Grace notes, Feb. 22, 2012

What's in a word? Have you heard that expression all your life? I have.
I don't know where it comes from, so if you do, please let me know! I can
tell you there is a LOT in a word! Wars have been fought, marriages made,
babies named, companies dissolved over a word. It can be a
misunderstanding; it can be someone not hearing correctly, it can be an
old fight carried on for the sake of a grudge continued too long. Words
are powerful.

The word we're going to lift up today is "committee". This word is
utilitarian, seemingly fitting many chores and tasks. I serve on the
stewardship committee, on the property committee, on the Sunday School
committee, etc., etc. you hear people say. You say it yourself too. We
all serve on committees some place some time in our lives. Maybe church,
maybe work, maybe for the school or the library or some other town
governance office. It's part of civic duty, it's part of Christian duty,
it's part of putting our money where our mouth is, showing what's
important to us by our deeds as well as our words.

I would challenge you: substitute the word "ministry" for the word
"committee". There are a couple of reasons: first is that people make
jokes, cynical jokes, about committees. "Oh if you don't want to
accomplish anything, send it to committee" is one thing you've heard,
right? Work done in or by a committee is looked down upon; people act as
if it is a miracle that anything gets done by committee. But use the word
"ministry" instead and you and others too feel differently. "I'm part of
the Homebound Communion Ministry". How does that sound? God-blessed,
that's how! "I serve on Worship Ministry" sounds pretty special. And the
truth is, it is special. So are all the works done for the glory of God.
All are ministry. "Oh, all I do is send a birthday or anniversary card
once in a while". That's really a card ministry, isn't it? Who doesn't
like to receive something special in the mail? It lets people know they
are not forgotten, that someone thinks of them kindly. Hallelujah! The
beautiful baptismal blankets women make for every newly baptized child at
Salem are a ministry, a baptismal ministry. Every song the choirs learn
to enhance our worship together is a ministry. The huge Salem lawns are
mowed just before each weekend so our outdoors looks inviting to all,
members and strangers alike. Our Food Pantry is a ministry. Our
membership in Love, Inc. is a ministry. Our Sunday School teaches
children about Jesus. That's certainly a ministry, done by faithful
teachers week after week. Ushering is a ministry. People are welcomed
well here. The list goes on and on. No way have all been named.

People give time and thought and effort in all these ministries. The
creativity is amazing. We all need to name the work done around here.
Next time somebody asks you what you do to support God's people, please
name your work properly: you do ministry! Yes, you. You do ministry.
The priesthood of all believers that Martin Luther described includes you.
Thanks be to God.

Judy Bergeson
Diaconal Minister

UPCOMING EVENTS at SALEM:

Ash Wednesday service began at 7 PM; ashes imposed;

Soup Suppers will be served at 5:30 before Lenten services every Wed. at
7 PM; bring crackers, bread or a dessert to share.

World Day of Prayer service is written by women of Malaysia this year and
held at the United Methodist Church on Friday, March 2nd at 9:30 followed
with refreshments. All are invited.

No. Illinois Synod hosts the Congregational Resourcing Event Saturday,
March 10 from 8:30 till 3:15. Theme is "Seeds Grow Fruit – From God's
Story to Our Story". All are welcome! Call Salem's office to register at
815-895-9171. Cost is $17 before March 1st, $22 after that date.

Support Salem's Global Missions: Order butter braids before March 23; six
delicious flavors. Delivery date is just before Easter – perfect for
company. It's to raise money to send a team to Tanzania as we did a
couple years ago.

Love, In the Name of Christ is hosting a community baby shower on Feb.
25th 1 till 3 PM at Wesleyan Church, 115 S. Malta Road, DeKalb. It's a
new Gap Ministry. Bring your gifts to Salem, if you like, and we will
deliver all gifts to the Wesleyan Church.

Grace Notes 2/14/2012

Grace Notes 2/14/12------------------O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain
and feel the promise is not vain
that morn shall tearless be.

Have you found the expression of your love that you want to share with
your loved ones—each made in the image of God?

Have you decided how to express a healthy love for yourself—a creation of
and delight to God?

These are 2 of the things that I ponder in the days leading up to and on
the celebration of St. Valentine's Day. The legends surrounding
Valentine have obscured the details of his life and death. There were 2
Valentines: 1 a priest who was martyred in Rome and the other the Bishop
of Terni. Not a lot more is known. In any case, the celebration of the
Saint's day has been imbued with hearts, flowers and sundry gifts related
to romantic love. Love is truly at the heart of the feast, but it is a
broader love, a love that was directed and sustained by the Spirit toward
the creator, redeemer, revealer God whom Valentine served.

All love is a gift from God and this note is not intended to pan the
romance and friendships celebrated on this day. What I do hope to do is
provide a reminder for us that our Heavenly Father is among those whom we
acknowledge on this day. Just as we build relationships with other
creatures/persons who share our experience, a relationship is the focus of
our prayers, worship and encounters with Holy Scripture. Our Father's
voice calls to us through the Bible and speaks tenderly to us in prayer so
that we might build and deepen a relationship with our God. Psalm 139
reminds us that never and nowhere is there a time or place where we are
not in the presence of the loving being that made us. Romans 8:31-39
emphatically witnesses to the Christian treasure as St. Paul proclaims—"I
am persuaded that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God which is
ours in Christ Jesus!" St. Valentine trusted his life to that never
failing love.

Let us find in this feast day the sure and certain grace of the LOVE that
is beyond all others, the love which is a model for the love with which we
meet one another and the healthy love with which we hold ourselves.

Pastor Rob
Salem Lutheran Church

Grace Notes January 31, 2012

I couldn't decide which calendar to give to my Aunt Eileen. Born to a
farm couple in the late 1920's, she was the last living of the four
sisters that made up my Mom's family. She had moved to the Sycamore Grand
Victorian last June following a heart attack, leaving behind a quaint
round red house I loved on the rolling hillsides and wandering creek of a
dairy farm in Byron. Her health continued to fail this fall and when she
needed more care she became a resident at Bethany Healthcare. When I
visited I would see the calendar she marked off, day by day.

Should I give her the cow calendar? The farm calendar? The covered
bridge calendar? Which pictures would give her the most joy and pleasure
as she marked each day? You see, I love sales, and I love calendars, and
these beautiful Lang calendars sold at 1/3 of the original price early
January online. I debated and debated as I waited until I was healed
enough to go see Aunt Eileen after my recent knee replacement. Finally
last Tuesday the weather was good and I felt strong enough to walk to her
room, calendar in hand.

Only Aunt Eileen wasn't in her room. She was fighting for her breath down
the street in the hospital. Soon my cousin called to say she was not
going to make it; could I come? Of course I would come; I could get there
in a wheelchair.

Now I have dreaded the day I would lose my Aunt Eileen. I had grown to
love her more and more the last few years and she was my last connection
to my Mom. Visiting her on the farm satisfied a yearning and longing for
the days of my past. But life had grown hard for my aunt.
Her lungs and heart were worn and sore and her back was giving way. She
had been faithfully marking the days of her life, hoping for relief and a
way to escape the confines of her body.
We had talked many times about dying and the courage it takes to go on
when life gets so hard.

Aunt Eileen didn't need a calendar anymore. She had reached January 24th
and that was to be her last day. Or maybe I should say, her first day –
her first day of a new life, a new body that would never again give her
pain or limitation. Her first day of seeing the Lord face to face and
marveling in God's glory. Her first day of being reunited with husband
Henry, her sisters and parents and friends.

These four sisters are now fond memories, leaving a heritage of nine
children to step up as the matriarchs and patriarchs of this family. It's
a little scary for many of us, a reminder of the clock ticking and the
calendar pages turning in our own lives. None of us knows how much time
we have. But perhaps we will step up to the plate a bit more and exercise
our new role, becoming a beloved aunt or uncle or cousin for the younger
ones, quick to love and encourage and forgive.

Perhaps we will take a little more time for one another and keep the bonds
strong. Perhaps we will grasp the gifts of each day with love and
appreciation for those who have gone before.

Today marks the last day of January 2012. As we turn the page to
February, let us humbly move ahead into the future, full of hope and love,
for Jesus has already crossed over.

God's Rich Blessings,

Carla Vanatta, Associate in Ministry
Salem Lutheran Church, Sycamore, IL
Salem Reminders:

This weekend Salem Youth will collect your spare dollars, change, or
checks in Soup Pots for Souper Bowl of Caring, an offering of love on
Super Bowl weekend to support our Compassion International Teen, Noe.

Salem Boy Scout Troop will host 10:30 worship service and participate in a
Blessing of their learning and service. All are welcome.

Sign-up is ongoing to write a Lenten devotional; choose your date and
scripture at the welcome center table.

You can also sign-up to give blood on Sat. Feb. 11th as we remember the
4th anniversary of the campus shootings at NIU and choose to support
others with life.

Salem Food Pantry can always use gifts of food, paper goods, personal
products or financial gifts to purchase these items as they seek to assist
almost 200 families who are visiting this mission outreach for help each
month.