Awake

Ouchy in the Winter...

Below are some pictures of Ouchy that I took while walking down by the lake with some good friends last weekend...                                                                                                                     

                                              

Traditions...

Some traditions never die.  Case in point: every year my mother puts an orange in the bottom of our Christmas stocking.  When I received a package this year from my mom with my stocking in it, I waited until Christmas to open it, and when I did- I found that the tradition was kept- even for her daughter overseas.  One would think that if this tradition was being attempted, my mom would at least wrap the orange in something because SURELY it would squish and damage other things in the package...but no- it was simply placed in the bottom- unprotected.  Happily, it didn't seem to hurt anything, but I can't say that it was an enjoyable experience to shove my hand in the bottom of the stocking to find such a lovely, gooey mess...

Perhaps this is an attempt to get me back for years of insisting that we maintain the tradition of  putting our tree up on Christmas Eve...whatever the case, it ended up being pretty funny...thanks mom, love you. :)

Christmas Prayer

Holy child who has entered the darkness of this world

as the dawn breaks into the darkness of night,

We pray that you might enter the shadows that linger still-

Breaking bonds that continue to hold captive your creation.

Lord in your mercy... Hear our prayer.

Child of love, rejected by the innkeeper and welcomed in the stable-

welcome again this night those rejected by the standards of mortals:

the slave, the imprisoned and the dependant,

that they might sense your presence with and for them.

Lord in your mercy... Hear our prayer.

Child of peace, whose birth caused shepherds and angels to rejoice together-

tune the cries of warfare and hatred among your children to chords of humble service and praise;

So nations may one day together resound the glory of your name.

Lord in your mercy... Hear our prayer.

Child of hope, born to die and rise again, fulfilling prophecies of old-

renew in us a sense of hope grounded in your promises:

that you have transformed the world and will one day come again to complete your redemption.

Lord in your mercy... Hear our prayer.

God of new beginnings, we lift all of these prayers before you,

and we thank you this Christmas Eve for sending your Son, our Savior, to this world.

Amen.

From Scotland to Malta

   It's been too long- I know.  In the last four weeks I've been from Scotland to Malta and back to Switzerland in between!  It's been a crazy time- but a time full of blessings as well! 

In Scotland I had the chance to spend time with good friends, eat lots of good Thanksgiving food, and see St. Andrews and Edinburgh!  It was a week off, and it both restored me and filled me with a new sense of urgency for my youth in the 7 short months I have left in youth ministry! 

After Scotland I returned to Lausanne for a week and then it was off to a conference in Malta put on by EYCE and FEMYSO.  The conference was on "gender and religion", and proved to be quite an interesting experience.  I made some great connections, and got a  chance to see where the inter-religious dialogue and gender dialogue is at present in certain European circles.  Many thanks to the Philadelphia Presbytery and my home church, Forest Grove, for supporting my trip to the conference! I should have more up on the subject soon!

As for now, it's full steam ahead!  There's a nativity program rehearsal and play this weekend, along with Christmas parties for my teens and my tweens!  As the snow continues to fall and Christmas music sounds throughout the streets, I look forward to the small army that will gather here just a few days after Christmas.  My brother, sister-in-law and best friend are coming to visit, and we'll be squeezing into my apartment for a few days! 

May God bless you in this season of Advent.  Come, Lord Jesus!

I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.

(Ps 69.3)

Thanksgivings

I soon depart for the once home-land of my mother's side of the family.  I will be spending a few days in Scotland with a great friend, and as I prepare for the holiday my heart rings with thankful echoes of these past few weeks.

In early November, I had the opportunity to remember my once mentor and professor, David G. Truemper with a good friend from Valpo who took one of his classes with me.  He passed away just over a year ago.  How quickly a year passes- it was a beautiful occasion of swapped memories, future hopes, and candles lit at an All Saints Day service. 

The youth programming here is going quite well- the past two weeks have included bazaar/ Christmas markets for both churches along with several youth events.  This past Sunday we did a "Progressive Lunch" after church where we went to different houses for appetizers and lunch/ dessert.  A fun time was had by all. 

