• It was nice to welcome the folks from Camp Pioneer at both services. They also led songs and did a skit in the Education Hour (for the Intergenerational Class). Paris was happy because his counselor Micah was here. Pioneer is hosting a great Summer Fest next Sunday July 12th, if you want to check it out!
• I thought the best part of the Education Hour with the Pioneer staff was them telling the group why they serve in that ministry.
• Pastor Chuck’s sermon hit me square between the eyes today.  So good. So helpful. All day yesterday I kept thinking about how I have exchanged the glory of God for food. Not a good trade. Went back a re-read Psalm 106.  Will listen to it again when it gets posted.
• The Giertz’s were here! Dave and Linda, who moved to Florida a few years back. It was just so great to see them and catch up a little on their kids (Ted, Becky and Tim). They said they haven’t been able to find a church like First Trinity. I hear that often and it always makes me so sad.
• I continue to be struck by this dynamic at First Trinity in the summer: we have a much higher percentage of “serious” visitors. What I mean by “serious” visitors is people who are truly checking us out. Their life is a little less crazy in the summer, so they have the “space” to check us out and see what being a part of First Trinity might be like. The strange dynamic is that it happens in a time where we (staff and members) might be taking things a little less seriously. It’s not the best combination. Today we had no acolytes, and three of our four ushers at 11:15 didn’t show, as well as 2 of our Communion assistants at 11:15. Thanks to all the folks who jumped in to help!

Time passes so fast… twenty-five years ago today I started at First Trinity Lutheran Church. Even though they brought me flowers this morning, the staff care committee is going to mark it in some way in September (they promised: low key), but I can’t let today go by without reflecting a bit.  Some random thoughts:

• I remember the installation day in 1984. We only had one service and it was HOT. I remember what I wore and how I was worried my make-up would sweat down my face. I remember Patti Young speaking for the youth of the congregation. My now dear friends Jim and Kathy Passage stayed home because it was too hot, Jim didn’t know what a DCE was, and they had a 2 month old baby (Timothy) which meant they weren’t getting a lot of sleep.
• I remember sitting in my office on July 2 and trying to figure out something to DO. For those first few years my heart was drawn most strongly to youth ministry. Those early youth groups were my training ground for almost all of my ministry. So thankful to those kids!
• My dad died in 1983,  a couple months shy of his 25 year anniversary at 3M. I remember thinking that that fact about him meant he was mature, loyal and settled. I don’t think of myself as those things, really.
• Speaking of my dad, he would be APPALLED to think that I am a Bills fan. When he died, Buffalo was only a crazy team in the AFC. Just a blip on the radar for us NFC Central Vikings. Of course NEITHER team could win the Big One.
• I slept on a fold-out couch for the first two years I was here, until I saved enough money for a bed.  Didn’t hurt me one bit. Sure was grateful for the bed when I got it.
• From the beginning, I just fell in love with God’s people at First Trinity. That’s what it is, for me. This particular group of God’s people has a place in my heart that is deep. I have just felt like it was God’s gift to me to be able to be present over the long haul with individuals and families. I have seen God work over and over in the lives of His people. People matter.
• My other big love has been God’s Word…that Word is so dependable and trustworthy and true. It is God’s clearest way of being with us as individuals, as families and as a congregation. I love nothing more than connecting up God’s Word with the people that matter to Him so much and their lives. Children, youth, adults…we all need the roots that the Word provides in order to live lives that matter right here in 2009.
• Church workers often get to be present for the “big” moments in people’s lives: births, baptisms, confirmations, deaths, weddings. That’s because people want to know that God is there in those times.  For me, getting to be part of people’s “real” lives…sadness AND joy…is a true privilege. It is celebrating life together. I am honored to be a witness to God’s work in all of our lives. As I write this I am remembering those who have gone before us and part of the big cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12)…Marlene, Ben, Milt, Lenny, Pete, Floyd, Tom, Judy,  Betty and more.
• I absolutely LOVE working on a team and the First Trinity Staff is just a great team to be a part of. Pastor Chuck, Jason, Tim, Eric, Sue Brese, Pastor Carl, Conny, Kathy Gibson, Kathy Figini, Dona Trautwein, Beth Vance, Kim Taylor, Debbie Ferrante, Lori Coons, Chris Fennell, Marilyn Sallach, Jim Brese, Dick McKie, Mary Lou Hartnett–you all rock. Also grateful for Ruth Kovach and Pastor Young, who have now retired.
• I will always be grateful for the kindness shown to me during my mom’s illness and death in 1997-1998.
• Being in one place so long has a very wonderful benefit to it in that (much like a long friendship, or I imagine a marriage)–we know very well our weaknesses and strengths and we see God working through it all. It’s His deal, that’s for sure. It really is about Him.

• A member fell in the entryway on her way into 8:45 service–right over the door jamb that was highlighted as a problem by the Renovations Committee at the congregational meeting on Tuesday. Pastor offered to start moving pews out and have church in the entryway while she was waiting for the paramedics. She has a couple broken bones.
• I just loved walking in to church this morning and seeing all those green shirted folks from Messiah Lutheran Church in Joliet, IL.  Jason did a great job of hosting them. Some of our youth came out and made breakfast for them. Just great to contribute to the larger Kingdom of God this way. I also just found myself feeling so grateful that they are going to do some ministry right here in Niagara Falls.
• I found myself thinking of a couple people who I wish were there for Pastor Chuck’s sermon on helping someone with depression. As usual, I thought he was right on. I think I will send the people I’m thinking of a link to the audio when it gets posted.
• Had the chance to visit with some friends who were in the youth group at First Trinity in the late 80’s. So much fun. They have grown into such great adults. God is good.
• There were at least six teams at the Gus Macker basketball tournament who had First Trinity members (or people who grew up as members of First Trinity) on them. It’s always a favorite event of mine. If you run into Eric Opferbeck, Tim Stone and Christopher Hartnett or Andrew Passage, give them your congrats–their teams each one 3rd place on their court.
• We also had members who rode in the Ride for Roswell (Ron Opferbeck and Michelle Glica, for sure–there might have been others). So great that they are using the bodies God made to help people faced with cancer.
• So thankful for my PIT crew who prayed with me today. I need all the prayer I can get!

Paris and his counselor

Last Friday I picked Paris Adams up from Agape Camp week at Pioneer Camp and Retreat Center in Angola, NY.  People from First Trinity donated the money that helped Paris go to Camp. Jim Passage gave Paris a ride to Camp. Leo and Kathy Figini drove his medication down there when there was a mix-up. All of this effort was so worth it for the time that Paris had at Camp.

Paris is a member of First Trinity. I have written about him once or twice before. This past Lent he gave his testimony and was baptized.  Paris goes to FACES which is a group for people with disabilities that meets at First Trinity on Saturday afternoons quarterly. He also attends JUST us on Sunday mornings at First Trinity (he wanted his teacher, Karen Leone, to be with him up front when he was baptized). It was a total joy to see Paris at Camp on Friday! Here are some of the things he said to me:

• “We had three days of rain (out of five), but so what? I had a blast!”
• “My counselor was just awesome.”
• “Sue, meet Temmy (the nurse). Temmy took great great care of me and my meds this whole week.”
• “Please tell Kathy and Leo I said thank you for bringing my meds down here” (he said that four times…on the fifth time I said, “Let’s call Kathy and you can thank her yourself.”)
• “We had three campfires and on the last one we had smores. I LOVE smores.”
• “The food was great. One night we had turkey and stuffing.”
• (When asked how he slept at Camp) “Oh, I slept great. I had no worries at all. God was watching over me and I was with my friends. Why wouldn’t I sleep great?”

Here’s some more things about Paris:

• He gave me permission to share some of his journal pages from the week of Camp with you. His penmanship is very close to perfect.  On June 17th he wrote: “We did a Variety Show, which I spoke about what happened during Lent Season where I had been baptized last Spring…tomorrow we will be talking about the book of Samuel.”
• On June 19th, he wrote, “Now that I finally returned home at Kenmore Apts, with the memories that I will keep for a lifetime…THE END.”
• He is an usher at First Trinity. When he gave his testimony he said, “I believe that God has chosen me for this work.” I agree. If you have not yet experienced Paris inviting people to the Lord’s Table, you are missing out!
• Paris goes to work every day on Public Transportation, downtown to the Statler Building where he works in a law office.
• Paris does his own grocery shopping and meal preparation.
• Paris tracks his blood sugar and medications on a daily basis.
• He knows FOR SURE that Jesus loves him.
• He gets true joy out of almost every day.
• He is appreciative and grateful most of the time.
• He asks for help when he needs it.
• He is so passionate about being at First Trinity that he sometimes walks (as he did just this last Sunday) if there’s no one to give him a ride. 5.2 miles.

Somehow, I just don’t feel that in any of the ways that really matter, Paris has disabilities. I mean really: he works hard, he finds joy, he knows Jesus, he lives gratefully, he is intentional about worshiping and serving the Lord. Disabled? I’m not so sure.

• What a great Sunday!!
• I was thankful for the dads who came up for the Children’s Message in both services.  O how the kids love it when their dads play along. I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces.
• The Celebration Sunday event turned out SO well–this is all God’s doing. Celebration Sunday is when we pause before heading into the Summer to celebrate what God has done during the Education Hour since September. I did learn a few things. The first is: God is able to do exponentially more cool stuff the more we get different people involved.  So, if I think it should be the “Sue Show” and do most of the carrying on, He can do some good stuff. BUT, when I know it’s not the “Sue Show” and get lots of people involved (the Youth Worship Band, Gordy and Wendy Morris, Kristina Beras doing the slide show, etc.), there is an EXPLOSION of the Holy Spirit.
• Celebration Sunday: the Youth Worship band was just so great. Josh Collins on drums (6th grader), Christian Peth on keyboard (6th grader),  Jake McCollum on guitar/vocals (8th grader), Sarah Bissell on vocals (7th grader) and Matt Stoerr–band leader/guitar/vocals. I was moved to tears when Sarah said her prayer. I just loved the whole thing.
• Celebration Sunday: the Scavenger Hunt. Wasn’t so sure about it, but it turned out to be really fun. The different generations were really working together to solve the questions. Here’s what I love about our youth, too. I said something like “if you’re a youth or and adult, it would be great if you would watch out for some of the little ones and be a team with them.” BINGO. Several of our youth grabbed little ones and teamed up with them, no problem. In fact, the winners were Kelsey Trautwein (high schooler ) and a little one year old named Luke.
• Celebration Sunday: Gordy (our puppet) and Mrs. Morris were a RIOT. They worked through the themes from Kingdom Quest this year in marvelous fashion. Gordy called me “The President of Religion.” Funny stuff.
• Celebration Sunday: we said a blessing over those people who have joined First Trinity in the last year. Super cool. Will be in the plan every year. It was my pleasure to tell them that although we may not know them yet, we already love them because God does.
• Celebration Sunday: Kristina Beras put together an awesome slide show which highlights the people that volunteer at Education Hour. It was filled with Scripture, which I especially loved. You can see it here.
• It was fun to wish Jim Ruch Happy 75th Birthday. He is an awesome guy.
• Tim Stone ran off copies of some Macker schedules for me for next weekend. How nice is that?!

Leo Figini wrote a great post that included the eight reasons he used NOT to join a Life Group:

1.  I never owned a Bible and didn’t know how to use one, therefore I wasn’t about to start learning now.

2.  I was embarrassed because I didn’t know much about God and His life and was not about to give up my secret.

3.  I learned all the typical stories about God and Jesus when I was in Catholic grammar school so, what else is there to learn, and frankly, I wasn’t sure I really cared anyway.

4.  I go to church every Sunday, that’s enough for the week.  Anything more is just an inconvenience.

5.  I’m a man, It’s not cool to be seen walking around with a Bible.

6.  If I did go to a meeting, I would be deathly afraid that someone would ask me a question about the bible or ask me to find a particular passage and I would have no clue what to do.

7.  I am too busy on weekends to allocate time for this kind of stuff.

and lastly,

8.  Looking around at everyone in church, I have to be one of many people who feel like I do, therefore, why bother.

I love Leo’s honesty!

