"When Peace Like a River"

Sometimes, the best way for us to express ourselves, and particularly our emotions, is to do so through music. Many of the great musical masterpieces of history are reflective of a troubled or a moving time in a composer's life and their music was an outlet for them to express what they were feeling in those moments. The hymnody we sing in church here is certainly much the same. Although I would suggest, our hymnody goes a step beyond a writer expressing the emotions and feelings of their heart to a place where they are expressing the deepest words and thoughts of faith in the words and the music which we now sing.

This is why we pride ourselves, still today, in the singing of songs of praise and hymns in our worship. We're singing the songs of faith. We're lifting back to God the same words He's first given to us through the holy writers of Scripture. The hymns we sing help us in receiving and in turn expressing the Divine truth which the rest of our worship is gracefully giving us.

Chicago Marathon 2014

  After some post-race contemplation I am convinced I have found the right word to describe running a marathon: humbling.  When one's legs are crying out for mercy after 3 hours of running and yet the will to continue on is ever present, that is humbling.  When one runs through 20 neighborhoods throughout the city of Chicago with tens of thousand of spectators all cheering you on, that is humbling.  When one stands below the immense skyline of Chicago surrounded by 45,000 runners and hear the national anthem sung, that is humbling.  When one gets to be a part of raising tens of thousands of dollars to support their alma mater and its fitness center, that is humbling. When one passes that finish line, and has run the race with perseverance, that is humbling.  You get the idea...

   I share this blog for a variety of reasons.  For many of my readers I want to tell the story and share the joys of my experience.  I also wish to capture the details of the race itself and the things I learned from running my first marathon.  Most of the pictures you see were taken by my father and likely have nothing to do with me.  I include them to add some color and sights from the race here.  I had thoughts of taking pictures during the race but pulling my phone out and doing so just didn't happen.

Potawatomi Trail Hike + Run 2014

Route Name: Potawatomi Trail
Trailhead Elevation: 890 ft.
High Elevation: 1002 ft.
Hiking Total Distance: 11.15 mi.
Running Distance: 13.1 mi.
Elevation Gain: 2,550 ft.

Trip Report:

   This was my second trek to the Pinckney Recreation Area and also second trip on the Potawatomi ("Poto") trail.  I hiked it last November when the temperatures were radically different from what I would encounter on this Labor Day weekend.   This drastic change in temps would heavily weigh into my planning and packing for the trip.  Last November I layered up heavily and had to plan to carry all of my own water.  I was also packing my winter sleeping bag, gloves, and other necessities to stay warm.  

Running Chicago for Concordia - To God be the Glory

Dear friends,

In October (2014) I will be running in the Chicago Marathon.  It is my first attempt at running in such a classic race.  I've been training very hard for it, just ask Sarah, and I am excited about this opportunity.

More importantly, this really isn't about me.  I am running with a team from my alma mater Concordia Chicago to help raise money for a pair of good causes that will benefit thousands of people in the greater community.  Part of our team is raising money for a Literacy Center on campus and the other half, myself included, are raising money for a Community Fitness Center.  It makes running in the marathon all about giving back and loving thy neighbor.  

What each of us has been tasked to do, as a part of our being a member on this team, is to raise at least $1000 to support this cause.  I am honored to be a part of this and humbly am looking for my brothers and sisters in Christ to step up and offer their support of these community projects at Concordia Chicago.  

To be a part of this good cause follow my link (bit.ly/WitteChicago) to my bio page hosted by "4aGoodCause" and there is a "Donate Now" link on that page.  You can also send check donations via snail mail to the campus of Concordia Chicago and mark my name and Chicago Marathon on your check so they route it to the right place.

Thank you so much for reading and for considering being a part of this wonderful event.  Below you can see more of my story that our team organizers have asked me to write.  That same story is also on my bio page at the link above.  God bless.

My Story

I am blessed to be pastor of Grace Lutheran Church (Monroe, MI) and Teacher at Lutheran High South (Newport, MI). In my years teaching at LHS I've seen them develop a wonderful tradition and theme that governs what they do: 'To God be the glory.' This seems to be the perfect way to describe why I've joined Concordia Chicago's Marathon Team for 2014.

Running is a pastime I've picked up in the last few years. I used to run here and there just enough to stay in shape for summer hiking trips. As my passion for summer hiking grew, and I realized I could only indulge that passion for 2 weeks a summer, another passion had to grow to cover the other 11 1/2 months of the year: so enters running.

In the past year I pushed my limits over and over with more and more distance running. For several years I'd thought about 8 or 9 miles would have been at my limit. Then I set the goal: let's do 13.1, a half marathon. I worked towards that and it was accomplished. This led to the goal for this fall: go for the whole 26.2 miles.

One problem I've faced though is most major marathons are run on Sundays. This is a practical problem for me as a pastor as that happens to be the one day I work each week (Just kidding, if you know what I mean). I couldn't see telling my congregation that I needed to get away for a Sunday just because I felt the need to go run a race (especially at a time when I'm the sole pastor). I was looking around for any great opportunity that would arise and then I heard about Concordia's Team running for the Chicago Marathon. To run for my alma mater and to support them by raising money for a Community Fitness center became the perfect way to do this to God's glory and not just because I felt like it.

It is especially great to be supporting Concordia Chicago as this university is alma mater to such a large portion of my family: father, mother, uncle, wife, brother, sister-in-law and so many of my closest friends. It has also been the career home of my father Dr. Dennis Witte.

So now that the plans are in place it is time to simply make it happen. I am humbly going to ask for the support of all my family, friends, and Christian neighbors in this life to raise up some fantastic support for Concordia Chicago's Community Fitness Center. I also wish for prayers and support for my training efforts to be ready to run this marathon and run it well.

My thanks and to God be the glory.

Rev. Mark K. Witte -- Monroe, Michigan

(If you'd like to help share this page you can use this short-link to help simplify things: http://bit.ly/WitteChicago)

Quandary Peak 2014

Route Name: East Ridge
Trailhead Elevation: 10,850 ft.
Summit Elevation: 14,265 ft.
Distance: 6.49 mi.
Elevation Gain: 3,450 ft.
Start Time: 4:45am
Summit Time: 6:25am (5 minutes on top)
End Time: 7:35am
RT Time: 2 hrs 50 mins

Trip Report:

Quandary Peak will always hold a special place in my Colorado 14er memories as it has been the location of now several firsts for me.  In 1991 it was my very first 14er summit.  In a way I'm proud to share that we began our climb many years before 14er climbing began to hit the mainstream and websites and other guides made them so much more accessible.  We began in the days of carrying the Roach or the Lampert book along on the hike to make sure you knew what you were doing.  Back to the topic at hand, in 2010 Quandary became my first winter 14er ascent.  And now in 2014 it was my first solo ascent on a 14er.  Of course, in this day and age when everyone is climbing Quandary I'm not really going to make any big deal about that last one.