Plans, Timing, & Scheduling

2020 has been a big year for me. Personally, I have done the best that I ever have in many aspects of life: climbing, diet, fitness… But the biggest growth for me personally this year has been my use of a schedule and planner.

I wasn’t always this way.

I used to be notorious for “winging it”. I used to not write down names, dates, or appointments. How I made it professionally into my 30’s is beyond me. (To be fair, graduate school held very few appointments beyond showing up to classes.)

But, this year, I have made marked growth and transformation in this area.

I bought a paper planner. I write things down. I also keep a digital calendar. Between Google, my Mac calendar, and a pile of Field Notebooks on my dining room table, I have more information written down right now than I likely ever have in my life.

Additionally, I took up a second job (one day a week) working retail, and have been juggling an onslaught of texts from a realtor hoping to sell where Julia and I are currently renting.

Between my work schedule, my second job, my volunteer work, my wife’s schedule, and hobbies and recreation, it’s been satisfying to see my days fill up with blocks of time carved out for various things throughout my week.

However, in all of that careful scheduling, I had missed something. I wasn’t growing spiritually. I had decided (likely by accident) to rest on my laurels and settle for church, prayer, scripture, and God being blocked out on Sunday morning, Wednesday night, and in the 90-second beginning of meetings with Pr. Anna that we remembered to open with prayer.

*Pause.*

Do you see yourself in this story? Is every minute of your day planned out to the second in color coordinated boxes on a digital screen?

In the midst of all of my planning, COVID happened.

Lifestyles changed. Plans were moved online, or canceled altogether.

Big chunks of my carefully scheduled day became vacant. And “doing” church became more than just showing up. We got to shift the system of delivery to meet people in their own homes, digitally, and in new and creative ways.

I realized that I had the freedom, and the free time to re-introduce God back into my daily life. Hidden in all of this chaos and unknown was the opportunity to ground myself in the very thing I had been too busy to see.

I decided to use the time while working from home to add a full hour of my day to spiritual growth, prayer, and mediation. Every day. Six days a week.

One full hour of my day, every day, dedicated to God.

It is on my calendar in digital orange, ensuring that it happens.

This simple switch to writing down and carving out time for my own spiritual care has already vastly improved my understanding of God.

Simply dedicating time to read, pray, listen, and be has reminded me of the dynamic ways that God is working in our community and in our world. I just was crowding out that with my own sense of busy-ness.

And now, as we get ready to announce the schedule for the coming Faith Formation year, I invite you to join me in making time for God, not just on Sunday mornings. To dedicate a bit more time to showing up, however that looks for you.

God is constantly showing up, every single day. How are you making time to listen, look, or experience God?

In Christ,

Dan Miglets-Nelson 

July 20, 2020

Over the past week, there has been a welcome celestial distraction from the ongoing news of COVID-19 and protests. Appearing just after sunset, low in the northwest sky is the NEOWISE comet, streaking past our planet at 144,000 mph. Yes, this comet is visible to the naked eye.

Upon hearing this, my wife and I dutifully strolled to the highest point in the Twin Cities, Tower Hill Park in Minneapolis, at the foot of the Witch’s Tower.

Over the last few nights, we have made several attempts to see the comet so close to home, but have been unsuccessful.

The first night we tried, we started too early and the sky was still too bright. The next night, there were too many clouds in the direction of the comet. Last night, hearing the sky was clear(er), and leaving well after 10pm, we trekked once more to the top of the hill to spot the comet.

We were unsuccessful. There was too much light pollution from the city to see the sight.

Others have had more success. We have seen beautiful, breathtaking images from other observers across the midwest, even one paired with the Aurora Borealis over Lake Superior. We heard scientists on the radio directing us where to look. We even downloaded a star-tracking app to guide us at night, only to still not be able to see the comet.

Sometimes, even with all of the right tools, direction, and energy, you still don’t get to see what you set out to see.

Experiencing God can be like this, sometimes. Others speak about how much they are encountering God, or experiencing God in their day-to-day lives, even though you can’t see God at that moment. You hear stories, listen to experts, read your Bible, and even download apps and devotionals to guide your search, and there is still too much pollution or distortion to see God.

Nonetheless, God is still there. Shining, working, soaring.

