Claimed, gathered and sent

I spent last week at a conference in Atlanta entitled, Summit for Leadership and Evangelical Justice. I just got back home to Petersburg late Thursday night. And I'm still processing all the information and thoughts and feelings I encountered at the Summit for Leadership and Evangelical Justice.  Sunday afternoon, we worshiped together with members of the Southeastern Synod in a gorgeous church in downtown Atlanta, GA, Lutheran Church of the Redeemer . The worship and remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr. was tremendous. Following that was a meeting with Rep. John Lewis , the congressman from the 5th district, which includes downtown Atlanta. Rep. Lewis told us his story, taking us back to his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King. The session concluded with questions. One little boy went up to Rep. Lewis and asked him if it hurt when he was beaten during various encounters with authorities during the era of the Jim Crow laws. As Rep. Lewis spoke to the boy...

This morning we went to a nursing home to do the Lutheran service for the residents. It felt like shades of CPE at Bethany Village where I was this past summer. It was wonderful, but at the same time, I have realized that however much I may love the idea of chaplaincy, I desire even more so to be in the parish administering the sacraments, preaching, and loving and visiting the people. In essence, I can have the best of both worlds. Whether chaplaincy or pastorate, it's all about loving the people the Lord sends you to. It was a bit of an epiphany for me. Later in the day, I attended a church council meeting with the pastor. It was very small and the people work so hard. There were times though when I could not help but think of the vestry meetings from the PBS show "Vicar of Dibley." The pastor is familiar with the show and agreed that the meetings can get like that. Please see the clip below and you'll have a better understanding. The wonderful people and the glorio...