Decorating for Lent

. . . meant to evoke images of barren land and dry stream beds.

A Divine Appointment

Last weekend, our pastor and some of our youth were at a retreat with people from a number of other area Lutheran churches. There is a shortage of supply pastors, and despite diligent efforts, we weren't able to obtain one to come to our church. Consequently, our Music Director, Ginger Minneman, vounteered to lead our worship services for the weekend. (We normally have communion at all weekend service, but we did not have communion at these services in accordance with ELCA policy.)

Ginger delivered an excellent sermon entitled "A Divine Appointment." The Gospel reading was Luke 4:1-13. In this passage, Jesus is led by the Spirit in the wilderness and is tempted by the devil for forty days. In her sermon, Ginger talked about what happens - or can happen - when we are led to the wilderness, when we "are out of our comfort zones and stripped of the things we grasp most tightly."

Ginger started out by talking about Lent: "During our Lenten journey we too are invited to go to the desert, to prepare ourselves for what lies ahead. It is a time of self examination. A time to take stock of our lives and make changes if necessary. A time of repentence, of turning away from the distractions of life and turning to God. Remembering that in our baptism we have been called not to live a self-centered life, but a God-centered life that is sustained by grace."

Ginger went on to say that while the Lenten journey is a planned one, "most of our visits to the desert are journeys that we have not planned on taking." She talked about the time, years ago, when she was hit by a drunk driver and spent weeks in a body cast in a hospital an hour from home. For the first time, she was separated from her small children, and she had few visitors because of the distance. "I had a lot of time alone in bed to think." She worried about who was going to do all of the things she was supposed to do during those weeks. "The short answer was that it wasn't going to be me. I had to let go, surrender and trust God."

Ginger went on to talk about when "the desert is in our mind and the testing comes from within. Those inner demons are particularly nasty. They can attack us at any time and in any place." They tell us things like "you are not worthy," and "you're not good enough." The truth, however, is that "you are God's child. You were worth dying for."

What good can come of our experiences in the desert? "When we are in the desert, if we are to emerge from the experience victorious, we must know the truth about who we are. We must have a sense of divine purpose in our lives and we must be committed to living out that purpose regardless of the cost." The opposite is to become "impotent victims, which is exactly what the devil wanted for Jesus and wants for us."

Ginger ended with these words: "May we learn to embrace the desert as a place of growth and transformation. May we learn to surrender to the loving hand of God. May we know the truth with every fiber of our being that it might set us free. May we recognize the time of testing as a fork in the road, a defining moment, a divine appointment. Amen."

About Our Church

For those of you who don't know our church, the Lutheran Church of Our Savior is located in Oakwood (Dayton), Ohio, and is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We are a medium-sized congregation, with an average attendance of about 200 people at worship each weekend. Our Pastor is Gary Eichhorn. Ginger Minneman is our Music Director and the Director of our Chancel Choir, and Rachel Spry is our Organist and Coordinator of Family Ministeries.

We have three worship services each weekend: 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 8:15 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Every weekend service is a Communion service, and the readings are based on the Revised Common Lectionary. Click on the following link to a description of the differences in the services: Worship Descriptions.

Last Sunday, we dedicated our new copies of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, and will begin to use them at our Ash Wednesday services. See below for more information on Ash Wednesday and the other Wednesdays in Lent.

There are many opportunities for lay people to participate in leadership of our worship services - readers, choral choirs, ushers, acolytes, torch bearers, worship and communion assistants, etc. To read more about our church and to find driving directions, visit www.oursaviordayton.org.

Visitors are always welcome.

Ash Wednesday; Lenten Wednesday Services & Meals

We will have two services on Ash Wednesday, February 21, at noon and at 6:45 p.m. The services will be traditional, including the imposition of ashes, and will use the liturgy appearing in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Both services will be in the sanctuary, and the Chancel Choir will sing at the 6:45 service. Lunch will follow the noon worship service, and dinner will precede the 6:45 p.m. worship service. Visitors are welcome at the services and meals - there is no need to make reservations.

Beginning on March 28, we will also hold informal services at noon and 6:45 p.m. on each of the Wednesdays of Lent. Pastor Eichhorn will be preaching a series of sermons based on five of the readings from the ancient Easter Vigil. These are five of the most prominent stories that announced hope and salavation to the people of Israel. Lunch will follow each noon worship service, and dinner will precede each 6:45 p.m. worship service. Once again, reservations are not needed, and vistors are welcome.

