God in the Back of an Ambulance…
What follows is the first in what I imagine will work out to be around a 3-part series about my passion for emergency services and how it relates to my faith. This was initially going to all be one post, but I decided to split it up into the three different pieces to make it a bit easier to digest…
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Throughout most of my life I’ve had a pretty intense interest in emergency services. I can’t even remotely pinpoint where it all started, but I do know that my older brother who is 8 years my senior shared the interest and undoubtedly played a part in fostering it in me. Together, we watched Rescue 911 and ER and dozens of other shows and movies. It all fascinated me.
I was about 10 years old when my brother became an EMT. I had always looked up to my brother and that pretty much cemented my desire to someday, somehow become involved in emergency services. Around a year later, on September 11, 2001 the nation was glued to its television sets as countless first responders rushed into collapsing buildings “so that others may live.” There wasn’t much I could do as an 11-year old, but my interest grew even deeper.
When I was in high school, I was able to join a local wilderness search and rescue team, a volunteer commitment that I have continued throughout my time here at WVU, and something that has only made me want to dive deeper into the world of public safety. Search and rescue is particularly interesting because it gives a much larger picture of emergency services. Any time I go out on a search, I’m typically working with not only my fellow members of the SAR team, but typically a combination of fire, EMS and law enforcement personnel. You get to work with a wide variety of people, amazing people, coming together toward the common good of helping their fellow man.
As I’ve started discerning a call toward ministry, it seemed natural that I might someday want to pursue emergency service chaplaincy. And logically, I thought to myself, the best way to develop credibility as a chaplain would to be to stay involved. Unfortunately, it seemed like I might have to give up on SAR after 5 years of volunteering with two different teams, there simply weren’t any volunteer teams near any of the seminaries I was interested in.
So what other options did I have to “maintain my credibility” in hopes of someday being able to as a Pastor, also volunteer my time as a chaplain for a local police or fire department? It definitely earned a certain ELCA seminary some brownie points to know that it had a local volunteer fire department nearby that I could volunteer with for EMS and rescue. I just needed to finally get my EMT license that I had been looking forward to for years.
And so, I took advantage of my liberal amounts of free time this semester that come as a perk of being a second-semester senior to register for an EMT class across the state line in my home state of PA. I wanted a PA license rather than one in WV because while Pennsylvania would allow me to transfer a West Virginia license, it would be much easier just to get it in PA. The class I found was perfect, fairly close to Morgantown, and only met on Saturdays, so even though the drive was slightly longer than I’d like, I would only be doing it once a week… (continued in part 2, posted tomorrow, January 10th.)
“Silent” Night at the Chapel
The Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU is fortunate to be blessed with a really awesome building with a great location. We are further blessed to have a wonderful pipe organ on loan from the music department at Fairmont State University. The organ was going to be put into storage, but an arrangement was made where the organ would be actively “stored” at the chapel where it could be maintained, played and most importantly, appreciated. Going even one step further, we are especially blessed to have a local organist who comes in to play said organ for our weekly service.
In my time at WVU, I can hardly remember a time that Robert, our organist, was not able to make it to play for the service. As I walked into the chapel this evening though, Chaplain Reigel informed me that our service would be a cappella, that our accompanist was unable to join us.
I’m a musician, and I have great reverence for the power of music, especially sacred music. When it comes to church music, I think the organ is a beautiful instrument that really brings a lot to it.
But not having an organ for a full church service?
It was actually pretty cool. In some small way, I felt more in-tune (no pun intended) with the music, more in touch with the lyrics of the hymns.
Am I ready to say that every church needs to let its organ start collecting dust and go without? Of course not, but every once and a while, it can be a really interesting experience.
And I can’t help but think of one of my favorite hymns, and how its origins just might be traced back to a similar (albeit more catastrophic) lack of organ accompaniment.
A few minor site updates…
I had quite a few readers on this blog yesterday as I posted my candidacy essay for all to read. Quite a few of those readers were people who don’t know me directly and found me through google or wordpress tagging. Many of those same people read the “About Jono” and “About this Blog” pages…
Here’s the thing…
I also read those pages this morning and realized they were a bit out of date, so I took a bit of time to update them. It’s not really new information for those of you who know me, but those of you who don’t might find some of it to be interesting. So take a look and read a bit more about me and why I’m writing this blog if you’re new to it all.
