I hate to be a downer. I’ll do just about anything to avoid talking about my own feelings and bringing the overall mood of a room down. Highs and lows? Highs only, from me … I don’t want to weigh you down with what is going on in here. There are a few venues when I let it out - a blog every now and then, or a reflection about childhood trauma during a specific event that calls for it. I’m not sure people are actually surprised I have feelings deeper than the happy exterior I put on, especially when I regularly wear a shirt that says, “It’s Fine. I’m Fine. Everything’s Fine.” 

The thing is, even though the first 30 years of my life were pretty rough, the last several years have actually been really great. I’m married, I love my job, we have two houses (one of them full of pets) so I have space to fulfill whatever crazy projects come to mind at any moment, and I’m surrounded by people who encourage my creativity (for better or worse.) 

When things were bad all the time, I was very well practiced at dealing with it. What no one warned me about as things got better, was that I needed to learn healthy coping mechanisms to handle the much more rare dark moments. It is one thing when you are gritting your teeth all the time and have built walls to protect you from the world. But when you are used to relaxing into the comfort of security and light, the same defenses aren’t there to guard you. Luckily, I work with great people who let me take time if something is going on and I don’t have to worry about pretending to be having a good day when I’m not.

It isn’t a coincidence that our Advent season is concurrent with the time of year when we get fewer and fewer hours of light each day. We spend the whole year with the sun warming us, helping our body produce Vitamin D, helping us grow crops, and providing light for us to see, and then we are plunged into darkness earlier and earlier each day. We are cold, our plants don’t grow, and even with all our modern technology, it is more difficult to get things done outside after the sun has set.

In the Bible, Adam and Eve have a great life and are used to God’s light on them all the time. When they are cast out of the garden, they experience darkness for the first time and are sure that God has abandoned them in the darkness. In a New Testament world, we know that through grace and love, we never have to worry about God leaving us, whether the sun is shining or not. We light our candles during Advent, as we approach the darkest nights of the year, to remind us of God’s light and presence. We gather together for worship and fellowship to remind us that we don’t have to bear the darkness alone.

As we approach Christmas, we rejoice in the fact that Jesus was born to bring light after the world had been dark for a long, long time. We rejoice that we are part of a community that will walk with us through our difficult times, even when we can’t see God’s presence for ourselves. And we rejoice we don’t have to pretend we’re ok when we’re really suffering.

Our Advent resources this year ask us to explore how a weary world rejoices. Reflection topics are posted on social media and printed resources are available at church. What is making you weary this season? How are you able to rejoice?

Yours in the darkness,

John

Four years ago today, my brother Ben and my mom and I attended Amy Grant’s Christmas concert at US Bank Arena downtown. Growing up, we listened to Amy Grant a lot, especially at Christmas. My mom’s favorite Christmas albums, or the ones she played the most, were both by Amy Grant. I loved Grant’s versions of the traditional “Sleigh Ride” and “The Christmas Song.” Her “Emmanuel” still pumps me up. The three of us were so excited to hear Grant perform live with Michael W. Smith that night.

The crowd that night was tightly packed in. It was the first stop on the tour and Grant was so jittery, she even forgot the words to her opening number, a song she had written. She handled the bump confidently and we all laughed it off. The crowd was so in sync and even sang along to some of the numbers. But one song really held my attention in a way it hadn’t before.

Grant started singing “Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)” tenderly, holding space for the fear and trepidation Mary would have felt on the journey to Bethlehem and in this new life. Then she came to the chorus and the longing and need in her voice escalated. “Breath of Heaven, hold me together.” My mind echoed this sentiment, the desire to be sustained through the various worries of life. “Be forever near me, Breath of Heaven.” Yes, I thought, stay with me always. “Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness.” I am scared of these worries and this pain. Lighten this load from my shoulders and uncover my eyes. “Pour over me your holiness, for you are holy, Breath of Heaven.”

My prayer to the Holy Spirit was new and foreign. In this song, I connected with the Holy Spirit in a way I never had before. The Holy Spirit was the member of the Holy Trinity I least understood. And yet, here is this person, this divine and most holy person, cradling me as Mary cradled Jesus, holding me together through life’s hardships.

December came and went and I kept praying for the Breath of Heaven to keep me together. Then January and February faded and finally March 2020 hit. We scrambled to adjust to the shutdown, made arrangements with our jobs and the schools, and enlisted grandparents for kid coverage. Breath of Heaven, hold me together. It was such an abrupt change - working from home while monitoring two hyper littles. We had so much all at once that eventually the prayers and Reese eggs weren’t enough and I broke.

Although it felt like everything fell apart, even though I lay emotionally and physically exhausted, I still had hope. The Holy Spirit urged me to move forward, seek help for my brokenness, and let the light dissipate the gloom. I was given the strength I needed to implement healthy practices like mindfulness, meditation, and maybe some medication, too. I made it through by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breath of Heaven.

