I Had To Unsubscribe

I had to do something today I've tried very hard not to do.  Having a church-based e-mail address and being known as a Lutheran pastor I often get e-mails from various groups discontented with the ELCA and various theological decisions.  Usually these come from organizations with different initials wanting to proclaim themselves the new and correct Lutheran church.  I don't agree with 85% of what these e-mails say and even the relatively true 15% usually gets messed up by the way they're trying to use it.  But that's exactly why I keep reading.  We all need new perspectives on faith and theology, even when we disagree with those perspectives.  How else can we learn if we never read anything that doesn't confirm what we already know? So every few days I slog through one or another of these e-mails, trying to get a handle on what they're saying, trying to understand where they're coming from.  I also try to remind myself that even though they're cloaked by official-sounding initials, somewhere a real person wrote this.  No matter how hard it is I think of this as a dialogue between two people instead of a polemic by an institution with an ax to grind using my mailbox to work out their frustration.

So far I've succeeded pretty well, but you know what?  Today I had to give up and unsubscribe from one of these unsolicited newsletters.  (I had never asked for it in the first place, mind you.  They just put my church-sounding e-mail on their list.)  This missive wasn't particularly worse than any of the rest of them.  I'd just had enough.  Personally I couldn't take it anymore.

I'm the biggest proponent of open theological discussions, tolerance for other people's points of view, and living amid disagreement as you'll find.  But here's the deal.  If your discussion starts out from the point of view that everybody else but you is wrong and "incapable of preaching God's word truly" because they don't see things your way, you're not having a discussion anymore.  That's an assault.  It's degrading, demeaning, self-serving.  Truth be told, it doesn't matter who the other person is you're speaking with.  They might as well be a random brick wall.  It's not going to change what you're saying or how you're thinking.  It's not a two-way street.  You've dehumanized them to the point they might as well not exist.  Their only ticket back to being a real human being in your eyes is them agreeing with and accepting you.  Ironically enough I don't think scripture calls us to agree with or accept any human being--even the wisest--as the ultimate, unimpeachable authority.  That role is filled by God alone.  Arguments predicated on your point of view being the only correct one are thinly-disguised idolatry.  It may be idolatry of your own opinion, your own reasoning ability, your culture, your family, the way you grew up, the people who taught you...it doesn't matter.  It's still idolatry.

It's super-duper ironic when this idolatry comes from people claiming to have and speak the only true word of God, whom they are summarily replacing.

I don't even know how to describe the depth of irony when these same people call themselves "Lutheran".  Anybody who took our course on Luther and his reforms will understand why.

So, anyway, forgive me.  I couldn't take any more assaults or idolatry today.  So I hit the "unsubscribe" button.  I'm sure I can find other people to disagree with me and broaden my horizons.  I just hope they do it in a more honest, open, and Godly manner.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Next Music Night Tuesday, March 5th at 7 PM

Did you know that most rock songs are based on three chords? Musicians call these songs 3-chord wonders. It turns out that a 3-chord wonder in the key of C will use the chords C, F, and G. Come to the next Music Night and we will try our hand at playing some 3-chord wonder rock songs using the bass, guitar, keyboard, and drums. If you don't want to listen to Patrick sing Louie Louie, Hang On Sloopy, or Wooly Bully, then bring your vocal chords as well as your fingers and we will try ZZ Top's Jesus Just Left Chicago.

Rock on!

Monday Morning Sermon: God's Desire

The text for the Second Sunday of Lent came from the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Luke:

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”
32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

The key line here is Jesus' expression of passion for his people.  "Jerusalem, how often I have longer to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing."

From the beginning of all things, from Adam and Eve through Abraham, Moses and the Israelites, kings David and Solomon, God's will has been the same.  His singular purpose has been to bring goodness to his children:  love, grace, beauty, peace.  How he has longed to gather us!  That will never change.

But look in this gospel.  Jesus is surrounded by people and things opposed to that mission.  King Herod, the Pharisees (don't be fooled by their "helpful" warning, they wanted rid of him), demons, sickness, even the people of Jerusalem who should have been the most shining examples of all.  Everyone and everything resisted, fleeing from the goodness that God intended.

It's easy to see this happening in the historical gospel.  It's harder to realize this gospel being replayed in our own lives.  We are so busy nowadays.  Our days, moments, lives are filled with a series of never-ending priorities:  school, work, sports, chores, hobbies, TV shows, parental responsibilities, and so on.  We have more things to do than any generation ever has.  Even our leisure moments are timed, regimented, scripted.

Each of these things brings its own definition of goodness:  winning a ball game, completing a chore, getting an "A".  The more time and passion we invest into the activity the more its definition of goodness defines our lives.  Fewer of us mess with an overarching, reasoned concept of goodness anymore.  Instead our definition of "good" is "getting all my stuff done in acceptable fashion".  "I had a good day" means "I got things done and didn't mess up too badly."

Running through a hundred different things in a day we also serve a hundred different definitions of goodness.  None of them are completely good.  For every winning ball club there has to be a losing one.  With each game completed another looms on the horizon.  We cannot find complete goodness through any of our activities.  But we settled for a hundred incomplete versions stacked on top of each other and call that good...if nothing else through quantity.  If you can't get a nutritious, delicious meal a hundred snack baggies consumed hurriedly will still make you full, right?

Where is the room for God here?  I wonder what kind of reception he'd get if he showed up personally in the middle of our chaos?  Likely we'd welcome him until he offered a definition of good that came into conflict with whatever one we were pursuing at the moment.  Then we'd treat him like the Pharisees did.  "Hey Jesus, go ahead and take off.  I'm kind of busy here..."

One can imagine God standing among all of us and saying, "Genesee, Genesee, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing!"  When even the good things in life distract you more from true goodness, what's left except to shed tears and mourn.

The Lenten season is important as a time of reflection.  We stop, slow down, admit our inadequacies, admit that we can't even see true goodness on our own, let alone know and embrace it.  Our vision is bent towards other things.  We lament this along with Jesus and we pray fervently that he would guide us into goodness...not ours, but his.  We ask him to chase his chicks anyway, even as we continue to scurry around the barnyard without a clue.  We pray that his holy wings enfold us and keep us safe, not just from the world but from our own desires.

Take a moment to do exactly that today.  Pray that God will lead you towards real, complete goodness and help you to show that goodness to others.  Pray that he will break your life and its habits even as he broke the power of possession and sickness among those ancient people.  They pray that he will remake it in his image, leading you onward to salvation through his grace.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Welcome Basket Reminder!

This Sunday we're looking to fill THREE Welcome Baskets for new neighbors in town.  We'll take anything useful, particularly if it's homemade!  Bring your basket items to church or drop them by the parsonage this week.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Vision: Challenges to Overcome

We've talked about our church's new vision--converting the parsonage into a center for youth ministry, Sunday School, and counseling--for the past couple weeks now.  We've talked about needs in the community, the need to expand and formalize our ministry in these areas, the positive response this vision would engender, the fantastic transformation that would blow people's minds, and the low cost of the conversion.  Only one question remains:

Why aren't we doing this right now?

