It was my sophomore year of college when my campus pastor first posed the idea that I might be called to be a pastor. However, it took me eight years to finally apply to seminary. Why did it take me so long? Because of Martin Luther. I first learned about the Lutheran doctrine of vocation in college, when my church home on campus had an entire program centered around vocational discernment. Students studying architecture, medicine, teaching, statistics, and even me—a psychology major—would gather to ponder how God was calling us in this work. What was our role as a Christian in these spaces? How did we love our neighbor through our jobs? Throughout college, I heard repeatedly that all people are called by God to minister in the world, not just people who work in churches. As a college student, this was a powerful idea. I knew, no matter what job I got when I graduated, that I would be doing holy work for God’s people. This was great news! But it was also a great excuse to not become a pastor. When the people who were telling me to discern pastoral ministry were the same people telling me I was called by God no matter what I did, I threw it back at them: I didn’t need to be a pastor to respond to God’s call. I believed it then, and I still believe it now. The Reformation was significant in how it equipped and empowered ordinary Christians (like you!) to love God and love neighbor. By placing in peoples’ hands scripture in their own language and emphasizing this new idea that ordinary Christians are called by God, the Reformation emboldened the body of Christ in a new way. So may you be inspired to respond to this continuous, daily, ordinary call from God. Whether it’s cooking dinner for the family, volunteering, going to work, or procrastinating becoming a pastor, , to care for the neighbor in your midst, and to minister—to be a pastor!—out in the world. –Pastor Olson Popp (fb)

Wear your costume, bring a friend, and have a great time and doing us tomorrow, Saturday, October 25, from 10am-12noon at the Party at the Patch! Come and get a treat, bounce in the bounce house, and of course pick out the perfect pumpkin from the Cathedral Choir Pumpkin Patch. The party is located at the on the Corner of 50th and James Ave. (fb)