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From The Pastor's Desk
Digital Devotions and Related Websites
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In an age in which we are increasingly aware of the amount of paper
we use, isn’t it wonderful that there are alternatives? I’ll
share some of my favorites and invite you to share using the St.
Matthew Face Book site. First, our own Luther Seminary in St. Paul,
Minnesota has a few resources. For Bible study, try: www.enterthebible.org
. On this web site, you can begin two different extended Bible studies
on an “Introduction to the Bible” and “What is
a Gospel?”. There is something on every book of the Bible
and overviews of Old and New Testaments. At a sister link, you can
have a devotion e-mailed to you daily. The writer is the same for
the week and five of the seven days focus on the lessons to be read
the following Sunday and the two weekend devotions relate to hymns
that might be used as part of the theme. To get at “God Pause”
go to www.luthersem.edu/godpause
and register your-mail.
I have always like the writing of the late Henri Nouwen and highly
recommend this site. They too will e-mail you either a daily devotion
or a weekly one. Go to: www.HenriNouwen.org
and register your e-mail. Another ecumenical site that I came across
when I was preparing for last years series on world religions has
a Hindu background, but as I have read the “Thought for the
Day” from Eknath Easwaran, who died in 1999, I find many references
to the bible, to literary writers and to many of the themes in our
faith. You can get to this e-mailed devotion by going to: www.easwaran.org/page/141
to sign us or to read the current “Thought for the Day”
One of my favorite magazines has been Guideposts, founded by Norman
Vincent Peale. At www.guideposts.org
you can read a number of stories of faith. In seasons of preparation-
Advent and Lent, our Bishop Allan Bjornberg and Synod staff writes
devotions that we can provide links in that season. All this is
to say that there are a variety of free resources you can access,
but none of them really substitute for in person worship here at
St. Matthews! All of our resources are the results of your generous
gifts that keep the lights on, the coffee brewing, the choir singing
and the Sunday School learning. Look in the newsletter for information
on St. Matthew’s Festival, and for Rally Sunday with start-up
activities for the fall.
Peace and Joy!
Pastor Gordon
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In The Soup |
Over the years, I have become acquainted with the writing of
Jon Gordon. It came first in a magazine published by Guideposts
called “Positive Living”. He wrote a column on coaching
in positive living. From there, I began to get his books, The Energy
Bus, Training Camp, The Shark and the Goldfish, and his latest work
released in May, Soup. He writes in a simple parable style, that
encourages and inspires those in the business world. Gordon wrote
Soup, after consulting with Campbell’s Soup Company, but that
is all the connection there is between the two. The subtitle to
the book is “A Recipe to Nourish your Team and Culture”.
I read the book and passed along a copy to Don Jablonski, our new
council president and he has provided copies for all of our church
council. Why? Because we think the culture of St. Matthew’s
needs some TLC.
In the book, Nancy, was appointed by the Board of Directors of
Soup, to become it’s new CEO. She has a daunting task, because
the company’s sales has taken a downturn, morale at the workplace
is at an all time low- they are on their third CEO of the year,
and workers didn’t think management cared. Nancy is doing
her best, but one day she decided to get away from the company and
find a place to get a bite to eat. She stumbles on a little restaurant
called “Grandma’s Soup House”. She meets Grandma,
and her grandson Peter. The soup has been delicious, but she wants
to know the story of their success. Grandma says, “Isn’t
it interesting that two people can follow the same recipe and the
result is different? The difference lies in the one who stirs the
pot. No matter what the ingredients are in the soup, the stirrer
is in control. It seems as if part of their personality is stirred
into the soup.” So grandma tells Nancy, The number one rule
is to sir the pot with love.
We began to use this book at our council retreat and will continue
to use it at our monthly meetings, and each step of the way, we
will learn more of the culture in which we live and impact that
culture for good. Her second instruction is “Lead with Optimism.”
Well, your church council is optimistic about the future of St.
Matthews and we want you to be as well. Thanks for signing up for
worship teams! There is still an opportunity to sign up and participate.
Most of all, we covet your prayers. These have been very tough economic
time for the church and I believe that prayer makes a difference.
Peace and Joy!
Pastor Gordon
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Heating it up for Summer |
By the time you read this, those cool refreshing rains that
we were complaining about toward the end of May and first part of
June should be turning into roasting summer heat. Summer is a great
time to do different kinds of things- picnics, camping trips, vacations,
and reunions with family or school-mates. One thing does need heating
up and that is our relationship with God. Here at St. Matthews,
we really need you to amp up the heat on your participation. You
will read in the newsletter about the new worship teams that we
begin in July. Look for the July team members and the kinds of things
that they will do. Consider joining a team! No. Just do it!! A couple
of great opportunities are to do a CARES (Coffee, Acquaint, Relax,
Enjoy, and Snack) fellowship after church. Feel like cleaning? Do
we have an opportunity for you! The schedule is wide open for cleaning
the church. Don’t let the few do all the work. Each of the
committees will be searching for more members shortly. Consider
participating in one area and use the gifts and talents that God
has given you to expand the mission of the church.
