Last Day - Sign Painting Crew

Pastor Jeff here. Today Judy, Amanda, Meghan, Joey and I went to the Gateway Center. I am amazed after being gone 2 and a half years how much has happened with the Gateway Center. This massive old factory building is teaming with ministries to assist the poor, reach out with the love of Jesus and provide a safe place for teens to hang out. Part of that hang out ministry is the indoor skate park and laser tag facility. One problem, a lot of folks don't even realize that the old Chautauqua Hardware factory hosts these options for young people. We remedied that with a massive painted sign that is visible from Foote Avenue a major street in Jamestown. If you come to Jamestown look for our sign!

August 3rd - Kingdom Bound!

Hi everyone! This is Becca and Will, reporting about our Wednesday trip to the Kingdom Bound festival at Darien Lake. After about a 2 hour drive from the Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center, we arrived at the theme park.

We wasted no time getting into the Spirit of things (haha!) and headed to the Worship Tent to spend time praising God to awesome music. We also got to walk through the Christian merchandise tent, buying some books, Christian music CDs, and some Bible verse jewelry.

I (Will) headed to a seminar on utilizing social networks for Christian outreach. Pr. Jeff and I (Becca) stayed in the Worship Tent for some more God time.

Then the deluge happened. For more than an hour and half, rain came down in buckets. We found some shelter in a pizza place in the park, and Pr. Jeff found the time useful, since he needed to write his sermon for Sunday! Come to church this Sunday to find out if he was successful…

Once the first draft of the sermon was done, we went back to the Worship Tent even though the rain was still going.  Unexpectedly, the teens showed up at that point as well, and we all worshiped together to Christian blues music.

We all ate dinner after that, and then the teens went to hear a speaker and save spots for us for the Chris Tomlin concert, and we went to the Worship Tent to worship a bit and to hear Robin Mark. Everything was running late, though, so once they did their sound check we only got to hear 1 ½ songs before we had to power walk across the park to see Chris Tomlin.

The concert was AWESOME!!!!!!! About 20,000 Christians were gathered in the Performing Arts Center, all singing along to Chris Tomlin’s songs and praising God.  It was an experience that was unlike anything we had ever seen or experienced, and we will never forget it.

We didn’t get back to LCLC until about 1am, we were exhausted! The teens were able to pass out in the car on the way home, but the three adults were wide awake. Well, I (Becca) was wide awake for most of the ride…

So, in short, Kingdom Bound was an amazing, worshipful experience!!!

~Becca and Will (Mostly Becca)

Children of the Corn August 4

OK, how about children of God in the corn. Pastor Jeff writing. Will Becca and I went back to the Chautauqua Rural Ministry today, planning to move furniture in their warehouse. I know that sounds really exciting. When we got there it was decided that it was so much more important for us to sort clothes hangers. For a half hour we mastered the coat hangers - then we moved furniture. Actually what we did is set the thrift furniture store back up after it's space had been painted. So we got to use both creative spacial skills and mindless back breaking work. By lunch time we were done. Yay! Josh from CRM said, "Hey, would you folks like to glean corn?" 'Yeah, that would be great," I said while Becca and Will were trying to get my attention with their shaking heads. "Oh come on it will be fun!" Off we went to the town of Sheridan. An hour and a half later, much dirtier and much sweatier we had 16 large bags (about 50 pounds each) ready to go to feed the local needy. It was a hard day, physically, but a good day that was capped off by Ron from LCLC treating us by taking us sailing and allowing use to kayak.

August 2nd - St. Susan's Kitchen

Hi Saints!

Judy here! We began the day by celebrating the birth of Meghan.  Happy 17^th birthday, Child of God!  Every candle on your cake makes our world brighter.

Breakfast grace was sung to the tune of Superman.

Thank you Lord, for giving us food!  Thank you Lord, for giving us food!

Thank you Creator!  Thank you Redeemer!

The gender-specific language led us into an animated discussion of God’s gender.  No surprises – nothing was resolved.

Will, Amanda, Meghan and I went to Saint Susan’s – a busy soup kitchen in Jamestown where we sliced, diced, mixed, served, bused and scrubbed.  We met some amazing volunteers!  The young man who worked in the scullery with Will is unemployed and spending his time volunteering while he awaits work.  The others were all older retirees like me.  Many give one day a week year round to this labor of love.  We saw God’s light in their willingness to serve.

