We certainly live in amazing world. I was in Columbus Ohio at 8am this morning, and have now been in the office here at Our Savior in Vero Beach for a couple of hours already, and it's only a little after 3pm! For a lot of regular business travelers (Amy, Marty, etc.) that's probably not surprising, since you do this on a regular basis. But it still amazes me.




Having just arrived back after a week of being gone, here are just a few things to share with you.



For one, tomorrow morning at 11am there will be a Memorial Service for Shirley Walker. Shirley was a member at Our Savior longer than anyone. She joined Our Savior shortly after the congregation was born 50 years ago. All are welcome to attend the service.



Speaking of our congregation being born 50 years ago, as you probably know, we are in the middle of a building project which we plan on completing by around Thanksgiving of this year! Presently our contractor, Bill Bryant is gathering bids from qualified sub contractors and suppliers. If you are, or know of someone who fits this category and would like to offer a bid for this project, please contact Bill Bryant at 567-0045 (area code 772…local).



A part of our being in this community for 50 years also means being involved in many different aspects of this community's life. One way that you might be interested in serving is at the Harvest Food and Outreach Center here in Vero. They are presently in need of volunteers for their emergency food and clothing bank, as well as volunteer teachers who would meet with people who need help with money management, relationship issues, and healthy eating habits, among other things. If you are interested in learning more about these volunteer opportunities, please call 772-770-2665 or go to volunteersirc@harvestfoodoutreach.org or stop by at 1360 28th Street here in Vero Beach. God's work; our hands!



This is only one of many ways our folks are involved in our community.



As this Easter season continues to unfold, there are plenty of opportunities to be God's Easter people involved and making a difference in the world which longs to hear the Good Shepherd's voice and which is hungry for the food the Good Shepherd has to offer.



See you in church! Pastor Jack Diehl +

Having our littlest Sunday School children sing at the 11am service yesterday was a wonderful way to continue to Easter celebration here at Our Savior! Many thanks to them all.




I was asked about a reference I made in the sermon yesterday about “God said No”. This came from a poem by the name “And God said ‘No’”. If you “google” that, you will find the entire poem and the story behind it.



As these 7 weeks of Easter unfold, a number of things will be happening around Our Savior that you might want to be aware of. Along with Pastor Clark’s regular Wednesday morning Bible study at 10am, mid-week “Prayer and Meditation” and “God Pause” gatherings have resumed at noon. This past week “God Pause” met, this week the “Prayer and Meditation” group will meet in the “Quiet Room” off of the narthex. These two gatherings will alternate each week at noon.



This coming Sunday, Mother’s Day, May 10, will be the last day of Sunday School for this season. All children will meet in the Fellowship Hall for awards, recognitions and a celebration of this year of Sunday School.



Looking ahead, on Saturday and Sunday May 28-29, scholarships will be presented to members of Our Savior who will be attending college or graduate school in the coming school year.



Also on Sunday, May 29 at 9:45am, we will hold our annual Spring congregational meeting. New Church Council members will be elected and there will be an update on our 50th Anniversary Building Project. If construction hasn’t begun by then, it will likely begin shortly thereafter! So, plan on joining us at that meeting to get the latest information on this big step in the life of Our Savior during this our 50th year of ministry here in Vero Beach.



As this second week of Easter unfolds, may you have eyes to see the Risen Christ at work in your lives and in the world around us. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!



Peace be with you. Pastor Jack + www.oursaviorelca.com

According to Dr. Mark Allan Powell of Trinity Seminary in Columbus Ohio, the second happiest people in the world are grateful people.  When a person recognizes his or her blessings and is grateful,  everything  looks better.  Gratitude colors one’s life and helps a person see blessings even in difficult situations.  Yes, the second happiest people in the world are grateful people.  

So, if the second happiest people are grateful people, who are the happiest? 

