A letter to Tim Tebow on his recent trade to the Jets

Dear Tim,

Well, you’ve been traded to the Jets.  Welcome to New Jersey.   You’re in a mission mine field (gold or bombs? It’s hard to tell.)

Yeah, let’s get a few things straight. 

You see, both the Giants and the Jets belong to New Jersey, regardless of where their franchises register the moo-lah.   They both practice and play in NJ…so even though they call themselves NY teams, they’re ours.  New Jerseyans know the difference… and that’s where suburbia lives.  (And you’ll have to understand that you’ll never win over the southern half of the state, they’re mostly Eagles fans.)
Speaking of suburbia….did you know that the suburban and metro NY/NJ area is probably one of the biggest mission fields in America?  Yeah, you see we’re so caught up in trying to keep up with what we’ve got that the devil has been having an easy time of it.  Being a Christian isn’t always easy here…we’re a melting pot of faiths, cultures, politics, social and economic classes, races… you name it… you can find it here. 

On the flip side…on the whole, I think we’re a pretty tolerant region considering our diversity.  But that tends to lend itself to a laissez-faire attitude of “hey, you do your thing and I’ll do mine” making evangelism a tough sell in this area.  The “Tebow-ing” thing will generate an equal amount of mockery and supporters.

And it’s not just the fans.  Ask Mark Messier or Mike Richter of the Rangers, or Phil Simms or Eli Manning.  Ask Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada or Alex Rodriguez.  Ask Mark Sanchez.  The media is looking to crucify you….when they’re not tearing apart your football skills they’ll mock you for your faith, your personal life or worse, they’ll label you irrelevant.  They’ll take you to task like no other media market in the country.  Like a dog with a bone, they’re not going to let you get away easy.

Unless you’ve got the stuff to weather us. 

Because you’re not irrelevant… you are a child of God, just like the rest of us.  

And your faith has lit a light that shines on God in the one place a majority of Americans, and New Jerseyans and New Yorkers, will find themselves each Sunday… in the church of the sports arena (or watching it on TV).

There’s a song by Ol’ Blue Eyes (if you don’t know who that is, you’d better look it up before you move here) that goes “if I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere.”  If you think Denver was tough, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.  Grab your big boy football pads…the hits are going to be hard.

Your proving ground has been set before you… I wonder what plans God has in store for you here.
Good luck.

Join us for worship anytime:
Sundays 8:30 and 10:45 am
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaandy.org

Fat Tuesday is Over But the Fun is Just Beginning

Fat Tuesday is over, but the party is just beginning for 8 Youth and their Chaperones.

If you joined us for our Mardi Gras party, you know what a great time we had.

If you missed it, you missed a REALLY terrific party.  Really...

91 people joined us at St. Andrew on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012 to help raise funds to send 8 of our “Youts” and their 2 chaperones (Pastor Fred and the Youth Advisor) to the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans this summer.  The kids raised a total of $3555 with your support.  THANK YOU!

Those 91 people (plus there were many who made donations but did not attend) enjoyed an evening of terrific New Orleans-style food (jambalaya, red beans & rice, gumbo, and of course, King Cake).  We had karaoke with some very good voices (and some not so good but good-spirited), masquerade mask crafting, Guitar Hero and Dance-Dance Revolution games, and a very fun Crazy Hat contest.

But the big fundraiser of the evening was the Silent Auction.  56 items were up for bid, and there was indeed some very competitive bidding going on for a few of the items.   Thank you to some of our local businesses for their support and the items donated for this event:  (So please patronize their business and say “thanks” for supporting St. Andrew’s Youth Group).