This soup kitchen feeds between two and four hundred folks a day.  Spaghetti, the freshest of salads, cantaloupe, mandarin orange slices, soup, beverage and dessert were available.  We saw infants and the elderly, those infirm of body and those wounded in mind and spirit.  We saw families and those who arrived, sat, and left alone.  Some sat with downcast eyes and avoided our gaze.  Others sought our smiles.  A fellow in a bright Hawaiian shirt engaged us in enthusiastic conversation.  Many were grateful for the lunch.  Many were not.  Many were helpful and brought their trays to our bussing station to save our poor legs. 

A hundred and fifty years ago H.G. Wells believed that the revolutionary new technologies would allow mankind to wipe out sickness, ignorance and poverty by the beginning of the 1900’s.  But Jesus said, “You will always have the poor around you.” We don’t see them in Clifton Park.  Today was a startling reminder.     

Having grown up Protestant, I associate saints with the Roman and Episcopal churches and always wonder about what a saint did.  Saint Susan, I discovered, was a saint just like you and me – a believer, a worker for the kingdom, “nothing special.”  She was simply a young woman of 21 who was fatally injured in an accident in the area, and spent her final days being cared for by the skilled and compassionate staff of the local hospital.  In gratitude, her family created Saint Susan’s in her memory.   Like yours and mine, her simple life was not filled with great deeds, astonishing miracles or intentional self-sacrifice.  Yet each day the poor and the cast-down, the spat upon and the ratted on are greeted by her angelic smile and are fed in God’s name.   

As the detritus of the luncheon meal was cleared away, a fresh batch of volunteers arrived to begin work on the supper meal and we left to restore our souls beside the still waters of Lake Chautauqua.   Will got us home without benefit of a map by listening to an angelic female voice coming out of nowhere telling us when to turn right or left.  Is it magic? 

August 1st- Joint Neighborhood Project, Day One

Written by Meghan Berman and Amanda Gibson

Today we traveled to the Joint Neighborhood Project Daycamp, to help counsel children ages 4-11. At the start of the day, we joined the six and seven year old campers in an invigorating game of kickball, followed by bracelet making with the girls, while the boys made collages. Soon after, it was time to eat lunch. Many lovely women served us, as well as the children, pizza and homemade chocolate chip cookies. During lunch, Amanda and I were able to get to know all of the campers and gain a sense about their home lives. Although the children spend their summers in a daycamp, they were really loving and were quick to get to know and accept us.
After lunch, many of the campers took a local field trip to the YMCA to go swimming, while others traveled to the musical education center, Infinity. Amanda and I accompanied the campers to Infinity and assisted the counselors in making splatter paintings with toothbrushes and participated in a Zumba class with a local dance instructor. The campers were very grateful of the opportunities presented to them and after class, somehow still had energy to play a game of four square.
Spending the day at the Joint Neighborhood Project daycamp taught us that although some children may have hard lives, God is always looking out for these children, providing them with opportunities to be loved and to live their lives to their fullest potential.

 

The Friendly Kitchen - Dunkirk, NY

Hey all, Will here with an update on our progress so far. It's about 4:00 in the afternoon and Pastor Jeff, Ministry Associate Becca and yours truly have just arrived back at Lake Chautauqua Lutheran Center from our first day out doing God's work this trip. Today Jeff, Becca and I worked at The Friendly Kitchen, a community kitchen project run by Chautauqua County Rural Ministries of Dunkirk, NY.


Originally we were supposed to be helping move furniture around for another one of their ministries but it seems the Lord wanted us to be in the kitchen today instead because someone (unknowing to the coordinator) told the kitchen staff to not come in today because volunteers were going to be running the show all by themselves (panic!) Thankfully, God made sure one of the regular staff came in anyway to give us helpful hints. Today's meal was meatball subs with cheese, carrots and french fries.  With the exception of the french fries (which we burnt a little), we were able to successfully serve about 80 adults and children in Dunkirk.


Our mission today may actually end up being a dry run for tomorrow's mission when some of our team will head over to St. Susan's Kitchen in Jamestown, NY where we will be helping to feed more mouths. As I finish writing this, I hear all the young (and young-at-heart) members returning from their mission to the Joint Neighborhood Project Day Camp and we are all just so excited to hear how it went.  I will be putting together a photo album later tonight after we grab some dinner and head down to watch Chautauqua Idol. 


God's Peace,
Will

Presque Isle

Hi everyone! Becca Ehrlich here. Later today we went to Presque Isle to hang out at the beach. Lake Erie was beautiful-- and the temperature was perfect! We all got to swim and jump into the waves.

My favorite part was when we did a spontaneous remembrance of our baptisms in the lake. Pr. Jeff said the words that were said at our baptisms, this time in past tense. And we were dunked. It was awesome! I had never seen immersion baptisms in a body of water before, so it was neat to experience it as a remembrance.

Sunday Morning

We just got back from worshiping with our hosts at Immanuel Lutheran Church. I have to say it was good to be able to worship without worrying about leading! Also great to see old friends from Immanuel and to hear about their plans for a parish model of ministry with other Lutheran congregations in Jamestown. It is so good that they aren't waiting for crisis before making changes but are proactively and prophetically looking to the future with vision for mission. In a few minutes we are off to Presque Isle near Erie, Pennsylvania for an afternoon at the beach.

Jeff Silvernail

Mission leaves for Jamestown, NY Saturday

Our 2011 Mission Team departs at noon on Saturday for a week of service in Chautauqua County, NY. The team includes: Meghan Burman, Becca Ehrlich, Amanda Gibson, Judy Lees, Joey Moronta, Kristian Moronta, Will Platnick and Jeff Silvernail. The team will serve with the Joint Neighborhood Project Day Camp and St. Susan's Kitchen in Jamestown, NY and with Chautauqua County Rural Ministries of Dunkirk, NY. In addition the team will attend Kingdom Bound a mojor Christian Music Festival at Darian Lake, NY on Wednesday. Prayers for the team and their ministry appreciated!

Finishing Well - Ride to Rochester

Here in Rochester at last, after 340 miles on the bike, numerous mishaps and lots of bumps, bruises and scrapes we are here. We shared out story with St. Timothy, Geneseo and then on the bikes. Just 30 miles today and no mishaps! Thanks you Mike Faville for leading us through. Tomorrow we officially ride into the convention center and tell our story. It's been a long haul. Will I do it again? Not right away! But next year... There is always next year. Anyone up for a challenge?

Thoughts on the Last Morning

It's 5:30 am, our host home is still, but it is Sunday and my internal clock says I should be up. I have no fresh adventure to report only a quiet reflection. Why do we ride? Why do we push ourselves through pain and crashes, flats and headwinds, mile after mile? The answer is different for each rider but we are all passionate about the ministries that will be funded by the Feed the Roots of Leadership Capital Campaign. Pastor Mark Frickey will tell you that he has been involved with outdoor ministry for 21 years, half of his life and without those experiences he would not be a pastor. Vicar Becca will tell you how campus ministry helped guide her in the paths that led her to seek to do ministry with youth and then seek ordination. I will tell you that it is not easy to answer God's call and go to seminary. It's not easy academically. It's not easy to uproot your life. It's not easy financially. The Upstate NY Synod was there for me to ease the path with support in prayers and in grants - every year. I want us to be there for current and future seminarians who are seeking to faithfully answer God's call. If you feel God has blessed you and you would like more information on how you can share that blessing through Feed the Roots of Leadership see http://www.upstatenysynod.org/capital-campaign

Day 6 - The Saga or Falls, Rain and Lost Rider

I guess it was too much to expect 2 uneventful days. We left this morning in a misty rain. Not a half mile from the hotel both Amber and I were taken down by a wet, diagonal railroad crossing. Amber struck her head on the pavement - thank God for bike helmets! The helmet did what it was supposed to do, it broke instead of Amber's skull. I was a half second behind her and went down taking the brunt of the impact with my elbow. Meanwhile, Becca witnessed it all in the rear view mirror. What a way to start. We rode for a few hours as the misty rain turned steadier and colder. By 20 miles out I was beginning to get the first signs of hypothermia. It was my turn to ride in the Jeep until my core temp recovered and everything was working again. Then came the saga of the lost rider, Jeff Kane. Somehow he missed the rendezvous and his phone ran out of battery. two hours after our arrival time at St. Timothy, Geneseo we heard from him and sent out the rescue party! With his detours he managed to put 71 miles on. At last we are all present and accounted for. One last ride to Rochester tomorrow afternoon after worship with St. Timothy.

Friday - 5th day of the ride

I write after soaking in the hot tub at the Holiday Inn in Waterloo. Ahhhhhhh! We are getting better at this, no crashes, only 1 flat, and 56 miles. We even had the chance to surprise Bishop Marie and the Synod staff as we arrived at the Synod office unannounced. Tonight is our down night, then we are off to St. Timothy Geneseo where we will speak at the Sunday morning services reminding all of why we are crazy enough to do this ride. 275 miles down, about 80 to go. See you in Rochester!

57 on Day 5

I'm writing tonight from Fayettville. Thanks for the prayers, we made our longest leg to date with no major mishaps! Well there was one tumble... and one rider with a bum knee spent most of the day in the Jeep - but all in all it was a great day. The weather has turned. Instead of the high 80s we rode in the 50's and 60's. I was actually cold most of the day, even with my cold weather riding gear. The wind could have been a problem as it was strong and in our face, but we were able to ride about 2/3s of our 57 miles on the Canalway Trail which was helped by good tree cover. Meanwhile, Becca was busy hauling subs and coffee to our meeting locations. Tonight we were wonderfully hosted by Good Shepherd Fayettville and were invited to participate in a great Bible study on the Book of Acts. Keep those prayers coming - our longest ride is tomorrow, 60 miles. One last thing, we bid farewell to Mark Fricky who had to return home to preside at a wedding (come on Mark, get your priorities straight!) But we did welcome Don Mills who will be joining us from Fayettville to Rochester.

Day 4 Bridging Troubled Waters

Today was an exciting day though I have to day that I hope tomorrow is a little less so. We left our new friends at St. Johns St. Mark in Canajoharie - they treated us marvelously well. Hitting the road, Amber and Mark thought they might start the day off with a crash. Skinned knees and bloody hand later we were on the road again, for about a mile then there was the flat tire. Shortly after that Jeff Kane's knee was too sore to continue. He took shotgun in the Jeep. A little later a severe thunder storm came, entertaining us with nearby lightening strikes. And then Mark fell. Come on people let's get praying! To top the day off the skies cleared and we were met with a 20 mph plus headwind for about 20 miles. Becca was our support for sure as she needed to pick a few of us up for the last few miles to our host church. Tomorrow has to be a better day. We did have delightful food and hospitality from the people of Our Savior's in Utica - and wonderful accommodations at St. Margaret House. Off to Fayetteville!

Day 3 - Tumble, Turtle and Tree

Last night and this morning we were treated to the wonderful hospitality of the folks at Our Redeemer in Scotia. After getting stuffed full at breakfast we headed out on the trail. Maybe a mile later Jeff Kane fell right in front of me. Lock the breaks, turn toward the ditch. God was watching over us. Instead of Pastor Jeff K being my speed bump it was able to stop about 2 inches from his head! The team worked together to make sure Jeff K was OK and ready to continue the ride. Fast forward about 30 miles; riding along the trail, there is a beautiful turtle right in the path. Easy to hit if you aren't paying close attention. Amber and I stopped and rescued and showed off the turtle who rewarded my kindness by peeing on me! A few miles later a tree blocked the path. We made sure each of us got over with bikes intact. Meanwhile all along the way Vicar Becca has been ready to meet us with fresh water, snacks and supplies. See the theme, through it all we are in this together. We in this Synod at in this together for now and the future. That's why we ride, that's why there is a Capital Campaign. We are in this together for now and for those who will come after us. Jeff Silvernail

Day 1 and 2 Ride to Rochester

For me it's been 70 miles and 2 presentations with one more to go tonight at Our Redeemer Scotia. I have to say that yesterday was a tough day for me. I was already tired after church, then only a little time for lunch and off on the bike to Castleton-on-Hudson. It was hot but I figured going east at least I'd have the wind. I did, only it was in my face the entire way. In addition that 20 pounds of luggage strapped on my bike that seemed like a good idea at the time was not such a good idea. By the time I got to Castleton, my legs were cramping and I was rolling around on the lawn of the elementary school in agony. Why am I doing this? Because the ministries are that important! We had a great crowd and wonderful food and we told our stories of why we are crazy enough to ride across the state. Today was much better, except for Amber's flat tire. But in 15 minutes the new tube was in and we were rolling again. We were delighted that some people actually came to our lunch at Prince of Peace, Clifton Park. And then 11 more miles on to Scotia. It was hot today, tomorrow will be hotter, but we look forward to another great day.

Ride to Rochester

We're having trouble with the blog for the Bike Ride so for now updates will be posted on this blog. Riders are gathering at Trinity, 70 Green, Castleton-on-Hudson for dinner and program tonight at 6 pm. Right now I'm going to take care of my final packing and get on my bike and ride there from home in Scotia. You can meet us for lunch at Prince of Peace, 70 Norhtcrest Dr. Clifton Park on Monday, or at Our Redeemer, S. Reynolds, Scotia Monday evening at 7pm.

Jeff Silvernail