Maine Event

11 youth, 5 adults (including me), 2 preschool kids and 2 vans with all our stuff will be heading to Maine tomorrow for the annual choir tour. However, this year, it is combined with our mission trip as well and we are all hoping to have tons of fun.

We'll be working with a Cooperative Baptist Church start called Pathway Community Church in southern ME doing everything from singing at local nursing homes to painting a police officer's house to even hanging out at with some nuns who love social justice for a couple of hours. And of course, since we are in Maine, we'll be working in a trip to the LL Bean store too.

Group trips are exhausting. I'm already tired from not only the preparations to be ready to go but trying to keep all my other balls in the air in terms of my other hats at work besides youth ministry (not to mention wedding planning).

However, I know once we're off and running on the vans, it will be well worth the effort. I remember loving group trips as a kid. There is just nothing like a week of new experiences and quality time with a unique group of people.

So, if you think of pray for our team-- I have high hopes for all the wonderful things we will see and do while we're away.

Learning the Essentials

Youth ministry is not my strength by any means. While I love being around people, including kids, I often struggle to know what my role is with Pastor of Youth as part of my job title (maybe this is why I hang out with the senior adults whenever I can). I never imagined myself in this position with youth.

So, I wonder:

How many fun activities must I plan a month? Is doing one lock-in a year really necessary? How much personal contact from me is essential with kids in a week? What constitutes a "cool" event for a person aged 12-18?

I'm often not sure.

But, I'm trying to learn.

I had an new insight last night about these questions I wrestle with. Community building is what is all about.

Throughout the summer, I've planned a weekly activity with the kids on Tuesdays. We've gone to Kings Dominion, out swimming and even to the movies. Often times these "fun" events have been tag teamed with a Bible Study. My kids really don't like Bible Studies. They barely stay awake through Sunday School. Last night, at this week's Terrific Tuesday at a youth's house, we actually played more pool and video games than we did studying about God's love from I Corinthians (which is what I had planned for us to do).

I felt discouraged leaving, thinking to myself: "What kind of bad youth minister are you? Letting them play games instead of doing something with a spiritual outlook?"

But, this morning I received a message from one of the few kids who came, telling me what a great time he had hanging out. (It is important to note that this is a student who is really anti-church, is made to come by his parents. Yet, has really come around to be interested in church again over the last couple of months).

Even if these students don't leave the youth program at this church with as much spiritual knowledge as I would hope they would have, my desire is that they know two things: 1) They are loved people both by me (and other leaders) as well as by God 2) The church is not such a bad place to be after all.

I hope the students with whom I interact with each week, look back on their time in youth group as one where they had FUN being with other Christians and at church.

I have faith that if they are touched by the community I'm helping to create, these positive memories will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Their time at church will shape them in ways they might not expect in the future.

So, our community the kids have with me and with each other is an essential for sure!

Peace

One of my favorite parts about being in ministry are the colleagues with whom I am in contact. Many of these people live far away, meaning we now only connect through phone calls and attending conferences together, but others are close by. In the DC area, I'm thankful for the new clergy group I've become a part of in the past couple of months which I'm sure will be a great support to me in the future. My friends at my home church in DC have been great encouragers to me as well.

But, I also have great colleagues at my own church. One of these is Lonnie, who is the Pastor of Music and Worship. He's young like me, though he's already served three years at the church. I've enjoyed partnering with him on projects relating to the youth ministry, especially as we prepare to lead a group of 11 kids and 7 others on a choir tour/ mission trip to Maine in less than two weeks. Not to mention that we've all be working on Vacation Bible School is going on every night this week! And, Lonnie and I have worked on worship planning as I am preaching on Sunday as well.

As you can imagine the fury around our office this week. So much to accomplish in a short amount of time!

Yet, I hear of similar stress from my colleagues at other churches. There stress may be packaged in a different form, but it is very similar. It seems that while everyone else around the country slows down during the summer, the church goes at fast pace! Rest for a weary minister only comes in a free morning here and there. We have less "office days" to get a larger amount of work done.

In light of this, I've been encouraged again this week by a quote on the signature of Lonnie's email. It says this:

Deep peace of the running wave to you,

Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the gentle night to you,

Moon and stars pour their healing light on you,

Deep peace of Christ, the Light of the world to you,
Deep peace of Christ to you.

I'm in need of this kind of deep peace. Maybe with a little of it in mind and body, the craziness of the weeks ahead won't seem as overwhelming.

My First Wedding

People sometimes ask me why it is that I enjoy being a minister. I often reply that it is a profession that gives you rare access to some of the most sacred moments in peoples lives-- the births of their children, a place at the death beds of their loved ones, baptizing their children, and performing their weddings.

Several weeks ago, I was enabled to experience my first solo wedding, marrying two new dear friends of mine: Carl and Alice (see them in the shot to the left). This couple is a member of the DC family Kevin has been a part of for over 11 years (even though Carl and Alice moved to California several years ago). Carl went to grad school with Kev and Alice was his housemate for a couple of years. When Carl and Alice became engaged in the spring of 2006, Kevin was soon asked along with two other DC folks to be in the wedding party. Then last summer, Carl called Kevin to see if it would be alright for me to be invited to do their wedding. The big question was whether or not I would be around for a while. I was delighted to hear that Kevin said yes. Thus, my first solo wedding was booked for this June.

Making the trip to CA was an unique experience of being on a fun trip with friends yet being set a part as the minister for the event. While my DC friends in attendance told me how cool it was to see me "at work," many of the guests commented at first about how young I was and wondered how I could pull it all off. The groom's mother wondered why an official minister was invited when the groom wasn't particularly religious himself.

But in the end, I think I changed some opinions both about being a young woman minister and being a minister in general. I took the wedding on as my personal mission have fun while being a part of the whole experience. I journeyed on the wine tour two days before the ceremony. I attended the bridesmaid luncheon and hung out in the spa with the wedding party. I wore cute dress and earrings with my robe. I danced at the reception until the music stopped.

I think I was far from the stereotype of an old, holier than thou white man in suit-- the image that most of the wedding party had of ministers in general.

The groom's mom told me as we were saying goodbye that I was the most lively minister she'd ever met. She wanted to know where my church was so that she could come and visit me if she was ever in the area. She thought the ceremony I officiated was just perfect.



Upon reflecting on the experience when I got home, I felt as if I had done that scary word I hate to use anymore: evangelize. I was a witness to the inclusively and enjoyment of living out the gospel without being bound by a fundamentalist view of life. And, I can't wait to do a wedding like this one again!

Plus, our group got in some great sightseeing in before and after the event. See some fun we had near San Fran: