"We're a Welcoming Church"

A Sabbatical Reflection
By Pastor Grant Barnett Christenson

We took the opportunity during our summer sabbatical to worship at different houses of worship, not only in Bozeman but also in Minnesota, Washington, and Wyoming.
Many churches went out of their way to make us feel welcomed. One Bozeman church not only followed up with a bag full of information and visitor bread, but with notes. Lots of notes. We thanked them and notified them that we were local clergy. They seemed eager for the return of "Barnett and Linda Christenson."
Another local congregation made connections with us during worship and afterward at the fellowship hour. It was good to see Megan Makeever, our former choir director, and to meet some retired Montana teachers who knew retired teachers from Christ the King.
A congregation in Washington was very informal, but they were gracious in their welcome and invited us to stay for brunch on their patio after worship. Breaking bread in the rare summer sunshine of western Washington was a great way to feel included in a gathering of Christians.
While we were in Minnesota, I was so excited to worship at the church where my parents were married 59 years ago. We were clearly visitors because of our ages and because of our wiggly children. My father felt sad that he and his family were not recognized and acknowledged. My father loves and cares for the body of Christ, and he grieves when it does not carry out the important ministry of hospitality. It was hard for me to talk to the senior pastor, who was also a seminary classmate, to let him know that our welcome was less than warm and friendly. The senior pastor and the associate pastor both acknowledged it was a problem for their congregation and they were trying to address it.
Visiting other churches this summer gave us an opportunity to experience welcoming congregations, and in some cases, not.
Les Stroh, our consultant during the strategic planning meetings in mid-October, lifted up an example of welcoming and not welcoming visitors that helped me understand hospitality in a new light.
Les told a story of how a visitor felt put off by the groups that sat at full tables during fellowship following worship. As groups were chatting with their friends, they were silently communicating "we visit with folks we know." Not a very welcoming environment, even if the church members consider themselves "welcoming".
Then Les told us about a church where members are keenly aware that there are visitors in their midst. They go out of their way to make visitors feel welcomed, even to the point of not sitting with their friends after worship during the fellowship hour, but keeping seats at their tables open for any visitors who may be looking for a place to sit.
Visiting other churches and observing how they do hospitality ministry can be eye opening, or painful to experience.
Would you be willing to greet the stranger in your midst, even though you want to talk to your friend who you haven't seen in a week?
Would you be willing to leave a seat open at your table during fellowship, even though you want to talk about the Cubs' big win on Wednesday night with your friends?
Sabbatical was a wonderful time to experience the vast array of congregations that make up the Body of Christ. But it was also a time to learn what makes for a warm welcome, as opposed to a cold shoulder and an air of indifference.
Food for thought, as we anticipate many visitors in our midst over the next couple of months.

On Leave-taking

Tomorrow is our last day in the office until September. Yes, it feels really weird. No, I'm not "ready." I'm not sure what "ready" even means or would look like (though it would likely involve fewer post-it notes stuck to my computer monitor and less laundry waiting).

At the same time, I am ready: ready to take a big enough step back to get a wider view of things than I usually do. I'm ready not to have a deadline hanging over my head every day when I wake up. I'm ready to be outside more often, and to play more, pray more, read more, be creative more. And all because of the great gift of Sabbath - a rest, a ceasing, enjoying that who I am is a greater gift than what I can do, because God's grace says so.

So - farewell for now.

This blog will lie fallow this summer. We'll rev it back up when we return in September.

Sabbatical: Q&A

Dear Friends in Christ,                                                                                                              

Back in September 2015, the church council approved a Sabbatical leave for Grant and me, for three months, beginning on June 6, 2016.

What is a Sabbatical?

A Sabbatical calls for an extended time of Sabbath-keeping, of stepping away from usual duties and responsibilities. It calls for rest of the body, though also rest of the spirit. For a work-loving person, this will be a challenge, though perhaps all the more necessary. Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel reminds us, a Sabbatical will be a good grounding in humility that the church will survive (even thrive!) without our help.

How long will we be gone?

We will begin our Sabbatical on June 6, 2016, following the conclusion of the Montana Synod Assembly in Billings. Our last day in the office will be June 3^rd. We will return to the office September 6, 2016.

What will we do?

We look forward to continuing education classes, rest, reading, increased time for devotions, and enjoying creation. As a family, we will travel to Minnesota and Washington, to learn and to spend time with extended family and friends. You can read more details about the classes we’ll take online, at: https://weraise.wheatridge.org/en/projects/30218-Pray--Play--Partner---Sabbatical-2016

All of our activities (and time for rest and renewal) focus around the theme: Pray, Play, Partner.

Where will we worship?

As it would be difficult for us to step out of the role of co-pastors here at Christ the King, our family will worship elsewhere during Sabbatical. Though we will miss being in worship here with you dearly, we hope to share ideas from other congregations upon our return.

Who will cover our responsibilities during our absence?

Pastor Mark Ramseth, member of CtK, is coordinating Sunday morning worship. A schedule of wonderful guest preachers, including some members of CtK, has been put together. Sunday services have already been mostly planned.

The Church Council will have a “council host” each Sunday, to answer questions and make announcements.

Pastors Mark and Carol Ramseth, and LPA John Sheppard will provide pastoral care in emergency situations. The Congregational Care Team has been trained and deployed to offer ongoing pastoral care to members of the congregation. If you are in need of a visit or pastoral care, please call the Church Office, 587-4131.

Kristin Harney is coordinating WoW (Worship on Wednesdays).

Jen Erickson is coordinating WoW dinners.

Josh Keehr is heading up the construction of the prayer labyrinth.

Dawn Byrd and Courtney Yovich will oversee church communications.