The rest of his post tells the story of how glad he is that he overcame those reasons (and his own self-described “stubborness”) to join a Life Group that has become “family” to him.  Maybe you’d like to try one, too? There is information on the bulletin boards, at the Information Center and/or feel free to contact myself or Paul Gerlach (Life Groups Team Leader).

P.S. Leo is a member of the Ministry Council (the policy-making, big-picture body at First Trinity). He posts minutes from the meetings on his blog, and also writes about the view from his “seat” at First Trinity. He is a great writer and his blog is worth adding to your regular reading list!

Back in the swing of things after a great week in Minnesota! Highlights:

• Breakfast with both of my brothers at the Copper Dome in St. Paul. Really fun old place for breakfast. Seriously, they must have had 30 kinds of pancakes. The chance to be with Peter and Eric Steege was even better.
• Time with each of my brother Pete’s kids one-on-one. Special!
• 30th High School reunion. Fun!
• Two hours at Feed My Starving Children (you’ll hear more about that in upcoming posts). Was proud of my class for including that as one of the reunion events.
• Lunch with my 88 year old Aunt Gladys (Pete and I did lunch with her). She is so darn sharp and smart. I also figured out this time that she is a jock.  I love her.
• Lots of hang-time with my Awesome Sissy-in-Law Julie. She is amazing. We talk knitting and family and life. She is a special gift to me. One fun thing is her church is doing VBS for the first time ever and she is doing Sing and Play! So, we talked Sing and Play a LOT.
• Worship at my home church Woodbury Lutheran on Sunday. It is very good worship space for me. The sermon was awesome, the music was great (led by my friend Joel Symmank).

Here’s some pics, if you’re interested:

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I’m going on vacation, today…going to Minnesota, where my brothers live. Gonna’ have some great family time AND go to my 30th high school reunion (Woodbury High School Class of ‘79).  So…I’m taking a blog-vacation, too. No posts here until Tuesday June 16th.

I may Tweet a bit, so feel free to check my Twitter feed, if you’re interested (TOTALLY OK if you’re not). It also shows up in the side column here at the blog–see it over there on the right?

Have a great week!

PS I regularly get asked what the deal is with Twitter. I ran across an article that does a good job of explaining it. You can read it here.

• Decided to chance the rain and make my bike my transportation for the day. Rode to church, then to the Education Hour picnic, then home. I like it when I can do that because exercise and getting someplace are tied up together. Makes both of them better.
• The sermon this week on how to be a friend to someone in a break-up was awesome. I think everything there applied to all kinds of situations besides break-ups. Just great Biblical teaching  on how to be a good friend.
• Kindergartners visited the Kingdom Quest large group time in the gym this week (to help them get ready for next Fall). I hear there were lots of smiles all around. Gordy was in jail (time-out) for part of the lesson, so that had to be funny!
• I got to sub for Pastor Chuck again at the Galatians class so he could be with the Discover First Trinity class.
• I had a fun moment realizing that 3 of the 5 girls in my Cornerstone Small Group (that just got confirmed) were helping with worship at 11:15. Becca and Kayla were acolyting and Jennie was singing with the worship band. Awesome girls.
• Children’s message at 11:15 was so great. Teaching about how to be a friend to someone who is sad (in this case our great volunteer was Samuel–he can do a great “sad”). Send him to the middle of the aisle and first try helping him from a distance by shouting at him to “stop crying”, “get over it”, “get better”, etc. Then, we all move to surround him and be with him and just be his friend. As I had my head up to motion in the other kiddos who were straggling, I heard Franc’s voice say, “Oh, we’re going to PRAY for him.” Looked down and the kids all had their hands on Samuel, ready to pray. No direction from me and the feeling was, kind of like, “yeah, this is what we do, here, we pray for people who are hurting.” I just loved it. Moved me to tears. God is working in the hearts of these kids. Mmmmmmmm good.
• The annual Education Hour picnic was after church at Ellicott Creek Park. We invite the families of all 70+ Education Hour volunteers (teachers, helpers, set-up team, child care helpers, welcome team, etc.) to the picnic to celebrate and thank God for a great year at the Education Hour. Cathy Mongielo and her leadership team did a fantastic job. There were about 40 people there. Hot dogs, fun food to share and crazy games. Cathy Mongielo ran the ball throwing game (I was on the winning team both rounds).  Pastor Chuck elbowed me at the starting line of the egg walk race (carry an raw egg in a spoon in your mouth and race)–led by Lauren Vance. That was right after he dropped his egg on the ground before the race even started. Smooth. Christine and Christopher Hartnett ran the water balloon toss and my partner was Sheila.
• Big thanks to Tracy and Mark Bramwell who carted my food around so I didn’t have to bike with it. Biking places is all well and good, but it sure takes some planning (and some friends).