How I got here…
One of the major components of the candidacy entrance process is an essay…
“ The entrance essay is an autobiographical reflection which should contain insights and understandings gained during the period of discernment leading to your decision to apply for candidacy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It is not expected that your process of discernment is completed. You are asked only to provide an honest assessment of your current self understanding.”
Writing this essay was basically the first step during the candidacy process because it forces you to sit down and truly think through your sense of call. And I took a LOT of time over the summer writing it. I’m not entirely sure why I haven’t chosen to share it until now, but I hope that sharing it might help people who still don’t quite understand why I’m at where I am now.
So, here it is, uploaded to googledocs, for your reading pleasure, my ELCA Candidacy Entrance Essay…
Candidacy Update 10-21-11
It occurs to me that it’s been over almost a month since I’ve posted to this blog.
Furthermore, it occurs to me that the last time I posted something that was directly relevant to the title of this blog “Jono the Lutheran” i.e. candidacy stuff was well over two months ago.
Fail. I’ll take the giant red “F” now, because not only did I not post, but I neglected to post during a period of time where there really was a pretty decent amount of stuff happening. But, here’s a brief summary:
- Back on September 1st, I officially completed the initial candidacy entrance application and my entrance essay. In all honesty, I had filled out the application months ago, and was merely waiting to be finished with and satisfied with my essay before submitting this paperwork. I’ll devote a post entirely to my essay later in the week, because it’s that important
- A week later, on September 8th, I went home to Pennsylvania and my home congregation Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Delmont. As part of the ELCA’s candidacy process, candidates must be registered with an active congregation and need to have been a member for over a year. Obviously this wasn’t an issue, but the Pastor and church council need to fill out some paperwork to this extent, and I wanted to make sure that every member of the council was still able to put a face to my name. I attended the monthly meeting of our church council as a guest and took the time to re-introduce myself to them, and hand out copies of my essay. I talked a little about the candidacy process,my discernment process and also answered a few questions.I was nervous initially, but after a while I loosened up and was able to be a lot more casual with the council members. The following Sunday at church, our interim Pastor announced to the congregation that I’m hoping to go to seminary and apparently a lot of older members came up to my parents to congratulate them. It’s good to know that I have support coming from all around.
- I knocked out the next big chunk (and often considered the most daunting part) of candidacy stuff earlier this week… Monday afternoon, I sat down with my campus pastor Matthew Riegel who proctored my psychological tests. Over the course of about 6 hours, I filled in well over a thousand “scantron” bubbles for different kinds of personality and psychological tests. It was obnoxious, but it’s done and submitted. If a month or so, I’ll meet with a psychologist/psychiatrist at the Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute who will go over my scores and further evaluate my psychological health in a one-on-one interview.
West Virginia’s Musical Ambassadors
West Virginia doesn’t exactly have the best reputation among our nation’s fifty states. It ranks high in poverty and low on education, and since the early 1800′s, Mountaineers have been seen as backwoods yokels who marry their cousins.
“It’s all relative in West Virginia!” a not-at-all subtle t-shirt slogan insinuating West Virginia being home to incestuous families is something you might expect to see in a parking lot at Heinz Field during the backyard brawl against the University of Pittsburgh. These t-shirts were not however shadily sold out of the trunk of a Honda Civic, but on the website of Abercrombie & Fitch.
A politician making a joke about Italian-Americans would never be successful in his campaign for election. A news anchor ranting about his stingy Jewish neighbor would be replaced during the commercial break. But make a joke about the toothbrush being invented in West Virginia because “anywhere else it would’ve been called a teethbrush” and it’s cute. West Virginians, and Appalachians as a whole are the last great minority that it is still socially acceptable to make fun of.
That’s why it’s so important to show the country that something good can come out of West Virginia, show the world that something amazing can come out of Appalachia.
WVU’s marching band, The Pride of West Virginia, Mountaineer Marching Band is one of those things.
Every year, the Pride “takes the show on the road” bringing their music to students around the state and to fans across the country representing West Virginia University and the fine state of West Virginia as a whole. When the band plays its iconic arrangement of ”Simple Gifts” it’s as if the whole band is standing up to the world to say “you may think we’re simple, but we don’t…”
The Pride travels throughout the state and region, more than many college bands do, thanks to support from thousands of individual donors throughout the country. While there are certainly folks who donate large sums, there’s a much larger group who send $10-$20 a year, because they feel that the Pride plays an important role in being ambassadors to our state.