Generous people!  Really.  When we are generous we look outside of ourselves, we are more Christ-like, we become more of whom God made us to be. Look around. Think of the happy people you know.  I'm thinking generosity is a big part of their lives.  I know some of the things that make me happiest are when I'm being generous. 

During this 50^th Year Anniversary of Our Savior, we have some extra opportunity to be grateful and to be generous.  Many have already done so!  

To back up a little, at our annual meeting this past January, the congregation voted to move ahead with a building proposal to expand our narthex, “gathering and sending” space and do some important upgrading on our present church building among other things.  The estimated cost for all of this is in the area of $700,000.  

The plans are being developed and the fund raising has begun.  That involved a letter with a picture of our proposal and a “plan for giving” card which went out to everyone on our mailing list. 

HOWEVER, some of our folks, due to a computer glitch, did not receive that letter.  If you didn’t receive that letter and card, please let us know and we’ll get one to you.

But to get back to the early part of this email, the early results of the fund raising part of our 50^th Anniversary Building Plans reflect that there are some happy, grateful and generous people in our congregation!  To date a total of $300,00 has been spoken for, both in gifts and commitments.  

If you have any questions or input about the project or giving opportunities please feel free to call the church office (772-567-2253).    Also, please plan on coming to our Spring congregational meeting on Sunday May 29 at 9:45am, between the services, in the sanctuary.  At that meeting we’ll have an update on both the building and fund raising progress and be able to point out what will be happening.

So as these early days of Easter unfold and as we continue to move into this 50th year of letting our light shine here at Our Savior, we have a lot for which to be grateful and some wonderful opportunities to be generous.  That sounds like the makings of some pretty happy people, as we work together and combine our gifts to reflect the Light and Love of the Risen Christ among us!  J

See you in church!     Pastor Jack Diehl +     www.oursaviorelca.com

As we head into the last couple weeks of Lent here are a couple of reminders: this will be the last Wednesday for our Lent meals and mid week services. Lunch following the 11am service and supper beginning at 6pm before the 7pm service. Just this morning at our Men's Breakfast someone said he wasn't much in favor of these "sand art" messages for Lent when he first heard about them, but after seeing them, he changed his mind, and said how engaging and meaningful they've been. Even if you haven't been to any of the Wednesday services yet, you have one more opportunity this Wednesday to see what we've been talking about. And the setting "Holden Evening Prayer" which we use on Wednesday evening, is beautiful and meaningful in and of itself. Hope you can join us.




This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday. Three of our youngsters will be celebrating their First Communion at the 8:30 service, and we will be celebrating a Baptism as well.



During the Sunday School hour, Pastor Shelly's husband, Kent Annan will be leading a discussion on his new book, "After Shock". This class will meet in the west end of the Fellowship Hall.



Watch next week for our detailed Holy Week schedule. (Or check out our website: www.oursaviorelca.com)



These last couple of weeks we've been saying "Good-bye" to a lot of our seasonal folks. If you are numbered among those, may your travels be safe and your summer be blessed, til we see you again next season! One of the real blessings of being a congregation here in Florida is having a real sense of being a part of the extended Body of Christ, sometimes with many miles between us, but still connected. As the one old favorite hymn goes, "Blest be the tie that binds, our hearts in Christian love…".



So, whether you are near or far, may these last days of Lent be a blessing to you and may our Lenten journey bring us closer to our Lord and to each other…even if miles separate us.



Living in God's amazing grace, Pastor Jack Diehl +

There's no other time of the year quite like the Spring as to how the church calendar and this season of the year compliment each other. Especially with the recent time change, we really see how the days are getting longer, which is where we get the word "Lent", from an old English word referring to the "lengthening" of the days. And with the lengthening of the days, we see new life springing up all around us.




While we've seen that for a while already here in Vero Beach, with the new tender green leaves on the oaks and the Azalea's in blossom among other things, I saw another sign of Spring last week while we were visiting our son and his family in Columbus Ohio. Even though it still very much looks like winter in many ways (bare trees, mostly brown fields) if you look closely, on just about every tree and bush there are tiny buds just waiting to bust open. And in the middle of our son's front yard, there in the grass, was a little purple crocus that poked it's head up and seemed to be saying, "Spring is just around the corner!"



