Pastoral Pondering
by Pastor Keith Larson
I have been “hanging out” on Main Street this week watching them film a movie. I agree with the person who said that watching them film the movie was about as exciting as watching paint dry – to a point. The times I watched, they shot the same 5 – 15 second scene 6, 7, 8 or more times. Over and over again. When they finally got one scene right, they set up for the next scene. Moving all of the equipment even 20 yards seemed to take up to an hour. So yes – that part is boring. Things promise to get more exciting when the battered vintage car will be “exploded” on Main Street.
But what I have enjoyed is seeing the process. Some of the routines are as old as movie-making itself. From someone calling out “Quiet on the set,” followed by “Ready. Action. Roll.” And the person holding the little click board saying, “Scene 23. Take 6.” And then he clicked the board together and jumped out of the way. But other processes are much more technical. One man told me he was the computer tech person who was going to digitally replace Union Presbyterian Church which was in the background of many shots and replace it with something else. Dozens of people worked with the set and props. Corn stalks were perpetually being moved from one scene to another. I think some of them were going to have more mileage on them than if they had been turned into ethanol.
I also have very much enjoyed visiting with the people – some as local as the Quad-Cities and others all the way from Hollywood. One person talked to me as if he knew me, and finally said, “You don’t remember me, do you?” I said, “No, I don’t.” And he said, “I visited with you at the Synod Assembly. Pastor Lynn (Thiede) is my pastor.” So there are even Lutherans in the movie business.
Members from both churches have introduced me to people they had met in pre-planning. Lots of folks have done “business” with the movie folks as our communities have fed the cast and crew at both the OJ and LN Legion halls, as various community boards have granted permission to use property and equipment, and local citizens from our churches have loaned buildings and space. Our communities’ racial balances became a little more diverse for these weeks. We certainly became more diverse as far as clothing styles, and hairstyles and hair colors definitely were more varied than we usually see on the streets of Lost Nation and Oxford Junction.
But what I really noticed was the same thing I noticed during the Olympics closing ceremony as athletes from around the world jubilantly entered the stadium. As human beings, we really have a lot more in common with each other than is different. While some of the movie people are in Iowa for the first time, we have so much in common. They, like we, enjoy talking about what they are doing and how they enjoy what they are doing. They like to have a good time. They are polite, considerate, and grateful. They enjoy a good meal when they are hungry – even though some Californians had never experienced scalloped corn. I have to say I have not had so much fun on Main Street since RAGBRAI rode through. I’m glad we got to share our good local hospitality with a bunch of other neat human beings.
Some have asked, “Pastor, what do you think about them filming that movie in our town?” Well, if we could have had a choice of movies set in the middle of a cornfield, “Field of Dreams” would have been preferable to “Children of the Corn.” I do not enjoy horror movies. I also believe to some extent regular heavy exposure to anything violent, whether in real life or in the media can be harmful to some people. So if you let your children watch this movie when it comes out, it prob-ably will not do irreparable harm to them unless they want to see it over and over again. But you may have to deal with them having nightmares for awhile.
I am also aware of the conversation Jesus had with people about whether eating certain kinds of food could harm one spiritually. Jesus replied that what comes out of a person’s mouth is more important than what goes into a person’s mouth. In other words, what we say and do counts for more than what we eat, in a spiritual sense – or the kind of movies we watch. I know I will much longer remember with joy some of the people I met during the filming of the movie than I will enjoy watching the movie.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
After Internship - What's Next?
Pastoral Pondering
by Pastor Keith Larson
We did it! We were the teaching site for an intern for one year! Moreover, I believe we were a good site for an intern, if I may say so myself. So how did it go? We have talked about it at Council meetings. Others have shared their thoughts with me. Some have started out by saying, “I wasn’t very much in favor of it to start with, but I changed my mind during the year.” I now offer my public reflections.
Although I was the first contact when the seminary asked if we could be a site for an intern with special circumstances, and although I was open enough to bring it to the Councils, that does not mean I too, did not have qualms and misgivings. I certainly knew always that we didn’t “need” an intern. And from the perspective of a pastor, I wondered if I might not be too much of an “old-style” pastor to have anything valuable to share with an energetic seminarian. I wondered if we would have enough variety of experiences for an intern to get a good taste of what it was like to be a pastor.
