Alleluia

"Mama, what's your favorite "I" word?"

This is an example of how my Monday mornings begin when my five year old at some pre-dawn hour leaps into my bed.  John's school celebrates a "Letter of the Week" and he can't wait to be prepared.

Igloo?  India?  Icky?  So many choices - do I have to take just one?

So you can imagine how difficult it was when my husband called up last week and asked for one word to sum up my ministry at Shepherd of the Hills.  What to pick?

Grace, resurrection, hope, forgiveness, mercy, faith, wisdom, courage, justice, redemption, community, these all are true descriptions of my time at Shepherd of the Hills.  But one word stood out above all others:

Alleluia

Alleluia means - Praise God!  Its an exuberant word of gratitude for all that God has already done,  joy in the present, and hope in a future held in God's hands.  Alleluia speaks to the fullness of my 6 years at Shepherd of the Hills - all the new ministries, all the worship, all the witness, all the funerals, the confirmations, the weddings, the new members, and all the baptisms durning my tenure.  

It was an Alleluia day this Sunday - the day of All Saints.  The church was filled to capacity.  My Music Director and his choir pulled out all the stops.  I baptized cousins to bring my total Shepherd of the Hills baptism count to the Biblical number of completion - 40.  We lit candles for the dead.  I served communion in my best heels to 140 people.  We sang all my family's favorite hymns "Earth and All Stars, Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness, and Blessed are They."

Well, we sang almost all my family's favorite hymns.  John was in tears at the beginning of the service. Perusing the bulletin John found me anxiously, "Mama, they forgot my choice."

John had asked me months before if we could sing hymn number 892 sometime in worship.  Figuring that this is one of the rare privileges of a pastor's kid I told him, "Sure. Any time. You name the day."  And then I wondered "What is hymn number 892?"  It turns out, its near the end of the Lutheran hymnal in the National Hymns and Songs section.  892 is "O Canada."

Now I couldn't quite bring myself to include "O Canada" in our Sunday worship, but John was not forgotten.  At the potluck following worship the entire congregation serenaded my beeming boy with his favorite anthem.

Of course there were many other blessings.  Our semi-professional church baker made outstanding cakes (I nabbed a large piece of chocolate early on), the newest newlyweds in the church expertly manned and womaned (manned and wifed?) the grill, everyone brought their best to share (I noted several jello salads - a gentle way of reminding me that I go to the midwest?)

And then came the speeches and the presents.  The planning committee really outdid themselves.  They presented me not only with cash enough to fund the trip (and all of our memberships to the great museums of Chicago) but other things as well.  A stained glass window of the church.  A beautiful necklace of the church logo and my Alleluia (so that's what Jay was referring to!)  Coordinating hats and scarves for the whole family (John on opening his scarf took one look and said, "What's this?" - Oh honey, you will soon know!)  And best of all, intricate handmade scrapbooks with pages from nearly all the members of the congregation.  I couldn't have imagined so great a send-off - Alleluia indeed.

As of this morning the car is almost fully packed, the plans are laid.  John and I will leave sometime after rush hour and hope to reach Solvang by early evening.  This weekend has been sad, but full of Alleluia. We take of leave of Berkeley filled with thanksgiving for the past, joy in our present, and hope for the future.