There was an extraordinary sense of joy in the air this past Sunday at Holy Communion when the congregation welcomed home our own Laura Hermanns,   whose mother is Lynn Helmke and whose father was one of our pastors,  Walter Hermanns.  Laura grew up in the loving bosom of our congregation, and those of us who have been there that whole time still remember what an incredibly lovely and loving person she has been from the first moment she walked into Preschool Bible School.  Clear as day, I can still see her sitting in the front row for music time- always in the middle of the front row, excited to be there and not wanting to miss a single thing – and joyously singing at the top of her lungs!    The first memory that always comes to mind for me is Laura singing a song I composed one year for Bible School, to fit that year’s Adventure theme –

“Come on our Adventure and don’t be left behind!  There’s so many things to see and do!

Come on our Adventure!  We’re ready to begin!  Jesus is inviting you!  Jesus is inviting you!”

(Laura was probably 4 years old at the time,  so we’re talking about more than 20 years ago. Somehow, it feels like yesterday!)

Well,  singing and music might have receded a bit in Laura’s life over the years,  but only because all kinds of other wonderful things came to the forefront-   and there’s no question whatsoever that Laura has lived her life with a sense of adventure and vigor, determined to live out her faith in a way that would make the world a better place.   And certainly that sense of adventure was never more evident than when Laura decided to devote a year of her life to working in YAGM-  Young Adults in Global Mission. And she was absolutely thrilled when she learned that her assignment would take her to faraway Rwanda.

To be perfectly honest,  I think her mom was a little-bit-less-than thrilled about that- as were some of the rest of us who love Laura and wanted her to be safe …. and Rwanda is a name that most of us associate with unspeakable violence,  and it is positioned on a continent that continues to experience more than its fair share of unrest and trouble.

But as Laura already knew-  and as she would come to realize even more assuredly in her time there-  Rwanda is an incredibly beautiful and peaceful country now,  thanks to the diligent work of so many of its people to reknit their nation together after the horrific genocide that occurred there scarcely twenty years ago.   An astounding transformation has taken place there-  and it should give the rest of the world robust hope that even the bitterest divisions are within the reach of healing.

That was the heart and soul of the beautiful sermon that Laura delivered on Sunday from the very same pulpit where her own father had delivered so many sermons in the first years of his ministry at Holy Communion.  (Actually,  the majority of his sermons were delivered from his wheelchair- thanks to the encroachment of MS-  and I really have to reach back into my most distant memories to remember Walter standing in that pulpit.   But I do remember it- although I think that Walter probably preferred coming down amongst the people to deliver his messages rather than from the exalted “on high” pulpit.)   Laura stood before us as the assured, skilled, passionate, and loving person that she has become-  and she delivered what is probably the finest non-pastoral sermon I have ever heard in my life.  It was an intensely personal sermon, rife with deep emotional underpinnings-  but it went well beyond a simple recitation of what she had seen and done and experienced in Rwanda.   She also called all of us to a deeper understanding of what it means to LOVE.    It begins with a decision, a choice to love.   That choice must be followed up with sincere, heartfelt action by which that love is lived out.   And every bit as important as the giving of love is the receiving of love.   And she talked about the various ways in which the nation of Rwanda has worked – very very hard – to heal itself and become whole again.   And she called all of us to imagine what could happen right here in America if we were to sit down together in the same way that the people of Rwanda have.   At a moment in our history when there is such division and fear and hopelessness in the air,    this was the word of HOPE that many of us desperately needed to hear.

As she spoke so eloquently,  I was reminded of one of the first entries in the blog that she began writing at the outset of this experience.   (It’s called Peace on our Wings,  and it is beautifully done.   If you want to get a taste of what Laura experienced in Rwanda,  there’s no better way than to read these blog entries.)  In that first entry,  she talked about how she bridled at the thought of doing mission work because that brought to mind the word missionary,  which has (at least for some people) the negative connotation of westerners insensitively barging into communities they do not understand and acting as superiors trying to help inferiors.  That sort of attitude was utterly repugnant to Laura.   But the approach of YAGM – and probably of many similar mission programs nowadays –  is much more collaborative in its approach.   The key word in YAGM’s work is ‘accompaniment’ – that someone like Laura would be accompanying the people she worked with in new experiences of love, joy and peace-  and that Laura would gain at least as much as she gave in such an experience.   And that is indeed how things played out,  and Laura is the richer for it- as are the people with whom she worked and on whose lives she left an indelible mark.

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I almost called this blog entry the Prodigal Daughter,  because Pastor Mark and Pastor Laura chose the parable of the Prodigal Son as the gospel for the day.   I realized that while I knew that particular story very well,  I actually had no idea what the word “prodigal” meant …. and reached for the dictionary to find out.  It turns out that the word – whether an adjective or a noun – refers to a life of wasteful extravagance.  I realized right then and there that no word could be less applicable to Laura-  unless one is referring to how extravagant she has always been and continues to be with love.   In fact,  I’m not sure I know anyone who has lived their life with such an intense desire to bring more love in the world.

On second thought,  I do know someone.

His name was Walter Hermanns.

 

Pictured below:   The youngsters in the congregation helped welcome Laura back with balloons and a colorful Welcome sign – and they were also given a chance to ask her some questions.   I also liked how Lisa,  our Sunday School coordinator,  had a globe with her so that Laura could show the children how far apart Wisconsin and Rwanda are, geographically.    As I watched those youngsters hanging on Laura’s every word,  I couldn’t help but wonder if – and hope that – one or more of them will grow up to live out their faith as boldly and generously as Laura has.    I also thought of our goddaughter Anneka Barrow,  another beloved daughter of our congregation (who was there that day to help welcome Laura home)  who is about to embark on a similar adventure of her own in Mexico – and who I am certain will inspire all of us the same way Laura has.

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