Many have said that it turned out fortuitous that we had an intern for the year, given the fact that Pastoral Associate Barb’s recovery from hip surgery took her longer than she expected. And I am indeed grateful I had someone to share the workload with during those 5 months. Apart from the help Intern Paul provided when we were shorthanded, I am very glad we were an internship site, for many other reasons.
I am proud that we rose to the occasion of serving the greater church in this special way. I firmly believe that we at Bethlehem and St. Mark have something important to share with the church and with future pastors. Many new pastors will likely serve congregations like ours. But even if Intern Paul never serves a congregation in the heartland or in a congregation in small towns or rural areas, his perspective of the ELCA is enriched because of his time with us. And any congregation is enriched when there is a variety of voices proclaiming God’s Word and when there are a variety of personalities available for conversation and counsel. We were indeed blessed. I often was reminded of a frequent comment made by Herb Rehmke of St. Mark’s when he was living. Many times, he would say following worship when both AIM Barb and I were involved. “Many times we wondered if we could keep this church open and have a pastor, and look at us now. We have two ministers. Who would have thought?” And if Herb had been alive this last year, he would have been incredulous – with three ministers.
I am grateful for the chance I had to be a supervisor because I feel I also learned a lot in the process. I have never been opposed to technology. I was one of the earlier pastors to have an e-mail address and I have been part of a “cyber” church community for over a dozen years, but it was e-mail based as opposed to web-based (there’s a difference). Intern Paul encouraged me to become a little savvier about the ”web.” And I now know a few things about blogging and podcasts. I also now own a gadget called an mp3 player (I-pods are one brand most are familiar with, but mine is a Zen) that I find it hard to be without.
But an intern also, necessarily ought to help keep a supervisor somewhat fresh and current with what’s new in theology and church resources. Although, I have always tried to keep up and keep abreast of what is new, it can be easy for me or for anyone who does the same thing year after year to get stale. Having an intern helped keep me fresher and more on my toes.
I was aware, somewhat, that internship would not be just a year with an “extra pair of hands.” But I don’t think I fully comprehended how much time needed to be involved in teaching, supervising, evaluating, and the like. Incredible amount of time and energy also needed to go into communication when there was a professional staff of three besides secretaries and organist. All that was “new” territory for me.
Would I want to be a supervisor again? Sure! Why not? But I am glad for a break. I admire congregations and supervisors who have one intern after another. I think the fare welling and welcoming all in a matter of weeks or days would be an incredibly difficult emotional task. I also am aware that we were fortunate to have a most capable and mature intern. I am also aware that some interns sometimes are more of a challenge for supervisors and/ or congregations.
What next? There are a couple of possibilities.
• We can thank God for a good year and that we had the opportunity to experience internship, once.
• We can be open to the possibility of being of service to Wartburg Seminary when they have need for placing an intern with special circumstances. This would take no action now but the councils and congregations need to be ready sometimes to make decisions on rather short notice. “Special circumstances” might mean the intern needs a site close enough for the intern to live in Dubuque or some other area location for some special reason, or might need to be placed close enough to Dubuque so a spouse could commute there for work. Often when interns request special placement, they forego a housing benefit, saving the internship site the cost of providing housing for a year, but also they miss the aspect of living in the community of the congregation. If you have thoughts regarding this option, of being open in the future, share your thoughts with council members. The actual decision to be a supervising congregation always involves a congregational vote.
• We could decide that we should regularly request an intern from Wartburg or some other seminary as an important part of our mission and ministry. If this were an option we need to be aware that such a request on our part would mean that we normally would be expected to also provide housing for a seminarian (and family when applicable) for the year, significantly increasing our financial obligation. Such a decision would be a matter of many months of serious discussion and deliberation.
by Pastor Keith Larson
We did it! We were the teaching site for an intern for one year! Moreover, I believe we were a good site for an intern, if I may say so myself. So how did it go? We have talked about it at Council meetings. Others have shared their thoughts with me. Some have started out by saying, “I wasn’t very much in favor of it to start with, but I changed my mind during the year.” I now offer my public reflections.
