If you've spent any time around children, you would know that during October there is one thing on their minds: "Halloween"! Ask any teacher, Sunday School teacher or parent.
As November comes, what is one of the first things that comes to mind for you? My guess would be that "Thanksgiving" would be right up there. Of all the holidays and seasons of the year, "Thanksgiving" has a unique character. It's not wild and noisy like the 4th of July, it doesn't mark the beginning or end of the summer season like Memorial Day or Labor Day, (although it does kind of mark the beginning of "the holidays"), and it doesn't have the religious significance of Christmas or Easter. It is simply a time to reflect on our blessings, usually with family and friends, and be thankful. By it's very nature Thanksgiving is a reminder that "It's not about me." To truly be thankful, as a nation or as an individual, means to look outside of ourselves, to THE source of our blessings, God our heavenly Father.
One can't be truly thankful, or have a thankful heart if ones attitude is "It's all about me!" That kind of "turned inwardness" sees blessings only as something earned or received because of some kind of entitlement. But to be truly thankful is to recognize "It's not about me", but rather it's about a gracious God who gives us more than we desire or deserve. For that reason, it seems fitting to bring our Stewardship emphasis, “It’s Not About Me” to a conclusion in November. The weekend of November 7-8 we are asking that we all bring our plans for giving for 2010 to worship, as a way of saying "thanks to God", and recognizing that all we are and have are gifts from God. As we make that important shift from "It's all about me" to "It's NOT about me", I can almost hear Jesus say, "You are not far from the kingdom of heaven."
May God give us the kind of thankful hearts that truly know "it's not about me", and which find joy and satisfaction in giving thanks and in living out an attitude of gratitude everyday.
Gratefully,
+Pastor Jack Diehl
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Polarization: to be separated into opposed or antagonistic groups or viewpoints. Lately it seems our country and churches are experiencing more and more polarization. While it seemed both political parties, during the election process last year, talked about "crossing the aisle" and working together", it seems little of that is happening now that the election is over. And I'm not faulting either party for that. I'm just saying, it's a sad situation that doesn't seem to get any better.
But it's not just in the political world. For several years a number of church bodies have been experiencing polarization among their members. Just within the last couple of years we've seen that happen on a local scale with a well established congregation here in Vero Beach. Maybe some revel in this kind of discontent and division, but to me it's always painful.
Our own church body, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is not untouched by this kind of negative force at work around and within us. Since the national assembly, I've heard of a couple of congregations that are talking about leaving the ELCA. This is just sad, and in my opinion, plays right into the hand of the devil himself, who would love to see Christ's church wrangling and divided.
But in the middle of this kind of atmosphere, I am hopeful that our church, the ELCA, can be a different kind of witness and a different kind of "leaven in the loaf.” Our Bishops, and so many of our pastors and members are saying, the oneness we share in Christ, is stronger than some differences we may have among us. Not only that, but we need each other, with our differences, to keep each other honest and learning and growing together in God's grace. Perhaps one of the ways to fight the polarizing that is going on in our country and churches, is to set aside our arrogance, and be open to listening and learning from one another, recognizing that all are gifted in some way, but also that we are all also broken in some way.
The Scriptures are filled with stories of broken people being used in amazing and powerful ways for God's purposes. Is it possible that God is calling us, the ELCA, to be a witness to God's ability to reconcile a fallen humanity to Himself and to one another, in spite of our differences? This is a constant work in progress, the end of which isn't totally clear. But as we stand at the foot of the Cross and recognize the oneness we share in Christ as a beginning point, I believe the Holy Spirit will continue to guide and direct us, and even lead us out of this wilderness of polarization, to a new way of dealing with our differences and learning to live and work together for the common good and to God’s glory.
Lord, have mercy.
Pastor Jack
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Having had roots "up north", it's always a bit of a wonder to me what a difference Labor Day means up there and here in Florida. "Up north" Labor Day marked the end of summer, school would soon begin, you took in the dock at the lake, and you knew cool weather was around the corner.
Ha! None of that is true for us in Florida. School will have been in session for a couple of weeks, we never have to bring in the docks or winterize the boats, there is no end in sight for the steamy conditions, and we are in the peak of hurricane season!
But another thing marked by Labor Day for us is that we return to our regular worship schedule, that is: Saturday 6:00 PM and Sunday 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM. We do that with some mixed feelings.
Just recently after one of our 9:30 Sunday morning services, someone said, "This is the perfect time! Not too early and not too late!" And it's been great for many of us. But, in the interest of making the best use of our space and opportunity for more to worship, our 3 worship services resume for September through May.
