Reflections

This page provides Pastor Heidi’s Reflections published in Fields of Grace newsletters.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, November 2021

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How can I possibly express my gratitude for the benefit on Sunday, October 24? It broke my heart to not physically be there with y’all, but I just didn’t have the stamina necessary for such an event. Family friends created a video of the program, and I am blown away by the lovely sentiments expressed.

I treasured the years I served the Fields of Grace Parish. I hope you know I wish it could have been longer. Not only did you teach me lessons about life and faith, I grew in many ways by contributing to the community through Lions, as a member of the Lafayette Charter School Board, and the Hub Club. Thank you especially to the FOG Council for sponsoring my participation in Connecting Nicollet County.

And what can I say about receiving the Melvin Jones award? It blew me away to be  recognized as a person you think embodies humanitarian ideas consistent with the nature and purpose of Lionism. I tip my hat to all y’all for that great honor, and I hope to continue to embody those values at the end of my life.

Today, October 25, I met with a new oncologist with expertise in melanoma cancers. I am being considered for a promising clinical trial. If not accepted (which would be due to M.S.), there is a second protocol he recommends. It is a specialized immunotherapy which one needs a medical degree to explain, but it, too, is promising. I will start one of these protocols in the very near future. In the meantime, the doc prescribed medication to address the pain, and some that should boost my energy level.

To my surprise, he told me to drink caffeinated beverages! I have been mostly caffeine free for years, so that will be a change. And I have to eat those awful protein drinks, which is super difficult for a person who dislikes milk or milk-like products (sorry dairy farmers!), as well as chocolate and strawberry flavored drinks. My sister is going to try and mix them with ice cream to replicate a milk shake. Then maybe I can stomach them.

One last request: I worked like a crazy person to spruce up the parsonage yard. I hope that someone will enjoy the asparagus, the raspberries, and apples in season. Also, if someone wants to plant the garden, talk to to the BLC council. The soil produced an abundance this year.

Finally, I will hold you all close in my heart in the weeks and months ahead. God knew we were a good fit, and I’m gladyou trusted that pairing. The God I know—and hopefully proclaimed—is a God who keeps promises. Our God has promised eternal life. I am  confident I will eventually experience eternal life which to me means more life! I don’t know what the more will be, but I trust there will be more! You can too.

Forever grateful, Pastor Heidi

Fields of Grace Newsletter, October 2021

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Dear Beloved Parish,

It is with humble gratitude that I thank you for the opportunity to serve as your pastor. You took a chance on this rookie, allowing me to pursue seminary study while serving you, and then welcoming me into fulltime service as a called and ordained minister of Word and Sacrament. I didn’t take that role lightly.

It has been my joy and honor to serve you, and even more than that, it has been a blessing to be served by all of you. As a parish, and as individuals, you have brought a multitude of blessings to my life, especially indulging my strange passion for chickens. You mean more  to me than I can ever express. I am exceedingly thankful to God for placing me here on the beautiful prairies of southwestern Minnesota.

Ever since being diagnosed with cancer, I’ve pledged to be transparent with you. That will not stop here. I received the last of six chemo treatments on September 23, and was told by my doctor that there was evidence it had stopped working. That was a blow, but it also served to affirm my decision to retire. I do so with a heavy heart, as I had promised to stay with you for many more years. Apparently, God has other plans for both of us.

I am ready for whatever comes. Thanks to my lovely mother’s example, I am not afraid of death. I trust God’s promise that eternal life means more life, whatever that will be.

I will continue to pray that the Spirit moves among you to illuminate what’s next for Fields of Grace. You have the capacity to be a beacon of light for people desperately seeking God’s mercy, justice and love in a time that feels unhinged. People are seeking an anchor in an unstable world, and God can use you to fill that need. I hope you can trust how God might be reshaping you to respond faithfully.

Thank you for the opportunity to occupy the parsonage through the month of October. It will take extra coordination to consolidate two households as I will be moving in with my sister and brother-in-law, 102 Maplewood Place, Buffalo, MN 55313.

In Christ,
Pastor Heidi

Fields of Grace Newsletter, September 2021

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Harvest season is my favorite time of year.

That old, stale summer air turns fresh and crisp, a cue that we are entering newness.  Schools resume (hopefully), the kids have gone back to college, farmers will soon begin harvest, and programs will start up at Fields of Grace.

Every year this season reminds me that life is not stale. We may follow new opportunities to grow, to help others, and to see God differently in the world.

We’ll probably have to wait a month before the dynamic colors of the world around us change. The autumn season reminds me that our faith and understanding of God
undergo constant development.

But this change isn’t always easy or as obvious as we would like. Sometimes we may feel stuck or as stale as the late summer air.

And then there is the other side of Autumn. Despite its appeal, it may be saddening and challenging for others. Luckily, like the cold fall air, we have each other to freshen our perspective on God’s presence in our lives. We have each other to learn from, to walk with and support as we go through the joys and challenges that change may bring.

The ambivalence of change, whether joyful or sad, may be stabilized by our faith that God is in our midst.

Although we may not know what lies ahead, God is active in our lives through the people around us. We are guided and  supported by Christ so that we may see each other more clearly, and love one another more fully.

Paul’s verse in 2 Corinthians 5:17 says just that: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” I enjoy autumn because I am reminded of the changes we undergo in life with Christ in our midst.

At the August meeting, I asked the FOG Council to spend time prayerfully pondering the story of Jesus calming the stormy sea from Mark’s gospel. There is just something about that story that feels familiar. We aren’t in a ship being tossed to and fro, but we are being battered by outside forces with unprecedented intensity.

The stale air of summer weighs heavy with conflict, injustice, sorrow, a pandemic, and natural disasters. We need the assurance that God in Christ supports and loves us through uncertain times.

Especially in the midst of a shifting season, I am reminded of God’s never-ceasing presence and the exultation “Peace. Be still.” Thanks be to God.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, August 2021

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You have heard me talk many times about liminal space.  The Latin root for liminal means  “threshold.” Liminal space is the “crossing over” space – a space where you have left something behind, yet you are not fully in something else. Carmelite scholar, Connie Fitzgerald, calls it “impasse,” the space between what was and what can be. In that space we are often frozen (at an impasse), she says, by factors of fear, distrust, anger, darkness, and many layers of memory. She claims that is the space in which Christ’s Church finds itself today. Dr. Fitzgerald says “We are encumbered by old assumptions, burdened by memories that limit our horizons and, therefore, unfree to see God coming to us from the future.”

I am intrigued by the phrase “God coming to us from the  future.” We don’t know what the future holds so, therefore,  have to rely on God to reveal to us God’s plan for God’s church. That is why I have suggested that we enter into a  process of discernment about the future of Fields of Grace. The  landscape of our culture is changing rapidly, but the church seems to be stuck in its old ways. To simply replicate those  ways would, in my opinion, not only be a death sentence, it  would be unfaithful.

FOG leaders stepped into a liminal space of unknowing a couple weeks ago. Some were disappointed that we didn’t talk about concrete directions our parish might take, but it is  too early for those kinds of conversations, primarily because we would be inclined to simply modify what we have been doing rather than birthing something new.

Prior to the meeting, I attempted to communicate the counter-cultural, non-linear, non- cognitive nature of discernment. It is a process I have been through many times, and I trust it. It is messy, laborious, non-concrete, and deeply spiritual. I want FOG leaders to enter into that process with open minds and hearts, knowingly/faithfully taking on the challenge over the next few months.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, July 2021

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A prayer on the 4th of July, 2021

Gracious God, on this day in which Americans celebrate our independence, we offer prayers for our country and its leaders.

First, thank you for all the ways you have blessed us through the United States of America. Though our nation is far from perfect, nevertheless, it has been the source of much  goodness, both for American citizens and for the world. In particular, we thank you for the freedom Americans have to worship and live out their faith without fear. In today’s world, this is nothing to take for granted, even though we do so often take it for granted.

Second, we pray for our leaders today: for President Biden and his administration, for those who serve in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, for members of the Supreme Court and the federal courts, for the leaders of the U.S. military and for all who serve in the federal government. We also pray for Governor Walz and the Minnesota legislators, for county and state judges, for Lafayette’s leaders and those in the neighboring communities. Grant to all of these leaders your wisdom. Give them hearts that seek your truth and justice. Guide them in your ways.

Third, we pray for those who serve the needs of our neighbors. For firefighters and police  who respond without hesitation to all sorts of emergencies, for those who staff food shelves and emergency shelters for abused women, for those who serve returning veterans and  their families, and for all medical personnel who tend to the needs of the elderly. Give them all an extra measure of patience, strengthen their resolve and surround them with people who can affirm their vocation.

All praise be to you, King of kings, because you are the ultimate authority in this universe. You are always right, always good, always gracious, always just. Amen.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, June 2021

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I struggled to write this month’s Pastor’s Reflection, not because I didn’t know what I  anted to write but because I did.