Faith can sometimes feel like looking for stars that can’t be found, but the richness of a relationship with God the creator is a blessing, even when it feels like we are staring into the dark night. God is still there, shining just beyond our eyes.

Even though I haven’t seen the NEOWISE comet, I trust that it is there. And I will try again to find it, until I ultimately do.

Amen.

-dan arvid nelson.

Innovation in the time of COVID-19

Since the middle of March; businesses, restaurants, churches, and every facet of life has been forced to pivot and flex in ways that they had never planned on.

Largely, I am very impressed with the ways that “Church” has kept up.

Almost overnight, adaptations were made to worship for communities of faith that traditionally take 36 months to decide on the color of paint swatches!

Okay, pardon the hyperbole, but you see the point.

Much of mainline-protestantism has felt it harder and harder to stay “relevant” in the 21st-century. The adjustments made by the beginning of April show that church’s unwillingness to change was really a stubbornness of power and control.

Committees, volunteers, and those in charge (clergy), have slowed the wheels of change because of their own fears of innovating themselves out of being needed.

This is a very real concern; but one of the many lessons that COVID-19 has shown church leaders is that change can occur overnight, and the church has to be constantly recreating how it presents both Word and Sacrament to people of faith in order to maintain importance for those that once darkened it’s doors.

Now, it is easy to rhapsodize about church innovation once you are through the biggest adaptation that Christendom has faced in 100 years.

But, now church leaders are facing the next challenge: what is next? How will my parish come back together; authentically, responsibly, and safely?

And, I, myself, am working through the problem of implementing Faith Formation Programing for Children & Youth in my context for the next curricular year.

I know I won’t bat 1.000%, but I am hoping to use this time as one of discerning opportunity: how are young people needing to hear the Gospel message, and what is the value for their everyday life?

I have often said how proud I am for how the church has been innovative in the first two quarters of 2020, but now the real challenge is here: how do move from a mode of survival to one where we thrive: not only spiritually, but in every aspect of our lives that are tied to our lives of discipleship and faith.

We have a myriad of new tools at our disposal, and I hope that we can all do our best to try new things, being both bold and daring in our willingness to fail forward. That we are carrying the message that God loves each and every person we meet, whomever and wherever they are.

May we boldly step up this Fall, and rise to the needs of the families that we are called to serve.

Amen. 

Faith in Uncertain Times

2020 has been the longest year of my life. Not just my life, though. My wife and I show each other videos on YouTube and TikTok every day of content-creating comedians rhapsodizing about the tumultuous year this has become.

Between the wildfires in Australia that started the year, political escalation and stress around the world, more visible police brutality brought via cell phone video of the death of George Floyd, and the rise and continuation of COVID-19, you can already see how 2020 is going to be a year for the history books.

This weekend, we are going to hear Jesus continue his task to the disciples, from Matthew 10, and about the various difficulties that their ministry will hold.

“Great. More good news…”

At first glance or listen, the words of Jesus are quite scary: things will seem bad when you follow me.

As someone who has dedicated his life to serving God and the church, this text is always a hard one when we read it every three years in the Revised Common Lectionary.

But upon further reflection, I find hope in part of this.

In verse 31, Jesus tells the disciples not to be afraid. That they are beloved by God. That whatever suffering they might endure for the sake of the Gospel won’t be the defining, end-all to their stories.

And this gives me hope; that no matter how dark 2020 may seem, that God is still working through the Holy Spirit. God is calling each and every one of us to to advocate for the oppressed and the systemically disadvantaged. That God is on the side of the persecuted. And, we are to be, too.

In this season of Pentecost, God is continuing to inspire God’s people through the Holy Spirit to give voice to the voiceless, and to speak the hope and promise of God’s beloved community to everyone they meet.

May God meet you in the difficult places, and inspire you to be a hope for others.

Amen.
— — —

Pentecost – May 31, 2020 – Christ Episcopal Church, Woodbury, MN (Also found on Sermons tab)

I speak to you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Before we being our sermon time this morning, I would like for us all to observe a moment of silence; silence for the life and death of George Floyd, whose life was taken from him on Monday evening, and for the communities that we are know and love that are suffering this day.

*Silence*

Amen.

This Sunday is a special Sunday. Today we mark, observe, and celebrate the day of Pentecost. This is, arguably, the third most important Sunday of the church year. 

