Congregation Life

La Gente de Congregación de San Timoteo

Porque donde hay dos o tres reunidos en mi Nombre, yo estoy presente en medio de ellos. 

Mateo 18.20

For where two or three gather in my name, I am there among them. Matthew 18.20

I cannot recall exactly when I learned this bible verse; like much of my bible knowledge, it is something unconsciously stored in my mind. Being raised in a church has given me lessons of scripture that I often do not realize I have learned; much different than the memorization of the books of the bible (thank you 6th grade Sunday school teacher Michele Bobo!).

However, there is a difference between knowing and understanding. This is one of those verses that I really had not much given much thought to except when thinking about one-on-one discussions of spirituality that I have had with friends. Yet, as I have been welcomed and accepted into the community of San Timoteo, my understanding of this verse has deepen.

Some background: in the United States, I belong to Epiphany Lutheran Church of Toledo, Ohio which is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). During the 1950s, the ELCA sent missionaries to Argentina and Uruguay to share their faith perspective and establish churches and schools. They formed the Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Unida (IELU) and now there are over 30 congregations throughout the two countries.

I have been fortunate to have visited many different ELCA congregations in the U.S. from big to small, young to old, diverse to homogeneous. I was told before arriving that the IELU had much fewer members than I was used to; I was surprised to actually see how few.

Most of the congregations in the IELU have around 15 members. When I first arrived, Iván, the pastor of San Timoteo, told me that typically they have maybe 9 or 10 people for worship and sometimes during poor weather it can be 4 or 5. La Plata is a city known for its universities so we also have a young adult group of about 10 that has their own meetings and events.

Such a difference than what I am accustomed to! In the U.S., my home congregation has about 50 people for each of their three services. That does not take into account the Wednesday worship, bible studies, youth events or the various community organizations who use our building.

During my time with San Timoteo I have witnessed the closeness that grows between a few. In general, I have found Argentines are more familiar with each other. For example, when greeting each other we press our right check to the other's and make an air kiss/smoochy sound; sometimes you may get a real kiss on the cheek, usually by a child or an elderly person. Nothing remotely romantic or sexual; this is simply how you greet every person, whether you have previously met them or not. I like the closeness it brings and that it eliminates the American dilemma of handshake, wave, or hug.

The people of San Timoteo are not close because they are Argentine but because they choose to form a community. They choose to attend worship, bible studies, and other events knowing that only a few people may be participating; actually, this may encourage them to participate more, I'm not sure. They get to know one another on a deeper level that big groups simply cannot obtain.

The size of the church also gives the members a different sense of responsibility than I am used to experiencing. The only person who is financial supported by the church is Iván the pastor yet everyone contributes their time, energy, and money to supporting the building and the people. I have seen Marta clean the floors and pick up trash from the outside of the building. Carlos will answer emails and update the church Facebook page. Nico is musician for worship and if he is unable to attend, Iván plays guitar and leads us in song. From a monetary perspective, I do not know much but I do know that it is up to the people to provide for each other. If we run out of coffee, someone buys some for the next time. If we are having some sort of meeting during lunch time, there is not a set aside budget but we all contribute some money.

I think of the attitudes the U.S. over the fear of shrinking congregations. Part worried about sustaining and part reminiscent of the past, organizations focus on numbers of bodies in the seats. By the standards of U.S. congregations, this congregation would be considered 'dead' a long time ago. Yet how can that be said when they keep returning for knowledge of the Word and nourishment for their souls? Why do we look at numbers before looking at the strength and bonds of a community? Why do we look at numbers at all when concepts of faith and hope are immeasurable?

I am inspired to rethink the standard in my head of what a successful organization looks like; it is clearly not based on size or money. The words mission, dedication, and hope come to mind. What do you think of?

Peace, Love, &
Joy

Example an Argentine greeting via Google

Transformed the worship space for an ecumenical Taize service

Lutero y Cerveza con los jovenes
Luther and Beer with the young adult group

First month in La Plata

el limonero de las estaciones

Saludos desde Argentina!

