 Greetings!
"Extend hospitality to strangers" - Romans 12:13
"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it" - Hebrews 13:2
In a speech toward the end of Jesus' life, he teaches that hospitality is one of the keys to entering the kingdom of heaven when he says; "For I was hungry and you gve me food, I was thirsty and you game me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me." - Matthew 25:35 Over and over again in scripture, hospitality is raised up as a primary virtue of people of faith. From Abram welcoming strangers in Genesis to the vision of Revelation where the Christ reminds us; "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.." - Revelation 3:20.
There are few themes in Scripture more pronounced than the theme of hospitality. Woven throughout the entire biblical narrative is a God who invites us to welcome one another, as he has welcomed us - a God who invites us to care for one another, as he has cared for us.
Because of this, its been interesting to me to see how conspicuously silent, the Christian church (especially the fundamentalist, right-wing Christian church) has been regarding our recent national debate on immigration and specifically the new immigration law recently passed in Arizona. The same people who wield the Bible as an instrument of judgment in their condemnation of gays and lesbians or refuse to give women equal rights within the leadership of the church because of a few obscure passages, can't seem to figure out whether scripture has anything to say about an appropriate Christian response with regards to immigrants.
I'm not saying that I know the answer to how our country ought to be handling immigration within our country. A friend of mine who lives in Arizona recently wrote about how frustrating it is to be judged by people who aren't living in that situation. Yet, we also ought to realize that all of us are immigrants, both as people living in this country and as people of faith, who claim another home land, not of this world. And we also know that the Bible is clear about our role in loving and welcoming one another in the name of Christ.
Our world continues to present us with complex issues with no easy answers. May the Word of God speak to us, not only in Scripture but in the many and varied ways that we hear His voice. And as God speaks, may we find open ears to hear and willing hearts to follow.
Tony
tony@cantonlutheran.net
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Year-End Schedule for Wednesday School & Sunday School
Wednesday School and Sunday School may be coming to an end, but the fun at church is just starting to begin. |
Last Day of Wednesday SchoolWednesday, April 28thLast Day of Sunday SchoolSunday, May 2ndCinco De Mayo Year-End Family Picnic5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 5th
Crazy Quilting: Family Service Event
8:45 a.m.
Sunday, May 9th
Last Day of Adult Sunday School
Sunday, May 9th
Minnesota Twins Family Fun Trip
Sunday, May 31 - Monday, June 1
PreSchool Vacation Bible School
Sunday, June 6 - Wednesday, June 9
CLC Day Camp
Monday, June 14 - Thursday, June 17
Confirmation Camp
Sunday, June 20 - Friday, June 25
Sr. High Mission Trip: Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, July 3 - Sunday, July 11
CLC Family Camp Week at Outlaw Ranch
Sunday, Aug. 1 - Friday, Aug. 6
The schedules may change in the summer, but there are still lots of opportunities for all generations to connect with Christ & community. Come connect and join in the fun!
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People Needed to Mow Church Lawn
In an effort to be good stewards of our resources, we have decided to ask members of CLC to help us in keeping our lawn mowed this summer. We have a riding tractor and trimmer that was generously donated by Trent & Vicki Weihe. If many of us pitch in, we should only have to take a turn once or twice during the year. If you would be willing to mow our church lawn once or twice during the upcoming year, please drop an e-mail to Janet at janet@cantonlutheran.net
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 To Save a Life
Movie Night
Join us this Sunday, May 2nd at 7 pm for a one-time showing of "To Save a Life". The event is FREE and open to everyone. Concessions will be available before and after the film. There will also be a time of reflection and discussion for those interested in sticking around when the showing is done. For questions contact Kari Elling: kari@cantonlutheran.net
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 NEW Volunteer Software
UPDATE
The new volunteer software, Ministry Scheduler Pro is up and running although we're still trying to work through some bugs. Some reminder e-mails are not getting through and so one thing we would ask everyone is to make sure that all the staff at CLC is added to your address book. Here are some of our e-mail addresses:
Pastor Tony: tony@cantonlutheran.net
Rhonda Haglund: rhonda@cantonlutheran.net
Janet Henke: janet@cantonlutheran.net
Lori Pudenz: lori@cantonlutheran.net
Kari Elling: kari@cantonlutheran.net
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