There is so much craziness in my life right now: I am entering my second year of internship at Trinity Lutheran Church in Mt. Healthy, I am preparing to submit my annual evaluations to the synod and the seminary, my classes are fully underway for the spring, and I am preparing for my synod approval, which is the next step in my ordination path. Things are beginning to move quickly, and it feels like I am speeding to what feels like something of a finish line.

My path to ordination is winnowing down. A lot has happened since January of 2022. I have grown, found my ministerial voice, and am looking forward to Approval and First Call. Everything in my life is pushing me forward, and that is so very exciting. I feel like a high school senior seeing my time in one season of life wind down as I enter the liminal space of preparation for my next season.

Just like high school seniors, I am also looking forward to Homecoming. This isn’t a Homecoming that involves a dance or a football game or a cheesy way of asking someone to be my date. For me, Homecoming will be returning to you, returning to Lord of Life. I had the joy of being able to get together with Pastor Lowell last week for coffee and left that morning with an invitation to return to Lord of Life as a guest preacher, so I will be coming home to see you all on Sunday, March 30. Mark your calendars!

In the spirit of that homecoming, I’ve been thinking about Mark 5:19, where the healed man from Gerasene is sent by Jesus, with him being told, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” I feel very much like the Gerasene man, coming to share with you how I have been transformed, how the Holy Spirit moves within me, and how I have come to feel the Holy presence in my life.

These last three years have been amazing, life changing, and remarkably challenging. While the process of seminary has resulted in my having to step away as a regular presence at Lord of Life, please know that you all are a regular part of my daily thoughts. You are all in my prayers, and I will always be grateful for the support and love I receive from you. You are my HOME church, and I am extremely excited to be coming home to you all.

See you in March!

Rick Ponton
Pastoral Intern, Trinity Lutheran Church, Cincinnati

Janelle Monáe performs onstage during the 67th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/WireImage)

The GRAMMY Awards always intrigue me. Even in a year when I’m not familiar with the nominated artists, I am drawn to watch the Sunday evening musical marathon in hopes of discovering new music or witnessing a partnership that on any other day would be impossible. It is a musical nerd paradise! This annual evening of elaborate staging and designer outfits is an occasion for new startup groups and solo performers to mingle alongside artists who have been songwriting, recording, and touring for decades.

One of the most thrilling parts of the show year after year are the collaborations that occur, shattering barriers and genres which often segregate both artists and fans. My favorite team up from this past Sunday evening was the All-Star Tribute to Quincy Jones, following his death this past November. Herbie Hancock, Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe, Jacob Collier, Stevie Wonder, Lainey Wilson, and more led us on a tour de force of several of Quincy’s major recordings! It was a beautiful and transcendent moment when all sorts of musical worlds collided. You can watch the tribute here.

Our lives are equally diverse and beautiful. Although we are surrounded by a full spectrum of people and experiences, all too often our likes and dislikes segregate us. We gravitate toward that which is comfortable and familiar, rather than boldly exploring all that life has to offer us. How refreshing it is, though, when we unite with the unexpected.

We witness this in the church, too. Some people choose a church based on the method or mode of a weekend service. Is there a chanted liturgy, an organ, or a praise ensemble? What about speaking in tongues, weekly Holy Communion, or a community based mission focus? This diversity can be a beautiful expression of the creative variety at work among the people of God. It can also divide us.

As you know, the world of music is so much bigger than the GRAMMYs, the Country Music Awards, or any other celebration of famous people and popular songs. Thousands of singers, musicians, songwriters, producers, and engineers were hard at work this past year composing music and crafting beautiful art. So it is with the church. All sorts of folks are immersed in the mysteries of God as they explore how to work together with and for God’s purposes.

Journalist Thomas Friedman contends, “Several technological and political forces have converged, and that has produced a global, Web-enabled playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration without regard to geography or distance - or soon, even language.”

Now, more than ever, these same opportunities have become available to us as the body of Christ, too. We are able to have dialogue and partnerships with people of other cultures and faiths in our own neighborhoods as well as across the continents. Global collaboration is not only a possibility, but a reality for communities and persons of faith as we connect in meaningful ways that we could not have imagined a generation ago.

