Lutherans Outdoors in South Dakota

Who is in charge in your household? In your circle of friends? At church? If your relationships there are healthy, then it may be hard to answer. That is because healthy relationships involve a complex and always changing social contract of leadership and followership. The secret to fulfilling relationships is knowing when to lead and when to follow. Like a dance, both skill and art are required. We’ll examine the skills needed both to lead and to follow, and together we’ll discover the wisdom to know the difference.

Rev. Bill Tesch is the Assistant to the Bishop of the South Dakota Synod. He was the founding Pastor of Messiah New Hope Lutheran Church, and a founding partner of Sycamore Ministries, LLC, a consulting company. He has served parishes in Humboldt and Orland South Dakota. Bill has been a frequent presenter a Family Camp.

Chris Tesch is Nursing Instructor at the University of South Dakota. Prior to joining the faculty at USD, she has worked in both clinical and community health settings. Bill and Chris have enjoyed the dance of marriage for 22 years. They have two children in college.

For over twenty one years acclaimed writer, singer and guitarist James Hersch has been quietly building a repertoire of work that puts him squarely on the leading edge of acoustic music's importance in North American culture. James has a rare mixture of straight-forward musical talent, humor and sensitivity that allows him to create songs that speak to what is common in all of us. James is one of those few performers who allow his listener to experience his music through intimate images which confront and celebrate today's human condition.

James, a native Minnesotan, has eight album credits to his name and his latest compact disc release, "BackTracks" is strictly acoustic, just James, his voice and his guitar. Hersch has been nominated National NACA Coffeehouse Entertainer of the Year several times and has been a finalist at the international Kerrville Folk Festival.

Although James has a Bachelor of Arts degree in classical guitar, his songwriting and performing styles are eclectic and broadly appealing. While Hersch performs as a solo acoustic artist, his music has taken on a life of it's own, deeply planted in the minds of the thousands who hear him each year.

James' outreach residencies have become a favorite program among colleges. From elementary school assemblies to elderly care facility concerts, the special challenge of touching multi-generational audiences suits Hersch well. James and his 'REACH' program received the 1997 Harry Chapin Award for Contributions to Humanity from the National Association for Campus Activities.

http://www.reachwithme.com/