I did not mention in my last blog about the house hosts who are providing for Matt Lawler and I (Steve Bogie) a place of shelter and rest during our stay in Nebraska. Matt and I are tremendously  fortunate to be invited to stay with Jerry and Glea Haupt. The Haupt's are two of the sweetest people who treat us both like family.

On Wednesday, May 21, 2014 we visited multiple rural church communities such as, Keystone interdenominational, Grace Lutheran, Saint Mark’s Lutheran, and Berea Lutheran church. Each of these churches had special offerings of survival in rural contexts by working together as a combined community.

Keystone:

A unique example of a combined community working together for survival was demonstrated by Keystone interdenominational church. Keystone exemplified Lutheran/Presbyterian backgrounds that worked together hand in hand with Roman Catholic traditions in one building for the combined practice of worship. The need for a church in the community outweighed the denominational differences that typically would separate these traditions. Yet, as demonstrated in this church community one of the best traits of Nebraska is that the people happily figure out ways to work together as a community even through difficult situations. 

Grace Lutheran:

Grace Lutheran Church provided a sobering perspective for our group with the difficulty of keeping a small church community together in times of struggle. Grace has a congregational size of eleven to nineteen parishioners on an average Sunday for worship. Vonnie Brown explained to our group the history of this congregation and its ability to continue forward even without a called pastoral figure. Vonnine shared with us about her father's life as the pastor of this community and his subsequent passing which led her to take over the responsibilities of leading this community to keep it afloat. Vonnie explained to us about a PMA which and helped us understand what type of role the Parish Ministry Associate embodies. A PMA is a ministry leadership role that is unique only to the Nebraska Synod. A PMA is trained to serve in a ministry role that allows them to preach and administer the sacraments in a single parish. PMA's can do most things in the church like a called pastor, but PMA's are not allowed to sign marriage certificates.    

Saint Mark's Lutheran:

Saint Mark's is a gorgeous church that is lead by Brenda Tophoj a PMA who is filled with a beautiful fire and energy to serve God as well as her parish. Brenda emphasized to us that being part of a small community parish is a great gift because people of a small community work together through thick and thin. Brenda took over Saint Mark's as a PMA when its previous pastor left accepting a new call at a different church community. Brenda was a wonderful host filled with insight about how special it is to be part of rural ministries in Nebraska.   

Berea Lutheran:

Berea Lutheran is an absolutely beautiful church that we as a group were fortunate to be able to visit. Berea and Saint Mark's Lutheran Churches are part of a four point parish community. Brenda Tophoj is the PMA for the congregation at Berea as well as at Saint Mark's. Members of Berea's congregation spent at least an hour with our group conversing about their outlook of rural Nebraska. We as a group were able to embark on conversations about school, social life, shopping, the police and fire departments, and crime in rural Nebraska. The conversation we had with these congregational members provided exceptional insight into the lives of the people who live in rural Nebraska. One member lived in Denver at one time in his life and at the end of our conversation he emphasized how happy he now is living in rural Nebraska. 

It seems that life is good for the people who live in rural Nebraska. All of our hosts emphasized how happy they are living in rural communities of Nebraska.    

First Post

Each student that is taking part of the Leadership and Mission in Rural Congregations course has different interests they want to learn about while being immersed in the countryside of Nebraska. Yet, as we spend time together as a group we have started to understand the importance of building strong relationships by working side by side by embracing our differences in personal desires. A strong image that has been present since the first day of traveling to Nebraska is that God’s work gets done by relationships that communally work together regardless of the diversity in personal interests in that community. As this group walks together unified there is a hope in finding a deeper and richer appreciation of God’s presence in the midst of Nebraska’s rural environments. Therefore, each day will be a blessing for this group in our pursuit of understanding how God’s work gets done in rural Nebraska regardless of its diversity.            

8:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 20, 2014 we began our adventure to Nebraska.

Dr. Terry Baeder  /  Katherine Tuttle /  Matt Lawler             

Michael Oellig /  Louis Tillman                                          

                                          

                                              

Steve Bogie 

We arrived by car to Midway Airport before 9:00 a.m., went through security, and waited patiently to board our plane for Denver International Airport.

It was a smooth and safe flight to Denver International Airport.

Next, we met Kent Miller who drove us from Colorado to Nebraska. The three hour trip from Colorado to Nebraska allowed some of us a moment for some needed rest.

 Kent / Matt / Katherine / Michael                                                                                 Bev / Terry/ Louis

Kent is immensely hospitable he made sure that we felt welcomed, taken care of, and provided all our meals throughout the day.

                         

  

Lutheran Church Of Our Redeemer                                

We then visted Kayla Hochalter for a short pitstop in Fort Morgan, Colorado at Lutheran Church Of Our Redeemer . Kaila provided excellent insight about relationships within rural ministries and what it is like being a pastor in that context.

Louis / Steve / Terry / Matt / Katherine / Kaila / Bev Michael

After our meeting with Kayla we hit the road again, and after a long trip from Colorado we finally crossed the state line into Nebraska. Soon after crossing the line we met our house hosts and settled in to where we were staying for the duration of our immersion.

