June 27

What’s happening these days in the Evangelical Covenant Church, my ordaining body? Some pretty cool things. Gary Walter, whom I consider a friend, has been elected President, succeeding Glenn Palmberg, who announced his impending retirement last year. Gary takes office on September 1. Glenn was my Superintendent in the North Pacific Conference and was an outstanding leader both there and for the whole Covenant for the past 10 years. Gary has led the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism for most of the past 10 years – a period of exceptional growth and aggressive church planting and intentional planting and adopting of multiracial churches. Under Glenn’s leadership the denomination began a new Department of Compassion, Mercy and Justice, and Gary, in addition to new church development, has brought in a sub-department of church revitalization – going to conflicted churches and helping them find a healthy path to the future – even going so far as to establish a revitalization assessment center to identify pastors gifted to help turn around struggling churches. (Talk about a call I don’t want…)

Meanwhile, I am watching the news from a distance, both geographically and – I struggle to find the right word... Ecclesiastically? No – sounds too hierarchical and theological. I really am a Covenanter at heart – but one who has been deeply touched by being reconnected to the roots of the Covenant in the Lutheran tradition. Relationally? Not really. There’s no relational break between myself and anyone in the Covenant on a personal level, and every time I attend a meeting there are those among the pastors and Superintendents who ask when I will be returning or if I am open to conversations with churches. On the other hand I ache for missing many good friends who serve in the Covenant. Emotionally? Perhaps. Part of my heart is permanently lodged in the Covenant, but an equal part of my heart is lodged in Kingwood and in the friends I have and the church I serve here. If / When I ever should leave here, I will take a confirmed Lutheran daughter and a baptized Lutheran son with me (and if I stay 3 more years, he’ll be confirmed as well). These two parts are often – almost always - at odds with what they hope for and long for. I stay because I love the people and church I am serving, because my family needs the stability, and mostly because God called me here (even if, technically, the church didn't) and God has not at all said “go” nor even given my heart the freedom to seriously consider another ministry assignment.

So, from this distance, I wish the Covenant and it’s new President-elect well, and I say to the retiring President, “Go color outside the lines”. He knows what that means – it refers back to a conversation he had with ElenaClaire when she was 5 years old and had a handful of crayons at the restaurant table. She offered him a crayon and told him it was OK if he didn’t stay inside the lines.

Meanwhile, it has been a restful week of vacation for me after finishing up a most successful run of “Annie Get your Gun” – 4 shows at the Nathaniel Center in Kingwood, and 4 more at the crown jewel of Houston’s downtown theatre District, the Hobby Center. And so life carries on.

Annie Get Your Gun TV Commercial

...and if you just HAVE to see more, I've posted the opening number "THere's no Business like Show Business" and its reprise here.