You're Invited!

Please join me in this important moment in my life as I am ordained as Pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada.
I will be serving as Associate Pastor at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Langley, BC. Here is the info about my ordination!

You are cordially invited
to the ordination of
Kristen Steele
Saturday May 2, 2009
2:00 pm
Our Saviour Lutheran Church
6340 No. 4 Road,
Richmond, BC
Phone (604) 270-0085
Reception to follow.
Clergy are invited to vest.
The liturgical colour is red.

She's here!

 

Keela (beautiful in Gaelic) has arrived! My parents picked her up on Saturday in Portland and she has now joined our family. She is very cute and cuddly and has settled in very well, sleeping through the night right from the first night! We're enjoying her a lot!

What the heck is going on in your life Kristen?

What a good question! One I've heard just a few times recently so I thought I'd update y'all here on my blog. I finished my coursework for my MDiv in December and packed up and moved back to BC. At the end of December I completed the last step in being approved for ordination by the powers that be pending the receipt of a call to a congregation. This required a written exam and a panel oral exam which I completed at the end of December.
Since then I have been in the call process with a congregation. On my mom's 60th birthday I received news that I had been chosen as primary candidate (only candidate) for an associate pastor position in Langley at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church. It is still quite a process ahead before I have a letter of call in my hands. The call committee with present my name to the church council in a couple of weeks and ask the church council to take my name forward to the congregation to approve a call being issued to me.
So I am staying at my parents' house until that all takes place. I have been enjoying having some time off and reconnecting with friends.
I am now going to look for part time temporary work to fill some time and provide some income until the call is completed.
So all going well I will be ordained in April in Richmond in my home congregation. I will then find a place to rent in Langley and begin my ministry there.
I'm very excited about the journey I am on and have learned much more about trusting God!

New Addition!

Sorry I haven't blogged lately! Here is a pic of the new addition my parents will be bringing into our family in March. Her name is Keela:

from "The word cadhla means beautiful and implies "a beauty that only poetry can capture."

Notes for Pictures from A Year in My Life

Someone mentioned that I should tell people what the pictures are of or from in my Year in My Life slideshow. Here goes from the first picture:

1. My first and so far only time on a snowmobile (or snow machine depending on what part of the country you live in!). I got a chance to ride on one during the snow machine rally held in Pass Lake as a fundraiser for the youth's trip to Whitehorse.

2. Me in an igloo. During the kids' March break I joined a few families from Pass Lake out at the Sleeping Giant provincial park. They had had a group from the college's outdoor rec program out the week before and they had left these very cool igloos on the lake.

3. Snow golfing. One of the families in Pass Lake holds a snow golfing tournament each year on the lake in their backyard.

4. Kakabeka Falls. I took a trip out to Kakabeka falls just as they were beginning to thaw. These "Niagara of the north" are pretty spectacular!

5. Confirmation Day 2008 at Salem Lutheran Church in Pass Lake.

6. One of my best friends Lorraine and I at my sister's wedding shower a couple of days before my sister's wedding.

7. Me and two of my best friends Asith & Lorraine and I at my sister's wedding reception.

8. My "little" sis and I on her wedding day.

9. My dad and sis at her wedding reception. I love the expressions on their faces.

10. Me doing a reading at sis' wedding at Minoru Chapel.

11. My parents visited me in Pass Lake and we went on a sailboat ride on Lake Superior.

12. In August I traveled with 13 others (youth and a couple of adults) from Pass Lake & Thunder Bay to the national youth gathering of the ELCIC in Whitehorse. We flew to Edmonton and joined 13 busloads of youth and leaders to travel to Whitehorse. This is part of our Thunder Bay group at the beginning of the Alaska highway.

13. Our banner at the youth gathering.

14. My good-bye luncheon in Pass Lake. Inge on my left made the cross stitch door hanger with scenes from Pass Lake on it for my good-bye gift. Katie, on my right, decided she wanted to be in every picture with me that day.

