Angie's Youth and Young Adult Ministry Blog

Bad Blogger

OK, so I've been a bad blogger lately. Between being a host for Paul's parents (they were in town for five days) and celebrating Ben's high school graduation (a celebration that lasted about five days), I've had my mind on other things. Forgive me.

I'm back now, though. And ready to share these thoughts: life is wa-a-a-a-a-y too short. Watching the high school graduates over the weekend threw me back 22 years to my own high school graduation. 22 years. In that time, I have worked as a graphic artist, a bank teller, a secretary, a salesperson, a stay-at-home mom, a piano teacher, a choir director, a minister of music, an associate minister, a solo minister, and a minister on staff with five other ministers. I have been a coach for my daughter's softball, basketball and volleyball teams and have been in community theater. I have been married, divorced and re-married. I have been a mom and a bonus-mom, an aunt (twice), and a step-daughter. Two of my grandparents have died. So has my former mother-in-law. I have lived in a dormitory, 4 apartments, and 3 houses. I have owned many different cars, been owned by several cats and a couple of dogs. My list of friends has grown and changed. So has my list of partners in ministry. I have learned several new hobbies (you can read about most of them in other blog entries: pottery, gardening, quilting, bowling, walking, running, yoga) and have gained and lost at least a hundred pounds (not all at once, mind you...).

It's been fun. Crazy, even. And it has flown by in the blink of an eye. The next 22 years will go equally as fast, if not more so. I still have a lot to do: minister, play, write, teach, dream, learn, share, grow. I'd better get to work.

Thanks for sharing the journey with me.

Coach K

I met with Molly Hagkull yesterday. She is now officially the Youth Ministries Coordinator at Plymouth and she is very excited about the possibilities of creating opportunities for kids and adults to connect. It was a shot of adrenaline working with her yesterday--new energy, new ideas.

Today, I'm meeting with those who are going to be trained at Stepping Stones Coordinators. They are excited, too, about creating opportunities for families to connect and grow in faith.

Newness, change...what could happen? What is our vision? What is our plan for implementation? How will we accept the good and the not-so-good things that happen because of the changes we will make this year? Hmmmm....

My favorite basketball coach--Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University--appeared in my dreams the other night and told me he wanted to talk to me. He said that it was time for me to step it up a little. Being a believer in what my dreams tell me, I pulled his book "Leading with the Heart" off of my bookshelf this morning for a re-visit, opened it up, and here was his advice:

"Dont worry about losing. Think about winning." Not bad advice. So I kept flipping, and found more and thought I'd share these gems with you today:

"Everybody doesn't just come together right away, meet on a mountaintop and embrace. That's not the way it happens."

"No organization, no matter how good it is, is going to win on reputation alone."

"Hunger not for success, but for excellence. And don't let anyone else define excellence for you."

"If something isn't working, try something new and different. Innovate. Never give up. Never."

Great News!

The waiting is finally over--the proposal to expand the Stepping Stones ministry has been funded by Plymouth's Foundation and the proposal to hire a youth ministry project coordinator has been funded by the church Trustees.

I couldn't let that announcement wait another day. This is big stuff. A huge moment. Next month, some volunteer coordinators and I will head off to Stillwater, MN for three full days of Stepping Stones training. While there, we will learn, laugh, play, dream, plan and organize. When we get home, we'll hit the ground running as we invite others to join us in this incredibly transformative, fun, life-changing ministry.

And next week, Molly Hagkull will take on the responsibility of creating a small group ministry for the high school students--something that has needed to happen for a long time, something that I've always wanted to get around to but never had the time, something that will transition kids from an amazing confirmation experience into an amazing high school experience. Her first job? Find others to join us in this incredibly transformative, fun, life-changing ministry.

Very cool.

It Goes So Fast...

Last night was Bailey's softball game. She played on the field where we won the County League Championship 7 or 8 years ago--it was a moment of deja vu. It was obvious during the game just how much she has grown up (in more ways than one). Her last day of school is next week--she'll then officially be a senior. One year from now she will graduate high school and soon after head off to college.

Ben (Paul's son), on the other hand, only has a few days left of high school. Period. He'll graduate next Saturday, spend some time this summer at camp, on a wilderness 'father/son' trip to the Boundary Waters, hanging with friends, and then it's off to college for him (Iowa State. Graphic Design). I've been going through old photographs to compile on a DVD for him--it's been fun to flip through those pics and see how much he has changed, too (again, in more ways than one).