Today, September 14, 2011, thanks to a generous partnership with several local Papa John’s restaurants, YOU have the opportunity to support the Pride of West Virginia without even having to do any heavy lifting. Simply call Papa John’s in Morgantown, Fairmont or Clarksburg West Virginia, order a pizza or two or two dozen, and tell them you want to support the Pride of West Virginia. 20% of your bill will be donated to the WVU Foundation’s Pride Travel Fund which underwrites the band’s trips throughout the season.
If you’d like to donate more, or do so directly, you can do so at the WVU Foundation’s web page about the Pride Travel Fund, by clicking here.
Show YOUR pride in the state of West Virginia and show THE Pride of West Virginia some love…
10 years ago…
I really couldn’t tell you much about my life in sixth grade…
I was in a completely new school having just started middle school and I was an awkward little boy who had a crush on one of the girls in my homeroom.
I remember a few random snapshots, like the day I realized I really did need to wear deodorant every day. Or speaking in front of the school board in hopes of protecting the job of my band director.
The most vivid snapshot of 2001 for me though, is Mr. Thomas’ social studies class, on September 11, 2001. I remember him wandering out into the hall while we were working on an assignment, as he usually did, going to talk to another teacher or whatnot. And I remember him coming back in, and very calmly reaching for the tv and turning it on…
They were showing a video of a plane crashing into the first tower. I, like millions of other slightly confused and altruistic Americans thought to myself “that’s a pretty big plane… that’s a pretty big building… you’d think it would be easier for the pilot to avoid hitting a building…”
Little did I know, that there was so much more going on in our country on our day.
The rest of the day was a blur, I remember kids getting picked up early, and an almost pathological fear of sirens that the entire student body developed over the course of just a few minutes. Every firetruck was seemingly heading to a terrorist attack on the other side of town.
Today’s college freshmen were barely old enough to be cognizant of what happened that day, but I’m sure they, like the rest of us have an image or two burned in their minds.
“A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining. Today, our nation saw evil — the very worst of human nature — and we responded with the best of America. With the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.” -President George W. Bush
Camp Lutherlyn
It’s really hard to believe that as of today, I have officially “missed” out on an entire summer at Camp Lutherlyn.
I use the word “missed” in quotation marks because it’s almost a little harsh. I did make it up for the afternoon of Summerfest, which was spent primarily catching up with old friends; but on the other hand, considering that I have lived there for the entire summer for the past five years of my life, to say I only made it up for one day is pretty depressing.
For those of you who don’t know, Lutherlyn is a Lutheran church camp, jointly funded by the Northwestern and Southwestern Pennsylvania synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. I attended Lutherlyn for a week every summer as a camper from elementary school up to high school, and was on summer staff for 5 years between 2006 and 2010.
I’m a big fan of the American Camp Association’s “Because of camp…” public service announcement campaign, that focuses on promoting the value of summer camp experiences for youth. I take “because of camp” very seriously, because camp taught me a lot. My time as a camper and staff member taught me a lot of “hard” skills, stuff like playing the guitar, washing dishes (I spent two summers as kitchen staff), belaying and the basics of technical rope work, how to throw a frisbee, how to build a fire, and a million other things.
But the thing that the ACA stresses even more than learning concrete skills is “soft skills,” interpersonal skills. It taught me how to live and get along with others, and how to do so without the presence of my parents; moving to college was easy after having been to camp for so many years. And I think even more important, camp taught me about MYSELF, taught me to embrace my personality, to be comfortable with my faith, and that I don’t have to be like everyone else.
To say that camp changed my life would be an understatement. Camp did not just change my life, it SHAPED my life. I could write a book (and someday may) about how my experiences at camp had an impact on my life and who I am today…
And that’s what brings me to sort of the Catch-22 of the summer.
It was at the end of last summer, after serving for the season as Unit Leader, that I thought that I might want to try something different the next year, but I also knew that I might likely end up taking summer classes instead.
If I had been on staff this summer, returning for my sixth consecutive summer; if I hadn’t needed to stay on campus to make up a few credits… I would never have had the opportunity to pursue the internship I’m doing at Saint Paul right now. I would be working at camp, and I’d be happy, but I doubt I’d be putting the finishing touches on a candidacy essay to send to the synod office.
But the question becomes, if I had NEVER been to camp. If I had NOT been a camper for umpteen years and on staff for five, would I be where I am right now? If I had not been given the opportunity to teach campers about their faith, and then to teach counselors how to share theirs with their campers, would I be wading my way through the ELCA candidacy process to become a Pastor?
At the last ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans, there was a speaker who said something that really struck me. For the life of me, I can’t remember her name, or much else about her speech, but I remember this: “When life isn’t going as planned, pause and think where that alternative path may be taking you…”
I wasn’t sure WHERE my life was heading when I emailed Deb Roberts to tell her that I would not be returning to staff this summer… But now that I can see where I have gone following that alternative path, I think I’m better for it.
I’m grateful every day for my parents sending me to camp all those years. I could’ve had the latest and greatest toys, but instead my parents put that money towards awesome vacations and, of course, summer camp. What if instead, they had bought me video games with that same money instead?
I’m also grateful for that Friday morning in June of 2006 when Deb took a chance, hiring the goofy high school kid to fill an unexpected opening in the kitchen. I’m grateful that two years later, she took another chance, moving me up to the role of counselor. And I’m grateful that I got to spend my last year at camp as a Unit Leader, sharing my passion for camp with a brand new generation of staffers.
But when I say “my last year,” I know I’m lying to myself. 2010 wasn’t my last year at camp…
I’ll be back… You can’t just walk away from something that’s had that much of an impact on your life.
The view from the pulpit…
On Sunday, I preached a sermon for the first time at Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Morgantown, WV. The gospel text for the day was Matthew 14:13-21, the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. For those of you more interested in reading the sermon itself, it is in the post previous to the one you’re reading right now. CLICK HERE for a direct link to that post.
BUT, I know there are just as many of you who are more interested not in the sermon itself, but moreso how it felt to deliver it.
The short answer of it all is that it felt good, and it felt “right.”
In the congregation on Sunday, we had, not only Pastor Brian, but also Chaplain James Riggs, who is a United Methodist minister serving as the chaplain at Fairmont General Hospital, and Rev. Jerry Robbins, who was the original Lutheran campus chaplain at West Virginia University (and celebrated his 50th anniversary of ordination this year). All three were very complimentary, as were numerous parishioners. Even one of my acolytes told me it was good, although, his metric of success seemed to be merely that it was shorter than Pastor Brian’s normally are.
There are some Pastors that really struggle with writing sermons, but I enjoy writing and speaking so it was a fairly natural transition for me. It wasn’t at all uncomfortable, just different.
The truly interesting thing for me though was the pulpit at Saint Paul. It is a very large, raised pulpit, similar to what you might see in a much older, colonial style church. You have to go up about half a dozen steps from the altar to what is very literally a raised platform. The really cool thing about this type of design is that it allows you to make clear eye contact with literally EVERYONE in the congregation, something that I didn’t take as much advantage of as I should have, but still, really cool.
A large part of my internship this summer has been putting my gifts and talents to use for ministry and seeing the (usually positive) outcomes. In the past, I’ve had people nudge me toward seminary, or tell me I would make a good Pastor, but now, those statements carry a lot more weight, having preached my first sermon, having visited shut-ins and hospitalized parishioners, having sat in on conversations between Pastor Brian and parishioners. Now, it’s not just people telling me that I’d be a good Pastor, but me being able to personally see that my gifts ARE useful for ministry and that “yes, you know, I really think I could do a decent job with all of this.”
Even if we didn’t get the grant from Project Connect, I was planning on asking to shadow Pastor Brian for a week or two over the summer. I think anyone who’s considering seminary and going into ministry should take the opportunity to work with a Pastor and truly get the intimate feel for what all it entails. It doesn’t have to be in the formal context of an internship like mine, I think even just a week or two of shadowing can have a major impact in understanding and getting a better feel for your sense of call.
Preaching the word of God…
Yesterday, as part of my internship at Saint Paul, I got the opportunity to preach my first sermon. Before I started, I shared a little story about my last major speaking engagement at my high school graduation:
“I should warn you, the last time I spoke in public was at my high school graduation. It was a breezy day, and I was one of three commencement speakers. I put my speech on the podium and as I was about to begin, I felt a breeze, so I reached up to keep my cap from blowing away. It was at that precise moment that several thousand people looked on in horror as all 9 pages of my speech took off down the football field. Fortunately for me, there’s no breeze in the sanctuary right now, and fortunately for you, even if there was, I only have five pages to blow away today…”
To watch the video of THAT encounter, and see my perfect embodiment of the “can’t let a little thing like that get me down” mentality, go ahead and watch the video here on youtube.
Read Sunday’s sermon here, after the jump…
