Archive for category: Adult

Hello! While I appreciate having this opportunity to introduce myself to the Mount Calvary congregation, I also need to say a goodbye…to Doug Affinito as the outgoing Council President. Thankfully, Doug will still be on our Council so we’re not losing his wisdom, leadership and sharp sense of humor! Thanks, Doug, for all the time and effort you have contributed over the past three years as you led our Council with such skill and passion!

As I was preparing this message, I was also delivering my daughter to Northwestern University near Chicago to start her first year of college. Another goodbye that I had to face, and admittedly a bit harder than my goodbye to Doug (I think Doug will understand). I began to realize that we face many “goodbyes” on a fairly regular basis, but thankfully there is typically another “hello” in close proximity. With my daughter, I get to say hello to a young woman who is now beginning a great new journey of independence, growth and excitement. Similarly, as we say goodbye to Doug, I now have the opportunity to say hello to many more of you in my new role as your Council President.

I am truly excited about this transition! Having been on the Council for the past couple of years, I have not only gained respect for our leadership team and the great job they’ve done guiding our church through some significant initiatives such as the Mission Forward implementation, I’ve also seen firsthand the strength of the strategic path that has been established for the years ahead. Mount Calvary really is unique. It has a personality that stands alone! As you heard from Doug last month, we explored the “why are we,” which resulted in a set of four defining Pillars: Grace, Inclusion, Love and Service. These Pillars are unique to our church and they provide the guidance and justification…the “why”…for everything we do. The programs range from our support for local families via programs such as Families Moving Forward, to underscoring the reasons for our commitment to global partnerships in areas such as Haiti and Nigeria. You will be hearing more about these Pillars in the near future, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please find me before or after an upcoming service and say Hello!

My first Caller letter asked: “Who is Mount Calvary and what makes us unique?” Back then, I proposed Mount Calvary is an enrichment center focused on Spiritual, Community, and Personal growth. My three years as Council President demonstrated Mount Calvary is this and much more.

Today I offer my last Caller letter as your Council President. Lots of water has flowed down Minnehaha Creek since you entrusted me with this mantle. On Sunday, September 24, 11:45am, at the Congregational meeting, the flag will transfer to Vice President Mike Kasprick.

Much has happened at Mount Calvary over these years. Our pastors led us through nearly 600 worship services. We baptized many children of Christ, confirmed a record number of youth, hitched a bunch, and said too many goodbyes. We called and installed Pastor Aaron after seven years of Pastor Doug’s leadership. We established a Pastoral Transition Plan as preparation for Pastor Dave’s inevitable final curtain.

Our Preschool is fully-enrolled and financially self-supporting after adopting a new extended services model.

Thanks to the generosity of our members, the Mission Forward capital campaign expanded our hug-of-hospitality with more convenient restrooms, an accommodating parking lot, tighter Preschool security, and an improved web presence. We also distributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to vital mission partners. We welcomed Kowalski’s as a neighbor and Mount Calvary cafeteria.

Church leaders made a concerted effort to be more visible and responsive. A comprehensive congregational survey confirmed members are engaged and see Mount Calvary as a vital part of their lives, also revealing several areas for improvement. After incorporating staff ideas and Council wisdom, your Council adopted a multi-year strategic plan to tackle the challenges and opportunities.

Despite these accomplishments, the Council still wrestled with my original query. The breakthrough came two months ago when we realized the question was not “Who are we?” but “Why are we?”. That discussion led us to four defining Pillars:

• GRACE: God Seeks Us
• INCLUSION: God Includes Everyone
• LOVE: God Expects Us to Care and Love Everyone
• SERVICE: God Challenges Us to Serve

I will leave it to the capable hands of my successor to share the ‘what’ and ‘how’ actions we choose to further this journey.

I wanted to write on the idea of “Selah” today, but the topic felt familiar so I checked back in my files and found a previous “Selah” message dated April 2013. Well, to keep my message fresh, yet keep my intentions for today’s message intact, I added “Part 2” to spice things up!

Selah is a word found in some of the Psalms of the Old Testament. I first noticed it in one of my favorites, Psalm 46. There have been many debates and studies about what the word means, but the general consensus is that the word is not directly translatable and doesn’t have a clear definition. But one generally accepted idea is that the word indicates a pause in the verse, a time of instruction possibly saying, hear this. The interpretation of the word that I like best came from a musician friend of mine; to pause and consider….

So I write to you today to join me in a Fit Spirit Exercise of Selah. I’m going to take some time this summer to pause and consider some changes in my ministry work. After 10 years of providing spiritual care to cops, firefighters and medics throughout Minnesota, I’ve decided to bring my work closer to home. I’m going to narrow my scope of services and start focusing on agencies within Hennepin County. That also includes more direct care work in the Excelsior area.

Part of the ministry I’m going to spend some time considering is the idea of this spiritual fitness exercise. I currently use a pretty random approach to writing these exercises. I’ve given a lot of consideration to creating a more systematic approach to spiritual exercise, and with the help of one of my pastoral mentors, I think I’ve got a good plan. But I want to work out the kinks over the summer. So, I’m going to take the next couple months off from my random Fit Spirit writing, and be back in the fall. Enjoy your summer and don’t forget to Selah!

Take Care,­­
Pastor Dan Carlson