On July 10th from 9-3, we will have the annual council planning
retreat- right here at church. It will be a great opportunity to
get the scope of our ministry for the next year. First we will look
at the calendar from July to June (2010-2011) and plot out the obvious,
and then the not so obvious, fellowship activities, education opportunities,
worship experiences. We will be looking for ways we can better co-operate
with one another and be supportive. Next, we will do some visioning
for the future, a 5 year plan, for things that we would like to
see take place within our congregation. Finally, we will have our
July council meeting at the close, so we make better use of our
time together.
For too long we have been living, actually existing, but we need
to look toward the future and allow God to shape us for ministry
in the future. I hope you are part of the summer heat!
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Peace and Joy!
Pastor Gordon J Young
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A Month of Celebrations |
I don’t know about you, but in our household,
we have had to deal with a loss of 50% of income since September.
Since Dayle has not been employed. While it is not fun, we are making
adjustments as we can. In reality, St. Matthew’s has gone
through the same downturn in offerings- nearly 30% down. While we
are making it, it is not always fun. We have chosen not to hire
an office secretary for a while to help ease the budget and are
greatly appreciative of volunteers to help with office duties. Being
stretched for funds does not mean we cannot continue to celebrate.
At home, we have a celebration plate for the person to be honored.
At church we have a weekly celebration of Holy Communion as we remember
that we are invited to the banquet of our Lord. We must find more
ways to celebrate! June is a month of celebrations!
If you do not scan the opening pages of Christ in Our Home devotional,
do so today and you will find a list of celebrations. Here is the
list for June and notice that not all are Lutherans on the list:
Justin Martyr, The Martyrs of Uganda (1886) John XXIII, Boniface,
Chief Seattle, Columba, Aidan, Bede, Barnabas, Basil the Great,
Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus, Macrina, Onisimos Nesbit,
John the Baptist, Presentation of the Augsburg Confession, Philipp
Melanchthon, Cyril, Iranaeus, Peter, and Paul.
Occasionally, the devotion for the day tells a little
more about the person, but it is always easy to find more about
these men and women of faith as well as the one event listed (Presentation
of the Augsburg Confession). All you need to do if you have a computer
is to type the name into the search engine and out will come an
article or more, and books by that person (if there are any), It
is important to celebrate these lives not as super special holy
persons, but as witnesses to the faith we too share. Their stories
can enrich ours. Here is a challenge for you: If you do search and
find more about that person, let me know and we can put a short
article in the next newsletter.
Here is another request: If you want to describe a celebration your
family enjoys, let me know that as well and we can share it with
others. Life is too short not to celebrate God’s presence
daily. May you keep your eyes open this summer for a multitude of
celebrations.
Peace and Joy!
Pastor Gordon
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Opening
to the Holy Spirit |
If there is one thing that the month of May does
not need, that would be more activities! Schools, elementary, secondary
and university all have stacked the month of May to the brim. With
the arrival of spring-like weather, people are spending more time
outside, caring for lawns, and planting gardens. Even churches are
filled with activities as Sunday School comes to a resting place
for the summer. We add to that, confirmation, new members, and a
semi-annual meeting and you can see how busy we can get. Even the
ECLA gets busy with Synod Assemblies.
Ours, the Rocky Mountain Synod will meet May 27-29 in Denver, Colorado.
The theme will be Word, Story and Image. I am inviting you to consider
a special gift to help St. Matthew’s Lutheran church send
our three voting members- Pastor Gordon, Scott and Stacy Frandsen.
We anticipate the cost to be $1100 for the church. The Synod will
pay for our air fare as part of the travel equalization. The Bible
Study Leader, Diane Jacobson has four keynote presentations: The
Bible: Devotional Reading, The Bible: Historical Reading, The Bible:
Literary Reading, and The Bible: Lutheran Theological Reading. At
this assembly, Olan Mills will again take pictures for a Synod picture
directory and on Friday, there will be 17 ways to “Experience
the Word”. I believe that it is essential that we be represented
especially as we anticipate utilizing “The Book of Faith”
materials this fall.
The 50th day of Easter also comes in the merry month of May- May
23rd to be exact. We celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to the
church and to individuals. If we are to have life as a church, we
must pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. From Luther’s
Small Catechism, we say “The Holy Spirit calls, gathers,
enlightens and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and
keeps it united with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. Daily in
this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins-mine
and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will
raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers
in Christ eternal life.” I don’t know about you,
but I need the holy Spirit, and I believe that the congregation
of St. Matthew’s needs the Holy Spirit as well. Pray for the
Holy Spirit and then be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Pray as we come together in our semi-annual meeting on May 23rd
that the Spirit lead us to be a more effective church. Pray for
your leaders and those who will be stepping into leadership positions,
that God will be honored by our service.
In Christ,
Pastor Gordon J Young
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Yearning
for the Resurrection |
Maundy Thursday is only two weeks away as I write
this article, and I am already yearning for Easter. I am not looking
forward to just the day of April 4, 2010, but to the resurrection
and new life. I am tired of negative news and in the culture of
fear that we have set for ourselves. I believe that the resurrection
poses a question that must be answered with our very lives. Are
we ready to stake my life on the resurrection of Jesus? To do so
will mean that we must let go of fear, risking everything for the
kingdom. I furthermore believe that St. Matthew’s Lutheran
Church is at a crossroads as well. Will we live in the resurrection,
or will we dwell on our problems?
First St. Matthew’s is at a crossroads as a
result of the ELCA’s decision on gay and lesbian ministry.
A few of our families have moved on because of their convictions
that this was “abominable”. As many of you know, I support
the ELCA’s actions and would have voted for them if I had
been present. The issue for me has to do with inclusivity and whether
or not our faith will allow us to let others minister, if called
by God. I believe we are moving on, even though we grieve for those
who have left. It is time to welcome all people and use the gifts
that God has given them.
Second, St. Matthew’s is at a crossroads financially.
While we have responded to the financial crisis in December, we
have come nearly to the same place again. Salaries, mortgages and
utilities are all we seem to pay and those occasionally on a rotating
basis. The solution is not to give more, but to invite more to come.
I believe that finances will take care of themselves if we focus
on the ministry at hand.
Third, I believe that we are at a crossroads spiritually.
In the five and a half years that I have been your pastor, I have
worked to stimulate a prayerful community and to get into our book
of faith- the Bible. I believe that God puts a desire to worship
– sing and pray and be silent in God’s presence. We
cultivate the joy of the resurrection in the way we worship and
pray. We anticipate the resurrection as we read the scripture. Worship
is not an individual practice, but a community practice. We yearn
for the resurrection.
I have witnessed many miracles in my ministry, enough
to convince me that the resurrection is real. Will we yield our
fears to the Lord? Do you believe in the resurrection from the dead?
Dry bones can live again. Renewal can come to those who yearn for
the resurrection.
Looking Forward
Pastor Gordon Young
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Jonah’s Journey |
I have been a believer that some bible stories get attached to us
because they have much to teach and guide us through life. One story
that I keep coming back to over and over through the last 40 years
is the story of Jonah. Now I am no fisherman- perhaps like Jonah.
I have been known to drown a fish before I get it reeled in, but
fishing with my father in Montana is one of the things I look forward
to each summer. You know the story as well as any in the Bible.
God asked Jonah to go to Ninevah (modern day Iraq) and preach repentance
to the residents. Jonah does just the opposite and books passage
to Tarshish (perhaps Spain), running away from God. Here is one
connection for me. As much as I like serving the Lord, sometimes
when it seems that the going will be rough, it is easier to book
passage to Tarshish to avoid it.
On board the cargo boat, Jonah is sleeping in his quarters while
a great storm pounds the boat. Sailors are panicking and thinking
at the same time that perhaps this storm is the result of someone’s
sin. The short stick falls to Jonah. While Jonah claimed responsibility,
since he was running away from God, he was a little too eager to
take the blame. Jonah turned his responsibility into an opportunity
to get out all together, just throw him overboard and the responsibility
for his death is the sailors and not his own. In Lent we focus on
sin, those we commit that are against God and others as well as
the things we do not do. Facing responsibility is important as we
look toward the cross and the resurrection. It is our sins that
put Jesus there and only his forgiveness can heal.
Surprise! A great fish swallows Jonah and he has a floating cavernous
tomb in which to meditate. He prays. In times of crisis, we seem
to pray our most earnest, and deepest prayers. Jonah did and it
seems as a result, the whale vomited Johan up on a beach. God’s
command was renewed. Jonah didn’t get off the hook, just because
he took a detour. He still had to go to Ninevah. So he did. He shortened
what the Lord had commanded him to say to barely: “Repent,
or else!” Guess what the people did and even from the greatest
to the least, even the animals put on sackcloth and sprinkled ashes
over themselves in token of their remorse. Jonah didn’t like
his mission, but he did it anyway.
