Trinity Tidings- July 10

Posted on: July 10th, 2024 by Brad Peterson

July 10, 2024

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Lagers with the Lord July 22, 6 pm at Buckshots! Come join us for a time of faithful conversation.  All are welcome!

Vacation Bible School is July 29-August 1st.  9 am till Noon for all 4 year olds through 6th graders.  Our theme this year is “Superheroes for God!”  Games, Crafts, Songs, and fun for all.  It is free this year.  There are registration forms in the Good News and on the table in the Narthex. We need helpers to provide snacks, be extra hands for our kids, and to serve snacks in the kitchen.  Sign-up in the Narthex or contact the office if you are willing to help. 

Please pray for our 27 youth and 6 adults that will be at the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans July 14th-21st! Pray for safe travels and for a wonderful experience as they grow in faith, serve the people of New Orleans, and meet others from all over the United States.

The Women of Trinity are collecting for Personal Care kits during the month of July. You can bring any or all of the items needed to make a kit. These are the items needed: 1- light weight bath size towel, dark color preferred. Kits include: 2- bath size bar soap, 1- adult size toothbrush in original package, 1- sturdy comb, 1- metal nail clipper: attached file optional. Thank you for helping us help others!

MUSINGS FROM PASTOR BRAD

 Well, my sabbatical (dubbed the “Sabradical” by my friend Pastor Tim) is at an end and I would like to start with a couple of things.  First, I only entered the church one time and that was to print something and I never went into my office, only Andrea’s.  Second, I did a very good job of staying away from work not only because Amy threatened me with bodily harm (mostly kidding) but because I wanted to be true to what this time was supposed to be about.  When I did have to do something work related, it was 99% of the time related to the Youth Gathering and couldn’t be helped.  Third, I want to give massive thanks to Andrea for all she had to do in my absence, to all of the pastors who filled in for me, to our church staff for all the extra stuff they had to take on, to Sandy, Becky, Perry, Paige, and Marik for livestreaming the services, and for all of you who did such a wonderful job of honoring the sabbatical.  I’m very interested to see what is going to be on my desk when I walk this morning for the first time since June 8th.

  But I want to share three things I am taking away from my “sabradical” to share with all of you but before I do, I will share with you one overall arching theme.  I very much disliked it.  Here we go.

  1. The best thing about it was being home every night.  I can’t overstate that this.  Amy and I had some wonderful experiences with trips to Missouri and Door County and Milwaukee but the best thing was being home every night.  Having dinner together.  Watching shows together.  Hanging out together.  That can be a very rare thing for us, especially in the spring.  I bet in the run up to the sabbatical I maybe average being home two nights a week since early April. So to be home every night, hanging with Amy and Baxter, was an incredible gift and one that I cherished and something that I need to think about more in the future.  If the purpose of the sabbatical was to help me to get renewal, there is nothing that does it more than being able to be home at night with Amy.
  2. I enjoyed visiting other churches.  On the three Sundays we were in town I visited three different churches, heading up to Katie’s church in Lake Nebagamon (where a couple of Trinity members followed me and I scared Katie half to death), Zion in Woodville, and Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Eau Claire.  I have friends who pastor those churches and it was fun to see how other people do things but it was also fun to experience things as a random visitor and to get a different perspective. But it was also just nice to worship.  I enjoyed that opportunity a lot. 
  3. In the end, though, I really missed doing this job I love. I have felt like I have been gone for a year.  This time was a reminder that being a pastor is not just a job it is who I am.  I had no outlet for my energies, no place to put my thoughts, no structure to my day.  At one point I forgot what month it was.  I need structure and direction and didn’t really have it.  When I had an idea, Amy allowed me to put a quick note down but I couldn’t flesh it out.  I realized my max weeding before going crazy was 45 minutes.  Loved golfing but can’t do it all day. I missed talking to you all, of planning Bible studies and crafting sermons and visiting you in your homes.  I wondered how people were doing and thinking about what we might do in confirmation in September.  But in this I also learned that the church can survive without me.  Worship services happened.  Funerals happened.  Events happened.  All without me.  Which means that maybe, just maybe, I don’t need to worry quite so much about it all as well.  But the biggest lesson of all is that I will probably never do this again.  Ever. 

I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to try a “Sabradical.” I’m thankful for everyone that made it happen and for all the insights I might continue to learn from it as I continue to reflect from it.  But I’m most thankful that I get to go back into my office and get back to doing what I love and tonight I’m going to stand up and preach.  Hopefully I remember how to do this job!

  May God be with you today and always!