August 2013 – A Seminarian’s Letters Home

To the membership of Circle of Faith Parish:

Greetings to you all from back in Trimont! A hearty welcome to Pr. Eric Midthun, our new associate pastor! Congratulations, also, to the Call Committee on a job well done and smoothly completed. A dream that began three long years ago has finally been realized. Circle of Faith Parish has been formed, and we now have a complete pastoral staff for our churches. The time has also come for me to take my leave – my final Sunday as the ministerial associate will be August 11^th. From there, I will move on to Chicago to begin PhD work in liturgical studies. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the chance to serve among you this summer, and for the opportunity to be deeply involved in helping our new parish get off the ground. The next time you read this, I’ll be writing from Illinois, so stay tuned!

Looking back at where we have come from as a parish makes me think of the Israelites about to cross the river Jordan into the Promised Land. For them, a dream that took centuries of slavery and generations of desert wanderings to realize had finally come about. Best of all, so much was still to happen. They would claim their long-envisioned homeland, establish great cities, and become an immense nation. I think that’s where we are now, as well. One dream has come true. Now we are waking up into a new day, with golden opportunities, chances and hopes for the partnership that God has led us to create. Much more will happen, and the same God who brought us here will lead us through it all.

Stepping forward to begin our new journey as Circle of Faith, let us pray for God’s blessing on our walk, using these words:

Draw your church together, O God, into one great company of disciples, together following our teacher Jesus Christ into every walk of life, together serving in Christ’s mission to the world, and together witnessing to your love wherever you will send us, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. [ELW, The Mission of the Church]

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Your fellow member and pilgrim,
Carl P. Rabbe, M.Div.