Thank you to everyone who reached out to me over the last week asking about my health. On Tuesday, August 27, I went to the emergency room because of a constant fluttering feeling on the left side of my chest. I had the fluttering feeling for several days and it was getting so intense that it was distracting me from my work. While there was no pain associated with it, it was definitely annoying! After sitting in the emergency room for several hours, hooked to various machines, and subjected to a multitude of tests, the doctors could not find anything wrong with my heart. I am following up with a cardiologist this week to receive a monitoring device for further testing. 

More than likely, whatever was bothering me was probably due to stress. This is a very busy time of year for me as I submit my final internship evaluations, submit my 20-page approval essay which outlines to future churches all of my theological understandings, I began classwork for two classes, and I am probably biting off more work than I can chew. I don’t tell you all of this to elicit sympathy, for I know that all of you are probably racked with stress as well. I mention it because when times got hard I immediately slipped back into bad theology.

I jokingly posted on my Facebook page: “My heartbeat has been acting weird, my car is officially dead, and my laptop died. I think God is trying to tell me to take some time off work!” I meant the phrase tongue-in-cheek, but not everyone who replied to the message took it that way. What I posted was bad theology. I don’t believe that God made my heart act weird, I don’t believe God KO’ed my car, and I don’t believe God fried the motherboard of my computer. 

The God that I see in the Bible is a God who is constantly creating, trying to bring about wholeness, and has an undying love for all of creation. In the teachings of Jesus, I do not hear a God that wants to punish us to get our attention or to teach us a lesson. The overwhelming message is one where we are called to love God and neighbor in the same way that God loves us, unconditionally. 

God was not the one causing the bad things to happen, but I did experience God’s love through the supportive actions of my family and friends. People volunteered to come visit me at the hospital, people prayed for me, someone let me borrow their car (which also broke down, but that is another story), and my kids were able to let me borrow their Chromebook so that I could get some work done. If someone ever tells you, “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” tell them they are right. Not for the reasons they think, but because God doesn’t give us pain and strife, God brings about the good in our lives. 

In closing, sorry for the bad theology in my Facebook post… they really do need to come up with some kind of sarcasm font. And yes, I am probably stressed beyond my breaking point, so I am trying to get more rest and cutting back on my caffeine intake. Thank you all for your loving support, I see Christ’s love in the way you care for me and my family. 

My Heart Skips With Joy,

Pastor Corey

image courtesy of www.teespring.com/shop/badtheologykillsblack

An agitated woman stepped into the front door of the church recently, and asked if there was a pastor or church leader who could bless her husband’s ashes. When I introduced myself, she said that her husband’s ashes were in her purse and just wanted to make sure that they were “blessed properly.” I said, “Absolutely,” and invited her to sit down in my office for some conversation, but she wasn’t interested in any small talk and requested that we go in the sanctuary and have me bless his ashes. So we moved to that space.

Before I could lead into any of the ritual and language frequently used for memorial services and funerals, she took charge of the moment and launched into the Lord’s Prayer – “Our Father, who art in heaven…” After our “Amen!” I said a prayer of thanks for her husband’s life and for the promises of God that hold us in this life and the next. With a handshake and word of thanks, she was gone.

I don’t know what brought her to Lord of Life or why she was drawn to this place for this ritual, but we are a beacon of peace and hope in the community. I say we, because even though you might not be on the property at a certain time, your life and prayers are poured into this space and sustain ministry and that doesn’t stop when you leave the church campus after worship on Sunday.

There’s a running joke that pastors only work one day a week and I like to say that “even on that day, people are asking me to keep it short!” We chuckle, but all know that ministry isn’t confined to a few hours on Sunday mornings.

I have the privilege of being part of this beautiful ministry for my life’s work, so I’m in the office many days and experience all kinds of folks who drop in. Not only do many of you pop by to say “Hello,” drop off food, or ask an office question, but there are people who don’t name this as their faith home who wander in for every imaginable reason and occasion.

