It is New Year’s Eve. This is the moment we look back to see what God has done and look forward to dream what God might do in and through us in the new year. I will use this post to reflect on some of the big events and work I had the privilege to experience in 2018.
I tend to divide my professional/public life into three parts: Pastor, Teacher, Artist. Here is 2018 seen through those three categories:
On the Pastor side of things:
I preached 27 sermons.
Launched a new Website
Staff Changes
I said goodbye to two colleagues this year. Pastor Rolf Jacobson took a medical leave to care for his son. Then he did not renew his contract.
Pastor Kris Capel, our lead pastor, also took a medical leave for three months (March – May) then resigned.
I was sad to see both of them go. We now have a part-time interim associate, Angela Denker, and an interim lead pastor, Lamont Koerner (see pastors page). Lamont is leading Easter through the transitional process. A call committee for a new lead is supposed to be formed sometime in May.
I continue to serve as the Pastor of Family Faith, supervise the Amazing Children, Youth and Family staff, lead the Confirmation Program, preach, and perform pastoral duties as requested.
On the Teacher/Scholar Side of Things
- Co-taught (and currently teaching) Missional Leadership for the D.Min program at Luther Seminary with Dr. Terri Elton.
- Led a workshop on Visual Storytelling at the eFormation Conference at Virginia Theological Seminary in January.
- Had my first scholarly article published Participatory Action Research as Trinitarian Praxis and a Pedagogical Model for the Suburban Congregation.
- Presented a paper at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Religious Leadership.
- Visual Review of The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt.
- Rebooted my Bible Bookshelf
On the Artist Side of Things
Art for Teaching
I create art for teaching every single week. To display every piece here would be overwhelming. Here are some links to posts and highlights:
- A Visual Meditation on The Gospel of John series called Come and See. This is like the Gospel of John as a Graphic Novel.
- The Overcome series.
- A Deep Life
- Advent.
- Live Painting on Thanksgiving Eve.
This is my favorite teaching piece from the year.
Art for Fun
Here are some galleries of artwork from 2018:
Inktober 2018
Day Off Doodles:
Joined the Figure Drawing Co-Op.
I won’t show the images here, so not to offend anyone. Check out the co-0p here. We meet twice a month to simply draw. It is wonderful.
Thank You.
Thanks for indulging me in this year-in-review. Thank you for reading and subscribing. Please share with your friends.
I look forward to the adventures that 2019 holds.
May you feel the deep love of God in your life this year.
peace.
You inspire me to take more time for writing and reflecting in 2019. Thanks and Happy New Year.
Thanks, Sara. If my work inspires others to be more creative, then it’s all worth it. I hope you’ll share your creativity.