In some ways, it feels as though we are getting past the pandemic and stepping into the “new normal.” Christmas events and activities are happening, and the community is coming together in ways they haven’t in the last three years. There are twinkling lights and calendars with chocolates or trinkets. There are gifts and cookies to be enjoyed. And yet there is a weariness in the world. Inside, we are shadowed by our pandemic scars. In our world, just as in the world of Mary, we have tyrants and wars and poverty and uncertainty in the future. We pray to the Holy Spirit, “Breath of Heaven, hold us together.”

I am so grateful for the community here at Lord of Life that welcomes the work of the Spirit. The Breath of Heaven pours over us holiness as love and comradery. This love illuminates our world and eradicates the shadows. So, come this season and be cradled by the Holy Spirit at our Advent midweek meals or the Christmas pageant or our “Service for the Weary.” Find a place to rest from your weariness and to gather strength to rejoice. Because Christmas is coming and in fact, Emmanuel is already here.

May the Holy Spirit restore you,

Pastor Laura

If I had a mission statement, it might be 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Encourage one another and build up each other.”

I remember hearing this verse as a small child and thinking, “Yeah, I might be able to do that.” So many of the other commands of God seemed too high and lofty, beyond my reach as a kid. But I could encourage others.

Some years later, I heard George Eliot’s famous quote, which offered a similar but increasingly engaging invitation to love and courage: “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” 

I am regularly overwhelmed by the plethora of ways in which the Lord of Life community encourages others and strives to make life less difficult for others in the name and spirit of Jesus’ mission. Daily, I see you in action or hear a story about helping, encouraging, serving, praying, and caring that offers the hope that only comes from God. In each of these small and big acts of love, the Light of Christ spills out into the world and offers a new way of seeing.

God’s love and light shine through you when you offer a moment of kindness.

God’s love and light shine through you when you make homes warmer and drier.

God’s love and light shine through you when you share food with those in need.

God’s love and light shine through you when you give things away.

God’s love and light shine through you when you step out in faith to create something new.

God’s love and light shine through you when you step into leadership and serve.

God’s love and light shine through you when you speak out for justice and peace.

God’s love and light shine through you when you stand up and declare God’s love is for all people.

God’s love and light shine through you when you go beyond your comfort zone.

God’s love and light shine through you when you care for creation. 

God’s love and light shine through you when you care for people you love and for someone you haven’t met before.

God’s love and light shine through you when you use your mind, your money, and your muscle to bring hope to the hopeless!

And the list goes on and on and on!

Amanda Gorman, in her Presidential Inaugural Poem, “The Hill We Climb,” reminds us, “There is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it, If only we're brave enough to be it…”

However you spend your Thanksgiving week, “encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” Filled with the power of the living God, stand up, step out, and watch how God uses you to transform the world! 

With deep gratitude and joy,

Pastor Lowell

I don’t have all the answers. I can admit that now. My husband certainly knows and so do my co-workers. However, for a long time, I felt like I had to give the impression that I knew it all for my kids. I needed to be confident that I was leading them down the right path so they would feel secure. They couldn’t know that I had questions too or doubted my answers to some of their questions. This is even more true with my relationship with God. I wanted my children to follow Jesus but was afraid that I would mess it up if I didn’t portray confidence or if I professed that the Bible confuses me too.

I’m reading “Woven” by Meredith Miller about nurturing faith in our kids. She begins by talking about her complicated relationship with spiders. She is terrified of them, but she can’t bring herself to kill them even when they are in the house. She traps them for release when her kids find one while screaming inside. I can completely relate. When the kids or I found a spider in the house, I would confidently scoop it up in a cup, covering it with a piece of sometimes flimsy paper to show my kids that you shouldn’t be afraid. I would proclaim, “Spiders are good and eat other things we don’t like. They are one of God’s creatures.” As I did this, I was also internally yelling, please don’t accidentally touch me, move too quickly, or drop because I will scream as if a large bear was attacking me!

Meredith Miller goes on to explain that life is filled with many of these “I want to do it for my kids but it sure does make me uncomfortable” moments which are more serious than spiders. You feel discomfort or even fear, but it matters to you and the future of your kids, other people or your community.. This can be especially true of our relationship with Jesus and understanding the complexities of faith.

I have come to realize that admitting that I am scared or don’t have all the answers is the healthier way to live fully in Jesus. I needed to begin somewhere with our kids even if it made me a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t have to say the perfect prayer or fully comprehend Noah’s Ark as a good or tragic story to start teaching my kids (and myself) about Jesus. We don’t have to be able to recite Bible verses to understand what it means to follow Jesus. ELCA Lutherans follow Martin Luther’s tradition of questioning to dive deeper into where we are being called.

I learned about the power of “I wonder” statements from my years working in preschool. Kids have many questions. Giving it back to them to think about encourages them to explore further. When they ask, do turkeys fly, you can respond with, “Hmmm, I wonder if they do?” This can inspire dialogue and allow you to learn more about both of you. It’s more powerful than automatically giving the answer or allowing you to find the answer together.

Do you question if you have the expertise to share your faith? Can you wonder but still know that God is always walking with you as you learn? Can you start by praying for guidance? I bet you are already doing things that you experience as God’s goodness. Naming it out loud is a first step. We are invited to experience faith along with our family and community, but not expected to have all the answers. God constantly shows us that we aren’t meant to go it alone or face our spiders with bottled up fear.

