Notes from Pastor Shelly

For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace

2011-08-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

Summer is a time of coming and going in most churches and communities, but especially here in Florida where we have many seasonal friends as well as year-round friends who head off to different parts of the country or the world during the summer. As the summer comes to a close and as we enter the fall it is a joy to be here and welcome back all who have been on adventures over the summer (cross-country road trips); who have traveled to see family (as far off as Germany or Norway); or who have been at their ―up north‖ home. Welcome back!

It is our prayer that in your leave-takings and home-comings you went out in joy and were led back in peace. I mentioned in a sermon this summer that verse from Isaiah and how it aptly describes the worshipping life, the praying life, and the Christian life. For you shall go out in joy and be led back in peace.

And as you are being led back in peace, there is much getting underway here at Our Savior Lutheran. If you were not around for much of the summer you will see some wonderful changes underway as our 50th Anniversary renovation project progresses. As I write this walls are being torn down. When you read it new walls will be going up. It has been exciting to watch this all unfold and see God making new some of our church building here.

Amid the construction and renovation, activities continue as normal. Sunday School Registration Night will be August 31st at 6:00pm for ages 3 to 12th grade. And Sunday School for both children and adults will start up September 11th, the Sunday after labor day. We have some surprises underfoot for Sunday School this year and once again have a strong and faithful team of Sunday School teachers with at least two teachers in each classroom. It is through relationship that we come to know God. So we are grateful for this wonderful group of teachers who share their faith with our children through Sunday School.

In the Christian life we do much coming and going in all sorts of different ways, may you come and go in the joy and peace of Christ,

Pastor Shelly

2011-07-12T10:43:00.001-07:00

As I write this, fences and temporary walls are going up and in the next few days old walls will be coming down. It is exciting to watch this process get started, and it will be neat to watch it unfold over the next months. When you come to worship this weekend, the signs and walkways will be clearly marked to make your way to the side entrance doors, volunteers in red vests will be there for anyone needing assistance, and you will get to see the changes as you make your way in toward the church building.

As the construction gets going, Wednesday Bible Study, Prayer and Meditation, Wednesday Night Beth Moore Bible Study, Dancing with the Lutherans, and all other activities continue as normal (we are thankful for this!). Youth Group has been on break for a few weeks due to our various camps, but will resume again tomorrow night at 6:30pm in the Youth Room. All youth 6th to 12th grade youth are invited!

We heard in worship last weekend Jesus’ parable of the Sower and the seed and how God is a Sower like no other—he knows that the rocks and thorns can be penetrated. And he is a Sower who has made cracks in the hardest of hearts and brought forth fruit in the thorniest of lives. Come again this weekend to hear another of Jesus’ parables from Matthew 13, and let God’s word grow in you and bear fruit in your life!

See you in church! Pastor Shelly Satran

50 Years of God's Grace

2011-05-17T11:06:00.001-07:00

Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.. Psalm 84:4

This is an exciting year at Our Savior as we celebrate 50 years since the church was established. It has been neat to see pictures and clippings that people have brought in on the congregation from the past. It is fun to recognize familiar faces in the photos, especially the ones that were the faces of children who are now grown with children of their own. What’s most striking about all these photos and bits of history is the reminder of how God has been at work in the lives of His people. Sometimes that is most evident when you stand back and look at the big picture over time, or said in another way, sometimes that is most evident when you stand back and look at all of the pictures spread out before you.

Many of you know that Zac Barringer, a member of our congregation, is putting together a memory and history book on the church for his Eagle Scout project. As part of this he has been and will be collecting memories and stories that people have shared about the church. We would like to share some of those stories in the newsletter too.

So think about your time here at Our Savior Lutheran Church, maybe you have only been here a few years or maybe you have been here fifteen years, but what stands out in your mind as some of your most significant memories. Was it your wedding here? Your child’s baptism? The way you were surrounded by love at a time of loss? Is it a specific moment of encountering God’s presence? Was it a memory of going to camp with other kids from the church? Is it a memory of something unexpected or funny that happened here?

I have only been here four years and yet many memories fill my mind when I stop and think about it. Here are a few: Our son’s baptism; our daughter being an angel in the Christmas program the first time and belting out “Go Tell it on the Mountain” with all her heart; mourning the death of dear members of the congregation here; singing Holden Evening Prayer each Wednesday in Lent and walking out of the service filled with peace each and every time.

