Grace Notes July 27, 2011

GRACENOTES July 27, 2011

Heidi is hiding out this week. Our sometimes anxious Sheltie is curling
snugly between the bed and dresser in our bedroom…the room least affected
by a carpeting project. Since last week, we have been moving furniture
from place to place, stacking it in any available corner, to clear the
living and dining rooms for the workers. Even though the rooms are now
mostly back in order, Heidi is staying away from the commotion. If she
dares to venture into the work zone, she disappears as soon as we walk
past carrying a picture or some other item back to its place. Heidi is a
creature of routine. Her security depends on the people and things in her
life following a well-established pattern and schedule. We have learned
that she will get used to the "new" as long as we assure her with a little
extra TLC, and keep her food and water dishes running on time.

Our routine at Salem is changing. We are saying good-bye to Pastor Janet,
and entering the process to call a new pastor. In the middle time, we will
be blessed by the leading of an interim pastor. Like it or not, we are
also creatures of routine, and many of us will experience some amount of
anxiety.

We will forever be grateful for Pastor Janet and the gifts she shared with
us as our shepherd and friend. Though we grieve her leaving, we wish her
all God's blessing as she answers a new call to share in the ministry of
the Mennonite Peace Center.

As we enter the "new," let's trust that God is faithful. In scripture we
are reminded over and over again that no matter how uncertain our future
might be at the moment, God is our strength, our rock, our fortress, our
ever-present help, our loving father. God is and will continue to be with
us through the journey ahead. He will show his love and care through each
of us as we support one another. He will guide our leaders on executive
committee, council, call committee, and staff.

Let's commit to trust God as he leads us into the coming days at Salem.
Let God use each of us to show his love. Be supportive to each other. Pray
for one another. Be God's helper to bring all of us a little extra TLC,
and keep our food and water dishes running on time…

Ron Vanatta

Please plan to be at worship every week, but especially the weekend of
August 7th for Pastor Janet's last Sunday with us. There will be a
farewell luncheon at noon in fellowship hall.

July 20, 2011 Grace Notes

Jeremiah 29:11 -New International Version (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

We are in uncertain times at Salem. A Pastor we have loved dearly and
prospered under has been called to the greater church to use her gifts for
the good of the entire Christian church.
Though we know we need to share her, our instinct is to want to hold on
and keep her here among us.

I am reminded of what happens when love stifles someone: a parent who
holds the reigns so tight on their child they never develop responsibility
or begin to act out in protest; a spouse who crushes a relationship when
there is no freedom or trust.

In college my Dad and I were partners in caring for my handicapped mother.
I couldn't imagine leaving her and commuted to NIU from home. Then one
day I was given the opportunity to study abroad in Austria for a year on
scholarship. A friend was going and when my mom heard about it she
encouraged me to apply as well. I could see the sacrifice this would be
for both my parents to let me go, but they did it out of love and what
was best for me….allowing me to spread my wings and grow. Their blessing
and godspeed helped me to step forward into the unknown and take another
step into who God made me to be, and I have always respected them for
their sacrifice.

Pastor Janet's call to the Mennonite Peace Center in Lombard came as a
surprise to me just as to the whole congregation. When I first heard it I
was shocked and immediately fearful of what was ahead and who would next
lead us, as well as so sad to be losing her as our pastor and my colleague
and friend. But soon experience and faith trumped my emotions and I knew
in my heart it was the right thing for her, and so for us. God is growing
her into even more of a gift for others, and we are privileged for having
been a part of that. And God will not and has not forsaken us. Our next
leader may not look or sound or act the same, but will be God's messenger
and servant among us to grow us, too.

The next few months may feel a little like we are Israelites wandering in
the wilderness. We will engage in the call process, working our way
through discerning priorities and looking at our strengths and weaknesses
as a congregation. We will need to be patient, learn from our interim
pastor, and trust that God's hand is at work.

I am a born planner. I love calendars and organizing. I feel best when I
can see the way ahead.
But I have also learned to put most things in pencil, for life can change
in an instant and new priorities emerge. As we move together into the
future, let's take time first to support Pastor Janet in her new calling
and shower her with love and appreciation for all she has done and who she
is. Then may God keep us calm and steadfast in prayer and mission as we
wait to see who will lead us next.
Carla Vanatta, Associate in Ministry
Salem Lutheran Church

Salem Reminders:

9:15 a.m. Hospitality Hour this weekend will be hosted by the church
council; Pastor Janet and Council President Ken Reinhardt will share
content of the exit interview at this past Tuesday's council meeting.

RENEW Vacation Bible School will be held every morning next week from 9
a.m. to noon for children in Kindergarten through 4th grades. Please
remember all the leaders and participants in prayer and thank you for your
own gifts of time, talent, and supplies.

July 11, 2011 Grace Notes

My washing machine gave out a few weeks ago. Or so I thought…

It was a Friday. I was finishing up laundry so I could pack for a week
with 8th graders at Confirmation Camp. I was down to my last load and had
gone out to run some errands. When I returned home, I went into the
basement to transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer. Only the cycle
hadn't finished. My clothes lay in a too-damp heap in the bottom of the
washing machine.

I checked the fuse box, but everything was in order there. Finally I went
ahead and wrung the clothes out by hand as best I could and proceeded to
dry them in smaller loads. It took all day, but it got done.

Now this was an old washing machine. It was old when I moved in and it is
older now and I figured it would give out one day so on that Friday in
late June I wasn't terribly surprised. However, I wasn't excited about
the prospect of returning home in a week without a washing machine so I
felt some urgency to buy a new one. Normally I would ponder this decision
for a while, but not this time. I did check Consumer Reports to see what
they recommended. And then I drove to Sears to see what they had in
stock.
I explained to the sales rep that I didn't need anything fancy. I'm not
raising children and it's only me so something basic would be just fine.
He was more than willing to accommodate me and within half an hour I had
signed off on the purchase of a new machine. He was happy to tell me that
yes, they could, indeed, deliver it the very next morning so it would be
there and installed and ready to go before I left for camp.

Late Saturday morning the truck pulled up and two strong young men stood
ready to take away the old machine and to bring the new one down my steep
basement stairs. They unhooked the old machine and hoisted it up the
stairs like they do it every day…. Which, of course, they do. Just as
easily, they brought the new machine downstairs, hooked up the hoses and
plugged it in. He was ready to give me a first hand demonstration of how
it worked and hit the power button. And nothing happened. He checked the
fuse box and it was fine. It dawned on me then and there that there was
nothing wrong with the old machine at all, but that the outlet had somehow
gone bad. My power source was compromised. And without that being
addressed, even this bright shiny new machine was only going to be a
pretty decoration in my otherwise drab basement.

It's a simple analogy, of course, but one I need to be reminded of often.
Without our source of power, energy, and hope, we're not able to do much.
Go without food or water for a few days and you know the truth of that.
Go without good sleep and you know yourself to be dragging the next day---
maybe for several days. Go without exercise and your body becomes less
limber --- less able to do all that it was able to do before. And for
people of faith, for you and me, to go without the refreshing, renewing,
refilling power of God? Well, we won't get very far in all the ways that
matter without that, too.

For when I cut myself off from the power of God's love, I find myself less
able to forgive, more fearful about tomorrow, more impatient in my
dealings with others. When I've gone a stretch of time without resting in
God's tender care in worship and in private prayer and conversation, then
I simply become more brittle. Less able somehow, to deal with the
inevitable disappointments and challenges which come to all of us --- not
to mention those larger losses which eventually mark all of our lives.
So in these hot days of summer, perhaps we should all ask ourselves not
only about our eating and exercise or about how much sleep we're getting.
No doubt we would all do well to check in to be sure we are connected to
that source of power in god's love which gives us all we need for the
emotional and spiritual challenges which are ours as well…

As for my washing machine? Well, I kept the new one. I figured I'd need a
new one pretty soon anyway. Only next time? You can be sure I'll be
checking my power source before I go out to buy something new.

Peace to you and many blessings.

Pastor Janet

Coming up this week at Salem:
Don't miss our community servant speaker on Sunday at 9:15 a.m. in
Fellowship Hall. Our own Janet Peterson and Kathy Vickers will be talking
about her work at DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Home.

Vacation Bible School is just a week away, beginning July 25th! Check out
the craft and snack needs in this week-end's bulletin and be sure to get
your children/grandchildren/neighbors registered!

Grace Notes July 6, 2011

I'm tired today. No good reason. I'm certainly well-fed and had a good
night's sleep last night. Why should I be tired? So, with this little
chip on my shoulder I went to my exercise swim class. There one of my
closer friends told me that two of her daughters have just been diagnosed
with terrible health problems. One has MS, one has fused neck joints that
don't let her work. And I'm tired??? I'm ashamed of myself. So many many
others have so many awful health conditions, dire living conditions, more
and worse than I can imagine. I've seen enough to know that is true,
blessed as I've been to travel on several mission trips. The Africans had
holes in the ground over which you squat to do your business. The
Russians lived on the 6th floor with no elevator. The Turks rode public
transportation, such as it was, as they had no car. We Americans don't
have any idea how very blessed we are.

