OSE-news: stormy morning 8/27

 

 

From: Our Savior Lutheran Church
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 10:18 AM
To: Our Savior Lutheran Church
Subject: OSE-news: stormy morning 8/27

 

On this early Monday morning, it is only a bit blustery with some dark gray skies, and not even any rain at the moment.  It looks like Tropical Storm Isaac (or Hurricane Isaac) won’t be much of an issue for us. We hope the same for others in the Gulf coast.  I found it a bit interesting that officially the tropical storm warning for Vero Beach ended at 1am this morning, but about 3am the wind and rain were more powerful than anything out of this whole event!  Go figure.    

 

So, another week begins.  And as we are now in about the peak of the Hurricane season, and we hear about evacuation plans, the statement Peter made in our Gospel yesterday seems fitting:  “Lord to whom shall we go?”  When we find our self in a dark or stormy place in our lives, or lost, or worried, or angry or frightened and wonder,  “Lord to whom shall we go?”  we then hear Peter also say, “You have the words of eternal Life.”   It’s in those difficult places where we often are reminded that what we really need is to be more open to what God is trying to tell us, and open to where God would lead us.  As I look back on my life, it seems those difficult or scary times were also the faith building times…if we look to the one to whom we should always go…in good times and in bad.  If stormy times help us do that, bring ‘em on!  Then hold us close to you, O Lord.

 

 

Sunday School Registration Night! This Wednesday, August 29th, 6:00pm in the Fellowship Hall. There will be pizza, salad, banana Splits, craft activities for the kids, and registration for the upcoming Sunday School year. Also, at 6:15pm there will be a meeting for all Confirmation Students (7th-9th grade) in Rooms 4-5, and Youth Group at the usual time at 6:30pm. If you have never been to Youth Group before this is a great night to try it out!  

 

This coming weekend, Labor Day weekend, will be the last of our summer schedule, with worship on Saturday at 6pm (as it is all year long), but this will be the last Sunday with worship at 9:30am.   Also, on this Labor Day weekend, we will be celebrating the work we do all week long!   So, we are inviting our folks to wear what they would normally wear for work, or what you wear when you volunteer in the community.  We’re also asking everyone to bring business cards to post on a bulletin board that we will have in church.  Or if you don’t have a card we’ll have sticky notes  to write on.  This is becoming a special tradition in our congregation and a way to get to know and celebrate what everyone does during the week with the gifts God has given them.  Hope you can join us.  The following weekend, Sept. 8-9, we return to our regular schedule of worship at 6pm on Saturday and 8:30 and 11am on Sunday, with Sunday School at 9:45am. 

 

 Calling all runners, would-be runners, might-be runners . . . on the Tuesday, Sept. 4th at 6:30pm we will kick off our Run for God program. This first night will be a chance to learn about the program and to get started, we won't do any running together this first night, so no need to dress in workout clothes, just come to learn more. This program is a great way to spend some intentional time on physical and spiritual health all together! Reply to this email, let Pastor Shelly know, or call Jim Tardi (772-321-9820) if you are interested so we can order enough participant workout guides ($19each).  

 

For more information about life at Our Savior, please visit our website at:   www.oursaviorelca.com. 

 

Thanks, see you in church, and have a blessed week!       Pastor Jack Diehl +

 

 

O.S.E-news: 8/20/12

What a great way to start the school year!   The chancel was filled this weekend during worship at the time of the creed and prayers as children, teachers, and support staff for our schools gathered for the "Blessing of the Backpacks" and to be prayed for as another school year begins.  How great it was to see everyone again after a lot of vacations and traveling has kept us scattered throughout the summer.  

 

Along with that blessing, Bonnie Lanyi, in her sermon gave us a particular image to carry with us into this week and into another school year.   That is, in communion, as we receive Christ himself in the bread and wine, He becomes a part of us on a cellular level.   Not in the "cell phone" sense of "cellular" but in the physiological sense, as that bread and wine, the Living Bread, Jesus Himself permeates our bodies and becomes a part of our very cells.   Think about that.  How can it be business as usual knowing that Christ is a part of who we are and what we do, and that we are connected with God on a deep level like that?  Thanks for that image, Bonnie, as another school year begins.

 

This coming week our Church Council meets on Tuesday at 7pm.  For this meeting we will open with a 20 minute video of Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, from this past summer's ELCA Youth Gathering.  That will be followed by developing a welcoming statement for our congregation.  If anyone is interested in being a part of this, as always, council meetings are open and you'd be welcome to attend.   We will probably be meeting in the sanctuary this Tuesday to be able to best view the video.  

 

Youth Group continues meeting on Wednesday at 6:30pm.  This week the Youth Group will also meet in the sanctuary and watch that video, followed by a musical jam session, along with finalizing plans for Rock the Universe coming up in September.   All kids, middle school through high school are welcome.  In this sometimes crazy world, a time and place like this for our kids is a good way for them to be grounded and centered in a relationship with God and each other.  What better place to be?

 

As this new school year begins, be watching for updates and activities in these emails, and also check our website at:   www.oursaviorelca.com.      

