Here at Our Savior we operate out of an understanding of five principles for passing on faith. The first one of those principles is: "Faith is formed by the power of the Holy Spirit through personal trusted relationships--often in our own homes." In subsequent e-mails to come, I will speak of the other 4 principles, but for now, this one. As a way of helping to nurture "personal trusted relationships" and give the Holy Spirit room to work, and so help to pass along the faith, one of the things that is resuming again this coming Wednesday, Sept. 29, are our "Family Night Suppers". The menu this week is: breaded Haddock, home made mac and cheese, stewed tomatoes, cole slaw and cherry cheesecake! Wow! I can't wait! This is an opportunity to come with your family and/or get together with other members of our church family, build relationships, and be a part of the Body of Christ alive and at work here in this place. The whole dinner is put together by volunteers, so if you'd like to be a part of helping with that, whether it be cooking, set up, clean up, shopping or whatever, let us know. Eating together really is a wonderful way to build relationships and get to know each other. Eating together is also a Biblical image of heaven…the wedding banquet, the feast of victory! So, along with Holy Communion being a foretaste of that feast to come, in some ways, our Wednesday church suppers can also be a kind of foretaste of that feast to come. If you'd like to help, call the church office, or put your name on a list in the narthex or let us know Wednesday evening at the supper. There will be a basket available for a donation to help cover the cost of the meal. Your generous support of this will be much appreciated.

And speaking of good fellowship, this coming Sunday, October 3 at 4pm, we will have a "Blessing of the Animals" in the Fellowship Hall. This is always a wonderful event as we come together to ask God's blessing on those very special creatures in our lives. Dr. Linda Aiken will be here to share some words about her calling as a veterinarian in caring for God's creatures. This is a great opportunity to invite a friend, neighbor or fellow animal lover for this special service.

As this week unfolds, in light of yesterday's worship and Gospel reading about the rich man and poor Lazarus, may we especially be aware of anyone "at our gate" who may be in need of a tender touch or a kind word or some reminder of God's grace. Have a blessed week.

God's work; our hands.

Pastor Jack Diehl

Do you know anyone who has had a pig valve put in his or her heart? Do you know anyone who has or has had breast cancer? I'm thinking just about everyone can say yes to either of both of those questions. Both of these topics are directly related to the study and work of genetics. Or how about genetically engineered food? That’s in the news and on our tables more and more everyday.

Because this issue is before us everyday in different ways, our church, the ELCA, prompted by it's members in assembly, is undertaking a study on genetics. Just like there was a study on human sexuality which came before the greater church in the summer of 2009, this study will be coming before the ELCA in assembly in Orlando next summer. Input on this study is welcome and invited. For a copy of the initial statement, there is a hard copy in the church office, or, you can go to either the ELCA website (http://www.elca.org/) or our Florida/Bahamas Synod website (http://www.fbsynod.com/) to find it. Our synod website also has a great power point walking through the study. Your thoughts and input are, as I mentioned above, welcome and invited. And it can all be done on-line. What a world we live in!

Looking ahead, a week from tomorrow, Wednesday September 28, our Wednesday dinners resume! Dinner will be served beginning at 6pm. What a great time to come together with the church family, have a nice meal and share in some good conversation. In our increasingly technological world, as evident above in our genetics study, with all the benefits that brings, one of the downsides is a lack of face to face contact with others. So, come, have a good meal and experience community together in the middle of the joys and sorrows, celebrations and struggles of living in today's world.

Have a blessed week!

Pastor Jack Diehl

Sunday School got off to a wonderful start yesterday. You could feel the buzz (and hear echos of "The Chicken Dance") all morning. It's a wonderful thing to be a part of the learning and growing of faith that goes on in Sunday School for both our children and adults.

And speaking of beginnings, this Wednesday rehearsals begin for both the Handbell Choir and the Chancel Choir. Handbell practice is in the church and meets from 5:30-6:30pm. The chancel choir meets in the choir room, and begins at 7pm. If you are musical in any way, you'd be most welcome to be a part of our music ministry.

Looking ahead, a number of people are interested in becoming members of Our Savior. In October, we will be having some new member gatherings both on Wednesday evenings, around our Wednesday evening suppers which will soon be starting, then again on Sunday mornings. Exact dates will soon be posted. At this time we are planning to receive members into our congregation on All Saint's Weekend, Nov. 6-7. If you have any questions feel welcome to talk to either of the pastors.

Finally, the Space Coast Conference will be having a Fall Gathering at Advent Lutheran Church in Palm Bay on Sunday September 26 at 4pm. We'd like to have some of our members join us for that gathering. A potluck dinner will follow the meeting. This is a great way to get to know other folks in our conference and be a part of the bigger church at work. If you are interested, please contact Pastor Jack.

As this week unfolds, may all we say and do be in the light of God's presence and God's promises to us. Only then can we become the kind of people God made us to be.

Pastor A.C. 'Jack' Diehl III

I hope all had a good Labor Day weekend! As of this past weekend we are now back to our regular worship schedule (Saturday 6pm, Sunday 8:30 and 11am). This coming weekend (Sept. 12) our Sunday School resumes with Sunday School beginning at 9:45am. This first Sunday will be "Rally Day" with all children meeting in the Fellowship Hall for special activities and to learn more about this year's focus and service project. (Did I hear something about the "Chicken Dance"?) Sounds like a great year in the making. As some of the first disciples said to the others, "Come and see!"

Thrivent Members you may have gotten in the mail recently (I just did) a letter entitled ("Help choose where Thrivent Financial gives back". This is about your "Thrivent Choice" options for where you'd like Thrivent to designate some funds. You can choose "Our Savior Luthernan Church" or "Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Florida" or any of many options. I did mine by a simple, quick phone call. For other Thrivent information you can call our local Thrivent Representative, Sam Lyons at 772-453-5688.

