WEBVTT 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.960 Hi everybody, my name is Joel Pakan, I'm your 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:09.400 Director for Rural Ministries, and I think let's 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:15.580 start with our seminarian first. So you are? I am 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:19.500 Juliana Jimenez, second year Mdiv student at Wartburg 00:00:19.500 --> 00:00:22.539 Theological Seminary. Excellent. I worked at 00:00:22.539 --> 00:00:25.300 camp for five summers and it was in that place 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:28.239 that I heard the call. Excellent. Okay. Yeah. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:31.120 And camp was Outlaw Ranch? Outlaw Ranch in Custer, 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:33.420 South Dakota. Man, we might get back to that 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.520 because there's some really lovely and unique 00:00:35.520 --> 00:00:37.340 things that are happening there that enabled 00:00:37.340 --> 00:00:40.359 five summers with the pandemic in the middle. 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:43.710 Yes. Right? Yes. Which I think is really formative 00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:47.310 for the resilience of this place that we are, 00:00:47.409 --> 00:00:49.969 right? Yeah. Okay. All right. So next to you. 00:00:50.509 --> 00:00:53.409 I'm John Rasmussen, and I'm from Sisseton, South 00:00:53.409 --> 00:00:55.789 Dakota, a member of Grace Lutheran Church. Excellent. 00:00:55.810 --> 00:00:57.570 And that's where we are. We're in the chapel 00:00:57.570 --> 00:01:00.189 at Grace Lutheran Church, which is a room that 00:01:00.189 --> 00:01:02.369 I wasn't in last time I was here. So this is 00:01:02.369 --> 00:01:05.390 really lovely. Okay. And? I'm Deb Wolf, and I 00:01:05.390 --> 00:01:07.670 live in Sisseton, and I'm this parish secretary. 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:11.319 Excellent. Thanks, Deb. And I'm Jane Rasmussen, 00:01:11.540 --> 00:01:14.980 also from Sisseton and a member of Grace Lutheran 00:01:14.980 --> 00:01:17.859 Church. Excellent. I'm Josh Knutson. I'm pastor 00:01:17.859 --> 00:01:20.120 of Grace Lutheran Church for about four years 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.599 now. I'm originally from Rapid City, so South 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:26.819 Dakota is home to me. Wow. Love it here in Sisseton. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.140 Yeah. Cool. All right. I'm Rhonda Burrish from 00:01:30.140 --> 00:01:33.620 Sisseton, and my journey began at a Bible camp 00:01:33.620 --> 00:01:36.500 many years ago. Is there a name to the Bible 00:01:36.500 --> 00:01:39.379 camp? It would be NeSoDak. NeSoDak right around 00:01:39.379 --> 00:01:41.980 the corner. All right, very, very cool. So another 00:01:41.980 --> 00:01:45.219 one of our Lutheran's Outdoors camps. And for 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:47.599 me, too, I grew up in northern Wisconsin, and 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:52.420 Camp Luther, in the longest chain of freshwater 00:01:52.420 --> 00:01:55.400 lakes in North America, Camp Luther sat on one 00:01:55.400 --> 00:01:57.319 of those lakes, and so that was where I went 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:00.370 as a kid. growing up in northern Wisconsin so 00:02:00.370 --> 00:02:03.810 very cool yeah Bible camps are amazing yeah all 00:02:03.810 --> 00:02:09.030 right so the reason why we're all here at Grace 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:12.889 Sisseton is because Juliana just had a rural 00:02:12.889 --> 00:02:14.909 immersion experience through Warburg Summary 00:02:14.909 --> 00:02:19.610 which is both a class and kind of a just a unique 00:02:19.610 --> 00:02:23.289 experience and it's three Sundays so the program 00:02:23.289 --> 00:02:25.469 is really loose and kind of get to make it what 00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:28.009 You want to make it, right? But it's three consecutive 00:02:28.009 --> 00:02:31.550 Sundays putting a student into an experience 00:02:31.550 --> 00:02:36.469 in a rural congregation. And that's really what 00:02:36.469 --> 00:02:40.009 it is. So I'm kind of curious about how it went 00:02:40.009 --> 00:02:42.830 and what everyone's kind of experience of this 00:02:42.830 --> 00:02:45.090 was. And I don't know if somebody wants to go 00:02:45.090 --> 00:02:47.750 first. And if there's long pauses, I'll just 00:02:47.750 --> 00:02:50.789 cut them out and make it sound like everyone 00:02:50.789 --> 00:02:55.509 was just eager to go. Pastor Josh, when I put 00:02:55.509 --> 00:02:58.530 you on the spot, like how did this, this is the 00:02:58.530 --> 00:03:00.569 first time that the congregation has done this. 00:03:00.770 --> 00:03:05.129 And so, yeah, how did it go? I think it was at 00:03:05.129 --> 00:03:08.090 Synod Assembly where you talked about the possibility 00:03:08.090 --> 00:03:11.849 of seminarians coming to rural places in South 00:03:11.849 --> 00:03:14.129 Dakota. And you need congregations who are willing 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:18.430 to host them. And I said, sign me up. I'd love 00:03:18.430 --> 00:03:21.009 to have a seminarian come to Grace Lutheran and 00:03:21.009 --> 00:03:23.699 Sisseton. And you did. You were true to your 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:27.219 word and contacted me months later and said, 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:30.460 hey, Juliana has signed up for this class and 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:33.580 she's coming to Grace and Sisseton. Does that 00:03:33.580 --> 00:03:39.539 work? Okay, yeah. Right, yeah. And so originally 00:03:39.539 --> 00:03:42.479 this was conceived of as a January term program, 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:46.120 right? And that's true that Juliana is our fourth 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:51.830 student who has done this. Three of them have 00:03:51.830 --> 00:03:54.729 been in January. Now, we also have expanded it 00:03:54.729 --> 00:03:57.629 to other seasons. And so we've had a student 00:03:57.629 --> 00:03:59.689 out. I should just name the other congregations 00:03:59.689 --> 00:04:01.050 that have been part of this because they've all 00:04:01.050 --> 00:04:02.990 had really great experiences, too. But I haven't 00:04:02.990 --> 00:04:04.870 had the opportunity to do this kind of conversation. 