In This Issue Randy Nelson Announces His Retirement Internship in Alaska Saved for Service From the Editor: Do I Hear a Waltz? Evaluation Time Spring Cluster Meetings Blessing of the Animals 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: February 2007

Randy Nelson Announces His Retirement

Randy Nelson, Director of the Contextual Leadership Initiative since its inception, and Melvin A. Hammarberg Professor of Contextual Education at Luther Seminary, will retire at the end of this academic year.

Randy is synonymous with contextual education at Luther, having been associated with that aspect of theological education for over 30 years, and is the dean of contextual educators in the ELCA. A search for his successor is now underway.

Watch for a full treatment of Randy’s retirement in a future issue!

Internship in Alaska   

Kevin Kaiser is a CLI intern serving in Sitka, Alaska with Pastor Jim Drury. Sitka is a unique internship setting with a fascinating story. Jim and Kevin share their reflections.

Pastor Jim Drury writes….

Our first intern. Wow. It only took two years to find someone brave enough to step way out of the comfort zone and head north. Our main theory in planning for this internship was simple: Give Kevin as full a sense of parish life as possible, to get his hands in everything our community is about. This includes the usual congregational activities, community connections and a few things we think are cool.

• Worship leadership, writing many of our mid-week services, presiding at Holy Communion on a regular basis (with our Bishop's permission), preaching (five and six weeks at a time -- the only way to learn the discipline necessary to become a good preacher, sensitive to the texts and the congregation's context.)
• Kevin's Project on Hospitality and space planning has already had an impact on congregational life. The plan has changed but we are all learning from the shared process and the conversation he has created and continues to shepherd.
• A rich ecumenical pastoral gathering (Episcopal, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Lutheran), where Kevin is treated as a colleague.
• Cooking wonderful meals for anyone who provides the groceries; helping the congregation think in new ways about food and hospitality and space and being appointed Master Chef of the Royal Legume Navy (see sidebar).

Here in this place, isolated yet connected to the "outside" world (we have daily jet service), Kevin is experiencing how landscape, history--cultural, religious, and interactions between indigenous people and the "newcomers"--all shape a congregation's response to the neighborhood around it. Sitka Lutheran is not that old by Caribbean or East Coast Lutheran historical standards, but we are the oldest Protestant congregation on the West Coast of North America. Since 1839-40 we have had a continuous Lutheran presence in New Archangel (now Sitka). Only the Russian Orthodox congregation is older. All-in-all, this is a unique setting, historical, but one which doesn't just live off or on that history but continues to grow as a thriving family of faith ministering to the community. We are glad to have Kevin share the uniqueness. Here's to our next venturesome soul when we apply for an intern, probably the 2008-2009 academic year.

(For more information about Sitka Lutheran Church and Pastor Jim Drury’s weekly on-line devotional, Monday Morning Ministry, visit the congregation’s website at www.sitkalutheranchurch.org)

Intern Kevin Kaiser writes…

My first thought in Sitka, “Holy Crow! That was a short runway.” After fourteen hours of travel, I stepped off the plane and into Rocky Guittierez Airport. I had just flown Alaskan Air for the first time, and I was now breathing Alaska air for the first time. Several members of the church were there to greet me, including the librarian, the organizer, the pastor, the banker and a fish. They presented me with a welcome banner and a Sitka Lutheran Church sweatshirt.

The next day, after an omelet and some smoked salmon, I went to my temporary church home. They constructed a new office for me. It is the smallest office, but the finest view in the church: a fine trade-off for one who does very little in his office. As Pr. Jim and I worked together, we realized that planning is not our strong suit. The motto for the internship was established purely by repetition, “Let’s see what happens.” So began Sitka Lutheran Church’s first internship.

Let’s see what happens. I decided to ruffle some feathers as part of my internship project. No, I never tried to introduce a praise band to a church with a 160-year-old organ. Instead I just threatened to remodel their basement. It worked like a charm. All of the sudden I was learning who built this, and who donated that. I learned why we keep an electric organ that doesn’t work. I learned that the people with the best ideas for Sunday School are the ones who do not bring their children. I also learned that baking brownies for the Quilters can earn enough brownie points to last an entire internship.

And thank you Luther Dining Services for teaching me how to cook for a crowd. Food is big up here, so a cook like me can make friends easily. I have catered to the Marine Conservation Council, appointed as ship’s cook of the Motor Vessel Christian and Master Chef of the Royal Legume Navy. At church, the coffee hour treats rival some of the better catering I have seen. Orange rolls, salmon caviar, smoked salmon, salmon spread (see a pattern?), breads, cakes, shrimp…even lefse. Luther Seminary serves pickled herring everyday, but here in Alaska, they prize the eggs. Herring eggs are a cross between caviar and sausage casings. I have also eaten creamed venison liver, and I won’t be doing it again.

Here in Sitka, I have found myself surrounded by ocean, mountains, good people and good food. I am surrounded by a church in the truest sense. This community has received me as a short-term leader with long-term effects. Some interns only preach when the pastor goes away. I preached for eight weeks in a row, because they know, as a pastor, my career will focus on word and sacrament and not the other stuff. They also show great fellowship. I am a guest who lacks nothing while I am here. That says a great deal. So while I learn the harder lessons about discernment and politics, the community’s ultimate response is grace and love.

Saved for Service   

Region One Deployed Associate Jean Larson passes along this eloquent work by Steve Garnaas-Holmes, "Unfolding Light," unfoldinglight@hotmail.com. Steve G-H writes close to daily reflections, often on the texts for the coming Sunday. People can subscribe for free by e-mailing at the above address.

