Greetings From Pastor Lyn
Dear People,
Summer has arrived – so now what? Oh, I know, people are busy. I’m aware that summer schedules are every bit as crazy as the rest of the year. Yet, we hope or even expect all things to be lighter, less intense, and somehow easier in the summertime. To some extent that’s as true for the church as it is for culture.
It might seem, when I tell you that the preaching theme for summer is Intercessory Prayer, that this is a topic more suitable for Fall or Winter. But there is so much going on all around us, to include our church, that Intercessory Prayer seems appropriate for this season. Intercessory Prayer Using Our Five Senses will be the focus of preaching and sanctuary art during the months of June, July, and August.
Families, communities, the nation, and the world are currently being confronted with a lot of challenging and life-altering situations. Some of these challenges and/or changes are good, but many well, not-so-much. How will we navigate the myriad societal, cultural, religious, and personal issues we are challenged with on a daily basis? Most of us figure out strategies that enable us to cope with mundane and ordinary things but most of us are befuddled by how to manage significant cultural and societal challenges and changes. The same dilemma exists in the church. The church has been changing for several years already and though we’ve recognized change is happening, we’re not at all certain what to do about it.
What are we to do with welcome and unwelcome challenges and changes and how are we to respond to the unknown? Well, to start, as Christians we pray. Prayer is our go-to reaction/response. We worship and pray to a God who understands our predicaments. I know you know this but I’m asking you to go a step further.
I’m inviting and encouraging you to pair up with a Prayer Partner for the summer. Make a commitment to each other for the summer. Mutually agree on a time and place to meet at least once a week. Pray for everything that’s on your heart, for all of those things we find hard to understand going on in the world or around you. Appreciate that you and your prayer partner may understand many things differently – and that’s okay. Pray for this church, for our ministries, the council, the daycare, and ELDC and ELC staff. Pray for the best possible outcome from the lawsuit we are engaged in (probably no news on this until the fall). Pray for those families who have recently lost loved ones and for those for whom death draws near. Pray for the people listed in the bulletin and their special needs. Take home a directory and pray for each person listed whether or not you are aware of their needs. Pray expectantly. Pray with JOY. Pray knowing your prayers are heard and will be answered according to God’s will.
And practice praying with your senses. I’ll talk about each during the sermons this summer. The Sanctuary Arts Team is making a banner to accompany each sense as a way for us to remember and to focus. The Sunday School helped to make the first banner, but others will be available for anyone to help construct. We’ll begin with “touch” on June 4th. Every 2-3 weeks a new sense will be introduced along with a new banner. Thank you, Sanctuary Arts, for your inspiration and creativity! Also, remember to read the articles from Sanctuary Arts in Echoes and in the bulletins, as seasons change, explaining seasonal colors and liturgical meanings.
Praying with our senses is meant to help us practice deep listening and careful observation as we intercede in prayer for others and for ourselves.
Romans 8:26ff says: “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
There are times when we do not know what to pray or how to pray. It is then that the Holy Spirit intercedes. The Holy Spirit does our praying for us when we are too weak or confused, too hurt or angry to pray ourselves. But when we can pray, we are called to intercede on behalf of those who are struggling with things we know about and things we don’t know about. Many, known and unknown, are in need of prayer. This summer unleash the power of prayer through the practice of intercession.
Peace and blessing for your praying partnerships & for the difference your prayers will make here at Emanuel and throughout the world,
Pastor Lyn
Summer has arrived – so now what? Oh, I know, people are busy. I’m aware that summer schedules are every bit as crazy as the rest of the year. Yet, we hope or even expect all things to be lighter, less intense, and somehow easier in the summertime. To some extent that’s as true for the church as it is for culture.
It might seem, when I tell you that the preaching theme for summer is Intercessory Prayer, that this is a topic more suitable for Fall or Winter. But there is so much going on all around us, to include our church, that Intercessory Prayer seems appropriate for this season. Intercessory Prayer Using Our Five Senses will be the focus of preaching and sanctuary art during the months of June, July, and August.
Families, communities, the nation, and the world are currently being confronted with a lot of challenging and life-altering situations. Some of these challenges and/or changes are good, but many well, not-so-much. How will we navigate the myriad societal, cultural, religious, and personal issues we are challenged with on a daily basis? Most of us figure out strategies that enable us to cope with mundane and ordinary things but most of us are befuddled by how to manage significant cultural and societal challenges and changes. The same dilemma exists in the church. The church has been changing for several years already and though we’ve recognized change is happening, we’re not at all certain what to do about it.
What are we to do with welcome and unwelcome challenges and changes and how are we to respond to the unknown? Well, to start, as Christians we pray. Prayer is our go-to reaction/response. We worship and pray to a God who understands our predicaments. I know you know this but I’m asking you to go a step further.
I’m inviting and encouraging you to pair up with a Prayer Partner for the summer. Make a commitment to each other for the summer. Mutually agree on a time and place to meet at least once a week. Pray for everything that’s on your heart, for all of those things we find hard to understand going on in the world or around you. Appreciate that you and your prayer partner may understand many things differently – and that’s okay. Pray for this church, for our ministries, the council, the daycare, and ELDC and ELC staff. Pray for the best possible outcome from the lawsuit we are engaged in (probably no news on this until the fall). Pray for those families who have recently lost loved ones and for those for whom death draws near. Pray for the people listed in the bulletin and their special needs. Take home a directory and pray for each person listed whether or not you are aware of their needs. Pray expectantly. Pray with JOY. Pray knowing your prayers are heard and will be answered according to God’s will.
And practice praying with your senses. I’ll talk about each during the sermons this summer. The Sanctuary Arts Team is making a banner to accompany each sense as a way for us to remember and to focus. The Sunday School helped to make the first banner, but others will be available for anyone to help construct. We’ll begin with “touch” on June 4th. Every 2-3 weeks a new sense will be introduced along with a new banner. Thank you, Sanctuary Arts, for your inspiration and creativity! Also, remember to read the articles from Sanctuary Arts in Echoes and in the bulletins, as seasons change, explaining seasonal colors and liturgical meanings.
Praying with our senses is meant to help us practice deep listening and careful observation as we intercede in prayer for others and for ourselves.
Romans 8:26ff says: “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
There are times when we do not know what to pray or how to pray. It is then that the Holy Spirit intercedes. The Holy Spirit does our praying for us when we are too weak or confused, too hurt or angry to pray ourselves. But when we can pray, we are called to intercede on behalf of those who are struggling with things we know about and things we don’t know about. Many, known and unknown, are in need of prayer. This summer unleash the power of prayer through the practice of intercession.
Peace and blessing for your praying partnerships & for the difference your prayers will make here at Emanuel and throughout the world,
Pastor Lyn