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September
As the fall about 4000 years ago, a 75-yearold
man named Abram (soon to be
Abraham) received a divine command from
God to go on a journey. “Leave your country,
your kindred, and your father’s household,” the
Lord said (Gen 12:1). God was not proposing a
two-week vacation tour of the Middle East.
What God was suggesting was that Abraham
leave everything familiar, everything he knew—
for good.
It would be easy to understand why Abe might
be tempted to say “No, thanks” to God’s
charge. After all, by this point he was firmly
settled in his ancestral homeland, and was not
at a point in his life to start planning families
and looking for a new future to unfold. And he’s
not even sure where he’s being sent, really.
The exact destination is unspecified.
And yet, remarkably, Abraham goes. He leaves
his country, his kindred, and his father’s house,
and journeys into the unknown. God calls
Abraham to a new future, and Abraham is
willing to risk everything for that future, and for
God.
God’s people are a people on the move. As I
packed up my moving boxes for the umpteenth
time this spring to move to Michigan, I was
reminded of this truth yet again. My journey
through seminary to ordination had led to an
assignment in Southeast Michigan—a foreign
and barren land, in my mind. I was leaving the
familiar, not sure where I was being sent,
exactly. Thankfully my transition was not as
abrupt as Abraham’s (no famines or military
exploits to rescue relatives captured by foreign
kings!), and I’ve felt welcomed into this “new
land” warmly. And I’ve discovered it’s not as
foreign or barren as I’d feared!
And so now we journey
together in faith, towards a
new future together as the
people of Hope. We are
indeed a people on the move,
called by God to a destination
that’s not fully known. I am
Pastor of Discipleship
Ministries, and look forward to
our journey together. As we get to know each
other, please feel free to stop by the office or
give me a call to chat about where God’s call
has led you to voyage—and where God might
be calling you now, along new paths. And
throughout the journey, may we be sustained
with a faith like Abraham’s, empowered to
continue to say “Yes” to God’s call in our lives.
Peace,
Pastor Lauren
October
Through the course of your life, you’ve had
all sorts of ups and downs, challenges and
blessings. There have been times when your
faith has sustained you, and times when God
has seemed utterly absent. My guess is that
you’ve got a ton of stories about your life and
your faith.
Telling stories is what being a Christian is all
about, really—telling the story of how God has
been a part of humanity, how God has broken
through into our lives, how the story of Jesus is
our story.
I’d like to invite you to tell a story.
Two Sunday nights each month,
45 youth in grades 6 through 8
gather for “Sunday Night Live,”
part of Hope’s confirmation
program. We start each session
with a story from a congregational member,
which we call a “Lifeline.” Maybe your story
doesn’t seem like much. But it means a lot to
the youth who are on their own faith journeys,
seeking to make sense of their world and their
faith.
Upcoming topics include:
Redemption. Have you experienced the
redemption Jesus has won for you in a tangible
way? (Maybe you burned down your
neighbor’s garage when you were little and had
to work to pay for it, for example.)
Faith. Has there ever been a time in your life
when you were among people who didn’t know
or care to know about Jesus as Lord? Maybe
you were on a mission trip or had a
confrontation with a friend about faith. How did
you handle it?
The Holy Spirit. Was there a time in your life
when you felt the presence, comfort, and
power of the Holy Spirit?
The church. Do you have a story about
experiencing the power of being a part of the
body of Christ?
Forgiveness. Can you share a time when you
hurt someone or broke a commandment? How
did living with that sin affect you and your
relationships with God and others? How and
why did you finally ask for forgiveness?
If any of these topics struck a chord with you,
and you’d like to share your story, please let
me know! We’d love to hear your story.
