Confirmation

Swinging on Monday, Aug. 17

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

O.K…it is time to get back into the swing of things once again.

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) is convening in Minneapolis for its Church wide assembly.  And this year promises to be one of heated (and hopefully) civil debate over the issue of homosexuality.  Tops on the agenda is the social statement on Human Sexuality.  Closely behind that is the ministry recommendations that would allow ordaining gay/lesbian pastors who are in life-long, committed relationships and for the blessing of same sex unions.  No matter where one stands; no matter what happens, there will be some polarization in the ELCA.  I hate to say it, but its going to happen.  My prayer is that the mission of Christ still continues marching forward and that we don’t let issues derail us.  Satan would love nothing more than for the Church to lose its focus.

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and I am deep into getting ready for confirmation.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I am revamping my confirmation program here.  It is not a complete overhaul, but rather some important (and intriguing) additions to the schedule and requirements.  One of the key things I am doing is putting a greater emphasis on parental involvement.  I will talk more later on what I am doing with this.  I have a couple more piece I am finalizing yet, but I am really looking forward to this year.  It’s going to be a fun one.

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and I am starting to feel a little anxiety.  In less than a month, Salem Lutheran Church will be celebrating its 125th anniversary and I don’t feel ready to go yet.  The big weekend is Sept. 12 and 13 and it keeps creeping closer and closer every day (duh…i guess).  It’s just that there is so much to do here at church and in the parsonage…and I just want everything to go smoothly.  But on the other hand I am looking forward to the celebration.  We have former pastors coming back and other special guests returning for the weekend.  You can go to our church website for a complete schedule of events at http://www.salemjackson.org

Today is Monday, Aug. 17 and I feel like I am back into the swing of things…again.  But with everything that is coming up I am hoping and praying that I do not “strike out”.

God bless your day!

-edh-

What I have been up to

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Wow…it has been a while…August 4…What in the world have I been up to?  Where has the time gone?  Am I O.K. (as one person has asked)?  Well…to answer the last question…Yes, I am fine.  Now on to the first two.

The last couple weeks have been pretty busy…much busier than I anticipated.  Aug. 3 – 9 was the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference.  I mentioned this before and said I would write more about this.  Well…with running down to Spirit Lake twice a day (50 miles round trip each time), it took a toll on me.  I found that I had very little free time.  The conference was great though…probably the best one I have been too, but I am sorry that I did not write more about it.

August 10 through today has been one of reading and fall planning.  One of my big accomplishments was that I totally revamped my confirmation program (this WILL be something I will share with you once I polish off some details).  I am really excited about this and looking forward to classes starting on Sept. 23.

I also read another book.  This one is called “God and Cancer” by Tim Chaffey.  GREAT BOOK.  Tim is a college friend of my wife and a cancer survivor.  The first part of his book he talks about his struggle with leukemia…how it hit so fast and so hard.  In the second part of the book Tim talks about the problem of evil.  He talks about how various other religions deal with evil and that Christianity is the only religion that has an answer for evil.  I highly recommend this book.  We have invited Tim to come to Jackson to speak about his book in November.  I can hardly wait.

And tonight I am doing something that will be incredibly fun.  I won’t say much now but what I will say is that it involves me and a race car (mom…I know you probably remember what I am talking about so don’t worry).  Be watching my blog on Monday for highlights about tonight.

So that is where my last two weeks have gone.  Thank you for being patient.  Thank you for stopping by.  Thank you for your individual ministries…all in the name of God our Father through Jesus Christ who is ALWAYS faithful.  Thank you and God bless.

-edh-