I don’t remember having many family traditions leading up to Christmas. My parents divorced when I was 9, so most of my holiday memories are built around the frustration of traveling between families, and extended families, and step families and trying to fit all the visiting and eating and gift-giving into one or two days, even though it felt more and more like we were bound to the obligation of saying “hi” to everyone in person and missing the point of having any quality time with them.
By the time I was a teenager I created a new path for myself and started singing at church on Christmas Eve and Christmas. It sufficiently broke the schedule so that I couldn’t be expected to attend 6 to 8 Christmas gatherings over two days, and instead, I could have a relaxed Christmas with people later on. Was everyone happy about it? No. Was anyone going to tell me I should skip church? Also no.
This became my new reality for Christmas and has been ever since. I can’t say I call it a tradition, but it is a building block of my expectations around holiday planning.
This Advent we’re focusing on two themes. On Sundays, our theme is Generation to Generation. We’ll explore how generations of tradition lead to the birth of Christ and how generations have continued to mold our faith to this day.
On Wednesdays, our theme is Holy Disruption. Sometimes a break in our pattern or tradition can lead to something new.
I love the “generations” aspect of our Advent worship because in addition to traditions, we acknowledge that other parts of our faith and identity are passed on, not just directly down our lineage, but from various people in our families.
From my family, even though I can’t claim any particular “traditions,” I have very fond memories of making Christmas crafts with my grandma in her craft room in the basement, and hearing stories of my granny playing the organ decades ago at church. Or my great uncle teaching me about our genealogy and how our great great grandfather was a guard to Kaiser Wilhelm before he abdicated the throne in Germany.
These are also memories I wouldn’t have if my holiday time hadn’t been disrupted. If I had been constrained to our rushed Christmas schedule, our time would have been spent with quick hugs and gifts and goodbyes and dashing onto the next place.
What traditions, habits, ideas, memories, or loves has your family passed down to you?
How have your expectations been disrupted to create new paths?
Yours in Christ,
John Johns, Music Director
Stop for a minute and think about what Thanksgiving means to you and how you celebrate it. Are your images of the ‘traditional – Norman Rockwell’ thanksgiving? Are they of your first thanksgiving away from your family? First time with your significant other? Going to a school event/pageant/play to see your child(ren) act out scenes from the first Thanksgiving? Spending the day watching football games? Serving meals at a homeless shelter? Vacationing with family and trying to find a place to have Thanksgiving dinner?
I have images of some of these going through my brain. Being at my grandparent’s farmhouse and sitting down to a traditional Thanksgiving feast with Food - turkey, ham, vegetables that had been canned from our garden, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, homemade stuffing and gravy, my grandmother’s homemade buttermilk biscuits; Family – a multi-generational gathering around their table with the children delegated to the kitchen table with all the delicious smells of baked pies – pumpkin, apple, brown sugar (for the non-southerners, it is like a chess pie) and Friends – always two or three friends of my grandparents or my parents. The image of my first Thanksgiving cooking for myself and Ken while in graduate school and didn’t have the time to travel home. My first attempt at making a turkey in our small apartment stove. I didn’t burn it or undercook it but I forgot to take out the bag of giblets. Another recollection is the image of Ken, myself, and our kids vacationing in Orlando and having left to go to the east coast of Florida we ended up having our Thanksgiving dinner at Denny’s. A fun memory.
I am sure all of you have a story about one of your Thanksgivings. Spending time with family and friends can be special. We can cheer on our favorite football teams (and this year our national soccer teams) or watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade with our youngest family members waiting for the next huge balloon to come down the street. Not to mention the food.
But there is more to what this day should mean to us than family, food, and friends. How do we reach out to those who are not as fortunate as we are? Yes, we gathered the ingredients for a Thanksgiving dinner and brought them to church so they could be distributed to forty-four families that wouldn’t have a Thanksgiving dinner to build memories on. Can we share our time with others on Thanksgiving day to serve a hot meal or sit and visit with someone who is alone or shut in? Can we offer up a prayer of thanksgiving as we sit down at our table and ask God not only to bless our food but also to help us remember that what we are and what we have are through his grace and his love for us?
