My "semester" so far.

As you may know from reading my previous post, checking my bio on the right, or knowing me in person--I am on internship. This year, the idea of "semesters," "classes" and "campus" only have importance when thinking about some of my friends and fellow classmates at Luther, or my sister in college. It's a strange feeling, but I love internship.

These past two months at Holy Cross have been incredible. The best part about internship so far is that I've felt more welcomed and supported here than I ever could have imagined. As a result, I've been free to try new things, fail miserably, learn a lot, and have a great time doing it.

I began internship by shadowing my supervising pastor and easing into worship leadership. Less than two months in, I'm beginning to do my own thing and find my own way--supported and challenged by my supervisor. I'm preaching every other week and the weeks I don't preach, I do just about all the liturgy. I am doing all my pastoral care visits with my supervising pastor, but that will change in the next few weeks. I look forward to cultivating my relationship with Holy Cross and figuring out how I can not just learn from them, but serve them.

I will most definitely post more specific stories and whatnot about my internship, but even though there are definitely some challenges, I couldn't help but share how much my internship has already been a blessing to me. It's been quite fulfilling to witness and participate in the understanding of and responding to God's grace in this church family.

Okay, fine. One story...during the first week of my time at Holy Cross, my wife and I were invited (along with my supervising pastor and his wife) to a parishioner's house for...a pickle party. Sounds strange, right? Well, it was glorious. This woman, along with her daughter, had a surplus of pickling cucumbers, and needed to put them to good use. She ended up getting swept away into the world of pickling, creating 21 different varieties! There was everything from bread & butter slices, to pickled green beans, and your standard kosher dill pickles. Throw in a little meat and cheese, and a few glasses of wine--and you've got a night my wife and I will never forget.