Tulare & Redfield July 12-17

This week I spent my time between two churches, Tulare with Pastor Lorah Houser-Jankford, and Redfield with Rev. Tim Fugman. The Tulare church is wonderful to visit. They are a three-church congegation - UMC and 2 UCCs merged and built a new building for worship. I think that is a good idea. As with a marriage it is often the better choice to get a new home together, rather than one partner moving in with the other.

Pastor Lorah took me to a Pastor's meeting at the UMC in Huron on Tuesday. It was very interesting to meet with several different Pastors and talk Scripture and the Pastoral life. I spent time with Pastor Lorah working on the service for Sunday in Redfield. She gave me several wonderful resources - not the least of which is a lovely book published every year called "The Minister's Annual Manual." This darling little book has complete worship services for every Sunday that year! It's interdenominational too with Hymn references, call to worship verses, and even a sermon! I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It is bound to be stressful to have to produce a sermon and full worship service every week - it just makes sense that such a book would be created to aid in that process. Wonderful resource!

When I decided on Psalm 139 for the sermon, Pastor Lorah handed me a typed original of her father's 1971 sermon on the same Psalm! It was an honor to quote Rev. Houser in my sermon. He wrote a great one and it was good to be able to read his thoughts on this beautiful hymn.

Pastor Lorah also asked me to bring a  bit of creativity into their sacred space design. I was glad to be able to do a little art on a small table that sits at the entrance of the sanctuary. They were celebrating a baptism on Sunday, so I created a little river scene and hung a small butterfly quilt on the wall above it. It was a delight to create and Pastor Lorah says she's going to leave it up for a while.

In Redfield, Rev. Tim worked with me to put the service together for Sunday. The Redfield church is gorgeous, with a balcony and huge organ pipes. That puppy really helps you sing Holy Holy Holy!!! The service on Sunday went very well. The congregation is a wonderful mix of all generations and I had about 8 kids for the Children's Message (my 2nd ever!). When I stood up to give my sermon, I turned on my body mic and it put out a piercing scream! I shut it off, looked at the congregation, and said: "Thank you very much" and sat down. After the service, one of the folks congratulated me on my impression of Elvis.

They have a screen behind and above the altar and it fits beautifully there. The whole worship is projected onto the screen so folks can sing the hymns and pray the prayers without looking down. I used three images during my sermon and it worked very well.

Overall a great visit. Thank you to Pastor Lorah, Rev. Tim and Donann.

Bryant & Erwin July 5-10

Erwin and Bryant are two of the most adorable little churches I've been in so far. Ok, I'm biased because they are the churches served by my wonderful mentor Rev. Marjie, but still... Both churches are over 100 years old and just beautiful!

Erwin has little folding chairs original to the church, so they are 126 years old and still supporting the congregation! They are made of dark wood, and include a hat holder under each seat - two wires that hold the brim of the hat. The stained glass windows are all dedicated in memory of different folks and two beautiful quilts hang in on the back wall. Marilyn Jones gave me a tour of the church and told me more about it's history. She also showed me the two banners that were donated to the church by Rev. Emily who was the South Dakota Intern in 2003. Rev. Marjie painted a picture of the Erwin church on one of the banners and it hangs behind the altar. Both are beautiful banners made for Rev. Emily to celebrate her Ordination.

Bryant is also a sweet little church. The benches here are well padded and set on a bit of a slant. There are several banners on the altar wall that represent the many farm animals the church has donated through Heifer Project International.  Above the lovely light-brown wood altar is a lighted cross that helps to give the sanctuary a warm, inviting glow. The stained glass windows here are also very distinctive and just gorgeous. One of my favorite windows shows a loaf of bread, a chalice, a bunch of grapes and stocks of grain, and behind them is a big red barn. This reminds me of the Big Red Barn Rev. Marjie and Ray have remodeled to be their home and makes me think of how the wonderful talks I have had with Rev. Marjie have served as Communion for my soul.

