The Juxtaposition of Safety and Pins

Let me begin this blogpost by giving you a snapshot of Unity Presbyterian Church and our youth group. Unity is this vibrant 1300 member church in Fort Mill, SC, a "suburb" of Charlotte, but in many ways its own small town. The population is growing at an exponential rate, and our church seems to be following that trend too. In name, we are committed to the Presbyterian Church USA and to traditional style worship. We believe that we are hospitable and welcoming to every person that walks through our doors. We are a church that loves tradition, both in worship and in our heritage, and we hope to find freshness in this tradition, a freshness that translates ancient values into modern day society.

In our youth group, this election season has been interesting. We have both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton supporters. We have students who proudly wear rainbow bracelets in support of the LGBTQ community and students who staunchly believe that homosexuality is a sin. We are mostly white, mostly middle class, mostly on-track-to-college, but we are constantly aware of those who lack any of these privileges and others. Our youth go to school with folks who are atheist, Southern Baptist, Mormon, Hindu, Muslim, and likely a whole range of other beliefs. We are on a constant quest to find balance and the ability to have discussions and love when we disagree. Throughout the election season, our youth (and the adults, especially me, their sassy pastor) were challenged to take a picture of someone in America (or a group) that represented someone they had the most difficulty loving. We had lots of kids take political candidates, misogynists, evangelicals, atheists, and more, and I know that this week, those pictures remained on their dressers, and distressed challenged hearts prayed earnestly to God. So as I prepared for yesterday's lesson, and I saw that the text was "Live in harmony with everyone," I said out loud, "Good one, God."

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So the scripture...and living peacefully...

I've heard people on both sides this week saying that we need to accept who won the elections, be quiet, and come together. As though one can simply erase the last 18 months of harmful, personally attacking, hate inspired rhetoric. As though the voters who came out in earnest support of Trump, many of whom have felt marginalized and unheard for many years, should just pretend the last several years of silence never happened. As though minorities, who have been the victims of attacks by Trump supporters for months, should just forget all the oppression they have faced. As though when we look our neighbor and learn which candidate they supported, we don't automatically form a new opinion of that person. Of course, it's an easy thing to say or hope for, that we can all just get along and forget the hurts of our past, but I don't think it's the best solution. For one thing, nothing is accomplished. If we can't learn to talk about our differences in beliefs in a way that is constructive and respectful, we haven't made any progress at all. For another thing, we cannot expect people to be silent when they are mistreated; in fact, we should expect them not to be silent when they are mistreated, and we should stand on their side as well.

So as we looked at the scripture about living peacefully with one another, it became very clear to me and to our youth that living peacefully doesn't mean we simply agree to disagree and never speak of it again. It doesn't mean we only associate with people who are like-minded and share our values. It doesn't mean that we have the loudest voice and others are not heard. Put simply,

it means that we have to give up our desire, our need to be right.

Ask my husband: I really like being right. I really think I'm right like 99% of the time, even when I know I might be wrong. And there are some issues, frankly, that I just cannot fathom how a person could think differently than I do. I'm sure we all have moments like this, especially when we've been privileged enough to have our voices be heard. But as I woke up and was getting ready for work on Wednesday morning, as the election results were pouring in and social media was in an uproar, it occurred to me that today my task is the same as yesterday. Today, I strive to follow Jesus: which means that I strive to love and worship God to the best of my ability, which means I recognize that God is Lord and not I, which means that I know that I am sinful and in need of God's grace, which means that I love people in this world earnestly and passionately, which means that I see the minorities and people who are oppressed in any way and show them love, which means that I have a calling to step out of my comfort zone and into love, especially love that is not often seen in our society. It means that I love the militant Trump supporters and the minorities they oppress; it means that I love each kid that steps into the youth room no matter where they are in their journey, who they think they are, and what they've done.

Some biblical bullying...

We took a look at the argument between two of Jesus' apostles in the early days of the church: Peter and Paul. Peter, of course we know, was one of the original 12. The first half of the book of Acts is dedicated to Peter, who begins his ministry in Jewish synagogues and continuing a lot of traditions from the left half of the Bible (including the restrictions on meat and circumcision). As we know, Jesus renames Peter "The Rock" because the church will be built upon him. In other words, Peter's got some swag; he's the bee's knees, he's kind of important, and people listen to him. In the early days of Christianity, people weren't sure exactly what Jesus' resurrection might mean or who was included. Was this a new form of Judaism? Was this open to Gentiles? What does a person need to do to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? 

