Posted by hlewis |
Six years ago, an incredible team effort was started to provide a movable gaga ball pit for our youth. If you aren’t familiar with gaga ball, it’s a dodgeball-inspired game played inside a low-walled circle that you can see in many elementary school playgrounds and camps (including Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp). In September 2020 we had just started worshipping at Central Baptist Seminary and…
Posted by svanbaale |
Can you imagine working all day in the hot sun and someone else barely worked but got the same amount in pay? This is exactly what happens in the Gospel for this Sunday.
Matthew 20:1-16 tells the familiar parable of the landowner who pays his workers the same wage no matter when they start work.
I can just hear them whining, “But that’s not fair!” The landowner decides to…
Posted by jmarple |
One of the privileges I get as a pastor is to sit at a funeral home table after a loved one has died. I’m there to give support, act as a liaison between the funeral home and the church, and to just be another set of listening ears.
One of the most difficult times to do this has been when a loved one has completed suicide. It is a very painful goodbye. I have been with families of those…
Posted by hlewis |
There’s a song we’ve sung over the years at Salem titled “Blessings” that says, “What if Your blessings come through raindrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near?”
It was written by Laura Story after her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and their prayers for healing were not being answered.…
Posted by svanbaale |
It has been about three months since my heart surgery, so I thought I would give you an update in my Staff Trax this week. Things did not go as planned, but I am slowly feeling more back to normal.
I thought I would be in the hospital three or four days, but I ended up being there for 10 days. Later in the day they put in the mechanical valve and replaced the aortic valve, they discovered…
Posted by jmarple |
Dear Beloved of Salem,
By now, I hope you have received and read over the covenant that the councils and leadership of both Salem and Atonement sent out via email last week. This was drafted with careful consideration and with hopes of some structure moving forward. As part of our continuing collaboration, I wanted to make all of you aware that starting Sept. 9, I will be working…
Posted by hlewis |
I’m not a fan of conflict. Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with it much growing up; my extended family all got along and went out of their way to spend happy time together. My parents always “presented a united front” to us, so we never saw them argue, or really even disagree. They both knew several foreign languages, so perhaps some of the negotiation was in front of us but we didn’t…
Posted by svanbaale |
This Sunday’s Gospel reading is a familiar one. The disciples, after a rough night at sea, see Jesus walking on the water. This made them very fearful, thinking it was a ghost, as they had never seen anyone walk on water before.
Jesus tells them not to be afraid. He summons Peter to walk on the water toward him, but Peter becomes frightened from the strong wind and begins to sink as he…
Posted by jmarple |
There is so much paperwork involved with dying. I know so many of you know this already, but since my dad passed, I am constantly amazed by the amount of paperwork. It’s ironic: we receive one piece of paper when we’re born. Upon death, the paperwork never ceases. Dad’s cancer didn’t give us a lot of gifts. But it did give us time. We had time to plan, talk about end-of-life wishes, dad’s…
Posted by hlewis |
After reading this Sunday’s Gospel lesson, I’ve been thinking about how many different ways we are growing God’s kingdom. In Matthew 13, Jesus talks about scattering the tiniest mustard seed, which grows into a large plant and provides a home for others in its shade.
I love that picture of sharing our faith for so many reasons: we may feel that it’s small, but we share it anyway.…