Pentecost Blessings, Dear Church!

This week we will explore a reading from the book of Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 from God Pause:

16"But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, 17'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.' 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'; 19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
25At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; 26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Devotion:
We can only imagine the sorrow in Jesus’ heart as he acknowledged that people just cannot be pleased. When John the Baptist showed up, living simply and calling people to repentance, they said he had a demon. Then, Jesus came eating and drinking with regular people, and they called him a glutton and a drunkard. It’s like they were looking for any excuse to reject the good news instead of receiving it.
The same can be true today, especially when we get caught up in our own expectations and we miss the invitation Jesus offers in the middle of the chaos. Instead of letting worry, regret, or trying to control everything drag us down, Jesus wants us to stop fighting against the very peace he’s trying to give. It’s not about having all the answers—it’s about trusting he will be there for us even when life feels messy.

Prayer:
Loving Lord, we praise your relentless patience and steadfast love. Thank you for forgiving us when we allow the noise in our world to make it difficult to hear your voice calling us to surrender all to you and trusting you will give us peace. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Judy Bullock, BCC, ’20 M.Div.Pastor, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Knoxville, TN

Dear Church, thank you. I hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend!

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Pentecost Blessings, Dear Church!

In several movie or TV show depictions, as soon as the main character turns 40, they seem to do something quite rash, like buy an absurd sports car, or buy a boat, and it’s all explained as the ‘classic’ mid-life crisis. Now, I certainly don’t believe I'm in any sort of crisis mode, but I did just turn 40, and I did buy a boat last week!

Ok, so it’s only a canoe, but it’s one that I’ve been looking for for a long time. My new canoe was made by the same maker as the canoe that August and I take out in our weeks up north in the UP at my Aunt and Uncle’s cottage. Paul Hoefgen ran a little shop just outside Menominee, Michigan, up until a few years ago.

There was just something unique about the build and shape of these canoes. As August and I took the canoe out on the water, the bow cut perfectly through the swells. I’ve always wanted a canoe of my own, but no other canoe looked or moved through the water like a Hoefgen canoe. Knowing I’d have to find one second-hand, I searched, set up Google Alerts, and finally, it all came together.

I know I can wax poetic about canoeing and being out on the water, but those things are honestly parts of my life that have always served to highlight and connect to the divine love of God in which we’ve all been made, and for which we’re called to share. The mornings out on the water with the boys always serve as this tangible way to experience this love together. I’m incredibly thankful to head back north this next week over the Fourth to continue building these memories together with family.

Throughout the years, I’ve also come across some pretty great songs about canoeing, and I want to share them with you! The first song, Grumman Canoe, is by a dear friend from my camp days, Kendra Swanson. She sings of her own Grumman canoe, passed down to her, and the joys it has brought. The second is called Can You Canoe? by the venerable Okee Dokee Brothers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axUAK-MZWQc&t=161s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRge0RCBWSk&t=1s

Dear Church, thank you. I hope you all have a great week, and if you’re coming to the Shopping Cart Shuffle tomorrow, I cannot wait to see you there!

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Pentecost Blessings, Dear Church!

We’re in the midst of one of our family’s favorite sports. Unfortunately, our favorite sports are the ‘90s Bulls, which happened years ago, and events that only happen every four years. The World Cup and the Olympics are the things that make screen-time rules in our house go out the window. If there’s a match, chances are we’ll have it on at home. 

And since we don’t have access to Fox, it’s been a lot of fun to watch the matches all in Spanish on Telemundo. Aside from the great games, finding numerous posts from fans around the world, discovering things about the US like barbecue, free refills, the southern heat, or just the immense size of our country, has been fun too!

Events like this often bring out the best in us. And while certainly nowhere near the same scale as the World Cup, I feel like something similar happened here at LCM just a couple of weeks ago, bringing out the best in us. One thing I’m quite thankful for, beyond our immediate community, is how we work together to serve the wider community, particularly in how we use our building.

Not only does our food pantry location serve our neighbors in need, but two different worshipping communities also worship here. Additionally, several area music teachers use the sanctuary to host music recitals. That sounds like quite a bit for one space, and it is! What was incredible to me, however, was that in the span of one Saturday, a couple of weeks ago, each one of these groups was served by our building!

New Jerusalem began the day by gathering for their usual time of worship and fellowship. Then at noon, in preparation for a leadership event in the fall, Hopewell Nepali held a meeting of 25 worship leaders in the former preschool space. Then, in the afternoon, the volunteers who work at the food pantry gathered for a volunteer appreciation celebration. Our usual Saturday service happened at 5pm, and then right after, the sanctuary hosted a music recital.

Not only did all of that happen, but it happened smoothly and effectively, meeting the needs of each group. It was incredible to see, and I wanted to share that with all of you. Thank you for the effort that makes things like this possible.

Lastly, today, as we head into Father’s Day on Sunday, I wanted to offer the prayer from Pastor David Hansen. May you all have a wonderful weekend!

"This Father’s Day, we give thanks for loving, wonderful fathers who have given their children so many invaluable gifts. We give thanks for new fathers, welcoming new life into the world. We give thanks for those who choose their children, for adoptive and foster parents, who model the adoptive love of God. We give thanks for uncles, godfathers, and neighbors who share paternal love with so many children, and for far-too-often-overlooked stepfathers. We give thanks for those who choose to remain without biological children, sharing love with the world in many ways.

We pray for the many fathers who have had to bear the unimaginable burden of burying a child, and those who have born the silent grief of stillbirth or miscarriage: for those who struggle with infertility, whose desire for a child is met with frustration: for the fathers of children with special needs and chronic illness, who know anxiety and exhaustion better than most: for those who were given abuse and heartbreak by the ones called to love them.

We pray for fathers who have made the difficult and loving decision to entrust a child to adoptive parents: for those whose fathers have died, who on this day celebrate and grieve their father in his absence. Amen."

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Pentecost Blessings, Dear Church!

Again, I thank you for your prayers as we attended Synod Assembly this past weekend. I wanted to share some of our experiences with you, particularly the Bishop’s election and the stories we heard. Throughout our plenary sessions, we were treated to several stories of the various ministries from across our synod.

Each of these videos shown during assembly have now been posted on the synod’s website, and I invite you to take a look at them here (The Aztec Drumming is quite exciting!):

https://mcselca.org/who-we-are/synod-assembly/

Many of these ministry stories were so familiar to our own experiences and ministries here at LCM. Not only were these stories familiar, but they were also inspiring. I hope you enjoy taking some time to take in these stories!

Perhaps most impactful, we elected the next Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. Rev. Erik Christensen, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Evanston, has been elected the seventh bishop of the synod. Bishop-elect Christensen will begin his six-year term on September 1st. A formal installation of Bishop-Elect Christensen will be held on Saturday, September 19th, and more details will be announced as they become available.
 
Bishop-elect Christensen was elected on the fifth ballot. On this final ballot, he had 234 votes (59.4%) to 160 (40.6%) for the Rev. Heidi Torgerson, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in La Grange. From 55 names on the first ecclesiastical ballot, the election was decided using all five available ballots in the election process.

Bishop-elect Christensen graduated from Macalester College (‘95), Candler School of Theology at Emory University (‘02), and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (‘04). He was ordained extra ordinem in 2006 and received onto the roster of the ELCA in 2010. Prior to his call at Trinity, Bishop-Elect Christensen served as Pastor to the Community and Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church of Logan Square in Chicago. Bishop-elect Christensen lives in the Albany Park neighborhood of Chicago with his husband Kerry Jenkins.

“Thank you so much, everyone, for the trust that you have placed in me,” said Bishop-Elect Christensen during his remarks after the election (A video of his remarks appears just below), “All that I know is God does not call us without equipping us… I am praying, and I know that you are praying with me, that God will equip all of us together to rise to the challenge of becoming the church that God’s mission needs.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thFIkRnz8zs

Thank you again, Dear Church. I also hope that you have remained safe after two days of intense storms!

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Pentecost Blessings, Dear Church!

Most likely, by the time you read this today, we’ll be gathered for Synod Assembly! As I’ve written before, among other duties, we are tasked with electing the next bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod. Our synod has been blessed by superb leadership, and I do not doubt that this quality leadership will continue. 

As we gather today and tomorrow, please stay tuned to our LCM Facebook page for updates from Jay Malo, John Armstrong, and me. As the election progresses, I’ll be sure to post the results of each ballot for you all to see. The election process can be a bit confusing, as there are no official candidates heading into the assembly.

 
Registered attendees have identified six individuals as willing to engage with the election process, but they aren’t the official candidates, nor are they the only eligible folks. The first ballot is an ecclesial ballot in which voting members may write the name of any ELCA rostered minister of word and sacrament.

 
Those individuals who received a vote on the ecclesial ballot have the opportunity to allow their name to go forward onto the second ballot or have their name removed. On each subsequent ballot, individuals who receive enough votes move forward until there is an election. The bishop election committee has been hard at work, and I thank them for their organization and service in running a smooth election process.

 
Along with electing a bishop, we’ll also be centered in worship, learning, and conducting the business of our synod. Thank you all for your support, and we look forward to sharing our experiences with you all after the assembly.

Until then, I offer this prayer from the bishop election committee. May it guide us in these next two days! Holy One, we pray for your church. Fill it with passion for your word and trust in your promises. Raise up gifts among us as we work to call a new bishop for the Metropolitan Chicago Synod: listening and speaking, analyzing and inspiring, humility and grace. In all things may we trust in your promises, follow your will and serve your people, through Jesus Christ, who is our hope. Amen.

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Holy Trinity Blessings, Dear Church!

When does sound turn into music? I’m not sure I have a proper answer, but the one I’ve heard that I like describes sound as the building blocks from which music is intentionally formed. In any case, both sounds and music can elicit stirring reactions in me. 

I love the sound of rumbling thunder, waves crashing, the roar of an airplane rotary engine, a steam train, a choir in harmony, and deep bass strings. And then, as this list continues, that line between sound and music gets blurred again for me. Essentially, if there’s a sound or music that seems to resonate in my chest, I immediately take note.

 
It’s not always just about volume, either; some of the quietest phrases of music can make me feel this same way. But what got me thinking about this all this week is threefold. First, I saw this reel 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOtaytVkmKw/

Ship horns were already one of those sounds I liked, but this one, from the Great Lakes Freighter, M/V James R. Barker, took it to another level! Known as the Barker Bark, this ship’s horn roars out this perfect fourth that just echoes forever. I can almost hear this additional note as it reverberates through the landscape.

It wasn’t long after that that I came across this sonnet for Trinity Sunday by Malcom Guite. Please follow this link to both read and hear Pastor Malcom read his Sonnet.

https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2025/06/14/a-sonnet-for-trinity-sunday-12/

Malcom works to describe the Trinity as this music of the creation story, and that we, created in the image of the divine, are called to make music of our own, singing and reflecting this original three-note chord.

This imagery resonated with me much the same way the Barker Bark, music, and thunder do. And all of this coalesced because this Sunday we celebrate the beginning of the Sundays after Pentecost with Holy Trinity Sunday. And all of this is about as close as I’ve gotten to being able to put into words a description of the Trinity.
 
Almost every attempt to create an analogy or a description of the Trinity either falls short or eventually verges toward heresy. But this felt different. As sound does, as music does, as poems and literature can do, an experience of the Trinity is simultaneously known and wondrously unknown.

So whether it be a sound, music, or other experience, I hope you all continue to be moved by your own experience of the Triune God.

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Pentecost Blessings, Dear Church!

And not only do we celebrate Pentecost this weekend, but we also gather to honor Memorial Day. It’s a weekend that has always held meaning in a wide variety of ways. We’ll often hear it said that this weekend is the unofficial start of summer, when everyone’s grills get fired up for the first time.

Alongside the various barbecue gatherings, towns and municipalities across the country will hold parades and often graveside ceremonies to honor and give thanks for those who have laid down their lives in service to this country in the armed forces. And truthfully, when I envision Memorial Day in my mind, my memories are a mix of all of these things.

There was a twelve-year stretch from when I was 6 years old to when I was a senior in high school, during which I participated in every single one of my hometown’s Memorial Day Parades. That first one was as I walked hand in hand with my grandfather as he marched with the American Legion. From there, I marched either with the Scouts or as part of the high school marching band.

Afterward, with our hunger returned from the morning’s pancake breakfast at the Methodist church, we’d head over to Gramps’ house for root beer floats. It makes me quite happy that our Memorial Day tradition remains greatly the same, although certain parts now look markedly different.

We’ll still start with the pancake breakfast, then walk to the parade we now enjoy as spectators. We also still get root beer floats, but now from the ice cream shop across the street from our viewing spot. Then, while the parade ends with the ceremony in the cemetery, we head to a different cemetery to visit Gramps and other family members we’ve lost across the years.

