March 7th, 2025

Greetings to Jesus’ Disciples,

In Deuteronomy 26:1-11, we read about first fruits giving to help the people remember that God had given them food from the land and Moses creates a liturgy: “When the priest takes the basket from your hand, and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, you shall make this response before the LORD your God” (vv. 4-5). What follows are reminders of their former condition:

· “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor,” v. 5; (They were homeless.)

· “lived there as an alien,” v. 5; (They were immigrants.)

· “few in number…became a great nation, mighty and populous. v. 5 (They grew prosperous)

· “treated us harshly and afflicted us,” v. 6; (Their suffering in Egypt.)

· “we cried to the LORD … he brought us into this place and gave us this land,” vv. 7-9. (They held out their hands for salvation.)

It is a template for what it means to be the people of God. The act of giving, or making an offering, is at its core a communal act, involving not just the individual, but also the priest and the entire assembly. Recalling their story connects their offering to the larger context of God and human relationship.

God calls us out to ventures where we do not know where they will take us but asks us to trust God.  God tends to call us out of our comfort zone, asking us to be the minority or outsider as we live in God’s promises and influence the land we live in.  The Hebrew immigrants grow into a large and prosperous people that ultimately become a threat to the Pharaoh. Think about what happens to us when we are the majority.  How complacency and assumptions set into our behaviors. Think about the role of fear when we are the majority or the minority.  How we forget the other.

This template is a powerful tool for shaping us to be God’s people in the simple but yet difficult first fruits offering.  But that is what offering does.  It opens us up to let go and to receive.  It’s a good exercise for us.  The offering concludes with communal rejoicing, emphasizing the importance of shared worship and gratitude. 

God knows exactly how to shape us.  I pray that we can be pliable in God’s hands.  May God richly bless your offerings and the offerings we collectively bring before God in worship.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

February 27th, 2025

Greetings to Jesus’ Disciples,

On February 16 our adult forum discussed the planning for the 250th Birthday for the United States of America using the Wired Word Curriculum.  A couple of questions I’m curious to hear your thoughts on.

The first, “What ideals from our nation’s founding should be highlighted during a celebration of our 250th birthday?  How would a renewal of these ideals help our country in a time of division?  In our discussion, it was easy to name the divisions and more difficult to brainstorm for what could unite us. 

The other was, “What four persons would you carve into a biblical Mount Rushmore?  And why?”  Would Moses and Elijah be in the running?  Would Peter, Paul, Mary or Elizabeth be on your short list?  Who is it that you want to look up to chiseled in stone? What saints encourage you along the way and why?

On Sunday we celebrate the Transfiguration of our Lord and find Jesus in his glory with Moses and Elijah in their glory and Peter, James and John terrified in the cloud and something magnificent and out of the disciple’s element is about to begin.  God is up to something and Jesus is the chosen one and God asks us to listen to Jesus.

There are many times in our lives when we experience being “out of our element” when things are happening that are just beyond our grasp, and we try to navigate as best we can with what we know and in whom we trust.  We gather together and talk with each other, knowing that we are better together rather than isolated on our own.

As Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed and he became dazzling white.  As we pray may our appearance change as we align ourselves with God’s will.

We closed our adult study with this prayer: 

God of the nations, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to live as Christians in the United States of America.  Remind us of our obligations to keep covenant with you, and give us opportunities to join you in liberating work, as we attempt to create a more perfect Union.  May we live by the values of your kingdom as we worship, work, learn, serve and celebrate together. In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

February 21st, 2025

Greetings Children of God,

"Doing something you're bad at can make you better at what you're good at, as well as potentially making you good at something new."   Arthur C. Brooks

Brooks has the practice of giving talks in languages he learned as an adult to stretch him and force him to sharpen his linguistic skills.  He discovers that this practice also improves his ability to communicate in his first language.

This idea is baked into following Jesus.  As we come to the close of our season of Epiphany where we focus on God being revealed namely through Jesus.  For 2 weeks we explored the Sermon on the Plain in Luke with blessings, woes and the challenge to love our enemies, all things that Jesus lived through. Jesus’ discipleship training stretches our communal living skills and as we do God is revealed and made known to us. The season of Epiphany culminates with the celebration of the Transfiguration of our Lord and we feast on praising God with our alleluias and halleluiahs.