So many exciting collaborations lie before us as a church. We welcome new families and individuals into the Lord of Life community and are thrilled to share our space as the mission hub for Vida Eterna Iglesia Luterana (VEIL). We continue to forge strong partnerships with the Faith Alliance of West Chester, Family Promise, Tikkun Farm, and several recovery groups. We’re eager to take 35 people to Appalachia this summer to partner with Appalachia Service Project in making homes warmer, safer, and drier. The Holy Spirit is building bridges between communities and people, fueling new partnerships that will give birth to something new.

How is God inviting and guiding you into collaborations in the coming year? Who will we encounter as we travel through 2025? We do not know, but we move forward in hope for our collective melodies and rhythms to become part of a new song.

Let’s sing together,
Pastor Lowell

As I approached a stop light a few weeks ago, I pulled behind a big truck. I couldn’t help but notice the large, neon-green sticker in the back window that said, “Ask me if I give a @*%&”. Ironically, I wasn’t even offended by the language (guess that’s another blog), but it deeply saddened me that this person felt so little care for anything that they had purchased a sticker proclaiming it.

Who was this person that had so little passion or concern for anything? How were they so disheartened or angry with the world that they went out in the community advertising it? Have you ever felt this way? Maybe not to the degree of advertising but others could feel this coming from you, or you put on a happy exterior but apathy is what you were feeling inside?

In the current climate of the world, I do understand that it might be a natural reaction to put your blinders on because confronting the future or comprehending the magnitude of wars, wildfires, the anger that seems to be all around us, family or mental health issues, or the state of our country is too much to bear. Looking into the future feels hopeless and discouraging. There is no joy or pleasure, only pain and difficulty. It’s just easier not to care.

As Christians, there is always good news; we have reason to hope. Paul writes in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Our God is a God of hope which means those who trust Christ always have reason to hope. The Holy Spirit is working to change our hearts and minds. It may not be overnight, but God will guide us on the journey.

My hope is that the person in the truck gets to experience something that brings him hope or his heart is softened (I imagine Grinch style) by seeing that there is so much good in the world. Maybe he will encounter one of our youth that was on our Jr. High retreat who ooze silliness and kindness. They can’t help but make you smile. Or cross paths with one of the hundreds of enthusiastic youth leaders who recently attended our ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) Conference. Their light and energy are infectious.

As Christians and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the tools to flip the narrative from apathy and anger to hope. Ann Lamont writes about her friend Father Tom Weston, who reassures people who come to him in despair, with these words, “We do what’s possible. We are kind to ourselves. We take care of the poor. We feed hungry kids. We pick up litter.” Our gestures may not be grand, but they will bear fruit and continue to spread.

Please pray with me for the person in that truck and for all those who may be feeling this anger and despair. May they know hope and find peace.

Serving and hoping with you,
Angie Seiller, Director of Faith Formation

It’s not easy being green. We’ve heard these words through several generations now from Kermit the Frog or one of the many artists who have covered the song since it aired on Sesame Street in 1970. If you listen to it like you’re five years old, it just sounds like Kermit is complaining about being a boring color that blends in with leaves and grass. He wants to be a brighter color, or maybe something sparkly or flashy so he stands out.

With adult eyes and ears, we can take a deeper dive into the lyrics and understand that Kermit felt different from everyone else. He was passed by because his color made him seem unimportant. He didn’t just feel like he was boring - he had been treated poorly by people because he was green.

As someone who has spent my whole life feeling green in one way or another, I’ve always related to Kermit (especially that he wishes he could be sparkly). More often than not, though, I hoped I would blend in and go unnoticed rather than suffer the consequences of being recognized as different. When you are green, It is impossible to know when you walk down the street or into a room full of strangers who might have a reaction to who you are - not just a negative reaction, but potentially a violent one. There were times I thought the world was getting better about this, but the pockets of hate about all kinds of green are still big and loud.

I wish I knew what the answer was. In part, I think it is important to acknowledge that all kinds of hate are still affecting people’s lives. People are being targeted because of their race, gender, sexuality, social status, religion … and they are being targeted both religiously and politically.

