Guest Post: "Love Ya"

"Love Ya"

Submitted by Jerry Johnson
As usual, Katie Keehr moves us when she talks stewardship and her temple talk on love did so.  I was reminded of an essay I wrote on my birthday in 1995 and shared five years ago, and I’ll share it again. It was all inspired by a Bud Light ad which was much better than the beer which hardly qualifies as beer, or so said a German brew master when interviewed on NPR radio.

“Love Ya”

“Dad.”  “Yeah?”  “Dad, I gotta tell you something.”  “What is it son?”  “Man, you’re my dad and I love you man”------”You’re not getting my Bud Light John.”  Obviously the power of Bud Light transcends that of love.  For the sake of argument we’ll assume Budweiser wrong.

“Love Ya.”  It’s an easy phrase to use lightheartedly, but often difficult to say to those closest and most dear.  This was illustrated in a hilarious, yet touching way in a “Frazier” episode.  Mr. Crane said “love ya” to a friend over the phone and to Eddie, the dog.  Frazier and Niles were miffed because neither could ever remember their father professing his love for them.  Like many of us he said, “You know I do,” but somehow that’s not enough.  Niles agreed to go ice fishing with his dad which, if you have never been ice-fishing, is a real act of love.  Frazier, feeling left out, decides to go also.  In the fish house, a little less masochistic then open ice-fishing, the three men bicker back and forth until Niles produces a flask of brandy.  Well into their cups, Frazier and then Niles confess their love for their father.  Mr. Crane hems and haws finally saying, “I love you Frazier,” and “I love you too Niles.”

Some years ago I read a short article about a tough cop who, to the chagrin of his teenage children, kissed, hugged and said “I love you” to each of them as he left home in the morning. With death a risk of the job, he never wanted there to be any regrets.

Love is expressed in many ways.  We know words are cheap and actions often shout loudest.  Still, to say “I love you” from the heart speaks to the depth of the soul.  It’s value increases with the greater difficulty in saying it.  We are never more vulnerable or open to hurt at such times, but never more ready to embrace life.  Sometimes we hold back because we are afraid, or because we want to hurt the one we love.  In a way it’s silly, but shows how sensitive we are and how important the words.  Overused love can be banal, trite, tasteless, hackneyed and corny to name a few adjectives.  Nevertheless, it is the single most powerful and gentle force in the Universe, the best synonym for God.  It is the sunshine and warm rain that makes us grow and blossom, causing our beauty to shine forth.  Love is the light that banishes the darkness of hate.  It is what Jesus showed us.  We need to make that leap of faith next time we talk with someone dear and say, “I love you.”  Our return on that simple gift will be a thousand fold--that’s a promise.

ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission - applications due 2/15!

This is copied from the ELCA YAGM website:

Young Adults in Global Mission

The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program invites ELCA young adults ages 21-29 into a transformative, year-long journey in international service. As they offer themselves in service, ELCA young adults are shaped by the witness of our global neighbors. They share in the journeys of companion churches and organizations in one of nine countries around the world.
A year of service through the Young Adults in Global Mission program invites young adults to become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, providing critical support to ministries and projects in communities of need. It also invites volunteers into a journey of self-reflection, providing space to consider their sense of identity, God’s work in the world, and their place within it all.
Young adults serve in the spirit of accompaniment, walking alongside global companions in a manner that practices mutuality, interdependence and solidarity. Areas of service include, but are not limited to, health and development, congregational ministry, human rights, education, homelessness, addiction recovery, women’s issues and children and youth. All site placements provide opportunities for young adults to confront issues of wealth and poverty, racial privilege, economic disparity and globalization, all through the lens of faith.
Candidates for Young Adults in Global Mission apply to the program at-large rather than to a specific country. Applicant preferences are taken into account but the final decision about where volunteers serve is made by Global Mission staff and YAGM country coordinators in mid-April. Current YAGM country programs include: Argentina/Uruguay, Cambodia, Central Europe (Hungary), Jerusalem/West Bank, Madagascar, Mexico, Rwanda, Southern Africa and United Kingdom
Applications for the program open on December 1, and are due Feb. 15 each year, for service beginning that same August.
We are a church that believes God is calling us into the world – together. Come, imagine yourself in the world!
To learn how you can support Young Adults in Global Mission, visit their sponsorship page here.
For further information contact YAGM at 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2446 or by email.