October already! While many of you are planning your Halloween costumes and consuming everything pumpkin spice, we just had la primera semana de primavera, or the first week of spring. This is a season of new life and today as I walked through La Plata, the city I now call home, I noticed the fuller, greener trees that line the streets. There are new beginnings and fresh perspectives growing internally as well; I am delighted to have arrived during a season that fits so metaphorically well.

The first two weeks I spent in Argentina was in the capital city of Buenos Aires, housed in the retreat center and main office building of the Iglesia Evangelica Luterna Unida (IELU). Inside these walls we were warmly welcomed and showered with hospitality which made the transition easier. Myself and the six other volunteers from all over the United States were able to have our first experiences in this unknown country together. We practiced riding public transportation, shopping, and even asking people for directions (I did not understand the replies but their hand movements were very helpful). Furthermore, this was a time to bond as a group of volunteers, center ourselves spiritually, and learn some of the rich history and context for where we will serve. We left with tons of emotions but feeling connected to each other and a little more confident in ourselves for the year ahead.

A lot of that confidence seemed to disappear as I rode the 2 hour bus ride to La Plata, replaced by nervousness and uncertainty. However, as we all shared pizza together that first night, I realized I had nothing to fear from my housemates except the rapid speed of their conversations. I live in a student residence called a hogar which houses 5 other girls, 3 guys, 2 cats, and a dog named Mora or Pancha depending who you ask. I feel very lucky to be in this place where I can share meals, beer, and conversation with young people that are no longer just housemates but friends.

During the first night, I was having a conversation with my friend Nico in the spacious backyard of the hogar. Nico speaks English so we are able to have conversations that are more thorough than any I typically have (my Spanish level is improving daily but is still truly basic). He showed me a bush that is on the edge of the yard called a limonero de las cuatro estaciones which translates to a four seasons lemon tree. While the fruit, which is available all year, looks like a mandarin and smells like a mandarin, the taste is more sour than a lemon.

What a perfect metaphor for expectations, I thought. Because I may want to come into this place with absolutely no expectations but that is just not the reality. The human brain will see something and try to identify, classify and compare it to prior experiences and knowledge. No matter how open-minded we are, if we will see something that looks like an orange it will be called an orange until proven differently. There will be situations where I may think I understand but I will need to remember that I do not know what is under the surface or the contextual background. Perhaps it is instinctual to categorize and simplify but, at best, it dulls and subdues fine distinctions and, at worst, it is completely inaccurate and sour. Instead of a juicy orange you get the harsh bite of a lemon.

Yet as I have been settling into my life here, I realize that I should let go some expectations of myself as well. When preparing my suitcases for the year, I packed health magazines, running shoes, books of Spanish literature; all objects to assist me in my ambitious goals of transformation. I planned to exercise every day, eat only salads, and practice Spanish for 2 hours daily so by the end of the year I would be completely fluent.

Fantastic goals? Sí. Realistic? Not so much.

Somehow I believed that being in a new place would so completely change my personality; I could be that driven individual who wakes up at 5am for morning runs and study for hours on end. While I can adopt some of these habits with time and patience, I am still a person who chooses ice cream over exercise, siesta over studying, and late night conversation over sleep. I can try to adopt some healthy lifestyle changes but only gradually and with forgiveness, instead of negativity when I falter.

Because if I do not learn perfect Spanish this year, that does not mean I should only speak English; it means I keep speaking no matter how poor it sounds and keep listening when I do not understand. If I do not have the perfect body or eat the healthiest, that does not mean I should stay in my room in seclusion; it means trying to incorporate healthy choices without denying the sweet things in life, without any negative self talk.

I need to embrace the person who I am right now in order to actively live in the moment. Lose the expectations of myself for the future and even strip away strict images of my identity I hold close. Love the person who I am currently and set her free to love others. I need to not worry about my ideal self of the future but instead thrive right here, right now.

Abrazos y Besos,

Joy

The mates in Olivos, Buenos Aires

San Timoteo to the left and the hogar in the back right

The view from my window

Seriously watching the birds on the roof patio with Pilar's cat Charley
 (a week after this photo he killed one so maybe I should not have encouraged this behavior)

Orienting myself at Orientation

Greetings from Chicago!

