From the Pastor

 August 2010

It is important for us to continually remind ourselves of our mission at Faith.

Connecting people to Jesus

as

we grow together to service.

We seek to fulfill this mission through five purposes:

As friends, we adore God, invite, teach and help others.

Our strengths are clearly worship and service to others.  We have wonderful, dedicated musicians and worship leaders who set the stage for each of us to experience God in Word, Sacrament, song, video and liturgy each weekend.  God has blessed us.   I hope you will take the time and effort to thank both God and those who assist in worship up front, in the balcony, and behind the scenes.

We do a great job helping others: Black Hawk School, socks, food baskets, hats, mittens, coats, wells in Africa, and goats to help families in third world countries become self-sufficient.  Keep up the good work especially right now with apple sauce, socks and school supplies.

We are trying to have more fellowship events.  Are you coming bowling with us?

We are open to ideas.

We had an outstanding fine arts camp this summer.  It was a great week.  We were able to touch the lives of 80 children and their families.  Again thanks to the more than 50 people who helped make camp go so well. 

If you do not participate in a small group, I cannot encourage you more to find a group.  This is the place for some of the most accelerated spiritual growth can take place, as well as a place for deep fellowship.  My goal is that every teen and adult be in a small group.

We can use more help with Sunday School.  Might that be a place you could serve?

When it comes to invite (outreach or evangelism), we have a lot of room to grow. 

I don't think we are reaching our potential in connecting others with Jesus. It really isn't that difficult.  Each of us can do it.  Think about one thing about our church that touches your life, maybe it's music, preaching, community service, caring, fellowship events or something else).  Decide why it touches your life and then share that with friends, neighbors and co-workers along with an invitation to come with you.  Some of you are doing a great job with your postings on Facebook.  Others are issuing invitations.  This is what we can do - invite others to 'come and see.'

My vision for Faith is to be a church full of people worshipping our Lord with great joy every weekend.  I can see it in my mind.  Can you envision that scenario?

I hope so.  Jesus has promised that he will build his church.  Yet, he has decided to do so through us.  Jesus has great confidence that we will continue his work.  Let's prove him correct.

Your Pastor,

Glen VanderKloot

June/July 2010

May 2010

When I was growing up, one of the television programs we watched as a family was "To Tell the Truth".   Its original TV version ran from 1956 to 1967.  The show challenged a panel of four celebrities to correctly identify a described contestant who typically had an unusual occupation or experience. This central character was joined by two imposters who pretended to be that central character. The celebrity panelists questioned the team of challengers, with the imposters allowed to lie, but the central character sworn "to tell the truth".  Eventually the panelists voted on who indeed was telling the truth.

At the Verizon Heritage PGA Golf Tournament, Brian Davis epitomized what it means to tell the truth.  Brian Davis isn't the best-known name in golf, in fact until this tournament few golfing fans knew who he was.  However Davis had a great tournament and at the end of regulation play he tied with Jim Furyk.  If he could win, this would his first-ever PGA Tour win.

He was on the verge on accomplishing his life dream.  Davis's approach shot on the first hole of the playoff bounced off the green and nestled in among some weeds. When Davis tried to punch the ball up onto the green, his club may have grazed a stray weed on his backswing.  He wasn't sure but thought he saw some movement out of the corner of his eye.  He checked the replay and there indeed  was movement.  Davis called over a rules official, who conferred with television replays and confirmed the movement -- but movement which was only visible on slow-motion. Unbelievable.

As soon as the replays confirmed the violation, Davis immediately called the violation on himself and conceded the victory to Furyk.  Furyk took home one million for the win. Finishing second Davis won $615,000.  He forfeited $385,000 to tell the truth and to maintain his honor.  Furyk said. "It's obviously a tough loss for him and I respect and admire what he did."

   How many people do you know who would forfeit $385,000 to tell

 the truth?   Would you?

Proverbs 28:20 teaches us...

                        A truthful person will have many blessings,

                        but those eager to get rich will be punished.

                        New Century Version

Let us strive to be truthful in all our dealings with others.    

