Lasting Impressions

For the concluding blog in this series,  i will interview myself so to speak with an inventory of "best ofs" and other superlatives

What was your most uncomfortable moment with best results

    That would be last week's boat ride  back 6 miles from shore in a noreast wind on Lake Erie in 3 footers in a 16 foot semi v bass tracker....as my friend Jon, the skipper said...."I wouldn't want to have to do that again.' But the good news... the resulting fish grill was out of this world...Ask Jeff and Kathy Bost


Most painful experience..
    That would be in the Atlantic aboard the Lady Stuart in 8 foot swells, being thrown against the bulk head wall repeatedly trying to land fish....my body the next day looked like Poseidon had a "bounty" out on me...

Most amusing experience...
ok here it is , the tease from last week.  At a church in Florida at the time of the "our father" ( no eucharist, so this was the climactic moment of the liturgy) the congregation held hands....a bit awkward, but I can roll with it no problem, until we began to sing the Melotte Lord's prayer solo as community song...I staggered like I was getting rocked on the Lady Stuart...( see above reference) trying to sing and not laugh....most weren't singing very loud, if at all ( typical Lutheran folk) so I figured what the heck...and I belted out "FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY FOR EVER....AMEN. I wonder why no one talked to me after church?

Cutest kid ever
   That would be Zachary from Saskatoon, who was on the cruise ship and a fellow snorkler...My kind of kid
( except when he found out I was a Penquins' fan and declared: "Sydney Crosby is a baby!"  Excuse me Zach?  Do you want to be relegated from cutest kid to most obnoxious kid in the same blog" Honestly, this little guy was a highlight of the whole 2 months.

Favorite fish species on the reefs....
I actually spent 20 minutes one day following one of these Stoplight Parrotfishes watching it feed....I say " "it" because one of the unique features of this species is that it can change genders... in Grand Turk...absolutely fantastic...

Best overall moment

 outside of  some cruise moments with Sue Ann...mmmm.... ok I'm back
I would have to say it was meeting my new friends from Crookston Mn. who invited me into their world of Daddies-at-their-son's- hockey tourny in Warroad Mn...One thing this sabbatical affirmed for me is that I still treasure relationships above every thing else. And making new friends, well, I believe friendship is at the heart of our faith and knowledge of God.

Most surprising revelation
    That country music can keep you company when you are all alone living in an ice shanty for the better part of a week...favorite song ...Luke Bryan's  "I Don't Want This Night to End"....Who new?

Best novel read ( actually listened to)
   Nelson DeMille's "The Lion"
Best Non-Fiction
   Eldredge's "Wild at Heart"

I would do it again if I had a chance
   Crash Minnie's funeral...loved Mt. Carmel church and the kitchen ladies

A how cool is that ? moment
   Listening to Garrison Keillor while traversing the back roads of Minnesota...I have been a fan for 30 years, but never listened while tooling around "Lake Wobegon"

Best Meal
Kathy Garner's seafood quiche...made with swordfish...ok real men don't eat quiche,...but how can you resist something like that?

Most awe inspiring sight

    The night sky on Lake of the Woods...the clearest I have ever seen the heavens....unfortunately no aurora and it was 0 degrees while I was looking north at the dippers, but it was breathtaking to be all alone on the ice at midnight staring into the most beautiful of light shows possible

Most inspiring worship
closing Eucharist at Luther Seminary' winter convo...why?, because I accepted an invitation to sing in the choir that was formed for the occasion.  Again, a reminder that the liturgy's music when invested by  participation ( I was born to praise the living God) carries one's faith

Enough, I may include some postscripts, as " I don't want this sabbatical to end" ...but its purpose and my mission to "relax, renew, and recreate will forever change how the "rest" of ministry will play-out....
I have nothing but gratitude in my heart for having had the experience

