This entry will live up to the Rambling theme.
We had nine from Park church going out to Mission, South Dakota ,where we volunteered with the Tree of Life ministry on the Rosebud reservation. It was a great week. I was very impressed with the Tree of Life Ministry and it was a joy to see how they are growing. There was one other group there, from two UM congregations around Rockford Illinois and we mingled the groups a little on work sites. Some of our group helped with school kits, others worked with clothing items in the thrift store or helped with the food shelf work. We also moved the construction materials out of the current space into a new building that had been recently purchased so that involved building new lumber cribs and shelving ; tearing out old shelving and several trips with trailers; others painted in a house, or built and painted picnic tables over on the Rosebud fair grounds, some of us replaced doors and windows at another home. Tree of Life had cultural experiences available to us in the evenings so we heard Albert White Hat tell us some of his life experiences plus the Lakota creation story and the significance of the Wind Cave to them. Ed Harrison had his sweat Lodge for us as well as a healing ceremony (yuwipi) to which we were invited. On our day off we visited the site of the Wounded Knee massacre as well as the Badlands and Wall Drug. We visited Pipestone National Monument on the way home and got back at dusk on Aug 23rd.
Soon after getting back home we discovered that the pop up drain had rusted out under the bathroom sink and had created quite a large water stain in the hallway beneath it. So I did plumbing on Sunday afternoon and ended up replacing the drains, the shut off valve stems, the faucet and the faucet supply lines, in other words everything but the cabinet and sink itself. On Monday I painted. I took it as a reminder that some service projects need to be done at home too!
On Wednesday I was doing a home visit with communion and I thought of how communion can be a trail marker in life. On Aug. 3 we had communion in the congregation of Park church as part of Sunday services. Before we left Rosebud we had communion out on a picnic table. We used one of the plastic water cups as our chalice, passed pieces of sliced sandwich bread, and thought of the community we had been introduced to in the wideness of God’s table. And then on Wednesday to share communion with a couple who are largely shut in but were so eager to share the sacrament.. While I had come with my little "Communion kit": they had already prepared a chalice of wine and neatly squared pieces of bread for the four of us who would be there. I don’t know that it fit all the liturgical sacrament rubrics, but it was right. All three of those communion experiences were quite different in style and setting and yet the same:Thanksgiving, Community, Spirit. Presence of God. Healing. Hope, Gift of Christ, Peace, Communion.
In Lakota tradition the "peace pipe" (that included us) ) is an expression of community and peace that is movable and shared. So is our sacrament, movable and shared, and an instrument of peace that marks our lives.
Today I got a head start on my Labor Day tradition of seal- coating the parsonage driveway and planted some grass (again) and repaired a garden hose.
On a walk a couple of days I ago I noticed a healthy growth of hazel nut bushes, loaded with nuts, still a bit green. They are on an undeveloped lot on the edge of town so I hope someone will appreciate them, if not the wildlife, and maybe I will get to try a few.
I took Sara to Univ of Minn, Duluth on Thursday, and got her moved into her dorm. The day seemed to go well. So far she is entering into it with some adventure and openness.
Nick starts 11th grade this year! Beth is working on her PhD!
Education is happening and I think of all the people getting back to classrooms this week.
I like some wisdom that I understand comes from a rabbinic tradition."Don’t ask someone, 'What are you studying, but rather ask them, what are you learning?'"
Rambled enough?

Off to Tree of Life

This is pack up and get ready day.
I am excited about the week, in part because I am ready for some change in routine, and not having sermon prep for the week! I told the group to check out the Tree of Life website and also read Wilma Robert's blog. Read Jeff Reed's recent blog posts on Tree of Life also. Here is a link for some background on Wounded Knee which is about an hour and a half away. http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/woundedknee/WKIntro.html

A note on Tree of Life Ministry (that I found by link from the Dakotas Conference website)
"An Ecumenical Cross-Cultural Service Effort and Presence of the United Methodist Church of the Dakotas."
For more information, contact:Russ and Donna Masartis140 S. Roosevelt, PO Box 149Mission, SD 57555 605-856-4266
phone605-856-2396 fax
treeoflife@gwtc.net
General Advance Special #123615-2 Dakotas Advance #466
The Tree of Life Ministry began in 1990 as a "ministry of presence" on the Rosebud Reservation; the work camp ministry began in 1995.
Tree of Life hosts Volunteer in Mission groups from across the United States, with more than 1,000 individuals visiting each year. Tree of Life is a service ministry, showing Christ's love to the Sioux on the Rosebud, Pine Ridge, Crow Creek, Lower Brule and Spirit Lake Nation Reservations.
We want to overcome the history of oppression, distrust and hatred that existed between the Sioux and the Christian Church, so local residents might receive our message of the Good News. We offer a caring ministry of stewardship that addresses human need and pain, and shares the blessings God has given us.


