Ethan from Torrance. They flew in for a family reunion, so we met them at the Mall of America and treated them to their first cup of Caribou Coffee. I have a feeling for the rest of my life, when I see people from my past there's going to be a constant statement, "you've gotten so big!" Ok, hopefully not for anyone other than children, but it was certainly true for Ethan as he has changed so much even in the last 2 months (exactly) since I've been home.We had to zip over to St. Louis Park to have lunch with a friend of Kevin's. Chipotle. Yum. I wonder if we can cater that for our reception. Burritos for Everyone! It was really awesome to hear a young adult in the community affirm the work that Kevin has been doing in the community and neighborhood (or "neighborgood" as Kevin would say). A moment of true pride! Way to go love!
Kevin brought me to Opitz (a discount store in SLP) and nothing in the store was over $3!!! All the dresses, shoes, shirts, etc. you could get your hands
on were $3. They were all name brand, but had flaws. I know I just posted about my obsessive clothing collection and how horrible it all is, but to pass on a $277 dress that they only wanted $3 for because it's missing a strap that I can fix seemed a crime to me. So, I bought 4 dresses and a pair of shoes. I even found a pair of Chuck Taylor's for Kevin at the store next door for $15. A STEAL!We spent the afternoon watching some of the ELCA Church Wide assembly live online. Pastor Bob from Torrance is in town as a voting member, so we were looking forward to supper with him afterward. It was a monumental day (a day of mourning for some) in the ELCA as a vote was passed to allow congregations to call openly gay clergy to be pastors in churches. I can only imagine the excitement for the majority as the results were read drowning out the moans of those who opposed it. Some churches are thinking of yanking themselves out of the ELCA and joining another denomination. I'm not sure that's the answer to all of this. Please be praying for the future of the ELCA.
We picked Bob up and took him to Rudolph's BBQ (a Minneapolis staple). Since the moment we got engaged, it's been a constant conversation about who would marry us given the fact that we 
know so many clergy who could do an outstanding job. No matter which name we threw into the hopper, Bob's always rose to the top, and we've known for a long time we wanted to ask him to officiate our wedding. Most pastors don't enjoy weddings all that much (Bob included), so we knew we'd have to get creative in asking him to make sure he knew this wouldn't be any ordinary wedding. So we wrote him a letter. We printed an envelope which stated: Urgent! with Bob's contact information on the front. After we got to the restaurant, I pretended to go to the restroom and pulled our waiter aside. I handed him the envelope and asked him if he'd wait a few minutes and urgently deliver it to our table. He agreed. I went back to my seat and was about shaking until the letter was finally pulled from our waiter's black order folder. He said, "Are one of you Bob?" Bob said, "Yes." He explained that the letter had just been dropped off and the letter was handed to him. He immediately looked at us and said, is this from you? We tried to play it cool as much as we could, but it was hard. He opened the letter and 
immediately looked to the signature to see who it was from! Who does that?? Finally, I scolded him and told him to read it from the beginning. After analyzing the header and signatures some more, he finally read it. The letter was a little lengthy, because we could only sit there nervously waiting his answer for the next minute. Finally he reached the bottom and said he would be honored to!! I am attaching a photo of the letter so you can see just how long it was and exactly what we wrote. Given the context of the Church Wide Assembly, we thought it was a good fit. So, there's one more thing checked off our list. So happy to have Bob participating in our big day!
know so many clergy who could do an outstanding job. No matter which name we threw into the hopper, Bob's always rose to the top, and we've known for a long time we wanted to ask him to officiate our wedding. Most pastors don't enjoy weddings all that much (Bob included), so we knew we'd have to get creative in asking him to make sure he knew this wouldn't be any ordinary wedding. So we wrote him a letter. We printed an envelope which stated: Urgent! with Bob's contact information on the front. After we got to the restaurant, I pretended to go to the restroom and pulled our waiter aside. I handed him the envelope and asked him if he'd wait a few minutes and urgently deliver it to our table. He agreed. I went back to my seat and was about shaking until the letter was finally pulled from our waiter's black order folder. He said, "Are one of you Bob?" Bob said, "Yes." He explained that the letter had just been dropped off and the letter was handed to him. He immediately looked at us and said, is this from you? We tried to play it cool as much as we could, but it was hard. He opened the letter and 
immediately looked to the signature to see who it was from! Who does that?? Finally, I scolded him and told him to read it from the beginning. After analyzing the header and signatures some more, he finally read it. The letter was a little lengthy, because we could only sit there nervously waiting his answer for the next minute. Finally he reached the bottom and said he would be honored to!! I am attaching a photo of the letter so you can see just how long it was and exactly what we wrote. Given the context of the Church Wide Assembly, we thought it was a good fit. So, there's one more thing checked off our list. So happy to have Bob participating in our big day! 
5 comments:
you and kevin are so creative!! that letter was very creative!! I am so excited for you both!!
What a great honor for Bob! You picked the perfect pastor!
That is a super cute, fun way of asking.
Love the letter! Good touch with the waiter, too... So sneaky :)
whew! I havent been able to read your blog since may and now I am finally all caught up! First things first....CONGRATULATIONS!!! You and Kevin are a beautiful couple and I know your wedding will be awesome. And such a clever way of asking Bob to officiate...that was cool.
I enjoy reading your blog because your always so upbeat, even on your bad days. Praying for you as you continue on the path God has for you.
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