This week we continue our stewardship emphasis. Two weeks ago, we talked about our talents and skills. Last week we talked about our relationships. This week we talk about time.

Time is one of the most challenging things to steward in today’s world, especially in metropolitan areas like our own. Many people in our area are happy if they only have to commute one hour, one way. That’s pretty outlandish for much of the country, but here, that seems to be on the low end.

Even if you don’t have a long commute, you probably have family activities that take you all over the Bay Area, whether it’s your own activities or those of kids or grandkids, everybody seems to be on the go all the time.

One of the things that gets lost in this overscheduled world is the ability to rest. I’ve fallen prey to this quite frequently. When I actually do carve out some time to rest, I feel, well, restless. I feel jittery like I need to be doing something, like I’m wasting time.

Rest is not a waste of time. And I think we all probably need more of it.

Jesus’ sets a good example for us. Numerous times throughout the Gospels, Jesus withdraws to be alone. He withdraws to spend time with His heavenly Father. He withdraws to pray and rest.

I don’t think any of us can honestly say our busy lives are filled with more important tasks than Jesus’ life. We need to find ways to set up boundaries in our lives to find rest, and I should certainly need by example.

Monday is my day off. While I initially started off doing pretty well at keeping that day as a rest day, over time I found myself working here and there throughout Monday. I’d answer an email that could certainly wait. I’d write down some ideas for my next sermon or Bible study. I’d agree to a visit that could have been rescheduled.

As I considered my own stewarding of time, I realized I had moved to a place that was lacking health and wisdom. So, please, don’t be offended if you don’t hear from me on Mondays. In order to steward my own time more wisely, I need to create a boundary around that day. And I think I’ll be a better pastor, servant, and leader because of it.

Thanks for your care and understanding.

God’s blessings on your week.

Pastor Andy

On Sunday at the voters meeting after church, the council introduced a change that we’ve been discussing for a few months now.

The proposed change involves the way we teach Sunday School to our children. Currently, the children leave the worship service after the children’s chat and come back into the worship service at some point during or after the offering. Starting in September, we’ll be trying a test run of having the kids remain in the worship service and holding Sunday School for the children at the same time as Bible study for the adults after worship.

The current plan is to try this from September through December, assessing if we should continue the practice into 2020 and beyond.

I know that this is a big ask. It is a lot to ask of parents, Sunday School teachers, and probably most especially of our Sunday School kids.

There are pros and cons to the current way we handle Sunday School. There are pros and cons to the change we will be making. I know I’ve spoken with several of you about this, but I haven’t reached everybody one-on-one, so I wanted to speak to this change here in the First Notes. Over the next few weeks I plan to lay out some of the reasoning behind the change and how the congregational leadership hopes it will better form and instruct the congregation’s children as we all seek to follow Christ together.

As Ellen noted in the meeting on Sunday, this began with a simple question from me wanting to know the history of how we came to have the current policy for Sunday School. Discussions with the council, the elders, other congregation members, and nearby pastors have led me to support the change as the best course of action at this time for First Lutheran Church and Preschool.

I know there are a lot of questions and a lot of logistical challenges to work through before we launch in September. I want to be as transparent about this change as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please talk with me about them. Let’s do our best to refrain from gossip. Let’s walk forward together into this change with hopefulness that this is where the Lord is leading our community.

God’s blessings on your week.

Pastor Andy

I haven’t put a lot of photos up in my office yet. My desk is mostly filled with papers and books. I have two framed photos on my desk, though. One is of Stephanie and me in Paris on our fifth wedding anniversary. The other is of my grandpa and grandma. Growing up in Minnesota, my grandparents lived on the same farm place. I spent as much time in their house as I did in my own growing up, and I miss them dearly. I think of them often this time of year.

 This Sunday we celebrate All Saints’ Day. This is a time to remember those who have died in the faith and celebrate God’s grace and mercy in their lives. It’s a time when we look around at life. We look to the past, remembering our family and friends who are no longer with us. We look to the present, at the saints gathered together with us week after week to worship God and receive His grace. We look to the future, knowing that there are those among us who will not be in the pews next year, but will be asleep with Jesus.

All Saints’ Day is a time of grief and joy, a time of sorrow and hope. It’s hard when loved ones die, when they are no longer a part of our routines, when we can no longer visit with them and hear their stories and feel their hugs. We may feel regret for harsh words spoken that cannot be unsaid. We may even feel relief that a loved one is no longer with us because they made our life so challenging. And that feeling of relief can produce guilt and shame in us that we may not know how to handle.

