Pastor Steve's Blog

I leave for five days at Weston Priory in Weston, Vermont.  I will join nine other Lutheran pastors for our annual retreat week together.  We will continue our reflection on the Psalms of ascent and share in the prayer life and meals with the brothers.  Much time is open for reading, walks in the woods, quiet reflection and one or two naps.  It is a great week of renewal and I have a book bag full of reading that I hope to get to while enjoying the fellowship of our Lutheran brotherhood in midst of Benedictine hospitality.  I look forward to this each year for so many reasons and rejoice that it has now arrived for this year.

Ellie and Me

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The old adage that a “dog is a man’s best friend” is often quoted but the truth of it became so real again me to me today when we had to put asleep our Cocker Spaniel, Lady Eleanor Rigby.  Ellie would have turned 14 in October.  We brought her home when she was just eight weeks old as a Christmas present for our daughter, Sarah.  Sarah stills says it is the best Christmas present she ever received.  We usually just called her Ellie but often referred to her our “pup” throughout her life. While it was Sarah’s dog, Ellie spent most of her time with me.  She slept in her crate in our room at first, later in Sarah’s, but before the college prohibited it, I brought Ellie daily with me to my office in Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College.

Ellie Giving Me a Kiss

When I came home she would often be laying at the front door waiting for my return. She would follow be around the house and for a couple of years, when Joyce weakened, we even allowed her to sleep in our bed.  I would usually find her nuzzled against my legs.  I was the one who took her for most of her walks and brought he to our vet.  So Ellie became attached to me and I to her.

Nothing against cat people, but dogs offer us unconditional love and friendship I just have never seen in our cat, Midnight, or any cat for that matter.  They are faithful and no matter how long I was away on a trip, Ellie was always there to greet me and jump back into my lap.

Ellie, Sarah, and Me

Pets become part of your family and in giving love they become loved too.  So it has been incredibly difficult past few days when Ellie’s health worsen and it became evident that her time with us would be coming to a close.  Sarah was able to come this weekend, stayed up with her one night, and was able to say goodbye before returning to NYC.  Last night I spent the night with her and then today Joyce drove us to the vet’s to have her put to sleep.  At the end she was in some pain and “pup” was too good to let her suffer.   So held her all the way to the vet’s and was with her to the end.  The end was painless and came in less than thirty seconds.  Both the vet and technician were wonderful and we decided to have her cremated so that later when Sarah can be present, we will bury her remains in our yard, as this was the only home she ever knew.

So while I am incredibly sad today and have gone through almost a whole box of Kleenex, I will forever remember Ellie and be thankful that she was a part of our family’s life and such a good friend to me. 

PS

The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon As Narrative Art Form

Well I didn't get to read all the books I had hoped to while on vacation but I did get through a couple.  One of my greatest joys is the privilege of standing before a congregation to deliver a sermon.  Most preachers usually just try to listen or read a few sermons by other preachers who are recognized as gifted preachers.  While I try to stay on top of what is currently theologically "hot" I have not lately done much reading on the art of sermon preparation.  So I decided that I would check out a few seminary courses on preaching, or to use the theological fancy word 'homiletics."  I wanted to see what they were using as required reading these days and decided I would read a couple of these books this summer.  One was Eugene Lowry's, The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form.  His book was on a few course bibliographies so I borrowed a copy from a friend and brought it on vacation.  

Lowry believes that every sermon is really a narrative story.  He argues that like a good movie or play the sermon needs to catch a listener early.  Lowry says we do that best by injecting some unresolved ambiguity which upsets our equilibrium. This then leads into the four other stages: 2) analyzing the discrepancy, 3)disclosing he clue to resolution, 4) experiencing the gospel, and 5) anticipating the consequences.  I found his thesis interesting and while I agree every sermon really is a narrative I do feel any system whereby you have so many stages to work through would eventually become boring to a congregation if the same format was followed week after week.