A time apart's setting sun

From Manitoba's border to 30 miles from South America
..6000 miles driven , 6 novels listened to, 4 books read,  6 congregation's visited for worship,fishing in ontario, minnesota, florida, and ohio,..making new friends, hanging out with old friends,...
5 sites snorkled, and the chance to be with Sue for our 35th anniversary cruise and a quick stop to be with Marta in Atlanta, I write this penultimate post with some satisfaction and great gratitude for the time away.
The valentine cruise was completed as we disembarked on Ash Wednesday, an interesting swing of indulgence to the beginning of my annual fast. Today is the eve of my return to the office of word and sacrament. How does one measure the significance of being away an extended period when ones identity has been associated with the continuity of day to day life as a parish pastor?  Like most things, to be determined after a while back in the saddle...My last blog in this journey will be a  list of  best of/most memorable experiences.  Here's a tease...
Most amusing experience worshiping in another Lutheran church...any guesses, ?  I still laugh when I think about it! Then I feel bad, because for those good folks it was the climax of their worship!  But my God, it was classic..Want to know?
You have to tune in next week for the finale
Until then this is sabbatical short-timer William, with a very grateful heart! Renewed, relaxed, and recreated.

My Sabbatical Valentine

As my 8 weeks of a time apart enter the concluding quarter, what I have been looking forward to the most is about to begin. Yesterday, I picked Sue Ann up at the Fort Lauderdale airport and this morning we will board "The Miracle" for 8 days in the Southern Caribbean. The theory behind these kind of leaves is to spend significant time with your family. It seems good then that at least these two weeks I get to spend with the love of my life.  I have enjoyed portions of solitude, but was really designed for community.  And, the center of my community is my bride! This year we celebrate 35 years of marriage. I will be the first to admit that I am not the most romantic guy in the world, but it is pretty cool that today, on valentine's day we get to board a cruise ship. Our first valentine's day of marriage in seminary, I got Sue a set of white enamel pots...not my finest moment as a gifting husband, but you can understand why it might be memorable.

Here are my thoughts anticipating the community of a cruise. On other cruises, acquaintances/new friends have helped make the experiences joyful. I wonder who our table mates will be this time?  What songs will I sing at the karaoke bar? Oh yes, we will rock! And, will there be "smooth sailing?"

I will not pop for the exorbitant costs of wi-fi, so I will not be blogging until Ash Wednesday, the day we disembark, ( ironic huh?) Until then.. let's all sing together...."THE LOOOOOVE BOAT"

Getting one's imagination turpentined

A reading in my daily breviary "For all the Saints" for today is from James Weldon Johnson, a favorite poet who wrote a collection called "God's Trombones. I was just going to include a portion of today's reading but it's too good to abridge. Enjoy;and, if you like this poem, then look up "Creation" and " Crucifixion" also from the collection "God's Trombones"
And now, O Lord, this man of God
Who breaks the bread of life this morning-
Shadow him in the hollow of thy hand.
And keep him out of the gunshot of the deviol
Take him Lord-this morning-
Wash him up and drain him dry of sin.
Pin his ear to the wisdom-post,
And make his words sledge hammers of truth-
Beating on the iron heart of sin

Lord God, this morning-
Put his eye to the telescope of eternity,
And let him look upon the paper walls of time.
Lord, turpentine his imagination,
Put perpetual motion in his arms,
Fill him full of the dynamite of thy power,
Anoint him all over with the oil of thy salvation,
And set his tongue on fire.
And now, O Lord-
When I've done drunk my last cup of sorrow-
When I've been called everything but a child of God-
When I'm done traveling up the rough side of the mountain-
O- Mary's Baby
When I start down the steep and slippery steps of death-
When this old world begins to rock beneath my feet-
Lower me to my dusty grave in peace
To wait for that great gittin' up morning
Amen

This time apart, and Johnson's writings about a "man of God" and his need for renewal, stikes a chord with me as I march forward a day closer to "that great gittin' up day" ...In the meantime my hope is that you and I may be "drained of sin" and may have our ears "pinned to the wisdom post,"
And Dear God, my imagination could use stipped, cleaned, and ready to dream again...
Let it be so.

James Weldon Johnson 1871-1938

Florida!!

