In a world that is constantly driving wedges between groups and individuals, how do we form a community that reflects the one whom we worship? How can we practice community in way that strengthens our faith?

Worship this week:   Saturday at 4:00 p.m. – Celebration of Ordination for Don Glanzer

                                             (No 5:00 p.m. worship)

   Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship in Sanctuary

                 10:00 a.m. Outdoor Contemporary Worship on the lawn(weather permitting)

June 22^nd – Shaping Communities

Questions for the week:

• What are the stories of this community?
• What is its bread? That is, what gives it continuing nourishment and life?
• Who are the people that are drawn into this community? (and who may feel left out?)

Devotions for the week:

Monday – Jeremiah17:14; Mark 10:47, 49

   Loving Savior, you invite me to new life. I want to be strong but the truth is, I’m broken. Only say the word, and I shall be healed.

Tuesday – Jeremiah 29:11; John 14:27

   Some days as I read the news, I wonder about the future. Quiet my heart to hear your words assuring me that you will be with me always.

Wednesday – Jeremiah 14:17; John 1:29

   Our sins condemn us, Jesus. Give me the strength to trust that your grace and mercy have won the victory.

Thursday – I Samuel 12:22; II Corinthians 8:9

     Thank you for being a God of abundance! Forgive me what I become tight fisted rather than embracing your way of generosity.

Friday – Genesis 49:25; Mark 5:19

   Today, lead me to someone who can hear from me the hope or encouragement that is found only in you .

Saturday – Ezekiel 34:22; John 10:12,14

   Thank you, Jesus, for the promise that you’re a good shepherd.

Join us on the church lawn for a relaxed atmosphere at our 10:00 a.m. contemporary worship service each Sunday (weather permitting) beginning this Sunday, June 15th.  We’ll gather outdoors each Sunday through mid-August.

Join us for lunch after 10:00 a.m. worship.  We’ll have pulled pork and bbq chicken sandwiches and sides.  Everyone welcome!!!

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. “ John 10:10b

What is your life like?      Does it feel abundant, or simply overfilled, overcommitted, and over stressed?
Read the following paragraph and see if you can relate to the feelings expressed:
“I never thought I’d be living this way,” she says. “Somehow I imagined life would be simpler.” She has reached forty, and she thinks she should have her life together by now, but things are just not right. Too few evenings include nourishing suppers shared with loved ones; too many are given over to the demands of paid work or housework, or lost to worry and exhaustion. Her closest friends are spread across several time zones. The old neighbors she entrusted with the house key are gone, and she barely knows the new ones. She finds community here and there, and she volunteers to help out as she can, but she is wary about getting too involved. Showing up at a PTA meeting, she has learned, probably means getting stuck with a fundraising assignment, so increasingly she stays away, in spite of her intense concern about her child and all the others. She does not feel right about this. “This is not how I intended to live my life,” she sighs, turning from one task to the next. (from “Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People” by Dorothy Bass, p. 1)
How often have you felt like this? Sometimes life seems out of control, or at least very different from we intended. Throughout this summer we will be looking at the themes in Bass’ book, seeing if we can discover, or rediscover, some faith practices that help us make sense of our lives, and give meaning to the way we spend our time and effort from day to day.
Worship with Holy Communion this weekend –
Saturday – 5:00 p.m. in the chapel
Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship
10:00 a.m. Contemporary worship on the church lawn (weather permitting)
Fathers’ Day Lunch follows in Fellowship Hall
Questions for the week:
• How can we live faithfully and with integrity here, where the pace of life is so fast and the patterns are changing all around us?
• Can we conduct our daily lives in ways that help us not just get by, but flourish—as individuals, communities, and as a society, in concert with all creation and in communion with God?
Throughout this summer we will be looking a basic practices of faith that might help us regain some sense of well-being in the midst of the demands and desires of life. For more read Chapters 1, 14 & 15 of “Practicing Our Faith”
Devotions for the week:
Monday – Proverbs 3:25-26; I Peter 3:14-15
    When panic and fear threaten to grab hold of my heart, thank you for your promise that I am safe in your keeping.
Tuesday – Psalm 90:16; John 6:29
Jesus help! I get distracted by my own understanding of what is important. Give me the courage to love, and trust the power of your redeeming love.
Wednesday – I Chronicles. 29:9; II Corinthians 8:1-2
Thank you God, for your spirit of abundance. Forgive me I trust the bottom line I can see more than your everlasting care. Fill me to overflowing.
Thursday – Job 5:11; I Corinthians 1:28-29
Thank you Jesus, for lifting me to a safe place today.
Friday – Micah 5:5; Galatians 5:15-16
Jesus, thank you for offering me the gift of peace today.
Saturday – Psalm 71:17; II Timothy 3:14
Keep my heart young and curious that I may learn from you.

 

 

 

 

 

This week is a great festival (no not the Summer Frolic) named Pentecost. As Acts describes the coming of the Holy Spirit, Peter proclaims that this Spirit will be for all people, so that we might have new dreams and visions for God’s ministry. That same Holy Spirit is at work as we gather this weekend.

Worship this weekend: Saturday, 5:00 p.m. in chapel

                                         Sunday, 8:30 a.m. traditional worship

                                                      10:00 a.m. Contemporary worship

You’re still welcome to join the ELC float in the Frolic parade, or be sure to stop by for a brat on main street to support our youth.

 June 8, 2014
Acts 2:1-21

Key Verses: “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Acts 2:1-4

Time: 30 CE

Background: Pentecost means “fifty.” Originally, Jews would have gathered fifty days after Passover to celebrate the wheat harvest. Today, Christians celebrate Pentecost fifty days after Easter to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early believers.

The variety of languages to which the Holy Spirit revealed itself, and Peter’s quoting of the prophecy, in which men and women, young and old, slaves and free, all received the word, indicated how widespread the message was about to become.

Community: How do messages become widespread in today’s world? How can you use social media to spread the good news of Jesus to others?

At Home: What does the Holy Spirit want to say to you and through you? What can you do this week to open yourself to the Holy Spirit’s word?

Read This Week:
Monday, Jun 9, Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico, Acts 3:11-16

Tuesday, Jun 10, Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico, Acts 3:17-26

Wednesday, Jun 11, Peter and John before the Council, Acts 4:1-12

Thursday, Jun 12, Peter and John before the Council, Acts 4:13-22

Friday, Jun 13, The Believers Pray for Boldness, Acts 4:23-31

Saturday, Jun 14, The Believers Share Their Possessions, Acts 4:32-37