During our season of Epiphany, we decorate our church in green as a symbol of growing. We hear of Jesus’ first miracles, which he performs without bias, despite what the church leaders and government would want him to do. Jesus gives us this example so that we, as his followers, will also look beyond the preconceived biases we might have to share his love in the world.

By the end of the song, Kermit realizes that green is also the color of spring, and it can be big like an ocean or important like a mountain. Once he took some time to reflect on what it really meant, he found that he had been tainted by his prejudices.

“I'm green and it'll do fine
It's beautiful, and I think it's what I want to be”

John Johns

During my senior year at Luther College, I took a class where we read personal stories from those who were incarcerated. Reading about their experiences of being in prison gave me a new perspective about their individual stories rather than generalizing them based on what they did. 

I have been thinking about that class a lot lately after finishing a memoir last week called The House of My Mother by Shari Franke. I was left in awe of the author's vulnerability in sharing some of the most difficult and dark times of her life.  

In the last few years, I have become more comfortable with sharing parts of my story that are more difficult to share, especially my parents divorce and the difficult relationship I have with some of my family members. By no means is it easy, but it has made me grow closer to some important people in my life and to God.

Brené Brown, in her book Rising Strong: The Reckoning, says, “The irony is that we attempt to disown our difficult stories to appear more whole or more acceptable, but our wholeness—even our wholeheartedness—actually depends on the integration of all of our experiences, including the falls.” 

What I love about this quote is that it is a reminder to us about the value of even the most difficult parts of our story. As followers of Jesus, we also have the reassurance that no matter what we do, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This scripture is reassuring because we know that in all parts of your story, God never leaves you.

Are there ways that you can share your story with others, even the most difficult parts? Are there ways that you have seen God working even in the most difficult parts of your story?  

Always sharing,
Pastor Nicole

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” –Matthew 11:28-30

My life was always busy growing up. Nights that my family wasn’t running off to one place or another were few and far between. I like to be busy. I like to feel important. I like to work hard. This past year has really challenged me to reflect on why I like the busyness.

To be candid, 2024 was a hard year for me. It was beautiful and amazing—I got married and moved to a new city. But it was also the year I quit my dream job, moved away from my family, moved away from my friends, left a church that I had finally started feeling at home in, and started a brand new life in a place where I knew no one.

Not only was my entire life up in the air, but I was also beginning to feel burned out from a life of constant go-go-go. I was working 10-hour days more often than I should have been, planning a wedding, maintaining friendships, and raising a puppy. I was living my life at what seemed like 90 miles an hour. The pace felt fine enough—I was doing okay. I was getting things done and achieving what I thought I wanted, but I was growing farther from relationship with God. How?? I was working in ministry! I thought I had found the fast-track to holy perfection! Okay... I wasn’t quite that naive, but you get the idea.

I had been romanticizing the idea of a “busy” life. If you asked me how my day was or how things were going before 2024, odds are that I would have answered, “Oh, you know, busy!” Saying things were busy gave me an opportunity to avoid real conversations about how things really were without bending the truth because it was true: My life was busy!

But in all of the busyness, I realized time in prayer and time spent in the Word and time dwelling with God had fallen pretty low on my list of priorities. I realized that busy was not how I wanted people to see Christ through me. I wanted them to see loving, kind, peaceful, and joyful.

In one of his books, Pastor John Ortberg said, “For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.”

One of my favorite books that I read in 2024 was The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. In this book, one of the practical tips he gives is to physically slow yourself down in order to practice rest and presence. Some of his suggestions are to drive at the speed limit, get into the slow lane in traffic, pick the longest checkout line at the grocery store, show up early to an appointment without using your phone while you wait, stop trying to multitask, etc. Throughout 2024, I tried to do some of these on a regular basis and discovered that, actually, I don’t want to be in such a hurry all the time. And I realized that doing some of these things allowed me to better love my neighbors. If I am not in a rush at the checkout line, I can let a stranger who seems anxious to get to their next stop go ahead of me. If I am not in a hurry when I drive places, I find I have more peace and patience and can even pray for those driving past me at fast speeds. Love takes time, and hurry convinces you that you don’t have time.

Is hurrying preventing you from loving others well?
How will you challenge yourself to slow down and practice presence with God in 2025?

Working on slowing down,
Maddie Pease