Category: Pastor’s Blog
-
God, Fear, & WebMD
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 Something that they sort of leave out of the greeting cards, showers, and even much of the reading…
-
Planting Small Seeds
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ~ Matthew 19:14 This next week begins the kick-off of our new children’s ministry program, and I am so excited! Each month we will have a Saturday youth group time, playing…
-
The Lenten Season: Ashes, Mortality, & Hope
By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return. ~ Genesis 3:19 It might seem a little morose, a little depressing, that we begin this church season with a reminder of our…
-
Journeying into Genesis – Week 2
At Bethany during our adult education hour on Sundays we are diving into our next educational series – Journeying into Genesis. This is the second of our five weeks looking into the book of Genesis, asking questions, and like Jacob, wrestling with our faith. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food…
-
The Feast of St Valentine – Or Something
Happy Valentine’s Day! Or depending on when you’re reading this post, if you’re reading it after Valentine’s Day, then I hope you had a wonderful day whether or not you were celebrating. And in all honesty, I know many of us don’t do much celebrating on this day. I had a friend recently realize that…
-
The Stones Themselves Will Shout – Our Faith, Our Call, Our Neighbors
It’s funny, I normally write my blog posts more than a week in advance, but because of Bishop’s Convocation last week I am a bit behind, which meant that I would be writing my post for today, actually on the day. And in some ways I’m grateful for that. Because had I written this last…
-
Pastor on Retreat – Keeping the Sabbath
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. ~Exodus 20:8-9 You would think as a pastor I would be really good at keeping the Sabbath, I mean, the main goal in keeping the…
-
Epiphany – Opening our Eyes to God
When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. ~Matthew 2:10 The liturgical (church) season has changed once again. We are out of Advent, out of Christmas, and into the season of Epiphany. This is one of those few times during the year when my hair doesn’t match the stoles and paraments.…
-
Pastor Explains – Why I Wear the Collar
I’ve been thinking a lot about the clerical collar I wear these last few months while at Bethany Lutheran. Before I was called to be the pastor here, I rarely wore my clerical collar, mostly because of the contexts I was in. At my internship site I was there to learn from my supervisor and…