It is still hard for me to believe that last week I was in Minnesota. After a quick turn around including getting to worship at First downtown, My trek continued another 1200 miles, ( interestingly enough almost the identical mileage I went north to Lake of the Woods) I have been experiencing the wonderful hospitality of a dear old friend Jon, and his wife Kathy, at Port St. Lucie.  Let's just say I have been eating very well. Jon and I met at Pymatuning 28 years ago when my boat was incapacitated, he was putting his boat in behind me and invited me in a rather bemused tone to fish with him...We have been fishing together ever since, but the first time in a long time...
The fishing trip today was on the ocean, and it was a bit tough, fishing near the bow of a head boat in 8 foot swells, I can honestly say at the conclusion of the trip, I was ready to come in...not typical of William B.
I will give an atta boy or atta girl to the first person who can identify, these beautiful fish...It must be the exact modifier of the fairly well known species to get the prize.
Lake Okechobee tomorrow ( Kissimee River mouth)...Love Florida, feel very blessed to be on this leg of the journey and received so kindly by old friends

My Two Favorite Hockey Players

I drove to the Twin Cities so I could see my two favorite hockey players. "Wait," you might say, "Crosby and Malkin didn't play the Wild this month." I'm not talking about those hockey players, I'm talking about Matt and Matt. The one, my nephew formerly of the state finalist Oxford Talawanda team of 2004, who is "living social" and "encountering youth" in the St. Paul area; the other Matt, my parishoner recent of the Holy Cross Crusaders NCAA Div. 1 team who is an investment banker in Minneapolis.
It was my privilege to get to experience some of the local color with each of them during my stay at the seminary, and I must say, what makes them so special to me is their genuine desire to spend time with the likes of this sabbatical sojourner. We dined at such places as The Brit Pub, and The Nook and solved some ot the worlds problems, but mostly did what we do best, just enjoyed being for and with each other for a spell in the midst of our mid winter journeys.  I'm proud of these guys for making a life away from the security of what was once a comfort zone as they like so many "20 somethings" take a step toward what is next, realizing this is not the final stop but where God has planted them for now. We who are a generation older are always concerned about the destination, they teach us about the journey.
Well done boys! (hockey speak) You have skated a good shift...now get ready for what's next. We need you to keep putting stick on puck!

To live and die on this day

After getting acclamated to my surroundings here at Luther Seminary in my Stub Hall retreat cell, spending some good "read" time in the periodical stacks ( a custom I revisited from my seminary days) reading worship,liturgy,  and preaching journals.  I decided to take in a movie...So after eliminating choices, ( although "Underworld" in 3d Imax would have been cool) I participated in "The Grey." Now reviews are mixed and many, I won't bore you with my untrained take, other than to say...We who are students/drop-outs/or graduates of the men's movement, made popular 20-25 years ago, recognize all too well that this is a story about men's grief and pain.  It's a good movie for a fella like me who is on his own for a couple of weeks, who gets to face the wolves of aloneness ( not lonely, alone). Doing a "walk-a-bout" even in relatively safe environmnets makes one face mortality, and prioritize the loves of ones life (For me that would be Sue, Gretchen, Stefan and Marta in the very first tier)  Whatever else one may think of the movie, there is a constant theme about such priorities that tugs away at ones heart.
But the clincher, oh the clincher, is the poem:
Once more into the fray.
Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this day.
Live and die on this day.
Granted its not the most profound of all poetry, but like preaching, if it falls to the ears of the hearer "at the right time" (kairos)  then look out, soul work is at work!

funeral crasher

Minnie would have been 104 next week. All week long as I fished listening to the local country music station, there would be periodic reports of the week's funerals (gotta love small towns). The local lutheran church that was the family church of my ice fishing hosts, the Arneson's. Mt Carmel was the site of Minnie's funeral and I got to thinking after I heard it announced about the 5th time..."2 PM on Saturday, I get off the ice at 9, Minnie would want me to be there"  I was heading south toward "the cities" later that day so I wouldn't be there to worship on Sunday at Mt Carmel, and I couldn't leave the area without a visit. For years,  I've been teaching all who would listen that weddings and funerals are worship services first and foremost ...so why not? When Paul Arnesen heard I was going to the funeral, he asked,
"Did you know her?" "No, but I know here neighbors!", "No but I feel like I do." No, but I've been called to sing and pray during that hour at Mt. Carmel"  All of these things turned out to be true. 