The Sabbatical Team is planning special summer events (Spring Clean-Up Day, Madison River Float Trip, Worship at Hyalite, etc.)

Lucy Peterson remains our faithful Family Promise Coordinator.

The Family & Youth Team will coordinate the Middle School Service Plunge and the High School Mission Trip through FLBC.

Amy Yovich and Renee Schon will head up Vacation Bible School.

Know that you all will continue to be in our prayers during this absence.

How is the Sabbatical funded?

The congregation voted at the Annual Meeting to increase the usual “pulpit supply” line item by $1300, to cover the cost of guest preachers for the Sundays of the Sabbatical. Also included in the spending plan is $1500 for continuing education (an annual part of our compensation). Costs above the $1500 will either be funded through our crowdfunding campaign, or paid for by us pastors.

Please see the May 13, 2016 post on the CtK blog (http://ctkbozeman.blogspot.com/2016/05/pray-play-partner-sabbatical-2016.html) for more detailed information on the Sabbatical budget.

Will we be in contact with CtK during Sabbatical?

An important part of a Sabbatical is to make a complete break from things. Dawn Byrd will notify us of any major events in the life of the congregation, and we will continue to receive the weekly email newsletter while on Sabbatical. We will not be checking our CtK email accounts. Please contact the Church Office during the Sabbatical, at 587-4131, or office@ctkbozeman.org.

How will we evaluate the Sabbatical upon our return?

We will submit reports to the Church Council upon our return, and will meet with the Sabbatical Team, the Mutual Ministry Team, the church staff to share experiences of the Sabbatical (both ours and CtK’s). I expect that all of our ministries will continue to flourish while we are away and new ones will arise. A Sabbatical is really a two-way process, with both the staff persons and the congregation reflecting upon prior ministry, being renewed, and seeing new patterns emerge as we discern God’s will for us.

We are excited for this time of renewal and pray it will be a blessing for Christ the King as well.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us, before June 3^rd, with any questions or concerns.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Lindean

Pray, Play, Partner - Sabbatical 2016 - Finances

It's T minus 3 weeks until our last day in the office before our Sabbatical begins. Our last Sunday of worship at CtK will be May 29th, as the first weekend of June we'll be with CtK's Synod Assembly voting members, John and Tina Sheppard, at the Synod Assembly in Billings. Our Sabbatical officially begins on Monday, June 6th.

If you have any questions about the Sabbatical, or what it will entail for us as pastors, or for the congregation, please don't be shy about asking. Any member of the Sabbatical Team (Dawn Byrd, Joby Dynneson, Kristin Harney, Mark Ramseth, Mariann Witthar), Pastor Grant, and I, would be very glad to answer them!

One thing that's come up in recent conversations, is a desire for better understanding of the funding for the Sabbatical, and how it will affect CtK. The financial implications of the 2016 Sabbatical for the congregation are fairly straightforward:
- Pastors Grant and Lindean continue to receive regular salary and benefits, per CtK's  Sabbatical Policy.
- The congregation will offer the standard Montana Synod “pulpit supply” honorarium of  $100/Sunday to guest pastors/preachers. The sabbatical is 13 weeks long (June 6-September 6), so an additional $1300 was added to the 2016 spending plan, and approved at the Annual Meeting of the congregation.
- The congregation included $1500 for continuing education for pastors in the 2016 Spending Plan,  (an annual part of our compensation) which can be used to cover sabbatical expenses.

All the rest of the funds necessary to cover sabbatical activities (tuition, room/board, transportation, books) must either be raised - hence the We Raise campaign - or supplied by the pastors.

Sabbatical Costs

Grant – Center for Loss and Life Transition (Week 1): $775 Tuition,  $700 Room/Board, ?? for Transportation; The Daring Way: $250 Tuition, ?? Room/Board, ?? Transportation; Center for Loss and Life Transition (Week 2): $775 Tuition, $700 Room/Board, ?? for Transportation

Lindean – "Mini MBA for Pastors:" $1600 Tuition/Room, $200 Meals, $550 Transportation; Grunewald Guild: $885 Tuition/Room/Board, ?? Transportation; Monastery of St. Gertrude: $450 Retreat Fee/Room & Board, $150 Spiritual Direction, ?? Transportation

Lindean & Grant: Gottman Institute - The Art & Science of Love: $750 Tuition, $750 Room/Board

Total of Known Costs for Pastors: $8535 (which doesn’t include several variable costs, like driving/transportation - all the ??s, above)

Costs for CtK: The biggest "Sabbatical Project" will be the construction of a prayer labyrinth on CtK's grounds. Costs have not been precisely determined yet, but early estimates are in the $1500-$2500 range. This money may be raised through the We Raise crowdfunding site (if we get to the second "stretch goal") or will be raised by the congregation separately. The rest of CtK's summer ministries and projects will be funded through the general offering received, according to the Spending Plan adopted at the Annual Meeting, with oversight of the Church Council.

Again, if you've got questions, please ask them!

And, if you're inclined to support Pray, Play, Partner, with a financial contribution, thanks very much! Either way, Pastor Grant and I covet your prayers, for us, for our family, for CtK, and for all the opportunities God gives us to grow in faith, as we worship, learn, and serve.

