June 8th, 2023

We are part of God’s beloved family.  We are included into the circle of the Holy Trinity.  God welcomes us and invites us in to be a part of what God is up to in our world.  Use your imagination with God’s holy imagination and see what will be produced.

Last Sunday, David and Susan Whitebread and I attended the Rededication Recital of the Swedesburg Evangelical Lutheran Church’s organ.  The morning worship service was full of hymns and the recital, “Celebrating Heritage and Looking Forward”, demonstrated the many voices of the organ’s palette.

Dr. Jan Kraybill did a wonderful job of welcoming and introducing us to this new organ.  It was easy to see how her imagination, gifts and love for playing the organ stepped into the circle of the Trinity and there was a beautiful creation we all enjoyed.  God was glorified and we were filled with God’s life giving spirit.

The first piece, Psalm XX: Exaudiat te Dominus (May the Lord hear you) by Benedetto Marcello was the opening piece for the 2nd dedicatory recital on March 31, 1963.  It was from a collection that was never intended for use in church but rather to inspire and enhance literary and intellectual discussions in the exploration of ancient cultures. Marcello took what he loved and invited others to witness and join in. I pulled out the hymnal and turned to Psalm 20, reading while the music accompanied and translated the voice of  Psalm 20 into music.  That was just the beginning as she played all of her recital off of a large electronic device.

Of course there was Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 which many of us associate with The Phantom of the Opera in the 1962 film or other performances, movies, video games, rock music or phone ring tones.  The rich, deep tones filled the room.  Dr. Kraybill did a wonderful job of playing pieces that introduced us to the individual voices and other pieces that pulled them all together. 

And then in celebration of the Swedes, Elfrida Andree’s Organ Symphony No. 1 in B minor was played.  None of us had ever heard of her but she was the first woman to earn a diploma at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and persistently fought for everything she accomplished with her gifts in music in the late 1800’s when women were not allowed in any of these circles.  Not well known but we celebrated her hard work and persistence, and I could see her in God’s circle of creativity and imagination. 

Kraybill’s encore was “Here Comes the Sun” which brought smiles to us all as a needed rain shower had just passed through.  God was glorified, we were blessed and welcomed into God’s creativity and imagination and now we just might see where we fit into God’s holy circle of imagination and creation.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

June 2nd, 2023

PROCLAIMERS OF CHRIST,

Holy Trinity Sunday is that Sunday when the whole package comes together wrapped up in a neat little bow and of course we celebrate, opening this gift of the Trinity.  Beginning with the Holy Trinity as the foundation, the infrastructure that provides the base upon which we build and explore the mystery of God.  We worship and praise this amazing God who desires to be revealed to us and invites us into relationship.  Holy Trinity Sunday we celebrate God known to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is not the ending point but the beginning from which we start to build and frame our relationship with God.  It is truly amazing that we get to be part of what God is up to in this world and invites us into.

God creates the cosmos and does not step away from this creation but continues to actively engage with us.  How sad and despairing for us when we neglect to engage with God and all God offers.  Engagement with this mysterious God is not an “easy button” but the way of life that is more than just life.  Life that is abundant and meaningful even if the meaning takes time to develop and mature. 

God’s amazing love continues reaching out to us.  God came down as Jesus to show us how to live, love, die and opened the way to God. When Christ returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit came to us, calling us to God, gathering us into his body, enlightening us to God’s truth and keeping us in the true faith. God is three, God is one, a beautiful mystery that keeps us exploring and wondering and worshipping and delighting in our magnificent God.

C. S. Lewis says, “All are found by the one they truly seek”.  We celebrate this wonderful glimpse of God, known to us as Trinity and God helps us to see more, to explore more, to be a part of more. 

 Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

May 26th, 2023

FOLLOWERS OF THE RISEN ONE,

On Wednesday, May 17, 2023 a Hebrew Bible sold for $38.1 million at auction at Sotheby, New York.  How much would you pay for a bible? 

This special Bible is the Codex Sassoon, named after book collector David Solomon Sassoon who purchased the book for $450 in 1929.  The handwritten 792 page Bible is made of sheepskin and includes 24 books of the Old Testament with 8 pages missing.

It was carbon dated to the late 9th to early 10th century and measures 12 x 14 inches.  In the first centuries of its existence the book switched hands throughout the Middle East.  In the 13th century it was dedicated to a synagogue in Markada in Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria.  After the destruction of the synagogue, either by Mongols (13th century) or Timurids (15th century), the codex was owned by Salama ibn Abi al-Fakhr as the synagogue awaited reconstruction which never happened.

600 years later the codex came into the hands of David Solomon Sassoon.  It stayed in private ownership until Sassoon’s descendants sold it in 1978 to the British Rail Pension fund and then in 1998 the manuscript was auctioned again and sold to Jacqui Safra. (Wikipedia).

The former U.S. Ambassador to Romania Alfred H. Moses purchased the Hebrew Bible on behalf of the American Friends of ANU and donated it to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.  According to APNew.com it is one of the highest prices for a manuscript sold at auction.  A rare copy of the U.S. constitution sold for $43 million in 2021. 

What is unique about this Bible is that it is thought to have been transcribed by one person and is the earliest known complete Hebrew Bible manuscript.

On Pentecost as we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit that empowers our faith into action and sharing God’s good news in Jesus Christ.  In celebrating Pentecost we enter into the ancient Jewish festival of harvest and the giving of the teachings to the Hebrew people at Mt. Sinai.  God’s word is such a beautiful gift to us and has moved through time to us today.   Cherish this holy and life giving word of God that reveals God to us.  The Holy Spirit continues to breathe God’s abundant life force in each and everyone of us.  A harvest celebration grows into a celebrate of God’s fruitful people who have grown and spread throughout the world.  Happy Pentecost!