The weather has turned chilly here, and the wooden Christmas stalls are beginning to dot the main square in Lausanne.  Market stalls with fresh produce and flowers still brave the chill each Wednesday and Saturday morning, and I am continually blessed with good company in my congregations and from visitors.

Please keep the youth and families of Lausanne in your prayers.  The view of the alps and Lac Leman changes daily - I've been running frequently and love to hear the sound of the water on rocks as I explore the shores of the surrounding towns.

May your heart abound with thanksgivings in these next few weeks.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his

hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display

knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the

earth,

their words to the end of the world. 

-Psalm 19:1-4

In Remembrance

“Peace to you,” he says. “Peace to you.” Quiet those fears. Let me quiet them by taking them onto myself. See? It is I, myself. And my gift to you is peace. Not just what you used to think was peace. For this peace comes, indeed, from the other side of the grave. It’s a whole new peace. Call it “my” peace, he had once said. It’s his unique peace, because it’s won by taking fear and death into himself, as he bears our infirmities and carries our diseases. Bearing them, he frees us. Invading our prisons, he releases us. Carrying our death in himself all the way to cross and grave and beyond, he swaps that death for his own life, swaps our fears for his peace, swaps our anxiety for his calm and love, swaps our hunkered-down imprisonment for his mission that came from the Father and now involves us, as well. “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” Released from the prison of our fear, we get to live and move in the freedom and audacity of his own mission.

-Rev. Dr. David G. Truemper, Sermon: "Breaking Into Prisons", April 18th 2004

Abby and...Abbie?

So...I realized I haven't gone public with this news yet, so I thought it best for everyone to know...

It was an interesting drive back to Lausanne after my supervisor, Melvyn Wood, picked me up from the airport in Geneva.  I was giddy on caffiene and the adrenaline of being in a new place, and we were conversing as we drove in Melvyn's british-style car.  (It was scary to be on the driver's side as a passenger).  In any case the conversation got around to going something like this...

Abby:  "So, I read in one of your emails that you have a dog..."

Melvyn: "Yes, she's a standard sized poodle.  Do you like dogs?"

Abby:  "Oh yes, I like dogs.  What's her name?"

(awkward silence)

Melvyn: "Well...right...err....(a few noises that sounded like gggrrrrrhhhhhgggg)"

Abby:  "Her name is gggrrrrhhhhgggg?"

Melvyn:  "Umm...yes...you see...we were hoping you'd have a sense of humor because her name is actually....Abbie.  (then, quickly...) But we didn't name her!!  She came with the name!"

(laughter)

Needless to say, I do have a sense of humor- Abby and Abbie are getting along quite well.  There is the occasional moment when one of us is addressed and our heads both turn, or moments where I wonder if I'm being scolded...but all in all we're both fond of cheese and shortbread so we're doing just fine. 

Whirlwind

I can't believe time has flown so fast!  Many apologies to family and friends for not posting in so long...it's been quite the whirlwind of events in the past two weeks.  From making connections to Youth For Christ and the World Council of Churches in Geneva, to 'tweens, teens and meeting up with old friends, I've been busy! 

Church services have been wonderful.  I participated in my first Anglican service at Christ Church (complete with white robe) two weeks ago.  It was great to be part of the beauty of a ritual that I'm not used to.  We were celebrating Harvest Sunday, and it was great to meet church members and become connected to people for the first time at the Christ Church parish.  That afternoon, I went to a small town nearby called Lutry where a wine harvest festival was also being celebrated.  It's called the Fete des Vendanges.  At the end of an all-town parade, vineyard workers come by and pour wine into your glasses.  That evening I had a lovely dinner with the Christiansen family from Scots Kirk, and was able to spend some time with a former PTS student (who used to hold a record for number of times he stole the clapper from Alex). 

I am actually beginning to be quite shocked by the number of PTS alumni floating around.  As it happens, my pastor from Scots Kirk was in need of pulpit supply this past Sunday.  The person found to fill it was another former PTS student and preceptor of my sister, Amy (Visco)-Na when she was a student at PTS.  He now is the senior editor at the World Council of Churches.  In a short trip I took to Geneva early last week, I had the pleasure of meeting him, his wife, and getting a tour of the ecumenical center where the WCC offices are.  There is a photo album of the chapel that I just posted- it is beautiful- check it out.