Peace!
Pastor Lindean

Guest Post: Reflections on Pray, Play, Partner - Sabbatical 2016

By Joby Dynneson, CtK Council President and Sabbatical Team member

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy before the Lord. Psalm 98:7-9a (New Living Translation)

I have been asked, ”What gain do you get from mountain biking?” The answer is often tailored to the audience at hand. My answers will alternate between the health benefits, the thrill of mastering a tricky crux on the trail, and periods of quiet and solitude. Occasionally I will utter to someone what is often closest to the real truth: it is on the trail that I talk to God, it is a day in the woods that is my Sabbath.  The author of Psalm 98 expresses the feeling that I get out on the trail. The mountains, the deserts, and other wild places are where I am most able to hear the voice of the Lord. It is on the mountain tops and hill tops where I see the expanse of his majesty. I have found the most joyful church experience on Wednesdays, during WOW , singing a song,  looking out between those two trees, seeing beyond the stuff of humanity and taking in the awesomeness that is the Bridger Range; I appreciate the power of God.

This summer, we at CtK, will have many opportunities to commune with God, outside, together.  Each Wednesday we will be continuing with WOW (Worship on Wednesday) with food, fellowship, and worship. One Sunday at the end of July, July we will have a service of worship in Hyalite Canyon, at the pavilion beside the lake. Each month during the summer, everyone will be invited to join in outdoor activities and/or service projects. We will also have an exciting project happening, the building of an outdoor Labyrinth (prayer path) on the property, for the enjoyment and spiritual growth of the entire community.

The Sabbatical team and our pastors have come up with a theme for this summer’s sabbatical period: Pray, Play and Partner.  Please join us and the rest of the congregation as we grow together in faith and take in the beauty of God’s creation.  Stay tuned: the newsletter, website, and bulletins will have more information, dates, and locations.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. John Muir

Guest post: Reflections on Prayer

Reflections on Prayer

by Sabbatical Team member, Mariann Witthar
John 15:4-5 and Psalm 46:10
Are you tired of trying harder and doing more in desperate attempts to fix what's not working in your life? Are you facing a time on your faith journey when you have lost hope and feel like giving up? Have you tried every known human strategy to solve stubborn problems you are facing? If so, I invite you to join the rest of the human race. Is it possible that you've been trying to solve a problem that has no "human solution"?

After many years of desperately striving to get my life in order, I'm finally experiencing the truth of God's solution, which I find almost always looks like the opposite of what I expect. Rather than trying harder or doing more (which fit my deeply engrained work ethic), God was inviting me to practice "being still and abiding" in him. This idea sounds wonderful but in our culture, is this even a remote possibility? Living under a neurotic sense of co-dependent responsibility, in addition to the constant distractions of the world around me, I finally had to give up "striving" to get my life in order when I was diagnosed with a serious medical condition. The only option I had was to collapse in a heap and surrender my future into someone else's care.

"Burnout" is a very common (mental, emotional, and spiritual) condition in our society today. It is a diagnosable condition which indicates that something is wrong or out of balance in our lives. It is debilitating in that we, as human beings, are uncomfortable with the idea of giving up control or surrendering the outcome of our lives to someone other than ourselves. But from God's perspective, that is the best place to be. In my exhausted condition, I had no other choice but to give him permission to begin to reveal himself to me, the way he had always intended. In Sunday School, as a little child, I had memorized many Bible verses like, "He is the Vine and we are the branches", or "Be still and know that I am God", etc. Even though I could recite them easily, I had no experiential frame of reference for what God was saying to me personally. That is, until I experienced "burnout". I was finally ready for him to teach me how to "be still" and "abide" in him and how to practice remaining in his presence throughout the complex circumstances of my daily life.

LORD JESUS, continue to reveal yourself to me at deeper and deeper levels, as I practice quieting myself and remembering that you are God and I am not. THANKS BE TO GOD for this wonderful gift of rest.

So what could it look like if we allowed him to be the VINE and we practiced "abiding in him?" In my own life, I had to start by giving up the strange notion that "if I tried hard enough or just did the right thing", I could be my own "savior". What an arrogant thought! As I look back at it now, I see how absurd it was, and yet how subtle the temptation is for all of us to return to the garden and participate with Adam and Eve in the deception that separated them from the real source (the Vine) of their lives. As I confess my sin of trying to "save" myself, I'm becoming convinced that regardless of what I do, or how well I do it, good fruit will be a natural outcome. I no longer have to strive, because he is my Source, I am experiencing his life flowing through me, as the Vine continually gives life to the branches. Thank you, God, for this life-giving revelation and the "experiential knowledge" that Jesus is my Savior!

Would you like to join a group interested in becoming more intentional in learning how to practice entering into his rest, even in the midst of our hectic lives? I am willing to help individuals find useful resources and offer practical insights and suggestions which I have discovered in this exciting adventure of experiencing an organic/living relationship with Jesus where I am able to find rest. If there is interest, I am willing to offer a small group on this topic sometime this fall.

Guest Preacher this Sunday - Pastor Mark Donald

This Sunday morning we welcome Pastor Mark Donald as our guest preacher. Mark serves as the pastor/executive director of Christikon, our ELCA Bible Camp up the Boulder River. He served as the interim director for two years and was called as permanent director at Christikon’s Annual Corporation meeting last November.
Mark is the son of a registered nurse and Lutheran pastor, and grew up in California and Minnesota. Keep reading... He has a History/English degree from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, a Masters in Education from the University of Minnesota, and a Masters of Divinity from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. In the past 19 years Mark served congregations in Seattle, WA, Minneapolis, MN, Fergus Falls, MN, and Billings, MT.
He married Julie Heinz 22 years ago and they have two boys, Alec and Micah. Julie teaches 5^th grade in Billings and is pursuing her Administrator’s Licensure through Montana State University. Alec is an 11^th grader, and Micah is in 9^th grade, both at Skyview High School. Both boys run Cross Country and play baseball.
Mark’s connection with Christikon spans some 29 years. His youth director, Julie Rogness (herself a former staff person), brought his youth group out for Sr. High camp, and in the ensuing years Mark spent six summers on staff. He is one of  the 60+ former staff people who went on to ordained ministry, and Bob Quam played a significant role in encouraging him towards that profession.
As a youth director in the Pacific NW and later as pastor in northwestern MN, Mark completed a circle by taking his own groups up to camp. Upon accepting a call to First English Lutheran in Billings, Mark soon found himself on the Board, and watched with joy as his own children were old enough to go to camp. Christikon has indeed been a blessing and major shaper of Mark’s life thus far.