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:07.490 So other congregations in South Dakota that have 00:04:07.490 --> 00:04:12.050 hosted seminarians in this program are Grand 00:04:12.050 --> 00:04:17.009 River out in Buffalo, South Dakota. Our congregation 00:04:17.009 --> 00:04:20.329 in Hill City. Yeah, OK. It might be Hill City 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:22.680 Lutheran. No, it's Community Lutheran. Community 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:24.819 Lutheran. There it is. All right. See, this is 00:04:24.819 --> 00:04:27.639 where we get to actually edit out. I get to sound 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:31.199 smarter than I am. It's Community Lutheran in 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:33.860 Hill City. They have hosted a student. And our 00:04:33.860 --> 00:04:36.680 Savior is Wessington Springs. And now Grace Sisseton. 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:40.839 And part of the reason for doing this conversation 00:04:40.839 --> 00:04:44.399 is because we want to have more students kind 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:45.920 of get engaged in this program because I think 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:49.000 it's really good and lovely. But we also want 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.980 to have other congregations. get engaged in this. 00:04:52.220 --> 00:04:56.060 And so, all right, so I called you up and said, 00:04:56.220 --> 00:04:59.560 Juliana's going to come, student at Wartburg 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:02.240 Seminary. And you are a graduate of Wartburg? 00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:05.220 I am. I'm a Wartburg graduate. 2016, I graduated 00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:08.240 from there. All right. Coming up on 10 years. 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:11.120 All right. Yep. But I got this call that Juliana 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:13.459 was coming, and I knew right away we needed to 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:16.100 find a place for her to stay and a way for her 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:20.439 to get around Sisseton. John and Jane have connections 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:22.879 with the Arts Council in Sisseton. So I was able 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:25.660 to arrange housing right away through the Arts 00:05:25.660 --> 00:05:29.300 Council here, a place for her to live. And I 00:05:29.300 --> 00:05:31.100 had an extra vehicle that she could use while 00:05:31.100 --> 00:05:33.579 she was here. And then we started brainstorming. 00:05:33.579 --> 00:05:35.699 And I put word out to the council and to the 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:38.620 congregation and said, Juliana's coming to be 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:41.399 with us for a few weeks. What could she do? What 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:44.839 do you need to see in a rural place? What does 00:05:44.839 --> 00:05:47.639 a rural pastor need to know? How could she get 00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:50.740 some experiences out in our community, not just 00:05:50.740 --> 00:05:53.220 here at the church, but get to know this part 00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:57.920 of the state, this context for ministry? What 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.600 does that look like? And so together we started 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:02.899 brainstorming. And when Juliana first got here, 00:06:02.959 --> 00:06:05.639 we made a big long list. I think there was 12 00:06:05.639 --> 00:06:09.899 or 15 things. Yeah, we made a list. This is what 00:06:09.899 --> 00:06:13.819 is going on in the next two weeks. Let's pick 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:16.420 the priorities. What do you really want to do? 00:06:16.699 --> 00:06:18.500 Oh, that's great. That's a really great way to 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:21.680 go. Then you get buy -in from everybody. There 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:24.180 was no way we were going to get everything that 00:06:24.180 --> 00:06:26.740 we thought of done. In a two -week period, you 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:28.720 just can't learn everything there is to know 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:31.759 or see everything there is to see. We picked 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:33.560 some priorities and we got all our priorities 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:37.500 and extras on top of that. We had wonderful experiences 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:40.360 talking with people. Juliana told me right away 00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:43.639 she wanted to... talk to people and say, how 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.420 does your faith impact your life? What does it 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:49.660 mean to live out your faith in this place? Yeah, 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:53.040 right on. Okay. All right. So, well, then I think 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:56.100 I need to naturally go over here. Okay, so Juliana, 00:06:56.279 --> 00:07:00.639 so what, could you, if you were to think about 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:02.379 those conversations, is there one that sticks 00:07:02.379 --> 00:07:07.129 out? just like that you could share right sometimes 00:07:07.129 --> 00:07:09.290 those faith conversations are intimate and personal 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:11.670 and they're not for this venue but is there one 00:07:11.670 --> 00:07:14.410 that you think you could share in this kind of 00:07:14.410 --> 00:07:17.670 I'm going to collect because I heard the same 00:07:17.670 --> 00:07:23.470 thing great this is a synopsis of sharing love 00:07:23.470 --> 00:07:28.670 and sharing God's Jesus message in your daily 00:07:28.670 --> 00:07:33.180 and like my question It was about, like, how 00:07:33.180 --> 00:07:36.500 is your faith guiding you in your everyday, every 00:07:36.500 --> 00:07:39.420 moment of life? It was kind of like, how do you 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:42.300 see it as? And it was like the answers were toward 00:07:42.300 --> 00:07:45.100 that of, I just love and care for my neighbor. 