15. My "new to me" little car all packed up at my house in Pass Lake ready to head to Saskatoon.

16. First week back in Saskatoon we went on an orientation week retreat north of Saskatoon. This is a beautiful scene just outside the retreat centre.

17. Scene from the garden at the Berry Barn just outside of Saskatoon.

18. Picture of the view on a hike up on the sunshine coast of BC that I went on while visiting a friend who had just moved up there. I was home during reading week in October.

19 & 20. Another picture from reading week trip home in October. These are both pics of my friend's little one Charlotte Rose. We took her to the pumpkin patch.

21. Halloween day saw me driving to Calgary to attend my friend Betty's ordination on November 2.

22. Chapel at LTS, a place of meaningful worship services for me during all the crazy times I spent in Saskatoon.

23. Anglican friends also from BC at the LTS Christmas party.

4 & 4

 

Saw this on someone's blog, thought it was a good idea and although I wasn't tagged I decided to do it anyways! You're supposed to open the fourth picture folder and post the fourth picture and then explain it. So this picture is from the LTS chapel, Barbara is setting for a service at the paschal retreat this fall.

Of course in the spirit of this game I'm supposed to tag 4 people, I tag Mick, Demara, Allyson and Nicole!

A Year in My Life Slideshow

Christmas Letter 2008

I’ve always meant to send a Christmas letter but never got around to it. Since so much has gone on in my life this past year and there is so much to come I thought it would be best to send one this year to catch everyone up at once. In the past twelve months I have lived in three provinces.

From January until August I completed the last two thirds of my twelve month internship at Salem Lutheran Church in Pass Lake, Ontario, 45 minutes north east of Thunder Bay (down the road from the Sleeping Giant!). I enjoyed my time there and had a variety of new experiences including living in the country, snowmobiling, living in a house completely alone, preaching on a regular basis and leading services at the church each week. One of the many things I learned was how to do genealogy. I continue to enjoy being a detective and piecing together parts of my family’s past.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and think about the wonderful people I met and adventures I had there on a regular basis. Pass Lake, and especially its people, will always hold a special place in my heart.

While on internship I had a number of opportunities to travel. In February I returned to Saskatoon for an opportunity for interns to gather together and share experiences. I stayed on a few days longer to visit with my former roommate Sarah and other friends. In May I travelled to Minneapolis, Minnesota with a few colleagues from Thunder Bay to attend a conference with an amazing array of speakers. But the best trip of all was a trip in late August that you’ll have to keep reading to hear about!

This summer was very busy for me. I was back home in Richmond for the first week of July helping my sister get ready to marry the love of her life on July 6. The wedding was gorgeous and I now have one more person in my family who is taller than me! Tim is a wonderful addition to the family. Jennifer and Tim took possession of their house in Pullman, Washington about a month before the wedding and have been busy renovating since then. They have recently welcomed a new addition to their family a labradoodle they have named Austin Aloysius. I look forward to all three of them coming up for a week over Christmas. Jennifer is an assistant professor at Washington State University and Tim works in the computer field in Pullman.

A couple of weeks after the wedding my parents made the long trek out to Pass Lake to come for a visit. We had a great visit while I showed them the beauty of Northwestern Ontario and we made a quick trip down to Duluth, Minnesota while they were visiting. They also helped me buy a new (to me) car and pack up my house in preparation for leaving in August. We had a great visit and I was sad to see them leave with their van packed with a lof of my stuff some of which they dropped off in Saskatoon and some they took back to BC with them.

While they were visiting we received news that my Nana Nikki (dad’s mom) was not doing well and not expected to live through the night. She made it through that night but didn’t survive the week. At the beginning of August she passed away after declining for many years. It is comforting to know she is finally at peace and reunited with my gramps.