If you would like to support the mission and ministry of Christikon, envelopes will available on the narthex table, or you can give on the Christikon website.

Please welcome Pastor Mark on Sunday!

Good Friday

We gather for worship on this Good Friday at 7:00pm. It's a somber, reflective service, remembering Jesus' death on the cross at the hands of the religious and political authorities of the day. It propels us forward to the Easter vigil tomorrow and worship on Easter morning, too. (Thank God we know what happens on the third day...)
Last night, at the conclusion of our time of prayer on Maundy Thursday, the altar was stripped, and all the furnishings for the evening's prayer stations were removed from the worship space. It is bare in there now, a striking visual image.
As the altar was stripped, we heard Courtney sing this song by Michael Card. It's good food for thought and reflection on this Good Friday.

Maundy Thursday "Dinner Church" and Prayer Center

Today is Maundy Thursday. The word "Maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, which means "to command" - Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment on this night of his Last Supper - that they love one another as he loved them.

Tonight, after our worship in the social hall during a simple, family-style meal (dinner is provided by the CtK Fellowship Team - just come and enjoy CtK’s first experiment with “Dinner Church”) we will be moving to the sanctuary for a time of prayer.
Here are the prayer stations we are using (with a hat tip to Rev. Marci Glass):

1. The Journey

As Jesus journeys to the Cross, we, too, are on a journey. The labyrinth is a path to walk (or in this case, to trace with your finger) that is about a journey, too. You are invited to trace the path of the labyrinth and pray about your journey. Breathe deeply. Relax. Don’t rush. As you move toward the center, confess and let go of things that hinder your relationship with God. Shed images of yourself, so that you can be real with God. Let go of what you don’t need to take with you on the journey. Often we journey on the open road. Sometimes we have to navigate crossroads and difficult paths. Sometimes we have companions on the journey. Sometimes we seem to be alone. Who are your traveling companions? Who stops to help you when the road gets tough? Whom do you help when you see them in distress on the side of the road? And here is the paradox of our faith: We seek God. We travel toward God as pilgrims. But God is with us, to guide us, to be our companion. So, as you journey toward the Cross, remember that you are not alone. God is your companion on the journey.

2. The Last Supper

Maundy Thursday is the night we remember Jesus’ last meal with his friends and disciples. What is a meal you remember? What made it special? This plate will become a communion plate. (There will be a ceramic plate and some ceramic markers on the table). You are invited to write a word or draw a picture that signifies that meal you remember. You may write a longer story or a bigger picture on the table cloth. Offer a prayer that you will have eyes open to remember those special moments as they happen. While Jesus may have known what was to come, it seems unlikely that the disciples fully grasped that it would be their last meal together with Jesus. Give thanks for the gifts of those meals to remember.

3. Footwashing/Handwashing

At the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. He instructed them to love one another as he had loved them—sacrificially and with a servant’s heart. You are invited to wash someone’s hands or feet. If nobody else is near this station, feel free to go and ask someone if you can wash their feet or hands. Is it uncomfortable to put yourself in that position? Possibly so. That’s okay. Live with that discomfort for a few minutes. And then go wash someone’s feet. Jesus showed us how to do it. (Note—realize that someone might ask you if they can wash your hands or feet too. Think of what it would mean to them for you to accept that gift.) Susan Briehl describes tonight this way: “Setting aside our shoes, our reluctance to serve, and our objections to being served, we take up the towel and fill the basin. Washing and being washed, we enact the love we pray to embody every day.” (Worship Guidebook for Lent and the Three Days [Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2009], 93).

4. Anointing

Before Jesus headed to Jerusalem, a woman washed his feet with her hair and then anointed him with costly perfume. After his burial, the women head to the tomb to anoint his body as well. This was a sign of love and extravagance. You are invited to anoint your own hands or feet, or the feet or hands of someone else. There is spikenard available. It is quite fragrant, you’ll want to use it sparingly. Should the scent be too much for you, you are welcome to use the lotion. How often do you allow others to do something generous for you? How often do you allow yourself to be generous for you? While there are many good reasons to be generous to others, it is equally important to allow people to be generous to you and to care for yourself. Is that hard for you to do? Why? Offer a prayer that you will live generously and allow others to be generous to you as well.

5.Offering

Judas betrayed Jesus. According to some traditions, it was for a bag of 30 pieces of silver. According to some traditions, it was with a kiss. To redeem those 30 pieces of silver, you are invited to offer your own pieces of silver (or other coins, cash, or checks) to be offered to victims of betrayal in our community. Unless marked as “general offering,” or with some other designation, this offering will be given to HAVEN, Bozeman’s support and referral nonprofit for survivors of domestic violence in the Bozeman area. HAVEN services include a 24-hour confidential crisis line, 15-bed emergency shelter, legal advocacy, support groups, individual counseling, referrals and community education. All services are free of charge and confidential. HAVEN also engages in prevention education by teaching local middle and high school children about dating, healthy relationships and respect. If you do not have coins to offer tonight, there are also slips of paper on the table. You are invited to write down how you will share your gifts and talents to help people who have been broken by betrayal. You could also write a prayer for a victim of betrayal, and place that in the offering plate.

