In early July I "listened in" on some interesting email correspondence between several Lutheran pastors. It began when one pastor criticized the "parochialism" of his colleagues in the Tidewater Conference for not attending the LARCUM ecumenical gathering at Holy Apostles' Catholic Church in Virginia Beach.

First to reply was a pastor who wrote, "I realize it is not good to read someone else's "tone" into an email, because emails don't have tone. But I inferred from your choice of words that I chose not to attend the LARCUM meeting because I lacked something in my heart..." He went on to say that he did not attend only because at the time he was helping at Kairos, our Virginia Synod youth event.

The next pastor jumped in, "...excellent reply. I echo the "tone" as we too were away at the time of LARCUM." Another responded, "On the surface, it would appear that I have no interest in the Lutheran group either, but that would not be true. I have an illness that seems to limit my ability to participate in almost any group activity."

Obviously several were strung by the implied criticism of the original email. All of which reminded me how easy it is to be misunderstood in written correspondence because a "tone" cannot be transmitted easily. But many verbal exchanges lead to misinterpretations even though their "tone" can be heard. A good lesson, then, is to be very careful what one writes and what one says. Always ask, "How will this be received?" "How will this be heard?" People cannot look into anyone else's heart. They only know what they see written and what they hear with their own ears.

But this week, as I worked on Sunday's sermon I realized that there is an even more valuable lesson to be learned from those emails. The text from Luke is about prayer. Prayer is the only means of communication available to us in which the One to whom our words are directed does know what is in our hearts! God knows the tone of our petitions.

St. Paul wrote as much to the Christians in Rome, "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:26-7)

God knows not only what we mean but also what we need! So the greater lesson from those emails for me is to keep on praying! Do not worry about the words, as we must do in this world -- how "churchy" or how "earthy" they might be, or about their tone -- how pious or how impious they might seem. Keep on praying because the Holy Spirit translates your prayers, in the right words and in the right tone, directly to the One who answers prayer!

 

On July 8, the Council of Our Saviour Lutheran Church appointed the following members to serve on the Call Committee:

The Council also appointed two alternates in order to be prepared for the possibility that an appointed member may encounter unanticipated events that do not allow them to complete their service. The alternates are:

A total of 13 members expressed interest in serving on the Call Committee and we had a strong slate of candidates from which to choose.  The Council was extremely diligent in considering each person for this very important role.  In the end, the appointments that were made were intended to assemble a Call Committee of highly capable, dedicated members who are not only committed to this task but who also represent the various demographic characteristics of OSLC.  I sincerely hope that you share my opinion that the Council has done an excellent job in achieving this goal.
 
Please be sure to extend your appreciation to the Call Committee members and alternates for their service.  This is a big commitment on their behalf and we are all excited to see the results of all their upcoming hard work.  Also, I would like to thank the other high-quality candidates who were not selected for the Call Committee.  Your interest in serving is most appreciated and we are confident that there will be many other ways to continue to serve OSLC.
 
In late July, the Call Committee was officially installed by Pastor Shoberg and will begin to receive Call Committee instruction from Reverend Jean Bozeman, assistant to the Bishop.   
 
Also in July was the completion of the Healthy Starts workshop series.  More than 15 members attended the all day workshop on July 17 - a warm and sunny Saturday.  We thank them for spending the day inside to discuss the future of OSLC.  The dialog was dynamic and the energy was high.  Clearly, we are blessed with many members who are passionate about where we are and where we are going.
 
As you may recall, early this year we announced an aggressive goal to have the Call Committee in place by late summer.  As July draws to a close, we have: completed Biblical Leadership training, completed the Healthy Starts workshops, appointed the Call Committee and are in the final stages of completing the congregational study (under the excellent leadership of Shirley Mitchell).  I am very pleased to announce that the preparation phase for the call process is virtually complete.  
 
We are now prepared to open our hearts and our minds to meeting pastoral candidates - one of whom will ultimately be called as our new pastor.  May we all be guided by the Holy Spirit as we move forward.
   
Yours in Christ,
 
Larry Anderson