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Tag Archives: new york

Impressive falls

07 Tuesday Mar 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Travel

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Letchworth State Park, new york

One of the reasons the Glen Iris Inn is so popular is because when you look out from the front, this is what you see.

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It’s really quite an impressive sight.  The falls look gorgeous.

This was the last stop on our tour of Letchworth Park.  What a way to end!

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Lesson for church: take the beauty where you can get it.  And don’t force it.  Beauty often comes naturally. Sometimes you just need to open your eyes and see it right infront of yourself.

How did they get all that building material there?

06 Monday Mar 2017

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Glen Iris Inn, Letchworth State Park, new york

When we visited Letchworth State Park, in New York State in September, we ended up walking down to the Glen Iris Inn.

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It’s really quite beautiful.  It’s now a restaurant.  While we were there, an outdoor wedding recption was going on.

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Lesson for church – The Glen Iris Inn has served many functions over the years.  It’s had repairs and updates.  Yet it’s done a great job of always being the place to go to.  I wonder what we can learn from this.

The path of life

03 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Theology, Travel

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Letchworth State Park, new york, path, stone, water

I wonder how often we feel that the paths of our lives look like this:

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An uphill climb that look rugged and dangerous.  But with some footings.

Or maybe we see life like this:

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Swimming upstream with no way out, just swimming and swimming.

Yet, I think we all envision the path of life should be like this:

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It’s not perfect, but we can at least walk along the way.

Lesson for church:  Life is a combination of a climb, a swim, and a walk on a path.  We are called to be with people on the side of the cliff, in the water, and along the path.  Not to shout at them and harass them and ask them why they aren’t on the right path.

Rock and Water

02 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Theology, Travel

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Letchworth State Park, new york, stone, water

Rock and water.  That’s what a good portion of the earth is made up of when it comes right down to it.  Yes, there are variations on this, but in general, we’ve got rock and water.  And so often, the two interact in interesting way.

Rock is hard and immovable (or really difficult to move anyway).  It stays put.  It is solid.  It’s heavy.  It can force its way through many things just by the weight alone.  And it’s not alive at all.  Rock can be comforting though too – it’s predictable.  It can be controlled with the right equipment and shaped to suit our needs.

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Water is fluid.  It is flexible by going around and through the easiest path, not forcing itself through (unless there is a ton of pressure built up).  Water carves away at stone and other objects slowly, wearing them away little by little, changing them to make the flow go easier.  Water is full of life and therefore full of movement often.  It changes.  You can’t put your hand in the water and grab it.  Instead you have to cup your hands and allow the water to pool in it.  In this sense we can’t ever fully control water – although we can direct where it goes pretty well.  But when there is enough water, even we can’t manage it and it goes where it will.

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Which leaves me a question – When dealing with people, we have the option to be like stone or water, what do we choose?

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Sometimes we need to be the stone and sometimes the water.  Knowing when either is appropriate is important.  Being stone when water is needed can crush a person.  And being water when stone is needed can drown them.

Lesson for church – too often we think the church should be either stone or water, but never cross over and be both at different times.  Yet, life is messy.  Sometimes we need the sure and steady rock in our lives and other times we need life-giving water that flows easily.  Church isn’t an all-or-nothing place, or at least it shouldn’t be.

Perspective

01 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Travel

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focal point, Letchworth State Park, new york, perspective

I learned about perspective in art class when I was kid.  The idea is that all things in a picture lead to a point, or possibly two points.  The lines are straight and give the imagination the idea that there is depth in the picture.  That’s what I remember anyway.

In a way, it’s nature’s way of giving the eye a focal point.

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Lesson for church: What’s our focal point?  Everything should point to that.  Stop fighting about which pencils to buy and start discerning how Jesus is calling the congregation to carry out the mission.

Stairway to…

28 Tuesday Feb 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Travel

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Letchworth State Park, new york, path

When you hike along the gorge path at Letchworth State Park in New York, USA, you to a lot of walking and climbing and stepping.  Just to show what I mean, check out this set of steps we went down:

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One of the things I think about when I go to a park is how to get from one place to another.  What has the park management done to make life a little easier, without removing all of the challenge.  Steps on the side of a hill are a good example of this – they tell me a good bit.

