Author: Church Office

Save the date: Thursday, December 5th 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Join us this fall for our Sunday education time. Below, you will find the schedule that includes our second Sundays, which are whole-church faith formation events that include a fellowship meal. For the other Sundays this fall, we will be starting a class focusing on World War 2. This series is called “Theologians Under Hitler.”  This will be in preparation for a new film about Dietrich Bonhoeffer that will be released in November. As details about this film become available, we will share viewing possibilities.

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

That’s a saying that I’ve been hearing a lot of lately. My friends from Tanzania were the first to introduce that phrase to me. We stood in front of their congregation and the exchange went like this:

Pastor:  “God is Good!”

Congregation: “All the time! All the Time”

Pastor: “God is Good!”

It sounds so wonderful when you hear an entire audience declare God’s goodness. But what about when there’s not a crowd around? What are we declaring then?

When the chips are down and the enemy is hot on our heels, that’s when what we really believe comes out. In the middle of the night when your child is sick with a fever or when you have more bills than money at the end of the month, it may be more difficult to recall God’s goodness. In those times we have to reach down into what we know, not what we feel, and on purpose declare that no matter what, GOD IS GOOD. 

There is a source of light in being able to declare the goodness of God in the pit of despair. To be able to say this as punctuation on a glorious day is to create the muscle memory that we will need for the days that feel like h. e. double hockey sticks. It reminds me of 5^th Century monastic Christians called the Desert Father’s and Desert Mothers who prayed ceaselessly with the words of the Jesus Prayer. “Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me.” This ceaseless prayer would be a constant companion day and night that at some point the one who prayed would merge with the words of the prayer and understand themselves as being completely loved, fully in grace, and one with Christ. They became the prayer.

I see a growing desire in many of you to develop this muscle memory. Worship is a wonderful place to do this with intentionality. Allow yourself time to center yourself before worship and during communion. Try the words of the Jesus prayer or the declaration of God’s goodness. Use these prayers in quiet moments when you are alone like when you are driving in your car or doing house chores. Perhaps you want to intentionally focus on the Jesus prayer when you notice negative thoughts or feelings creeping into your consciousness.

These prayers are the cognitive tools that we use to remind our very complex brain something that we know deep down in the recesses. You are deeply loved by God and there is nothing that can separate you from that love. This does not mean that you will not have hardship and pain in this life. But it does mean that none of those things can separate you from God’s love. 

We hope you plan to join us after worship on Sunday, Sept. 15, for this fun event. If you are planning to donate an item for auction, please complete this form and put it in the offering plate at church or mail it to the church office. This could be home crafted items, home baked goods, home grown items from your garden, services, whatever you think someone would purchase. Be creative!  With your help, we will have a successful and profitable day. A portion of our profits will be sent to our sister congregation in Tanzania.

Are you ready for something new? You’ve heard little rumblings about this new event called,  “Second Sundays.”  These events happen exactly when you might expect, on the second Sunday of each month beginning in September.  This will be a faith formation event for the whole church. All ages will be involved from our very youngest to our most senior.  There will be slightly different activities every time. For instance, we may have a Bible Jeopardy one month and a service project the next month.  Some months will be tied into the holy days of that particular season and some months may be themed around a particular Bible story or faith practice.  Each Sunday will culminate in a simple community meal so that we can reconnect with each other in fellowship. So be sure to start paying attention to communication happening around these Sundays. 

We are really looking forward to this time to grow in Christ and grow in fellowship with each other. Mark your calendars and make an effort to show up. These Sundays won’t be complete without you!

Sept. 8: Lutheran World Relief Kits

Oct. 13: World Hunger

Nov. 10: Serving our Veterans

Dec. 8: Back to the Future

Jan. 12: Baptism Art Extravaganza

Feb. 9: Unlikely Instruments

March 9: Faith Friends

April 13: Jeopardy

May 11: Creation Care

I hope you will take the time to show up and be a part of this ministry!