People of Hope,

Breathe in. Breathe out. I often hear these words while taking a yoga class. Sometimes I also hear, “don’t forget to breathe,” or “remember your breath.” At times, I will notice that I am breathing a lot harder than someone next to me. Struggling to hold a pose, I am gasping, while they continue on. And while it may be tempting to think that they have more oxygen than me, we are, in fact, practicing the same movements in the same room. They simply have more practice than me. 

In our journey of faith, sometimes we compare ourselves to others, wondering if, secretly, God gave them more spiritual oxygen, the Holy Spirit. But we don’t get more Holy Spirit than the person next to us, and we also don’t get less Spirit than the most spiritual person we know, or the wisest person we know, or even the most loving person we know. 

Instead, on this journey of faith (of life!), we learn to notice our breath. We practice breathing in and breathing out, while stretching our muscles a little longer — muscles of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, fruits of the Spirit. We learn to better notice the Spirit in our lives. We bring our mind and our body into one place with the Spirit; we notice that the Spirit is already showing up for us in our lives; we start paying attention more and more to our breath until we are stronger and stronger and stronger in knowing who we already are. And yes, we learn from one another.

This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that you will practice noticing the Spirit breathing in you. Stretch your muscles this week. Do not compare yourself to the one next to you, but give thanks to God that you see something in them that you long for. You also have gifts of the Spirit that we need and long for. The Spirit is upon you, People of Hope. 

Your Sibling in Christ,
Pastor Liz

Dear People of Hope,

There’s a story that is often repeated, and it has probably been told in children’s sermons across churches — Mr. Rogers (of television fame) once explained to kids watching that when the world seems hard or bad things happen, look for the people helping. 

Look for the people helping. 

I am so grateful for the people helping — I am grateful for those who donated and put together care packages this Lent. I am grateful for the hands who helped to plant seeds for our garden and who made meals for our Wednesday nights. I am grateful for those who have called and emailed their representatives, lending their voices to the call for justice and peace. I am grateful for other congregations and community groups who lead, serve and help in their own specific ways. I am grateful for the many people in this city, this state, this nation, and this world who are stepping forward and stepping out. I am grateful for the unseen things that I know are done. 

Look for the people helping, and give thanks.

I give thanks for you, people of Hope. For we are people of HOPE. We hope in a God who helps, who is a “very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46). 

Look to the God who helps, and give thanks.

So, may our helping God bless you and keep you; may our helping God’s face shine upon you; may our helping God look upon you with favor and give you peace. 

And with God’s help, may we be a helping people.

With gratitude,
Pastor Liz
 

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh take and seal it

These are the last lines of the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” A hope that God’s goodness would bind our wandering hearts. A hope that the fount of blessing would tune our hearts. 
Because here’s the truth: following Jesus ain’t easy. 
Every day I am inundated with distractions, fears, anxieties, desires, confusions, and doubts. I am often wondering and wandering as I go. Some days I am faithful and some days I am not. Some days I am excited and passionate to follow, and some days I am struggling to even know what little step to take. Sometimes I get it wrong; sometimes I get it right, and some days I’ll never know!
So, I take great comfort in the fact that the first disciples who surrounded Jesus were just like me. They were faithful and fickle. They were excited and scared. They were hopeful and doubtful. Peter, in particular, gives us many stories that reflect our journey of following. He takes big leaps of faith, and he makes big mistakes. He is a “wandering heart,” just like us. Seeking and searching. We hear our name called and follow with stumbles and faltering steps, and along the way, continue to discover the wideness of God’s goodness, grace and mercy.
I hope you’ll join us through this season of Lent as we step inside Peter’s story of faith. Each Sunday, starting March 9, we will hear a different part of Peter’s journey. As we go through this series, you are invited to use our set of daily devotional cards, made available in the narthex (welcome area). Through hearing Peter’s encounters with Jesus, may we encounter Jesus in our own lives and rediscover our own stories of faith. May we acknowledge our wandering hearts, not with judgment or condemnation, but with thanksgiving that God’s streams of mercy flow for us, tuning our hearts to sing God’s grace. 
I’m walking with you, fellow wanderer! Let’s see where Christ leads us. 