Anne Jackson had a great post called “The Computer Ate My Bible”. As I read it, I realized I have a love/hate relationship with electronic Bible tools like YouVersion and Biblegateway. Here’s how the sides play out in my mind:

The Love Column:

• Doing word studies in the Scripture has never been so fun or easy. Word study just means this: look up all the references in the Bible to a certain word or phrase, look them up and read them, and decide what does God mean when He uses this word in His Word? It’s great stuff. So, I type in “mercy” at Biblegateway and it brings up a page with 124 results, each with their own hyperlink, so I can click around and read them and do my study. Good-bye huge big book concordance with the tiny print.
• I can flip from one version to the next with ease. So, I’m looking at a verse in the English Standard Version (ESV)–by the way, our new hymnals use that version– and can easily take a look at how the Message translates that one, it’s only a click away.
• I have YouVersion on my phone. That’s pretty sweet for if I’m waiting for an appointment, or sitting in the car or have some unexpected piece of time that I can connect with the Word. I need it more, not less, these days, so that ability to get a little snack  from the Lord’s Table is way cool.  There are many times when it is the difference between an anxiety-driven Sue and a Spirit-driven Sue.
• It also works when I’m someplace and someone is trying to think of a verse or passage that would be helpful in that moment. YouVersion has a search on it, so I can be helpful in that moment, even if I don’t have my Bible with me.
• I also love it that LifeChurch.tv has done YouVersion as a ministry. It is a free app for the phone and yet it has a lot of capability and usefulness. LifeChurch.tv has embraced the concept that their ministry target lies far beyond their own pews. They have put a lot of money into YouVersion (and some other tools, too!) that does not translate into more financial givers in their pews, but rather into more growth for the Kingdom. As I write this, I’m thinking I might love that most of all.

The Hate Column

The Love-the-Paper-Bible Column

(”Hate” is a pretty strong word. I am taking editorial license to rename this the “Love-the-Paper-Bible Column”)

• When I spend time physically digging through my Bible, it becomes more and more a part of me. It just sticks better. I do not have this same outcome when I am looking at it on a computer screen or on my phone.
• I decided in 2001 to dedicate my Bible to my nephew and Godson Paul (got the idea from Len Sweet in his book “Soul Salsa”). This means whenever I open my Bible I’m praying for him…it’s mulit-tasking in a good way. I write messages to Paul on those pages, share what I’m learning  from God and that can’t really happen with the online tools. I will give him the Bible when he turns 18 or maybe 21.
• I use colored pencils in my Bible to highlight and almost illustrate it. Everytime I see the word “love”, I draw a red heart on top of it. “Truth” is a green circle. “Light” is a yellow sun.  I am no artist, believe me. This kind of work really helps me to connect with core concepts in the Word and color has always been my friend.
• I can also tape photos in the Bible. So like at Psalm 72, I taped in a small pciture of vs. 18-19 in Creole as it hangs over the altar at the church in Les Cayes Haiti where I have worshiped every January for the last 5 years. When I see that it reminds me to pray for the ministry in Les Cayes. I’ve also taped a photo of Paul almost every year since 2001. They remind me to pray for him as he grows.
• For each Vacation Bible School  theme since 2001, I have placed stickers with the Bible points on them in the right places in the Scriptures. Those are great memories of how God’s Word has been alive at VBS! I already have Crocodile Doc’s in there, which helps me prepare for that great week straight from God’s Word.

BOTTOM LINE: God’s Word is just so rich with good stuff. Whatever way it connects is awesome.  How about you? What’s your favorite way to connect with God’s Word?