Dearly Beloved,

Grace and Peace to you.

God has promised that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness before God all our days.  - Luke 1. 74-75

We are not saved for eternal bliss;
we are saved for service.

To serve God does not mean hard work.
It means doing what we do for God.

Righteousness does not mean being right.
It means being true.

Holiness does not mean being perfect.
It means being God's.

I don't know if we can ever be fearless.
But we can choose to obey
our holiness instead of our fear.

Do I Hear a Waltz?   
by Steve McKinley

As some of you might recall, back when I retired from parish ministry my lovely wife and I took up ballroom dancing. We took some time off during the golf season, but now we are back to fox-trotting/rumbaing/swinging/tangoing/waltzing/cha-chaing our way to health and happiness. I know full well that I do not fit the Fred Astaire stereotype, save for hair-style, but we are having a ball (no pun intended) so if you want to laugh at me, you are free to do this behind my back.

Our instructor, Chad, will occasionally take my place and dance around the floor with my lovely wife, which momentarily frustrates me because he does it so well. They look so elegant together. I am happy for her to have this opportunity, but I wish I could be the one to dance as smoothly as Chad does. The three of us talk about my frustration now and then. Chad comforts me by pointing out that he has been doing this for quite a while (for a man in his 30s) and can move his feet and his arms and his hips and talk at the same time without thinking much about what he is doing. It comes naturally to him. I am not yet at that stage. I am still thinking feet and arms and hips and please, please do not expect me to talk while we are dancing because it destroys my concentration and it is all I can do to keep feet and arms and hips behaving themselves without talking at the same time. But Chad reassures me that in time all of this will become natural to me, and I choose to believe him.

For 38 years I led worship in several different Lutheran congregations, the last 11 of them in the same congregation with the same pastoral partner and the same musician. While I like to think I led worship thoughtfully and reverently, I confess that eventually worship leadership became second nature to me and that sometimes I did it without thinking much about where I was standing or where I was facing or how I was holding my hands or what gestures I was making. I learned this and I did it, and when I was working with that one long-time partner, it was like we could read each other’s minds and we led worship almost intuitively. I could and did (confession is good for the soul) lead worship and at the same time take attendance and notice who wasn’t there and what visitors were in the congregation and all that.

I read internship reports and interns are thinking about how they lead worship, where they stand, how they hold their hands and move their arms and all that. They are like me dancing. Worship leadership has not yet become second nature to them. They have to think about what they are doing, and fear being distracted along the way.

Chad tells me that when he was a novice dancer, he faced the same challenges I do now and I believe him. Interns, I am trying to tell you that I did face the same challenges you face in leading worship, and in time got past them. Be kind to yourself. Don’t be too critical of yourself. You are a learner. That’s all right. Supervisors, try to remember what it was like when you were “just a learner.” Be patient and sympathetic and supportive. Lay Committees, appreciate how hard these good folks are working.

I am betting this. I am betting that most of the interns will master the intricacies of worship leadership before I master the intricacies of ballroom dancing. And I am hoping that they have as much fun as I am having!

Evaluation Time    

It’s about that time! Many interns will soon be reaching their half-way mark and it will be time for interns, supervisors and lay committees to submit their mid-year evaluations. If you are like most people, this is not an aspect of the process that you look forward to eagerly. At the same time, it is absolutely essential. A few thoughts to help you along the way:

• Just as the purpose of internship is learning, the purpose of the evaluation process is the support of learning. It doesn’t help the intern in his or her growth process if one of the partners in the learning process sees areas that seem to need growth but does not say that for fear of hurting the intern’s feelings. Supervisors and lay committees are the faculty for this year of theological education. They have the responsibility to evaluate, just as the intern is prepared for future ministry by steady self-evaluation.
• Those who read evaluations can tell you that the intern is usually harder on herself or himself than the supervisor or lay committee would be.
• Remember that the evaluation process is intended to be conversational. The most important part of the process is not the evaluation document itself, but the conversation that takes place about that document.
• Lay Committees sometimes feel inadequate when it comes to evaluating interns. If your committee wrestles with that, look back at previous issues of this newsletter for some pointers on how to evaluate the intern in terms of preaching, pastoral care, and worship leadership. Remember that you have been asked to provide an evaluation whether you feel adequate or not. Yours will not be the only word, but it will be an important word.
• Interns are in the process of learning and growing, as we all are. We do not expect them to have reached perfection. (We don’t think they will ever reach perfection, as none of us do!) They will be at different stages of growth in different areas. They know this. We know this. It is all right. If any intern gets rated “exceptional” in all areas, we will know that someone is exaggerating.
• Yes, all of the evaluations get read by members of the CLI staff!

Spring Cluster Meetings    

Western Wisconsin/East Metro: April 17, 2:00 - 8:00 pm (optional overnight) at Carondelet Center, St. Paul

North Metro: April 19, 2:00 - 8:00 pm (optional overnight) at Episcopal House of Prayer, Collegeville

Northern Minnesota: April 26 - 27 Camp Knutson, Cross Lake

South Metro: May 1 at St. Mary Magdalene, Savage

Arizona: May 3-4

Northern California: May 7-8

North Dakota: May 7-8, Camp of the Cross, Garrison

Southern Minnesota-South Dakota: May 10, Shalom Hill Farm

Blessing of the Animals

"I DIDN’T KNOW INTERNSHIP INCLUDED SNAKES!" Stacy Hill, intern at St. James, Crystal, MN, got more than she bargained for when someone brought a snake to the Blessing of the Animals, but like a good intern, she did her duties anyway.