Moe’s Southwest Grill in Parsippany

Lia Sophia Jewelry (Terri Corigliano)

ShopRite of Parsippany

Billy & Madeline Haircutters of Whippany

Jersey Mikes Sandwiches of Parsippany

Pro Haricutters of Parsippany

Olive Garden of Rockaway

Gourmet Café of Parsippany

Sweet Expressions of Denville

Delizia Pizza Kitchen of Boonton

Denville Dairy

Joy Nails of Parsippany

Boonton Lanes

Clearview Theaters of Parsippany

Anthony FrancoItalian Restaurant (Parsippany)

Karma Salon &Spa (Lake Hiawatha)

Mary Kay (LindaPerna)

Flowers by Rene of Parsippany

Trainer’s Edge (Denville)

Dangerfield’s Comedy Club

Hot Rods Restaurant (Wharton)

Sogo Sushi House Restaurant (Denville)

Look out New Orleans!…. 36,000 Lutheran Youth are coming to your town in July and things will never be the same… for them … or for you!

Come and see what all the excitement is about:
Worship: Sundays at 8:30 and 10:45 am
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaAndy.org

We're Having a Party!

We’re having a party!

Of course we are… we’re St.  Andrew.

Join us tomorrow, Sat. , Feb. 11 at 6 pm (the snow is supposed to be long over by then) for a Mardi Gras FUNdraising party to support the Senior High Youth Group.  Your admission ticket (a heart-felt donation of your choice) will help send 8 youth and 2 chaperones to New Orleans this summer for the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering. Tickets are available at the door.

There will be delicious New Orleans style foods and King Cake for dessert.  There will be karaoke and dancing, a Mardi Gras craft and trivia contest, a crazy hat contest …

And….

A FANTASTIC Silent Auction with almost 50 items available for your bidding pleasure.  Your ticket number is your bidding number.

Why trudge out on a cold February evening? 

First … you need to get out… we are not bears and we don’t hibernate… we are social beings and we always have fun together at St. Andrew.

Second … this is a great way to treat your Valentine to an evening out and help out the Youth at the same time.

Third… you don’t get King Cake every day.

Fourth… your winning bid on that oh-so-special-item would make a great and unique Valentine’s gift, while support the Youth at the same time.

Are you sensing a trend here?

FUN and FUNdraising in dreary February….

It’s time to get out of the house.

Join us for Mardi Gras!

Tomorrow, Sat., Feb. 11 from 6-10 pm

St.  Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054

(973) 887-6713

www.elcaAndy.org

Football and Faith

Okay, so today is a football playoffs Sunday... not quite the Super Bowl but still high up on the chart of “where are all the people this Sunday morning?”

Some people have argued that sports have become the religion of America and sporting venues the new cathedrals of our generation.  Perhaps in some way that is true.  Considering all the Tebowmania this year, I’ve been wondering about it.

I’m happy to note that St. Andrew was fairly full this morning.  If the Giants were playing the 3 o’clock game, might there might have been a few less?  Hmmmmm.

To our credit, we seem to be able to pull a fair number of attendees for our annual congregational meeting which always seems to fall on Super Bowl Sunday, even though we have a fair number of football fans on the Church Council.  Maybe it’s because we entice them in with lunch, and then the specter of the ULTIMATE football game keeps the meeting short.  A 6:30 pm kickoff time doesn’t hurt either.  I’ve always been somewhat proud of us that we put the business of the church as a top priority and recognize that we can do both… have an early afternoon congregational meeting and still leave time for football.  If the Super Bowl was being held in Giants Stadium (ooops, sorry Jet fans, MetLife Stadium…or better yet, let’s just call it the Meadowlands and leave the corporate sponsors out of it), then perhaps there might be some squawking about the changing the meeting date.

Since the Broncos and Tim Tebow are now officially out of contention for the Super Bowl, it is interesting to reflect on the hype that surrounded that team’s quarterback.  Was God granting success to the Broncos because of the faith of Tim Tebow?  Doubtful.  I don’t think God plays favorites in the football arena.  Plus, there are plenty of other faithful athletes, but none so recently under the national media microscope.

But I do think God was/is there.

If the people will not go to the Church, then perhaps God has come to the people in the place they deem worthy to worship?  If we remove God from schools, government, work places, public places and our everyday lives, then perhaps He has chosen sports as the place to walk among us?

God will not be silenced.

He equips the called and gives them voice.  Through the acts of a faithful football quarterback, the eyes of a nation have been focused on the heart of an athlete… an athlete equipped with the quirky athleticism that makes secular football professionals wonder if something divine isn’t happening, and makes a nation remember that the God of all creation will find a way to walk among us and grab our attention… even when our worship has been misdirected.

