Network Blog

I leave on my first trip of the summer on Saturday morning. 

It's a big one.  A bus and a mini-van, both will be full.  We're heading from Minneapolis to Washington DC.  We've got 2 days of driving, a day of touring, 5 days of working with Habitat for Humanity, 2 days of camping at the beach and then 2 days of driving home.  12 dayss total...over 2500 miles of driving (not counting the little shuttling around trips we do)...cooking for ourselves...getting around a strange city...safety...health...ok, I admit it, I'm getting kind of a headache just thinking about it.

You know what I mean.  You've done it yourself.

This is a time when I could use some prayer.  I'm looking for peace and assurance.  There are so many things that could go wrong.  And of course, some things will.  Every day, as the trip approaches, I pray that it will all go well and that the things that don't will be minimal.

And just a few weeks after this group is back, another group leaves for the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans.  More prayer.

I know that you are praying the same thing for your trips.

I'd like to make a commitment that we pray this summer for each other's ministries.  We'll keep it simple.  But when you pray, could you pray for the ministries, in particular the summer trips, that your brothers and sisters are doing?  Pray for safety.  Pray for experienced blessed with the grace of God.  Pray for powerful experiences of faith formation.

This Network is about lifting up and valuing each other as colleagues and as people who share a common mission and call.  We do that by praying for each other.

Will you pray for me?  For the summer experiences I am on this year?  For our group?  For our congregation?  I will pray for you.

It's what we do.

tb