Your partner in prayer and mission,

Glen VanderKloot

April 2010

From the Pastor

As we have traveled together this Lenten Season through Unbinding Your Heart, Martha Grace Reese has left us with many challenges and many profound truths.  For me the four most significant things she wrote are in the introduction to Part 3 "Your 40 Day Prayer Journal", pages 115-116.

     My life is better if I pray every day.

     Other people's lives are better if I pray every day.

     If we pray, God has a much better chance of getting through to us.

     God is consistent with us.  Can we learn to be consistent with God?

At first glance, many might respond to these four statements with..

       "Of course.  They are so obvious."

In some ways that is true.  But have we moved from an assent to them mentally to making them real each day of our lives?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

Prayer is not a wish list to a spiritual Santa Claus.  Prayer is our opportunity to talk with and listen to God.  Prayer is a time through which we cam grow closer to God.  Prayer is a time we can grow deeper in our faith and commitment to God and God's church.

God loves us and want us to spend time with him.  God wants to hear our concerns, our needs, our hopes, our dreams as well as our disappointments, our fears, and our worries. God wants us to become so comfortable with him that we can talk about anything.   

We still do too much talking and not enough time listening.  We need to take time to

listen and...

            Be still and know that God is God.

            Psalm 46:10

I have heard that for many the hardest part of this study was being consistent with the daily Bible readings and prayer exercises.  Sometimes our lives seem so full it can be hard to block out time for God each day.   But if we really believe that prayer is our opportunity to commune with God isn't it worth it to...

            Get up 15 minutes earlier to pray?

            Spend time on our lunch hour in prayer?

            Shut off the TV for 30 minutes to pray and read the Bible?

            Now that the weather has turned nice, take a 15 minute walk to listen for God?

If you agree that...

            My life is better if I pray every day.

            Other people's lives are better if I pray every day.

            If we pray, God has a much better chance of getting through to us.

            God is consistent with us.  Can we learn to be consistent with God?

Then let's make daily prayer our daily habit.  It might be the best time of our day!

Your pastor,

  Glen VanderKloot

February 2010

 From the Pastor
 
Do you ever wish that you were more comfortable praying?
Do you ever wish that you were more comfortable talking about your faith?
 
Most Christians would answer 'yes' to both questions. It has been said that the easiest way to quiet a room of Lutherans is to ask:  Who would like to lead us in prayer?  I am not sure that is necessarily true at Faith.  Before worship the worship leaders gather for prayer.  Except when we are running late, everyone prays - out loud. Many small groups pray. Yet I do know that many of us would much prefer to lead a silent prayer if we were asked to pray in a group.  
 
You learn to pray much like to learned to speak.  By listening to others and trying to speak, you learn to speak.  You learn to pray by listening to others pray and by praying.
 
Lent historically has been a season for prayer and fasting.  Among Lutherans, so afraid of being 'Catholic' or appearing to be doing something to earn God's favor, fasting has become rare.  Or for some of us it might be because we just like to eat!  The idea of fasting was to deny yourself something so that you might spend that time and energy focusing on God.
 
This Lenten season, beginning on Ash Wednesday February 17, I hope that we will make Lent a season we as an entire congregation focus on God. I am asking you to fast from anything that takes your attention and focus away from God. Anything!
 
As a congregation we will study Unbinding Your Heart by Martha Grace Reese. This book is written for mainline congregations by a mainline pastor.  I had the opportunity to meet, listen to and personally talk with Martha Grace last year.  I  had the privilege of sitting next to her at dinner.  Martha Grace is a lawyer and a mainline pastor.  She has spent the last few years researching mainline churches that are reaching the unchurched in significant ways.  She personally interviewed over 1200 churches that are consistently, year after year, baptizing adults in amazing numbers.  However, that is only about 1% of the congregations.
 
She discovered that mainline churches often struggle because we are vey rational people.  We talk lot.  Yet typical mainline church members have not experienced enough....
 
            consistent, disciplined prayer,
            emotional, spiritual, intellectual sharing with other church members or
            unifying community experiences.
 
At Faith we have been working on all three of those areas.  We are growing in them. Yet there remains much room for us to continue to grow.  It is my hope that Lent 2010 will be a time when we change our habits.  That later we look back and can say that during Lent 2010 our church changed.
 