(Psssst..... Go Giants!) 

Come and worship with us on Sundays: 8:30 & 10:45 am

Christian Education: 9:45 am

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave.

Parsippany, NJ  07054

www.elcaAndy.org

Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Today is January 11, 2012 and a day set aside by the U.S. Congress to pay attention to the horror of human trafficking.  I received an e-mail today through our web site from She Is Safe.  (www.SheIsSafe.org)  They have produced a very nice video to introduce people to the problem.  It is nicely and tastefully done.  Check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ughWb-W7OI&feature=youtu.be     I don't know much about this organization so proceed with care if you decide to donate to them, but the video is a great opportunity to begin the discussion of what we can do to help stop the practice of human trafficking.

The ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) web site also provides information about how the church can respond to this crime against humanity and offers links to several web sites where additional information can be gathered or where you can donate to help support the efforts of these organizations.  For more information go to:

The Polaris Project  http://www.polarisproject.org/

Cherish Our Children http://cherishourchildren.ctsmemberconnect.net/home-ctrl.do

The U.S. State Department http://www.state.gov/g/tip/

It is so incredibly heart-breaking to think that this crime is growing and is found nearly everywhere, even here in the United States.  The State Department web site notes that UNICEF claims that nearly 2 million children worldwide are subject to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade.  2 MILLION!  And that is only the children...

What can you do?  Learn about the problem.  Talk about the problem.  Seek to support those organizations making a difference.  Pray.

Have you ever encountered a person who was subject to human trafficking?  How did you react?  What did you do?  What should the Church do?  And what should our local churches do?

Would you want to be involved in a study of the subject?  Leave a comment below.


Join us for worship: 8:30 & 10:45 am
Christian Education: 9:45 am
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaAndy.org

Epiphany - Light Comes to a Weary World

The craziness and excesses of the holiday are over.  Winter is settling in and we seem to want nothing more than to stay home and curl up in bed or by the fire.  You know the snow is coming soon.  The days are short and the nights are soooo long.  We wake up in darkness and come home from our daily travels in darkness.  Sometimes we are cooped up in a cubicle with no window, to top it all off.  “Blah,” we say, “What good comes of January?”

It is during the winter, when the snow covers the ground, that roots and seeds that were tucked into the frozen/thawing/frozen ground are insulated and watered by the snow pack and begin to do their molecular thing.   Energy is drawn up from roots.  Flower and leaf buds get their cells together in preparation for the wonder of spring. 

Nature is busy on a molecular level…. And so are we.

God’s work.  Our Hands.

Our hearts and minds have been fed with a heavenly gift, the birth of a Savior.  The seeds of love have been sown.  The stirrings of hearts reaching out to others in a burst of December altruism have put roots into our souls, yearning that it might always feel this way.

January is a recovery time, a planning time, a nurturing time.  Our January calendar is relatively simple… the cleaning up of holiday decorations, the continuation of our regular worship and education programs, and the preparations and planning for a new season… Lent and then Easter.  Already February is full of fun and spiritual events.

So while Epiphany might seem dark, light dawns in our hearts and minds as the seeds of what has been planted in us begin to germinate.

What will become of the seeds planted in you this year?  Will you nurture them with worship and community in Christ?  Will you feed them with Word and Sacrament?  Or will you curl up and leave them dormant within you, just waiting to burst forth with the joy of a God who loves you so much that He would send His Only Son to live within you?

Make your New Year’s Resolution to be a plan to GROW your spirit and plant your roots firmly in a relationship with God and your fellow believers at St. Andrew. 

(come back tomorrow to read some New Year’s Resolutions)

We are called to let our light shine!  Hide it under a bushel?  NO!

How do you plan to let your "God light" shine this year?

Join us for worship on Sundays @ 8:30 and 10:45 am.

Christian Education at 9:45 am

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054

www.elcaAndy.org

22nd Annual Live Nativity

Join us tomorrow and Sunday, Dec . 10 & 11 for our annual Live Nativity, 4:30 - 8:00 pm
Admission is FREE!  Refreshments are served.  We are handicap accessible.