00:07:45.259 --> 00:07:50.620 And I see everybody as God's children. And their 00:07:50.620 --> 00:07:53.199 daily jobs are not just jobs. They are a way 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:56.920 to care and show that love. And you have like 00:07:56.920 --> 00:08:00.850 that, yes. Ethic and moral doing your job, but 00:08:00.850 --> 00:08:04.170 also you have like this God call and God guidance 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:06.670 of I'm doing this because I love it because I 00:08:06.670 --> 00:08:10.370 really want to make a good impact on people and 00:08:10.370 --> 00:08:13.370 I really want people to see how God is acting 00:08:13.370 --> 00:08:15.149 in their lives, even if they don't believe it. 00:08:15.269 --> 00:08:20.370 So that was like to not reveal the personal conversation 00:08:20.370 --> 00:08:23.310 we had with what I saw and what I heard and I 00:08:23.310 --> 00:08:27.180 found that beautiful. like one of the biggest 00:08:27.180 --> 00:08:30.040 characteristics that we share in the car of like 00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:32.980 the members of the church have a strong identity. 00:08:33.080 --> 00:08:36.159 They know who they are. They know who, like who 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:39.259 are they worshiping and what is the message and 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:42.059 they live it. And that, that's just like hearing 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:44.539 this, having those conversations in different 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:47.820 scenarios. It was just kind of like, yeah, cool. This is wonderful. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.700 Thank you. Thanks for, thanks for sharing. Okay. 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:54.570 All right. So, um, I'm, a little curious now 00:08:54.570 --> 00:08:59.610 of the rest of you to ask you what were your 00:08:59.610 --> 00:09:03.029 experiences? And I'm putting you on the spot 00:09:03.029 --> 00:09:07.169 a little bit in front of Juliana, right? But 00:09:07.169 --> 00:09:10.269 also just your experiences maybe of, because 00:09:10.269 --> 00:09:16.649 the way that you and I relate is going to be 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:19.610 different in the context of a new person like 00:09:19.610 --> 00:09:23.529 Juliana, right? that it helps us understand the 00:09:23.529 --> 00:09:26.009 thing, oh, this is something I really value because 00:09:26.009 --> 00:09:28.370 I'm meeting someone from a different community, 00:09:28.529 --> 00:09:32.429 right? So if you could just reflect over the 00:09:32.429 --> 00:09:35.629 last three weeks, because Juliana's last Sunday 00:09:35.629 --> 00:09:40.370 was yesterday, right? What were some things that 00:09:40.370 --> 00:09:43.129 kind of came out for you in your experience? 00:09:43.629 --> 00:09:47.690 Maybe of Juliana and she as your seminarian who 00:09:47.690 --> 00:09:49.230 is doing this rural immersion, but maybe also 00:09:49.230 --> 00:09:52.889 for just you as you reflect upon what are the 00:09:52.889 --> 00:09:55.409 values that, oh, yeah, this is something that's 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:58.789 really lovely about this place or how I interact 00:09:58.789 --> 00:10:01.529 with Grace Lutheran Church of Sisseton. Is there 00:10:01.529 --> 00:10:05.610 something that comes to mind? I think I'll say 00:10:05.610 --> 00:10:10.259 that. December or whenever Pastor Josh mentioned 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:13.059 that Juliana was going to come. It was really 00:10:13.059 --> 00:10:16.259 exciting to hear because this was something we 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:20.159 hadn't done before. Sometimes after the holidays 00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:23.220 are over, things kind of flatten out. And it's 00:10:23.220 --> 00:10:25.519 like, oh, we really have something to look forward 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:31.440 to in January. So that was exciting. And I also 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:35.419 sensed the first Sunday that we met Juliana, 00:10:35.899 --> 00:10:41.120 just this really genuine curiosity that you have 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:47.240 in you. And that was really, that was refreshing. 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:50.559 And it did help us, you know, right away to realize 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:55.759 that she was here to share in what we do and 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:59.620 how do we open up to her. But you made it so 00:10:59.620 --> 00:11:06.289 easy. And then thinking both about our church 00:11:06.289 --> 00:11:10.009 and community, you know, what things can we do? 00:11:10.110 --> 00:11:14.230 What can we do together during that time? And 00:11:14.230 --> 00:11:17.509 then I just want to comment on that question 00:11:17.509 --> 00:11:21.570 that you asked. I think about, you know, sometimes 00:11:21.570 --> 00:11:26.970 in life, you might be approached with that question, 00:11:27.149 --> 00:11:34.590 you know, how does your faith inspire you? Again, 00:11:34.730 --> 00:11:36.889 I guess I just have to use that word genuine. 