine that ultimate determination. I think the way Lake Superior has changed me and, in part, made me who I am today may be at least similar to the way the people here feel about the incredible expanses of land that surround us tonight like waterless seas waving and whistling in the winds.

The second thing I'd note is that I've witnessed three men cry in the course of this rural experience. Each time it is somehow connected to relationship with the land – the ability to pass the stewardship and legacy of the land on to children; watching helplessly as the Missouri River rises up and swallows crops row by row until it is 17 miles across and mistaken by passersby for a lake; pouring hard work and vast amounts of expertise into the vocation of farming only to be dismissed and misunderstood by people who may too often make assumptions about what it really means to be feeding the world.

There are always many angles to a story. Nothing is as black and white as we might like to be, especially where people are concerned. Divisiveness, I once heard a wise man from Rwanda say, is born of failures of conversation. We need to have a lot more conversation in this world and start working as hard to understand each other as we do to build fortresses around our opinions.

Finally, many people, particularly those working in rural ministry already, have asked us something like, “What has surprised you most about Nebraska and what has caused you the most concern?” Typically the conversation roles around to the topic of whether or not a seminarian studying and working toward ordained ministry in Chicago, can see himself or herself in a place like Nebraska. A place where, in the more populated parts of the state, your nearest neighbor might be half a mile away. Or you might be an hour away from a place to buy good fresh produce. Or an initial trip to visit a shut-in from your congregation may lead you down unfamiliar, unpaved, unnamed roads where you have to flag down a gravel truck driver to help you figure out where you are and where you are trying to be. A place where stewardship of God's creation comes up in daily conversation at the local filling station/breakfast cafe. A place where breaking bread together happens many times each day. A place where your absence is noticed in real time.

I don't know if it's what the Spirit has in store for me, but my answer to that possibility over the last over the week or so has become, like Samuel in this week's Old Testament reading, “Here I am!” We shall see what happens.

Blessings from the Heartland, Ann

The Runza Experience!

2012-01-12T18:03:00.002-06:00

Today began with breakfast provided by Pastor John Sipf. After a wonderful breakfast, we listened to Pastors John Sipf and Andrew Chavanak, tell us about the difficulties of rural ministry. John spoke especially about the intricacies of two-point parish ministry. Then we received a tour of Pastor John's parsonage, and heard about what it is like to work with a council trying to make changes to a parsonage.

Then it was time to leave for text study. We drove down to St. Thomas, the local episcopal church. Here we got to meet many of the local church leaders and participate in the weekly, ecumenical, clergy text study. This gave us an opportunity to begin to see how important ecumenical partnerships can be to rural ministers.

After text study, it was time for another meal. We headed to the local Runzas, where Zak and I had our first experience with a Runza. After hearing countless stories of Runzas, we were pleased to finally have our own Runza and frings. After yet another delicious meal and wonderful conversation, we were ready to move on.

We met up with Richard Martin, the head of the chamber of commerce in Falls city. He spoke with us for an hour and a half about working with the chamber of commerce in a rural community. It gave a great chance to learn about commerce in rural settings.

We got a short tour of Falls City, seeing both the new medical center and the library. After that we headed for Rulo. From there, we headed over the river into Missouri and made our way to Big Lake, here we were able to survey the damage from the flood last year. As we drove through Big Lake, population 274 pre-flood, our hearts began to break for all those affected by last years flood. Five miles from the river, we could see water lines eight-foot tall on the trees and houses. While we had been hearing stories of the flood from those affected, we did not understand what we heard until we saw what could have been mistaken as the Indiana Dunes in the middle of fields. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who have been, and continue to try to put their lives back together after they were devastated by the 2011 flood.

After finishing our surveying of the land we headed back to the library in Falls City to hear the story of how pastor spouses deal with first calls, and to debrief on our day. After we leave the library, we will be going to dinner somewhere in the city, and hopefully ending the evening at the local bowling alley.

Blessings from Nebraska,

~Josh

The Days of High Adventure...

2012-01-11T20:46:00.006-06:00

Let me tell you of the days of high adventure…in Nebraska today. We started out with coffee at the local gas station in Johnson where we met with Pastor Catherine Burroughs as well as Gary and Larry (no relation to Mike and Ike), who were volunteer EMTs for the area. We talked about their role in the community as volunteers and the joys and difficulties that come along with it. As per tradition we were offered an opportunity for coffee, tea and breakfast if we so choose. Lois our host and resident breakfast expert at the Johnson Quick Stop presented us with some local comedic relief. After offering drinks she conned me out of a quarter that she had gotten me to unknowingly offer up to her, and ended our visit with a quick witted joke that left me in suspense…and this was just the first stop.

A picture of the Lois

We then toured the local K-12 school Johnson-Brock with superintendent Jeffery Koehler. We were offered doughnuts and coffee…as per tradition, and it was amazing to see a school with clear hallways and lock free lockers (which made me wonder is a locker still a locker if it can’t be locked!?!). We next headed to the Whiskey Run Creek Winery where we learned about and sampled the wine whilst conversing with Bishop David DeFreese of the Nebraska Synod about the needs and issues of the rural church. We then traveled to the Indian Cave State Park to survey the flood damage. As we drove around it was shocking to see the destruction as the trees and fields that looked as though they had been through intense warfare. It was truly moving to see this destruction, which became even more apparent as we later traveled to St. Peter church in Barada Hills to speak with a farming couple that lost their crops and farm to the floods last year.

A picture of the destruction from the floods.

We traveled down the road to Fall City where we had dinner at A & G’s with Pastor Andrew Chavanak and Pastor John Siph and their spouses along with the Honorable Curtis Maschman in Fall City. We had a wonderful meal with enlightening conversation, which lead us to Pastor Andrew’s congregation (St. Paul) in Fall City where we experienced confirmation class…oh boy! We talked about why Jesus was baptized and this included a picture treasure hunt of baptismal reminders (some of which were interesting choices, but reminded us nonetheless!) and Jesus’ Life themed Pictionary. Talk about a whirlwind day! And speaking of whirlwind days the weather today turned very cold and windy…very windy and we also got our first Nebraska snow experience (just a bit).

Our Busy, Busy Nebraskan Days

2012-01-11T00:02:00.008-06:00

So, you might think that life in rural American is kind of laid back and carefree, but you'd be wrong. These folks are busy and they are keeping us busy and very engaged in learning about day to day life in southeast Nebraska, especially in regard to what it means to be in ministry here.

We started our day having coffee with some folks in Talmage and got a bit of an inside look into the things like the challenges that go with managing cemeteries that have been in use since about the 1880s … sometimes with little or no accurate record keeping of where people were buried. Then we were off to a cluster meeting of pastors who are in many stages and types of ministry to our Nebraskan brothers and sisters and Christ. One pastor serves as an interim anywhere he may be needed throughout the statewide synod, a couple of them were first call pastors, another was a pastor who has been in her first call for 15 years, still others were brought to Nebraska specifically for their multicultural perspectives, or to serve very small congregations or growing churches and the list goes on. They were gracious enough to take the time to tell us how they came to rural ministry and what it means to them, what they've learned about themselves and the communities of people they serve. Overwhelmingly, despite challenges big and small, they have found the experience “rich” and feel it's truly a gift to have the opportunity to provide ministry in the Heartland.

We also had the opportunity visit Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, an impressive hotel, restaurant, conference center, farm, conservation and family activity complex in the middle of a relatively small Nebraska Town. We learned about everything from J. Sterling Morton, who founded Arbor Day about 120 years ago, to how the Lied Lodge on the property uses scrap lumber to efficiently heat and cool the facility in an innovative and sustainable manner, to how trees often go unrecognized for the key roles they play in many movies.

Then we returned to our growing circle of familiar faces at St. James (Long Branch) Lutheran Church near Humboldt to visit with women who gather weekly from January to Easter all day on Tuesdays to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief. They typically send off 100 quilts a year from this tiny corner of the world to keep people warm and wrapped in Nebraska quilted love and compassion.

Finally, we were off to a experience some high school basketball in Beatrice. Basketball, like many other sports, are an important point of community gathering in these communities. Our host Pastor Amalia Spruth-Jannsen commented that St. James will often have youth on different teams in the area so when the rural pastor goes to basketball games they often have to cheer on all the teams.

Tomorrow we head out for another fun-filled day of Nebraska life and we are all looking forward to the new insights and people it will bring. Here's a little photo essay our adventures today. It starts with a lovely little angel ornament in the morning sun at the home of our host family for the last couple of nights, Kim and Terry Hahn and their three children. Each year they put up their "Angel Tree" to remember family members who have died. The next two photos are from Arbor Day Farm ... a grand old Burr Oak tree and Josh and Zak at the top of a tree house. Then there is a little montage of the quilting operation we had a chance to visit at St. James. Prof. Swanson even pitched in to help create one of the quilt tops. The last photo is from the basketball game, which, by the way, ended with a sweet Hail Mary three-pointer at the final buzzer. You don't get to see too many of those!

Sweet Dreams & Blessings from Nebraska, Ann

Going to Prison: the less glamourous side of ministry

2012-01-09T23:06:00.007-06:00

Today we packed our things, left the Blecha home, and headed for tecumseh…after Marvin made us enough pancakes for ten people. While we were sad to leave the Blechas behind, we were ready for the day ahead.

The day began at the Belle Terrace nursing home and the Ridgeview Towers assisted living facility in Tecumseh. We were unable to enter Ridgeview because of a stomach flu bug, but received a nice tour of Belle Terrace. We then had time to eat donuts and visit with some of the residents before devotionals. At that time we met Annette, the sweetest old lady in the world. Annette told us all about herself and got teary eyed as she told us of her painful transition to the nursing home. And during devotion we learned that the elderly woman that I was sitting next to was present at Jesus’ baptism.

After the nursing home we toured the town hospital, which is the only hospital around that delivers babies. We talked with department heads and learned all about the hospital.

By that point it had been well over an hour and a half, so we went to lunch at Frazier’s Café, with the Lutheran volunteer ministers at the Tecumseh prison. The portions were, not surprisingly, enough for two people to eat.

After lunch we meet the local sheriff and saw the inside of a jail cell. Then it was time to go to prison. After making our way through the metal detectors and pat downs, we were ready to enter the Tecumseh prison. We were given a tour of all the offices in the prison, and the hospital section of the prison. After that, we walked across the yard were there was nothing separating us from the inmates. We were allowed into the substance abuse cellblock were we were shown the inside of a cell and got to ask an inmate about his rehabilitation program. We were also given the chance to speak with the death row chaplain about his job before leaving the prison, and as it turns out he does not receive a prison cell as a parsonage. This was a great reinforcing experience for my interest in prison ministry.

Then it was time to eat. We headed for Luther Memorial church in Syracuse for dinner. There we had dinner with Pastor Mike Widner and three members of the congregation. The members were all third generation farmers and talked to us about their views of farming.

Now Ann and Dr. Swanson are at the home of Kim and Terry Hahn, and Zach and I are staying at the home of Lori and Jeff Broady where, in case we had not eaten enough today, we were given more snacks than we could eat in a week. After four days, more miles than we can count, and more food than we ever imagined we could eat, we can’t wait to see what more is in store in the week to come.

~Josh

Wonderful Ooze?!?

2012-01-08T22:39:00.008-06:00

What is tired, immersed (rural-ly of course) and well-fed all over? Answer, all of us! Here we are in just our third day in Nebraska and I feel as though we've been here for months. After the excitement of tractor rides and endless food yesterday, today was filled with church services and guess what...more food. This morning we experienced a Sunday worship at St. James and it was wonderful. A service including "baptism Remembrance devices" (including but not limited to fonts, bathtubs and yes of course squirt guns) and some great Epiphany/Christmas hymns were the highlight of the service. Following the service there was a Q & A session with the congregation where the joys and perils of rural ministry were discussed amongst treats and snacks. Shortly after this session was some fellowship shared over...wait for it...another meal (Chinese cuisine to be exact)! An afternoon of rest and a video concerning the wonders of corn (which let me tell is indeed full of wonders!). This evening was a community gathering for worship and music in the "Singspiration" service at St. James. What a show of talents to be followed by more snacks and fellowship (because after a few hours of not eating we were obviously withering away). My favorite part of the fellowship was being told that we as a group have a "wonderful ooze" (we took it as a good thing...as we should!). This may be our last blog post "from the outside" as tomorrow we shall be put in prison (or at least visiting Tecumseh prison, same difference)...although to be honest no prison can hold a group of LSTCers determined to be immersed rurally!

A picture of "the crew" including Pastor Eric and Pastor Amalia Spurth-Janssen

Hello Nebraska!

2012-01-07T21:45:00.011-06:00

“History is alive, active and oral in ways not often found outside small towns.” “The heart of the rural congregation beats to the rhythm of the Creator God's bounty of the seasons.”

These are just a couple of the insights I gleaned from the books on rural ministry we read for the J-Term Rural Immersion 2012. In our first 24 hours in Nebraska, I and my travel companions – Josh Buzbee, Zak Wagner and Prof. Rosanne Swanson – have already begun discovering the truths in these statements. This is our travel crew in the middle of one of Ervin Gobber's 5,000 acres of farmland in southeast Nebraska.

We arrived yesterday in Omaha to the warm welcome of members of of the Nebraska Synod Rural Ministry Committee and were treated to lunch in historic downtown Omaha and stumbled across this awesome payphone. It's not the first working pay phone we've seen so far.

On our way to the home of our first host family, Candy and Marvin Blecha of Humbolt, we stopped at three ELCA churches. This is the nave of the First Lutheran Church at Avoca. It's important to note, however, if you asked a local where First Lutheran was they might not know what you were talking about because many of the churches are identified by name of the river or creek they are closest to, so despite what historical documents may say, this is really the North Branch church.

This is Moose – he provides important ministries at North Branch and we fell in love with him. We are sure our spouses and roommates will be very excited to find out that we may want to add a Bouvier to our Hyde Park apartment lives now.

We ended our first day in Nebraska by participating in an Epiphany potluck and Service of Light at St. James near Humboldt with Pastors Amalia and Eric Spruth-Janssen. It was a lovely evening. This morning we were back at St. James for a Rural Ministry Workshop where we learned a lot about the flooding that devastated this part of the country and its people last summer. Hearing the stories of the devastation and loss was powerful. I found myself amazed that we heard very little in national news of what these people were and continue to go through because of the flooding.

Our last outing of the day was a farm tour with Ervin Gobber which included tractor rides for me and Zak. It was amazing. Here's Zak getting ready to take off on his tractor adventure. We were actually witnessing something quite rare: the winter has been so mild here this year that the Gobber's are tilling in January in preparation for next year's crops, a time of the year when the ground is usually be frozen and covered with snow.

And now we are all back at the lovely Blecha abode, well fed, in comfy clothing and reading to sleep through our second quiet and dark Nebraska night.

I close with part of a prayer from Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim by Edward Hays.

Gracious Lord, Open my heart and pour in all that is lacking. Saturate my words with love and encouragement, so that I may truly be an expression of your presence in this world. I thank you for the countless blessings of this day: gifts of sight, sound, hearing and smell – for wonders without end. Amen.

In Peace, Ann

Gifts Given and Received

2011-01-20T09:44:00.005-06:00

At the beginning of our voyage, just after Epiphany, I pondered what gifts we might bring to the Christ child we found in the people of Nebraska.

Reflecting upon our trip, I am confident that gifts we brought to them were: a gift of open mindedness; a willingness to learn, to hear their stories, to understand their way of life and their relationships with each other, their land, and God. An extension of this gift is that we will bring this understanding back to the city with us, to share with our families, friends, and future congregations this experience of rural life that is so often misunderstood by those who have not been there.

The magi who brought gifts to the child Jesus in turn were given a gift to bring home with them: the gift of having experienced God incarnate, the ultimate expression of love in the person of a little boy.

Like the magi, we also return with an unanticipated gift to ourselves from Nebraska. Pastor Mike asked us over our last two days in Nebraska, “Where have you seen God at work among these people?” The answer was challenging, only because it was hard to think of times when we did not experience God in the people we met. We experienced God in their hospitality: in sharing their homes and lives with us, we were welcomed. It was Matthew 25:35 personified: they welcomed us as they would have welcomed Christ. We experienced God in their relationships: in the responsibility they feel towards their families, friends and neighbors, the closeness of the community, the pride in their work, the respect for the land, the dedication to their church, and the devotion to God that is inherent in each of these. God is love, and if the ultimate example of relationship is love, then the people whose lives we were blessed to share in embodied the love of God. I am certain we received the greater gift.

Bearing gifts we traversed afar… and like the magi, we also experienced God incarnate: in the remarkable people and beautiful countryside of an unexpected Promised Land… Nebraska.

Many thanks to all of you who have followed our adventures on this blog. It honors and humbles me to have been the teller of our tales. I wish you all Godspeed. Until we meet again…

Spiritual Treasure Seekers

2011-01-20T09:12:00.015-06:00

Friends and followers, I give you for a last time the 2011 Spiritual Treasure Seeking team of LSTC’s Rural Immersion adventure in Nebraska:

Thanks for reading the blog, everyone!

10 Things I Learned from Our Nebraska Trip

2011-01-18T09:12:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite quotes is from the great Negro League baseball pitcher Satchel Paige, who said,

“Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.”

Yesterday, I did some of the latter, and quite a bit of the former. Much of it involved considering what I had learned in Nebraska. Somehow, seemingly on their own, the thoughts coalesced into a list. This is by no means comprehensive (if you want comprehensive, read the whole blog). I give you the list, numbered but in no particular order of significance:

1. Bruce Springsteen’s song “Nebraska” is far more depressing than the state actually is.

2. When people say that Husker football is the “official religion” of Nebraska, they’re not kidding.

3. The odor from a feedlot will stick to your vehicle for days.

4. Most churches have big worship spaces, big fellowship areas, and big kitchens.

5. If getting dirty is a real problem for you, think twice about doing rural ministry.

6. Rural and small town ministry can be way more fun than people who don’t know what they’re talking about say it is.

7. Even people from the country have a hard time pronouncing the word, “rural.”

8. Nebraska has potentially the coldest temperatures of any place one can reasonably expect to visit.

9. Jeans and boots are perfectly acceptable clergy attire for nearly every ministerial occasion outside of actual worship services – and may work even in some of those.

10. A person’s life, love, work, church, friends, and family are often intertwined – and that can be a beautiful thing to behold.

Farewell, but Not Really Goodbye

2011-01-16T16:26:00.009-06:00

Argh! The last day! How can it have arrived so soon? Didn’t we just get here?

The troops met up at Immanuel-Zion in the morning to speak to parishioners during the Sunday School hour, during which we expressed our profound gratitude for the hospitality shown to us, explained personal highlights from the trip, and described how we had witnessed God at work during our journey (like Steve Bygland bringing us CAFFEINATED coffee this morning!!!). Expect reflections upon the latter category (minus the coffee) later in the week.

Immanuel-Zion's sanctuary before worship.

The “Breaking of the Bread” and “Sharing of Peace” during a celebratory worship service with the IZ folk preceded the “Breaking of the Doughnuts” and “Sharing of Goodbyes” after worship. Many of us were close to tears as we smiled, laughed, and exchanged well-wishes with some of our host families and many others who had helped to make our adventure so memorable and inspirational, including and especially, Pastor Mike and Alison.

Patricia with her last host family, the Lees.

Lyn Bygland, Patricia, Alpha, Kaila, Steve Bygland, and Becca pose for a farewell photo.

Then, for the last time, we piled back into the van (which I swear still smelled like the feedlot) and made the two hour trip back to the Omaha airport, pondering the transition ahead of us.

Lorin, Alpha, and Patricia ponder how the journey just completed may impact the journey ahead.

It felt so strange to think about plugging back into our very urban existences after ten days visiting churches, driving and walking through corn and soybean fields, and enjoying overwhelming rural hospitality. It was unreal to watch the sea of lights rolling away in every direction as we descended in to Chicago-Midway airport, to realize as we exited the plane into the terminal that there were probably ten times as many people in the airport as there were in the county we just left… and upon returning to campus, it was bizarre to hear a siren for the first time in ten days. Welcome home!

We have two free days for working on final projects, then two days of classes for presenting the projects and collectively reflecting on our trip. Pastor Mike and Bev Adam will be flying out to join us for the two class days.

You, my faithful and diligent readers, can expect at least two more blog entries later this week: one related to the upcoming classes and our projects, and a final wrap-up entry. Stay tuned!

Green and Red

2011-01-16T15:46:00.010-06:00

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15 – Rising early again, with a full but less hectic schedule planned, Lorin and I and our host family, the Krohns, had a lovely breakfast at the Albion gourmet coffee shop, the “Brewed Bean.” Yes, even small rural towns can have a gourmet coffee shop!

The major activity for today is the Nebraska synod’s Rural Ministry Taskforce’s annual Faith and Farming workshop, with the theme, “Green Before ‘Green’ was Cool.” The event brought several dozen pastors, farmers, and other interested folk to Zion Lutheran Church in Albion for a day of presentations and breakout sessions centered on stewardship, conservation, ministry in rural congregations, and agricultural genetics.

Patricia (front, in red sweater) and others engage in dialogue during Kadi's class on Stewardship and Tithing.

Our gang and the attendees at our fourm to close the workshop.

Late in the afternoon after the workshop, our group visited via teleconference with the new senior pastor at Zion, David Frerichs, who begins his call there next month. He shared with his perspective on taking a call in a small community after spending the last 8 ½ years in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was clearly excited about coming to Albion, and we all enjoyed his enthusiasm.

After dinner at Subway – yes, they have one of those too – in high anticipation we headed for the Boone County high school to watch the varsity girls and boys basketball games.

We have heard consistently about how much rural communities love their high school sports, and we saw that love personified in the gymnasium.

The Boone Central faithful pack the house.

The stands were packed and there was electricity in the air as we watched the lady Cardinals pull out a victory over their previously-undefeated opponents. The boys’ team, which has struggled this season but came out strong against the number 2 team in the state, ultimately fell to defeat. Several of us enjoyed the nostalgia of attending high school games. We had also heard that it is a meaningful gesture for a pastor to at least make an appearance at the high school sporting events. Most if not all of us enjoyed ourselves so much that we didn’t think that would be a problem at all!
The Boone Central girls get it done against West Point Catholic Central.

The boys won the first half with scrappy play and accurate shooting, but couldn't hold it together to finish the game.