And they are artistic in their own way too.

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Lesson for church: How are we making disciples?  Are we leading people on a path that has obvious thought thrown in, or are we just saying “good luck, I’m sure you’ll pick things up on the way.”

 

Tabled…

27 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Theology, Travel

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Letchworth State Park, new york, table

There’s a great deal of terminology concerning tables.  We can table something meaning, we put it off, or kill it.  We can talk about “what’s on the table?” as in what are we going to deal with next?

When you travel though, especially to a state park, this should be the only table you think about:

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Then again, when you are Letchworth State Park, you could consider a few things on the table, like this:

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Or better still:

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Lesson for church: Pay attention to what’s on the agenda!  Stop talking about which brand of pencil the church is going to buy and start talking about the mission of the church – the only thing that really matters.

Overlooking things

24 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Theology, Travel

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Letchworth State Park, new york, Overlook

One of the things you can count on at Letchworth State Park are overlooks.  They seem to be everywhere along the gorge.  And with good reason.  They give great views of the gorge.

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And it doesn’t hurt that the overlooks are scenic themselves too.

Lesson for church: Church has the advantage of standing out and seeing things from a different perspective.  Like when Jesus says “You have heard it said to love your neighbors and hate your enemies, but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  If we don’t speak these words, where else are they going to be spoken?

New Adventure – Letchworth Park

23 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by laceduplutheran in Church, Travel

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gorge, Letchworth State Park, new york

In September, 2016, we took a trip up to visit my parents.  During the trip we stopped by Letchworth State Park in Letchworth, NY, USA.

It’s a beautiful park that stretches along a gorge for miles and miles.  There are some great paths along the gorge that give great views and you can get some serious steps in along the way.

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We took one of the trails and walked along the gorge.

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We’d be seeing more of these views.  But first, some steps.

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Lesson for church: the life of the church is a journey.  Enjoy the view.  Don’t get caught up in the specifics all the time.  Walk along where Christ leads you, pay attention to what is around you and expect there to be some climbing along the way.

NYC Skyline

02 Monday May 2016

Posted by laceduplutheran in Travel

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city, new york, NYC, skyline, statue of liberty

Just a couple of weekends ago, we were part of a church trip to NYC.

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I love NYC.  It’s my favorite American city.  I’ve been there numerous times (enough times that I can’t remember how many times now).  Each time I go, there’s still something new to see, and there are still new things to take in.  And familiar things too, like the skyline.

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This time we had our entire family with us.  The last time we came to visit the city was almost two years ago.  We made a trip to NYC so that we could go to the Finnish consulate to do an interview with Finnish authorities, pay fees, etc. – all so we could receive resident permits so we could live in Finland for a year of exchange studies.

Now we were back in the US, and coming to a city that has accepted people from foreign places for a long time.  And the statue has become the symbol of welcome to so many.

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Yet we find our country in the midst of tearing itself apart over who it is, what it stands for and if the symbols and principles that have guided us for so long will remain.  We have one candidate from this noble city running for office that now only sees the markers of the skyline as just familiar landmarks – devoid of meaning.  And many throw themselves down in what is essentially worship of him and what he stands for.  It’s rather shameful really.

And yet, I can’t help but think about all the people who came here, by boat, and saw this symbol of freedom and pointed and took a sigh of relief – they came somewhere for a better chance at life.  I wonder how many more will have the opportunity to do so in the future.  I wonder how many will want to come.  I wonder if the thin veneer of civility will hold up.  Or will our darker sinful desires bring about our own downfall.

In the meantime, we can point to principles that have guided us.  They haven’t been easy, but they have made us who we are.

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laceduplutheran

laceduplutheran

I believe that God, church, and theology are approachable, enjoyable, and relevant for everyone. I write about this a lot because people need to hear it. So many people feel lost, hopeless, alone, and are searching for identity and meaning. I'm an ELCA Pastor (Lutheran) who has a background in politics, business, and the non-profit worlds. I take churchy theological ideas and words and communicate them in everyday language that people can understand, in ways that relate, and show that God, church, and theology matter a great deal. Oh, and it doesn't have to be boring either - mostly because it's the best news ever!

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