The Weekly View

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Dear St. Luke Community,

Someone once asked me how I saw myself as a minister. For example, did I see myself as shepherd? Dave Slorpe once described it more like being a border collie. That rings true as I’m always looking to see who we haven’t seen in a while and searching ways to bring them back into the fold. But lately I’ve felt more like a mother who is about to send their first born off to college. Part of me wants to hold on forever and the other knows the healthy thing to do is trust.

Trust has been coming up a lot lately, in both discussions and sermons. It seems in times of crisis, the fundamentals of our faith become essential and the quality of what once sounded like a platitude now feels deeply meaningful. Trust is one of those fundamentals. Trust requires a kind of risk, because there is a letting go of control required. The truth is, we’re never fully in control, but we love to convince ourselves we can manipulate our future through the choices we make, as though our lives were some kind of chess board. It’s not. And the future of the church is not. God is in the mix, and it always feels risky to let go and let God. 

Jesus illustrates this for us in his Parable of the Talents for this Sunday (Matthew 25: 14-39). One of the servants chooses to bury his talent.  According to the Oxford Dictionary, to bury is to put or hide under ground, cause to disappear or become inconspicuous.

What leads us to disappear; playing it safe rather than investing in God’s ability to drive this life? Fear certainly plays a part, as does our ego, which would always prefer to be in the driver’s seat. I look forward to exploring this more on Sunday.

Also this Sunday, we will watch the baptism of Will and Ben White that took place on the lawn outside the sanctuary Thursday morning. But that baptism is not fully complete until you all have your congregational response and we share in our oldest creed as a congregation. I look forward to sharing in that joy together.

See you Sunday,
Nicole

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Dear St. Luke Community,

This Sunday is designated Stewardship Sunday. Wait! Before you roll your eyes or decide you’d rather go on a hike please read through. Stewardship Sunday is too often thought of as the Sunday that “they” (being the church or the committee) ask for money. Stewardship Sunday is so much more than that. 

First of all, whether you are a member or not, you are the church. There is no “they” or “them” in this equation. The church is made up of its people who show up on Sunday. Whether you are one of those who show up every Sunday or just once in a while, you are a living part of this living body of Christ. And like it or not, just by showing up, you assume a responsibility. But unlike many other responsibilities in your lives, this is one that is not a chore. It is a spiritual gift, because the more you invest in the spiritual care of this body the more you receive.

Our theme this year is Courage and Faith – Moving Forward Together.

There’s much that needs to take place to move forward together and my prayer is that you who are reading this will feel moved and called by God to participate in the process of moving forward.

The scripture this Sunday is perfect for moving forward (Matthew 25: 1-13). We’ll be reminded in this scripture about the importance of preparation. Now is the time to dig deep into the resources of your energy as a person of faith, connected to a larger body that is embarking on something new. 

In the parable that Jesus tells is the coming of a party. A party is what God’s kingdom looks like when people come together in faith: something to be celebrated, enjoyed and delighted in. But that doesn’t happen when you decide someone else can do the work. That only happens when you engage in the commitment of faith, the challenge of process, and the spiritual discernment of moving forward together.

It takes courage, faith and you.

See you Sunday,
Nicole

Sunday, October 25, 2020

Dear St. Luke Community,

My heartfelt and most sincere appreciation for the continued love you have all shown in your cards, emails, phone calls and backyard visits. My heart is filled with joy and sadness, gratitude and grief and so are yours as you’ve expressed them to me. The heart can carry all kinds of emotion that may seem intellectually contrary, but as anyone who is anyone knows, life is never black and white and often takes a turn we didn’t see coming.

Perhaps Moses knew this better than anyone, when at the end of his life, he was not allowed to enter into the Promised land (Deuteronomy 34:1-12). Sunday after Sunday we’ve followed Moses in the wilderness, witnessing him as a faithful servant of God’s, obeying God (not always perfectly), only to be denied entry for the remaining years of his life. There is nothing fair about it and our heart breaks for Moses as we look to God and ask on behalf of Moses, “Why not?” 

In this scripture Moses is the picture of unfulfilled dreams and disappointment. Many of us are feeling that way these days, some of you for personal reasons, and perhaps all of you collectively as a congregation. 

But also like Moses, you have seen God intimately and journeyed with God so closely that many of you have expressed versions of coming face to face with God in unexplained and undefinable ways. To be a servant of God’s is often like this –  contradictory in nature and as fulfilling as it can be frustrating.

But unlike Moses, you will not be separated from the community that you’ve traveled with this far. And the promises that God makes to you are fulfilled in Christ, the one we profess as our Lord and Savior. As you continue to journey ahead, my prayer is that you will do so as a body, one body, in Christ. All of God’s promises are already living among you, and they are not just a vision of some unknown future, but living among you in the hear and now, expressed in the ways you carry one another and love one another today and all days.

Yours in Christ,
Nicole