Sunday Worship8, 9:30 & 11 am
A few years ago, I spent Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with my family at The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati. It was our first visit to this monument and museum which “celebrates the heroes who created the secret network through which the enslaved could escape to freedom, the Underground Railroad... [and encourages] everyone to take part in the ongoing struggles for freedom.”
As we watched the films and heard the stories from both sides of the Ohio River, I was reminded that there were many secret codes associated with the Underground Railroad, including special words, distinct door knocks, laundry on the clothesline flapping in the wind, and lights in the windows, each signaling others that you were a safe place or a “friend of a friend.”
Jesus talks about our visibility as Christians being a signal of hope to others. We are salt and light. Salt bringing flavor to the world and light bringing vision and clarity in the darkness. He said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
More than twenty-five years ago, I visited Dachau concentration camp just outside of Munich. I have never experienced such an overwhelming barrage of sorrow and fear as I did that day. Arriving by car, I entered the camp through the same gate that some 200,000 prisoners did as the box car delivered them against their will. I was greeted by the same promise of freedom that they were, “Arbeit macht frei.” This iron sign notified them, that their freedom could be found in their efforts, proclaiming “Work makes you free.”
We know, of course, that work did not provide their freedom. If anything, the harder they worked, the closer they moved to the grave. For many in the camp, nothing provided freedom except death or, finally, if they survived the war, liberation from an outside force. They were labeled Jew, gypsy, homosexual, rebel, traitor, or other perceived threat and condemned to face daily peril or extermination. “Arbeit macht frei.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Each time we look at the cross of Jesus, we are reminded that our work does not make us free. So, why do we continue to try to prove our worthiness by working our way to freedom? Daily, we strive to wriggle ourselves free of our shame and guilt. We wear ourselves out trying to escape the fears of our past. We work and work and work, trying to earn God’s love and favor. We expend our energies trying to please others, while fortifying our hearts and minds, disguising our fear and pride. We cower in dark corners hiding from the realities of weakness and sorrow.
Friday in German is Freitag – Free Day – the day of the week that marks the end of work and effort. It is that beginning of freedom. It is a period of relief and a cause for celebration. Each Spring, we gather on a Freitag, a Friday that we dare to call “Good,” and mark the beginning of our freedom in Christ. In the prisons of our own hearts and minds, God meets each of us and offers a word of relief. He says, “It is finished. Complete. I have accomplished the work.” The cross is a light of hope for us on a hill.
Jesus continues to come to us with liberation. Jesus comes with forgiveness and renewal. Into the dark places of our lives, the Light of God shines. The one crucified on a tree steps forward and meets us wherever we find ourselves and says, “You are free.”
Driving around Cincinnati on a dark night, you can still see many homes with lights in the windows, a signal of welcome and hope. By God’s power and promise, may our church and lives be such a place, a place of hospitality and welcome for all, and may we continue to shine light into the dark places.
Trying to shine,
Pastor Lowell
Vacation Bible School (VBS) at Lord of Life...if you haven't seen it in action, you really should try to find a way to be a part of it in the future. It is such an amazing week of singing, laughing, learning, and fun! The time, energy, and love I see the volunteers put into this week overwhelms me. Each day we take a simple message of God's love for us and help to make it really stick in the minds of our youth by singing, crafting, playing, eating, and discovering. And boy do these kiddos eat it up!
The theme for this year is Maker Fun Factory: Created by God, Built for a Purpose. It is a journey with our loving Creator who not only made us, but promises to be with us through the good and bad. Our daily themes are:
Monday - God Made You. Psalm 139
Tuesday - God Is For You. Joshua 1&2
Wednesday - God Is Always With You. Judges 6:11-7:25
Thursday - God Will Always Love You. Luke 22:66-24:12
Friday - God Made You For A Reason. 1 Samuel 25
Throughout this week, I have heard from countless parents who tell me how much their child is loving VBS. Suddenly, all the time, sweat, and love put into this week becomes so worth it. Seeing the joy in the faces of the children, hearing about their God sightings, and watching them dump their hard-earned allowance into our Clean Water collection bottles warms my heart and gives me hope for the future. We’re hoping to collect $500 by Friday for Lutheran World Relief and will ask the congregation to match our total this Sunday. God is at work here at Lord of Life this week and it's amazing to see!
