What you REALLY need when life gives you lemons

This will be a little brief, because the annual Minneapolis Area Synod Assembly is taking place on Friday and Saturday, thus leaving me with just a little less time than usual to ponder the universe. I will tell you, however, that as I was cleaning out counter space in my office, I came across slips of paper that were left here in early May by the last confirmation class.

Being God’s Hands, with Hammers & Nails

There’s a lot of suffering being covered in the media this week. We’ve all seen coverage on the gigantic tornado that last week turned the lovely suburban community of Moore, Oklahoma, into piles of “sticks and bricks.” And just a few days before that, meteorologists in Texas counted 16 destructive tornadoes touching down, one of them hitting Granbury with terrible force. There are all kinds of numbers out there: people dead and injured, families displaced, dollars in property damage, homes damaged or flattened or scattered in the F-4 and F-5 winds.

A couple of numbers that hit me between the eyes: In Granbury, Texas, 58 homes built by Habitat for Humanity were destroyed or severely damaged. And in Oklahoma, as many as 13,000 homes are gone. That’s a lot of people — moms and dads, kids and grandparents, young couples and singles — and family pets without permanent homes. For now, they probably have temporary shelter, but it will take a lot of time and determination to rebuild their homes and their lives after losses of this magnitude.

Thinking of the work ahead for these people makes my shoulders ache. The remedy for that, I think, may be to pitch in and help in some way.

FoC member Randy Ruckdashel and other Spartans – the Saturday men’s group – have been investigating opportunities for us to travel to the stricken areas to lend our hands-on assistance. Randy, who has been building for the last 3 weeks at the Chaska Habitat site on Schneider Court, is exploring the possibility of FoC members with some spare time and muscle to travel to Granbury to rebuild with Habitat.

Your pastors are getting in touch with local congregations to see if any of them with experience in disaster relief are putting teams together heading for Oklahoma or elsewhere that FoC could join in on. Help will be needed for the long haul. There’s a lot to do to get roofs over so many heads.

We’re looking to make a connection with a Lutheran congregation that has been affected by the storms, too. Maybe they could use some of the prayer shawls and fleece blankets we make with love and prayers at FoC.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to take my shelter – the roof over my head – for granted. I assume and trust that it will always be there for me. I fail to appreciate it fully because I just think of it as a given. But like any human-built structure, it is vulnerable to the forces of nature. Still, God promises me shelter of a different kind. With the psalmist we sing, “You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.'” — Ps. 91:1.

Maybe you don’t think you can travel states away to help. Then consider taking a day or more to work on providing shelter for local families in need. The Chaska site, supervised by former FoC member David Michaelson, is in need of volunteers the week of June 3-7, when they will be doing siding and interior work. Our specific FoC day to work is July 22 — when there will be interior finishing work and landscaping going on – but you can come any day that week. Parent-child combos are welcome. Contact me (kristie@familyofchristonline.com; 952-934-5659) or Randy (rsruckdashel@gmail.com; 952-368-9414)

~ Pastor Kristie

P. S. If you’d like to help out now by making a donation, click here to link to the ELCA Lutheran Disaster Response website.

Making Waves instead of Sinking Like a Stone

I had the opportunity to sit down over coffee with Assistant to the Bishop Jerry Wahl this week. We were there to talk about a new Family of Christ initiative called “Making Waves” that you’ll soon be hearing more about. “Making Waves” is a task force that will report to our church council, and its assignment is to take a strategic look at our mission and ministry as a church, focusing about 3-5 years out.

As Jerry and I talked about the larger circles of ministry issues, church relevance, challenges that modern Christians face, and opportunities for energetic churches to embrace, I found myself getting more and more ramped up.

Things That Go AAAUUUUGGGHHH! in the Night

I was at a high school band concert a week ago, enjoying the usual music selections such as a march, then a slower more melodic piece, then a fast-paced, percussion-heavy selection. All was going very well, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable concert. Then the band presented a newer piece called “Voodoo” which was, according to the program notes, a theatrical presentation to elicit the feel of fright in a jungle at night.

The lights were turned completely off, and in the pitch darkness of the auditorium the band launched into a variety of noises, with only the bare minimal indication of a musical tune. It was enthralling.

That music is garbage!

Dear Church Fam,

The grey sky and temperatures outside being what they have been, I’m guessing you could you use a day-brightener! Watch this 4-minute video (the link is below). It is called “Landfill Harmonic.” It is amazing.

There are a number of reasons why I love it. (It encompasses a lot of my interests, I guess.) People speak Spanish in it, the scenery reminds me of El Salvador, it involves recycling, the music is exquisite, and — threaded through it all — God is alive and active and unmistakably visible in the creativity and perseverance of the adults and the young musicians who are featured:

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

It’s impressive to see what people can do with very little when they feel a need within them to be and do more, AND they team up with the Holy Spirit to release what is pent up inside them.

This video inspires me. You, too? Show it to the music-makers you know. It might change their attitude toward practicing on their store-bought instruments. For sure you’ll experience an instance of God’s grace together.

And that will keep you warm on this cold (brrrr…) May weekend.

¡Bendiciones!

~ Pastor Kristie