The purpose of all-congregation studies isn't to talk people into the idea of praying and faith sharing. The aim is to help each of us, and all of us, to deepen our faith, deepen our prayer lives, and deepen our desire and ability to talk about our faith.  That is always what Lent has been about!
 
It is my prayer and my challenge to you to make this Lent 40 days of prayer and faith sharing.  Here is what you need to do:
 
            1.  Get the book "Unbinding the Heart"
            2.  Commit to read it.
            3.  Commit to keep the daily prayer journal.
            4.  Attend weekend worship.
            5.  Participate in a small group.
 
If you do those five things, you will grow in your Faith.  It's true. I promise.
If you think you are too busy to make those commitments, you are right:  You are TOO busy.  
 
If you don't like participating in a small group, try it again for six weeks.  If you cannot make that commitment, do make the first four commitments.
 
Martha Grace reports that when 85% of a congregation fully commits not only do individuals change, but there are systemic changes in that church.  At our annual meeting one of our members challenged us to personally get the word out about our church.  One of our new members recently invited 26 people to come and worship with him.  How many of us have ever done that?
 
Martha Grace reports that after Unbinding the Heart that...
 
            "Typical people, normal pastors, are leaning how to do great evangelism...   Evangelism isn't rocket science.  It is faith sharing.  We can learn to connect more      deeply with Christ.  We can learn to talk about it."
 
You can become more comfortable praying.
You can become more comfortable talking about your faith.
 
You will by fully committing to Unbinding Your Heart.
 
Your pastor,
 
Glen VanderKloot
 
Get Your Book Now!
 
Unbinding Your Heart  books are now available in the narthex.  Get yours now so that you are ready to hit the ground running, or better yet on your knees, when Lent starts.  Everyone no matter when your small group meets, or even if you are not in a small group, should begin reading Day 1 on February 17.  There is a reading and exercise for each day.  We are asking everyone to pay $10 toward the cost of the book. We will subsidize the rest. It will be our gift to anyone who cannot afford one.  We will give a FREE book to anyone outside of the church that you invite to join us on this faith experience.  Just let us know who.
 
Looking for a small group?  We can help you find one - call the church office for a complete listing.  Groups meet throughout the week and on Sunday mornings after church.  If there is interest we will add one on Saturday after worship.

January 2010

Happy New Year! God is good all the time - all the time God is good!

We had some great highlights in 2009:

            Congregational Retreat

            Live Like You Were Dying study and worship

            Celebration with worship of my 20 years at Faith and 35 years of ordained ministry with Bishop Freiheit and Pastor Wellington Witkop

            Donation of 147.5 mosquito nets

            Decision to replace the Air Conditioning in the Education Building and

only having about $6,000 still to be paid.

            Replacement of carpeting on the first floor

            Remodeling of the first floor restrooms

            Extensive painting throughout the building

            Life's Healing Choices study and worship

            Four new members

            Three all congregation worship events

            Christmas Eve Worship

We thank and praise God for these events.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

Yet all was not rosy:

            We buried too many of our members including congregational leaders

            Our membership, attendance and finances

                  all dropped

            We concluded the 11:11 worship experience

There seems to be some corporate grief that continues to hang over the congregation as we mourn the loss of loved ones.  To grieve is ok as long as we continue in faith and hope.

I believe the 11:11 service was a good experience.  However it simply did not reach a new audience of members.  I hope we do not shut the door on trying other creative ideas and worship just because this one did not work.

Membership, attendance and finances are of great concern. Each of these declined in 2009 for a variety of reasons:  unhappiness with pastor, worship, or something else, the general economy, changing lifestyles that take more people out of town

on weekends more often. In fact in many ways I think that 2010 is critical for our

congregation.  Are we going to turn things around?  That is up to each of us:

            Who can you invite to worship with you?

            Are you doing all that you can in your financial support of

our congregation?

            Are you committed to regular faithful attendance.

Led by the Spirit, working together we can make improvement in all of these areas. 

I hope that each of us will commit to doing just that.  Together we can create even more highlights in 2010 and work to reduce the low lights.

Your pastor,Glen VanderKloot

December 2009

Advent covers the four weeks preceding Christmas!  Christmas begins on Christmas Eve and runs 12 days - it does not end on December 26th.  Advent is a time when we prepare our hearts and minds for the greatest gift ever - Jesus.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up (pun intended) in all the activities of Christmas that we fail to take the time to quiet our hearts and minds in preparation for Jesus.  Christmas is not about shopping for and wrapping presents.  Christmas is not about writing and sending Christmas cards.  Christmas is not about parties.

Christmas is about Jesus.  Christmas is about God loving us so much that he sent his son  Please take some time this Advent to slow down, meditate and pray in preparation for the coming of the Christ-child.

On Thursday December 10 at 7:00 pm we will have a short structured time of Advent prayer and meditation. 

I invite you to use this time to slow down and spend time with God (Choice 7) and prepare your heart and mind for the coming of the Christ-child in the manger at Bethlehem.

This is a time when we naturally think about giving gifts. God created us to give.  All that we have is from God and still belongs to God.  We are only stewards of God's possessions.  In your Christmas giving, please remember your church.  We need everyone's support.

Instead of live poinsettias, we invite you to make a special cash donation in memory or  in honor of loved ones.  You may designate your gift for either World Hunger,

Air Conditioning or towards our deficit.

Thank you for your generosity towards the Air Conditioning replacement in the educational building. Only around $6,000 still remains to be paid on our internal loan.  We have accomplished this in a much shorter time than we anticipated and hope it will be retired in full in 2010.

I am proud of our tackling Life's Healing Choices.  It was hard work - but you stuck with it.  

Our all-church celebration service at the conclusion of Life's Healing Choices was

magnificent.  The music was outstanding.  The luncheon was delicious (Thank you Russ Farnam).  Thank you to all who helped with this wonderful service.

I pray the richest of God's blessing on you and your loved ones this Advent and

Christmas season.        

                                       Your pastor, Glen VanderKloot

November 2009

Many of you will remember earlier this year when we did the "Live Like You Were Dying" emphasis.  The big idea was that since none of us know when we will die, we should make the most of each day by...

            speaking sweeter

            loving deeper

            forgiving freely.

Currently we are in the midst of "Life's Healing Choices".  The big idea is that as followers of Jesus we can make choices about how we deal with difficult life situations (past, present and future) that will enable us to live the abundant life that Jesus has promised us.

 Both of these studies boil down to the questions:

            What are you living for?

            What race are you running?

What are you living for?

Are you only living for the moment? 

Are you only living for comfort?

Are you only living to get ahead? 

Are you living only for retirement?

Are you only living to just keep your head above water?

 Or

Are you living to serve Jesus?

What race are you running?

Are you running the rat race?

Are you running the race that you choose?

Are you running the race others expect of you?

Are you not even running?

 Or

Are you running the race that God has called you to?

Abundant lives are not the result of possessions, security and/or finances.

 Abundant lives result from living in communion with God, serving God, loving others and following the paths (running the race) God intends for you. 

Let me challenge you as you begin to think about Thanksgiving and Christmas to ask yourself those two questions:

            What am I living for?

            What race am I running?

As you answer those questions honestly, don't be afraid to change course.

Your pastor, Glen VanderKloot

October 2009

You may remember I asked you what does 20 + 35 + 50 =?

It equaled a wonderful day, inspiring worship and a delicious luncheon as we celebrated 20 years of ministry at Faith, 35 years of ordained ministry, and 50 years of our sanctuary.  It was great to have our Bishop with us and preach reminding us that we need to bring out and use both the old treasures and the new treasures.  That is exactly what we did in our blended worship that day.

What a privilege it was to welcome Pastor Wellington and Marilyn Witkop to help us celebrate.

A huge thank you to all who helped make it a very special day.

Thank you to all who remembered me with prayers, cards and notes.

It is always a thrill when we have prayer stations to see so many of you come for prayer.  How wonderful it was to have our guests Sandy Freiheit and Marilyn Witkop participate in praying at the prayer stations.

Thank you for your generosity in providing 147.5 mosquito nets to help prevent Malaria in Africa.  Your response was overwhelming.  I am humbled and proud simultaneously over your gifts to help those in need in my honor.

