North Central District Chaplains News

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North Central District Chaplains News Welcome to the first issue of the North Central District Chaplain News!

He reflected on how Jesus was present to the woman, met her where she was at, and allowed her to share what was on her heart and mind.

Perhaps she felt alone and unloved. She was there, and it was there she met and talked with Jesus.

1 North Central District Chaplains News Welcome to the first issue of the North Central District Chaplain News! Recently our pastor spoke on the familiar story in John 4, where Jesus meets and talks with a Samaritan women. He reflected on how Jesus was present to the woman, met her where she was at, and allowed her to share what was on her heart and mind. This woman had gone to the well at noon, the hottest part of the day, possibly in the hope that nobody else would see her. Perhaps she felt disconnected from her family and friends. Perhaps she felt alone and unloved. She was there, and it was there she met and talked with Jesus. Jesus listened to her, responded to her, treated her with respect, and offered her living water that would heal her and restore her. The transformation is stunning, as she later ran about the village telling others what she had seen and heard. As I was listening to our pastor, I thought about our work as Chaplains. For due to the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and work, we minister in much the same way Jesus did. We meet people where they are at. We listen as they share their thoughts and feelings. We offer acceptance for who they are and walk with them in the situations they are experiencing. We show up for many who are not looking for a Chaplain or think they need a Chaplain, but still experience support and healing they did not expect. Through the presence of Christ in us, we offer Christ to those who aren t looking, who may feel they are beyond hope, who may feel that nobody cares. We offer them Christ through unconditional love and acceptance. I suspect we have no idea of the ways in which God uses our visits as a piece a stepping stone in each person s path towards relationship with Christ. For me it puts all of my work in perspective the long hours, the middle-ofthe-night emergency pages, the endless stories of human suffering. And it s the reason I seek the filling of the Holy Spirit each day. It s the reminder that God will give me what I need for each day, for each visit, for it is God s work and not mine. It is my hope that this newsletter will serve as a way for the North Central District Chaplains to support each other, to connect with each other, and also to pray for each other. Let me know what you think, and please send stories about your ministries that you would like to share. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Introductions and Prayer Requests..2-7 Some Thoughts About Remembering...8 ANNOUNCEMENTS This newsletter will go out quarterly. Expect the next issued around September 1. If you have not yet responded with your introduction, please it to Michelle.Griffith@maplegrov ehospital.org. They will be included in our next issue. Please send me stories about your ministries and prayer requests. Deadline for our fall issue is August 25.

2 INTRODUCTIONS AND PRAYER REQUESTS Thank you to those of you who sent your introductions and prayer requests. If you re not listed this month, please forward your introduction and prayer requests, and I ll include you in the September edition. Please also send ministry stories and prayer requests by August 25. to: Michelle.Griffith@maplegrovehospital.org. I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:16) Keith Beckwith I am a Protestant Chaplain with the 133rd Airlift Wing, St Paul Minnesota Air National Guard. I serve as the Pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in Northfield. I have attended and been in various positions in the church now for the last seventeen years, and as Lead Pastor now for two and a half years. My wife Beth, is the media specialist at Kenwood Middle School in Lakeville. Our son, Ethan, will be graduating from Lakeville High School and has plans to attend Minneapolis Business College in the fall. My prayer request is that I will clearly hear from God and have a peace when it is time to retire from the military. Also that I will serve and lead well at Cornerstone Community Church. 2

3 John Braland I serve with seven different police departments in the area. We started the chaplains program in 2000 shortly after we launched Freshwater. As a volunteer chaplain, I give death notifications, or show up on scene when there is a bad car accident or suicide. I help families learn the process and assist them acting as a liaison between family/police/the Medical Examiner/and funeral home. What I enjoy most about being a chaplain is the opportunity to show the love of Christ to people in their darkest hours. I don't preach or lecture, I just love them and respect them. Many end up asking me to do the funeral. I have three kids, Josh (19), Sara (17) and Katie (15). I enjoy riding my Harley, dining with friends, and flying my drone. Pray that I am able to manage my schedule both as a pastor and volunteer chaplain. This summer I will be speaking in Washington D.C. at a chaplains convention for International Ministerial Fellowship. We anticipate having many military and civilian chaplains attend the training event. Gary Dorn I serve as chaplain at Heart of America Medical Center which: Provides crucial medical services to more than 13,000 people within a 50-mile radius of Rugby, North Dakota. Founded in 1905 by a group of dedicated ministers, our efforts are sustained by Good Samaritan Hospital Association, a non-denominational, non-profit organization supported by 27 area member churches. HAMC has approximately 150 beds from Assisted Living to Hospice, and I am involved in all levels of care. Being independent and faith based, the love and gospel of Jesus Christ is shared freely which is a tremendous blessing. Along with that the greatest prayer request would be patience and persistence in helping elderly move from religion to a relationship with Jesus. Life outside of chaplaincy would include family (grandkids), riding horse, hunting, fishing and carpentry - and waking up every morning amazed that God would send His Son to save a wretch like me. 3

4 INTRODUCTIONS AND PRAYER REQUESTS CONTINUED Michelle Griffith I am a Chaplain at Maple Grove Hospital. I serve primarily in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Labor & Delivery, and surgery. My ministry is focused on the parents of babies who are in the NICU and with families who have experienced a perinatal loss. I also visit with patients a week for pre-surgical prayer. I spend time each day supporting staff, whether they are going through a challenging personal situation or something difficult has happened at work. I conduct memorial services as requested and assist with staff resiliency projects. About once a month I conduct Sunday morning services for Auburn Homes, a place for seniors with assisted living, rehabilitation, or nursing home needs. We now lead three services on Sunday mornings, with an average of 75 in attendance. I have been married to my husband Rick for 36 years. We have two grown sons: Matthew, who is married to Jenna, and Timothy, who is married to Betsy. Tim and Betsy have two children: Sadie, age three, and Theo, soon to be one. Besides time with family, I enjoy painting, gardening, walking my dog, and the occasional novel. Please pray for continued wisdom and stamina for my ministry, including the overnight on-call shifts. Pray that I will be able to continue to build relationships with staff and know how to best minister to the NICU parents. Todd Hein I am a delegate with the Northwest Branch of the United States Christian Commission. I serve at Civil War re-enactments, and the people that I serve are Civil War reenactors and the visitors to the re-enactment. I serve by holding church services at the events that I attend; I also have had the opportunity to talk to re-enactors that really needed someone to talk to. If I get permission I will share one story at a later date. 4

5 I am married and have three grown children, My wife's name is Susan and my children are Rebecca, Thomas, and Victoria. As far as hobbies go, besides Civil War re-enacting, I also like trains, and collect Marx trains. I also enjoy photography. My home church is Crossroads Alliance in Brooklyn Park where I have recently been elected as an elder. I have two civil War re-enactments left this season. Please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom to preach on what He wants said. Also that I will be the best servant for God that I possibly can be. Albert Klasky I have been living in Brainerd for the last nineteen years after returning to the States from mission work in Mali, West Africa. I am currently serving as chaplain for two Good Samaritan Society Nursing Home Care Centers. We serve elderly folks and those with disabilities. Our care extends from independent living to end-of -life care and memory care units. Our combined residents number around 300 and around the same number of staff. I serve with a part-time parish nurse and a retiring part-time chaplain. As I type I celebrate six years of service with GSS today. I am married to my SPBC sweetheart Theresa Joy (Tousley), celebrating 33 years of marriage this June 1st. We have three beautiful daughters and one rambunctious granddaughter. I like to work with wood as a hobby and study end time events, watching for the return of the Lord. It is looking real interesting just now. Pray for wisdom, grace and fresh power from the Throne for reaching hearts and minds of elderly folks nearing the end of life in this world. Pray for Power for living a consistent Spirit filled contagious JOY before the watching world. Bill Kuhn I am serving at Crown College, working with college students. I have been married for twenty-eight years and have four children. I have three child graduations this spring (two at Crown, one from high school) and one wedding. In my limited free time, I like to read and play guitar. Please pray for refreshment over the summer months. 5

6 INTRODUCTIONS AND PRAYER REQUESTS CONTINUED Kevin Norton I began serving the all-volunteer St. Louis County Law Enforcement Chaplaincy while pastoring the C&MA church in Duluth in When I moved to Hibbing C&MA in 2003, I continued to serve this agency. I was appointed the Executive Director of SLCLEC to manage day-to-day operations of all chaplains, recruitment and fund raising. We are called upon to serve our emergency service workers in our local municipalities as well as the county as a whole. This service includes all branches of law enforcement, dispatchers, firefighters, and rescue squad. St. Louis County is listed as the largest county in the USA east of the Mississippi. Our county is divided North and South. We currently have eight chaplains in North County, who typically respond geographically and South Chaplains who respond by rotation as it is population based in the Duluth area. One could literally drive four hours from one corner of the county to the opposite corner on the Canadian border. My wife Darcie and I have served in pastoral ministry with the Alliance since 1982; five years in Bena, MN., five years in Sisseton/Peever, SD, eleven years in Duluth and fifteen years in Hibbing. We have four children and ten grandchildren. Our oldest Sarah has two, and her husband Drew works at the Evangelical Free Church of America National Office in Bloomington. Our son Gabe (Jessica & 6 kids) is credentialed with the C&MA and serves the Grace E. Free in Elbow Lake, MN. Our daughter Hannah (two kids) married an Irishman and lives in Ireland. Our son Micah is single and works at Big Sandy Camp. Recently Darcie and I purchased a small business now called Norton Shield Responsible Ownership & Carry, LLC. I teach permit to carry classes, Church Security Classes, and soon handgun training. As for prayer requests, when we purchased the business, we wanted every class to honor Jesus and give the opportunity to shine on him. We also ask prayer for a revitali-