 

Have a blessed week, and we'll see you in church!     Pastor Jack Diehl +  

 

PS....Yay!  Pastor Shelly returns from vacation this week!

O.S.E-news; August 13, 2012

 

“Whoever eats this Bread will live forever.”    These are words we’ve been hearing in worship during these “Bread Sundays” in this year’s lectionary.  In yesterday’s sermon I quoted Joe Sittler, a pastor and professor emeritus of theology in Chicago, who had gone nearly blind in his old age and, before he died, shared these thoughts about life after death.  By request, here is that quotation:

 

“Intellectually, I cannot put any content into the word “live” with regard to the time after I die.  Because the only life I know is the finite one that I love before dying.  I certainly don’t want to do this all over again.  I definitely do not want to continue to love the present carcass into all eternity.  That is an absurd and not at all pleasant idea.  But what life beyond death might be, I have no notion.  If all life is engendered and created by God, then that relationship will not be destroyed by the periodic appearance and disappearance of this particular person with my name.  Something continues, but what that will be I’m perfectly willing to leave in the hands of the Originator.”

 

And, in the hands of the Originator is a pretty good place to be, both for eternity and for every day until then!

 

This coming weekend, Sept. 18-19, we will be putting in the hands of “the Originator” our students and teachers on our annual “Blessing of the Backpacks” weekend!   With school around the corner, what better way to begin, than asking God’s blessings on our children and their teachers.   Our children are asked to bring their backpacks and our teachers to bring their lesson plans books, all of which we will lay under the altar as we come into church.  At the time of the prayers during worship, we’ll invite the children and teachers to come forward for a blessing.      In addition to this we will also be gathering an offering for “Backpacks for Suriname” this weekend.  This year the Lutheran Church in Suriname is one of the places we will be helping students, in an orphanage there, with school supplies.   Our offering (of any amount) will be going toward purchasing backpacks which will be supplied with a school uniform, shoes, and gym clothes along with pencils, paper and other school supplies.  The cost of each fully stocked backpack is $50.   Any amount you’re able to give will go toward this project, and we’ve already had an offer from someone to purchase a number of these backpacks and “even out” whatever amount is gathered to fill more backpacks.   As an added bonus, one of our own college students, Ben Smith is making plans to go to Suriname to volunteer at that orphanage.  If we can arrange the timing of it all, Ben can actually bring the gift and present it in person, as well as work with the children at the orphanage.  So, plan on joining us for worship this weekend as we come to receive the Bread of Life, send our children and teachers into a new school year with that blessing, and also share that Bread in a tangible way with some children in Suriname. 

 

On a “for your information” note, tomorrow, Tuesday Aug. 14 will be “Glue Day” at Our Savior as our property guys, headed up by Mark Davia, will be securing the pews to the tile floor.  If you haven’t yet seen the completed tile project, you will be impressed.  It’s really beautiful, and all the tile contributes to a great, bright sound and wonderful singing. 

 

For other information about life at Our Savior, be sure to visit our website at:  www.oursaviorelca.com, which will, by the way, receive some major updates in the not too distant future….so keep posted.

 

May you all have a blessed week.       Pastor Jack Diehl +

 

 

OSE-news: August 6, 2012

 

One day at a time….that’s the way God provided manna from heaven to the wilderness bound Israelites.  And that’s the way God provides for us.   What that is, is a call to faith on our part.  But we can trust in God to provide, because God is faithful, and has proven to be that over the ages, in good times and bad, in wilderness times and in times of plenty. 

 

As this week now unfolds, here are some ways and settings in which we can live out that trusting relationship with God. 

 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 7, at 6pm, there will be an “Interfaith Drumming Event” at Temple Beth Shalom, with just our two congregations, as we see what it’s like “being in rhythm together”.   This is for children and adults alike. 

 

On Wednesday our Youth Group will be meeting at its regular time (6:30pm).  We are inviting all members of the Youth Group and their parents to be a part of this gathering as we look ahead to this new school year, share what has been the best part about Youth Group, what we can do better perhaps, or what new things we might want to try.  We also realize that this is “Band Camp” week, so a number of our regulars will be making music elsewhere.  But we will be open to any thoughts or ideas that they or any others would like to email or bring in at another time.   Special thanks to Ed and Kelly Elsebough for being a couple of the key people in our ongoing Youth Ministry. 

 

Looking ahead, the week of August 18-19 will be the “Blessing of the Backpacks”, along with an opportunity to give a monetary donation to provide backpacks for students in Suriname.  Watch for more info as we get closer to that weekend. 

 

And looking a little farther ahead, do you like to run?  “Run for God” is a 3 month program that will start Tuesday Sept. 4 which will connect your physical and spiritual well being in a program that combines Bible Study and running!  How cool does that sound?!   Our thanks to Jim Tardi for spearheading this program. 

 

Finally, in the “Lost and Found” department, a nice camera, with a telephoto lens, has shown up in the lobby in church.  If you are missing this camera or know of someone who is, let us know. 

 

For more information about life at Our Savior, please visit our website at:  www.oursaviorelca.com.

 

May you have a blessed week, experiencing, and sharing, God’s grace one day at a time.    Pastor Jack +