Beauty... violence... beauty... violence... beauty! This was the pattern of our men’s retreat this past weekend as a group of us gathered at Hueston Woods Lodge. The Holy Spirit guided us through three heart-wrenching discussions about racial, sexual, and spiritual violence in the world today and in Scripture. Although these moments of learning were meaningful, thought-provoking, and honest, I learned the most about God between the lessons.

As a leader of the retreat, I carved out intentional time between the lessons for the men to literally “retreat.” I figured, in-between three intense discussions, they would want time for themselves to meditate, unwind, and reflect. I pictured them sitting alone on a bench by the lake, or hiking along a path in the woods alone. The environment at Hueston Woods was certainly conducive to sitting back and enjoying nature all by oneself. Although solitude is important, and God often speaks to us in when by ourselves, what actually happened at this retreat was fascinating.

What was meant to be meaningful moments of isolation, turned into beautiful experiences of community. It seemed that as the conversation about violence got more difficult, our desire to be in community got stronger. Suddenly, whatever we did during our breaks, we did together. We hiked together. We sat by the lake together. We even felt the need to experience silence together. Prior to this weekend, I had ever thought about the difference between silence and solitude. As we ended each session with a prayer, it was as if the word “Amen” was a light switch for joy, laugher, and togetherness.

This retreat taught me an important lesson about the violence that surrounds us every day. We must remain in community. Not only is being together important, but our coming together is one way to actively stand-up against the violence that surrounds us. Through our frustration, question asking, and doubt, God shows up in our lives in the form of relationship. If you hear the far too common stories of violence, and respond as I want to, it is easy to slip into isolation and despair. But, we must resist the temptation to give-up hope.

Being in life-giving relationship with others is what gives us the strength to make it through those moments when we feel alone. Just as darkness needs the light, as death needs the resurrection, our stories of violence need stories of communal joy. Sometimes it may feel like God is distant, but we are never alone. God will always be there through our cycle of hope and despair. As a church, we are here for one another. As children of God, we are never alone. In Scripture, we are reminded to “be strong and bold, to have no fear, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).

Together in Christ,

Lucas McSurley

When I was kid, nothing was better than a good birthday party – especially if it was my birthday party. Wacky games and snacks, some kind of activity or craziness, cake and ice cream, and gifts, gifts, and more gifts all helped highlight my special day.

Some of the presents were predictable, purchased after I posted my suggested birthday list on the fridge with a magnet for the whole family to see. Other presents were grand surprises that seemingly came out of nowhere in just the right size, color, or shape. How fantastic!

It was, and still is, very easy to get excited when everything is about me. But that is an illusion, because life is not about me. Victorian era novelist, Mary Anne Evans, knew this and spoke the truth when she said,

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?"

When we step back into reality, we realize that each of our lives extend far beyond me, myself, and I.

In a previous congregation I served, I ran into young Henry on his way into church on a Sunday morning. His arms were loaded with bags of non-perishable items. His younger sister, Eva, not to be left out of the excitement, was close behind, arms full of even more food. What a joy to see these little ones coming to worship weighed down with cans and boxes of food that our faith community could pass along to the Methodist Open Door Food Bank.

When I offered a word of thanks for their donations, Henry’s face lit up as he explained, “All of this food was from my birthday party!” On Henry’s birthday invitations, he had made a unique request of his buddies:

This year,

for Henry’s party,

please consider bringing

a donation for the local food

pantry in lieu of gifts.

Guess what happened? Everybody did it.

Henry’s friends – and their parents – stepped beyond normal birthday protocol of “fill the kid’s room with a mountain of toys” and instead showed up ready to fill empty bellies and souls. Just a few simple words gave his friends permission to think of others.

Henry’s parents said that if you asked him why he was doing this, he might say, “It is important to help other people who don’t have as much food in their house as we do.” At age seven, Henry was already living a life of gratitude. He recognized that having food on the table is a gift and that others are in need.

One of God’s favorite activities is giving. Gift-giving is central to what God is up to in the world. God is constantly looking for ways to share skills and talents, joy and blessing, as well as love, peace, and comfort. Over and over again throughout the Bible we hear stories of God pouring out blessing on people and delivering hope in the most desperate situations. But gifts aren’t just stuff of the Bible.

We’ve been talking for months about how God blesses the world through Lord of Life. We are blessed when we share in worship, learning, and fellowship moments, and then God makes it possible for us to bless our neighbors, community, region, and beyond! God’s good gifts spill into our lives and then out into the world!

Take time to thank God for the many blessings we receive and consider how we might share our gifts with the world in the name of Jesus Christ. Henry, as an act of love and compassion, used his birthday as an opportunity to think beyond himself. Fill your arms and fall in line behind him. Ready to share. Ready to love.

With gratitude.

Pastor Lowell

By now, you’ve heard that this Reformation Sunday is a milestone. October 31, 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther took his hammer and a list of 95 proposals to the front doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in hopes of reforming and correcting what he saw as errors in the Church. While this sounds bizarre to us, the doors were a central and prominent location for posting announcements and items for public discourse.

For this major anniversary, music settings and art pieces have been commissioned, hymn festivals have been organized, historical dramas have been staged, and special events and exhibitions of every kind have been pulled together. Wittenberg University, our closest Lutheran college, is currently hosting a display of Reformation era artifacts, including a first edition of The Book of Concord, a 1520 copy of Luther’s Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity, an autographed letter from Luther, and a Koberger Bible from the late 1400s.

Around the globe, and here in our own community, Roman Catholics and Lutherans have come together – many for the first time – to share in moments of study and conversation, as well as moments of worship and prayer. Sadly, for hundreds of years, our church bodies have viewed each other as enemies, rather than as children in the same family of God. We have chosen to focus on what divides us, rather than celebrating that which unites us.

This anniversary is a good excuse for us to begin anew and refocus our efforts. It is time for a fresh start. As we glance back and celebrate Luther and so many others who were catalysts for renewal and change, we also need to look forward and ask the Spirit of God to open a door to the future.

Doors are powerful images. Doors are gateways to new adventures. Open doors are avenues to hospitality and discovery. We use them to welcome, explore, and learn. During one of his sermons, Jesus invited people to “ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks, receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” Matthew 7:7-8.

Knocking on doors is big stuff. Little ones will be knocking on doors this week, hoping to generate a little candy treat. As we ask, seek, and knock, Jesus says that we’ll discover something much sweeter. We’ll receive freedom and joy. We’ll find peace and consolation. We’ll find an open door that offers unconditional forgiveness and radical hospitality. I pray that this season continues to reform and transform you.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Pastor Lowell

meme created by Daniel Scheurer

The first weekend of October, many women from Lord of Life gathered at Sisters of Charity Spirituality Center near Cincinnati for our fall retreat. Michelle Spahr, a speaker and discipleship trainer from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, led us in an exploration of 2 Timothy with the theme "Be an Everyday Hero." We discussed how the apostle Paul talked to Timothy and his words encourage us to persevere in our faith and likens our discipleship to everyday heroes. See the attached prayer that Michelle gave us. We enjoyed socializing, reading, and digging into Scripture, naps, walking the beautiful grounds, working on puzzles together, and putting a craft together that Terry Mingler set up for us.

The campus of the Spirituality Center is magnificent! Their website says, "The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati is an apostolic Catholic community of women religious that exists to carry out the Gospel of Jesus Christ through service and prayer in the world... Since the Community was founded [in 1809], the Sisters of Charity have sponsored numerous schools, hospitals, orphanages and social service agencies... The Spirituality Center provides opportunities for spiritual enrichment to the community through a wide variety of programs [including] weekend/overnight retreats, private retreats, days of reflection, evening prayer programs, massage therapy, a labyrinth and individual spiritual direction for both men and women."

What a wonderful time of sharing and getting to know old friends and making new friends. It was a time of "pause" where we sat in community and alone with our self, where God could meet us as we listened. To be in community, sharing our faith with each other, is a time that is so valuable to our Christian life that can sustain us for our journey with God. We all agreed that it was a time of renewal.

Michelle, reflecting on the weekend mentioned, "It is so humbling to be invited to teach at a women's retreat and leave refreshed and renewed myself. What a beautiful place and a wonderful group of ladies!”

Renewed,

Becky Mastalerz

Don’t miss our Fall Men’s Retreat, Manhood and Violence, coming up on November 3-4. Join the Men of Lord of Life for an overnight retreat in Hueston Woods to experience God beside the water, surrounded by the trees, and among friends. Escape, recharge, learn, and have fun, as we explore the topic of Manhood and Violence in Scripture and our culture today. The schedule will allow plenty of time for fellowship, unwinding, and enjoying God’s great creation. $90/person covers housing and meals. Scholarships are available. Register online by this Sunday, October 22.

Singing, praying, learning, fellowship, and service – these are all things that bring us together each week within our community at Lord of Life. There shouldn’t be any surprise that the same things could bring together people from other communities, too. Our first REFORM event with Roman Catholics and Lutherans from West Chester and Mason exceeded our expectations of how powerful the experience would be.

We began with a worship moment led by musicians from St. Max, Christ the King, and Lord of Life (the next event will include leadership from St. John’s as well). Through common words and common songs, we infused the evening with a joyful prayer that continued into our conversations. We heard from Lutheran and Catholic clergy from St. Susannah Catholic (Mason), Prince of Peace Lutheran (Loveland), and Zion Lutheran (Middletown) who presented different views, but we heard even more common views. We listened to a biblical message that defined us all as part of the same vine. The same body. One faith, one hope, and one baptism.

I found myself at a table made up of Catholics from various parishes. We asked questions and discussed among ourselves how we each came to the body of Christ and what that means to us. About half the table had been born into the Catholic church. But one young woman shared how she found the church through an ecumenical sports team. An older gentleman started going to Methodist Sunday school after his mother died when he was nine, and then converted to Catholicism after years of seeing the positive impact the church had on his wife. We all had stories about how we saw people’s faith overflow in their actions.

The thread that kept weaving its way to the top was: “We need to do more of this.” We need to find ways to maintain the natural bond we have through Christ and the Spirit. We need to worship together and talk together and serve together. Our connection to each other is too powerful to let ourselves be kept apart.

As the clock forced the evening to a close, we put notes on a door describing how we wanted to move forward in our relationships. More combined worship. More dialogues. More learning. More outreach opportunities together. Singing, praying, learning, fellowship, and service.

Even though the next two REFORM events are self-contained – they are three separate events rather than one continued event, I suspect we’ll see some of the same faces coming again and again because we are so inspired to move forward as one body. Come be a part of the conversation on October 19 at 7 pm at Christ the King or October 21 at 10 am at St. Max.

Flour covering the kitchen counter, white handprints all over the apron, and sneaking squirts of whip cream while my wife isn’t looking, are what I love most about October. Awaiting the ding from the oven indicating the pumpkin pie is done and smelling the sweet aroma of Fall baking in the kitchen brings so much joy to this season. Dare I say, the baking of the pumpkin pie is more enjoyable than the tasting of the pie itself. For me, baking is more about the experience in the kitchen than it is about the end result.

Pumpkin pie, stewardship, and the Reformation are the three themes stuck on replay in my mind this October. What do these things have in common? They each require a process, a journey by which they are made. The final product is made with ingredients, pieces, and layers, working together to create something new.

Stewardship is not just about the amount that you give to the mission of the church, but more importantly, it’s about what happens to your heart when you give. This year, we are diving into the theme of “God blesses the world through Lord of Life.” When we discover how we are blessed by God, the Holy Spirit moves us to give with thankful and joyful hearts. When we reach that place where we can give, not out of guilt or self-promotion, but out of pure joy for the Gospel and love for the church and its mission, amazing and transformational things can happen. Stewardship is more about the experience of giving than it is about how much we give.

As we look toward commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, we lift grace up as the core theological tenant that sparked this radical movement in history. Grace remains a staple of Lutheranism. Similar to baking and stewardship, grace is more about the experience than the result it brings. Grace is more than the gift of salvation. As we think about Martin Luther hanging the 95 theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, it is helpful to reflect on what he might hang on our door today.

What are the things preventing us from living into and experiencing God’s grace? Are we competitive about our faith, believing that Lutheranism is better than the rest? Do we view ourselves as unworthy to receive grace? Understanding grace as a gift freely given is much easier said than done.

I am reminded of the parable about working in the vineyard. In this story, one group of workers begin laboring in the morning, while another group begins laboring in the afternoon. At the end of the day, the vineyard owner gives everyone equal wage. Understandably, those that had worked all day were outraged! The lesson being, “the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16). Whether we are first or last, God will provide the outcome. Our faith is about the experience of being together as a community. Our life in Christ is about the journey.

See you in the kitchen,

Lucas McSurley