A few years ago I took over as director of a choir, stepped into my first rehearsal with them, and after some introductions, got to work. We learned notes, rhythms, and words; and I took extra time to work on technique and help them understand my particular quirks and how I like to direct. By the end of the evening we were making beautiful music and felt pretty good about what we could do together.

When we were finished, someone raised their hand and said, “we haven’t sounded this good in years, and you didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know – what did you do that brought our sound together?”

The answer was fairly simple. There are certain things in music that are spelled out – notes and rhythms are marked clearly on the page and leave very little room for interpretation. The words are there, too, but this is where it gets muddy. In most adult choirs there are people from all over the country, and they pronounce words differently. The difference I had made in rehearsal was getting people to work toward pronouncing their vowels the same way.

What if all of our interactions could be as simple as agreeing on a vowel? What if there were just one thing we could agree on to make everything in the world a little more beautiful? 

When we look at our social media or the news it is easy to get discouraged. There is so much bad news and it is hard to believe we have friends or family members who think and feel so differently from us. We might feel like we’ve lost people who were close to us.

In John 6:37-40, Jesus says, “anyone who comes to me, I will never drive away” and “I should lose nothing of all [God] has given me.” Jesus has been given all the world to care for, and he will not be separated from anyone. 

What is the one thing Jesus brought us that keeps us from being separated God? 

Love. 

And yes, it is really hard to love everyone. But just like the vowels in our singing, we can see our interactions through the lens of Jesus’ love and we can work toward asking ourselves, “if I love this person, how should I treat them?” What should a disagreement look like when we know that we love someone as a fellow human being and not just as a faceless avatar on a web site? How do we treat a stranger we pass on the street if we look at them with love instead of fear? What does it look like when people who are different from us, whose culture or language we don't understand and whose motives we can only speculate or imagine, are just fellow children of God?

We might not agree on everything. But we can work toward a way of loving each other so that disagreements, culture, and fear don't have to divide us.

Although I first heard of this ministry twenty years ago when a family friend was visited by a Stephen Minister, I have personal knowledge of this caring ministry as my mother was a care receiver for many months before she passed away. Now, I am honored to be a Stephen Minister at Lord of Life along with 8 other caring ministers. 

Stephen Ministry is a one-to-one care giving ministry, which is a part of a nation-wide ministry made up of over 12,000 congregations and 170 different denominations. Through its ministry, congregations equip and empower caregivers—called Stephen Ministers—to provide high-quality, confidential, Christ-centered care to people who are hurting. They are trained to be a non-anxious, non-judgmental ear to hear whatever is on your heart.

The mission of Stephen Ministries is found in Ephesians 4:12-13, “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ."

When I first mentioned to my mother that I thought she might benefit from having a Stephen Minister from her church, she was very defensive, thinking that I thought she needed help. Since I worked full time, and lived two and a half hours from her, I was not able to visit her as often as either of us would have liked. When I explained the reasons I thought she might enjoy regular visits from a Stephen Minister, she did allow the Stephen Leader to meet with her to discuss the concept.  

Once her Stephen Minister was assigned, my mother could not wait for her visits, as they allowed her to express her concerns about her failing health, and her anxiety and sadness at having to sell her home of fifty-six years. She was able to pray about her fears and her readiness to join my father in Heaven. These were topics that she could not discuss with me, as I believe she was afraid it would hurt me.  

I will be forever grateful for her Stephen Minister, and hope that I can be a caring minister to others struggling with crises in their lives. I know that God has put people in my life at just the time I needed them, to help me through periods of sadness and grief. I look forward to the intensive training I will take later this year to become a Stephen Leader, helping other lay members with training to be commissioned as I have been. 

Please give prayerful consideration to reaching out to request a Stephen Minister for yourself or a loved one as needed. We are here to walk beside you through those difficult times during your journey through life.  

If you are, or know someone who is experiencing difficult times, such as grief, divorce, job loss, chronic or terminal illness, or some other life crisis, you can be in touch with the Pastor or the Stephen Ministry team by contacting Ava Fiebig at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Wishing you Peace,

Cindy Campbell, Stephen Minister

After three years of planning and countless meetings and logistics, the ELCA National Youth Gathering kicked off in Houston this week.

As more than 30,000 teens and adults converged on the NRG Stadium on Wednesday night, it wasn’t the dazzling lights or enthralling pyrotechnics that excited us - well, maybe a little. And it wasn’t the two hours of speakers and musicians from around the world who shared stories of faith with us, either, although that was powerful, too. Instead, it was the people-to-people connections which were already giving us insight into the beautiful and diverse body of Christ. 

When our bus broke down on the north side of Nashville, the bus drivers took us to the movies to help pass the five hour delay.

When two buses full of sleepy teens invaded the truckstop in a small Texas town, all we experienced were smiles and warm Lone Star state greetings. The hospitality was contagious.

Wearing our matching shirts and trying to understand the map, a life-long Houstonian struck up a conversation with us on the light rail and, after answering some of our questions about mass transit, went on to tell us about her love for this great city.

Presence. Presence is a present. We are gifts to each other. God designed us this way.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Isn’t it a delight, when we head out to serve and love people, and end up being enveloped by the Spirit of God which is loose in the world? We have no idea what is in store this week in Houston, but we know that God was here long before we came, and will meet us in all sorts of amazing places and people. 

Thank you again for making this trip possible. This time is life-changing for each of us. 

Peace.

Pastor Lowell

As a church family, it is difficult to discern what is hospitable behavior versus what is safe behavior. As we go through life following Jesus, we reach out to shake the hands of sinners just as often as we shake the hands of saints. They are the same hands, attached to the same people, just at different moments.

