Public Safety Ministries Inc. » Wanderings

One Year Ago Today ……

Dan Carlson — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:15:42 +0000

One year ago today, I was ordained as a pastor of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was the day I became the occupant of a new office, “The Office of Pastor”. The previous office I held was the “Office of Police Chief”. Most people I talk with consider the transition a drastic change, but there are more similarities than differences in the two positions.

A lot has happened with Public Safety Ministries since I was ordained by Bishop Craig Johnson (pictured above) last year. I have learned a lot as I’ve walked this ministry path, and that learning has been greatly enhanced by walking it holding the new office of Reverend. From that vantage point I have some new authority and a new credential, but it also comes with a much greater responsibility. There is no official “probation” period for pastors like there is for new cops, but old habits are hard to break and I consider today as the day I completed my probation. Now, after a year of holding the office, I know one thing for sure. Public Safety Ministries is here to stay.

In coming days I’ll be sharing more of what we (yes we) have learned here at Public Safety Ministries this past year. I am excited about what the future has in store!

I’ll leave you this morning with a picture from a recent trip I took to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area this summer. It was my first trip to the BWCA but definitely not my last.

Take Care!

“Got Winter?”

Dan Carlson — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:40:59 +0000

Yes, we have had our share of winter here in the Twin Cities this year. A MetroDome collapse, roads obstructed with snow, negative digit temps over night… Well, I got this report from my contact in Fairbanks Alaska today. It is 40 degrees below zero, with a couple of feet of snow and that wonderful couple hours of dawn/dusk they experience each day this time of year. Everything is relative. But in the cold and snow and darkness of the north, whether in Excelsior MN or Fairbanks AK, it’s still a beautiful world that we live in.

Fairbanks AK, 3pm, -30 degrees (photo by Pete Carlson)

Me, I like the cold and the snow. The darkness is something I tolerate to get the other two. There is much to celebrate this time of year, but high on my list is that we turn the corner soon and the light starts to return. Here”s to the Light of the season!

Take Care!

Tis the season to be …

Dan Carlson — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:30:48 +0000

Yes, the holidays are upon us. Tis the season to be … “told what to do.” There are a lot of people out there with a lot of advice on how to best experience the holidays. And since I am venturing down the road of this message, I can be counted among them. You may have noticed I used the word “experience” the holidays rather than enjoy, survive, celebrate, endure and so on. It really depends on your circumstances and your expectations as to which advise you may choose to follow.

So just to be clear, I’ll remind you that unless noted differently, my perspective is focused on promoting spiritual health and fitness. I sort through the abundance of opinions out there looking for what I believe is good for the soul. I found a nice commentary in the Strib on Saturday that stuck with me for a few days, so I refer back to it today. I connected with “Slow down; you move to fast” by Lisa Valentine, in several ways. As I read the title I figured this would be another nice message about slowing down the fast pace of our lives. It was, but it was more than that. It took on the practice of multitasking and suggested the alternative of “rapt attention”. Although the message is directed at parenting, it is applicable to whatever your situation may be.

Rapt (deeply engrossed or absorbed) attention is something that discourages multitasking, the skill that most of us are required to perform if we are to succeed in the lives most of us live. But just as multitasking speeds us up, rapt attention can slow us down. And slowing down is most often a healthy exercise for the soul. So take some time this holiday season and give whatever it is that you are doing some “rapt attention”, especially when it involves spending time with those you love, those whose time you enjoy and those who feed you the good stuff for your soul.

Take Care!

Encouraging Conversation

Dan Carlson — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:33:41 +0000

Good Morning Readers!

I hope everyone (at least those reading in the US) had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. Holidays often bring additional conversation into our lives. We talk to people we haven’t seen for awhile and we talk about things outside of our normal conversations. I am often asked what exactly it is that I do in this ministry adventure I’ve taken. Even more frequently I ask myself the same question. And although there are many answers to those questions, one that has been surfacing a lot lately is that the ministry “Encourages Conversation”. Our mission is to “Serve Those Who Protect by Promoting Spiritual Fitness” but the question of how we do that, is a question that I hope we never stop asking.

This morning I was reading my latest issue of the National Geographic, an article about King David and the biblical and archeological perspectives / controversies of his history. Although the article is very interesting, I was drawn to a statement made about one of the participants in the controversy whose actions were described as “She knew what she was doing. She waded into the fray wanting to make a statement.” This reminds me of another statement I read recently describing a political activist’s intentions in speaking “We wanted to put a different kind of thinking on the table”.

The statements these two people made “Encouraged Conversation”. Some positive and supportive, and some negative and confrontational. But all of it engaging. As we talk about things related to faith in the workplace, especially in the government and public safety workplace, it is critical that we encourage conversation. And as Bergie once taught me, conversation where we can respectfully disagree. It is in these conversations where we can learn and grow in our personal spiritual fitness and the spiritual fitness of our organizations.

So that’s my answer of what I do, at least this week anyway, I try and encourage conversation, respectful conversation. But conversation with substance.

Take Care!

A Post From My iPhone

Dan Carlson — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:32:11 +0000

Yesterday I had a great day of techno-learning. I spent the afternoon with my techno-adviser, well one of them anyway, and discovered an app that lets me write and publish posts from my phone. I don’t want to burden those who take the time to read my stuff with a blow by blow of my learning process, but there is a message here.

I spent almost eight years to the day, from the day of my first class at Luther Seminary to the day of my ordination, immersed in the learning process. Learning is a good thing but often takes a lot of time, and takes a lot of practice.

I’ve found that this website is a great resource for gathering cops firefighters and EMS folks to discuss and share our faiths. So as challenging as this techno-stuff is for me, it’s well worth it.

Learning is good!

My Ordination Certificate hangs in my church office.

Don’t Think So Hard!

