A Season of New Beginnings
Posted on Aug 17, 2022 by Jon Brudvig
The end of August reminds me of the verse from Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”
Though not yet autumn, the carefree days of summer are now behind us. Nature speaks this truth in manifold ways. The days are growing shorter, trees and shrubs are revealing hints of impending change, and the squirrels are quickening their pace.
Signs of new beginnings and new possibilities are all around us. Students and their teachers are returning to school, summer vacations are ending, and many of us are still trying to answer the question, “Where did the summer go?”
While I enjoy summer, I also look forward to the new life and new possibilities that September brings. Did you know that August marks the end of the liturgical year in Eastern Orthodox churches? The decision, dictated by the administrative calendar of the Byzantine Empire, was also influenced by the rhythm of daily life. For in the Mediterranean region, September is an important time of ingathering, a season when grapes and olives are harvested and transformed into wine and oil, the sustainers of life.
In our own lives we transition from one season to another so often that it is easy for us to get lost or to stop paying attention to the possibilities that change brings. So, pay attention and look for the ways that God is at work in your life and in the ministries we share. Then ask yourself:
Where is God showing up in my life?
How is God at work in the life and ministry of Salem Lutheran Church?
In Holy Baptism, we are joined to the body of Christ, empowered with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and sent out into the world to be the church together. And because discipleship is not a spectator sport, we listen, we pray, and then we respond to God’s abiding presence in our lives, our congregation, and our world.
In Christ’s Peace,
Pastor Jon