“Stranger danger” is a laughable concept for a church kid. Jesus leads us to welcome the stranger. We offer him food, give her fuel for her car, and open the door and our arms in welcome. We would never turn away the stranger, nor run from or even fear them, because we know what it is to be the outcast, reject, and underdog. In many places around the world, and often in our own streets, hallways and meetings, those are just other names for disciple.

We host a lot of visitors. Our children have been playing musical rooms with our house guests ever since they can remember. In their version of rolling out the red carpet, they dust and polish and set out favorite books and toys in preparation. They hang personalized welcome signs on their bulletin boards and turn on a night light in the dark. We may not have much to share, but we share what we have. Some of our visitors are family, some are friends, many others are our guests because they are friends of friends, passing through. We know no stranger, because we look past our differences to find the roots of what we share—we seek Jesus in each other.

Hospitality often circles back to the table for us. We greet and meet over meals. We pour the tea and pass the biscuits. We lean together in discussion and nod our heads in understanding. We reminisce with laughter, and sometimes with tears. The table between us is not much different than the communion altar, where Jesus calls us to gather as a family, to eat, drink and remember.

Mi casa es su casa. We share a home in this planet. We share a Father in God. We are each the sinner and the saint, the stranger and the friend, seeking a table to share, bread to break and a companion for the journey.

Written by Tera Michelson for The Values Project, a year-long initiative designed to equip families to raise children who thrive emotionally, socially, and spiritually. You can read other blogs at

http://blog.beamingbooks.com/mi-casa-es-su-casa/#.Wyu0z6kh0Wp.

God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.                                                        Acts 2:17

I love the story of Pentecost.  The image of the disciples, gathered together, filled with uncertainty, resonates with me.  They have this amazing knowledge, that Jesus is the real deal, the son of God who rose from the dead to save us all. They’ve seen him heal, and forgive, and embrace those who were shunned by everyone else. But what do they do about it? Telling others about this good news could open them up to derision, or cause them to be cast out by their community. But then, the Holy Spirit comes, and they are filled with hope and purpose, equipped to carry on His work. So often, I feel like the disciples. I know Jesus is the real deal, but how do I share the good news, especially with folks who don’t speak my language?

For a start, I put myself in the same situation as the disciples. Okay, okay, so not exactly the same situation: I wasn’t hiding out in an upper room, hoping that the community leaders or the military wouldn’t roust me out and crucify me.  I was in the church library, with snacks and air conditioning (but we did have hummus). Our Ministry Area Coordinators (MACs) gathered, as they do every month.  In the summer, the focus is on dreaming dreams: how can we, as well-fed, English-speaking, educated white people ‘speak the language’ of those who need us to  embrace them with the Good News?

Well, the Holy Spirit was with us, too. The ideas that poured out for the coming year: to teach, to feed, to reach out – are creative, and exciting, and sometimes scary.  We don’t know how to get it all done. But we know we are called to start, and we will be equipped with the right words when we need them, and we’ll move forward together. 

Over the coming weeks, the MACs will continue to plan, and organize, and create new programs. You’ll see the church calendar and the announcements fill with opportunities to live, and share, and celebrate with all people, God’s love in Jesus Christ. These opportunities were first imagined as some disciples gathered together, filled with the Holy Spirit, who dared them to dream dreams. Whether you are looking for your first opportunity to get involved, or feeling called to step into a leadership role, or you’ve dreamed up a new idea you want to share, there’s a place for everyone. Join us! 

Filled with the Holy Spirit,

Cara

"Measure twice, cut thrice!" That's the motto in my house. If you've ever asked me what I've been up to outside of work, I've probably said something like, "oh, just working on my bathroom." It has been a home improvement project that has lasted three years this Summer. I have an entire Facebook photo album devoted to it called "who needs a bathroom anyway?" which I haven't even updated in a year because if I add more photos, it will just remind people that I haven't finished yet. 

The truth is, I have no idea what I'm doing. I know what I want it to look like and what materials I want to use, but I'm learning all the skills as I go by watching Youtube videos and reading the instructions that come with the parts. One of the reasons it has taken so long is that as I move on to another part of the project, I realize I need yet another tool. Or I get to a corner and realize I need to so something different to make the edges line up nicely. But the worst thing I do is get in a hurry and measure wrong. Sometimes that even leads to tearing out an entire ceiling that I had just recently installed ... but that is a whole story of its own. The bottom line is, I wasted time and resources on a do-over.

I don't think I'm alone in saying the same kinds of mistakes happen in other aspects of my life, too. Sometimes I rush to speak and end up saying something wrong or hurtful. Sometimes I don't live up to a promise I've made. Often I get angry about something that really isn't in my control or isn't nearly as bad as I've allowed it to be in my head. Like the bathroom, I end up using time and emotional resources trying to make up for thoughtless mistakes.

Luckily, the unlimited resource we have available to us is God's grace and forgiveness. In the Gospels we read about the disciple, Peter, who promises to stay with Jesus and then goes on to deny him three times. As you read the story in John 18:15-27, you might feel like Peter has made the mistake of a lifetime. How could Jesus possibly forgive him for this?

Instead of casting Peter out, in John 21:15-17 Jesus builds Peter's confidence and prepares him to go out into the world and be the new church. This is what God does for us every Sunday in worship and what we are called to do for each other as we go out into the world, being God's hands and feet.

I've made a lot of mistakes working on my house, but each time I do, I learn something new, develop another skill, and move on to be better at it. Maybe the next project won't take as long.

When we make mistakes in our lives, we can take those opportunities to learn, to be more mindful, to get better at thinking before we speak or act. Maybe in our next difficult situation, our response will be better. Our do-overs might still take extra time and emotional resources, but we never have to worry about running out of God's grace.

If only I had an unlimited supply of drywall ...