In August before leaving Pass Lake I travelled with 4 youth from Pass Lake, 1 from Sault Sainte Marie and 3 leaders and 5 youth from Thunder Bay to the National Youth Gathering in Whitehorse. After months and months of fundraising (15,000 perogies!) we flew to Edmonton and joined up with almost 600 other youth and leaders from across the country and traveled on 13 buses through Alberta and BC to Whitehorse. We spent 4 days in Whitehorse with over 1200 other youth and leaders. It was a trip of a lifetime and the youth are excited about attending the next gathering in 2010.

Upon returning to Pass Lake I had five days to sell my car, pick up my new car, pack up my house and hit the road. The last week of August I drove over 3300km, stopping in Kenora, Saskatoon, Calgary, Golden and then back to Calgary to fly home for my grandmother’s memorial service and then flew back to Calgary and drove back to Saskatoon to start school!

This fall I completed my last semester of my Master of Divinity degree at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon. It was a busy semester that included a trip home over reading week to visit friends and family, a weekend trip to Calgary to see a friend ordained and help another move and of course the many papers and assignments to prepare and a lot of wonderful times with friends.

This past week I yet again packed up my car and hit the road. This time for BC! I made it back to BC just in time as the snow hit the interior of BC and the very cold weather has hit Saskatchewan and Alberta!

I will be spending the next few weeks visiting with friends and family. I have my “colloquy” exam on the 29^th of December. This is the final process where I am approved for ordination. I prepared a written exam in November and have submitted this as well as my evaluations throughout my degree process to an examining committee. I will meet with them at the end of December to discuss all of this.

After my colloquy I will pursue a call to a congregation. Once I have a call to a congregation I will be ordained. I wil let all of you know when this is to happen, I would love to have all of you there!

Throughout this very busy year (these stories are just a small part of all I’ve been up to!) I have over and over again been so grateful for the love and support of my friends and family. I would never have been able to get to this point in my journey without all of you. Thank you for your support, love, hugs, caring emails, great chats online, in person or on the phone, prayers and all of the other wonderful ways you have supported me this year!

My parents are doing well. My dad is adjusting to retirement rather well photographing up a storm and doing some travelling. My mom is looking forward to retiring this June.

My brothers continue to make my parents life interesting. They are both living at home. David is working construction and finishing his apprenticeship hours. Ryan has been working a variety of jobs this year.

I invite you all to check out my blog www.canadianlutheranchick.blogspot.com to find out what I’m up to!

Many blessings to you and yours this Christmas season!

Kristen

What I've done

I'm still working away on papers but this looked like fun. Though I think it's rather American, I'm still going to try it. You're supposed to bold the things you've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (World Vision)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (a cheesy instructional one in the 90's that apparently is still out there)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout (GUIDE) Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I have the best of intentions, but I am on the bone marrow donor list)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (twice)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - or infamous?
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Still Alive

Yes I'm still alive. I apologize for the lack of posts. I am 2.5 weeks away from finishing classes for my MDiv! It's a little overwhelming at this point as I work to finish up papers, presentations and other assignments as well as put together all the documentation and paperwork for my colloquy. Colloquy will be the end of December. It is the official process the church approves me for ordination. It requires a lot of paperwork and a written response to three questions.
I will be finishing classes here on the 4th of December and will hopefully have only one last paper left and finish that and hit the road for BC!
Some days it feels like it has flown by but most of the time I can't wait to be done!

More pics!

What a great week it was!

Reading Week Trip Pics

Stories to come!

1 Month down 2 & a bit to go

Well I made it through the first month. September was crazy busy. Not only was it moving back to Saskatoon and getting settled and getting back into the groove of being in school but I also had an intensive course on 3 weekends and 2 days during orientation week. We had class three out of the last four weekends on top of the regular classes I'm taking. It has been completely exhausting but last Saturday was the end of the intensive!
I am totally exhausted, fighting allergies/cold and had a cold just a few weeks ago so I'm glad the next two weeks are a bit quieter. Reading week begins in two weeks and I'll be back in Richmond for the week spending quality time with family and friends. I am looking forward to that immensely. The last three times I have been home in the last 13 months were for Christmas, sister's wedding and grandmother's memorial service so I'm glad to have some time to just be a home and with friends.
It was beautiful here in Saskatoon last week but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take any pictures. We had temperatures up to 28 degrees on a couple of days but it is definitely fall here now, cold and windy!
I will post some pics soon.

