Back With A Vengance

Wow, I think I've been gone a long time. For the longest time I planned on getting back to blogging; going through everything that has happened to me over the past few months, but there has really been to many things to mention. There has been so many experiences, and so many emotions, over this second semester of seminary, that I just can't mention it all and give it justice. It's sad because I started this as a venture to not only update people as to my doings in the world, but to also be able to work through feelings and emotions in writing, much the same way a journal does. I have missed being able to practice this discipline, which is very spiritual in my life, and I hope to do better as I move on this summer.
It's a beautiful Memorial Day in Galesville, Wisconsin, as I write this. I'm sitting outside the First Presbyterian Church, in the grass, as I write on my laptop computer. There is a fairly steady breeze and it feels good as it rushes by me on this warm day. If I wouldn't have cut my hair, and shaved my beard a couple of weeks ago, I would feel my hair as it blew in front of my face, but it feels good looking like I did a couple of years back.
I have been working as a part time intern here at the church since early March, and it has been a remarkable experience for me. When I first began, during the semester, I drove up here every weekend. I worked on Friday and Saturday, participated in worship on Sunday, and took the 3 hour journey back to Dubuque following service. I am now up here full time for the summer, and really looking forward to everything. Yesterday I gave the Sermon for Pentecost Sunday here at the church and then drove over to lead worship at Marinuka Manor, the local nursing home, and Eden House, the attached assisted living facility. This was the third sermon that I have given, and I've been very happy and encouraged by everybody in the congregation. I know that I struggle to write them often times, but I've been told that I do very well in giving them. It's a fun experience for me. I will have plenty of other opportunities to preach this summer as I am scheduled to preach from June 17, through the second week of July when Mike, the pastor here, is on vacation. I have also been given the chance to preach at a joint worship service in the park the last week of July with the Lutheran Church here in town. I'm looking forward to that.
I was also allowed to participate in a member's wedding this last Saturday at the church. It was probably one of the neater experiences of my life. I like the way the pastor here tries to stage weddings. Instead of having the wedding party face the pastor on the platform, he instead has the bride and groom face the congregation during the service, with him and me standing off to the front and side a little bit. It's a way to allow the congregation to see the faces of the bride and groom during the service, instead of their backside. I was moved being able to be up front and center during the whole service. The pastor in a wedding really does have the best seat in the house. I also really liked one other aspect to this wedding I had never seen done before. Instead of lighting a unity candle, like so many couples do today, they instead choose to represent their coming together in a "blending of the sands". They had an empty vase in front of them, and two other vases, on either side of the empty vase, filled with different colored sand (blue and purple). When it came time, they both went forward and took one of the full vases; pouring the sand into the middle empty vase in unison letting the streams of sand cross creating a new and beautiful design in the middle vase. I liked this representation because, as Mike said, with the unity candle you see the two flames merging to burn as one flame no different then before. With the sand, it creates a oneness that is both more beautiful then before, and two, a scene where you can still detect the individual colors of the sand as they are blended together. It's a neat concept that I hope to use again. In addition, if sealed with wax, then the couple has a great memento, instead of a burned candle.
There is probably some crazy irony that I do participate in a wedding the same week that I broke up with my girlfriend. Ty and I were together for about 7 months I guess, but we decided together that it wasn't a relationship that was going to work. If you ask two people where they see their lives in 5 years and the answers are 180 degrees apart, it's probably a wise choice to end a relationship on good terms. That is what Ty and I did, and I really do hope and pray that we will be able to remain good friends. I have been able to talk with her quite a few times since the breakup, and it's a good feeling to see that there is no animosity there on either of our parts that I know of. In a sense it's a new start again this summer for me, similar to what I was experiencing in August. It should make for a summer of many new experiences.
Before coming up to Galesville full time this week, I did manage to make it out to Spokane to see my brother for about a week. I'm so glad that I was able to do that. He has lived there for almost 5 to 6 years now, and it was the first time that I had made it out there to see him. I traveled on a free ticket that he had from the airline, so it was affordable, and it was a fun trip. We spent a couple of days at a old cabin, new to him, in the Mountains, going on some great hikes, and drives. The scenery was spectacular as we traveled old logging roads on hikes seeing deer and other wildlife (even a great big toad). We drove up a road leading high up into the mountain range his cabin sits in. The view was breathtaking from our vantage point on the road. On the way down we even saw a bear. I also was able to see the pool where he works as a water survival instructor, and the field where he helps to teach people to be rescued by a helicopter. We also did one of the more crazy things I have done, when we went on a float down the Spokane River, ending in shooting a short stretch of a class III rapid. Of course we did this in an expired, orange, seven man life raft without paddles. Being without paddles we used shovels instead. It was a blast, and we pulled onto shore in the state park afterwards and had ourselves a great BBQ. Good Times.
I spent the last few weeks of spring semester obsessing over hymns. I spent a great deal of time on Itunes looking for nice contemporary versions of traditional Christian hymns. I finished my project last night, taking my favorite 12 hymns I found and burned them to a CD. I don't know why, but I love the idea of taking a hymn and the timeless message that it proclaims, and making it new and fresh for a new generation. It's the same thing I think Church's need to be doing everyday. If any friends would like a copy of my little best of CD let me know.
This summer I'm looking forward to being able to hike, camp, and maybe even take a photography class in LaCrosse. The wedding photographer teaches one that is only about 70 dollars at a local college. I'm really tempted to sign up. I'm also hoping to see a lot of great movies. I have already crossed Spiderman 3, Pirates 3, and Shreck 3 off my list. Hmmm, a lot of sequels to sequels here.
While I had many more amazing experiences over the last couple of months that I can’t mention, I do want to say goodbye to one of the best friends ever here. I found out in late March, or early April that Sassy, the German Shepherd I had to give up to come to seminary, died in her sleep. She was a great friend who saw me though some very difficult times in my life. She was a good dog, and a great friend. I miss her.
Well, I'm back with a vengeance, and it's too beautiful right now to waste the day away typing. I'm out until next update....