I am making my way through a backlog of blog posts I could not post in real time because this time up in Spokane has been so full!

Yesterday, Reformation Sunday, I preached at St. Paul Lutheran in Chewelah, WA. This congregation has been served most recently by two retired pastors, Linda Webster and Bob Edwards, who come on alternate Sundays to preach and lead worship. They are just beginning the process of developing their ministry site profile. One of their members had been part of our our Preach, Pray, Preside Retreat in Spokane (see a future blog post) and it was nice to see Peter’s friendly face and hear his impressions of the weekend. After a lovely worship service in the sanctuary we gathered in the fellowship area for a Q and A. After answering a few questions I asked for any newer members to share why they started attending St. Paul and why they remained. It became clear that even in a small town with many many churches (reminding me a lot of my home town of Custer, SD), that St. Paul has a niche and understands what it is–a unique combination of sermons based in scripture and with a grace filled message, a place welcoming to women pastors, and a place with an open Communion table. After the Q and A I received a tour of the parsonage next door. As with many places I visit, we also ended up talking about the housing crisis in town. It may not be as bad as it is in Leavenworth and Jackson, but Chewelah’s housing market has been negatively impacted by more and more homes becoming VRBOs. It was also fun to hear the parishioners excitement for all the ways different people are stepping up, “thanks to so and so for leading or doing this” was a refrain throughout the morning. I am excited to keep walking alongside this congregation.