Zepheniah 3:17

I was at a meeting this morning that filled me with sadness and even a little bit of despair. We were discussing one of the hot button issues in the church and near the end of the discussion talked about how maybe we aren't even talking anymore because we have come to the realization that we can no longer continue to agree to disagree and there will come a time when the church will split.
Part of me really thinks, let's get the split over with and move on to do what God is calling us to do at this time and in this place but this morning I was struck by a deep sense of sadness. A grief washed over me as I looked around the room and realised that if (or maybe when) we split that some of those in that room with me this morning would be on the other side of the split.
As I left the meeting I struggled with how I was called to be a person of faith and hope in the midst of turmoil and sadness. How do I continue to serve a church that I know will look radically different in the years to come? Will there be a place for me in this new church? How do I bring good news to God's people in the midst of it all?
This afternoon I returned to my sermon for Sunday. The traditional theme for this the third Sunday in advent is joy. A theme that I struggled with after this morning's meeting. So I turned to the texts to continue the wrestling match that through the work of the Spirit turns out a sermon. One of the texts for this Sunday is the end of the book of Zepheniah which includes one of my favourite verses Zepheniah 3:17
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you* in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
As I researched for Sunday's sermon I came across this passage in the introduction to Zephaniah in my Lutheran Study Bible:
"Zephaniah makes a call for trust in God as the sole guarantor of faithfulness and security."
And so I am renewed in God's love for another day. I continue the journey knowing that God rejoices over me with gladness and that I serve a God in whom I can put my trust. For God is the sole guarantor of faithfulness and security.
I continue to journey crying out O Come O Come Emmanuel.

Last batch of ordination pics!

 

 

 

 

More Ordination Pics!

 

 

 

 

Top pic - Three pastors from OSLC, left - Rev. Ken Harris, right of me - Rev. Bob Shantz and far right - Rev. Tim Le Drew. The person to the left of me is Bishop Gerhard Preibisch.
Pic 2 - One of the beautiful cakes
Pic 3 - Three of my youth from OSLC who all participated in the service. The two on the outside came back from Ontario to be a part of the service.
Pic 4 - The laying on of hands, a very powerful moment!

Ordination!

 

 

 

 

Well it has been a while since I blogged, I apologize for that! It has been a wonderful whirlwind of events. I have moved, been ordained, been installed, graduated and begun a new job! Here are some pics from my ordination with more pics from the other events to come!

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.