From the Desk of Pastor Dave...

 The Evangelist writes, "Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him.  "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure.  Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."  John 8:31-32 (The Message)

Brothers and Sisters...

     We all love a good story.  Several weeks ago on Reformation weekend, Pastor Scott Schantzenbach (Bishop's Assistant for Stewardship and Faith Formation), was our preacher at all three services of worship.  He shared a number of personal stories as illustrations of the gospel lesson for that festival weekend.  He shared the story of a squirrel who had crash landed on the roof of his backyard shed while he was repairing a lawn mower inside.  Scott wasn't sure whether this little creature was dead or simply stunned (it turned out just stunned!).  When Scott found him, this furry animal's front paws were still clinging to a thin branch.  He had chosen foolishly.  The point of the story...it matters what we cling to in this life!

     A second story related the challenge Scott faced recently when he was preparing to lead a workshop on stewardship at a congregation in Somers Point.  The projector he brought for a power point presentation wouldn't work in the assigned room.  He plugged it in...but nothing!  He shook the projector and even banged it a few times...still nothing!  Only later did he find out from the sexton at the church that the outlet he was trying to use hadn't worked for months and still didn't.  The point of the story...it matters what we plug into in this life! 

     This past October, we all received our stewardship packet from Lord of Life celebrating recent past ministry and inviting everyone to make a commitment to writing future stories of ministry together.  Included in this material was a magazine produced by the ELCA entitiled "Stories of Faith in Action".  These stories tie marvelously into our stewardship theme as a church, "God's Work...Our Hands!"  As I paged through this collection of stories that we share in common with other sisters and brothers of faith, I was blessed by all the ways God has touched the church in all it's varied expressions.  Our stories take us to places like..."Dinner Church" at St. Lydia's Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York (where for some dinner is a time of fellowship and community while for others it's a much needed meal)...Followers of Christ - a worshipping community of the ELCA gathering at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, Nebraska (where for many of the inmates they get to feel connected to the outside world...they feel remembered...they feel human)...Oaks Indian Mission in Oaks, Oklahoma (where a mission founded by Moravian missionaries in 1801 is now run by Lutherans who provide a safe place for children whose parents, for a variety of reasons can't provide a safe place for them).

     Further reading led me to check a link to our ELCA website (www.LivingLutheran.com) where over 250 more stories of faith in action tell us just how powerful the gospel is in the hands of a church that is truly Spirit-fed and Spirit-led.  We need to read these personal and communal accounts of just how God is at work in his church and then share these stories with others.  This is a way for all of us to witness to the Love of God as found in the work of Jesus Christ and his Church.

     We are people who "cling to"..."plug into" the greatest story ever told.  The birth, ministry, passion, death, resurrection, ascension and rule of Jesus Christ shapes and empowers our own stories.  God's story and our stories intersect at times of challenge and change, joy and sorrow, healing and hope.  It is my belief that Lord of Life is a congregation where new stories are unfolding everyday that move us, our community, and our world closer to the heart and mind of God.  May all of our stories be those of faith in action!

             Your Brother in Christ, Pastor David Jones