Countdown

Dear Friends,

We are in the "home stretch" of the sabbatical now, and I am turning my thoughts toward our ministry together. Doug and I spent last week traveling--first, with my parents after the latest round of Dad's chemotherapy; then with Chris (our son) and his wife, Heather in Raleigh; finally with Aaron and Mary in Chester, VA, where Aaron is stationed for Captain's School at Fort Lee. We worshiped with the saints at Chester Presbyterian Church Sunday, and met with the Music Director/Organist and the Chair of the Worship Committee after church. It has been such a great experience to spend time with Christians all over the Southeast. People who are involved in planning worship have been greatly appreciative of the opportunity to "talk worship." This is such a central part of our life as followers of Jesus--everyone seems to want to talk about about how we can worship in a more authentic and engaging manner.

This week, I will be getting ready to be back to the "usual" at Northside. I can't wait to hear from you all about what has been hapening in your lives since I have been away. I hope you will all come by to get me up to date. I'll be back in my study on Monday, August 28, and back in the pulpit Sunday, September 3. I have so much to tell you all!

See you in a week!

Peace,

Linda

Home, sweet home

Dear Friends,

Our week at Massanetta Springs is over, and it was outstanding in many ways.

First, the music! The adult, youth, and children's choirs, and the handbell choirs made me so thankful that God has given us music, and voices and gifts with instruments to praise God with, and to delight our senses with the beauty of melody.

Second, the preaching! So many excellent preachers opened God's Word to us during the week.














Finally, the HEAT! With temperatures reaching 97-98 degrees from Monday to Thursday, we literally melted in the un-air-conditioned Hudson Auditorium every morning and evening. It surely takes great love of music to stand jammed together in a very large choir and sing with fervor!

I hope you enjoy these pictures from the week, thanks to some of the dedicated photographers snapping photos during our events.

We are home now, and hopefully will have a quiet week of catching up on laundry, household chores, and a visit from a very special friend from Florida.

Grace and peace to you all,

Linda

Having a Hot Time!

Dear Friends,

The Massanetta Springs Conference Center's Music and Bible Conferences are interesting and fun, but we feel like boiled shrimp in the heat! We have been in the upper 90's most of the week, and Hudson Auditorium, the site of all the preaching, is not air conditioned. We've been roasting as members of the congregation, but my heart goes out to the folks who are leading--the preachers, worship leaders, and the choirs! They have to work hard in the middle of all that heat! Yesterday, the new moderator of General Assembly, Joan Gray, met with us to discuss the meeing in June, and current issues facing the church.

It has been nice to see several of our hometown crowd here: Liz Allen (who is on the Music Conference planning team), Constance and Quinn Hull, Ann Marie, Sylvia, and Maria Conner, and Ann Marie's mother-in-law, Jackie. We've had a little mini-reunion. It shows me how much I miss you all.

Sunday we worshiped at Trinity Presbyterian Church, and met yesterday with their worship committee chair and parish associate, Polly and Jim Cushman. Their church structure is very different--they use house churches to structure the mission, study, and fellowship of the church. Today I meet with their pastor, Ann Reed Held. I think the people in that church are the absolutely FRIENDLIEST people I have ever met! I can't even describe how much they went out of their way to welcome us after worship. Dick Bethune is a member of that congregation, so it was nice to see him, too.

We will be here for a couple more days, and then head home Saturday. I am ready to be at home for a while.

I pray that you are all well, and that Christ is empowering the church's mission and ministry to continue during this long, hot summer. It is only a few weeks until Doug and I return to your midst, and to the time when we "crank up" for the Fall.

Grace and Peace to you all,

Linda

Off We Go Again!

Dear Friends,

We leave today for two reasons: to worship with the saints at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg, and to attend the Music and Bible Conferences at Massanetta Springs Conference Center there. It seems we have hardly been home, and now we are going again. I do look forward to the enrichment of worship and the conference--there should be some really good preachers there, and the choirs and handbells ought to be glorious!

I know that some of you are involved with Ann Marie Conner's Bible reading schedule, as I am. It is proving to be a good discipline to have a set schedule, and it insists that I read parts of the Bible that I normally spend less time in. The Old Testament readings have been pretty gruesome, some of the time. Currently we are reading Joshua, and I must say that the descriptions of the MANY massacres perpetrated on the Canaanites by the Israelites as they entered the promised land keep my mind reeling. It appears that the Israelites truly understood the destruction of conquered peoples to be God's will, but I have trouble reconciling that with what I understand to be God's steadfast love for the world. I also ponder how easily we all are able to convince ourselves that God is on our side as we plunder through the world, trying to get our own way. Someone sometime said (I think it may have been Abraham Lincoln) that rather than getting God on our side, we ought to be about making sure we are on God's side. I think that I have a lot more reading to do on this subject. But it certainly is still a current issue in our world of many wars!

I continue to keep you all in prayer. I hope you will also pray for us. And, to quote a prayer I heard last night on a BBC vespers service, I ask you to "pray for those who have no one to pray for them."

Grace and Peace,

Linda

Want to see my pictures?

Dear Friends,

We are enjoying being at home again after all our travels. I have had time to work on my photos, and want to share some with you. Here we are having fun with new Nashville friends.












Destin was beautiful--in scenery and in people! Here are some sights from the Gulf coast: the view from our front porch, Doug and daughter Talitha, her children Ellen and Jacob . . .


It's been a wonderful summer! We have now managed to visit with all the children and grandchildren except Chris and Heather, and we are hoping to make it to be with them. It hasn't been easy to orchestrate, with all the job changes and moves they have collectively made over the last few months! We have also worshiped with six congregations so far--Presbyterian, Lutheran, Disciples of Christ, and nondenominational. I have been reading, reading, reading--about worship practices and the theology of how we worship God. I'm learning lots, and more importantly, having a "sabbath rest" from the daily routines. I'm grateful for this opportunity!

See you all in about five weeks!

Grace and Peace,

Linda

On the Road Again

Dear Friends,

We are traveling again, after leaving Destin and our time with Doug's daughter, Talitha, and her two children, Ellen (12) and Jacob (6). The weather was hot down there, although we were told it was a lot cooler than July usually is on the Gulf. We had no rain (they need some down there), but hot and muggy every day. Destin is a lot different from most of our Atlantic beaches. They build things a lot closer to the beach, and the beaches are mostly not as wide as Atlantic beaches (at low tide anyway). I can see why destruction from storms is so awful. Even in Destin, there were some places where the sand foundation and some parking lots had been washed away last summer--this was only on the oceanfront, though. We did not travel any further west, so did not see any of the real problems. It's hard to see how there could be enough construction workers to do repairs in Mississippi and Louisiana, because I believe they are all working in Destin, building new hotels and condominiums!


Last Sunday, Doug and I worshiped with the folks at First Presbyterian Church in Destin. This congregation is full of "snowbirds," who live in Florida only during the winter months, so their attendance goes from about 50 in the summer to 170 in January-March! We enjoyed spending some time with their organist/choir director, worship committee chair, one choir member/guitar player, and their pastor, Stephen Yates. Stephen is learning to play the guitar, and he did a duet with his teacher.


I'm doing some catchup on photos I should have included last time.


Here are two of the worship leaders at the Montreat Music and Worship Conference.







Here is a photo of Doug, his son Jeremy, daughter-in-law, Tammie, and grandchildren J.T., Emily, and Lizzie at the Parthenon in Nashville.














We are in Fort Payne, Alabama, tonight, and hopefully will be home tomorrow. It has been a long three weeks away, and we'll be glad to get back to our own place, and see our kitties! Wherever we are, we think of you all fondly, and are anxious to share with you what we have learned in our conferences, our church visits--and I have been doing a lot of reading, too!

Grace and Peace,

Linda

Fireworks in Tennessee

Dear Friends,

We are now "dead center" in Tennessee, in the city of Murfreesboro. We traveled from Montreat on Monday, after a wonderful week of worship and study at the Worship and Music Conference sponsored by the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. You can't imagine how it is to worship every day surrounded by more than one thousand church musicians! On Wednesday evening, two orchestral ensembles played "dueling combos" from two balconies on either side of Lake Susan. The final concert was given by an adult choir of over 500, two youth choirs of over 100 each, a children's choir of about 150, a brass ensemble, and a choir of 244 handbells! We ate at table every day with some folks from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Columbia, SC, who were charming. They presented us with a CD and DVD of their choir's performances, and we are invited to worship with them sometime.

Sunday I worshiped with the followers of Jesus at First Christian Church in Black Mountain, NC. It was good to get to know their pastor, Joe Friddle, and to renew acquaintance, providentially, with the Rev. Jan Linn, founder of "The Jesus Connection." The Session is reading one of his books over the summer, and considering implications for our congregation.

Last night we celebrated the Fourth with a barbecue and fireworks with Doug's son Jeremy, his wife, Tammi, their children (Jay, Emily, and Lizzie) and a group of their neighbors. There were fireworks going on all around us, and it was hard to know which way to look! Today it rained HARD all day, but tomorrow should be beautiful, and we are going to go to Nashville to see the Parthenon (bet you thought that was in Greece!) We will be off to Florida on Friday to see Doug's daughter Talitha and her family. It has been five years since we have visited with these two dear families, and we are so glad to be able to do that now.