We know God is present in all of these things, our joy, our sorrow, our laughter, and our tears. Let’s share our stories with one another about how God has been present to us in and through this church. Write down your memories, whatever comes to mind, a paragraph or two, then bring it in to the church office, or email it in, and we will share them over the coming months in the newsletter. It will be one more way to share and tell God’s story with one another.

Grateful to be living out God’s story with you here at Our Savior,

Pastor Shelly

“How is it with your Soul?”

2010-11-29T22:58:00.000-08:00

John Wesley, the 18th century pastor and theologian, used to tell his parishioners to ask each other the question, “How is it with your Soul?” That can seem a fairly probing question, but also a pretty profound one. Nobody has asked me that exact question lately. But being in a community of faith, we do ask each other that kind of question in various ways. We might ask, “What is God doing in your life lately?” “Where is God in all of this?” “What do you think God is calling you to do in this situation?” These kinds of things might come up as part of conversation between friends, at a Bible study, around a Wednesday night dinner, following worship, or in one of the many groups that are a part of the ministry of Our Savior.

It is important to be engaged in these kinds of conversations. Dr. Paul Hill and his colleagues through much study and research have identified these kinds of caring conversations to be one of the four keys to a vibrant faith. So we as your pastors and as your church, seek to provide as many opportunities as possible for you to find ways to be a part of these kind of conversations—the kind of conversations that aren’t just surface small talk, but get to the heart of what is going on in our lives and what God is doing with us.

Here are some of the many opportunities to find this kind of a setting and this kind of conversation here at Our Savior:

Sunday morning adult education: 9:45-10:45am, two classes are currently offered.

A Bible Study, “They Met Jesus,” and A Discussion Series,
“How Lutherans Interpret the Bible.”

ChristCare Groups: These are groups of up to 12 people who gather on a regular basis in homes or at the church and spend time together in Bible Study, Fellowship, and service.

Wednesday Morning Bible Study: 10:00-11:00am, currently studying Luke. Meets in Room 4, facilitated by Pastor Clark.

Wednesday God Pause Lectio Divina or Prayer and Meditation: Noon on Wednesdays, meeting in Room 4, alternates week to week with traditional methods of prayer and contemplation. Lectio Divina Bible Study alternating with guided Christian prayer and meditation.

WELCA circles: Ruth Circle second Friday of the month.

Men in Mission: 7:00pm on the first Wednesday of the month, room 4. Put yourself in places where God can strengthen you through the fellowship and conversation and learning together with those around you!

Grace and Peace, Pr. Shelly

Bless This House

2010-10-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

We gather together each week for worship in God’s house. I always feel a sense of calm and peace just walking in the doors of the sanctuary and I would never want to miss out on coming to worship each weekend. In fact I feel fortunate that as a pastor I get to worship three times each weekend. And yet the experts say that the place where faith is really taught or rather caught, is in the home. For this reason we have for a year now included in the bulletin the “Taking Faith Home” inserts. Take these home! These inserts give a list of weekly scripture readings, a weekly prayer focus, and ideas for devotions and activities that can be done on your own, or as a family or couple. Use these ideas to take your faith home and let us know what results!

On another note of faith in the home, when families move to a new home they often ask us to come and lead a small House Blessing service. This is a really wonderful way to acknowledge the importance of this very thing—faith in our home. For the House Blessing service the individual, family or couple may invite friends or family or neighbors to gather in their home and then the group makes their way through the house. Someone carries a large candle and lights a smaller candle in each room as a reminder of Christ’s light shining in every part of our lives, every room of our house. As the group walks through each room, a prayer is offered asking God to bless the activity that takes place in that room. Moving to a new house or place of living often marks a transition in our lives and it is a wonderful thing to surround that transition with prayer. Also if our homes are the place our faith is taught and caught, if our homes are one of the primary places that our faith is lived out, then how wonderful to ask God’s presence to fill every corner of our lives and our homes.

May God visit with peace all that takes place in your home.
Pastor Shelly

Attention Grandparents!

