A Time of Pensive Reflection

Pastor's blog

Monday, September 11, is the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, and the crash in Pennsylvania. As the towers fell in NY I sent out a dispatch to the wider church which became a regular series of updates, stories encouragement and hope for many around the world. The blog for today is a link to a Religious News Service article on those updates. They give a flavor for the life and mission of the church at Ground Zero. My life and ministry changed on that day, as did the world as we knew it. The week of September 11 is always a time of pensive reflection for me.

Mystery of God’s Ways

Pastor's blog, Uncategorized

In the wake of the trial and sentencing of the person who killed many in a synagogue in Pittsburgh, and in the shadow of too many antisemitic acts of hate every day we need to remember these words from Paul: the Jews are given “the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises, the patriarchs and prophets” (Romans 9:4-5). And in our lesson for this coming Sunday Paul flatly states that the Jews are God’s people, the recipients of these inestimable gifts and working of God which “are irrevocable.”

Civic Engagement of Lutherans

Pastor's blog

I have been viewing the materials for the ELCA study on civic engagement with much excitement and anticipation. With the help of the Global Links Team we will be engaging in this study during the Adult Forum this Fall and sharing our insights with the ELCA as it completes a Social Statement on this topic and brings it to the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Watch for details and materials on this in the near future.

Plans for Fall 2023

Announcements

I’m excited to share some news about our worship and Sunday School (child and adult) plans for this fall.  
At its July 11 meeting, the Church Council passed a resolution that beginning on September 10, 2023, we will offer two distinctive liturgies (services) on Sunday mornings, with communion at both services. The schedule will be:

In the Beginning. . .

Pastor's blog

This coming Sunday I want to invite you to the Adult Forum where we will begin the study of the Book of Genesis. The book is a panorama of fascinating stories: about how our world came into existence; the beginnings of human life after the Fall from Eden: Cain and Abel, Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel. Then in Chapter 12 begins the story of Abraham and Sarah as God begins to gather people through whom God will restore Creation and reconcile all things in God’s graceful love. The stories of the formation of this family are larger than life. Here is how Frederich Buechner, in “Peculiar Treasures,” begins to retell the story of Joseph and his brothers:

Giving From the Heart

Pastor's blog

Giving From the Heart. Soon we will be sharing with you the report of our giving in June. As you know the trend has been increasing deficits between the offerings we receive and the money we spend on our ministry. My prayer is that each of us, giving from the heart and in gratitude to Jesus for all of our blessings, will make regular and generous contributions to the mission of our church.

Prisoners of Hope

Pastor's blog

When our lessons give us texts from little known Biblical writers, I like to take a moment and get to know them. This Sunday we will hear from the prophet Zechariah. Here is a little background on Zechariah whose depiction of the king who will come to us “humble and riding on a donkey,” has been seen by the Christian church as a reference to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

Giving From the Heart

Pastor's blog

Our Old Testament lesson for Trinity Sunday, the story of creation, gives us a deep image for the life of the Christian steward. “Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image…and let them have dominion….over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that move upon the earth…”

Festival of Weeks

Pastor's blog

Shavuot or “The Festival of Weeks” occurs seven weeks after Passover and begins on the fiftieth day after, hence its Greek name Pentecost. This is one of the three festivals for which some Jewish people would make pilgrimage to Jerusalem (the other two are Passover and the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles). Pentecost is a harvest festival where families bring the first fruits of their harvest in anticipation of God blessing the remainder of the harvest (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 26:5-11). This made Pentecost already symbolically rich for imagining the beginning of a bountiful ingathering, but in Acts’ case what was reaped was not produce, but people.

Stewardship Update

Pastor's blog

Our deficit is now over $50k.  This year is trending like last year when we needed a heroic year-end offering to erase the deficit.  Let us remember that our Giving from the Heart campaign was not only about a year end offering, but also about our steady weekly support of the ministry of Christ’s church.  Let us be accountable to each other, and to God the Giver of all good gifts.