Dear Rose Park,

It’s a tradition. At the beginning of every school year, parents ask their children to take a ‘first day of school’ picture. This was never a favorite tradition of mine. I can remember standing in my driveway with my backpack slouched to one side, my eyes half-rolling and begrudgingly smiling while my other 6th grade friends waited for me to walk to the bus. However, in the current social-media era, every picture posted is flawless. Sisters don adorably matching outfits while holding hands and smiling and brothers wrap their arms around each other while holding a sign that says ‘First Day of School.’ But let’s be honest, we all know there are other pictures that didn’t make the cut.

Dear Rose Park,

As an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament, I have the unique privilege to be involved in some very meaningful services. Some of those services, like baptisms and professions of faith are called “congregational services” while weddings and funerals are called “pastoral services”. Beyond these congregational and pastoral services, I also have the unique privilege to be involved in what are called “classical services.” These services include the commissioning of a Minster into a specialized ministry area, the final worship service at a closing church, and the ordination and installation of other Ministers of Word and Sacrament. A few Sundays ago, I had the privilege of attending such a service for the ordination of Rev. Katie Alley.

Dear Rose Park,

Imagine a triangle. It has three sides and three angles. We typically see triangles when we think of a pizza slice, a yield sign, a tortilla chip, the pyramids, the sail of a boat, or even the outline of a ladder. However, I’d like to introduce a new kind of triangle. This kind of triangle can help shape our relationships and we see it most clearly through the person of Jesus.

Dear Rose Park,

Once a year I’ll read the book “You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity;” it’s written by Francis Chan and I’ve found this book to be a healthy rhythm for my marriage with Sam. Every year I’ll find myself making notes or highlighting a different section that speaks to me differently than the year previously. In contrast to most books about marriage, Chan doesn’t offer practical advice rather he offers what he calls an eternal lens to marriage.

Dear Rose Park,

I’ve mentioned in a few sermons this summer how much I enjoy watching baseball, but I also love to tee it up and play golf. I’ve played with some of you at a couple courses in the area. I can remember going to Red Arrow Golf Course in Kalamazoo, MI with my Grandpa Brinks and Winding Creek Golf Course with my two brothers. I can remember playing my first round of golf, bouncing back and forth between the rough, the bunkers, and the water, and being so upset that I wasn’t as good as what I saw on television. And though I didn’t pick up the game on a steady basis until I was an adult, it’s still a great game; a game filled with a rich tradition, a blossoming future, and whole lot of frustration. If you’ve ever played golf then you can attest it can be a humbling experience.

Dear Rose Park,

So much has happened in the past several months. Schedules have been drastically altered. Organizations have been creative in how to keep moving forward. Businesses have changed their model on how to keep doors open and manage risk. Churches have had to re-imagine what worship looks like from a distance. Our vision and expectation of societal structures (i.e. schools, businesses, churches, etc.) are changing and the Reformed Church in America is not exempt from that change.

Dear Rose Park,

Have you ever heard the phrase “idle hands are the devils workshop”? It’s a phrase I can remember being uttered at my grandparent’s home during the summer. Every summer I would visit Grandpa and Grandma Brinks in Kalamazoo, MI. They had a white house that sat at the end of Circlewood Drive. I would stay up late and watch cowboy movies (or good guy and bad guy movies as Grandpa called them), eat too much popcorn in the basement, hit too few golf balls at Milham Park Golf Club, and then undoubtedly spend time working with Grandpa in the lawn. It seemed as if he always saved projects for when I was visiting. Some days we would replace sod in his front lawn, other times I would edge along the curb and pull weeds in the garden but, on the best of days we would spend time caring for the small putting green he manicured in his backyard. Regardless of the project, my hands were rarely idle when I was with Grandpa and Grandma.

Dear Rose Park,

One of my favorite authors is C.S Lewis. Lewis wrote in a variety of genres. He had theological works, children’s stories, and even science fiction on his resume. One book in particular that I’ve found helpful in ministry is entitled, “On Grief.” In this work, he reflects on the death of his wife Helen. He writes, “I dread the moments when the house is empty. If only they would talk to one another and not to me”…”And no one ever told me about the laziness of grief…Not only writing but even reading a letter is too much. Even shaving. What does it matter now whether my cheek is rough or smooth? They say an unhappy man wants distractions - something to take him out of himself. Only as a dog-tired man wants an extra blanket on a cold night; he’d rather lie there shivering than get up and find one.”

Dear Rose Park,

This coming weekend our country celebrates its’ freedom. July 4 marks the date of the Declaration of Independence signifying freedom from tyranny and oppression. We celebrate this holiday with fireworks, hot-dogs on grills, and sitting by the pool. Why we celebrate our independence in this way, I’m not exactly sure. Nevertheless we celebrate our freedoms and we give thanks to those who have continuously fought for those freedoms. Unfortunately, not all of us are free.

Dear Rose Park,

As many of you know, my dad’s funeral was on Tuesday in Lamoni, Iowa. On Monday morning Sam and I drove the nine hours to Lamoni. On Tuesday afternoon, we drove the nine hours back. Needless to say, that’s a long time spent on I-80.