2010-06-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

On a regular basis we have members of the church call and ask to borrow cribs, high chairs, or pack-n-plays from the church nursery for visiting grandchildren. Other times grandparents or parents have called with items to donate to the church or to others who can use them. I have also seen in several of the stores in town that grandparents can rent such items for visiting grandchildren. It seems a waste to have to buy or rent what others have sitting in storage, and so we are starting a small "grandparents closet" to help out.

As you may know, we have long had a medical supply closet here at the church from which anyone can borrow medical equipment that might be needed for a temporary time, things such as walkers, canes, and wheelchairs. The "grandparents closet" will work along the same lines. We are limited on space (in fact someone is donating space in their home, because we have hardly a cupboard of unused storage space at the church), so the grandparent’s closet will include not anything and everything, but several basic items that grandparents often find themselves needing to borrow, rent, or buy when their grandchildren come to visit. Items such as pack-n-plays, booster seats, umbrella stroller, and bouncy seats or exersaucers. If you need to borrow any of these items contact the church office. If you would like to donate any of these items contact the church office. We are church family and this is one way we can help each other receive and welcome family. It is good to be church family!

Grateful to be part of the family of God with you,
Pastor Shelly

PENTECOST: Wind, Fire, and a New Deacon!

2010-05-01T15:57:00.000-07:00

First of all, what is Pentecost? The actual word “pentecost” means 50th day. At the time of Jesus, Pentecost was a harvest festival that was celebrated fifty days after Passover. In Acts we learn that the disciples all gathered in Jerusalem in one place on the day of Pentecost. And ever since that Pentecost, Christians have celebrated Pentecost as the day when the church was born. Pentecost in the Christian church has since taken place on the 50th day of Easter. And on this 50th day we celebrate the Holy Spirit descending upon the disciples empowering them to speak the Gospel (in multiple languages), and through this event initiating the beginning of the church. Up until Pentecost the disciples mostly were afraid and uncertain, meeting behind locked doors. With Pentecost, the wind of the Spirit blew open those doors and began the spread of Good News of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

In worship on Pentecost Weekend, we celebrate in many ways. On the weekend of Pentecost everyone is invited to wear red to worship as a symbol of the fire of the Spirit and of the flames that descended upon the disciples. At the Sunday services the children will also help us visualize this wind and flame as they wave red and orange streamers. We hear the Pentecost story from Acts 2 read to us in multiple languages. (If you speak fluently in another language than English, let us know!) Hearing this Scripture read in multiple languages reminds us of that first Pentecost and also of the thousands of languages in which Christian faith is professed all throughout the world.

This year we also have an extra special and very fitting addition to Pentecost. Allan Klotsche will be onsecrated as a Deacon at the 8:30am service. Allan completed an intensive 2 year study program called Diakonia in May of 2009. Since then he has been fulfilling the additional Synodical requirements to become a Deacon. As a Deacon Allan will continue the social ministry work he has already been doing and you will see him “deacon-ing” in many other ways as well (come to the 8:30am service on May 23rd to learn more!).

May the Spirit descend upon you and refresh you
and lead you anew each day,

Pastor Shelly

Scholarship Time!

2010-04-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Something we look forward to each May is awarding scholarships that will send students from the congregation off to their studies, or assist them in continuing their studies. Each year when the scholarship award letter goes out to the recipients, it expresses to them that this is a gift from the congregation that seeks to support and encourage them in their studies, but most importantly that this gift is a reminder of the student’s church family and the base of love and support they have in their congregation (and ultimately in God!).

Where does the scholarship money come from? Well, you might be one of the donors to the church Scholarship Fund even if you didn’t know it. Each year a portion of the money that comes in for purchasing Christmas poinsettias or Easter lilies goes toward the scholarship fund. That means when you purchase an Easter lily your money goes not only towards a beautiful lily that will adorn the sanctuary on Easter morning in the name of the person you have dedicated it to, but it also helps provide scholarships to students of the congregation.

In addition to the Easter Lily and Poinsettia funds, members of the congregation can also give memorial or honorary gifts to the church directly to the scholarship fund. Just this past month a $10,000 gift was given as a bequest from the will of Howard Schaefer. We are thankful and honored that Howard remembered the congregation in his will in this way and for all of the ways Howard was a blessing to this congregation for 24 years. In addition to the Lily and poinsettia general scholarship fund, there are also two specific scholarships that are given each year, one in the name of the late Carole Dressler, a beloved teacher and Sunday School teacher here at OSLC. The other in the name of Layle Smith, which was set up by Layle’s sons as a gift to him. Layl and his wife Elizabeth help the committee each year in deciding who receives the scholarship in his name.