BIBLE - Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

May 18th, 2023

GREETINGS TO THE FEASTING FELLOWSHIP OF CHRIST THE KING!

Followers of the Risen One, I have had great delight in feasting with you this Easter Season as we broke and tore apart challah bread on Sunday.  The bread was delicious and tearing it apart, straying from our usual neat and tidy distribution patterns to a more spur of the moment reminds us that although Jesus prepared his disciples for what was to come, they were still surprised in the ways he showed up like in the breaking of the bread.

May 18 is Ascension Day, 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus ascends, returns to the Father, his mission is complete, his work done and now ours continues.  We are witnesses of these things that have been handed on to us through the generations.  We get to tell what we know and how we experience Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension.

Formation of the cross and all that it brings to us has been revealed through Jesus.  We look up and down, orienting ourselves.  Looking up we know that God sent his son, Jesus to be with us, among us.  Looking down we remember how Jesus was with us, he taught us about God, God’s kingdom and how to live in relationship with God and one another through love and service.  He suffered, died, rose from death, appearing to his disciples and returning to God.  We look up again.  The vertical part of the cross well established and connected to us.

For the horizontal part of the cross, we continue to see the fruit of Jesus’ work among us as we look side to side, seeing Jesus in each other and the true image of God we were created to be.  God’s kingdom comes among us and God’s will is done.  We are part of something that is bigger than ourselves.  Each in our own little way, with our own little contribution gets to take part.  Don’t discount your witness.  Or excuse yourself from participating in this work, this kingdom building that God has called us to embrace and take delight in.  We don’t always know how we help each other to witness God’s power and presence among us.  We step out in faith, trusting that God will and does work through our lives and relationships and we keep looking for Jesus to show up in our relationships.

Gerald and Donna Vraspier’s memorial service was on Ascension Day.  They returned back to God, our Creator, joining the communion of saints.  I am grateful for their lives.  I am grateful for their witness among us.  I remember Donna’s beautiful bright blue eyes shining with a twinkle as she received holy communion. I hope my face shows that same eagerness and delight to receive Jesus. What a beautiful witness.  I remember Gerald sitting next to the wall on the organ side, so he had something to lean on to help him up.  He had bad knees and yet he came to worship and would not let me bring communion to him.  He showed me hard work and determination even in the midst of bodily pain.  I want to come to worship with such determination.  Together they made a beautiful home to nurture their family.  It was easy to see Jesus in their presence as the Holy Spirit worked through them.

I am grateful for all the ways that you witness to Jesus and make him known among us.  God is working with us.  Showing us the way.  We are in the final days of our Easter festival celebration.  This last Sunday of Easter ends with what we do best when it comes to giving God praise and thanksgiving.  We sing.  Come celebrate with our choir and bell choir and the music they share with us as we worship God and conclude our Easter feasting season.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

May 11th, 2023

GREETINGS TO THE FEASTING FELLOWSHIP OF CHRIST THE KING!

Followers of the Risen One, last Sunday I shared the old story of the woman who wanted to be buried with a fork in her hand, with the hope that people might ask, “What’s with the fork?” when they looked at her in the casket at her funeral. Even in death, she was seeking a way to be a witness of the resurrection and the empty tomb. During her life in the faith community, this woman heard many times, when the potluck plates were being cleared, someone would inevitably say, save your fork, the best is yet to come.  As she faced death, she knew that the best was yet to come.  Even in death, we meet Jesus and there is more life, resurrected life as Jesus demonstrated to us.

This story has been around for many years.  It’s made the circuits.  It is one of those strange, funny stories Christians share with each other.  This time I got to hear a variation on the theme.  At our fellowship across the generations, Aaron Bengtson had remembered the story from a previous telling and his mom, Sarah, had heard the story when she was at Luther College.  At Luther everyone was walking around with a fork attached to their backpacks as a reminder that the best is yet to come because Jesus leads the way.

This is the hope of the resurrection that we proclaim this Easter season.  I loved how some ingenious students at Luther got a hold of a drill and some forks and shared the symbolism of this story. I love how college students at the beginning of forging their way in the world would carry a symbol that reminded them that with God, the best is yet to come.  This is the hope we have living in relationship with God.  The Holy Spirit keeps blowing this idea into our lives and through the people we meet.  We just can’t keep this good news to ourselves.  It’s a good story to tell and keep telling.

1 Peter 3:15b-16a puts it like this, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”  Peter is encouraging a faith community in times of persecution.  That is not the case for us.  We have the freedom to tell this story and I am always so delighted when we find clever ways to share God’s good news with gentleness and reverence.

Thank you for bringing your stones to stack as a beautiful reminder of the work God does with us to build a spiritual house (see 1 Peter 2:2-10). In verse 9, I see the four walls of this spiritual house; we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people. God is a beautiful architect and creator. The stacking stones are available for your stacking on the sides of the sanctuary.

I’ve placed an order for challah bread to share with you this Sunday as we continue feasting in the season of Easter with a common bread from our Jewish brothers and sisters reminding us of God’s great ability to pull us together and build spiritual houses.

Here are some of the other ideas shared by Gerry Kuhl for feasting during the Easter season: Leave up the Easter Garden until Pentecost with fresh things added. Celebrate Ascension Day Services (Thursday, May 18), share rich desserts and homemade candies during fellowship time, procession of cross at all services, Holy Humor Sunday, and a potluck brunch Sunday.

I think you are getting the idea.  We have much to be thankful for and we have good news to share.  The tomb is empty.  Christ is risen!  Alleluia!

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack