In This Issue Welcome Sherwood Glover Kathryn Ostlie-Olson Editor's Column: Seven Habits of Pretty Effective Interns Acclimation Tip Especially for Supervisors Ready or Not! Here I come! CLI Cluster Meeting Other Cluster Events Interns and CLI Contacts Helpful Links Internship Handbook Lay Committee Handbook Internship Forms Contact Us The Contextual Leadership Initiative staff is here to support you! Contact us with your concerns or suggestions. Previous Newsletters Want to re-read an article from a previous issue? Review previous newsletters.

Internship Newsletter: September 2006

Welcome
from Randy Nelson

One of the indications that summer is ending in Minnesota is the annual extravaganza know as the “Great Minnesota Get-Together”, otherwise known as the Minnesota State Fair. It began its annual run last week and continues through Labor Day. For ten days members of 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America from around the state give evidence of their work by showing off their prize livestock and produce in a bid for red, blue, and purple ribbons.

Next week these same young men and women will be students once again, replacing summer routines with books and band and other extra curricular activities and re-connecting with friends not seen for several months.

Beginning an internship is both like and unlike the ending of summer and the beginning of a school year. It is a sign that what has been the routine up to now is ending and that something new is beginning. However, it does not mean resuming relationships with old friends. Rather, interns are now invited to begin a whole new series of relationships and pastors and congregations are invited to welcome the newcomer and transform a stranger into a partner in ministry.

It is an exciting transition in which to be involved and the Contextual Leadership Staff extends its best wishes to interns, their families, to pastors, internship committees, and congregations as relationships are formed, ministry is engaged, and learning takes place. For those of you who have already been at it for some time, feel free to celebrate the fact that your transition is already behind you. May God bless all of us with a rich and rewarding year. The Lord be with you.

Introducing Sherwood Glover   

The newest CLI Deployed Staff Person is a wine-maker who grows his own grapes and a devotee of a minority religion called Apple Computers. He is Sherwood Glover, most recently half-time Minister for Candidacy in the Grand Canyon Synod. He will be working with interns and supervisors in Region 2 of the ELCA.

“We are delighted to add Sherwood Glover to the CLI team,” commented Randy Nelson, CLI executive director. “He has a great background in both parish ministry and the candidacy process which will make him a great asset to our interns and supervisors.”

Sherwood is a native Southern Californian and a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and the former Hamma School of Theology (now part of Trinity Seminary). He has done graduate work at Arizona State University. He did campus ministry at Arizona State, the University of Cincinnati, and Northern Michigan University. Later he spent over 28 years in three parishes in Arizona. Of late, in addition to serving half-time on the Grand Canyon Synod staff, he has been serving half-time at Augustana Lutheran in Phoenix. He has worked with the candidacy process in three different judicatories of the LCA & ELCA over the past 20 years.

In addition to growing the grapes for the wine he makes (Petite Sirah and French Columbard), Sherwood also grows citrus and enjoys photography, especially landscapes and architecture; following politics, the Dodgers, the Sun Devils and the Cardinals; reading, stamp collecting and listening to jazz and classic rock. Given the opportunity, he will feast on Italian and German food along with tree-ripened tangelos and grapefruit.

He has been married to Jeanne, a teacher in Somerton, AZ, for 40 years. They are the parents of two children and the grandparents of one.

Meet Kathryn Ostlie-Olson   

Kathryn Ostlie-Olson is the new administrative support person in the CLI office in St. Paul. She introduces herself to you like this:

Hello, I’m Kathryn Ostlie-Olson. I’d like to extend a warm greeting to each of you. I’m excited to be working this school year in the Contextual Leadership Office of the Western Mission Cluster. Some of you I know; others I have yet to meet. I look forward to getting to know you face-to-face or via phone and email as the year unfolds.

I grew up in White Bear Lake, MN and attended St. Olaf College (’82) and Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary (’87). Over the years I’ve been blessed to serve the church in various ways, in the Division for Global Mission of the ELCA, at Holden Village and in a congregation in Minneapolis. As evidence of God’s persistent, if ironic, sense of humor, I returned to Luther Seminary with my husband, Marc, and our sons Dane and Sigurd (now 10 and 7 respectively) when Marc began the M.Div. program in the fall of 2002. We had a wonderful internship in Seattle the year prior to last. Marc will graduate this coming May. At this point we look forward to answering inquiries about where we’re headed next with more than a shrug and “We’re not sure.”

When I’m not working, I enjoy reading – especially novels to my sons – singing, walking, riding bike, playing Frisbee, designing and creating stained glass, and enjoying a well cooked meal around a table with friends and family.

The Seven Habits of Pretty Effective Interns   
by Steve McKinley

When I am not busy polishing my act for the next round of “American Idol,” I’ve been thinking about what makes some pastors effective and other pastors less effective and working on my next book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pastors, which, if you ask me, is such a clever title I’m surprised nobody ever thought of it before and sounds like it would make a wonderful movie. As a warm-up to that best seller, I’ve prepared a little list I call The Seven Habits of Pretty Effective Interns I would like to share with you this month.

Now these are not high and holy habits pertaining to such high and holy things as prayer, Bible reading, and personal devotion. Your professors have covered those topics well. This is more the down-and-dirty stuff, the street habits that make some interns much more effective than other interns. Here goes:

1. Learn names. It is important to the members of your congregation that you know their names. They are as eager for you to accept them as you are for them to accept you. Knowing their names and using those names tells them that they are important to you. Conversely, not knowing names tells them that they aren’t important to you. And don’t listen to that little devil on your shoulder that is trying to convince you that you’re no good at remembering names. Of course you are! You learned the Greek alphabet, the Hebrew alphabet, the kings of Israel and Judah! You can learn the names of the people in the congregation. Your first weeks might be fairly quiet. In those quiet times, find the latest edition of the congregation’s pictorial directory and study. Study. Learn names.

2. Return phone calls. The same day. Maybe you don’t know the person. Maybe you don’t even like the person. Maybe you’ve got a very hectic schedule. But trust me, you do not want to develop the reputation of being a person who doesn’t return phone calls.

3. Respect the local culture. It’s a Friday afternoon in Caribou, Maine, where you are interning. You drop by the local coffee shop, and the woman behind the counter asks “You going to the football game tonight? The Caribou Caribous are playing the Presque Isle Islanders in the biggest game of the season. Everybody’s going to be there.” Now maybe you would prefer to stay at home and listen to your St. Olaf Choir CDs, maybe you detest football and couldn’t care less about the fate of the Caribous, but the correct answer is “Wouldn’t miss it.” If high school football is the thing in your town, hop on board or you will forever be an outsider.

4. Observe the dress code. Going to seminary classes in cut-offs and flip-flops with a Dixie Chicks t-shirt was acceptable. Most congregations, however, expect a more refined sense of style from their professional leaders, and when you are the intern, you will gain more respect by overdoing the dressiness than underdoing it. Maybe eventually you’ll get away with jeans and t-shirts, but not at the beginning. It’s just a fact of life. If you resent this and rebel against it, you will feel repercussions down the road.

5. Neatness counts. Let’s suppose you were a, shall we say, less-than-tidy kid. Maybe your parents wrestled with that, and with you. They were probably glad to pack you off to college so your roommate could put some peer pressure on you! Well, whether you learned how to clean up your act in a dorm room or not, you now have an office in a church. And that entire church building is precious to its members. They are proud of it and they knock themselves out to take good care of it. Notice the number of volunteers—they are in every congregation—who show up to clean and fix and improve the building. If your office is a mess, that is an insult to them, a clear sign of disrespect. Tidy up. And, if the congregation is providing you with a house or an apartment, the same thing goes double there. Your home is your castle and all that, your own private space, but this year it is also public space, right there for your neighbors to see. If you don’t take good care of it, you will likely garner resentment.

6. Don’t whine. You’ll probably work long hours this year. You will probably struggle to find time for yourself. You’ll have early morning meetings and late night meetings. Weekends won’t be your own any more. That’s how it is for most people. The day of the 40 hour week is gone for most people in most lines of work. Do what you need to do. Build free time into your schedule. Practice discipline in that regard. But keep in mind that nobody--except maybe your spouse, if you have one--is interested in hearing you complain about how hard you are working. All those other people around you are probably working just as hard as you are.

7. Have fun. Contrary to what some people believe, the popular movie of the early summer of 2006, “The Devil Wears Prada”, was not about internship! You’ve got the chance to do some wonderful things this year, to make some excellent mistakes and develop a library of stories you’ll be telling the rest of your life. Rather than bemoaning the cruel burden the nabobs of the ELCA, the seminary and your candidacy committee have laid upon you, relax and have a little fun!

You may struggle to keep some of these habits, but give them a chance and watch what happens!

Acclimation Tip: Get to know your neighborhood   

Paul Cross, pastor at St. Mary Magdalene in Savage, MN, and a veteran supervisor, has a unique way of helping the intern get acquainted with the community. He assigns the interns to spend a couple weekend afternoons visiting real estate open houses in and around this growing suburban community to get a feel for what people moving into the community value and expect. How do you help your intern get to know the community?

Special Note for Supervisors

The article below lifts up the tasks facing the Lay Committee at this point in the year. Let’s talk for a minute about the appointment of the Lay Committee.

Please remember that the appointment of the Lay Committee is the supervisor's responsibility. Ideally the committee will be in place when the intern arrives, but if that is not the case, the committee should be appointed ASAP. Then you should plan to attend the first meeting of the committee to brief the members on their responsibilities and to express your thanks. Then leave. Tell them good-bye and do not plan to attend future meetings.

Every now and then we hear of supervisors leaving it to the intern to get the committee together, get them oriented, etc. We’ll put it simply: that ain’t right. The supervisor is responsible for organizing and orienting the committee.

Ready or not! Here I come!   
by Kate Sterner

Another internship year is about to start. Is your Lay Intern Committee ready?

1. Prepare to welcome your new intern and their family, if they have one. Someone from your committee or staff should be appointed to coordinate this welcoming time. The intern will need a contact person who can field questions dealing with basic "getting settled" issues, such as housing and transportation. Don't just assume it's the pastor or other staff member. Make sure you know who's handling this. Be organized. First impressions are important!
    
2. Plan a "Ritual of Beginning" for a worship service. This can be as simple as an installation rite at the intern's first worship experience in your congregation. Organize a coffee hour/reception following worship on their first Sunday to welcome the intern.
    
3. Make sure all members of the committee take a moment to introduce themselves to the intern and family. The committee chair should coordinate calendars and set a date for the first meeting. This first meeting should include introductions and sharing of faith stories, as well as nuts 'n' bolts logistical information. Also ask the intern to begin thinking about their Learning Service Agreement and project proposal.
    
4. Make sure every member of the lay committee is signed up to receive this newsletter!

CLI Fall Cluster Meetings   

We’re getting the first round of cluster meetings scheduled. Interns and supervisors should plan to attend these meetings, with the congregation covering the costs. More cluster meetings remain to be scheduled. Here’s what’s on the books so far.

Note: Since Sherwood Glover is just getting started in his work with the CLI, his cluster meetings have not yet been set. There will be more news about Sherwood's clusters in the next newsletter.

Other Internship Cluster Events   

Clusters give opportunity for fellowship, the enhancement of personal and professional growth, and the strengthening of supervisory relationships. It is expected that intern teams attend the cluster events.

The Contextual Leadership Initiative staff lead cluster events for intern teams in the Western Mission Cluster area. These groups do include interns from other ELCA seminaries who are placed in this region. As intern and supervisor teams in the WMC, you can expect one cluster event in the fall and one in the spring. If you are an intern team located in another part of the country, e.g. outside the WMC, your cluster events will be led by the seminary assigned to serve your region. The CLI office hears from some of the other ELCA seminaries with their cluster information. The cluster information we have collected thus far is listed below:

If you have not heard from the seminary covering the area for your cluster, please call the CLI office on Luther’s campus at 651/641-3266.

Costs related to the cluster events are the responsibility of the congregation for both the supervisor and intern. If travel and retreat expenses prohibit a team from attending, please be in touch with your CLI contact person. (See article below)

Interns and CLI Contacts   

Here’s the list of CLI interns and contact persons for this year. If you are, in fact, a CLI intern and your name does not appear on this list, please contact the CLI office at your school.