Reminders to the Bell Choir and the Chancel Choir

The Chancel Choir is singing tomorrow at the 6:45 p.m. Ash Wednesday service. Warm up will be at 6:20 p.m.

The Bell Choir will resume rehearsals after the 10:30 a.m. service this coming Sunday, February 25.

Thanks!

Thanks to everybody who stayed after the 10:30 a.m. service last Sunday and helped take out the old hymnals, put the new copies of Evangelical Lutheran Worship in place, and take down the trees. With so many helping hands, we completed a large amount of work in a short time.

Activities This Sunday (February 18)

A message from our pastor:

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

On Sunday, at 11:35 a.m., we will hold a brief learning session at the front of the sanctuary on the liturgy we will use from the new hymnal (ELW) during the season of Lent (starting February 25). It will be familiar to some of you, as it is a liturgy from the old red hymnal (Service Book and Hymnal).

Following the teaching session, for those who can stay, we are: ording pizza; dismantling the trees in the sanctuary; removing the blue and green hymals from the pews; and putting in the new red hymnals. During the late worship service, we will have a special blessing of the new hymnals as well as a prayer of thanksgiving for the green and blue hymnals.

So, if you can stay, we'll gladly feed you and put you to work. With enough people, we should be able to make short work of it all!

In Christ,

Gary

Bell Choir

Due to the session after the 10:30 a.m. service this coming Sunday to introduce Setting Five from ELW, the Bell Choir will not meet. Rehearsals will resume on Sunday, February 25.

A Message From Our Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

As we prepare for worship this weekend, please know that the parking lot is plowed and walkways are shoveled, and we are now good to go!

Due to the projected cold temperatures for tomorrow (Friday), the church office will be OPEN – it was originally scheduled to be closed due to planned electrical work that would shut off the boiler for the day. We'll let you know when the new date is set.

This weekend is the final weekend during the season of Epiphany (Festival of the Transfiguration), and the children/youth SCS classes created banner panels depicting the various names given to Jesus in Scripture. The panels are being sewn into two large banners which will enhance our "season-ending celebration" this weekend. Pictures of two of the panels are in a posting below.

Ash Wednesday is next week, February 21, which signals the beginning of the season of Lent. Literally translated, Lent means "lengthening of days", referring to the transition time between the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring, when the period of daylight grows longer each day.

From a faith development standpoint, the season of Lent is a time for prayerful discernment on the part of believers, attempting to answer the question, "What difference does it make in my life that Jesus is my Lord?" Throughout Lent, this question is lifted up for us in a variety of ways, as we seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in looking for ways to use our Baptismal identity and gifts so as to make a difference in someone else's life. To help, we will again provide mid-week worship experiences every Wednesday during Lent, using the same schedule as that of Ash Wednesday: 12:00 noon – worship; 12:45 a.m. – lunch; 6:00 p.m. – dinner; 6:45 p.m. – worship. I hope you will plan to join us. Activities for children will be available during worship.

I attended the annual summer confirmation camp planning retreat at Lutheran Memorial Camp this past Sunday afternoon through Tuesday noon. It's been many years since I have walked out onto a frozen lake! While I love the camp, especially at this time of year with snow on the ground, it is great to be home – Tuesday's drive to Dayton was an adventure, to say the least!

Thought for the week . . . "Imagination is more important than knowledge." – Albert Einstein

Hey . . . snow or no snow this weekend, let's meet in worship!

In Christ,
Gary

Banner Panels

These are two of the eight panels made by our Sunday School classes for the banners which will be used on Transfiguration Sunday, February 18. Each panel represents one of the Biblical names of Jesus.

The top panel was designed and created by members of our sr. high Sunday School class. It represents the Alpha and the Omega - the beginning and the end. The class spent time over several weeks discussing the design, which evolved considerably from their first ideas. The banner was created using fabric paints.

The bottom panel was created by one of our elementary school Sunday School classes. It shows the triumphant Lamb of God. The blue panel was sewn onto the background, and the design executed using various fabrics, markers, and glue.

Thanks to all of the classes that created panels.

Transition to Evangelical Lutheran Worship

The Worship Committee met this morning, and one of the main topics of conversation was the transition to using Evangelical Lutheran Worship.

We will be using ELW for the first time on Ash Wednesday (February 21), using the traditional liturgy (including imposition of ashes) which appears in ELW. In preparation for that, we will include a dedication of the new hymnals in the the 10:30 a.m. service on Sunday, February 18. Then, instead of a postlude, we will hold a session to preview the music from Setting Five from ELW, which is the setting we will use during the season of Lent. Please stay for this session if you are able to do so. After the session is over, we'll replace our copies of the LBW and WOV in the sanctuary with the new copies of ELW.

