Grace Notes, May 27, 2011

Friends. I looked it up. The American Heritage Dictionary says "a
person whom one knows, likes, and trusts." That's the #1 definition.
It's such an important word and such an important person or persons to
have in one's life! How do we get along without our friends? Who else
can we talk to heart-to-heart? Someone we trust, of course, and that fits
the definition. Friends can be spouses,family members, grade school pals
who haven't moved away, sorority or fraternity brothers, neighbors,
coworkers, church members, someone you met on a cruise or at a dinner
party or even waiting in a doctor's office. Someone you haven't even seen
for years yet when you meet, you start right in; trust bridges the long
absence from one another. I remember my Mom mourning the death of friends
as she entered her 80s. She didn't like losing those confidantes, those
bridge and golf partners, those morning coffee and lunch-bunch pals. Who
could blame her?

I have a cherished friend who lives in Philadelphia. I haven't seen her
for years, yet in my mind I know she is there with the same crazy humor,
wisdom, and solid advice that she has always had. I need to call her.

Somebody wrote that great song, "I Get By With a Little Help from My
Friends". It becomes more relevant and truer the older I get! When we're
young and life seems endless and full of possibilities, we have many
friends, some for movie-watching, some for baseball playing, some for
shopping, some for exchanging children to babysit, some for traveling
with, some for book clubs, some to play cards with, and so on. Sometimes
we don't appreciate them all, but then life is so full and full of
risks and faith in time - surely it will last forever - that there really
isn't time to nurture friendships! Surely these pals will be with us
forever. And that is particularly true if your great friend is your
spouse. What heartache is in this loving.

Aging was defined by the Father of Gerontology (the study of aging) Nathan
Shock, M.D. as "the diminishing of reserve capacity". That is an
amazingly accurate and succinct definition. It is referring to the body,
the physicality of a person. We all know the truth of that. We know we
can't run like we did at 10 or swim laps like we did at 20 or walk for
miles at 30. We just can't. We don't have the lung capacity, the leg
muscles, the very heedlessness that had us flying through life while
young. Well,we can expand the meaning of this word and its definition to
friends. Friends die or move or change and our circle of
friends is diminished. Some of them are no longer part of our reserve of
people to call on. Our world is drawing in.

Let us appreciate what we have. Let us thank God for the gift of friends.
Obviously, God knew we all need friends: Jesus chose 12, even though one
turned out to be a bad choice. Haven't we done the same?Trusted someone
we later learned we shouldn't have? Jesus traveled with His friends, He
talked with them, He broke bread with them.
Disappointing as they were in the Garden of Gethsemane they loved Him.
And how Peter denied Him three times - snubbed Jesus - can you imagine???
Yes, of course you can. In other words, Jesus lived to be only 33, yet
in many important ways He experienced what we experience as we get older
and older. His world drew in too.

And then? The mindblowing gift of grace. Jesus rose from the dead (don't
you wonder what it was like for him among the dead?) promising us by His
very presence in life again that we too would have eternal life and with
Him! Truly,this is the best news ever. The richest person on this earth
is one who has friends here and eternal life with Jesus to look forward
to. Hallelujah! God is good!Thanks be to God!

Judy Bergeson
Diaconal Minister
Salem Lutheran

May 17, 2011 Grace notes

Grace Notes May 17, 2011

Psalm 118.24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be
glad in it.

Carla and I recently attended the annual liturgical institute at
Valparaiso University. The focus this year was the Psalms. It was a
wonderful three days of praying, singing, and hearing the Psalms. Gifted
teachers opened the Psalms a little more completely than we do on a
typical Sunday morning, when the Psalm is just another of four scripture
lessons for the day.

The Psalms are the Bible's songbook. In the original language, there is
poetry and meter just like in our other hymns and songs today. Not all
Psalms are joyful praise…they express the whole range of human experience.
We may be more likely to remember the warm fuzzy Psalms, like Psalm 23
about the loving care of the good shepherd. But other Psalms give voice to
sorrow, anger, complaining, and despair as well as thankfulness and
praise. One teacher shared how some of her college students are reluctant
to study the Psalms according to the class calendar, not wanting words put
in their mouths that may not be what they are feeling today. That leader
helped us to remember that while the Psalms are certainly a perfect
resource for personal prayer, they are given first as the songbook of the
entire people of God. When the Psalm before us is about a feeling we don't
share right now, we should join in support of our neighbor to whom it is
speaking God's love. And more than likely, as we live in that Psalm we
will find it speaking to our souls as well, somewhere under the surface
where we don't want to think we feel that way too.

Many of us have memorized certain parts of Psalms. It was interesting to
be reminded that the context of the whole Psalm around that favorite part
makes the meaning so much bigger. As an example: we often say or hear just
the single verse Psalm 118.24: "This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it." It seems perfect for a beautiful spring
day or a joyful celebration. But go to Psalm 118 to read the entire song.
You'll see that this day to rejoice comes at a time of distress…a time of
being surrounded by enemies…a time of being severely punished, almost to
the point of death. Every day is a day the Lord has made, not only the
beautiful and happy days.

So I return from the liturgical institute on the Psalms with a conviction
to pay more attention to these treasured songs God has given. Maybe I will
start a "Psalm a Day" discipline…want to join me?

Ron Vanatta

Coming up at Salem:
May 22, 9:15 Last day of Sunday School and Volunteer Appreciation
celebration in fellowship hall…including a program by Salem PuppetPraise
May 29, 9:15 Honoring Military Servants in fellowship hall.

May 11, 2011 Gracenotes

I just spent 90 minutes with several choir children and parents at Jeff
and Laurie Paulsen's farm, welcomed by their big blonde dog Buddy. The
kids piled onto their swing set and delighted in the toads found in a
window well. Laurie brought out a pet rabbit on a leash named Thumper for
them to pet and admire…what soft, beautiful gray and white fur!