Peace,
Pastor Liz
 

People of Hope,

In her letter regarding the President’s recent executive orders concerning immigration, Bishop Eaton encourages us to join four callings: a call to prayer, a call to learning, a call to personal witness, and a call to public witness. (Bishop Tim of the Alaska Synod joined other Region 1 bishops in a similar statement found here). In truth, these are always our callings, but they do indeed feel pressing for us during this moment in our country. Because of this, I wish to raise them again for us, and perhaps add a fifth call.

Maybe you were like me in the past couple weeks and felt flooded by the news. I am greatly concerned for our neighbors who are Trans and immigrants/refugees, as well as the legalities of actions being taken at the federal level. And as I am flooded by the news, and by my emotions, the call to prayer becomes even more important. When we’re feeling flooded by events, it’s time to flood our lives in prayer! For me that looked like lighting candles and spending more time praying. For you, that might mean using your minutes in your commute or while washing the dishes. Perhaps it’s taking an extra time while first waking up, or just before you go to bed. Perhaps it’s logging off your phone earlier than usual, or taking that walk through creation. For all of us, it will look like gathering together in worship or in small groups and praying together. Where two or three are gathered, Christ is there. 

And then we must pray with our feet.

We are called to stay informed and learn so that we can move with wisdom and truth. We are called to be a personal witness in our relationships and encounters – to speak against dehumanization and speak truth. We are called to be a public witness by calling our representatives (Lisa Murkowski 202-224-6665, Dan Sullivan 202-224-3004, Nick Begich III 202-225-5765), and coordinating with others to address our government. This may mean we also need to connect with other organizations who have more knowledge and expertise. Amidst the flood of news, we may need to decide on a particular concern we feel God is calling us to learn and respond to, and trust that others are stepping forward in their callings in regards to other issues. All of this stems from our primary call to love God and to love our neighbor.

Finally, I would add a fifth calling for this moment and that is a call to community. This call is interwoven through each of the others. We do not do this alone. We do not do this as only the Lutheran Church of Hope. It is also a call to connect with one another, within our congregation and beyond, and to be reminded that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
 
Connect with someone in the congregation. Invite a neighbor to dinner. Play! Join us in our singing and our praying. Now is the time to lean in. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and the Spirit of the Lord is upon us.

With you in peace and love,
Pastor Liz

​It’s the new year! The time when we start diets after all our holiday eating; we sign up for gym memberships; we buy the perfect daily calendar and set of post-it notes, and we make promises to ourselves that we will struggle —or perhaps completely fail— to keep. It is the time for self-improvement. 

Or is it?

In these first few weeks of January, there is an overwhelming pressure to be a better version of ourselves than we were the year before, followed by some sort of financial expenditure that will solve all our perceived problems. We will be influenced by the internal and external pressures that demand that we become our “best selves.” Oh, the false promises we make ourselves and the false promises our culture makes to us! 

At the same time, it would be disingenuous of me to say that there isn’t a natural invitation to self-reflection at the start of the year. Or a fun and loose “goals” list. I love the idea of using the transition from one year to the next as a moment to pause and reflect: What did I learn from the previous year? What am I grateful for? What are my current hopes and longings? What is the invitation God is making? There is value in wondering, how would I like to begin this new year?  

This is the open space I much prefer — no demands, no promises, simply reflection and invitation. Throw some essential prayer in there, too. 

Last year, we heard from you that you hoped to continue having short small group series throughout the year. So, that is how we will start our new year! I invite you to join a 4-week small group starting the week of January 26th. The theme is “As I Am.” Just as we are, that is how we will all be showing up to each other and to God. No demand for resolutions. No improved selves. Simply an invitation to community, reflection, prayer, and hopefully some laughter mixed in. 

Here’s how I am showing up as I write this — I am easing back after a whirlwind December, and the details for our new series are still being ironed out. So mark your calendar and stay tuned! Let’s enter the year in intentional community with God and with each other. As I am, as we are. 

