Summertime Wrap-up

A lot has happened at Prairie Table over the past few months, and with so many people traveling and being away, it is a wonder we ever stay connected at all...Here's some of the conversations that have happened around the table, and we look forward to another year of gathering together!

...the first part of June we had our annual Western North Dakota Synod Assembly out in Dickinson, and we had some great conversations about the future of the Church in our part of the world. As good Christians, convinced of the truth of the witness of our Lutheran tradition that grace precedes everything, we discovered that our communities of faith are often the last places standing where people can gather together to have meaningful conversations...Homes, cafes, and bars can also "solve all the problems of the world," but a Christian congregation leads in actually solving the problem rather than just talking about it.

...in July we heard stories from our ecumenical partners the Presbyterians, the Moravians, others about how Church is going in their part of the world. Many congregations struggle with doing God's work rather than just "keeping the doors open," and many leaders and pastors are frustrated that people will not nor cannot change...but there is a determination on the part of many to see the Church through this malaise of modernity that is the Church in America these days, and to pray and work for a missional life in the being of God in the world.

...In August we talked with Katie Narum Miyamoto about the Church in Japan, and how different it is to be a minority as a Christian rather than a majority as we are here in the USA. We continue to appreciate people such as Katie for keeping us aware of so many of the wonderous things God's love does in places where we do not often get to go...what a blessing to see God at work.

...And now we come to today, and into the future...and we wonder what it will bring for Prairie Table? We celebrated our second anniversary this past June, and it is amazing that we have been able to keep going for even that long...Sometimes you have to wonder what God is doing--especially when I am often the one in charge!?!?!?! As always, I give thanks for the many people who gather to converse around the tables of PTM. What a joy to hear the stories, to laugh, to cry, and pray over the grace God showers us with each and every day...

...I am thinking of a tag line for my posts--sort of an homage to Garrison Keillor I suppose--but how do you like this? May your conversations be true, and your tables be full...peace.