Day Ten photo challenge

Post a picture of the person you do the craziest stuff with...
So hard to pick just one.  In order from top to bottom: My college friend Andrew, my friend Heidi from FLBC and USC, my friend Cara from FLBC and USC and my friend Nicole from Sky Ranch.

Diaconal Ministry in the ELCA

As I prepare to enter seminary and pursue candidacy with the ELCA next fall, I realize it might not be clear as to what I will actually be doing once I complete this course of study.  I will be pursuing a Master's of Divinity degree, which is the same level of education as an ordained minister, but I will not become a pastor.  I have started the Entrance phase of the Candidacy process, this is a parallel process to my education and consists of three phases, Entrance, Endorsement and Approval.  Following Approval comes Call.  Candidacy is a communal discernment and vocational development process involving the candidate's congregation, Synod and seminary.  It also involves lots of essay writing, meetings,  interviews and spiritual direction.  The idea is to find and nurture the candidates with an authentic call who will serve the world and the church. 

Diaconal Ministry is a type of rostered ministry, that exemplifies the idea of diakonia, the Greek word for service.  Members of the Diaconate serve the wider Church in many settings, seeking to connect the Church with the world through vocations of service as varied as chaplaincy, social work, education and nursing.  Diaconal ministers also work in parish settings and synod offices.  My eventual hope is to become a hospital chaplain. 

The Masters of Divinity degree provides the necessary academic foundations (church history, theology, liturgical praxis and Lutheran formation), while the candidacy process and associated requirements will prepare me for the actual practice of ministry.  It seems overwhelming (and trust me, it is!), but I am taking it one step at a time and there is plenty of support along the way.  The articles below describe the Diaconate. 

Overview of Diaconal Ministry


Diaconal Ministry in an evolving church

Day Nine photo challenge

Day Nine...post a picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

This is my friend Becca.  We met six years ago when we started the Urban Servant Corps in Denver, and have been inseparable ever since.

Day Eight photo challenge (yeah, I know I forgot day seven)

Sorry, there is not going to be a day seven.  I had a major car malfunction yesterday, and was not in the mood for doing much of anything when I finally got home after having my car towed. 

Day Eight: A picture that makes you laugh

 These pictures are me and my friend Patty.  Patty and I worked together at Flathead Lutheran for two summers and moved to Denver together to do the Urban Servant Corps.  I have a wide variety of crazy photos of Patty and I doing humorous things.  But she always makes me laugh and I wish she lived closer to me!

Day Six Photo Challenge

Post a photo of someone you would like to trade places with for a day.

So, there is not actually a human that I want to trade places with,

because I am pretty satisfied with my life.

I have a good job, lots of people I love, a beautiful apartment and I get to live in one of the most beautiful places in the country.

However, I would not actually mind trading places with Annabelle for a day.  She gets to sleep on the couch all day.  People prepare her food twice a day, which would make me very happy.  Most days I am too tired to actually cook a balanced meal, and even if I manage to cook, washing tons of dishes is too much to deal with.

Day Five Photo Challenge

Post a picture of your favorite memory. 

So, this is representative of my favorite memory, because I don't have an actual photo of the event. 

To preface, signs marking city limits in Europe have the name of the city as you enter, and as you exit, the name of the city crossed out. 

In 2007, I traveled around Austria, Germany and Slovakia with my friend Kaija.  During our time in Salzburg, we booked beds at a penzion at the edge of city limits.  Instead of figuring out the train schedule, and following the directions from the train station up the hill to the penzion, we thought it would be a great idea to walk.  And walk. And walk.  With our full backpacks, after having taken a 5 hour train ride from Bratislava. 

We actually walked outside of Salzburg city limits, (reference photo above), and kept walking.  All told, I believe we walked about 10km.  We ended up inside a Mexican (yes, Mexican) restaurant late at night and asked them to call a taxi.  This little excursion caused blisters that lasted the rest of the trip. 

But in retrospect, it was pretty funny.  And makes for a good story. 

Day Four Photo Challenge...

A photo of your night.

I just brewed a big pot of Evening in Missoula tea and am enjoying it out of my tea service from Taize.

This represents my evening because I am trying to warm up after spending the last couple hours sitting outside eating frozen yogurt and talking with my friend Catherine.

Tonight is the first night that it has not been pouring rain or thundering in a couple weeks!

Day Three Photo Challenge

Today was supposed to be a photo of the cast of my favorite television show.  Since I have the attention span of a toddler when it comes to television-I have to be doing at least two or three other things simultaneously-and I rarely take time to watch an entire episode of anything, I decided to post a video of something that makes me happy.

This is Katie's dog.  We are having a little fun with the pond in Katie's yard.

Day Two photo challenge

Day Two: Post a picture of yourself and the person you have been closest with the longest.

This is my sister Katie.  We are only 14 months apart in age, and shared a room until I was 9 and she was 8.  Katie is a good person to talk to and I wish I got to see her more often.

30 Day Photo Challenge

So there has been something circulating around Facebook for awhile called the 30 Day photo challenge.  Basically, you post a photo of something based on the day.  I thought it might be kind of fun, so here is day one:

Day One: Post a picture of yourself with ten facts

1. I do not eat milk on my cereal, nor have I ever done so.

2. I used to play the trombone, although I was really terrible at it.

3. I wish that I was better at keeping plants alive.  In the last month I have killed an entire kitchen herb garden.

4. I spent an entire year volunteering full-time in a women's homeless shelter.

5. I am addicted to coffee, social networking and running.

6. I will be starting at Iliff School of Theology in September 2011 to become rostered in the ELCA as a Diaconal Minister.

7.  I am an Enneagram Type 8.

8. I am a case manager for a human services and homelessness prevention agency in Denver, which I love even when the work makes me want to pull my hair out.  Sometimes common sense and personal responsibility are hard to come by.

9. My favorite coffee shop is Hooked on Colfax.  I especially love that you can bring your dogs inside, there are miniature "living rooms" in the basement, the front of the building is actually made of glass garage doors and they will custom-make just about any drink.

10. I firmly believe that volunteerism and philanthropy need to be a part of everyone's life.