Are you connected?

January 26, 2015               More and more I realize that being connected in a good and healthy way to God and to each other is one of the most important, life giving and meaningful things in life.  And being disconnected is one of the most painful, draining, hurtful things in life.   This past weekend in church, we experienced being connected in some wonderful ways.  One example was just after the 8:30 service ended and before the annual congregational meeting began.  Lori Nelson was arriving for the meeting.  As she came in through the front doors she said all the conversation and buzz sounded like a party from outside!  That's being connected in a good healthy way.  Another way we experienced being connected was in continuing to put pins on the maps in the narthex where we live.  One of our members said, I didn't know how many people from Our Savior live in my neighborhood!  I'll have to find out who they are! On a personal note, it was so great to have all the Diehl kids home for the weekend and at church together at the 11am service!   As many of you know, when the family grows up, it's harder and harder to all get together at one time.  So, for us, this weekend, and being at church together, was a wonderful connection.   What I didn't realize was that our being connected wasn't just something we got to experience at church.   In her sermon Pastor Shelly talked about homebound folks being able to connect with Our Savior via a live stream of our service on their computers, (the link is always on our homepage under worship services). When we returned home from church we had a message on our answering machine from one of our homebound folks who has been a part of Our Savior for many years.   She said it was so good to be connected in this way, and to see our kids and grandkids, and  how they've grown, and that our one daughter is expecting, how cute our grandkids are, etc.  Wow.  More and more we are hearing how this wonderful gift of being able to watch the service when you can't be here in person, is being used and appreciated by so many in so many places.  Please let us know if you are one of those who is able to be connected with us in this way when you can't be here in person with us.   And speaking of being connected, you can click here for our annual report and click here to watch the annual meeting (including the awesome singing Sunday School kids!) which took place yesterday during the Sunday School hour.    As this week unfolds, may you experience being connected in a good and healthy way with God and others around you. After all, that's what Jesus was about, connecting us with God and each other.  That's why he came and that's why we gather to worship and to be fed at his table, in order to nurture that holy connection.      Peace and Joy,  Pastor Jack +  www.oursaviorelca.com     Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

Forward this email This email was sent to oslcvero.godsamazinggrace@blogger.com by info@oursaviorelca.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Our Savior Lutheran Church | 1850 Sixth Ave. | Vero Beach | FL | 32960

Annual Congregation Meeting!

January 23, 2015       Please join us for the annual Congregation Meeting this Sunday at 9:45  in the Sanctuary.    Reports from the Staff and Ministries of Our Savior as well as an update on the budget and fiscal standing of Our Savior.

Forward this email This email was sent to oslcvero.godsamazinggrace@blogger.com by info@oursaviorelca.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Our Savior Lutheran Church | 1850 Sixth Ave. | Vero Beach | FL | 32960

What's Your Calling?

January 19, 2015                 Yesterday afternoon many of us got to experience a wonderful concert here at Our Savior by opera singer tenor Mark Thomsen.    On a bit of a funny note, before the concert I was sitting next to one of our visitors who said he came thinking of it kind of like a flu shot.  He didn't totally understand it (opera singing) but thought it would be good for him.  I laughed and agreed at little with him.  By the end of the concert we both felt it really was good for us both!   It was great.  We were glad we were there, and it didn't hurt at all! :-)   After the concert it was clear, in light of yesterday's theme at worship, that Mark, that great tenor, had found his calling!   He was amazing, talented, engaging and fun!  Thanks, Mark, and Ryan and Johanna for arranging this!   Not everyone's calling is as clear or obvious as this tenor's is.   But in fact, each one of us does have a calling.  Wherever we are, and whatever our gifts, strengths, weaknesses, abilities or vulnerabilities, we have a calling.   And that is to be a reflection of God's grace and mery at work in us and in God's world; to be Jesus' hands and feet, eyes and ears, in a world that God doesn't give up on.  That takes place in all kinds of settings and situations.  As kind of a fun "visual" of where we are called, we have 3 maps in the coffee area part of our narthex: a county map, a USA map and a world map, each with the sign, "Put a Pin Where You Live".   How fun to see where we all live, including places all around the country and the world!  These are all the places we are called to be God's people at work in the world.  We'll keep those maps there for a while, so you can put your pin in where you live!   One of the ways we can see how God calls people to be his hands and feet in the world is in a movie, "Kindness is Contagious". This movie will be shown this coming Thursday evening at an Interfaith Event sponsored by "Compassion Vero".  See the flyer below for more information.  Hope you can join us for that.    For other things going on at Our Savior please visit our website at www.oursaviorelca.com.     Also, please join us for the annual congregational meeting between services this Sunday, March 25th - 9:45 a.m.   Have a grace filled week!   See you in church!    Pastor Jack Diehl +         Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