Peace,
Pastor Lauren
November
The college search is on for many high
schoolers who are looking to continue their
education! For those of you currently in the
midst of a college search, or just beginning the
process as a sophomore or junior, I’d like to
invite you to take a look at Lutheran colleges
and universities. There are 28 colleges and
universities affiliated with the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, scattered
throughout the country. Lutheran colleges and
universities tend to place an emphasis on
vocation—the way God has called each of us
to certain roles, relationships, and occupations
in order to serve in the world. So not only will a
Lutheran college prepare you to be a teacher,
engineer, or artist, but your experience there
will help you reflect on how your work as a
teacher, engineer, or artist connects to your
faith. As this dialog between faith and learning
takes place, you’ll be challenged to explore
your beliefs and values. No one will tell you
what to believe, but many people will be
supporting you in this journey.
Research indicates that
Lutheran schools are
succeeding in this mission.
In comparison with graduates
of flagship public universities,
Lutheran college graduates
were more likely to report: • Questions of ethics and values were often
integrated into classroom discussions (68%
of Lutheran college grads, compared to
27% of public university grads)
• They benefited from opportunities for
spiritual development (74% vs. 22%)
• Their college helped them develop a sense
of purpose in life (74% vs. 55%)
Lutheran college grads are also more likely to
report that their college was effective in the
development of writing, speaking, and
leadership skills; that they were “completely
satisfied” with the quality of education; and that
they had quality, personal interaction with
professors. See more of the study and check
out all the Lutheran colleges and universities at
www.lutherancolleges.org.
Lutheran colleges are not the only place to
connect faith with your college experience.
Many schools across the country have strong
Lutheran campus ministry programs that offer
excellent opportunities for worship, fellowship,
and service. Check them out at
www.elca.org/campusministry.
There’s a great opportunity coming up this
month for high school students and their
families to interact with representatives from
many Lutheran colleges. The Lutheran College
Fair is Sunday, Nov. 12, from 7:00-8:30pm at
the Marriott in Troy. I’ll be there helping
represent my Lutheran university (Valparaiso),
and I hope to see you there!
Peace,
Pastor Lauren
December
It’s December and we all know what that
means…Scripture readings about the end
times, long nights of darkness and anticipation,
and blue paraments!
OK, so maybe those aren’t the first
associations you have with the month of
December. Since most retailers have had
Santa Claus decorations and red and green
candy out since the middle of October, and
Christmas music started playing on the radio
the day after Halloween, we tend to be eager
to jump straight to the celebratory season of
Christmas. But before Christmas comes
Advent, a special season of the church year.
Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before
Christmas and ends on December 24 at
sundown (when Christmas Eve begins).
Advent started as a time during which converts
prepared themselves for baptism through
instruction, prayer, and reflection. It developed
into a penitential season much like Lent, and
varied in length from three days to six weeks.
By the eleventh century, the length of the
season was generally accepted to be four
weeks in the western church, though the
eastern churches (such as Eastern Orthodox)
continued to observe six weeks of Advent—
and still do.
In the Middle Ages, Advent became a time to
prepare for the Second Coming of Christ.
Back then, people were convinced that all the
signs were pointing to an
imminent return of
Christ. In fact, the word “Advent” means “coming.”
So as we celebrate the
coming of Christ in his first
Advent 2000 years ago, we
also look forward to the
return of Christ. It’s a
season of expectation and
promise.
So you’ll see some special things in Advent:
the colors in the church will be blue,
representing the night sky, just before the
dawn of a new day. Evergreens will be hung,
symbolizing everlasting life through Jesus.
There’s an Advent wreath, with an additional
candle lit each week as we anticipate the light
of Christ coming into the world. You’ll hear
Scripture readings about Christ’s coming in
final victory, and the anticipatory words of John
the Baptist.
I invite you to join in the special midweek
services at Hope during Advent, which started
with the Hanging of the Greens on November
29. I encourage you to celebrate Advent at
home with your family, with your own Advent
wreath and devotions (available at the church).
And I pray that this Advent season is one of
expectation, anticipation, and longing for you,
as we anxiously await the coming of the King!
Peace,
Pastor Lauren
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