Last Blog

This month we get to celebrate Easter again! I am really looking forward to lilies, great music, and wonderful resurrection stories. And because winter was so long this year, I am really looking forward to spring, too! But first we have Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. Parts of these services can be difficult, and somewhat dark. But we must read these stories if the Easter story is going to make any sense. There is no resurrection without death.

This is mostly likely going to be the last newsletter article I write. The last 11 years have been some of the happiest and most fulfilling of my life and my ministry. Mary and I have loved living here and loved being a part of this congregation. This is where Mary became a Lutheran! Lutheran Church of the Master will always occupy a special place in our hearts. I give thanks to God for our years here and our years of ministry together.

There is a time of transition ahead for all of us. For LCM it means forming a call committee, filling out a Ministry Site Profile and other paperwork. It will mean meeting with the Assistant to the Bishop, Phil Misner. And eventually interviews. First, of course, there will be “fill -ins” on the Sundays after I leave. And the Bishop herself will be here in May.

I would also encourage you to contact me (email, phone, text, in person) if there is anything you need to say to me before I go. If I have offended you in any way, I would like a chance to apologize and put things right. If there is gratitude or disappointment or questions you have or need to express please do not hesitate. I really would like to end well. For my own sake but also for the sake of the next pastor.

Endings are difficult. They just are. But I look forward to a new beginning for LCM and for me and Mary. Easter is all about death and resurrection, and not just in the past, but in our Christian walk, here and now.

Please pray for me, as I am praying for all of you.

God’s peace,

Pr. Bob

The 5 Love Languages

At the end of this month Ash Wednesday will begin the season of Lent. Wednesday February 22, at noon we will gather with Community of the Holy Spirit, and put ashes on each other’s faces and remind each other about our origin and our destiny.

Then all the Wednesdays in March we will gather in Schmidt Hall and hear about the 5 Love Languages, and sing and pray and then eat. There will be a few discussion questions at each table for you to use to keep the conversation going before transitioning to a more social time. We will need soups and bread for the lunches.

If you would like to read ahead, I (and 2 other speakers) will be using Gary Chapman’s book, The 5 Love Languages. Please keep in mind that the love languages are not just about romantic love. We all express love in one of these 5 ways and if we are aware, can express love in all 5 ways. These ways of expressing love are applicable not only to our mates, but also to our children, grandchildren, friends and neighbors. Chapman believes that we all have a primary love language. And if others do not express love in that particular language, we do not feel loved.

I hope you can attend these noon lunches. They start and noon and the lunch will be served 15 minutes later. If you cannot stay for the discussion, you could easily get to where you need to go by 12:45 or 1:00. However, if you are in no rush, you are welcome to stay for the table discussions, and enjoy some social time afterwards. Call, text or email me with any questions.

God’s peace, Pastor Bob

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

Do you make New Year’s resolutions?

Yes? Good for you.

Self-improvement takes discipline and the word “discipline”, and the word “disciple” have the same root word.

And, if your answer was “no”, then let me suggest just one resolution anyway.

During the pandemic we have become more isolated, both physically and socially and this has had a negative impact on our mental health. So, one possible antidote would be to join one of the Friends and Food groups that are being organized on Sunday January 8 after worship.

These are groups of 5 to 8 people. The ideal number is 7. The groups meet once a month. They can meet at a home, at a restaurant, in a park, or some other place. The point is to gather around food and enjoy fellowship. It is a unique opportunity to get to know others in your congregation. You will hear stories and learn things about others that you probably would not learn during a coffee fellowship conversation.

Covid taught us many things. For one thing, as a church, it taught us to get out of our buildings. The pandemic made online worship a normal occurrence. Covid also taught us how fragile and important our relationships are. Our connections with our siblings in Christ can be severed by illness, death, and isolation. We must cherish and nurture those connections.

And who knows what you may learn about others, and maybe even about yourself? It might even lead to some epiphanies, in this season of Epiphany.

So, please take part in a Friends and Food group, even if you cannot cook, or host a group, just get involved! Get connected!!

A faith community’s strength is in its relationships. Jesus’ final commandment, a new commandment was, “Love one another.”

Happy New Year, and a blessed Epiphany season

Pastor Bob