This month Julie Wenner and I will be representing Faith Lutheran Church at the Montana Synod Assembly. What is the Montana Synod and why do they assemble you might ask? Great question! The Montana Synod is the group of 128 Evangelical Lutheran Congregations all in Montana! (except for 5 oddballs in Wyoming :)  As a synod, our congregations and pastors collectively elect a bishop and support synod staff who work kind of like a superintendent’s office for our Lutheran churches. The term “synod” comes from Greek. The two Greek roots “syn” and “hodos” translate to mean “the way/road together”. Sounds kind of cool, right? I like the idea of our congregations forming a synod by being churches on the way together.
                The synodical understanding of our church is, in many ways unifying. We are a synod because we have shared beliefs and practices. For instance, if you attend services at Christ Lutheran Church in Libby, you likely will have a similar worship experience as if you were also to attend Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Broadus – even though the two congregations are over 700 miles apart. By contrast, in Ronan we have at least 12 different churches within just a few blocks, but the worship experience, belief systems, and preaching varies widely from the Mennonite Church, Sacred Heart Catholic, Ronan Adventist, to Lighthouse Christian Fellowship (the four congregations located nearest to us). Being a synod of congregations with shared theological doctrines and confessions helps us stay unified in our beliefs and practices across time and space. When churches have pastoral openings, we work to make sure our congregations have leaders. As congregations, we work together to support ministries to our youth like Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp, as well as to our aging members through ministries like Immanuel Lutheran Homes in Kalispell and St. John’s Ministries in Billings. There are many things that we can do better together than we can do separately, which bind us together and give us purpose as a synod of congregations.
                The synodical understanding of our churches is well established, but can be hard to think about because every community of faith is very unique. For instance, Faith Lutheran Church in Ronan and Good Shepherd Lutheran in Polson started out together and shared a pastor for many years, yet there are many aspects of our two communities that are very different. Every congregation, even ones that share similar beliefs and worship practices, are distinct from every other congregation. However, the dynamics between congregations and synods are analogous to the relationship of the state of Montana to the nation of the United States of America. We live in Montana and know how to do our own thing pretty well. We live, work, play and have our homes in Montana, and put forth our own efforts to educate our children, conduct business, have our own local and state governments, and support our own churches. Yet, we are also part of the United States and I would argue that Montana is better off for being part of the U.S.A. than if we tried to make it as our own country. The U.S.A. has a stronger military, better highway and rail systems, better research institutions, a more robust forestry system, etc., than Montana could afford or put together on its own. While Montana is distinct and different than a state like Florida, it is better for both Florida and Montana to be a united nation than a divided one. Similarly, though the Montana Synod is made up of a 128 individual, distinct congregations that minister in separate and distinct ways, our unity at the synod level is better for all of us.
 
 
In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Summer is almost upon us. Though it is still snowing on the mountains, it is also starting to melt. The sun is finally starting to break through the clouds for extended periods of time, freeing us from the grays of winter. Warm days seem to be headed our way… and probably some relatives, too!
         
Since the season is fast approaching, I assume that you have likely started to make some summer plans. While it does not take a whole lot of forethought to go through Glacier for a day, trips to the coast or across the country take a little bit more planning and saving. While summer brings many people back into our area to their homes and cabins on the lake, summer also gives those of us who live in the valley all-year a chance to get away for a bit. And this takes some planning on our part.
               
As you make your summer plans, I want to invite you to think about how you will live out your faith this summer. Here are some spiritual dimensions that I invite you to focus on in your vacation planning:

     Sabbath – You probably think of the concept of sabbath in terms of the third commandment which says “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” After the Lord worked to create the world and everything in it, scripture tells us that the Lord rested and God commands us to do the same. Rest is holy and favored by God. One thing I always hope for when I get out of town for a while is an opportunity to intentionally live into God’s command that we rest. In planning your summer vacations, I invite you to not only think about planning stuff to do, but ways that you can take sabbath by prayerfully resting from your work.

      Family – It is a gift to be able to vacation as a family. The opportunity to travel with and share experiences of seeing new places and meeting new people is something that adds to the health of who we are together as parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Stories we share about the places we have been together as a family are important for us in remembering who we are together. I believe that God uses experiences of travel to strengthen our connections to one another as family.