Every 15 minutes or so, a continuous reading of the Nativity story is revealed beneath a deep starry night sky over a stable in Bethlehem.  Angels will announce the birth of the Savior.  Shepherds and kings will travel to Bethlehem to find the new infant king.  What will you find there?

It’s easy to feel lost at this time of year.  Aside from being overwhelmed by all the secularism that drowns out the whole reason we celebrate Christmas at all, recent years have battered our sense of direction, leaving us wondering if we are on the right path, feeling lost.

But… Because we are children of God, we have been given the greatest gift of all time - the gift of Jesus, God’s Son, our Savior.  Because of this gift, we have hope.  And that hope shines like a Star over a stable in Bethlehem.

In the stable, you will find what your heart seeks.  In an infant king, God’s Son born in a stable, we meet the Good Shepherd who guides our ways and shows us the path to a relationship with God that is full of peace and joy and love.  In this stable we find that we are not lost, but found, loved and cherished…because we, too, are children of God, the sheep of His fold.

The wise men appeared to King Herod and asked, “Where is He who has been born King? For we saw His star and have come to worship Him.”   Even the wise men were searching for something…someone…that would answer their prayers and guide their paths.  They found Him in the stable.

At Easter, we look within the empty tomb, feeling lost, knowing that our Lord has died.  But the angels ask, “Whom do you seek?  He is not here, He is risen!”  In the Easter Resurrection our feeling of being lost is replaced with the joy of being found, claimed by God and deemed worthy of His love.

Be like sheep, follow the sound of your Shepherd’s voice and wander into the stable.  Grasp the gift within… the love of God incarnate in His Son, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.  Our God is a God of abundance, and there is love and hope enough for all the lost and all the found.  

See you in the stable.   Baaaa-baaaa-baaa.

St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave.
Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713

Getting what we deserve is a matter of perspective

A lot of how we feel about life, our relationships, and what is “fair” has more to do with one word than most people give credit.  Perspective.

Today, in worship, we heard the story of the generous vineyard owner who paid all his workers the same day’s salary whether they were hired at the start of the day or at five o’clock.  (Matthew 20:1-16)

Whoa, this is an emotionally charged story for me!  It really messes with my sense of what is just or fair.

Yet what is just and fair is really a matter of perspective. 

Whose perspective is truly more just and fair?  Mine, based on the equity of work performed vs. pay?  Or God’s, based on the solution of daily bread for all?  

In this story, the vineyard owner calls to task all who question his generosity to do what he wants with what is his.  Did we not agree, at the start of the day, to the wages we were paid?  So what have we to complain about that the Lord saw to it that no one was left without the means to feed his family at the end of the day, regardless of the amount of work they did?  In the Lord’s perspective, everyone worked and everyone will be paid.  No one deserves more or less than another.

As Pastor Fred reminded us this morning, when we pray for God to “give us today our daily bread,” we are not asking for daily bread for 5 days, but for today.  If we trust in God to provide for our needs, we do not need to fear what is just payment… we all will have what we need.

The justice in this story, seen from the perspective of the owner of the vineyard, is a hard pill to swallow.

And yet, it is just this kind of story which can help us to see how abundant God’s love is.

For we will all find ourselves in the position of the five o’clock worker at some point in our lives…hoping for work and wages to make ends meet (or asking forgiveness, or some other venue in which we have been less than successful) and being given the riches of God’s Grace, completely and unabashedly undeserved, yet freely given to us. 

Human beings too easily fall prey to sin and selfishness.  We are incapable of creating a society where we can accept the perspective of the generous vineyard owner as a way of doing business. 

It is only in God’s house, where that perspective can reign and prosper.  In that, this story gives us a glimpse of the glory of what God’s heaven is like, and what we have been promised for our eternal life with God. 

It calls us up short for all the times we think we know what is right and wrong, and points out a different perspective of what is justice for all.

It’s all a matter of perspective.  Mine might prosper me now, but God’s will prosper all for eternity.

What do you think of this story?  Have you witnessed God's Grace in ways that initially seemed unfair to you?  Leave a comment and tell us your story of seeing God's abundance and generosity in action.

It’s probably a good thing God doesn’t give us what we deserve.  Amen.

Join us for worship on Sundays at 8:30 & 10:45 am.

Christian Education at 9:45 am

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054

www.elcaandy.org

On 9-11 God will not be silenced

Today is September 11, 2011.  The 10^th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America.

It also happens to be Holy Cross Sunday in the Lutheran Church.

I have been listening to various radio shows, television broadcasts, and reading various news productions and blogs in recent weeks, with an ear for where God is being fit into this anniversary remembrance.   It seems many people in the news production arena have forgotten to where many people, including the news media, turned for comfort, inner calm, and hope in the days following the attacks.

What did you hear on 9/11/01?  Please pray for…. God bless America… Our thoughts and prayers go out to… Thank God for first responders….  Pray for the safety of….

To whom were people being asked to pray?  Who was being asked to bless our nation?  God.

God.  The one God who is the Father of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

And yet, this anniversary celebration was to be put together with a secular bent?  Mayor Bloomberg has deemed no prayers will be offered at the 9-11 Memorial in NYC.

Shame on those who would claim God has no place in remembrance… our sorrows, our hopes, our forgiveness, our anger, our prayers. 

We could call on him then… but not now?

Good sense prevailed in some places.   President Obama read from Psalms.  Other mentions of prayer and God and faith are spilling into the news feeds I am finding for today.   God will not be silenced.    

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the week before His crucifixion, the crowd of people shouted:  (Luke 19:38-40)

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” But Jesus answered,

“I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

God will not be silenced.  The actions of the faithful speak louder than the rhetoric of politicians.

St. Andrew is participating in the Parsippany Library 9/11Tribute Exhibit.  We picked up our twin towers plywood cutout and decorated it with crosses, Jewish stars, and a crescent moon and star.  It is mostly filled with crosses.  The only statistics I could find regarding the breakdown of the faiths of those who perished on 9/11/01 indicated that although no religious denomination records have been kept (I find this incredulous), it appears that about 500 were Jewish and about 2 dozen were Muslim.  I’m guessing the rest were Christians (and/or atheists). 

So on this Holy Cross Sunday, when Lutherans celebrate the faith, hope and love of Jesus, may we all remember and honor those who died on Sept. 11, 2001. 

And, may we be not afraid to speak of that faith, hope and love… for God will not be silenced.  

Not by terrorists, …

and not by a media machine or government leadership more concerned with being politically correct than morally straight.

Come join us for worship.

Sundays @ 8:30 and 10:45 am.
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave.
Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaAndy.org

What will tomorrow bring?

Today is September 10, 2011.

Tomorrow is 9/11/11.  Ten years after the terrorist attacks on America.

What will tomorrow bring?

It’s tempting to dwell on the emotions, loss and grief associated with our remembrance of 9/11/01.  It’s also tempting to get caught up in the fear of ‘credible threats’ that our security forces have said warrant our extra vigilance.

In the big picture, September 11 is just another day in our lives.  In the microcosm of our lives, it is a day we will never forget, and shouldn’t forget.  Our lives were forever changed on that day.  

Jesus has some significant words for us on the subject of worrying…Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

As I write this there is a chipmunk sitting outside my window on my picnic table bench, munching on a nut. He knows nothing about what tomorrow means to Americans.  He only knows that this is the season of harvest… yippee, the acorns are beginning to fall!  God provides for His creation.

Some things will forever remind us of the events of 9/11/01.  For me, every time I see a sunny, bright blue sky (Crayola Sky Blue) with large white clouds and feel the cool September air against my skin, I am reminded of that day, forever seared into my memory with the scars of smoke plumes drifting across that same blue sky, and with the loss and grief of so many people. 

We are changed forever, but yet we are still the same children of God.  It is because God never stops loving His children, we can go forward into each new day without worry and fear.  We are called to live with hope and love.

