PASTOR'S MESSAGE

Josie called and asked me once if it was okay to give out pinwheels at church. I had to smile, given the kind of things that I've been known to hand out at church. The pinwheels were a big hit, a memorable proclamation of the Good News, last year and this year, too. Many of us still have them.

But she never asked me if it was okay to give out love at church. She didn't need to. It was her calling, her vocation, to give out love at church and seemingly everywhere else she went. That, too, was a memorable proclamation of the Good News. And we were all blessed by it.

Yet Josie did more in her ministry than just love us: she gave herself to us. As we struggled with gifts discernment, trying to fit people into just the right ministry, Josie came among us as a reminder that God does not ask us to be any more or less than fully ourselves. Forget about squeezing yourself into a neat ministry mold. Priests can whistle during the ablutions, preachers can request kleenex mid-sermon, supply clergy can be team players and pastors . . . . and the Spirit sets pinwheels of freedom for ministry spinning.

Josie showed us that ministers can be both very holy and very human.Total Ministry can mean being totally yourself in service of God and God's people. That's the gift that God desires. And it is the gift with which, thank God, Josie blessed us.

It's okay to give out pinwheels. It's okay to be just who you are as God's child and minister – that is a offering that is holy and acceptable to God. And it's okay to give out love at church. There's a precedent: Josie did it. Let's keep it up.

Pat Gillespie
Good Samaritan, Sauk Centre
Called to be Pastoral Mentor

Oh, yes. I'm a team member, too. Being "Pastoral Mentor" means I am coach, cheerleader, trainer, pinch hitter, and number-one fan. Though I like having my chance to play on the team, I think I like that last role best. Perhaps you know that this use of "fan" is short for "fanatic." I am a Total Ministry fanatic. I confess a tendency to get a bit overenthusiastic when I see people growing closer to God, people supporting each other as they serve others, people growing more and more like Christ in their love of God and God's children. Not just the team ministers, but all of us doing that together.

Of course, you could say I am a bit lazy, wanting to watch others do "my job." But then I have that "coach" hat, too. Any player who has become a coach can tell you it's not a lazy job. Often it's easier to do it yourself. I have been coach for both diving and synchronized swimming teams and sometimes I think that kind of teamwork is as important a preparation for this ministry as seminary was.

But perhaps the most important piece of my own formation for this call as pastoral mentor is the hat I wear as mother of adult children. I don't mean "mothering" as simply caretaking or protecting. I mean watching my children grow (all sixty-three of them if you count foster kids), supporting them and loving them, letting them go when they are ready, and finally learning (or trying to learn) to love and support them – and allowing them to love and support me – as adults, as equals. This is how I hope a pastoral mentor can be a team player.

I suppose I'll continue to be "the mother/coach/ mentor/pastor" because I'll always be "older" in the ministry than other team members, simply because I've spent more time there and will continue to spend more time there. Although "older" isn't always "wiser," there is some value to the voice of experience. Where I want to become "wiser" now is in getting off the field (or out of the pool?) to let others play.

That last part is the most difficult because I love the work I do. So when you see me on the sidelines cheering, don't ask why I'm not playing or encourage my crazy ideas about playing all the positions myself. Cheer with me or get in and play yourself. Everyone is a player here.

Our team is in Hermantown?? Yes, we are a travel team also. Our team attended a Total Ministry Summit in Hermantown (suburban Duluth) last month at Trinity Church. They are a total ministry church and since beginning total ministry they have gone from an average of 15 people on a Sunday to an average of 50 ! They've been through a lot of difficult changes, but the Spirit is alive and well there. A real sign of hope for those of us beginning total ministry.

We met for the day with team ministers from total ministry churches throughout the diocese, prayed together, talked about the theology of total ministry, ate together, laughed together, and shared our stories.

At our regular team gathering in Little Falls we had a full agenda. Our focus for the Formation Time was to be "Cheerleading and Traditioning" and it turned out that the topics from our Team Session overflowed and became the practical examples for that cheerleading (supporting and encouraging each other) and traditioning (handing on the good news).

We considered briefly what kind of commitment we hope for from team ministers. This was particularly acute because two of our team ministers, Lucia and Pete Wilson, have discerned their calling to be to parish leadership rather than team ministry. Part of this decision was that they felt unable to make the kind of commitment team ministry seemed to expect. We on the team respect the wisdom of their choice and rejoice in Pete and Lucia's gifts for parish ministry, but will miss their presence as part of our team.

We also talked about St. John's, St. Cloud, and how it might best function as part of Total Ministry. We reviewed the ministry priorities of our Pastoral Mentor as we make the transition from traditional parish ministry (priest does it for us) to total ministry (we do it ourselves). We considered the parish dynamics when the model of ministry changes and the expectations of the priest do not.

We concluded our time together with prayer.

NEW MINISTRIES
Spirit of the Heartland has called a number of gifted people to ministry discernment. Some are in discernment for team ministry and some for special, commissioned parish ministries. Please pray for those in discernment throughout the summer. We hope to have celebrations of those entering formation and beginning new ministries in September.

MULTI-MEDIA TOUR OF THE HOLY LANDS
Pictures, music, prayer, food, icons.... but no smelly camels. Catch a glimpse of Pat's recent pilgrimage to Egypt, Israel, and the Greek Islands. You might even consider joining a Spirit of the Heartland Holy Lands pilgrimage a few years from now.

Good Samaritan -- Sunday, August 6, at 12 pm
Our Saviour's - Sunday, August 13, at 11:30 am
St. Stephen's - Sunday, August 13, at 4:00 pm

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST
Love those Christmas Carols? Want to have some summer fun? Read the Region News.

ACCESSIBILITY AT OUR SAVIOUR'S
The Vestry at Our Saviour's has made an "outward and visible sign" of their commitment to accessibility. Until there is an accessible fellowship area, Coffee Hour has been relocated. So that everyone can get to Coffee Hour when it moves back inside in the fall, instead of returning downstairs, people will gather for conversation and goodies upstairs in the back of the sanctuary. The church is for the gathered people and the "eighth sacrament" of Coffee Hour will now more truly welcome everyone.

In considering long-range accessibility arrangements, the Vestry has decided to explore options for a new multi-purpose accessible building to be built to the south of the existing historical building, with an accessible connection between the buildings.

VESTRY RETREAT
The Vestry of the Church of Our Saviour in Little Falls will have a vestry retreat on Sunday, August 27, following Coffee Hour. We will gather for lunch and an afternoon of prayer and reflection on our call to church leadership. Location to be announced. Our other parishes include the entire parish on their vestries. If there is interest in a vestry retreat for Good Sam or St Stephens, let Pat know.

GOOD SAM OPEN HOUSE
Everyone is invited on Thursday, August 10, 4-7 pm. See details in Region News.

OUR SAVIOUR'S WORSHIP TIME CHANGE
Wake up call!! Beginning in September, Our Saviour's in Little Falls, is changing their regular worship time to 10:00 am.

COMPUTER WORKSHOP
Looking for a hands-on opportunity to figure out the mystery of email or wondering how to find all that church information, including this newsletter, on the internet ? Come to a computer workshop for church people at Our Saviour's in Little Falls on October Sundays following Coffee Hour. (Remember, Coffee Hour changes in September, too, so that it begins at about 11 am.)

PLEASE CALL
Throughout Spirit of the Heartland we're working on communication. Our ministry team keeps in touch with one another passing parish news almost daily through a confidential bulletin board on the internet. Once one of the team members is aware of a concern of a parish member or friend, whether health or otherwise, it is shared confidentially among the team so we can all add our prayers. It is this prayer networking and support of team ministers that allows ministry to happen in our parishes.

But, as with a regular parish priest, our team cannot minister in situations of which they are unaware. No minister can read people's minds, so please do let a team minister know when you need prayers (and whether you want the team to ask others to pray for you), when you want a pastoral visit or to have Communion brought to you, and how we can best minister to one another.

VISITORS !
Spirit of the Heartland Churches will soon be welcoming an assortment of diocesan visitors.
August 13, Sun. 9 am - St Stephen's - The Rev. Canon Steve Schaitberger
August 13, Sun. 11 am - Good Samaritan - The Rev. Canon Steve Schaitberger
Sept 24, Sun 9:00 am - St. Stephen's - The Rt. Rev. Dan Swenson
Nov 12, Sun 11:00 am - Good Samaritan - The Rt. Rev. Dan Swenson
Oct 1, Sun. 10:00 am - Our Saviour's - The Rt. Rev. Don Hultstrand

Worship times are as usual, but please note that these visits will require rearranging of clergy schedules and some Morning Prayer and Eucharist exchanges as follows:

Good Samaritan
August 13, Eucharist (usually Morning Prayer)
August 20, Morning Prayer (usually Eucharist)

St Stephen's
August 13, Eucharist (usually Morning Prayer)
August 20, Morning Prayer (usually Eucharist)
September 24, Eucharist (usually Morning Prayer)
October 1, Morning Prayer (usually Eucharist)

An overview of full schedule of changes, including October and November, can been found at http://www.motherflash.com/spirit/preachers.html
or on our calendar at http://www.motherflash.com/spirit/calendar

Church of Our Saviour
August 2nd      Adelle Starin
     Jack & Jean Lemme
August 8th      Heather Kretsch
August 12th      Jenny Biermaier
August 24th       Dick & Debbie McCrudden
August 27th       Kay Johnson

Church of the Good Samaritan
August 9th      Dorothe Lane

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
August 21st      Lura Webb

St. John's Episcopal Church
August 2nd      Hattie Powers
August 4th       Rob & Gina Cavanna
August 7th      Judy & Dan Whitlock
August 15th      Florence Orionzi
           Kerry Glader
August 22nd      Pat Kieke
August 23rd      Ken Dean
August 25th      Colin Clark
August 26th      Jorgen Dahl
August 28th       Barb/Kerry Glader
August 29th      Katie Engelman
August 30th      Emily Blease
August 31st      Rita Bartlett

MINISTRY SCHEDULES

Good Samaritan
Our Saviour's
St. Stephen's

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