Healing Souls & Bodies, Feeding Us & Cows

2011-01-15T14:35:00.019-06:00

FRIDAY, JANUARY 14 – Another early start to another jam-packed day began at 7:45am at the home of our host pastor, Mike Kern, his wife Alison and their energetic toddler Noah. Over wonderful cinnamon rolls, banana bread, and coffee, Alison and Pastor Mike spoke intimately of their hesitations about coming to Nebraska and a rural community, the adjustments they had to make, but especially about how much they have come to love this community and the congregations of which they are a part. As a senior about one month away from regional and synod assignment, I have found words like these to be among the greatest gifts of this visit to rural America.

With Pastor Mike at the wheel, we set sail for the nearby town of Newman Grove (population 700) where we visited with Dave Lapka, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church. Among his many inspirational messages, Pastor Lapka explained to us a critical role that a pastor can play in a rural setting by being involved in the civil life of the community, asking the hard, challenging questions, and like John the Baptist, pointing the way toward “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

Our next port of call was to the Mid-Nebraska Lutheran Home, a long-term care facility also in Newman Grove that is owned collectively by the three Lutheran churches in the town. It is a pleasantly clean and “homey” establishment that serves a growing need in the area. The social services worker said that one challenge in his work is helping residents who have spent their entire lives on farms through the difficult and frustrating shift to living in a facility.

Becca demonstrates the emotion behind such memorable hymns as "Hold the Fort" and "Fight the Good Fight," as found in the Lutheran Home's hymnal.

Navigating through the rolling snowy fields of corn back to Albion, we enjoyed a tour of the Boone County Health Center, a 25-bed hospital that serves a 60-mile radius around Albion. In yet another stereotype-shattering experience, this tour showed us a clean, modern health care facility that would rival any of the huge hospitals in my home city of St. Louis. As social worker Valorie Schlizoski introduced us to several employees, the message became clear that perhaps the largest difference between this hospital and larger ones in more populated areas is the personal attention that the patients receive, because the workers very likely will know personally most, if not all, of the patients. The health center has eleven general practitioner physicians, and specialists come in from larger cities either weekly or monthly depending on the specialty. Rural communities may be a general state of decline, but this hospital delivered 120 babies in 2010 - a reality that should inspire joy and hope.

The Boone County Health Center sign.

This gorgeous stained glass window depicting the four seasons in Nebraska dominates the hospital chapel.

The main entrance to the hospital.

For lunch, we finally we made the long-awaited visit to RUNZA! For those of you who are not from Nebraska, a Runza is ground beef and cabbage wrapped in a roll and baked. Unfortunately, we all remained a bit leery of beef and no one ordered an actual Runza. The employee who filled our order insisted that we could not leave Nebraska without having a Runza, and so she brought us one for free, cut into bite-size pieces, of which most of us partook – though I’m sorry to report that none of us were particularly impressed. Maybe it’s an acquired taste?

While at Runza, we were joined for lunch by Kim Young, a reporter who interviewed us for an article in next week’s issue of the Albion News. They’ve promised to send us copies.

After lunch, Pastor Mike had us hitting the ground running again to make up for our “lost’ day on Monday, so we headed to the Boone County Schools for a tour and meeting with the superintendent, Cory Worrell, before spending time discussing the local economy, prospects for growth, and roles of the churches in town at the Albion City Hall with Shannon Landauer (economic development), Andy Devine (city administrator), and Jill Anding (chamber of commerce).

A quick tour of the Albion grain elevator, operated by Cargill, was next on the docket. If it seems that Cargill comes up a lot, we found out that it is the largest privately owned company in the world. The local elevator was built in 1979, and in 2010 it handled approximately 44 million bushels of corn, nearly all of which went to the ethanol plant just across a field.

Albion's Cargill grain elevator from a distance.

This is what 700,000 bushels of corn looks like.

This is what one pastor, one professor, and six seminarians in front of 700,000 bushels of corn looks like.

The hits just kept on coming. Our last and most… odiferous tour of the day was to the Niewohner feedlot, where cattle are fattened before being sent to the processing plant, most commonly to the very plant we visited in Schuyler the day before. The Niewohner’s hold around 80,000 head of cattle between their three feedlots. Mark Niewohner, operator of the lot we visited, showed us the different types of feed that the cattle eat, and then led us to watch the actual feeding process in which a specially designed truck drops the feed all along a trough that runs the length of the corrals. Mark was kind enough to spend some time with us after the tour to answer any questions we had.

A sample of the thousands of cattle corraled at the feedlot.

The grain loader invented by the Niewohner sons.

This cow won the popular bovine version of "King of the Mountain."

Cows doing what cows do at a feedlot.

Dinner with our host families was a treat, as always. Lorin and I are spending our last three days in Nebraska with John and Sheena Krohn, and their infant daughter Kasey. For dinner, Sheena prepared homemade potato and chicken noodle soups that we could not stop praising, so much so that she wrote out the recipes for us. They are a delightfully friendly couple with such refreshing good humor. As with nearly everyone we have spent time with in Nebraska, the Krohns have overwhelmed us with their depth of hospitality. What a blessing!

Meat, Greet, Retreat, and Eat

2011-01-15T14:04:00.010-06:00

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13 – Ah… today’s main activity was the one we had probably most anticipated/dreaded of any in our entire journey: a tour of the Cargill meat processing facility in Schuyler (pronounced “skyler”), a community about an hour south of Albion. Our guide for most of the day was Ruth Boettcher, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Schuyler, who joined us for the tour. Upon exiting the van at the plant, we were immediately assaulted by an overpowering odor that one of our group described as “sickening,” and another pronounced as “chunky.” Mmmm.

A distant photo of the massive Cargill meat plant in Schuyler (photo from Wikipedia)

After signing in we were introduced to Christian Perversi, a Cargill manager who was our personal guide through the facility. I’m afraid that cameras were not allowed and thus I have no photos to share, and for the sake of brevity (I know, I know – none of this blog has been brief), I will omit some details that you will probably be just fine with leaving unsaid.

According to Christian, the Cargill plant at Schuyler processes 1.3 million head of cattle per year, or about 5,000 head per day. Per head, the process takes 500 gallons of water, of which 80% is reclaimed and recycled by the plant.

We began at the end of the process, so as to minimize the possibility of dragging harmful bacteria from the beginning of the process (you know what happens at the beginning, right?). The two and a half story high automated sorting and distribution system organizes packed boxes of meat and sends it to specific pallets based on the specifics of the particular customer’s order. Our vantage point for the rest of the tour would be from catwalks about 12 feet above the floor. Next was the cutting room, in which large portions of beef are gradually sliced by specially trained workers to create specific cuts of meat that are then vacuum-packed before being sent via conveyors into boxes and then into the automated system described a moment ago.

We were led next to the slaughter floor. When it comes to details of this area, it might suffice to say that “less is more.” Live cattle come in one end of the room, and hideless sides of beef go out the other end to the cutting room. We all watched the entirety of the process, and none of us left unaffected by what we saw. I believe we all were impressed by how humane the slaughter process was, how critically important animal welfare before the slaughter is to the company, and how extensively the meat is cleaned to minimize harmful bacteria. We could not say enough about the graciousness of our tour guide, Christian. He explained every process in detail, and told us in precise detail about what we were about to see, and offered us the option not to if we so chose. Some of us became more committed or recommitted to vegetarianism, while others appreciated knowing the process of how the beef they enjoy as food comes to be on their tables. Regardless, it was clear that we would all be taking a break from beef eating for a few days at least.

Shellshocked, not really hungry but in need of nourishment, we adjourned to the Schuyler Senior Center for lunch and a meeting of the local ministerial association. We found out at Cargill that 90% of the employees are of Hispanic origin, and of Schuyler’s population of 5500, 60% are Hispanic.

After visiting the Schuyler Chamber of Commerce and having a quick tour of Pastor Ruth’s lovely little church in Schuyler, we headed four miles north for an all-too-brief visit to a Benedictine retreat center. After the events of the day thus far, I think we all enjoyed the quiet beauty of the retreat center.

The entrance to the chapel at the Benedictine retreat center.

Lorin contemplates the mystery of the cross.

Becca and Brian looking reverently Catholic in front of St. Benedict's statue.

Boarding the Magic Bus once again, Lorin shuttled us the 25 minutes over to the city of Columbus (population 20,000) and Hope Lutheran Church, a mission start now entering its sixth year. We met with some lovely representatives from the church, including Linda Shepherd, a licensed minister serving as their pastor, and we were also joined by Chris McArdle, a personal friend who is a pastor at St. Luke’s United Church of Christ, whose members have been strongly supportive of the mission community. We were inspired by the faith, love, and yes, hope, that the members expressed that sustains their community and gives them the strength to continue despite small numbers.

Joined by Pastor Chris, we ended our day with a fabulous meal at a local restaurant, The Picket Fence, which not only provides a number of vegetarian options (which we were in the mood for!), but also serves slices of some incredible pies! It was a perfect ending to an exhausting day, with another promised for tomorrow.

The gang hunkers down after a great dinner at the Picket Fence.

Boarding School, Bishop, & Bundles of Energy in Genoa

2011-01-12T23:27:00.013-06:00

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12 – Our Band of Brothers and Sisters mounted up this morning for a short trip to the town of Genoa (pop. 1000), about 25 minutes from Albion. The tour guide for the day would be Juliet Rasi, pastor of Genoa’s Augustana Lutheran Church. A native of Syracuse, New York, Pastor Juliet is two and a half years into her first call. With contagious excitement and energy, she spoke to us about the interesting challenges of coming to a small town as a single woman, and the first female pastor in Augustana’s 100 year history. The parishioners quickly won her over, and on our visit she simply could not talk enough about how much she loved her congregation and the people in the community, in spite of and often because of their eccentricities. Like Pastor Mike, Pastor Juliet is a wonderful lesson to all of those future pastors who have anxieties about moving to a small town.

She led us to visit the town co-op, where we learned how a “cooperative” works. Cooperatives centralize purchases, storage, and distribution of farm inputs for their members. By taking advantage of volume discounts and utilizing other economies of scale, supply cooperatives bring down members' costs. Supply cooperatives may provide seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, fuel, and farm machinery. Some supply cooperatives also operate machinery pools that provide mechanical field services (e.g., plowing, harvesting) to their members. And, cooperatives can provide the services involved in moving a product from the point of production to the point of consumption. Juliet explained that locals take a lot of pride in their cooperative and it is considered a center point of the town.

Next we visited the museum dedicated to the Genoa Indian School, which operated from 1884 to 1934. This was a boarding school to which the government and school operators would bring Native American children – often against their will – from their parents and villages in order to “civilize” them. It was a sad reality that we reflected upon, then tried to make the best of our visit.
The original blacksmith and sewing building.

The ethereal glow around Pastor Juliet reflects perfectly her energetic personality.

Our tour guide explains to Kadi and Patricia that the modern furnace is not in fact one of the artifacts on display.

Alpha rings the bell to signal the start of class.

Patricia is right at home at the teacher’s desk.

These kids never pay attention in class.

Lunch came next at the only restaurant in town, where we were graciously welcomed by the owners and employees and joined by the bishop of the Nebraska synod, David deFreese, another area pastor (and LSTC alum!) Bob Bryan, and Mitch the Synod Communications Guy. Bishop deFreese, a native of the Cornhusker state, warmly welcomed us and was very interested in our stories and backgrounds, and what we have learned and enjoyed about Nebraska. He shared with us his own impressions of rural ministry, and through his words his love of rural communities shone through clearly.

Unfortunately, ours may be the first immersion group to meet with the bishop and not take his photograph. We’re hoping Mitch the Synod Communications Guy can help us out of this embarrassing development!

Following lunch our gang adjourned to the spacious home of Eugene, one of Augustana’s prominent members. We entered to a living room filled with about 20 members from the church who had gathered to join us for coffee, conversation, and desserts. We each had the chance to personally visit with a number of folks, getting to know them, their stories and their experiences in the church, and to share our stories in turn. Approximately the last hour was spent in a “round table” discussion with all of us and the members, each asking pertinent questions about the other. We all enjoyed so much the relaxed and jovial atmosphere, and especially the incredible sense of community shared among the people and the obvious love they feel for their pastor, and she for them. It was a beautiful experience that I believe will stand as one of the highlights of our journey.

Our group had a splendid time with the Augustana members!

What a "Steel"

2011-01-12T17:46:00.009-06:00

TUESDAY, JANUARY 11 – Things are happening pretty quickly here in Immersionland, and it’s getting more difficult for Yours Truly to keep up. After our day off on Monday, we were back to a rapid-fire schedule of events on Tuesday. We managed to dodge small snow drifts and challenging prairie winds en route to the city of Norfolk (pop. 23,000), which is actually pronounced, “Norfork.” This is not some language oddity but is due to the fact that the town originally named itself “North Fork,” but they just wrote “Nor-Fork” on the application to receive a post office and the government assumed they had simply misspelled “Norfolk.” Sigh.

Our first stop was to St. John’s Lutheran Church, where we had an inspirational conversation with the pastor, Edgar Schambach, about both his extensive experiences in rural ministry and also his methods of building up the spiritual dimension of a congregation.

After the delightful soup lunch served to us by the church, we joined up with Norfolk’s Dr. Jim Merritt who served as our tour guide for the rest of the day. The biggest event was a guided tour of a Nucor steel mill (http://www.nucor.com). Nucor is one of the largest employers in Norfolk, and the company over all is a major force in the world steel production. It is also one of the largest recyclers in the world: the Nebraska location alone recycled over 1.9 billion pounds of scrap steel.

We had to wear special outfits for our protection. For some reason, they made me think of the old sitcom, “Laverne and Shirley.” “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated.

We’re gonna do it! Give us any chance, we’ll take it. Give us any rule, we’ll break it.

We’re gonna make our dreams come true. Doin’ it our way!”

Okay – I’m alright now. Sorry about that. So… we were told that we couldn’t take photos inside the plant itself, and thus I urge you, dear readers, to check out the Nucor website to see depictions of the process. I can tell you that we saw virtually the entire process of recycling steel, from the raw scrap brought in on rail cars to its being melted at over 3,000 degrees F and finally re-formed into raw steel that will be turned into everything from hammers to wind mill parts. We all enjoyed the look behind the scenes of the production of something we use every day, and at an industry that is employs a significant percentage of this Nebraska town.

Next it was off to visit the offices and warehouse of the Orphan Grain Train.

The Orphan Grain Train is a fantastic organization begun in 1992 and based in Norfolk that ships clean clothing, food, and medical supplies to where they are most needed in America or around the world. More than 63,000,000 pounds of supplies have been shipped thus far. Their warehouse occupies space the size of several football fields.

To end the day, after driving by the boyhood home of Johnny Carson and making a quick stop at the mall, we had dinner at Leon’s Mexican restaurant with Becky Beckmann, who pastors a three-point parish not far from our home base of Albion and spoke frankly to us about the challenges, frustrations, and moments of joy and satisfaction in such a ministry. We drove back to Albion and spent our first evening with different host families. Another busy was planned for Wednesday. This is an “intensive class” after all!

“Nothin's gonna turn us back now,
Straight ahead and on the track now.
We're gonna make our dreams come true,
Doin' it our way.”

Today’s blog prayer:
Dear Lord, in my blog entries for the rest of this trip, please help me to come up with more relevant pop culture references than “Laverne and Shirley.” Amen.

The Flip Side of "Snowed In"

2011-01-12T08:57:00.007-06:00

As reported on Monday, the rumors were flying that the four unisolated students were in fact themselves flying across the snow fields on snowmobiles and four-wheelers. Turns out the rumors were true. The photos speak for themselves:

Patricia takes a ride on the wild side.

Kaila gets instructions so she doesn't get the four-wheeler stuck in the snow.

Becca is all smiles, despite getting the four-wheeler stuck in the snow.

Patricia, Kaila, Becca and Alpha couldn't gush enough about the great "off day" they had.

Back to the Future

2011-01-11T08:01:00.004-06:00

We walked out the door this morning and faced a temperature of -7 degrees (not wind chill). Tonight the low temperature with wind chill is predicted to be -32 degrees. There is at least a foot of snow on the ground and it is drifting to two feet or more.

I have joked with friends about traveling to enjoy the “bright sunshine, warm breezes, palm trees and ocean views” in Nebraska over J-term. I’m not wrong; just a few years too late:

Eastern Nebraska, circa 75 million years ago.

In the late Cretaceous period, three quarters of Nebraska was covered by a body of water known as the Great Inland Sea. Prehistoric sharks and plesiosaurs prowled the depths. Pretty cool stuff. You should look it up.

Eastern Nebraska, circa 20 hours ago.

In the Holocene epoch of the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era (read: right now), three quarters of Nebraska is covered by fields of various grasses and crops. Livestock and combines prowl the lengths and widths of the fields. This is pretty cool stuff too (though maybe not as cool as sharks and plesiosaurs). Our immersion team doesn’t need to look it up; we just look outside the windows.

Snowed In

2011-01-10T19:53:00.007-06:00

Be careful what you wish for…

Yesterday, several of us expressed our disappointment that we did not have the chance for much downtime to process our visit thus far, nor a lot of time to spend with our host families.

Then it snowed… and snowed.

10-12 inches of snow later, with more on the way and “blustery” winds predicted, we found ourselves restricted to our guest quarters with plenty of downtime and the opportunity for considerable time with our host families. Lorin and I have been staying in the beautiful guest house of Mark and Bonnie Wagner. We accompanied Bonnie to the village of Petersburg after breakfast to collect some groceries before the predicted wind arose. The Wagners reported that when the snow builds up and the wind blows, drifting snow can become a significant hazard. We made it to town with no difficulty, perused the small grocery store (well-stocked with considerable variety of products), then in search of postcards we visited the wonderful and charming Leifeld’s, the hardware/furniture/clothing/toy/knickknack/and-just-about-everything-else store that one often finds in small towns. We found our postcards, and visited with the owner Jim Leifeld - who has lived there his entire life - about the town and some of its religious history. Lorin was pleased to purchase a snazzy pair of new gloves:

Is he showing off his gloves, or acting like a mime?

Then we headed back to the ranch, where we spent a lovely afternoon enjoying the silence of falling snow, bulls across the road slowly turning from black to white and quietly munching their hay, and soaking in the chance to simply be in Nebraska.

Breakfasting bulls.

Brian demonstrates that in a rural setting, sometimes the pastor will have to shovel the walkway.

We heard a rumor that some others in our group might be snowmobiling today. We’ll check into it and report back soon. Hopefully, there will be photos!

Worship, Injured Soldier Benefit... and Pterodactyl

2011-01-10T19:26:00.008-06:00

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9 – We awoke this morning to a light blanket of snow covering the ground. From our respective guest quarters we all headed into the town of Albion to worship at Zion Lutheran Church. We chatted with attendees of the early service and then met with around 20 members during the Sunday School hour. They all very graciously introduced themselves and shared some of their history in the area, what they loved about being in a rural setting, and what they looked for in a pastor, and then listened with appreciation to our questions and responses.

We attended the 10:30 worship service, and some of us noted the many representatives of different age groups, including what felt like “half the congregation” who ran to the front for the children’s sermon.

For lunch, we shared pizza and enlightening conversation with eight members of the Luther League, also known as the high school youth group. We told our call stories in brief, then listened to the youth explain to us what it’s like for them to live in a small town, what their goals and dreams are for the future, and what they do for fun. As a demonstration of the latter, they introduced us to the circular interactive games of “Ninja” and “Pterodactyl.” Trying to explain either of them in the space of this blog would require another entry at least… suffice it to say that hilarity ensued and a great bonding moment was shared by all.

Patricia and Alpha join in on playing "Pterodactyl." You'll just have to look it up.

After lunch, interim senior pastor Bob Johnson shared with us some insights and experiences from his 50 years of pastoring.

With the schedule changing nearly each hour as the snow continued to fall, Pastor Mike elected to take us to visit Albion’s funeral home, owned and operated by Ron Levander. Ron and his wife Mary shared with us many of the joys and challenges in the funeral home business, including some of the special considerations found in small towns. Ron tenderly explained that a significant difference between operating this business in a small town versus a large town or city is that in a town like Albion, where “everyone knows everyone,” he will almost always know personally the person who has died and their family and friends. This fact adds another element to the personal service provided by the funeral home that one is hard-pressed to find in an area of high population.

A brief respite back at the church, then a ride through the still-accumulating snow to the village of Petersburg (population approx. 300), where we ate a fried fish dinner at a benefit for Neil Claar, a local US Army soldier who was seriously wounded in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber. Despite the cold and snow (the latter of which was getting to be more than our van could take), the place was packed. Pastor Mike told us that Neil received a hero’s welcome when he finally returned home. Rural people are often proudly patriotic and treating a returning soldier with the respect that they have for Neil is something that they are honored to do.

Fresh Milk and Fellowship

2011-01-09T15:07:00.015-06:00

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8 - From this entry’s title, you might be able to guess where we were headed next: yes, a working dairy. Considered small by dairy standards, the King Brothers Dairy Farm has 70 Holstein cows which are milked twice a day. The family-run multi-faceted operation also includes a number of angus cattle to be eventually sold for meat and acreage for raising crops as well. Our purpose in visiting was to see the dairy end of things, and so after fussing over several adorable three and four day old calves, we watched the real action take place. Ten massive Holsteins at a time were led into the milking bay, where they were hooked up to the vacuum milking device that monitors the milk flow and automatically stops when the flow slows so as not to harm the animal. The milk travels into a pump which then sends it to a refrigerated tank in the next room, where the product is rapidly chilled and held until it is picked up by a tanker truck every couple of days.

Kaila made many friends of the bovine variety by promising, "I'm not going to eat you!"

Mr. King and his sons were extremely gracious and open, inviting us into the milking bay to try our hand, literally, at the process itself, each of us getting a taste of what it was like to milk a cow the old-fashioned way.

Got milk, Kadi?

And speaking of getting a taste… Mr. King at last poured for us from the holding tank a cup full of the freshest milk any of us ever had; as we each drank from the cup, we shared a moment that was beautifully Eucharistic, a communion between ourselves, the animal, the land, and indeed the Divine spirit that is in with, and under it all.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t quite all that… truth be told, it weirded me out a little. But it was good milk, and it was without a doubt a special moment.

And finally, like the – ahem - “overly eager” altar guild member, Kaila happily consumed the remainder of the cup with no objections from the crew. Grateful for the day but increasingly wearied, we piled back into the van for the return trip to the church and on to dinner with our host families. Salúd!