We miss you all. Time goes quickly, though, and in less than two months we will be worshiping and working together again. I know that you are faithful in your care for each other and your devotion to God.

Grace and Peace to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Linda

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Montreat Presbyterian Conference Center, near Asheville, NC. Doug and I are here for the Worship and Music Conference, and, I must say, it has been amazing so far--and we just arrived yesterday! We are staying at Assembly Inn, a turn-of-the-century lodge built of stone. Since it was built before the electronic age, we are living without air-conditioning--and the humidity has been damp, to say the least. Last night it started to rain--and it rained for 40 days and 40 nights--well, perhaps that is a slight exaggeration--but it has rained heavily until just a couple of hours ago. I have two pairs of shoes drying out on the radiator--and there is no heat in the radiator (maybe they will dry by the power of suggestion). I should have brought my flip-flops!

Worship here has been glorious, in spite of the weather. We have had vivid colors, magnificent singing (imagine a congregation where about 90 percent of the folks are choir members), outstanding preaching, and the conference organist, John Ferguson, is the director of the choirs of St. Olaf College. You may have heard some of his work on the Sunday morning radio program, "Sing for Joy." You would probably be amazed at the huge number of youth who are here. You would almost think it was a Youth Conference, except for the many "more aged" persons like me. We are learning new music and some wonderful ideas for worship.

I am writing to you from the lobby in Assembly Inn. There is a huge fireplace, walls of stone, mountains all around, and at the moment, one of the folks here is playing Clair de Lune on the baby grand piano.

Sunday I will be worshiping at First Christian Church in Black Mountain, yet another venture beyond our denominational walls. It is good to be with those who love and follow Jesus Christ as they gather to worship God. My thoughts are with you who love him, too, and who are gathering in Blacksburg each week, and faithfully caring for one another while we are gone. May God bless you all.

Peace,

Linda

Beach Weather!

Dear Friends,

We have returned home after two weeks at Litchfield Beach, SC. It was a very full time for us, in more ways than one. We had a home a couple of blocks from the beach (called "Simpson Sea-renity"), where we could host Tony, Jenny, Nathan, Aaron, and Mary. It was great having some quality time with them. Chris and Heather were unable to join us, but we felt quite blessed with the children, and adorable grandson who were with us.

I was able to go with my father for his second chemo treatment. I think the moral support helps, and he did very well with the treatment, and also the treatments for increasing white and red blood counts.

June 4 I worshiped with the folks at Victory Christian Fellowship in Georgetown, SC. This was a very different experience from our usual at Northside. Victory has a praise band rather than a choir, and lyrics projected on large screens rather than a hymnal. I didn't know a single thing we sang, so I can identify with some of you when I pick an unfamiliar hymn! The sermon was based on the story of the Three Little Pigs (I'll let you figure out the connection!). I had interesting and profitable meetings with the two pastors, Chip Judd and Rod Reid, and with the two worship team leaders. Apparently there is more to this style of worship than I had supposed.

June 11 I was back in my own tradition for Trinity Sunday, at Pawley's Island Presbyterian Church. I met with Frank Holsclaw, pastor, Rhett Talbert, associate pastor (an old classmate from seminary days), and the whole worship committee. These conversations about worship are proving to be so stimulating for me, and, I think, for the churches involved. Everyone has expressed gratitude for the opportunity to think more systematically about worship decisions.

As we were planning our beach times, Doug was certain that we would be a bullseye for all hurricanes and other natural disasters to strike. It seems he was almost right! Tropical storm Alberto went right over us Wednesday, although we didn't notice much except lots and lots of rain, and a bit of a bluster. The rest of the time, the weather was glorious!

We returned Friday evening in time for the rehearsal and wedding of my nephew, Wes Dickerson, and his bride, Kendall. I was able to participate in that service also, at New Century Church in Salem. We had a great time, and enjoyed visiting with family and friends. Today we celebrated Father's Day with Aaron and Mary, and Doug is pleased to have heard from all of his children--on time! We are still so grateful to you all for our time to enjoy Sabbath--even when the "rest" is very eventful!

Grace and Peace to you all,

Linda

Wedding Bells!