Some of us took a walk around the neighborhood and found out that even though we all are a long way from Chicago, Illinois there is a piece of home in Nebraska.

Maymester 2014 Class to visit Nebraska

LSTC's Maymester Class, "Travel Seminar: Leadership and Mission in Rural Congregations" begins May 19.  Terrence Baeder and members of the Nebraska Synod Rural Ministry Task Force will be leading the course. Students are scheduled to be in Nebraska May 19 through 26.

Follow their "adventures" here, coming soon...

Wrapping up and Saying "Until we meet again"

     After 10 days filled with conversation, learning, faith, and food, our time in Nebraska came to a close yesterday. We began our day by joining Pastor Gary in worship at Adullam Lutheran Church. It is a really small country church which made for a wonderful intimate worship setting. All of us were able to participate in the service either by reading a lesson, leading the prayers, or serving communion. As everywhere we visited on our journey, the congregation warmly welcomed us in and gave us well wishes for the rest of our seminary journey. After worship at Adullam, we moved to the second point of this two-point parish, Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bertrand. Once again, we gathered together in worship with many familiar faces around us. At the end of worship we shook hands with everyone and quickly realized how many people we had formed relationships with over the past week, as over half of the people in church had played some part in our trip. It was bittersweet to say our goodbyes but encouraging to hear their words of encouragement and standing invitations to visit again.
     Interestingly, Adullam and Immanuel have always shared one pastor since the day the second church (Immanuel) was built. As people started to move off the farm and congregate in town in Bertrand, the people in town didn't want to travel five miles out into the country and the people who were still living in the country didn't want to travel five miles into town. Thus, a two point parish. Each congregation continues to hold strong allegiances to their individual congregations to this day.
     As soon as the service and fellowship time was over at Immanuel, we packed up the vehicles and hit the road towards Omaha so we could fly back to Chicago. We stopped at Runza in Kearney, a restaurant only found in Nebraska that serves runza sandwiches which are kind of like a cross between a stromboli and a sub sandwich. When we got to Omaha we had to say goodbye to our hosts, Pat and Dennis, both of whom did an enormous amount of work making sure our stay was enjoyable and we were well taken care of. Now we have a few days on campus to work on projects related to our experiences before we share them in class on Wednesday and Thursday. We had a whirlwind of a week and meet more caring and loving people in such a short amount of time that it is incredible. Our journey through rural ministry was an eye-opening and valuable experience that I believe will help all of us in our discernment process.

You get to see God do stuff...

Greetings on day 7 of our Rural Immersion experience. In the morning, I woke up and turned on the TV to find the CEO of Whole Foods talking about the new book he wrote entitled, “Conscious Capitalism”. The reason I bring this up is that the idea of being conscious of who you serve and working in the spirit of mission to faithfully serve the greater good was a consistent theme through out the day.

Our endeavor began by our chauffeur Pat driving what Dennis described as the “worst roads in the state of Nebraska” on our trip from Bertrand to Lexington. Lexington is a town that has experienced a boom in immigrant communities (particularly Mexican, Guatemalan, and Somalian) on account of a plant for Tyson meats creating 2,200 jobs. This has lead Lexington to find a renewal of population (moving from a town of 5,000 to now a town of apx. 12,000) but also created problems more characteristic of an inner city community in a town that was equipped for rural services.

Our first stop in Lexington was with Anna Castaneda of The Welcome Center. The Welcome Center began as a mission outreach by two congregations (one being Grace Lutheran Church who we would visit later) to help reach the immigrant community with the good news. It has since matured into a well run social ministry that accompanies immigrants through the process of moving into the desired status. If anything was apparent during the conversation, it was that Anna has forgotten more about immigration law than I could ever hope to learn. As she spoke of the complicated process of moving from immigrant to citizen, the current delays in the process, the stories of those who have been effected by the process, the tales of immigrants being taken advantage of in the process, and her sense of mission in performing her duties of helping these marginalized communities, I became convinced that her service, and others like it, would be valued in many communities.

We moved then to Lexington High School were we saw the effects of immigration at the school setting. While being forewarned by others of a school marred with gang activity and violence, what we saw was the exact opposite. The principal, Kyle Hoehner, spent over 2 hours with us walking us to each classroom, showing us each program, answering each question we had, and, like so many during our trip, expressing a sincere concern for the community he and the schools serve. With a population that was truly diverse, where 80% of the students live below the poverty line and nearly ¼ struggle with the English language, Lexington has taken significant steps to set up academic success for students who regularly are written off in the education process. I was significantly impressed with the work of Courtney who oversees the English Learned Language program. Also impressive was hearing and seeing the successes of the Endeavor Academy, which goes above and beyond to ensure that young people like Geraldo and Jesus are valued and inspired to grow and flourish academically.

 

After the school, we want to Grace Lutheran Church where we were graciously welcomed by Pr. Megan Marrow, Jerry, and John. Jerry is the current mission council president and a former elementary school principle while John was a security guard at the Tyson facility. They shared about the mission of their congregation in the context of the immigrants and the resulting “white flight”. They shared how they strongly feel that the kids can help integrate immigrants through their involvement in extracurricular activities. Pastor Morrow, after expressing some of the challenges of such a drastic change in the community, said one line which I feel summarizes most of what we’ve seen and what we’ve heard during this entire trip; “You get to see God do stuff because everything is bigger than you.” As our day concluded with a tour of Lexington and a drive (again on the worst roads in the state), I reflected on that statement and appreciate how this trip has reminded me of the truth in such a comment. 

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

Today, we heard again about the importance of community, and specifically the numerous roles that everyone plays.  And I do mean rolesssss.  The fire chief is also a correctional officer.  The sheriff is also an auctioneer.  One of our hosts is a farmer, works in insurance, and coaches girls basketball.  The lists go on and on.

Our first stop, we parked our mini-tour bus in the middle of the road.  Apparently it's the custom around here.  I like it.  The next hour and a half we heard all about the newest gadgets in farming technology from one of our many outstanding host dads- Phil.  You see, in 1997, farming adapted the use of military technology and began using satellites and on board computers in their rigs.  They use soil samples to graph the chemical make-up of the fields and plan their use of fertilizers and irrigation.  Then they plant based on yields of recent years.  This saves a lot of money, ensuring that they do not over use fertilizer, water, and seed.  As Phil said, "being good stewards of the land and using our resources efficiently has never been more important."  Nor more doable it seems.

Between 10 farmers they plant and harvest 15,000 acres in a 100 mile radius of Holdrege.  Even with this new technology, however, the numbers show, "God's a better irrigator than I am" (Phil).  To finish off our time with Phil, we drove out to see some unique storage bins on the edge of a field.  While harvesting, it is more efficient to store at the field, that way they don't have to worry about trucking it away.  So they have a machine that fills these giant bags with the harvest and seals them up to await the sale.  They feel like a really stuffed beanbag and are each worth about $100,000.  The five of us would agree that it was a very interesting and eye-opening morning.

Here we are with the giant storage bags.

Next we went to a local feedlot. This family operation run a 3000 head feedlot for Angus cows, farms about 2500 acres and rents out a few homes.  They also attend their children's activities and he is a barbershop singer.  Another multiple hat wearer.  They feed the cows twice/day a mixture of hay, silage, and distillers grains.  This last ingredient is a bi-product from the production of ethanol.  After going through this process, the corn is left as a wet clump of corn meal type stuff.  It actually smells pretty good and is ok for consumption.  I wasn't hungry at the time, however.  They run a natural beef production meaning no growth hormones or antibiotics.  And fyi, there are about 1500 Big Macs in a fattened cow ready for slaughter and there is really no difference between Angus beef and other varieties.

The distillation grains- nom nom.

The feed all mixed together.  More nommies!

The cows sure think it's nommy.  Their opinion is the one that really matters.  And that front end loader is in the midst of gathering more hay for another batch of food!

We had some delicious chinese food to fuel our afternoon and our philosophical pondering.  While most of us were disappointed by our fortunes, Dennis, one of our wonderful guides, had a great one- "A different world cannot be made by indifferent people".

Next we met the sheriff, Gerri, to tour the county jail.  They have 50 beds and can add cots.  They hold both men and women making sure that they are out of sight and sound from one another.  Gerri has a great policy, he tells the inmates that as long as they respect him, he'll respect them.  The chaplain network is very strong in Holdrege.  Gerri knows he can count on the clergy to respond quickly when called.  Next, we had a tour of a Case IH dealer.  They are currently busy with changing various oils and making sure the rigs are good to go come springtime.  This is important because in farming, time is money.  If a tractor or combine goes down, they can't afford to lose precious planting or harvesting time.  (By the way, besides being fed incredibly well, we also get swag everywhere we go.  Everyone has been so generous!)

The fire chief of the volunteer rescue unit of Bertrand met us at the fire house to give us a tour.  They have 30 volunteers and take about 100 rescue calls a year and about 20 fires and 4-5 storm watches.  While it is sometimes nice to know the people they are serving, it can also be very challenging giving care to someone you care for very dearly.  I can only imagine.

As we left, they were preparing Rocky Mountain Oysters donated from a local farmer.  We're not too sad that we had to miss out on this.  We grabbed a quick dinner and are currently sitting in the new high school gym cheering on the boy's basketball team.  The girls already won!  Go Vikings!!!

Oh heavens, I don't even know which day of the trip we are on, so I called it, hump day; well it's Wednesday, and we are actually over half way through our trip since we leave Nebraska on Sunday.

Tom outside one of his 3 greenhouses.

As a group, we have been amazed at the size of farms in Nebraska.  When I was growing up in Neshkoro WI, a couple hundred acre farm was sizable, and here farmers have thousands of acres.  But this morning we met Tom Schwarz and his organic farm which pales in size comparison, and he jokes at all the razzing he gets as an organic farmer.

We got to taste the various crops he grows, we learned a lot about greenhouses, and I personally am amazed at what a greenhouse can withstand in regards to wind speeds.

The Traveling Five & Bishop Maas

After visiting the farm, we visited BD, which is a manufacturing plant in Holdredge NE.  We then went to have lunch with Janice Gengenbach and Bishop Brian Maas.