Tomorrow night, Wednesday Sept. 8, Youth Group meets from 6:30-8:30. For part of that time Pastor Jack will be there with his old Geo Tracker to teach any new drivers how to drive a stick shift.

Singers and Musicians! Next Wednesday, September 15 rehearsals begin: Handbells at 5:30pm, Choir at 7pm. Music is such a wonderful gift…it's too good not to share. If you have even a little bit of that gift, come and share it. It's good for the soul…both for those giving and those receiving.

Now, as this short week unfolds, and as we bask in the refreshing rain (I can hear almost our plants and grass say "ahhhh") may all you do, whether resting or working, be done, as Pastor Shelly reminded us yesterday, S.D.G.! (Soli Deo Gloria…to the Glory of God alone!)
S.D. G.!!

See you in church!

Pastor Jack Diehl

In the church we celebrate a number of seasons throughout the year, liturgical and otherwise. In the liturgical year we are a little more than half way through the longest season of the church year, the season of Pentecost. But in another way, we are at the beginning now of a new season, re: the switch back to our regular schedule of worship and the beginning of Sunday School. Starting this coming Labor Day weekend, the first weekend in September, our regular worship schedule resumes with worship at 6pm on Saturday (that happens year round) and back to worship at 8:30 and 11am on Sunday. Sunday School will resume, as usual, the week after Labor Day, this year September 12.

In preparation for that, all are invited to our Sunday School Registration/Get Acquainted Open House/Pizza and salad night this Wednesday, September 1 between 6 and 7pm. Please plan to join us to register your child for Sunday School and/or confirmation classes and get to meet the teachers and other Sunday School families. It really will be a fun night with activities for the kids and did I hear something about the "Chicken Dance" ?!? Come and see! :-)

As this week unfolds may our lives be shaped by being at God's table of Grace. When we take part in that banquet, when we taste and see the goodness of God and experience God's welcoming presence there, nothing or no one looks quite the same after that!

See you around His Table!

Pastor Jack Diehl

It used to be that Labor Day marked the end of summer. School resumed right after that. Well, today is different. With the beginning of school today for so many, I think it's safe to say summer is kind of officially over. In that spirit, our "blessing of the backpacks" this past weekend in worship was a great way to end the summer and head into the new school year. It was so good to have so many children, teachers, parents, and others who are involved in teaching our children, come forward in worship for a blessing. Great way to start the new school year!

Friday, August 27, 7pm: Jam in the sanctuary! Several of our resident musicians will be gathering to make music together, enjoy some old music and learn some new music. If you would like to join us please just come by. Bring an instrument or just your voice, or just come to listen. We'll choose the best of what we hear to bring into worship some Saturday or Sunday. We'd like you input!

FREE MONEY!?!? Do you remember matching fund projects from Thrivent? For our Easter Breakfasts and also for our annual Fall Bazaar Thrivent often matched funds raised to help support our camping ministry for our kids and local projects with our WELCA group. Thrivent has changed some procedures so that now we may be able to receive even more money for ministries like those mentioned above. Through a new program called "Thrivent Choice", all Thrivent members are asked to designate where they would like the money generated from their policy or accounts to go. This will not take away anything from the person's account. The Thrivent members of Our Savior alone have policies that generate over $3000 per year, which can be designated as each member chooses. But you have to choose! So, if you are a Thrivent member, please go online, or call 1-800-847-4863. I called last week to designate Our Savior as the recipient of these funds from my account, and the call only took about a minute! This Saturday evening, our local Thrivent agent, Sam Lyons, will be hosting our refreshments and be available to answer any questions you might have.

Finally, looking ahead to Wednesday Sept. 1, mark your calendars for Sunday School and Confirmation registration night! We will gather around 6pm for some pizza and getting connected with new teachers, students and each other. Please plan to join us. And if you haven't yet seen our renovated Fellowship Hall, this will be a great time to do that! What a nice space! You'll be amazed. Hope you can join us!

So, as another season begins, we enter it with hope and courage knowing that God is here among us to lead, correct, comfort, and strengthen us for the journey, so that we might become AAA Christians: Available, Authentic and Affirming for our young people and for each other.

See you in church!

Pastor Jack Diehl

Surrounded and cheered on by that great cloud of witnesses, we head into another week!

Tonight our Long Range Planning Team meets to look at a proposal for expanding our gathering and sending space in the church (the narthex and outside space). Tomorrow night the Church Council meets, looking ahead at upcoming things for the Fall. We'll keep you up to date on what comes from these meetings.

School has already begun for some of our kids (the charter high school for example) and this week school begins for the teachers in Indian River County. With that in mind, this coming weekend, Aug. 21-22, we will have a "Blessing of the Backpacks" during worship. All of our children are invited to bring their backpacks to church for a special blessing as they begin school next Monday. Teachers are also invited to bring their lesson plan books and come forward for a blessing along with the children. Along with those blessings, we will also be celebrating the Baptism of James and Julie Ledlow's new son, Aaron Louis Ledlow. Good, happy milestones for us all to celebrate together.

Also, this coming weekend, former bishop of the Florida/Bahamas Synod, Rev. Lavern Franzen, will be our guest as he will share with us the work of Lutheran Services Florida.

As summer winds down and the new season begins to unfold, may we enter it with hope, faith and the confidence that God is with us and surrounds us with his love, as those people of faith who have gone before us knew and lived out in their lives.

God's work; our hands!

Pastor A.C. 'Jack' Diehl III