A part of me misses my "babies". I miss the innocence, the process of exploration and growth, the bumps and bruises and skinned knees, the goofy laughter and silly play. But only a little part of me misses all of that--mostly because it's all still here, in different forms. They still explore, they are still growing, they will still get hurt in relationships and in life. If they didn't, they wouldn't be living. And that's what I want most for them--to live life in it's fullest. With abundance. With abandon. Be who they were created to be.

So I look forward to the next phases of our lives together--sharing our highs and lows almost every night (they don't get off the hook just because they aren't living under our roof!), playing, laughing, crying, growing together. In faith. With each other.

Life is good.

Great

In the "Fifth Disciple Fieldbook"--a companion to "The Fifth Discipline"--Peter Senge makes a point of reminding us that great teams rarely start off as great teams. Whether it's a sports team, or a performing arts team, or a work team, or a marriage, all groups begin as a group of individuals. Great teams happen when these groups of individual people change: they develop new skills, new understandings, new capabitilies. Over time, they start to see and experience the world differently--as a whole group and not just individual members of the group. It is out of that evolvement that trust, relationships and synergy form and a great team is born.

Great teams don't form overnight. And they obviously aren't easy--they take work, dedication and discipline. But it's soooo worth it. When a great team is finally born, great things happen. Hang in there.

The Fifth

You can take the fifth, plead the fifth, play a fifth, drink a fifth (not recommended, though), and even listen to Beethoven's Fifth.

You can also read about, change your life because of, improve your relationships, and make the world a better place by using Peter Senge's "Fifth Discipline"--a study on systems change. Although I'd read snippets of the book before, I listened to the first half of the book on my iPod last night while driving to and from my daughter's softball game. I was so engrossed in the book that I almost drove past the exit on the highway--it really is that good.

The basic premise? We are not individuals in this world, working alone, independent, disconnected from others. Everything we do impacts lots of other things and lots of other people. Decisions we make, things we say, actions we take--like the ripple effect in a pond.

That's a very, very, very abbreviated (and not even a complete) snapshot of where the book begins. It then goes on to talk about learning and growing, owning and sharing vision, learning to work together, strengthening trust and relationships, and practice...practice...practice.

Good read. I'll hopefully finish it tonight, on the road to another ballgame.

Thanks, Mom

On this Mother's Day, check out one of my favorite poems: "The Lanyard" at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4990320

It's a prayer of thanks for mothers. It could also be a prayer of thanks to God--after all, think of all God has given to us and what we to God in return.

Happy Mother's Day.

Memory Books and Kids

Confirmation: a time to share thoughts, ideas, ask questions, build relationships, make memories. How cool would it be if each kid had a journal/memorybook/yearbook to work from at home and in small groups at church?

Now they can! The fine folks at Faith Inkubators are putting together a faith journal for confirmation students. It's more than a journal, though--this thing is full of beautiful art, thought-provoking questions, places where families can share their highs and lows, scripture verses, areas to doodle and put pictures...it's way cool.

Check it out at www.faithink.com. And get excited about fall! Whoo-hoo!

Out With the Old, In With the New

The transitions are starting: committees and board at Plymouth are wrapping up their year, new members are joining the teams and 'old' members are either retiring from service or becoming new again by joining up with another group. So right now is a time of reflection: what have we done this year? And it's a time for hopes and dreams: what do we hope to do in the next year?

So, in that spirit--where are you? What have you done so far this year? What is it you hope to do the rest of the year?

As for me: I acquired a 'glow' while on sabbatical. That's what I've done so far. I hope to hang on to it, too. Centeredness. Peace. Rooted in faith. Contentment.

Everything else? Just details...

That's what it's all about...

Ministry sometimes feels like doing the hokey-pokey: you put your right foot in, take it back out, put it back in and shake, shake, shake and then you do the hokey-pokey and turn yourself about...and things turn out OK.

That's what happened this weekend. All year long, it has felt like we've been dancing in circles, throwing things in, taking them out, shaking things up...for what? To give kids a home and relationships. To let them know they are loved. To help them grow in faith.

31 8th grade confirmation students joined the church yesterday, professed their faith and took their vows. They spoke about the great two years they've had in confirmation and shared that they want to keep going in high school: small groups, service projects, fun. It was awesome. That was at the first service.

At the second service, the Junior Matins (9th and 10th grade) choir performed their 'home concert'--they led worship in song and story, sharing their feelings about being a part of the choir, about taking their ministry on the road to share with folks in Kansas City, and about what it means to be a part of Plymouth church leading worship each week. Amazing.

"That's what it's all about". Keep dancing!