Beyond borders, we are God's children. We know that. We say that.
Sometimes we don't act like it, like we have a loving, compassionate God
who cares for us down to our very cells. Who wants us to thrive as His
children. Who wants only the best for us. And Who, when we stumble,
helps put us upright again with encouragement and faith in us everlasting.

Are you hungry? Are you sleeping in a car or under a bridge? Are you
friendless? Does no one care about you? No? No to each of those
questions? Hallelujah! Cultivating an attitude of gratitude is your job
when you are down. Start a Blessings Journal today. Write down in ink
five blessings each day for a week. Then do it for another week. Being
down or being grateful: your choice, always. Sometimes there is a stretch
to feel grateful, isn't there? Well, stretching is good for us. In our
baptism we were marked with the cross of Christ forever. We are God's
children forever, that's what that means. When we forget that, we sadden
our Lord and Saviour. Do you really want to do that? As we said earlier,
it is our choice. God gave us that enormous freedom to decide what we
think. And we know that feelings follow behavior. If we act grateful, we
will eventually feel grateful.

Pray for my daughters, my friend said. When all else fails, prayer. And
what is prayer? Initiating a conversation with our beloved Lord. Just
stay still long enough to hear what God has to say back!

Judy Bergeson
Diaconal Minister
Salem Lutheran

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Cookout this Sunday, July 10 right after the 10:30 service! Come on down!
The picnic is free; we ask for donations to go to Peace Lutheran in
Joplin, MO, where the new church was literally swept away by the tornado.
We have been collecting pennies (and generous people have added other
coins and paper money!) in a large jar to send to Peace and so far have
$550. We'd like to send $1,000 altogether.

Monthly Morning Ministry is always the third Saturday of each month from 9
till noon. Come and bring yarn, quilts, embroidery, whatever and join the
folks who make beautiful things, all of which are given away.

Vacation Bible School starts Monday, July 25 – 29th from 9 till noon each
day. It is free. We welcome all children! Please register online on our
website or come in to the church office and pick up a registration form.

Bless you all of your days. And be a blessing to others.

Grace Notes, June 30, 2011

GraceNotes June 30, 2011

I have usually found it hard write GraceNotes when it is my turn to write
them. My schedule is sometimes so full and I really can't write them
during the day because of the numerous interruptions in the office. Plus,
I have a hard time putting thoughts to paper and have a bit of an
inferiority complex about my writing ability. But this time when it is my
turn I find it doubly hard … and then again … maybe easier to write.

As most of you know my family and I recently lost our oldest son, Sean.
He died at age 38 on June 8 -- his visitation was June 12, funeral was
June 13, and he was buried on June 22. I have always known that Salem is
a strong community of faith … and it was never so clearly brought home to
me as it was the evening of Sean's visitation. It was later told to me
that Pastor mentioned during her Sunday announcements that if anyone was
planning to attend the visitation for Sean, that perhaps they would
consider coming around 7:00 because we were planning a Lutheran service on
Sunday (a Catholic funeral and military service were planned for Monday).

We had many Salem people come through the visitation line all during the
day as well as family friends and classmates of Sean. But as it neared
7:00 we looked out to a room filled to capacity with familiar Salem faces.
As Pastor began the service, I could literally feel the presence and
support and prayers of all of them, even though my back was to them. I
have never ever felt anything like it before. It is a feeling that I will
always remember and always be grateful for. You all have been so
wonderful with your support for me and for my family. I know I would
never have been able to go through this alone and I can't imagine anyone
having to go through it without a church family, a community of faith,
like Salem.

I just wanted to say thank you, thank you for all your cards, memorial
gifts, and prayers. They have been most appreciated and gratefully
received. And, in the case of the prayers they have literally been felt
in my heart.

With a Grateful Heart,
Sue McMillan

Upcoming at Salem …

Saturday – July 2
WORSHIP – 5:00 p.m.

Sunday – July 3
WORSHIP – 8:00 a.m. (with Hammered Dulcimer Solos)
Hospitality Hour – 9:15 a.m. in F.H. with a
demonstration of Hammered Dulcimer by Jim Kline
WORSHIP – 10:30 a.m. (with Hammered Dulcimer Solos)
Sunday Night Thing – 7:00 p.m.

Monday – July 4
Church and Office Closed for July 4th Holiday