As for the rest of my Geneva trip, I was able to meet up with the Youth For Christ people here in Switzerland, and make some connections not only with them, but also with other youth workers in the greater Geneva area.  It is a blessing to have these people close by for support, ideas, and friendship!  On the last day of the trip, I was also able to meet up with a childhood friend that I hadn't seen in years.  Megan and I used to run through the fields (when they were fields) behind our houses together as childhood next-door neighbors.  We swapped many old/ new stories, ate good food, and I got to meet her boyfriend Kriston! 

Since then I've had a 'tween night complete with my first batch of Scottish shortbread and skits/ discussion about Matthew 13:1-9.  The teens gathered after church at Scots Kirk on Sunday for McDonalds (tell me I won't, Francey) and movies.  We're looking forward to a pumpkin carving night this Friday and much, much more...

All in all I have really started to fall in love with this place.  I am thankful that I've been planted here for a year, and hope to continue growing in the light of God's abounding grace.  My heart beats steadily with my family far away.  As the great poet said, "I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)"

Jeune Federale, Youth Events, and More!

Greetings, family and friends!  Since I last posted, much has happened here, so here is an update:

This past weekend was the annual Jeune Federale recognition (there are many accents in the words "Jeune Federale" that my computer cannot type).  There was a decree in the Canton of Vaud (cantons are similar to states) in 1832 that the 18th of September would be a day of prayer and actions of grace for those living there.  The same decree also encourages pastors, deacons, priests, ministers and those in the Jewish community to involve their faith communities in whatever way they see fit.  This year, quite the service was organized!*

On Sunday the 18th, six churches in Lausanne came together to worship.  The Scots Kirk congregation met at 10am and at 10:30 walked from our parish to the German speaking congregation at Villamont.  We met also with the French speaking parish of St. Francois and St. Jacques, the Catholic parish of St. Redempteur, and the Italian speaking congregations of the Missione Cattolica and Chiesa Valdese.  The four languages were brought together in prayer and song as we gathered.  It was a truly wonderful experience to pray the Lord's prayer and hear four languages at once!

I had the opportunity to be part of the service during a prayer of intercession.  The english speaking congregation of the Scots Kirk was asked to pray for peace- specifically for those communities shaken by natural disaster and terrorism.  It was truly a blessing to pray together in this community!   

Also on the agenda for the weekend were two youth events...one on Friday night for the 'tweens (9-12yr olds) and another on Sunday after church for the teens.  Friday night we watched a movie and tried to make pizza at my flat.  I ended up rolling the dough into calzone-type things instead, which seemed to work out!  On Sunday the teen events was supposed to involve a trip to the Cinema...but thankfully they were quite forgiving when I broke the news that I'd read the wrong Cinema day/time.  Darn French- (I'm improving though!  I'm taking lessons!)  SO, we ended up buying snacks and watching not one but TWO movies at my flat...which was quite good.  I've already gotten requests that it be a repeat event!  Sometimes language barriers can open new doors, I suppose. 

Thanks to all who have been checking up on what is going on in my life over here...feel free to scan over some new photo albums I've put up- one of an afternoon I spent in Evian, France- and one of some of my 'tweens at our movie/ calzone night!  Thanks for the comments, too!

*(The information about the Jeune Federale service was adapted from the Scots Kirk bulletin, September 18th, 2005)

Sewa BEATS

The first youth event for Scots Kirk and Christ Church happened this past Sunday!  We participated in Sewa BEATS, which is a team/ organization that works mainly with corporations to develop leadership skills and team work.  On Sunday, this group was holding a charity session in Massongex for Terre des hommes for people of all ages, and we attended!  There, the band taught us some basic African drumming skills on the djembe, and it proved to be both loud and really fun.  As a starter event, it was good to share some laughs with the youth and chaperones along.  We're in the process of "getting to know" one another and establishing foundations of trust. 

After the event, it started to downpour.  We arrived back at Scots Kirk soaking wet (even though we ran form our cars).  Despite the rain, many church members from the Scots Kirk gathered for a barbecue to welcome their new youth leader!  Sadly there are no pictures of the barbecue, but enjoy the pictures of us drumming!