Truth be told, we could.  We have enough money in reserve to cover the parsonage conversion even without fundraising or community help.  We could get this done tomorrow if we were so inclined.  The costs are that modest, the conversion steps that clear.

But one major obstacle remains between us and achieving this town-transforming, church-transforming vision.  While we have money in the bank right now we're not maintaining that balance.

Last year when the final numbers came in we ended up running a deficit of around $775 per month.  But we also got some substantial contributions from folks who have passed on.  We can't rely on that much income from that kind of source every year.  We'll always get some memorial money, but it's not a reliable source of income.  Reduce those one-time contributions down to a reasonable level and you end up with a running deficit of around $2800 per month, give or take.  Considering that we'd be adding an extra $1100 per month in compensation with the parsonage move, it's not prudent to make this kind of commitment until our financial house is in better order.

A couple things to note:

1.  The shortfall isn't anybody's fault.  We've never talked about money or stewardship here really.  We've intentionally left the subject alone because it's been so poisoned in the modern American religious culture.  The first thing somebody thinks when you start talking about church is, "Oh.  They want money."  When you don't talk about these things it's just like not exercising.  Things droop and get flabby.  But we've had a great revival over the past couple of years and I think we know and trust each other enough to begin speaking of these things, being more conscious of them.  That alone is going to improve the situation.

2.  These numbers seem huge because when folks read them, they all imagine if they, themselves, had to make up that deficit out of their own pockets.  That'd never happen.  No shining cavalry will ride over the hill with saddle bags full of newly-discovered riches.  But when you break it down by 70 or so families in our church orbit, last year's actual deficit was a little over $10 per month per family.  Even without the memorials that's $40 per month, or $10 per week, per family.  Not everybody has that, but it doesn't take that much scrounging to figure out how to make up even a large-seeming shortfall.  We just need to take our financial stewardship seriously to do it.

Our church council is taking up this matter and will be coming forth with a framework for our stewardship discussions this year.  All we ask is that when the time comes, trust us, have faith in the ministry of this church, and participate in those conversations.

Also realize that it's not a matter of having a vision or doing the same old.  The vision gives us a goal for our giving beyond just ourselves...a really, really good reason to address our finances and stewardship.  But the choice to abandon that task would not mean preserving the church as it is.  Those financial reserves won't last forever.  Eventually we'd be forced into a discussion of stewardship when the money ran out.  Except then instead of talking about giving to support a wonderful, transforming vision we'd be talking about giving just to keep ourselves afloat for another year.  Those are two very different conversations.  The first speaks of life and hope, the second of fear and death.  People will give to support life and hope, not so much to the other.

If we get to the point where we honestly have to talk about stewardship just to keep our church going, I don't anticipate that conversation going well or people responding to it.  At that point you're looking at alternative solutions.  Not only do you not have a vision and a youth/education/counseling center, you probably don't have resources for a full-time pastor anymore.  Once upon a time splitting churches worked...the Valley and St. John's being an example for decades.  It doesn't work anymore.  It's nearly impossible to find churches in close enough physical proximity with the same size and the same needs.  You end up sharing a pastor with a distant church.  You get less ministry attention which means less enthusiasm and giving.  This compounds the problem.  Once you're on that slide it's hard--not impossible, but hard--to get off.  Many churches end up functioning with a 1/2 or 1/3 time pastor but they're just functioning...staying open to stay open.  At that point you're a generation (or less) away from closing no matter what you do.

If you look at that last paragraph, that doesn't describe the ministry, people, or spirit of our church at all.  That's exactly why we need to pursue these stewardship talks and our vision of life and hope...making our financial life reflect who we really are.  We have to understand that we're doing this precisely so we can use our reserves how they're supposed to be used--to further our vision and ministry--instead of using them to keep ourselves afloat until we're forced into a corner and have to do something about it or close.  Eventually we're going to spend the money either way.  The only question is whether we'll spend it on the vision or whether we'll spend it trying to fill a deficit over the next few years and not have anything to show for it at the end but panic.

We're addressing this early and well so it can be a spirit-filled, life-filled conversation.  Please join us in that conversation as it commences over the next year and do what you can in the meantime to support the people and ministries of our church.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Wednesday Afternoon Sermon: The Temptations

This week's sermon discussion is coming later than normal due to the festivities over the weekend.  The text for the First Sunday in Lent came from Luke 4 as the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness:

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

This story isn't hard to understand but it's pretty hard to identify with personally.  We get that Jesus resisted the devil but we tend to view this as a historical event...just something that happened to him.  Most of us don't have experience turning stones into bread or being offered the kingship of the world.

This event was historically and theologically significant.  Nobody before or since has ever been able to resist the devil as Jesus did.  All of us have slipped up.  All of us have sinned.  These verses define God as God.  They show why Jesus was able to give his innocent life to break the power of death and sin when all of our guilty lives together wouldn't suffice.  But they also contain a personal, hopeful element...a connection between us and God and not just a distinction.  That connection comes precisely in the human-ness of the temptations the devil put before Jesus.  The devil knew just where to strike, at the heart of our fears and the desire to keep ourselves strong and safe instead of relying on God.  We hear echoes of these temptations every day, just as if the devil himself were whispering in our ear.

The first temptation was to turn stones into bread.  What was the reminder here?  "Jesus, you're hungry.  You're empty.  Nobody is feeding you.  Do something about it or you're going to gnaw your insides out until you perish."

The world tells us we're empty every day.  Every commercial starts with this premise.  You're inadequate.  You're broken.  Something's missing.  The right toothpaste or deodorant or spaghetti sauce will fill up that void!  We learn this language from an early age. How many Disney movies have you seen where the young heroine did not have her problems solved when Prince Charming arrived at the door?  We spend our lives looking for things to stuff into the empty place:  items to buy, houses to move into, people to love, money to accumulate, shows to watch.  None of these things are bad in themselves.  Most are good!  That's why we hope they'll fill the emptiness for us.  But none ever do.  No matter how many things you throw into that empty spot, it seems to swallow them all.  You eat a banana, you're hungry again the next day.  Your husband gives you a good birthday gift but then Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  You bought the toothpaste and your teeth are shiny, but now they tell you that you need the body spray.  You're never done.

"Turn these stones into bread" is not much different than "Turn this cash into a new truck".  How long does that really satisfy you?  How long will the voice be quiet until it starts whispering that you're empty again?

The second temptation was to bow down before the devil and receive dominion over the world.  The message:  "You're powerless.  Things don't go your way.  That's bad.  Seize control, order it the way you wish.  Then and only then will you be happy."