00:11:37.029 --> 00:11:41.429 You listen so well, and when you asked that question, 00:11:41.690 --> 00:11:46.250 it was really inviting. Like, I want to answer 00:11:46.250 --> 00:11:49.470 that. I don't feel like I'm being put on the 00:11:49.470 --> 00:11:54.509 spot and expected to give some, you know, some 00:11:54.509 --> 00:11:59.509 appropriate answer. I think I can just say, I 00:11:59.509 --> 00:12:01.690 mean, I'm really thinking about what you're asking 00:12:01.690 --> 00:12:04.600 now, and I want to be able to. to tell you that 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:09.259 so i think that you you brought uh you brought 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:16.500 a a real a really refreshing life to this cold 00:12:16.500 --> 00:12:23.460 thank you jane yeah okay good good um so um we 00:12:23.460 --> 00:12:27.110 should probably mention right that um Juliana, 00:12:27.190 --> 00:12:29.950 you come from a place that doesn't typically 00:12:29.950 --> 00:12:34.929 see below zero temperatures. Right. And you were 00:12:34.929 --> 00:12:38.350 here during a particularly cold spell. Like it's 00:12:38.350 --> 00:12:41.169 one of the coldest, long cold spells that South 00:12:41.169 --> 00:12:43.850 Dakota has seen in quite a few winters. Congratulations. 00:12:44.269 --> 00:12:46.490 Yeah, right. And I made it. You made it. You 00:12:46.490 --> 00:12:48.509 weathered it, right? All the fingers and toes 00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:50.970 are still attached, right? Ears still attached. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.879 Right, so for someone who was maybe like, I don't 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.639 know if I want to go to rural South Dakota in 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:05.779 January, right? I mean, it's unique. It is, you 00:13:05.779 --> 00:13:11.299 know, the cold was nothing. Okay. There was a 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:13.620 night that it was really cold and my apartment 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:19.000 was cold. And I knew that I can share it. Just 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.200 like, this happened, can you help me? And then 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:24.980 right away. Jane called, hey this apartment is 00:13:24.980 --> 00:13:27.019 really cold can you come and check and they went 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:30.639 so it was I wasn't worried about it yeah good 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:33.480 good it was just it's part of life right well 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:37.179 and I lived it and now I know how it is I experienced 00:13:37.179 --> 00:13:39.659 it and I've been saying I want to come and serve 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:42.580 in South Dakota I've God calls me here right 00:13:42.580 --> 00:13:49.409 so I know I prefer ish prepare to how winter 00:13:49.409 --> 00:13:52.190 in South Dakota is going to be in a very north 00:13:52.190 --> 00:13:55.809 part. And just knowing that there is people, 00:13:56.029 --> 00:13:58.590 like I'm not going to be alone, you're not going 00:13:58.590 --> 00:14:02.809 to be alone. I mean, that's part of the mutual 00:14:02.809 --> 00:14:06.629 support of a congregation and their clergy, right? 00:14:06.769 --> 00:14:09.809 Whether it's pastor or deacon or seminarian. 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:13.019 intern or vicar, whatever these different roles 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:16.000 that we have, minister, Synod -authorized minister. 00:14:16.179 --> 00:14:22.460 There is a mutual support for our ministers, 00:14:22.620 --> 00:14:25.559 whatever those ministers' titles are, and the 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:29.200 congregation. And you've lived into that, right? 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:32.659 And that's an important thing to mention. And 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:34.419 maybe the other important thing to mention is 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:36.879 that you are a candidate in the South Dakota 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:39.789 Synod. Right. So in the beginning we talked 00:14:39.789 --> 00:14:43.389 about, right, that you came in, you were familiar 00:14:43.389 --> 00:14:45.850 with the Lutheran Church in your home country. 00:14:45.970 --> 00:14:50.850 You came into South Dakota via our camps and 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:54.029 you were a counselor for five summers with the 00:14:54.029 --> 00:14:56.929 pandemic in the middle and you came back. And 00:14:56.929 --> 00:14:59.450 I do want to mention that that's a resiliency 00:14:59.450 --> 00:15:06.940 that our camps are. embracing or they're fostering 00:15:06.940 --> 00:15:09.000 this resiliency, right? Because I don't think 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:13.220 that's been all of our camp ministries across 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:16.279 the country had that same experience that you 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.379 experienced at Outlaw. Because it wasn't just 00:15:18.379 --> 00:15:21.120 you and international staff, but it was South 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.639 Dakotans and people who grew up going to the 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:27.139 camps and were becoming counselors at that age. 00:15:27.610 --> 00:15:30.169 And so there were multiple people, right, who 00:15:30.169 --> 00:15:32.870 were staffed both before and after the pandemic. 00:15:33.149 --> 00:15:36.710 And so you had this cohort of people, and it 00:15:36.710 --> 00:15:39.090 was really, I mean, that speaks to the resiliency 00:15:39.090 --> 00:15:42.769 of this place, but also the community that you 00:15:42.769 --> 00:15:47.730 formed together as a cohort, right? And in some 00:15:47.730 --> 00:15:50.070 ways, right, you experienced kind of the best 00:15:50.070 --> 00:15:53.649 of what congregational life is like at camp. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:57.659 In my kind of window into it, right, as I saw 00:15:57.659 --> 00:16:00.159 you over those five songs. Yeah, like you have 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:03.860 people at camp who are really passionate in carrying 00:16:03.860 --> 00:16:07.740 it. Doesn't matter how, we have this plan, we 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:09.779 have this idea, we're going to, we don't have 00:16:09.779 --> 00:16:10.980 the resources, but we're going to find them, 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:13.659 we're going to do it, let's just trust. And that, 00:16:13.779 --> 00:16:16.659 what you're describing at camp is what I saw 00:16:16.659 --> 00:16:19.399 here, and I said it in my sermon yesterday. It's 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:22.399 just like, you call it, not a budget, but it's... 00:16:23.250 --> 00:16:25.769 Mission plan. Mission plan. And it's like, this 00:16:25.769 --> 00:16:27.950 is our mission plan. This is what we want to 00:16:27.950 --> 00:16:31.950 do. God will provide. And the assembly was like 00:16:31.950 --> 00:16:34.289 fast because Jesus came. You know what is going 00:16:34.289 --> 00:16:37.450 to happen. You're trusting. Like they're trusting. 00:16:37.690 --> 00:16:39.809 And they're just like, let's do it. So, okay. 00:16:39.889 --> 00:16:42.840 We know our mission. Let's do it. I got to ask 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:44.919 you this question, right? So when we put this 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:48.659 together, it didn't occur to me, right, that 00:16:48.659 --> 00:16:51.059 we would be bringing in a seminarian who maybe 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:54.259 hadn't experienced a congregational annual meeting. 00:16:55.259 --> 00:16:58.519 Was this your first annual meeting of a congregation 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:01.259 that you had experienced? A U.S. congregation, Yes. Yeah, right. Okay, 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:04.160 see? And so that's one of the benefits of coming 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:05.880 in January, because most of our congregations 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:08.279 have an annual meeting in January. And so you 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:10.680 got to sit through that experience and say, it's 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:14.359 not a budget. It's a mission plan. And you get 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:17.000 to hear all the concerns and all the preparation 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.759 that comes before that. How important it is to 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:23.859 trust and rely on your leaders of the church. 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:27.440 And how important it is to support and care and 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:30.200 talk and see how they're doing. Because you as 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:33.380 a pastor cannot do it alone. You need the leaders 00:17:33.380 --> 00:17:35.900 of the congregation. You need those voices. You 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:38.450 need the assistance. Of someone who keeps telling 00:17:38.450 --> 00:17:41.250 you, like, please have this by this day. Did 00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:45.869 I see you kind of gesture towards Deb here? No, 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:49.549 not a judgement at all. No, no, this is good, right? 00:17:49.690 --> 00:17:52.269 We need each other to keep each other on, right? 00:17:52.529 --> 00:17:55.269 And every person here knows that I will send 00:17:55.269 --> 00:17:57.630 them an email and say, I needed this yesterday. 00:17:58.130 --> 00:18:03.369 Yeah, good, good. All right, so, all right. What's 00:18:03.369 --> 00:18:06.109 been your experience of these last couple weeks, 00:18:06.210 --> 00:18:09.069 Deb? It's just fun having Juliana around. She 00:18:09.069 --> 00:18:11.670 asks questions, and she listens to the answers, 00:18:11.769 --> 00:18:15.069 and she's very concerned about what's going on. 00:18:15.170 --> 00:18:18.569 She was busy doing a lot of visiting, so she 00:18:18.569 --> 00:18:20.849 didn't have a lot of time that we actually spent 00:18:20.849 --> 00:18:24.289 talking. But 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there, 00:18:24.470 --> 00:18:27.849 and she just has done a really good job, and 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:29.849 you can tell that she's very, very interested 00:18:29.849 --> 00:18:36.299 in what she's learning. Jane, when you were sharing, 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:40.039 and I'm reminded of it now as you shared that 00:18:40.039 --> 00:18:45.559 curiosity is contagious, right? And that sometimes 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:49.559 maybe it's even a function of our winter seasons, 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.259 right, that we become a little bit sheltered 00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:56.859 and put on all the layers. And there's a physicality, 00:18:56.859 --> 00:18:59.180 right, of winter that says we've got to protect 00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:02.119 ourselves. But there's something about curiosity 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:05.430 when we encounter it in one another. That opens 00:19:05.430 --> 00:19:09.130 us up and helps us unbutton a little bit. And, 00:19:09.210 --> 00:19:12.490 right, just share, be different. And sometimes 00:19:12.490 --> 00:19:18.250 winter, yeah, I like being warm. I was outside 00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:20.450 a lot over these last couple days. And so, yeah, 00:19:20.490 --> 00:19:22.869 I had layers and layers and layers on. So, yeah, 00:19:22.890 --> 00:19:27.950 yeah. I, like Jane, thought it was really refreshing 00:19:27.950 --> 00:19:32.170 to have the questions that she asked. Because 00:19:32.170 --> 00:19:35.609 I think that as the winter months come, we can 00:19:35.609 --> 00:19:39.230 be really complacent in our faith. And to have 00:19:39.230 --> 00:19:43.609 someone say to you, why do you believe? Why do 00:19:43.609 --> 00:19:47.910 you, what is your faith about? And I, we had 00:19:47.910 --> 00:19:52.730 the background of snowshoes in Sitchihalo in, 00:19:52.829 --> 00:19:57.849 what was it, 40 degree weather? It was wonderful. 00:19:58.289 --> 00:20:00.529 You went snowshoeing? Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. 00:20:00.650 --> 00:20:04.690 She came Sunday. I looked at the weather, and 00:20:04.690 --> 00:20:06.410 I thought, if we're going to go, this is it. 00:20:06.549 --> 00:20:09.789 I mean, it was spur of the moment. And borrowed 00:20:09.789 --> 00:20:12.529 a set of snowshoes from John and Jane, and she 00:20:12.529 --> 00:20:15.369 was game. I had a pair of snow boots that fit 00:20:15.369 --> 00:20:18.589 her, and away we went. That's great. And so it 00:20:18.589 --> 00:20:24.009 was. I appreciated it and came back thinking, 00:20:24.230 --> 00:20:28.420 you know, after we parted, Do I live this? Do 00:20:28.420 --> 00:20:33.259 people see my faith? Because you do get kind 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:37.000 of complacent in your life, and it was just challenging 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:40.039 to me. So you gave to me. Hopefully I gave back 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:44.519 to you something other than snowshoes and cold. 00:20:44.839 --> 00:20:51.279 And amazing women. And she is very, very comfortable 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:55.259 asking you. about things she's very easy to talk 00:20:55.259 --> 00:20:57.859 to. So I appreciate that she was here. I enjoyed 00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:02.660 the time. Well, now we haven't heard from John 00:21:02.660 --> 00:21:05.279 yet. And John's the guy I think I know maybe 00:21:05.279 --> 00:21:08.920 the best in this group because John and I work 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:12.440 together on the small town and rural task force 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:14.579 for the Synod. And so we're on that task force 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:19.920 together. And this work that I'm doing and the 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.720 work that financially supports supports the rural 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.160 ministry immersion is through the Journeying 00:21:25.160 --> 00:21:28.839 Together in Christ initiative. And so we have 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:31.480 funding for students to have these experiences 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:35.599 right now through the end of 2027. So the Lilly 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:38.799 Foundation has its support with us through December 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:41.339 of 2027. And we really want more students to 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:44.549 have these experiences. And so that's one of 00:21:44.549 --> 00:21:46.569 the reasons we're talking about this. But I also, 00:21:46.630 --> 00:21:49.809 John, just wanted to ask you about kind of your 00:21:49.809 --> 00:21:52.470 experiences, both because you're on this task 00:21:52.470 --> 00:21:55.210 force that we're on together. Right. And, you 00:21:55.210 --> 00:21:59.390 know, rural congregations here in the Synod. 00:21:59.529 --> 00:22:05.069 Right. I'm glad for you just to share your experiences, 00:22:05.109 --> 00:22:08.170 but also kind of maybe a word of encouragement 00:22:08.170 --> 00:22:12.690 for others who might want to have a student come 00:22:12.690 --> 00:22:15.170 and experience their community. Yeah, I think 00:22:15.170 --> 00:22:19.890 too many times people in seminary think that, 00:22:19.970 --> 00:22:22.990 well, I'd go to South Dakota and serve in a rural 00:22:22.990 --> 00:22:27.369 community like Sioux Falls, you know. And they 00:22:27.369 --> 00:22:31.490 discount these wonderful small communities, smaller 00:22:31.490 --> 00:22:35.549 communities, that are faith communities. And 00:22:35.549 --> 00:22:39.369 that's been... Like Juliana said to me, like, 00:22:39.410 --> 00:22:42.569 I want to know your stories, you know. But those 00:22:42.569 --> 00:22:46.470 small faith communities in rural areas have been 00:22:46.470 --> 00:22:48.490 the story of the Lutheran Church in South Dakota. 00:22:49.349 --> 00:22:55.650 And, you know, coming onto the prairie and establishing 00:22:55.650 --> 00:22:59.569 a home site and establishing a congregation, 00:22:59.630 --> 00:23:03.869 you know, we live by faith. And it's just like 00:23:03.869 --> 00:23:07.029 a mission plan in a church at an annual meeting. 00:23:07.390 --> 00:23:09.450 And we're so happy you got to be at the annual 00:23:09.450 --> 00:23:12.250 meeting. It's kind of like the Super Bowl of 00:23:12.250 --> 00:23:18.009 the Lutheran Church. So if you don't live by 00:23:18.009 --> 00:23:21.670 faith, you just wither and you become insular 00:23:21.670 --> 00:23:24.450 and you think about yourself. But to think about 00:23:24.450 --> 00:23:26.269 others, you know, your arms are spread out and 00:23:26.269 --> 00:23:28.990 you reach out. And that was the thing that I 00:23:28.990 --> 00:23:31.609 loved about Juliana when she came here. She said, 00:23:31.690 --> 00:23:35.200 I want to know your stories, you know. And the 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:38.319 story here in our area, northeastern South Dakota, 00:23:38.500 --> 00:23:42.420 is a beautiful one of many cultures that have 00:23:42.420 --> 00:23:45.240 merged together and form a community together. 