The Four Pages of the Sermon: A Guide to Biblical Preaching

The second book I have just started is Paul Scott Wilson's, The Four Pages of the Sermon.  I have only read the first couple of chapters but Wilson approaches the task of writing a sermon very differently from Lowry.  His aim is always to produce a God-centered sermon which on the surface one would think what every sermon is, right?  But as I have listened to sermons throughout my years I am amazed how often a sermon doesn't seem very God-centered.   The four pages approach is Wilson's way to theologically deal with every sermon.  I will write another reflection on his book when I have finished reading it.  My goal is before Labor Day!

I have found reading these books on sermon prep to actually be amazingly refreshing and has given me new ways to look at the art of crafting a sermon.  Can't promise it will make me a better preacher but it has given some new ways to think about the art of crafting a sermon.

PS

Have you ever thought that while vacationtime is wonderful it just takes a lot of work to actual be able to take a few days off.  Joyce and I leave on Friday for two weeks traveling back to Wisconsin and Minnesota to primarily see family but will spend a night in St. Paul visiting with  Bill and Pam Nordmark.  Bill is both a college and seminary classmate and even more important, at least to Joyce and me, he was my best man at our wedding (29 years ago.)

Well this morning I weighed myself and I am now 189.  I cannot remember the last time I weighed under 190.  It probably was back in Junior High School.  My bariatric surgeon wants me to try to get down to 180-185.  To get to 185 on his scale means I need to get down to almost 180 on my scale because in his office I am weighed with clothes on.  My goal was to get to this target weight by Thanksgiving, just over a year since my surgery.  Looks like I may be able to make it by the end of summer.

For those who are interested here is what losing all that weight has meant:

Item                             November 2008            July 2009

Weight                                 322                           189
Waist                                     46                             36
Neck                                   19 1/2                          16
Chest                                     54                             44
Shirt Size                             XXXL                           L
Shoes                                 11 1/2 EEE                 11 1/2 D/E

I have pretty much gone through the Steve Schmidt closet in the basement.  Really haven't purchased that many clothes but now am beginning to get a few new items.

While loosing the weight has meant a lot of nice compliments, the most important thing for me is that I feel great, have much more energy and stamina.  I even went on the hike this year at Confirmation camp and did fine.  Something I avoided for the past few years.  My cardiologist has cut my blood pressure pills in half and I will most likely undergo another sleep test to see if the sleep apnea has improved to the point where I might not need to sleep with a CPAP machine.

 I try to go to the gym 4-5 times a week and it has just become part of my life that I schedule like anything else.  So I believe I have made the life changes to sustain the weight loss.  While my target is just a few more pounds, I really am not fanatical about reaching it.  I told my doctor if I get to 190-195 I will be happy to sustain that weight.  His point is that everyone eventually gains 15-20 pounds back.  So it would be better for me to eventually gain back to 200-205 rather than 215-220.  I remain thankful to Joyce and all my friends who have prayed for me and encouraged me throughout this pilgrimage.

God is Good -- All the Time!

PS

Not since I was returning from my internship in Baltimore to Milwaukee, had I tried to make the long drive from the  East Coast to Wisconsin.  Could I do it again, this time in reverse?  Should I do it?  This time I would be driving a 15 foot Budget rental truck, which by the way had no working A/C!  I knew I had to get around Chicago before the rush hour traffic in the morning, so decided I would give it a shot by leaving Deerfield, Wisconsin (where my sister, Jean, lives) at 3:30am.

I avoided all the traffic around Chicago and found myself driving into Indiana by 6 am.  Stopped for gas, which happened often as the truck was sucking down gasoline as fast as I was drinking coffee!  Felt really good at this point and decided I would give it try to make it home to Quaker Hill in one long day on the road.

By early afternoon I was enter Pennsylvania which has to be one of longest states to drive through!  At 4 pm was still in PA and decided I was feeling fine to keep going.  Besides, what I would do all night beside just watch TV and get up early again.  When I say the signs to the Tappen Zee Bridge around 9 pm I knew I could do it.