Guest Post: The Blessing of Grief Support Group

What follows is a reflection by CtK member Heidi Madson, about her need for and participation in CtK's Grief Support Group. The next 10-week group will begin meeting on Tuesday, February 16th. To sign up for the group, or for more information, please contact Pastor Grant in the CtK church office, at 587-4131.

In mid November of 2011, my Mum was rushed to hospital complaining of stomach pains. She was diagnosed with bile duct cancer, and died six weeks later on December 19, 2011.

The following April in 2012, my Mother-in-law Barb fell, and broke her femur. The next day, Barb was diagnosed with cancer that had spread throughout her body.  After a 15 week battle, Barb died on August 22, 2012.

Three weeks later, On September 25, 2012, four days before Barb's memorial service, I got a phone call from England informing me my Dad had just passed away. Craig and I attended Barb's memorial service, then flew straight to England to plan the third funeral in less than nine months for our beloved family members.

Since then, we have lost another close relative of mine in Canada, and experienced a suicide in a property of ours.  Just when we thought we could come up for air, on the 13th of May of 2013, I suffered from a hemorrhagic stroke on the right side of my brain and was airlifted to Billings.

As you can now see, over that three and a half years I experienced many aspects of death, and grief, including the feeling like I had lost part of myself to my stroke.

When I found out about a grief support group being offered by Pastor Grant, you would have thought I would jump at the opportunity. At first I didn't. I was scared. Scared of having to relive all the pain and heartache. BUT I also knew in my heart that I desperately needed help. And I needed a support group and guidance to do that.

 I was right!!!!

To say that I am glad I joined the grief support group is probably the understatement of the year. I had NO idea how desperately I needed it until I got there.

Over the next nine weeks, under the gentle and kind guidance of Pastor Grant, and with the unconditional support of others there, I was able to understand and comprehend the journey and steps of grief and grieving, a lesson that I didn't even know I needed.

Through this journey, I came to understand that I had placed some areas of my grief on hold in order to cope with the overwhelming events, including more loss of other family members. I also discovered that I was indeed grieving for the person I used to be before my stroke. Grieving for the things I could do before, things that I struggle to do now.

God made us all different. And how we grieve individually is also different. The journey of grief is a very individual and unique experience for everyone, but by going to this support group, I had the opportunity to be able to get the help and support I so desperately needed in a safe and loving place, surrounded by people who understood and were there to support me. I have also made close friends!

I now get up every morning, and although I miss my loved ones terribly, the pain is less sharp and I am better able to honour their memory by remembering the good times, and not focusing on the sad ones.

Welcome, Bishop Jessica Crist

This Sunday we welcome our bishop as the guest speaker in Adult Forum (9:00am) and as our guest preacher in worship at 10:00am. Please greet her and welcome her to Bozeman and Christ the King!

 

The Rev. Jessica Crist is Bishop of the Montana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  A resident of Great Falls, she is married to Turner Graybill, a retired attorney.  They are members of Bethel Lutheran Church in Great Falls, Montana.  They have two adult children—Rhiannon, who is a professor in the religion department at Rhodes College in Memphis, and Raphael, a recent graduate of Yale Law School.  Bishop Crist grew up in Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Divinity School.

 

Prior to assuming the office of Bishop, Pastor Crist served as Associate to the Bishop for 5 years, and Director of the Northern Rockies Institute of Theology for 18 years.  She served congregations in Great Falls, Montana, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and started in ministry as a campus pastor.  She served on the Transition Team that helped put together the Montana Synod from the predecessor churches, and was elected Synod Secretary at the Constituting Convention.  She served in that capacity for 12 years.  She has worked with the Montana Association of Churches for many years, including serving as President, and as part of the teaching staff for the Lay Ministry Institute. She has served on the Board of Lutheran World Relief.
Her community service over the years has included chairing boards for the local YWCA, the PTA and the hospital’s Women’s Health Board.  She writes a monthly column for Montana Woman Magazine.

Bishop Crist was elected Chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops. She currently serves on the Board of the Montana Association of Churches, on the Board of Luther Seminary.

She is a member of the ELCA Task Force on Communal Discernment, the Bishops’ Liason Committee for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, and the Bishops’ Domestic Ready Bench.    

“I am honored to serve as the Bishop of the Montana Synod.  As I travel the Synod and visit your congregations and ministries I get to function as an ambassador.  I get to meet you and listen to your stories.  And I get to share the story of the wider church with you.  I pray for every congregation and every pastor and AIM each week.  And I hope you will join me in praying for the whole church.”

The Work of Christmas

We hope you had a blessed Day of Epiphany!