      Exploring God’s creation – God has formed a wonderful world around us, but sometimes we lose sight of its wonders. I wish that everyone, every day, would be amazed at what God has created all around us. However, it is easy to lose sight of the wonders that God has formed in our world. It is good and holy that in your summer travels you take time to be amazed at the wonders of God’s creation. As you step away from the distractions of your everyday, may you be amazed at the wonder of God’s eternal majesty.

     Go with God – I love the Spanish phrase, vaya con Dios, which translates to mean “Go with God!” Wherever you travel, may you remember that the Lord accompanies you on your journeys. You are not alone in this life, nor are you alone on the journeys that are before you. May you always remember that wherever you travel to God is leading you onward and joins you for the journey.

                                                                            In Christ,
                                                                          Pastor Seth
 
                

Lent is a journey to the cross. While Jesus wandered the wilderness for forty days to have it out with Satan at the end, and the Israelites wandered the desert for forty years because they were a bunch of whiners, we join in the wilderness journey because we need to remember what it is to dwell in the dirt. Remember we are dust, and to dust we shall return… just like Jesus did.

We journey to the cross during this season because we need to join in Jesus’ death. We need to enter into the suffering of our Lord because it is in his suffering that our salvation is found. It is in his death that our lives our redeemed; in his resurrection that we also rise.

Jesus was surely cursed for having hung on a tree – we are surely blessed because he was. His death and resurrection meant the redemption of the whole world. By his wounds we are healed, and by his death we live.

This is why we take time every year in the church to intentionally, depressingly journey to the cross. It is worth dying with Christ again, and again, and again, so that we might all rise with him to new life forever.
 
In Christ,
Pastor Seth

                              “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” – Matthew 25:35

                Lue Moa was born in a refugee camp in southeast Asia. The son of Hmong parents, his family became refugees after the United States pulled out of fighting in Vietnam. The Hmong people lived as ethnic and religious minorities in Laos, but, being on the margin of society in their own homeland, they fought the oppressive Laotian government on our behalf in the sixties and seventies. This allowed the United States to officially claim that we were only fighting in Vietnam while supporting our Hmong allies who fought North Vietnamese and Laotian forces for us. They believed that totalitarian victories of their Communist neighbors would be disastrous for them, so they aligned with us. When we lost, they lost.

                Many of the Hmong people were slaughtered in the genocide that the Communist governments in Vietnam and Laos ordered against them in the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from the region. In just a few years, hundreds of thousands of Hmong people became refugees. Many of the Hmong people, like Lue Moa’s parents, spent years in refugee camps in Thailand before being resettled in the United States. Little Lue and his family eventually made their way from the hot and humid climate of Thailand to the icy winters of St. Paul, Minnesota. There, Lue grew and was educated in one of the best public school systems the United States has to offer. Simultaneously, he was raised in the faith among the Lutherans who had helped to save his family from the murderous governments of his homeland. Lue went on to college, and, then, discerning a call to ministry, attended Luther Seminary in St. Paul to become a pastor in the Lutheran church. Last fall, Jen, Otto and I proudly celebrated Pastor Moa’s ordination and installation as the pastor of Valley of Christ Lutheran Church in Frenchtown.  
          
                I share Pastor Moa’s story, because he was a boy that we welcomed as a stranger – a boy who was Christ to us when he came as a refugee. Now, he is a messenger of the Gospel who weekly proclaims the love of Christ from his pulpit in Montana, just down the road from us. Stories like Lue’s are important to keep in mind as we consider how Christ calls us to welcome strangers in our midst. Jesus told us that by welcoming the stranger, we will welcome Christ himself. What’s more, he said that, when Christ comes again, those who turn away strangers will be told, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels…I was a stranger and you did not welcome me” (Matt. 25: 41-43). Not only did Jesus say that it is good to welcome a stranger, he said that we must welcome the stranger if we desire to be welcomed into heaven. These are words of Christ which stand heavy over our nation at this time. The prophets in the Old Testament warned of the same thing. The nation of Israel was conquered and hauled off to exile because they did not care for the poor, the widowed, the orphan or the foreign refugees who came to them (Jeremiah 7:5-7; Ezekiel 47:21-22; Zechariah 7:8-10; Malachi 3:5).

