Dear Fellow Children of God,
Sometimes life just hits you between the eyes and, as you
collect your wits, you are left wondering what happened. That describes this past weekend.
As Kathy and I drove to Kenai to lead worship, she noticed
that a friend in St. Louis had died. Otis
Woodard was a truly unique individual who had been part of our congregation 35
years ago. Otis dressed differently and
lived differently. He spent his life
working to help inner city people in St. Louis, MO, in the name of Jesus. Otis’ unique personality pushed some people
away, but his actions of faith in Jesus’ name drew many to him. I had reconnected with Otis in recent years
through Facebook and had taken time to visit with him in 2013 and 2014 when I
was in St. Louis for work. Otis was
still helping people in need. Kathy
said, “He is going to be sorely missed.”
I agree. It seems I had just seen
him and now he’s gone!
Then, on Sunday evening I had just gotten home from Kenai,
not even having sat down, when I got a call from Dwayne Jenson. I didn’t totally understand what Dwayne was
saying, but I did hear that his wife, Lisa, had stopped breathing. She was at the hospital and they were talking
stroke. This did not make sense. Lisa and family had all be in worship on
Wednesday. I had attended a Stephen
Ministry class that Lisa and Cathy Grosz taught on Thursday. They then taught another class at Dwayne and
Lisa’s house on Saturday, working to conclude training for this new Stephen
Ministry class. Lisa was in worship on
Sunday morning. But, when we sat with
the doctor at Providence Hospital he told us that Lisa had died. She had suffered unexpected bleeding in her
brain. It could not be true that this
faithful, active wife and mother and active member of St. John could have
died. We were all in shock and
disbelief.
Then, as we sat in the waiting room at the hospital we
learned that David Grosz’ brother, Rod, had passed away that very morning. David had led worship at St. John while I was
preaching in Kenai. When David got home
he had a call telling him that Rod had died.
David’s brother had been ill and we had been praying for him. Cathy told us, “I just loved Rod.” But, at we learned of David’s loss we felt
hit with another painful blow.
When life hits you between the eyes, do you ever want to
shout at God? I did. Do you ever get angry with the Lord? I was.
Do you wonder why he allows the pain and loss? Well, if you have had questions in the face
of the trials and losses of life, you are in good company. The Psalmists often
questioned God, displaying anger even.
Listen to Psalm 88:8-13.
”8 You
have taken from me my closest friends . . . 9 my eyes are dim with grief. I
call to you, O LORD, every day; I spread out my hands to you. 10 Do you show
your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? 11 Is
your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in Destruction? 12 Are your
wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of
oblivion? 13 But I cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes
before you.”
Actually,
the surprising truth is that all these questions which we expect to be answered
with a “no,” God answers with His “Yes”!
When faced with life’s tragedies God brings grace and love and salvation.
The Psalmist asks God, “10 Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up
and praise you?” Actually, God does just
that. In Jesus’ death and resurrection
God has defeated death. God raises the
dead and “every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father.” (Philippians 2:11)
The Psalmist asks God, “11 Is your love declared in the grave, your faithfulness in
Destruction?” God’s love is declared
as he raises the dead and brings all who believe in Jesus to everlasting life
in heaven, where we are told, “He will
wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or
crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation
21:4) The blessings we receive in heaven
in the presence of God show love that cannot be fathomed. God does
show love to those who have been in the grave.
“12 Are
your wonders known in the place of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the
land of oblivion?” Yes, God’s wonders and righteousness give
hope when facing death. God forgives
sinners, raises the dead, and gives life in heaven. Those wonders are shouted to eternity.
Sometimes
life just hits you between the eyes and, as you collect your wits, you are left
wondering what happened. But, when life
seems to offer only tragedy, God gives hope
and strength in His love and salvation. When
life seems to offer “No” through loss, God offers “Yes” through Jesus. The death of loved ones hurts deeply. But God is stronger than death. Through Jesus God gives eternal life in
heaven and hope in the midst of this world’s tragedies.
A
Child of God, Full of Questions, Trusting in God,
Pastor
Jonathan
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’
- I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St.
John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names
of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the
first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please
let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . .
****
LISA JENSON’S MEMORIAL SERVICE – Saturday, 2:00 p.m. at St. John. We don’t understand life, but we trust in
God. Lisa Jenson was in worship
Wednesday, February 11 with her family, and again on February 15. She taught Stephen Ministry classes on
Thursday and Saturday. And God called
her home on Sunday afternoon as he experienced an unexpected bleeding in her
brain.
Lisa’s
memorial service will be held at St. John on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
CONFIRMATION
RETREAT – The Annual Confirmation Retreat is being held at Victory Bible
Camp, this weekend, February 20-22. THANK YOU, JAMIE, FOR TAKING SOLE
LEADERSHIP! Pastor Rockey is not
attending in order to conduct the funeral on Saturday.
MID WEEK LENTEN WORSHIP Lenten
worship services are held at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday from February 18 to March
25, preceded by a Lenten Meal. This
year’s Lenten Theme is “Nailed to the
Cross.” consider Jesus’ victory
over our sins as He “nailed them to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14). We will consider Jesus victory as we examine
Jesus’ words from the cross and the sins and struggles they address. Our services will follow this schedule
February 18 Father
Forgive Them (Luke 23:34) Denial
February 25 My
God, My God (Matthew 27:46) Despair
and Doubt
March 4 Today
You’ll be with Me (Luke 23:43) Guilt
March 11 “I
Thirst” (John 19:28) Physical
Pain
March 18 “Woman
Behold Your Son” (John 19:30) Grief
March 25 “Into
Your Hands” (Luke 23:46) Death
and Comfort
Plan now to
grow in God’s grace and love this Lent with your fellow children of God at St.
