Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached on 8/21 at St. Timothy and S t. Mark Lutheran churches. The text is Luke 13:10-17. Some people are noticed wherever they go. You can’t miss them. But then, some of us are barely seen because of our stature or lack thereof. When you’re short, it is hard to get noticed in a crowd of much taller people. I will never forget a conversation that I had with one of the clerks at Microtel in Olean when I came for my interview with the church council of my first call. The clerk asked the Council president how he would recognize me.   The president's response was, “She’s very short!” In today’s gospel, Jesus was not teaching in the temple in Jerusalem, rather he was in a small town synagogue. The bent-over woman was likely well known in her village and people were so used to her that they no longer paid any attention to her and her ailment. After 18 years of being this way, she was invisible to other villagers. But Jesus saw her, not because sh...

It is hard to believe we've been here nearly 3 weeks. We are feeling very much at home in this small community. Being all unpacked and having the parsonage settled has helped a lot. We've even learned our way around enough to feel quite comfortable going to the next town to get things unavailable here. Tuesday night at a meeting, I had the opportunity to hear more of this church's history. Over the years the people have grown in so many ways. Today I started teaching adult Bible study and preached my first sermon for Grace. Grace is such an appropriate name for this community of faith. Here is the sermon I preached this morning: How often have we heard or used the phrase “Timing is everything?”  We might think of this in the middle of hearing funny stories or jokes. Two people can tell the same story using the same words, but one is a good story teller and the other may not tell it as well, with the right pauses and cadence. Then there are some people that have in...

Because yesterday was part of Thanksgiving weekend, I did not have teaching parish at Rural Lutheran. I love being involved there, but had forgotten how wonderful it is to simply participate in Sunday worship and not be responsible for anything in the service! I enjoyed sitting with Ray and friends. I have heard how important it is for pastors to intentionally make opportunities for worship and sabbath. Though my responsibilities on Sundays are nothing compared to Rural Pastor's, I'm beginning to have a better understanding of why I keep hearing that. After worship, we went to lunch with a classmate and h er parents. It was so relaxing and enjoyable.--and yummy! The day was then crowned with LTSG's annual Advent Vespers which is a beautiful, amazing service. We had a wonderful ushering in of the Advent season. fllickr and Music Gettysburg! pictures

Please take a look at Clint's post on sabbath rest , particularly as we approach Advent. It's a challenging read. What do you do to add sabbath to your busy days? For myself, night prayer, or compline, nicely closes the day and helps me to remember why I'm here at seminary. Flickr picture