Family strife has led them to the breaking point and they need to talk to someone. They are down to their last $5 and need to pay the rent by tomorrow or they’ll be evicted. A family member died suddenly and they are looking for a clergy person to lead a funeral. They say, “Mom used to be a Lutheran, back in the day.” They are 30 days clean and are curious about stepping back into faith, but wonder whether God – and the church – will welcome and accept them.

And it doesn't only happen on the Lord of Life campus. Last week, I visited one of our members who will not be able to join us for worship any longer because of physical limitations and I mentioned in a social media post that “you, the community of Lord of Life, and your prayers go with me.” An old Sunday School song reminds us that we’re all in this together:

I am the church! You are the church!
We are the church together!
All who follow Jesus, all around the world!
Yes, we're the church together!

You know well that I am not the only one involved in pastoral care, offering guidance, praying for others, and “living, sharing, and celebrating” with others what God is doing. You are also the vibrant light of Christ, shining everywhere you go, which is why coworkers seek advice and confide in you, family members ask you to pray for them, and random strangers approach you and share their deepest struggles.

Do not be afraid. God is using you for God’s purpose. One day, one action, one prayer, one small act of kindness can change the trajectory of someone’s day or life.

Serving with you,

Pastor Lowell

Words and music by Donald S. Marsh and Richard K. Avery ©1972 Hope Publishing Company

I’ve been thinking a lot about the blog post from a few weeks ago, about Being the Peace. The Bible passage about the body of Christ resonates strongly with me: we all have unique gifts and talents that are vital to doing God’s work. If you asked those closest to me to describe me, introvert and detail-oriented are words that would come up. Given this, how am I supposed to be the peace for others? Am I bringing peace with a typo-free bulletin and matching worship slides? Maybe a little. But God leads us into situations where we can flex and grow our peace-giving muscles, and, like any good work-out, it’s only a little uncomfortable.

My family went to Graeter’s recently to spend some time together before my daughter left for college. We went to the Liberty Center location to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful evening. Soon after we sat down, a little boy near the splash fountain caught our eye. His family was sitting next to us, and they keep telling him to not get wet. “He has a port” Greg whispered to me. We politely smiled at the family. The man smiled back and told us how the little boy had an amazing amount of energy for a kid with cancer. Now, as a capital ‘I’ Introvert I could easily justify leaving it at polite smiles and go back to planning worship graphics in my head. But I’m also a parent, and something in me had to help out. I asked if I could take the boy to see how the bear fountain squirts water but doesn’t get you wet. The boy and I went off to the fountain.  We walked around it slowly at first, so I could read him all the bear biographies, but soon he was running around, giggling while he made the fountains shoot water. I quickly gave up keeping pace with him, and just watched him run around.

He reluctantly rejoined his family after Mom called him a few times. My family bid theirs a good night and we headed for home. On the way home, my family shared with me all the words those worried parents had poured out: they were here from out of town so their son could get treatment at the Cincinnati Children’s Cancer Center. He was being treated for a reoccurring tumor behind his eye. Dad was keeping the family landscaping business going remotely, trying to deal with all the downed trees in the Dayton area in the aftermath of the recent tornadoes. So they were dealing with customers’ insurance claims and their own health care insurance paperwork, on top of work and keeping a busy boy safe and healthy.

We don’t know that family’s name, or what has happened to them. I don’t really need to know.  I pray for them, and I am grateful God led my family into an opportunity to be the peace for them, if only for a little while.

Peace Be With You,

Cara

Queen has been my favorite band since I was a kid. My sixth grade music teacher remembers me not for being able to sing a low F by the time I was 12, but because I asked to sing Queen songs during class. While I love a lot of music of several varieties, they score far above all the others. They are the only group whose catalog of music has lodged itself in my head so well that I can sing along with almost any song. Even though Freddy Mercury is no longer with us, I still jump at the chance to see them any time the remaining members are in concert, and they have found a truly capable and dynamic lead singer in Adam Lambert.