The challenge this week was the opportunity to lead worship... twice! Erwin at 9:00a and Bryant at 10:30a. Rev. Marjie helped me adapt their regular services and plug in some good hymns. Another thing that helped a lot was sitting around one of the big tables in the church here at the retreat with Rev. Marjie and Rev. Emily and talking about the scripture for Sunday. It was Matthew 13, basically the parable of the sower of the Word and the different types of soil those seeds encounter. It's really a wonderful experience to sit with these two wonderful women, one with over 40 years experience, and discuss the various insights we find. When it came time for worship on Sunday I felt pretty prepared. I did learn a lot through that experience... the main lesson being that I have a LOT to learn about creating and leading worship! Good thing I have 2 more years of seminary! I am grateful to Rev. Marjie for giving me that opportunity and for her gentle nudges and glances during service that helped me stay on track!
I also had the opportunity to visit several folks from each congregation during the week. At Dorothy's house, several of the women came together to tie a quilt. I knit and crochet, but this is the first time I've been involved with a quilt. It is fun work and a great opportunity for conversation. Marilyn and her husband Dale hosted me for a lunch and she showed me around "the museum" which is her house. That lady loves books more than I do! What a great collection, and a beautiful home with so many wonderful mementos from trips and the lives of her family. During our Sunday service in Erwin, Marilyn's grandsons Matthew and Calvin shared some stories from camp at Placerville. This is a summer Christian youth camp which is a wonderful adventure for the youth of this conference. I hope the support for that retreat continues for many years to come.

At the close of this week, Rev. Marjie took another photo of the Prairie Retreat Post Office - the mailbox on their road and the corn field behind it. I went out and stood in the corn so we can see how it grows - and, as Rev. Marjie put it - so I could be outstanding in my field! (ha ha) Ray and I pulled some weeds today and I enjoyed the smell and feel of good earth. I'll do my wash today, pack up the car tonight, and tomorrow I'm off for Redfield and Tulare! It's being a grand summer!

Wessington Springs 6-28 to 07-04-11

07-04-11 Wessington Springs/Templeton
Rev. Sara Olson Dean serves two small churches, Wessington Springs (the Town Church) and Templeton (the Country Church). Wessington Springs is a lovely small town of about 1,200 folks. This week's experience was different for me because everyone was preparing for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the town High School. There are six churches in town of varying denominations and they had all agreed to have Sunday service at the High School, so there would be no services at Sara's churches. Sara and I spent time visiting folks, watching little league baseball (her son Elliot is in his first year with the team) and talking about serving two churches at once.

It seems to me that Sara and her two congregations are perfectly suited to each other. Sara and Alex have two small children, Elliot 6 and Kate 3, so it is best for her to work part time. This fits with the needs of both churches, so she works 1/4 time for each, and spends the rest of her time with her growing family. They live next door to the church in the pasonage and Sara went out to her garden in the back yard to get basil and lettuce for lunch. Delightful.

Usually there are two Sunday services, 9:00 and 10:30. The two churches are about 15 minutes apart so travel is not an issue. However, having two services in a day is much like theatre when we do a matinee and evening performance. One has to retain some energy and enthusiasm for the second performance! I heard many comments over the week from congregation members who love Sara's sermons and visits, so she is doing well. As is the case with these small-town churches, people are very attached to their church home. Both Wessington Springs and Templeton are doing ok, and Sara is gently encouraging both congregations to think about the future, what they envision for their churches and to consider creative ideas for growth.

I had the honor of staying with Alex's parents, Kathy and Dr. Tom in their beautiful home on a hill. (First hill I've been on all summer!) They have a lovely view of the town and prairie. Dr. Tom has built a small waterfall and pond in their back yard, and Kathy has quite a lot of beautiful flowers. Kathy took me to visit her pride and joy: the Shakespeare Garden. Built in 1932 by Professor and Mrs. Shay, the Anne Hathaway Cottage is the only thatched roof building in South Dakota. The terraced gardens are made up of many small plots of flowers dedicated in memory of loved ones. Visit the website at: www.shakespearegarden.org  I told Kathy I would like to move to town, live in Anne Hathaway's Cottage and direct community theatre in the Opera House on Dakota Avenue. But since people frequently visit and have teas in the little cottage, this idea will remain a dream. Kathy and I hit it off well as we are both theatre people. She showed me pictures of many productions of one-act Shakespeare plays done in the Garden. Looks like there's some good talent out on the prairie!
Saturday there was a small but enthusiastic parade for the 4th of July weekend. We ate lunch on the lawn and waved at the tractors as they trundled by. I very much enjoyed my visit in Wessington Springs, the warm hospitality, good food and friendly people.