Finally, Jonah is pouting outside of Ninevah. When God comes the
question is “Can I not have mercy on those I wish to have
mercy on?” Jonah says, “Yes, but…” The story
ends. Jonah is all about the grace of God, that comes whether we
are in the mood or not. The three days in the whale are connected
to Jesus three days in the tomb. If this is a time of darkness for
you, don’t avoid it, and don’t go it alone. God goes
with you. Remember the third day! May God bless this time of reflection
as we near Easter and bring you through to experience the resurrection
with full joy.
God Bless!
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Pastor Gordon J Young
By the way, come to Mid-week Lenten Services where
Jonah Journey is the theme.
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Bits
and Pieces |
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 17. The theme for this
season is "The Sign of Jonah" There will be six clips
from the life of Jonah that will remind us that we are in the season
of Lent. Ash Wednesday will use the imposition of ashes traced as
a cross on our foreheads to remind us that we are dust and to dust
we shall return. We bear the mark of the cross reflecting our mortality.
Each of the six weeks in Lent you will receive a take home reminder
of that evening's drama. On February 24 and March 3, 10, 17, 24
there will be a soup and bread supper. Remember to sign up and bring
your favorite soup and/or bread.
With the events of the past week, this season of Epiphany has seemed
more like Lent. Dayle and I made a quick trip on January 19 to be
with our daughter Katie as she mourned the death of her fiancée
Tony. Tony had a rare form of muscular dystrophy. We met Tony's
parents and family, and in addition, lament that their wedding date
of April 17 will never take place. Thanks for your prayers during
this time.
The adult class will begin a new study using Max Lucado's book "Fearless"
beginning February 7. If you don't have a copy, we will place an
order on February 1st, so let me know. Books get here in two days.
"Fearless” raises the issue of fear and all kinds of
fears that we have.
This week, I am at the 2010 Theological Conference in Colorado Springs
with other pastors and leaders of our Rocky Mountain Synod. Our
speakers include Dr. David Lose whose topics include: The Power
of Story, A Competition of Stories, and Opening the Biblical Story.
Carrie Newcomer will speak on The Power of Transformative Story,
and Faith and Vocation: Authentic Work, and Deep Listening. Robin
Jensen will speak on Image as Exegesis: Narration and Interpretation
of Biblical Text in Visual Art, Image as Proclamation: The Communication
Dimension of Visual Art, and Image as Meditation: The Spiritual,
Pastoral and Liturgical Functions of Visual Art. It is a good time
to get together with others in our Synod. This year we will be at
the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs.
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Peace
and Joy!
Pastor Gordon |
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A Year of Living
Generously |
2009 is quickly coming to an end. This has been a year marked
by the great recession. Hints of the widespread effect the downturn
in the economy will take came late last year. There have been a
number of families impacted in our congregation, who have lost jobs,
downsized in a job, or face other economic stresses related to unexpected
health issues. To respond, we usually tighten our belts and spend
less and put away more, just in case. The fear of terrorists seems
pale compared with the frightening economy. In fact, it has been
a fear-filled decade.
How do we live as people of faith, in the context of fear? I have
subscribed to a quarterly journal called “Word and World”
for a number of years and occasionally, they give a preview of an
upcoming issue. The January issue is on health, healing and wellness.
One article intrigues me in the issue to still be received is called”
How I Pray Is Breathe” by Mary Hinkle Shore. When I am fearful,
I tend to breath faster and shallower. When I notice that fear response
in others, I simply say: “Breathe!” Every breath is
a gift from God. My breathing helps me to remember that since God
gave me the breath of life, I need not worry, or be overcome with
fear. I breathe deeper, and slower, treasuring each breath.
My breathing reminds me that I cannot out-give God. It is very humbling
experience to be on the receiving end of such generosity. We mark
the birth of Jesus- God did not even hold back his own Son. We look
for the Epiphanies of Jesus, discovering where he chooses to reveal
himself to us. We are humbled when we journey to the cross, and
again overwhelmed when on Easter we experience the extraordinary
generosity of God again, who raised us Jesus from the dead.
What would it be like for us as the faith community of St. Matthew’s
Lutheran Church to dedicate 2010 as a year of living generously?
We would discover the great impact we have as a church on our community
and we would give generously to support those ministries. We would
dedicate a portion of our time to assist in those ministries, teaching,
worship, and serving in the community. We will discover that we
as individuals have gifts to offer and our God who is so generous,
will use us to demonstrate his generosity to those in need. When
we live generously, fear fades, community is strengthened, and hope
is renewed.
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Pledged
to Live Generously in 2010
Pastor
Gordon J Young
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