Tickets for their current tour went on sale at 10 am on December 6. I had my tickets for their Columbus concert at 10 am and 5 seconds. I waited months until I finally got to see them on Tuesday. So many important things have happened for me and in the world since December, but nothing was going to distract me from seeing and hearing them on stage. I put my phone on silent and put it in my pocket, only to take it out to snap a handful of photos.

They rocked a completely sold out arena and kept 20,000 people on their feet for two and half hours, playing greatest hits and a few deep cuts, too. To my astonishment, there were people who spent several hundred dollars for seats even better than mine and watched the entire concert through camera app on their phone! I mean ... Queen ... living legends ... one of the greatest bands of all time ... and the extent of some people's experience is always going to be the narrow view they had through the lens of their camera. And then to boggle my mind even further, they would take a break from the camera so they could post pictures and videos to social media.

I suppose not everybody wanted to engage with the music the same way I did. I admit there are several times it is easier for me to view the world through my camera rather than confront all the events going on, whether they are joyful or disastrous. Or I let myself get distracted by the buzzes and beeps from my phone instead of listening to what's happening around me or within me. Even during the writing of this blog post, I've probably stopped four times to scroll through my Facebook feed, catching fleeting bits of thoughts and pictures rather than letting my brain focus on the voice in my head telling me to get to work on my task. Maybe it is a defense mechanism to split my attention among several things so I don't have to confront the gravity and the pressure of what it is important. It is easier to get caught up in a hundred mindless things, keeping other people at arm's length.

One of my favorite moments in the concert was when Adam Lambert and Roger Taylor sang Under Pressure together. The fact that both of the icons who made the song famous (Freddy Mercury and David Bowie) are gone made the song weigh even more heavily. The words are timeless, but sometimes they get lost in all the craziness of the song, so I've cleaned them up and I'll leave them here for your perusal. I think they speak for themselves.

Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets

It's the terror of knowing what the world is about 
Watching some good friends screaming "Let me out!"
Pray tomorrow gets me higher
Pressure on people, people on streets

Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
Why, why, why?
Love, love, love, love, love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking

Can't we give ourselves one more chance?
Why can't we give love that one more chance?

'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves under pressure

Distractedly yours,

John Johns

Songwriters: David Bowie / John Richard Deacon / Brian Harold May / Freddie Mercury / Roger Meddows Taylor

Under Pressure lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group, Tintoretto Music

I find myself daydreaming during worship, sometimes. Maybe you are surprised to hear your pastor say this, but there are some moments when I, like you, am not fully present in our Sunday morning moments. Most often, this happens to me at the end of the service when we’re saying our mission statement, “Because God first loved us, let us depart in peace to live, share and celebrate with all people, God’s love in Jesus Christ.” All too often, I’m making a mental list of who I need to connect with or thinking about what is next in the day. This summer, though, these words have brought me to tears on several occasions.

Now, more than ever, I’m convinced that we’re serious about these words. I watch you. Not only do I see how you interact with others at our mission hub, but I witness your hospitality and generosity, active in the many other places where you live, share, and celebrate. You are a vibrant and bold reflection of God’s love spilling into the world!

I was moved by some bold actions that our denomination made this week, too. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has been in session for its Churchwide Assembly and declared itself a ‘sanctuary church body’ on the same day that hundreds marched to the ICE building in Milwaukee. Here’s how Emily McFarlan Miller covered it for Religion News Source (RNS):

MILWAUKEE (RNS) — More than 500 years ago, a monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses outlining his grievances with the Roman Catholic Church to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. On Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 7), members of the mainline Protestant denomination bearing Luther’s name taped 9.5 theses — expressing their concern for immigrants and refugees — to the door of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Milwaukee.

The action was part of a prayer vigil for migrant children and their families during the ELCA Churchwide Assembly this week at Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Center. It took place on the same day the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America declared itself a “sanctuary church body,” signaling its support for immigrants.

