In other, non-dog news, today we were able to worship with Holy Trinity Lutheran Church here in Sidney. They have two services, a Festival (traditional) service and a Celebration (contemporary) service. It was a joy to worship with the community. It was also fascinating to be in another parish and see how their worship practices compare and contrast.
On the one hand, the order of service is explicitly similar to the ELW rubrics that we use at LSTC - even more so than in the geographically-closer-to-churchwide parish I currently serve in Chicago. They even call the various sections "Gathering Together," "Hearing the Word," "Sharing the Meal," and "Sent Forth to Serve." The basic building blocks are quite clear and follow the simplifying trends toward which the ELW seems to be trying to point the ELCA (sorry for all the acronyms today).
On the other hand, it's odd that I should mention the ELW, because we used no hymnals, and really no handouts of any kind other than a very, very basic printed order of service. Nearly all of the participation elements of the service were projected onto a screen - and I was surprised at how much I liked the screen. Usually I find them kind of tacky, but Holy Trinity has integrated their screen into their worship space better than any I've seen so far (it's even located just underneath a hanging cross, for those who get hung up about that sort of thing).
So, in short: Rural parish. Up-to-date (for lack of a better word) worship that's in line with the trends of the church and is often more forward-looking and "cutting edge" than worship at seminary. That said, I've heard from more than one person that this sort of thing is rather atypical for a rural parish, and that Holy Trinity and Sidney churches in general are the exception rather than the norm for a number of unique reasons. Still, I'm glad to have seen what's possible in a rural parish out here on the Nebraska panhandle.
After church, the real fun began. The Cooks (my host family, whose last name will seem even more appropriate later on) hosted a 4-H meeting for a dozen or more boys and girls in their home. Their ranch is actually the home base of this 4-H group; some of the kids had clearly been out here many times and called out to the animals by name. Other kids were here for the first time; their families had moved from places as far as Phoenix, Arizona only recently, and they, like me, were learning thing about cattle-raising for the first time. (See the post for Day One on why so many folks are moving out here.) For example: Did you know the difference between a bull and a steer? I did not. At this point, you're either rolling your eyes at my ignorance, or you, too, are wondering just what I learned today. To find out, well...come out on the Rural Ministry Immersion trip.
One of the young gentlemen whose expertise was far superior to mind (and who explained to me quite clearly the difference between a bull and a steer) was very excited for 4-H this year because he had turned 9 last August and could now be in "real 4-H." Another boy piped up that this was his first time in any kind of 4-H, but that he had seen a branding before. After enjoying some brownies and Gatorade during the meeting, we all headed outside to do some chores. The older kids knew what to do right away, and did the first few feedings themselves. Then they stepped back a bit, and showed the younger kids what to do, making sure everyone got a chance to participate and learn. Some of the kids bypassed tools altogether and just grabbed big fistfulls of alfalfa to throw into the trough. All of them seemed to be having a blast, leaning over railings to see the cattle, yelling out answers to Dr. Cook's review questions, and, of course, tromping through the mud.
After everyone left I took a nap. When I woke up, dinner was ready. Have I mentioned that my host mom is a gourmet cook? Often people say they are gourmet cooks, but I mean this literally: She has studied at culinary school, works as head chef at the local steakhouse, and has a fantastic reputation that everyone at church has been telling me about since I got here. Today I learned the rumors were true: A mouth-watering Greek lemon chicken dish followed by homemade Julia Child-inspired apple pie. Have you seen Ratatouille? Remy couldn't cook like this. And there are rumors of a mushroom and sausage quiche already prepared for tomorrow morning.
We finished off the evening with a Western, "Comanche Moon," which seemed rather appropriate for being this far out west for the week. The Comanche Moon is high in the sky now, so I'm off to get a few hours sleep for the big drive tomorrow.
MCK
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