Blog Archives

My learning does not stop

5/29/2020

By Kathleen Grube

Last August, I left Minneapolis and headed for India for an exchange year through the Rotary Club. I spent the last eight months living with host families in a city called Kota. Throughout the year, I had the opportunity to immerse in the culture and language of the community in which I lived. I engaged in family activities, participated in religious ceremonies, attended the neighborhood school and traveled with other exchange students to Northern and Southern India.

Unfortunately, amid the virus, I was forced to cut my travels short and returned in early April to the United States. But as I was on the journey home, I reflected on my year and was overcome with incredible gratitude for every moment I was able to spend abroad. This is the final reflection I wrote as I was on my way to the airport to fly out of India early last month.

I am in this land and it is in me.
This is the land where my true self came into being. A land that challenged me and helped me to grow in unexplainable ways. On this land I was able to overcome fears and uproot insecurities that were woven into the fabric of my soul all my life. The people here helped me to see myself in new ways and form myself into the person I am today. I am staring at the land that is the reason for my existence as I am right now at this moment.

But as I rolled farther down the road and stared at all the trees lining the empty streets, I realized that a tree grows in two directions. The roots grow down, while the trunk and branches grow up. And although the tree and roots are two different parts, it is all the same tree. And even though one part of the tree grows below the ground and the other part above it, the whole tree is on planet earth.

I feel like I am that tree. I have the roots of my soul planted in the United States, while the branches of life have grown and flourished while I have been here in India. I am the same tree with two different homes.

But ... are the homes really different after all?

If we have learned anything from this virus that is the reason for my early departure, it is that it does not affect Americans or Indians. Not Europeans or South Americans. It affects everyone. Everyone here on earth. Therefore, I am a tree that belongs, not to the United States or India, but to EARTH.

Just because I may leave India’s borders later tonight, what I have learned here and who I have become … that has no borders. No boundaries. I need to bring these lessons everywhere I am on planet earth and apply them there. I need to know that my exchange year does not end when my plane takes off from the ground of New Delhi.

The land may change, but I am still on earth. I am home wherever I am.
I boarded the plane later that evening and felt the wheels roll down the runway gaining speed until at last, our aircraft left the ground, breaking the last physical contact I had with the country I came to love so much. As we flew higher over the empty streets of New Delhi, I knew that I was not really leaving India because India was now inside of me in the form of all the lessons I had learned and the woman I had become. And I was still in India in the memories I made with the people here.

And I knew this was not the end of anything. My exchange does not end here. My learning does not stop. Now begins a new adventure of going home and living out all the lessons I had gained these last eight months.

And with one last look down onto the land of the capital city, I rested my head back on my chair and allowed myself to close my eyes and let go. I had everything I needed with me in my heart.

Remember George Floyd

5/28/2020

By Pastor Chris Hagen

Do not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed. Leviticus 19:17
Monday evening, May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of George Floyd until he was dead. Three other officers stood by and did not attempt to intervene to save Floyd’s life.

Whether a crime was committed, whether Mr. Floyd did anything wrong, whether police responded to threat, whether the use of force was warranted are topics for another time. Three people in authority stood by while another killed a man.

Witnesses took videos of the killing. Others cried out for the officers to stop. Bystanders attempted to intervene without interfering. It was not enough to prevent a citizen’s death. Now people are rising to intervene in a system, a mindset that has proved dangerous to men of color. Vandalism and violence may be unproductive, but the rage must be acknowledged.

This is not a Black issue. This is not a race issue. This is not another’s issue. It’s our issue. Christians, Jews and anyone of a human ethic are called upon to challenge and change a culture that discriminates by race, often to deadly results. We are morally obligated by God, or at least by respect for life, to personally intercede in this injustice.

Pastor Chris

Celebrating 2020 high school graduates

5/14/2020

By Deacon Erica Larson, Director of Faith Formation

Celebrating graduation with our high school seniors and families is a tradition at Lake Nokomis Lutheran. Even though we can’t gather together in our sanctuary, we still honor and celebrate this significant faith milestone and pray for the bright future of our graduating seniors!