Bottoms up!

History and Helping Hands

2011-01-09T14:01:00.009-06:00

SATURDAY, JANUARY 8 - Following lunch we made our first trip to the town proper of Albion (population approx. 1200), the center axis of our entire journey and the home of Zion Lutheran Church, where Pastor Mike is the assistant pastor (not to be confused with Immanuel-Zion, mentioned earlier). Our first stop was at the Boone County Historical Museum, closed for the winter but opened especially for our group (but not heated for our group – it might have been colder inside than outside). Warmed by his encyclopedic knowledge, local historian Paul Hosford appeared unaffected by the frosty conditions and regaled us with fascinating stories about the Native American tribes from the area, the early European settlers, and several aspects of Albion’s changing social and technological conventions over the decades.

Alpha hasn't found a keyboard yet on this trip that he can't resist, even at the museum.

Lorin inquires about what's for dinner in the museum's kitchen display.

Then it was back into the Mystery Machine for a visit to the Boone County food pantry, impressively well-stocked and skillfully organized and managed by the enthusiastic Nancy Krohn, who explained to us the magnificent support the pantry receives from the churches of the community as it serves the needy of greater Albion (below). May God grant them continued success!

Corn and Cold

2011-01-09T12:06:00.007-06:00

Some days on this trip are bound to be so packed with activities that limiting their description to a single blog entry will prove impossible.

This was the first of those days.

We began by breakfasting with our host families, who then delivered us to Immanuel-Zion Church where Pastor Mike showed us a very comprehensive and helpful episode of “Modern Marvels” that was all about corn: how it’s grown and harvested; the difference between sweet corn that we eat as kernels and “dent” corn that is processed for just about everything else, from ethanol to plastic to corn flakes cereal; what genetic modification has meant to modern corn production; and the debate over high fructose corn syrup. Present at the viewing were Paul and Jeryl Kettelson, corn and soybean farmers who are members at Immanuel-Zion. The Kettelsons shared their thoughts and experiences related to farming and in contrast with the video, giving a real human voice to the challenges and realities of modern farming.

Soon we standing on the very land the Kettelsons own and farm, listening to Paul explain their methods of irrigation that keep nearly every drop of water on their land and prevent any runoff that would remove the valuable topsoil, observing the remnants of the corn and soybean harvest, and getting up close and personal with the Kettelson’s machinery, their combine and tractors. They treated us to a splendid lunch in their beautiful home while we heard tell tales about the county fair and the history of the Immanuel-Zion congregation.

Above: Paul Kettelson (in red coat) explains the basics of water, soil and planting to the students in the middle of a corn/soybean field.

The immensity of one of the Kettelson's tractors is evident!

And it was cold. Really cold. Just take my word for it. I won’t say more about the cold right now, because if the weather predictions are correct, you’ll be reading plenty more about the cold next week… there’s a cold snap coming that is worthy of writing home about. Brrrrr.

The Stars Come Out

2011-01-08T08:07:00.010-06:00

After the late departure from Chicago and a bumpy ride into Omaha, our spiritual treasure hunting expedition arrived to Nebraska delayed but undaunted. We were greeted by our host pastor, Mike Kern, as well as fellow synod pastors Ruth Boettcher and Gretchen Ritola, who treated us to an abbreviated lunch at the airport (the engine problem in Chicago cost us what surely would have been a splendid meal at the Spaghetti Works). Lorin then took the keys and subsequent command of the 2011 version of the Immersionmobile (a 12-passenger van), and we headed for the base of operations for Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries, an organization sponsored by the Nebraska synod that operates a food pantry and provides clothing/basic personal supplies in one of Omaha’s neediest areas. Pastor Damon Laaker (right, in background) and food pantry operator Lori Lindberg gave us a tour and explained the center’s operation, before we met the administrative assistant, Francine, whose deep faith and unfettered joy brought smiles of admiration and inspiration to all of us. In these people and their wonderful ministry, we had indeed discovered spiritual treasure worth savoring.

Francine's smile lit up our day!

Boarding the van, we followed Pastor Mike for the two and a half hour trip past seasonally-bare crop fields, farm machinery dealers, and several tiny towns, then along progressively less smooth and more remote country roads to reach Immanuel Zion Lutheran Church, which emerged as a beacon from the pitch darkness of the countryside. Warm light poured through the stained glass of the sanctuary into the cold, giving us a glimpse of the fullness of nourishment and hospitality that awaited us inside. The members of Pastor Mike’s main congregation had prepared a magnificent spread (below), which they had generously refrained from partaking of until we arrived, even considering our tardiness. We enjoyed great food and conversation with the dozens who had gathered to greet and feed us. Exhausted but satiated, we travelers then separated into pairs and were chauffeured by our host families to our places for the night.

Before retiring, I stood outside and looked up into the night sky for some time. I marveled at the unencumbered view, at the ring of the Milky Way visible to me for the first time in many years. The number of stars was breathtaking. It was indeed a multitude of the heavenly host, precious gems sparkling as brilliantly as had the faces of our “heavenly hosts” who welcomed us with such kindness and grace. Thanks be to God.

Camels? No. Willing and Expectant Spirits? You Bet.

2011-01-07T14:09:00.004-06:00

In the gospel reading for Epiphany read in chapel yesterday, we heard the story of the magi who follow a Star westward to an unfamiliar land, bringing with them precious gifts for the Christ child.

We prepare to board our plane, and like the magi we also follow a star - our daystar, the sun - as it makes its trek westward toward a land that is unfamiliar to us. As our journey unfolds, where will we encounter the Christ child? In whom will we perceive the Light of Life? What gifts do we bring to honor him? May the Spirit grant us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hands to feel.

Three Wise People: Lorin, Becca, and Kaila “gaze expectantly” towards the Star before heading west... after an hour and a half delay.

Indiana Jones Would Be Envious

2011-01-06T16:26:00.006-06:00

Whoever entitled this blog “Adventures in Rural Immersion” was a wise person indeed – for we are definitely in for an adventure.

My six traveling companions (including our intrepid and enthusiastic leader, Kadi Billman) and I have spent the past two days in class at LSTC getting a crash-course on the great state of Nebraska and rural ministry in general from Pastor Brenda Pfeifly of Salem Lutheran Church in Stromsburg, NE and farmer/rancher Kent Miller of Sidney, NE. These classes follow our reading of three assigned books about various aspects of rural ministry: Dynamics of Small Town Ministry (Lawrence Farris); Sustaining Heart in the Heartland: Exploring Rural Spirituality (Miriam Brown); and Rural Evangelism: Catching the Vision (Mark Ruffcorn). In the midst of heartfelt conversation throughout this second day, we gathered around the Lord’s Table for Epiphany Eucharist, after lunch shared a delicious dessert, celebrated dinner at Cedar's courtesy of the Nebraska Synod, and overall enjoyed the initial jelling of our resolute group of spiritual treasure seekers.

Kadi Billman, Patricia McClean, Pr. Brenda Pfeifly (front), Kaila Hochhalter, Lorin Kirksey, Becca Ajer, Kent Miller (front), & Alpha Sabbithi enjoying amazing dutch apple pie in honor of Patricia’s birthday tomorrow. Not pictured: Yours Truly.

For most of us in the group, this trip represents a journey into a culture and way of life that we have been exposed to only sporadically at most. Also, with almost 70% of the ELCA’s congregations being in rural/small town settings, there is a good possibility that all or most of us studying for ordained ministry will find ourselves in such a context for first call. That makes this present adventure also a glimpse into a possible future. For these reasons at least, I’m sure there are varying degrees of apprehension and anticipation present in all of us; at the same time however, as a group we are excited to witness the incarnation of that which we have been reading and learning about.

For me personally, this will be a new adventure in an additional way: I have never “blogged” before. An earlier blogger here was advised to, “keep the entries short” (not starting off so well there, am I?). With practice on my end and patience from our followers, I don’t expect my lack of blogging experience to have a negative effect on the trip. What may actually have a negative effect is my being a University of Tennessee football fan and still just slightly bitter about the results of the 1998 Orange Bowl (final score: Tennessee: 17, Nebraska: Waaay more than that). Being that Cornhusker football is the religion of Nebraska, I promise to bear this cross with grace!

Despite the comments some of us received from family members and friends over the Christmas break when we mentioned our plans for J-term – “Nebraska in January? Eeewww!” – we are all genuinely looking forward to this opportunity to learn more about Nebraska, its famously kind and generous residents, rural ministry, and yes, more about ourselves. Thank you for joining us. We are honored by your presence.

Now, where’s my Indiana Jones fedora? Shoot – back home in St. Louis. Sigh. Anyway…

Let the adventure begin!

Thanks and Farewell

2010-01-26T09:16:00.002-06:00

It's been just over a week since we returned from Nebraska. Looking back, I now have some perspective on what an incredible trip it was. I'm amazed at how many places we visited and how many people we met in just nine days! I'm incredibly thankful that I had this opportunity to experience rural life, even if it was just for a few days. My life has been enriched by the people and land of Nebraska.

This trip wouldn't have been possible without the generous support and hospitality of the Nebraska Synod and the countless pastors and lay people that we encountered. I can't begin to say "thank you" enough for hosting us in your homes and churches and taking the time to show us around your beautiful region of the country. Not only did you make this trip possible, YOU are what make this trip so special year after year.

Although the title of my post says "farewell," I may pop up here again in the near future to share people's final projects with you. My classmates did some fantastic work, from writing academic papers to constructing devotionals and Bible studies. I hope that I can share these with you at some point.

I've assembled a photo album of our trip to Nebraska. It includes many additional photos not yet posted on the blog, so I hope that you'll check it out.

Journeying through Nebraska

Thanks so much for taking the time to read along during this journey. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Remember that this blog is updated every year, so check back next January for another blogging adventure, same bat-time, same bat-channel.

Check out the Comments for Each Post

2010-01-21T06:46:00.002-06:00

Part of my classmates' work for this course is to comment on the blog, providing three thoughtful responses that add to the overall conversation. I hope that you'll take the time to look at the comments, as they provide a lot of great details and insights. Thanks to my classmates for their helpful additions!

Local Celebrities

2010-01-20T11:32:00.005-06:00

We made the newspaper! No, we're not featured in the New York Times, but we did make the front page of the Yankton Press & Dakotan. A journalist came to Hartington to interview us last week while we had lunch at the senior center. Check it out...a few of us are quoted.

A Quick Note

2010-01-20T11:28:00.003-06:00

FYI, I've uploaded some videos in previous posts for your viewing pleasure. In the post entitled "Social Ministry in Nebraska," I've included a personal greeting from Bishop deFreese of the Nebraska Synod. I've also included videos of the cattle auction in the post entitled "Cows Cows and More Cows."

Stay tuned for more pictures and videos!

Capping off the Week

2010-01-16T22:45:00.004-06:00

Our host church, Trinity Lutheran in Hartington, organized a rural ministry workshop today entitled “Rural Ministry: What’s Working?”. In attendance were members of the Nebraska Synod Rural Ministry Taskforce; local pastors, both Lutheran and from other denominations; and lay people. It was a neat way to cap off our immersion, bringing together much of what we had learned. We heard presentations from Martin Kleinschmit, whose organic farm we visited on our first day in Hartington, and Charles Shapiro, a professor of Soil Science and Crop Nutrition at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. We were also able to attend small group sessions on various aspects of rural ministry, such as stewardship and programming.

It was fun to spend the evening with Teens for Christ, the youth group at Trinity, as they had a lock-in at the church. No, we didn’t stay up all night with them because we have a plane to catch tomorrow, but we did stay until 9pm. The event was run in part by a group of college students from Augustana College in Sioux Falls. They helped to organize activities, worship, and bible studies for the teens. They brought a lot of great energy to the event. I guess that their energy was infectious, as I turned into a stone-cold competitor during a game of “Slide Your Bum,” according to Carmen. Who knew I had a competitive edge? We also finished off our week-long marbling with an awesome potluck. This was a true Lutheran potluck, my friends. Check out that awesome spread of crock pots in the kitchen, as well as all the desserts.

We take off tomorrow morning for Omaha where we’ll catch a flight back to Chicago. Although our time in Nebraska is nearly finished, we’ll be reconvening this Wednesday and Thursday for further processing and debriefing of the experience. We’ll be sharing our final projects with each other. We’ll also be joined by our host pastor, Bob Bryan, as well as Pastor Brenda Pfeifly, who came to Chicago before the trip to prepare us for the experience. Stay tuned later this week for more updates on the interesting projects that people are putting together. I’m also in the process of assembling some great videos for you guys to watch from our trip, as well as a photo album of our time in Nebraska.

Cows, Cows, and More Cows

2010-01-15T23:22:00.010-06:00

We started the day with a jaunt out to a wind farm. Nebraska is fertile ground for harvesting energy from wind, and many companies have begun to invest in this technology. This particular wind farm is situated along a ridge where the wind is almost always blowing. It’s difficult to understand just how big these wind turbines are from the pictures, but the distance from the end of one blade to the end of another blade is 100 yards. Pretty amazing!

We made a quick pit stop in the town of Lindy. The town officially has a whopping population of 14 people, but there are really only eight people who live there, according to the town’s Lutheran pastor, Kelly Pedersen.

We visted Pastor Kelly’s church, Good Shepherd, which recently added on to its sanctuary and fellowship hall. The church even raises its own cattle. Last year, the church raised 50 cows, making a profit of $10,000! Whoever said that all rural churches are dying or lacking innovative forms of ministry needs to see some of the churches that we’ve encountered on this trip.

We had a great time attending a cattle auction in the town of Verdigre. More so than ever before, our attempts to blend in with the locals were foiled. We joked that everybody turned their heads, including the cows, to look at us when we entered. I’m not sure what it was, but I think that Sally’s rainbow scarf gave us away.

Here's a little video of the cattle as they are being prepared for the auction. The sounds and the smell were intense as I prepared this video. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I wasn't able to bring you the smell, but you can at least hear how loud it was out in the yard with thousands of cattle.

And here's a little snippet of the auction in progress.

We received a wonderful tour from the owner of a local feedlot, the home of 7500 head of cattle being fattened up for eventual slaughter. The owner of H&H Cattle gave us great insights into the meat industry. In a previous post, I mentioned the debate regarding whether cows should be grass-fed or grain-fed. The owner made a good point that, as long as we demand beef on a year-round basis, we have no option but to raise cows on a diet consisting primarily of grain. There is simply no grass for the cows to graze from September to May, so unless we change our demand for beef, it will be difficult to eliminate corn and other grains.

We also had the chance to step aboard a John Deere tractor. Talk about rolling in style! This thing is fully enclosed with A/C.

BTW, check out this picture from the feedlot. It's an interesting juxtaposition to see this huge mound of distiller's grain, the byproduct of ethanol, a controversial source of energy, against a backdrop of wind turbines, another emerging and controversial source of energy.

We ended the day by attending a high school basketball game in the town of Wausa. Sports are an integral part of the culture in rural towns, providing activities for the youth and a social venue for the people to gather. The women’s varsity team pulled off an exciting win against Coleridge, once again the home of our very own, Phil Hefner.

Social Ministry in Nebraska

2010-01-14T22:45:00.013-06:00

It’s interesting how certain events sometimes converge in a very meaningful way. Before we had even arrived in Nebraska, we had planned to spend today in Norfolk learning about different social ministries that are available. Our schedule included trips to the Norfolk Rescue Mission, Kids against Hunger, and the Orphan Grain Train. For years, the latter two organizations have provided food, clothing, and other resources to impoverished communities and nations throughout the world, including Haiti. On Tuesday, the earthquake in Haiti hit, devastating the island nation. Little did we know when our itinerary was put together that we would have the opportunity to contribute to the relief effort.

We packaged up boxes of food for the people of Haiti at Kids against Hunger. The organization packages a nutrient-dense meal of rice, vegetables, soy, and chicken flavor. In less than an hour, we were able to prepare enough food to feed over 1700 people. The food that they send provides essential nutrients that the people often lack in their diet. Malnutrition and starvation are common occurrences in Haiti but are more widespread than ever since the earthquake. Food is often so scarce that people resort to eating cookies made out of dirt. Read this article to learn a little bit more about "mud cookies" and food shortages in Haiti:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22902512 (Sorry that the link doesn't work. Just copy and paste it into your address bar.)

We were also able to box up shipments of clothes at Orphan Grain Train:

We all wish to extend our prayers to the family and friends of Ben Larson, a seminarian at Wartburg Theological Seminary, who was killed in the deadly quake. We’ve been receiving email updates for the last couple of days detailing the unfolding situation in Haiti, and while we rejoice for the many people who have survived the earthquake, our hearts grieve for the families and friends of Ben and the countless others who have perished. Merciful Creator, your Holy Spirit intercedes for us even when we do not know how to pray. Send your Spirit now to comfort us in these days of need and loss, and help us to commend all who have died to your merciful care; through Jesus Christ, our savior and Lord. Amen.

We ended the day with a delightful supper with the bishop of the Nebraska Synod, the Rev. Dr. David defreese. We heard about different opportunities for ministry in the Nebraska Synod, and Bishop deFreese was kind enough to field our anxious questions about candidacy and the assignment process. Hey, it’s not every day that you have an audience with a bishop. All in all, it was a fitting end to a very meaningful day.

Bishop deFreese kindly shared a personal greeting with our little team of Nebraska adventurers and all those who are following our travels online.

Taking a Little Breather

2010-01-13T23:16:00.001-06:00

We journeyed north of Nebraska today into Yankton, South Dakota, just across the Missouri River. Yankton is the home of Tom Brokaw. I learned today that television stations used to seek out broadcasters from the central plains region around Nebraska because the people were deemed to have the plainest, least noticeable accent of any region in the country. Johnny Carson grew up in nearby Norfolk, Nebraska, whose residents also exhibit the same accent.

Although it was closed for the season, we were able to tour the Gavin’s Point Dam. The dam regulates the flow of water on the Missouri River and is an important source of energy for the local area. The dam formed Lewis and Clark Lake, an important area of recreation for the region. The trees which line the river are a popular place for bald eagles to nest. I saw my first bald eagle ever. For your blogging enjoyment, I attempted to snap a photo, but the eagle spread its majestic wings and soared away before I could get a shot. We also visited the Lewis and Clark visitor center. This region was an important stopping point on Lewis and Clark’s expedition, where the explorers made contact with the Sioux nation.

We enjoyed lunch at the Hartington Senior Center with many local residents. We also met with the Hartington Economic Development team. They outlined a broad vision of where they see Hartington moving in the future. They envision Hartington as an affordable place to run a business and a safe, nurturing community to raise a family. A theme that we consistently here from all the locals is that the people make Hartington a special place. The locals appreciate that everybody in the town knows each other and are able to support each other in both good times and bad times.

We got our first real break of the trip this afternoon and were able to just wander around downtown Hartington. We visited some local shops and enjoyed the relatively warmer weather. It’s funny…after only being here for four days, people are already recognizing us as we walk around town. Even people that we had never met asked us if we were the group visiting from Chicago. Now I understand how everybody knows everybody in a small town. It was great to get out today and just decompress after a very intense schedule the last few days. We have certainly been immersed in the local community with all that we’ve been doing. Many of us were very tired and had been trying to catch some ZZZs whenever we could, especially on bus rides between locations.

An Important Day

2010-01-12T23:31:00.000-06:00

Remember that picture of all of us sitting on the bus? We’ve been trucking around the last few days in that very bus unable to figure out how to properly work the heater. The first few days we didn’t know how to turn off the heater. It felt like a sauna in there. Then somehow the heater got turned off and we drove around for a couple of days with no heat. It was so cold in the bus that we actually brought blankets with us. Today, we finally figured out how to control the heat by flipping a nondescript, inconspicuous switch somewhere on the front panel. Praise the Lord! Now we’re traveling in style!

Today was a very important day for all of us. We began the day by meeting with the people of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Dakota City. This church supports an Asian ministry which ministers to the large Asian population in Siouxland. Many Asians immigrated to this area as far back as the time when the transcontinental railroad was being constructed and continue to immigrate today to take entry-level jobs in meatpacking and other similar industries. The Asian ministry is led by Pastor Soriya Roeun, who fled Cambodia as a refugee in the 1970s. Pastor Soriya also works as a chaplain at the Tyson Foods plant in Dakota City. Tyson Foods normally does not grant tours to outside groups, but Soriya was able to secure a tour for us. Although he was able to gain access for us, cameras and other electronic media were strictly prohibited, so I’m unable to share any photos with you.

We were all struck by the sheer volume and enormity of the meatpacking operation. The plant employs 3800 people. Every day, 4884 cows are slaughtered and packaged for delivery to stores. Except for the actual moment of death, which is performed by driving a metal spike into the cow’s brain followed by the slicing of the cow’s jugular artery, we were able to witness nearly all aspects of the slaughtering process. The process is very methodical, using hooks, conveyers, chutes, ETC. to move the cows from one end of the plant to another. As the cows move along, they become progressively smaller and smaller, becoming the cuts of beef with which we’re familiar. This mechanized process is assisted by the 3800 employees, who slice and dice with knives and incredibly sharp cutting tools which I’ve never seen before in my life.

We reflected upon the experience throughout the day, and we all concluded that it was very sobering to watch the process. Although the overconsumption of meat in the North American diet poses humanitarian concerns, overall I’m not ethically opposed to the killing of animals for food; at the same time, watching this highly mechanized process made me realize how removed I am from the sources of my food. The industrialization of food has created a disconnect between the animal and the end consumer. When all we have to do is go to a store and by a package of meat, we forget that the meat was once part of a living, breathing creature, whose life was taken for our sustenance. When we no longer have to kill our own food, we lose sight of the fact that that the taking of another life, even animal life, is a profound event, a moment not to be taken lightly. The experience at the meatpacking plant made me yearn for a deeper connection to the earth and all its creatures, one in which I am more intimately involved with the sources of my food.

Touring the Local Industries

2010-01-11T22:31:00.008-06:00

Today was very informative and gave us a good view of rural life, as we spent the day touring many of the local industries. We started off the day with a tour of the local veterinary clinic. Considering that the clinic is in a rural community, they specialize in much more than your typical urban veterinarian. They offer services for both house pets, such as dogs and cats, and farm animals. They also specialize in horse embryo transfers, which have helped many local farmers and ranchers breed their horse populations.

We continued the day at an ethanol plant. Ethanol is simply pure alcohol, 200 proof. Ethanol is produced from corn and then used as an additive in gasoline. Almost all Nebraska gas stations sell E10 Unleaded gasoline. It’s a controversial energy source. Many people see it as a great way to utilize the corn crops that are grown in the Midwest, while others argue that it’s no cleaner than regular gasoline and also question whether we should be burning food as a source of energy. Also, the byproduct of ethanol production is a substance called distiller’s grain, which many farmers use to fatten up their cattle. This is also a source of controversy, as organic farmers argue that cows should only be grass-fed and that grass is just as effective at fattening up the cows. The beauty of this trip is that we’ve been hearing people on both sides of many different debates. As small as many of these communities are, there is a diversity of opinions on these subjects. The picture below only gives you a glimpse of the enormity of this ethanol plant.

I know, I know, we look awesome...

We also had the opportunity to visit a local hydraulics plant and a machine shop. The hydraulics plant produces many parts which are used to produce farm equipment, and the machine shop fixes up a lot of farm equipment and other machinery when it breaks down. Both companies together employ a significant number of people from Hartington and other surrounding towns.

We finished the day with a visit to an agronomist, who specializes in helping local farmers increase their yield. He is able to scan crop fields and map down to three-foot intervals the yield of each small section. This helps farmers to see where they are maximizing their yield and where they need to focus greater attention to improve their yield. We also learned a great deal about the use of herbicides and pesticides in farming. Again, this is a very controversial issue which divides conventional and organic farmers. Throughout the trip, we’ve heard a number of different perspectives on this issue. Our class has been enriched by being able to talk to so many people on both sides of the debate

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at a local favorite, Jimmy’s Hilltop Café. I want to give an extra special shout-out to our fearless professor, Ben Stewart, who, in his effort to eat lightly at lunch, thought that the scalloped potatoes would be a good option. He polished those off like a champ. We’ve heard numerous times on this trip about how the best cows have nice marbling. After enjoying such great hospitality, we’re going to return to Chicago with some nice marbling of our own…

A Full Day

2010-01-11T07:39:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was our first full day in Hartington, so it was jam-packed full of activities. We were busy from early morning until early evening, as there’s no shortage of people and places to see on this trip. We started the day with worship at Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartington, one of the parishes of our host, Pastor Bob Bryan.

Afterwards, we enjoyed some great conversation and fellowship in true Lutheran style by gathering in the church basement. I mention the church basement because it’s always something that I’ve heard about, but we don’t have any basements in California, so I’ve never experienced fellowship down there. We had an opportunity to introduce ourselves to the entire church and tell them where we’re from. The fact that I’m from southern California but visiting Nebraska during the worst winter storm in 30 or 40 years is always good for a few laughs. We also skipped over to Pastor Bob’s other parish, also named Trinity Lutheran Church, in the nearby town of Crofton, where we had a chance to mingle with the people.

During the afternoon, we visited the Argo Hotel, a restored Victorian-era hotel in Crofton. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and is widely known as a haunted house because it was once used as a sanitorium for cancer patients. I can’t report any ghost sightings, but numerous people have reported seeing ghosts and spirits over the years. We also visited another local farming family. This gentleman and his wife are in their mid-eighties and still going strong in keeping up the farmstead. It’s very impressive how the hard-working farm ethic never really leaves people.

We kept ourselves hydrated throughout the day by enjoying some delicious chocolate milk and strawberry milk from a local dairy. We just took the bottles with us from site to site and drank them as we went. How did we keep them cold, you ask? Look around, as there is no shortage of snow.

A couple of quick pictures…here you can see just how high the snow has built up. As I said previously, the locals are saying that this is the worst storm that they’ve seen since the late sixties.

Also, I’m staying now for three nights in the town of Coleridge, about ten miles outside of Hartington. The town has a population of about 600 people. Phil Hefner, professor emeritus of systematic theology at LSTC, traces his roots to this town; in fact, he still has numerous family members who live here. A relative of his owns this shop.

Diving In to Rural Life

2010-01-10T07:47:00.005-06:00

We made it to Hartington safe and sound yesterday. The roads were a bit hairy in parts. I made the mistake of telling everybody that I had never seen a snow drift before...boy, did I regret that statement. Needless to say, I now have a very clear idea of what a snow drift looks life after my classmates pointed out every snow drift that we encountered for a couple of hours. Some of the snow drifts were large enough that roads were closed or reduced to one lane. That's us making the trip from Omaha to Hartington in our borrowed bus.

Upon arrival in Hartington, we had the pleasure of visiting the farm of Linda and Martin Kleinschmit. The Kleinschmits have made their livelihood through sustainable, organic farming, as opposed to more conventional, commodity-driven farming. Martin enlightened us to many of the differences between organic farming and conventional farming. Organic farming seeks to utilize the resources that are already present in the earth, as opposed to using chemicals and pesticides. The Kleinschmits encourage sustainable farming because it promotes greater harmony with the earth’s resources and is more sustainable than a model in which the only measure of success is the constant push to grow larger. In addition to helping around the farm, Linda also advocates for smaller farmers by working on policy matters. The Kleinschmits ultimately see their work as care for God’s creation, being good stewards of what God has given us.

I had the privilege of enjoying the hospitality of Kelly and Steve Grube last night. Unfortunately, I’ll only have that one evening with them because we arrived to Hartington a day late. It was wonderful to stay at their place, enjoy a hot-cooked meal, and engage in good conversation after being on the road all day. Kelly is the third-grade teacher in Hartington, and Steve works for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), a division of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). One thing you quickly learn in a rural town is that everybody knows each other and is intertwined in some way. Through his job, Steve helped to provide funds to the Kleinschmits when they were transitioning between conventional and organic farming. The transitional period can be very costly for farmers, and the work of the Kleinschmits and Steve Grube has helped to establish a permanent government subsidy for farmers who are making the transition.

If any of you are interested in following our trip in real time, one of my classmates, Carmen Retzlaff, is twittering. You can follow her at www.twitter.com/cretzlaff

Getting Going

2010-01-09T10:27:00.004-06:00

So we finally made it to Nebraska...Our morning flight at 9:25am was cancelled because of severe winter weather, so we were rescheduled for an afternoon flight. We finally made it off at about 4:30pm. When we got to Omaha, the temperature was hovering around 0 degrees, with windchills somewhere in the negative teens. We were originally planning on driving to our final destination of Hartington in a diesel bus, but if you know anything about diesel fuel, it gels up in very cold temperatures, so we had to spend the night in Omaha. Right now, we're waiting for our driver to arrive to take us to Hartington. Normally, Hartington is a three-hour drive, but we might have to make a little detour through South Dakota because of some closed roads. We're hoping for no more than a four-hour drive, but we'll see...

We had a great time last night socializing and getting to know each other. We went to a local establishment called Brewburgers, where we enjoyed some delicious beers and Omaha beef. It was honestly one of the best burger patties I've ever had in my life, so there really is some truth to what people say about Omaha beef. Apparently, our plans to blend in with the locals were foiled. When we entered the restaurant, one of the locals looked at us all bundled up in our winter gear and commented, "Boy, you sure look cold." Maybe the hat, gloves, scarf, and goose down jacket was too much...

I hope to post some more later today along with some pictures once we get to Hartington. Stay tuned!

Prologue: A Nebraska Adventure

2010-01-07T22:16:00.002-06:00

While visiting family and friends over Christmas break in sunny, warm southern California, people would often ask me what my plans are for the new year. When I told them that I would be traveling to Nebraska in January, I would often receive an incredulous look in reply and a sentiment along the lines of “Why the heck would you want to go there?”

You see, I come from a very different land. Now granted, I’m sure that Californians have just as many stereotypes about Nebraska as Nebraskans have about California, but all stereotypes of beaches and palm trees aside, my little area of the state, Orange County, is about as urban and densely populated as you can get. Located about 30 minutes outside Los Angeles, Orange County is technically a suburb of LA, but LA suburbs are more like cities unto themselves, with one city squashed right up next to another with little to no green space in between. My hometown, Fullerton, has a population of about 130,000, and that’s pretty normal size for where I come from. Needless to say, southern California is about as different than rural Nebraska as you could imagine.

So why the heck would I want to go to rural Nebraska in January? A number of factors are drawing me to this rural immersion. From a purely practical standpoint, I’ve never lived in a rural area. It was a pretty big move to go from California to Chicago, but at least Chicago is still urban, so it wasn’t too shocking for me. Considering that about 65 percent of ELCA congregations are located in rural settings and that I have no rural experience, this trip will be a great opportunity for me to get a taste of what rural life is like and discern whether I could see myself serving as a pastor in a rural setting. I can’t honestly choose city life over rural life if I haven’t experienced both.

I also feel drawn to rural Nebraska out of a sense of adventure. I will see and experience life in a way that is completely different than my own, not just in the sense of people’s values and priorities but also geography and weather. You might think that going to Midwestern farm country in the heart of winter with possible wind chills of -40 degrees is crazy, but I look at it as an opportunity to step into the unknown and push myself in new and challenging ways. From what I’ve been told, I can expect lots of broad open farmland, tasty beef, and warm hospitality, but I guess that I don’t really know what I’ll encounter in Nebraska until I actually get there, and that’s the beauty of it. As I enter this new place, I’m trying to keep as open of a mind as possible, not letting any preconceived notions shape my view of the people and land of Nebraska.

I hope to use this blog to glean the wisdom that is harvested for us by our Nebraska hosts (please excuse my agricultural metaphor), offering pictures, videos, and stories so that this area of the country might be more accessible to you and you might learn a thing or two about a context different than your own. Although this blog aims to be educational, I hope to also have some fun in the process, so please forgive me ahead of time if I post some random photos or share humorous anecdotes. If you’re a seminarian, maybe this blog will open you to receiving a call to this place. If you’re not a seminarian, maybe you’ll just realize that there’s still a lot of country for you to discover in our diverse nation. Regardless of your situation, I hope that this blog will expand your horizons and entertain you in the process. Happy reading!

Thanks and Photos

2009-01-26T18:43:00.004-06:00

Now that I am a full week removed from the rural immersion in Nebraska, I want to offer a few thanks for people who made it such a great experience for me. First I want to thank Gary and Betty for being such wonderful host parents. I want to thank Steven and Jerri for putting together a fantastic week. I want to thank Peter for leading the course and for the different perspective that he brought to this trip. I want to thank Shelisa, Mary, and Kelli for being adventurous enough to go on this trip with me. I want to thank the congregation of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd for being so welcoming. I want to thank everybody who met with us and shared their stories with us throughout our time in Hastings. Thank you Ruth for coming to Chicago and collecting the manure that helps make this program better and better. Thank you Dennis for coming to Chicago and helping us understand the farmer's perspective. Thank you Barb, Gretchen, and Rex for giving us rides to and from Hastings. THANK YOU!

I've put together some of the best pictures of this trip in an online album. Be sure to check it out!

Rural Immersion Album

Leaving Town

2009-01-20T20:08:00.004-06:00

It's Tuesday, and I've been out of Nebraska for 2 full days now. My time in Hastings seems distant and warm (weird right?), compared to the snow and cold of Chicago. I miss the community that we created during our time there. There was a common purpose and a real sense of camaraderie.

Before we left on Sunday, the five of us Chicagoans were invited to share our reflections on our time in Hastings during Pastor Steven's homily. None of us knew what the other was going to say, and yet somehow we managed to build off of one another and create a coherent and collaborative message while still maintaining the diversity of our individual perspectives. It was a beautiful experience. I really felt the spirit moving in worship on Sunday, and so must have the congregation. The worship lasted a full 45 minutes later than usual, and yet I did not hear one peep of complaint! Usually we Lutherans like to have things on a set schedule, so we know what to expect. So this was truly a rare and beautiful experience!

During my time at the pulpit, I mentioned that I considered myself to be a radical. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but I felt the congregation tense up when I said that. We are told that radicals are dangerous and they are to be feared. They are usually portrayed as being so sure of themselves and their cause that any criticism is ignored and any dissenting viewpoint is labeled ignorant and inferior. I am not this kind of radical. I am a radical Christian. I am a radical servant. Or at least I aspire to be.

I haven't read it yet, but it's next up on my list. I am told that Shane Claiborne may be a kindred spirit. Read his The Irresistible Revolution: Living As An Ordinary Radical and take a journey of self-exploration with me.

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Jerri and Ruth come to Chicago tomorrow to help us reflect and evaluate our trip. I'll do one more post, dear readers, during their time here. So stay tuned for a few more days! Thanks for reading!

-Rory

Recipes

2009-01-17T23:35:00.000-06:00

Saturday can be summed up in two recipes. The first comes from Pr. Jeff Glau of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Glenvil. He's a new pastor at his first call and we got a chance to meet with him, his wife Jackie, and some fantastic lay leaders in his congregation this morning. He shared with us his recipe for mission.

(Brian Henricks, one of Immanuel Lutheran's prodigious lay leaders.)

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Recipe for Mission

1. Devotions. Make it a practice to spend time every day with God. Spiritual self-care is vital to effective ministry.

2. Get out in the community. Build relationships with people so that they know your name and through you know the church's name.

3. Know people's names. Especially know the names of people in your congregation.

4. Use a mission statement to direct ministry. The mission statement can be used to keep you accountable to Christ throughout your ministry and it helps keep the main thing the main thing.

5. Utilize effective ministry teams. You can't do everything, so help people identify their gifts and empower them to take part in ministry to youth, welcoming newcomers, reaching out to the unchurched, planning and leading worship, whatever.

6. Know the pastors in your area. These are your colleagues. Make sure you are all working together to serve Christ.

7. Find time to disengage. You can't work all the time. Make time to get away for a little so you don't burn out. It's hard to disengage, but you have to do it.

8. Have fun! Humor and laughter is a great way to build community and relieve stress.

9. Practice practical evangelism. Do small things for people that are truly helpful. Meet peoples' needs to get the Word out.

10. If God called you to it, God will see you through it. Trust in your calling.

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We were able to see this recipe at work in the life two other congregations later in the afternoon. The first was Zion Lutheran Church in Sutton, NE where Pr. Judy Nuss was leading a vibrant and surprisingly young congregation. Then we went to The Way of Grace Fellowship to meet with Rev. Martha Nordt. The church was was housed in her basement!

I had never been to a house church before, and it was exciting to see how free the congregation and pastor were to truly serve God in mission. Without all of the overhead of a separate church building, they are able to do more mission work than I would have ever thought possible for a congregation of 30 people. They serve meals to the poor, sponsor families in impoverished nations, help with a food pantry, promote and sell fair trade products, push for environmentally friendly practices, are involved in Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and many more initiatives.

Martha spoke to us about the importance of standing up for what the Lord is calling us to do and maintaining grace under fire. Her personal story of being crucified (figuratively) by a congregation for the parish's own personal problems was extremely moving. Her story speaks about the reality of redemption and resurrection and the importance of following God's call no matter what the price.

For dinner tonight I cooked for Betty and Gary, to try to give back for all that they have given me this past week.

I made Ham-Stuffed Apples and they were such a hit that I have gotten multiple requests for the recipe. So I figured I would just post it up here so everybody could have it. It's a pretty easy recipe and the final product turns out looking fancy and tasting delicious!

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Ham-Stuffed Apples

(serves 6)

Ingredients:

6 large red apples

8 oz cooked ham, cubed small

2 T. butter

1/3 c. raisins

1/3 c. pecans, chopped

3 T. brown sugar

1/2 c. apple juice (may need up to 1 cup)

1. Cut the tops off the apples and scoop out the centers, leaving a sturdy enough shell to hold the stuffing.

2. Preheat oven to 350.

3. Mix approximately 1 cup of the removed fruit with ham, butter, raisins, pecans, and brown sugar.

4. Spoon this mixture into the cored apples and place them in a baking dish.

5. Pour the juice over the apples and bake for 35-40 min., basting occasionally with the juice.

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After a great dinner the three of us joined Lee Saathoff and Elaine for the Adams Central basketball game at Doniphan-Trumbull. Gary used to work for Adams Central, so we joined the visitors section and cheered our team on to a win! It was an exciting game, intense right up to the final buzzer. The gymnasium was packed too. It seemed like the entire community turned out to cheer on these kids!

The Town of Hastings

2009-01-16T22:39:00.008-06:00

So far on this trip we have focused our experiences in the country outside the Hastings city limits. Today we went to town. It started off with a meeting with Dee Haussler, Jerri's husband and director of the Hastings Economic Development Corporation. He shared his story with us, including his weakness for nice automobiles. Then he took us on a tour of the Hastings industrial parks. Each warehouse or factory had its own story to be told, and Dee knew them all. "Such and such worked here; this company made me lose one of my good friends when I brought them here; this company moved to Mexico; this company lost $1 million on a spec building; I golf with the owner of this company." What Dee kept stressing throughout all his stories was the excellent work ethic of Nebraskans and how proud he was of how hard people worked around here. Being a Nebraskan myself, I agree with him on all accounts.

After Dee, we went over to the police station and got a chance to meet with police chief Thoren. He eloquently described his life as a cop as having "many hours of boredom, some moments of shear fear, and a lot of emotion." He really connected with us as pastors and pointed out that both pastors and the police have the opportunity to deal with humanity at its worst. For pastors, we are also given opportunities to deal with humanity at its best. That's not always the case with cops. Chief Thoren makes it a point that his officers become involved in the community in some beneficial way, so that they see good people as well as the bad. This also helps the public begin to view the police as someone other than their adversary, and everyone is better able to avoid slipping into the easy cynicism of a poor relationship.

The afternoon brought us into conversation with the director of Butler Volland Mortuary. He gave us wonderful advice on how funeral directors and pastors might best work together. As with many things, mutual respect seemed to be the key ingredient for a healthy relationship. I have to admit, funerals are one part of ministry which I haven't heavily dealt with yet. It was touching for me to see how he spoke of the unique difficulties of rural funerals and how often he had to bury someone he has been personally close with.

In order for the afternoon to not end on a minor chord, we finished it off with a trip to Carla Kocher's lighthearted sanctuary "Beads and Botanicals". She had many surprises in store for us. The first was that she wanted the four of us seminarians to hold a brief worship service, blessing her newly refurbished storefront. It was exciting to have that opportunity to work with my colleagues to develop something of value. When we finished I could see that Carla was clearly touched, and so was I.

Then she gave us the chance to make Lutheran rosaries which we could use for our personal spiritual practices. I love mine and already have put it to very good use.

After "Beads and Botanicals" we had some rare down time to meander around downtown Hastings and spend our Hastings Bucks. Predictably I used mine to purchase a cup of coffee. Mmmmm.... coffee.

For dinner we joined our host families and had quite a fancy meal at the Lochland Country Club. The chicken parmesan was delicious and it was great to be able to share that companionship with everyone who has been involved in making this past week a reality. Thank you everyone!

Of course, I had to also make sure to get another ridiculous picture of Kelli. I title this one, "You have got to be kidding me!"

Joy of Journey

2009-01-15T21:44:00.010-06:00

If today had a theme, it would be journeying. In Greek the word for "journey" is poreuomai and it is used to describe either a long trip, a life changing trip, or a way of life. The word is used by God in Acts 22:10 when God tells Paul to journey along the road to Damascus, where he will receive more instruction for his new life as an evangelist. It's also an appropriate word to describe the stories we heard today at the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, aka "the Archway". In both cases the traveling takes the traveler from one way of life to an entirely new way of life, and often it is the journey itself which truly changes the person.

The Archway is a huge arch spanning over I-80 just outside of Kearney, NE. The sides are made to match up to the line of the horizon and the burnished plates on the side show either a rising or a setting sun, depending on your direction of travel. It's a monument to the hundreds of thousands of pioneers who journeyed west on the California, Mormon, and Oregon trails. Fort Kearney was the site of the convergence of all major trails West and is often seen as the place where the West begins. East of Kearney are fertile lands with plenty of rainfall to support crops. West of Kearney are dry plains suitable for little more than grazing (although with advanced irrigation techniques even this has changed).

"Two-Gun Pete" greeted us as we entered the Archway. This grizzly old man was one of the highlights for my entire day. His smile was classic and always ready. Shelisa especially got a kick out of him. He passed out headphones and away we went, up into the Arch. For those of you who have never been to the Archway, it's a self-guided tour which tells the history of everyone and everything that passed by from the pioneers to present day fiber-optic cables. Hearing the tales of these past travelers made me want to go on an extended journey of my own. I already have a thirst for adventure, and this monument made me even thirstier.

Vethanayagamony made a statement after we had all gathered back together after going through the exhibits. "I definitely have a new respect for the Mormon people, seeing the hardships that they had to go through for their faith." It's true too, the Mormons did suffer a lot to make it all the way out to Utah. One of my favorite stories was about the 1200 Mormons who got snowed into the mountains by an early blizzard. Brigham Young noticed they were late and sent out a search party to find them and rescue them. The rescue party found the trapped travelers and rescued over 800 men, women, and children from what would have been certain death.

We don't face death anymore in the same way that people used to. In this country, most of us have insulated ourselves from the elements and the world. Don't get me wrong, it's great to be healthy and secure. But I wonder if we are becoming too removed from our own humanity in the process? We aren't challenged in the same ways. If we don't risk anything, then there is no commitment. This lack of commitment has created a vast ocean of shallow beliefs. I believe that as Christians we are called to discomfort and risk. God is committed to us. God has risked something for us. This point is clear. Now what do we risk in return? What commitment can we make for the glory of God?

The afternoon's agenda included four stops, which I'm going run through slapdash since I waxed prolific on the Archway. First was MONA (The Museum of Nebraska Art). There were a lot of nice pieces of art there, but the Spirit Boat sculpture was what grabbed me the most. It spoke to the journeyer in me and reminded me that the greatest adventure I will ever take won't occur until I leave this world.

Second was Rowe Sanctuary. It was a beautiful nature preserve along the Platte River where thousands and thousands of sandhill cranes congregate every year between Valentine's Day and Tax Day. They stop to fatten up on leftover corn before continuing their journey north, some going as far as Siberia. Carcass Kelli found a dead mouse in the parking lot and shared a tender moment with the dead animal before telling me stories about how she once turned Thanksgiving turkeys into meat puppets!

Third was the grave of pioneer woman Susan C Haile. This pioneer woman died of poisoning along the Mormon trail. Her husband went all the way back to Missouri to bring back a marble headstone in a handcart so that his beloved would have a lasting memorial. The people of the area have protected the grave and cared for it ever since.

Last was a visit with the parish nurse of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Shirley Winter. I finally figured out what a parish nurse does! Shirley promotes wellness within the congregation and works with the parishioners on preventative care. She also offers additional pastoral care for parishioners when they are experiencing illness.

The night ended with a dinner out with my mother and grandmother, who drove over 2 hours just to have dinner with me! I feel truly blessed to have a family that loves me. Now it's getting late and I must get some sleep. Only a few more days of our immersion left! It's going so fast!

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Prairie

2009-01-14T23:41:00.007-06:00

Today we immersed ourselves in the childhood world of Willa Cather. Betty Kort was our guide through historic Red Cloud, Nebraska. The small town was the prototype setting for many of Cather's prairie novels. This morning we visited some of the prominent Cather-related buildings in town and heard all sorts of stories, but my imagination wasn't captured until we headed out to the prairie after lunch.

Just on this short little jaunt out into the prairie, I've scared up five whitetail deer and two hawks. All of them rose up out of the grass within 20 feet of where I was walking. The effect was stunning, it was as if the earth birthed them and they leapt out into life through the air. I sat and watched the hawks float on the air currents for a while. It's been a long time since I've had the time and stillness to be able to observe birds in flight. It is so peaceful and uplifting.

Most everybody is probably back in the van by now. In fact, I think I might even hear the horn honking. I should go... One more deep breath. . . . Okay.

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I ran through the grass, leaping and bounding like a deer. The cold air in my lungs hurt, but in a refreshing and vivifying sort of way. Stalks of red, gold, and brown bent and crunched under my boots. A small flock of birds, sparrows perhaps, rose up on my right into the cold blue sky.

I followed the valley north down to the pond. It was frozen. Dark barren trees defiantly jutted up through the surface of the ice, challenging the prairie with their presence. I turned up the adjacent valley and sped back south towards the van. As soon as I got past the ice, I descended the western bank down to the skinny mud flat at the bottom of the valley. The mud was riddled with the footprints of whitetails and the wrinkles left by run-off water.

Leaving my own trail of boot prints on the soft earth, I ambled up the eastern slope and tore across the open prairie. The van came into view as I crested the hillock, but I lost it soon thereafter when I dropped into one final steep valley. I climbed the opposite slope in five bounds, covering perhaps 20 vertical feet, and the van popped back into sight. I walked the rest of the way to catch my breath before I got back to the group, refreshed.

I have to admit that I am no Cather-phile. It's been a while since I have read any of her writings and many of the details and stories of her life inspired little of my interest. However, I did truly appreciate how our trip today and our discussion of Cather really romanticized the Great Plains. Today showed me that this fly-over state has produced stories of great beauty and gripping personalities. The challenge is to continue to see the romantic and the story-worthy amid the events of our own lives. Our perceptions, especially as we age, become trapped in the realistic and the mundane. It's not that our lives are void of stories. Rather it is that we are so often blind to the romance of our own lives. We fail to perceive our own importance in the world, and we think our stories to be boring and unoriginal. In doing so, we are robbing ourselves of the power of creation. I believe that within each person there is a great epic story. I just wish I could figure out what mine is.

Manure

2009-01-13T20:34:00.000-06:00

On Saturday at the Rural Ministry Conference one of the presenters proposed a metaphor. Christians are like manure. Pile them up and nothing good happens. Spread them around and other things start to grow. Tonight I want to propose a similar but different metaphor. Jesus is like cow manure. The gross, dirty, unwanted, and discarded is redeemed through Christ to be the harbinger of hope and life.

Coming from a broken family, I know that some things are more than the sum of their parts. I believe that something great can come from something horrible. I know that delicious organic fruits can be grown with feces. I know that God has wrought holiness, love, and life out of human suffering, hatred, and death in the person and life of Jesus. I know that through the Holy Spirit the same possibility has been given to us.

All this talk about crap comes from our having spent the afternoon at the Juniata Feed Yard. Joe Boyer hopped in our van and showed us around the expansive feed lot. We saw the feeding process, the pens, the lagoons, the veterinary services, the mountain of manure (which was affectionately termed "Nutrient Mountain", and even the organic corn fields which were fertilized with feed lot byproduct.

I took a lot of great photos today. I thought I would share three of my favorites.

First - my favorite sign of the entire trip:

Second - my new favorite pastime, taking ridiculous pictures of Kelli.

Third - Bob the dog, an instant hit!

Walt "The Vault"

2009-01-12T19:07:00.000-06:00

This morning we picked up Walt "The Vault" Miller and got a drive-through tour of the Naval Ammunitions Depot just outside of Hastings. I was surprised to see something so large and historical out here in the middle of Nebraska. The facility manufactured shells and ammunitions for use in WWII and the Korean War. The factories were enormous and most of them had fallen into severe disrepair.

We stopped to briefly walk around inside a building which had been used to melt and pour TNT into torpedoes and depth charges. Further down the assembly line was the site of an explosion which disintegrated 8 people instantaneously on April 6th, 1944. The explosion was so powerful it blew out the windows in the nearby town of Glenville. The building we explored was full of broken walls, twisted metal, and shattered windows. When the facility was shut down, the marines didn't know what to do about all of the explosive residue which had gathered into the cracks and crevices of the building. So they soaked wooden pallets in kerosene, piled them up inside, and set the place ablaze. It was a wreck afterwards, but man alive - what a bonfire!

We were already running late, so after leaving the site we hurried over to meet with Scott Opbreck at the Meat Animal Research Center. This is a place, run by the government, that is doing world class research in order to make the best and most delicious steak in the world. The entire lab facility we were in smelled like a steakhouse. In back we ran across two women whose job as far as I could tell was to cook steaks to perfection and then analyze the tenderness of the meat. Get this - there is an actual gene in the DNA of a cow which can predict the meat's tenderness! Who knew?

We got in a van and drove around to see the different animals they were doing research on. We saw cows, sheep, and pigs. (Well, we didn't see pigs because the pigs were quarantined in huge windowless sheds so they wouldn't contract diseases.) They had about 27,000 head of cattle (which is apparently a ton) on their property. One cow got feisty and stared me down between the gates of her feeder.

The sheep reminded me of New Zealand, although they don't keep them in little pens there. I was impressed especially by the self-shearing sheep. What a great idea if you're only raising sheep for meat! However the shedding did make the sheep look extra scraggly and pretty hideous. New Zealand sheep are much cuter, especially the ones with the black faces!

After lunch we took in the sickly-sweet stench of the Chief Ethanol Plant. It smells kinda good at first, a little yeasty. But after a really good wiff of it you kind of want to throw up. Duane Kristensen gave us the rundown on the plant and let us smell some of the 200 proof ethanol they had produced. It was completely potable alcohol, quite strong, but drinkable. It smelled so good that I wished I had a mixer to make myself a stiff drink!

Stiff drinks were not allowed at our next stop - the Crossroads Homeless Shelter. That's where the news media met up with our group and I got tapped to be interviewed. Five minutes later and I was on my way to being a local TV star! My short appearance was a huge hit with the old ladies at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. Tonight I joined one of the women's circles while they met at my host's home and after I told them about the interview one of them called up her husband and told him to make sure and tape the news tonight! I felt quite loved.

Interesting story: Everyone forgot to tell Pastor Peeler where the women's group met! So he sat at the church all by his lonesome waiting for people to show up. Finally he called over to Betty to ask if they might have cancelled it. Poor Pastor Peeler!

While he made his way over, that left me stuck in a room with about 10 old ladies. Betty is going to be mad at me when she reads this. She told me personally, "We have a wide range of ages in our circle." Now that may be, but as Gary pointed out, not one of those women was under 55 years old! It was a lot of fun though, and I got to practice my storytelling skills. The night ended with a warm slice of peach pie topped with vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmm...

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Hasting's History

2009-01-11T08:19:00.000-06:00

After church and brunch today we met for what was really our first chance at reflection. I've definitely noticed that the key word we Chicagoans have been using to describe this trip has been "Hospitality". I've easily heard this term come from our mouths over 30 times since I've been in Nebraska. I can't say that I disagree with this sentiment. Betty and Gary have fully opened up their home to me. It's like we are family, even though I have only just met them.

When we finished reflections, we joined up with Jeri and walked over to the Hasting's Museum. We caught an IMAX movie about the ancient sea monsters which used to swim over Nebraska on a huge inland sea. I started dozing off before it was over, so when the group wanted to catch a planetarium show not 15 minutes later I decided (in the interest of staying awake) to not join them. Instead I explored the quaint little museum a bit more deliberately. I was drawn to the "Portraits of a Proud People" exhibit. It showcased portraits of famous Native American leaders accompanied by brief biographies and a famous quote from them. The horrible un-Christian treatment of these people by our government impassions me. Unjust treatment of any oppressed people impassions me. All people deserve honor and dignity and respect. All people deserve to have their full humanity recognized and to be served in love.

From these portraits I went downstairs to meander through the Kool-Aid corner. Kool-Aid was invented in Hastings after all. (I think my early excitement about the Kool-Aid museum has thrown everybody off, so let me set the record straight. I don't even like Kool-Aid! It was just the one single thing I knew about Hastings before we came!) I did find something in the exhibit which got my theological wheels turning.

One of the hardest things in life is to be consistent, especially in regards to our faith and our values. When we divide ourselves like Edwin did and follow two separate ethics, we only manage to prove our shallowness and superficiality. A truly Christian ethic must run deep, to the bone. Love and service must permeate everything we do - be it business, family, church, or pleasure.

Leaving the museum, we walked back in the fading light of the sunset to Pastor Steven's house for dinner. I, per usual, had fun climbing the snow piles and throwing snowballs at Kelli and Mary all the way back. Jeri even decided to get in on the fun - too bad she just got a fist-full of ice and powder! This proves that snowball making skills do indeed get rusty after years and years and years and years of disuse. (love you Jeri!) At dinner Pastor Steven and his wife Courtney shared some of the personal challenges they have faced because of Steven's call to ministry. They were really open and candid with us about their lives and I know I definitely appreciated that. I also appreciated Pastor Peeler's perfect pot roast. That Reverend can cook!!

Workshop and Wine

2009-01-10T23:55:00.003-06:00

Today's Rural Ministry Conference provided a number of quotable quotes from the various pastors and lay leaders who had gathered together to talk about what's working in rural ministry today. Since I have an abject love for pithy quotes, I'm going to share some of these with you now.

“Focus not on what's breaking down, but on what's breaking through.”

“If you want to never know what you'll be doing from day to day, be a rural minister.”

- Rev. Don Hunzeker

“It all hinges on the school.”

“The best ministry happens in combines, cafes, and bars.”

- Rev. Steven Peeler

“Wind is good for the crops. It makes the stalks strong. Adversity is good for people. It makes their foundations strong.”

“Rural pastors are called by a congregation, but they serve a community.”

What I'm learning is that rural ministry is inextricably linked to the life of the community in which it happens. Never before have I heard a ministry of presence be so highly emphasized as I have here. It's so important for pastors to be seen at the places where the people regularly go. To simply be seen provides such a strong foundation for good ministry.

After the workshop I was going crazy from sitting down all day. Betty convinced Gary to take me to his gym to work out. I was so happy to finally get some exercise. I did free weights while Gary watched Bonanza on the treadmill. Then, after a dinner of upside-down pizza, Betty and Gary taught Mary and I to play a game called “3 to 13”. We played cards, told stories, and drank wine all night long – a wonderful evening. Betty kicked our butts in cards, but I still managed to tie Gary for a very respectable second place.

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Keep asking God to lead me, as I search inside of me. Try to see where I should be to carry out my ministry. Should I keep my feet on streets with shooting sprees, lack of trees, not to mention corrupt policies? Or am I called to a different street where those I meet are judged by hospitality and attendance at wrestling meets?

Am I called to be a rural minister?

Ministry's the same on any street. No matter who you meet they're searching or identity and meaning. What identity will I empower? Which mission will I preach? What challenge will I face and aim to beat? What street calls my feet? What street calls you?

Snow and Ice - TWICE!

2009-01-09T23:35:00.010-06:00

Hastings, NE

We weathered two ice and snow storms to get here, but we finally made it. I am currently sitting in a very comfortable leather armchair in the home of Gary and Betty Aadland chatting about various things and trying to focus my very tired brain.

This morning started with a bit of a scare. I woke up at 7:15. Remember how I was supposed to leave at 7??? I slept through my alarm! All three of them!!! I quickly called Kelli and was relieved to hear they hadn't left yet. I pulled on some clothes, grabbed my bags (thank goodness they were packed!), and ran out the door. It was snowing in Chicago. Hard. We made it through the horrible traffic on 55th st. (Thanks Chaks) and got to the airport only to find that the airport was closed and all flights were on hold until the skies cleared up a bit! So we got checked in and just relaxed. Eventually the skies cleared up and we made it to Omaha, albeit a little sleepy.

Pastor Gretchen from Emmerson, NE and Pastor Barbara from McCool Junction, NE met us at the airport and shuttled the lot of us from Omaha to Lincoln for an enormous lunch at Lazlo's. After some locally brewed beer and much deliciousness, we got to talking about Cow Pies. Naturally. We first tricked the non-Nebraskans in our group that cow pies were truly delicious affairs, bursting with fudge and nuts. After some good laughs we explained the fecal truth behind our little joke, but not before Kelli had worked up an appetite. So she absolutely had to get a Mud Pie for dessert, which of course is the next best thing if you're fresh out of Cow Pies. We ordered some cobbler and a slice of cheesecake to go with it and all eight of us shared dessert together.

From the restaurant we moved on for a quick pass through the state capital building. We admired the beautiful ceilings and rode the elevators up to the 14th floor to look out of the observation deck. Then on to Hastings!

Not 15 minutes out of Lincoln we started to hit precipitation. Before we knew it we were in the thick of a harsh snow, ice, and wind storm. Visibility was low and the roads were slick. I saw a van in the ditch with the windows cracked and the ceiling crumpled from having rolled there. I saw another truck on the side of the road with its entire front end destroyed. Pastor Barbara was a fantastic driver though, and managed to keep us on the road all the way to Hastings. Once we got to Hastings, however, we managed to hit a slick spot and go spinning 180 degrees into the ditch. Luckily the only thing that was compromised was our collective adrenaline level.

Finally we made it to the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, where Pastor Steven Peeler greeted us along with more than a dozen members of the community. We shared a truly Nebraskan supper of Runza's, Eileen's cookies, and coffee. I also met my host family for the week, Gary and Betty. They brought Mary and I to their beautiful home and served us a sensational pudding desert and even more coffee! It's a good thing I'm drinking decaf, otherwise I would be so jittery I wouldn't even be able to operate a keyboard!

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This prayer struck me today. This is exactly what we're talking about when we talk about revitalizing rural ministry. It is taking the weak and the poor and the small and transforming them into a strong source of love and the mission of Christ.

LORD, make me an instrument of Thy peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

-Prayer of St. Francis of Assissi (posted in the Nebraska State Capital)

Prologue

2009-01-08T19:17:00.009-06:00

G'day blog readers! The Rural Ministry Immersion trip of 2009 is about to begin! This year I get to be the one to tell its story (via the internet anyway), so I suppose I should probably introduce myself.

My name is Rory Phillips. I was born in McCook, Nebraska and was raised in Omaha. I went to college in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Christian University and got a degree in religion with a minor in Spanish. I've traveled to China, Tibet, Canada, Tonga, Australia, lived in New Zealand, and spent time on coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua. Last year I was in the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and lived a simple life on the north side of Chicago, serving an urban congregation as the youth director. Now I'm a junior seminarian at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, looking to become a pastor. Traveling is in my blood, and I'm excited to do a bit of it back in my home state of Nebraska.

These past two days we've been in class here in Chicago preparing ourselves for this trip through reading, discussion, and eating. (Have to build up a nice layer of fat to keep us warm in the Nebraska winter!) We've talked about the realities of livestock production, farming, water rights, and diesel engines. We've discussed the finer points of rural culture (like how everybody knows everybody and it sometimes feels like a fishbowl). We've breezed through Nebraska's geography, history, and sociological landscape. We've hammered out the logistics and we are ready to go! I for one am ready to get out of the classroom and into the fields.

Peter Vethanayagamony (10 points if you can pronounce his name on the first try) and Kelli Wilder discussing our final project in class.

Now I just hope I wake up in time for our 7am start... history tells me that's going to be mighty difficult tomorrow morning.

A Different View of Home

2009-01-08T18:31:00.004-06:00

January 7th, 2009 - Chicago, IL

Nebraska. Home. It's odd going back to a place I just left, knowing that while I'm there I won't see any of the people or visit any of the places that I'm accustomed to. I won't see my friends in Omaha, or my dad in Elkhorn, or my family in Fremont and Trenton. This will be a very curious trip. Everything will be familiar and yet new at the same time. It's like exploring a new part of myself.

Of course, this is part of the reason why I chose to go on this travel seminar. I know that it will take me to new places, introduce me to new people, and give me a different perspective on something I already assume that I know. The other half of why I'm going is because the Nebraska Synod, in all its wisdom and generosity, is providing travel, lodging and food for the next 10 days. Excellent. When you have lived on $100 a month you learn to take advantage of opportunities like these.

Day Ten

2008-01-20T18:18:00.000-06:00

Day One began with an excerpt, so the last day should, too. The following was written by Robert Vivian, as part of an essay titled “Hereafter in Fields.” You can find it in The Big Empty: Contemporary Nebraska Nonfiction Writers, a collection edited by Ladette Randolph and Nina Shevchuk-Murray.

“The way the sun shimmers in the long Nebraska grass just off the highway can make you feel hope again, like there’s still time for lovelier, finer things. It hovers in every reed and dust mote, rippling out into the tiny eyes of grain that burn with winter’s fire, an ember so small and subtle you know something is burning inside you, too. It’s a destination that breaks the spell, that teeters into dread. Dusk can make the fields remote, haunted, the patchwork of all your silent prayers. I drive because I have to. I drive to get where I am going, making the fifty-mile commute between Omaha and Lincoln three days a week. But what about these fields, these grasses? Why do they suggest something about time, about eternity? I’m just another pilgrim in his crude bark boat, making his way across the waters; I’m just another commuter fiddling with the dial. But more and more I wonder what it is to arrive; more and more arrival becomes the thing bequeathed, but not desired.

If only we could keep going, out of harm’s way, and take with us only the best part of ourselves; if only we knew why we dream at the wheel or think more clearly while moving down valleys and across rivers. Driving toward the horizon on Interstate 80 can make you feel this. Driving anywhere flat and endless can. It can wear you down to sheer seeing, to that mesh of changing light just over the horizon that blooms like sunflowers drenched in a cut glass vase. Sometimes the clouds above the Nebraska plains contain such towering beauty that you sense the sky is exploding around you in myriad waters, bearing down on you like grace before dying. The grooves of the highway moan, and just outside Lincoln the view north is endless in rolling fields, undulations firm as a roadkill’s thigh, a rigor mortis of earth chipped from the moving plates of time.”

*****

I woke up this morning to our last day in Nebraska. It’s funny how you can get into a little routine and get used to things, and then suddenly you wake up one morning and things have come to an end, and in a moment all those past routine days seem different somehow, more important in the past now than they seemed in the present.

Anyway. Other than that odd feeling, the morning unfolded like any other. Dr. Cook finished chores, the Mathewsons dropped off Anett, and we all headed into town – Zoey, of course, in tow. Well, not in tow so much as climbing over everything in the car and finally settling down in my lap for the duration of the drive to Sidney. Zoey, you sure are a crazy dog, but I’m going to miss you anyway.

Ok, ok, I’ll miss Ken and Leslie, too. I’d like to thank you for your hospitality, but hospitality is such an opaque word, like a candy shell that conceals the real goodies inside. So let’s review, faithful readers, just a little of what’s been inside my host family’s hospitality this week. A partial list might include a comfortable bed with an alarm clock (that alarm clock was well-used this week); a quiet, even private space in their home for me to unwind after busy days of meeting new people; access to the internet and use of their computer so that I could write this blog every night; watching Westerns and predicting which character would be the next to die; cooking lessons and veterinarian lessons and livestock lessons; the opportunity to do chores (yes, I’m thankful for this) and get a little 4-H crash course; great frou-frou coffee (now I have to find a place for Irish Crème Mochas at home!); lots of extra warm clothes to wear when the temperature dropped to colder than I was prepared for; three (three!) new shirts to bring home, including an especially awesome one from the National Western Stock Show; and of course making me incredible gourmet meals that I could brag about to the other students and a different variety of cookies to share with everyone for the long drives through the panhandle. Yeah, that’s just one host family in just one week. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m going to move out here now. If this is the hospitality of Nebraskans, I can’t wait to return.

After saying goodbye to our host families, our group of 6 students, 1 professor, and 1 trusty guide piled into the big van for the 67th time this week and headed out to Immanuel Lutheran Church (Weyerts) in Lodgepole to worship with the congregation there. It was wonderful to worship with the people of Weyerts, and we thank them for their hospitality, too. After worship we joined the Weyerts congregation for their annual meeting and potluck dinner, and enjoyed delicious homemade casseroles and dessert and, yes, coffee for the last time in Nebraska.

From there we pointed the Immersionmobile toward Denver and Denver International Airport, where Jim hoped to catch the Patriots game, Adam hoped to catch the Packers game, and all of us hope to catch a plane home.

In the next few days, we’ll regroup as a class to present projects for the course and talk about what we’ve learned and how we’ve changed. We’ll even welcome Kent to Chicago, though we’ll take away his 15-passenger van, thereby stripping him of his power to drive us 100 miles a day. Don’t worry, Kent – we’ll show you how us city dwellers have an even slower pace of life than you do.

I’ll continue to post reflections that come out of our discussions until the end of this week. Please continue to comment; it helps me think about things. More than that, it’s helped me keep writing these little reports night after late night. Thanks so much.

This experience has been more than I could have ever dreamed possible. I’ve learned a lot about the Nebraska panhandle and rural ministry. But here’s the kicker: These last ten days, I’ve felt reconnected to God and the people of God in new and extraordinary ways. That is a gift for which I am deeply grateful.

Thanks, Nebraska.

