I’m going to admit it, I am invested! I have always been a huge football fan. I can get sucked into a game that is on in the background with two teams I don’t even know. I like to learn about the players and their history. I especially enjoyed watching the story of the Kelce brothers in the Superbowl (added plus that they both played for the University of Cincinnati). I have even listened to some of their podcasts. They seem like generally good guys who care about their families and want to learn and grow along with their fans.

So, when the rumors started bouncing around that Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were dating, I started rooting for love and this relationship. I wouldn’t consider myself a big “Swiftie”, but I have come to appreciate the goodness, talent, and generosity of Taylor Swift. I didn’t pay too much attention to her until she began her tour. I started to hear stories of her paying the crew $100,000/each in bonuses, the personal visits to fans, and the concert atmosphere of spreading love, and inclusion. I am now a big fan.

As a fan who clicked on too many photos of them on social media, I began to reflect on my investment in their lives. It seems silly for a person of my age (29+) to care about people I don’t even know. Especially people that seem to have it all. Didn’t I have better things to think about? That’s when it dawned on me that I was using this as a diversion from the troubling news surrounding us. War, terror, cruelty, natural disasters, poverty, hate and discord. I needed to root for love and for goodness to win.

What is your diversion? Or maybe you need one? TV shows, social media, music, books, movies, sports, relationships, devotions, food, nature? Is it a healthy diversion? One that brings you joy and a quick break from reality? Or one that keeps you from dwelling in God’s love and trusting that he is in control even in the chaos that seems to be happening in the world today? Can it be both?

God meets us with unending love, grace, and peace wherever we are both emotionally and physically. It is not contingent on being in worship or outward signs of love and devotion. However, wouldn’t it be amazing if we could support each other with the power of a full church of Jesus fans? I certainly felt that bursting, joyful spirit of hope and promise at the Dedication last week. Worship as our weekly diversion that centers our hearts for the week ahead sounds good. We can dwell in the knowledge that He came to be the light to this messed-up world and to show radical love. He will shoulder our burdens and the Holy Spirit will lead our lives. He is our biggest influencer and love wins. I am invested. Are you?

In God’s love,

Angie Seiller, Director of Faith Formation

Seven years ago this week, Lord of Life held our initial meetings with consultant Craig Miller of Horizons Stewardship to clarify our mission hopes and needs. Part of Craig’s assessment included a feasibility study of our ministry goals and financial health, which would help us identify our appetite for what type of projects we would pursue.

Much can happen in seven years. During this time, we not only raised funds and set a course for sanctuary renewal, fire suppression, parking lot projects (some of which will be completed after all the big trucks are gone), and the construction of a multi-purpose community space, but also welcomed dozens of new families, partnered with four seminary interns, and shared hundreds of opportunities to worship, pray, learn, and serve together.

During this time, we also focused our mission and vision statements, leaned into our core values, and created a welcome statement that reflected the realities of our community. When Covid landed in the world unexpectedly, we learned how to live out our mission in new ways, as we were forced to rethink how, when, and where ministry could happen. Council President and Share the Light team member, Greg Hasselbeck, remembers, “Our church was able to quickly pivot from in-person only services to online services [using] some of our Share the Light funds to make that happen. We were blessed to have funds available to support the upgrade of our sanctuary and a staff that was able to make it happen so quickly.”

Looking back on our Share the Light capital campaign, Greg continues, “What excited me about the entire idea was knowing or believing that expanding our space and making other capital improvements on our campus would enable us to expand upon how we live our mission as a congregation … I knew well that the building was often full and groups – both from inside and outside of Lord of Life – were often looking for space and we couldn’t accommodate everyone.”

When asked why he and his wife chose to step into leadership, campaign chair Mark Dalhart recalls, “Initially, both Deanne and I felt it was time for Lord of Life to show the community we were here for them. There were definitely space needs and [creating] a space along Tylersville would accomplish both. We felt it was necessary for the senior members of the church to show they were behind the capital campaign…I still believe this is the right direction for Lord of Life to serve the community.”

Greg Hasselbeck says, “This has been a bit of a faith journey for me. Faith in our congregation to support the capital campaign and faith that our financial investments would be rewarded in terms of new members and more giving to support the increased operating expenses that come along with the new building…It’s great to see that faith being rewarded with new members and a growing congregation, and seeing the excitement that the possibilities of our new space present to all of us … I’m excited to see the blessing it will bring to our congregation and community in the future.”

Former Council President Vasanthi Chalasani says, “Share the Light to me was not about another building, but a space that brings our congregation to fully embrace our mission ‘to live, share, and celebrate with all people, God’s love in Jesus Christ.’ I am excited for the new space…It will open up many opportunities to serve our community and [help us] grow in faith for generations to come.”

Please come and celebrate with us, this Sunday. Join us in person if you can. If not, watch online in real-time or as your schedule allows. Please pray for this new season of ministry together and stop by to see how God is helping us make more room for everyone.

Joyously sharing the light of Christ,

Pastor Lowell

If you would like to give a one-time or recurring gift to support the ministries of Lord of Life, you can do so here: https://www.lol-lutheran.com/give Thank you for your generosity.

It is fall! The upcoming weather forecast certainly supports that. The leaves are beginning to drop and the mornings are crisp. I dress for three seasons each day. But also, I’ve been seeing the ads for the various pumpkin patches around the area. The kids are on fall break this weekend and we’re going to try to hit our favorite patch “Country Pumpkins” down in Crittenden, KY.

One special thing about this patch is the hayride out to cut your own pumpkin. Most farms I have visited already have the pumpkins cut from the vines, sitting around waiting to be selected, fading in the sun. But this patch leaves the pumpkins on the vine. The vine is the pumpkin’s lifeline. As long as it is connected to the vine, it will grow. It gives the pumpkins more time to mature than if they had been cut off earlier, time to develop into vibrant, beautiful, orange pumpkins.

When I go to these patches it’s amazing to see vines spiral around like a plate of spaghetti. The vines cover the ground to such an extent that it is hard to move without stepping on a vine. And then I worry I have ruined the pumpkin’s chance to grow and mature by hurting the vine. But luckily, pumpkin plants are very resilient. When the vine is damaged or separated from the pumpkin, farmers can bind it together or add fertilizer. By acting, the farmer repairs the vine and the pumpkin continues growing. Sometimes after the vine heals, it becomes even stronger than it was before and the pumpkin receives extra nourishment, growing larger than before. 

Jesus tells us that he is the vine, nourishing us with his love. We are the pumpkins, growing and changing through life with the support of the vine. We might be pumpkin flowers, beginning to bloom, early in our faith. Or perhaps we have matured into pumpkins, growing with the nutrition from the vine.

But sometimes things happen in life that damage our relationship with Jesus – we make mistakes, we don’t live up to our baptismal promises. Perhaps we do something so devastating that we feel like those pumpkins cut from the vine and waning in the field. We can’t comprehend how Jesus continues to love us when we have messed up so massively. Or maybe it wasn’t one massive thing, maybe it’s the small things we do or that someone does to us, the continuous steps tromping through our field, each step breaking that vine just a little more. 

Whether it is one thing or multiple small things, we can begin to feel disconnected from Jesus or unworthy of his love. These thoughts put further distance between us and Jesus. Even though we might feel cut off from Jesus, Jesus is always with us. We are never fully separated from Jesus’s love, the vine is always there, grounding us. Perhaps we need to bind the damaged parts or add fertilizer, taking time to tend and care for this precious life source. When we take time for that reconciliation, we become stronger.

Perhaps tending our relationship with Jesus looks like confession or prayer. Perhaps it is a refreshing walk through a pumpkin patch, giving thanks for creation. Whatever it looks like for you, Jesus is there with you along the way, calling to you, giving you the opportunities to refresh and restore yourself. We are always tied to Jesus but when we take time to be spiritually fed and tend to our relationship, we grow from the sprouting flower to a vibrant, healthy pumpkin. 

May this fall find you well and may you be reminded of all the ways Jesus loves you and cares through the vine of your relationship. 

Peace, 

Pastor Laura

Thousands of items made their way to Lord of Life this week for our annual rummage sale. If you stroll around, you will notice the carloads of toys, furniture, sports equipment, tools, jewelry, and a myriad of other items dropped off in hopes of finding a new place to call home. There were even a few heirlooms that made their way to the sale. (Pssst… Don’t miss the sale this Saturday, 8 am – 1 pm. There is literally something for everybody.)

One such item, not often associated as a treasured keepsake, was a hardcover version of the classic “Goodnight Moon.” Pictured here, you’ll notice that it was more than well loved. You can tell that it had been read and carried around so many times over the years that the binding was barely holding the whole package together. Pages were torn, mangled, or missing all together. This was a well-known and well-loved story.

We have a shelf of family Bibles in our home. Included in this array, there is one from the Foellner family in Germany and one from the Michelson family in Norway. We don’t read them for devotions, because, not only are they in German and Norwegian, but the fancy fonts and ancient versions of these foreign languages are far beyond the modern languages we could study and read.

The Norwegian Bible is an especially elegant old edition with several pages of family history including birth, wedding, and death dates hand calligraphied in the front pages by my ancestors. The leather cover is battered and the binding is barely holding together from years of usage. It is fascinating to imagine all the hands that held and reflected on the people and stories in this well-loved and holy book.

When you see the new addition on our campus from the Tylersville entrance, you might immediately notice the towering glass which splits the soaring rock walls on the north side of the building. Architect Art Hupp, speaking about the design, said that he wanted it to look like an open book that had the binding split open. Not only is the hope that our space—the book—will be so well loved and used that it bursts open in a new way, but also the reality that the Spirit of God is continually tearing into our world in mighty and powerful ways!

We are a faith community open to neighbors and the world. We are not an idle heirloom gathering dust on a shelf somewhere, but a vibrant place and a people who are continually being called into action for God’s purposes. In addition, we are a people who stand open to the way that the Spirit of God calls us into both time tested and new ways of worship, learning, serving, sharing, and caring.

As I mentioned in a previous reflection, our new space is literally pointing to the risen Jesus Christ as well as away from our existing building and out into the community. This isn’t by accident, but is an architectural choice to visually remind us that our mission—God’s mission—doesn’t reside on our property, but propels us upward and outward. 

You may remember that Sir Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” So it is with the angles of this expansion which fan out in open fashion. Open hearts. Open minds. Open Spirit.

I am excited for how this new space will shape and transform us and our community. God is building something beautiful and transformational at Lord of Life. It is a joy to be part of this season as God opens us up with stories of forgiveness and reconciliation, liberation and salvation, hope and joy.

I love to tell the Story,

Pastor Lowell

My brother-in-law had thriving elephant ear plants in Louisville that he needed to divide as they were taking over his yard. He offered cuttings of the tubers (like a bulb but in tube form) to his family in Cincinnati. Several said yes and the plant journey began. They were dug up but waited in Louisville for several days, withering in the hot sun, unrooted in traveling, they were delivered to several places in Cincinnati before a few ended up at our house.

We had a busy few days after they arrived, so they sat browning and curling before we were able to plant them. With good watering and fertilizing, and the humid heat of the summer, they took root and began to grow here too. Our neighbors noticed and asked if we would mind sharing a cutting. My husband explained that they also need care in the winter, either nestled in piles of leaves or dug up and brought inside but we would be happy to share.

This past Sunday, families showed up to plant roots of faith on Rally Day. We were intentional in tending to our life with Jesus. Our ability to root, or our choice of where to root, helps us grow and thrive. As we know, life can be so incredibly busy, and it can be easy to leave our faith withering or waiting for another day. But when we nurture it, we can pass that joy and peace on to others too. It’s never too late. Living out our faith doesn’t have to happen in our physical building, it can be anywhere. However, being grounded in a community that can enrich and support your family can be the sunlight that is crucial for thriving.

