A Week of Service

We began the week of service with a Northern Illinois Synod worship with other churches from the synod and Bishop Clements.  We worshiped outside at Patriots Gateway Center, following the service we played games and shared a meal together.  On Monday we left Rockford to pack meals at Feed My Starving Children in Schaumburg with many other volunteers.  We worked as a team to pack the meals, each of us with a different job to get everything needed for each meal.  During our few hours there, a total of 73 boxes filled which totaled 15,768 meals.  This will feed 43 kids for one year.

On Tuesday, we spent the day at Rock Cut State Park.  We enjoyed kayaking and paddle boarding on the lake and had lunch at Rock Cut.  It was a beautiful day.  Wednesday was a full day.  The youth began their day at Miss Carly’s where they helped bag snacks, unload vegetables from a truck, and had a tour.  In the evening they volunteered at Rock House Kids.  The youth ate dinner with the kids and played games.  The youth really enjoyed playing games with the kids.  I think this may have been the highlight of the week.  We ended with a lock-in at church where we played games, talked about the week, and slept a little. 

I am so proud of the youth for all they did this week.  They embraced the week of service and gave it their all.  We are blessed to have these extraordinary youth represent St. Mark.  

Becca Honzel, our summer intern did a fantastic job connecting with the youth and encouraging them.  She brought energy to each service event.  I think she especially enjoyed waking them up on Thursday morning with some lively music.  I have enjoyed getting to know Becca and watching her grow this summer.  She began the summer with a fun week of VBS and she ends her internship with a week of service with the youth. 

I witnessed God’s work in many ways this week.  The youth did not hesitate to jump in and help.  I enjoyed the week of service and the fun we had.  I even enjoyed sleeping in the basement of the church.  This week has been a blessing to me.  And I will say it again, I could not be prouder of the youth and we are blessed to have these extraordinary youth represent St. Mark. 

Peace, Pastor Katrina Steingraeber  

        

Living the Life Right in Front of Us

Lately, I have struggled to make sense of all that has and is happening in our nation and our world.  I have been angry, sad, disheartened, and at a loss of what to do.  Perhaps some of you are feeling the same way.  I have lit candles and prayed, yet that did not seem like enough.  So, I decided to grab a book from my office as I stepped out to take my son for an appointment.  As I sat waiting for my son’s appointment to finish, I glanced at the contents section of the book titled, Liturgy of the Ordinary, Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, by Tish Harrison Warren.  My first thought was this is not really what I am looking for, but I was pleasantly surprised when I began reading the chapter titled Waking, Baptism and Learning to Be Beloved.    

The first thing that stood out to me was the comment on the ordinary parts of our lives and that there were ordinary parts of Christ’s life too.  “Christ’s ordinary years are part of our redemption story.  Because the incarnation and those long, unrecorded years of Jesus’ life, our small, normal lives matter.  If Christ was a carpenter, all of us who are in Christ find that our work is sanctified and made holy.”  In our small corner of the world, our ordinariness is beloved and made holy.  We can reflect God’s glory in our small, everyday tasks. 

The second thing that stood out to me was no matter our profession or position in life, we all have bodies that get tired.  “Whether you’re Mother Teresa or a stay-at-home mom, whether you’re a revolutionary, a student, or a tax attorney, life is lived in twenty-four-hour days.  We have bodies; we lag in energy; we learn slowly; we wake daily and don’t know what lies ahead.”  With the endless barrage of tragic events happening in our world, I have found myself lacking energy and emotionally exhausted at times.  Living into the ambiguity of our lives and what lies ahead is not easy.  I have found myself living in the moment or the day, and that is okay. 

Finally, “And every new day, this is the turn my heart must make: I’m living this life, the life right in front of me.  This one where marriages struggle. This one where we aren’t living as we thought we might or as we hoped we would.  This one where we are weary, where we want to make a difference but aren’t sure where to start, where we have to get dinner on the table or the kid’s teeth brushed… where we worry about those we love, where we struggle to meet our neighbors and love those close to us, where we grieve, where we wait.”  Living the life right in front of us can be hard or it can be boring and mundane.   Our whole selves, boring and ordinary, exciting or challenging, we are beloved children of God.  That is something that cannot be taken away from us and that brings me peace.  I hope it brings you peace too.

God’s peace, Pastor Katrina Steingraeber