Then the cycle begins again with the season of Lent starting on Ash Wednesday, March 5 and we are asked to do difficult things like repent, pray, fast and works of love.  I don’t know if you consider yourselves bad at these things, but these activities are exercises that stretch our humanity and help us discover our home in God as children of God, created in God’s image, and followers of our best human, Jesus.

I pray for God to be made known in your life as you stretch and grow in your discipleship through the exercises Jesus gave us.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

February 6th, 2025

Greetings to the Children of God,

As you know, I have been in the wake of extended family grief with my father-in-law’s death in June, my father’s death in November and my brother-in-law’s death in January.  The seasons of Advent and Christmas were very difficult for me.  At the January council meeting I requested a week of bereavement leave for the last week of January and was graciously given this time off.

I am very grateful to our council for this time off.  I spent the week with my brothers and sisters going through our childhood home and finalizing the sale of this home to my niece. 

The home was purchased by my grandfather and my mother never left her childhood home which translates to many treasures being found in the three attics, hall closet, plus all the hutches and cupboards.  My car was full for the return trip.  It was a lot of hard work, and we only touched the tip of the iceberg.  I am grateful to my brothers and sisters who will do the lion’s share of the work.

In my rummaging, I found my dad’s dog tags that now reside with his flag.  I was surprised to find his social security card that was made of metal.  Many other discoveries and way too much stuff, purchased and never used.  Stashed away and forgotten.  But the time with my siblings was delightful as memories were shared and challenging at times as we tried to figure out a system of dispersal.

It was a time of meals shared and for us to be together in a way that we haven’t for a long time.  Thank you for this opportunity to tend to extended family and to grieve. Those who have walked this path know of its turns and twists.  It’s hard.  Thank you for the grace you have extended to me.  Thank you for your prayers and care.  It is felt and well received. 

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

 P.S.  Epiphany words are still available in a basket on the table at the entrance.  Grace is our community Epiphany word.  Mine is prayer.  Good words to lead and guide me.

January 9th, 2025

Greeting Holy People of God, 

Happy New Year!  I am grateful to welcome 2025 which I think will prove to be a very interesting year because God goes ahead of us and it’s always interesting when God is in the mix of things.

I think for 7 years we have celebrated Epiphany with Epiphany words.  These words act like a star to guide us through the season of Epiphany or through the year.  These words give us another talking point for our faith as well as a word for us to focus on as a community.

In 2024 our Epiphany word for our faith community was INSIGHT.  I immediately went to the Bible and shared with you the places where the word insight was used.  Not surprisingly, the word showed up in Proverbs most often. 

Proverbs 3:5 advises us not to rely on our own insight but rather trust God. Learning about wisdom and instruction is paired with understanding words of insight in Proverbs 1:2.  Crying out for insight leads us to articulate our understanding (Proverbs 2:3). Proverb 7:4 invites us to think of wisdom as our sister and insight as our intimate friend.

So I will visit with my intimate friend, Insight in my annual report.  I will use this word to guide me as I reflect back on 2024 and our life together.  I will confess now, this has been a difficult word.  I placed the word on our staff agenda, so we would look at it each week.  It is a word that speaks of discovery as patterns emerge to reveal something we have not seen in a focused way.  Looking back over the year and through our committee reports I will sit with Insight.

On Sunday, January 5 at the 8:30 worship service, I invited Grace Ode to select our community word for us and she pulled out the word, GRACE, her very name and we all chuckled with delight.  GRACE will be a very good word for us in 2025.  In preparing for Confirmation Class, I came across a flash card definition from Luther House of Study resources; GRACE- the way God looks upon you with favor; the Lord’s disposition towards you as His loved prize.

We are off to a good start.  After worship, I asked Grace what word she drew for herself and it was NAME which stirred her curiosity.  I immediately thought of Adam and his naming of the new creatures in creation.  I hope Grace will have fun and discovery as her Epiphany word guides her.  In this Mini Bits, Carolyn Laxson will share with you her new word.  Carolyn has used Epiphany words to not only share with us but she also posts her articles on Facebook and then it becomes a tool of evangelism as she shares God’s good news in Jesus Christ beyond our walls.

This year, I drew the word, PRAYER for my Epiphany word.  I’m looking forward to spending time in this word.  What’s your word?  If you haven’t drawn your word, you can find a little basket on the table near the entrance.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack