“Somewhere, a signal has arrived. Now. Now. Now, it says. Stop waiting. Begin. Move despite the trembling. Don’t wait for any of it to be perfect. Just move.” Julia Fehrenbacher Dear Friends, I continue for one additional day my “pause,” from the daily tasks of ministry. “Pause” is my 2019 word to orient myself. I … Continue reading January 2, 2019 Minister’s Message
As you receive this message, I am away in Buffalo, NY, spending time with beloved friends and family for the holidays. I can’t speak to the current weather conditions in either New York or Minnesota, since I penned this text last week! Then, the weather was chilly but not cold, the skies uniformly light gray, … Continue reading December 26, 2018 Minister’s Message
Life coach and Zen Master David Rynick reminds us that, “In a true encounter with another human being, we come face to face with the mystery of life. In some way, every other person, no matter how well we know them, will remain as mysterious to us as a country across the ocean we only … Continue reading December 19, 2018 Minister’s Message
December 12 So, did you take a moment last week? Did you pause to consider how an ordinary moment can suddenly unfold and offer a chance to consider deeper meaning? Or is everything just too busy—with shopping and wrapping, with re-calculating the costs and fretting the outcomes? Are you living amid grief, rather than joy, … Continue reading December 12, 2018 Minister’s Message
Friends, it’s another one of those weeks when I venture back to Buffalo. Gift shopping, Christmas tree chopping and decorating, symphony tickets, and friend-filled meals are what await me, and I am ever-grateful for this time away. One of you jokingly referred to me as your “flying minister,” which I guess I am. Oh that … Continue reading December 5, 2018 Minister’s Message
As I write, it is snowing in Mankato! Just a little, just enough. It’s gray, and the tree in front of my window is holding onto some brown leaves, rattling in the breeze. Winter is not my favorite season, but winter affords a time of pause that I do love. Nothing much needs to grow … Continue reading November 28, 2018 Minister’s Message
Sleep researcher Dr. Rosalind Cartwright writes that, “Memory is never a precise duplicate of the original… it is a continuing act of creation.” This idea resonances for me when I remember that some of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my life came in moments of crisis and trauma. I would not want … Continue reading November 21, 2018 Minister’s Message
It is good to be back in Mankato after my weekend in Buffalo, good to be home. It is good to be once again held within a religious community whose heart is open to the tragedy of another mass shooting and the horror of fires burning homes and destroying lives as people flee the devastation. … Continue reading November 14, 2018 Minister’s Message
Go to Spiritual Practice I travel back to Buffalo, NY this week, for a visit with friends and family. It’s a time of rest and respite for me, though the Fellowship will not be far from my mind. The weather in Southwestern Minnesota is not very different from that in Western New York, so I … Continue reading November 7, 2018 Minister’s Message
As the trees grow more bare, I am mindful of the ways that shelter, that sanctuary, changes. In the summer, the leaves protect us from the heat and light of the sun. A shady and beautiful blessing, the leaves are sanctuary. In winter, however, with the leaves gone, what protects us from the cruel sun? … Continue reading October 31, 2018 Minister’s Message