Ahhh…new life coming, a fresh start for God's creation, new birth. Isn't that what the season of Lent is about also? This is the time of year that began on Ash Wednesday when we reflected on our mortality…that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Then throughout this season, we get to gather to reflect on both those things in us that perhaps need to die or be made new, but also then on the promise that God can and does make things new, as we walk towards Easter…the day when God's New Life sprang out from the empty tomb and the world has never been the same.



Those are the things that both our church calendar and God's creation around reminds us of at this time of the year.



Speaking of this time of the year, we have Lenten services at 11am each Wednesday followed by a light lunch and at 7pm preceded by a Lenten supper at 6pm. The morning service is a service of prayer and hymns and the evening service uses the musical setting "Holden Evening Prayer". At each service there is a message which comes in the fascinating form of "Sand Art". Can't really be described. You just have to see it. Hope you can join us.



And speaking of new life springing up! Today a letter will be going out to all friends and members of Our Savior about our 50th Anniversary Building Program. This is a wonderful plan that has developed over the past several years which will provide, much better "gathering, sending and overflow" space for worship, more meeting space for both during the week and Sunday morning, and some much needed maintenance on our existing sanctuary. You will be able to read about it soon in the special mailing that is going out as I write this email. Special thanks to the crew who came in today to put this all together. Headed up by Marilyn Fisher, the crew consisted of: Helena Pierson, Carol Artigas, Sue Siket, and Barbara Preuss. This project will be above and beyond our regular offerings, but is well within our capability if everyone does his or her part. If you have any questions about our plans or how you'd like to be a part of them, please feel free to give me a call. I look forward to taking this step with you all.



As this Spring season unfolds, keep your eyes and ears open for signs of God's New Life springing up all around us at this time of the year.



For more information about the life and ministry of Our Savior please visit our website at: www.oursaviorelca.com.



God's work; our hands. Pastor A.C. 'Jack' Diehl III

Having come to the mountain top this past weekend (Transfiguration Sunday), we are about to enter our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday, March 9, with services at 11am and 7pm. In these services we will be brought to Ezekiel's Valley of the Dry Bones, via a chancel drama. The imposition of ashes will also be offered at each service. Child care will be offered at the 7pm service.




There will be no meals offered on Ash Wednesday, but beginning the following Wednesday, March 16, there will be a light lunch served following the 11am Lenten service and a light supper at 6pm preceding the 7pm Lenten service throughout Lent. The setting for the evening service will once again be the much loved Holden Evening Prayer.



Along with these special worship opportunities during Lent, Our Savior has also been invited to be a part of a "Circle of Faith" Habitat Build during March and the first part of April. A number of churches in the community are combining efforts to build a Habitat House in 6 weeks! Work will happen every day (except Sunday) and volunteers are needed to help with the building as well as providing lunches and or snacks for about 20-25 of our volunteers . In particular, lunches are needed early in April (4th-7th and 10th-13th) when there will be some college Spring Breakers down to work. If you can volunteer in any way, call Don Poust at 567-0803 or Jessica Schmitt at Habitat at 562-9860,ext. 212 or email her at: jschmitt@irchabitat.org. The location of this house is 6565 5th Street, on the southwest end of Vero Beach.



