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.