The last stretch on I95 seemed to go fairly fast and I pulled the truck onto Miller Street by our house to park it at 11:30pm.  I had done it.  Felt a since of accomplishment and relief knowing I was home a day early and could take Friday easy before starting the unloading of the truck on Saturday when Joyce and Sarah should return.  They had taken a side trip to checkout Ann Arbor, Michigan and to hear an Irish band that is one of the Sarah's favorites and was playing a gig in Ann Arbor on Thursday night.

While driving all those hours by myself in the truck I kept occupied listening to the Christian radio station "The

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

So back home, a little tired but now looking at the task of unloading the truck of Sarah's stuff into our garage and basement where a lot of it will remain for the next two years as she attends graduate school starting in August at NYU. Think I will wait for Joyce and Sarah to arrive home to help with that task!

PS

Today Joyce and I fly to Chicago to met by our daughter, Sarah, who after three years of working for Beloit College as an Admission Counselor will be returning to Connecticut.  Mom and Dad will revert to the "Rents Moving Company" as we finish packing and loading the rental truck to make the long trip back to Connecticut.  Dad gets the fun job of driving the truck while Sarah and Joyce will take a side trip to visit Ann Arbor and head home after that.

Sarah will be attending NYU this fall in the Master of Higher Administration program.  She has received a graduate assistant-ship in their Financial Aid office.  So she will receive a full tuition waiver and a nice stipend too which will help with living expenses in NYC.  She will be home for about six weeks before making the move to the big city.

While these days are technically called "vacation" they won't be very relaxing but go along with being loving parents.  It will be good to have Sarah back home and then closer to us.

PS

Well I achieved another mini-milestone today when I weighed myself this morning.  I weighed in at 199 and that 200 pound barrier fell.  It was another of my personal goals and it feels good to have finally be under 200 pounds.  My original goal was to get back to what I wrestled at in high school, 195 pounds.  My surgeon still wants me to try to get to 185 feeling that eventually everyone gains 15 to 20 pounds back.  This way I will still be considered "normal weight" where if I were to stop now and gain 20 I would be back to being classified "overweight."  At least the term "obese" is no longer being applied to me.

I now have lost 121 pounds since this pilgrimage began back in November.  I feel good, though right now suffering for a "summer cold."  I enjoy going to the gym and am looking forward to tuning up my bike and hitting the road in a few weeks instead of always going to the gym.

My waist has now gone from being 46" to about 37" and the bin of slacks marked 36" will soon be opened.  Hopefully that will be it as I don't have anything smaller than that.   At our Synod Assembly I gave away all my clerical shirts that were larger than 16 1/2" neck.  There were 22 shirts!  They are going to be sent to Africa for clergy who need them and hopefully will be able to alter them as needed.

I was delighted to discover that a tailor-made summer three piece suit I purchased in Hong Kong in 1979 actually fits again.  I don't think I have worn it in over 25 years.  Will have to break it out and put it to use one of these coming Sundays.  I guess it pays sometimes to be a pack rat.  Luckily men's suit styles really don't change all that much.

Well now I can take the summer a little easier and not having to worry so much about keeping the weight coming off.  My goal is to get down to 185 but if I don't loose every week that will be fine, as long as I don't gain.  Thanks again to everyone who has been so supportive of me and keeping me in your prayers.  You mean more to me than words can express.

PS

Picture of me taken in Honduras

Well I made it home safely at 3:30AM.  Took most of Wednesday off to recover but was still pretty tired at the Congregational Council meeting on Wednesday night.  Tomorrow will begin to tackle the yard with raking, mowing, and starting to re-mulch the beds.  Suppose to near 80 on Saturday, yea.  Have a wedding to perform on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  Have to find sometime too to write a sermon.  Sometimes the merry-go-round never seems to stop.

PS