FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART, NOT THE PC:
GOD IS OUR REPAIRMAN

The newsletter deadline was before the Bridgebuilders process began. You are reading it after the meeting and interviews. Things may be changing. I cannot help that. I can only write from today. God only knows.

Well, “300 in ‘003” is dead. It never was born.

A long time ago a prophet told his king, “Without a vision the people perish.” He implied to the king, “You have to do something about it.” I tried to produce a vision that, I hoped, could tie us together in a common mission while at the same time we worked through our sins against one another, examined our weaknesses as a congregation, and refocused our goals. The common vision would serve to remind us that in the larger picture “we are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord.”

I was wrong. We seem to be too broken to move forward. It is like a ship’s captain and cabin crew examining the maps and reports, plotting a course, issuing orders to set a course (turn the rudder) and a speed, but it is all to no avail because the ship’s engines are not running.

I thought we still had power. I thought we could move forward, however slowly, while we worked together – utilizing the Bridgebuilders program - to let God repair us. I was wrong. It is not going to happen.

I am not a repairman. God is. I can only cast a vision, run it up the proverbial flagpole to see who will salute it. It didn’t work. Therefore, now I look to God as our repairer.

I hope we are in love with Christ enough to want to have our congregation be repaired. I hope we have enough faith in Christ to believe he can repair us. I hope we are humble enough in grace to speak AND to listen, and not just speak out and then shut our ears.

Many people have said that we have a communication problem. I guess that means people want to be “communicating” with one another directly because I have been communicating for more than a couple of years that we are a congregation divided over what kind of leadership we need (associate pastor/youth director).

And through this process over the last 9 months, I with Den, our President, have been communicating to the leadership, and any one else who asks, that 1) there are details that are hurtful and embarrassing, 2) that confidentiality is important, 3) they can’t be talked about in a way that moves us forward with Pr. Cindy still here.

It seems that our anxiety level has gotten to the point where that is not enough and so is boiling over. And now, with the decision of the Church Council to extend the occupancy of Pr. Cindy in the parsonage potentially through the end of August, we will have to find out one more time if I was right or wrong. I don’t think we can wait that long to move ahead. I know I don’t want to. If the Lord has another plan for us, then I hope I can see it and work with it.

In summary, we move ahead by working for Christ while repairing our sins or we stop and work pretty much totally on our sins. Since my vision didn’t work, it looks like we have chosen to do the latter. Please remember, only God is our repairman.

AMONG OUR MEMBERS:
BAPTISM

Joined to the Church, the body of Christ, are:

On June 16^th:
Megan Elizabeth Hanson, daughter of Eric and Lisa (Whitten) Hanson,
Sponsors: Mike and Karen Quinn

On June 23^rd:
Emma Eileen Landry, daughter of Dan Landry and Allison Owens,
Sponsors: Dennis and Stephanie Landry.

Let us rejoice in the gifts of these young children that God has given into our congregation’s care.

MARRIAGE:

Dawn Mielke and Bob Shilton were married on June 8^th at Immanuel by Pr. Tim Perrin of Zion Lutheran, Woodland.

YOUR OLD FAVORITE HYMN II:

There’s going to be another Sunday of hymns and songs July 28^th. So many favorites were listed that we wanted to get as many in as possible. We broke them into 2 categories: 1) Lutheran Book of Worship (LBW) and before; and 2) With One Voice (WOV) and camp songs. Just as many were named from WOV as from the LBW. We did the LBW in June and so will do the WOV in July.

OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE:

SERVING AT IMMANUEL

The Coffee Hour sign-up for July, August and September has been posted on the bulletin board in the lobby.  Please consider hosting a coffee hour and sign-up today.  If questions contact Marlaine Teahan

SERVING OUTSIDE IMMANUEL

Grand Ledge Food Bank Needs: 1.  Fruit Juice 2.  All variety of vegetable soup (beef, chicken) 3.  Hamburg Helpers (all varieties) 4.  Mixes (cake, muffins, etc..) Have surplus of canned vegetables, tomato and chicken soup, flour, and macaroni & cheese.  Please consider making a donation.  The need for food becomes greater in the summer with children not in school.  Donations can be left in the church entryway, and they will be delivered to the Food Bank. (Coordinated by 2nd Circle)

CAUGHT BEING SERVANTS IN OUR COMMUNITY:

Don Willems, who dug up, planted and is maintaining the new flower bed right on the corner of Edwards and Clinton.

Mark and Abbi Pelfry who organized a team from their Lakewood middle school to walk in our Grand Ledge Relay for Life – walked a lot.

Also Lauren and Emily Martinich who helped their Mom, Jan, get our Immanuel Relay for Life team going and organized.

Way to witness to you all!

FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITES:

Youth Group

Friendship Club

Senior’s Luther League II

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL:

Calling all children 4 years to completed 5th grade for a fun week of Bible stories, crafts, music and recreation.  Vacation Bible School will be held at Immanuel on: July 29 – August 2 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Registration and Volunteer forms are available in the church entryway. Sign up today!  Invite a friend!  Deadline for registration is July 24th.

INSPIRATION:
WORDS OF FAITH

The following are from the papers our Confirmands wrote. Read and be inspired. “What being confirmed means to me.”

It’s about being who you are and not holding back in what you believe in, and you should not be afraid to admit that you are a Lutheran and believe in God and heaven and earth.