This day often evokes a variety of feelings for us all and, like I do, I’m sure you all commemorate the day in several unique ways. In whatever this Monday brings for you, I offer this prayer from the Prayer Book for Armed Services:

Eternal God, we give thanks for all those who have shown the greatest love by laying down their lives for others. We especially thank you for those in our military throughout history who have sacrificed their lives for their fellow citizens and for us who came after. As we remember their service, keep us mindful of all those for whom this day is a burden, and send your spirit of comfort to them. Be present with all the women and men who are serving in the military today. [Though they are at war] let them live for the peace known only from you. Help us to be worthy of their legacy, and keep us mindful of their service, that in all things we may live our lives in praise and thanksgiving to you; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Easter Blessings, Dear Church!

We’re now less than a month away from Synod Assembly, where our whole Metro Chicago Synod gathers to accomplish the work of the synod. At its simplest, you can think of Synod Assembly like the synod’s version of our annual meeting.

Reports are presented on the previous year, the next year’s budget is passed, and elections are held for all varieties of positions. In addition to these tasks, there are opportunities for worship, fellowship, and learning. Workshops are offered to provide learning opportunities across the spectrum of ministry.
 
The Synod Assembly often gets a bad rap, but I remain thankful for this yearly opportunity. This year’s assembly also presents a unique situation. For the second year in a row, we’ll be electing a bishop. At last year’s assembly, Bishop Curry was re-elected to serve a second 6-year term here in Metro Chicago. However, at the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, he was elected to serve as the ELCA Presiding Bishop!

Rev. Wayne Miller has been serving as our interim bishop since September, but as we gather for this year’s assembly, we’ll elect a new bishop for a 6-year term. The bishop election process takes place entirely within the synod assembly, and the first ballot is what’s called an ecclesial ballot. This ecclesiastical ballot is a write-in and serves as the nominating ballot.
 
To help the voting members know who is eligible and potentially willing, the synod organizes a bishop election forum. From a survey of registered assembly attendees, six individuals have said yes to participating in the bishop election pre-identification process.

These six pastors are: (from top left) Pastor Lawrence Clark, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Chicago; Pastor Katie Hines-Shah, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hinsdale; Pastor Christina Garrett Klein, Edgebrook Lutheran Church, Chicago; Pastor Kathryn Nolte, MCS associate to the bishop; Pastor Carla Thompson Powell, MCS associate to the bishop and Director for Evangelical Mission; and Pastor Heidi Torgerson, Grace Lutheran Church, La Grange.

As we head to Assembly on June 4th and 5th, I ask for your prayers of discernment for John Armstrong, Jay Malo, and me as we represent LCM. As I did last year, I’ll be posting updates on our Facebook page with each ballot so you all can stay in the loop. Thank you so much, Dear Church!

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Easter Blessings, Dear Church!

Becky and I went to see one of our favorite artists, Alan Doyle, on Wednesday night in Chicago. Whenever he’s in town, we go to see his show. We loved the show and had a great time, but if I’m being honest, I feel a bit guilty about it. I felt guilty about having a good dinner and enjoying a wonderful show.

I felt this way because I often get a bit of a front row seat to see just how much food insecurity has increased in recent months. A need that has increased not just nationwide, but even right here in our own neighborhood. I’d even had a conversation with some leaders from DuPage United that same day about food insecurity.

Whenever I feel this way, I quickly start thinking about what I ought to do to help fix the problem. And then pretty quickly, as I think about what can improve things, I identify all the ways I’m either not doing enough or haven’t yet done enough. It’s pretty easy to spiral into a deeper pool of guilt with this way of thinking.

All these thoughts came back into my mind during Alan’s show on Wednesday as he told the story behind one of his new songs, Already Dancing. Alan had had the chance to work on and write the music for a musical called Tell Tale Harbor, and was then cast in the show.

He loved the experience, saying that for someone who has spent his life in show business, the newness of theater was that good kind of terrifying feeling of doing something new. There was one scene, however, that required dancing, and Alan just felt he didn’t have the chops to do it. But then the show’s choreographer, Linda, told him, “Alan, love, you’ve already been dancing this whole time!”

And as the lyrics of the song proclaim, “So go on, let your feet hit the floor, they know where they’re going.  And if you could see what I see, I know that you’d know it. You’re already dancing.” What connected with me was the feeling that we always need to do more to solve the problems we face. What if we’re already doing the work?