Dear Friends,

We have just returned from a delightful weekend in Northern Virginia. I co-officiated at the wedding of Zach Walrond (my nephew) and Aubrielle Smith. Bride and Groom were both gorgeous, and everything went off without a hitch. Mothers of Bride and Groom both made it, too! Sunday morning, I worshiped at St. Paul United Methodist Church, and later met with the Rev. Denise Bates, the Associate Pastor, about how they do worship, and why they do it the way they do. Their congregation is a bit larger than ours. They have two services on Sundays, mainly traditional, although Denise says she would call it "blended."

We've had a few days at home this week, before taking off for South Carolina, and spending time with my parents, and our children Aaron, Chris, and Tony, and their spouses, and our grandson, Nathan. We have lots of prayer requests for you all. Besides safe travel for all concerned, there is a lot going on in the family. My Dad has his second chemotherapy Tuesday; and the few days following are not too pleasant. My Mother's back is doing much better, and she will have a radio frequency treatment later in June. Tony has taken a new job in Kernersville, NC, so the family will be moving after the house sells (meanwhile, he is staying in "extended stay"). Aaron goes to Captain's school in August and will probably not return to Ft. Bragg, so he and Mary are also putting their house on the market. We certainly appreciate all your prayers.

Over the next two weeks, we worship at Victory Christian Fellowship in Georgetown, SC (praise band, very loud--should be quite different from our usual Sunday fare) and Pawley's Island Presbyterian Church. While we miss you lots, it is really great to worship with other Christians on Sundays. And I'm learning lots!

Grace and Peace to all the Saints at Northside,

Linda

Wedding Bells

Dear Friends,

I am still on a "high" after the fantastic Festival of Homiletics in Atlanta, but the last few days of organizing, sorting, filing, and throwing away in the home office have, I must confess, taken some of the edge off. It looks to me like the seven years I have spent as your pastor have not been used to keep things orderly at home. Having two offices seems to make more than twice the amount of sermon files, liturgical year ideas, illustrations, etc.

We are off Friday for Northern Virginia, where I will be worshiping at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Woodbridge. The other thing we will be doing at that church is celebrating the marriage of our nephew, Zach Walrond, to Aubrielle Smith. I will be officiating, and my heart is warmed that they asked. The two of them have been part of our church family at Northside, and I thought you might like to see how they looked at VT graduation just a couple of weeks ago (Zach was also commissioned as a 1 Lieutenant in the US Air Force). We are looking forward to being with family and friends for the occasion.

Our daughter-in-law, Mary Teller, has just had her tonsils out, but she is recovering well. Our son, Tony Rathjen, has taken a new job in Kernersville, NC, so he, Jenny, and Nathan will be moving this summer. We are excited, because they will be so much closer, and we can do the "grandparent thing" more often!

Doug and I pray for you regularly, and miss you all a lot!

Peace,

Linda

Festivals!

Dear Friends,
The weekend brought two festivals of graduation. Our nephew, Zach Walrond (who many of you know) and his fiancee, Aubrie Smith, graduated from Virginia Tech, so we proudly spent a whole day at ceremonies. Zach was also commissioned into the US Air Force. Sunday we left for North Carolina, where on Monday, our daughter-in-law, Mary Teller, graduated from Campbell University.

It was on from there to Atlanta, for the Festival of Homiletics (for the unitiated, that means preaching). I have several more days here, and I must say, it has been wonderful! We have had wonderful worship, beautiful music, significant lectures on the art of preaching, and delightful storytelling! In a way, I'm sorry I won't be back right away to share with you some of my new insights. On Sunday, I will be worshiping at Plaza Presbyterian Church in Charlotte on my way back home.

Last night, I had dinner with Isaye Barnwell, lead vocalist with the wonderful African-American women's a capella singing group "Sweet Honey in the Rock." It was great to meet her, and her singing workshop was sensational! I also met Jean Smith, the representative from the Lilly Endowment, who is one of the decision-makers for the grants which enabled the financial side of this sabbatical.

We miss you all a lot, and this week, I also miss Doug, who is keeping the home fires burning while I get "educated."

Peace,

Linda

The Journey Begins

Dear Friends,

Only a week has gone by, and so much has happened! Most of our first week was spent offering care and moral support to my parents in South Carolina. My Mom is having severe back problems, and Dad is preparing to undergo chemotherapy for recurrent cancer. They have been coping by themselves for the past month, and it was time for us to go lend a hand.

As you know, while we were there, we received word that Ed Bender was failing, and subsequently, that he had died. Our grief was compounded by not being here, but I am so grateful for the fine pastoral care given by Rich Pollock. Doug and I returned by the weekend, so I was able to share in Ed's memorial service. He was a wonderful man, and a dear friend. I am so glad that we were in the area, so that I could be with Emily and the Bender family, and with our church family, during this difficult time.

