Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
A belated Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. I hope you had a special day yesterday! I feel like I had many “fathers” in my life including my biological father. I really can’t say that about my mom. She played a huge role in my life. I know some of you are not “biological moms” but you probably played a big role in raising and nurturing other children that were not your own. I think of all the teachers we have in our congregation. I know you played a huge role in “raising” the children in your classroom. Some of you aunts and grandmothers are doing this now. Others may be helping friends. In having my own children, I know the truth that it takes a whole village… So for you all, Happy Mother’s Day.
My brother Paul was building a ramp for me at our house in Lake Wildwood. Previously, I have only been able to enter our house one way, through the garage. Now I can enter through the front door. The reason I am sharing this with you is I had the opportunity to ask him if he thought of our mother still. My mom passed away about 11 years ago. The last 7 years of her life, she suffered from dementia. I was sort of surprised that he said yes. We then spent about a half hour sharing stories. Pretty cool.
Next week, we celebrate Pentecost. Pentecost is the time when the Holy Spirit rested upon the disciples. Afterwards, instead of cowering in a locked room, being filled by the Holy Spirit, they shared the Good News of Jesus Christ with the crowd that was present in Jerusalem. The result? This new community of followers of Jesus Christ, started to grow tremendously. And it continues to this day. God will not be thwarted. It is a tradition to wear RED on this day. Let’s see if we can fill the church with this color.
We will also be recognizing our Sunday School Teachers next Sunday. We need to be always thankful for sharing the love of Jesus with our children. We will be celebrating with cake after Sunday’s service. Please plan on attending if you can, to recognize their efforts.
We will also be celebrating Missy’s years of service of being Sunday School Coordinator. She is stepping down this year. You can still mail the cards to either me or the church. Make sure you write in care of (c/o) Missy. I am sure she will appreciate any gifts you share with her.
We haven’t made a big deal of it, but you are able to pick your favorite hymns or songs for our Summer services. We already have a few. Please send them to Eloide either by a quick email or phone call. Do you know one of the biggest disagreements of the church is the selection of music. Well, here is your chance to share your taste.
We are planting the garden this week. Anyone who would like to help, please call Linda Walter or Sarah Kutter. I am sure that this committee would appreciate your support.
Our plan was to introduce our new Website by the beginning of September. Well, it will be a lot sooner than that. I think we are waiting for Council’s approval and then we will be ready to go live. Eloide and Sarah Kutter have been doing a great amount of work with this. Sarah especially has worn out a path to Connecting Point. They have done a great job on it. When you see either one of them, make sure you thank them.
Don’t ever forget, God Almighty, the creator of all things, calls you (yes you) beloved. Think about that for a while.
Pastor Tom
630-334-1771
Readings for the May 18th & 19th Day of Pentecost
Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:24-34, 35b Romans 8:22-27 John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Worship News
A friend of mine from seminary and her husband were able to celebrate with us a couple of Sundays ago. Her name is Maria, and she has such a God loving soul. If I could, I would love to have her as my pastor. Her husband Brent noticed all my hand gestures while I was doing the service. Do you notice them?
One of the hand gestures I do intentionally is during the Words of Institution. I really believe in these words. “… given for you.” I know I point at you but I am actually pointing at the whole congregation but I hope you think I am pointing at you, because I actually am. The sacraments are “given for you” (Individual and plural).
The second one he noticed was when I hold the cup and say, “…shed for you and all people for the forgiveness of sins.” Yes, I am pointing at you again. But then I wave when I say, “for all people…” Again, I truly believe this. The result of taking communion is the forgiveness of our sins (besides other things). Yours and mine.