I am writing this from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago which is facilitating the orientation week before my much anticipated deployment to Buenos Aires. This is the first week in my year as a YAGM (Young Adult in Global Mission), a program of international service and building relationships through the ELCA and companion churches and communities.

Instead of writing about the mentally and emotionally full week that seeks to prepare our hearts and minds for the year, I want to reflect on the time pre-deployment. The time that I have spent parting from my friends and family has been precious and surreal, full of joy and grief. I say goodbye knowing that I will be absent from special holidays and celebrations, births and possibly deaths. It still has not truly hit me that I will be away from people who have such love for me for a whole year.

Numerous significant things were spoken to me in the days before leaving so I want to share some of that with you now.

"Is your stomach in knots?"

Yes and so much more! At times there is an anxiety in my gut that rises up like a wave of should-have-saids, need-to-dos, and what-will-happens. Other times such a huge feeling of gratitude floods in and I am a loss for words. I meet with friends for lunch and through conversation and laughter and tears, I hold close the wonderful friendship we have. When we have to part ways, despite knowing I will be able to reach them through the internet, the knowledge that I will be physically absent is breaks my heart a little. However, soon I am caught up in the next big emotion of excitement and wonder at the future ahead.

"We know you will succeed!"

How incredibly fortunate and bless I am to have people who believe in me! So many people have shown support of all kinds and it really overwhelms me in the best of ways when I reflect on it.

"Don't leave."

I wish I could physically take you with me. I wish I could spend Christmas with my family and that all of my closest friends could come down to visit this year. But this year of service, this time that I will use to develop relationships and experience another culture not as a tourist but as a resident will hopefully transform me deep within. It is something I feel called to do.

"Just remember to touch your shoulder if you get to feeling lonely or lost and know God is with you and we are too." 

I will have times of darkness in this time ahead and it feels good to acknowledge that fact. Yet the best feeling is that I know I will have the prayers, warm wishes, and thoughts of my community from home. I will never forget the wonderful, kind, and giving people that sent me and having the love and support from you throughout my year will sustain me.

"This God will use all of you and not just your strengths but your failures and your failings and your brokenness and God's strength is perfected in human weakness. So your brokenness is fertile ground for a forgiving God to make something new and make something beautiful. So don't ever think that all you have to offer is your gifts because God's going to use you too, he's going to use all of you and the world better watch out."

I do not need to do anything to make myself better or worthy to do a year as a YAGM - I can't even if I try. I am created by God and called to serve as my total self - my talents and my flaws. How freeing it is to give my life and my trust to a higher power; yet how difficult it is to lose control as well. That lesson that sounds easy but it is difficult to execute in our broken world.

Tonight I will enjoy my time with my 92 other YAGMs before we are sent into the unknown, across the globe. Next time I will be writing from Buenos Aires!

Abrazos,

Joy

Need for Stillness

This past year I have been keeping an unconventional journal. Originally, I wrote in it only when I was feeling down so the beginning pages are full of sad quotes, poems and long descriptions of my emotions (which I hope no one ever EVER reads). As time went on, I would write in my journal in all sorts of ways – sometimes I vented about a frustrating moment in my day, occasionally I would doodle pictures, and one month I wrote 3 things I was thankful for every morning as I enjoyed my coffee.

I even highlighted it!

As I was flipping through the last 2 months of pages I realized that my journal has morphed into To-Do Lists and schedules with sporadic entries about the people I love and the experiences I am grateful for. My frequently used words are “busy” and “to-do”; sticky notes of appointments are bright on the pages.

Without a doubt there is a lot that I want to accomplish in this limited time I have left in the United States. Yet what does being busy mean in my life?

Today, if you ask me what are my plans are for the week ahead I can talk for 5 minutes straight about the things I have to do and how my days are divided based on time for work, friends, family - even meals and showering have designated times. Most nights I think about what I need to accomplish the next day and those thoughts return in the morning when I first wake up. Sometimes it feel like my mind is overflowing with tasks and timetables.