And speaking of building, our 50th Anniversary Building Team (Allan Klotsche, Martin Preuss, George Dann, Lynn Silkworth, Mark Davia, Bill Halliday, Nancy Ogonoski, Norm Stevenson and John Banitt) has been working hard and is very encouraged about our expansion and renovation building plans. After many years of planning, visioning and brainstorming, Lynn Silkworth, who was a part of the building team when our present sanctuary was built 28 years ago, and who has been a part of the visioning process over the years, has developed a beautiful and functional design which will maintain the beauty and use of our existing sanctuary, while expanding the "gathering and sending" space, along with providing extra room for other activities, and addressing some basic maintenance issues which come with time. Already some special gifts have begun to come in designated for this project. Within the next couple of weeks a special mailing will go out to members and friends of Our Savior giving a number of ways people can be a part of this project. The overall cost of this 50th Anniversary Building Plan will be in the neighborhood of $700,000, so it will take everyone's participation, be it large or small, to bring it to fruition. Please keep this in your prayers and consider how you might be able to be a part of it.



This is really an amazing journey we are on together. And the world has a great need for places where faith is nurtured and passed along. That is what Our Savior has been about for the past 50 years, and this latest undertaking will be a great step in helping us continue being a "Vibrant Faith" congregation, where AAA (Authentic, Affirming and Available) Christians are grown and nurtured. It's wonderful to be a part of this with you all. God's work; our hands.



Gratefully, Pastor A.C. 'Jack' Diehl III + www.oursaviorelca.com



And for more information about having and growing a Vibrant Faith for you or your family, you might want to check out: www.faithformationlearningexchange.net. This site is for pastors and church workers, but also has some great information for parents and families as well.

Spring is in the air around Our Savior! The temperatures are warming, the "fuzzies" are blowing out of the oak trees, the new, tender little green leaves are busting out, the "yellow dust" from the pines is on everything, alergies are kicking in and we've said "Goodbye til next season!" this past weekend to the first of our seasonal folks who are leaving! It's Springtime in Florida!




It's also time (although later than usual) to transition from the Epiphany Season into Lent. This coming weekend we celebrate Transfiguration Sunday, the last Sunday of Epiphany, as we remember that mountain top experience with Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Peter, James and John, and then lock away our Alleluias during our sending hymn.



At our 8:30 service this coming Sunday, we get to celebrate the consecration of our second deacon, Carole Olsen! A little over a year ago, Allan Klotsche was consecrated as Our Savior's first deacon. This follows a 2 year diakonia course of study and hands on service in the congregation. The deacon is an office in the church of "Word and Service", which differs from the office of Pastor which is an office of "Word and Sacrament". Congratulations to Carole as she takes this big step in her service to our Lord and to the church.



Speaking of service, this coming summer our Youth Group will be going on another mission trip to West Virginia! To help fund the trip, this coming Saturday, March 5, there will be a Youth Group Car Wash from 9am til noon, then a dinner and silent auction Saturday evening. One seating for the dinner will be at 5pm and the second seating will be at 6:30pm. Call our Youth Director, Jimmy Smith for more info. at 567-2253, or talk to him Wednesday night at our church supper!



Speaking of our Wednesday night supper, this week's menu is Swiss Steak, mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. PLEASE NOTE: This will be our last regular Wednesday supper before Lent. Next Wednesday, March 9 is Ash Wednesday and there will be no meals that day. However, beginning Wednesday March 16 and throughout Lent there will be a light Lenten lunch following the 11am Lenten Service on Wednesdays and a light Lenten supper at 6pm, preceding the Lenten Service on Wednesdays at 7pm.



Also, on this first Wednesday of the month, the Lutheran Men in Mission will meet at 7pm in room 4. All men of the church are invited and welcome to attend. This week we will be talking about the upcoming Easter Breakfast which the Men in Mission take on with help from the members of the Youth Group. Proceeds from the breakfast go to support summer camping and mission trip experiences for the youth group.



So, as we enter another season of the year, and as the new life and growth springs up around us, remember the words of Jesus from this past Sunday, near the end of the sermon on the mount: Look at the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. They neither sew nor reap, nor toil nor spin, yet look how the heavenly Father cares for them! Why should you worry about those things that the Father knows you need? Then go out and live your life as confident, faithful, generous and beloved children of God who know that your life is safely in God's hands!



See you in church! Pastor Jack + www.oursaviorelca.com