School Supply Distribution: One of Our Biggest Events
Back-to-School Supplies Come from All Over the United States In 2004, Tree of Life distributed 620 school kits. The 2005 distribution topped 1,714 school kits and 100 teacher kits. Every year, the numbers grow!Office Depot donated 400 backpacks and Quill Corporation donated 300 binders in 2005. The United Methodist Church Midwest Mission Distribution Center supplied 1,000 student kits and 100 teacher kits.All other materials came from churches and donations to complete basic kits and create additional full kits.We distributed in 2005 enough supplies to equip the following schools and teaching staffs:
Spring Creek School - 98 students, six teachers
Norris School - 90 students, seven teachers
Okreek School - 40 students, seven teachers
White Eagle Academy - 15 students, three teachers
In addition, we supplied 53 kits for children in foster care through the Department of Social Services, and 60 kits for the St. Francis Youth Center. All other kits were distributed through our Clothing Room.

time more than flying

ouch.... how did it get to be this many days since the last post?
...well I did have a wedding and another funeral, since then, and there was a hospital visit in St Cloud and a pre-marriage session with another couple..and a trip to Star lake to do my annual food tasting adventure with the GUMYs...plus the local hospital and nursing homes. I usually try to do at least 3 to 5 pastoral contacts a day, besides what happens, and who walks into the office; and then Finance and Trustees meetings and so on.
In my visits today I actually was able to meet with 3 of my intended visits in care centers and the hospital while another visit got interrupted by a loud fire alarm that had been activated by shower steam a few rooms down, another person was wrapped up in the after-supper bingo game, one was out of the room. Visiting with people and sharing a prayer is one of favorite things to do but it too often gets croweded into the edges of everything else.
Earlier today I started on a future sermon and spent some time preparing some devotional/reflection material for the trip to Rosebud SD. (We leave Sunday morning around 6:30) ) I pulled together some of my favorite quotes from sources like inward/outward or The Upper Room Reflections and Verse and Voice that comes from Sojourners. They usually have something that sounds right and true even if I don't really live up to it.
For example what do you think and feel when you read something like this? "Every time you sacrifice something at great cost—every time you renounce something that appeals to you for the sake of the poor—you are feeding a hungry Christ"
.- Mother Teresa
"Cry Freedom" by Charles Ringma

I am pretty sure that the sacrifice she is speaking of is more than the one hour a month I spend washing dishes at the soup kitchen or spending a week of service at Rosebud. Maybe I keep busy so I won't have to listen very deeply to the wisdom or truth in words like that. Maybe there is a reason to keep "time flying?"

For now I will simply go out for a stroll and listen to the crickets and the cool feel of an August evening..and see what comes from a moment like that...maybe time will slow down
and I can listen ..and feel....and.....welcome the gift of a beautiful moon.

Fair Week in review

I am not surprised that I did not do any blogging last week. I did about 6 or 7 shifts at the fair plus parts of other shifts, all of which I actually enjoy , besides being inspired by the work ethic and willingness that I see from our volunteers. Some of them worked through significant back pain problems, others are in upper 60's and 70's and 80's!... but cook in the kitchen or put in several shifts with a smile on their face. Others give up their days off or use vacation time. Almost all of them are reporting for duty after finishing their day job! So it seem like a good crowd to hang around with, beside the pastoral opportunities to visit with those who simply stop by the booth or walk around the fair.

Tom and Loree Yeager who have been working with the fair booth for about 25 years are stepping down from their leadership role. They finish on a high point in two ways: the booth not only had a good financial year but we got a perfect score from the state health; "Food Inspector." We have never had violations but he has usually had a suggestion or two.This year we were 100%!

But less enjoyable this week was the devastating fire on Friday at the Baden home. If you have ever been on site with the charred wood, ruined furniture and clothes, the water damage and the foam as the family is walking thought the mess, you know what heart ache it is.
Phyllis Anderson also died on Friday morning. Two hip breaks and surgeries in just a few months was just too much so her service is on Tues.

You might notice a new link again . Wilma Roberts was a presenter at the School of Christian Mission and her PowerPoint is now a blog. I recommend it. We have a group going to Rosebud South Dakota on Aug 17th so that might be a good preparation read. Also see the new links that Jeff Reed has added on his ever-evolving blog. I might have to add that Desert Wisdom site. Michelle Hargrave is a Minnesota United Methodist clergy blogger I need to link to as well at http://33namesofgrace.blogspot.com/

Here is clip from today's Spirituality and Practice site:
God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of his life in us.— Thomas Keating in Active Meditations for Contemplative Prayer

(That's plenty to ponder..what do you think?)
Rory, rambling on...