What a blessing it is to be able to support the youth and students of the congregation in this way. When you see the scholarship recipients standing before the congregation next month, lease pray for them and for the plans and purposes God has ahead for them. Together, as their church family, we send them out in the world supported and loved in God’s name!

God’s Work Our Hands,
Pastor Shelly

Backpack Buddies

2010-03-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

At Dodgertown Elementary School here in Vero Beach there is a program called “Backpack Buddies.” The program started when it was discovered that many children were going home to empty refrigerators over the weekend and no groceries in the cupboards. In these difficult economic times, for many families after paying for rent and utilities and gas, there is often no money left for groceries. Thus the Backpack Buddies program came into being.

In this program, children who qualify for the program are given a backpack full of food when they leave school on Friday afternoon. They return Monday morning with an empty backpack that will then be filled again the following Friday. Before the economic downturn of the last two years about 40 children were a part of this program, the number is now up to 140.

This year the Sunday School children are giving their Sunday School offering toward this program. On Sundays, the children come with their quarters and dimes and dollar bills. Lou Smith collects and counts all that comes in, and then Louisa Zokvic takes the money to buy food for the Dodgertown backpack program. So far the Sunday School children have brought in $350.00 dollars and also donations of canned goods and non-perishables that have all amounted to over 400lbs. of food being given to fill backpacks at Dodgertown Elementary.

When Dr. Paul Hill was with us in February for the Vibrant Faith workshop he shared with us that one of the marks or “keys” that is found again and again in people of vibrant faith is service. (The other three “keys” are caring conversations, rituals, and devotions). Our youngest children from age 3 and up are living out this service in God’s name as they make it possible for other children to have a backpack filled with food each week.

Many little hands, God’s good work!
Pastor Shelly

God’s Work Our Hands; Behind the Scenes

2010-02-01T07:17:00.000-08:00

There is a ministry here at the church that often goes unnoticed as the ministry this group carries out is never planned in advanced, not publicized, and takes place quietly behind the scenes. Yet it is one of the very important ministries of Our Savior Lutheran. The ministry that I am speaking of is the ministry of the Bereavement Team. The Bereavement Team provides a gathering place along with food and drink for those attending a memorial service here at the church. This time after a funeral service is such an important time of family and friends being able to gather together and not only share their sorrow with one another, but to have a place that they can sit together and share stories and thoughts of the one that they love.

The members of the Bereavement Team puts together whatever is needed to facilitate this gathering time—a lunch, a brunch, or coffee and cookies. They do this on short notice yet it never appears that way as they provide a variety of food, fixings, and often something homemade among the sweets. The women on the Bereavement Team never know how many people will come to be fed, but somehow they always find a way to have enough.

As I write this article the Bereavement Team has provided their ministry of food and hospitality for three funeral services in just a little over a week. I write this article to lift up their loving, quiet, behind-the-scenes ministry as an example of another way God’s Work Our Hands is lived out here at Our Savior. Thank you to Winnie Whitney and all of the members of the Bereavement Team for all of the ways you provide a ministry of love and care and food to people in a time of sorrow. You are all an example of the way Jesus calls us to “feed his sheep” as a way of caring for his people.

Grateful for all the loving hands here at Our Savior,
Pastor Shelly

Summer Camp (It's not too early to start thinking about it. Really.)

2009-12-01T09:03:00.000-08:00

It has often been said that, “camp changes lives.” And we believe that is true. We see it happen with our kids here at the church after they spend a week at Bible camp or get away for a weekend retreat. The most common feedback we get from confirmation kids when we ask, “What was the most significant faith-forming part of your confirmation experience?” is CAMP. And personally, if it were not for camp and working in college as a counselor at Lutheran camps, I probably would not have become a pastor. And so because we know the impact that Christian camp has on kid’s lives, we seek to not only provide, but promote as many Christian “camp” experiences as we can for the kids of Our Savior. Here’s what’s coming up this summer. Mark the dates on your calendar now, so you don’t miss out!

DAY CAMP
Our ever popular annual on-site camp here at Our Savior, with counselors from Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida. Day Camp is a week of growing with God through faith sharing, fun, games, activities, skits, and more.
June 21-25th
Ages: 1st grade through 8th grade (as of fall of 2010)

LUTHER SPRINGS CONFIRMATION CAMP
An important week for all confirmation students. Often cited by past confirmation kids that this week was the most significant part of their entire confirmation experience. Swimming, canoeing, Bible Study, skits, games, being at a great place with out faith-filled kids and counselors.
June 27th – July 2nd
Ages: Confirmation Students

LUTHER ROCK HIGH ADVENTURE CAMP
Yes, a trip to Luther Rock is back by popular demand! High School students will ride a bus with other south Florida Lutheran kids to Luther Rock in North Carolina (with an overnight stop at Luther Springs on the way). The week at Luther Rock includes rafting, hiking, caving, ropes course, and more.
July 31 – August 7th
(Because of the extra logistics of this trip (bus ride) we need to know who is going by March 15th. Let one of the pastors know if you are interested!)
Ages: High School

LUTHER SPRINGS EXTENDED DISCOVERY WEEK
This camp week includes bussed transportation to camp as well. So you get to ride the bus with other South Florida campers and then spend a week at Luther Springs swimming, boating, canoe trips, team-building, Bible Study. Luther Springs offers a wonderful Christian experience for elementary kids first time of going away to camp.
July 31-August 7th
Ages: 3rd – 5th grade
So get on board for camp this summer!

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Shelly

God’s Work Our Hands

2009-11-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

You may have heard this theme a time or two by now (we hope you have!). We have adopted this ELCA theme for our congregation and soon we will have two new banners keeping these words before us. Also, we have taken these words on guiding theme for our Sunday School year. And in Sunday School it has been wonderful to see the ways many little hands have been doing God’s work. Here are some of the highlights.

Faith Garden: A member of the congregation walked out into the courtyard one day in September and said, “Wow, this garden looks so beautiful to me today, it’s as though it just came into bloom over night!” In a way it did. The children had just trimmed and tended the garden and filled it with new plants. We call it the Faith Garden and it is a way that the children are able to use their hands actively caring for and being a part of God’s creation. The children tend the garden on a weekly basis, watering, weeding, pruning, and tending.

Theme Song: If you know the song “The Farmer in the Dell” you could quickly catch on to the Sunday School “God’s Work Our Hands,” theme song written by Karen Diehl. Karen taught the children how to sing the song, and then several weeks later Katie Diehl Cateenwalla taught the children how to use their hands by signing the words to the song. Katie Canteenwalla is a sign language teacher in the public schools and uses her hands in doing God’s work in a very literal way.

Canned Goods: You might notice some bright orange tubs in each of the classrooms. The children decorated these bins with their handprints and have been bringing in canned goods each Sunday. The food will be given to families with children in need. They also come to Sunday School with their usual offering money and this money goes toward buying food for the same purpose.

As the year continues the children will use their hands in many more ways of doing God’s work creating centerpieces for the Thanksgiving Home Alone dinners, making communion bread, acting out the Christmas story, singing and signing, praying and serving. We are thankful for these little hands and all of the ways they are about God’s work in our midst!

God’s Work Our Hands,

Pastor Shelly

A Workshop or A Retreat? . . . How about Both!

2009-10-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

Businesses and leadership teams and church groups often go away on retreats. In the respect that they are getting away from their usual environment they are definitely “retreating.” But in regards to a retreat from activity, work, business, meetings, etc. that is often not the case. And the content of the time together can only be described as a work retreat (which is somewhat of an oxymoron). We stumbled upon this contradiction, “a work retreat,” as we were seeking to plan some special events for the congregation. As a congregation many have expressed the desire for further prayer and visioning and conversation about where God is leading us as a congregation—what is the future of Our Savior Lutheran Church? What ministries is God calling us to grow, develop, deepen? At the same time many have expressed desire for a time of spiritual growth and formation. We started planning these two concepts as one event and realized what we were getting ourselves into seemed to contradict both purposes of work and retreat. So we separated the two and now are offering two separate events that will strengthen us in ministry and deepen our spiritual growth both individually and as a congregation.

