Skip to main content

Renewal

This blog has been quiet for a few weeks as I have had a little "vacation" and made a transition from my internship at Gloria Dei to the position as pastor at the Lutheran Church of Hope. Of course, it's not all about me- both those congregations have had their own transitions as well.

One of the things I have been remembering lately is a passage from Revelation (that book in the back of the Bible): "And the one seated on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new... I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life..." (21:5a, 6)

Now I could exegete, or take apart, those verses all day, but mostly I've been considering the renewal aspect God's work. Though our lives have many beginnings and endings, in reality- all things are flowing from the good and creative work of our God. The ministry of congregations does not start over with a new pastor or a new program, but continues- making new and bolder use of the gifts of the Spirit.

In the fall, it always seems like so much is changing, but, look, God does not promise to make all new things, but to make all things new. God's work renewing and revitalizing work is at hand and within us, even now!

Let us give thanks for that work and pray for the understanding and awareness so that we may participate more fully in it.

Speaking of participation, a blog is a public work. If you read this, I'd like to hear from you. You may comment publicly or anonymously though the comment section below each post or you can email me at lcohpastor@alaska.net and I'll write back to you. Feel free also to email with suggestions of things you'd like me to comment on or share with other readers!

Comments

Unknown said…
You must be so excited! I image it can be disquieting having to take over your first church, but I can guarantee that they'll adore you. I wish I could be there to cheer you on. I miss you and Scott and everyone else a lot!

-Nick-
August 19, 2008 at 9:58 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Religious Holidays in Anchorage

You may have read in the Anchorage Daily News about a new policy regarding certain religious holidays and the scheduling of school activities. If not, a link to the article is here . The new rules do not mean that school will be out on these new holiday inclusions, but that the Anchorage School District will avoid scheduling activities, like sporting events, on these days. The new list includes Passover, Rosh Hashanah , Yom Kippur , Eid al - Fitr and Eid al - Adha . They are added to a list which includes New Year's, Orthodox Christmas and Easter, Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. The new holidays may be unfamiliar to some: Passover is a Jewish celebration, in the springtime, that commemorates the events in Egypt that led up to the Exodus. The name of the holiday comes specifically from the fact that the angel of death "passed over" the houses of the Israelites during the plague which killed the eldest sons of the Egyptians. Passover is a holiday
Post a Comment
Read more

Latibule

I like words and I recently discovered Save the Words , a website which allows you to adopt words that have faded from the English lexicon and are endanger of being dropped from the Oxford English Dictionary. When you adopt a word, you agree to use it in conversation and writing in an attempt to re-introduce said word back into regular usage. It is exactly as geeky as it sounds. And I love it. A latibule is a hiding place. Use it in a sentence, please. After my son goes to bed, I pull out the good chocolate from my latibule and have a "mommy moment". The perfect latibule was just behind the northwest corner of the barn, where one had a clear view during "Kick the Can". She tucked the movie stub into an old chocolate box, her latibule for sentimental souvenirs. I like the sound of latibule, though I think I would spend more time defining it and defending myself than actually using it. Come to think of it, I'm not really sure how often I use the
2 comments
Read more

When the Body of Christ is Fat

Bitmoji Julia enjoys tea Within a very short amount of time, two people whom I love were called "fat ass". One of these slurs occurred in the church building and the other occurred in the same building and within the context of worship. Both incidents were the result of a person with already impaired judgment lashing out at the person who was in front of them, perceiving them to be unhelpful or denying aid or service. Regardless of the "why", the reality is that the name was uncalled for, hurtful, and aimed to be a deep cut. The reality is that a person who is under the influence of legal or illegal substances and often displays impaired judgment can still tell that body shaming- comments about shape, appearance, or size- is a way to lash out at someone who is frustrating you. That means those words and that way of using them are deeply rooted in our culture. An additional truth is that when we, as a congregation, attempted to console and listen to those who h
6 comments
Read more