In previous years, we have celebrated aspects of this story by reading together the story of Acts in the various languages that inform who we are as a community. Spanish, German, French, Latin, Igboo, and so many others… 

We also remember stories of tongues of flames resting upon the disciples heads, and God filling everyone with God’s Spirit.

We even celebrate this Sunday that it is, in some ways, the birth of the church. Where Jesus departs, the Spirit comes in, and we are sent out.

Often, we use this Sunday, like today, to honor the academic achievements of our own. We celebrate the accomplishments of the young people in our parish that have worked so hard for so long and celebrate academic achievement, such as graduation.

This year, our time together is different.

Our church and communities have already experienced hardship and change because of the deadly virus COVID-19, which is still very present in the world. Members of our church, and their families and friends have been serving in hospitals and care facilities, and even gotten ill with this virus to the point of death. It is, as we know, and aerosolized virus that directly impacts the function of the respiratory system. (sic) This causes the afflicted to not be able to breath.

In an effort to keep our community safe, we have been worshiping online, at home, over Zoom since the middle of March. While other states are beginning to open up and come back together, we stand behind the vision of the leadership of ECMN to stay safe at home, limiting our exposure to one another for the sake of the most vulnerable in our lives.

And on this particular Sunday, many of have become rapidly aware of the systems of violence and oppression that members of our community face simply because of how they look, or where they are from.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department has shed light on systemic injustice and racism that has been at work in our state, on this land, long before Christ Church was founded. And it hasn’t gone away.

The cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, as well as others across the country are burning, both with the passion of citizens who have no other way to grieve and be heard, as well as with the consuming fires of hatred and disgust.

Many of us might be resonating with the disciples in our Gospel story. While the celebration of Pentecost happens 50 Days after Passover, as told in Acts; to me, the Gospel story is where we find more relevance today.

Scripture tells us that on the first day of the week, the disciples are gathered together, locked away in fear of the Judaean police and mobs, merely 3 days after they had seen their friend and teacher murdered before their very eyes.

And they were afraid.

They didn’t know what was going to happen.

They had heard rumors, though, from women who they knew. That somehow they had seen Jesus in the garden the day before. But, history has a theme of men not believing women’s stories; even stories as hopeful as this.

But then, Jesus entered the room and stood among them.

He showed them the wounds in his hands and side, and they knew. Jesus was with them. In the midst of their pain, grief, doubt, and fear, Jesus was present.

Not only was Jesus alive, and with them; Jesus gives them something.

Jesus says in verse 19, “Peace be with you.”. He then breathes the Spirit of God into them, and tells them that they are being sent.

No doubt, this story can leave us with a couple questions.

The first is: what is this Holy Spirit? For those of us who are good Episcopalians, Catholics, or Lutherans, we might remember from Confirmation that the Holy Spirit is the third part of the Triune God, and that she often shows up in the form of a dove, as at Jesus’ baptism, or in wind and fire like the story in Acts this morning.

But, what exactly does the Holy Spirit do?

The disciples would have had a keen remembrance, and awareness, that just four days earlier, while they were sharing a meal with Jesus, and he washed their feet, he spoke at length about someone that was going to help them, advocate for them, and give them peace.

Jesus had been with these people for 3 years, teaching them so many things about the love of God, the kingdom of God, and the healing power of God. And then that was taken away from them.

In John’s Gospel, the disciples are experiencing a very similar fear, grief, and loss to how many of us are feeling right now. The only word I can think to describe this is: helpless. Helpless to see the world burning around you, and what you thought had been progress feel like it is falling apart.

Helpless because there seem to be unseen forces at work, as sin, racism, and violence which are all counter to the Gospel.

Friends, I must tell you; it has been difficult to find a word of good news to be proclaimed this week.

But the hope in the Pentecost story is that despite the sorrow, grief, and loss that the disciples felt, and that we might be experiencing: Jesus still shows up where we are, and breathes the breath of God into us. The peace of God.

And this is the promise of the gospel that we as a church get to proclaim, in every season, but especially today. When it doesn’t feel like God is anywhere near us, we are reminded with every movement of wind, spark of flame, and warmth of love and touch that God has not abandoned or forsaken us.