No matter what feelings of struggle come up with the memories of loved ones, we still look forward to the day when Christ returns and raises us all from the dead to live with Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.

Until then, don’t be afraid to shed a tear. Don’t be afraid to share a story with someone. Don’t be afraid to listen to someone else’s story.

God’s blessings on your week.

Pastor Andy

When I was in college, I sang in various choirs throughout my time there. We always did tours during Holy Week around the country. On one of these tours, I think my sophomore year, our choir director selected the most difficult song I’ve ever had to sing, a song I actually couldn’t sing the entire way through. It was called Song for Athene. If you search for it on YouTube and give a listen, you might be wondering why it was so challenging for me to sing. It’s a hauntingly beautiful song, but it’s pretty slow and standard for a good choir.

In those days I sang Bass 2, the lowest notes on the page. The Bass 2 part for Song for Athene is one note. One. Note. Now you’re probably really confused. How could one note be the hardest song I’ve ever sung? The one note was an F. It’s the note just below the staff in the bass clef. My fellow Bass 2s and I had to hold that F, staggering our breathing, for about seven minutes. I sang that song nearly 100 times and I never ever made it to the end. About four minutes into the song my voice couldn’t hit that note anymore. I waited for 30 seconds, tried again, and just struggled into the song was over.

Sometimes the most challenging things in life are the things that don’t require a lot of flash or thought or even talent, but they do require prolonged consistency and steadiness.

This is how Lent feels to me. Lent requires a level of persistence and steadiness that is hard to maintain. The tasks are no more challenging than in Epiphany or Advent or any other time of the year. But in Lent, I sometimes find myself needing a breath, needing to take extra breaks before I start again.

And that’s okay. I am, after all, only human. Life continues its symphony around me, even when I need to take a break and breathe.

As you journey toward the cross this Lenten season, don’t forget to breathe.

God’s Blessings on your week.

Pastor Andy

Aside from running, one of the things I do in my spare time is listen to audio books. I recently finished (not for the first time) C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength. It’s the third book in his so-called “Space Trilogy.”

It’s pretty strange. I’m not sure if you’ve read it, but it’s a science fiction thriller filled with an odd combination of myth and religion and politics.

One of the concepts Lewis unfolds that is absolutely fascinating is the concept of the inner ring. This is a sociological phenomenon in which people try to get to the center of power and control. It doesn’t necessarily mean having the highest position, but rather having the most influence, seeming like the most important person.

You see this in every institution. At the seminary for example, one professor put it to me this way in his own experience. There are only a select few who get to teach at the seminary. There are even fewer who teach the most important department: practical theology. There are even fewer who teach the most important subject: preaching. And even fewer, only two, who teach preaching full-time…and I’m better than the other guy.

Notice how the rings narrow down smaller and smaller (from school to department to subject to full-time on the subject) until it is just you. Some people are drawn to this sort of exclusivity and selectivity. Their ambition drives them further and further toward power and self-importance.

This sort of thinking does not work in the Body of Christ. As the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you.’” In the church, the choir cannot say to the Sunday school teachers “I have no need of you.” The elders cannot say to the trustees “I have no need of you.” And the pastor cannot say to anyone “I have no need of you.”

Everyone is important. Everyone is needed. Every gift and skill and passion that God has given to us as His people is necessary for the health and vitality of the church.

Which also means that you cannot say of yourself, “The church doesn’t need me.” Because we do. We need you. We are not healthy without you.

God’s blessings on your week.

Pastor Andy

This Monday will mark the one-year anniversary of my ordination. In that first year, I preached 57 sermons. You may or may not have noticed, but I am a big proponent of variety when it comes to preaching. The Gospel has many facets and far more depth than I will ever uncover. In each sermon I preach, my introduction typically starts with these words – “Grace, mercy, and peace to you from our Lord, Savior, and (fill in the blank), Jesus Christ. That fill in the blank spot is the Gospel metaphor I’ll be working with in the sermon. In the 57 sermons I delivered in my first year, there were 41 different words that filled in that blank. There were 41 different Gospel metaphors that came to light in just one year of preaching.

Each of these speaks to who Jesus is. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Savior. We see that every week. But we also see over time that Jesus is our leader, our shepherd, our refuge, our strength, our peace, our reconciliation, our joy, and so much more.

As I enter into my second year here at First Lutheran Church and Preschool, I hope that you will continue to see that I have not exhausted the Gospel. I hope you will see that the variety and depth of what Jesus does for us is expansive. I hope you will find that Jesus’ incarnation, life, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, ascension, and return are applicable to your life and your walk with God.

God’s richest blessings on your week.

Pastor Andy