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As I have talked with folks over the past couple of months, one of the key desires of the congregation was to have opportunities for regular Christian Fellowship. It has been suggested that dinner at people’s houses and other ways of furthering relationships is important in our faith community - to be building one another up in Christ. ​ We read about this in Acts 2:42-47, as being important to the first Christians… 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with ..read more

After reading the title above for the MAY newsletter, some of you are probably thinking that Pastor is more than one egg short of a complete basket! After all, Easter was in April, right?! Then again, some of you (who were at the Easter Sunday service) are beginning to realize that Easter is continuing and is certainly MORE than just one day of the year. And that is really the point of this month’s newsletter – EASTER is, indeed, still part of our daily lives. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ that we celebrate is more than can be contained in a single morn ..read more

Springtime in this area can be both beautiful and hazardous, but always brings that sense of “newness.” Nature seems to awaken quickly as the colors of spring abound – trees bud out and leaves appear, flowers pop up from what seemed to be a completely dormant state. Birds, animals and even insects show renewed activity. There is a certain excitement and energy that comes with all of this... Certainly, celebrating the Resurrection of our LORD in the middle of the month (April 17) seems to provide an “exclamation point”! In our readings, we will hear from the prophet Isaiah as he gives us God ..read more

​As we embark on this year’s Lenten Season, it is time, once again, to hear and obey the call that God places on our hearts... While February seems to be all about Love, Lent is a time to reflect on how we are acting in response to God’s love. On Ash Wednesday we will here God speak through the prophet Joel: “ …  and rend your hearts … Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love…” Joel 2:13 (ESV)   So, what does it mean to “rend” our hearts? Those experiencing a heavy loss or extreme grief in t ..read more

February, with Valentine’s Day, brings to mind the concept of “Love.” What do you love? ​ I love teaching… and I love teaching Catechism Classes. So it is with great joy that I share with all of you what was recently shared with our latest class of confirmands, as we are going through our lessons on the Ten Commandments from Luther’s Small Catechism. ​ We often see the “two stone tablets” depicted as huge towering blocks that appear quite heavy. The image of something very “weighty” is appropriate for rules with such gravitas. But… I’ve always found it somewhat humorous that those big blocks ..read more

As we look toward the future, the theme for the year ahead involves transformation. The Bible, God’s WORD, speaks of this subject in many ways that help to guide us forward. We find encouragement in the passage from the first testament as we read the prophet Isaiah speaking God’s WORD to the beleagured Israel then and to us also today… from Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV): “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.    See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” And how do we find that w ..read more

Transition, according to dictionary.com is “the movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another”. The transition of seasons, the changes in the academic year, the seasons of life, the changes in our congregation… some transitions are more impactful than others. The Daylight Savings time change is minimal when compared with all the changes we keep seeing regarding restrictions due to COVID-19. So… how do we, as Christians, deal with transitions?       &n ..read more