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:48.799 And we tried to get you down to, like, tribal 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:50.700 headquarters so that you could learn the stories 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:54.079 of the Dakota people. We tried to get you around 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:56.480 to different areas that you could understand 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:01.119 that we are a people that live together with 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:03.759 this common bond. trying to serve each other 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:06.380 and help each other. And I think that this is 00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:10.420 something that rural communities have just in 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:13.700 their DNA. Because if you don't work together 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:17.119 in a small community and help each other, boy, 00:24:17.140 --> 00:24:18.980 there are some times, you know, when you look 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:21.240 back in history and people needed to help each 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:23.759 other, they still need to help each other. I 00:24:23.759 --> 00:24:25.880 think to your point about COVID, sometimes there 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.859 was this break during that period where everybody 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:34.779 was, you know, afraid. And now we've broken out 00:24:34.779 --> 00:24:38.099 of that. And I think that this experience, Juliana 00:24:38.099 --> 00:24:42.220 became the light in the bleak midwinter for us. 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:48.519 And so, you know, it helped us plan for something 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:53.079 and get excited about this person coming. Who 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:55.099 is she and where is she from? And then all of 00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:57.650 a sudden she's here. And it's like... You hold 00:24:57.650 --> 00:24:59.970 this candle in the darkness and then you can 00:24:59.970 --> 00:25:02.650 be excited about that, you know. And you can 00:25:02.650 --> 00:25:05.490 learn from each other, you know. And that's what 00:25:05.490 --> 00:25:08.170 the Christian faith is too, you know. Exactly right. Sharing. 00:25:08.650 --> 00:25:10.809 Working together and learning from each other, 00:25:10.890 --> 00:25:14.930 you know. I was thinking about on the drive up 00:25:14.930 --> 00:25:19.250 here about how our diversity is such a strength 00:25:19.250 --> 00:25:21.690 that we sometimes lose track of. And we lost 00:25:21.690 --> 00:25:26.380 track of that a bit in the pandemic, right? I 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:31.700 was recently listening to a pastor who leads 00:25:31.700 --> 00:25:36.059 one of our Spanish language congregations in 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:40.339 a neighboring synod. And they're in the historic 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:44.319 building of a Swedish Lutheran church. And the 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:46.160 congregation has been in that neighborhood for, 00:25:46.279 --> 00:25:48.019 I don't know, I think he said something like 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:51.900 180 years. But he said we've always been a multilingual 00:25:51.900 --> 00:25:56.190 congregation. We just happened to be, in our 00:25:56.190 --> 00:25:59.630 inception, a Swedish and English church, and 00:25:59.630 --> 00:26:03.210 now we're a Spanish and English church. And so 00:26:03.210 --> 00:26:06.410 our diversity has this really, yeah, there's 00:26:06.410 --> 00:26:10.730 a strength there, especially when we give time 00:26:10.730 --> 00:26:13.390 for the curiosity to be contagious. But Christ 00:26:13.390 --> 00:26:16.670 said, love your neighbor as yourself. Yes. And 00:26:16.670 --> 00:26:19.309 who's my neighbor? Yes. And we're all neighbors. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:25.619 Exactly right. Exactly right. Yeah. Man, this 00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:29.059 is so fun. Right? We should get together and 00:26:29.059 --> 00:26:34.039 do this more often. So I do want to say to the 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:36.920 congregations in South Dakota Synod who may be 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:43.400 listening to this, to say this. You maybe don't 00:26:43.400 --> 00:26:47.640 know how important you are to the formation of 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:51.609 the next generation. of our leaders, whether 00:26:51.609 --> 00:26:55.670 that leader be a pastor or a deacon or a Synod 00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:58.069 authorized minister, that you have something 00:26:58.069 --> 00:27:00.970 unique to share, just like Grace here in Sisseton 00:27:00.970 --> 00:27:04.470 has something unique to share that you do too. 00:27:04.750 --> 00:27:07.109 And so one of the reasons why I want to lift 00:27:07.109 --> 00:27:08.910 up these posts from the road, these stories, 00:27:08.930 --> 00:27:12.730 is to say that we all have these stories of growth. 00:27:13.289 --> 00:27:15.690 that are happening in the midst of some really 00:27:15.690 --> 00:27:18.910 challenging times, right? But that growth is 00:27:18.910 --> 00:27:23.049 happening. And so maybe to close out, I want 00:27:23.049 --> 00:27:26.829 to ask, because this was new to me, and I've 00:27:26.829 --> 00:27:29.369 only been in the Synod five years, and so I didn't 00:27:29.369 --> 00:27:31.569 know this chapel existed. And when we came in, 00:27:31.569 --> 00:27:35.250 Deb was sharing that this comes from one of your 00:27:35.250 --> 00:27:37.130 predecessors of congregations. Is that right? 00:27:37.410 --> 00:27:40.450 One of the ones that merged together to become, 00:27:40.549 --> 00:27:43.250 as they closed down. then this is where the majority 00:27:43.250 --> 00:27:46.109 of their people came. Okay. So, again, knowing 00:27:46.109 --> 00:27:49.230 that we're a diversity here, but also our heritage. 00:27:49.349 --> 00:27:52.170 So what is the heritage? Then is it all Norwegian? 