Sunday morning we worshiped at Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Christiansburg, and after church, we met with their pastor, Fred Hodges, and members of their Worship and Music Committee. I think it is going to be a delightful summer, worshiping together with other Christians throughout the Southeast, and having important conversations about what we do "in church" and why.

Please continue to keep Doug and me in your prayers. We miss you!

Peace,

Linda

Here's what the sabbatical is all about

Dear Friends,

The Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program asks pastors, in proposing sabbaticals, to answer the question: “What will make your heart sing?” The grant proposal plans a “period of spiritual, emotional, physical, and family relationship renewal, as well as to engage in research and experience which would . . . benefit the future worship life of the Northside congregation . . . The sabbatical will involve daily prayer, scripture, walking, research reading, and recreation, and creating an optimal balance among those activities. The sabbatical . . . will involve attending worship at nine different churches (mostly Presbyterian, both large and small), meeting with pastors and congregational representatives at each church . . . visiting with her parents, and her five children/step-children and their spouses and grandchildren, and participating in worship and music conferences.”

The schedule listed below doesn’t tell the whole story. You can imagine me on the road many of these days, since I plan to drive everywhere I go—I anticipate hours of driving! Of course, Doug will travel with me much of the time, and we anticipate the opportunity to renew our own relationship in the extra time we will have to share.

I have submitted to the Lilly Endowment the following goals for myself:
* Participate in daily prayer and devotional reading of scripture
* Participate in daily physical fitness activities; take time for adequate rest, sleep, and recreation
* Experience worship in a variety of settings as a worshiper rather than as a worship leader
* Read and reflect on the foundations of worship and styles of worship
* Renew relationships with my husband and other family members
* Organize many years’ worth of worship materials and sermons at my home office
* Reflect on a theological and practical structure for worship at NPC

Here are some of the people, places and activities of the sabbatical (more or less in order):

Christiansburg, VA - I'll be in and out of town during the sabbatical, working on mountains of stuff that has accumulated in my home office, preparing for the Fall schedule at NPC, plus reading, reading, reading!
Worship at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, meet with the Rev. Fred Hodges and worship committee
Worship at other locations in Southwest VA (to be determined)
Virginia Tech graduation

Fayetteville, NC - Campbell University graduation

Atlanta, Georgia - Festival of Homiletics preaching conference
Worship at Plaza Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC; meet with the Rev. Tom Tate and worship committee

Woodbridge, VA
Officiate at Walrond-Smith wedding
Worship at St. Paul United Methodist Church, Woodbridge, Virginia

Litchfield Beach, South Carolina
Enjoy family visits!
Worship at Victory Christian Fellowship, Georgetown, SC; meet with Pastors Rod Reid and Chip Judd and worship committee
Worship at Pawley’s Island Presbyterian Church, SC; meet with the Rev. Frank Holsclaw and worship committee

Black Mountain, NC - Montreat Worship and Music Conference
Worship at First Christian Church, Black Mountain; meet with the Rev. Joe Friddle and worship committee

Murfreesboro, TN, Enjoy family visits!

Destin, Florida
Worship at Destin First Presbyterian Church; meet with the Rev. Stephen Yates and worship committee
Enjoy family visits!

Harrisonburg, VA - Music and Bible Conference, Massanetta Springs Conference Center
Worship at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Harrisonburg; meet with the Rev. Ann Reed Held and worship committee

Possible additional travel at several different times, based on Aaron’s transfer to Captain’s Advanced Course and/or other factors (to be determined)

Peace,

Linda

Getting Ready

There is so much to do to get ready to go! Reservations to make, schedules to set up, people to contact, letters to write--and that is just on the "going" end! Here at church, I need to get my office straightened up (eek!), sort out which books to take and which to leave, go over all the many details of my days and weeks with Rich Pollock, as well as do the "regular" stuff of daily life in the church. I'm also plunging into the world of blogging, so that all of you can participate with me in the sabbatical. This is exciting, but a bit stressful!

I'm so grateful, though, for the opportunity to "go aside for a while" to replenish myself, to learn something about making worship meaningful, to visit with my loved ones, and to get to know folks in churches all around the Southeast.

My "swan song" at the Presbytery meeting was participating in a Mission Skit written by Jeff Kackley, pastor at First Pulaski. He wrote an amazing, hilarious script. I had the starring role: "Little Bubba Church" of Bubbaville Presbyterian. It was great fun to ham it up and get to dress like Gomer Pyle. I am sure I will never live that down! Unfortunately, here's the last look the Presbytery got of me: