FYI: We are in Lutherland now (kind of like Disneyland for Lutherans). So, please excuse me while I geek out a bit. For someone from California, being around this many Lutherans is mind-blowing and that's without even getting to attend a church service. But, I hear tell that there are actually hundreds of Lutherans in the same place on a Sunday morning. For a west coast Lutheran that sounds like a gathering of unicorns! (My church only has about 40 active members, that's why I'm laughing right now.)
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| One of the original seminary buildings. |
Next, we visited St. Paul's Lutheran Church which is the oldest congregation in Ft. Wayne (not the oldest church building, since the original building burnt down in 1903. It was still a little rainy, in fact there were thunderstorms the night before, so we dodged sprinkles and puddles and made our way inside. Pastor talked to the church secretary and she not only opened up the sanctuary for us to look around, but actually gave us a copy of their 175 year anniversary book which I am going to bring home and share with everybody at Trinity. The interior were absolutely gorgeous with soaring architecture and a huge organ. Ryan very kindly kept the girls form launching themselves over the balcony while Pastor gave us a summary of symbolism found throughout the sanctuary.
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| The girls were just enamored of Ryan. Grace was his little shadow all day. |
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| This reredos with Jesus beckoning was our favorite. Note also that the pulpit resembles a cup or chalice denoting the Word as a means of grace. |
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| Painting of Ruth Sihler, founder of the first Ladies Aid (this is for you, Grandma!) |
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| Artwork by a member, painted during their 175th anniversary that depicts the communion of saints. |
We then headed to Emmanuel Lutheran Church which is where the Springers attend and is the oldest church building in Fort Wayne. We were able to walk right in and get the full tour.
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| This is the church where we viewed Pastor Springer's ordination service via webcam in 2006. |
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| They are looking to restore this church and have peeled back the layers of paint. |
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| Arthur thinks this reredos looks like Jesus is saying, "STOP SINNING!" Although Pastor pointed out that the hand placement probably is a blessing. |
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| 8 sided baptismal font signifying the seven days of creation, with the eight side representing the first day of Resurrection. |
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| Pre-stocked church bags for the kids. Genius! |
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| Beautiful stain glass depictions of Luke, John, Matthew & Mark only visible from the vestry. |
When the girls started trying to mooch snacks off of the church staff, much to their mother's humiliation, we figured it was time to stop and get a bit to eat. Since we needed diapers anyway, we set out to the old standby-Costco. Grace was obviously hungry and she devoured an entire Costco hot dog and those things are huge! And then she ate a 1/4 of a soft serve ice cream! You'd think we hadn't fed her the whole trip. |
| "MMMMM!" says Rosalie |
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| Ryan was being tricky and laying on his back to get the whole statue in. But I think I notice his left shoe in the picture. LOL! |
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| Throughout campus there is the diamond brickwork. In all the classrooms and common areas, it goes in a horizontal direction signifying our relationship with others. In the chapel, though, it directs vertically signifying our relationship with God. |
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| An organist was practicing for a wedding when we went in to view the sanctuary. So we had an opportunity to sit and listen for a while. So beautiful listening to "A Mighty Fortress" - rhythmic version. |
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| Man-made lake in the middle of campus. |
Wrong.
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| This. Right here. Wow. |
Pastor Bob Smith, the electronic resources librarian, rolls up having dropped everything he is doing to give a complete tour of the old library and the new facility they are building which should be finished in January. He starts in by talking about how libraries are shaking off the Henry Ford assembly line model where people are given a warehouse of books to support a cookie cutter education and tells how this new library is going to reflect modes of content creation and collaboration with a supporting collection. Now there will be lots of meeting rooms and public gathering spaces with awesome technology and connectivity. (There's even going to be a children's room with storytimes so that the seminarians can bring their kids with them to study while their spouses are working.) He was saying this is a reversion to the historic model where libraries and community were inseparable, as in the library of Alexandria.
I have a total librarian crush on Rev. Bob. And am really jazzed that they are part of OCLC and I can ILL pretty much anything I want from their collection. In their rare books section, they actually have a copy of the "Wicked" Bible, which I'd never heard of. Apparently, there is a run of King James Bibles that somehow left the "nots" out of the Ten Commandments. ("Thou shalt not steal," etc. now reads "Thou shalt steal." Hehehe.)
Pastor Bob, the librarian, was not only well-versed in electronic resources, but speaks Latin, Greek (and who knows what else) and is friends with a cataloger who can catalog a book in Thai while listening to Harry Potter in Hebrew. These people are superheroes, my friends. Moreover, Pastor Bob is well-versed in legal issues and can give you the rundown on pretty much any Supreme Court decision that deals with religious freedom.
Not only did this man take an hour out of his day to give us a tour of this amazing library, including its art, architecture and collection, but he then spent time giving advice on the calling of a Pastor (our church is looking to do that in the near future) and wound up our time together with the offer to answer any further questions I might have about anything. I was overwhelmed and touched.
After our amazing tour, we headed back home where Nancy prepared a lovely dinner (which Pastor grilled) while I wrote down the titles of a huge stack of reading material from Pastor. I can't wait to start adding to my home library and supplementing my reading through ILL. I've really been toying with the idea of becoming a deaconess someday. After talking with Pam earlier this week and now touring the seminary campus, that idea is really starting to crystallize. Obviously, it's nothing I'd be doing until my kids are raised and probably not even until I retire. But, Pastor Bob the librarian did say they are starting a distance education program for lay people. As we have the means, I think I'd like to start with that.
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| Artwork depicting the handing down of God's Word from Moses to Jesus to the Apostles to Luther to modern Church Fathers to current seminarians. |
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| The kids were a bit bored, but exceedingly good sports. Honestly, I think they are both a little bit in love with Ryan and would be content anywhere so long as he's around. |
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| Not a great picture of this, but a very interesting triptych depicting the sacraments using the parable of the sower. |
The girls were practically falling asleep over the supper table, so we hurried them off to bed and then sat and chatted until Ryan got home (he'd run over to his aunt's house to help her with something for a few hours). Then, we got to watch his marching band win state - awesome show! Plus, we got to hear his choir. He'd done some instrumentation for one of their pieces and it was really beautiful and complex. I hope he goes into composing in college. He has real talent.
We finished off the evening watching funny clips on YouTube. After dogmatically proclaiming how much we like not having internet at home, I had to admit I do miss it.
I can't even tell you how much I miss this family. It has been so wonderful reconnecting with them and watching them interact with the girls. Not to mention getting to see Ryan as an adult. If we can raise our three to be half as thoughtful and thought-filled as Ryan, we'll have done well.'
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