July 6th, 2023

GREETINGS FROM ISRAEL,

 Just as you were worshipping in a different place, I too was worshipping in a very different place.  On Sunday from 9 am till 9:45 pm I was at the Paris airport, having missed my connecting flight due to delays in Minneapolis and Boston.  I was lucky to have my little ELW and Bible with me and found a place on the floor and worked my way through the liturgy, lessons and hymns.  Worship was just what I needed.

I haven’t traveled internationally by myself since college. Some of my fears about traveling alone came true.  The well laid plans of meeting up with a couple of others arriving in the afternoon at the Tel Aviv airport to catch an airport shuttle to Jerusalem soon fizzled and I would be arriving at 4:00 a.m. and worrying and wondering how things would unfold.  I ran through a bunch of emotions; frustration, anxiety, fear, worry.  It took me a long time to get my bearings and what my new flight plan would be.  Once my flight to Tel Aviv was confirmed, I had the whole day ahead of me.  I found a comfortable chair and slept.  Then I double checked trying to find out when I would arrive in Tel Aviv.  “Keep checking the gate as it might change” was the advice given. It was good advice. I was tired and frustrated and having a pity party of great magnitude.  The internet was terrible and besides I had to wait before communicating back here because of the time difference.

So, I found a carpeted place where the sun light shone and worshipped. I sang quietly through the liturgy and a couple of hymns.  Oh, the power of song to soften the heart and quiet the mind.  I read of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son and God providing a way out.  Powerful words that hit my worries and frustrations to turn it over to God and trust that God would provide.  Psalm 13 was a beautiful psalm for a day of waiting.  Romans 6:12-23 reminded me that God is worth the wait and Matthew 10:40-42 reminded me to welcome the words of the prophet and I remembered my Epiphany word – JOY – a spirit of joy.  There was a spirit of joy that is God given and it is beautiful, the best kind of joy.

Another night on a plane, good food, a little wine and a little sleep found me in Tel Aviv, tired and taking each step slowly, finding my way through the passport station and getting my visa, picking up my luggage and finding a shuttle almost full welcoming me to get on board.  I gave thanks to God for good instructions from Tantur and a Jewish group of six travelers that did the haggling before me for the transport shuttle and off we went.  The security guard at Tantur quickly opened the gate as my driver was trying to convince me to get out at the security gate.  I was dropped off at the tower entrance swiftly met by a professor from Boston College who was out for a morning stroll and quickly offered to help me with my luggage.  I had arrived 15 minutes before breakfast was served, shown to my room and then to fight with jet lag during the rest of the day’s orientation.  With the help of God and your prayers, I made it safe and sound.

I’m here and it was worth the wait.  I am learning about community in a place that wrestles with community every day.  They will be wise teachers.  I am with a group of wonderfully diverse people in a safe and welcoming environment.  Thank you for giving me this gift of continuing education.

This last picture is from our orientation to Bethlehem checkpoints.  We walked along the wall that used to be the road of the Patriarchs.  Inside Bethlehem the wall carries art, graffiti, stories, memorials, and the jester’s humor as the “Walled Off Hotel” word plays with The Waldorf Hotel and is owned by an artist who is featured many times on the wall.  One of his pictures is of a dove dressed in a bulletproof vest. The wall I can see from the outside has nothing on it.

I wonder what God is up to with us and this world God loves so much.  Miss you all.  On Sunday I plan on worshipping in Old City Jerusalem at Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

June 22nd, 2023

GREETINGS,

At council on Tuesday, I passed around a picture of the group I will be spending time with in Israel at the Tantur Institute. I will be joining four other people from the United States, three from New Zealand and others from Australia, Korea, UK, Canada and Vietnam.  A wonderfully diverse group of people.  We have already begun to make connections for train or bus travel from Tel Aviv to Israel.

If you would like to get a hold of me while I am in Israel this is how you do it.  Download the app, “WhatsApp” on your smartphone and make an account.  You can text me using the same number as my cell phone, 319-631-8858.  This is a free way to communicate internationally.  Another option would be to send a message via Colleen or Kevin. I will be checking my email as well.  I hope to share with you my experiences as they unfold.  I will be in Israel from July 2 through July 31.  I hope to see you at National Night Out on August 2, God willing.

This next week, June 24 -June 30, I will be in Northern Minnesota with my extended family on the beautiful shores of Little Cut Foot Sioux Lake at Williams Narrows.  It’s a family tradition for over 50 years and a four-generation event. I give thanks to God for this time of gathering with my family.

Pastor John Meyer and his wife Fran will be with you on Sundays and keeping you posted as well.  We are moving ahead with painting the sanctuary and narthex beginning on Monday, June 26.  We are rounding up a group to take down the wall hangings in the sanctuary on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. and the large bulletin board.   We will also need help to stack and remove chairs in the sanctuary for the painting. This may mean that Sunday worship on July 2 may take place in the Narthex or outside depending on the progress of the painting.  We will try to communicate as best we can and you are always welcome to call the office to check or Deb Heath or Kevin Edens.

Thank you for this opportunity to go to Israel for continuing education and a life-long dream of being able to study in the land that Jesus roamed about and has a long and complex history.  I am a farm girl and have an attachment to land, playing in the dirt and roaming the pastures.  I am hoping to do some of that same kind of roaming of the terrain in Israel while studying with Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars.  Please hold me in prayer as I travel and explore.  I too will be holding you in prayer.  We are all in good hands, God’s hand and that is the best place of all.  God has amazing things for all of us to discover and I am grateful to be with you on this journey.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

June 16th, 2023

GREETINGS FROM CAMP EWALU,

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”                                                  Revelation 22:13

This is the theme Bible verse for our week at Ewalu as we explored, “Holy Trinity, Wholly Love.”  Father, Son and Holy Spirit begin and end the circle and we know and discover God in this beautiful setting that is so green and so full of life. Sometimes we need to step away from our routine and what we know for God to show us more and help us to discover what God is up to in our lives and the lives of those around us.

It is a pleasure to be with our Confirmation students at Confirmation Camp as they challenge themselves to try new things like canoeing, camping in a tent, high ropes and serving each other.  We learn together, encouraging one another as we play and live together for a week.  We’ve learned some new and sometimes silly songs.  Ask our campers about the bean song and the bog song.  Ask them to tell you a story from their camp experience.

Here's one of my stories.  One of the camp counselors for Confirmation Camp is Marika.  She is from the country of Guyana, South America which I got confused with an African country, when I just heard the name. Guyana is on South America’s North Atlantic coast with dense rainforest.  Marika is here for the camping season which is made possible through the larger church body. She is a bubble of energy and enthusiasm. Marika showed me her country’s flag and told me it’s symbolism.  She told me about the foods she eats and misses. 

She is so brave to be in another country.  I saw this bravery as I watched her canoe the Turkey river.  This was her second time canoeing ever and here she was leader and learner at the same time.  It was beautiful to behold and a lovely witness for all of us, the seasoned and novice canoers.

I thank God for our paths crossing as I am getting ready for an adventure in Israel.  It was good for me to see the bravery of an adventurer before me to wet my appetite and tap into my courage and bravery of exploration as I learn more about our amazing God of circles, beginnings and ends, Father, Son and Holy Spirit who comes to us and wakes us up to this amazing creation and amazing people.

I thank you for supporting our confirmation students and camping ministry partnership. If you haven’t tried camping ministry, I invite you into the circle to explore.  If this isn’t for you, then explore and imagine yourself in the circle of wonder and creation that the Holy Spirit lays before you.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

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