Now I know.. that because I was baptized I have his Holy Spirit in me, and that is because Jesus died and forgave everybody’s sins; …that I can ask for forgiveness, knowing that it is a free gift from God and he will forgive me.

Throughout my whole life I will be looking back on the very moment I say yes after all of the questions. It will remind me of who I really am, and how I, with God’s help, will get through life’s challenges.

It means I now have a responsibility to help people in need and do more in the church.

The older members of the church will now take me more seriously. They will be more willing to ask me for help or to assist them.

It is a recognition of the belief in my heart.

It is the end of a guided education of Christ and the beginning of a partly self-guided prayer life.

FROM OUR PRAYER COORDINATOR

Return of the Sparrow
By Daniel L. Bohlman

For the third time in 15 minutes, my 10-year-old son Lee came into my office, a pleading look on his face.  I looked up from my work that wasn’t going anywhere, and growled, “The bird’s tired!  Leave it alone.  Can’t birds just be tired?”

“It’s not just tired, Dad.  It’s sick.  It’s just sitting there.  We can walk right up to it and touch it.”

I glanced out the window and saw my younger son Andy lying beside the bird, acting as a shield from the winter wind.  I fell back into my chair.  Nothing was going to get done until I took care of that bird.

I stamped down the steps with a victorious boy bouncing behind me.  He knew he had driven me to action.  In the basement, I found a box and an old blanket.  I stuffed the blanket into the box.  I found some bird food and threw some into the box. I walked outside without a coat because I was not planning on being out there for long.  As I approached the bird, the boys told me that they noticed the bird was eating snow.  I leaned down and threw some of that in the box too.  I put the bird in the box and placed the whole thing just inside the garage door.  “There,” I said, spinning around to face the boys, “the bird has a place to rest.  No wind.  Plenty of food.  Now finish shoveling the snow and let the bird sleep.” 

After finishing their shoveling and taking off their boots and mittens, they came to the office one more time to tell me that the bird still didn't look right.  And then they asked me to pray for the bird’s healing. 

Now this was going too far!  The situation had taken on a life of its own.  But remembering how they wore me down the first time, I prayed aloud for the bird.  When I said “Amen,” I sent the boys upstairs to get ready for school and turned back to that naggingly empty page where my sermon was supposed to go. 

A short time later, my wife, Ann, poked her head in the office on her way to work.  I asked her to check on the bird, and if it was dead, to take it with her in the car and throw it out the window on the way.  Passing by the box, she signaled to me that it was still alive.  No Problem.  I would take care of it later. 

It wasn’t until 3 o’clock that afternoon that I gave the bird another thought.  And my only thought was to hurry up and dispose of the bird before the boys got home from school.  My plan was to meet them at the door and give them the pitch: The bird died, but good old Dad had given it an excellent funeral and burial, and God was very happy they took such good care of the dying sparrow.

But when I reach the box, there was no bird!  I pulled out the blanket.  I looked around the garage.  I even looked at the snow outside the garage door for bird tracks-or cat tracks. Nothing.  At 3:30, with astonishment in my voice, I reported to the boys that the bird had flown away.  Their joy matched my amazement.

When Ann strolled in from work, she was met at the door by two excited boys telling her the heavenly news.  Ann played her part well, knowing-at least thinking-that she knew what really happened.  She hugged both boys and pretended to share in their joy.  Standing behind the boys, I said, “Yes, the bird flew away,” and gave her an I’m-not-kidding look.

“Really?” she said.  To which the boys, oblivious to our secret communication, responded, “Yes, Mom, that’s what we just told you!”

The next afternoon, I pulled into the driveway.  As I got out of the car, I glanced up and saw a sparrow hop out of the garage.  I stared at the bird and wondered if it was the same one that had been in there yesterday.  The sparrow stopped.  It stared right back, laughed in my face, and flew away.

I laughed, too.  Outdone by a sparrow.  But it was worth it.  I had learned a very important lesson.  For on the wings of that bird was a message from God.  That message said, “Dan, prayer is real.  My power is over all things.  And I care even for the sparrows.  Stop treating prayer and my power as some kind of joke.” 

I repented right there.  The day before, I had misused prayer.  It wasn’t that I used the wrong words; in fact, my words for that poor sparrow were beautiful. The boys were pleased with them and therefore I was, too, for I could then get back to work.  The problem was, I didn’t believe a word of what I prayed.  I didn’t believe for a second that the sparrow would be healed.  I didn’t believe for a second that God would give any more thought to the prayer than I had.  Didn’t even enter my mind.  It was just a sparrow, and my prayer just a formality.

The sparrow had returned to tell me that prayer is anything but a formality.  Prayer is connecting a need to a very present and active God who takes all our words seriously, whether by a wise pastor for a sick person, or by a cynic for a sparrow.

Maybe it was for my boys’ sake that the sparrow was healed. Its return, though, was for mine

This article appeared in the April 2002 “Lutheran Woman Today.”  (The italics are mine.) 

It reminded me of a lot of the “thought-less” prayers, I sometimes throw out there.  I need to remember that God is VERY PRESENT and ACTIVE and TAKES ALL OF OUR WORDS SERIOUSLY.  I hope it will serve as a reminder to you as well. 

God Bless you in your prayer life. 

Kitty Whitney,
Prayer Coordinator

CELEBRATIONS:
JULY BIRTHDAYS

JULY ANNIVERSARIES

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