Not only this, but in the giving of the Spirit, Jesus also sends us out. He sends us out into our own lives to point the way for others to “Come and See”. The Gospel of John doesn’t end with a call to evangelism, but with an invitation.

The invitation to know God. To invite others to experience the comfort and peace that passes all understanding. The balm in Gilead.

And, today, we also send out our graduates. They been educated in school and in faith, and are now each embarking on their own journeys. May the paths they walk be filled with joy, love, and the daily reminders of God’s presence and peace.

And as we have faith that despite how dark our own days might seem, that God’s peace, promised and given through the Holy Spirit is with us, too. And this peace is to know that each and every one of us are beloved children of God.

In John 16, Jesus shares his last words with his disciples. He says in verse 33:

“I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Helpers and the Holy Spirit

There is a picture with text (meme) going around the internet recently that quotes Fred Rogers or Mister Roger’s Neighborhood, as a child, watching things that scared him on the news. This quote tells that his mother instructed him to “look for the helpers”, that “you will always find people who are helping”.

This advice can be soothing and helpful to many of us as we find ourselves sheltered at home. It is indeed good that we have been recognizing and honoring healthcare workers, first responders, and those that are doing their best every day to keep our friends and families safe.

It can also feel a little isolating; to be so distant from the chaos that we see on the news. What if it doesn’t look like anyone is helping? What about those who live alone, or are feeling isolated because they can’t stay safe right now?

Our gospel lesson this weekend speaks of a different kind of helper.

In John 14, Jesus promises his disciples that in his absence, he will send his advocate, his helper: the Holy Spirit, to advocate for us in times of trial, doubt, and fear. The disciples, still unaware of what is about to happen to Jesus, fail to grasp that they won’t always be near God in the ways that they are used to. Their reality is about to change.

In this, Jesus assures them, and us, that no matter how different things will seem or appear to be, that God is continuing to promise to be with them, and us. We are promised God’s presence, through the Holy Spirit. And that presence is one of comfort, healing, and hope.

So, if you can’t seem to find where helpers are in the midst of trial, please find reassurance in the words of Jesus, that God is with us, through the Holy Spirit, always.

Amen.

Dan Miglets-Nelson

Hey faithful few,

Just wanted to give a quick update. I have added a few sermons that slipped through the cracks to the Sermons page. Please feel free to peruse them at your leisure.

Also, I am working to have some new videos of sermons from our worship services held over Zoom during COVID-19. I will have those up as soon as I edit larger files down.

Also, there will be a blog post coming on Thursday.

Stay safe,

Dan Arvid (Miglets-)Nelson

Easter, Plague, and Hope

As the middle of April meets us with snowfall and chilly temperatures, I have a hard time believing it is Easter.

That, combined with the global pandemic of COVID-19, Stay-At-Home orders from the state government, as well as almost every aspect of life seeming upside down, it can be difficult to find hope or comfort in all of this.

And, to be fair, there is a lot of bad news out there. Casualty figures are climbing, different states and politicians are chomping at the bit to return to “business as usual” for the sake of the almighty dollar, and many of us are becoming more aware of the deep impact this all has on our friends, families, and businesses we care about.

Perhaps this will turn out to be one of the most meaningful Easter seasons because of this.

After all, the Easter message meets us where we are, in our own tears, grief, and disbelief. God interrupts our sorrow with an earthquake and overwhelming joy: He is not here! He is Risen!

And we, like the disciples, take a while to believe. We doubt. We ask for proof.

And, God provides us that proof.

The love of God is still very real this Easter. We see it in innovative ways of caring for and supporting each and every member of our community. In Zoom meetings, phone calls, text messages, and uplifting memes.

As we maneuver together through this, I am reminded of the writing of Paul in his letter to the Romans.

Paul writes, “ And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5: 3-5 NRSV).

It is really hard to feel like there is goodness in much of this, but if we pay close enough attention, we can see the hope and the promise of the love of God in the ways we are being intentional with each other, right now.

May God bless you this Easter season.

Dan Miglets-Nelson

Friends in Christ, as some of you might have noticed, Pr. Anna and I have been trying to publish a blog style post for Facebook on the 1st and 15th day of each month in 2020. We have been (mostly) successful in keeping to the schedule.

And then, this past week happened.

