October 24th, 2024

Greetings to the Holy People of God,

A very happy and blessed Reformation!  We will celebrate Reformation this Sunday with the actual date being Thursday, October 31. If you have some red, wear it on Sunday to show your reformation and reforming spirit!  This is the day we remember the theological reforms of the 16th century that gave birth to Lutheranism and our continual need to reform.

We celebrate because we have a God that goes ahead of us to shape and prepare the way for us as well as reforming us in such gracious and merciful ways.  Thanks be to God.  We trust and receive God’s good work in his Son, Jesus who saves us and calls us into his embrace. 

Take time to think of the ways God has shaped you over the years or just this past year.  Reflect on how God could help to form and reform you now.  After blind Bartimaeus gets Jesus’ attention, Jesus asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Bartimaeus knew exactly what he needed.  When Jesus asks that question of you, “What do you want me to do for you?”  How would you respond?

Last week, Jesus asked the same thing of James and John after they got his attention by asking Jesus to do for them whatever they asked.  They wanted to sit at the left and right of Jesus in his glory.  Bartimaeus wants to see again.  If Jesus were to ask you, what do you want me to do for you, how would you respond? Be honest.  In Mark’s gospel we are given the disciples desire for being close to Jesus’ glory and Bartimaeus’ desire to see again.  The whole human spectrum is covered.  Where is it you need to meet Jesus?

Wherever we meet Jesus, the road always takes us to the cross.  Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and James and John along with all the crowds gathered to journey up the dangerous road from Jericho to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, the meal of freedom and what turns into Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem where a parade takes place where many more cloaks and branches are laid before Jesus and shouts of “Save us” ring throughout the people.  “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!” (Mark 11:9-10)

God meets us through his son, Jesus and takes us all the way through glory, through betrayal, through suffering, through death, through the promise of resurrected life and through the whole of our journey bringing us to God, to see God clearly.

Celebrating Reformation, the idea that we still need to look again and be shaped and formed by God’s creative hands so that we can see more of what God is up to as we see what God has been busy at in our history and in each day and for all our days.  May the joy and spirit of reformation live strong in each and every one of us!

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

October 20th, 2024

Greeting Holy People of God,

God’s work. Our hands.  We have looked at this for many weeks, lifting up and recognizing the many organizations and ministries that we partner with as a community of faith and also individually.  Thank you for sharing the ways you reach beyond our walls, following Jesus’ example whether that be as individuals or partnering with other groups.  Another way we enjoy God’s work through our hands is through organizations that reach around the world bringing God’s work of mercy and love through hands that partner with us.  ELCA World Hunger is one of those hands as well as Lutheran Disaster Relief.

“For 50 years we have joined together as Lutherans to address the root causes of hunger and poverty around the world through ELCA World Hunger. Part of our church’s long tradition of meeting human needs, ELCA World Hunger testifies to our hope for and commitment to God’s promise of a time when we will hunger and thirst no more. In 2024 we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of this ministry. We have made great strides, but once again we face a startling increase in global hunger. As we reflect on our last 50 years of ministry together, we know God calls us to respond to the needs of the world now more than ever. Will you join us?

 “ELCA World Hunger walks alongside communities in 64 countries — including the United States — to create unique solutions to specific challenges. With your help, our church can grow its support for our most vulnerable neighbors in a changing world.

“I can proudly say I am now able to run successful projects without fear of failure. My family lacks nothing, I have all that I once dreamt of having, and I am a proud mother.” —RUMBIDZAI TOMU, Zimbabwe

“With support from ELCA World Hunger, Rumbidzai received the tools and training she needed to begin raising poultry. Her family can now afford to eat three meals a day, and she has been able to send her four children to school.” (HW50 Brochure 2024)

Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.  1 John 3:18

This past Tuesday, October 14, Bishop Current and ELCA Vice President, Imran Siddiqui hosted the World Food Day celebration looking back on the last 50 years and looking to the future together.  The video will be available to watch soon. I hope you will watch it.

At our synod assembly in May, retired pastor, member of Gloria Dei and former Assistant to the Bishop, Paul Ostrem, put forth a resolution on behalf of the 50th Anniversary of ELCA World Hunger.  As he spoke for this resolution, he encouraged each and everyone of us to give a gift of $50 (or more) in celebration of the ministry and work of ELCA World Hunger.  I am going to do that and I invite you to as well.  You may send your gift through the church or directly to ELCA World Hunger.

$50 for 50 Years of ELCA World Hunger!  

If we give $50, we can:

· Provide a community with five fruit-tree seedlings ($50).

· Help a farmer grow their garden with new tools, seeds and agricultural training ($50).

 If we give $50 x 2, we can:

· Serve 50 people at a variety of feeding ministries ($100).

If we give $50 x 10, we can:

· Provide a family with a cow, which produces nutritious, calcium-packed milk ($500).

