Day Four: Worship, Forum, Communion and Community

Sunday mornings at Shepherd of the Valley are a whirlwind of worship, music, people, people and more people.  Today John worshiped at the early and late services and was the speaker at Adult Forum during the middle service. Between services, he met many people in the narthex.

Old friends Ken and Birdie Olson from St James Lutheran Church in Burnsville came to greet John.

He met many new people who support our Tanzania Partnership, like David & Juanita Brandenburg, above.

Pastor John was a dynamic speaker in Adult Forum.  Randy Hurley interviewed him, giving him the opportunity to tell stories about his growing up years, his school experiences, his recent courtship and marriage to wife Addy, and his plans for the future.

John gave a heartfelt word of thanks for the scholarship support he has received from Shepherd of the Valley.

More dear friends -- Ben and Char Kilgore.  

John served communion during the 11 AM worship service.

The afternoon was time for relaxing and John spent a couple hours catching up with his Facebook friends who have been seeing photos from his visit and sending him messages of support.  John had an extended chat with Addy and was relieved to know she is doing well in his absence.

John got friendly with my yappy dog.

In the evening, we had a gathering of 18 friends, some new and some long time. John was asked to tell the story of how he met his wife Addy. It's a great story.

We shared a meal -- turkey and some of the Thanksgiving dinner trimmings.

Then we sang a hymn that we have learned in Tanzania.  It's an old hymn from the Methodist tradition, written by Fanny Crosby.  So it is an American hymn that was probably taken by missionaries to Africa.  There it was translated to Swahili.  The local tradition adjusts the melody in some places, and adds a leader part with an overlapping call/response. We learn the song in Tanzania and bring it back here to teach our American congregation.

The circle of sharing.

Grateful for all the guests who bless our home and our days.

Tomorrow:  Pastor John will spend time with Shepherd of the Valley's founding pastor, the man he calls Babu (Grandfather) Paul Harrington.  We'll visit Luther Seminary in St Paul, sit in on a class, attend chapel, meet up with another pastor for lunch -- a man who taught Old Testament at Tumaini University when John attended in 2006.  We'll have a tour of the seminary and then stop at the St Paul Cathedral for a quick look.  In the evening, another group of guests and probably another round of singing.

Round and round the blessings continue.