Sitting in church one Sunday morning that October, the scent of sterilizing chemicals in my nostrils, I rose with the congregation for the presentation of our offering together. My hands were stained with red fruit and aching from a new worker's burgeoning callousness as I lifted the ELW to sing, "Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord, and fill to the brim our cup of blessing. Gather the harvest from the seeds that were sown, that we may be fed with the bread of life." Any former instinct within me to mindlessly plod on through the liturgy that week gave into a very intimate moment between creation and its Creator. God, bless what we have sown. Help us to gather what you have given to us that all may be fed. To the farmer, whose own life is the growth of the field, the offering prayer is far from an abstraction.

I'm excited to be a part of congregational life at Holy Trinity, and want to take a moment to thank all of you who have welcomed me so warmly since my arrival. As a second year student at the University of Chicago Divinity School I'll be spending time in and around Holy Trinity in various capacities throughout the year. I'm grateful to have a chance to get to know the life and ministry of this congregation.

A little bit about me: I grew up in Walla Walla, WA and am the youngest of four siblings. My parents, a teacher and a superior court judge, still live in my hometown. I attended Valparaiso University and graduated in 2009 with a degree in philosophy. Afterwards I moved to Chicago and spent a few years working as a wine specialist while my wife, Bekki, studied at LSTC. We moved away from Chicago for one year (the year of my debut as an assistant winemaker!) and lived in Chelan, WA and at Holden Village for Bekki's internship. As of last week Bekki is an interim pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Joliet, IL. We currently live in Hyde Park with our cat Norman.

Getting my hands dirty in the autumnal business of making wine gave me new perspective on the harvest. As we gathered, crushed, fermented, and barreled our reaping--slowly watching it turn into wine throughout the months ahead--I witnessed the transformation of our fruitful vineyard into a new creation. At the time of the harvest we look both backward onto the earth we've tended throughout the growing season, even as we look forward to the feast that beckons.

My prayer today, for our season of change, is the prayer of the harvest gathering: God, bless what you have sown. Help us to gather what you have given to us that all may be fed.

Just one week ago today my family rushed home after church to meet a dog named Drago. I'd seen his precious face on my friend Kara's Facebook page, and I just couldn't resist commenting, "What a cute dog!" Well, that was my first mistake.

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