Grace Notes May 29, 2012
"I love being here." That phrase, nicely painted on a decorative sign, has
found its way from a recent garage sale to its new home at our house.
Deciding where to hang it was a challenge. There are so many places it
would fit. Our camping trailer…we love being there. Our back yard…we've
been enjoying our morning tea and quiet time outdoors this week. Where
would you choose to hang a sign saying "I love being here?" We finally
placed it on our porch, where we start and finish most of our days,
weather allowing.
"I love being here." Any place can be "here." In fact, every place is
"here." At this very moment you are somewhere…that somewhere is "here" for
you right now. "Here" may be your home or a favorite get-away spot. Or
"here" might be a place along the highway where you spend a few minutes
waiting for a construction zone. I remember such a stop on our trip to
Holden Village a few years ago. As we followed I-90 around a mountain
curve we came to a stop. It turned into a long wait as heavy machinery was
being repositioned and all traffic had to stand still. It was many miles
from any towns. But being forced to be there, we had time to begin to see
the beauty of the place. A valley to the left…the mountain to our right…a
few trees managing to hang on to the slope. If not for that road work, we
never would have noticed. But this place was just as beautiful and
God-created as any other. For the moment, I actually could "love being
there."
God made the world and everything in it. And it is wonderful. Now, to be
sure, human nature and sin have caused some situations that are, well,
less than loveable. But God is with us even in those places. Even if the
only pleasant thing you can find about a place is how much it makes you
appreciate another one. If we are open to his gift, God will give peace
and contentment even there. Carla and I marvel at how my Mom has learned
peace and contentment now that she lives at a care center. She wouldn't
have chosen to need that care, but when it has become necessary she is
accepting it. Usually smiling, she doesn't complain and seems to "love
being here."
The sign has found a home, at least for the present, above the doorway
leading from our porch get-away back into the main house. It certainly
speaks my special appreciation for that specific place. Perhaps I can also
carry its message with me as I leave that place each day, as a reminder to
thank God and appreciate every "here" that I will be in today.
Ron Vanatta
This Sunday Salem graduates will be blessed and honored at the 9:15 coffee
time and during the 10:30 worship service.
Sign up for the Thursday evening study group each week in June. Pastor Rob
will lead a discussion of the book "The Shack." Time is 5 to 6:30. Place
is fellowship hall. Bring your own supper. We'll eat at 5, then start the
study at 5:30.
Market Day sales will benefit Salem Food Pantry in June, July and August.
Call or visit Salem's office to get an order sheet.
Salem Grace Notes Archive
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Grace Notes May 17
Grace notes for 5/14-19/12
Thursday, May 17th was Ascension Thursday. I picture Our Lord's Ascension
as occurring on a bright and Sunny day like today. Jesus spoke a goodbye
and a blessing to people who had staked their life on him. He had been
lost to them in his death. Now, miraculously, he was alive again and
appearing in their midst. But wait, he was leaving again. There was
something different this time. Before he left he told the disciples to
expect the gift from the Father that he had spoken to them about. They
would be enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Don't wander off, he
said, but stay in Jerusalem and wait. Not many days from now the Holy
Spirit will come upon you and you will be my witnesses.
The Easter season is coming to a close. In not many days we will
celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit's in-filling of the disciples and
the season after Pentecost will begin. This "green season" is so named
because following the day of Pentecost, the disciples did as Jesus said,
they became witnesses to his (God-in-flesh) presence with them. As they
did so, they were to experience all manner of growth. Again, the Lord
would be found true to his word as the Spirit of God empowered them to
share the good news and healing that Jesus brings.
As I drove to Salem this morning, I saw the new shoots and blades of green
that grew up in the fields. They will bear fruit and in so doing, are
witnesses to the Creator God who has made them. They will ripen and bring
forth fruit for the Lord and for his children throughout the growing
season.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present with us
precisely because he was taken from the sight of his first disciples. He
is alive and continues to call us to new growth and fruit bearing witness.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present in us,
sending us to "Live Christ's Love as the people of Salem and as
individuals called to see all that we do, wherever we do it as the place
where Jesus is present. On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord
is present to be our strength our hope and our way, every moment, every
day.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present and can be
seen in the beauty of renewing growth of the creation. Take the time to
hear and see Jesus alive in the beauty and power of life. Take the time
to let his presence fill you with peace.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present to us because
he said goodbye to the people, times and places of Jesus' earthly life.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present so that we
might live in the "perpetual HELLO" of his coming to us through the
Spirit. May you be open to the empowering enlivening and healing of Jesus
the Christ. We live because he lives. We live and Jesus tells to
recognize him with us and turn our hearts to making him known to others
that are being called to find their Spiritual Home in Him.
In thanksgiving for you ever-loving life Lord, we praise you and ask that
by your power we see the empowering of your life to enable us to do your
will.