The reason we want to make worship available to as many as possible is that worship is at the heart and core of who we are and what we do. In worship we hear that Life Giving Word and feed on Living Bread. In worship we are equipped to go out into the week and into the world, having heard and seen something more than what the world alone has to offer. There are so many Sundays (and Saturdays) when, after worship, I think, "Oh, I wish this person or that person would have been here. This is just what he or she needed."
During our several "Bread Sundays" this past summer, we were reminded of how eating the "Bread of Life" is as important to do on a regular basis as it is to eat "daily bread" on a regular basis. To fail to feed our physical bodies means one will wither and die. To fail to feed our spiritual nature, or to feed it with that which perishes, means that part of us will wither and die.
Perhaps Labor Day can mean, along with other things, a good time to re-commit to regularly and faithfully coming to worship, and to strengthening your spiritual self by feeding on the Bread of Life and then sharing that Bread of Life everyday with a hungry world. That could be one of the most important things one could do on this last holiday of the summer, no matter where one lives.
See you in church!
Pastor Jack Diehl
Ha! None of that is true for us in Florida. School will have been in session for a couple of weeks, we never have to bring in the docks or winterize the boats, there is no end in sight for the steamy conditions, and we are in the peak of hurricane season!
But another thing marked by Labor Day for us is that we return to our regular worship schedule, that is: Saturday 6:00 PM and Sunday 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM. We do that with some mixed feelings.
Just recently after one of our 9:30 Sunday morning services, someone said, "This is the perfect time! Not too early and not too late!" And it's been great for many of us. But, in the interest of making the best use of our space and opportunity for more to worship, our 3 worship services resume for September through May.
The reason we want to make worship available to as many as possible is that worship is at the heart and core of who we are and what we do. In worship we hear that Life Giving Word and feed on Living Bread. In worship we are equipped to go out into the week and into the world, having heard and seen something more than what the world alone has to offer. There are so many Sundays (and Saturdays) when, after worship, I think, "Oh, I wish this person or that person would have been here. This is just what he or she needed."
During our several "Bread Sundays" this past summer, we were reminded of how eating the "Bread of Life" is as important to do on a regular basis as it is to eat "daily bread" on a regular basis. To fail to feed our physical bodies means one will wither and die. To fail to feed our spiritual nature, or to feed it with that which perishes, means that part of us will wither and die.
Perhaps Labor Day can mean, along with other things, a good time to re-commit to regularly and faithfully coming to worship, and to strengthening your spiritual self by feeding on the Bread of Life and then sharing that Bread of Life everyday with a hungry world. That could be one of the most important things one could do on this last holiday of the summer, no matter where one lives.
See you in church!
Pastor Jack Diehl
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Midsummer greetings! As we enter the long, hot days of August, I'd like to share a little of a trip we took earlier this summer. The end of June, Karen and I visited theLutheran School of Theology Chicago, one of our ELCA seminaries, for the 35th anniversary of Christ Seminary/
Seminex, my alma mater. Seminex was born out of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's "civil war" back in the '70s, and was, in fact, part of the catalyst of the birthing of the ELCA some years later.
It was a wonderful event, seeing classmates and professors, some of whom I haven't seen in over 30 years, and a humbling feeling to have been a part of such an important time in the history of the church in the 20th century in America.
At this event, a conversation which took place in 1971, between Doc. Caemmerer (a homiletics prof) and John Tietjen (our seminary president) was remembered and shared. I'm sharing it with you, because it speaks so well to the question, "What is the difference between the Missouri Synod and the ELCA?" Even though there was no ELCA at that time, the quote is still helpful and insightful about who we are as Lutherans.
"The two views about Lutheranism that are in contention right now are as different as a box is different from a platform. The Preus people (the Missouri Synod leadership at the time...not related to our Martin Preuss) think of Lutheranism as a box. You have to be in the box to be a Lutheran. The box tells you what you can believe and what you can't believe. If you don't agree on the truth in the box, you have to get out. But Lutheranism is really a platform on which to stand. The Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions that witness to what they teach are the ground of our life together. They are the platform on which we stand to witness to what we
believe. As a rule and norm the Scriptures help us make sure that we speak the Word of God when we witness. The Confessions free us up to witness to what is the heart of our faith - Jesus Christ - and the good news that we are justified by faith in Him." (Memoirs in Exile, Tietjen, p. 72).
That may be a little heavy for mid summer reading, but it says something about who we are as Lutherans, for which I am humbly proud. :) From that platform, we have "good news" to share, the good news of the Gospel, the grace of God as revealed in Jesus. That is a grace that shapes our lives, our words and our actions as we live out our faith in our daily lives. And there is a wonderful freedom in that.
Being able to attend that anniversary celebration helped underscore that wonderful gift for me, and for that, I am so grateful.
