Strength for the Journey

Servants of Christ at Immanuel, You are getting this note because you have agreed to be part of our “Visioning For Immanuel’s Future” session on Saturday, April 2 from 10am-12pm (or at least said you’d try to attend!).   A couple of notes that will help us have a successful time together 1. Please be punctual.  We will get started (hopefully!) right away at 10am.  Steph Drange is providing some refreshments, so we can snack a bit as we work!  But please be ready to engage with one another right away at 10am. 2.  Come with enthusiasm and an open mind.  This is a group project and process in which we will brainstorm and then work together to build consensus.  You will so some work independently, and some in conversation around tables and between tables.  We won’t ever sit still for very long! 3.  Our work will focus on three areas of brainstorming: 1) Core STRENGHTS: what is Immanuel good at?  What are we currently doing that brings life to our congregation and our community? 2)

A couple of items for Immanuel Youth and families 1. The season of Lent is upon us.  We strongly encourage families to fully engage.  We've got great, family-friendly meals planned (Sloppy Joes tonight; tacos next week!) at 5:30 and Holden Evening Prayer at 6:30, full of music, drama, and other stuff engaging for people of all ages.  Grow in faith together as a family!  If your family is willing to usher, talk to Pastor Nate 2. Youth Choir for any elementary aged kids is at 5:15 every Wednesday (kids involved in the communion milestone class can pop in after class!) 3. If you haven't already, we encourage you to get signed up for Bible Camp this summer! Immanuel will provide $100 of support to elementary kids that attend Luther Crest and FULL SCHOLARSHIPS to 7-9th graders who attend.Visit https://www.luthercrest.org/ to learn more.  Or talk to Pastor Nate! 4. The Youth are hosting the Palm Sunday Breakfast on April 10 -- and we need help from kids and families of all ages.  We

New Year’s blessings to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus.   I just wanted to write a quick note to let you know that I’ve decided to take a break from the weekly email/blog post work I’ve been doing for the past 22 months.   These weekly greetings were an important tool during that time, and I enjoyed writing to all of you each week.   We’ll see where the Spirit leads next. A reminder that we now publish a monthly newsletter again.   Pastor Megan or I will write a note to you there.   We will email that newsletter as well.   And we publish timely news in our bulletin each week, too.   You can find those online, too: https://www.wadenaimmanuel.org/bulletin Grace and peace, my friends.   I’ve enjoyed this leg of the journey with you.   May we be strengthened for the next leg, too.

Today, we finish our brief series on forgiveness from the Large Catechism.   And our focus today is the practical application of forgiveness. There are two important parts of forgiveness.   One is the forgiveness we receive from God.   The other is the forgiveness we receive from our neighbors.   And both are essential to our faith and life in the community.   When people come to me with a guilty conscience, I ask them if they would like a word of absolution.   Sometimes, though, I can see that before they are forgiven by God, they need to seek forgiveness from their spouse, child, parent, neighbor, or friend.   Other times, they have been forgiven by the person they’ve wronged, but they cannot forgive themselves.   Other times, still, they have offered the sincerest apology they can and have not been forgiven.   And a strong word of forgiveness from God is needed – and we pray that the one they have wronged will forgive them in time. So when guilt arises in you, seek out the one

After a number of weeks on important detours, I’d like to get back to our catechisms this week.   We talked a few weeks ago about the incredible authority God gives to us to forgive – and retain sins.   Allow me to spend a few moments today discussing why forgiveness is so important. In the Large Catechism, Luther makes an exhortation about forgiveness and connects it to the Lord’s Prayer.   I like that connection.   I have taught confirmation students for years to connect the petition about daily bread to the petition on the forgiveness.   Among our daily needs is forgiveness.   And it’s such an important daily need, it gets its own petition in the prayer! Every day we sin and fall short of God’s laws.   Every day, we create brokenness in our human relationships.   Every day, we are wronged by others, too.   And if we were to hold on to these sins, if others would hold our sins tightly, if God were to hold our collective sins against us, all our relationships would unravel. Fo

Yesterday, our congregation and community were rocked with tragedy.  Dr. Aaron Larson died suddenly in the night. Aaron’s death comes without warning and fills our hearts with loss and grief.  Please pray for Aaron’s wife, Peggy; his children, Hanna, Drew, and Alec; his mother, Eunice; his grandchildren; and all his family. Pray as well for Aaron’s colleagues and co-workers at Tri-County Health Care; the patients in his Psychiatry practice; and all who called Aaron their friend and neighbor. Grace and peace, dear friends.  May Christ Jesus comfort us in our sorrows – and strengthen us to comfort others in their sorrows as well.  Cling tightly to your loved ones.  Cling even more tightly to the promise of the resurrection in Christ Jesus. ************************ December Darkness Grief Event December 5 Join us at Immanuel on Sunday, December 5, 6:30-8pm for an evening of remembering our loved ones.  This evening is dedicated to anyone who is experiencing a loss – whether recent or year