How exciting that we were spilling into every space available this past Sunday. We were packed in classrooms with our parents, learned about praying, received new Bibles, discussed future opportunities, and started to form relationships and renew past friendships. Most of all, we acknowledged that we are children of God period, no exceptions. We are welcomed just as we are and when life takes us away from this community, we are welcomed back always. Our teachers and helpers were open to planting roots, nurturing their faith, and sharing it with others. It was a Sunday filled with possibilities.

Looking back on our lives, most of us had a person who showed us how their faith in Jesus impacted their lives. They were intentional in sharing, serving, and loving. Who was it for you? They helped establish those roots that have enabled us to come back time and time again even in our brokenness.

As we move forward into this new season, where or how will you plant roots in growing your faith or your families? What in your life needs a little sunshine, fertilizing, or sharing? If you feel that life is like that withering plant, too busy or unsettled to even think about planting roots, we pray that knowing you are a loved child of God is enough for now. Like our elephant ears who are always leaning towards the sun for extra nourishment, we pray that you can lean into God’s sustaining and rooted promises of enduring love and hope.

Rooted in God’s love with you,

Angie Seiller, Director of Faith Formation

I went to the Piano Guys concert last night at the Taft Theater downtown. It is a beautiful space, and considering its age, they do a nice job making the room accessible for people with disabilities. There are nooks carved out of the permanent seating where people in wheelchairs can find a place, there aren’t any stairs between the doors and the main floor to break up the path, and there are ushers to help guide folks who need assistance through these paths to their seats. This is a great example of how hospitality, accessibility and diversity come together.

I go to concerts at Music Hall pretty often, too. Recent renovations have made that space accessible, as well. More importantly, the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestras have made an effort to program music by a diverse range of artists, breaking away from the Euro-centric sets we’re used to and choosing selections by African American composers and composers from around the world. Just as importantly, they invite guest musicians who will speak to all the varied interests in Cincinnati’s metro area. It is part of their mission to share music without barriers.

These are really important steps to diversity and hospitality, but I would say that both accessibility for disabilities and demographic diversity are fairly obvious things. What do they mean for us up here in Butler County, though? Lord of Life is already built without any steps or difficult thresholds. That is low-hanging fruit. We live in a county that is 82% white, so we can’t expect that we will attract a racially diverse congregation. Could we do some more things to be more accessible? Yes. Are there other ways we can continue to think of racial diversity outside of our lives here in West Chester? For sure.

There is a broader way to think of diversity and hospitality, too, though. And once we start thinking that way, it opens up the path to make things accessible to everyone. In our reading from the book of Romans this week, Paul talks about the diversity of how people worship God. Some people fast in God’s name and some people feast in God’s name. To continue in that line of thought, some people might kneel while other people stand. Some people sing while others choose to pray quietly. Some people worship God through an entirely different faith, and that is good, too.

Even among those of us who worship here at Lord of Life, we all bring different gifts, and we are all at different places on our faith journey. We invite people of all ages and skill levels to participate fully in each part of our worship and all of our other activities, too. Believe it or not, that isn’t true in all churches.

This week, we’ll unveil four new art panels in the sanctuary. They focus on the theme of “rising” and volunteers from eight years old to many decades older worked on them throughout the past week. You’ll see hands uplifting, a sun ascending, colors emanating, and a city shining - all rising so they can be part of lifting up the world.

I can think of so many more ways to broaden my view of diversity: I can think of people with mental illness with compassion; I can consider that people of other socio-economic classes may have difficult circumstances and not poor choices; I can be patient with someone with a  personality I find difficult.

How can you broaden your view of diversity? What do you think that means for Lord of Life and your day to day life?

Yours in Christ,

John