How often do we fall prey to this voice?  The world is out of control.  We get reminders every day.  Prices are too high.  Trains and planes don't run when we want them to.  The evening news bombards us with unexpected and tragic developments from all over the world.  Kids are unruly, today's music stinks, you can't get a good deli sandwich anymore because it's all pre-processed stuff, and taxes stink.

If only we ran the world things would be better.  We'd order that everything be convenient, cheap, high quality.  We'd stop the conflicts, outlaw the wrong-doing, lower the tax rate, bring back decent music!

Of course we don't have the power to rule the world, but we can rule our world.  We acknowledge all the turmoil outside of our close-knit circle lives but we'll be damned if anybody's going to tell us how to spend our money, raise our families, disagree with our politics.  In our houses, families, communities, we rule.  We keep it the way we want it.  If something doesn't fit and we can't change it, we just draw our circle small enough to exclude it.

This is effective, but is it good?  Does it really solve things?  I don't know if you've ever experienced a family where just one person got their way in all things at all times but in my estimation those situations don't turn out well.  They don't tend to foster love or growth.  Those who come through that kind of experience usually end up worse, not better.  Ditto for town politics, school groups, churches, and so on.

When the world whispers, "You are powerless" our instinctive response is to grab as much control over as many things as possible and hold on at all costs.  This generally takes us away from goodness instead of towards it, snuffing out life and love instead of helping them flourish.

The third temptation was for Jesus to cast himself off the temple roof to prove that God loved him and would take care of him.  In this we hear the most insidious, tempting message of all:  "You are alone.  Nobody understands you. Nobody cares about you.  Nobody loves you."

Who among us has not heard this voice at one time or another?  It's at the root of every self-harming escape you can name:  drug and alcohol abuse, ill-planned promiscuity, sabotaging otherwise healthy relationships, an endless list of others.  "Nobody cares about me.  I'll do this thing to show how hurt and wretched I am.  Perhaps then somebody will pay attention and I'll get the love I need.  If not at least I will have proved how wretched I am, so I'll end up right either way."  For most of us this ends up in mild self-destructive behavior, making the wrong choices when we know better.  Sometimes it ends up devastating lives, families, entire communities.

Humans can endure and prosper through almost anything.  If you don't believe me, ask yourself why anybody lives in North Dakota.  Being alone--not occasionally as a relaxing break but truly, utterly alone--is the one condition humans can't abide.  (See also:  Genesis 2:18  "The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”)  That makes this whisper, this fear, very powerful.  We're liable to grasp at anything to avoid it or to distract ourselves from it.

Ironically, our responses to this fear end up isolating us even more.  We tend towards cynicism, self-protection.  "If you don't look out for yourself nobody will.  You can't love others until you love yourself first.  Whatever it takes to get ahead in life is justified."  All of these try to answer that insidious whisper.  If we live by these tenets, we end up more alone than when we started.

Every solution we come up with to any of these temptations only make the evil worse.  That's why the devil found humanity such a delightful playground before Jesus stepped in and messed things up.  Jesus changed the course of our destiny through a couple of simple affirmations:

1. I am putting love of others before my own need.
2. I will not let any fear or anything that happens to me overcome that.
3. I will set aside the voices that tell me this will end in my doom.  If I'm going to die anyway, I might as well die doing something wonderful in love rather than dying in fear trying to preserve myself.  Fearing something doesn't change it but love transforms even the darkest things into light.
4. I will trust that God will walk with me, provide for me, and save me.  This will give me confidence that I don't have to do it myself, allowing me to stick to 1, 2, and 3.

These are simple to say, hard to master.  In fact only Jesus mastered them fully, even to the point of dying as an innocent man on the cross for the sake of the same people who put him up there.  But even if we can't claim complete mastery as Jesus did, we still need to take the walk by his side.   These affirmations should be our guide when we face temptation as he did.  We should repeat them every time we hear the devil and the world whisper that we're empty, powerless, and alone.  The affirmations don't deny those claims.  They simply refuse to engage in the argument, instead saying, "All that may be true, but even so I'm still doing something wonderful today and trusting in God to see me through."

Bingo.  Done.  The devil and all his temptations are overcome in that moment.

The devil wins when we try to argue right and wrong with him, whether that's if the garden fruit will make us like God or if this toothpaste or that will make our teeth shinier and bring us true happiness.  The devil loses when we say, "You may be completely right, but it still doesn't change things."  That's all Jesus did in the wilderness.  Go back and read Luke 4 again and see if you don't hear it.  Then look at your temptations and distinguish between the things you think will make you happier/safer/more in control right now and the things that will truly be good for you and the world.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Thank You and Lent Reminder

Thank you to everyone who helped with our huge Youth Weekend, especially all the people who brought food:  Alice, Joyce, Betty, Patrick, and Dana.  The dinners really were a life saver because they allowed me to keep hanging out with the kids instead of spending an hour or two cooking and preparing food.

The weekend was a whole lot of fun.  We drifted between a low of 5 youth at once and a high of 14, depending on the day and time.  It was mix-and-match attendance each day so when you step back and look 18 different kids were able to come to some part of the weekend or other.  We discovered all kinds of games, ate plenty of good food, got to know each other better, and all of them took turns petting our cats...who were quite happy!  All in all it was a huge success.

Thanks again to everyone who helped.  And you youth-type folks can anticipate that we'll be doing something sort of like this during Spring Break as well...maybe not quite so constant and extensive, but there will be times to come over for sure!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

P.S.  Church folks, don't forget Lenten Evening Service this Wednesday at 7:00 at the Valley and the movie "Luther" as our first Lenten movie at 6:30 this Saturday at the parsonage.

Music Night, Tuesday at 7 pm at St. John's

What can you do with 11 inches of 1/2 inch diameter pipe and 6 holes? You can play 26 notes of the Western scale.

Come to this week's Music Night (Tuesday at 7 pm at St. John's) as we continue our musical journey playing 7 notes of the F major scale. If you don't have a penny whistle in the key of C, not to worry. Whistles will be provided.

Reminder: Ash Wednesday and Luther Study

Reminder:  Lent begins tonight with Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m. at the Valley church.  Following the service we will conclude our study of Martin Luther.

Services continue each Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Valley.

We'll also have a showing of the movie "Luther" at the parsonage at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday the 23rd.

--Pastor Dave

The Vision: Costs

For the last couple weeks we've talked about the new vision of converting the church parsonage into a center for youth, Sunday School, small group, and counseling ministries.  We've discussed the needs, the benefits, why and how this makes sense.  Now it's time to talk about the financial applications.

One of the reasons this vision makes so much sense is that the actual cost of converting and operating the building is incredibly low, especially when compared to the potential benefits.