Remember on Thanksgiving, to ask yourself “What I am truly thankful for” and then ask God to help you to share your gifts (time, talent, and treasure) with those who are less fortunate. But we shouldn’t only have these prayers of thanksgiving on our “Turkey Day” but throughout the year.
I know that I am thankful for all of you! Have a blessed Thanksgiving day this year.
Yours in Christ,
Denise Krallman
This weekend, Lakota East, Lakota West, Mason, Hamilton, and one hundred other high school marching bands from around the country will descend on Lucas Oil Stadium for Bands of America Grand National Championships. Think of it as if the playoffs and the Superbowl were all crammed into one weekend!
In my excitement for my son to march there, I can’t help but remember my own experiences with marching band. While I was in high school, the Manchester Marching One-Hundred would pack up instruments and sheet music in early August and head off to a week of band camp in the woods of Northeast Ohio.
Our days were simple: Mornings were loaded with marching up and down the field. Afternoons were a mix of music rehearsals, both in small groups of like instruments and as a full ensemble. After dinner, we put the whole thing together until the darkness and mosquitoes descended on the marching field. Hour after hour, we worked together listening, watching, and learning.
Mr. Weyrick, the band director, whether perched atop the three-story scaffold tower on the sideline of the football field, standing on his podium in the dining lodge or floating around to sectionals, constantly reminded individual players that we were part of something much larger than ourselves. Yes, we were playing a part – an important part – as an instrumentalist moving about the field making music and morphing formations, but we were also an essential component of a complex and interwoven body – the marching band.
The percussion section, where I marched, was part of the larger band. This group of twelve drumming musicians worked in concert with woodwind, brass, and color guard. Weyrick not only knew the many different parts and players, but he also was aware of how they all fit together. He could see the big picture.
Late in the summer, we would disappear into the thick woods as a bunch of distracted high schoolers. A week later, we would emerge as a cohesive team of focused sight and sound, ready to hit the football game half-time, the band show circuit, and area parades. It was an amazing transformation.
What an image for the Church! Our families, friendships, neighborhoods, places of work, sports teams, worship, and acts of service are each a vital part of God’s ministry. The apostle Paul reminds us when he writes, “The tuba cannot say to the cymbals, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the color guard to the trumpet, ‘I have no need of you.’” (A marching band translation of 1 Corinthians 12.)
Every one of us is intimately known by our Creator God and has specific gifts to share. We have a crucial role to play in the life of the world and we have opportunities to use those gifts.
This Sunday, we will vote on new council leadership and the mission spending plan for 2023, as well as make financial commitments to Lord of Life for the coming year. As we do, we remember that we are each a vital part of God’s work. Every one of us is essential to God and has a role in what the Spirit of God is putting in motion as we live, share, and celebrate in our corner of the world.
Yes, there is much to do. We are often not in step. We aren’t in tune. Much of the time we can’t even find our place in the song. How do we get it together?
Somehow, through our careful planning and praying, coupled with an act of grace, God makes beautiful music with the work of our daily lives. Our beloved conductor nabs our attention, asks us to march and play together, creating music for ears and hearts that will draw us and the world into the presence of God.
Marching in the Light of God,
Pastor Lowell
God is with us
In the gift and the muck and the mire of real life
We are called to be with others
Amid others
Beside others
By others
For others
Including others
Near others
A companion to others
Side by side with others
In the thick of others
God with us. Us, with others.
God with us in the thick of the beautiful and the messy.
In that, a weary world rejoices.
These words are from the video played at worship this past Sunday. I invite you to watch or rewatch the offering video at minute 54:20 at https://youtu.be/u9jBq3uS8pA?list=UU_jFPQxQ0fdtX1fUt_Sor2w. This video by theworkofthepeople.com resonated in my heart for many reasons but it gave me hope especially in this season of political division. God calls us to be with “others” even if they may be different from us or face challenges that we may not understand. This world can be messy, and crazy, and frightening but God is big enough to hold all of us and in turn, gives us the courage and empathy to see the others as God sees all of us.
Over the past several months we have been bombarded by every media platform about the evil others. This messaging preys on our fears of “the others”. Whichever side you are on, the others will be the downfall of our community or our country. We stubbornly cling to “our team” without challenging ourselves to show the same grace and love that Jesus has shown us. Our own need to be right is strong. But are we?