Both came in response to President Trump’s policies at the United States border with Mexico and his pledge to deport millions. “It just keeps getting worse and worse in terms of unaccompanied children, separated families, detention centers that are just horrific, and so what we wanted to say as a church body, as the Lutheran church, we wanted to now act with our feet and take action,” said Evelyn Soto Straw, director of unit operations and programs for the ELCA’s Domestic Mission.

More than 570 voting members of the churchwide assembly signed up to participate in the prayer vigil at the ICE building. They were joined by staff from the ELCA and its AMMPARO (Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities) ministry, as well as members of the Greater Milwaukee Synod, the New Sanctuary Movement and Voces de la Frontera, a local grassroots organization.

The group marched nearly a mile from the Wisconsin Center to the ICE building, carrying signs with messages like “We put the protest back in Protestant” and chanting “This is what the love of God looks like.” There, Bishop Paul Erickson of the Greater Milwaukee Synod opened the vigil in prayer to “Jesus Christ, immigrant and savior.” “Marching is fun, words are great, but action makes a difference,” Erickson told the crowd gathered in the street. The Rev. Erin Clausen of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod said she joined the vigil as a pastor, a mother and a spouse. Christians are supposed to bring the good news to everyone — “especially to those who are hurting and fearful,” Clausen said. She thinks of the children separated from their families and of what she would want others to do if that were her child, and her heart breaks, she said…

On Wednesday afternoon, after the lunchtime vigil, it passed a resolution declaring the ELCA a “sanctuary church body.” That term was proposed by Christopher Vergara, a voting member from the Metro New York Synod. “We continue to do God’s work with our hands in language the world understands,” Vergara said.

So what does that mean for us and how God is calling us to love our neighbors? We have some work to do. Together, let’s talk, study, pray, and then step forward in faith, trusting that God leads us deeper into love.

I praise God for you,

Pastor Lowell
___________________

For photos, the complete article, and additional links, please visit the Religion News Service site.

It has officially been one year...July 15, 2019, marked the one year of service milestone for my internship. I can’t believe how quickly this first year has gone. The old adage is true, “time flies when you are having fun.” There has been a lot of fun:

•  Making crazy music videos with Pastor Lowell www.facebook.com/LordofLifeWestChester/videos/305752000217407/
•  Participating in a record attendance VBS Program
•  Serving the people of Appalachia with our Appalachia Service Project mission trip
•  Playing games of gaga ball and knockout on Jr. High retreats
•  Participating in my first baptism as a pastor
•  Becoming friends with families from Family Promise
•  Being present for so many of all your exciting milestone celebrations (birthdays, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, anniversaries, etc.)

I am so thankful for all of the joyful moments that have come during this past year. But they only make up half of my experience here at Lord of Life. I have also been blessed to be present with you all during some of the saddest and hardest moments of your lives:

•  The deaths of beloved congregation members
•  Officiating my first funeral
•  Depression and anxiety diagnoses
•  Breaking apart of marriages
•  Abuse
•  Loss of jobs and mounting debt
•  Broken family dynamics

The thing is… Despite all of the sorrow and heartache from the past year, I wouldn’t trade it for any other job. It has been amazing to see how this family of Lord of Life has rallied around one another in support and love. It has taught me so much about caring for our neighbor and being willing to share our pain with those who are willing to take it on. 

Just as it is hard to have fun all by yourself… It is hard to go through the pain all by yourself. That is part of the reason we gather in Christian community, to laugh with one another and to cry with one another. We remind each other of God’s unfailing love for us and offer words of hope for a better life to come when the world seems to be falling down around us. 

I can’t imagine that my last ten months with all of you will be any different than the first year, and for that, I feel bittersweet. I look forward to moments of joy, but I bemoan our broken world that causes so much pain. But I couldn’t ask for better traveling companions for the rest of this journey! 

Let’s Make These Last Few Months Count,

Pastor Corey

P.S. - The two photos above are of me on my first week preaching at Lord of Life and a year later. I am fully aware I am wearing the exact same outfit. I promise it was washed… I am a creature of habit.