                Many people in our country and in Montana seem to be perfectly okay with turning away refugees. But, as your pastor concerned for the souls of people in our community, I must share that Jesus commanded us to welcome such folks within our midst. I hope that if we really are trying to live out Christian values as a nation, then we will follow the commands of Christ himself. We are not our government, and while the government officially represents us, it does not speak for the whole of who we are or what we believe. I am not sure how Jesus looks at America when our government and citizens reject his teachings and commandments, but I do know that as Christians we should listen to our Savior.
​
                When we welcome refugees, we welcome Christ into our midst – just as Jesus promised. As Christ has welcomed us, we should welcome others in His name. Who knows, a refugee coming to America this year just might turn out to be a Christian pastor one day…
 
In Christ,
Pastor Seth

"You wrote a book?” I have gotten this question more than once in the past few weeks. My book, The Church Unknown: Reflections of a Millennial Pastor, was just published and can be found at https://www.amazon.com/Church-Reflections-Millennial-Pastor/dp/1537657585/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475166393&sr=8-1&keywords=the+church+unknown. It is only natural that one’s first publication comes as a surprise. Up to now, I have not been an author, at least not a book author, so why would anyone expect me to write a book? But, I did. In fact, I have been working very hard on it for a long time now. I have spent many late nights and used many of my days off to put my thoughts together and revise them into a full book. I have felt compelled to write it and am glad that it has come together.

Why? Why go through all the effort of writing a book?
When I started as the pastor of Faith Lutheran in Ronan, many people asked me about why people my age are not going to church anymore. These concerns are not surprising. It has become more and more common that people my age are generally absent from the pews of churches around the country, and this was especially true at Faith Lutheran around the time that I started. While we have drawn some new families into the worship and service life of our congregation since that time, there are still many people my age around the Mission Valley and around the country who do not darken the church door on Sundays. All things considered, it was not much of a surprise that people had questions about my generation’s absence from the church at the moment.

What was surprising to me when I was asked these questions is that I really did not have a good answer. For the life of me, I could not say why I have been drawn deeper into the life of the church and others have drifted away. I just had not thought about it that much. I could not explain why my peers who went to all the same Sunday School classes, attended confirmation, were in the same Christmas programs as me, went to Vacation Bible School, and went with me to Bible camp, have fallen away from the church while I have committed my life and career to serving it. The fact that I, as a Millennial, did not really understand what has been going on showed me that there was need to think through the subject more.

On top of that, when it came to thinking about the subject of different generational perspectives of the world and of the church, I feel that much has been written about my generation, but not enough has been said from my generation. That is, other generations love to rip on Millennials for all of our failings, without really taking the time to understand where we are coming from. Some of these concerns are warranted, but often not all that helpful for intergenerational understanding. As a Millennial Christian, I find the treatment (or mistreatment) of Millennials by other generations especially toxic for Christianity which is facing a bleak future at the moment. Instead of just complaining about the lack of voices from my generation, I thought I would buck up and throw mine into the mix.

What do I want readers to take away from The Church Unknown?
I hope that readers of The Church Unknown will be able to look at the struggles that the church is facing today and see something different than its impending death. After reading the book, I hope that people can see a brighter future for the church in the years to come. I do my best to lead readers to understand what people my age see when they view the church and then attempt to move the reader to think about how young adults might be granted a place in the church’s future. All too often, when discussing the state of the church, I hear people say things like, “The church is not like it used to be”, or “Back when I was growing up, everybody went to church. But now!” All of these statements are true and supported by the history of the church.

However, the same history tells the story that now is not the only time when church attendance numbers have been low. In the years before World War II, the years before members of older generations of church goers were growing up, there were similar numbers of Americans going to church as there are now. What seems like decline in church attendance today may actually be a re-settling to normal levels after a church bubble in the  '50's and '60's. Judging young adults today by these standards is not really helpful as it usually leaves everybody feeling bad about the present and even worse about the future.

But, there is reason to hope and believe that the challenges we are facing in the present may mean that brighter days are around the corner. Where there is struggle there is also opportunity. Just as challenges in the history of the church have often made us stronger and more viable in days gone by, I believe that the challenges the church is facing in our present day and age will make it stronger and more viable in the days to come. I hope that readers will be able to share in this vision.