The parsonage would need some minor renovations:  carpets in the basement, some work in the restrooms.  But otherwise it's ready to go.  Furniture and technology would be the biggest overall expense.  Just making the building effective isn't enough to fulfill the vision or give the people using it a sense of wonder and ownership.  We need to put the right tools in the right places.

I'd guesstimate that the total renovations and equipment would come in under $20,000, perhaps under $15,000.  That's paying for all labor and equipment.  Donated labor or material would cut the cost.  Also this is the kind of project we can get people in the community to rally behind.  It's unlikely that all of that budget would have to come out of our pockets.  I have a hunch that if we let it be known what we're doing and tell people that we're that close to having the project done, we'd get so much help we wouldn't know what to do.

The only hitch in the renovation and equipping plan would be if safety required us to add a second exit from the basement or at least convert the basement windows into escape routes.  But even then we're not talking an exorbitant amount.  I wouldn't hazard an exact guess as to the cost but it'd be in the four figure range, not five..

Compare this to the cost of building a structure or adopting someone else's and $20,000 is a huge bargain.

The news gets even better when you talk about operating costs.  Two main concerns in any project like this are how much it's going to cost to heat and how much to insure.

The church already has insurance covering the property, including the parsonage.  Any increase from the conversion would be modest.

The parsonage is heated by a combination of radiant heating and wall units...all electric.  Each room is heated separately.   Without central heating you have pre-heat if you plan to use a room.   This is less than convenient for a family dwelling where you expect to move from room to room with ease.  It's exactly what you want for a ministry center though.  You only heat the rooms you're using and only for the duration you use them...a few hours a week  It'll actually cost less to heat the building under the new mission than it does now when it serves as our full-time family home.

In short, the two biggest potential cost headaches are a breeze for us under this plan...costing no more, and maybe even less, than we're paying now to operate the building.

One expense will go up, however.  With the parsonage now a ministry center it's no longer our home and thus no longer a part of the compensation package the church offers us.  The church would need to make up that difference.  When Susan ran the latest numbers, based on where my salary should be, it amounted to an $1100-$1200 a month increase.

Let's address something that some folks might be tempted to think in the back of their mind:  Is this just a way for Pastor Dave to gain a salary increase or advantage of some sort?  After all, there is an increase in salary involved.

I can think of two possible advantages to us in this move.  First, in a couple years Ali is going to outgrow the relatively small room we have her in right now.  It was designed to be more of an office than a bedroom.  Second, with our own home we'd be able to start building equity.

However, truth be told I'm not looking forward to the move that much.  It's a bunch of stress and bother that it'd be easier not to deal with.  Also if you take a hard look at the financial implications it's unlikely we'll be making any more money even with the salary increase.  Along with the parsonage the church is currently responsible for all utilities, garbage, repairs (although we've been paying those the last few years), and everything else having to do with the property.  There's no property tax on the parsonage either, as it's on church property.

Now...look at $1100 per month.  Balance that against a mortgage payment, electricity, water, heating, garbage, repairs and upkeep, and property tax.  Anybody think we're going to be walking away with a profit in our pockets after the move?  Other than getting the long-term benefit of building equity we're going to be sacrificing financially for this vision  even if all we do is move out.  Then again, it's worth it.

Coming up with that extra money per month is, hands down, the biggest challenge in all of this.  Which is why next time we're going to talk about the steps we need to go through to make this vision a reality.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Big Youth Weekend!

I've been taking a couple days off from most things in preparation for our Youth-a-Palooza this coming weekend.  Four days off of school and non-stop fun is in the offing!  Here's the schedule for those interested:

Friday:  1:00-7:00 p.m.  Board Games and Dinner
             7:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.  Red Cliff Movie
Saturday 1:00-5:00 p.m.  Lord of the Rings Board Game Day
               5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.  Dinner
               6:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.  Dokapon Kingdom Game!
Sunday   10:00 a.m.  Church
              11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.  Confirmation
              1:00-4:00 p.m.  D&D
              4:00-10:00 p.m.  Girls Only Dinner and Narnia Movie Marathon
Monday  1:00-8:00 p.m.  Board Games and Dinner

Youth 7th-12th grades are invited to participate.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Annual Church Meeting Minutes Jan. 27, 2013

Genesee Lutheran Church Council
Minutes for January 27, 2013 Meeting

The meeting was called to order by Jennifer Parkins, followed by the singing of the Doxology. Jennifer then read the minutes from last year’s annual meeting.

Committee Reports:

Education Committee:
Dana Carter: The Sunday School Christmas program was wonderful, and she thanked Patrick Adams for providing help with the music. She explained that the leaves on the construction paper tree in the fellowship hall were to represent Sunday School attendance. The Sunday School teachers are currently working on the upcoming Easter program, as well as thinking ahead to Vacation Bible School in June. The hope is to have another church in town step up to lead that program this year, although there will still be a need for volunteers and donated snacks from our church members.

Worship Committee:
Jennifer Parkins: Phyllis Kanikkeberg would like to step down as chair of this committee. She suggests that anyone who is interested in this position talk to her, Pastor Dave or Phyllis about what this would entail. Also, another person is needed for the Lent planning committee.

Buildings & Grounds Committee:
Jennifer Parkins: Due to recent improvements, electrical efficiency has improved and utility bills have been lower. Doug Cartwright reported that the front steps of St. John’s will need to be redone. He will be researching a more concrete-friendly method of de-icing as well.

New Business:
Council positions: Shelley Renton is stepping down from her council position, Courtney Scharnhorst and Jennifer Parkin’s terms are up. They are both willing to continue their positions for another term. With no other nominations made, it was moved by Rosanna Cartwright that Amy Peterson complete Shelley’s term (one more year), with Linda Chilson joining the council to complete Amy’s position as secretary (one more year), and Courtney and Jennifer re-elected for another term in their current positions. The motion was seconded by Randi Adams. The motion passed unanimously.

Jennifer Parkins: The Christmas Eve benevolence offering was donated to the Sandy Hook, CT PTO following the school’s recent tragedy.

Patrick Adams: Encouraged comments on the church’s online blog, which is no longer being moderated. Anyone can post a comment, even anonymously, if desired. Also, Patrick will set up a PayPal system for members to make donations online rather than writing a check. Beginning Tuesday, January 29th Patrick will be in the chapel from 7 – 8:30 p.m. for anyone wishing to join him in working on their musical skills. This is not a rehearsal for Sunday, rather, it is meant to be a time to get together and enjoy playing music. He is willing to do this on a different week night if it works out better for others.

Old Business:
None

Financial Report:
Susan: Provided a budget handout. We have met all financial obligations to date. Discussion followed about ways we could make up our deficit (example: if 12 families gave $44 more per week). The point was made that we can sacrifice a bit more, because Pastor Dave and his family do make the sacrifice for the good of the church by his declining a raise again this year, and also by not taking his budgeted auto expense reimbursement, and by paying for extras for the youth out of his own pocket.