6. Pulpit

The Holy Week scriptures are printed out and are on the pulpit. You are invited to read one or more of those scriptures. You may read them silently to yourself. Or you can speak into the microphone, and offer a phrase or section of scripture to the rest of the people gathered. There is a Bible on the pulpit, too. You may also read and share your favorite passage, even if it isn’t a Holy Week text. As you read, trust that God has some-thing to say to you. Be listening for what God has to offer you tonight from God’s word.

7. Hurts and Betrayals
The world is broken in so many ways—our relationships with others, God, the planet, and ourselves. As Paul said in Romans 7, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Peter denied Jesus, even though he tried not to. Judas betrayed Jesus. How have you been betrayed? What hurtful things have been said to you? How have you betrayed someone? What hurtful things have you done? Write some words or a symbol to describe some of those hurts and betrayals. Look at your symbols. Do you want to take them with you? Or do you want to let them go? Jesus said if you let go of the hurtful things people do to you, so God will also let go of the hurtful things you do. This is forgiveness. Are you willing to “let go”? If so, throw them into the trashcan. Let go of them as God lets go of your betrayals and hurts. You are loved. You are free. You are forgiven.

8. Death

Death is a part of life. And as we remember Jesus’ death, who else are you mourning? On the butcher paper, you are invited to add the names of people who have died in the past year. It’s okay if a name is written more than once. As we pause to mourn their deaths, we also celebrate the sure and certain hope of their resurrection. You are invited to light a candle, signifying your remembrance of one who has died, and your trust in God’s promise of new life.

9. New Life

You are invited to take a seed and hold it in your hand. This little seed contains all of the information needed to reproduce. Plant the seed in the soil. As you do, feel the moist earthiness of the soil. Think of the darkness the seed experiences before it can spring to life—on the brink of creation, there is darkness. The seed has to die for the plant to be born. The Cross event is darkness and death as well. But new life emerges from the darkness of the tomb on Easter. As you prepare for Easter, consider new life. What part of your life could use some new life now? How could you be a part of bringing new life to your community? What might need to “die” in you in order for something new to spring forth? 

At the conclusion of our service, all will be invited to help strip the altar and remove prayer station items. Paraments, hanging fabric, altar furnishings will be removed to the sacristy. Prayer station items will be removed to the big table in the narthex. We move slowly and purposefully, reflecting on the humiliation of our Lord.

10. Altar, Chancel, Sanctuary

It is a tradition in many Christian communities to strip the table on Maundy Thursday. The practice dates from the seventh century and originally served the practical purpose of cleaning the sanctuary in preparation for Easter. In time, however, the practice became ceremonial in its own right. In silence and in shadows, communion vessels, table cloths, pulpit and lectern hangings, banners, candles, and all other decorative and liturgical objects are sensitively removed, thus dramatizing the desolation, abandonment, and darkness of the passion and death of our Lord. The sanctuary remains bare until the beginnings of the Easter celebration. Symbolically, Christ, stripped of his power and glory, is now in the hands of his captors. During a musical solo, you will be invited to remove something from the Communion table or sanctuary and to carry it out to the sacristy or the table in the narthex. It is the work of the people to prepare for Easter. By carrying something out, you join with others, making big tasks manageable. When else have you experienced the relief that comes from having other people working with you, instead of having to work alone?

Psalm 22

We will read Psalm 22 together, and depart in silence, gathering again tomorrow evening at 7:00pm for Good Friday, and on Saturday at 7:00pm for the Easter Vigil.

Guest Post - Lay Pastoral Associates

Lay Pastoral Associates in the Montana Synod

by Dr. John W. Sheppard

The Montana Synod of the ELCA is unusual. Spanning a large geographical region (over 147,000 square miles, not counting the parts in Wyoming) and serving only 38,000 baptized members, the synod finds challenges in bringing its ministries to rural and remote areas, often where ordained clergy are not available. To meet the varied needs for ministry in Montana, the synod formed the Lay Pastoral Associate (LPA) program to enable lay leaders in the synod to serve in leadership positions.

Becoming an LPA within the synod typically takes two years of training, with cohorts being formed at the start of these two year periods. Training consists of at-home study, guided mentorship by a pastor in the synod, and attendance at four retreats. Candidates also undergo criminal background checks when they enter the program. While not intended to be a substitute for seminary, the two-year program provides those wishing to become LPAs with a basic introduction to theological training, focusing in biblical studies (Old and New Testament), church history, Lutheran confessions, prayer and spirituality, worship, preaching, pastoral care, and Christian education. Upon completing the training, each candidate is recognized as a new LPA at the Synod Assembly and receives a “Certificate of Completion” for the LPA program. The new LPA is then listed by the synod as a resource to provide Word and Sacrament ministry where needed within the synod (with approval and license by the Bishop, and under continued supervision by an ordained pastor). Some LPAs act as “synodically authorized ministers,” where they serve in a congregation in a longer-term capacity.

My experience in the LPA training program has been unique since I entered the program having completed two years at Gettysburg Seminary. As part of this, I completed two guided field education experiences, including serving during my first year of seminary in a local parish, where I led worship, taught confirmation, and performed home and hospital visitation. I also completed a basic unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, where I served as a hospital chaplain in the intensive care unit, the ICU step-down unit, and the cardiac step-down unit. Because of my background, the self-study courses were waived; however, I participated in the four LPA retreats and have received mentoring from both Pastor Lindean and Pastor Grant.