What if we don’t need to add more to our already full plates, but instead lean into what we have been doing, and trust that we know how to do what we’ve been called to do? Both NFP and the Northern Illinois Foodbank were highlighted this past week by ABC 7 Chicago.

I also want to give great thanks for the work our food pantry has been doing and continues to do to help feed our hungry neighbors. You have continued to support the work they lean into that seeks to meet the rising need with care and compassion. Let us continue this support, as I think we’re already dancing.

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Easter Blessings, Dear Church!

What an April it has been! As I shared earlier this month, I’ve taken on a new home project. Well, this week gave me an unexpected project! In a bout of high winds on Monday, one of our trees unfortunately came down. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and somehow the tree didn’t hit any structure! For that, we are most glad. 

So, my Tuesday didn’t go as I expected or planned. With a chainsaw and a wheelbarrow, I got the whole tree cleared away, and once it dries out, we’ll have firewood for quite some time! For as unexpected as my April has been, I realized that our Easter readings have been full of the unexpected. The encounters at the tomb, the Doubting Thomas story, and even our gospel reading this Sunday have this underlying current of fear.

And as the Easter season concludes with Pentecost, it’s also the end of the first half of our Christian liturgical year. The first half of the year is this cycle of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, and Easter that focuses on the story of Jesus—the promise of his coming, his birth, the light he brings to the world, the seriousness of his mission, his execution, and the mystery of his resurrection.

The fear we’ve been hearing stories of isn’t new to Easter; it’s been underlying the whole story. The first words to Mary back in Advent from the angel are, “Fear not!” And then six months later, the Jesus’ story concludes with “Peace I leave with you,” and “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

I think we hear so much about this because, as John writes to us, “Perfect love casts out fear.” Perhaps this has been the summary of Jesus’s life story as we’ve been encountering it. But it isn’t just the witness of Jesus’ life that we’ve been left with. When Jesus encounters his disciples, he greets them with peace and then breathes upon them, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.”

The door to perfect love has been opened for us, the love of God and the love of neighbor. And though I can’t explain it, I know it’s right, and I feel it. For when I am afraid, or when I’m overwhelmed, I breathe. That advice holds true to take a moment and take a breath: my breath, the breath of the Spirit, the breath of God.

It is the in, out, in, out of life. It slows my anxious heart and opens me up, making room for others. It gives that space to love, a perfect love that casts out fear. Like those very first words of scripture, where in the beginning there was nothing but chaos, and then God breathed. Chaos is transformed by that breath into a world of beauty and possibility.

Easter begins in confusion and fear behind locked doors and comes to its conclusion in this breath of love promising possibility, peace, and love. In our own resurrection season, let us all be moved from fear to love.

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Easter Blessings, Dear Church!

Thank you all very much for your warm birthday greetings, cards, cake, and well-wishes from yesterday. It was such a beautiful day to celebrate my birthday, and I’m thankful that the celebrations can continue! In what has now become a small tradition, my sisters returned the favor by gracing our front lawn with a massive yard-sign display!

My sisters also used to poke a little fun at the fact that my birthday fell on Earth Day by first wishing me a Happy Earth Day instead of Happy Birthday. But truly, I’ve come to love that I get to share this day in celebration of this gorgeous earth. I’ll even combine it and call it my Bearthday. 

Nature has always brought me solace. But there’s usually this assumption that accompanies those who love the outdoors. I used to buy into the assumption that the only way to love nature was in the extreme: the toughest hikes, the longest portages, the most remote lakes, the highest peaks. That to love nature, you had to push yourself to your limits and grind in order to achieve an appreciation of creation.

Now, I still enjoy hiking and getting out on the water in a canoe, but my definition of ‘what counts’ has changed. A hike is still a hike even if you don’t crest a summit. In fact, there’s something equally breathtaking in a lower route in a valley.

On a hike through a valley, following the mountain creek, you can almost feel the strength of the rising mountains on either side as if they were this weighted blanket holding us in close. Being nestled in the valley, with the inviting solidity of the peaks above, made it feel like being held in God’s hands.

We get to hear that most famous of psalms this weekend, and this feeling and view from this valley hike is what I imagine when I now hear Psalm 23. Thank you again, dear church, for all the warmth of your birthday greetings. 

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Easter Blessings, Dear Church!

I’ve delved into another, rather large house project in these weeks after Easter, as it was time to give the boys' bathroom an upgrade. Sixty-year-old toilets, while technically functioning, certainly have their limits, as does the bathroom's other aging infrastructure.