AMEN
Pr. Rob
Thursday, May 17th was Ascension Thursday. I picture Our Lord's Ascension
as occurring on a bright and Sunny day like today. Jesus spoke a goodbye
and a blessing to people who had staked their life on him. He had been
lost to them in his death. Now, miraculously, he was alive again and
appearing in their midst. But wait, he was leaving again. There was
something different this time. Before he left he told the disciples to
expect the gift from the Father that he had spoken to them about. They
would be enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Don't wander off, he
said, but stay in Jerusalem and wait. Not many days from now the Holy
Spirit will come upon you and you will be my witnesses.
The Easter season is coming to a close. In not many days we will
celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit's in-filling of the disciples and
the season after Pentecost will begin. This "green season" is so named
because following the day of Pentecost, the disciples did as Jesus said,
they became witnesses to his (God-in-flesh) presence with them. As they
did so, they were to experience all manner of growth. Again, the Lord
would be found true to his word as the Spirit of God empowered them to
share the good news and healing that Jesus brings.
As I drove to Salem this morning, I saw the new shoots and blades of green
that grew up in the fields. They will bear fruit and in so doing, are
witnesses to the Creator God who has made them. They will ripen and bring
forth fruit for the Lord and for his children throughout the growing
season.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present with us
precisely because he was taken from the sight of his first disciples. He
is alive and continues to call us to new growth and fruit bearing witness.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present in us,
sending us to "Live Christ's Love as the people of Salem and as
individuals called to see all that we do, wherever we do it as the place
where Jesus is present. On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord
is present to be our strength our hope and our way, every moment, every
day.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present and can be
seen in the beauty of renewing growth of the creation. Take the time to
hear and see Jesus alive in the beauty and power of life. Take the time
to let his presence fill you with peace.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present to us because
he said goodbye to the people, times and places of Jesus' earthly life.
On Ascension Thursday I am reminded that the Lord is present so that we
might live in the "perpetual HELLO" of his coming to us through the
Spirit. May you be open to the empowering enlivening and healing of Jesus
the Christ. We live because he lives. We live and Jesus tells to
recognize him with us and turn our hearts to making him known to others
that are being called to find their Spiritual Home in Him.
In thanksgiving for you ever-loving life Lord, we praise you and ask that
by your power we see the empowering of your life to enable us to do your
will.
AMEN
Pr. Rob
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Grace Notes, May 10, 2012
GRACE NOTES May 10, 2012
The end of last week, I met my two sisters in Madison for a couple days.
We had talked about doing this for 25 years. Are we slow??? Anyway, we
had a wonderful time, very special, with no demands on our time and energy
except what we chose together. Talking was of course the Number One
choice! And we can talk while we're walking, shopping, eating, laughing,
no problem at all! Did I mention that one of us lives in Rochester,
Minnesota, one in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and I, who live in Sycamore,
IL. See, Madison is the perfect meeting place.
Besides being blood relations and besides loving one another since birth,
we have another marvelous thing in common: we all love our life's work.
As God's children, we somehow heeded our Lord and made a living by using
our God-given gifts.
One sister taught. She taught high school and then had years of staying
home to raise her own four children. The last dozen years, she has taught
English as a second language, ESL, to foreign-born adults from Korea,
Somalia, Ecuador, on and on from all over the world. She has loved every
single minute of it. And it shows and so she is a superb teacher.
My other sister is an artist. She wrote a successful grant and got to
expand the Miller Art Gallery in Sturgeon Bay, WI. She organizes art
shows, teaches classes in various art media, and creates wonderful
exhibits for children to come and play in and with. Very hands-on
exhibits. She paints too and has an eye for paintings and pottery and rugs
and musicians and color and fabrics. She loves every minutes of all this.
And it shows and so she is a superb curator-artist.
I went to Seminary in my fifties to answer God's call to serve the
elderly. I get to visit the homebound, the hospitalized, the sick and the
dying. Everyone has a story. It is my great joy to listen. And I love
every minute of it.
And we three are only a few examples. God calls each and every single one
of us to a kind of ministry. There may be another name for our work, but
it is ministry, believe me. It is ministry if we love it and are doing
some good in this world, fulfilling a need that someone has. I don't care
if you are a nurses' aide, a mechanic, a professor, a seamstress, a shop
owner, a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker! One of my favorite things
to do before our worship service begins is look around and say, "she's a
Sunday School teacher, he's an usher, he mows the lawn, he weeds and
prunes, he organizes food and drink for funeral luncheons, she prepares
the church for weddings, she keeps track of visitors, they adorn the altar
properly every weekend", and so on. The people here, and one hopes in
every church, who do God's work are everywhere! And God is here to
comfort and console and inspire and provoke and renew and bless us, all of
us, every time.
I can only wonder: who would want to miss this? This joyful coming
together, here in this place, to talk and laugh and weep and find
sanctuary and friends and family.
So this week, this time, this turn of mine to write Grace Notes, I adjure
you to reach out, join, identify a job that interests you (want to be a
puppet? A bell ringer? A lawn mower? A cook for the sick?), and show up to
do it. We need you. And your sense of belonging as part of God's family,
one of God's own, contributing to God's kingdom, will strengthen and
buffer you from many worldly bumps and bruises. It's true. Ask anybody
here. And God bless you in whatever ministry you do.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
This Sunday, May 13, Salem will celebrate Mother's Day;
Salem Softball starts Friday, May 11 at 6:30 in Katz Park, DeKalb;
Memorial Day weekend we honor all Veterans. Come to the 9:15 Coffee Hour!
It's always timely to thank our Veterans.
Pentecost Sunday please bring red flowers to adorn our altar. One of our
Gardeners will plant them out front under the big "Salem" sign.
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life Walk begins at 3 PM Saturday,
June 2nd & goes till 6 AM the next morning at DeKalb High School. Salem
has a team Captain; call the church office to sign up (815-895-9171).
Bless your days, bless your weeks.
The end of last week, I met my two sisters in Madison for a couple days.
We had talked about doing this for 25 years. Are we slow??? Anyway, we
had a wonderful time, very special, with no demands on our time and energy
except what we chose together. Talking was of course the Number One
choice! And we can talk while we're walking, shopping, eating, laughing,
no problem at all! Did I mention that one of us lives in Rochester,
Minnesota, one in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and I, who live in Sycamore,
IL. See, Madison is the perfect meeting place.
Besides being blood relations and besides loving one another since birth,
we have another marvelous thing in common: we all love our life's work.
As God's children, we somehow heeded our Lord and made a living by using
our God-given gifts.
One sister taught. She taught high school and then had years of staying
home to raise her own four children. The last dozen years, she has taught
English as a second language, ESL, to foreign-born adults from Korea,
Somalia, Ecuador, on and on from all over the world. She has loved every
single minute of it. And it shows and so she is a superb teacher.
My other sister is an artist. She wrote a successful grant and got to
expand the Miller Art Gallery in Sturgeon Bay, WI. She organizes art
shows, teaches classes in various art media, and creates wonderful
exhibits for children to come and play in and with. Very hands-on
exhibits. She paints too and has an eye for paintings and pottery and rugs
and musicians and color and fabrics. She loves every minutes of all this.
And it shows and so she is a superb curator-artist.
I went to Seminary in my fifties to answer God's call to serve the
elderly. I get to visit the homebound, the hospitalized, the sick and the
dying. Everyone has a story. It is my great joy to listen. And I love
every minute of it.
And we three are only a few examples. God calls each and every single one
of us to a kind of ministry. There may be another name for our work, but
it is ministry, believe me. It is ministry if we love it and are doing
some good in this world, fulfilling a need that someone has. I don't care
if you are a nurses' aide, a mechanic, a professor, a seamstress, a shop
owner, a butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker! One of my favorite things
to do before our worship service begins is look around and say, "she's a
Sunday School teacher, he's an usher, he mows the lawn, he weeds and
prunes, he organizes food and drink for funeral luncheons, she prepares
the church for weddings, she keeps track of visitors, they adorn the altar
properly every weekend", and so on. The people here, and one hopes in
every church, who do God's work are everywhere! And God is here to
comfort and console and inspire and provoke and renew and bless us, all of
us, every time.
I can only wonder: who would want to miss this? This joyful coming
together, here in this place, to talk and laugh and weep and find
sanctuary and friends and family.
So this week, this time, this turn of mine to write Grace Notes, I adjure
you to reach out, join, identify a job that interests you (want to be a
puppet? A bell ringer? A lawn mower? A cook for the sick?), and show up to
do it. We need you. And your sense of belonging as part of God's family,
one of God's own, contributing to God's kingdom, will strengthen and
buffer you from many worldly bumps and bruises. It's true. Ask anybody
here. And God bless you in whatever ministry you do.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
This Sunday, May 13, Salem will celebrate Mother's Day;
Salem Softball starts Friday, May 11 at 6:30 in Katz Park, DeKalb;
Memorial Day weekend we honor all Veterans. Come to the 9:15 Coffee Hour!
It's always timely to thank our Veterans.
Pentecost Sunday please bring red flowers to adorn our altar. One of our
Gardeners will plant them out front under the big "Salem" sign.
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life Walk begins at 3 PM Saturday,
June 2nd & goes till 6 AM the next morning at DeKalb High School. Salem
has a team Captain; call the church office to sign up (815-895-9171).
Bless your days, bless your weeks.
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