This provides a sense of the mechanics of the LPA program. But what about the experience itself? While much of the actual training served more as a refresher of my seminary education, the most valuable part of the experience was meeting and growing with other members of my cohort. The cohort to be recognized at this coming synod assembly in Billings in June is the largest so far to go through the LPA training program. Over 20 new LPAs will be recognized. During these past two years, we have studied together, practiced together, prayed together, worshiped together, shared our life experiences with one another, and came to recognize the wide and varying talents each of us brings to ministry. We have musicians, teachers, professors, lawyers, and business people who have felt a call to deepen their faith and commitment to serving the church.
One of the most moving experiences I had while going through the LPA program was during the retreat on prayer and spirituality. This retreat was led by Pr. Dan Heskett, and a significant part of it focused on the discipline called Lectio Divina. Here, we chose a biblical passage and were guided through a process of slow, deliberate, and repeated reading and meditation on the passage. The entire process lasted about two hours, and when we finished, we each had a deeper connection to the passage. In fact, I believe any one of us could have stood up and given a sermon on the passage, right there on the spot. Another interesting experience of mine was preaching a sermon for Pr. Steve Loy, who led the preaching retreat. I say interesting because Steve and I studied preaching together under Dr. Richard Thulin while we were both students at Gettysburg Seminary. He was the best preacher in the class back then, and he is still amazing. Even so, it was a bit strange being a student of his after having been students together, 30 years ago.
Ultimately, it is good to be getting back involved in doing ministry within our church. For anyone interested in deeper theological study, a deepening of faith, and an opportunity to serve, I strongly recommend exploring becoming an LPA. I would be happy to discuss the program and my experiences with anyone interested. Let me know, and we can chat.

Guest Post - Loving Your Neighbor

Loving Your Neighborby Pastor John Lund

 

Kudos to the Darby library for going forward with the March 9 talk on Islam by UM scholar Samir Bitar. The rampant rhetoric of fear regarding Muslims immigrants is out of line with our core American value of granting life and liberty to all people. What has made us great is our willingness to give everyone a chance regardless of race, ethnicity, social class, or beliefs. Certainly, we need to denounce and fight ISIS, and we need protection from their attacks. It is reasonable to be concerned about screening immigrants from a war-torn nation. But to judge all Muslims because of ISIS is unfair. The claim that Islam is at war with Christianity or with the US and that all Muslims are out to get us is plain wrong.

For those of us who are Christian, we would do well to look first at the log in our own eye. We have to acknowledge that many Christians justified the killing of native peoples by calling them "heathens" and "savages." Later, Christians sent Native children to boarding schools so they could be "Christianized" and re-cultured. Christians also justified slavery, and many later fought against civil rights for Blacks and all people of color. European Christians perpetuated stereotypes and discrimination against Jews, which allowed the rise of Nazi hatred and the Holocaust. Many Christians fought against the right of women to vote, and some still believe that women should be subject to men and silent outside their homes. Even today, Christians fight the hardest against civil rights for people in the LGBTQ community. If the atrocities of some Christians were used to judge all of us, we'd be lucky to have any neighbors at all.

The truth is that there are an estimated 3.3 million Muslims in this country, and many have been here for decades. Most work hard as teachers, business owners, laborers, doctors, and in other professions, and are integrated into American culture and life. They wage peace through daily prayer, compassion, care for their neighbor, and devotion to the same God that Christians and Jews worship. They honor Moses and Jesus as Major Prophets and have great respect for the Bible. I have known many Muslims in my lifetime and feel fortunate to have some as friends. They are among the most genuine, gracious, giving and humorous people I know. In all of our major cities, Imams and Muslim leaders work with Christian, Jewish and other faith leaders to foster relationships, peace and unity among the world religions. Time after time, when Christians actually meet Muslims and get to know them and share a meal and conversation, relationships are formed, attitudes and perceptions are changed, and the whole community is enriched for the better. Thank God we have different languages, music, food, skin colors, traditions and beliefs! Because of that we learn and grow and become fuller human beings when we are together.

Yes, there are horrible things being done by some Muslims who manipulate Islam and the Quran to justify their own ideology of terror and control. Yes, some Muslims believe that women should obey their husbands and have fewer rights than men. Yes, some Muslims are fundamentalist and practice horrific forms of violent retribution. And this is true for some Christians as well. We see evidence of this today in KKK rallies, mass shootings and vandalism of Black churches and abortion clinics, and the high rate of domestic violence against women. The greater truth is that the huge majority of the estimated 1.7 billion Muslims and 2.4 billion Christians in the world are people who love God and neighbor, care for those in need, and seek peace in our world.

As Christians, we are called not only to love the neighbors who are similar to us, but to also love those who are different and even our enemies. Our world is already filled with fear, lies, hatred, and violence. We can do much better by waging peace, forming relationships, listening to each other, sharing life, and expecting the best from each other. That is exactly what a Galilean Jew did 2000 years ago amid times of great fear, much like today. Perhaps we can follow his lead.

      -Pastor John Lund is Campus Pastor at the University of Montana

Emmaus Campus Ministry at the University of Montana

Lutheran Disaster Response - US Spring Storms

Photo Credit: David Valdez FEMA

Torrential rainfall, reaching more than 2 feet in some areas, is setting records in the South, especially Louisiana and Texas. River fl ooding has reached historic levels, affecting streets and highways, damaging or destroying homes, causing thousands to evacuate, and leaving at least five dead. More storms are predicted across the Midwest and throughout the South in the days and weeks ahead. 

Through congregations, synods and disaster affiliate organizations, Lutheran Disaster Response is working to assist those who have been affected by the flooding. Lutheran Disaster Response’s coordinators are present, working with local community leaders and
officials to begin planning the proper responses, particularly the long-term recovery efforts.

