Last year one of our 8th grade confirmands requested that a class be offered about the Holy Trinity. Well, this was a request that we pastors answered with excitement! How many fourteen year olds are genuinely asking questions about the triune nature of God? As I prepared to teach the class, I noticed that one of my messages is that the doctrine of the Trinity may or may not be helpful to you. I also noticed that I am not terribly interested in ‘defending’ this doctrine as though it is the only way to describe and experience God. Personally, I find it helpful and I taught in such a way that shared the Church’s experience of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But the goal of the class was not to have 15 young people robotically leaving the classroom regurgitating the Nicene Creed. Why not? What is the goal of Christian education nowadays if not to explain truths we all are supposed to share? At one point, a young woman in my class asked, “Is there anything Lutherans can disagree with about faith that gets them kicked out?” To be clear to anyone reading this, yes there are extreme things one could believe and/or do that would suspend a person’s access to Holy Communion or get them forced to leave our membership. But what she was asking was this: do Lutherans all have to agree on church doctrines like the Trinity that feel really complicated?... or controversial? She was echoing Pilate’s response to Jesus in John 18 when he asked, “What is truth?

There has been a sense of anticipation in the air here at First. Six hundred of us have in some way contributed to The Plan over the past year. The staff has been planning for the “Year of Service and Fellowship” all summer and pulling together powerful visuals to help us consider our life as servants. The days of summer seem to be waning and the days of blue sky and cool pools are yielding to beautifully colored trees and picking apples. Anticipation is in the air and we are excited about what is coming down the road. By now, you have had the opportunity to read the strategic plan and participate in a cottage meeting, you have noticed our guiding visual as you walk into the church and if you are anything like me, you have been doing some baking with apples. Here we are, the place we have been waiting to be at. How’s it going for you?

Have you ever received a gift and you were not really excited or even thankful for it. But soon after receiving the gift you realized it was what you needed. I know that has happened to me. One Christmas my mother-in-law gave us a cooking pot with a lid, just one mind you and we had a set already. I thanked her for all the gifts, but was thinking in the back of my mind, “what will I do with this one pot and lid.” That summer that pot and lid came in very handy....

Have truer words ever been uttered? I think I was attracted to this quote for two reasons: 1) I have spent a good portion of my month pouring over First Lutheran’s strategic plan and 2) tomorrow I get to accompany a veteran to Washington DC for a freedom honor flight where he will visit the memorial that was built for him and his comrades in arms. (I say tomorrow because I write this Sept. 19 so that it can appear in the October newsletter.) So, an Eisenhower quote about plans and planning really spoke to me today.

It is with great satisfaction that I can proclaim with deep confidence that you will be presented with First Lutheran’s long-awaited Strategic Ministry Plan this month!.... 

I don’t like waiting much. A little waiting is okay, but more than a little and I start getting antsy. I have begun to wonder about that. When did waiting for anything become so hard? I am old enough that I remember life before computers, microwaves and endless number of channels on the TV. In my childhood waiting was a part of life. Even at amusement parks, waiting in lines was when most of the memories were made as the anticipation of the thrill built and conversations happened and laughter often ensued.

Last Thanksgiving I was visiting a friend who had a French press. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it pre-dates the percolator, the grounds are placed in a container with the hot water and allowed to steep for a certain amount of time before being pressed to the bottom so one can enjoy the wonderfully, tasty complex flavor of the coffee. The French Press is all about waiting. Hurry it along and you get a bad cup of coffee—and we all know how much I love my coffee....

Welcome to the year of service and fellowship at First Lutheran! I am very excited about this emphasis. Many of you have found great joy and growth in the past years with emphasis on Biblical literacy, stewardship and prayer. But this year is where we get to get our hands dirty and stretch beyond our walls to connect with one another and with those in our community. This is going to be an active year and a year where we will have constant tangible signs of God at work among us....

I have a wonderful friend who opens her house up to our small group almost every Thursday. We knock, letting ourselves in, making her dog bark, and piling our shoes in the entry way. On really, really cold nights, like last winter, she has her husband start a fire for us, so we would have a toasty warm room to have our Bible study in. My friend has the gift of hospitality and it shows every time we meet at her house. Another friend also has the gift of hospitality in church. While she ushers, she greets everyone and talks to as many people as she can. Most of the time she isn’t standing by her door giving out announcement pages, but standing out in the narthex, making sure everyone is greeted and welcomed to church. She can talk to complete strangers as though they are like family or long lost friends. What a wonderful gift of hospitality my friends have.

These are just two examples of hospitality that show how we as Christians should act toward others. Each one of us has the gift of hospitality, only some more than others. Everyone can welcome someone they don’t know during giving of the peace, or just saying “I’m glad your worshiping with us today.” One area our church needs to work on is hospitality and it is up to everyone to do it, not just a few out in the narthex or by a door....

Photo credit: octaviolopez on morguefile

October Sunday School Calendar:

• Sunday September 28th: 3rd grade Stepping Stones
• Sunday October 5th: 3rd grade Stepping Stones
• Sunday October 12th: 3rd grade Stepping Stones in worship
• Sunday October 19th: K, 1, and 2 sing at 10:30 worship

Other “good to know” dates for the fall Sunday school semester....

“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” – Thomas Jefferson

When I saw this quote, I laughed. It was so perfect. It fit with everything we had learned while being in Philadelphia. If I was a t-shirt wearing person I would have purchased the t-shirt. The funny thing was when our group met for lunch that afternoon, several others mentioned seeing it and thinking the same thing!...