Who is my intended audience?
I hope that this book will appeal to Christians (and non-Christians, too!) in their twenties on up to those in retirement. I have not found a single church in the U.S. that is immune to generational shifts among Christians in the world these days. Many churches, especially established churches, are left scratching their heads about where all the young people and families have gone. Even worse, many of these same congregations are left pointing their fingers. Other churches, especially church plants and new ministry ventures, have benefited from generational shifts in the church by drawing crowds of younger Christians away from older congregations to join their burgeoning, hip ministry starts. Yet, in their process of forming age segregated communities, I believe that we all lose. The church can and should be a place where the people of God of all ages come together before the cross in worship, engage the world through service inspired by Christ’s love, and come to find meaning and purpose through our faith, believing that our lives have significance through the God who made us and works to save us.

For that reason, I believe that adults of any age will find my book helpful for discussing the future of the church. It is not up to just the young or the old to find a way to do things differently. The world of the church has changed and we are called to change with one another.

What do I think is important for older generations of Christians to hear?
The future of the church depends on all of us. I frequently hear people say that churches (in general) need to attract more young people because they are the future and a church without young people will not last. There is some truth to this, if for no other reason than younger generations will live for more years than older generations (at least probably). Yet, there are many churches filled with young adults that do well for a couple of years but are like a flash in the pan which burns out quickly. Though these churches have youth, they end up without having much of a future. Other congregations have many older members - and seemingly only older members - but are able to grow in their membership and their faith anyway. All this is to say that there may be more ways forward than might initially seem obvious.

Recognizing that the future of the church does not depend on one age group or another, I hope that we all can recognize that the strongest and healthiest congregations are ones in which Christians of all ages are able to come together and share in the Gospel of Christ. The church needs members of all ages not to be stronger for some distant tomorrow down the road, but to be healthier in the present.

In order to help welcome younger people into our churches, I would say to older members that you must listen to younger adults and give them a place in the church. I have spoken with many groups of older church goers who complain that young adults are not coming to church like they used to, don’t help teach Sunday school, don’t join the women’s group, etc. Yet, when I ask about what these long-time church goers have heard young people say they are looking for in their church experience, the answer has always been that they have never asked. They have not taken the time to listen to the reasons why young people in their communities are staying away from church. This should change. If you want younger generations in your church, you must be willing to listen and hear what their cares and concerns are. We all need to be heard and we all need to listen.

What do I think is important for younger Christians to hear?
Go to church and don’t give up on it. The church will never be perfect, the most exciting place, or give us everything we want, but the church will always be good in surprising ways, and supportive when we least expect it. The church is far deeper and more profound than we can see from the outside, so to really understand what the church has to offer one must attend and stick around for a while. I have to echo the advice that Eugene Peterson gave to parishioners when they would leave his congregation to move to a new place. When they asked him what they should look for in a new church he would tell them, “Go to the nearest, smallest church, and stay there for six months.” I think my generation of Christians would do well to heed this advice, at least as a starting place for thinking about how to live faithfully into the future.

To younger generations of Christians, I say that we must commit to churches and be patient and persistent when we do. Whether we want to admit it or not, the church is a very valuable, spiritual center where we can live beyond ourselves. The church is the place where we encounter God and God encounters us – there is no way around it. Sure, we do find God on the mountain, or can be moved by a great sermon podcast, but there is something priceless to the Christian life that only happens in church and we cannot give up on it. Many of us have concerns that the church is not all that it can and should be, and understand how congregations which are overly-focused on “the way things used to be” keeps the church from being what it should. I get that, and, at least to some extent, I agree. The church is not all that it can and should be. But, if we want the church to be more than it is all ready, we need to step up and let God use us as instruments of change. God does not sit idly by, and we shouldn’t either. We are called to be part of the fold, allowing the flock of God to reflect who we are and the Shepherd respond to what we need.

Final thoughts?
I hope that you enjoy the book and share it with friends and family. It is meant to be a conversation starter and draw us all into deeper connection over challenges that have divided some communities.
I would love to hear what you think about it! you can email your thoughts and questions about The Church Unknown to me at: sethnelso@gmail.com . I also encourage you review my book on Amazon to let other readers know what you think. God bless!