We then went to visit Bertrand Nursing Home, which brought back memories to where Grandma Cele lived in Wautoma, WI.  Having visited such facilities in an urban setting while looking for a facility where dad would be safe, I do find the rural/small town facilities are really family focused.  I smiled everytime staff referred to the residents as elders, which brings to mind a Native American concept.

We then had some down time at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bertrand, and headed to visit with various staff at the community school, which is school is K-12 and has attendance of approximately 260.  Each graduating class is 15-18, which is a far cry smaller than the small town of Westfield, WI where I graduated from.  Of course, we had 4 elementary schools combined to form Westfield high school.

We are now debriefing, and will soon meet with Luther League.

The biggest thing I see, which is no different than when I lived in a small town, everyone knows everyone's business; and that can be a positive and a negative.  As a leader in a small congregation,  in a small/rural community we live in the proverbial fishbowl.  The question is, how many people will join us in the fishbowl?

On the Move and in the Community

            What full and engaging day! After another restful night’s rest and breakfast consisting largely of some wonderful leftover pie, we loaded up the van to move on to the next stop in our journey, Bertrand, Nebraska. We met at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bertrand for text study with nine pastors and rostered leaders from the surrounding communities to discuss and reflect on the readings for next Sunday’s worship service. It was a wonderful experience to engage in conversation with people of varying perspectives about how the Word might be proclaimed in today’s context, especially in the context of a rural community. I know that I left the text study with a new appreciation for what these specific texts have to offer me on a personal level as well. It was truly a joy to have the opportunity to participate in the group.

            In the afternoon, we traveled to Spirit of Grace mission church to learn about their interesting and uplifting story of community engagement and reconciliation. After the 2009 vote on the ELCA’s Sexuality Statement in with the ELCA Churchwide Assembly voted to affirm the welcome of gay and lesbian to rostered leadership within the ELCA, Bethel Lutheran Church in Holdridge took a vote whether to stay in or leave the ELCA. After much pain and disagreement, the church voted to leave the ELCA. A number of members, however, believed that the ELCA was right in their welcome of all people into full membership of the church regardless of sexual orientation and thought that the ELCA as a whole was doing a good job. Although it was very difficult to leave the church that many of them had been members of for years or their entire lives, a group broke away from Bethel and formed a new congregation. Spirit of Grace is the result of that congregational fracturing. They now meet in an old storefront and have embraced a heart of mission in the community. They provide a “furniture pantry” in which they collect donated furniture to give away to families who are in need of furniture items including beds, dressers, and bookshelves. They also have worked ecumenically with a number of the other churches in town to strengthen their ministry and to help ensure that Sunday School is available to the children of the congregation. I was really enthralled by the stories of two women who had been members of Bethel their entire lives as they described how leaving their old church and forming Spirit of Grace had been difficult and painful but also life giving and renewing. I could go on for a while with how impressed I was by their story, but all I think I will say for now is that sometimes trying and testing times are painful but they can bring about such great blessings for both those who suffered and for those around them who are affected by their renewed outpourings of love and sense of mission and call. God is good!

            Lastly, we visited the local funeral home in which the funeral director gave us a tour of the facility including taking us to the preparation room in which he explained the process of embalming. It was really interesting to hear him talk about his job as a real form of ministry for the families of the people who are left behind after a death as well as the deceased himself or herself. I left the funeral home with a new appreciation for funeral directors and a new sense of how I, as a future pastor, might be able to relate to and work with funeral directors as co-ministers. It was a really unique and thought-provoking experience. Overall, today was a really wonderful day. 

Carb Overload (aka- A Eustis Goodbye)

Today marks the fourth day of our time here in Nebraska. We have experienced such loving reception from everyone here in Nebraska and this morning was no different. We started the day earlier than usual because we were invited to spend some time at the Eustis-Farnam School where Chad Schimmels showed us around and shared with us his faith story as well as the impact of the rural area on the school system. His perspective was greatly valued as he was not only the program director of the Future Farmers of America group at the school but also as he, like many we have met are staples of the community. To lose one of these individuals is felt heavily by the whole community. After the tour we were treated to lunch at the senior center where we gathered with the elders of the community and started to fit in the final pieces to our general understanding of Eustis. After that lovely meal we were then given the opportunity to talk to Pr. Mike who is the only pastor at the Lutheran Church in neighboring Cozad. He is a first-call pastor and was able to lend a unique perspective to our experience. The village pie maker came by right after to expose us to what it looks like to have a business in a small town/rural town and happily she brought along her pies and her story! The day became quickly one where we were treated to the tastes and treasures of Eustis, NE. A tour of Lone Wolf Sausage easily explained why Eustis is known as the sausage capital of Nebraska. To finish the day we had a lovely meal with our hosts Pastor Bev and Gary, Kathy and Randy Rupe and Katherine Keller where more of that lovely pie was shared.

Sunday, January 13 in Eustis

This is Chris Buresh, due to technical difficulties, posting on Stacy's account.

Our day began with sharing fellowship with the people of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Eustis. Though the service does not begin until 10:30 am, it was amazing to see the number of people come at 9:30 to share in the fellowship time. The service made me feel right at home immediately as the first seven pews were left empty (other than the youth in confirmation). I thought of taking a picture but it would not fully represent the congregation as a large number of people came into the back or sat in the balcony. In the service, the new church council was installed and we were blessed to be part of affirming their leadership in the congregation.

Following the service led by Pr. Bev, the congregation hosted a pot-luck that was second to none. Many conversations took place that were greatly enjoyable as we grew to know the community and see the abundance of families come and take part. During this time we were blessed by the congregation with the gift of a prayer shawl as well as a pewter plate with the inscription from the church.

The afternoon was spent following a cattle drive. The way that the community came together to fulfill the necessary roles, fulfilling the necessary roles in an assuming manner, was just as impressive as seeing the heard of over 100 head moving down the highway. Children, dogs, horses, four-wheelers, and trailers supported the adults who worked to bring the heard, who would be calving soon, closer to the farm.

Following the drive, we went to the veterinary office in Cozad where the vet tech, Mary, along with her daughter, Jessica, gave us a tour and talked about their work. The sense of pride in their work as well as the family friendly atmosphere was neat to see and exciting to witness. We then returned back to St. John’s for a quick respite before our dinner.

At Three Brothers vineyard and winery where Gary and Ricky Sue Walch gave us a verbal tour of their land and operation. Of course, we had to sample the product and were thoroughly impressed with the story behind each wine. I was excited to see a salad offering of Dorothy Lynch dressing. But nothing prepared me for the most suclent prime rib sandwich which complimented brilliantly the sample of Frotenac (2009). We find ourselves now at Nature’s Rural Retreat, tired and ready for another full day tomorrow. 

5 Tickets

Arrival in Omaha NE on 1/11/12

Five Tickets to Paradise!
ok, so it's not 1977
Leaving on a jet plane?
OK, so a jet plane to Omaha.

While we are traveling, and some of us are leaving loved ones behind, our trip is filled with excitement and wonder; at least from this traveler!

This year, 5 LSTC juniors are haeding to Nebraska to spend time with the Nebraska Synod and be fully immersed in rural life.  We spent Wednesday and Thursday with Pr. Bob Bryan and Dennis Gengenbach to discuss our upcoming trip, spend time in discussion on the carious books we've read, and talk trhough our preconceptions and expectations of rural life.

We flew out of Midway airport on Friday morning, leaving behind a gloomy rainy Chicago and landed in a mild temperatures Omaha.  When we arrived in Omaha, we were greeted by Gretchen & Brenda who are pastors in the synod.  We ate in Omaha, taking in the downtown, noticing that redevelopment had occurred at some point.

Then started the drive to Eustis, we learned that it takes 'basically a day' to drive across the state of Nebraska, 8 hours.

Once in Eustis, we met our host families at Lucky Chuck's, had a delicious dinner, then went to visit Nancy's home, which is filled with thousands of santa clauses.

Our night was capped sitting around a table, drinking local wine and sharing stories of joy, grief and desires.

And that was the first day, and it was very good.

Day 2: Farms, History, and Health

Today was our first morning in Nebraska!  It started with a hearty breakfast at our host homes in Eustis.  We all bundled up and headed out for our first farm tour.  The family raises cows, chickens, and horses.  It was neat to hear them talk about their animals with such joy and with such passion, encouraging us to know the origins of our food.  Although it was cold and windy, we all enjoyed hearing their story.  Our next farm visit included a warm cup of tea, a trip up the combine, and a drive-by tour of the fields in the area.  Pastor Bev and Cathy then lead us to the next town over to eat at a local restaurant and tour the 100th Meridian Museum and Henri hotel.  We had a wonderful tour of the hotel that was built by the founder of Cozad.  He was also the father of the famous painter Robert Henri.  The museum is not open in the winter, but they will make an exception for special occasions.  They thought we were a special occasion!  We headed over to the 100th Meridian Museum owned by the Cozad Historical Society.  (For more info, check this out- Museum)  From there we drove to the community clinic.  It serves as an ER, out-patient clinic, in-patient care, rehab center, etc, etc.  The physicians and nurses are jacks and jills of all trades doing their best to meet the same standards as big city clinics with fewer resources and staff.  They made it clear that there is a strong sense of community, pointing out that whether they were treating a blood relative or not, everyone was family.   Our final stop of the day was to a beautiful independent living center.  Each resident had their own apartment.  Meals were served at scheduled times during the day.  They could come and go as they pleased, and there was room enough for family gatherings or simply to share the vast common space as a community.  (Are you sensing a theme?  I'll give you a hint.  It starts with a "c" and ends with "ommunity".)  Our night ended with a delicious dinner at pizza hut and time spent with our host families.
It is an honor to be welcomed by so many people who have never met us and may never see us again.  Their willingness to share their stories, time, and hospitality speaks to the breadth of the Body of Christ.  Each of our questions has been graciously answered, free of judgement.  Many people are humbly proud of their community, history, and vocation acknowledging God's gracious hand in their lives.  One of the farmers today walked us through the process of conditioning their wheat harvest.  We observed the care that he seems to take with insuring a good product and we noted that the other farm also had a heart for going the extra mile to provide quality food.  He responded by saying that money was important, but integrity, that was what really mattered.  An honest, cared for product was the end goal because it would surely return a profit.  Honesty, care, love, passion, graciousness, gratitude...these are words from the day that are rolling around in my mind tonight.  Combined, all make a great model to strive for in daily living.  No one can be all these things all the time, but if a life lived with these in mind is the goal, surely one's life will be the gift that God intended it to be, rich and abundant.  Tonight, I'll borrow my prayer for my brothers and sisters of Nebraska and for you all reading this from 2 Peter 1:2...
"May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord"

The Last Supper!

We got one final day in Nebraska, and what a day it was. We have learned, loved, laughed, cried, and let’s not forget eaten our way through Nebraska. Ten days with people who have become great friends, and now our trip comes to an end. As I reflect on the day from my apartment in Chicago I am saddened that we have left our new friends, but grateful for the time we spent with them and the things that we learned from them.

Today we got to witness first-hand the workings of a two point pastor. Beginning with a 9 a.m. service from the old red book and moving quickly to a 10:30 service from the green book, we saw the quick changes and hard work of a pastor serving two parishes. We then had the opportunity to sit in on a fifteen minute annual meeting, followed by a free lunch. We enjoyed our final Nebraska meal, lasagna and garlic bread, with Pastor Katherine and her congregation.

After lunch, the Spruth-Janssen family and some of our other friends from SE Nebraska came to see us off. We took pictures and told stories, then ended with a blessing ceremony. After the ceremony we said our goodbye and headed for the airport.

Now we are home preparing our projects and reflecting on our time in Nebraska. As I look back on the last ten days I can’t help but smile. Thank you to our host families and the pastors who gave us your time, your homes, and your wisdom over the last ten days. I speak for us all when I say we will never forget you. May God continue to bless all you do. And may this crazy world of ours bring us together again someday.

In the words of Green Day, “So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind. Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time. Tattoos and memories and dead skin on trial. For what it’s worth it was worth all the while. It’s something unpredictable but in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life.” I know that we did.

May God bless you all. And God bless Nebraska.

~Josh

Seeing yourself in Nebraska

There are several recurrences that have risen to the surface during the course of our immersion in Nebraska and truly stuck me.

The first thing people want to know is where you come from – more precisely, what place on this planet – outside of Nebraska – helps to make up the your cells and your soul? A strong sense of place is as innate and instinctive here as my ability to detect any hint of crisis in the voices of my children. There is no separating the soil, the air, the waters of Nebraska from the people who come from the towns and rolling hills we've visited.

My standard line has become, “Well, I'm from Chicago originally, but I've lived in Michigan most of my life and feel most connected to the Upper Peninsula.” They'll nod with tacit approval. My response is acceptable for now, but I have the feeling that if I were here for the long haul there would be more efforts to determine if I really have an unbreakable connection to the place I call home. The fact that I have moved around a lot in my life might undermine that ultimate determination. I think the way Lake Superior has changed me and, in part, made me who I am today may be at least similar to the way the people here feel about the incredible expanses of land that surround us tonight like waterless seas waving and whistling in the winds.

The second thing I'd note is that I've witnessed three men cry in the course of this rural experience. Each time it is somehow connected to relationship with the land – the ability to pass the stewardship and legacy of the land on to children; watching helplessly as the Missouri River rises up and swallows crops row by row until it is 17 miles across and mistaken by passersby for a lake; pouring hard work and vast amounts of expertise into the vocation of farming only to be dismissed and misunderstood by people who may too often make assumptions about what it really means to be feeding the world.

There are always many angles to a story. Nothing is as black and white as we might like to be, especially where people are concerned. Divisiveness, I once heard a wise man from Rwanda say, is born of failures of conversation. We need to have a lot more conversation in this world and start working as hard to understand each other as we do to build fortresses around our opinions.

Finally, many people, particularly those working in rural ministry already, have asked us something like, “What has surprised you most about Nebraska and what has caused you the most concern?” Typically the conversation roles around to the topic of whether or not a seminarian studying and working toward ordained ministry in Chicago, can see himself or herself in a place like Nebraska. A place where, in the more populated parts of the state, your nearest neighbor might be half a mile away. Or you might be an hour away from a place to buy good fresh produce. Or an initial trip to visit a shut-in from your congregation may lead you down unfamiliar, unpaved, unnamed roads where you have to flag down a gravel truck driver to help you figure out where you are and where you are trying to be. A place where stewardship of God's creation comes up in daily conversation at the local filling station/breakfast cafe. A place where breaking bread together happens many times each day. A place where your absence is noticed in real time.

I don't know if it's what the Spirit has in store for me, but my answer to that possibility over the last over the week or so has become, like Samuel in this week's Old Testament reading, “Here I am!” We shall see what happens.

Blessings from the Heartland, Ann

The Runza Experience!

Today began with breakfast provided by Pastor John Sipf. After a wonderful breakfast, we listened to Pastors John Sipf and Andrew Chavanak, tell us about the difficulties of rural ministry. John spoke especially about the intricacies of two-point parish ministry. Then we received a tour of Pastor John's parsonage, and heard about what it is like to work with a council trying to make changes to a parsonage.