Jeff took us to the field where new corn sprouts bravely broke the soil
and stood 3 inches high. He showed the children seed corn and then dug up
a new sprout so they could see the green plant growing from the seed.
Laurie took us past her strawberry bed and explained how the center of the
lovely white flowers was actually the strawberry that would grow. This is
one place you don't want to pick the flowers!

Then we moved on to the shed and the kids climbed up in tall tractors and
got to see how the seeds come out of the planters. They loved being up so
high and pretending to be in control of one of these huge machines.
Next came the cattle: some chocolate fuzzy brown, some smooth black, some
grey-brown and some with added white. What big soft brown eyes! Of
course they were shy of the children but soon their curiosity overcame
them and they moved closer.

A farm trip wouldn't be complete without a hayride so off the children
went with Jeff down the road and back. The time was complete with thanks
and a prayer and a snack.

Places and times like this soothe my soul. Growing up on a farm I have
love and admiration for growing plants and animals. Out of town one can
see for miles and miles and get the panoramic view of clouds and homes.
Some of these children are blessed with family or friends with whom they
can experience this side of life off and on – others are not so lucky.
I'm grateful for people like Jeff and Lauri who eagerly share their love
of the land and farm life and help instill admiration and respect for the
world God made. I'm grateful parents take the time to guide their
children in new discoveries.

Most of all I am grateful for an opportunity to rest my soul for a few
minutes. What is it that brings you rest? A farm visit or drive in the
country is not the only way my soul is soothed, but it is almost certainly
one way.

The month of May brings so much to do: yardwork, planting, celebrations
of all kinds, wrapping up the school year and the choir season. Many of
these things are hard work and many are fun. Memorial day is coming soon
to usher in summer officially.

At Salem this weekend we'll celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday. Images of God
and Jesus as our caretaker and guard will be shared in scripture, song,
and prayer. We'll speak and sing the beloved 23 Psalm. It would be my
guess for many of you that Psalm rests your soul too; just those pastoral
images and the idea of letting the Lord guard and protect you. When we
grow up we become the protectors for others and sometimes miss being
protected. What a gift to know Christ promises to care for his precious
sheep!
May your soul
be at rest, even in the midst of a storm.

Carla Vanatta, Associate in Ministry
Salem Lutheran Church

Reminders:
Children's Advocacy Walk 8:30 a.m. Saturday Good Thymes Shelter, Sycamore
Park

Community Servant Speaker Patti Comegys of Big Brothers and Sisters at the
9:15 a.m. Hospitality Hour

Pre-K and older SS children will lead the 10:30 GRACE worship service this
weekend.

May 3rd Grace Notes

I get to tag along on people's journeys most every day and most days it is
simply a wonder to see what God is up to… here's how it was a few weeks
back.

I had an appointment with a young man who wanted to be baptized. He
hadn't grown up in the church, really, although he'd always considered
himself a believer. As he is nearing adulthood though, his plans for his
future were starting to come together. He's planning to join the air
force, after he graduates, you see. He knew his travels would take him
far and he told me he wanted to be sure God would go with him. So he
called up his grandparents and asked if he could come to church with them.
And he did. For the next year or so he could be seen sitting alongside
them more weeks than not.

And a few weeks ago I sat down with him to talk with him about his
baptism. I assured him then that God would go with him, baptized or not…
but that this is a public sign of his commitment to follow Jesus… and that
in the water poured and the word spoken in baptism he is claimed as God's
child in a promise that would never let him go. And pretty soon on a
Saturday night he bent over the font and I reached up to pour the water on
his forehead…. To place my hands on his head and pray for him…. To make
the sign of the cross on his forehead, binding him then to Jesus'
sacrifice and a whole multitude of others of us who have also been claimed
in the faith and who have claimed it, in turn, as our own.

It used to be that we thought of baptisms as 'christenings' --- a private
ceremony where a name would be bestowed on an infant. Not true any
longer. Baptisms are public: inserted into a regular service of worship
where both friends ands strangers: all of God's people are gathered and
where those there make promises to support the newly baptized in their
life of faith. And as for naming a person? We baptize in God's name…. in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, remembering
then that God attaches God's own name to us each one as the water is
poured upon us…

And you know the prayer spoken then, of course:
We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give
your daughters and sons new birth, cleanse them from sin, and raise them
to eternal life.

Sustain name with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge
and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and
forever. Amen.

We pray in that moment for wisdom and understanding… for counsel and
might… for knowledge and the fear of the Lord… and for joy in God's
presence. But notice, too, that every time it's 'the spirit of…' for the
gifts prayed for and offered here also bind all the baptized up with God
and God's amazing gifts.

And so it is that a few weeks back I got to be part of that journey
again…. Hearing in another's story how God has, in fact, been leading him
all along to this day when he would in a very public way receive those
promises of God which God had been offering him all along. It's a
wondrous thing, really --- one we experience in this place every single
time parents carry a child to the font… or one spouse stands alongside
another who has heard this call of faith and is ready for baptism… or when
a young person whose whole life is laid out before him recognizes God
working in his life and wants to follow in the path that Jesus walked as
well.

Peace to you and many blessings,
Pastor Janet

Coming up this week at Salem:
New members will be received at the 8 and 10:30 services on Sunday, May
8th. Be sure to come and welcome our new members at a reception in
fellowship hall at 9:45 a.m.

Sunday school students and their dads/grandpas/uncles/friends will gather
in fellowship hall this S Sunday, May 8th at 9:15 to make Mother's Day
gifts for moms. All are welcome!