Pastor’s Corner
Seasons change both in nature and the church. We’ve entered “the green season” of Sundays After Pentecost. The way into this season is “through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rom 5.5) Without the Holy Spirit awakening us to faith, no season of the church year will make much sense to us. In fact, life will not make any sense without the Holy Spirit giving us the lens of faith.
Faith can mean many things, but if our basic synonym is “trust,” then the life of faith is full of hope. There is much in our world and local community which distresses us, burdens us, and makes us want to lose faith. The questions pile up when we consider the fouling of the Gulf of Mexico, wars and revolutions, murders, thievery at so many levels, sudden illness and death, and our own personal contrariness. When the Holy Spirit speaks to us through Scripture, we change seasons — from despair to hope! Martin Luther put it this way in his Large Catechism discussion of the Creed.
“Here in the Creed you have the entire essence of God, his will, and his work … In these three articles God himself has revealed and opened to us the most profound depths of his fatherly heart, his sheer, unutterable love … Having bestowed upon us everything in heaven and on earth, God has given us his Son and his Holy Spirit, through whom he brings us to himself … We could never come to recognize the Father’s favor and grace were it not for the Lord Christ, who is a mirror of the Father’s heart. Apart from him we see nothing but an angry and terrible Judge. But neither could we know anything of Christ, had it not been revealed by the Holy Spirit … No human wisdom can comprehend the Creed; it must be taught by the Holy Spirit alone.”
May you be hopeful and “go green” these Sundays after Pentecost because the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes to see Christ, the mirror of God’s heart.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Philip Nesvig
At our January Annual Meeting, a resolution was passed to present the congregation with options regarding the Parish Life Coordinator position. A meeting to review the Church Council’s actions on this will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 13th after an abbreviated worship service and before our picnic. A discussion period will be held during the Adult Education hour in the Fireside Room from 9:15 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. Please join us in understanding and acting upon what the Council will propose.