Then it was time to leave for text study. We drove down to St. Thomas, the local episcopal church. Here we got to meet many of the local church leaders and participate in the weekly, ecumenical, clergy text study. This gave us an opportunity to begin to see how important ecumenical partnerships can be to rural ministers.

After text study, it was time for another meal. We headed to the local Runzas, where Zak and I had our first experience with a Runza. After hearing countless stories of Runzas, we were pleased to finally have our own Runza and frings. After yet another delicious meal and wonderful conversation, we were ready to move on.

We met up with Richard Martin, the head of the chamber of commerce in Falls city. He spoke with us for an hour and a half about working with the chamber of commerce in a rural community. It gave a great chance to learn about commerce in rural settings.

We got a short tour of Falls City, seeing both the new medical center and the library. After that we headed for Rulo. From there, we headed over the river into Missouri and made our way to Big Lake, here we were able to survey the damage from the flood last year. As we drove through Big Lake, population 274 pre-flood, our hearts began to break for all those affected by last years flood. Five miles from the river, we could see water lines eight-foot tall on the trees and houses. While we had been hearing stories of the flood from those affected, we did not understand what we heard until we saw what could have been mistaken as the Indiana Dunes in the middle of fields. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who have been, and continue to try to put their lives back together after they were devastated by the 2011 flood.

After finishing our surveying of the land we headed back to the library in Falls City to hear the story of how pastor spouses deal with first calls, and to debrief on our day. After we leave the library, we will be going to dinner somewhere in the city, and hopefully ending the evening at the local bowling alley.

Blessings from Nebraska,

~Josh

The Days of High Adventure...

Let me tell you of the days of high adventure…in Nebraska today. We started out with coffee at the local gas station in Johnson where we met with Pastor Catherine Burroughs as well as Gary and Larry (no relation to Mike and Ike), who were volunteer EMTs for the area. We talked about their role in the community as volunteers and the joys and difficulties that come along with it. As per tradition we were offered an opportunity for coffee, tea and breakfast if we so choose. Lois our host and resident breakfast expert at the Johnson Quick Stop presented us with some local comedic relief. After offering drinks she conned me out of a quarter that she had gotten me to unknowingly offer up to her, and ended our visit with a quick witted joke that left me in suspense…and this was just the first stop.

A picture of the Lois

We then toured the local K-12 school Johnson-Brock with superintendent Jeffery Koehler. We were offered doughnuts and coffee…as per tradition, and it was amazing to see a school with clear hallways and lock free lockers (which made me wonder is a locker still a locker if it can’t be locked!?!). We next headed to the Whiskey Run Creek Winery where we learned about and sampled the wine whilst conversing with Bishop David DeFreese of the Nebraska Synod about the needs and issues of the rural church. We then traveled to the Indian Cave State Park to survey the flood damage. As we drove around it was shocking to see the destruction as the trees and fields that looked as though they had been through intense warfare. It was truly moving to see this destruction, which became even more apparent as we later traveled to St. Peter church in Barada Hills to speak with a farming couple that lost their crops and farm to the floods last year.

A picture of the destruction from the floods.

We traveled down the road to Fall City where we had dinner at A & G’s with Pastor Andrew Chavanak and Pastor John Siph and their spouses along with the Honorable Curtis Maschman in Fall City. We had a wonderful meal with enlightening conversation, which lead us to Pastor Andrew’s congregation (St. Paul) in Fall City where we experienced confirmation class…oh boy! We talked about why Jesus was baptized and this included a picture treasure hunt of baptismal reminders (some of which were interesting choices, but reminded us nonetheless!) and Jesus’ Life themed Pictionary. Talk about a whirlwind day! And speaking of whirlwind days the weather today turned very cold and windy…very windy and we also got our first Nebraska snow experience (just a bit).

Our Busy, Busy Nebraskan Days

So, you might think that life in rural American is kind of laid back and carefree, but you'd be wrong. These folks are busy and they are keeping us busy and very engaged in learning about day to day life in southeast Nebraska, especially in regard to what it means to be in ministry here.

We started our day having coffee with some folks in Talmage and got a bit of an inside look into the things like the challenges that go with managing cemeteries that have been in use since about the 1880s … sometimes with little or no accurate record keeping of where people were buried. Then we were off to a cluster meeting of pastors who are in many stages and types of ministry to our Nebraskan brothers and sisters and Christ. One pastor serves as an interim anywhere he may be needed throughout the statewide synod, a couple of them were first call pastors, another was a pastor who has been in her first call for 15 years, still others were brought to Nebraska specifically for their multicultural perspectives, or to serve very small congregations or growing churches and the list goes on. They were gracious enough to take the time to tell us how they came to rural ministry and what it means to them, what they've learned about themselves and the communities of people they serve. Overwhelmingly, despite challenges big and small, they have found the experience “rich” and feel it's truly a gift to have the opportunity to provide ministry in the Heartland.

We also had the opportunity visit Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, an impressive hotel, restaurant, conference center, farm, conservation and family activity complex in the middle of a relatively small Nebraska Town. We learned about everything from J. Sterling Morton, who founded Arbor Day about 120 years ago, to how the Lied Lodge on the property uses scrap lumber to efficiently heat and cool the facility in an innovative and sustainable manner, to how trees often go unrecognized for the key roles they play in many movies.