Dan Carlson — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 17:28:22 +0000

As I sit down to write today I am overwhelmed with the abundance in my life. Most of that abundance consists of the “good stuff”. But included in the abundance is the clutter of the “not so good stuff” and if I am honest with myself there is some “bad stuff” there too. Sorting through this abundance is not an easy task for me. I tend to look pretty deep into whatever it is I happen to be thinking about. So as I sit here with a small case of “analysis paralysis” I am reminded of some of the best advice I was ever given: “Don’t Think So Hard”. This advice didn’t come as a gentle suggestion, but more as a tactical strike to snap me out of over thinking a fairly simple task. Of course I recall my response was very gracious and appreciative “Well someone has to do the thinking around here!” But after the strike and counter-strike I heeded the sound advice and just moved on to accomplish the task at hand. I give thanks daily for the blessing of a family that keeps me in line.

Well my simple task today is to write a post and share some information. If you check out our website you’ll see there are a couple of updated pages. No longer am I a “retired chief pursuing ordination”, now I’m Pastor Dan Carlson of Public Safety Ministries. My ordination came on August 15, 2010 at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Excelsior Minnesota. It culminated a fairly lengthy process of theological studies and administrative process. Almost eight years to the day from registration for my first seminary class back in August of 2002. I have now been “called” as an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and “deployed” as a mission pastor to Public Safety Ministries.

So what does that mean? Here’s where the “Don’t Think So Hard” really helps. It means I’m doing pretty much the same things I’ve been doing for a long time, just with a little more focus, a little more wisdom and a lot less “theological study and administrative process”. Which gives me more time to try and “Serve Those Who Protect”. I’m looking forward to returning to a more regular rhythm of sharing “the good stuff” here on the weblog. Talk to ya again soon!

Take Care, Dan

PS. Here is a photo of a campsite in MN. I spent a couple days here this fall doing some ministry visits. Can you name where it it is?

“Sharing Stories”

Dan Carlson — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:24:52 +0000

Yes it has been awhile. It has been awhile since I’ve posted a “wandering”. (for those who don’t know what a wandering is, it is a category of my weblog posts where I let my mind wander and just write down where ever the words wander). As I was sitting, thinking and writing today, for some reason I was inspired to write a post, a post titled “Sharing Stories”. I started getting deep into those two words, “Sharing” and “Stories”. Too deep and too chaotic to share in this wandering, but needless to say, I’ll be revisiting that chaos. We’ve got a Spiritual Fitness Gathering coming up next week and I was trying to decide on a topic, and “Sharing Stories” surfaced through that clutter of “too much stuff” (a quote from a song of a master storyteller, extra point if you can name the artist and the song) in my head. All of a sudden, the term “Sharing Stories” seems to be a perfect foundation to build the outreach of this ministry upon. How does this sound?- Public Safety Ministries – Spiritual Fitness through Sharing Stories or maybe, Sharing Stories, A Path to Spiritual Fitness, hmm I like that a little better, but I think this is the beginning of something…. Well, enough wandering for now….

By the way, soon I will be sharing the story of a milepost I will soon reach in my ministry journey. A story that has kept me from spending much time on this website, but that will all change shortly.

Take Care, Dan

Think It’s Cold Here?

Dan Carlson — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:28:14 +0000

Here in Minnesota we’ve had a bit of a cold snap now and then this winter. As some of you know, my son Pete lives, goes to school and works as a firefighter in Fairbanks Alaska. When he was home for a couple days to join us for Christmas he noted that it was cold here, with the wind and the humidity that doesn’t exist in Fairbanks. Well, I know it’s a dry cold up in “The Last Frontier” (just like the “dry heat” down in Arizona), but I’m sorry, I’ll take the humid windy cold of Minnesota over the stuff they’ve been getting up in Fairbanks lately……

I hope everyone had a great holiday season!

Take Care and KEEP WARM!

A New Office Space

Dan Carlson — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:22:58 +0000

For several reasons, I’ve move to a new office space. After two years of occupying a small office in downtown Excelsior, I moved to a home office this past summer. Since a photo will spare you from reading a thousand of my words, here’s a shot of the new digs. Clearly I’ve settled in!

There is a story behind most of the “stuff” in the photo, I call it my “comfort stuff”. Like the red fire helmet on the wall is my dad’s MFD captain helmet form the old days.

He passed it on to my son who is folowing in grandpa’s career footsteps. I get to have the helmet until Pete gets a place of his own where he can keep it.

Take Care

The Importance of “Checkin In”

Dan Carlson — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:00:46 +0000

The mission of Public Safety Ministries Inc. is “Promoting Spiritual Fitness in the Public Safety Professions”. The fundamental tactic used, simply stated is “Just Showin Up”. It is becoming more and more frequent for me to get a call from someone and the message contains the comment “No need to call right back, I was just “checkin in”. I was talking to a friend once who was dealing with some very challenging issues. I asked if there was anything I could do to help? His response was simple but yet so powerful.. Without hesitataion he responded “Yeah, check in on me when you can.” Though the practice of “checkin in” isn’t complicated, but like so many things in life, it isn’t always easy. But it is the one thing that I am trying to get good at. That’s what I Iove about the the simply stated strategy of traditional chaplaincy ministries, they are “ministries of presence”.

The nice thing about the act of “checkin in” is that its never to late or never inappropriate or never unappreciated. So here’s the gift I ask everyone out there to consider giving. Give the gift of checkin in with someone who needs it. You know who they are, because you think about doing it from time to time but never get around to it (just like me with checkin in and making a post at this site!). It’s not complicated, just pick up the phone, leave a message, drop a note in the mail, send an e-mail, stop by the local bookstore or auto repair shop and ask how business is, just do some “checkin in”

Take Care, Dan