Incredibly grateful that we are on this journey of faith together.

God’s peace,

Angie Seiller, Director of Faith Formation

Have you heard the great news? As part of our gorgeous new space, we have three new storage closets at Lord of Life! Yes, as the person who schedules events in rooms, I am very excited to have a beautiful new multi-purpose space for staff and leadership meetings, preschool chapel, community events, fellowship gatherings, and more. But as the plans for the building took shape over the past year or so, I was almost as excited to see the storage spaces. All those programs, events, and groups have stuff: books, flags, fabric, tools, paint, chairs, tables, … you get the idea. I’ve been daydreaming about how to best utilize the space. Soon, our quilters can reach their supplies without moving the property dollies and the preschool toys for indoor recess.

As I’ve made plans for our new storage closets, the staff has been working with the program leaders to inventory what they have. We’ve identified a bunch of stuff we don’t need anymore. We donated much of it to the rummage sale, turning an old refrigerator and some glassware into mission dollars to fund trips to serve with the Appalachia Service Project and at the ELCA National Youth Gathering. Some stuff had served its purpose and went into the trash or recycle bins.

It can feel good to get rid of clutter. I was talking with someone recently whose family has a tradition of going through their house from top to bottom every fall, cleaning and getting rid of stuff they no longer need. Then they are ready to decorate and celebrate the holiday, unencumbered with clutter.

Sometimes, the clutter weighing us down isn’t in our homes but in our hearts. That doesn’t make it less real or any less burdensome. Guilt, anxiety, and fear can wear us down and wear us out. Sometimes we can get rid of what’s cluttering our hearts with some exercise, some therapy, some budget plans, or a heart-to-heart conversation. Some clutter feels like it will always be with us; like poverty and war will never end.

In a couple of weeks, we’ll embark on the church season of Advent, where we prepare for the birth of Jesus. Our theme is “How does a weary world rejoice?” Just as in our time, the time before Jesus' birth was filled with strife. Into that strife, Jesus arrives, bringing hope and joy.

Join with us this Advent season as we acknowledge our weariness, provide respite and connection, and anticipate the birth of Emmanuel - God with us. Watch for details on the many ways you can celebrate this season of preparation with your whole family, including devotional materials, mid-week dinner church, an instant pageant, and more.

Between now and then, we will enjoy the season of gratitude and generosity - while continuing to de-clutter.

Yours in Christ,
Cara Hasselbeck

I didn’t spend much time at the library when I was a kid. I knew it as the quiet place and I wasn’t very good at being quiet. Too many times, I was given “The Look” or scolded with a “Shhhhh!” (The “shhhhh” was often louder than my activity, by the way.)

When I became a college student, I discovered that the quiet of the Thomas Library at Wittenberg University often provided refuge from the chaos of dorm life. If I needed to focus, I could slide into a study carrel, huddle in a small enclosed room for a group study session, or sprawl on a couch for a snooze.

When our children were young, we burned countless hours exploring books, story times, creative opportunities, and spaces at the Bexley, Davenport, and Andover Library systems as we moved from town to town. Each one offered thrilling places to learn and grow.

The Midpointe Library here in West Chester, is one of our favorites and loaded with so many options for discovery. I’m constantly surprised. I go in searching for a certain little something and come out with a stack of children’s books, graphic novels, CDs, travel guides, a few poetry books, and maybe even a memoir or two.

Have you heard about the Human Library? “The Human Library is, in the true sense of the word, a library of people. [Readers] can borrow human beings serving as open books and have conversations they would not normally have access to. Every human book from [the] bookshelf represents a group in our society that is often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization, or discrimination because of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin, etc.” Learn more here: https://humanlibrary.org/

Churches remind me of The Human Library. Although many think that church is only one certain thing (whatever that may be in their mind), thriving congregations like Lord of Life offer opportunities where a variety of people across different ages, interests, and skills intersect and interact through a spectrum of serving, learning, and worship moments. We even center our time together around a banned book! 

When we gather, there are unique occasions to meet people from all walks of life with unexpected journeys. Grounded in Jesus, we are led to wrestle with tough issues of faith like suffering, isolation, and fear. God’s mandate to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God” spurs us to confront racism, sexism, ableism, poverty, and other issues of injustice. We grow in hope and compassion as we hear about life from different perspectives, asking questions like, “When have you encountered the Holy Spirit? What does forgiveness look like in your life? How do you see God at work right now?”

Even more, as we read the Bible together, we meet our ancestors in the faith and hear them asking many of these same questions. “Where is God? Who am I? What does the future hold?” Watching them wrestle and explore, wander, and wonder, we discover deeper truths about God and ourselves.

During this season of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for your voice that helps me learn and grow. I give thanks for your unique journey of faith that expands our understanding of God in new and beautiful ways. I am grateful for the many ways you love Jesus and how that spills out into the ways you love people and the world. 

If you haven’t been around lately, come and be surprised by what God is up to in our community of faith. Jump into conversations and ask questions. Invite someone to come with you and discover the power and peace of God. We all have something to share. We all have something to learn.

Surprised by Grace,

Pastor Lowell