This past Sunday was one of those rare Sundays when I was not out on the road, and as a result, I had a chance to worship in the "home" congregation, First Presbyterian Church here in Willmar. I must say that I picked a good Sunday to be present, as ten members of the congregation shared their experiences and learnings from a recent mission trip to North Dakota.

 

In the week leading up to the Labor Day Weekend, nearly twenty individuals from First Presbyterian Church in Willmar and First Presbyterian Church in Amboy, joined forces to travel to the Bdecan Presbyterian Church near Devils Lake. Bdecan is one of the congregations within the non-geographical Dakota Presbytery which serves the people of the greater Native-American Dakota community. Significant to the group's going to Bdecan was a connection with Joe Obermeyer, a native of Amboy and a one-time candidate under the care of our presbytery.

 

During their brief sojourn in North Dakota, the mission team not only contributed significant work efforts for the benefit of the Bdecan congregation and community, but they also began the process of developing relationships between with one another. This trip was not designed to be a "one time" effort, but rather the beginning of a longer term commitment. As a result, significant time was invested in learning about the people and the culture of the Dakota people in that part of our country and the issues that challenge their very existence - particularly those timely concerns that relate to water and oil pipelines.

 

The participants - both those from Willmar and those from Amboy - came back energized and determined to build upon the experience of this trip. Plans are already being laid for a week-long trip next summer that would expand the number of participants and continue to deepen the relationships between our two Minnesota congregations and the people of the Bdecan congregation and community. Believing that there is much more than can happen in this relationship, I am seeing a willingness of our congregations to invest time, energy, and resources to making it all happen.

 

As I reflected with members of the Willmar congregation following worship, I commented that this partnership - between Willmar and Amboy, and between these congregations and Bdecan  - is one of the things that we want to encourage among our congregations as we lived into the vision that the Next Pres Team sought to cast. It was the hope that congregations would see needs, make connections, invite others to share their passions, and create opportunities and partnerships that would engage in new mission and ministry ventures, and that is what is happening here. Our congregations in Willmar and Amboy, through a connection with Joe Obermeyer, learned of a need, and came together to respond to that need. What was started is a relationship that will bring strength and energy to the congregations that are venturing into God's new thing for them. As a symbol of the new relationship that was begun, the mission team unveiled a "spirit quilt" (see picture below) that was a gift from the Bdecan community.

 

I hope this will be one of many ventures that will spring up among our congregations in the years to come. Continued blessings on the journey!

 

Grace and Peace,

Rick