Time Stewardship Blog from Pastor Emily

A recent conversation with Monday Morning Women at St. John about time stewardship prompted some other thoughts, so behold this blog (with wisdom and wit, both up for debate)

1. I’ve had “write time stewardship blog” on my To-Do list for almost a year (like, actually).  To be fair, there are really big things on that list too, such as “Evangelism/Church Growth” and “Discipleship Trail Map.”  You have time for what you prioritize (sometimes). Also, sometimes it’s best just to bite the bullet and get it done and cross it off the list for good!  A friend once told me a proverb (from Tibet maybe?) that goes somewhat like, “If you have to eat a frog, eat it first.” Do the hard thing that you are dreading now and get it out of the way!  What do you have on your list today that has been bugging you for a while? What would it take to make some progress on it?

2. I often don’t get to some of the big or little things on my list because I feel like I’m too stressed and don’t have time.  A friend (the same one) once told me that stress is like packing for vacation. No matter the size of your suitcase, you always fill it up.  The same is true for stress. Truthfully, I have a very small suitcase right now, but it still feels full at times. This helps me remember that I really do have time for all those little nagging things and even those big things when I ignore the little things for a while.  Maybe your suitcase is gigantic right now and overflowing. How many extra sweaters do you have stuffed in there? What can you give to someone else?

3. Avoid time-sucks.  As someone who cares deeply about doing things with high standards and is sometimes afraid of making a mistake (I’m a 1 on the Enneagram, see here: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/type-1), I sometimes want to avoid that stress of messing up by not tackling the task in the first place.  I know this about myself, and recognize my behaviors as avoidance. It might not be true for you. But for all the other 1’s out there, just jump in and do it, the biggest critic of your work is probably yourself.

4. Flow is real.  Watch this TED Talk (https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow?language=en) and then try to find your balance between challenge and skill.  When you are in flow, time moves fast but you move faster.

5. Plan your day and your week.  You have three chunks of time each day.  Morning, Afternoon, Night. That’s it! How are you using them?  How do you want to be using them?

6. You are the boss of you.  I know this sounds obvious, but sometimes we need the reminder.  Sometimes I joke that I just do whatever my phone calendar tells me to do next.  But I make the calendar!  I schedule doctor’s appointments and meetings.  It’s okay to schedule rest, workouts, and dinner with family too.

7. Time is a gift from God.  Being a steward of God’s gifts means giving our time in ways that are worthy of God.  Sleep. Eating good food. Spending time with loved ones. Worship. Work and talent development.  Rest. All (and more!) worthy of God. What do you feel God drawing you to give time to? What does that mean letting go of?

8. 22 minutes later and that’s one more thing off the list for me!  Praise God who doesn’t measure us by the length of our to-do lists.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 

Pastor Emily ☺

I have a dream...

About ten years ago, Kate and I were co-directors of Wesley Acres Camp, a United Methodist Camp and Retreat Center in rural North Dakota. The camp was a mix of old and new structures. Some years prior, the Army Corps of Engineers had raised the ground level of the camp due to an upgrade in a downstream dam, and as such, they built a new dining hall and state of the art septic lift systems for the camp. 

Many of the sleeping cabins however, old army barrack style buildings, were well above water line and therefore not eligible for replacement. The previous directors had worked with a church about an hour away in Arthur, ND to arrange the process of replacing these cabins with new, comfortable, four season sleeping buildings complete with plumbing and a common room.

The people of Arthur UMC committed to building a new cabin, from the ground up, in their own church parking lot. For months, their members would come to their own church swing hammers and cut lumber, raising stud walls, insulating, sheetrocking, all while prayerfully preparing these sleeping places for future youth and guests of Wesley Acres. Upon the completion of the build, they paid a professional house-mover to lift the building and move it fifty miles west to the camp. The building is gorgeous. Tongue in groove knotty pine interior siding. Cedar plank exterior siding. Two sleeping rooms and adjoining bathrooms. Beautiful. Functional. And life giving for the camp. It was visionary. In fact, that's the cabin's name, Vision. And this build inspired others to build new cabins. The Jamestown Area ministry team built a new cabin. And upon our departure from the camp, a third new cabin was under construction, once again, in a church parking lot. 

This model of building in the parking lot and moving to the place of need has stuck with me these past ten years, and some of you may have heard me say out loud, “My dream, is that St John, along with churches all across Anchorage could do their own parking lot builds, but instead of cabins, we would build tiny homes to help solve the issue of homelessness in Anchorage.”

The research has been clear, the number one cost-effective way to deal with the issues of homelessness is to engage in a housing-first model. When people have a warm safe place to keep their possessions and lay their heads down at night, there is a much higher rate of success in finding and keeping employment, in finishing school well, in avoiding the emergency room for health care, and in preventing acts of mischief and crime.

I have a dream, that together, communities of faith across Anchorage can work together, footing the cost of building materials, providing the volunteer construction labor, and moving the structures to the place where they can best serve our homeless neighbors.

Of course, this is only a piece of the solution. After all, a location must be determined and acquired. Issues of infrastructure, like water, sewer, electricity, and heat all need to be addressed and funds appropriated. Issues of land use and on going security for the occupants must be addressed. Churches can do our part, but without a partner who specializes in the areas of infrastructure and logistics, the tiny homes would just take up spots in our parking lots, unoccupied.

And so I want to invite you to join me in praying for a solution. I am confident that people of faith throughout the Anchorage Bowl can and will step up to the plate to build tiny homes en masse, but we need to pray for the right partner(s) to come forward, those who have the power, authority, and funding to purchase and designate land close to services, deal with infrastructure, and provide an ongoing framework of support to help those who are homeless transition to a new life of security and civic productivity.

I have a dream, a God-sized dream. And so I'm asking that you would pray with me that God might reveal to us how to bring this dream to reality as we seek to be a blessing to our neighbors, all of our neighbors, here in Anchorage. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And Love your neighbor as yourself.

Emergency Cold Weather Shelter Update

This past Saturday night St. John hosted its first ever Emergency Cold Weather Shelter (ECWS).  With the helping hands of 17 volunteers we were able to provided a warm and safe environment for two families and one vulnerable adult for a total of six people including an eight month old little boy.  Filling their tummy’s full with a warm home-cooked meal followed by a much appreciated hot shower, our guests were thankful for our hospitality.  Several of our guests were able to benefit from the tubs full of gently used clothing that was so graciously donated by our congregation, our neighbors, and our friends.  Many hands went into making the evening a success including several of our youth who stepped up and lent a willing hand to help those in need.  Prior to our guests departing for the day, they were given a warm breakfast before heading out into the cold.  Though providing hot meals is not a requirement of this type of shelter, we simply can not just hand them a granola bar and send them on their way, we are Methodist right? 

 Volunteer opportunities are available for all during our evening spent helping our community.  Anything from cooking a meal, making a bed, playing cards with a new friend or lending a listening ear to those that need someone to talk to. 

If you are not able to donate your time to this ministry there are a number of other ways that you can help out such as:

•          Everyone loves a home cooked meal!  When we are feeling down and life gets rough comfort foods often helps pick us up.  Please include an ingredient list so that our guests can be aware in case they have food allergies.

•          We are in need of the following food donations:  baby food for all ages, granola bars, oatmeal in to go cups,  mac & cheese in to go cups, juice boxes, and cold cereal in to go cups.

•          We are in need of the following non-food donations:  diapers - all sizes including new born, baby wipes, travel size shampoo and soap, gas cards and new backpacks for adults and children.

If you are feeling a nudge from God to help in this rewarding ministry, please feel free to contact Tina Racy or Pastor Emily with any and all questions.  You can sign up to volunteer for an upcoming shelter night here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b054caaa922a46-stjohn5.  We look forward to working side by side with you in helping those in our community who are in need of shelter.

11:30am Worship Prayground

Dear friends,

This past summer, we tried a new thing in the 11:30am contemporary worship service called a “Prayground.” In an effort to engage children in worship, we set up a small area towards the front of the sanctuary with quiet activities for children to engage with during the worship service. By and large, this worked very well throughout the summer with just a few little hiccups along the way.

This past Sunday we recognize the “Prayground” did not work as well. Please know that we not only recognize the need for children to experience worship, but we also recognize that other worshipers need to be able to hear and concentrate on what the preacher is teaching so that they too may experience God’s grace in and through worship.

Please know that we will be working to make some changes in the weeks ahead to try and find the right balance for children, youth, and adults in our 11:30am contemporary worship, and we invite you, the congregation to help be a pro-active and positive part of the conversation with us.

Thank you so very much for you grace and patience as we try to do a new thing to grow disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, and to be a welcoming family joyfully sharing God’s light.

Andy Bartel, Lead Pastor
Emily Carroll, Pastor of Discipleship & Justice
Erynne Devore, Director of Children & Family Ministries
Robbie Brawner, Director of Youth & Family Ministries

Making A Difference in Kids' Lives

Dear St. John Congregation – The Fall Outreach is complete. Backpacks and college kick-start packages were sponsored, and items purchased, scores of socks, under-garments and tennis shoes were procured, all were blessed at last week’s service and all were delivered this week!

The deliveries to Kids Corp (Head Start), Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Child Welfare Academy were all met with enthusiastic smiles and much appreciation for the gifts! While there were stories at each, I wanted to share with you the impact of your generosity learned during my conversation with Amanda Metivier, the Associate Director in the Office of Youth Empowerment & Education and Training Voucher Program at the Child Welfare Academy.

Amanda herself grew up in the foster system in Alaska. When she aged out, she found a way to attend college, believing this was her ticket to a successful life. She thought she could help others like herself. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in social work and later earned her Master’s degree.

In one of her first assignments, she was to pick up a foster student ready to attend UAA. She pulled up to the home and the girl emerged with nothing but a backpack. No bedding. No other linens. No clothes. No ‘stuff’. Can you imagine? Best I can recall, Natalie & I rented two GMC Yukons to move our daughter to school her freshman year! We had tons of stuff! But this girl had nothing. Amanda took the student to her own home where they gathered up Amanda’s extra sheets, pillows and towels in an attempt to get her started. Fast forward to today and imagine the joy on the face of this year’s college-bound foster students when they receive their college kick-start package from St. John! 

By helping this one student, so began Amanda’s commitment to working with foster youth and better assimilating them as they transitioned to college. The State previously attempted to help these college-bound fosters. Amanda petitioned the State to let her organization do this work and she received increased funding to support her efforts. To say that Amanda has a passion for this work is an understatement. Many of the foster students don’t have anyone to accompany them to college orientation. Enter Amanda – she will accompany them, so they don’t journey alone to such an important event. Amanda doesn’t vacation during holidays as some of the foster youth have no home to return to and many don’t have a family with whom to share a holiday meal. I think about our joy when Sarah comes home for the holidays and my heart is heavy knowing there are students with no home where they can return. For Amanda, getting the foster student to college is only the beginning of the relationship. May God bless her and her students.

St. John – we didn’t just provide ‘stuff’ for this Fall Outreach Mission. We marked a path in the wilderness. We created an opportunity. We made change possible. And we supported the efforts of dedicated people like Amanda who are working hard to do the right thing.

Thank you, St. John, for supporting the Child Welfare Academy, Kids Corp and Big Brothers Big Sisters. You made a difference! God bless St. John!!

In Him, Rick & Natalie