Saturday, November 22, 2008

Triple-A- Award

Rainbow Trail camp, Hillside, CO has been awarded the prestigious Triple-A- Adult award. In fact it is the first ever Triple-A-Adult award.  In reality it is the only such award ever given. When a camp staffs itself with remarkable Authentic, Available and Affirming people it deserves an award! They really deserve an award that has large amounts of cash attached to it, but this award comes with a lot of appreciation from people who’s hearts have been touched over and over again during the last three weeks of Youth and Family ministry Certification School. Not only did this camp meet all our program needs and have wonderful facilities but, most importantly they shared themselves.

I began to recognize it when meal time prayers where led by Chris, our amazing cook, and John, the Site Manager. The recognition grew stronger everyday as we got to interact with every team member. Thumbs up to David Jarvis, Rainbow Trail’s camp director, who has not only hired the best people for the job descriptions but has hired those that fully embody the AuthenticAvailable and Affirming traits.

The Triple-A-Adult award can only go to places that understand that faith is passed on through personal trusted relationships by the power of the Holy Spirit. Such places recognize that relational faith influence has no hierarchy. A congregation may have a pastor and janitor with very different job descriptions, but the ministry of relational faith influence is empowered, encouraged and embodied by the whole team. All share in relational ministry.

Congratulations to the whole Rainbow Trail Team and their shared Triple-A ministry!

Thank you

CLICK here and meet the whole team!


Monday, November 17, 2008

CERT School Fun






Hanging out... working and playing, some of the best!

Scenes Around Camp




Hard to not find a great scene.  (That would Pike's Peak, under the cloud!)

On Top of the World





Almost... the Pike's Peak Cog train took us from 6,500 to 14,110... and with wind chill, a bit below zero. 

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Circles

Youth Ministry! It is no longer about how many kids I can get into a room. It is more about how many faith giving people can I surround each of my kids with. As people talk, here at CERT school, they discover how their faith developed. They find that mostly it came through the influence of peers, family, congregation members, people in the community, and the surprises of those outside their normal culture, and those who have shared experiences understanding creation. 

Thus the names on all the sticky notes... each containing amazing stories.

Friday, November 07, 2008

CERT - Friday


A rare moment I can get on the blog site here in the mountains!

Here is our Crew! A great group, as always.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Rainbow Trail Day 1




The air, clouds, trees, streams, wind, mountains, all merge as a mosaic of site and sound.

Three weeks of teaching, being, and growing with 14 CERT school participants. If you have to be some place for three weeks, this is not a bad place to be.



Saturday, November 01, 2008

FaithTalk Four Keyed


There in!

Andrea and I had the fun and honor of writing the new four keyed set of FaithTalk cards.

Call the Institute!

Indian Stew!


Most of my work the last couple months has kept me home. Lots of local groups.
I have been away from the Blog for awhile, thus a lot of groups not represented. This one was with the faith formation team at Prince of Peace, my home congregation. It was nice to be invited back in.

The great extra surprise... meeting Audrey, a past EWALU camp counselor, the creator of "Indian Stew."

Oh my, all those years at camp filling the huge pot on the tripod over the fire. We all took turns with canoe paddle stirring, who knows what was in it!

Creating New Memories





The First Rock 'n' Roll show
New nephew with the new uncle weekend.

We worked in the yard, played in the leaves, but the big goal... Nicks band, "Take Cover." (E.P. now on I-Tunes! --- Buy it today! )

Erin and I were invited back stage to listen from the side lines.

The Mississippi Fall Tour





A drive down the river…
The Johnson’s
Great car music
The Raptor Center – Wabasha
Dubuque
Bed and breakfast
Shopping
Museums
Pottery
Nelson’s Cheese Factory
Balltown Road
Breitbachs, Iowa's Oldest Bar & Restaurant
Wine and Cheese stops along the road
Lots of leaves!