Construction project

Monday morning check-in — Ramp project among other things

/ The Pastor / 8 Comments

We are off to a great start on a beautiful and cool Monday morning.  Now I am praying for some rain because my lawn continues to turn the dreaded brownish color (and our crops could definitely use a drink as well).  But according to the “weather experts” (I always use that title loosely) we should get some rain this week.  Maybe I should be a weather dude; then I could say “there is a 50% chance for rain this week” and have a 50% chance of being right.  Not bad odds.

Ramp project
I know it has been a while since I have given an update on our ramp project.  So here’s an update…it’s done:


We still have some landscaping to do on the north and south sides.  On Sunday, September 14 we will be having a short dedication service right before worship.  The idea right now is to ask people to gather outside before worship.  I will then have a short litany and then “J” will cut the ribbon (her and her husband, “G” gave the money for this project but “G” died shortly after they gave us the money, but did express his wish for a new ramp .  “G” would be so happy to see this done…I wish he could be here).  I am not sure how the litany will go right now.  Does any have any suggestions of what you have used or seen used for something like this?

What’s next?
Next year Salem Lutheran Church will be celebrating it’s 125th anniversary of ministry.  So with that in mind we will be continuing to fix up some things around the church.  Our next big projects will be to repaint the sancuary and the Fellowship Hall.  We have a professional coming in to paint the sanctuary because of the high ceiling but we as a church will handle the Fellowship Hall painting.  After those projects we have some other minor ones to do to get ready for next year. 

But right now my frustration is that we are having a hard time getting people to volunteer to serve on a planning committee for this anniversary celebration.  I know people are busy, but this is a big deal for the church.  I wrote a newsletter article for September so that combined with my persistent president asking people hopefully will produce a committee.

[If you’re a Salem member reading this, please, please volunteer and share your gifts].

Training update
6 weeks and counting until the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.  Training is going well, but my wife is still a little nervous.  There are days when I wonder what the heck I am doing and then there are days when I feel super confident.  But either way, I know this is going to be a difficult race, but I am still looking forward to tackling this goal and accomplishing it.  God has been with me through all the ups and downs and I am confident God will give me the strength to finish the race.

Coming up…
(1) I am working on part 3 of my Ministry model vs. Business model series; a series talking about a new structure for my church council.

(2) Last week I failed to post a Coffee Shop Ponderings post, but I will be back with one this Thursday.

(3) This weekend I am heading to the LifeLight Christian Music Festival in Sioux Falls, SD with a bunch of friends.  It is a free festival with many big name Christian artists like: Micheal W. Smith, Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp and many more.  I will post more about this weekend and might even have some pictures.

With that I pray you have a very happy and blessed day.  Take joy in the Lord for He is good. 

Take care!
-edh-

Monday morning check in — Post-Sonshine post

/ The Pastor

Here I am…in my office…post-Sonshine…procrastinating on writing my newsletter article (of course, by the time my secretary reads this I WILL be working on my article, I promise).

Anyway…we had a great time at Sonshine Festival.  We heard lots of great music from the likes of Jars of Clay, Third Day, Jeremy Camp, Toby Mac, Hawk Nelson, Peder Eide, Barlowgirl, David Crowder, and much more.  That list is definitely not listed in order because that would be to hard to do.  But Hawk Nelson is a group I never really listened to before but I am now developing a new appreciation for them.  All the groups were (and are) great examples and very open about their faith.  It was fun and inspiring to hear them and worship with them.  And for $68 for the weekend…for all that music…you just can’t beat that.

Our group consisted of my wife and I along with one senior high girl from Salem with a group of 10 from Our Savior’s.  There were more adults than youth in our group, but everyone had fun.  We camped in tent city where there were thousands of tents crammed in together.  It is hard to describe the scene but trust me, it was a zoo.  The “city” never really completely died down.  There was activity all night long for all four nights.  My wife and I came home on Saturday and let me tell ya…a shower and my bed felt great on Saturday night.  But over all it was a great experience and we are already looking forward to next year.

Ramp update
I haven’t said much in this area for a while but here’s a quick update (just in case you were wondering).  All the cement is poured and now they are on the brick work.  Red-ish (basic brick color…whatever that is “offically” called) bricks will be placed on the side of the ramp and a brick wind break is currently being built on the north side of the ramp by the sanctuary door.  The time table for completion is still mid-August sometime.  I will get some pictures posted soon.

One week to go…
After this week I will be out of the office for a couple weeks.  On Sunday I fly to Chicago for a special meeting on evangelism and outreach.  I was invited by the synod office to attend this meeting (I will discuss this more in another post this week).  After I get back on Tuesday I go on vacation until Sunday.  On Sunday I am still out of the office but for continuing education.  The week of Aug 3 – 10 I am at the Okoboji Lakes Bible and Missionary Conference.  A free conference in the Okoboji Lakes area (about 20 miles from here).  That too I will write more about later.  So this week I have a lot to get done before I head out.

With that…I leave you with this quote I came across…one I used in my sermon yesterday: “We are not in the land of the living, but in the land of the dying — someday we shall be in the Land of the Living.”  What a great reminder of the hope we all have in Jesus Christ.

Take care and have a great day!

-edh-

More ramp photos

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I hope people are not getting sick of seeing photos of our ramp project.  For me…it is exciting to see the progress.  With each thing that gets done, it means we are one step closer to using the ramp and moving worship back upstairs.  This morning the guys were up and working by 6:30am and done pouring the top half of the deck by around 8am.  Here are a couple more photos of what was done this morning (July 9):

The lower half of the deck has plastic with sand on top.  This keeps the cement from drying out to fast and helps with the curing process. 

So far everything is going great.  The guys told me today that besides beating the heat, pouring early in the morning gives the cements time to harden before the “hooligans” are out of bed and therefore they can not leave their legacy in the cement.  You can tell these guys have done this before.

Now our biggest challenge might be keeping Salem members at bay.  The ramp may look like it is good enough to walk on, but we can’t be using it until early August.  Hopefully people will understand. 

-edh-

Ramp update – pouring cement

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

They started pouring the ramp deck today…WHOO HOO!!!  They are going pour the deck in two sections.  The lower half was poured this morning and the upper half will be poured tomorrow.  I was told they have to wait about 20 days before attaching the railings.  At this rate we could be using the ramp by (possibly) Aug 10.  Here are some pictures from the activities this morning:

Talk about getting down and dirty.

Getting closer…

Putting on the finishing touches as of 8:45am this morning (July 8).

Now our task is to make sure no one comes by to leave a permanent legacy in the cement for all to see.  This should be fun.

-edh-

Monday morning check in — The law at work in us

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:15-25)

Yesterday (July 6) I preached on the above text.  Actually…I am spending the summer in Romans with the congregation.  I haven’t done a preaching series for a while, but after preaching in Romans the last couple weeks, I decided to look ahead and mapped out a plan that takes us through August.  I taught an adult class on Romans a few years ago, but never spent this much time preaching in Romans.  This is going to be fun.

In the above text I italicized a couple phrases that really hit home for me.  The first one is Paul’s frustration that when he wants to do good, evil is always right there with us.  Paul goes on to lament about what a wretched man he is…who will rescue us?  “Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord”.  Paul’s frustration is also my frustration.  But what really bothers me is when we take this “law” (as Paul states) and take it to heart a little too much.  I mean…how many times have you said (or heard it said) “The devil made me do it“?  We resign ourselves to the fact that we are wretched and sinful people and give up.  We simply throw up our hands and go on sinning saying (or thinking) “I can’t help help it…I’m a sinner“.  Does this “law” at work in us give us an excuse to keep on sinning?  As Paul would say, “By no means!  We have died to sin, why do you live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:2) 

We have a powerful law working against us, but it doesn’t mean we just give in and give up.  We have an awesome God that through Jesus Christ gives us eternal life.  That right there should be motivation enough to fight this law at work in ourselves for the glory of God.  God fought the hard fight for us so we may have life.  I mean…the cross was not easy.

Our fight against sin is one we can not win on our own.  We will lose many battles.  We will grow frustrated.  But “thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Thanks be to God that the war has been won.  Thanks be to God that God does not abandon us.  Thanks be to God that we are loved beyond measure.  Thanks be to God!

Next week the Romans text is chapter 8 verses 1 – 11.  This talks about living according to the Spirit verses living according to the flesh.  This should prove to be a good follow up and hopefully a source of strength and encouragement for the fight against sin.

Other stuff
It is going to be an ugly day here in SW MN.  The humidity is at 100% with a 73 degree dew point.  That makes for a tropical day.  With the early morning rain and the threat of severe weather looming, no work is being done on our ramp project today.  Currently the forms are set for the deck to be poured; we just need some nice weather for that part to proceed.  So because of that I don’t have any updated pictures.  When they start pouring the cement I will post some more pictures.  If you want to see some more pictures of the project, visit our church’s website at www.salemjackson.org and click on the “ramp construction” link.  It has been fasination watching this project but people are starting to get a little anixous to get back into the sanctuary (and I am too).  Another month or so and we will be back in. 