MCK

Day Nine

2008-01-20T18:01:00.000-06:00

Every morning this week I’ve tried to get up early enough to do chores with Dr. Cook, and every morning I’ve failed, usually because I stayed up too late blogging. (Just so we’re clear, by “sleeping in,” I mean that I got out of bed at 6:45 AM.) On this particular morning, however, Adam was sleeping over in the next room, and he had said over and over the night before that he was determined to wake up for morning chores. Sure enough, he was knocking on my door by 6:15 and out with Dr. Cook by 6:30. Kent Miller doesn’t call him Ricochet Rabbit for nothing.

Since Ricochet Rabbit clearly has problems getting enough energy, Leslie decided he needed some caffeine. She took us out to the Coffee Corner, where she treated us to an almond latte and an Irish crème mocha. Starbucks has got nothing on the Coffee Corner, and there was certainly a heck of a lot more seating than in our tiny local Starbucks. (A friendly suggestion for Nebraska’s next state tourism tagline: “Nebraska: There’s a lot more seating.”)

Our first stop for the day was at another local family farm, where we were to have coffee and conversation with a group of local laypeople. It was a productive and insightful conversation, but a highlight was getting a tour of the farm from two kids who knew the terrain as well as anyone. They even introduced us to the chickens!

Again, since we’d only had giant coffee drinks and delicious baked goods all morning, it was definitely time for lunch, I mean dinner. Kent took us to Big V’s, a local hangout where we enjoyed the best steak sandwich ever (seriously, if you are ever in Dalton, Nebraska, you have got to try this thing) and also a certain red beverage that is apparently particular to Nebraska. I almost don’t want to post this picture because I’m afraid my mouth will start watering again.

On our way back to Sidney, Kent finally granted Adam’s weeklong wish: To get stuck at a railroad crossing waiting for a train to pass. Seriously. Adam totally geeked out, and then we kept going…until we had to stop and grant Jim’s weeklong wish: To get a photo of winter wheat. What a trip.

In Sidney we settled down at Holy Trinity for the last time to have conversation about ministry with Pastor Schambach. What I should really post here are the pages and pages of notes that I’ve taken during Pastor Schambach’s talks. It’s difficult to put into words what I’ve learned from him these few days, and I can see how he’s been a great colleague and mentor to so many of the pastors we’ve spoken to this week. May God continue to bless your ministry. I hope LSTC sends an intern out to you very soon.

Finally, finally, finally it was time for our concluding celebration with all of our host families. We enjoyed appetizers and a delicious meal of prime rib and awesome potluck goodies at the Goose Pit inside Buffalo Point Restaurant. Wow. Nebraska’s an incredible place for a lot of things, but it’s especially an incredible place to eat, with old friends and new friends alike. The crowning dish for our food-filled trip? A delicious cowpie!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to our host families. And thanks to all the people of the Nebraska panhandle who have shown us unimaginable hospitality, who have opened their hearts and homes and histories to us, who have met, supported, taught, encouraged, laughed and prayed with us these last ten days.

Tomorrow is Day Ten. We’ll head out to Weyerts Immanuel Lutheran Church, where we’ll worship with the congregation, join them for an annual meeting, and then we’ll be off.

MCK

Day Eight

2008-01-18T23:50:00.000-06:00

Day Eight, and we’re still lost in Nebraska. As you can see from the above picture, today our immersion kicked into a new gear when they dropped us off in the middle of a random snowy field and drove away. If we could find our way back into town on our own, we would finally be ready for rural ministry. They didn’t put this part in the course description…

Our first stop today was a federated ELCA/United Methodist church in Potter, Nebraska, where we enjoyed orange juice and lemon-poppy seed muffins. Rev. Terry Tomlinson, an ordained Methodist minister with over 30 years of experience, is the pastor there, and he shared with us some of the challenges, joys, and lessons of his work pastoring a dual-denominational church in small town. Our conversation with Pastor Tomlinson was one of our most helpful yet, as he emphasized the importance of having colleagues and the crucial importance of loving your people. One of the many, many ways he does this is by coaching a local high school basketball team, which some of us found ridiculously cool. (New dream: Become pastor in small town, coach local freshman basketball team, meet my brother’s freshman basketball team in tournament finals, beat my brother’s team in double overtime thriller. Any thoughts, Greg?)

From Potter we came back in the direction of Sidney to the Mathewson family farm, where they’re preparing for calving season next month. We toured part of the farm, then stopped back at their home, where Annette has been staying all week, to enjoy hot chocolate and cookies and even a few rounds of pool.

Since we’d only had breakfast and two coffee/cookie breaks, it was time for dinner. Dinner was an event in itself, as we headed back out to Potter to eat at the famous Potter Sundry restaurant.

Naturally, we ran into more of Kent’s extended family, an occurrence that has become something of a running theme of our trip. We ordered turkey dinners for under five bucks, and then enjoyed a famous Tin Roof Sundae, a gooey, nutty, chocolaty, ice creamy mess of deliciousness.

Next we headed out to open country, where we left the highways and byways and even the gravel roads in a determined archaeological quest that would make Indiana Jones proud. This was the true reason behind our tromping through vast snow-covered fields, and it was well worth it. Kent took us to the ruins of St. Peter’s Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church, established in 1903 by hardy Danish immigrants. It was amazing to find something like this in the middle of a field; the place seemed to breathe with history. And of course, it was fun just to romp around in the deep snowdrifts.

From there we headed to the Julius Nielson homestead, established in 1886, not quite as ruinously crumbly as the church but a historical find nevertheless.

Kent shared with us why this site was so important to him. “I wanted you to see,” he said, “that the first thing these people did was build a home for their family. The second thing they did was build a church. And now it’s our job to keep it going.” Roots run deep here; learning to understand that has been one of the true gifts of this trip. The people of the Nebraska panhandle have opened their hearts and homes and histories to us, and all that hits home on a day like today.

Before going home we stopped at one more church, First English Lutheran Church in Kimball. Pastor Wayne Hunzeker and especially his wife shared openly with us their experience of rural ministry and of living in a rural community. Every one of the pastors we have visited with on this trip has been different; each has shown us a different slice of rural ministry, a different angle, a different approach. These conversations have helped unfold for us the rich diversity, the exciting possibilities, and the concrete realities of rural ministry in the Nebraska panhandle. It’s been extremely helpful.

On our way back to Sidney, Adam and I were dropped off at the Cook homestead for the night. My host family, you see, was in Denver for the day attending the annual National Western Stock Show. Adam and I were to do the evening chores on our own. (Read that last sentence one more time. You can pick your jaw up off the floor now.) When we arrived, the cattle were hungry, and they let us know with all the lowing they could muster, so we quickly bundled up and headed out, checklist and pitchforks in hand. We fed the steer, then the cows, then the heifers, filled the massive tanks with water, fed the cats and rabbits and dogs, and finally mustered up the courage to shoulder our way into the henhouse and collect a few eggs amid lots of squawks and feathers.

When we were done we had earned our dinner of gourmet leftovers, including, yes, crème brûlée (finally fixed that spelling, Leslie) that we fired the top of ourselves. Anytime you use a pitchfork and a tiny flamethrower in the same 24 hours, you know you’ve had a good day. By this point Ken and Leslie had arrived at home, and Adam picked their brains about veterinary practices and clay shooting and the various varieties of cooking salt before we all finally turned in for the night.

Tomorrow we’ll only have a half-day of activities, and then close with an evening of social time with all of our host families together. It’ll be our last full day in the state of Nebraska. To paraphrase a Nebraskan: This may not be the end of the week, but you can see it from here.

MCK

Day Seven

2008-01-18T00:55:00.000-06:00

When you wake up with Zoey scratching at your door, you know it’s going to be a good day. A cold day, to be sure, as low as –5 this morning, but I wore four layers with long underwear, wool socks, and a sweet hat from Nepal. One thing I’ve learned out here on the panhandle: Nature matters.

Today we jumped right into that theme from the get-go, stopping at a family farm where creation is in full view.

This stop was kind of special for me: I have grandparents in northwestern Iowa (hi Papa and Grandma if you’re reading this); we often visited their friends who lived on farms, and this farm was so similar to those that it brought back memories from visits long ago. There are more cattle here instead of pigs, some of the equipment is different, but that feel of being inside a family farmhouse with really friendly people who have lots of stories to tell…that sense was just the same somehow. We enjoyed brownies and cookies and some delicious cinnamon coffee before being on our way.

From there we headed out to Ogallala, once called the “Gomorrah of the West” for its abundance of brothels and bars and lack of church steeples. Ogallala’s a bit more tame now, but the Ogallala Livestock Auction is still going strong.

We walked along the catwalk and watched the cattle being herded around by cowboys (real live cowboys! yes we’re urban nerds alright), then headed inside to experience the actual sales. Doors open on the right, cattle rush in and walk around in circles while the auctioneer does his thing, and then the doors open on the left and the cattle rush out…then it starts all over again.

At the auction Kent, our fearless Nebraskan leader, ran into his brother. Either Kent has them all planted for effect, or finding friends and family at every turn seems to be a common theme out here…either way, it’s pretty cool.

We grabbed some lunch (or dinner, I suppose) before making our way to Lake McConaughy. That’s right, there’s a lake in western Nebraska. I wouldn’t have believed it either! Look, I have pictures to prove it.

And here’s the ridiculously awesome thing about Lake McConaughy – they have bald eagles! Let me repeat that: They. Have. Bald. Eagles! In Nebraska!

We used the binoculars at the viewing station to enjoy some stunning views of our national bird sitting in trees and soaring through the sky, and even took digital pictures through the scoping lenses. (Stephen Colbert would be so proud of us right now.)

After our wildlife tour we drove along the Platte River, stopping to check out little country churches along the way, until we arrived at Berea Evangelical Lutheran Church, otherwise known as “the Swedish church.” (And right now my Swedish neighbors back home would be so proud of us.)

Berea is part of the Tri-County Parish, a four-point (I think) parish consisting of smaller outlying country churches like itself. For being a small parish out in the country, we were surprised to find new ELW hymnals filling the pews. We were not surprised to find fresh hot coffee, though the brownie with ice cream and chocolate syrup was pretty awesome even by the high hospitality standards we’ve already encountered out here. We had a good discussion, but had to hop in the car again because the night was far from over.

You see, this is the weekend of the Minuteman Activities Conference basketball tournament, hosted by the Creek Valley Storm. The Creek Valley Storm has pretty much one of the coolest mascot logos ever. It’s a cyclone or tornado with angry eyes. Their fans call themselves the Creek Valley “Storm Chasers.” That’s just too cool for words. Despite all of this it was hard for us to cheer for Creek Valley, because Kent had a niece playing for Leyton, Creek Valley’s opposing team in the girls bracket, and then I think a nephew playing for another team in the boys bracket…it’s hard to keep track. It’s a rural cliché that everybody’s connected, but how do you manage that when they’re all on opposing basketball teams? Now there’s a real rural ministry question. In any case, the Leyton Lady Warriors beat Creek Valley in a comeback overtime thriller. Back at LSTC Thursday night is basketball night, so Adam and I were thrilled to get our fix, at least from the stands, at the MAC tourney.

From there we headed back to Sidney, where we were to enjoy wine and cheese with Pastor Schambach and his wife Betty. Wine and cheese? Apparently they didn’t get the message, because they lavished us with all sorts of delicious goodies and assorted drinks, including a fantastic North Carolina-style barbecue. (Zach, you should be so jealous right now – this was really good stuff!) We enjoyed conversation and fellowship in their warm and beautiful home until it was time even for Kent, our Energizer bunny of a leader, to call it quits. Another day done.

MCK

Day Six

2008-01-17T01:27:00.000-06:00

They keep telling us about the slower pace of life in the rural communities, and we keep having packed thirteen-hour days of dashing from place to place at lightning speed. It just seems a little ironic is all I’m saying.

The effects of our breakneck speed are beginning to show. The bloodshot eyes, the desperate search for coffee every time we enter a room, the mutinous looks. Our leaders have noticed, and today seemed to cut a third out of the itinerary, filling out the extra time by stuffing in two hours of group reflection. In short, we’ve done a lesser quantity of stuff today, so I have less of a blow-by-blow account to write, which is probably a good thing. On the other hand, the quality of what we did do was pretty important.

The first place we visited was the Natural Resource Conservation Service and Farm Service Administration. That’s a mouthful, and probably conjures up images of dry bureaucratic cubicles. Such a notion couldn’t have been further from the truth. The people we met were warm and engaging and greeted us with orange juice and donuts. (In case you haven’t noticed, a really easy way to win over Lutherans is to provide them with orange juice and donuts, or coffee and seven-layer bars, or Adam’s personal favorite, orange-flavored drink with anything.) Then they used colorful graphs and vivid photographs to help us grasp the drought and water problems out here on the high plains. ‘It’s a little drier out here’ doesn’t quite cover it; western Nebraska and its neighbors have for several years been experiencing one of the worst droughts on record, though we rarely read about it in the Chicago Tribune. In the face of such challenges the folks out at Sidney’s branch of the NRCS do some incredible work in order to, in their words, “help people help the land.”

Besides the sheer information we received, many of the people we met at the NRCS and FSA were tied to the land themselves, and partly because of this they seemed to take their jobs personally. One of the people we met was a farmer when he wasn’t in the office; he actually held down three jobs in order to preserve his farming lifestyle. Another was the daughter of our Sidney tour guide (a farmer himself) who with the utmost professionalism (seriously) asked Dad to confirm this or that fact or experience during her talk; this was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Both spoke of their deep love for rural life.

And then after lunch today we had the following itinerary:

1. Physician’s Clinic.
2. Hospital and Emergency Room.
3. Cancer Care Center.
4. Funeral Home.

What a doozy.

On our first night in Sidney, the Nebraska Synod Rural Ministry Task Force asked us what we hoped to get out of this immersion course. In addition to some other hopes I said I hoped it might transform my learning at LSTC; I hoped it might affect the way I take classes, choose classes, and approach my learning generally. I hoped it might help me know a bit more about how to prepare for a first call out on the high plains – or anywhere, for that matter.

After today, I know I’m going to need more pastoral care classes. Partly this is because I took CPE at a homeless shelter and I don’t have the hospital experience many of my colleagues do. I don’t regret that; I needed the CPE experience that I had. But it does mean that I have more work and more learning and more practice to do to get as comfortable as some of my colleagues seem to be walking the halls of the hospital.

But even so, maybe all the classes and all the practice in the world won’t prepare me for the first times I’ll have to go to the places on today’s itinerary as a pastor. And maybe it’ll always make me a little nervous and scared inside. I don’t know. I guess what I’m trying to say is that today brought home something that’s been true of the Rural Ministry Immersion course at various points throughout the week. Perhaps inevitably, this week hasn’t been about rural ministry exclusively. In a relentlessly concrete way, it’s been about ministry in general.

And that’s been incredibly powerful, for me at least. There’s something very different about sitting in a pastoral care classroom talking about grief and loss versus standing in a tiny room in the basement of a funeral home with formaldehyde on the table and talking about where your role as a pastor is in helping a family decide whether to bury or cremate. Classroom preparation is essential, absolutely, I know, but the reality of being out here, all day, every day, is hitting me with the force of concrete.

****************

Which is why it’s nice to come home a little early tonight, to put on a warm coat and go out into the cold night, stealing glances at the stars (stars!), as I learn how to do the daily chores of feeding heifers and steers and cats and chickens, to come into the house and smell a gourmet (not even exaggerating, read Day Three for more) meal already cooking, to have a dessert of crème broulet that I helped make (crème broulet? what?!?!), to watch the end of Comanche Moon and finally to collapse onto bed with a dog sleeping in the next room. Rural ministry: it drains you, and it fills you up again.

MCK

Day Five

2008-01-16T00:12:00.000-06:00

So far I’ve received one comment on this blog (thanks Zach), and it was a request that I talk more about the food. Well, here it goes.

I woke up this morning to find that my host mom had just taken a homemade cream cheese-filled pastry out of the oven, hot and fresh. Of course, I’ve only made a dent in my quiche, so I had a hearty slice of that, too. And, of course, a cup of coffee.

When I arrived at church, I realized one cup of coffee was not going to cut it. I had stayed up late the night before watching Westerns with my host family, enjoying another slice of homemade apple pie, and then blogging till well past midnight. I was definitely going to need more caffeine. None was to be found, so I sufficed with the homemade cookies my host mom had sent with me. I shared them with the group, too, to which at least one person responded “Thanks be to God!” An appropriate response to cookies, I think.

Still needing my coffee, I checked our schedule for the day. I was in luck. We were going to visit at least three churches! As I expected, the first had coffee freshly brewed and waiting for us. Along with a platter of freshly cut oranges and apples.

As we enjoyed the plentiful second breakfast, Wayne Frass spoke with us about his role as a Parish Ministry Associate, or PMA. (As I understand it, PMA’s serve many (though not all) of the same roles as pastors do, and are often commissioned to serve in places where there is no pastor to serve.) Wayne gave, in his own quiet and unassuming way, a very moving talk in which he spoke openly of his own faith and vocational journey. Today he works part-time as a PMA even as he is still fully a farmer, a balancing act that was never more clear than when he explained that he’ll have to cut back a bit in the next several weeks because it’ll be calving season.

I was particularly struck by a metaphor Wayne used to describe his own fears before preaching for the first time. “I was afraid these people were expecting steak,” he said, “but were going to get a cheese sandwich instead.” But, of course, Wayne preached the gospel, and everything was fine.

From Gloria Dei we went out to Sullivan Hills, a camp that is a part of Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries. When we arrived, they too had hot coffee waiting for us, along with some tasty little chocolate-topped bars. Besides refreshments, Sullivan Hills has wonderful facilities, well-furnished and well-equipped buildings with vast expanses of prairie fields for playing and hills for hiking and lots of space to take some time for spiritual retreat. We wandered the grounds for an hour or more, taking in the open air, walking across a frozen-over pond, and sitting a spell.

From Sullivan Hills we headed to a farm sale, or auction. We chatted up the farmers and checked out some of the equipment. Peter, our professor, almost bought a riding lawnmower, but decided the shipping costs would be too high. Jim and Annette discussed buying a tractor and getting into the business, or perhaps just trying some cow pies instead. All of us stopped for lunch here. The menu: Sloppy joes, baked beans, Mountain Dew in a can, and homemade cherry pie. D-licious.

From there we visited Weyerts Immanuel Lutheran Church and marveled at its records that dated back to the 1880s (it even had pages where the pre-printed date was "18__ ".). We listened to the soon-to-be-retiring Pastor Wells, who serves Immanuel as part of a four-point (!) parish, speak of his many years of ministry and his bold and surprising (for us) vision for the future of the church. He’d like to see a model of more lay leaders (e.g. PMA’s) serving outlying churches and highly skilled pastors serving “hub” churches; he thinks this is the most sustainable model for rural ministry in the coming decades.

After drinking some more coffee, we visited an elementary school and then a high school, and then stopped by Trinity Lutheran in Dalton to visit with Bud Gillespie, a CLP, or the Presbyterian version of the PMA. Bud works with Pastor wells in the four-point parish. Both Bud and Pastor Wells are Presbyterian, and their four-point parish is made up of three Lutheran churches and one Presbyterian church. Their examples make it clear just how innovative rural churches have to be in order to find ministers for their congregations.

From Trinity we had to rush back to Sidney to make a church council meeting, so we ate at a Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken on the way. My host mom would be appalled to hear of this culinary choice, but all was not lost: I was able to try Mountain Dew: Tropical Lime Storm edition for the first time. It has a very strange color. I’ll leave it at that.

Finally we arrived back at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Sidney for a church council meeting. Brown Church Development, who helped Holy Trinity build their fantastic new addition two years ago, was giving a presentation to the council to begin Phase 2 of Holy Trinity’s building project. What was most fascinating about Brown’s presentation was their process. They describe it with colorful charts and graphics, but in short, the church discerns what their ministry needs are, prioritizes them, puts them into a document for all the church to see, and then Brown helps the church come up with a building plan to match their ministry needs. Obviously there are many more details in there (seriously), but the critical thing is that the congregation puts its ministry goals first.

After Brown left, we talked with church council members about the last several years of growth at Holy Trinity. Council member after council member made it abundantly clear that Holy Trinity grew spiritually in ways their new architectural additions only hinted at. Spiritual growth, both personal and communal, was at the center of their growth as a church.

This is a long post, reflective of another long day (thirteen hours from leaving home to arriving home). I’m worn out. But I can’t help feeling like this was a critical day for me personally, spiritually, and vocationally. I struggled to put my finger on why, until Wayne’s steak and cheese sandwich metaphor floated to the surface of my thoughts. Today I saw the deep hunger of these churches for pastoral leadership and spiritual nourishment. I saw the joyful excitement on the parishioners’ faces as they asked us what brought us to seminary. I heard our leader’s voice crack as he told us how much it meant to him that we were here. And it scares the crap out me. I want to help, but every time I imagine myself doing it I think my God, these people need a steak, and I am nothing but a cheese sandwich.

And then I remember the conclusion of Wayne’s story of stage fright. He preached the gospel, and the fear went away. And that’s what I saw today, too: the reality of the power of the gospel. The reality of the presence and love and grace and attention of God, even out here on the dry and drought-plagued Western plains where joy has no business flourishing, even here, where there should be only isolation and loneliness, even here God’s Spirit kindles a fire in the hearts of God’s people; the fire of the gospel burns within their hearts, and they are not afraid. They build the kingdom in spite of it all.

And the kingdom is growing, dear reader, make no mistake, the kingdom is growing. So when the call goes out – WORKERS NEEDED – remember this: Jesus turned water into wine. Surely he can turn a cheese sandwich into a steak.

MCK

Day Four

2008-01-15T01:03:00.000-06:00

I've left you some long posts the last few days, faithful reader. To make up for it I'll tell you about today...in pictures only. (Ok, I've partly run out of time because when I got back I watched 3:10 to Yuma - another Western!) Glean what you can from these snapshots - they're only a taste of today's 13-hour whirlwind tour.

MCK

Day Three

2008-01-15T00:22:00.000-06:00

Quick Zoey update: There's a crack on the windshield of Dr. Cook's pickup. Today I learned that Zoey made it while being a little, er, rambunctious in the car. Remember yesterday, when Zoey punched me in the face? I consider myself lucky...

In other, non-dog news, today we were able to worship with Holy Trinity Lutheran Church here in Sidney. They have two services, a Festival (traditional) service and a Celebration (contemporary) service. It was a joy to worship with the community. It was also fascinating to be in another parish and see how their worship practices compare and contrast.