None of the problems in this country has an easy solution. Each one is complicated, and solutions can come in a myriad of forms. The truth is not always easy to find. We owe it to ourselves and neighbors to seek ways to live together in peace, hope, and love. Realizing that there can be propaganda that can cloud our judgment and we need Jesus to light the way in love.
What if we looked at the others through the lens of Jesus? He sees each of us as children of God. Created in God’s image. Yes, we may have diverse backgrounds, religions, cultures, or lifestyles, but Jesus lived the example of including and loving those that are different and on the margins. If we take the time to understand the others, I bet we would have far more in common than we think we do. What if we tuned out the noise about the others and spent time learning about each other? Always with our hearts and minds tuned to the teachings and life of Jesus.
God with us. Us, with others.
God with us in the thick of the beautiful and the messy.
In that, a weary world rejoices.
With you in Jesus,
Angie Seiller
Director of Faith Formation
I’ve made a habit of scrolling through Pinterest. Usually, the pins (posts on Pinterest) I’m looking at are just ideas for my house and garden - things I can add to my list of never-ending renovation projects that will inevitably cost more money and time. Every once in a while, something slips through the algorithm and there is a random unrelated pin.
This week, a pin popped up about Halloween candy. Someone had this great idea she would teach all the neighborhood kids about generosity by donating to charity instead of buying candy to hand out. When the costumed kiddos came to the door, she would hand them a little card explaining her donation.
Normally, I wouldn’t give a post like this much head-space. I don’t have kids and I don’t get many trick-or-treaters, so I’m not too worried about what my candy expenditure is or isn’t saying about how we think about our giving. But I work for a church and something about this person’s method immediately struck me the wrong way.
When I think of giving, I think of giving out of my abundance. I’m glad to give because I have been given enough to share. God didn’t give me my gifts to teach me any sort of lesson about giving - God gave all of our gifts freely to use as we wish.
As I think about trick-or-treating as a five-year-old, I’d be a little miffed if I invested the effort to walk my short legs up to someone’s door and got a card my parents had to help me understand. If anything, the lesson I might take away is that for me to be generous, something I was expecting has to be taken away.
The truth is so different - I’m so grateful for everything I have. I’m well-fed; I have a roof over my head; I get to work at a place I love. I know there are people who don’t have as much and I’m glad to give to organizations that help make the world a better place. I also get excited to give to places where I participate or partake regularly. Perhaps when I am called to give, that is how God is providing for others, too.
In the case of trick-or-treating, maybe a more effective idea would be to give candy and a donation. Maybe there could even be a call to action with the address of a charity where I could choose to share my excess candy. This might send the message that there is plenty to share and I could choose to share out of my abundance.
What are you grateful for? How do you share from your abundance? We continue to explore these ideas as we discuss how we are Rooted in Faith, Hope, and Love.
Yours in Christ,
John Johns, Music Director
Reformation Sunday is next week (Sunday, October 30.) If you’re a lifelong Lutheran, you’ve been celebrating Reformation for as long as you’ve been coming to church. You might even think of it as a feast day as important as Christmas and Easter - so it might be the only day you see some of those folks who pack into church just a few times a year.
For those of us who have come to the Lutheran denomination from other places, Reformation is more of a mystery. We find out we’re supposed to wear red (sometimes by showing up in the wrong color the first time we’re here), we hear quite a bit about indulgences, and we know that Martin Luther, working from within the Catholic Church, had enough complaints to post 95 talking points on the wooden doors of his nearest cathedral.
My journey began in the Roman Catholic church, went through the Episcopal church, and has found me at Lord of Life for the past eight years. I like to think this gives me a perspective I can share with other people who have also come from other denominations; and now that I’m an “insider” I can talk about how the Reformation set us apart from other churches and how that makes Lord of Life and our own brand of Lutheranism feel so different from other communities.
Getting beyond the basics, I like to compare the difference between the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic church to the differences in the messages of Peter and Paul.