Every single one of our lives have been affected recently by the developing situation regrading COVID-19 and protecting vulnerable persons from getting sick. My own efforts were compounded last week when I had surgery to repair multiple hernias.

Now, the operation was successful and without complication, and I thank God for the medical professionals and my care team that were able to help me as I recover.

What I wasn’t expecting though was how difficult the most basic of tasks would be in the week after my surgery. I wasn’t able to bend over to tie my shoes. I struggled to move from standing to sitting, or sitting to standing. Each step wasn’t without caution or concern for aggravating my healing body.

This caused me to do the unthinkable: I had to learn to ask for help.

As a 32-year-old American male, privileged and educated, I have been largely able to make it this far in life from a position of privilege and without much regard for my own inability or shortcomings. Well, the surgery, while successful, reminded me that I cannot live, or succeed on my own.

This stretches all the way back to Genesis 1 & 2, when God said, “It is not good for humans to be alone”. We are wired for connection. We come together in community as siblings in Christ to help one another when we are not able to figure things out on our own.

As we continue to journey together, let us not be too proud or stubborn to ask for help. And for those of us in season of life that we can bless others with our own abundance, let us look for ways to help those around us in our community.

Dan Miglets-Nelson

February is one of my favorite months of the year. The days are beginning to get longer after the solstice, pitchers & catchers report in the MLB, and every four years, we get a bonus day so the calendar can catch up with the rotation of the Earth. Also, love seems to be at the center of everything: commercials, diner specials or heart-shaped pizzas, and many people choose express their love on or around February 14, corresponding with the feast day of St. Valentine.

In his work The Four Loves, C. S. Lewis details the different ways that the word love is translated from the Greek of the Bible, each bearing their own meaning. You might have seen a Super Bowl commercial about it! There is storge, or familiar love. There is philia, friend love (or brotherly love), eros, passionate or romantic love, and agape, unconditional love. These are four of the ways that “love” is translated in the New Testament.

In his work, Lewis decides to give us a modern understanding of each word. Biblical scholars have widely chosen to translate the agape love of God as unconditional love, but Lewis attempts to reclaim that as a kind of love that gives with out expectation. He calls it charity.

I therefore ask you, what is one act of charity that you have noticed lately?

If Madison Avenue is stuck on romantic love (partner), friend love (philia), or even familiar love (the postal carrier), how have you noticed the ways that love defined as charity, or agape love has come into your life this month.

I wanted to share a story about this agape, or unconditional love that I witnessed recently. It was late January, and I was taking the Metro Blue Line back into Minneapolis from the Mall Of America. I was commuting back from the mall, carrying my espresso pods, and reading a sports article on my phone. Somewhere in South Minneapolis, a man got on my train-car who was clearly down on his luck. He was wearing a very weathered jacket, and carried with him his pillow and blanket in an old shopping bag.

I didn’t think much of the man as he stretched out on the fold-down benches, as he did seem to fit the bill of a senior citizen for whom those seats were prioritized. I did, however, notice that after a few stops, a patron about my age got on the light rail, and began to speak to man.

The patron of note seemed to be a normal guy: he had a hat, camouflaged jacket (though in the urban/cool way, not in the un-ironic/hunting way), and didn’t seem to care that the person to whom he was speaking hadn’t showered in any discernible timeframe.

I began to notice the conversation most when I saw the older, first man loudly object to something the younger man was offering. I closed my phone and began to survey the scene. It was only then that I realized that the first, older man only had socks covering his feet. The younger man persisted. He had a pair of shoes at home, and didn’t live far from the next stop, which was approaching. The younger man then took off his shoes, gave them to the older man without shoes, and stood up to exit the train. The older man protested. The younger man didn’t seem to mind.

He said, “I live close, and it isn’t too cold out.” With those words, he gave the first gentleman his shoes; and walked into the rain, salt, and slush in his socks.

I was struck. Nowhere in my mind did I expect to encounter this level of charity on my way home from the mall.

But, sometimes… That is how the radical love of God can be. It isn’t always a sweeping, broad act of kindness and grace. It is more often the small, innocuous acts of ordinary individuals, collectively making the world a more loving and trustworthy place.

In this season of Valentine’s Day, and of love; may you be aware of all of the ways that God is working for the charity or agape love of the world, and even it seems small, do your part as well.

Dan Arvid Nelson