Peace be with you,

Pastor Liz

People of Hope, 

I am writing this on Election Day. You may be reading it on that day, the day after or a week later. Whenever you come to this and however you have arrived, peace be with you.

Breathe. 

God breathes God’s ruach and life bursts forth in the human of Genesis. May your inhales be a reminder that God is present, as near as your very breath. May your exhale be a reminder that release is holy and God receives what we cannot keep carrying indefinitely, especially anxiety and fear. Take the deepest breath you’ve ever taken. Sigh. May stillness invite you into God’s embrace. May prayer be your very first thing. 

Play. 

As I write this, my dog has interrupted me with a ball in his mouth and a demand for attention. I listened to his cue and took a break. May you pay attention to the interruptions in your day that invite you to delight and to joy. May the joy of the Lord be your strength; when you feel weak, may you return to this joy and be renewed. 

Love. 

Love your neighbor. Love your enemy. Love the stranger. Love yourself. It is a difficult thing. The most difficult. So, may the love of God dwell in you. May the compassion of Christ disturb you. May the power of the Spirit guide you.

We are called to be salt and light and yeast in the world. This calling never changes and God equips us for the work. To do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. So, as we move through today and the days following, may the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all.

Pastor Liz

There is a time to sow; there is a time to reap….and there is a time to weed.

As many of you know, we have a team of members who have been in a learning process with other ELCA congregations on creating and experimenting in ministry. The primary goals of this process are to listen to possible needs in our congregation and community, whether and how we are able to meet those needs, and then to create opportunities to address those needs. We spoke to several different people, including congregation members, and determined where we felt energized to pursue a ministry idea. Thank you to Josh, Erin, Janeice, and Todd for being a part of this team. 

Our Harvest of Hope garden has been a major ministry of our congregation and a labor of love for our primary volunteer, Don. Since its beginning, the garden has grown in space and pounds of produce that is shared with our community. As we have listened and learned, we have identified that the primary need of this ministry is volunteers to weed. Building up this foundation will enable us to pursue new ideas for this ministry! At the same time, we have heard from our congregation a desire to further connect with one another and with our community. So, why not combine them both? This summer we invite you to join us for fellowship, fun and yes, weeding, all throughout the summer. We encourage you to invite friends and community members as well. 

We will have a Garden Blessing & BBQ on May 19 following our Pentecost Worship Service. We invite you to bring sides, salads or desserts for our fellowship time. This will kick-off our summer garden season. Starting June 5th, we will gather weekly on Wednesdays from 5:00-7:00pm to weed and hang out – come if you would like to weed or come if you would just like to enjoy sunshine and chat! There may be other garden projects besides weeding on these days. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Then, on Thursday, June 20th, join us for a Summer Solstice Weed & Feed with food, games, and more. 

We have more plans to come! But this is the beginning of connecting our congregation, community and garden in deeper ways. We hope to see you in the garden this summer. May God bless this ministry of hope!

Peace,
Pastor Liz

​Dear People of Hope,

This month we will enter Holy Week, the week when we follow Jesus with palms and shouts of “Hosanna!” to the cross and then, finally, to the empty tomb. While the lead-up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is surrounded by Christmas lights all around us, music in stores and movies reminding us of the season, Holy Week comes with very little to remind us that it is on its way, except for maybe Easter candy on the shelves. 

Palm Sunday begins our week remembering Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday (and traditionally, also, Easter Vigil) are considered one service held over several days. Why do we leave them in silence without a benediction? Because the service is not yet complete; we will be returning to worship again. We will not hear a benediction until Easter! This is the rhythm we are invited into; setting aside time to gather, pray, reflect, and on Easter Day, rejoice with hope. This year, we are also joining Christians for Equality for a vigil remembering those unhoused neighbors who have died in the cold. 

It is such a contrast to what may be going on around us to think about breaking up our normal schedules for these strange services and gatherings during a long winter. Waving palms. Eating a meal in the sanctuary. Entering into the day that Jesus died. Entering into the death of our neighbors and the call to action it places upon us. All of it leading up to the shouts of “Alleluia!” 