Paul, on the other hand, was a Pharisee who actively persecuted the early church. The resurrected Jesus meets him on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, where has a conversion experience and is convinced to begin serving Jesus Christ. In Acts 11, we learn that Paul feels his distinct calling is to take the message of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, so that God's special relationship with the Jews could be known to all people. As we see in Acts 11 and in Galatians 1, Peter and Paul, among others, vehemently disagree with one another about what it means and what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. Some of their arguments get downright nasty.

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Yet in scripture, we never really learn that they've figured out one way to agree. In fact, to this day, denominations all over the world disagree about what a person needs to do to be a Christian. No one was declared "right." I often imagine Paul and Peter arguing until the days of their deaths. And yet, they loved each other. They argued with love. Peter, as the founder of the Roman Catholic faith, and the apostle present in the Pentecost, is an essential part of the beginning of the church. We couldn't have done it without him. At the same time, Paul who traveled all over Europe and northern Africa spreading the news of the gospel to Gentiles was just as necessary. We see watermarks of their influence still on our beliefs two millennia later.

Paul and Peter give us a great example of what it means to disagree with love, and to learn how to be united in the desire to follow Jesus Christ. Both voices can be heard with respect and kindness even when we aren't going to agree.

Finally, the safety pins

All over social media, I've been seeing varying opinions about wearing safety pins. The safety pin is supposed to be a symbol on allies that that person is a safe person to talk to, that they will step in to defend the rights and dignity of minorities, and that they will not remain silent. Some people believe this is an easy way for people to voice their dissension from those who may have voted for Donald Trump out of dislike for minorities. And, I think that makes some sense. The day after the election, I had a lot of folks on my Facebook newsfeed who have darker skin than I do, who are members of the LGBTQ community, who are immigrants or refugees, who are victims of sexual assault, who immediately declared, "Do I have a place in Trump's America?" Regardless of where you stand politically, it is absolutely heartbreaking that anyone has to ask if they are safe in America; that is not what we stand for, it is not how we were founded, and it should not be something we tolerate for our future. I want those people, immediately, to know that I care, that I love them, and that I am a safe person to come to.

Yet at the same time, I heard another voice. I heard people say racist things out of ignorance and violent things out of frustration. I heard voters come out and declare that even though they don't agree with some of the progressive moves in our country's politics, they refuse to be left behind. America has declared that gun violence is a problem, same sex couples can marry, and black lives matter, and for better or worse, they aren't ready for that. No one has stood next to them and explained why these things are important. They are asked to put their feet in someone else's shoes, but they feel no one has considered their own experience. I am by no means saying that these people are oppressed, but have we really made progress half of our population doesn't understand why we are making it?

And finally, I have been struck by silent voices. I've heard a lot of white people on TV talking about black voters, but I haven't heard enough (in my opinion) about the political feelings of the black population (I say this not as a slight toward them but toward the media). I have heard a lot of so-called important issues across the news, and yet I haven't heard a political candidate or a media personality say more than a passing word about the pipeline going through sacred lands in North Dakota and the continued mistreatment of the Native American population there.

So here's our interpretation of the Safety Pin:

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#1: Safety

We are using a safety pin instead of a push pin or a needle because it reminds us that God's love is always safe. In God's love, we don't need to be right. Whether we believe that homosexuality is a sin or not, we can agree that no person should consider hurting themselves because of their sexuality. Whether we understand all of the complexities of our nation's racism, we can all agree that no one should fear for their lives because of the color of their skin. Whether we want to take in all the refugees or put a strict limit on our borders, we can all agree that people who are fleeing from terror should be able to find a place where they are safe.

God's love is safe, complete, and whole. We don't always have to be right, but we do have to be loving. Even if one way does prove to be more right than another, we are not going to achieve understanding between opposing parties until we can enter a conversation knowing that we ourselves are beloved children of God and the person with whom we are arguing is also a beloved child of God. Jesus gave us the example when he heals on the Sabbath, when he touches lepers, and speaks to sinful women; Jesus, in his actions, gives us the example that God's work isn't about being right but about being loving.

#2: Still a pin

The safety pins remind us that we have a calling to commit ourselves to this love each day. We are not going to be successful every day. There will always be people who are hard to love, situations we can't understand, and people with whom we disagree, but the pin reminds us that we are called to follow Jesus first, not our own opinions. This means that some of us will wear our safety pins on our clothes, holding ourselves accountable to being a voice alongside minorities and those being bullied in our community. Some of us are called to be advocates. This means that some of us will wear our safety pins in our pockets or out of sight because perhaps we aren't called to protect but to learn how to understand. Perhaps we are called to think before we speak or try to put ourselves in someone else's shoes. Perhaps we are simply called to just not be mean. None of us are called to violent acts in words and in physical action against another person because of who they are. None of us are called to be bystanders while violence and conflict occur. All of us are called to follow Jesus in actions of love and empathy.

#3: Not just a symbol but a lifestyle

Wearing this pin could be a really convenient way for white, straight, rich people to feel good about themselves. You could, in theory, wear this pin and mean nothing by it, just wanting the public to think you are a good person. Like when my Ultimate Frisbee team in college prayed before a game. But if you aren't going to accompany this symbol with a lifestyle change, then you're not ready to wear it on the outside of your clothes. Like when our team captain at Ultimate Frisbee proceeded to cuss out the referees and the other team approximately 10 minutes after our prayer. This pin is about taking a real look at ourselves, acknowledging our prejudices and bias, acknowledging our privilege and pride, acknowledging the difference between self and other while also acknowledging that in diversity we are beloved by God. It's about challenging ourselves to live into the call of God and affirming that we are people of love. Not all of us will wear the pins for everyone to see, but each of us are called to this self-assessment and humbling of self. This is our only path to peace.

So join us:

We are not perfect. We are sinners trying to follow a perfect God. We will probably never all agree about politics or racial issues or homosexuality, or whatever the case may be. What we can agree on is the love of Jesus Christ in this world. When we participate in hate, we are denying that love. When we ignore the hurt around us, we are denying that love. When we care more about our own pride and rightness, we are denying that love. I welcome dissenting opinions about this, in hopes that we might have loving discussion in the vein of Peter and Paul, so that our tomorrow really might be more peaceful than today.

A Time to turn the other cheek and a Time to flip over the tables...and everything in between

When I was in 9th grade, I was required to take a Speech class. As one of our assignments, we worked on Original Oratory, which expressed our opinions about a particular topic. We debated those topics in class. One smug gentleman gave his speech about how glorious and wonderful the pope was. He stood in front of us with a 4 inch silver cross dangling from his neck and recited sentence after sentence about why we should adore the pope.

Of course, the North Hills in Pittsburgh had a large Catholic population, so his speech was well received by the majority of the class. He strutted across the front of the classroom as though he thought he might be able to skip the debate part because no one would disagree with the pope. The girl in front of me stood up. She was wearing a full-length black velvet cloak and had black makeup that pronounced the features on her face, the goth look was very popular then. She declared, looking as Satanic as possible, "I think the pope is full of [insert your own word for excrement]. What gives him authority? I'm not Catholic; why should I believe the pope has any authority?"

There was a rumbling of mumbling students all shocked at her boldness, and the speaker's mouth dropped open in a mixture of shock and horror. "Yeah well," he replied, "You're the only one here who thinks that, and you'll be going straight to hell."

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Um...what???

So, of course, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. "Well, I'm not Catholic either, and I don't know why I would give the pope any authority either." There was an audible gasp around the room, and the speaker and I exchanged several jabs concluding with:

Me: Yeah, well, the pope is just some crotchety old man who hates women!

Speaker: {presses cross against my forehead} The power of Christ compels you! Away with thee, Satan!

[I really wish I were exaggerating this story, but I am not. This literally happened.]

What was the result of this inane argument? Nothing. I certainly wasn't persuaded that the pope had authority over the protestant church, and he remained convinced that I was doomed to hell for all of eternity. For all of the energy expended, the shouting, the enraged tempers, the heightened emotions, this argument changed nothing except to create permanent animosity between me and the speaker. 

High School Sunday School

I tell this story because yesterday in High School Sunday School we discussed the story of Jesus flipping over the tables in the temple. We talked about how the money changers were bringing injustice to the temple and the culture, about how the high prices for sacrifices kept out the poor and there was active discrimination against certain groups of people trying to worship. And we talked about Jesus' extreme reaction to this: flipping over tables, shouting, running the money changers out of the temple area, even fashioning a whip in John's gospel.

We've got extreme injustice, and we've got a loud cry on behalf of that injustice. As a class, we realized that the world is not so different today. Our youth often see kids who are bullied or treated differently for one reason or another.They know people who use the Bible as a weapon to tell them they are wrong. They experience obstacles in the accomplishment of their dreams (not making the team or the spot in band or the grade they had hoped for or the SAT score they desired). The know the opportunities that they have that others do not have. And they know Jesus took rather extreme measures to make a loud raucous in opposition to injustice in his day.

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It is a natural part of the maturing process for teenagers to think that they are always right. As they begin to formulate their own opinions and understand the world in different dimensions, it is a part of coming into their own to believe that their opinions, regardless of their foundation in evidence, are always right. And frankly, we know that feeling: it is a lot more fun to call the pope crotchety than it is to agree to disagree.But another part of growing up is learning that I will be I and you will be you, and we are not the same. It takes a tremendous effort to hear the story of another person with an empathetic ear and to take a step into their shoes. I know that it can be discouraging when we hear kids say things that are insensitive, rude, and selfish. I know because I've heard it a million times. What I remind myself constantly is that the world is still so small for these youth. Experiences like Work Camp help them realize that the world is bigger than they thought, the issues are more complex than they had previously known. But even still, compared to my life experience, the world is still small to them. It's okay for youth to stubbornly proclaim how right they are; it's also okay for them to get a swift kick in the tookus, a spiritual two-by-four to the face, if you will, that opens their eyes to the reality that the earth actually rotates around the sun and not them. Friends, this is NORMAL, so so normal. 

So...so having discussions that don't end in exorcisms...

So getting back to my disagreement with the Catholic that ended in me having a silver cross pressed into my forehead... as I mentioned nothing was gained from that conversation except bitterness and pride. While it is just a fabulous story I've been itching to find a place for, if I could go back in time I would change the dialogue, I would make some new effort to recover the conversation to a constructive tone. I'm sure we all have memories like that.

As I look at Jesus' reaction to the temple, I wonder if the effect of that event wasn't limited to the shock and horror experienced by those who witnessed it first hand. Real change didn't happen on that day alone; rather, it's 2,000 years later, and we are STILL talking about it, having discussions about why Jesus did this and how it can be translated into today. The change didn't happen in the violence or the crazy-town reaction of Jesus; the effect didn't occur the moment those tables were flipped. The story doesn't end, "And then everyone sold items for a fair price and allowed all people into the Temple and they just loved Jesus so much."

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No the change, the effect occurred because Jesus' actions sparked civilized conversations about what was right and what was wrong. It challenged the people in authority and gave a voice to all people who entered the temple area that day.

We talked in Sunday School about how to cultivate these kinds of constructive conversations. I realize that some of our youth will have to have heated arguments that end with exorcisms in order to learn the lesson that that doesn't work; I know because I did, and I had several more conversations ending in bitterness until I realized I needed to try a different tactic. I know that had Jesus not begun with an extreme action, the silenced voices might never be heard. But in a world where Starbucks cups about world peace and unity are considered controversial and political, I feel it is my job and our calling as the church to advocate for peaceful discourse, for civil debates, and loving dialogue. Slowly, this voice of reason will begin to cut through the contentiousness of our society, both among our youth and our adults, until it makes a difference in the way we treat each other. The best thing we can do to help our youth learn that they are not always right is to learn that we ourselves are not always right.

Resources

Jesus, Tables, and Social Media

some teenager brain psychology stuff

There's no crying in ministry...

When I was in seminary, I was required to take classes about Pastoral Care. In those classes, there were many occasions where professors and fellow students said, "There is never a situation in ministry where it is appropriate for the pastor to be reduced to tears." This was a really challenging sentence for me because, well, I'm a big-time cryer.

I cry looking at pictures of my cousins growing up or of our friends' children smiling at their dads. I cry when I look at first-day-of-school pictures and see youth I've worked with all over growing up. I cry when those youth graduate from high school, and yes, I am old enough to cry when they get married. I cry when I see children bringing forth the offering and singing the doxology.

I cry at every wedding; I cried watching my best friend dance with her father when she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to dance again. I cry when I'm angry, frustrated, sad, or confused. I cried at a meeting when I felt I didn't do a good enough job leading Confirmation students. I cried every time I left a church to move on in God's call for my life. I cried when I held orphans in my arms in Mexico. I cried when I saw the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Mississippi. I cried when I graduated from college, and when I got engaged to my husband. I cry at every death and every funeral, including pets; I even cry at a well-made iPhone commercial.

For most of my life, I have thought that crying made me weak. That it was something to be embarrassed of, or something I should hide, especially in ministry. Over the last year, I have learned to embrace the fact that I cry at everything for three reasons:

1. It's biblical. Jesus wept for his friend Lazarus in John 11, and he weeps with us today when we face grief, loss, and sadness.

2. I need to feel. God gave me the great capacity to feel so many emotions. For me, with my biological make-up for whatever reasons, to feel anything intensely means that I cry. I believe my tears are a way that I embrace life, faith, and relationships fully. 

3. It's good for me. My dear friend, Ellen, says that tears are liquid Prozac, they make us feel better and we should cherish them. She's right: they always act as a release for me.

So here I am, a real big cry-baby, and I am no longer ashamed of it. In fact, I embrace it as one of my spiritual gifts in ministry. Here are 10 things I cried about this weekend:

#10: Children praying

On Sunday morning, most of you probably attended the 11:00 worship service to hear the Winthrop Chorale. Of course, I was also at the 8:45 service, where we had the great treat of listening to the Junior Choir. They were, of course, wonderful, but the part of the service that struck me was the Lord's Prayer. As I completed my prayer of the people and transitioned into the Lord's Prayer, I suddenly heard a loud chorus of the Junior Choir students confidently and loudly reciting the Lord's Prayer. I looked over to see eyes scrunched tight and hands folded, kids praying the Lord's Prayer seriously, with all their hearts.

Well, I teared up. I know I wasn't the only one. It was so beautiful! I kept thinking to myself, "I have no greater joy than this: to see my children walking in the light."

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#9: Hearing the buzz about Unity

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Every week, you may not realize it, but we have upwards of 50 visitors walking through our doors. That's more than some churches have on their entire rolls. This weekend, I had the chance to talk with many of our visitors who said, "People have told us that Unity's Youth Group is special" or "We've heard that Unity has really great worship" or "There's nothing going on in our community like what's going on at Unity Presbyterian Church." I see the Holy Spirit at work so often in my work here, but when the collective community starts talking about it, it just proves that it's the Holy Spirit at work. I know at times what we do at our church seems monotonous, like we do the same things each year or at each turn. Sometimes it can be difficult to take a step back and see what is really going on around here, and I encourage you, take a good look at our church because something special is going on here.

#8: Middle School Trip to Corn Maze

It might seem simple and maybe not even relevant that there were 35 middle school youth who attended the Corn Maze field trip on Sunday. They enjoyed face-painting, slushies, corn mazes, and hay rides. This might seem normal, and we are used to seeing these types of pictures:

But this isn't normal throughout the world. More often than not, the pictures of students ages 11-13 that we see in the media are kidnapped, runaways, abused, or troubled. When we see them on the news, it is because they have joined gangs or found drugs at an early age. Too often lately, we see these young teens in memoriam after an accidental death or suicide. As I looked around at our middle schoolers, unfettered by horrors, violence, and evil, I was overwhelmed (shockingly...to the point of tears) with gratitude that even with all of the challenges our teens face, they can find one afternoon of solace and unadulterated joy at a corn maze. Let's not forget what a gift that is.

#7: Bible Recommendations

As I prepared my lesson for Confirmation class on Sunday morning, I began to dread actually teaching the lesson. The topic was "Why are there so many versions of the Bible?" and I had excitedly prepared a lesson that would have made my old college religion professor, Dr. Na, very very proud. I organized passages to look at in various versions and I copied pages from my Greek and Hebrew texts for them to look at. I thought to myself, dear Lord, no kid is going to be interested in this.

And as I began class and looked at their sleepy eyes, I was sure that I would be right. At the end of class, I asked if anyone had any questions. One student raised her hand and asked, "What recommendations would you have for us if we are looking to purchase our own bible?" As she said this, many heads perked up and hands even grabbed writing utensils to scribble down some information. Once I scraped my chin off the floor, I responded by encouraging them to go to www.biblegateway.com and to begin reading texts in different versions and decide which version you feel most comfortable with (which I recommend to everyone).

I've been doing youth ministry for 10 years. I've had some amazing kids who probably wondered about buying a new bible for themselves; I've had wonderful parents who did lengthy research to find a bible that worked best for their children. Never, ever, have I heard a child ask me in a class what recommendations I had for Bibles. In fact, most of my advice as a youth pastor is unsolicited, but I hope it falls on hungry ears. And again, I found myself taking a pit stop to the bathroom on the way to worship to blot my eyes as I said a prayer of thanks for this wonderful pursuit of faith.

#6: Illness, Injury, and Struggle

I say all of these previous ones with the caveat that we do not have perfect children in our church who never face adversity, challenge, or despair. In fact, there is a whole heck of a lot of hurt in our community; it is simply the way our youth are choosing to manage and handle that hurt that makes them special.

This week, I learned that we have several kids who are suffering from concussions or injuries. We have lots of kids home with pneumonia, strep throat, and yes, the dreaded stomach flu. We have kids who failed auditions or struggle with grades, who have commitments from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed, who worry about getting into college before they've even gone to middle school. We have parents pulling all-nighters to pick their kids up from band or make sure homework gets done or observe through a tough fever. 

There are so many challenges, it is hard to keep up with them all. I do however, hold these in my prayers. Sometimes, I hold these in my prayers through tears, each tear a prayer lifted over to God. I hate that kids have to suffer, but as much as I'd love to keep it from happening if I could, I know that "suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5.3-5)

Know always that you are loved, 

you are covered in prayer,

and you are empowered by the living God.

#5: Advent Devotions

Our Middle School Youth had the opportunity to write Advent Devotions that will be included in this year's Advent Devotion booklet for Unity Presbyterian Church. Each daily entry has been written by a member of our church, and some of them were written by the youth. 

Sometimes, we set our expectations for spiritual understanding extremely low when we are talking to or about youth. Whether we think their brains have not fully developed yet or they lack life experience or they simply don't have a voice at the table because of their age, we tend to think that our youth should be protected from difficult concepts and encouraged in simple, concrete understandings of scripture. This is a fallacy that even I admit I can fall into. Our youth are deep, challenging, intelligent biblical thinkers. As I read through these devotions, I thought to myself, "This one sounds a lot like the church father Augustine" or "Gee, John Calvin would be proud." I am looking forward to each of you getting the chance to read these and the devotions written by many others during the Advent season (beginning November 27). The booklet will be available online each day on our website and the Facebook page, and some paper copies will be available in the Narthex beginning November 20.

#4:  Youth Room Painting

Years ago, I offered to lead a youth group in repainting the youth room. The kids came in 3 days to do the bulk of the painting; I came in every day for lots of hours for 2 months putting in all the tiny details and making it look nice. As I brushed my roller over the final piece of wall, I thought to myself: "I am literally never doing this again, I don't care how ugly the walls of a youth room are."

So when the high school youth in Sunday School brought up to their teachers that they wanted to repaint the youth room, I firmly said that if they wanted to do it, they needed to do it themselves. On Sunday, they trooped in and busted out a lot of painting skills in that room. Maybe it would have looked better if a professional had come in, but the fact is: that room belongs to them. Every drop of paint on the floor, every visible stroke on the wall, every color, every stain, every inch. It is a place in which they are safe and comforted, a place they take ownership of, and a place they have made safe and special for youth in generations to come. After I checked in on them on Sunday, I of course got a bit teary as my heart filled with gratitude at their initiative, leadership, and sense of inclusion in the church.

#3:  Confirmation Retreat

This week I had the great privilege of spending 24 hours at Bethelwoods Camp and Conference Center with our 8th graders as we explored the "Radical Pursuit of God" in the beginning stages of our faith journey. We made spiritual smashbooks to talk about who we are and where we are gifted; we did team challenges to learn about how as a church, we work together; we spent time in silent prayer and reflection about our individual spiritual journeys.

Every year, I say, "This is the best Confirmation class ever!" and I legitimately mean it, because I just love Confirmation so much. There is nothing that gives my heart greater joy than to watch our youth figuring out exactly what faith means to them individually. The future of the church is in the hands of these wonderful teenagers, and I have every confidence that the church will survive to do great things in their capable hands.

#2:  Winthrop Chorale

If you were in worship on Sunday, no commentary is necessary for this.

If you were not in worship on Sunday, make sure you don't miss the Winthrop Chorale next time. The worship was astounding and spirit-shaking.

And #1: My Messy Office and other signs

If you have been to my office recently, you are aware that it looks like a storage facility that had a tornado shoot through it. Every day, I have to wade through boxes and piles of books and papers and pool noodles and posterboards and dead weeds and glue sticks and balls of yarn... It makes me anxious even right now as I looke around seeing lessons from months and months ago, still waiting for me to find a new home for them. Certainly, I could cry over how much of a mess it is. But I also cry because it is so used. The complete messiness of my office is a reminder to me that we are doing real ministry, a real work in the Kingdom of God. We are meeting unique needs in our community, we are loving kids in new and special ways, and we are creating this safe space for them to thrive and experience God's love. While I'd love to have a clean office, I'd much rather be writing this blog sitting in a pig sty than have no ministry to account for. We are busy. We are full. And I for one am very proud of the special work we are doing with the teens of our community.

What makes you cry in ministry? What do you reach out to experience with all of your emotions?