Category: From the Pastor

There are occasions when I need to spend some time thinking about how to begin these little epistles. Other times the words just seem to jump off the keyboard. And then there is a third category; how to arrange different items to share with you. It is this third category that is testing me this month.

There are many topics which emerged from my recent trip to the Konde Diocese in Tanzania to share with you.  The little article on page nine is just the beginning.

In thinking about my experiences during the trip, two topics  have bubbled up to the top of my thinking that I will be sharing with you over the course of the next year. They are fairly simple concepts, but sometimes hard to implement. They both revolve around the topic of how people speak to each other.

As I traveled around the Konde Diocese and listened to, or participated in conversations, it became obvious that the level of intelligent discussion, careful use of language and respectful treatment of your conversation partner is very high.

During the trip we had a couple of sensitive issues to raise, and I was struck by the care with which these conversations were held, and how following the end of the discussion, there remained our authentic friendship and affection for each other. This is because of what holds our partnership together: the fact that God has called us together in covenant, and to quote St. Paul, “nothing separates us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.”

That is an example for us to follow as we work through any topic that comes before us. In fact I think there is an adult Sunday School class brewing here. Stay tuned.

Related to this is what I learned about how our Tanzanian friends are so easily able to speak about their faith to other people. They have a comfortable, friendly style in sharing their faith that is impressive. One reason this is so is because they know what to talk about and how to talk about it. On this topic we can learn a lot from them. I was told that our companion congregation has grown mainly because of this person-to-person interaction. Yes, there is more than one Sunday School class here, perhaps a series of classes.

CLIFTON D. ESHBACH

Pastor

 

Welcome to the beginning of this combined newsletter for the months of June and July. My former journalism colleagues would call this a “double issue.”  Please remember to keep the calendars for both months, as well as the schedules of worship leaders.

This time of the year gives us opportunities to think about, to worship, and to put into action our call from God to serve our neighbors both here and around the world. Early in June we will have a team of members taking part in the “Loaves and Fishes” food packing event at our synod assembly. Later in June, I will accompany Bishop James Dunlop on his first visit to our companions in the Konde Diocese of Tanzania. Vacation Bible School will be another wonderful experience for the children and for us too. In July we have a special trip planned for children to learn about stories of faith thanks to our friends at the Lutheran Camping Corporation.

And, of course, each Sunday we will gather for word and sacrament, where Christ sustains and commissions us to go out and offer ministry in his name.

Wherever you travel during these two months, be that beacon of the peace of Christ.  Share your life of faith. And remember the work of this congregation never stops. Return for worship and continually offer the gifts of your skills and your treasurers during this time. Both are needed so that our mission stays strong, and faithful, in the name of Jesus.

Clifton D. Eshbach

Pastor

 

Tanzania Travel

Beginning Monday June 16, Pastor Eshbach will be traveling to our companion synod, the Konde Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. He will be guiding Bishop James Dunlop around the diocese as it will be the bishop’s first trip to Tanzania. For Pastor Eshbach, it will be his fifth trip.

During their two weeks in the diocese, they will visit the church run boarding school, hospital, farms, university, conference center as well as some congregations. On Sunday, June 22nd, Pastor Eshbach will be preaching at our own companion congregation, the Uyole Parish (pronounced u-OH-lee). He’ll bring back news and photographs from our companions in Christ. Look for an adult forum in September!

Please keep the Bishop, Pastor Eshbach, and all of their traveling party in your prayers while they share the gospel with the Lutheran Christians of Tanzania.

 

I’m not one to use a lot of superlative adjectives to describe something. “Great” and “Awesome” is about as far as I usually go.

But there is an exception to everything.

The emphasis that is placed on the need for, and the value of, attending worship during Holy Week is something that requires the use of adjectives. Words like “significant,” ‘magnitude” and “sacred” should be used frequently to describe the importance of the worship experiences of this week.

The week from Passion Sunday through Easter Day is the most significant week of the year for Christians. The magnitude of hearing the passion story has an impact upon us as we strive to live out our call to serve in the name of Jesus. Hearing the sacred readings of salvation history during the Easter Vigil provides a connection for us that we are part of an eternal, divine neighborhood of saints who are loved by a God who never stops to reach out, pick us up, love us and encourage us with the saving power of grace.

This is what we worship during Holy Week. And experiencing all of it gives considerable assistance to us in our understanding of God’s grace, the love of Christ, and the strength of the Holy Spirit to serve.

I look forward to serving you and worshipping with you during this week.

Clifton D. Eshbach,

Pastor

 

Recently someone said to me, “It must have been good to have more time to get ready for Lent.”

That can be a blessing…and a curse. I have appreciated the time to work with you on preparing for Lent. That sure is a blessing. But having this amount of time can be detrimental because we run the  possibility of becoming lazy when it comes time to put our plans into practice.

And if there is one thing we do not want to be during Lent, it is lazy. Lent is an extremely significant season of reflection, confession, prayer, fasting, and engaging in acts of charity. All these helpful disciplines center our spiritual life on the great gift of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is a season where we alter our schedules to engage God in these disciplines so that we can love and celebrate the gift of salvation we acknowledge on Easter.

Yes, during Lent we need to change some of our patterns. Our monthly parish meetings need to be shorter and fewer. We need to use that time to be in prayer and worship as one community on both Sunday, and on Wednesday. When you turn to the next page of this newsletter you will see our worship schedule for Lent. Remember it. Participate. Often. Remember we also have a time of learning following worship on Sunday and on Thursday nights. That is another precious resource. And there is also the new daily devotional booklet that your brothers and sisters at Holy Spirit have written for our use.

These times of worship and learning directs our words and our deeds into future Christian service. I commend to you both the disciplines and the opportunities of this season.

 

CLIFTON D. ESHBACH

Pastor