Peter was the insider. One of the original 12 apostles. Jesus’ right-hand man and the first pope. He also got chastised a bit by Jesus for making some very mortal human decisions. We only get two books in the Bible attributed to Peter. His message focuses on doing things the right way to be saved, an earthly inheritance in the kingdom, having early Christians separated from the “gentiles,” and that the flock of Israel is God’s representation in the world.
Paul was the outsider and took not only a new Christian identity, but the role of Evangelist who spread the Christian faith in the world. We attribute thirteen books of the Bible to Paul. His message focuses on our salvation coming through our faith instead of what we do, the promise of a heavenly position in God’s kingdom, all people being part of the Body of Christ, and that everyone is a representative of God.
Even though the BIble adopted much more of Paul’s writing, the Catholic Church ended up resembling a lot more of Peter’s ideology: rule-based, exclusive for the worthy few, us vs. them.
Martin Luther’s Reformation helped us look at things in the more broad ways that Paul did as he spread Jesus’ word to the growing church. He welcomed everyone to the table the way we do each Sunday morning. He celebrated everyone’s faith together and asked them to worship in their own language instead of the ancient Latin the Catholics had been using for 1,500 years. He reminded us we are all worthy to be saved because Jesus has already said we are - we don’t need a church to tell us whether or not we can be included.
This is the kind of Christianity we celebrate at Lord of Life this Reformation. No exceptions. No expectations. No exclusions.
Yours in Christ,
John Johns
While every day is a gift, some days land in our lives with more gravity than others. I’m writing on one such day.
During the morning Bible study at church, I was continually distracted by a preschool class down the hall breaking into their morning routine, which I can only believe was “free-range preschool exploration of everything in the room” time. It was thrilling to listen to the chorus of toys, games, chatter, and more in a concert of chaos. One of the children must have discovered an accordion on a music shelf. It’s unique moan undergirded the noise with a heart-warming drone. The sustained clamor and infectious joy were a gift.
On the same day, I spent most of the afternoon in one of our local intensive care units with a family who was making hard decisions. With the lights dimmed, we moved between bedside prayers and silence. In the hush of that holy space, we shared a lifetime of stories peppered with laughter and tears. Through the beeps and tweaks of life-sustaining machines, we gave thanks for the caring and attentive staff, technology, our histories, and God’s palpable presence. Each were a gift.
That evening, I met one last time with a young couple who will be married in the coming weeks. As we stood in the outdoor worship space, they imagined the space filled with family and friends gathered to celebrate with them, as they declare their love and commit their lives to one another. Leaves were swirling everywhere as an autumn storm rolled in. Those few minutes with them were a gift.
In between these moments, there were church staff conversations, worship planning moments, phone calls and texts, photocopying, and sweeping up some broken glass in the hallway. These too were each a gift.
Our Wednesday morning Bible study is currently working our way through David Lose’s Making Sense of the Christian Faith. Each week, we explore one of the basics of Christian faith, including creation, sin, covenant, atonement, and others.
This week, we focused our discussions on “Incarnation,” which literally means “embodied in flesh.” Our talk about Incarnation in church circles is about God’s Word (Jesus) becoming flesh and living among us. Read John 1:1-18.
During our class, we talked about the audacity of God becoming a human! That was far beyond what any respectable god at that time would have done. Jesus lived fully into his humanity by experiencing birth and death as a person. We wondered about how he may have been tempted, frustrated, and enraged. The Bible tells us that Jesus was active in moments of teaching and learning. He was present for bedside prayers and moments of death. He shared in joy with wedding couples. What a gift to know that Jesus has been where we are and continues to be with us.
Trusting that God continues to dwell among us, Canadian songwriter Bruce Cockburn calls us to be attentive.
In this cold commodity culture
Where you lay your money down
It's hard to even notice
That all this earth is hallowed ground
Harder still to feel it
Basic as a breath
Love is stronger than darkness
Love is stronger than death
The Gift by Bruce Cockburn
© 1988 Golden Mountain Music Corp. (SOCAN)
Every day, wherever we go and whatever we do, we are immersed in the presence of God. The Spirit of God fuels and encourages us, while stories of Jesus’ life remind us that he knows the human experience. Pay attention to your life and give thanks. It is a gift.
Thrilled to share the journey with you,
Pastor Lowell