Pastor Dave: We currently have about 60 families who are members of the church that attend on a regular basis, with about 20-30 more who attend less regularly.

Pastor’s Report:
Pastor Dave played a video that he made entitled “The Importance of a VISION”.  He says that other than financially, the church “is in a really good place especially in the past 3-4 years”. Great energy has been built up, and now it needs a vision. Vision looks forward and outward, not backward and inward.

A good vision:
1) Meets needs
2) Serves the community
3) Defines and grows us

Three things people look for in a church:
1) Good music (We have had a ‘musical revolution’ in the past year!)
2) Good with kids
3) Giving/receiving help

The video showed a small representation of Genesee youth who happened to be present during the filming of the video, although there are many more than those 17 shown in the video – all are welcome. They come to the church/parsonage to enjoy snacks, get support, have fun, and learn who God is by feeling welcome, while in a safe environment. Currently, and up until now, they meet at the Pastor’s home. He said he gets calls and texts daily from the kids and that they are always welcome.

Issues with this have become:
1) Lack of space which means being forced to limit the number of people invited to an event.
2) Youth events in the Pastor’s home interfere with his family. It creates a stressful feeling for Pastor Dave when he has to ask Careen and their own children to find another place to go during these events.
3) The Pastor cannot keep “spinning gold out of straw”. He needs more help to serve the youth.


We’ve been built up for a reason:

THE VISION

The parsonage becomes a multi-purpose center. Pastor Dave and his family would move to a different home.

  Step 1: Address the deficit
  Step 2: Prepare finances
  Step 3: Renovate the parsonage and enjoy

Stewardship will be the focus this coming year.

The meeting was concluded with the Lord’s Prayer.

We, the members of the Genesee Lutheran Parish, in receiving God’s gracious gifts, are committed to be living examples of Jesus’ love by strengthening and encouraging each other. We commit to love every person and serve anyone we can through word and deed, following the example of our Lord. – Mission statement: Genesee Lutheran Church

Getting Ready For Ash Wednesday

A helpful crew pitched in to clear leaves and snow off the walkways in preparation for Ash Wednesday Service at the Valley Church. The service will begin at 7 pm on February 13th.

Music Night on Tuesday, February 12th at 7 pm

The church council meeting has been rescheduled so we can have Music Night this Tuesday, February 12th at 7 pm.

Last week we worked on Come to Me, All Pilgrims Thirsty (hymn #777) using the penny whistle. Come and join us even if you do not have a penny whistle and I will give you one. We could also use a guitar or piano player to help us out.

Church Council Meeting Minutes Dec. 11, 2012

Genesee Lutheran Church Council
Minutes for December 11, 2012 Meeting

Those present were Dave Deckard, Jennifer Parkins, Patrick Adams, Gayle Rossebo, Courtney Scharnhorst, Doug Cartwright, Dan Carter, Susan Rigg, and Amy Peterson.

The meeting was called to order by Jennifer. The devotion was given by Gayle. Dan will give the devotion at the next meeting.

Committee Reports:
(Agenda modified to allow for more time to discuss visioning for upcoming annual meeting to be held January 27, 2013).

Other Business:
A budget meeting will be held with Susan, Jennifer, and Amy prior to the next regularly scheduled council meeting to be held January 15, 2013.

Susan suggested a prayer box be set up in the main entry for people to write down specific prayer requests, which would then be read aloud by Pastor Dave once a month during church service. This idea was well received by all council members present and it is planned to have Pastor Dave announce it at the next church service.

Christmas cookies will again be distributed throughout the community, along with information about our “Angels on Call” program, on December 23rd.

Pastor Dave will announce plans to put together another welcome basket for a new family in Genesee.

Pastor Dave offered kudos to Doug Cartwright, Patrick Adams and Brent Studer for their help in putting up Christmas lights at the parsonage and church.

The meeting was concluded with the Lord’s Prayer.

We, the members of the Genesee Lutheran Parish, in receiving God’s gracious gifts, are committed to be living examples of Jesus’ love by strengthening and encouraging each other. We commit to love every person and serve anyone we can through word and deed, following the example of our Lord. – Mission statement: Genesee Lutheran Church

Church Council Meeting Minutes Jan. 15, 2013

Genesee Lutheran Church Council
Minutes for January 15, 2013 Meeting

Those present were Dave Deckard, Jennifer Parkins, Patrick Adams, Courtney Scharnhorst, Dan Carter, Susan Rigg, and Amy Peterson.

The meeting was called to order by Jennifer. The devotion was given by Dan. Jennifer will give the devotion at the next meeting.

Pastor’s Report:
Sermons are being posted online again, he has received a couple of “Angels on Call” requests recently, and he will be speaking at an Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse meeting on Wednesday, January 16th. He also reported on the various youth activities that took place over the Christmas break.

Committee Reports:

Worship Committee:
Phyllis Kanikkeberg has asked to step down as chair of the Worship Committee. The council will seek a replacement for this position.

Education Committee:
Jennifer: The Sunday School teachers met last night – January 14th – to make plans for Easter and other upcoming events.

Activities Committee:
No report.

Outreach Committee:
Discussion regarding recent calls for “Angels on Call” requests.

Buildings & Grounds Committee:
Patrick: The furnace at the Valley church is not working. Jennifer said she will keep an eye on the temperature and check on things as needed until Doug Cartwright can check on the furnace.

Financial Report:
Susan: Provided handouts on last year’s budget, as well as last year’s banking summary. Jennifer and Amy communicated with Susan via email concerning the budget prior to this meeting.

Other Business:
Jennifer: Shelley Renton has asked to step down from her council position one year early. This led to a discussion on the existing terms, and which council seats will need to be filled. This will be presented at the annual meeting on January 27th.

The meeting was concluded with the Lord’s Prayer.

We, the members of the Genesee Lutheran Parish, in receiving God’s gracious gifts, are committed to be living examples of Jesus’ love by strengthening and encouraging each other. We commit to love every person and serve anyone we can through word and deed, following the example of our Lord. – Mission statement: Genesee Lutheran Church

The Vision: Why It Fits

We've talked about the ministry needs addressed by our new church vision.  We've also talked about the vision itself, what the parsonage would be converted into.    Another question we need to answer:  what's so special/helpful about doing it this particular way?  Also:  why us and not somebody else?

The major growth in our church's ministry over the last few years has been accomplished in small groups.  People feel more attached to our church, God, and each other through things they've done in gatherings of 6-20 people.  The description has been "feeling like family" or "feeling like church is home for me now".  That doesn't happen the same way in gatherings of 60-100.  Those small group moments make a huge difference.

The same has been true of youth ministry.  We do run events a few times a year where 20-40 kids come.  But most of the bonding happens when 6-12 people show up at the church on a given day.  The event attended by 30 serves to publicize those smaller gatherings wherein new people get to know us better.