So with that…God bless you and have a marvelous day 🙂

-edh-

Ramp project pictures

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Our ramp construction project is moving along quite nicely.  I have posted a couple pictures below that shows where they are at:

This is late last week as they are pouring the ramp walls.

This pictures was taken yesterday (June 30).  The deck forms are in place and the fill is being put in.

This was this morning, but as of right now, all the fill is in.  They are now packing it down and leveling it off. 

They could be pouring the ramp deck as early as this week.  I guess it depends on the weather…which looks halfway decent except for the heat.  Generally people are happy and excited about the progress and the project as a whole…which is a relief for me.  If people are disgruntled they have not voiced that to me (or at least word of their disgruntledness hasn’t reached my ears yet).

Worship downstairs in the fellowship hall is going well.  Attendance hasn’t dropped too drastically because of our temporary move.  Hopefully people will be patient.  We could possibly be back in the sanctuary in early August if not before.  But this Sunday will create a new challenge for us as we figure out how to serve communion downstairs.  My worship/music team will have some decisions to make tonight.

Over all…things are going well.  The workers have not gotten hurt; the weather has cooperated; and people have stepped up in a variety of ways to help make sure we continue to be a welcoming presence in the midst of our temporary chaos.  One guy even said he would be willing to help guard the newly poured cement to make sure kids (or immature adults) don’t sign their names or put their hand prints in the cement.  I hadn’t thought of that.

But no matter how well things are going, I am looking forward to moving back upstairs.  My only concern is maintaining the closeness and intimacy we are experiencing by worshipping in a smaller space.  If that gets lost in the move, I will miss that.

-edh-

Another ramp pictoral update

/ The Pastor / 5 Comments

…and the construction continues…

More liteform

Liteform going up

These pictures were taken on Monday and today the Lite Form is as tall as the contractor in this picture.  They are really making good progress.  The Lite Form should all be in place by the end of the day (Tuesday) and I am guessing that they will be pouring cement this week yet.  It is really fascinating watching this process. 

More pictures to come…

-edh-

Monday morning check in — Romans and the Ramp project

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Worship
Yesterday was our first worship service in the fellowship hall.  I wasn’t sure what kind of turn out we would get but the basement was full.  But in all honesty it WAS congregational meeting day (with a potluck).  I guess next week will really tell the story.

We do have some bugs to work out though.  Our sound wasn’t the best so we need to do some tinkering this week to fix some bugs.  But worship was fun and “different”.  The setting seemed cozy and intimate.  It made me think of the Church in the first century when people met in homes.  It think it is going to be very strange to move up stairs after being in such a cozy place for a while.  Most people are going to be thankful to be in the sanctuary, but after one Sunday in the fellowship hall, I am liking the closeness while we worship.  It makes me feel more connected with the people.  I wish there was a way I could close off the back half of the sanctuary without getting myself into too much trouble.  There is definitely something to the worship intimacy thing.

Ramp project
Things are moving alone quite nicely.  Today they are putting up the forms and hopefully will be pouring cement tomorrow.  The joke is that since the contractor is moving along like he is, that we will be back in the sanctuary this Sunday.  Of course that is not the case.  We are still looking at August as our move back in date.  Check back soon for some up-to-date pictures of our “little” project.

Sermon
I have added a new page at the top of my blog titled “Sermons”.  I will be adding sermons there periodically; ones that strike me and stand our for me.  This past week is one such example.  I preached on the Romans 6:1-11 text about dying and rising with Christ.  Our “old” life dying to sin and a “new” life rising with Christ.  This text always seems to strike me in a new a different way each time.  Yesterday I used the illustration of our ramp construction project to talk about letting go of the “old” to embrace the “new”; when the new (ramp) comes, the old (ramp) will soon be forgotten.  I don’t pretend to think the sermon was anything spectacular…it just struck a cord with me yesterday.  So take it as it is.

With that I say to you “God bless and have a great day!”

-edh-

Ramp project photos

/ The Pastor / 4 Comments

I have been documenting our “little” construction project here at Salem through pictures.  Here are a few to give you an idea of what is being done:

The before picture

The before picture.

Ramp deck destroyed

The ramp deck is destroyed.

I love this picture

Just in case people don’t notice the construction outside.

I am amazed at how much work they have gotten done.  On Monday the railings were removed and today all the cement of the ramp deck will be gone.  We just need to pray for favorable weather now and I need to finish setting up the fellowship hall for worship.

-edh-