On the one hand, the order of service is explicitly similar to the ELW rubrics that we use at LSTC - even more so than in the geographically-closer-to-churchwide parish I currently serve in Chicago. They even call the various sections "Gathering Together," "Hearing the Word," "Sharing the Meal," and "Sent Forth to Serve." The basic building blocks are quite clear and follow the simplifying trends toward which the ELW seems to be trying to point the ELCA (sorry for all the acronyms today).

On the other hand, it's odd that I should mention the ELW, because we used no hymnals, and really no handouts of any kind other than a very, very basic printed order of service. Nearly all of the participation elements of the service were projected onto a screen - and I was surprised at how much I liked the screen. Usually I find them kind of tacky, but Holy Trinity has integrated their screen into their worship space better than any I've seen so far (it's even located just underneath a hanging cross, for those who get hung up about that sort of thing).

So, in short: Rural parish. Up-to-date (for lack of a better word) worship that's in line with the trends of the church and is often more forward-looking and "cutting edge" than worship at seminary. That said, I've heard from more than one person that this sort of thing is rather atypical for a rural parish, and that Holy Trinity and Sidney churches in general are the exception rather than the norm for a number of unique reasons. Still, I'm glad to have seen what's possible in a rural parish out here on the Nebraska panhandle.

After church, the real fun began. The Cooks (my host family, whose last name will seem even more appropriate later on) hosted a 4-H meeting for a dozen or more boys and girls in their home. Their ranch is actually the home base of this 4-H group; some of the kids had clearly been out here many times and called out to the animals by name. Other kids were here for the first time; their families had moved from places as far as Phoenix, Arizona only recently, and they, like me, were learning thing about cattle-raising for the first time. (See the post for Day One on why so many folks are moving out here.) For example: Did you know the difference between a bull and a steer? I did not. At this point, you're either rolling your eyes at my ignorance, or you, too, are wondering just what I learned today. To find out, well...come out on the Rural Ministry Immersion trip.

One of the young gentlemen whose expertise was far superior to mind (and who explained to me quite clearly the difference between a bull and a steer) was very excited for 4-H this year because he had turned 9 last August and could now be in "real 4-H." Another boy piped up that this was his first time in any kind of 4-H, but that he had seen a branding before. After enjoying some brownies and Gatorade during the meeting, we all headed outside to do some chores. The older kids knew what to do right away, and did the first few feedings themselves. Then they stepped back a bit, and showed the younger kids what to do, making sure everyone got a chance to participate and learn. Some of the kids bypassed tools altogether and just grabbed big fistfulls of alfalfa to throw into the trough. All of them seemed to be having a blast, leaning over railings to see the cattle, yelling out answers to Dr. Cook's review questions, and, of course, tromping through the mud.

After everyone left I took a nap. When I woke up, dinner was ready. Have I mentioned that my host mom is a gourmet cook? Often people say they are gourmet cooks, but I mean this literally: She has studied at culinary school, works as head chef at the local steakhouse, and has a fantastic reputation that everyone at church has been telling me about since I got here. Today I learned the rumors were true: A mouth-watering Greek lemon chicken dish followed by homemade Julia Child-inspired apple pie. Have you seen Ratatouille? Remy couldn't cook like this. And there are rumors of a mushroom and sausage quiche already prepared for tomorrow morning.

We finished off the evening with a Western, "Comanche Moon," which seemed rather appropriate for being this far out west for the week. The Comanche Moon is high in the sky now, so I'm off to get a few hours sleep for the big drive tomorrow.

MCK

Day Two

2008-01-13T00:23:00.000-06:00

Have you seen the dog that shows up so often in the Target ads? My host family has a dog that looks exactly like the Target dog. Her name is Zoey. In the ads the Target dog looks all soft, like a stuffed animal. But Zoey is not soft. Zoey is solid. Zoey is muscly. And Zoey likes to play. This morning I was sitting on the floor looking at some books and Zoey, for some reason known only to her, started running circles around me. I ignored her, so naturally she jumped up into me and punched my face with her nose. My jaw stopped tingling about a half hour later.

Zoey's family here in Sidney has shown me incredible hospitality. They have a beautiful home, and they seem to have given me free reign over the whole basement, which consists of two bedrooms, a large bathroom with shower, an incredibly comfortable couch, a TV, and a computer with high-speed wireless Internet (hence the blog posts). Upstairs their home is filled with gorgeous photography, bookshelves and bookshelves of books new and old, an HDTV, and a fruit bowl with an avocado in it. I mention the avocado partly because I like guacamole and partly because it confirms something one of our rural ministry speakers mentioned last night when we were dispelling urban myths about rural life: "Anything you can get in the urban environment you can get here, too." Discovery #384 of the Rural Ministry Immersion course: You can find avocados in Nebraska.

Today was also the Nebraska Synod Rural Ministry Workshop, which is held every year in concert with the Rural Ministry Immersion course. Pastors, interns, and lay leaders attended and presented. One of the highlights for me was a presentation by Rev. Edgar Schambach, pastor of Holy Trinity here in Sidney and recipient of a Distinguished Alumni award from LSTC for his work in parish ministry.

Pastor Schambach began with his own vocational journey, in which God led him, a self-described "city kid," into rural ministry, surprising him at seemingly every turn, teaching him again and again to "never say never to God."

As he continued his presentation he dispelled some stereotypes of rural ministry (there's lots of dispelling going on here, as you may have noticed), pointing out - importantly, I think - that what's more critical than whether a congregation is rural or urban is whether the congregation is alive or dead. Many rural congregations are static or dying, but not all of them. And it isn't so much that you need to avoid the dying or static ones so much as you need to know what you're getting into and what you can expect and how you need to focus your ministry while you're there.

Perhaps most importantly of all, Pastor Schambach encouraged us to be ourselves. "If you have rural blood," he said, "and God calls you to urban ministry, have rural blood in an urban environment. If you have urban blood and God calls you to rural ministry, have urban blood in a rural environment." And Pastor Schambach, who grew up in New Orleans and now ministers in the western panhandle of Nebraska, is living proof that this is possible.

In the last few days I've found myself overwhelmed with new information. People have told me about their life and work and sometimes I only understand a fraction of the terminoloy; a quarter of the nouns and a third of the verbs and almost none of the acronyms (what's S.T.A.R. again?). I find myself asking lots of stupid questions and inquiring about what must be the most basic details for these farmers and rural dwellers. I know it's important to be myself, to be the person God made me, but sometimes it's not easy.

Somehow, though, it helped to hear Pastor Schambach and then others who seconded him insist that we Be Ourselves in all of our glorious ignorance. I'll probably still feel pretty awkward and naive out here, but as long as we stay curious and keep asking questions and keep listening, we'll be alright. Here's a photo of all of us Rural Immersion Adventurers during a break from the workshop, being ourselves in a new place.

This evening Zoey and I made up. She nestled up next to my leg as I read a book on the couch. I think Zoey and I are going to be just fine.

MCK

Day One

2008-01-12T20:14:00.000-06:00

From Ted Kooser's Local Wonders: Seasons in the Bohemian Alps (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 2002):

"Contrary to what out-of-state tourists might tell you, Nebraska isn't flat but slightly tilted, like a long church-basement table with legs on one end not perfectly snapped in place - not quite enough of a slant for the tuna-and-potato chip casseroles to slide off into the Missouri River. The high end is closest the Rockies, and the entire state is made up of gravel, sand, and silt that ran off the front range over millions of years."

This morning our hardy group of six Rural Adventurers, one LSTC professor, and two rural immersion leaders flew to the Rocky Mountains and then drove to Kooser's "high end" of the Nebraska table. It strikes me that the word "Nebraska" is actually kind of shaped like the state - not as it looks on the map but as it might look if you turned it on its side and looked at the high plains of the "N" down to the Missouri River that ends the "a"....in any case, I nodded off on our way out of the city, and awoke to find us driving through wide-open plains. Adam marveled at the expansiveness, to which Dennis, the native Nebraskan accompanying us, responded, "Yeah. You know, you really gotta be at peace with yourself to live out here." As he said this I turned toward the front of the car and watched as we headed down a small hill. At the bottom of the hill the plains seemed to stretch out forever under one of the clearest, bluest, biggest skies I've ever seen. I gazed at what Nebraskan writer Lisa Knopp calls "the seam where sky and land meet." I don't know about having to be at peace - I imagine God still finds ways to wrestle modern-day Jacobs on the banks of the Platte River just as much as on the banks of the Jabbock - but there is certainly a spirit of stillness out here. This is the kind of place where Psalm 8 fits the landscape like a glove:

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
The moon and the stars that you have established;
What are human beings that you are mindful of them,
Mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than angels,
And crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of Your hands,
You have put all things under their feet,
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes along the paths of the seas." (vv.3-8, NRSV)

Later we stopped at Cabela's, a massive outdoor sporting goods store. You can find Cabela's all around the United States now, but Cabela's impacts few places the way it impacts Sidney, Nebraska. Cabela's is based here. I didn't fully appreciate this fact until my host family picked me up and gave me a driving tour of the town. Some of the churches were making large, beautiful additions to their buildings. I wondered aloud whether these churches were growing because the town was also growing? "Well," said my host, "Cabela's keeps bringing in more and more people - see that building over there? That's another one of their new corporate offices..."

Of course, it's not all due to Cabela's. The Spirit has been moving in wondrous ways too, and her effects are in full view in the new gathering space of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where we'll be based here in Sidney. This entryway is comfortable, spacious, and inviting; it seems to encourage you to stay awhile. It's a place to nurture old relationships at the church and a place to start new ones. It's evidence of flourishing, God-given life here, and the people of Holy Trinity are justly proud of it.

It's also evidence of the many changes at at Holy Trinity in the last several years, changes, I've learned, that have not always been easy even as they've made the place breathe with new life. Tomorrow we'll attend an annual conference on rural ministry and learn about the changing face of rural ministry from pastors and lay people who are doing God's work out on the plains.

For now, though, I need sleep. I hope I'll dream about that wide-open sky, and lose myself in that "seam where the sky and land meet."

MCK

At the Airport

2008-01-11T08:23:00.000-06:00

Greetings! I’m Matt Keadle, and I’ll be blogging the 2008 J-term Rural Immersion Class. If you scroll below this post, you can see blog postings from last year’s class. If you scroll above, you can see future postings from me, or maybe, depending on when you’re reading this, postings from some future class that doesn’t even exist yet.

I’m writing this first post from Chicago’s Midway airport, about a 40 minute bus ride from the LSTC campus. In about 90 minutes we’ll be departing for Denver, Colorado, and then we’ll make the drive over to Sidney, Nebraska, where we’ll be staying this year. Here’s a picture of Adam, a fellow Rural Immersion adventurer, and I at Midway airport.

For the last two days we’ve heard about rural life from Rev. Ruth Boettcher, a pastor in rural Nebraska, and Dr. Dennis Gengenbach, a Nebraskan ag producer. It’s been a helpful window into what we’ll be encountering in the coming days. We’ve heard about the challenges Dennis and his fellow ag producers face as they seek to grow food and fuel for the rest of the country (and other countries, too). I have pages and pages of notes and lots of thoughts which are impossible to include here. But in short: Agriculture, we’ve learned, is a highly dynamic field that has changed dramatically in the last few decades, presenting difficult challenges as well as deep joys for its practitioners and their families. We’ve also learned a bit about how rural churches are being revitalized as they have rediscovered anew the gospel of grace for all of God’s people. And I’m sure there will be much more to come soon.

I work at an after-school program when I’m not blogging, and one of the students yesterday was giving me advice about blogging. He also has his own blog. He’s in second grade. He said, “Matt, let me give you a helpful tip. Keep your posts short.” Then he proceeded to give me another helpful tip, which amounted to Googling a fancy program that tracks the number of hits you get on your blog. Did I mention he’s in second grade? Anyway, for now I’ll stick to the first piece of advice and keep it (relatively) short.

Besides, Adam asked me to watch his bag. Hmm, I should probably make sure it’s still there…

Matt

The End of the Line

2007-01-26T21:31:00.000-06:00

Like all good things, J-term too comes to an end, and that end is now. From here on out, all of our ruminations about our time in Nebraska are for us to ponder in our hearts, not in public, as we continue our journey through seminary. To all of the wonderful people that we were fortunate enough to meet during our trip; thank you for your hospitality and your patience. You welcomed us into your homes and lives and we were lucky to have you. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read what we wrote here. We appreciate it and hope that you got something out of it. We certainly did.

Good night sweet blog, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Mea Culpa

2007-01-25T23:46:00.000-06:00

While stuffing my laptop into its carrying case for use in class presentations today, I quickly removed some papers that were hanging about in the case. My eye caught on one of the papers and I realized that it was something that I had promised to scan and upload to the blog awhile ago, and that I had failed to do so. So without further ado, here it is.

This artwork is from the cover of a bulletin from Followers of Christ Church. The church is led by Pastor William Barth and is located in the Nebraska State Penitentiary. The design was created by one of the congregants and is shown here with the permission of Pastor Barth.

Vitality

2007-01-25T11:17:00.000-06:00

There are seven principles, or practices, defined in Discovering Hope, by David Poling-Goldenne and L. Shannon Jung. They are:

Prayer
Worship
Discipleship
Evangelism
Servanthood/Ministry
Leadership
Understanding Context

The final practice, Understanding Context, was the purpose of my last post. Therefore, I will not consider it here. However, I will spend some time reflecting on St. Matthew (and what I know about St. John), rural ministry, and these practices.

Prayer: Prayer is a primary practice among vital churches in all settings. In my worship class this past semester, my professor, Dr. Mark Bangert, suggested that we are the best answer to our prayers. Our prayers cause us to act. In all honesty, I did not see a lot of thoughtful prayer on this trip. I do not mean that as a criticism, but as a statement of fact. I ate a meal of leftovers one night and someone said "It's already been prayed over." Or, during the prayers of intercession, even in examples of worship services given to us at a conference, they were listed as coming from a worship resource instead of being written to suit the needs of the community. Lots of churches do that, but what are they loosing when they do so? Why isn't prayer a common practice? What effect is it having on the ministry in these areas? I am very curious to see a church with a strong prayer practice. Discovering Hope is full of examples, but I would really like to know how they practically work. What does a strong prayer ministry entail? How does a church decide what to focus on in its prayer ministry? What would be unique about that in a rural setting?

Worship: By far, the most exciting worship I went to on this trip was the worship at the Rural Ministry Conference on our second Saturday in Nebraska. It was geared toward our purpose. I also attended a workshop there on worship. It was taught by Pr. Nancy Nyland whose former congregation is outlined in Discovering Hope. She provided us with several examples of worship services she had done over the years. While I may not be brave enough to do the services in my own church, the strongest key to them was the fact that they were written for certain groups on specific days. For example, she had written a liturgy for Rogation Sunday, to commemorate the time for planting. Both Nancy and the book seem to emphasis doing things differently and creatively. However (and perhaps those things are a part of this), I think that vital worship is planned to suit the needs of the community while remaining open to newcomers. That does mean that it is important to create a level of comfort for worshippers. As Nancy pointed out, there does need to be some level of predictability, such as a familiar order to things. I think that if the congregation is comfortable with the worship service, they will be able to be more available to help visitors, they can participate with greater energy, and they can become more attune to the meaning of what is happening. I am not a proponent of doing things the same way every time, but, rather, or being aware of a congregation's needs and listening to them.

Discipleship: Discovering Hope thinks that learning is at the center of discipleship. They point out the importance of "Bible study and devotional reflection" (46). I never attended a Bible study at St. Matthew, but Marianna, my host mom, spoke glowingly of the Bible studies she attended. This does seem key. At the Rural ministry Conference, creative and thoughtful education through Sunday School and Confirmation ministries was the topic of two workshops. These things give congregants the tools to share with others what they have learned. Discovering Hope calls this "Disciples mak[ing] disciples" (47). I worry, however, that Bible studies may not be attended or at times readily available to everyone in the church body. More can be done to model behavior. Prs. Amalia and Eric at Long Branch Lutheran talked at length about how they struggled to model hospitality, leadership, and even family devotions for their congregation. Making disciples is not an easy task. One thing I thought that was frequently missing was the training of lay leaders to also participate in this modeling behavior.

Evangelism: I have a sneaking suspicion that what I have to say here will cause the greatest knee-jerk reaction among those who hosted us throughout our journey. While I am sure evangelism is happening among Nebraska's rural churches, I didn't see it on any explicit terms. These churches do do service, which puts their name out there, but I saw very little done to focus on bringing in new people. There seems to be an understanding that everyone knows the church is there, and anyone who wants to come, can. At the Rural Ministry Conference we talked about the importance of relationships in rural congregations (those of us on the trips really felt that this is a staple in ALL congregations) (I also think it is worth noting that "evangelism" was not mentioned, nor was it a "what's working workshop" topic). The congregations we met were pretty good at establishing relationships, but, at Salem, one member commented that even after several years she had still felt like an "outsider." The speaker at the Rural Ministry Conference talked about the importance of being people-centered instead of program-centered. I totally agree, but programs (ie, service projects, childcare, leadership retreats, bible studies, Sunday School, Confirmation - are these all not "programs") have a place in evangelism. They are places to invite people. They are places to encourage members to engage their neighbors. They are places were people can be on the same playing field, reducing the insider-outsider feel. I am not sure that I have the right answer, but I certainly feel that I still have a lot to learn about how successful evangelism works in rural areas.

Servanthood/ministry: Servanthood was something I saw everywhere I went in Johnson. People gladly giving up their time to help others. The rescue squad and fire department are volunteers! People whose children are grown are religiously at the basketball games to support the teams. Every church we went to made quilts for Lutheran World Relief. However, it seems that the churches limit their own ministries because they know of the many things their members already do. What effect does this have on the church members? What if they are not involved in these community service projects? What do they do then? Discovering Hope points out that these caring ministries must be oriented to the needs of the community in order to be successful and/or vital. I am not sure that I am able to answer the question I'm going to ask, but: what ministries might be started at St. Matthew/St. John to help meet the needs of the community?

Leadership: Here is a place where I saw some vitality. I met several strong pastors who are cornerstones of the community. I saw pastors who attempt to model the godly life for their congregants. Moreover, I met amazing lay leaders with genuine hopes and dreams for their congregation. They were storehouses of information, waiting to be taped. I think vital rural ministry will look inward at itself for ideas that can be used outward. I don't mean that they will be centered with themselves, but that it will listen to the needs expressed by their members. This is an excellent place to start when looking for ways to jump start any of the above ministries. This is where I saw the most success in Nebraska. First, look at all the leaders who were willing to host our group. We met people at the Sunday service who had stories to tell about what they had seen and are seeing happening in their areas. Many of the places we toured we places of employment for members of the area churches. They are the frontline of evangelists, whether or not they know it! The ladies went to Salem Lutheran and met lay leaders who were thoughtful and aware what was going on in their community, what was good at their church, and the places they were lacking. They were thoughtfully pondering where to go from where they are now. At the Rural Ministry Conference, there were many pastors, but there were just as many lay leaders. They had great ideas!

It may seems as though I am being harsh here. That is not my intent. Every congregation has room for improvement. As a non-member and an outsider, I am able to look more objectively at what is going on. On the other hand, I know that I am unaware of the full scope of a congregation's ministry. A good portion of my comments, I hope, will serve me well when I have my own congregation. I think the greatest key to ministry, in any of the areas above, is careful discernment of God's call. He is the most aware of the entire situation and can guide us in ways we never imagined.

Trade Offs

2007-01-24T23:25:00.000-06:00

Anywhere one lives, there are bound to be some good points and some bad points. It's a thought that keeps on coming back to me since we left Nebraska. Be it Chicago vs. Nebraska or just rural vs non-rural, what's the trade, what are some of the strong points of each and some of the weak points? Everyone will value certain things differently, so I can't say how it would all stack up according to someone else. All I know is what are the factors that strike me.

Yesterday I was downtown, making my way to the nearest stop for the #6 Jackson Park Express bus, when I was stopped and ordered to proceed through six lanes of traffic and use the sidewalk on the other side of the street. This was because they were filming Fred Claus. (see the trailer here) right outside of Nordstrom there and had commandeered the whole area. This is where people value things differently. Some would be thrilled. Maybe they would get to see Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti or somebody else. Me? I was mostly just annoyed at having to cross traffic.

There are a lot of things like that. A city has certain amenities, but each person values them differently. I enjoy the shopping. As for sports, I am at best, indifferent. I have a sneaking fondness for things like opera and ballet, but not the resources to support such interests, so it makes little difference. I enjoy museums and the variety of restaurants, but rarely eat out. The public transportation is great, because I prefer not to deal with the traffic and parking here. However, it has its limits. I can't carry heavy furniture home with me on the el and people consider things to be so easily available in Chicago that they aren't very helpful about my need to be able to get the furniture somewhere. Whereas, when something is considered to be a rarer commodity locally, people are sometimes more helpful. (I've known someone to take a furniture shopping list composed by family, friends, and co-workers, buy the stuff and then drive it more than 2,250 miles to its destination, since they were going that way anyway.) Sometimes when I'm walking alone after dark, I wonder how much of the need for constant vigilance I would be happy to trade for sidewalks that rolled up shortly after six. So how do you feel about pollution obscuring the stars or a lack of options for your Friday night entertainment? Those are decisions that we all need to think about and be prepared to make when the time comes.

Reflecting

2007-01-24T19:06:00.000-06:00

There are a few things I would like to do to reflect on my rural immersion. First, I would like to use Johnson and St. Matthew and St. John as a kind of case study of rural life. Thus, I will consider what I learned about Johnson, as Lawrence Farris suggest in Dynamics of Small Town Ministry. Then, I will consider how St. Matthew compares to the principles of vital church ministry established in Discovering Hope.

In his book, Farris suggests that a new pastor do a few things to get to know the community one is entering. He suggests that understanding the town's dynamics will help one understand the people. Farris outlines five areas one should investigate: area geography, town geography, town history, town culture, and town values. Farris also suggests why these things are important. I would like to consider each area independently by outlining the things I noticed during my short stay in Johnson and by asking any remaining questions I have.

Area Geography: Several of the books we read cite R. Alex Sim who, in his book, Land and Community, outlined four types of small towns: Ribbonvilles, Agravilles, Mighthavebeenvilles, and Fairviews. The names say a lot about them. After visiting Johnson, I think Johnson is a Mighthavebeenville. Truly, it is a great place, but if Johnson's residents need to do shopping or be entertained, they drive 15 minutes to nearby Auburn, which is an Agraville. Farris suggests that Mighthavebeenvilles are controlled by and dependent on the nearby Agraville, as seems to be the case in Johnson.