7 zation of the Hibbing Alliance Church as it works toward renewed growth and outreach. Also that my role as a chaplain will always be a positive influence on the chaplains I serve and Serving Those Who Serve Others. Nate Yoder I live and serve in Watertown, SD, with my wife Megan and two kids: Addy (10) and Thias (almost 2). I volunteer with three different agencies in town: Watertown Police Department (ride-alongs, special events, camps, death notifications, etc.), Lake Area Tech Law Enforcement Training Program (available to students and staff for support as needed), and Prairie Lakes Hospital (on-call 1x/week 4pm-7am for code blue and other emergencies as dictated by hospital policy). We moved to Watertown six years ago to help replant a church (The Bridge). God has been gracious in this, and we are a healthy and growing church family holding the values of Prayer, God's Word, Relationships, and Mission close to our hearts. My efforts to stay healthy and active got me a torn ACL and meniscus this winter, so I didn't get to enjoy hard-water fishing this year. But I do enjoy fishing in all seasons. I also enjoy tinkering with and riding my old motorcycle. Much of my time and joy is consumed with being with my wife and kids, playing in the yard, taking them fishing, coaching soccer, and going for bike rides and walks. As for prayer requests, I would ask that God continue to heal my knee fully so that I can enjoy a full-range of activities with my kiddos and stay active. Also that God would continue to go before us, making His will known and clear for our lives and ministry, and that He would continue to cultivate our hearts to follow in that direction.

8 SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT REMEMBERING by Rev. Dr. Peggy Lindsey BCC So you re a hospital chaplain. Isn t that depressing? How do you do that? I have a few standard answers to that question, but now that I m not doing it any more I can say what I couldn t, or wouldn t, say before. I did it by forgetting, and I m sure I ve never said that out loud. It wasn t a conscious choice, just something that I realized over the years. We chaplains are trained to be fully present, in the moment, with the people we see, and I devoted myself, whole-heartedly, to that practice. If I was with you, I was wholly with you, as best I could be. I believe there is healing in that kind of meeting, in the deep, open-hearted listening that we strive for, in the witness to suffering, and in the recognition of our common frailty. I have known Christ s presence in those moments, and have glimpsed the grace of God in that brokenness and coming together. Those moments have taken my breath away, and have sustained me in this difficult work. If you were a patient or family I spent time with, though, I probably forgot you later that day. Is that so bad? I used to worry that I couldn t remember more of the patients stories, but now that I m not doing it any more it s all coming back to me. I am remembering. My first visit to the morgue and the shock of a grossly deformed baby, when I was twenty two years old. The paper thin skin of a preemie who didn t survive as I touched her forehead with a drop of water in blessing. The jagged breaths of the dying and a family s interminable vigil. How many of those? The body of a young husband and father stretched out on a gurney in the emergency room, clad only in his speedo, still wet as he was brought in dead from the local pool, and his wife s dead silence when she arrived. Waiting for hours with the unknowing younger sister of a college student whose body was in the next room until her parents arrived and she could be told. The screeds of a furious former marine abandoned by family and trapped in a useless body for the rest of his life. The preacher with mental illness who gouged his own eyes out to keep from sinning and now loved to sing, Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see. The smell in the burn unit when I first started CPE, the criss-cross scars and pain I saw there. The yellowish skin of cachectic cancer patients. My fear, the first time I met an AIDS patient and shook his hand, in the early 80 s. His door was covered with blaring orange precaution tape since no one was sure what was going on. The sudden heart attacks, the car accidents, the possibly brain dead, the frequent fliers, the alcoholics, the opioid addict who almost killed herself trying to detox with diarrhea drugs. All of us chaplains have those stories, there s nothing special about mine, but I had to forget them. I had to hear them and let them go, hold them close in the moment and then release them, so I could do my job. Maybe I was with you during a code when your husband died, and ran into you at the grocery store a few months or a year later. Maybe you came over and greeted me. If you did, I may have recognized you, but I probably didn t remember your name, or much about what happened. I was good at faking it, though. Is that okay? Does my failure to remember those crucial moments diminish the importance of what happened? Does it invalidate whatever good I might have done? Does my forgetting dishonor you, or your loved one? I hope not, and I don t think so. It was too much for me to remember, too much for me to hold. But God remembers. God has not forgotten and will not forget. Those moments were important, crucial even, but my forgetting is forgiven, because God remembers, and holds it all. God s memory is perfect, God is timeless, and vast. The prophet Isaiah offers these words of comfort from God to the people of Israel as they suffer in exile. But Zion said, The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:14-15) I may not remember them all, but all of the suffering ones, all of those moments of stretching to connection and bits of tenderness are etched in God s memory, and safe there forever. No one is forgotten, no effort was wasted, nothing is lost. Thanks be to God. (Used with permission by Rev. Dr. Peggy Lindsey, BCC. Article can also be found at

Praying Evangelistically Sermon by Eric Allen for Find It Here 2011

Praying Evangelistically Sermon by Eric Allen for Find It Here 2011 Story of Sid Taylor - Several years ago -terrible tragedy happened to Sid Taylor and his wife Christy. Sid was underneath Christy s car