· Empower four women to build a new business that will create a steady source of income and help their families escape poverty ($500).

If we give $50 x 50 we can:

·  Provide clean, safe water for as many as 500 families ($2,500).  

Let’s see what we can do in celebrating 50 years of ELCA World Hunger.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

October 3rd, 2024

Greeting Holy People of God,

God’s work. Our hands.  We have looked at this for many weeks, lifting up and recognizing the many organizations and ministries that we partner with as a community of faith and also individually.  Thank you for sharing the ways you reach beyond our walls, following Jesus’ example. 

There are also many ways that each of you as individuals carry out God’s work through your hands.  I give thanks to God for you and the many ways God works through your hands.  Do any of these sound familiar?

Send encouraging cards, notes, poems to grieving or downhearted people.

Provide rides to doctor appointments.

Help feed people at care centers.

Give wheelchair rides at care centers.

Visit the hospitalized.

Provide meals to new moms & others  overwhelmed by life situations.

Write editorials & vote for candidates who believe in justice.

Listen to people who are hurting.

Volunteer at “Walk to End Alzheimer’s”

Quilting at CTK

Rides to church

Choir

Free Lunch

Fellowship

Following Jesus leads us to reach out to our neighbors in so many and wonderful ways.  When I visited Luann Myers this past week, she had a version of “God’s work. Our Hands.” hanging in her kitchen well before it became a popular tag line for the ELCA.  Her’s reads, “Hands to work. Heart to God.”  Loving God propels us to be about what God is about and we get to do this work, partnering with God and each other.  And in our work, God is glorified and made known through us.  Thanks be to God!

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

 Pastor Connie Spitzack

September 26th, 2024

Greeting Holy People of God,

In my sermons I have been alluding to an expanded idea of God’s work. Our hands as we build a metaphorical house proclaiming who Jesus is.  We have looked closely at the ministries and organizations that we work with locally.  We are also part of a bigger household as we live under the umbrella of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and our hands reach out further than we could on our own.

When our youth shared their youth gathering experience one Sunday, three of them made mention of how important it was for them to see the large numbers of youth – 16,000 and to be a part of something that was bigger.  One said he didn’t know how big we were, and it made him proud to be a part of something bigger and the many things we do.   Throughout my ministry I continue to be amazed at the very dedicated people who serve God through this church and reach out and beyond, all to the glory of God. 

And as we will hear in our gospel lesson, when the disciples try to limit what is done in Jesus’ name, Jesus responds by flinging the door wide open, welcoming the work done in his name and giving grave warning to not be a stumbling block for others.  Jesus draws a child into the center of the disciple’s attention and says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:37) In our welcome of the child or the little ones, we welcome God.

This Sunday, I invite you to our adult forum to come and hear Sue Huff tell the story of her relationship with children all over the world as she works with Compassion International and we continue to explore “God’s work. Our Hands.”

I invite you to share your stories of how God’s work has been done through your hands working with other organizations.  There are many ways to do this.  You can tell me or write it for the Mini Bits or share at the adult forum.    

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack

September 19th, 2024

Greeting Holy People of God,

   As we continue our focus on “God’s work. Our Hands.” I give thanks to God for the ways you reach out beyond our Christian organizations through service agencies that reach far and wide. This last week’s entries to the basket on the table by the entrance include volunteering at the VA Hospital and the Iowa City Food Bank, donating blood, Scouting America and Quilts of Valor.  Thank you for using your hands to do God’s work through these organizations that reach out beyond us.

Last week we celebrated the baptisms of Ronan and Juniper Betts, the children of Jeffry Betts and Chelsea Burk-Betts.  For the Baptism, I give the parents the opportunity to select our Hymn of Day.  They chose ELW 641, “Let’s Build a House” and also known as “All Our Welcome”.  What a beautiful hymn for baptism and the work we are called to!  I see God’s hands at work as we welcomed Ronan and Juniper into the work we do building a house of welcome.  A place where “children tell how hearts learn to forgive.”  A place where “God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.” 

In baptism we are reminded about the huge, big building project we get to be a part of.  We are building “a safe place”, a “rock of faith and vault of grace”, a “banquet hall on holy ground where peace and justice meet”.  This is an amazingly wonderful building project God invites us into.  It is a building project where hope and love can be seen and experienced.

For this is a place where our hands “will reach beyond the wood and stone to heal and strengthen, serve and teach and live the word they’ve known.”  The words we have known, our proclamation of God’s good news in Jesus Christ is made known in all the places your hands reach out into this world through our building and our welcoming.  Through the work of our hands, we answer the question Jesus posed to his disciples, who do you say that I am.  Peter said, “you are the messiah.”   We say, yes you are the Messiah, the carpenter who works along side us, showing us the way.

Remember you can still drop a note in the basket of the places your hands reach out beyond this community and within this gathering of people.

Bold Inquisitive Belief Loving Expansively,

Pastor Connie Spitzack