The first event is a spiritual retreat. This is a true retreat, not a seminar or a conference, or an extended meeting. And by retreat we mean: A time for God, a time for assessing our relationship with God. We spend time with the people we cherish and respect. We spend time with God. A retreat nurtures our spiritual life in an environment away from the ordinary distractions of life. In the Scriptures, we read that Jesus would simply go off and pray. Each and every one of us needs time to do just that, and a retreat provides us with this opportunity (quoted from Our Lady of Florida Retreat Center’s web site).

If that sounds good to you keep reading! We are often more able to step back and reflect on our relationship with God when we are able to step away from the usual daily activities of our lives. And so we will head to a retreat center in Leesburg, FL for this event. It will be a 24 hour retreat filled with worship, prayer, faithful conversations, and time deepening our relationship with God. We are not joining another group for this retreat. The retreat will be by and for Our Savior members. See further details on page 5 and consider nurturing your relationship with God through a retreat.

And if you are interested in where God is calling the ministry of Our Savior . . . then mark your calendars for a January workshop on Saturday January 23, 2010. This workshop will be led by Rev. Dr. Paul Hill, an author, a pastor, a professor, who is passionate about the ministry of Jesus Christ. Pastor Hill has 35 years experience in ministry and congregational development. Many of you have met Pastor Hill and heard him on previous occasions when he has led the Youth Ministry Certification School here at Our Savior.

So retreats and workshops are two separate things. Both are good! And both are being planned for you. Sign on! And remember, we work and we rest, we workshop and retreat, all to God’s glory.

Pastor Shelly

What is the Memorial Fund?

2009-09-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

If you walk by the nursery and peek in the window you will notice a beautiful new large size rug depicting Jesus and his words, “Let the little children come to me.” Maybe you have sat on one of the benches out in the courtyard or outside the sanctuary. Certainly you have glanced a time or two at the stained glass windows in the church. Did you know recently the congregation increased the hours of our Youth Director, Jimmy Smith, to full-time? What do these things—a rug, benches, stained glass windows, and our youth director—all have in common? They were all gifts from the memorial fund.

What is the memorial fund? It is a special fund here at the church that is made up of gifts “in memory” or “in honor” or “in thanks” of a loved one. When someone dies and the family desires a gift to be made to the church, the gift doesn’t go into the general fund of the church; the gift goes to the memorial fund. Some families will designate a certain item or ministry to which they would like their memorial gift to go. Others only give the designation that it is
to go to further the ministry of the church. These memorial fund gifts are then used to buy needed items that go above and beyond the church budget—items that will serve the ministry of Our Savior in special ways. The items in themselves, a window, a cross, a bench, become special reminders of special loved ones. But more importantly these gifts and the items they purchase, speak of the one who has brought us each to this place, our Lord Jesus. The gifts aren’t just in memory or honor of a certain person, but more fully they are in memory or in honor of that person’s faith and what their faith in Christ meant for their life and
means even now.

And so we worship in a sanctuary surrounded by other brothers and sisters and Christ, but not only that. All throughout the church and all of the buildings, we find we are surrounded by tangible reminders—a cross, a Lectionary Bible, a Paschal candle, a bench, a window, a youth ministry and a welcoming carpet—of the faith of other brother’s and sisters, who not only live on in our memories, but live on in life with Christ.

In gratitude for all of the ways we are surrounded by

Christ’s love,

Pr. Shelly

Taking Faith Home

2009-08-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed a new page in the worship bulletin attached to the announcements called “Taking Faith Home” (and if you haven’t noticed, take a look!). These pages provide ideas and insights that help you take the Scripture readings, the Gospel words, and the themes of worship home with you. “Taking Faith Home” gives ideas for conversation starters that relate to the scriptures—great topics for Sunday brunch or any night’s dinner conversation.

“Taking Faith Home” also gives ideas for service, devotions, and rituals that relate to the Scripture readings from the week. Some of the ideas have been a specific prayer focus for the week (example: on the week we read about John the Baptist’s death a prayer focus was “those unjustly imprisoned”); other ideas are making a list of ways you have seen God at work in the previous week, or as a household choosing someone whom you feel needs encouragement and praying for them and planning concrete ways of encouraging them throughout the week.