Yet what does busy mean for my life when I look past the week-to-week?

More often than I would like to admit, it means that I look for ways to stay busy. I do not want to rest but I want to stay in motion. I will ride my bike around the neighborhood or walk the family dog if I have spare moments. Most importantly, I seek things to occupy my mind such as Netflix or scrolling through Facebook when I ‘relax’. I do not want to be still and let my mind go freely. When I actually take the time to slow down, to be still and to think then the thoughts that I have been pushing away come to mind. Did I say too much? I should have that done differently. I need to make plans with that person that I rarely see. What will my life be like in a year? Am I handling this the right way?

Actual writing from June

This wave of uncomfortable thoughts hits me so hard because I am refusing to confront the worries and anxieties. I stay busy to distract myself even if I am productive in my actions.

What I need to embrace is the quiet. I need to designate an hour or more for stillness and for listening. Humans are not meant to be in constant motion and our minds need a pause from distractions. People need time to listen to their inner voice, to God, to nature or whatever else they find in the stillness.

Because it is through quietness that we recharge and refocus. When I take time to be still, I look at my life and determine what actions am I doing to distract myself and what are the things that really fill my life. I want is a life that is full; of laughter, discussion, exploration, people and love. Fullness is different from busyness and it is through the still moments that I can reflect on how I truly want to spend my time.

What do you hear in stillness? Worries and anxieties? Past wounds and future uncertainties? Do you let yourself acknowledge the unpleasant thoughts and feelings?

Do other things come to mind? Maybe the sunrise makes you think thoughts of promise. Perhaps the night sky gives you a feeling of wonder and smallness. And maybe you think of nothing at all - you just be still and be present in the moment.

"note to self:

to genuinely appreciate life
and enjoy the process
of living, you must be
mindful, intentional, and 
patient. stop hurrying. 
honor the sacred act of 
taking your time." 
—Alex Elle 

The need for stillness has been made apparent in my life: through my journal, by seeing the quote above, and a realizing that scheduling my shower time is a bit ridiculous :) 

Taking a Plunge

When I was very young, my parents took me to Round Lake in Irish Hills, Michigan for an afternoon of swimming and fun. Wearing my pink swimsuit and full of excitement, I could hardly sit still on the car ride that seemed to last forever. As soon as we parked the car, I kicked off my shoes, hopped out and ran down the dock towards my uncle and cousins. Instead of running into his arms, like a little girl might have, I passed him and jumped feet first into the lake!

Not knowing how deep the lake was, Uncle Jeff jumped in after me; although the lake was indeed shallow there was no way my 4 year old self could have known. Thinking of this story makes me see the fearlessness, possible recklessness, and certainly the trustfulness that I possessed. I have been given the gift of an adventurous, strong spirit which allows me confront new situations, create new relationships and travel with vigor. This upcoming year will surely help deepen my understanding of my talents and passions.

What really stood out as I reflected on this story was how blessed I am being raised with a stable, loving foundation. I felt no fear when I jumped into that lake - only excitement and pure happiness. I had so much trust in my family that not one hesitation crossed my mind. 

I have been truly and completely blessed to receive such nourishment throughout my life; physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Without the support and care in my childhood and as a young adult, I would not be the person I am today. I know that there will be many moments of uncertainty, fear, and anxiety in the months ahead. There will be challenges and difficult times as I live away from my friends and family for the first time. There will be times when I feel disconnected and when I long for home despite all the gifts I will receive from my new community.

Yet I will never be alone; God is walking besides me on this journey. He is holding my hand, guiding my feet, and providing me a light. I have trust that living in a Christian community and fully experiencing another culture is what I am called to do this year. I have faith that wonderful, transformative things will occur not only in my life but in the lives I connect with as well.

I hope that you will be able to join me this year as I walk this unknown path. At the moment I do not know where I will be living, what exactly I will be doing or even what country I will live in. However, as I run down the dock, I know that the jump will be thrilling, joyful, and feel exactly like where I should be.