Although I was the first contact when the seminary asked if we could be a site for an intern with special circumstances, and although I was open enough to bring it to the Councils, that does not mean I too, did not have qualms and misgivings. I certainly knew always that we didn’t “need” an intern. And from the perspective of a pastor, I wondered if I might not be too much of an “old-style” pastor to have anything valuable to share with an energetic seminarian. I wondered if we would have enough variety of experiences for an intern to get a good taste of what it was like to be a pastor.
Many have said that it turned out fortuitous that we had an intern for the year, given the fact that Pastoral Associate Barb’s recovery from hip surgery took her longer than she expected. And I am indeed grateful I had someone to share the workload with during those 5 months. Apart from the help Intern Paul provided when we were shorthanded, I am very glad we were an internship site, for many other reasons.
I am proud that we rose to the occasion of serving the greater church in this special way. I firmly believe that we at Bethlehem and St. Mark have something important to share with the church and with future pastors. Many new pastors will likely serve congregations like ours. But even if Intern Paul never serves a congregation in the heartland or in a congregation in small towns or rural areas, his perspective of the ELCA is enriched because of his time with us. And any congregation is enriched when there is a variety of voices proclaiming God’s Word and when there are a variety of personalities available for conversation and counsel. We were indeed blessed. I often was reminded of a frequent comment made by Herb Rehmke of St. Mark’s when he was living. Many times, he would say following worship when both AIM Barb and I were involved. “Many times we wondered if we could keep this church open and have a pastor, and look at us now. We have two ministers. Who would have thought?” And if Herb had been alive this last year, he would have been incredulous – with three ministers.
I am grateful for the chance I had to be a supervisor because I feel I also learned a lot in the process. I have never been opposed to technology. I was one of the earlier pastors to have an e-mail address and I have been part of a “cyber” church community for over a dozen years, but it was e-mail based as opposed to web-based (there’s a difference). Intern Paul encouraged me to become a little savvier about the ”web.” And I now know a few things about blogging and podcasts. I also now own a gadget called an mp3 player (I-pods are one brand most are familiar with, but mine is a Zen) that I find it hard to be without.
But an intern also, necessarily ought to help keep a supervisor somewhat fresh and current with what’s new in theology and church resources. Although, I have always tried to keep up and keep abreast of what is new, it can be easy for me or for anyone who does the same thing year after year to get stale. Having an intern helped keep me fresher and more on my toes.
I was aware, somewhat, that internship would not be just a year with an “extra pair of hands.” But I don’t think I fully comprehended how much time needed to be involved in teaching, supervising, evaluating, and the like. Incredible amount of time and energy also needed to go into communication when there was a professional staff of three besides secretaries and organist. All that was “new” territory for me.
Would I want to be a supervisor again? Sure! Why not? But I am glad for a break. I admire congregations and supervisors who have one intern after another. I think the fare welling and welcoming all in a matter of weeks or days would be an incredibly difficult emotional task. I also am aware that we were fortunate to have a most capable and mature intern. I am also aware that some interns sometimes are more of a challenge for supervisors and/ or congregations.
What next? There are a couple of possibilities.
• We can thank God for a good year and that we had the opportunity to experience internship, once.
• We can be open to the possibility of being of service to Wartburg Seminary when they have need for placing an intern with special circumstances. This would take no action now but the councils and congregations need to be ready sometimes to make decisions on rather short notice. “Special circumstances” might mean the intern needs a site close enough for the intern to live in Dubuque or some other area location for some special reason, or might need to be placed close enough to Dubuque so a spouse could commute there for work. Often when interns request special placement, they forego a housing benefit, saving the internship site the cost of providing housing for a year, but also they miss the aspect of living in the community of the congregation. If you have thoughts regarding this option, of being open in the future, share your thoughts with council members. The actual decision to be a supervising congregation always involves a congregational vote.
• We could decide that we should regularly request an intern from Wartburg or some other seminary as an important part of our mission and ministry. If this were an option we need to be aware that such a request on our part would mean that we normally would be expected to also provide housing for a seminarian (and family when applicable) for the year, significantly increasing our financial obligation. Such a decision would be a matter of many months of serious discussion and deliberation.
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