We know that the road to recovery is long, and Lutheran Disaster Response will be there to assist those who have been affected through every phase of this disaster recovery process. Our gifts are needed to begin relief efforts. Gifts designated for “U.S. Spring Storms” will be used in full (100 percent) until the response is complete to assist those impacted. Because of generous offerings of prayer and financial support, the ELCA walks alongside disaster survivors.

You can give through CtK (put US Spring Storms/Disaster Response on your check) or give online here. Check out the Lutheran Disaster Response blog here.

Guest Post - 40 Days of Giving and Epiphany Star Words

ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving and Epiphany STAR Words: Discipleship

by Dawn Byrd

When I drew the star word DISCIPLESHIP out of the basket on the Sunday we celebrated the Epiphany (January 3), immediately I wanted to throw it back into the basket and draw something I was more familiar with, something easier to accomplish and fulfill! In fairness, I couldn’t really do that. It wasn’t meant to be something we are familiar with! I believe it was intended as an exercise to help each of us stretch out of our comfort zone (both here in our church life AND out in the community). So, I kept the word (it sits on my desk in the church office so that I can remember it every day!).

Discipleship n. . . . break it down to its origination – Middle English, from Old English discipul and from Old French disciple, both from Latin discipulus,  pupil, to learn – 1.) a. one who embraces and assists in spreading the teachings of another; b. an active adherent, as of a movement or philosophy; 2.) often Disciple (with a Capital D) one of the original followers of Jesus; 3.) Disciple, a member of the Disciples of Christ.

But what does it mean to be a disciple? How does one practice discipleship? Clearly I’m not one of the original followers of Jesus, nor am I a member of the Disciples of Christ; however, I hope that I am one who embraces and helps spread the teachings of Jesus. Right? But how? I struggle with this daily.

So, a few Wednesdays ago, while doing the Lent in a Bag daily devotional from the ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving booklet, the Scripture reading for the day was John 13:35. I grabbed up my Kindle, opened up the HOLY BIBLE app (I like Eugene H. Peterson’s translation, The Message, as I find it easier to understand), and this is what I read:

“Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples – when they see the love you have for each other.” John 13:34-35.

That’s it! This is what it means to be a disciple of Christ! Love one another! That is so much easier to understand AND DO than any of the other definitions of disciple(ship) I had previously found . . . to follow in Christ’s footsteps. What does that mean? How do we follow in his footsteps?

Love one another is so much easier to do! Right?  Then I continued reading the day’s devotion:

“Please help us to live in your reflection, shining your love through us not only onto those who are near and dear and easy to love, but onto ALL of your precious and beloved people.”
OK, so it is not always going to be easy to love everyone, but I can certainly start by loving those around me. I can show love when I help serve meals at the Community Café, host during Family Promise, bake bread for communion, read scripture during worship, do the dishes after fellowship hour, just to name a few.

I believe I was meant to pull that word out of that basket . . .  perhaps God’s way of nudging me out of my comfort zone . . . to show love. To share food with the hungry, shelter the homeless, perhaps it is as simple as that.

New Friday Morning Small Group Book

The Friday morning small group, which meets every other Friday morning at 7:00am at Clark's Fork, will begin reading and discussing a new book, Friday, March 18th. Being Christian: Baptism, Bible, Eucharist, Prayer by Rowan Williams is a short, but meaty, book about the essential elements of Christian life. All are welcome to join the conversation! You can order the book here, or find it at a local book store.
Want to read and discuss the book, but don't want to be up and out the door for a 7:00am small group? Let the church office know, and we'll talk about starting a new group!

Guest Post - Fasting for Hunger

This Lent, CtK joins thousands of other ELCA congregations in ELCA World Hunger's 40 Days of Giving. A daily devotional booklet, a piggy bank, and the challenge from CtK's 40 Days of Giving Team to give $0.25/day will help us learn about hunger issues, and make a difference in our world. Look for occasional guest posts from team members during this season!

Fasting for Hunger

February 29, 2016 - LEAP DAY!

by Barb Benson

Are you giving up something and fasting for Lent? …how about on February 29^th?

I sort of grimaced when Pastor Lindean asked me to write up something about fasting for our CtK blog. Given I am a registered dietitian, I would be expected to know something about fasting…and I do. Unfortunately, I did too much of it as a teenager in angst that it imprisoned me into an unhealthy binge/purge cycle.  After individual and group counseling and regular visits with a dietitian in my early college years, I am thankful that I learned to like my body and take better care of it. I also changed my major to nutrition and have not had the desire to fast or restrict my eating since then.

The word “fast” from the Unger’s Bible Dictionary means, in Hebrew, “to cover” (the mouth) and in Greek “to abstain.” Yet the purpose of “fasting” described in the Bible also has a spiritual component connected to it that goes far beyond restriction and dieting for the sake of self-sacrifice or the hope of cleansed living or temporary weight reduction.  Many of the Bible’s Greats like Moses, Elijah, Daniel, Paul, and even Jesus, fasted as a way to draw closer to God, as it seems to be combined with prayer and often repentance. I’m told that fasting can help remind us of our dependence on God and his provisions- help fine-tune the senses to be more like-minded with our Creator.

We are given an extra day this year on February 29^th. The ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving is challenging us to consider fasting and instead of eating a meal or drinking a fancy coffee to spend that time with God and pass the money “saved” to someone in need. Collectively this could be a big “drop” into our piggy banks and not only make a difference in our World Hunger giving but time alone with God promises to have an even more profound impact on our living. That’s exciting!