When I was checking out of the resort on the way to the church, one of the owners of the fishing resort said when I got my bill, "instead of writing one check to us, write half of it to us, and give the other half to the WELCA ladies in the kitchen..." Imagine their surprise when they got a check from someone named Rev. William Diehm from  Pittsburgh Pa.  After the funeral, I was talking to Minnie's grandson who thanked me for being a part of the throng, "I just thought this was the place I was supposed to be" He said, "Yeah, Minnie would have got a kick out of that" "She was pretty much a corker!" As I was walking toward my car,a woman called after me with a giant bag of sandwhich wedges "Wait, pastor, you may need some nourishment for the road" (don't you know)...(parentheses mine)

Oh those Minnesota church basement ladies, they are the best, well next to the best, next to, ...well ladies you know who you are..bringing life to grieving, as Keillor called it, "the laying on of food"
We are all the better for it. As for Minnie, she would have wanted it that way.

It's not the same!

so I'm in the middle of Lake of the Woods yesterday when my guide drops into my shanty and I ask him, "Are you a member of the Lutheran church in Warroad?" "Yes Zion is my home church, we used to have this team of pastors they were wonderful...after they left, I haven't been back...IT'S NOT THE SAME ANYMORE."   I hope to follow up with him about this, but it got me to thinking...How many people currently do not practice a worshiping faith because something "is not the same anymore?" Different pastor, worship services or time isn't compatible with taste or schedule, or some heartbreak that makes life not the same anymore...
This is part of what the emergent church is attempting to address, that is, things( the church) AREN'T the same anymore yet we have a mission, to Make Christ Known, in the midst of change, heartbreak, celebration, boredom, lack of faith, moral compass freeze, overwork, overplay, underpay...well you add to the list of why IT'S NOT THE SAME ANYMORE.  Then, after you ponder it, I invite you to sin boldly, that is take a leap of faith into the world of change, and trust in God bolder still.

Hospitality

So after two days of driving 1200 miles including 6 hours to get through Chicago on Friday night,(8 inches of snow at rush hour) I checked into a Day's Inn in beautiful  Warroad MN...  Getting ready to go out on the ice of Lake of the Woods for the better part of next week...when to my surprise after some wings and a Leinie's in the Hotel grill, I started back to my room to get my tackle together, when a patron of the grill sees my Penquin's stocking cap and says, "the Penquins"...."why are you wearing that hat?"...
Before you know it, my new friends from Crookston Mn. who are in the same motel because their sons are playing hockey against the local Warroad team say to me " sit down, let us by you a beer.  You look like you're not really ready to leave this establishment."  Before the evening is complete, I attend the hockey game with my new friends, who turn out to be (what else) Lutheran, and they introduce me to all the other parents of the players as their new friend, Pastor Bill....I stick around, greet the players offering them all the encouragement that Coach Diehm has to offer, and I ponder.............invitation, hospitality, ...the hallmarks of being Christian, being human...I said to Dave and Dave and Mike... "You have made my day times ten!!!"  Honestly, I try every day to be hospitable to others and I sometimes feel like I miss the mark, but to have it come back to me  in the middle of "nowhere" ( apologies Warroad)  I believe more than ever, that the greatest thing we can do for another person is to help them to know they matter and that they can be included in the important places of our lives ( like a worshiping community or a child's hockey game)
If nothing else, on this sabbatical, this day will be a confirmation of my most cherished belief. Asking a stranger into your world is truly life-giving... This stranger is somebody, because of the care of others. Thanks be to God!