Frankly, I was afraid that you’d dismiss it as another one of Pastor Heidi’s reflections about change. That is only partially true. I am not trying to change Fields of Grace or any of the three congregations that make up Fields of Grace. What I am attempting to do, as your  pastoral leader, is position us to serve God’s mission well into the future. That means assumptions may need to be questioned, organizational structures may need to be reconfigured, some traditions may need to be reevaluated, and none of us can function on autopilot any longer.

That sounds like work, and many of us are at the point in our lives when we don’t want to do that much work, especially at church.

I get it. But, as people of faith, we don’t have the privilege of ignoring Jesus’ Great Commission to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20)

The Great Commission used to be understood literally as bringing the gospel to people who had never heard about God’s saving action through Jesus Christ. Conversion was the goal.

That is a very narrow understanding of Matthew’s text. We need to bear in mind the scope of God’s redemptive activity. From the beginning, God’s design for creation was for it to flourish and become inhabitable. Humanity was charged with the task of caring for the earth and creating culture, making the uninhabitable habitable.

Adam failed to trust God with this task and sought to rule not only over creation, but also over God. And, as we have been reminded in our walk through the bible, Israel followed in Adam’s footsteps. But, then came Jesus. Jesus preached a restorative message that put the  creation project back on track. When he returned to the Father, Jesus gave his Church the Spirit, and the responsibility to continue his restorative work.

One of the gifts of the Spirit is the ability to speak new languages (Mk. 16:17-18). That can mean literal languages like Swahili or French or Mandarin Chinese, and it can also mean cultural languages.

For example, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we need to speak to people where they are. For many people that is online. When we figured out that many in our   community aren’t active on social media, we started the radio ministry because that is more accessible.

Similarly, we need to evaluate all of the unspoken assumptions about why we do what we  do, and discern if the “language” is still understandable and relevant in today’s reality. Does how we function still support our mission? To answer that question we first need to identify our mission at this time in our parish’s history. Then we can go about constructing ministries to serve the mission. That will take some work, and I hope you are up for it. I am for as long as I can be.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, May 2021

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I have a new sense of urgency about the ministry of the church since being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. My urgency is not limited simply to the witness of our parish, but it extends to the Christian church in general. I can accept that my life will be shortened by this ugly disease. But I can’t as easily accept the church’s complacency at this time in its history. We have work to do people of God!

I believe the church* should always be asking how it is being called to situate itself in the world. Answering that question requires exploring our understanding of and relationship with God in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

There is something about God’s story that is transformative, probably because it is so  counterintuitive. The kingdom of God that Jesus came to inaugurate is about things like suffering, and participating in suffering, about dying to oneself, and about dramatic  reversals like the poor are made rich, the hungry are fed, the weak are most powerful.

It is not enough for Christians to only point to the kingdom of God with words. It is not enough to say to the poor and the oppressed that the kingdom will come. Christ calls us to proclaim the kingdom of God as powerfully present today, and to live in the world in faith that God is already creating that kingdom in our midst. That is one way of defining the mission of the church.

But what if our fidelity to Jesus is wedded to principalities and powers, such as white supremacy** or Christian nationalism?*** Then we have a problem. Because when we  study God’s word with our mature selves, we discover that the one we call Lord—the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son, the image of the invisible God—is diametrically  opposed to those top down, totalitarian, cross-building powers.

Please don’t take this personally, but my hunch is that most of us are still interacting with the bible and articulating a theology that reflects the developmental stage of faith of a junior high student.

Let’s face it: we treated confirmation like graduation, and we didn’t seek any higher  Christian education. But no one who wishes to grow stays in junior high school. Everyone who wishes to grow graduates to higher/deeper levels of being and understanding.

Many historians, philosophers, and spiritual teachers now agree that collective history itself is going through an evolution of consciousness. We can readily observe stages of consciousness or stages of “growing up” in the world at large (e.g. today Christians do not believe that slavery is acceptable, but many at one time did).

Being a person of faith, a disciple of Jesus Christ, involves grappling with the gospel as a present reality and not just a ticket out of hell so you don’t go there when you die. That is junior high thinking.

We need to mature beyond that and engage with the liberating, life-giving Jesus who invites us to address a lot of the problems facing the world. I am thinking about starting a virtual bible study with all of the Fields of Grace councils called “How to Read the Bible (like adults). I probably will open it to others as well. Watch future FOG Newsletters and/or bulletins for more details.

* “Church” means us, the people of God, a community whose way of showing up in the world is formed and shaped by God’s story.

** Beliefs and ideas purporting natural superiority of the lighter-skinned, or “white,” human races over other racial groups.

*** The belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, April 2021

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Three fifth graders will be welcomed to the Lord’s Table for the first time on Maundy Thursday. Preparing them to receive their first communion is always a highlight of my year. But, COVID-19 stole that experience from me (and them) this year.

Not only is Holy Communion a central rite of Christian worship, it is the center of our lives because Christ is the center of our lives. Worship, as we do it, involves lots of listening. Few of us, especially children, are good at just sitting and listening. We expect to be hyper- stimulated every minute of every day. The fact that the pace changes in worship is admirable and intentional—“Be still and know that I am God”—but we all struggle to make that shift.

When we come to the Lord’s table—which we have been restricted from doing during the pandemic—we at least get to move to a different location in the building. We also get to be physically close to others around a pseudo table (altar rail). I wish we could literally be around the altar, looking into each other’s eyes as we share the holy meal, but our worship space is not designed to support that arrangement.

Eating together was a big deal to Jesus. It was a chance to deepen friendships, welcome strangers and serve the poor. With limited space here, I’ll use the remainder of this article to focus on “deepening friendships.”

When I lived in Chicago it became a tradition for colleagues and friends, all of whom worked in the church in some capacity, to meet at a friend’s house for a meal after worship on Easter Sunday. We all came exhausted and over stimulated, not just from that morning’s worship, but from the Holy Week activities leading up to the big day.

A sign on the building’s front door read: “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Hallelujah!” And, thanks to the host’s children, the hike up two flights of stairs offered reminders about the reason for our celebration. The smell of lamb met my nose as I entered the condo, and the warm greeting from the hosts made me feel like the prodigal son coming home.

After hearing stories from our various experiences that morning, we made our way to the table. The food was always amazing and plentiful, but what I loved most was Pastor Craig’s question. Every year he asked one, provocative question. We all dared to answer because space had been created for honest conversation, and we knew the highest value was grace. I had not experienced that kind of sacred intimacy before, nor since.

I want you and our fifth graders to feel that kind of intimate embrace in our parish, especially at the Lord’s table, where we take in Christ and are nourished for a lifelong process of self-transcending love.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, March 2021

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Author Anne LaMott says about those struggling to create something, “sometimes you’re not blocked, you’re empty.” As I attempt to write something for this month’s newsletter I don’t feel empty, I feel full.

Like after a Thanksgiving dinner, all I can do is lay down and unbutton my pants. It is a paradox—there is too much, yet I’ve got nothin’. I am full of gratitude for the expressions of love and care—and pledges to pray—that I’ve received since sharing my cancer diagnosis. I am overwhelmed by communication from high school buddies, to my group of friends from Chicago, to college roommates, even ecumenical and international partners with whom I have worked.

I am also full of questions as I wait—not so patiently—to learn the treatment protocol. The future is uncertain right now, and for a planner that is difficult.

But then came a word from the prophet Jeremiah. Just two words: “you know.” In Jeremiah 15:15, Jeremiah’s lament turns to prayer. He is feeling sorry for himself, overwhelmed by the gravity of his call to be a prophet to the nations. Then, out of his shroud of self-pity, his lament turns to prayer.

“O Lord, you know;
remember me and visit me,
and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors.

In your forbearance do not take me away;
know that on your account I suffer insult.”

“O Lord, you know,” reminds me of Anne LaMott’s suggestion that the three essential prayers are help, thanks, wow. She wrote a book by that title which I highly recommend. Anne says “My belief is that when you’re telling the truth, you’re close to God. If you say to God, ‘I am exhausted and depressed beyond words, and I don’t like You at all right now, and I recoil from most people who believe in You,’ that might be the most honest thing you’ve ever said. If you told me you had said to God, ‘It is all hopeless, and I don’t have a clue if You exist, but I could use a hand,’ it would almost bring tears to my eyes, tears of pride in you, for the courage it takes to get real-really real. It would make me want to sit next to you at the dinner table.”

I hear Jeremiah being that honest with God, and then collapsing into God’s heart with the beautiful assurance that God knows. That sets our God apart from others. Our God took on flesh, became like us to demonstrate how desperately we are known, as Jeremiah reminds us even before we were conceived. Part of the beauty of the Lenten season is that we are reminded that, in Jesus, we have a God who knows us, who will never leave us or forsake us, who sits with us in our pain, our questions, our anger, our dismay (add your own feeling here) to the bitter end—and beyond. Thanks be to God.

Postscript: In the Greek Bible, God is called the heart-knower.

An extra note from Pastor Heidi
Not only are we accommodating a global pandemic for which many of us are experiencing COVID fatigue, but now our parish is having to deal with my cancer diagnosis. Those two realities mean that we need to remain flexible. FOG leaders are planning, but it is likely plans will change as I learn more about what kind of treatments I am facing. So please watch your inbox for updates, and also let your neighbors know who don’t use electronic communications. This can be a time when our collective faith is tested, but it is during times of testing that we also grow the most. I am sorry that my situation is impacting y’all. We will get through this.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, February 2021

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You may have noticed around the sanctuary of many Roman Catholic churches a series of visual reminders of Jesus’ last hours known as “The Stations of the Cross.” I think they are intended to encourage the Catholic faithful in their personal devotion. They are also known as The Way of the Cross, or Via Crucis (Latin, way of the cross) or Via Dolorosa (Latin, way of grief). You may have seen people slowly walking along The Stations of the Cross, pausing at each station for quiet reflection.

I will be modifying The Stations of the Cross practice to shape our observation of Lent this year. Each Wednesday we’ll work on coloring a poster that reflects a scene from Jesus’ journey to the cross as part of our worship experience. This activity should be especially fun for kids and kids at heart. We can’t share a meal this year, but we can share time creating our own “Stations of Lent.”

Roman Catholic sister, Joan Chittister, sums up Lent this way: “Lent is a call to renew a commitment grown dull, perhaps, by a life more marked by routine than by reflection. After a lifetime of mundane regularity or unconsidered adherence to the trappings of faith, Lent requires us, as Christians, to…think seriously about who Jesus is, to renew our faith from the inside out. It is the act of beginning our spiritual life all over again refreshed and reoriented.”

After months of isolation, we all may be in need of renewal. I hope that you will enter into the 40 days of Lent with the intention of renewing your faith in Christ through the events of his last days on earth. My prayer is that we all come out on the other side of the resurrection “refreshed and reoriented” as Sister Joan says.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 17. We’ll gather at Bernadotte, at 7:00 p.m. In the Old Testament, repentance was often marked by the wearing of “sackcloth and ashes.” Because of the coronavirus, and in light of our journey through the Old Testament, we may have to forego the imposition of ashes and use sackcloth as a visual reminder of the seriousness and the consequences of sin, namely death. As the Lord spoke to Adam, because of his sin, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19)

On subsequent Wednesdays, we’ll meet at First Lutheran, February 24, March 3, 10, 17, and 24 at 7:00 p.m. Seven students will be confirmed on Palm Sunday, March 28. Standby for details. We may need to be creative, given social distancing needs so the kids’ families can attend safely.

During the Maundy Thursday service, April 1, three fifth graders will be welcomed to The Lord’s Table for the first time. That service takes place at First Lutheran at 7:00 p.m. Our Good Friday observance will be at Bernadotte at 7:00 p.m. on April 2. Here is a preview of the Easter worship schedule: 6:30 a.m. First Lutheran, 8:00 a.m. Swan Lake, and 9:30 a.m. Bernadotte.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, January 2021

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New Year’s Day will be extra special for many of us this year as we gladly bid farewell to 2020, the strangest year in recent history.

It also happens to be a feast day in some Christian churches, the Feast of the Holy Name. It is eight days after Jesus’ birth and, according to the Law of Moses, all male infants were to be circumcised on the eighth day after birth. The circumcision and naming of a child marked them as an inheritor of Abraham’s covenant with God, and also created the child’s identity within a family.

A name is a fundamental building block of our identity. Our names define who we are and how we are known. In the ancient world, there was a widely held belief that names had power. To know someone’s name would give you the ability to influence or control them. That is similar to the second chapter of Genesis when the creatures of the earth parade in front of Adam. As he names them all, he is then given dominion over them. Names have power and significance and none more so than the name of Jesus.

As we have seen in our journey through The Story, for many in the bible an encounter with God would result in a new identity and a new name. “Abram” is named “Abraham” when God speaks to him about the covenant and his promise for the future. God gives Abraham’s wife “Sarai” the name “Sarah” and promises to bless her. “Jacob” wrestles with an angel of the Lord and becomes “Israel”.

God never leaves us in the same place we were when we encounter God, and an encounter with God can change the foundation of one’s identity.

Like those figures in scripture who were renamed after having an encounter with God, we are also given a new identity and a new name by virtue of our baptism. In that encounter, through Jesus, we learn the name God uses for us, “Beloved.”

The year 2021 won’t magically change what we have experienced in 2020. Some of us will still experience loneliness and isolation, but we hope in the One who comes to save us from our despair and our selfish tendencies, our dependence on all the things that draw us away from true life.

My prayer for you in 2021 is that you may know and celebrate your true identity, eternally Beloved of God. It is our call, both individually and as a parish, to share the joy of that identity with our neighbors, inviting them, too, into the loving embrace of our true home: held safely in the very Heart of God.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, December 2020

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We are living through one of the most complicated times in recent history. For some of us, this time of year is always difficult, but with the added uncertainly around COVID-19, it will be a particularly hard year for some. What has made this season memorable in the past—the decorations, the food, the worship services, Santa’s arrival, carol sings, etc.—won’t happen this year. Many of the traditions—those things we have come to associate with the Advent andC hristmas holidays—won’t happen.

Many of us are grieving the loss of those traditions, especially the inability to gather in our beautiful worship spaces filled with greenery and poinsettias, and singing Silent Night by candlelight. Most of us couldn’t even celebrate Thanksgiving with tables surrounded by beloved family gathered from hither and yon. ‘Bout now in this pandemic cycle we are craving the intimacy of friends, and some demonstration of normalcy, but we are encouraged not to oblige our desires just yet.

It is important to acknowledge the grief we are carrying, along with any anger we are feeling about the restrictions and/or the people who restrict us. Grief comes in many forms, and when it is not expressed, it tends to harden the once-vibrant parts of us.

Sadly, because of the circumstances in which we find ourselves (because of the pandemic) we will be alone with our grief much of the time. That solitude can be rich, as long as we know we are held somewhere, somehow, by others. Our friendships and our faith community enable us to go into that dark space alone. The Irish philosopher John O’Donohue had a concept he called the “reverence of approach.” He said, “When we approach [things] with reverence, great things decide to approach us.” What if, instead of trying to outmaneuver grief this season, we came to it with reverence? Grief is not a passive state we “get through.” We must find a way to engage it, to sit with it, to mull it over.

I will be offering a time to do that throughout Advent by posting a short daily devotional on FOG’s Facebook page by 10:00 a.m. each day. I encourage you to use it as your daily spiritual practice throughout Advent. I will be lighting my Advent wreath, and I encourage you to do the same. You can search online for resources on how to make an Advent wreath if you don’t have one.

Ultimately, I hope to help us experience the kinship between grief and gratitude. Patricia Campbell Carlson is noted for her observation that “grief and gratitude are kindred souls, each pointing to the beauty of what is transient and given to us by grace.” My hope is that our Facebook page will be a place where you are reminded of your connection to your larger church community. I hope that we can create a safe space where grief and gratitude can hold one another in close communion, and where you are reminded of the true reason for the season.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, November 2020

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As human beings, no matter our beliefs, we have an innate need for meaning, purpose, connectedness, and wholeness. What I see and hear from so many people right now is how their spiritual health is being shredded, not by a physical virus, but by our divisiveness, our corrosive politics, and the continual calls to outrage and anger, which can lead us to violent thoughts, words, and actions.

My encouragement to each of you is to seek after the things that make for peace in your heart, in your homes, and in your community. I personally find that through faith in God’s goodness and love for me and for all people. To paraphrase St. Paul: “The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Let us then pursue what makes for peace and building one another up.”

In light of St. Paul’s wisdom, I encourage you to focus on things/people for which you are grateful, as well as find ways that you can be generous with your compassion toward others.  These things are helpful in pulling us out of places of despair, hopelessness, and anger. Here are a few practices we/you can do during November, the month of Thanksgiving:

• Make it a spiritual practice to send a card of encouragement to someone every day.
• Post a gratitude daily on Facebook, in writing or in pictures.
• Call a friend with whom you’ve lost touch.
• Identify a way you can save money for a person or organization in need. Like deposit your change daily into a bucket, or donate a dollar every time you swear or engage in some kind of behavior you are trying to change (like eating too much late at night, Pastor Heidi), or make it positive by contributing X amount every time you find yourself humming or smiling throughout the day.
• Start a gratitude journal.
• Find a song about gratitude or thanksgiving that you can sing (or listen to) throughout the month.

During worship in November, I am going to include thanksgivings into the service. I will ask you to write them down as you enter the sanctuary, and then include them in our prayers.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, October 2020

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The global coronavirus pandemic has created a new reality marked by grief and loss. Weddings, festivals, fairs/carnivals, meetings, travel plans, school events, and more have been canceled in the wake of the virus.

It has forced us to process both individual and collective grief in the face of an uncertain future which we are powerless to control. We are all dealing with the collective loss of the world we knew.

The disruptions to the normal routines and rhythms of everyday life contribute to the lingering unease and sadness that we are all feeling. Not only are we mourning the loss of thousands of lives, but we are also mourning the loss of normalcy, from seeing friends and family to engaging in the mundane routines that we previously took for granted. One of those routines is attending worship on Sunday mornings. But even that feels diminished by the distance and, for me, the lack of singing.