Forward this email This email was sent to oslcvero.godsamazinggrace@blogger.com by info@oursaviorelca.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Our Savior Lutheran Church | 1850 Sixth Ave. | Vero Beach | FL | 32960

Baptized and Identified

January 12, 2015             Yesterday in worship we got to celebrate the Baptism of Alivia Madison Elsebough (who at 5 days old was our "baby Jesus" this past December 14 for the Sunday School Christmas program!)   What a wonderful celebration of how God claims us as His own, not only for her extended family gathered around (4 generations worth!) but for all of us as we both remembered our own Baptism and saw again how God continues to be at work among us, claiming us and sending us into the world.   Now, as Baptized sons and daughters of God and members of the Body of Christ, that identity is something that needs to be nurtured and lived out.  As this season of Epiphany unfolds (a short season this year, ending Feb.15) there are a number of ways and places to nurture and live out that special identity we share.  Here are just a few: Adult Sunday School class, Lutheranism 101; Wednesday night suppers (great conversation and breaking bread together);  Youth Group and Music Programs, every week, worship, every week, Saturday at 6pm or Sunday at 8:30 or 11am; and community service of all kinds along with the many activities listed on our website and in our service bulletins...... check it all out at www.oursaviorelca.com.     What are some of the ways you nurture and live out your Baptismal identity, as you remember who you are and to whom you belong?   Pass them along and we'll share them!  Thanks.    See you in church!    Pastor Jack Diehl +   P.S. - the Intergenerational Orchestra will help lead worship on January 25th with a rehearsal this coming Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m.  If you would like to be a part of it all contact Ryan at Music@oursaviorelca.com and he will get you music!    P.P.S - Don't miss what will be a great concert this coming Sunday, information below!        Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

Forward this email This email was sent to oslcvero.godsamazinggrace@blogger.com by info@oursaviorelca.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Our Savior Lutheran Church | 1850 Sixth Ave. | Vero Beach | FL | 32960

Happy 12th Day of Christmas!

January 5, 2015                 Happy 12th Day of Christmas!  Whew!   Just this morning here in the office at Our Savior we were reflecting on what a great Christmas season it has been.  But now how it will be good to get back to more of a routine (whatever that may look like!)   At least we might know what day it is without having to check the calendar.  :-)   And speaking of getting back to more of a routine, our Wednesday suppers resume at 6pm (roast pork and saurkraut this week), Wednesday Bible study at 10am, God Pause at noon, handbell and choir practices Wednesday evening and more.    Check our website for all this and more:  www.oursaviorelca.com.   So here we are in the early days of 2015, with another year lying before us.  This is always a time of the year filled with a mixture of hope and perhaps some anxieties...what lies ahead?  Just yesterday after worship I talked to one person about a new job coming in this new year, to another about a baby coming this year and to another about grandbaby coming !   Hope, promise, excitement, a little anxiety, all wrapped up together.    That's why I love entering the New Year during the last days of Christmas and the early days of Epiphany.  These 2 seasons give the clear message that the God of all time and space, the Alpha and the Omega, has come among us, full of grace and truth.  This God is the Light for our path and our "hope for years to come" as the one hymn reminds us.    While we may not know all that lies ahead, we know who goes with us, and that we are not alone.  With that kind of assurance and promise, and being together in this community of faith, we can say, 2015, bring it on!    See you in church!     Pastor Jack Diehl +      Weekly Devotions and Prayers: Taking Home Faith

Forward this email This email was sent to oslcvero.godsamazinggrace@blogger.com by info@oursaviorelca.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Our Savior Lutheran Church | 1850 Sixth Ave. | Vero Beach | FL | 32960