Blessing

It was a cold and wintry night...like you wouldn't imagine, and the Gospel broke into a place a part...But first the back story. ( a Reader's Digest version)
Last January as Commander Hull and I fished the great north country of Lake Nipissing (honest, that's the lake's name) our outfitter host Dave discovered my occupation and he queried: "Could you marry me and my fiancee on the ice next January?" " Well I have to get credentials through the province of Ontario, and we would have to spend a little time talking about something as simple as the rest of your lives, but I smell a pretty cool barter coming on!" I said.
Found out a few months ago that Dave's betrothed has a family member justice of the peace, so I got moved to
"It was a good idea for a while."  No problem.
Last week,now a year later while fishing with Doug at the same place with Dave and his fiancee Michelle in an ice bungalow "two doors down " in our wonderful winter wonderland of perch and walleye "ice privy's" and trucked in buckets of potable water,  I had an idea.
"Hey Dave, what if Doug and I paid yinz guys a visit and we had a blessing ceremony.  It's not a wedding, but we could experience something close to what you always wanted...you, Michelle, surrounded by the pristine beauty of ice and the warmth of friends who care! And, we will hear the Word and pray!
And so,
armed with I Corinthians 13 read by Commander Hull and his trusty wing man William praying and blessing a couple, in the frigid arctic blast of last Friday evening near North Bay Ontario, in the warmth of Dave and Michelle's ice bungalow, the Gospel came a calling ...its raw power out matching the cold in its sincere form to do what God always wants to do, surround people with moments and life times of grace!
As tears streamed down Dave's face, and Doug and I doing what we were called to do, we heard these words uttered by our host...."This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me!"  And I realized what we in the ministry realize when grace breaks through, God is always ready to bless, we are the stewards of the "kairos" (the right time)  Thanks be to God!

Locker Room Rage

Getting my last workouts in at the gym before Friday departure for Ontario.. I have thoroughly enjoyed the LA Fitness facility, as I have been a regular since its opening day in Aug.  Then, it seemed like there would never be an issue for "overcrowdedness"...Well ,during the holidays the perfect storm happened. Ballys was apparently absorbed by LA, college kids were home, and people were getting a head start on their new year fitness resolution.  Picture this, Big sweaty guys utilizing every locker ( there are scores of them), buff youngsters, "enhanced" weight lifters, and we older pretenders,(we know who we are), all coming together in a harmonious blend of "excuse me's."
Well it was too much for one fellow...I have heard of road rage, but this took that expression to new heights. I actually learned a few new profanities, and I've heard them all and have used most of them...
I had to laugh. Locker room ettiquette hasn't needed this much patience since we were in 7th grade gym class, when we had a buddy system for locker use!
"This ***** place is too***** crowded, and its ****** brand new!" came the cry of the enraged patron as clothes flew, lockers slammed, sending several us  for cover...

Word number one for a time apart....RELAX...

Day 1 2012 Sabbatical...1/2/12

So why and what is a sabbatical, and why would Bill do such a thing and in JANUARY/FEBRUARY!

Think of it this way...Sunday is the first day of the week, a day of rest and renewal for the "rest" of the week.
After thirty years of ministry, and anticipating another 10 years of active parish ministry, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and myself, to claim this time as a Sabbath for the remainder of parish ministry. On the 7th day God rested, on the 1st day I shall rest.

Now here is the formula.  The first two months of 2012 are like Sunday, for the rest of the year. I will return in March, you can compare it to Monday, if the calendar year corresponded to one week. I know its not a one to one comparison, but you get the idea...plus I would rather ice fish than eat, and Sue and I are going to Florida for a spell in Feb...

On this blog, I will let you know highlights of the experience....everything from how the fish are biting to the latest insights from my reading.  My area of emphasis is in so-called "emergent church theology."

Day one has included a morning bird hunt with the inimitable Willow the Weimaraner and the Rev. Daniel Smail.  Snow, wind, chukkars and pheasants in God's country outside of Rochester PA, made for the perfect start to "Renew, Relax, and Recreate," the theme of my time away from the parish.  Watching a dog work a field and point a bird, is very, very, magical,   especially when that  house dog is the best pet a fellow could ever have...There is a reason dogs are "human's best friend"
Oh by the way, I blog like I speak, so if you are looking for good grammar, apologies....and if you like Pittsburghese...well yinz are in fer a treat.

Go Stillers beat dem Tebow's...I will be in Canada!