This is not going to change.  Nobody nowadays wants to join an institution.  People don't want to belong to a committee.  Folks aren't looking to acquire another label to stick on themselves.  Instead they want friends, comfort, human interaction.  These things are missing in their daily lives.  Defining God as welcoming, warm, intimate, and interactive is the best way to reach our friends and neighbors.

Now step back and look at the vision for the parsonage.  Every room, every piece of furniture, every proposed use is designed to say the same thing:  "Welcome home!  And isn't it great?"  Without a word being spoken every person who walks in will know that somebody cares.  The intimate nature and interactive purpose of each room reinforces that message, providing opportunity for participants to jump in and interact not just with the environment, but with each other.

This differentiates our vision from most attempts at youth ministry.  Churches have different priorities when pursuing youth ministry.  Some go with education first...what happens in a desk or in front of a blackboard matters most.  Others go with entertainment or just giving the kids something to do so they'll "stay out of trouble".  All of these approaches assume youth are people to be acted on instead of with, thus they are to be educated or entertained or kept busy.  It's almost like they're objects we're trying to manipulate.

The physical spaces church design (or designate) for youth reflect this mindset.  When a congregation doesn't care much about youth ministry you get a leftover room somewhere in the back of the church, perhaps furnished with an old couch.  The kids have "permission" to "decorate" however they wish because nobody else is going to set foot in that room.

Other congregations go the opposite direction, building special places for youth.  The first impulses are, "Well, they'll like a pool table and foosball so we better have a room for that.  And classrooms with desks.  And a gym!"  The kids may like all of those things but the rooms generally end up huge and feel clinical.  It's almost as if somebody were speaking in a monotone robot voice, "Here is the pool table inside this room.  Is that not nifty for you?"

For us, youth ministry isn't about stuff, nor about making kids think/do/feel a certain way.  Nor is it about keeping them occupied so they'll "stay out of trouble" (as if they were hooligans just waiting to turn our town into Lord of the Flies).  Our youth ministry is about relationships.  Through our holy, amazing, and fun relationships with each other we discover how holy, amazing, and fun God is.  The things we employ--games, technology, food, physical space--are there to serve the relationships, not the relationships to serve the things.  The same is true with space...it's there to facilitate relationships between people, not just to provide a floor and walls in between which people can do tasks.

That's why this parsonage vision fits so well.  We need exactly what the parsonage gives us:  intimate, home-like space in which to do our thing together.  It feels like home because it was designed to be a home.  In this vision we're still using it for that purpose.  We're just increasing the number of people who call it that.

This also distinguishes our vision from the drive for a community center converted out of the current Catholic church center.  That is a good project too.  I hope it succeeds.  Our town needs something like that!  But it's much different than what we're talking about here.

Look at the purpose for which the Catholic center was built.  It was a school, right?  That involves large, square rooms.  No matter how you redecorate them they're never going to feel like a home, any more than the rooms in our own church basement do.  Using the Catholic center for our type of youth ministry would be the same feeling we already have, just in a bigger building.

A community center would actually be great for certain events.  Those 30-40 person youth events that we're straining to do in St. John's would work fantastically in a community center.  They could probably also house a pool table or ping pong or other things that we'd like and wouldn't have room for.  But could a half dozen guys text me at 7:00 at night, then come over and we all go over to the Community Center at the spur of the moment to watch a movie in comfort, feeling like it was their place?  Even if we could get access on that short of notice, even if the technology to watch the movie was already set up and they had a room dedicated for that purpose, even if they didn't charge us for the heat and lights we'd use, it still wouldn't facilitate the same kind of bonding.  The guys might feel attached to the movie (the task) but they wouldn't have the same kind of interaction and personal feeling they'd get in our converted parsonage.

In some ways our mission statements for use of space would be 180 degrees opposite from a community center.  (One of the reasons that having both could be a good idea!)  The center would be looking to serve as many people as possible at a time and thus fashioning their large public spaces to be multi-use oriented, covering many purposes with the same rooms.  That's the only way such a project will make sense.

We, on the other hand, want to target a single use for each room to facilitate a small number of people using it at any given time.  The living room is for talking, the theater for movie-watching, the computer room for playing or study.  Many different types of people can use those rooms, of course, but the rooms themselves are 100% dedicated, decorated, and set up for that single purpose.

The community center model is stronger if you're trying to get 60 people to use the building at once for a variety of things.  (And obviously they'd have the space to do that too, where the parsonage wouldn't.)  But our model is far stronger when gathering 6-20 people for a single purpose, particularly if that purpose involves cozy, intimate interaction.

Neither approach is better than the other.  It all depends on who you're trying to serve and how.  40 people eating lunch?  Community center.  Big pool tables and running around?  Community center.  6 guys playing a game?  The community center is too big and alien-feeling compared to a comfy, familiar couch with a stocked fridge nearby, both of which they can call their own.

The community center is a good idea, but there's zero chance they'd be able to provide to the tailored, small-group needs of our youth, Sunday School, and counseling ministries.  They couldn't afford to dedicate their space to that narrow of a focus group, nor to meet the special concerns of each individual within that group.  But we can, and in doing so we'd fulfill a need that's not being met anywhere else while still being able to support the activities and programs they could provide.

Everything we've talked about is already going on in our youth ministry.  That's why it works!  We welcome all comers, make sure the pop fridge is stocked with their favorite flavors, invite them to check out the food in the kitchen as if it were theirs.  We also use my house extensively to make them feel intimate and at home.  Our vision simply formalizes that process and brings it to completion, putting our money where our mouth is, helping our space serve our vibrant ministry and its eager participants.

First up next week...what will this all cost and what steps would we need to take to get there?

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

The Vision: How We'd Use the Space Part 2...Downstairs

Yesterday we talked about how we'd use the upstairs parsonage space for various ministries if we converted it for church use.  Today we get to the most exciting part of all...the downstairs.  You're not going to believe this!

When talking about the upstairs we talked about Sunday School, counseling, small group meetings.  We didn't mention the youth much.  The youth would use the upstairs for sure.  Their Sunday School classes would be there...confirmation too probably.  By that long table in the dining room would be a shelf with board games so they could just grab, sit, and play.  They'd use the kitchen for food/drinks and the living room for small group meetings just like everybody else.  But the really special youth-group-oriented "wow factor" stuff happens downstairs.  Here we can do things that nobody else has even thought of...that few youth groups dream of.

When you descend the stairs into the parsonage basement you're in a rectangular room, much wider left to right than it is front to back.  Right now we use this as our exercise room.  But we've also hung a TV on the wall and it doubles for another purpose:  movie watching.  In fact the room and TV are so good for this that we actually found some discount movie theater chairs which Brent Studer was kind enough to mount on small risers for us.  When you walk into our basement you see five seats just like you'd have in a real cinema, with folding bottoms and arms and cup holders and everything.  In fact our chairs are nicer than some of the ones in actual theaters.  And they aren't that expensive if you know where to look.  The TV is the perfect size for the room.  The end effect is that, once seated, you feel like you're in an actual theater.