In Christ,
Rev. Seth Nelson

                I am not sure if you have ever tried to read the book of Psalms straight through, but if you do you will notice a couple of things. First, there is wonderful language that lifts up high and profound praise for our Lord while also touching on the deepest longings of our hearts, including our deepest despairs. For instance, Psalm 18:2 lifts up praise to the Lord saying, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge…” The Lord is lauded as one who provides defense and, better yet, refuge for us weary sinners. Psalm 13, on the other hand, begins with a cry of the despairing Psalmist saying, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). This psalm speaks of despair that is raw, human and real. The psalmist comes before God with his deepest pains and longings and invites us to join him.
                Another thing, though, that you will quickly notice if you read all 150 Psalms straight through is that many of them are loaded with military references about enemies and foes coming to take the land. There are verses like Psalm 27:3 which say, “Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.” Great paranoia is found in Psalm 31:13 when the psalmist writes, “For I hear the whispering of many- terror all around!- as they scheme together against me, and plot to take my life.” Other psalms get down and dirty and call for the Lord to literally fight on our behalf. “Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up and help me! Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers” (Psalm 35:1-3). Here the psalmist calls for God to go to war on his behalf, literally taking up arms against the enemy.
                Reading psalm verses like these makes me scratch my head a little bit when thinking about how they relate to life in our world. I have never been to war and war has never come to me. The same is not true for all of us. Still, I think even those who have been to war will agree with me that they are glad that our country is not a combat zone. So how do these psalms relate to our lives when we have not had to worry about enemy armies storming through our cities? How do these prayers relate to us today?
                I think these psalm verses still have meaning today because there are forces that greatly affect our lives but are out of our control. Like an army of Babylonians or Assyrians, sometimes things just happen which threaten our well-being, our future, and, definitely, any sense of peace we have. Be it a cancer diagnosis, ebbs and flows of hay, cattle or milk prices, uncertainty about positions in the school system, struggles in our relationships which get away from us, or anything else, there are still forces and events in our lives which can feel like an enemy horde amassed at the city gates. These are times when there is probably nothing you can do to figure things out, work your way out of it, or anything like that; just have faith for better days to come.
                But in these moments when the only certainty that remains is our faith in the unseen God, we are reassured by these words from another psalm: “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:10-11).
 
In Christ,
Pastor Seth

            I have always liked May. Maybe it is because our school year usually finished up in May and I could not wait for summer vacation to begin. Maybe it is because the weather begins to warm up and turn into the warmer summer months. Maybe I like May so much because it is the month when I was born. Probably, though, it is the month in which I prepare myself to get out in nature and have some fun on God’s turf.
            This time of year helps us gear up for the work of warmer months, plan for summer vacation, and get ready for all sorts of summer fun. I hope to get some good fishing in the next couple of months and if anyone wants to hike the Missions with me I am always looking for company.
            I hope this summer, as I hope every summer, that you might use the opportunity that nicer weather provides to encounter God in His creation. There is a beautiful world around us, especially here in western Montana, and it all has its source in our God who loves us. Every rock, mountain flower, tamarack tree, and mountain stream flows from God’s abundance. I am sure that most of you live daily recognizing that God is the source of all life, but it is powerful to take a walk through the woods and be immersed in the creative work of the divine. Whatever your plans may be for the summer months, I hope they include regularly seeking God in the wonderful world that God has made.

​            My journey to be your pastor was long and unexpected, but one I am glad to have followed. Little did I know that when I discerned my call to go to seminary as a sixteen-year-old high school kid in Iowa, that I would one day be called to serve in Ronan, Montana. Makes you trust the scriptures when the prophet says, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). The Lord saw what I could not see and for that I am grateful.
            But my journey to the ministry did not start then. It began a few months into my life when I was baptized with my family at my side, promising to raise me in the faith. My call was strengthened through the years as they brought me to Sunday worship, and Sunday school. Then, I was able to take a giant leap down the road of my faith walk during my first week of Bible camp at camp EWALU, a Lutheran Bible camp in eastern Iowa. At camp I learned to believe and trust God on my own terms, growing in faith in a way that made sense to me – out in the woods with the friends I had made there. At camp, I learned to encounter God as I hiked through the trees, cooked by the fire, studied the Bible on the prairie, and caught crawdads in the river. There, I learned to love the Lord in new and creative ways in a place where it felt only natural to praise God for the wonder of creation.
            When I think about my days at camp, I am filled with fond memories of my faith development and I am also filled with gratitude to my home congregation. You see, a generous donor had left a considerable amount of money that got our church started with their endowment fund. That money was used to help young church goers like me go to camp, high school graduates go to college, and even helped pay for some of my seminary expenses down the road, a road which started with that first week at camp. My family was not poor, but neither were we rich. The full cost of camp for three boys was pretty steep and I am not sure it was one we could have handled on our own. The money that donors had left in the interest bearing fund did more than pay for me to go to camp, it ended up raising a pastor who would one day go on to serve Faith Lutheran Church in Ronan, Montana.
            At our annual meeting, the congregation voted to approve a continuing resolution establishing the Mission of Faith Endowment Fund. This fund will belong to the church and be used to support the future ministry of our congregation. Though we are starting small, we are beginning a journey which could turn into something much bigger one day. Who knows where our giving will lead, but I can say that those who gave to support me on my faith journey have led me pretty far.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth

Sometimes it is hard to tell if the work we do in ministry pays off. Church work is different than other kinds of work because it is rarely finished. While the work of preparing for Sunday worship is finished when the service is over, many aspects of the ministry go on without a definite beginning or end. Most jobs have a start and end date and one can gage whether your work was successful or not if you got paid or if somebody tried to stiff you. Even if things don’t turn out as planned during a workday or week, it is pretty easy to tell when most work days are over, weekends begin and, hopefully, when jobs are finished. The work of the ministry is distinctly different because it involves more than just getting stuff done. While it is important to keep to various schedules (imagine if I told you all to come back on Monday morning because I was not quite ready for service by Sunday!), the real work of the ministry goes beyond the tasks that we complete and the deadlines that we meet.
So we work diligently, hoping and praying that God will use our efforts for more than we can accomplish on our own. As a church, we are workers in the mission field that God has made, carrying out the work that God has called us to – confidently and courageously sharing the Gospel with those around us and working to serve the poor and outcast in our communities. Yet, when have we done enough? How do we know that our efforts will be received by God with those sweet words from scripture, “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21)?
The truth is that the work of the ministry is never completed in this life, but there are little encouragements that we receive along the way. For instance, at Faith Lutheran Church we have welcomed many middle school and high school students from outside of our congregation into our confirmation group and worked hard to make sure that they feel included. Though not every student’s parents and family members have gotten involved in other aspects of our congregational life as we might hope for, the work we do is worth it when students in our group express, for the first time, that they did not realize how much God loves them. The work we do at Shepherd’s Table has been full of headaches this fall as regulations on how we serve those in need have become tighter and churches have pulled out their support of this ministry, as a result. Yet, our efforts to fulfill our Gospel command to serve those in need are rewarded when we hear laughter erupting from the conversations of those sharing the meals we offer. Aging can be a difficult process and working to support older members of our families and communities can be trying. Yet, when we pray and share our faith across generations, we are reassured that the ministry of the church reaches beyond our lifetimes and redeems us through time itself.
The work of God does not end at five o’clock but carries on throughout our lives. This can be a tiresome prospect for those of us who are active in carrying out the tasks of ministry, but it should also be reassuring that the work of God does not stop when we do and that God accomplishes more through our feeble efforts than we can ever know.
 
In Christ,
Pastor Seth

​FAITH NOTES – DECEMBER
            The season of Advent is upon us! As if you didn’t know already…
            It seems that Christmas comes at us in full force every year, at least in the stores where we shop, the radio that we listen to, the TV we watch, the online ads, etc. Yet, behind the lights, black Friday deals, and the joy of the season, remains the anticipation of a world waiting for a savior. We are a people and a planet that is not complete but longs to be in relationship with God and one another. We, along with the rest of the universe, have been formed and created by God but, we are also imperfect people who constantly sin against each other and our Creator. So we need salvation. We need to be redeemed and brought back into good relationship with our Creator again and again, day after day.
            This Christmas, as with every Christmas, we do not celebrate our perfection, but, instead, rejoice in the salvation that God gives to the world. We know that life is not all lollipops and gum drops all the time, but sharing those with friends and family once a year reminds us of the better things that God has in store. So, whether you experience the joy of the Christmas season through lollipops and gumdrops, candy canes and cookies, or junk food and egg nog, remember the behind it all there is a savior who loves you - one who came to bring you back to the God who formed you.

​In Christ,
Pastor Seth