I quickly learned why the various pieces of their bathroom had lasted for as long as they did. Nearly every variety of fastener ever conceived was used to hold this bathroom together. The drywall, cement board, medicine cabinet, vanity, and tub were all held in place by a combo of nails, screws, mortar, and construction adhesive.

As evident in the picture here, there are still parts of the tile and wall I need to remove. And my goodness, what a spectacular mess it’s making. But as I was busy swinging my hammer, trying to get full force from the various pry bars, I realized something. Projects like this are incredibly messy.

I know this may sound obvious; it is demolition work after all. But the revelation came as I realized that for the vast majority of creative endeavors, the work on a project gets messier and messier the further along it gets. It’s only in the last one, maybe two steps, where it finally looks like everything has come together. 

Just taking off the trim work in the bathroom immediately made the room feel massively incomplete, and for a home project, trim is usually one of the last steps! This process has been the same as each confirmation class has worked together to create the new Paschal Candle every year.

The candle always arrives clean and pristine; the first step is to completely cover it with tape. Then each subsequent step makes it look worse: we trace a design, gauge it out as we carve, splatter melted wax over it as color is added, and then all that wax gets smudged and smeared as the excess is scraped away.

And it’s here, with just one step remaining in the process, that the candle looks, honestly, in its roughest shape. But then, as the tape is removed, the final design and work are revealed. Every year, this process continues to astonish me. I also love that it’s a project completed by Easter because it reminds me of the resurrection.

In the story of Lazarus’ resurrection, Jesus arrives too late. Or at least that’s what we think. But arguably, Lazarus is in the roughest possible shape. Not only is he dead, but he has been in the tomb for four days. Then, as Jesus raises him from the dead, there is but one more step. Jesus tells those around Lazarus to remove the burial wrappings. It tells us that we have a part to play in the resurrection. Even Jesus’ own resurrection accounts mention the burial wrappings that are no longer upon Jesus.

As we continue to celebrate the resurrection, discovering what it means for us, how we are resurrected along with Christ, we discover just how messy a process resurrection can be. And more than just physical roughness, but emotional too. The stories of resurrection are fraught with cascading emotion, and the story this Sunday of the Road to Emmaus is no different.

Resurrection can certainly be a messy process. But I think that tends to mean the story isn’t yet over, the story isn’t yet complete. And as our resurrection stories continue, we meet Jesus along the way, who breaks bread with us to sustain us, lift us, and raise us up to continue the work of resurrection.

All that said, I’m still not a fan of a mess. Whether it’s me that’s a mess, a candle, or my bathroom, it still somehow feels wrong and out of place. But let us know that the mess is not the end, there is more work to be accomplished, and in it, life is always revealed. 

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave

Easter Blessings, Dear Church!

First and foremost, thank you for a beautiful Holy Week. From the sacrament of Thursday, the darkness of Friday, to Saturday’s new Paschal light, it culminated in the bright Easter morning of resurrection promise. Throughout all that this past week has been, with all of its ups and downs, I have been captivated by the Artemis II Mission.

For the first time in my life, humans have traveled to the Moon. The images already coming back from the crew are breathtaking. But beyond the technical amazement and the fun I have following rocketry, this mission has continually highlighted our own humanity.

This is now the farthest that human beings have traveled from our planet, and somehow, from that gargantuan distance, we have seen ourselves with greater clarity. Early in the mission, Victor Glover reminded us that we see the Earth as one. In all the emptiness of space, we have this oasis, created for us, to be stewarded by us, where we get to exist together. What an opportunity to remember who we are.

And then, as the crew was in the lunar sphere of influence, becoming the furthest-traveled crew, they radioed down that they would like to name a previously unnamed crater on the Moon. The commander of the flight, Reid Wiseman, had lost his wife to cancer in 2020, and remembering the bright light she was in their lives, the crew wanted to name this bright spot on the Moon in her honor.

Looking back upon this big blue marble, upon everyone who had ever existed, we saw a depth of humanity that we all experience yet rarely get a chance to acknowledge. As we continue in this Easter Season, believing in the resurrection and knowing that love has triumphed over death, I am grateful to have been reminded of this truth here in our LCM community and even from the Moon. I wish you all continued Easter joy, dear church. Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Peace & Blessings, Dear Church,

Pastor Dave