Not only are people now grappling with the loss of normalcy, but also with anticipatory grief, or the feeling that greater loss is yet to come.

Anticipatory grief is a type of grief that occurs before a loss, like when a family emotionally prepares for the inevitable death of a terminally ill member. People experiencing this type of grief can feel sadness over the impending loss, fear of what will happen, anger over the situation, and feelings of isolation and loneliness.

I think our parish is experiencing anticipatory grief. We are afraid our congregations and parish will die. Truth be told, something has already died. And, like we don’t expect grandma to rise again in our physical presence, we can’t expect the church as we knew it to rise again. But the Spirit is alive and we can—like the immigrant pioneers who built our buildings and laid a foundation of faith—build a new kind of church.

I suggested to the FOG Council this month that we enter hospice. The word “hospice” is often thought to mean death is imminent and that is why people resist it. But that isn’t true. In the care of hospice personnel, people can take stock of their life, and plan intentionally for how their legacy will be carried forward by those left behind.

Likewise, during hospice our parish/congregations can identify its assets and its unique witness, and how it will pollinate the next generation’s faithfulness. Whatever follows will most likely not be the same. Remember those immigrant pioneers I referenced earlier? Surely they didn’t simply recreate here what they came from in Norway or Sweden. We shouldn’t hope that our congregations will remain the same.

As Pastor Shelly Olson reminded us in one of her recent radio sermons: “There is such a thing as good grief. Grief is good when we allow ourselves to be swaddled in the arms of God’s promises. Grief is good when it brings us closer to God…when it brings us closer to the earth from which we came…when it brings us closer to one another in the journey of faith, hope and love.”

Fields of Grace Newsletter, September 2020

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How well do you know God’s story as revealed through scripture? If your only encounter with scripture is in worship on Sunday morning, that is sort of like reordering the chapters of a novel and then trying to make sense of the story. We hear bits ‘n’ pieces on Sunday, but the Bible is more than a collection of verses. It is one overarching story of God interacting with people to bring healing from the devastating effects of sin.

Starting this fall, I would like to approach scripture in a way that might help us know the story line of the Bible and see it as one story. Understanding the chronological story of the scriptures reveals God’s nature, character, and ways. Knowing the big story of the Bible helps us know God as revealed through scripture so that we might live with hope as we take our place in the story.

The very first words of the Bible are “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). It ends with these words: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.” (Rev. 21:1 ) In the opening of the Bible, God is creating the heavens and the earth and at the end of the Bible God is creating a new heaven and a new earth. So the question is “What on earth happened?” That is what we will explore this year in worship and in Bible study.

I am encouraging everyone to purchase the book The Story, which will be available at worship for $7.00. If paying is a hardship, you can still have a copy. And, if you aren’t a reader, you can access a website through which the story will be read to you.

How it works
Everyone is encouraged to read a chapter a week. I will construct our weekly worship around the portion of the story we read. If you want to go deeper, we will make an in-person or online bible study available.

Partners
We are not alone on this journey. The congregations with whom we share the radio broadcast, “A New Day,” are also reading The Story according to the same schedule, as is Immanuel in New Auburn.

We are all characters in the story of God. The intention of this focus is to help you align your whole life to God’s story.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, August 2020

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It finally happened. Someone expressed to me that one of my sermons was “too political.” I have been waiting for that comment, and am deeply grateful for the courtesy of the conversation.

I am very aware of the privilege and responsibility I have to stand before you every week and preach the gospel. I wish I could bring a word that elicited a warm glow to your hearts every Sunday, but then I wouldn’t be faithful to the gospel. While we might want Christmas Eve and Easter Sunday sermons every Sunday, the life of Christ also included Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.And in these chaotic times, who wouldn’t want sermons outlining seven-ways-to-live-a-happier-life rather than seven-ways-to-suffer-like-Christ. That is not an unreasonable desire. The Christian church in America has conditioned us to leave worship feeling happy, uplifted, inspired.

It feels like everything is “too political” these days. We hear it on TV, on social media, on the radio, in the newspaper, at work, at home, at parties. Many of us want church to be a sanctuary from things that feel so divisive.

But, we must remember that the “gospel” got Jesus killed by an angry mob. All our pretty, sanded-down crosses belie the fact that Jesus was lynched and hanged on rough-hewn timbers in an act of public humiliation. Jesus upset the status quo, undermined the religious and political leaders of his day and called people to sacrifice what made them feel safe and secure.

The essence of the gospel is announced by Jesus in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to theblind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” That was/is Jesus’ agenda.

In today’s climate, if I declare help for the poor, release of captives, and health care for the blind I can easily be accused of being political, or soft on crime, or a socialist or worse. I understand the critique, but I also can’t subdue Jesus’ message. I wish we could talk about it more—together, civilly—and not keep our feelings to ourselves.

In the sermon I preached on the radio July 26, I suggested that it is time for us—not just FOG, but the whole Christian church—to grow up. Like high school graduates, we can’t stay in the comfort of our parent’s home forever. We need to declare our allegiance to Jesus, and rust the Spirit to empower us to live according to Jesus’way. We need to leave home and engage with the world. Being church is not about self-preservation. As the apostle Paul teaches, it is about action, commitment, sacrifice and devotion—radial discipleship.

I am learning that many of us want to come to church to lay down our burdens and be comforted, to find rest from the troubles of the world. There’s nothing wrong with that. But that warm and comforting line from Luke’s gospel is followed by this sentence from Jesus in the same breath: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.”

The gospel calls us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us, to turn the other cheek, not to consider ourselves superior to others, to live at peace with all people, to model an engaging faith, to bind the wounded, to work for the release of those held captive, to feed the hungry, and bring God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. That is what it looks like to live into our baptismal identity. It can be an uneasy call, but we are encouraged to remain faithful each week as we are gathered in hope, nourished by word and meal, and sent out into the world to serve in Jesus’ name.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, July 2020

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This reflection is partially excerpted from an article written by Luther Seminary Professor, Karoline Lewis.

In August of 2016, Will Smith said this, “Racism isnot getting worse, it’s getting filmed.” Who could have imagined how true these prophetic words would become? Things are not worse; they are getting uncovered and the truth is almost unbearable to speak. For far too long, we have denied the sin of racism—not just us as individuals but also the church and its leaders.

In his book How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi argues that the heartbeat of racism is denial; the heartbeat of antiracism is confession. Being an antiracist, says Kendi, requires persistent self-awareness, constant selfcriticism, and regular self-examination. I believe that God has given the church an opportunity to engage in this kind of self-exposure. If the church cannot be the model for confession, then we have no right to claim that we are living out the great commission.

The time is now for those who profess faith in Jesus Christ to tell the truth to ourselves first and then to the world. The church should be leading the charge against racism. For most of us, I am guessing, that starts with education. For example, do you know the difference between race and ethnicity? Did you know that race is a socially constructed concept created to give power to white people over non-white people? If you want to start educating yourself—which is an act of faith—I highly recommend this online resource:

Racial Equity Tools

Fields of Grace Newsletter, June 2020

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COVID-19 has disrupted life as we have known it. Nations across the world are taking drastic action to dampen its impact, yet many may find these measures mystifying. People of faith were particularly frustrated by the inability to gather for worship, a ritual which, for
most, is an “essential service.”

In this brief reflection I want to say to the Fields of Grace community: have patience, our day will come. This is a time when loving thy neighbor might best be practiced at a distance.

There are very few social situations on the planet more conducive to the spread of the virus than churches, and we have evidence now that churches re-opening are seeing incidence of coronavirus and death of parishioners and priests, even while taking precautions. One can make the argument that worship is as essential as other parts of life (businesses, etc.), but there’s a big difference: the economy has an economic motivator, a push factor, that churches simply don’t have. We are free to wait, and that freedom becomes a Christian moral responsibility to wait.

Churches can offer most if not all of their spiritual resources via alternative media. We have already been utilizing Facebook and YouTube, as well as the phone, snail mail, and email to stay connected. In another section of this newsletter you can read about an exciting experiment we are part of to broadcast weekly worship on KNUJ AM in partnership with Scandian Grove in Norseland and St. Paul’s and Trinity in Gaylord.

Some people are not fans of distributed forms of worship. They argue this is “virtual church” and therefore disembodied—but I am suggesting it is simply “differently embodied” and in a way more embodied even than worship in church buildings.

This has become an excellent moment to emphasize the role of the people of God in the world. We have an opportunity to live our faith in the world by being committed to the common good, expressing concern for the least, focusing on earth care, articulating grief over injustice, making music and joy, maintaining friendships and love, and promoting a vision for a just society for all. These are the things the Lord requires of us, Micah says, and we can each do them in our unique ways while protecting the health of our neighbors. In fact, the message of protecting our neighbor’s health by not gathering for worship helps center such a focus on justice.

Re-gathering for worship now when the elderly and the immunocompromised (myself among them) are asked to stay home compounds the pain of isolation. To know others are gathering in person (receiving communion, singing together) divides the church experientially from itself, with one group required to stay home and distant while others gather.