The music in Setting Five from ELW is based on a setting in the old "red book" that was replaced with the LBW. People who know it will be able to help support those who haven't heard it before, and we believe that those who don't know it will be able to pick it up quickly. Given this, we're only having one preview session. When it is decided in the future to use a new setting from ELW, we will hold more sessions.

The Worship Committee spent time after the meeting putting dedication plates in the new copies of ELW. We appreciate the generosity of those who have made donations. Donations will still be accepted (and dedication plates put into copies) after the copies are placed in the sanctuary. At last count, over 200 of the 450 copies we bought have been donated - please consider helping in this endeavor. Donations can be made by individuals or groups. For example, the Chancel Choir as a group donated 30 copies in honor of our Director, Ginger Minneman.

Chancel Choir

Now would be a good time for anybody who is interested in joining the Chancel Choir to come join us. You might ask: "What kind of music does your choir sing?" Our Music Director and Director of the Chancel Choir is Ginger Minneman. Ginger likes a wide range of music, and her anthem choices reflect this. Last Sunday, we sang True Light, arranged by Keith Hampton. The soloist was Jobe Jackson, a former student of Ginger's from when she taught at Stivers. Other pieces currently in our folders:

• Blessed are the Men Who Fear Him from Elijah, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
• Wondrous Love, Alice Parker & Robert Shaw
• Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, Dale Grotenhuis
• Song, Bob Chilcott
• Kyrie, from Messe G-Dur, Franz Schubert
• Walk with Me (An African Walking Song), Patrick M. Liebergen
• Beati Quorum Via from Three Motets, Charles Villiers Stanford
• Uvi caritas from Quartre Motets, Maurice Duruflé

Next week, the Chancel Choir will also start reviewing Setting Five from Evangelical Lutheran Worship, so that we'll know the setting well before we first use on Sunday, February 25 (the first Sunday in Lent).

For information, contact Ginger Minneman at the church.

Inclement Weather - Closings Will Be Posted Here

There's no snow in the weather forecast, so Chancel Choir members shouldn't have any problem getting to practice tonight because of the weather. In the event that we ever have to cancel practice or a service because of weather, the Worship Committee will post the closing on this blog as soon as possible after the decision is made.

Worship this Weekend

The Sonshine Children's Choir will be helping lead worship during the 10:30 a.m. worship service on Sunday, February 11. They will sing "I'd Like to Ride a Camel." Their director, Elizabeth Beal, has also been working with them on "Glory to God," and the refrain for the hymn of the day, "Blessed Are They."

There will be free blood pressure screenings after the Saturday evening service and after both Sunday services. These screenings are hosted by the Health Ministry Team.

The Youth Group will sponsor a Valentine's Brunch after the 10:30 worship service on Sunday. Suggested donation is $4.00 for children and $7.00 for adults. All proceeds will go to support the Youth Group's mission work.

Worship Committee Meeting

The Worship Committee will meet next Saturday, Feb. 10, at 10:00 AM at the church.

A Super "Souper Bowl" Response

Thanks to those of you who brought cans of soup to worship this weekend as part of the "Souper Bowl." The soup will be donated to the New Hope Food Pantry, the food pantry that our congregation supports through the year.

Votive Candles

Votive candles have been available for lighting during several special services in the past, and people have asked whether we would do this again. For the next six months, votive candles will be present at the baptismal font for congregation members to light at any time, including the weekends and during the week. In the fall, the Worship Committee will evaluate whether to extend the practice. Cards with the following explanation will be left at the font. You can take a copy if you would like to do so.

Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:3-4

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:5

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12

You can light a candle here to accompany a prayer. The candle will burn as a sign that a prayer has been offered in this place. The light of the candle will also remind us of God's continuing action in our world, lighting our darkness. Jesus is the light of the world.

Bell Choir

The Bell Choir will not meet on February 4 or 11 because of the Annual Congregational Meeting and the Valentine brunch. Rehearsals will resume on February 18.

"Souper Bowl"

A message from our Pastor:

Just a quick reminder to bring one or more cans of hearty soup with you to worship this weekend for our SOUPER BOWL celebration. Place your cans in the grocery cart "parked" in the narthex. All food items collected will be delivered to the New Hope Food Pantry, housed at New Hope Lutheran Church, in northwest Dayton.

In Christ,

Gary