I invite you to take a look inside our newsletter for what is planned. Are there ways you can help? Do you need to shift your calendar now in order to join us? Set a reminder in your phone today!

May Holy Week be a holy interruption in our lives. 

Peace be with you,
Pastor Liz

Dear People of Hope,

Mess: a disordered, untidy, offensive, or unpleasant state or condition (according to Merriam-Webster). Synonyms may be: disarray, muddle, chaos, shambles, havoc, confusion…snake pit? (Also, according to Merriam-Webster.) In internet speak, I would also add “dumpster fire.”

According to Merriam-Webster, some (not all) definitions of bless are: to hallow or consecrate by religious rite or word; to invoke divine care for; to speak well of; or to confer prosperity or happiness upon. Synonyms include consecrate and sanctify. In other words, to make holy. 

As I write this, my dog is in the center of the living room among the scattered fluffy remnants of toys he has ripped apart. A mess. There is so much about our lives and experiences that can be “messy” – whether it is our physical environment, events that are outside our control, the consequences of our actions, or our emotions and thoughts. The mess can hang on us, overwhelm us or leave us feeling like we have no idea what to do next. I have often started a deep clean of the closet, only to sit among the ruins completely overwhelmed and wondering where any of this goes and what happened to all my energy…? Sometimes clearing out my heart and mind feels the same way. Anybody else have that experience?

This Lent, you are invited to journey with us in our theme of “Bless this Mess.” In what ways may our mess bring about blessing? In the words of Rev. Otis Moss III, how can we “consecrate our chaos?” It's the mess that God uses, and it’s messy people whom God draws to God’s self. This is our prayer. 

Along with joining us for this sermon series on Sunday, you’re invited to join us for some practical Lenten practices. On the first Sunday of Lent, February 18th, join us after service for a walkthrough of our building. We will ask ourselves what messes need cleaning, and what new ways we might bless the spaces with which we have been entrusted. From this, we will create a list of tasks that people are invited to sign up for through Lent. By Easter, we hope our building will have transformed! And on April 7, we will take another walkthrough, blessing each room for God’s service. 

We will also have Wednesday night gatherings, and have a daily devotional available. For more information, check out page 2. Join us this Lent in our prayer: Please, Lord, bless this mess!

Peace,
Pastor Liz

​Dear People of Hope,

There are certain loops that get stuck in my head on repeat. Usually, they involve some variation of “I should” or “I should have.” Usually, these thoughts involve the past or the future – what I should or should not have done in the past, or what I think I am supposed to do in the future (which let’s be honest…probably won’t actually happen even if I beat myself up about it). Many of us have loops of thoughts, and loops can look like all kinds of things — repeating negative and hurtful thoughts about ourselves and about others. What I find is that these thoughts make me very very tired. And they can get my present self stuck, immovable. 

In the letter to the Philippians, Paul writes: From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you. (4:8-9, CEB)

For the longest time, I have thought that this just sounds more exhausting. How is it possible to focus one’s thoughts in this way? I’ve got loops! They play on repeat! 

But, the Lord is near, Paul says in the verses before. And the God of peace will be with you. The God who is true, and holy, and just, and pure, and lovely, and worthy of praise. When I find myself stuck in thoughts of “I should” or “I should have” (or whatever version your loop is), I can hit pause as I turn to God. The Lord is near. The God of peace is with you and me. And it doesn’t matter how many times I must turn to God in order to refocus my thoughts – it doesn’t matter how many times!! It might be 30 seconds later. Each time I turn to what is true, holy, just, pure, lovely, and worthy of praise, I am practicing what I have learned, received, heard or seen in others. 

During the month of November, we are often encouraged to give thanks and to practice gratitude. I invite you to make this a practice of refocusing your thoughts. Keep it simple! “I give thanks today for…” or “Thank you God for…” or notice what is true, holy, just, pure, lovely and worthy of praise at that moment or on that day. And may you use it when the loop begins to play. Hit the pause button. Turn to the Lord who is near. 

Peace,
Pastor Liz