Read this!

Well, I'm back in Saskatoon and most of the time I am glad to be here. It is challenging at times to be back in school and away from parish ministry but I am enjoying the classes I'm taking and the learning I'm doing.
I only have one last semester here and then I'm in the real world in whatever form that may take. As I prepare to finish my seminary journey I have been reflecting on the whole experience from first thinking and praying about it, seeking out wise people in my life and confiding in them my call and then making the decision through to my two years at VST, year in Saskatoon, internship year in Pass Lake and now back here.
One of the first comments I heard when I was first discerning this call was that I was going to become a "feminist back bencher pastor" and I'm still not sure what exactly this particular person meant about this but I have realised that I have become feminist in a way.
I read a lot of blogs on a regular basis and tonight I read this one and it really resonated with me. It describes why I too won't turn down my "crazy feminism".

On the Road Again

Well I have returned from yet another fantastic youth gathering. This one was a little different as it was in Whitehorse in the Yukon territory. We flew from Thunder Bay to Edmonton and then joined a few other people to make up 13 buses and 2 mini vans (about 600 people) on a road trip up to Whitehorse. We stayed in Fort St. John and Watson Lake along the way, doing the same thing on the way back. I got home this afternoon and am completely exhausted. I will post more about the youth gathering later.
I wanted to fill you in on my itinerary for the next week or so as it will be very wild and may be bringing me close to you! Here is my plan:

Sunday August 24
Last Sunday in Pass Lake, worship at 10 followed by good-bye luncheon
Drive to Kenora, ON
529 km

Monday August 25
Drive from Kenora to Saskatoon, SK
1,046 km

Tuesday August 26
Drive from Saskatoon, SK to Lake Louise, AB
794 km

Wednesday August 27
Drive from Lake Louise, AB - Golden BC
Have car inspected, registered & insured
Drive from Golden, BC - Calgary, AB
Fly from Calgary, AB - Vancouver BC in the evening.
360.5 km

Thursday August 28
Memorial service for Audrey (Nixon) Steele (Nana Nikki)

Friday August 29
In Vancouver
Attending wedding

Saturday August 30
Fly from Vancouver, BC - Calgary, AB
Drive from Calgary, AB - Saskatoon, SK
Settle in and get ready for school starting on Tuesday, September 2!
606 km

So on our bus trip to Whitehorse we traveled 4386km by bus. Next week I will drive more than 3300km. So in 3 weeks I will have travelled over 7700km and been through or in 5 provinces and one territory! What an adventure!

More Wedding Pics

Here are a few more pics from my sister's wedding. These ones are from the professional photographer who did an amazing job I think.


The ceremony was at Minoru Chapel in Richmond. This first shot is when I was doing a reading during the ceremony.




Here am I and my super tall sister! I love this picture!


























Here is the whole family complete with new addition brother-in-law Tim. My brothers no longer have to fight over who's the tallest because Tim clearly wins!








Time is flying here in Northwestern Ontario. Summer has finally arrived and the bugs have come along with it. The weather is beautiful and sunny and I am enjoying lake time, some road trips on my day off and the warm weather.
My car is in the process of dying and so I went out last week and found a great little car to buy. My parents arrive on Saturday and so we will hopefully be completing the purchase next week!
This is the week of BC visitors as I have a family from my home congregation in Richmond passing through on Thursday to stay overnight as they move to Southern Ontario. I am looking forward to visiting with them and showing them my piece of heaven.
I am very excited about my parents' visit and have lots planned for them while they're here.
After they leave it will be all about getting ready for Whitehorse! We head off in 3 weeks from yesterday, can't believe how soon that is!
Well that's it for me right now. Hope you're all enjoying summer wherever you are (well at least in the Northern hemisphere!)!

A few more pics

The lovely toilet paper brides at the wedding shower!


