The area about Johnson is hilly (here is Johnson, its location in Nebraska, and its relief). From a high hill, one can see neighbors in all directions. Sometimes tall trees get in the way. Many houses use evergreen trees on the north and west sides to help protect them from the wind in winter. Most of the surrounding area is farmland. The people here seem very close-knit. My host mother could point out each house and tell me volumes about who lived there. I think the fact that they can see one another so easily leads to this open feeling.

Some remaining questions: What is the year-round weather like? How does that effect this area? What does the area look like at other times of the year? How does that effect people?

Town Geography: Johnson has a main street. On main street, there is a small grocery store, a gas station called "The Quick Stop" (though that name does not appear on the building), the fire station, the grain elevator (where the picture at left is taken), the meat processing plant (Wednesday is slaughtering day), the cafe, the tavern, the bank, the small funeral home, the insurance company, and the school. St. Matthew and the local Methodist church are two blocks west of the main drag. There is also a baseball diamond on the west side of town. One can see the remains of a lumber yard. Some of the business are boarded up.

The sidewalks roll up early in town, probably around dark. They cafe is open for lunch after church on Sunday. It has a buffet. There are no francaise stores. Other than the Cafe and the White Horse (the bar) there are no other restaurants. The signs pointing to the town talk about the famous chicken barbecue

Remaining questions: What was this town like in its heyday? What were the businesses that are now closed? What is the town like during the chicken barbecue? Who comes?

Town History: I was unable to glean much about the town's history. It seems to be very involved in agriculture. I did glean some recent history. For example, across the street from St. Matthew is a Habitat for Humanity House. Unfortunately, the family had some troubles, so the status of the home is unclear. The meat processing store used to be owned by Augie and Lois, the family Peter stayed with.

Remaining questions: What is the town's history? What were have been Johnson's defining moments? When did businesses start to close? Have the businesses there always been the same? What about the churches? When did they come in? Who founded them?

Town Culture: Farris outlines six things to consider about an area's culture: economy, politics, social life, education, and cycle of events. Johnson's economy is agricultural. The grain elevator seems to the hub of what's going on in town. According to the US Census Bureau, the two other major employers of people living in Johnson are education and "Transportation, warehousing, and Utilities." I was not able to tell much about the political situation in Johnson. I think it is worth noting that the rescue squad and fire department consists entirely of civilian volunteers. The social fabric of Johnson is complex. Of course, there is the chicken barbecue. There also are people who are regulars in the cafe and the White Horse. Education is extremely important in Johnson. The students had access to laptops. The teachers were very dedicated. Nebraska has open enrollment. Students DO come from other districts to Johnson. The offer a very quality education in their K-12 school. Finally, the cycle of events. The chicken barbecue is part of the cycle. Being an agriculture society, planting, harvest, and calving all, inevitably have to do with this cycle.

Remaining questions: What is the political situation in Johnson? What trend is being seen in the local economy? Why is education so important in this community? What are other important events in the town's year?

Town values: Farris, again, suggests four key values: community, longevity, place, and forbearance. Community was key in Johnson. One night the ladies of our group got together at my host mother's house to watch a chick flick. Marianna and I offered to take Joy home. On the way, we got lost. We couldn't find Joy's hosts' house. It became the talk of the day the next day because Marianna should have known where Mary (Joy's host mother) lived. Being a longstanding member of this community means being aware of where others live and what is going on in their lives. For example, one couple clips the crosswords from the newspaper for Marianna. If she's not there one week, it is assumed that she is with her daughters in Kansas (she normally lets Pr. Catherine know where she's going). If she were gone for more than a week, they would get concerned. That is very important to this community. Longevity is also important. Much of this is displayed in how things are described. Instead of being "the white house with green shutters" it is "So-and-so's Old House." So-and-so might have lived in the house three owners before, but that doesn't stop the locals from using their names to describe the landmark. Another example is the importance of the cemetery fund. Many of the pastors we spoke with told us of the untouchable, massive cemetery fund, used to care for a church's cemetery even after the church was gone - how's that for longevity? The idea of place as a value has something to do with being good stewards of the earth. It also has something to do with maintaining the town's existence. Johnson might be a good example of this because, despite of growing town nearby, the residents still exercise loyalty to their local businesses. They know the potential collapse that may result if they search outside of Johnson for things. They understand the consequences of their actions. Forbearance. I could go on and on about this topic. The loyalty I talked about above is one example of the community's forbearance. Another example might be the Habitat House. Or, the involvement of all the churches in Lutheran World Relief quilting projects. Or, the presence of community members at basketball games. And surely, the untold stories of generosity towards others.

Remaining questions: What would a resident list as Johnson's key values? What might they add to my list?

Unrepentant Laziness

2007-01-22T23:17:00.000-06:00

Ahhh. Back to Chicago and nothing I have to do right now. I went, bought groceries and came back to my apartment which features a supply of down comforters (really, I own three) and a stack of library books that aren't due yet. I think I'll just hole up here and relax from all of the excitement of Nebraska, not emerging until it's time for people to do their presentations about the trip. But until that day (Thursday and Friday) comes, I think I'll just sit around, processing my experiences/watching television (that, and going "wow", I forgot how small house lots are in Chicago). If I have any deep thoughts in the mean time, I'll be sure to let you know. But if any do occur, I'm quite sure it won't be before noon. Until then - sweet dreams and I'm off to the land of fluffy blankets.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2007-01-22T20:03:00.000-06:00

Okay, maybe a cheezy saying - it's very common in my family. I imagine my parents are smiling as they read it.

I wanted to let our readers know that we are home. We had a nice evening last night - we watched both the Bears and Colts win from the large screen T.V. Zach is watching in Joy's picture, below (the T.V. is not in the picture). We really enjoyed the camp's hospitality center (dubbed "the land of milk and honey"). We had a quiet night. On the trip to the airport, I tried to get carsick, but I'm fine now. Our flight was great.

I'm glad to be home.

I really wanted to write to tell you, dear reader, to keep reading! If you have a chance, check us out on Friday. By that time, I know I will have posted a sumation bit about my impressions of the trip and what I learned. See you then!

I Corinthians

2007-01-21T21:17:00.000-06:00

This morning our professor led us in worship (LBW setting one, no communion). There was no sermon, but we were supposed to sit there, meditate on the gospel for the day (from Luke, Jesus reading in the temple) and share our thoughts on it. However, my attention was caught, not by the passage from Luke, but by the second reading, from I Corinthians Chapter 12. It’s a very well known passage, with Paul talking about how the body of Christ is composed of many parts.

Something about the whole J-term experience this year made it strike me especially powerfully today. It struck me on a couple of different levels. The first level involved the different personalities on this trip. On most issues raised in the group, I am on one side of an issue and my classmates are on the other side. We get all excited and our professor wisely moves us on to another topic. Now I, of course, always believe that I am right, and am more than willing to defend my views. Not only do issues relating to religion tend to be rather important to me (I mean, one would hope that they are important to a master of divinity student.), but many have been formed by hard experience which is not easily ignored or discarded. However, most of the time, my classmates disagree with me. Issues of religion are no less important to them and based on the passion with which they talk about their experiences, they have obviously also had important experiences which have led them to different conclusions. We are very different people and will make different sorts of ministers. However, as different and contradictory as what we do and what we seek may seem, it doesn’t mean that any of us will be less useful. The body of Christ is composed of many different parts and we will serve somewhat different parts in different circumstances, because no two congregations are identical.

On another level, people connect to God in different ways and it is always a struggle to get the various ways to see that the various ways are equally valid. One person will feel closest to God when striving to bring God’s justice in the world. Another will feel closest when surrounded by others singing “Shine Jesus Shine”. A third may feel closest when deep in silent contemplation in a monastery. Yet another may feel closest to God when reading a lengthy treatise on theology. They are all very different ways of seeking relationship with God, yet they can all bring about the desired result. The problem comes when looking from our own path to God, we see that another person’s path has none of the same guideposts as ours, and so we assume that their path cannot be truly leading to God. One pastor once described God as a giant barn where God’s presence can be found in every inch of it. Our lives and our experiences of God are like a baseball that we get one chance to throw at that barn. That ball’s trajectory comes into contact with the barn and maybe even the space inside, but only a small portion of it. The reality of God is so immense that we can’t wrap our minds around it. Another person’s path and interpretation of what they’ve passed through may not intersect with ours at all, but that does not mean that they are not experiencing God.

Churches are like that too. They experience and express God in a number of different ways, but most importantly, they are all experiencing God. Different churches, of different sizes and different locations serve differently, but they all serve the same One. Some churches are about the excellence of their choirs and some are about the closeness of their communities, but all have the same goal of drawing people closer to God. Be it an urban church or a rural church, all are necessary to the body of Christ. There are different ways to serve God and different places to do so, but what is essential is that we serve God. Who knows what part of the body of Christ we will be in at the end of our four years at LSTC and whether or not it is a part that we would have picked. What we need to do is trust that God is putting us where God needs us.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (I Cor 12:4-6)

But in fact God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. (I Cor 12:18-20)

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (I Cor 12:27)

(above quotes taken from the NIV)

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2007-01-21T15:42:00.000-06:00

OK, they were right. The scenery here is pretty as a picture. So . . .

pretty scenery

more pretty scenery

the Swanson Center aka "The Promised Land" to me and my classmates - It is right down the road from where we spent the night and it is fully stocked with comfy chairs, a giant television to watch the Chicago Bears play, a multitude of beverages and most any snack available. It's amazing.

Enjoying the promised land (featuring Zach and our professor, Peter V.)

You Might be a Rural Pastor if . . .

2007-01-20T22:34:00.000-06:00

OK, let's try this again, and hope it sticks this time, because it's after midnight, and I just lost my whole entry when my newly updated Internet Explorer decided to start blocking stuff. Grrr . . .

Addrianne and I spent the night at Pastor Barbara's parsonage because it had internet access (very useful when doing a blog) and it was closer to the conference that we were going to today. This morning she gave us enough copies of Salem Lutheran's cookbook for our whole group and drove us to Aurora for the conference.

After arriving, we signed in, got name tags, and were fed coffee and donuts. The conference was kicked off with worship, which I quite enjoyed. (I'm not sure if it's due to their dedication to the subject at hand or a matter of most of them having voices that are vastly superior to mine (Sorry, future congregation!), but groups made up of clergy and dedicated lay people always seem to do a beautiful job of hymns.)

The keynote was given by Pastor Steve Tjarks. I enjoyed listening to him. He was an engaging speaker and made several interesting points.

1) Unlike business, the success of a church isn't about quantity, but quality. It's not about how many people you can get in the door, but the quality of the spiritual life there.

2) Rural ministry is all about programs, but about relationship. A rural pastor doesn't succeed by offering all the latest, greatest programs, but by loving and being in relationship with the congregation. A congregation can sense if you love them or are just putting your three years in before going on to something bigger and better.

3) More and more people who are coming to rural ministry are not from rural backgrounds. They feel frustrated and isolated by things and ways of being that they don't understand. Their rural congregations need to be very intentional about making them less isolated (invite them over for the holidays, introduce their kids to other kids their age in the community) and explaining things to them. Their families are also fish out of water, and you need to help them too if you want the pastor and their family to stay. An example: a new pastor came home and couldn't find his family, who had been unpacking when he left. He eventually found them huddled under blankets in a corner of the basement, trembling in fear, because they had mistaken the local lunch whistle for a tornado warning.

He made other interesting points, but I'm too tired to remember them without my notes right now, so you'll just have to trust me on that one. However, I did enjoy, and received his permission to reproduce here, his signs that you might be a rural minister.

The following section is copied straight from a presentation given by Pastor Steve Tjarks at the Nebraska Rural Ministry Task Force Rural Ministry Workshop at Messiah Lutheran Church in Aurora, Nebraska on 1/20/06.

If you are a clergy-person, here are the top 10 signs that you might be a rural pastor.

10) All meetings start later in the summer than in the winter.
9) Poisoning the ground squirrels inhabiting church property poses no moral dilemma for any church council member.*
8) You live on a gravel road, and it's better than many paved roads in the area.
7) Your closest neighbors are accurately termed "livestock".
6) Your church doors are never locked, and no one knows where the keys might be.
5) It is assumed that riding in a combine with one of your members is "real ministry."
4) The parsonage has always been, and will always be, white; both inside and out.
3) The local coffee shop sells gas, oil, tires, livestock feed, ag chemicals, and fertilizer; and the coffee is free. Drinking coffee in this location is considered legitimate ministry.
2) The church cemetery has at least one former pastor buried in it.
1) Your members' stock trailers have never been cleaner than the day they moved you into the parsonage.

Then we had a chance to talk to Bishop David deFreese, head of the Nebraska Synod, over lunch, which included cherry cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert. (All I can say is that if hospitality can be measured by the desire to feed one's guests, Nebraska must be trying to set the gold standard.) All of the pastors we've talked to while we've been here keep saying good things about him, and it's easy to see why, with his personable manner and good listening skills. He asked us about rural immersion, what worked, what didn't (even taking notes) and listened to our answers. He also talked a bit about rural ministry, emphasizing how, especially in the rural church, it's all about relationship.

After that we attended two sessions of our choice. I (and Adrianne) chose to attend sessions on Ministry with the Aging and then one on Worship. They were interesting, but at this point, I've hit the trifecta of tired, cranky and unable to remember what I'm writing about, so I had better wrap this up.

When the conference was over, we got into the car to try to race the snow to our next destination, and the sky was as white as the ground.

We arrived at our destination, the Carol Joy Holling Center, without incident. This center, located in Ashland, is the headquarters of Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries. It's supposed to be beautiful here, but with the cold and the darkness, I am yet to verify this (but I can verify the existence of chocolate almond tart).

Anyway, if this publishes successfully, instead of disappearing, I'm off to bed. I can leave the important things like lounging around and admiring nature from a comfy chair for tomorrow.

*This reminds me of the one of my favorites, the Lutheran squirrel joke. Have you heard it?

There were four country churches in a small Texas town: the Presbyterian church, the Baptist church, the Lutheran church, and the Catholic church. Each church was overrun with pesky squirrels.

One day, the Presbyterian Church called a meeting to decide what to do about the squirrels. After much prayer and consideration they determined that the squirrels were predestined to be there and they shouldn't interfere with God's divine will.

In the Baptist church, the squirrels had taken up habitation in the baptistry. The deacons met and decided to put a cover on the baptistry and drown the squirrels in it. The squirrels escaped somehow and there were twice as many there the next week.

The Catholic church got together and decided that they were not in a position to harm any of God's creation. So, they humanely trapped the squirrels and set them free a few miles outside of town. Three days later, the squirrels were back.

But the Lutheran church came up with the best and most effective solution. They baptized the squirrels and registered them as members of the church. Now they only see them on Christmas and Easter.

Just a Few Notes

2007-01-20T00:03:00.000-06:00

The capitol building in Nebraska was very interesting looking, so of course I took pictures. Here is the building's dome . . .

. . . As viewed under the power of a persuasive guide.

Prior to the tour, I was aware that Nebraska has a unicameral legistlature. However, I had assumed that it started out that way. Today I found out I was wrong. It started out as a bicameral system. It was changed, at least in part, thanks to the efforts of George Norris. Here is the door to the legistlative body that is no more.

. . . And the door handle in detail.

Two rather famous Nebraskans are Father Flanagan (founder of Boys Town) and Willa Cather (author of works such as O Pioneers! and, my personal favorite, Death Comes for the Archbishop).

Later in the day, as Adrianne said, we met up with Pastor Barbara and we got to talk to members of her church. At that conversion, she not only gave us a lot to think about (and I do agree with Adrianne that the boys missed out), but a lot to eat as well (hot tea and two kinds of coffee cake style breads). We talked about the problems and decline that can be found in rural churches, but it was the kind of conversation that one leaves feeling energized, rather than drained. So, all in all, it was a good end to a good day.

P.S. Pastor Barbara also recommends Open Secrets, so it's not just me.

You Just Have to Love 'Em

2007-01-19T23:02:00.000-06:00

Today was an eventful day. For the ladies, it was our final day in Johnson. So, on our way out of town, we pulled over for our favorite Johnson landmark - the sign. Apparently, Johnson has the fabulous barbecue every year. Maybe we'll be back in the future to experience it.

We met Pr. Brenda in Palmyra before heading to Lincoln (the capital!!). Pr. Brenda was praying to open today's legislative session. We toured the capitol building. It is absolutely beautiful. It is covered in art and has gorgeous architecture. It is very tall = 14 stories! Nebraska, unlike the federal government and every other state government, has an unicameral government. That means they only have one house in their legislative branch. It has 49 seats, elected by district (instead of county, of which there are 93). 13 total seats belong to the metropolises (Lincoln and Omaha), all the rest are representatives from rural areas. To conclude our tour, we prayed with the senators and went through half of their agenda (it was a short day), and took our leave.

Next we went to University of Nebraska -Lincoln (UNL). We had lunch with Lutheran Campus ministries there. The program is fairly successful and well known. We met their four peer ministers. The new pastor, Fritz, had a lot to say about what he saw as being a successful campus minister.

Then we went to Region V Services, a group which provides mental health and substance abuse services in 16 counties of Southeast Nebraska. We learned about Emergency Protective Custody, in which police are permitted to place a person who could be a danger to themselves or others in custody and take them to a crisis center. Region V Services has started a program which attempts to lesson the amount of EPCs necessary, by responding to the situation, assessing an individual needs, and attempting to create a safe environment while providing necessary services.

We met with Pr. Barbara, who we met when we first landed, she took us gals back to her home stomping grounds. She lives about 12 miles from the Kansas boarder in South-central Nebraska. I fell asleep in the car and woke to find we had left the gentle rolling hills of the east to the flat-as-a-pancake plains of the central region. We had dinner at the local bar (which is basically the only place to eat out around here). Then Barbara had arranged for us to meet with some of her parishioners. We met with four couples, all long-term members. It was very interesting to talk with them. We talked about trends in the church, especially in regards to attendance and pastoral care. We talked about what was working, what had them excited: they said they were excited about the way their congregation was like family. We also talked about what was troubling them. The were really concerned that parents were not attending church, nor requiring their children to do so past confirmation age. Moreover, the children are so very busy with extra-curricular activities that coming to church has slipped to a very low position on the priority list. We mused about what could be done. The couples were very receptive of us as we talked about our impressions and theories about what we saw in rural ministry. We talked about the "lack of boldness", as Trish put it, that we viewed among rural parishes. We felt that churches who were vital were being risky. They had strong programs, such as bible studies and prayer ministries which encouraged faith. They were intentional about their hospitality and their forming of community.

As we talked, the one thing that kept passing through my head was something that I had heard several times this week. All any parishioner wants from their pastor, and perhaps from each other (and I might venture to guess that this expands beyond the rural communities) is love. Pr. Barth, from the prison, mentioned that when he spoke of a former call. He asked the call committee in his interview, "What do you want from me?" They responded, "We just want you to love us, Pastor." It was clear from the response of the congregates at Salem Lutheran (Barbara's church) that this is what they desired and what they were concerned wasn't being produced at seminary. I guess that this is a question that the church must grapple with: how do we let people - all people - know that they are loved, both by God and the community of believers?

Of Milk and Parlors

2007-01-18T23:59:00.000-06:00

Any idea what the above photo is a picture of? (And no, cows will not cut it as an answer.) It is a picture showing part of a milk parlor. What the heck is a milk parlor? It's where the cows go to get milked. While those cows are standing there, they are being milked by automatic milking machines. There are two rows of cows being milked and between them is a much lower central aisle where workers run around collecting the milk. OK, maybe you felt no pressing need to know that, but I felt a pressing need to tell you, because until today if someone had said "milk parlor" to me, I would have envisioned something very different. In fact, the first image that ran through my mind when I heard those words was of a sort of cafe for elderly British ladies who thought tea was too hardcore. As you now know, I was quite entirely wrong.

One thing that amazed me today was the vast quantity of feed that a feed lot goes through. I would have thought that I had a clue, seeing as I lived down the street from a feed lot for four years, but I was honestly astonished at the amount of feed they use. Here is a picture of food being mixed for the second feeding of the day and it's not enough to feed all of the beef cattle at the operation either. All I have to say is that's just a whole lot of feed.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this is Henry, the feed lot rooster, because, well, doesn't every feed lot need a rooster to pamper?

Adventures in Rural Immersion

The Last Supper!

Seeing yourself in Nebraska

The Runza Experience!

The Days of High Adventure...

Our Busy, Busy Nebraskan Days

Going to Prison: the less glamourous side of ministry

Wonderful Ooze?!?

Hello Nebraska!

Gifts Given and Received

Spiritual Treasure Seekers

10 Things I Learned from Our Nebraska Trip

Farewell, but Not Really Goodbye

Green and Red

Healing Souls & Bodies, Feeding Us & Cows

Meat, Greet, Retreat, and Eat

Boarding School, Bishop, & Bundles of Energy in Genoa

What a "Steel"

The Flip Side of "Snowed In"

Back to the Future

Snowed In

Worship, Injured Soldier Benefit... and Pterodactyl

Fresh Milk and Fellowship

History and Helping Hands

Corn and Cold

The Stars Come Out

Camels? No. Willing and Expectant Spirits? You Bet.

Indiana Jones Would Be Envious

Thanks and Farewell

Check out the Comments for Each Post

More Videos of Rural Nebraska

Local Celebrities

A Quick Note

Capping off the Week

Cows, Cows, and More Cows

Social Ministry in Nebraska

Taking a Little Breather

An Important Day

Touring the Local Industries

A Full Day

Diving In to Rural Life

Getting Going

Prologue: A Nebraska Adventure

Thanks and Photos

Leaving Town

Recipes

The Town of Hastings

Joy of Journey

Prairie

Manure

Walt "The Vault"

Hasting's History

Workshop and Wine

Snow and Ice - TWICE!

Prologue

A Different View of Home

Day Ten

Day Nine

Day Eight

Day Seven

Day Six

Day Five

Day Four

Day Three

Day Two

Day One

At the Airport

The End of the Line

Mea Culpa

Vitality

Trade Offs

Reflecting

Unrepentant Laziness

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

I Corinthians

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

You Might be a Rural Pastor if . . .

Just a Few Notes

You Just Have to Love 'Em

Of Milk and Parlors