Remember when Bishop Jon said at my installation service that you won’t always like what I have to say? This may be one of those times, but I feel strongly that we must continue to explore and experiment with ways to conduct safe forms of social-distanced sacramental life, service, and worship. As long as these conform to the strictest guidelines from the CDC and prioritize health over supposed “religious freedom,” we will, by trial and error, sort out how to conduct life together during the pandemic.

While we may share and must respect the deep desire to congregate and commune in physical proximity, we hold firm that we remain one in the Spirit through prayer, conversation, and creative service opportunities. God’s people survived on manna, patience, and trust until they entered the land of milk and honey. Indeed, they grumbled and struggled but they waited until the time came. We now find ourselves in a wilderness of sorts—a pandemic wilderness—and we are called to love God and our neighbor in new ways, through sacrifice and creativity. We seek to protect the vulnerable not only in our congregation but in the larger community.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, May 2020

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I swear the Bernadotte International Airport is real. While working outside recently,I found myself looking to the sky more than once as I was convinced I heard an airplane taxiing on the runway. I’m serious. After about the third time hearing it, I figured out that I was hearing a big tractor, not an airplane.

I am familiar with the sound of planes because the last place I lived in Chicago before moving here was on one of O’Hare International Airport’s flight paths. When the atmospheric conditions were a certain way, planes departed and landed directly over my condo building.

That sound wasn’t pleasant, but in the midst of the noise my ears tuned in to the heartbeat of God for that place. It was a reminder that the city was a sacred place to await and participate in God’s redemption; it was a soundtrack for faith and ministry.

The soundtrack has changed out here on the prairie—with the exception of this week—but the melody line is unmistakable. The country is also a sacred place to await and participate in God’s redemption. At this time of the year, it is the farmers who sound the clarion call. Clarion is not just a clear call but a crystal clear call, one that is unmistakable and overwhelmingly clear.

What I hear in this year’s planting soundtrack is affirmation that God is moving with us, especially in these uncertain times.

Early in the Hebrew Scriptures(Old Testament), God is asserted as a God on the move. When humans are kicked out of paradise, God leaves the garden in protection and pursuit.When the scattering takes place at Babel, God follows a family from generation to generation, waiting for the right time to unleash the promise of blessing. From the cities, temples, and thrones of empires to the deserts and caves of the wilderness, God’s presence is heard and felt and experienced. From place to place the pitch and tempo change, but the melody line remains recognizable and inviting.

Now, every time I hear a tractor on the earthen runways around Bernadotte, I remember that the path to a good harvest is beginning now, and I bless our farmers for reminding me that the God who moves with us is faithful and that harvest will come. Let us all heed the farmers’ clarion call to trust God for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14)

Fields of Grace Newsletter, April 2020

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The situation in which we find ourselves is new (to us), but is it unprecedented?

One hundred years ago, the “Spanish Flu” spread around the world. It took a long time for the world to recognize the seriousness of the epidemic. But the disease sharply spiked in October 1918, prompting cities,states, and countries to take more decisive action.

Cities like Indianapolis, IN; Washington, D.C.; and Philadelphia, PA all ordered social distancing similar to what we’re now experiencing, plus the closing of non-essential businesses, quarantines in houses, and schools shut down. This included churches, that were either asked or outright ordered to suspend worship services.

Yes, one hundred years ago the church experienced exactly what we are experiencing now—closing down and suspending worship during a pandemic. Churches back then faced the same difficulties we’re facing.

For nearly all of its history, the church has been defined as a group of people connected and gathered together. When everyone couldn’t gather together in one place, they gathered together in multiple places. When circumstances prevented some from gathering, the church went to them to provide care and the sacraments. When persecution meant punishment, imprisonment, or death for those who clung to their faith, they met in secret, away from public eyes. The church has always been physically connected in some way. Rarely has the church had to exist when physical contact was impossible on such a massive scale.

This is one of those rare times when physically gathering together and coming into contact with each other is dangerous. The disease can spread between people who haven’t even touched, because it is carried in respiratory droplets on the air expelled from human lungs. Even the bubonic plague that caused the Black Death in the fourteenth century CE allowed priests like Martin Luther to remain in their cities and towns to minister to the sick and dying.

But when a disease as contagious as COVID-19 presents itself, the precautions that Luther took simply aren’t enough. Physical isolation is required to slow the spread of this disease.

Yet, I think we are equipped to continue being a church together during times of isolation. Technology allows us to communicate instantly by cell phone and via the Internet. For any people,such contact provides the only real, safe, life-giving social interaction in their lives.

That is why I am imploring you to stay connected with your church family. We are working on using technology to connect virtually—standby for details as we get it set up—but I also ant to encourage you to use old-fashioned ways of connecting.

Check the names and addresses of members who live in care facilities or who are being cared for in their homes (below). Please write to them.Tell them about your day. Send cards. Call. And remember to pray.

The church accompanies the suffering and shares burdens, adapting as it needs for the sake of those it serves. We must accompany our people for as long as it takes. All that will matter is that we did the best we could to ease the suffering in mind, body, and spirit of those we accompanied, and rely on the faith of Jesus Christ to do the rest.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, March 2020

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Immediately after Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan river, he is led by the Holy Spirit into the desert. I tend to think of the desert experience as Jesus’ initiation ritual because it is after his baptism that he begins his earthly ministry. But he doesn’t face that desert—which is a kind of death experience—until he experiences one very important thing during his baptism: Jesus hears his Father say, “You are my beloved one!” (Matthew 3:17)

At our baptism we also hear “You are my beloved one.” We can imagine the baptismal font like a reflecting pool, and Jesus drags us to this pool through the church and says, “Look: there is my reflection and there is yours. This is who you are: the image of God, a temple of the Holy Spirit, a wellspring of life-giving water, the Beloved one, God’sson, God’s daughter, the one in whom the Father delights!”

But we aren’t claimed by God simply to rest in our beauty and dignity until we die. Baptism is about receiving Life, not avoiding the cemetery. As such we can see our baptism, like Jesus, as an initiation into a way of life, a way of baptismal living that includes:

Living among God’s faithful people Hearing the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper

Proclaiming the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, to serve all people

Following the example of Jesus Striving for justice and peace in all the earth

Baptismal living is about being loved into being, so that we can love each other into being. In this way, our belovedness is manifest in our servanthood. We build up the self, in the community of the church, to give the self away. We are blessed and then bless each other. This is what the church is supposed to be and do. It is the Spirit who empowers us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices: God’s servant whom God upholds; God’s chosen one in whom God delights.

We will explore this baptismal way of life each Wednesday night. We start at 6:00 p.m. with a simple soup supper served by the confirmation (and pre-confirmation) students and their families, followed by worship at 7:00 p.m.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, February 2020

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If we are honest, most of us are unsure about how to pray. We may have been taught to pray as children, but never learned an adult way to pray.

Most of our prayers are requesting favors from God, and our efforts often feel inadequate. Yet, we long to have the kind of intimate relationship with God that is deepened in prayer.

I invite you to explore a way of praying without words.

Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with him.

My intention is to start a Centering Prayer group in our parish, the frequency and details of which will be determined by those involved.

It will begin with an introductory workshop on February 15 at St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, MN, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The fee is $125, including lunch. After the introductory workshop, those who are interested will determine how they want to continue the practice together.

If you are interested, please let me know—by phone or email—so I can register you for the introductory workshop. If the cost is prohibitive, assistance is available.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, January 2020

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Certain denominations and traditions are considered liturgical and others aren’t. We are a liturgical church. That means—among other things—that we reorder time around six different seasons that help us to align our lives with the life of Christ. The liturgical year helps us walk through the seasons of our lives in tune with the seasons of Christ’s life, growing as we go. That is discipleship.

Many churches are trying the latest and greatest discipleship programs in an effort to revitalize their congregations. I believe that following the liturgical calendar is the best option. This time-tested annual pattern for Christian life is a wonderful template for learning to walk with Christ more deeply.

During Advent, I asked you to consider how God is inviting you, like Mary, to bear Christ into the world. That was intended to be a question you pondered individually. As we enter the season of Epiphany, I am inviting us to ponder the opportunities we have to bear Christ corporately, as a parish. How is the Fields of Grace Parish uniquely gifted to bear Christ?

The season of Epiphany begins on January 6, twelve days after Jesus’ birth, and the day when the nativity story tells us that the Wise Men (magi) visited the infant. The word “epiphany” literally means “manifestation.” It may also mean “a new understanding.” When the Magi approached the child Jesus, new understandings came to them—and to all—about the One who would be a messiah for the entire world.

As we stand at the beginning of a New Year, 2020, we are in need of an epiphany, a new way of understanding how God is being manifest in and through the Fields of Grace Parish.

During the season of Epiphany I want us to not just give lip service to the Wise Men. I pray it will be a time when Christ illuminates a new understanding about how we are being church together. The FOG council will be asking for your partnership as it seeks to identify our unique mission, and the organize itself to serve that mission.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, December 2019

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Advent begins on December 1. Advent marks the beginning of a new church year. Unlike the calendar’s New Year, Advent doesn’t come in with a bang. In fact, this season of the church year is traditionally known as a time of waiting and preparation, marked by the practices of quiet and contemplation. That is why our worship folders throughout Advent will remind us: “Shhh. Quiet. It’s Advent.”

