Greetings Sisters and Brothers of Christ Lutheran Church
In my first “Pastor’s Report” to the Congregation Council in February, I told them that, although I had been officially in place at Christ Lutheran Church for a month, I actually felt as though I was just getting started that week after my Ordination service on February 7th.
If you want to get a glimpse of that special day, please check out the photos that are linked at the bottom of the homepage to view a group of 25 photos, or on this page to see 80 pictures taken that day.
Just ten days after I was officially ordained, we entered into the church year’s season of Lent. Even folks who don’t know much of anything else about the church or its traditions, seem to know about Lent. Our observance of the forty days before Easter should reveal our understanding of this time - an intentional period of reflection, prayer, and giving to others. In another section of The Call this month, I’ve attempted to respond to questions that I’ve been asked - or maybe have just imagined - about my understanding of liturgy and some of the things that I do during worship. If you have questions about other things - Sunday-morning-related or any other - please let me know, so that I can include them in a future edition of FAQ.
In addition to some changes to worship, other opportunities for study, prayer, word and sacrament are available during the Lenten season. On Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m., I will lead a Bible study focusing on the readings for the coming Sunday. We’ll also take some time to share prayer concerns and to pray together. On Wednesday evenings, we’ll have a service of Evening Prayer with Communion at 7:00 p.m. After the first week when I will preach, the next four Wednesdays will see a rotation of preachers from nearby Lutheran Churches. A simple soup supper will be offered each Wednesday evening at about 6:00. I hope you will find opportunity to avail yourself of a chance to participate in a Lenten observance such as one of these weekly offerings Holy Spirit is there,
Many of you asking other questions such as how things are going, how I’m settling in, or how I’m holding up! I am very grateful foryour continued care and concern for me! Although every day is a . ‘first’ in some way - which comes with its own stresses and adjustments, I am having a wonderful time, and definitely starting to feel comfortable at home, office, and community. I thank you for your patience, explanations, reminders, and other gentle ways that you have helped me find my way in a brand new place as a ‘newbie’ pastor!
It has also helped me to recall the words that I preached to the gathered assembly at Christ Lutheran on the first Sunday of Lent:
A former supervisor, now friend and colleague of mine, John Stendahl, wrote this about the wilderness - “The wilderness is not God-forsaken nor does it belong to the devil. It is God’s home. The Holy Spirit is there, within us and beside us. And if we cannot feel that spirit inside of us or at our side, perhaps we can at least imagine Jesus there, not too far away, with enough in him to sustain us, enough to make us brave.”
This has reminded me that - whether we are thrown into the wilderness or try to take ourselves there or just find one day that we’ve sort-of gotten into an an unfamiliar, strange, and foreign place in our lives - that God is already there. There is no place that God cannot enter, no situation that Jesus has not experienced, and no end to the resources that the Holy Spirit can fill us with in order to make our way through whatever wilderness we might find ourselves in.
In Lent- as in all times of our life – we move forward trusting in the mercy and loving kindness of our God.
Blessing, Pastor Judy