Most all in the coming weeks, I long to hear those familiar words:

“And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people;  for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”                                                                  Luke 2:10-11

There is so much that happens between now and then, some of it wonderful, some of it not so great.  As we enter December, we are in the season of Advent, a time to prepare for the coming of our Lord at Christmas, and the return of Christ at the end of all days.  This can be both a wonderful and anxious time in our homes and in our lives.  The watchwords of the season of the church encompass big questions for our lives.  The season of Advent urges us to consider:

hope & fear                                   deliverance

darkness &  light                           repentance

watchfulness                                 preparation

expectation                                    anticipation

Meanwhile the worldly “Holiday Season” fills us with another whole set of questions and feelings.  Too often our days are filled with concerns of:

Saving & spending                        Abundance & Scarcity

Expectation & disappointment     Family peace

Cleaning, cooking, wrapping, decorating, scheduling, travel, competition, gatherings, anxiety, and the list goes on.

If this year is like so many others, there will be both times of great joy and contentment, as well as moments of disillusionment and worry.

My hope and prayer for you in this season is that you can discover joy in the preparation and the celebration.  Jesus’ arrives each year into a world that is preoccupied, harried, and often ignorant of the ‘good news’ of the season.  That means he arrives for me and for you.  He is in this world for us, even when we don’t notice, but take time to discover the joy and peace he brings in the midst of the hustle and bustle, and share that love with those who you treasure.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!  Psalm 90:17

Pastor Ruben Mostrom quoted this verse from Psalms as he began his message to the membership of ELC over 50 years ago, as our congregation embarked on the building our current structure.  The cornerstone of this building was laid in 1960.  Now our congregation has again committed to a plan which is designed to enhance our ministry for the coming years.

The words Pastor Mostrom used then seem to echo for a new generation today:  “Now it is our turn to continue to express our faith in terms of our day and our needs.  We have a responsibility because we are many, and because we have inherited.  Others before us have served well and faithfully in ministry and life.  We dare not do less.  We who love our Lord, love our congregation and our church.   This moment and its hopes is not an ambitious pipe dream of the young—it is a sober NEED and TRUST for all who name the name of Christ.” (reprinted from the “To the Glory of God” booklet distributed for the building campaign in 1960)

I know there are many reading this who helped make that building project the success it has been, and we will need your experience and encouragement as we move ahead.  And there are many of my generation and younger who have benefitted from all the work of those who came before.  It is time for us to come together, not just to build a structure, but to build and enhance the Lord’s ministry for this community today, and for the generations who will follow us.  Thanks be to God!

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,

² that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations

⁶The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
⁷ May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Psalm 67

I often think of this psalm at this time of year.  “The earth has yielded its increase”, that is apparent as the produce of gardens, and the crops of the field have reached maturity.  It is a wonder to enjoy fresh fruit from the orchards, vegetables from the gardens and watch farmers harvesting grain for the coming winter.

There are many challenges in our daily lives, and stresses on our society. But in the midst of difficult economic news, tragedies that have impacted our community, and concerns for loved ones each day, there remains this over-riding truth:  “We remain a very  blessed and fortunate people.”

Now, along with a sense of thanksgiving and wonder, the psalm makes one other declaration:  We are blessed to be a blessing.  God is gracious to us, but also has, from the beginning, declared that we are not simply to enjoy this goodness, but to share it.  That sharing takes as many forms as there are children of God.  Yes, we can share the bounty of the earth, and we can also share the joy of fellowship, the opportunity to celebrate, a listening ear to the burdened heart, and the warmth of an embrace to the lonely or hurting.

We are a blessed people, and with those blessings come opportunities to live and share the good news  of God our creator, Christ our redeemer, and the Spirit who gives us strength each day.

Peace,

Pastor John Twiton

As most of your receive this newsletter, my family and I will be returning from a trip to Christikon Lutheran Bible camp.  For those who’ve never heard of Christikon,  it is an outdoor ministry of congregations in southern Montana and northern Wyoming  affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  Located in the Rocky Mountains of southern Montana, Christikon lies near the center of the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, just north of Yellowstone National Park. It is the last developed place along the 22 mile gravel road at an elevation of 6,500 feet above sea level. The surrounding high county ranges from 9,000 to 11,000 feet.

During our week there I will attend sessions with Professors Matthew Skinner and Karoline Lewis of Luther Seminary in St. Paul.  There will also be time for family activities, worship and hiking the mountain trails.  Diane, Tom and I will be joined by my nephews Jacob and Joshua from Missouri.  After our week at Christikon we will spend a weekend in Yellowstone Park before travelling home the first week of August.

Thanks to my neighboring pastors for their willingness to help out in case of emergency, and to Pastors Brent Chrisianson and Dave Keesey-Berg for preaching in my absence.  I thank all of you for your support for myself and my family, and for your faithfulness in supporting the work of ELC.  Soon enough we will be starting back to school, Sunday School, confirmation, and all the rest.  As a congregation we need to face some decisions about facilities and ministry in the future, but I trust that the Lord will give us the wisdom, courage and grace to work together to see these next steps in our mission taken with joy and thanksgiving.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?  ⁵Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.”

Psalm 8:3-5

The weather has finally warmed enough that I could sit out by the fire pit one night this week watching the flames as the stars began to appear in the sky.  I long for those evenings, which are too rare, when the world grows quiet for a little while, and I can breathe in the wonder of the world around me, and find a bit of respite from the crush of events long enough to remember what a blessing it is to live in this time and place.  Even more, what a blessing it is to live in the presence of our God who surrounds and fills our good days with grace, and supports and sustains our dark days with his peace.

We are entering the summer season, known in the church calendar as ‘ordinary time’.  That does not mean it is any way less important, only that the seasons of festivals like Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost are behind us.  Now is the time when we are called to live our faith day to day.  The church schedule may not be as full.  Sunday School and confirmation classes are in hiatus until September, and family calendars are rapidly filling with events as well.  But please don’t forget to take time, wherever you are, to breathe, and consider the wonder of being a part of God’s family.

The last months have shown me again and again what a powerful thing it is to belong to a family of faith.  It has been a wonder to see the courage, compassion and spirit of Christ in the words and actions of this community of faith.  Enjoy each day, each summer evening, as an opportunity to strengthen your family and your faith.  Don’t forget to worship, we all feel the loss when your seat is empty.  But even more don’t forget the constant presence and blessing of being a child of God.