Then we returned to our growing circle of familiar faces at St. James (Long Branch) Lutheran Church near Humboldt to visit with women who gather weekly from January to Easter all day on Tuesdays to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief. They typically send off 100 quilts a year from this tiny corner of the world to keep people warm and wrapped in Nebraska quilted love and compassion.

Finally, we were off to a experience some high school basketball in Beatrice. Basketball, like many other sports, are an important point of community gathering in these communities. Our host Pastor Amalia Spruth-Jannsen commented that St. James will often have youth on different teams in the area so when the rural pastor goes to basketball games they often have to cheer on all the teams.

Tomorrow we head out for another fun-filled day of Nebraska life and we are all looking forward to the new insights and people it will bring. Here's a little photo essay our adventures today. It starts with a lovely little angel ornament in the morning sun at the home of our host family for the last couple of nights, Kim and Terry Hahn and their three children. Each year they put up their "Angel Tree" to remember family members who have died. The next two photos are from Arbor Day Farm ... a grand old Burr Oak tree and Josh and Zak at the top of a tree house. Then there is a little montage of the quilting operation we had a chance to visit at St. James. Prof. Swanson even pitched in to help create one of the quilt tops. The last photo is from the basketball game, which, by the way, ended with a sweet Hail Mary three-pointer at the final buzzer. You don't get to see too many of those!

Sweet Dreams & Blessings from Nebraska, Ann

Going to Prison: the less glamourous side of ministry

Today we packed our things, left the Blecha home, and headed for tecumseh…after Marvin made us enough pancakes for ten people. While we were sad to leave the Blechas behind, we were ready for the day ahead.

The day began at the Belle Terrace nursing home and the Ridgeview Towers assisted living facility in Tecumseh. We were unable to enter Ridgeview because of a stomach flu bug, but received a nice tour of Belle Terrace. We then had time to eat donuts and visit with some of the residents before devotionals. At that time we met Annette, the sweetest old lady in the world. Annette told us all about herself and got teary eyed as she told us of her painful transition to the nursing home. And during devotion we learned that the elderly woman that I was sitting next to was present at Jesus’ baptism.

After the nursing home we toured the town hospital, which is the only hospital around that delivers babies. We talked with department heads and learned all about the hospital.

By that point it had been well over an hour and a half, so we went to lunch at Frazier’s Café, with the Lutheran volunteer ministers at the Tecumseh prison. The portions were, not surprisingly, enough for two people to eat.

After lunch we meet the local sheriff and saw the inside of a jail cell. Then it was time to go to prison. After making our way through the metal detectors and pat downs, we were ready to enter the Tecumseh prison. We were given a tour of all the offices in the prison, and the hospital section of the prison. After that, we walked across the yard were there was nothing separating us from the inmates. We were allowed into the substance abuse cellblock were we were shown the inside of a cell and got to ask an inmate about his rehabilitation program. We were also given the chance to speak with the death row chaplain about his job before leaving the prison, and as it turns out he does not receive a prison cell as a parsonage. This was a great reinforcing experience for my interest in prison ministry.

Then it was time to eat. We headed for Luther Memorial church in Syracuse for dinner. There we had dinner with Pastor Mike Widner and three members of the congregation. The members were all third generation farmers and talked to us about their views of farming.

Now Ann and Dr. Swanson are at the home of Kim and Terry Hahn, and Zach and I are staying at the home of Lori and Jeff Broady where, in case we had not eaten enough today, we were given more snacks than we could eat in a week. After four days, more miles than we can count, and more food than we ever imagined we could eat, we can’t wait to see what more is in store in the week to come.

~Josh

Wonderful Ooze?!?

What is tired, immersed (rural-ly of course) and well-fed all over? Answer, all of us! Here we are in just our third day in Nebraska and I feel as though we've been here for months. After the excitement of tractor rides and endless food yesterday, today was filled with church services and guess what...more food. This morning we experienced a Sunday worship at St. James and it was wonderful. A service including "baptism Remembrance devices" (including but not limited to fonts, bathtubs and yes of course squirt guns) and some great Epiphany/Christmas hymns were the highlight of the service. Following the service there was a Q & A session with the congregation where the joys and perils of rural ministry were discussed amongst treats and snacks. Shortly after this session was some fellowship shared over...wait for it...another meal (Chinese cuisine to be exact)! An afternoon of rest and a video concerning the wonders of corn (which let me tell is indeed full of wonders!). This evening was a community gathering for worship and music in the "Singspiration" service at St. James. What a show of talents to be followed by more snacks and fellowship (because after a few hours of not eating we were obviously withering away). My favorite part of the fellowship was being told that we as a group have a "wonderful ooze" (we took it as a good thing...as we should!). This may be our last blog post "from the outside" as tomorrow we shall be put in prison (or at least visiting Tecumseh prison, same difference)...although to be honest no prison can hold a group of LSTCers determined to be immersed rurally!

A picture of "the crew" including Pastor Eric and Pastor Amalia Spurth-Janssen