It’s so shiny …

The fresh snowfall this week brought the drab ground and sky back to a bright and shiny wonderland that glistens in the sun and forces you to put on sunglasses while driving. This shininess is just in time for our celebration of the Transfiguration of Jesus this weekend where we hear about the dazzling white and rays of shininess of Jesus on the mountaintop where the disciples experience the Glory of God. Come and join us in-person or online for worship.

Let the good times roll!

To many cultures shaped by Christian tradition, this pre-Lenten season is a time of celebration, a time to “eat and drink.” It is no wonder we think of partying, especially if we remember this year the season began with the story of Jesus making gallons and gallons of wine for a wedding celebration. Jesus ate and drink, and his disciples with him.

Devotion: Saranam Kyrie

Yesterday in my conversation with Pastor Sally we continued our Epiphany focus on global mission, in the words of Simeon’s song: “A light to light the nations of the world.” I shared the history of the planting of a Southeast Asian ministry in Queens in the Metropolitan NY Synod of the ELCA. Pastor Daniel Peter from the Andrha Pradesh Lutheran Church in India was the pastor who developed the outreach. After the Tsunami in South Asia we gathered for comfort and renewal with South Asian Lutherans and neighbors for comfort and prayer. In the pastor’s blog is a devotion I wrote about that event.

Doing It Differently

I was planning a large camp game of capture the flag. There were about 150 kids playing. How in the world were we going to be able to keep everyone honest as to what team they were on? Our confirmation group had not pre-planned being able to ask students to wear or bring a certain color shirt to help with this kind of thing. I looked around and saw a group of leaders cleaning paint brushes from an art activity from free time. There! That’s it! Let’s use paint!