I think it is an interesting thing to note that the 10^th anniversary of this date falls on a Sunday.  The Church (large C) is calling for us to think on this day as an opportunity to work toward forgiveness and peace.  Imagine the world-wide possibilities if everyone attended worship tomorrow morning and heard the calling for forgiveness and peace, instead of worrying about the things that cause us fear.

Those people whom we loved and lost on 9/11/01 would certainly want us to remember and honor them, but they also would not want us to live in worry and fear.  We can honor them best by living lives free of fear. 

Jesus gives us the antidote for the affliction of worry…

Trust in God.

I hope to see you in church tomorrow.  St. Andrew worships at 8:30 and 10:45 am.  We are located at 335 Reynolds Ave. in Parsippany, NJ  07054.  (973) 887-6713.

Come and see our community tribute tower display and help us share the news that we are ALL children of God.

11 Things I am Thankful for after Hurricane Irene

It’s been a wild year, weather-wise, in the U.S. , especially in the Northeast.  We had an unusual amount of snow and ice at the beginning of the year.  We had an unusually wet spring and summer.  The ground is saturated.  We had a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia but felt up and down the east coast.   And now, we’ve had a hurricane….correction, tropical storm.  71 mph instead of 75 mph sustained winds.  Hurricane Irene.

St. Andrew cancelled worship services to ensure everyone was safely home during what was forecasted to be the windiest and most intense period of the storm.  Now we know that, although the winds knocked down a lot of trees and power lines, it was the flooding from the incredible volume of rain that has done the most damage.  Whole communities are underwater with flood waters from swollen rivers at 4-12 feet above flood stage. 

Once again, I reflect upon all that I am thankful for and on the blessings which I have been granted.

1.      I am thankful that I was raised by parents who trusted in God to provide for our every need.  I learned at an early age, when hot dog soup was a frequent dinner while my father was out of work, that “we can’t worry about everything.  God will provide what we really need and we just have to work hard for the rest.  We just have to have faith in Him.”  This mindset has helped me not to panic about events over which I have no control.

2.       I am thankful that God has gifted people with hearts for public service.  How different our recovery from this storm, and other disasters, if not for the dedication of firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians and ambulance drivers, electric and utility company personnel, disaster relief workers, military and National Guard men and women,  food pantry workers and emergency management personnel?

3.       I am thankful that God has given us the scientists and technology to improve our weather forecasting models.  The weather tracking systems apparently accurately predicted the track and intensity of this latest storm to within 10 miles along the NJ coast, enabling people to get to safer locations.

4.       I am thankful for the safety of my family and the comforts of my home…the electricity, flush toilets and hot showers, the gas stove and hot water heater, the refrigeration, the television, the telephone and Internet communications.

5.       I am thankful for the crickets that chirp outside my windows.  I could not hear them over the roar of generators during the past few days.

6.       I am thankful for neighbors who shared their electricity and generator power with those who did not have it.

7.       I am thankful for neighbors who offer the use of their freezers (to save us money and wasted food) and Internet to those who didn’t have them. 

8.       I am thankful for people who cared enough to check in on us and offer whatever we needed.

9.       I am thankful that I listened to my gut/smarts/Holy Spirit and refused to buy a cheaper home in a flood zone.  The anxiety, devastation and repair costs would never be compensated by the difference in the home price, no matter that “it hasn’t flooded here in 15 years.”   I pray for the people who have lost so much due to the flooding and hope they are helped to find ways to put their lives back together.  (Click here to see how you can help: Lake Hiawatha/Parsippany flood relief.)

10.   I am thankful that everyone I know has weathered this storm without a loss of life or injury, and I pray for those who have lost loved ones or suffered injuries in the chaos.

11.   I am thankful  that the 10 mighty oak trees that surround my home remained rooted to the ground and denied the urge to drop any limbs on my house.  They are beautiful, tall and provide an abundance of cool shade for my home, but even they might not be able to stand up to the forces of Mother Nature when she decides it’s pruning time.

There is a multitude more things for which I am thankful and about which I feel blessed.  These are some that I have pondered today.

Join us for worship this Sunday at 9:30 am (Labor Day weekend) and say “thanks” for your own blessings. 

We resume two worship services on Sept. 11, with worship at 8:30 and 10:45 am.

An empty nest communion table

I had another small taste of what empty nest syndrome must be like.

We took my daughter back to college on Monday and my son was in Wildwood with the St. Andrew Youth Group for a few days.  For a span of about 18 hours I was child-less.  It's not the first time.  I've certainly been without them around for longer periods of time.  It just is always a surprise, at first.

On the one hand I felt as if I should be dancing around singing “hallelujah” and on the other it was rather lonely…just me and the dog and the hubby.  Until the hubby went to work.  Then it was just me and the dog.

An amazing amount of picking up can be done, with no one to disturb the progress and mess it back up.  Piles of back to school “stuff” vacated my dining room table.  Hooray!   There also will be less laundry.  Hooray! However, even though she wasn’t home for dinner all that often this summer, my daughter’s presence at the dinner table always made me feel as if our family was finally whole.

There’s something about being together around a meal that makes life seem complete and all is right with the world, even when the world outside is going crazy.  The mother hen has all her chicks in sight and knows everyone is safe.

For our family, we have always made it a priority to have dinner together as often as possible, so the presence of the entire family for dinner just feels right.  The silly jokes.  The sharing of stories.  The gentle corrections and guidance of wisdom dispersed.  The love shared.  The hopes shared.  The hurts shared. The dreams shared.  The forgiveness granted.  When someone is missing, something is lacking.  When two kids are missing, well… hello empty nest.

When I think about our family dinner table, it leads me also to thinking about the family of God and our table of Holy Communion.  How God must pine for his children when they skip a Sunday meal, or two, or a month’s worth, or a year’s worth, or many years’ worth! 

With each meal of Holy Communion our hearts are opened to that two-way conversation with God that grants forgiveness, knows all our fears and hurts, joys and silliness, sins and anger.  In that Holy Communion meal that we share, we are loved, forgiven and welcomed into a whole continuum of believers that make up the eternal family of God, of which we are made a member in our Baptism.

The communion table brings us together as a family in Christ, a congregation family to love and support each other.  I think when we stray away from the table, God must suffer some of that empty nest syndrome too.  For if He knows the number of hairs on our heads and the days of our lives, how can He not feel the loss of our presence as we wander the world in search of the things we think we need when He can, and will, provide for our every need?

God forgives the piles of “crap” in our lives.

He doesn’t mind the dirty laundry.

He just wants us to share in His Holy Communion meal and join the family at the table.

Like every other parent. 

God IS love.  Love is at the table.  Come and taste.

Join us for worship through Labor Day, one service at 9:30 am

Beginning Sept. 11, we offer two worship services at 8:30 & 10:45 am.

www.elcaAndy.org

Friendships Left Behind and Forgiveness

My hubby with Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty in the background
Could I leave him behind?  Or let him go on ahead without me?

As you may have guessed by now, I was quite impressed with our visit to Ellis Island.  (Read previous posts here and here.)  I’ve been thinking a lot about what it would have been like to go through that experience and wondering if I would have had the faith to trust God to provide the better future these immigrants sought, and if I would have been able to leave everyone I loved behind.

The primary feeling that I think I would have been going through would have been loss…loss of home and homeland, loss of friends, loss of family.  I think that maybe that’s because I’m blessed to have a beautiful home, a wonderful country (even considering the flaws), dear friends, and a devoted family.  For me to leave all this behind would be devastating to me. 

Yet millions of people did just this. 

Their lives must have been so challenging and lacking hope to embark upon a journey to America, leaving everything behind, in search of a brighter future, hoping and trusting in God to find something better.  How lucky we are/I am.  Their primary feelings had to have been one of hope in order to get through this challenging experience.

Yet, no matter how much hope for the future they might have had, parting from family and friends could not have been easy.  The chance of ever again seeing the people left behind was very small.

This thought makes me wonder how easily we sometimes dismiss a friendship because of some temporarily hurtful slight; or how often we distance ourselves from a family member because he/she hurt our feelings.  If we were faced with the prospect of never seeing that person again, would those hurts matter so much?

