Claimed, gathered and sent

I don't know how many of you are followers of the show "Glee." We got hooked on it during the summer after reading our friends' Facebook posts about it. It's about a group of kids in a high school glee club. In many ways, some would be misfits, but in glee club, they've found a family of sorts. Tuesday night's episode was theologically profound--exploring issues of unanswered prayer, feelings of exclusion from the church community because of sexual orientation, and the possible death of a loved one. Where was God in all of this? This episode will even be viewed and then discussed at my seminary. Here is the link to the show. It will make you think. I suspect that from this one episode, a number of pastors have found plenty of sermon illustrations. Grilled Cheesus

We may have our plans and schedules, but then there are God's. Internship continues to be simultaneously a delight and challenge. My supervisor has been called upon by the bishop to be involved on a part time basis helping out a nearby church. This increases my preaching responsibilities. I imagine there will be other additional duties as well. This is exciting and at the same time makes me cry out to God for wisdom and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. My husband, Ray, and I are football fans. The analogy that immediately came to mind was that of  a backup quarterback in football. My supervisor would be the starting quarterback. Only he needs to spend some time leading a different team. I am being called upon to step up and lead the Grace Lutheran team in a greater measure. Of course, this is what daily ministry consists of. We have one idea of how the line up will look, but God has another. God's will and plans for Grace and this other church are good....