We have exactly 100 registered youth this week, ranging from 3 years old to 13 years old. Some are learning about God's amazing and creative love for us for the very first time, while others are simply being reminded. We have a dozen 5th and 6th graders participating in the Leader in Training program, preparing them to be peer leaders at future youth events. We also have nearly 50 youth and adult leaders working together to make this the best week possible for the kids.
I want to thank everyone who helped make VBS possible this year. Whether you donated money or supplies, volunteered to lead a station or a crew, or simply prayed for our success this week, I thank you! Feel free to stop by on Friday to see our final celebration. If you miss it, we’ll sing some of these songs at 9:30, this Sunday.
Yours in Christ,
Megan Wagonfield
Lord of Life VBS Coordinator
What a Spirit-filled experience! Our life-giving week hosting Family Promise once again revealed the beautiful ministry that can happen when we come together to be Christ at work in the world. In Butler County alone, there are more than 500 hundred children living in homelessness. Family Promise works to bring people together to respond to that need. Lord of Life came together: forty-three different people volunteered in many different ways throughout the week to provide comfort, safety, and hospitality to our Family Promise guests. Along with all those who were praying over Family Promise, I felt the impact of poverty and homelessness. Family Promise plays an important role in our claim that service is at the core of our calling to be the heart, hands, and feet of Christ. Although our work is never complete, it is important to pause and reflect on the impact we have made so far.
In January, we embarked on a visioning journey at Lord of Life with help from Luke Bouman. Our time with him and our following leadership conversations have been exciting, fun, and much needed as we continue to grow and look to the future. As part of our initial session, we gathered as a congregation and recognized our strengths, developed our short and long term vision, and drafted our five key goals.
As we identified our strengths, we listed Outreach, Music, Leadership, Youth, Being a Welcoming Community, and Worship. Luke shared with us that these strength areas are something every church strives for and, indeed, we are very blessed here.
As we continue to grow, it is important to transition to the next phase where we can further develop these strengths and ensure we are building the foundation for where God is leading us in the future. With this in mind, we identified these five key goals:
- Cultural shift toward mission mindedness
- Develop and implement a staffing plan
- Develop and implement a building plan
- Develop and implement a financial plan
- Council shift toward focusing on strategy
In the past few months, Council has been praying and working together to take the visioning journey to the next level.
This past Memorial Day, I had lunch with some of my extended family. Right at noon, we served up hot dogs with sauerkraut, bbq chips, watermelon, cookies, and glasses of milk, punch, and water. It was your typical Memorial Day picnic fare that could’ve been served in any backyard or under any park pavilion. It wasn’t anything big or fancy. What made this gathering different, though, was that it was in the basement of First Lutheran in Over the Rhine.
As we gathered from various locations for the community meal, small moments and gestures of joy were everywhere. There were smiles and handshakes. Conversations were laced with words of gratitude. Damp washclothes wiped down tables in between guests and one guest pushed his lunch aside for a few minutes while he played spirituals and gospel hymns on the piano in the corner. By themselves, each of these didn’t amount to much, but together, these little acts of kindness swirled in a beautiful expression of our shared humanity.
God has a habit of using little things to do big stuff.
Just off the back porch of my house growing up sat a big beautiful birdhouse. My family and I spent countless hours watching all different kinds of birds perch themselves on the front peg for a tasty nibble. These birds ranged from all different colors and sizes, some coming from other areas of the country and others coming from more exotic parts of the globe. It was always fun to think about what brought each bird to our particular birdhouse. Were they filling their stomachs for a long journey ahead, was our yard just a pit stop, or had they reached their destination?
On occasion, we would spot a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird hovering over our feeder. Can you believe that the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, weighing no more than a penny, flies to Ohio from South America, which includes a 500-mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico? My mother would always point out the bright blueness of an Indigo Bunting, which was her favorite bird to see. I also loved catching a glimpse of the yellow Kentucky Warbler, which was usually heard before it was seen because of its unique sound. Birds of all colors and sizes would eventually find their way to that birdhouse in our backyard. Each one having a story about where they had been and what they have seen, all of them simply longing to be fed.
The expanse of green space on our property gives us a unique opportunity to serve the community by growing food for our local pantries. The same expanse provides an especially fruitful hunting ground for one of nature's most keen predators. I love all the bunnies and chipmunks and squirrels so it is hard to stomach the idea that each day one of them becomes a victim of our resident hunter.
Mary Oliver, one of the greatest poets of our lifetime, gives beautiful imagery to the hawk's stalking of its prey.