May we all boldly and faithfully live out our calling as that part of God's people called Lutherans.
Sincerely and gratefully,
Pastor Jack Diehl
Seminex, my alma mater. Seminex was born out of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's "civil war" back in the '70s, and was, in fact, part of the catalyst of the birthing of the ELCA some years later.
It was a wonderful event, seeing classmates and professors, some of whom I haven't seen in over 30 years, and a humbling feeling to have been a part of such an important time in the history of the church in the 20th century in America.
At this event, a conversation which took place in 1971, between Doc. Caemmerer (a homiletics prof) and John Tietjen (our seminary president) was remembered and shared. I'm sharing it with you, because it speaks so well to the question, "What is the difference between the Missouri Synod and the ELCA?" Even though there was no ELCA at that time, the quote is still helpful and insightful about who we are as Lutherans.
"The two views about Lutheranism that are in contention right now are as different as a box is different from a platform. The Preus people (the Missouri Synod leadership at the time...not related to our Martin Preuss) think of Lutheranism as a box. You have to be in the box to be a Lutheran. The box tells you what you can believe and what you can't believe. If you don't agree on the truth in the box, you have to get out. But Lutheranism is really a platform on which to stand. The Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions that witness to what they teach are the ground of our life together. They are the platform on which we stand to witness to what we
believe. As a rule and norm the Scriptures help us make sure that we speak the Word of God when we witness. The Confessions free us up to witness to what is the heart of our faith - Jesus Christ - and the good news that we are justified by faith in Him." (Memoirs in Exile, Tietjen, p. 72).
That may be a little heavy for mid summer reading, but it says something about who we are as Lutherans, for which I am humbly proud. :) From that platform, we have "good news" to share, the good news of the Gospel, the grace of God as revealed in Jesus. That is a grace that shapes our lives, our words and our actions as we live out our faith in our daily lives. And there is a wonderful freedom in that.
Being able to attend that anniversary celebration helped underscore that wonderful gift for me, and for that, I am so grateful.
May we all boldly and faithfully live out our calling as that part of God's people called Lutherans.
Sincerely and gratefully,
Pastor Jack Diehl
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Pentecost Coming
We have just entered the long, "green" season of the church year, the season of Pentecost. In this case "green" refers to the liturgical color, symbolizing growth and life. But it could also refer to our efforts to "go green" by entering our summer schedule with worship at 6pm on Saturday and 9:30am on Sundays, beginning this coming Sunday June 7 and going through the end of August. During these summer months our worship setting is the same on both Saturday and Sunday, using Setting 10 from our hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship. This setting includes many familiar hymn tunes for the liturgy and is one of our favorites.Also, for this summer schedule, a staffed nursery will be available for our Saturday night service along with our Sunday morning service. If you took a "post-it note" off of the "wish list" board for Daycamp, you can bring those items in anytime up to and including next Sunday. As the week unfolds, remember to pray for those going on our Mission Trip to West Virginia the end of this week. They will be returning the end of next week. This coming weekend we'll still have some "bracelets" available with the names of those going for you to wear as a reminder to pray for them. Also, if you'd like to be a part of supporting that trip, it's not too late. Any gifts marked "Mission Trip" are greatly appreciated.Looking ahead to next weekend, June 6-7, we celebrate the only festival day of the year based on a teaching of the church and not on an event. Trinity Sunday is coming up, when we gather around that mystery of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; one in three and three in one. May you all have a blessed week and may you be open to the presence and guiding of the Holy Spirit as the week unfolds. See you in church! Pastor Jack Diehl www.oursaviorelca.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
Staying Connected and Being Green
Staying connected. This is such an important part of maintaining relationships. It's easy to drift apart without any real animosity or negative intentions. Family members find themselves in this situation. Friends find themselves there. We find ourselves in that situation in our relationship with God. Someone once said, if you feel God is far away, you might want to ask yourself, “Who moved?" Staying connected is not automatic. It takes some effort and determination to make that happen.
One of the ways we work to maintain our relationship with God and each other is through communication. This newsletter is one of those means of communicating. For years, monthly church newsletters have been used to help members stay connected and informed about their local family of faith.
Today, another major means of communicating is via computers and the Internet. With that development, some churches have discontinued mailing a monthly newsletter totally, using only an "electronic" newsletter. For us, in the interest of "going green", and using less paper, postage and fuel to deliver hard copy newsletters, we are offering the option of reading our newsletter on line. To do this, a person can simply go to our website (http://www.oursaviorelca.com/) and click on "newsletter". If you would be willing to be a part of the "green team" and receive your newsletter this way, please call (772-567-2253) or email (oursaviorelca@bellsouth.net) the church office and let us know. This will be not only a savings for the church, but just one more way to be a good steward of the environment.
