Dear Salem Family,
I have been thinking lately about the difference between being welcoming and being invitational, and how can we as a church and community be both? Or, rather, how we need to be both. There is something to be said about hospitality when visitors arrive at church or hospitality to long time veteran members. When you go someplace you are looking for that place to be welcoming, hospitable…
Hey Salem Community-
What would it take for you to act on behalf of another who was experiencing oppression or struggle? What circumstances would trigger you to step out of your comfort zone to fight injustice?
Many of you have watched the news and witnessed the unrest happening in Milwaukee, WI. Most of the reporting leads us to make a value judgement on an extremely…
Posted by hlewis |
Dear Salem family,
One of the wonderful things about working in a church is that you are surrounded by people who are here because they care: they encourage, serve, celebrate, cry and laugh together. Where I work is an extension of my family, and I’d like to share some of my Salem story with you.
I began working at Salem after a very difficult time in my life. My daughter Casey…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
When I first arrived at Salem in October, 1999, we were in the midst of adding the new narthex to the sanctuary that also would house the new elevator. At that time, there was literally a hole in the ground where the new addition now stands. This addition was much needed, but during the construction time there were many who could not attend worship…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I know it is only the end of July, and usually our weekly readings this early in the year are not about stewardship, but this year we get one of the great stewardship stories early (Luke 12:13-21). In this story, a man asked Jesus to settle a family dispute about an inheritance, but Jesus didn't want to have anything to do with this man’s request. Instead,…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
In our Gospel text this week, Luke 11:1-13, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, and Jesus offers them what we call the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus doesn’t stop there, though; he goes on to say that prayer is something we should do over and over again. Then he says, “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I have been truly troubled over the events of the last week, as I am sure you have been, too! The brutal slaughter of five police officers in Dallas and the killing of two black men, Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge and Philando Castile in St. Paul, by police all continue to point to the fact that these are troubled days in our world.
It seems…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you have had a blessed week and that you were able to also celebrate the 4th of July with family and friends.
I love the 4th of July. It is a great time to relax with family and friends, to watch parades, and to enjoy fireworks, but it is also a time to remember and give thanks for the abundance of blessings and freedoms we have…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you have had a blessed week.
In my note last week, I talked about how it is not our job to save people; our job, as followers of Jesus, is to share the good news. That is, we only have to tell the story and share with people what God has done for us in our lives, and then our mission is complete. But if truth be told, we want more.…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you have had a blessed week.
It seems like every time I look at my Facebook page these days, someone is posting a photo where they are on their vacation. I guess it is that time of year when everyone is taking vacation or preparing travel somewhere for vacation.
In Jesus’ day, taking a vacation was not really something people…