This summer the ELCA adopted the Lutheran Malaria Initiative.  The Lutheran Malaria Initiative is an unprecedented collaborative effort among the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Lutheran World Relief to mobilize the nearly 8 million Lutherans in the United States to join the battle against malaria -- a preventable and treatable disease that kills more than one million people a year.  By your gifts we are have already participated in this effort to prevent more than 1,000,000 deaths!

What's next? 

Life's Healing Choices - an all church emphasis on the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.  We will conclude Life's Healing Choices with one worship service on November 22 at 10:30 am followed by a mostacolli dinner. 

That day we will also collect socks for district 186 students. Start inviting your friends, neighbors, small group members and work colleagues to join with us to collecting 2,000 pairs of socks.  We have done it before and will can do it again. 

I also believe we can use Life's Healing Choices as an opportunity to invite friends and neighbors to worship with us and journey with us through this emphasis.  Buy and give them one of the books. Invite them to join your small group.  Promise to sit with them in worship.  Pray for them.

One of the emphases of the ELCA is the Book of Faith Initiative.  The goal is to help every member become more fluent in the first language of faith - the Bible.  As part of this emphasis we are asking everyone to memorize the Beatitudes of Jesus, Matthew 5:3-12a.  Just 12 verses over 9 weeks. 

We all can do that.

As we enter the fall, let's all recommit ourselves to Christ and his church become the people of God that God wants us to be.

Your grateful pastor,

Glen VanderKloot

September 2009

Ever have a family squabble?  I don't know a family that hasn't. 

Has your family ever made a decision that you disagreed with?

Once again I imagine that is true for almost all families.

Yet we don't walk away from our family because of squabbles and disagreements.  They are still family and we love them even when we think they might be wrong.

It is important for us to see our congregation as a family.

We seek God's guidance for our church.

We do not always agree with every decision, but we remain supportive anyway.

We are still family and we love one another.

I remember in 1998 we decided to assist the synod in attempting to start a mission congregation on the far south side of Springfield.  There was not unanimous consensus about doing that.  However after the decision was made some the people who were most vocal in opposition, became the ones that donated the most time to that effort.  They disagreed but supported the decision.  It was family and family continue to love another and support one another. We do not walk away from each other.

At the ELCA Churchwide Assembly this summer some decisions were made that many do not agree with:

       Respect each other's informed opinions as valid and legitimate regarding monogamous life long same sex partnerships.

      Allow congregations who chose to bless same sex monogamous life long unions.

     Allow those in same sex monogamous life long unions to be pastors of the church.

     Allow congregations if they chose to call as their pastor someone who is in a same sex monogamous life long union.

Some will respond with "It's about time." 

Others might respond with "That's just wrong. Period."

Many would find themselves somewhere in between.

It is important to understand that the blessings and calling of someone in a same sex monogamous life long union will be the decision of congregations.

Nothing will change for us unless the congregation officially decides to make changes.

Whether we agree or disagree with these decisions, we are still part of the ELCA family and we do not walk away or withhold our support.  Former Minnesota Governor Albert Quie summed up our responsibility...

"I was opposed to this, too, but that's my problem. You can't say now that you're

going to leave the church. We have to live with this change for a while and see how it works out."

After all as a congregation we are family and as a denomination we are family. Families stay together.

Your pastor,

            Glen VanderKloot

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly

The ELCA Churchwide Assembly will be August 17-23 in Minneapolis. 

This is the highest legislative decision making body in the ELCA.

You can follow the action of the assembly in real time at www.elca.org/assembly/multimedia.

General Information

Theme            God's work. Our hands.

Date & Place             Aug. 17-23, 2009, Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, MN

Host Synods              ELCA Minneapolis Area Synod and ELCA Saint Paul Area Synod

Voting Members       1,045 voting members from 65 synods and 10,448 congregations

                                    serving on behalf of the 4,709,203 baptized members of the                                                      Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Agenda:

            Full communion with the United Methodist Church

            "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust," a proposed ELCA social statement

            Report and Recommendation on Ministry Policies

            Possible social statement on justice for women

            Funding of the HIV and AIDS strategy

            Lutheran Malaria Initiative

            Amendments to the ELCA Constitution, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions

            2010, 2011 budget proposals for ELCA churchwide organization

            Memorials and Resolutions

            Elections