00:27:52.730 --> 00:27:56.650 Well, I'm an import, so I'm German. But also 00:27:56.650 --> 00:27:59.130 the rest of them are more on that Norwegian side. 00:27:59.130 --> 00:28:01.230 I'm half German, too. So that's why they put 00:28:01.230 --> 00:28:03.869 us together on one bench. Yeah, right. Okay. 00:28:03.930 --> 00:28:06.529 So the congregations, there was more than one 00:28:06.529 --> 00:28:08.410 congregation that formed Grace Sisseton? Yes. 00:28:08.890 --> 00:28:12.089 There were two congregations originally. It was 00:28:12.089 --> 00:28:16.089 Trinity Lutheran Church and Goodwill Lutheran 00:28:16.089 --> 00:28:21.950 Church. And after World War II, these young guys 00:28:21.950 --> 00:28:26.349 came home, and the population grew. Jane, there 00:28:26.349 --> 00:28:29.349 were, I mean, Sunday school was just, the basements 00:28:29.349 --> 00:28:31.269 of both churches were full, right? They had two 00:28:31.269 --> 00:28:33.230 sessions of Sunday school, and they would ring 00:28:33.230 --> 00:28:35.490 a bell from my office. Well, eventually, they 00:28:35.490 --> 00:28:37.529 would ring a bell from my office. To separate 00:28:37.529 --> 00:28:39.750 the two so that the next group could come in 00:28:39.750 --> 00:28:41.190 and one group could come out. So what they decided 00:28:41.190 --> 00:28:43.630 to do, they were both in the same synod. They 00:28:43.630 --> 00:28:47.450 decided to merge and become one church. And that 00:28:47.450 --> 00:28:49.490 has been a beautiful experience. And then as 00:28:49.490 --> 00:28:53.670 rural population and consolidation of agriculture 00:28:53.670 --> 00:28:57.630 occurred, then rural populations became smaller. 00:28:57.990 --> 00:29:00.650 And rural churches, some of them had to then 00:29:00.650 --> 00:29:04.950 find a new church home. And we've been blessed 00:29:04.950 --> 00:29:08.670 with rural church. members coming in here and 00:29:08.670 --> 00:29:11.329 being strong members of Grace Lutheran Church, 00:29:11.509 --> 00:29:15.589 you see. All in part of this one body, even though 00:29:15.589 --> 00:29:17.990 they came from different places, you see. Okay, 00:29:18.049 --> 00:29:20.069 so then the chapel that we're in right now, and 00:29:20.069 --> 00:29:21.990 if you're watching the video, then you'll see 00:29:21.990 --> 00:29:26.950 this lovely backdrop of this. Well, in my German... 00:29:27.730 --> 00:29:29.849 congregation growing up. We jokingly called it 00:29:29.849 --> 00:29:31.950 a Walter because it was an altar on the wall, 00:29:32.089 --> 00:29:37.230 right? But where is this from? Which congregation 00:29:37.230 --> 00:29:39.210 is this from? From Concordia. This is from Concordia. 00:29:39.230 --> 00:29:41.789 So one of those congregations that kind of came 00:29:41.789 --> 00:29:44.970 in after the initial two. And Concordia, was 00:29:44.970 --> 00:29:47.470 that a Norwegian or is that a German? Because 00:29:47.470 --> 00:29:49.349 I'm used to that word kind of more. That would 00:29:49.349 --> 00:29:51.150 be Norwegian. That was Norwegian also. Okay, 00:29:51.190 --> 00:29:53.269 good. All right. All right. Yeah, of course, 00:29:53.329 --> 00:29:56.950 Concordia College now is a university up in Moorhead. 00:29:57.970 --> 00:30:02.029 That's a Norwegian institution. One of the wonderful 00:30:02.029 --> 00:30:04.329 colleges of the church that we're blessed with. 00:30:04.329 --> 00:30:09.670 Yeah, exactly. Because the people that were of 00:30:09.670 --> 00:30:11.950 faith, the Lutheran faith, they wanted to have 00:30:11.950 --> 00:30:14.089 a place where their kids could go to school. 00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:19.140 Good. Okay. And so we've got some photos of different 00:30:19.140 --> 00:30:21.779 things around here. And I'm going to take the 00:30:21.779 --> 00:30:24.420 camera up and kind of highlight a few of these 00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:27.000 on the video. So if you want to see the chapel 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:29.599 here at Grace Sisseton, you'll have to watch the 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:32.180 video, everybody. So tell me about this stained 00:30:32.180 --> 00:30:33.720 glass window over here. Is that from one of the 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:35.559 predecessor congregations? They were just donated. 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:39.000 Both stained glass windows were just donated 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.599 by a gentleman. had the windows in his possession. 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:44.359 Oh, wow. Okay. They were donated by former Chief 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:46.960 Justice David Gilbertson. Okay. Former Chief 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:49.160 Justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court. Whose 00:30:49.160 --> 00:30:52.680 father was a pastor here for nearly 20 years. 00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:56.460 Oh, that's lovely. David grew up here in his 00:30:56.460 --> 00:31:00.519 early years. Okay. All right. Lovely. Wow. This 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:02.460 is such a great room. And good to know a little 00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:04.819 bit of your history. And I think other South 00:31:04.819 --> 00:31:07.269 Dakota congregations will. we'll be glad to hear 00:31:07.269 --> 00:31:08.890 a little bit of your history. We've all got a 00:31:08.890 --> 00:31:12.109 story. We've all got a story. Yeah. Well, um, 00:31:12.170 --> 00:31:14.789 thanks for listening, everybody. Uh, this is 00:31:14.789 --> 00:31:18.430 officially episode two of my posts from the road 00:31:18.430 --> 00:31:23.470 and, look forward to, uh, catching you on the 00:31:23.470 --> 00:31:25.430 next episode. If you have a story you want to 00:31:25.430 --> 00:31:28.910 share in your congregation, uh, or in your community, 00:31:28.970 --> 00:31:31.970 please to reach out to me. All right. God bless. 00:31:32.109 --> 00:31:38.099 Thank you. Thank you. And scene. Hey, thank you 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:39.740 so much, everybody. This was great. Oh, you make 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:42.859 that easy. Oh, man. Well, you made it easy, too. 00:31:42.920 --> 00:31:44.099 You know, the only thing we were missing was 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:45.740 a campfire. I know, right?