Now, because we're using the room for more than one purpose we can only fit five seats in there so it's for small-group movie watching only.  But if you cleared our stuff out I'm guessing you could fit between 16 and 21 theater seats in that space while keeping a good sight-line to the screen for everybody.  That means you'd have Genesee's only actual movie theater in our basement.  The screen is there, the player is there, the sound system is set up...it's already ready to go.  Imagine movie night actually being MOVIE NIGHT!  And all without ever leaving town.

There's also a side area to the main basement room perfect for putting the small pop fridge that's in our church kitchen now.  It would be cool to have a couple of the guys maybe build us a cabinet for snacks as well.  Without much work our theater now has its own snack bar attached.  What could be cooler?

Note also that any Sunday School classes who wanted to use videos could just walk down the stairs and watch!

There are five rooms off of the main basement/theater room.  One is a bathroom.  Two are unheated and are suitable mostly for storage, but they'd provide a lot of that.  The fourth would become the middle-school Sunday School classroom.  Again there's plenty of space and storage within this room, just like the upstairs ones.

The fifth and final room would become another youth haven.  It's fairly small and rectangular but it's eminently suitable for conversion into a computer room.  It's not hard to get slightly older computers and to hook them together through a Local Area Network.  You could probably set up 5-6 in that room.  Throw in chairs to sit in and you have a dual-purpose homework area and computer game room.  The youth and I have several games we like to play together via computer.  The problem is, in order to make it work folks have to tear down their desktop computers, bring them over to the parsonage, find a place to set them up, hook up the network...it's an hour of work minimum before we can even start playing.  I can't tell you what a blessing it would be to have a half-dozen computers already hooked up and ready to go.  We'd say, "Hey, want to do this?"  Then we'd walk down there, turn on the computers, and be ready to go.  Anybody who needed to do work on a computer for school could also use the system.

Again, we're not talking state-of-the-art computers here, but we don't need those.  We have several entertaining games that can be played on computers that are 3-4 years old or older.  And those same computers serve well for word processing or internet research.  We could probably set up the whole system for the price of one super-duper fancy brand new computer.

Since we talked about Sunday School and counseling last time, let's take a look at what we've given the youth group here.  We're not doing things much differently than they normally do.  We're talking board games, movies, snacks, video/computer games, and a space to hang out and shoot the breeze.  We're just doing the things they already love to do...stuff that comes naturally.  In the normal course of things, though, they'd each be doing these things in isolation, alone in their rooms or living rooms without much interaction except through a screen.  Making this space available will pull them out of those isolated rooms, get them together, let them interact, give them some adult interaction as well.  This space--even if it's just the amazement at being able to go watch a movie in actual theater chairs--will be a reminder that somebody's interested in them and somebody cares...half the battle in any youth ministry.  And I guarantee you that the kids who come to use the space will be bragging to their friends around town that they have this...and their friends, by the way, will also be invited.

Next time we're going to talk about the unique characteristics of this project...why nobody (even people who build grand and glorious youth ministry complexes) has anything like this and why maybe they should.  We'll also cover how this project is distinct from the also-excellent effort to get a community center going in town and why such an effort--for all the good it would do--would cover different bases than the ones we need for these purposes.  Then early next week we'll take a look at the cost (hint:  it ain't that much) and what steps, challenges, and obstacles remain between us and making this vision a reality.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Calendar Events

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am going to try and update the calendar as often as possible so if you please email me any events you want added that would be great. My email address is lmchils@hotmail.com or lmchils57@gmail.com, they are linked together so I should get any messages no matter which one you use.

The Vision: How We'd Use the Space Part 1...Upstairs

Last week we talked about the need for a new vision at our church and how that need has intersected with the demands of ministry here to create a long-range plan for converting the church parsonage to ministry use.  Today's question:  What would that actually look like?  How would we use the space and why would it make a difference?

I experimented with different ways of presenting this visually...taking pictures, drawing plans.  Nothing is converting quite right to our blog space right now, at least not in the time and energy I have to devote to the project.  We'll figure out a way to do that soon.  For now, a description will have to suffice.

The Counseling Space

As you walk in the front door of the parsonage you first notice a door to your left.  This leads to a small room now being used as 2-year-old Ali's bedroom.  At one point it was the church office.  I don't know what it was before that.

In our new vision, this room becomes the space for counseling with the pastor:  crisis counseling, marriage counseling, or just chatting.

It's a dirty little secret of our church now...we don't have any space suitable for meeting with the pastor.  The sanctuary is far too large and there's no way to sit facing each other.  The fellowship hall is also too large, giving no feeling of intimacy.  It's also exposed to anyone who walks in the door so there's no privacy.  But the smaller, more private back rooms are dark, furnished with metal chairs and industrial tables, sided with dark brown paneling covered with Sunday School material (as they're Sunday School rooms now).  When you're feeling emotionally vulnerably they're a little like sitting in a dungeon.

This is not to disparage the building nor the work that went into those rooms.  There's nothing wrong with them intrinsically.  They're just not suited at all for the purpose we're trying to put them to.  When you come in for counseling, feeling that vulnerability, you need a place that's fairly contained size-wise, well-lit, private, and decorated in pleasing, comfortable fashion.  Anything else makes you feel ill-at-ease.  That dissonance puts you at a disadvantage and makes it harder to connect with the counseling.

Right now I choose the lesser of all of these evils and meet with people in the fellowship hall.  There's too much space, the chairs aren't right, the tables interfere, and that parking lot door looms in threatening fashion but at least it's well-lit.  The light is the only psychological advantage but without it none of the rest matters much.

The room off the parsonage entryway, however, needs but a throw rug, a comfy love seat, and a couple chairs to make it work.  The size is right.  It's not hard to light.  It'll be a 500% improvement over anything we have, allowing people coming to us in need to feel comfortable, protected, secure.

The Small Group Spaces

The next thing you see as you walk in the parsonage is the living room/dining room area.  These are ready to go pretty much as-is.

As we've gotten to know each other better several small groups have sprung up among our ministries.  Craft group, Bible Studies, Theology on Tap, Council/Committe meetings, and various youth group events are all examples.  These groups suffer from the same issue that people in need of counseling do, no suitable space.  The problems are the same: rooms too big or too small, lighting, comfort, ability to see each other and interact.

In our new vision the living room becomes a seating space for conversation.  Couches and chairs will ring the perimeter, creating a natural and comfortable circle.  Right now we get the "comfortable circle" feeling when we hold Theology on Tap and the dividends show.  Those of you who have been to those meetings, can you imagine having them in the Fellowship Hall?  You'd never approach that level of intimacy in those quarters.  With the parsonage living room all ready to go, every meeting can start with that Theology on Tap feeling.  We might also mount a small TV on the wall in case Bible Studies wanted to use video as part of their discussion.