“Taking Faith Home” also provides a list of daily Bible reading for the week ahead that ties into the Scripture readings from Sunday. One member of the congregation showed me that she tucks that page into her Bible and uses it to guide her daily devotions. A memory verse is provided each week. If you haven’t ever tried the spiritual practice of memorizing Scripture it can be a wonderful gift. You memorize a verse and then it becomes a theme that guides your week, or you memorize a verse and then maybe seem to forget it (this often happens to me!) and yet the verse comes back to you clear and plain in the very moment you need a word from God.

Each week “Taking Faith Home” has wonderful ideas and tools that can help us grow our faith and relationship with God. So make sure to take a look, and then take it home with you! May it be a useful aid in your devotions, prayers, and living out of God’s love in church and at home.

Together in faith,

Pastor Shelly

Sharing our Stories of Scripture: A Lenten Focus

2009-03-02T11:48:00.000-08:00

Sharing our Stories of Scripture: A Lenten Focus

Do you remember the first Bible you were given? Do you still have it? Do you have the Bible of a family member? A Bible filled with notes or bookmarks or pressed flowers? What does the Bible you use on a regular basis look like? This year during our Lenten Midweek Services we will be asking some of these questions as our focus will be sharing stories about our Bibles and how God’s word has impacted our lives.

What is a passage of scripture that took on a special meaning for you at a certain time of your life? What is your favorite Bible verse or passage and why? Is there a Bible verse or passage you have always wrestled with? We will be asking these questions to members of the congregation in “Conversations Under the Cross” similar to how we did last year in Lent. Sharing and listening to each other’s stories is important way to reflect on our own faith and relationship with God. The whole Bible is itself a witness of other people’s stories of God’s action in their lives. We continue the witness of Scripture when we share our stories.

At each Lenten service (11:00am and 7:00pm) we will interview a different member of the congregation (don’t worry, we won’t randomly pick you out of the pews, the person will have agreed and prepared beforehand!) and ask to hear some of their stories about how the Bible has been central in their faith. If you were able to be a part of this last year you know it is a special time. One person remarked to me that they can remember a story from each person who spoke last year—the stories were so vivid and touching. Also, last year the conversation often carried over into the luncheon meal afterward or to the discussions outside of church. In other words the witness carried out into the day and lives of all those who attended.
Come and hear the witness of how God’s word is at work and active in each other’s lives!

Lenten Blessings,

Pastor Shelly

Welcome at the Lord’s Table

2009-02-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

When do children first take Holy Communion here at Our Savior? There is no set age or grade. It is when parents feel their children are ready. When a child has shown interest in the meal and learning what it’s about. And when the parents feel their child is able to grasp the biblical meaning behind the Lord’s Supper and that the meal is about the gift of receiving Christ. Though having said we encourage first communion at an age when children have an ability to learn what the meal is about, it is significant that children from a very early age come up for communion and seem to sense that something special is happing. Even though young children and infants are not yet taking the bread and wine, most parents will pick up their children from the nursery and bring them into worship for communion. They receive a blessing as we are all gathered around the table. You see young children at the table often with either an eager curiosity or quiet wonder and the sense that this is something special.

Each year we hold First Communion classes for children who are interested in taking their First Communion and their parents. We meet for three Sundays (see dates at right!) and we learn about the Lord’s Supper from a biblical perspective—the meal’s set in the Old Testament (the Passover) and that the Passover meal one night became Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. We also talk about the many other times that Jesus revealed himself as God’s Son in the breaking of the bread. Then we talk about some of the practical aspects of receiving the bread and wine. What are the different ways that we receive communion at Our Savior? Intinction and a common cup, individual glasses, wafers or bread, gathered around the table, or coming forward in a continuous fashion. In all of these different ways we see that this is a meal, a special meal. A meal in which we receive gifts from God, bread and wine that actually are Christ himself given for us for forgiveness and for nourishing us and filling us with his strength and presence.

Martin Luther often emphasized that the most important words Jesus spoke at the Lord’s Supper and the most important words we hear at the Lord’s table are the words “for you.” Jesus said, “This my body, given for you . . . this is my blood poured out for you.” In those words we are reminded that all Christ did, his life and death and resurrection were for us. We look forward in the month ahead to more young people joining us in the Lord’s Supper and hearing the words “for you,” and knowing that the gifts of God are there for them and for all of us week after week after week.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Shelly