At the same time, if you would like to keep receiving this newsletter in a hard copy form, that is fine also, and we'll be glad to keep you on the mailing list.
Thank you very much for considering this step in "going green" and helping us be good stewards of what God has given us.
Keeping in touch,
Pastor Jack Diehl http://www.oursaviorelca.com/
One of the ways we work to maintain our relationship with God and each other is through communication. This newsletter is one of those means of communicating. For years, monthly church newsletters have been used to help members stay connected and informed about their local family of faith.
Today, another major means of communicating is via computers and the Internet. With that development, some churches have discontinued mailing a monthly newsletter totally, using only an "electronic" newsletter. For us, in the interest of "going green", and using less paper, postage and fuel to deliver hard copy newsletters, we are offering the option of reading our newsletter on line. To do this, a person can simply go to our website (http://www.oursaviorelca.com/) and click on "newsletter". If you would be willing to be a part of the "green team" and receive your newsletter this way, please call (772-567-2253) or email (oursaviorelca@bellsouth.net) the church office and let us know. This will be not only a savings for the church, but just one more way to be a good steward of the environment.
At the same time, if you would like to keep receiving this newsletter in a hard copy form, that is fine also, and we'll be glad to keep you on the mailing list.
Thank you very much for considering this step in "going green" and helping us be good stewards of what God has given us.
Keeping in touch,
Pastor Jack Diehl http://www.oursaviorelca.com/
OSL E-News March 2, 2009
Now that we've entered the first full week of our Lenten journey, our mid week meals and services are beginning. On Wednesdays, we worship at 11:00 AM followed by a lunch in the Fellowship Hall, and we have a dinner at 6:00 PM, followed by worship at 7:00 PM. In these mid-week Lenten services, we will resume our "Conversations Under the Cross" as we did last year, with the theme this year being "Sharing our Stories about Scripture". This is in conjunction with the "Book of Faith" initiative in our synod and throughout the ELCA, as we share how this "Book of Faith", the Bible, has shaped and continues to shape our lives. The worship setting for the 11:00 AM service will be "Responsive Prayer/Suffrages" in the ELW, and for the 7:00 PM service, the beautiful, musical "Holden Evening Prayer".
This coming Saturday, March 7, the Care Net Pregnancy Center of Indian River County "Bridges to Life" Walk will be held at Riverside Park. Registration is at 9:00 AM. A number of folks from Our Savior will be walking. If you would like to join them, or could make a donation to support this local Christian ministry, call Bonnie Lanyi, our parish nurse, at 567-2253. CareNet provides pregnancy tests, ultrasound, abstinence programs, social service referrals, clothing, furniture and food to individuals and families in crisis.
Finally, don't forget to "spring forward" one hour with your clocks Saturday night! Daylight savings time begins this coming weekend! If you forget to change your clocks, this is the one where you'll wonder why the parking lot is full and everyone is already in church, and when you get in you'll find everyone singing the closing hymn. Will you be that one this year? Every year it's somebody!
For other latest information about Our Savior, visit our website at: http://www.oursaviorelca.com/.
As this week unfolds, may God bless you on your Lenten journey, and especially in those wilderness places. Remember, the wilderness is not meant to crush us or discourage us or only to punish us. God meets us in the wilderness to turn it into a training ground, a place of testing, a place where God wants to care for us and strengthen us for life's journey. See you in church.
Your fellow traveler on our Lenten journey,
Pastor Jack Diehl
This coming Saturday, March 7, the Care Net Pregnancy Center of Indian River County "Bridges to Life" Walk will be held at Riverside Park. Registration is at 9:00 AM. A number of folks from Our Savior will be walking. If you would like to join them, or could make a donation to support this local Christian ministry, call Bonnie Lanyi, our parish nurse, at 567-2253. CareNet provides pregnancy tests, ultrasound, abstinence programs, social service referrals, clothing, furniture and food to individuals and families in crisis.
Finally, don't forget to "spring forward" one hour with your clocks Saturday night! Daylight savings time begins this coming weekend! If you forget to change your clocks, this is the one where you'll wonder why the parking lot is full and everyone is already in church, and when you get in you'll find everyone singing the closing hymn. Will you be that one this year? Every year it's somebody!
For other latest information about Our Savior, visit our website at: http://www.oursaviorelca.com/.
As this week unfolds, may God bless you on your Lenten journey, and especially in those wilderness places. Remember, the wilderness is not meant to crush us or discourage us or only to punish us. God meets us in the wilderness to turn it into a training ground, a place of testing, a place where God wants to care for us and strengthen us for life's journey. See you in church.
Your fellow traveler on our Lenten journey,
Pastor Jack Diehl
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