This past weekend, my family and I had the pleasure of accompanying

Everyone pitches in... except maybe Jude and Rev. Mamma!

Kristi Willis
Doug Willis
Michael Reinert
John Reinert
Jeremy Reinert
Kent Binfield
Tanis Binfield
Sharon Ouer

on a mission trip to our denomination's camp and conference center, Slumber Falls in New Braunfels, Texas.

Rev. Charles Stark, the camp's director, was recently able to purchase a very large telescope for the children at the summer camp to teach them astronomy.  The telescope that was purchased is much too large to move outside every night, and so it needed a permanent structure to protect it.  The structure to house it, however, would also need a roof that could roll away at night so the telescope could turn and search the sky.  We had our work cut out for us!  But with the help of our incredibly capable volunteers, in just a few days we had this amazing structure built!

Jude eating a Micky Mouse Pancake made by John Reinert

I can't credit for the amazing work that was done.  I wasn't able to spend much time at all at the work site.  My 16-month-old son, Jude, has had tenacious separation anxiety the past few months, and it seems to be getting worse in spite of our efforts.  Despite all the literature we've read, advice we've received, and tactics we've tried, leaving him with someone else is pretty cruel... not so much to Jude, but to whoever we leave him with.  Our strong-willed son has been known to scream at the top of his lungs until he ends up making himself barf or his babysitter deaf.  So in the moments Jude was down for a nap, or could be distracted by a cup of yogurt or a bottle of bubbles, I helped Michael with a of cooking, dishes, and cleaning up.  My parents even stopped by on Saturday with the intention of taking the baby for a few hours while I worked on the site, but Jude was having none of it.  Instead my mom ended up working for a couple of hours on the site!  That first work day was particularly hot, so we all cooled off with the crew in the pool in the afternoon.

Sunday morning worship at Vesper Point

Sunday morning we all worshipped together at "Vesper Point," a beautiful spot perched right on a cliff overlooking the Guadelupe.  It was a peaceful and memorable way to celebrate Pentecost.


And so before I preached my short sermon Sunday morning, I had been thinking about Pentecost -- the birthday of the Church -- the day that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us as our comforter, and I thought about how what we were doing fit in so well with this church holiday.  What better way to celebrate the birthday of the Church than to leave our building, leave all our church accessories and committees and worries behind, and go somewhere we can just BE the Church?  Because the Church is not a building or a place or an institution or a tradition or a club or a denomination -- the Church is a group of people, filled with the Holy Spirit, who are on a mission.  And that's what we were this past weekend.  We were just a little family, filled with the Holy Spirit, on a mission to spread God's love to the people we met along the way, to our brother Rev. Stark, and to all the kids that would soon come to summer camp, look up to the heavens with this new telescope, and feel the awesome power of God's love.

So that's what I'm taking back from New Braunfels this past weekend.  I'm taking back the reminder that despite all the dreams, and plans, and to-do lists I have for our church, I need to continually come back to the questions: What is Church?  Who are we?  What would Jesus have us be?

And I think I catch a glimpse of the answer in this beautiful image of you all below: the image of a church family working together as a team in the midst of God's gorgeous creation -- working hard so that, through the science of astronomy, the fun of stargazing with dear friends, and witnessing the amazing beauty and complexity of God's Creation,  God's children may come to know Christ.

The rolling roof is up!