trading the pen for dancing shoes

Dancing with the Pastars

Imagine pairing dance professionals with Lutheran pastors for a competition very similar to "Dancing with the Stars". Luther Village, the outdoor ministry in our area staged the second annual fundraiser, "Dancing with the PaSTARs" event this past weekend. Who knew fundraising could be so much fun!

I forgot pen and paper that night (a colleague asked if I planned to doodle when I wasn't dancing). Even so, a little bit of drawing found its way into the dance routine! Besides learning a dance, I spent time drawing up and painting a car (my first attempt at drawing flames on a vehicle). That preparation was a lot of fun and likely foreshadowed the laughter and fun that would follow. As my partner and instructor Deborah Gaynor Martens and I rehearsed and prepared I think we laughed more than we danced!

  We danced a  merenge rock style to a song from Grease-- "You're the one that I want". We "drove away" as the music faded and the dance came to an end. Ours was one of about a dozen dances including dazzling demos by the dance professionals....we were treated to tango, salsa, samba, waltz, foxtrot, rumba and more! I know I have smart and caring colleagues---and now I learn these pastors really know how to dance!
 A special cameo appearance by "Kevin Bacon" lured the crowd onto the dance floor and we all got Footloose!
   The spirit of fun and laughter was life giving.  For our part, the crowd and the judges said they really enjoyed our dance and the fun we had presenting it. There might be some video forthcoming on a future post.