John.
MID WEEK LENTEN MEALS - Each Wednesday during Lent at 5:30 p.m.
meals will be served before our mid-week Lenten worship. These meals provide an opportunity for fellowship
and make it easier for people to attend Wednesday Lenten Worship, since you
don’t have to bring anything after work for a pot luck meal, and there is no
cost.
St. John members have signed up to prepare
all the meals. Come and enjoy a time
of fellowship and Christian love.
PLANNING PROCESS – ONE SERVICE ON MARCH 1 – We will continue
the planning process on Sunday, March 1.
As with our worship on January 25, there
will be one service at 10:00 a.m. on March 1 with a meal following the
service. At this meal we will look at
the results of the Discovery and Dreaming Session on January 25, and we will
look at the demographics of our area.
Then we will work toward a mission statement by responding to 3
questions.
·
What is God’s plan for us as His people? (Some of that is answered from our January 25
gathering.)
·
What are the opportunities and needs in our community?
(The demographics will help with this answer.)
·
How can our unique blessings best serve God and
the His people in our community? (This
will give us focus for our mission statement.)
After the meal
and meeting a group will compile the responses and begin crafting a mission or
vision statement. The congregation will
then respond to these efforts by e-mail and ultimately approve the mission
statement.
This mission
statement will help us focus as we make plans on April 19 at our last Planning
meeting.
SOUP COOK-OFF AND CONTEST – The meal after the March 1 service will
be a “Soup Cook-off and Contest.” The
five people on the planning process committee will each make a soup. Church members will taste the various soups
and vote on their favorite. Any
congregational member who wants to join in the “Soup Cook-off and Contest” is
also welcome to do so.
CHILDREN’S BOOK PUBLISHED BY JAMIE WALTERS – “Wiggles’s Easter Journey” was
written and published by St. John DCE, Jamie Walters. Congratulations, Jamie!! You can find this
Easter story for children on Amazon at the following link.
STEPHEN MINISTRY – Stephen Ministry is a confidential ministry of
uniquely Christian care for people in time of stress or need. A class of new Stephen Ministers is finishing
their training near the end of February.
Those completing 50 hours of training include Dena Jeffers, Amy Peltier,
Judy Stahancyk, and Jim and Kathy Summers.
With Lisa’s death Stephen Ministry has lost a gifted leader. Please pray that God blesses these new
Stephen Minister and blesses Christian caring given by our new Stephen
Ministers.
FRED MEYER REWARDS
PROGRAM – The Fred Meyer Program gives cash credit to Rewards program
members. The Community Rewards Program
matches those cash credits for various charities whom Rewards program members
name. A few St. John members have linked
their cards to St. John and last month our congregation received $88.03 from
the rewards program.
Once you get to this page
·
Click “Link your reward card now.”
·
Then fill in information including your rewards
card number.
·
Find St. John Lutheran. It lists our address PO Box 774. Our organization number is 80567.
·
Then Click “Enroll.”
This will link your card to St.
John. You will still receive your
rewards and so will St. John. There is a
total community limit to the Community Rewards Program.
JEREMY WEDGE BENEFIT
DINNER AUCTION. St. John Lutheran
will help members of Trinity Lutheran Church with a dinner auction on Saturday,
March 21, to benefit Jeremy Wedge. This
dinner auction will be held at the Palmer Moose Club beginning at 4:30
p.m.
Jeremy is the 29 year old son of
St. John member, Mike Wedge. Jeremy is
married. He and Ashley have one child,
Hannah, and are expecting another child in the next 2 months. Jeremy and family have worshiped at St. John
a number of times in the last month.
Jeremy was diagnosed with re-occurrence of
brain cancer last fall, and underwent surgery and treatment in November and
December at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.
St. John members have been asked
to help in three ways.
·
We can donation
items for auction.
·
We can attend
and donate to the auction.
·
There is help
needed with setting up tables and chairs before the auction.
Diana Christensen is
communicating with the team from Trinity Lutheran. If you want more information you could call
Diana and ask.
MARRIAGE RETREAT –
A Marriage Retreat is planned for March 20-22 at the Alaska Sunset View
Lodge in Big Lake. Cost is $200.00 a
couple for the weekend. All those
attending will help in preparing one of the 5 meals. If you want to attend please talk to Kathy
Rockey or call Judy Stahancyk in the church office.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT
MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT ST. JOHN is available on our church website? On
our web page you can find sermons, newsletters, and these weekly
devotions. The link is: http://www.stjohnpalmer.org/
In fact, IF
YOU WANT TO RECEIVE YOUR MONTHLY CHURCH NEWSLETTER BY E-MAIL please e-mail Judy
Stahancyk and let her know. You can call at 745-3338, or e-mail Judy
at judy@stjohnpalmer.org. If you receive
the newsletter by e-mail it saves printing, postage, and time compiling the
newsletter. Also, you receive the monthly newsletter more quickly!!
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