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Weekly Memo: Report from St. Cloud

5/31/2018

This week I’m in St. Cloud, MN at the Minnesota Annual Conference. The Minnesota Annual Conference or MAC is the name for our connection to all the other United Methodist Churches in our assigned area. Our conference just happens to be geographically the same as the state of Minnesota.

I’m here this week with Beth Holland from our church and about 800 or so other people. We are called “members,” not delegates, which means the same thing and yet also carries a deeper sense of connection. Like any conference, the MAC will have a speaker, discuss some housekeeping items of the organization, review some new ideas and have time for folks to be recognized, and of course to connect with people you haven’t seen since the last conference.

I’ve been coming to the MAC or conferences like the MAC every year of my life since 1976. I don’t think I’ve missed a single one...really! However, the 2018 Mac is a bit different for me. It’s the first year since I’ve been your pastor that Beth Holland from EPUMC is here instead of Ginger Eddy. It’s the first year in something like 14 years I have not ridden my bike from Minnetonka or Eden Prairie to St. Cloud and back with some cycling buddies who also get to come to the MAC. And at this MAC, my wife Katie is retiring.

One of the things that Katie’s retirement this year means is that I’m also attending as her spouse. So I got to go the retirement dinner, and I will be standing with her on Friday afternoon as she is recognized. I’ve been at a lot of retirements at the MAC. They used to devote an entire evening to it with everyone who was retiring giving a speech. Now let’s just say God’s grace and wisdom has taken over and that has changed; now we get a booklet where everyone gets to write about a page.

Katie and I have always been what is referred to as a “Clergy Couple” at the MAC. We are a married couple who are both clergy. We are not the only clergy couple, but we are certainly one of the first and one of the longest-lasting both in terms of being clergy and unfortunately also in terms of still being a married couple. The attrition rate is very high in both of these areas.

With all this going on, I’m reflecting on the different roles I have while I’m here: I’m a member of the conference, a representative of EPUMC, I have a lot of friends here and now I am spouse/colleague of someone being recognized for 39 and a half years of service. That is a lot to juggle around in your head and heart. And yet it is something all of us do every day.

This week we are hearing a lot of what this conference is calling “Jesus stories.” Jesus stories are moments or incidents when Christ’s presence in your life has been very apparent… They are when Jesus touched your life and transformed whatever you were juggling around in your head and heart. Jesus stories are when you invited Jesus into your life to help.

I’m going to share a couple of my Jesus’ stories this Sunday, and I want to invite you to consider what story you might tell. You see, I believe when we tell these stories and listen to each other when we do…Jesus shows up.

Keep the Faith,

Pastor Dan

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Weekly Memo: Second Chances

5/24/2018

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So this week I’m on a road trip. It’s sort of a make up date from last September when I had my “cardiac incident.” I was scheduled to go to my first U2 concert two days after I got out of the hospital. I didn’t make it….to the concert.

U2 is a band I have grown to really love and going to one of their concerts is on my bucket list. My biking buddy Steve who lives in Nashville, TN, invited me to stay with him and go to the concert there this Saturday. He already had the tickets, so I had to go.

It’s a road trip because I’m driving down to Nashville so I can take my bike and ride with Steve. On the way down, I stopped for a day or so at my brother Kevin’s house just across the Mississippi river from St. Louis. My sister-in-law Robin came through with tickets to the Cardinals game… seven rows up from the dugout…how great is that!

Road trips have always been a source of worry for me. They have occurred either as a part of a family vacation or a youth mission trip. This trip is different…it’s just me, I don’t have to worry about what anyone else needs or wants to do. I got the 4 Runner checked out… packed some clothes and my cycling stuff and took off after church. I didn’t have a reservation for where to stay on the first night out… I didn’t want one… I just went as far as I wanted and then I stopped for the biggest cheeseburger I could find. (it is vacation).

When you are just driving down the interstate where some thoughts linger, there comes a different sense of perspective. One perspective I’ve reflected upon during those long miles (Illinois….it is a very long state) is how fortunate I am to have a make-up opportunity to see a band. I must confess that I have not been a particularly compliant cardiac patient. Some of the choices I’ve made about diet and stress management have not been what I learned in my time in cardiac rehab.

For most of my life, I would have quickly become entrapped in the perspective that evolves into guilt and shame about my lack of attention. But it’s different today… I’m not sure why. Maybe this different perspective is because I’ve got more time to listen to whatever voice is speaking to me, telling me that I’m a little hard on myself. The same voice also reminded me that the truth of life, as long as you are around to live it, is that you do not run out of second chances when it comes to God’s patience, presence and mercy.

I’m hoping that at the concert I hear one of my favorite U2 songs called ironically for me “13.” It has an alternate title, “A Song for Someone… Someone Like Me.” The song has a chorus that I have quoted a couple times. This chorus is going around in my head on this road trip…so here it is again.

There is a light we can’t always see
If there is a world, we can’t always be
If there is a dark, then we shouldn’t doubt
And there is a light, don’t let it go out.

Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan

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Weekly Memo: Mother's Day

5/10/2018

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Sunday is Mother’s Day, and in worship we will be exploring what the gospel of John had to say about the role of Jesus’ mother. The gospel of John does not mention the name of Jesus’ mother. We know her name was Mary from the other three gospels.

One reason for this is that John does not mention any names of those people who participate in the miracles in the book of John. The miracle the mother of Jesus will witness is the turning of water into wine at the wedding in Cana. There it takes the love and encouragement of his mother for Jesus to begin to act. Perhaps John wanted to make sure we were aware of the role Jesus’ mother played here and trusted that someone else would remember to speak her name.

My mother’s name was Georgette. Of course I just called her mom; everyone else called her Georgie. Recently I was exploring my family history. I knew that my mother’s father was named Otto George… but I had no idea the number of other George’s on the Blume/Best side of my family. When you put that together, I suppose it was inevitable that my mom who was the first child of her parents would somehow have the name George whether she was a boy or a girl.

My middle name is George. As Daniel George Bryan, a second son, I was told that I was named after my two grandfathers: Dan Bryan and, the aforementioned Otto George Blume. I’ve never really considered that I might in part also be named after my mother. Although as I’m writing this I can remember my mom calling out to me “Daniel George!…” with more of an emphasis and a familiarity than Kevin James or even David Gene.

I carry many traits good and not so good of my mother: her nervous energy, her need to be a peacemaker, her frustration when life doesn’t work out. I’d like to think that I have some of whatever we call the kind of determination she possessed. Most of her adult life was spent with raising five boys with my father disabled. She had no skills adaptable for the working world. My mom didn’t even have a driver’s license. Somehow though, Georgie Bryan carved out a life that is worth remembering on Sunday, especially by her namesake.

The names of all the women who have mothered us are important to remember because whether or not our names are similar, we are deeply and forever connected to them. That is of course saying the obvious; however, once in a while it’s good to hear the words out loud. And so sometime this Sunday, I invite you to say the name of your mother out loud… if you can in her presence or over the phone. And if you are like me and you rely on that which connects us through the miracle of faith, say that name out loud in a space and time that honors her presence.

In either case after you speak her name, do not be afraid to listen for that part of you that is encouraged and loved.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Dan

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