Amber Atkinson will graduate from Roosevelt High School at the top of her class with a 4.0 GPA! What a testament to her intelligence and stellar work ethic. She hopes to be able to spend time with friends this summer and join our high school group in an adapted service trip experience, helping our congregation and community. She’ll be attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities this fall to major in neuroscience.

One of her favorite memories from LNL was participating in the Montana Service Trip in 2019 at Rocky Boys Reservation, which included painting a house and battling it out in an epic game of Monopoly. Someone who has meant a lot to her is her confirmation mentor, Adria Myers, who has always been very nice and welcoming.

Michael Fernandez is graduating from Washburn High School. He and his family were long time members of our neighboring church, Hope Lutheran, before coming to LNL several years ago. He attended Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp for many summers. Michael is very excited to depart for Colorado in July to learn the trade of welding at Lincoln Tech!

Some of his favorite memories are from the annual all-night event Moonlight Madness, where he (mostly) managed to stay awake until 7:30 a.m. In his words, “They were fun!” One person from LNL that Michael admires is John Walsh because of his incredible singing voice.

Emma Horstman graduates from Roosevelt, where she’s been a student athlete playing soccer and basketball. She is thrilled to be attending St. Olaf College in the fall, where she’ll major in elementary education with a possible minor in music therapy.

Her favorite LNL memory is from her very first Boundary Waters canoe trip. “I will never forget the wholesome memories and unforgettable laughs we all shared together that week.” Her strong leadership and work ethic resulted in an invitation attend the Nominations Trip at Wilderness Canoe Base the following summer, an honor only given to a handful of campers each year. Two people from LNL who have had a significant impact on Emma are Patti Grube and Erica Larson. They “have been real mentors in my life and faith journey and I cannot thank them enough for the amount of joy they have filled in my life!”

Owen Kimmes is graduating from Roosevelt, where he excelled in wrestling. He’s still serving up meals and sharing his love with LNL members and friends at Nokomis Square Senior Living Community. He’s been accepted into the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and will be attending the University of South Dakota to pursue a business major.

His favorite memories at LNL are from our Senior High Lock-ins, which included going to Lock & Key Escape Rooms in January, where he helped us escape from Professor Jones’ Office, without any help from Indiana Jones himself. Like Emma Horstman, Owen was also selected to participate in the Nominations Trip at Wilderness Canoe Base! He holds a special place in his heart for Nancy Johnson, saying that she is “someone who means a lot to me because I’ve known her for literally all of my life. My parents met her and her husband Dale at Nokomis Beach Coffee even before coming to LNL. We used to go over to her house for dinner and did yard work for her for many years, and now I get to visit her while I’m at work!”

Julia Zaepfel will graduate from Henry Sibley High School, where she has participated in the theater program, building sets, helping the tech crew, and acting on stage! She will attend St. Olaf College in the fall and is considering majoring in computer science.

When reflecting on her experiences at LNL, she has especially enjoyed the summer Girls’ Group Slumber Parties as well as Senior High Camp at Lake Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp and Ox Lake. She has also shown her courage and shared her gift of singing with our congregation, and says, “It’s been really meaningful for me every time I’ve sung for church services.” When asked who has had a significant impact on her, she shared, “Everyone I’ve interacted with at LNL is really cool, and it meant a lot to me that Nancy Johnson was willing to be my confirmation mentor.”

The warm reassurance of God’s love in our lives is both a comfort and a motivation to share that warmth with others. As a gift to our seniors from this congregation, we presented them with a fleece tied prayer blanket as a reminder of God’s love and the nurturing of our faith community. As they begin new adventures in their faith journey and are kept warm at night, wrapped in their blanket, we pray that it will help them remember who they are and whose they are.

We pray: Precious children, we bless you and thank God for the gift of you in the life of this church. Wherever you go, you will always be a part of us. Wherever you go, our love goes with you. Wherever you go, may your blanket remind you of God’s comforting love.

God of creation, pour out your Spirit on these students as they enter a new period of life and faith. Bless them as they begin new adventures in their journey, help them proclaim your love and grace through words and deeds, and serve all people while doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God. We pray all this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.