In the dining room space we have a long table.  This can be used for any meetings that require a flat surface upon which to work and is also available for more formal meetings such as council.  It goes without saying that you could eat at this table as well.

Living room and dining room would probably double as Sunday School space for the High School class, as their curriculum involves discussion more than crafts or moving around.

The Kitchen

Located behind the dining room, the kitchen remains fully operational.  That means pop, snacks, coffee, or even the capacity to prepare a meal are only steps away from any room.  There's plenty of counter space, stove, microwave, fridge, sink...everything you'd need.

Bathroom

There's a bathroom just down the hall and one in the basement as well.  No need to run over to the church!

Sunday School Rooms

At the end of the hall past the basement are two comparatively large rooms which would become Sunday School rooms.  They're bigger and brighter than the current ones with plenty of wall space, room for crafts, space to move, and storage right there in the rooms.  Plus Sunday School classes would have access to all the other amenities of the building:  kitchen, TV's ready to go, and the downstairs equipment too.  The combination of space, light, storage, and available technology would be a dramatic change for our Sunday School teachers compared to the conditions in which they work now.  Our biggest class doesn't even have its own space!  They have to work in the Fellowship Hall with people coming in, out, through, and around all the time.  Having their own room would just be...dreamy.

Already we've addressed multiple church ministry needs and we haven't even gotten to the most exciting parts yet.  Wait until you see what happens downstairs!  To be continued...

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)

Music Night is on for tonight

Regardless of what you may have read in this blog, Music Night IS happening tonight (Tuesday, February 5th). Patrick's council meeting is next Tuesday.

If you would like to attend Music Night and Tuesday doesn't fit into your schedule please let Patrick know. His schedule is pretty flexible. So is the what we do on Music Night. For example, playing some rock and roll would be fun.

Next Music Night is Tuesday, Feb. 12th

Because Patrick is attending a council meeting the next Music Night will be at 7 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 12th. at St.John's.

Monday Morning Sermon: The Power of Love

The text for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany was the conclusion of the story from Luke 4 which we discussed fully last week.  In this second installment the people of Nazareth, Jesus' hometown, responded to his claim that he was the fulfillment of scripture and prophecy by trying to throw him off a cliff.  Having talked about the end of the story a week ago, we were free to explore the ramification of the second reading for the day on these proceedings.  That text was 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

These words are famous, of course, having been read at most every wedding since weddings were invented. That's appropriate, as they describe aptly the kind of self-sacrificing love a couple needs to make it through the rigors of matrimony.  But in a way it's unfortunate that we've heard these passages so often in that context.  They weren't intended to apply to weddings alone.  Limiting our understanding of love to the bond between spouses also lets us duck responsibility for practicing it everywhere else.  But Paul wrote these words to an entire community, not just paired couples within it.  They weren't confined to two people.  They were meant to be the bedrock of our life, the lens through which we view all of our actions and all the people those actions affect.

Not coincidentally, these verses from Corinthians also show what the people of Nazareth lacked, causing them to miss the Messiah in their rush to throw him off their hill.

We could talk about the intricacies of love all day.  (Hint:  It's not really a mushy emotion.  That can be part of love but it's neither the most enduring nor the most powerful part.  We see the strongest parts of love as we act it out even when we don't feel mushy and gushy towards the recipient.)  But for our purposes in the sermon we distilled it down to a couple of basics.

Love means seeing the best in people and then holding on to that definition of them no matter what.  We're always in a hurry to look for flaws, thinking that this will protect us from harm and make us stronger.  Since everyone and everything on earth is imperfect we always find what we seek.  This path does not lead to love, though.  More often it leads to a life of loneliness and fear in which we never learn to trust others.  This lack causes us to miss the beauty in each other and life.

Everybody you know will let you down in one way or another.  Everybody you know also has amazing qualities.  Love means holding onto the latter while forgiving the former as much and as often as possible.  Love means seeing people through God's eyes, viewing neighbors as his beautiful, beloved children whether they happen to be acting like it at the moment or not.  When you see the best in people--interpreting their words charitably instead of harshly, explaining their actions in the kindest possible way, welcoming them instead of suspecting them--you will naturally convey love.  As Paul says, this takes patience, kindness, and a heaping dose of self-discipline.

But this approach to life also holds great rewards.  When you see people in the best possible way and depend on them to be their best possible selves, they tend to live up to that.  (Note that we said depend and not expect.  "Expect" conveys the message that you're not something and need to conform to someone's standards in order to become it.  "Depend" means you are already something which is meaningful and important to the people around you.  "I expect you to be good" is far different than "I depend on you to be good".)  Love is contagious.  People love to be defined by it.  When you see the good in people they start seeing it too.  They act on it more often, which fills your environment with more good things.  This goodness makes love even easier and begets yet more goodness.  The simple act of holding on to the best view of your neighbors eventually changes your whole world.

If there's a secret to happy marriages, raising your kids well, having a great youth group or Bible Study in church, enjoying friendships, creating good working relationships, this is it.  This is why we welcome every person who comes into our church with open arms.  We start from moment one seeing and assuming the best in them, showing them love.  We invite them to co-create with us, drawing inspiration from them as they draw from us, each of us seeing Christ in the other.  This defines not only our individual relationships but our community.  This is God's Spirit at work in a web of trust and Christ-colored glasses.

The people of Nazareth did not approach Jesus this way.  They should have.  They knew him better than anyone.  Not seeing him in the best possible light led them straight into darkness.  That's the way it goes, I'm afraid.  There's no neutral in faith.  Either trust or suspicion will eventually win out in your life.  When you trust and love you see God everywhere.  When you don't you can't see him anywhere, even if he shows up right in front of your eyes and holds up a sign.

I'm afraid the people of Nazareth weren't very patient or kind with Jesus.  If you read Luke 4: 21-30 you'll actually find that they quickly turned envious, boastful, proud, disparaging, angry, and rude, leaving no room for God to work in their midst.  Instead of shaking our heads and wondering how they could do that, we need to remember Christ's reminder that as we do to the least of the people in our lives, so we do to him.  We re-enact this scene every day.  We're led towards it inevitably the moment we start seeing less than the best in folks around us...the moment we turn away from love.

Let this be a reminder to all of us in all of our many relationships.  When Christ shows up among us and says, "Today the scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (probably in the form of a little kid showing off a glitter-filled craft project in our fellowship hall or a stranger looking to us in need) may we be able to respond with celebration instead of hurrying to cast him out because he dared to challenge our perceptions and comfort.

We're always looking for new and interesting questions to talk about, so if you have any send them in to the e-mail address below!

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)