Sundays and Seasons
 
On a beautiful Sunday morning in mid-July, we celebrated the beginning of Pastor Rhonda’s blessed sabbatical season. It’s hard to believe that this special occasion and send-off occurred over five weeks ago. I promised myself that I would not disturb Pastor Rhonda during this sacred time (which I have not!). She, however, has been kind enough to send me and the other SpringHouse clergy a few updates along the way about her adventure. Needless to say, she is having the time of her life and is fully embracing this time of renewal and growth.
For Salem, we have been busy as a congregation leaning into God’s call to reimagine what it means to neighbor and to be the people of God in this place and in this time. Here is a quick recap…
Our worship services have been Spirit-filled, with time spent exploring what it means to be called through the stories of Abraham and Philip the Deacon. We have also celebrated God’s creation through joint worship with our SpringHouse friends on a magnificent Sunday at Wabun Pavilion.
Our friends from Faith & Neighboring Practices at the Minneapolis Synod (Nick, Grace, Mercy, and Matthew) led us in two wonderful workshops. The first workshop introduced us to asset mapping, which is the practice and process of discovering the gifts, strengths, and assets of a community. ...

A Time of Renewal
 
It’s been a year and a half since we were writing a grant in hopes of offering Salem the opportunity to provide me with a sabbatical and all of us with a time of renewal. Months of waiting for a “yes” or “no” (with me having to read the “yes” a hundred times before I believed it) and another year of planning, and now we are here...at the precipice of a 3 month adventure that has been carefully designed to offer rejuvenation to us all.

 As I have been preparing for this once in a lifetime opportunity, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my 25 years of ministry, this amazing faith community, and what this renewal means for me AND for you.

A clergy sabbatical is an intentional time away from daily ministry that gives physical and spiritual rest and renewal, as well as opportunities for learning and growth—SO THAT when a pastor returns, they are renewed and ready for the ministry we will continue to do together. It is ALSO a time for the congregation to do some learning and growing so that when the pastor returns THE CONGREGATION is  renewed and ready for the ministry we will continue to do together. (The one thing I lament is that I won’t be around for all the amazing opportunities you will have while I am gone!) ... 

10 Years

This Sunday will mark my 10th anniversary as Salem’s pastor. I remember it well, my first worship service as your pastor was the third Sunday in May, a joint SpringHouse service, when the youth and children led worship. The welcome was enthusiastic, genuine, and grace filled and I immediately felt like a member of this faithful family called Salem.

True confession—I was so scared to jump into this venture with you all. As an associate pastor for my entire career, I felt wholly inadequate to take on a solo pastor role. Honestly, it would be a few years before I stopped asking questions like, “Who writes the Christmas letter?” 

Don’t get me wrong, I knew I had gifts for ministry, but in the calls I had previously, some of the muscles I would need in top form here had never been stretched before...like preaching every week and guiding a budget process.
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The beautiful thing is that you accepted me as my authentic self and when I didn’t know how to do things, you guided me and showed me grace. Sometimes we learned things together and always we walked alongside each other as we did the work of the church...
 
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​Resistance….what does it look like? Over the past weeks (and even longer, really) our city and our state have experienced some awful things. I don’t know if there is any other way to say it.. As a native Minnesotan, I never in my wildest imagination, could have envisioned what is happening right now here in this place. The kind of occupation we are experiencing, the kind of terror people are facing, the senseless violence…well, that happens in other places, not here. And yet, here we are.

What does it mean to be part of resistance in times like these? Well, in the midst of the chaos over these last few weeks we have seen some incredible acts of resistance...very public acts of resistance. Thousands of people marching in the streets, peaceful vigils in the face of violence, peaceful protests at the airport and at Target headquarters., hundreds gathering to sing on street corners and in sanctuaries...to name a few.

​Congratulations! I’m not sure I tell you this enough, but…”I’m so proud of you.” It may be no surprise that my congratulations and pride stem from the good news about being awarded a Clergy Renewal Grant (see page 3)...but it goes so much deeper than that. I am so proud of this community of faith and its story. Grant writing is not something I have ever done, so collaborating with some of you to write the Clergy Renewal Grant was quite an experience. But what struck me at the end of the process, when we put all the pieces we had written together into a cohesive narrative—is that the story it tells of Salem is extraordinary. So, congratulations, I am so grateful that CTS and the Lilly Foundation chose our story to honor this coming year with a period of renewal for our entire community.

Building Beloved Community

As I write this front page article, there are three days before our South Minneapolis Day Camp begins and I would be lying if I told you I wasn't a chaotic mess trying to finish all the last minute details for which I am responsible. Updating registration of over 150 kids, youth, and adults, preparing Bible stories and morning rotations, running volunteer background checks, training volunteers, somehow helping tie-dye t-shirts for our leaders, making sure the medic has all the right information, preparing nametags and daily schedules, and coordinating with all the other incredible leaders I work with who are trying to get their many last minute details taken care of ... all so that when Monday morning comes we can be present.

Blessed to be a Blessing

​At the calling of Abram and Sarai, God said, "I will bless you...and you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:2) As we find ourselves in the midst of Lent, which is a season of reflection, I have found myself struck by something Michelle Ruppert Madsen wrote in the congregation's grant proposal for a time of renewal in 2026. 

Big Shoes, Practices, Neighboring...It's Not Nothing
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Sometimes the front page of the church newsletter feels like a lot of pressure. Sometimes I have to cut my writing in half to fit it all on the page. Sometimes this space feels profound and other times it feels...well, not profound at all.