Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, “Profiteor”! This will be the location where I will post updates, photos, and newsletters before, during, and after my year of service in the United Kingdom through the Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), so please check in periodically to receive the most recent news.

Now, some of you may be wondering about the name of my blog (I hope you find it an intriguing title). “Profiteor” (pronounced pro-fee-tay-oar) is Latin for three different English verbs: I confess, I profess, and I praise, and these three meanings are the reason I chose “Profiteor” as the title instead of something a little more obvious. During my next year in the United Kingdom, I will be posting periodically entries and photos which will do exactly what the title suggests. I will be confessing my struggles and misconceptions; the emotions and experiences I do not yet know of. I will be professing my triumphs, learning moments, and whatever else might happen in a year. Finally I will be praising God’s glory and love experienced in the most mundane aspects of life, thousands of miles from where I grew up. These are the reasons for the unusual title, and how it will frame my future posts.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Music heals the soul

Thankfully I have not had an issue with desperately missing home.  There are times, of course, that I suddenly get hit with this realization that I have moved 4,000+ miles from Wisconsin and my family.  Sometimes it is caused by a photo of my niece standing, which she could not do when I left.  Sometimes it is caused by the posts my campus pastor puts on Facebook about the campus ministry that was my spiritual home for four years.  My favorite reminders occur when a piece of music catches me off guard, and renews my spirit with fond memories mixed with new experiences.


I arrived in England about a week before my placement was ready.  This ended up being quite a blessing because I was able to meet my field officer with a couple of the other UK YAGM for an afternoon tea.  We were sitting and talking in this amazing artsy tea shop called Drink, Shop, Do when I realized that "Big Jet Plane" by Angus and Julia Stone was playing.  My older brother and I would listen to this band while exploring the countryside around our hometown, and I was happy to hear the song during one of my initial exploration outings when I was figuring out what England was all about.



One thing I have learned about myself while serving at my placement is that I am a hymn nerd.  The church I serve uses contemporary songs, and after a couple of weeks I was craving some good ole Lutheran hymns, such as "A Mighty Fortress is Our God".  So when I attended the Grand Day Out at Oxford, which I talked about in an earlier post, and we sang "Thou be my Vision", I was incredibly excited.  However, this traditional hymn came with a twist, and I, personally, love it.  This is now my go to song when I'm craving a hymn. Well that and "Were You There".  Enjoy.



After a month of being in the UK, I was missing my fellow YAGM because I needed to talk to someone who was going through the same upheaval of life I was experiencing, and I was really craving the spiritual spontaneity that occurred during the orientation week in Chicago.  All I really needed was to travel back in time when we were all gathered in the narthex of a church singing and dancing to the most joyous, lively, spontaneous renditions of "This Little Light of Mine".  Fast forward a couple days later, I was helping out at the London Community Gospel Choir concert at my church, and all of a sudden they burst out into "This Little Light of Mine", and my heart cried happy tears of healing and thanksgiving.  I think the YAGM rendition is better, but the LCGC is pretty darn good.


Peace,
Elise
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