Messages, Meditations, and Musings on the Life of Faith by Rev. Dr. Scott E. Olson, Interim Pastor, Christ Lutheran Church, Preston, MN

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Pr. Olson's Newsletter Article July 2013 - Exploring Our Core Values: Post #3 Celebrating God's Presence through Life Events

July 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It is past mid-June as I write this letter and I have just finished the season of graduation open houses. What a treat it is to visit with our high school graduates and their families! I have also wrapped-up pre-marriage counseling with a young couple who will be married later this summer and I have met with a family to plan a funeral for their loved-one.

Furthermore, a wonderful week of Vacation Bible School is over and pretty soon I’ll be contacting students and parents to help them prepare for the Affirmation of Baptism (Confirmation) service this fall. Believe it or not, I have already been meeting with our Christian Education leaders to ramp up for another programming year. Of course, our Parish Nurse, Meredith, and I make regular visits to the hospitalized and home-bound.

I don’t mention these things to brag about how busy I am, but rather as an introduction to the topic of this month’s letter, our second proposed core value: “We are a Community of Faith … Celebrating God’s Presence through Life Events.” Core values are important for us because they are a basic statement of who we are and why we do what we do. They are to guide our mission and ministry as we seek to be faithful to God’s call on our lives.

Here’s what we mean by “Celebrating God’s Presence through Life Events”:
When we gather we also celebrate what God has done and is doing in, with, and through us as God’s people. We do this by recognizing the milestones on our faith journey: baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, high school graduations, weddings, funerals, and other ways Jesus Christ touches our lives. This celebration comes even through hardship and difficult times as we recognize the new life that can come in the midst of death. We give praise and thanksgiving to a God who calls us forward to new mission opportunities.

This core value builds off of the first one, “Gathering in God’s Love,” and acknowledges that God is actively working in our lives. It also declares that the milestones of our lives are always stepping stones on our journey of faith. Endings are new beginnings. Each step along the way is an opportunity to determine how God is calling us to join in God’s mission to love and bless the world.

As we live out and live into this core value, we must also pay attention to the act of celebrating. All too often, we jump from one thing to the next, not taking time to rejoice in what God has been doing in our midst. Taking a cue from the aforementioned couple, I’ll pass along some advice they received and shared with me: “Take time to enjoy your engagement.”

Indeed, let us take time to enjoy what God is doing in, with, and through our life events, attentive to the marvelous love and grace available to us through Jesus Christ. As always, let us know what you think.

In Christ’s Name
Pastor Olson

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