Jeff and I have seen first-hand what “piggy bank” donations can do. Early in our marriage we returned to Jeff’s home in Tanzania and were Associates in Mission with ELCA Global Mission. Jeff worked for MSAADA that helped church-related projects design and build buildings such as hospitals, colleges, and churches. They designed a rural hospital cooking structure for families to use for providing food to sick family members. Actually- CtK's Sunday School donations helped fund that project! CtK also was a part of starting the “nutrition program” at that same hospital, to provide local and nutritious foods to malnourished children and microloans in the surrounding community. For under $1/day, “piggy bank” donations helped treat a malnourished toddler for a day in that hospital. God really does miraculous things with little offerings.

Will you join me in some sort of “fast” this leap year? Your fast will look different than mine. Could be you will fast from the technological feast we devour each day or the extra hours you spend at the office. Whatever you “give up”…may God and the amazing things he can do through us be our focus as we entrust our time, talent, and treasure back to him.

Guest Post - The Faces of Hunger

This Lent, CtK joins thousands of other ELCA congregations in ELCA World Hunger's 40 Days of Giving. A daily devotional booklet, a piggy bank, and the challenge from CtK's 40 Days of Giving Team to give $0.25/day will help us learn about hunger issues, and make a difference in our world. Look for occasional guest posts from team members during this season!

Faces of Hunger, by Jerry Johnson

The many faces of hunger are . . . emaciation, bloated bellies, stunted minds, helplessness, hopelessness, disease and death . . . a trackless wasteland . . . a vast emptiness . . .

About 34 years ago, shortly after I returned from an ALC (American Lutheran Church) hunger-justice study trip to Mexico and Nicaragua, I was sitting in a church council meeting in Whitefish, MT and one of the members said he was tired of hearing about hunger. As a new hunger advocate, I vigorously disagreed.

A few years later, in 1998, I wrote an essay where I quoted Martin Luther who said, "If you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time, you are not preaching the Gospel." It was at that time that the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Reno, NV, began a once a month second offering with fast food cups to support the ELCA World Hunger Appeal against world hunger.

In 1999, when Margaret and I joined Christ the King Lutheran Church, we mentioned this way of collecting funds for World Hunger and CtK began using the fast food cups, also. Christ the King's "hunger" offering went from almost nothing to several thousand dollars a year for hunger relief, locally (Food Bank) and globally (ELCA World Hunger Appeal).

On the first Sunday of every month, when the ushers pass around the fast food cups for a second offering, it does two great things: 1) it helps educate people to curb obesity, and stave off diabetes and hypertension; and 2) it helps feed hungry  brothers and sisters and teaches them how to combat hunger, thus achieving dignity and life quality.

A couple of the Montana Synod congregations have adopted this same means of collecting special offering for ELCA World Hunger, but I must admit I haven't been able to get the churchwide organization to adopt this as a good way to increase hunger giving churchwide.

There are approximately four million members in the ELCA and the 2016 budget for hunger is 24 million dollars. This amounts to $6.00 a year per member, 50 cents a month or 1 3/4 cents a day. If every ELCA member gave a dime (10 cents) a day, it would add up to $3.00 a month and $44 million dollars a year. Can you imagine what could be done to alleviate world hunger with that?

I hate to say it, but in 10 years the average ELCA Lutheran has only increased hunger giving by 3/4 of a penny a day. We pray for God to help, but God uses our hands to do it! We don't give to pat ourselves on the back, but I thank you, thank you CtK for holding up our end of the bargain and also for taking on the 40 Days of Giving journey.

Guest Post - Jesus is our Power Supply for Faithfulness and Generosity

This Lent, CtK joins thousands of other ELCA congregations in ELCA World Hunger's 40 Days of Giving. A daily devotional booklet, a piggy bank, and the challenge from CtK's 40 Days of Giving Team to give $0.25/day will help us learn about hunger issues, and make a difference in our world. Look for occasional guest posts from team members during this season!

Power Supply
February 7, 2016

My computer crashed this weekend and perhaps in a causative yet reflective way, so did I.

How do I write an inspirational “devotion” addressing ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving for CtK’s website when I am swamped  trying to book tickets and Airbnb rentals for my daughter Natalie and my long-awaited trip to meet Jeff in Italy next month?   One night spent in a European hostel could feed an African village for at least a day!  Our wealth and opportunity in the face of world-wide poverty and oppression makes my “circuits” cross and shutdown.   Sorting out thoughts, feelings, and experiences with hunger and poverty, and more importantly rebooting myself to take action in helping alleviate it, is about as looming and complex for me as trying to understand the operation of my aged computer. Can’t we just fix it?

I am thankful for the insight and guidance of others - in particular to Joel and “the computer guy” who tell me that it’s possible my computer “just” has a power-supply issue; diagnose that and it could continue to still have a use in my life - cool!  Power-supply issue…hmmm, could this help explain my own “shut-down” lately when it comes to feeling like I have little purpose, reflected in even less effort , in helping end hunger and poverty?  “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord…”  The song we sang in worship today reminded me that Jesus is our never-failing Power Supply, who can plug hearts back into seeing, feeling, and caring for all of God’s children and their wellbeing.  I can’t fix poverty or feed the whole world, but connected to Jesus I can be useful in someone’s life in some way that can makes progress in doing so.  

Once again, I am thankful for the insight and guidance of others - in particular the ELCA World Hunger 40-day devotional book and adult forum studies/discussions that will happen during Lent in our families and church.  With our Power Supply issue diagnosed (like my computer, I hope), we can wake up to the invitation of participating in life-changing work and “refresh” our efforts in ending hunger and poverty here at home and overseas.

With you together on our 40 Days of Giving journey-

Barb Benson
CtK 40 Days of Giving Team