Doug Adams

Bobbie Dykema, a grad student at GTU, sent out an email today indicating that Professor Doug Adams is seriously ill and she is requesting prayers for his healing and strength.

Armstrong Houshold

We had a graduation in our house as Silas graduated from pre-school.

Here is receiving his certificate from the School's Superintendant.

It is also baseball season and the boys are both playing in the city league. They each had there first games this week and had a great time. Did you see Silas smile. He fell this spring on the back stairs and knocked his two front teath loose. The dentist had to pull them. He's pretty cute without them.

Megan and I are doing well. She is on vacation with her mom in Ireland and Scotland before we take our High School students to St. Louis, MO on our mission trip. We would ask for your prayers over the next month as our schedule is packed full. We pray everyone is doing well.

Another Ordination

I was able to attend the ordination service in Denver for Matt Gearke this past Sunday.

Matt will be serving as Associate Pastor (youth and children's) at Spirit Lake, Iowa.

He will be making the move and beginning ministry in July.

Let's all remember Matt in this time of transition.

Holy Ground

Friends -

Some of you may have heard in the news about the shooting in Moscow, ID that involved a Presbyterian Church two weeks ago. A gunman shot and killed his wife at home, shot at the police station and killed a police man, and then entered the church and killed the caretaker there and shot himself in the sanctuary. Needless to say it was a huge tragedy and shock in the small college town. That was my home church and the church that supported me on my seminary journey. I found out the morning of the shooting (Sunday) as I was preparing for worship in Wilbur which was quite a difficult time for me.

Well, last Sunday the congregation re-entered their worship space for the first time. One of my parishoners covered for me in Wilbur so that Lars and I could attend. It was very moving for me to share in the service with my church family and it meant a lot to them that Lars and I came. There was a lot of hope in the service as we sang songs and prayed litanies for healing. Halfway through the service they brought in the communion elements and water for the baptismal font. As the pastor poured the water into the font and we sang "Holy Ground" I choked back tears.

It was amazing to see the way the church as a whole reached out to this community in need. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance had been in to help work on the church so there was no sign of the violence that took place there. They had also visited with church members and community neighbors to talk about emotions surrounding the tragedy. There were cards and emails from all over the country expressing support for the congregation and their healing process.

My biggest realization from the experiance was that God never left the space. That while we were re-claiming, re-dedicating the space for worship, the truth was that it never stopped being a worship space. That even though tragedy and evil entered in - God was still present and the holiness of the space was still intact. It was a moving lesson on the presence of God in our lives in times of pain as well as in times of joy.

For those of you who may have seen the news and remembered it was my church thank you for your prayers. It was the prayers of people around the country that have helped this congregation to survive and will continue to help it thrive. Thanks be to God!

Nothing new really.

It's funny how much a dog can become just like its owner. We just found out this morning that our dog Roux has torn her Anterior Cruciate Ligament( ligament in the knee, also known as the ACL) and has arthritis in her knees. Apparently she is not as much as a mutt as we thought because she is predisposed to this injury as an almost pure breed Burmese Mountain Dog. For those who don't know every single member of my family has arthritis in our knees and wrists, we have all had at least one knee surgery, and my mother, sister, brother, and father have all torn their ACL's. So Roux is going to have surgery next week, and if you pray for dogs, pray for Roux. And if you know how much I love my dog, pray for my sanity during her surgery and recovery. Thanks.

Another Walk Across the Stage

Audrey Margaret Rasmussen graduated from Wilson High School in Portland Oregon last Friday night.

There is something about that silly song - Pomp and Circumstance - then when it cranks up and lines of young men and women start walking into the room - lines that include my daughters - well, I have this tendency to want to break out into deep sobbing. It comes from nowhere, I'm just fine, kinda bored, waiting for it all to begin and then... that music cranks up and the robed ones begin to appear and there it is....

I ran into Jill Holseth. She walked SFTS just this last month. She is still doing on-call chaplain work at Providence and is getting ready to take on the ords. Her daughter and second and last born also graduated last night.