Quiet is an appealing notion during this bustling season but, for some, the experience of quiet waiting may cause conflict. For many of us there is no other time in which our love of God is stronger than during Advent and Christmas. There is no other time in which we are more aware of God’s mercy in our lives and in the world; there is no other time in which our hearts go out to others with such affection; andthere is no other time in which our joy is more profound.

But as our inner world stirs with longings for deep experiences of grace, our outer world is harassed by a calendar over-filled with holiday activities, hurried crowds, and the consumeristic clutter of the season.

To help us focus our attention on the grace of Advent — even in the midst of the many trappings of the season — I have chosen to focus our Advent worship around Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). We know that Mary was a woman who “treasured and pondered in her heart” the things that God showed her (Luke 2:19). It is possible that Mary prayed or sang her Magnificat many times throughout her life.

I am inviting you to use Mary’s song as your song this Advent. Say/pray/read it every day as your Advent discipline. Pay attention to what words/images you are drawn to, and that stick with you throughout the day. Notice how it changes you. Come to worship on Sundays to enter into this beautiful psalm more deeply.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, November 2019

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This month I want to share excerpts from a beautiful sermon preached by Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor. She asks, “How does one give thanks when events in the greater world, and in the smaller world of one’s own life, do not seem to lead one to gratitude?”

Without stretching too much,I want to suggest that Thanksgiving Day becomes Eucharist (Holy Communion) Day, a day when we are called to offer thanks to God for the whole of our lives.

That is not always an easy thing to do.

Perhaps you have seen the bumper sticker that reads, “Life is hard. Then you die.” A few years ago, I drove to work in Chicago behind a car displaying that bumper sticker. Most people laughed when I told them about it, but one perceptive woman declined to laugh and asked, “Have you had a hard week?”As a matter of fact it had been a hard year.

While 2019 hasn’t been an particularly hard year for me personally I think we can all say that this has been a hard year for our world. It will be difficult for some to be thankful this year. To help out I’m suggesting a practice from our ancestors in the faith.

Three thousand years ago the Jews formulated blessings— berakot—for every circumstance of their lives. Come good or bad, they had a blessing. If it were good news, then “Blessed be he who is good and does good.” If it were bad news, then “Blessed be the judge of truth.”As far as they were concerned,
humankind has a duty to pronounce a blessing on the bad in life as well as the good, because all life came from God.

When we gather for Eucharist (Holy Communion), for thanksgiving, what we toast is the whole of our Lord’s life, the defeats along with the victories, the gentle birth alongside the violent crucifixion, the sleepless night in Gethsemane alongside the empty tomb on Easter morning. Because, in retrospect, in
faith, we believe that it is all a single tapestry and the removal of a single thread diminishes the whole creation.

Our opportunity this Thanksgiving is to see our own lives the same way; to learn how to give thanks at the altar not only for the mixed blessings of Christ’s life but also for our own. To say “thank you” for the whole mess, the things we welcome as well as the things we risk our souls to escape.

“Thanks be to God,” we say, because we believe that God is somewhere to be found in everything that happens to us. “Thanks be to God,” we say, because we believe that the cords of God’s love are never severed, however dark or convoluted our path through life may sometimes be.

God is God, and our lives are our lives, and we can love them or leave them, give thanks for them or whittle them away with regret. Our opportunity is to embrace all that we have ever been and done and haul it up upon the altar of grace. It is there we recognize our lives as sacraments, outward and visible signs of an inward grace.

So happy Thanksgiving! Happy Eucharist! Whether you celebrate with family and friends or dine alone, God goes with you, and there is no corner of yourlife that God does not inhabit. Let us be on the lookout for God, and ready with our chorus: “Thanks be to God. Alleluia. Amen.”

Fields of Grace Newsletter, October 2019

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Autumn has always been my favorite season. But, the older I get, autumn has started to lose its appeal, not just because I know winter is around the corner, but because the “autumn of life” seems to be getting closer and closer.

When life’s autumn arrives, we look back and better understand the way God led us; but we still have work to do—the best and fullest. It’s a good transition time.

“Autumn” only occurs once in the Bible. In Jude 1:12,false teachers are compared to “autumn trees without fruit,” implying that autumn should be a fruitful season, the most abundant of the year. How can we take advantage of the “autumn of life”?

It is no secret that our congregations, and our denomination in general, is aging. There was an article circulating on the internet recently, written by a professor at Luther Seminary, asking if the ELCA, our denomination, will exist in 30 years. The generation that the author calls the “legacy members” are dying, and they are not being replaced at the same rate.

What does that mean for the future of our church? How should we, as God’s faithful people, respond?

One way we can respond as people approaching or in the autumn of our lives, is to embrace the transition, find new ways to serve, rather than retire from service. The author of the article suggests that we become more discerning about our investment of time, talent and resources. He suggests we “need to rediscover and reclaim the simple practices that Christians have always done—prayer, scripture study, service, reconciliation, Sabbath, hospitality, etc.— and make these the center of congregational life.”

What would our parish act like, look like, feel like, if those Christian practices were our sole focus?

Fields of Grace Newsletter, September 2019

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Did you see all of the children who came forward for the children’s time at our annual Good Neighbor Sunday worship July 28? I didn’t recognize all of them as members of the FOG community, and that is the point of Good Neighbor Sunday…to welcome neighbors!

I am praying some of those children and their parents/grandparents will join us on Sunday mornings and/or Wednesday evenings when the focus is on God’s relationship with them.

And I saw lots of young families at Mudville Days. If they are your neighbors, invite them to join you at church and bring their children to Sunday or Wednesday School!

Fields of Grace Newsletter, August 2019

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This fall we are embarking on a parish-wide mission project. Working with GoServ Global, we hope to provide two hurricane-resistant SafeT Homes® to Haiti. The goal is to raise $20,000 in 2020. In addition to the homes, we hope that $20,000 will support sending a team to Haiti to construct the homes, and meet the people who will occupy the homes. More information will be forthcoming.

For now, I think it is important for us to think about how we reach out to companions around the world. As I said in my sermon on the Good Samaritan, we don’t enter into relationships as do-gooders swooping in to rescue or save the other. Rather, we seek to accompany our global companions, sharing God’s love and mutually participating in God’s mission. With that posture, we open ourselves to God’s blessings in and through the “Other.”

The ELCA uses the word “accompaniment” to describe how we are in mission around the globe. One definition we use is “Walking together in solidarity that practices interdependence and mutuality.” That doesn’t exactly roll of the tongue. It might be easier to create a scenario describing what accompaniment might look like in practice. I am borrowing this vignette from Audrey Riley, former director of ELCA World Hunger:

“Let’s say there are two people in the local food pantry, one behind the counter and the other choosing things to take home. How do the two people see themselves and each other? How does each one of the two people see what they’re doing together in that shop? Why do they see themselves and each other that way?

“How do the two people in the food pantry see themselves in relationship to God? How does each one see the other person’s story fitting with God’s story? Is one person closer to God than the other person? Does one person have a bigger part in God’s story than the other one does? Why or why not, and if so, who?

“In the accompaniment model, the two people in the food pantry see themselves and each other not as anonymous members of categories like The Poor or The DoGooders, but as individuals—companions, neighbors, equal members of God’s household, with common interests and complementary gifts. They see their individual stories not as completely separate, but as partly overlapping—and their individual stories and their shared stories are all part of God’s story.”

It can take some time and intentionality to get in the habit of seeing people around us according to that accompaniment model, but it’s worth the effort. Give it a try. See
if the world looks different that way.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, July 2019

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I am writing this the week before Holy Trinity Sunday, the week when we focus on the mysterious community of God whom we call Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or Creator,
Redeemer, Sustainer. The lessons this year include a very brief reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)

This text hits many of the high points of God’s Trinitarian salvation of humanity. We read of the Father’s love, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the abiding Spirit. Is that the
entirety of the Trinity? Of course not! But it’s not a bad start—and we don’t have to get into weighty metaphysical matters to see the Triune God’s love at work here.

This promise is made particularly meaningful for me this year as it comes at a time when I am walking with several people who are suffering, some unto death. What a beautiful reminder that, as people of faith, we can celebrate the depth and breadth of God’s love for us—the love of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit even in the midst of suffering.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, June 2019

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The Ascension of Jesus is a peculiar day on the Christian calendar. Years ago, most Lutheran congregations celebrated the Ascension of our Lord on Ascension Day, which is always ten days before Pentecost Sunday. This year that would be Thursday, May 30. In lieu of gathering for worship on a Thursday, most congregations today observe the Ascension of our Lord on the Sunday before Pentecost. That will be Sunday, June 2, this year.

What’s the big deal about Christ’s ascension? Jesus went to heaven. He’s gone. We know that. We can’t see him. He’s left us the Bible, we can talk about him, we can pray to him, and the Holy Spirit is here with us, but Jesus is gone. Isn’t he?

That’s not what the Bible says. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven he said to his disciples, “And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” In the book of Ephesians, St. Paul describes Christ’s ascension into heaven by saying that he “fills the entire universe with himself.” (Ephesians 4:10, New Living Translation)

Jesus did not ascend into heaven to be absent from us. He ascended into heaven to be present with us.

Jesus is true man and true God. God is present everywhere. Since Jesus is God, he is present everywhere. But is his humanity also present everywhere? By all means!

You cannot strip Christ’s humanity away from his deity as if there are two Christs, one who is God and the other who is a man.There is but one Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man. Since God is present everywhere, and since Jesus is God, Jesus—true God and true man—is present everywhere. Wherever God is, there is the man Jesus.

Heaven isn’t a place up in the sky above the stars where Jesus is stuck, far away from us. Heaven is where God is. Heaven is as close to us as Christ is. Whenever he speaks and we listen; whenever he feeds us with his body and blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion; whenever the church is gathered together by the Holy Spirit to be fed by Christ the Good Shepherd, there heaven and earth meet.

Christ’s ascension guarantees his presence with us. His ascension foreshadows our own. On Ascension Day, we are called to “go up”—to find higher ground—not to escape Earth’s rises, but to gain a vision and mission that is larger than us or our communities. We don’t need to look to the heavens to find inspiration.The ever-present God is right here, giving us all the guidance and inspiration we need, if we but look beyond ourselves. Our mission is here—to
heal, to embrace, to welcome, and to love.We don’t need to wait for a far off day of perfection and rapture. If God is always with us, then right here and now can be the day of transformation and fulfillment.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, May 2019

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I find myself singing the first couple lines of a song from the musical Camelot this month “It’s May! it’s May! The lusty month of May. That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray.” After this winter, we have earned the right to “go blissfully astray” in May.

Part of the beauty of spring’s arrival is how differently it’s celebrated around the world. Every country has its own unique way of welcoming the new season, be it through a festival, parade, or communal meal.

I am suggesting that you try a new spiritual practice in May, adding to the ones we learned about in Lent. Do something “lusty,” something that celebrates flesh and blood spirituality, honoring the body as a spiritual practice.

The Christian practice of honoring the body is born of the confidence that our bodies are made in the image of God’s own goodness. As the place where the divine presence dwells, our bodies are worthy of care and blessing. . . . It is through our bodies that we participate in God’s activity in the world. Stephanie Paulsell

Try reflecting on the story of Elijah’s journey into God’s presence in 1 Kings 19. Notice the attention God gave to Elijah’s physical condition, going so far as to send an angel to guide him in caring for his body. Even though Elijah was a great prophet, he had the same blind spot many of us seem to have—he had let himself become so run down physically that God literally had to send an angel to strengthen his body before they could deal with anything else. The angel got very specific with Elijah providing him with a cake baked on hot stones (the first angel food cake, I presume!) and a jar of water. Elijah followed the angel’s simple instructions for strengthening his body and then fell into such an exhausted sleep that he almost slept through the next meal. The angel came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.”

“What journey?” Elijah might have asked.After all, he had left his life as a prophet in Israel, he had slumped down under a solitary broom tree and told God in no uncertain terms that he was done. But the angel knew better. He knew that Elijah was on a deeply spiritual journey—the journey into the presence of God.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, April 2019

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I have long been fascinated with the phrase “Bible believing” that many fundamentalist and conservative evangelical churches use to describe themselves. Not only do I wonder what they mean by “Bible believing,” I also experience that phrase as an allegation that Christian churches that don’t use that language are somehow not Christian enough.

I appreciate the passion that many “Bible believing” churches have. That passion is a good thing, but it’s misdirected. Christians shouldn’t “believe” in the Bible. We are not Biblians. We are Christians.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the Bible. It’s an important book. But it’s not a member of the Trinity. It deserves to be respected, but it shouldn’t be elevated above God.

“Bible believing churches” tend to think that the Bible is the very Word of God, supernaturally inspired in every word and absolutely free from error in the original documents. God’s word is the final authority in all that it says. Therefore, it must be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

But the Bible doesn’t work that way. It contains within itself many disagreements about the nature of God and how events unfolded.

There are disagreements that run throughout the Bible. Those disagreements are one of the things that I love about the Bible! The Bible models for us how to wrestle with God and ask questions about faith.

The Bible contains human testimony about how God works in the world, but it is not God’s  inerrant Word. The Bible points beyond itself to God, and in the New Testament, to the God revealed in Jesus. Martin Luther said that “the Bible was the manger in which the Christ was laid.” The Bible even claims that Jesus is the Word of God, not the Bible itself.

Even Jesus warned people about elevating the Bible above himself: “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (John 5:39-47)

Jesus claimed that the scriptures are limited. You cannot have eternal life by believing in the Bible. In fact, when we elevate the Bible above God, it blocks us from our only access to eternal life.

The Bible is important, but we are not Biblians. We are Christians, called to come to Jesus.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, March 2019

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Lent 2019: The Way of Love

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
~ Ephesians 3:17-19

I have chosen a Lenten series designed by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael B. Curry. You may remember that Bishop Curry delivered the sermon at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markel.

Bishop Curry reminds us that “in the first century Jesus of Nazareth inspired a movement, a community of people whose lives were centered on Jesus Christ and committed to living the way of God’s unconditional, unselfish, sacrificial, and redemptive love.” Before they were called “church” or “Christian,” this Jesus Movement was simply called “the way.”

One could say that we live as part of the (ELCA) Lutheran branch of the Jesus Movement. During Lent we will learn faith practices that put Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, so we can bear witness to Jesus’ way of love in and for the world.

We begin with the imposition of ashes during a joint FOG worship service on Ash Wednesday, March 6 at First Lutheran. We continue with a simple meal and meeting each Wednesday night. I am borrowing the word “meeting” in this case from the Quakers. In the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), a meeting for worship is comparable to a church service. A Quaker Meeting for Worship often starts with a query, something to think about during the Meeting. We will focus our query each Wednesday around a different faith practice.

I join Bishop Curry in praying that we grow as a community following the loving, liberating, life-giving way of Jesus. Jesus’ way has the power to change each of our lives and to change this world.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, February 2019

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Winter brain fog. Apparently it is a real thing, especially for those of us who are growing older. Contributing to brain fog are the lack of sunshine and the colder temperatures that keep us inside. For whatever reason, I have been keenly aware of it this winter. Let me share a few practices that have helped me.

1. Scheduling
Handwrite your daily schedule. If you handwrite it, you have a better chance of remembering what you wrote down.

2. Morning and night routines
Try to keep to the same routine every morning and night.

3. Set a ton of phone alarms
If you have a smart phone, use the alarm function to keep track of everything you wrote down on your schedule. This way even if your brain fog is bad, you don’t have to worry about forgetting your plans for the day.

4. Give Yourself Time
Give yourself extra time to start your day. Create extra time for prayer and bible reading. You might even create a prayer journal. Write down the names of people for whom you want to pray each day. Then, send a card to the person for whom you prayed. If you are one who reads the newspaper every day, try to pray your way through it for a few days.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, January 2019

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I meet monthly with a Spiritual Director. Spiritual direction is an ancient ministry of the church. It is a relationship in which one person assists another in attending to God’s presence and call. In December my Spiritual Director asked me what my prayer for my parish is. Without hesitation I said that I pray that the Spirit would empower every person to fall in love with Jesus.

We don’t often use language of falling in love when we think about God’s relationship with us, but it is something worth pondering in 2019. To assist with your pondering, I have reflected on five aspects of the Love of Christ, using the Apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus in Acts 9 as an example:

Love is a two-way street.

Love grows over time.

Love is constantly new.

Love is the “trump card” in life.

Love is open to the future.

I pray that God pursue you like a suitor in pursuit of the love of his or her life, and that the Spirit empower you to surrender to God’s pursuit and allow yourself to fall in love with Jesus.

Love is a two-way street. You can never force someone to love you. You can reach out, you can initiate all kinds of overtures, but ultimately, you must await a response. Unreciprocated love goes nowhere. There was a young man pursuing a woman with whom he was enamored. Her initial response to him was lukewarm. In time, however, as she saw his selfless desire, she responded and reciprocated. Then their love grew together.

While it is true that the risen Lord startled Paul when he met Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), Paul was free to reject the Lord. In fact, Paul, like every other Christian, had to be baptized, had to get acquainted with the stories of Jesus of Nazareth, had to grow in his faith. Most importantly, Paul did not turn away from Christ’s personal call. He responded favorably. He grew in his love of Christ to such a degree that he, who had once been the Church’s biggest persecutor, became its most ardent evangelizer—the apostle.

Love grows over time. True love is never stagnant. It must be nourished, strengthened, teased out over time. If you talk to any couple whose marriage has endured over decades, you will hear a story of their ups and downs, their joy and sadness, their mistakes and their successes. Over time, their love is made stronger in the midst of challenges, sufferings, and heartaches.