Sometimes we find ourselves in exactly this situation, when we lose someone we love unexpectedly in their death.  How often have we heard people say, “I never got to say I was sorry” or “I never told him I forgive him” or “I didn’t get to say goodbye” or “I should have told her I loved her.”

I wonder if this doesn’t happen sometimes as a way of reminding us to mend our hearts and watch our words, to heal old wounds and let go of old hurts.   I imagine that faced with the prospect of parting company forever, there were many friendship healed of brokenness and many family fractures mended.

However, I am also fairly certain there were those who would not forgive and left for America carrying that hurt with them.  I imagine that carrying those unforgiven hurts around their whole life may have caused much bitterness, heartache and soul-searching.  I am certain there were more than a few people who wished, at some point during their lives, that they had made amends or offered forgiveness before leaving for America.

We know that anger, resentment, and holding on to old hurts can eat away at our souls, our health and our mental well-being. 

It is forgiveness which offers freedom, wellness and wholeness.   Jesus taught us this as He called out to His Father on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”   Luke 23:34

In the ultimate act of love, Jesus forgave us ALL our sins… all the hurtful ways we push God away… and died to set us free from the bondage that sin causes.  We are given that reminder every Sunday in worship. 

Let us not forget to forgive others, as we have been forgiven.  Amen.

Come worship with us this Summer @ 9:30 am on Sundays (through Labor Day).

www.elcaAndy.org

Ellis Island - Immigrant vs. Refugee

To find a better place.  Both the immigrant and the refugee put their faith in God toward this goal. 

This past Saturday I visited with friends at their home on Fire Island off Long Island (NY).  It was a great day and when we were in line waiting for the ferry to take us back to our cars, one of our group commented that we “looked like a bunch of refugees.”  There we were, sunburned, flip-flopped, carrying our minimum amount of “bare necessities” for a day at the beach and a day of visiting… chairs, coolers, umbrellas, beach bags, back packs, a cake carrier, etc.   I guess we might have looked a little tired, windblown or partied-out.  Certainly a far cry from looking like a refugee, we did look somewhat less put-together than our Sunday best.  (But at St. Andrew we’re not necessarily known for wearing our “Sunday best” anyway, so that’s par for the course I guess.)

We laughed at the analogy, but considering my recent visit to Ellis Island, it got me to thinking.

How many people who traveled through Ellis Island were not just immigrants but akin to refugees? Maybe they didn’t fit the strict definition of refugee, but many were fleeing the poverty, limited chance to prosper, or political hostilities of their home countries.

They came with just the bare necessities.  And $25 (if they had that at all.)

Yet, for all the hardships these immigrants faced in their journey to come to America, they had the hope of the promise of America.   They had faith in God to lead them to a better place. The Statue of Liberty bears a plaque with the sonnet “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus which reads, in part,

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

In America there was hope for the future.

The choice was America.

Refugees don’t often have choices.  They are running for their lives.  They also place their hope and faith in God to lead them to a better place.

The United States has an “Asylum and Refugee Policy” that, as of 1999 allowed up to 78,000 refugees to obtain asylum here annually.  Today’s global conflicts and political uprisings are numerous.  People cry out for freedom all around the globe.  According to The Voice of America , there are currently about 15 million refugees worldwide.  The U.S. State Department identifies six “protracted refugee situations.” 

1.       Liberians in West Africa
2.       Somalis in Kenya
3.       Croatians and Bosnians in Serbia
4.       Afghans in Pakistan
5.       Bhutanese in Nepal
6.       Burmese in Thailand

Since 1939, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has helped migrants and refugees to find hope and a future in American communities.  By 2008, LIRS had helped to resettle over 315,000 refugees. 

Next time we think we look like refugees as we trudge our few “necessities” back from a day at the beach, I bet we’ll all think twice about what that really means.

Thank you God for all the blessings we have in the freedom and prosperity that comes with the birthright of being an American.  Thank you, even more, for the people who fight the legal, economic and political battles on behalf of those who flee oppression and for those who help to make refugees feel welcome once they are granted the asylum they so desperately seek.  Amen.

Join us for worship this Summer at 9:30 am on Sundays.
www.elcaAndy.org