Kat & the oh so cute Charlotte Rose, so nice to visit with them and get to know Charlotte better, she's a sweetheart!

Trip Home & Jennifer's wedding

I had a fantastic week and a bit at home the highlight of which was my sister's wedding. She married the love of her life Mr. Timothy Westbrook on Sunday and the wedding was gorgeous. She decided to do a lot of the work herself and so the week before the wedding was very busy but we had lots of fun. Here are a few of the pictures taken by various people. When I get a good picture of my sister & brother-in-law (how weird to say that!) I will post that but you can see him in the white shirt directly behind my sister, the guy with the beard beside him is his best man.








Here is a shot of my two best friends and I, they were at the wedding and helped with the guest book.













And a shot of the father daughter dance.



















This is day after dim sum with the bridal party, Tim's parents, my family and the bride and groom of course.

Well I have been contemplating all day what to blog. I wanted to write something profound and reflective and I might do that in the next post but right now I'm just going to share some pictures of my garden. The woman whose house I live in (who now lives in a care home in Thunder Bay) was an avid gardener and so I am blessed to have a garden full of flowers. I have also continued the tradition and planted a vegetable garden which has just begun to sprout.
Spring here was a long time in coming so all the plants are late this year. It has also been rather wet. The last picture is of my beaver pond in my backyard. The grass line in the middle of the picture is where the water is supposed to end and if you look closely you can see the concrete lid to my well completely submerged. The beavers have once again been successful at blocking the culvert and so the water is at road level yet again.
It has been cold and rainy here and so days of sunshine like this one are most welcome. We're supposed to have thunderstorms with more rain tonight and possibly rain all weekend so I am enjoying the bright light in the sky this afternoon!

A Day in the Life

Way back when I wrote a bit about a day in the life when I transported two chickens around the community after a few power outages. Well I thought I would blog about today, no power outages but a busy day!
I agreed to take someone from the community into town (Thunder Bay) today because she doesn't have a car and needed to pick up some cedar mulch for her garden among other things. So I picked her up at 10:30 this morning and we began our trek into town. We had a great lunch at a new Chinese buffet in town first and then began our errands, Home depot for mulch which we loaded into my car in the middle of a rain downpour, Dollarama for other items, Canadian tire for a few items, clothing store to get my dress for my sister's wedding, Superstore for groceries, Shell for gas, Value Village for books and then to a little store in a neighbourhood I'd never been in to pick up marzipan and other items. Are you tired yet?
We then headed back to Pass Lake and on our way to drop off cornstarch at someone else's house we passed a car in the ditch. We stopped checked in with two other Pass Lakers who had stopped and were helping the driver (she was ok). They were just waiting with her for the cops and tow truck to arrive. We dropped off the cornstarch and headed back to drop off my passenger, passing again the accident scene. We got to my passenger's house unloaded her 8 bags of cedar mulch, groceries and other purchases, then I picked some rhubarb because she had lots and doesn't eat it, got some chives and a basil plant. On my way home I stopped at the church and made some iced tea and got some water and stopped at the accident scene to give some beverages because by this point it was hot and sunny and I'm sure they had been there for at least an hour. When I got there the tow truck had just pulled up as well. I stayed with them until the car was hooked up and pulled out of the ditch and the driver was heading back to town with her now totaled car.
Got home about 6:30 to start my sermon for tomorrow (I usually write on Fridays but that's another story)! Finished my sermon about an hour ago (going to be a short one tomorrow) and started chopping rhubarb. I now have a big pot of rhubarb on the stove stewing and a large and small crisp baking in the oven.
I think I'll sleep well tonight!
Tomorrow it's supposed to rain all day which is too bad because the fire team is hosting a father's day golf tournament (with a 10AM tee time, arggh). Anyone who shows up for church will be invited to head across the parking lot for lunch at the post golf bbq at the fire hall instead of coffee in the church hall to show support for the fire hall and all their work.
Things are always interesting here in Pass Lake!