Dear friends in Christ,
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, born in a manger, crucified and risen for you.
I wish you could see the beauty of Immanuel Lutheran Church from my perspective, the flesh and blood of brothers and sisters in Christ striving to reflect the love of God in life. Immanuel is an amazing congregation, and each person is a valued member.
The love of God lived out in our midst reminds me of a song from the musical Rent, “Seasons of Love.” It’s about love! With the love of God as the foundation for our plans, we will be great as a church as we build on the legacy of those who came before us.
The visioning process with our consultant, Pastor Rick Rouse, is reaping great results: learning, conversations, prayers and understanding as well as surprises. It is a delight to be on this journey with you.
When we embarked on the journey, one of my hopes was that we would be transformed by the process. And, I have to admit, I hoped we would be transformed, but already, I have been transformed. I’ve learned a lot, and what I’ve learned continues to push me to grow, and most importantly, the encouragement has been to be “more me,” or rather authentic.
There’s a craving in our world and in our community, and even within us for authenticity. In confirmation worship notes, students indicate that what means the most to them is when words in worship apply to daily living. They, like most adults, are looking for direction. And I am so glad they are here, looking for direction from Immanuel through worship, Sunday school and service.
In a world full of changes, the sturdiness of our building and our worship services as well as a variety of other ministry opportunities provide safe spaces to risk, to move, and to be even more ourselves – bringing our hopes and our dreams to light in the presence of other people who have been called here by God with their own unique perspectives and gifts. Whether we’re 10 or 99, we have dreams and expectations that we bring with us when we enter this community.
Immanuel has a rich legacy of being a great church, of dreaming big dreams, and seeing them to fruition. And we still are a great church on a journey to continue to dream big in our ministry plans. Part of being a great church is always being relevant to the generations who attend. We’re exploring how we’re doing at reaching our seniors, our young families, and everyone in between. As well as exploring how we’re doing at reaching our neighbors, broadly defined – local, city, region, state, nation and world.
Our best gift is the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel, the grace! Sharing the good news, the gospel, the grace, with those who need it most is our responsibility. And at this time of year, the good news is about the birth of Jesus in our world, the Word made flesh. Those who need the good news the most include the broken hearted, the grieving, the unemployed, the disenfranchised, the sick, and all others. And that’s most of us.
From visiting with several members, the pressures at work and school are enormous. Companies and schools are expecting more and more production with fewer and fewer resources. And, at Immanuel, the trend in our budget has been similar, but the future looks brighter for 2011.
While we’re encouraged to be creative in ministry, the good news is that our salvation doesn’t depend upon us getting this right. At Immanuel and throughout the church, God doesn’t expect anything. God gives of himself for us and for our sakes. God entered the world in the form of a human, the Word incarnate.
A this time of year when we look for the end to come and Jesus to return again, we have what we need. And we have what the world around us needs, and that one thing, my friends, is hope. Hope that comes in the form of flesh and blood poured out for us for the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection from the dead. Immanuel (God with us) proclaims that good news every minute of every day. Each year that’s 525,600 minutes!
--Jennifer Thomas