The Apostle Paul’s relationship with Christ also grew throughout his ministry. Paul knew that his love of Christ had to be nourished. His letters show that spending time with Christ is essential. Thus the importance of prayer, the sacraments, liturgy, and the word of God that we see underscored in Paul’s letters.

A third aspect of falling in love is the newness that comes from it. There are countless stories of people whose lives have been dramatically changed from the experience of love. You never see reality the same way again. It’s as if you receive new glasses to wear (rose colored?) that give you a new way of looking at the world. Paul, too, speaks of the dramatic transformation that experiencing the love of Christ brought him. Paul uses the language of “new creation”: “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Cor 5:17; also Gal 6:15).

What amazing testimony! Paul’s expression of being “in Christ” reflects his special language for being transformed by the love of Christ. Anyone who is “in Christ” is a “new creation.” The old disappears; all is new! That is indeed the experience of love. It allows one to see the world with new eyes.

A fourth aspect of love is that it is the ultimate value, the “trump card” in life. People truly in love never give up on each other. Even in dark times, a ray of light shines upon people in love. As with all human beings, Paul experienced plenty of heartaches in his life. He mentions frequently, for example, his sufferings as an apostle and the tensions with and within his communities.

Paul speaks lovingly of the communities he founded, who were like his spiritual children (1 Cor 4:14-15). But he also recognized the difficulties of human relationships. He knew the power of sin to turn things upside down. Sometimes, he saw his communities wracked by divisions (such as the Corinthians) or outside agitators (such as the Galatians), but he always worked at getting them to see that enduring love could overcome all their difficulties.

Think of Paul’s great hymn of love in First Corinthians, frequently used at weddings:

“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13:4-7).

He puts these words into action with the Corinthians by urging them to reconcile (2 Cor 2:5-8). Ultimately, love overcomes all obstacles.

A fifth aspect of love is its openness to the future. In marriage, for example, although the initial act of love is between two people, the gift of children might become part of this special love. Should children follow, they totally transform that love in many ways. Love remains open to new avenues, new developments.

Paul’s love of Christ was no different. He did not view this as a gift he was jealously to guard or hide away. True love demands to be shared. That is why, after his conversion, Paul immediately set about evangelizing. He went every direction possible to proclaim the love of Christ and to bring others into contact with Christ.

Of course, the best part of Paul the apostle’s message is that the love of Christ continues to reach out to us today! The question is: Are we willing to risk falling in love . . . with Christ?

Fields of Grace Newsletter, December 2018

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“… in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht… all is calm, all is bright

Adeste fideles, laeti triumpantes… Noel, noel, noel

O come let us adore him… born is the king of Israel

A cave in Bethlehem echoes with songs of seekers… sleep in peace… Christ the savior is born…. God is here…

We sing the familiar songs and our hearts swell as in the days in Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph, shepherds and angels, wise magi from the east… God is here! The good news bursts from the scriptures as men and women discovered in the life and death of Jesus, “God is here’.

The lives of Mary and Joseph were filled with extraordinary experiences. It’s not always easy to handle surprises. Mary treasured and reflected on events. The shepherds glorified God. Others who heard the story were astonished.

When we accept that God acts in our lives, we must respond—respond with trust and love—as we are loved by God.

May the song continue in our hearts, for we now carry the manger in Bethlehem within us. The holy place of Israel has become the holy place in our own lives, in our hearts and souls. God is here! In the silence and stillness of our own Bethlehem, our voices can sing with the voices of seekers throughout the ages: God is here, God is truly here. And as our lives reflect the God who is here with us the world sees the Christ of God born ever anew, and joins the song!

Fields of Grace Newsletter, November 2018

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I voted today! Voting is an act of faith. It is one way to stand in solidarity with those who have fought for this right.

I wanted to reflect on voting as an act of faith, and then received something from a friend who did the work for me. I am borrowing the words of Peggy Hahn who lives in Houston. I couldn’t have said it better.

“From the founding to today, the United States has walked a steady, sometimes messy, path to include more and more voices in the decision-making systems of our nation.

“When the country was founded, only wealthy white men could vote. In order to cast a ballot, you had to be white and able to own land. Soon, the right to vote was granted to all white men.

“With the passage of the 15th Amendment, African American men won the right to vote after the Civil War ended slavery in America. In 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.

“Most recently, during the Vietnam War, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in response to criticism from young veterans.

“Every step toward expanding the vote came out of hard-fought battles and was met with attempts to recreate restrictions. This included literacy tests, voter ID laws, and the grandfather clause.’ Even so, the arc of history in the United States has been one of expanding, not limiting, liberty.

“By including more voices, the Unites States becomes a truer reflection of our population and steps closer to realizing the democracy of our founders. Voting gives faithful people an opportunity to advocate for the ‘least of these.’

“As a leader in this country, lift your voice and encourage the people in your life to join you in voting. I believe we have a responsibility to contribute and I urge you to do the same.

“It took nearly 100 years for women to gain the right to vote in this country (the movement started in 1848 and continued until 1920).

“This is our watch and it is our turn to show up.”

Fields of Grace Newsletter, October 2018

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I love the Fall season. September feels more like a “new year” than January, and October’s changing palette reminds me that change can be beautiful. Who among us doesn’t marvel at the transforming landscape as tree leaves turn from lush green to gorgeous shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown?

In particular this year, I am finding God in the fresh start that the Fall brings. Thankfully, God is clearly a fan of giving us fresh starts. We can see examples of God’s offer of a fresh start in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, in covenants God made in the Old Testament, and in the many Gospel stories of people Jesus healed.

Fresh starts are everywhere in our relationship with God, so the question becomes whether we’re prepared to take God up on that offer. My mind turns to the story of the rich young man, who asks Jesus what he needs to do to gain eternal life. Jesus gives him an incredible offer, which I will paraphrase as, “Drop everything and follow me; start fresh.” Unfortunately, at least in that moment, the young man just couldn’t take the offer. Something held him back.

This October, perhaps it would do us all well to take some time to think about what is holding us back from a fresh start. Is it time to give up a bad habit? To devote more of our precious time to those in our lives who need that time more than we do? Is it time to come back to worship after having stepped back for a while? Whatever the case may be, I pray that we all experience the excitement, the freedom, and the beauty that come of the fresh start that God unfailingly offers to us all.

Fields of Grace Newsletter, September 2018

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CNN recently published an article entitled “Ten reasons Americans go to church—and nine reasons they don’t.” The study suggests that there is an under-served group of believers “who seem like they’d actually like to go to religious services—if only someone could help get them there and welcome them when they arrive.”

I’m going to write a “Light for the Way” article about this for an upcoming issue of the Lafayette Nicollet Ledger but, for the purpose of this newsletter, I simply want to say: this is one of the reasons why FOG is hosting Good Neighbor Sunday on September 9.

There are many families—and older adults, too—who live in the Lafayette area who have no church home.

According to the CNN article, we just need to invite them and/or help them get to church, and then welcome them. One church consultant who surveyed guests at many congregations found that church members perceive their church to be friendly, but the guests typically saw church members as unfriendly. That chasm makes all the difference.

As witnesses to God, in Christ through the Holy Spirit, it is our “duty and our joy” (as I say in the Holy Communion liturgy) to extend hospitality to all people, especially our neighbors. I hope that y’all will show up on Sunday, September 9, for worship at 10:30 a.m. and lunch at noon with our neighbors! And don’t come alone. Invite your neighbor to come with you!

Fields of Grace Newsletter, August 2018

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I was moved to tears watching broadcasts online from the ELCAYouth Gathering in Houston, Texas. Some of my tears were the result of nostalgia—that was the ministry I led for 18 years after all—but most of my tears were the result of overwhelming joy for the young people attending.

What I saw online was 30,000+ teenagers and their adult sponsors celebrating the Christian witness of our denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The church body with which we are affiliated has a deep theology of welcome and inclusion by God. Is our parish reflecting the same kind of welcome?

In Houston, the young people heard from a speaker who used to seek relief from feelings that seemed too difficult to bear by cutting himself. Now he is a congregational youth leader, sharing with his young people that Christ bears his burdens and is the source of his hope.

They also heard from an 11-year-old transgender girl, a pastor’s daughter, who has been embraced by her ELCA congregation as they reflect God’s unconditional acceptance of her.

Then there was the Lutheran pastor who grew up as a Hindu who told her story of finding Christ through the welcome of her college’s Lutheran Campus Ministry.

Another pastor, whose arms and chest are covered with tattoos, shared her struggle with addiction, and how she experienced God’s unqualified welcome in bread and wine.

While I was reveling in the stories of how God’s welcome drove these people to our church, I was also aware how foreign the language and experience must have been for many young people in attendance. My guess is that they don’t hear people in their congregations speaking so openly about people who are transgender or gay or Hindu or who struggle with addiction or mental illness.

While we who live in the bucolic communities of Lafayette, Bernadotte, and New Ulm may not deal directly with these same realities on a daily basis, we experience other struggles. There are people living among us who desperately need us to notice them, to welcome them, to love them, unconditionally.

Our message is profoundly simple: We believe thatGod loves you, period. There are no qualifiers. God is actually for you and not against you. How are you sharing that message?