Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
April 24 thru April 30
 
For two years now I’ve dated these weekly letters in reference to the octave.  The octave is the 8-day spread of time from Sunday to Sunday.  But this letter is one day short of an octave.  The reason is I will not be here May 1^st.  My final day on your pay roll is April 30^th.  So, for the first time in two years, the heading lists a seven-day span, not an eight-day span. 
 
I thank specifically those who planned and participated in the coffee hour on April 24.  That was our first coffee hour in over two years.  It served as a very nice event acknowledging my retirement from 42 years of pastoring. The council heard my requests (such as no meal, no cake) and then made a very nice gathering.  The gift basket was huge.  Mary and I will be enjoying those certificates for months.  The Packer shirt was great – believe it or not, I do not have one of those.  At first, I thought the number 22 was for Packers player Elijah Pitts.  Then Mary explained that number 22 is for the year; I retired in the year 2022.  Mark and Beth Anderson had a huge role in making that exceptional event so memorable.  Thank you!
 
I thank generally the whole personality of Messiah Lutheran Church.  Paul the Apostle wrote very emotionally. He was especially effusive in gratitude when he wrote to the Philippians. He had every right to feel such joy and relief in their presence.  He had been thru so much terror and suffering, both from external events and deep within his internal psyche. But there was something about the nature of that congregation at Philippi that set Paul at ease.  He loved them deeply and it is obvious in his letter to them. 
 
I was feeling similarly today.  How do I express my gratitude for all the openness and creativity of this congregation?  How do I express my gratitude for the personalities around this place who are so life-full and therefore so life-giving?  I’m saying a lot of prayers of thanksgiving to God these days.  That is how I spent much of Monday afternoon, in your beautiful Swedish church, just being grateful. 
 
The announcement page to the bulletin did not get handed out Sunday.  On that page was re-printed the letter to Messiah in which I accepted the Call you had extended to me on 11.25.2007.  The letter was filled with gratitude.  I am one among seven other pastors who have accepted your Call here with gratitude.  The next pastor will accept your next Call with gratitude. 
This is what I wrote on November 30, 2007:
 
Dear People of God at Messiah, 
It is an honor to have received your Call to become your next pastor.  With gratitude to your Call Committee, leadership, and congregation I gratefully accept this Call which has been extended to me.
It is a privilege to join with you in your ministry of Word and Sacrament.  I’m looking forward to blending my gifts with yours as we offer a continual doxology to God through our worship, education, service, and witness.
Peace, 
(signed) The Rev. Dr. Michael Meranda 
 
At some future date your next called pastor will write a letter accepting your Call.  In his or her own way, they will express their gratitude to be among you and their confident hope for what your ministry will accomplish together.  That will be another good day for Messiah – actually, the beginning of many more good days for Messiah.  You have been so good for all your pastors and your next pastor will come to know your goodness and share it with others.  Your “continual doxology to God” will joyfully ring out through time in this place. 
 
Thank you, and Thanks be to God
The Rev. Dr. Michael Meranda

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
April 17 thru April 24
 
This is my penultimate weekly letter to Messiah.  I began these weekly communications when we shut down for Covid19 back in Lent 2020.  I wanted to provide some venue for keeping us together. We were a community of isolated individuals, mandated to stay at home. I had no idea then these weekly letters would continue for two years. I had no idea then how much I would enjoy staying connected with you in this socially distanced way. 
 
I am mindful of your staff at Messiah.  When I first arrived December 2007, Diane Maenpa was secretary. She kept the office steady after Pastor Eaton left to assume the role of synod bishop. Cathy Carle followed “Dee Dee”.  Cathy knows the Messiah and Ashtabula communities so well.  She was a wealth of information for me, and a great proof reader. Arthur Polnisch occupies the secretary’s desk. He’s a graduate of the USAF Academy and is ideally suited to follow protocol for your interim situation. 
 
Barb and Randy Lewis were custodians when I first arrived. I appreciated right away your care for this historic building thru them. Time passed and custodial work shifted to the care of Ed Spencer and Homer Young.  Messiah’s budgets only 12 hours a week for custodian.  Keeping up with this aging building is a huge task.  They do it very responsibly and with a lot of positive energy.   
 
Julie Hunt directs your choir.  She was on staff before me.  When I arrived she was single; she soon married Kevin and together they brought Hope Lynn into the world. Julie has been getting good sound from your choir every Sunday I have been here; they have a lot of fun doing it, too.  Ed Schroeder accompanies the choir on piano and sometimes substitutes as organist.  He was amazing during the pandemic, coming in every Tuesday morning to record piano pieces for the weekly You Tube. I love his vast selection of piano literature and his nuanced playing – the Jazz/Blues Reproaches he led for Good Friday were exceptional.  Debra Fleming had been organist here for at least 15 years before my arrival. (I’ve been here 14 years so she is coming up on or has passed her 30^th year anniversary on your organ bench.) All of us cannot express enough our appreciation of her skill, spirit, style, and spark.  (I’m especially privileged to have been directed by her for two productions at the Arts Center.) 
 
So, that is your amazing staff at Messiah.  They have made my job so easy and so enjoyable. You are in their good hands during the upcoming interim time. Your next pastor will come to appreciate them as much as I have. 
PRM

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
April 10 thru April 17
 
I received a nice letter from our synod’s bishop.  The synod council voted to place my name on the retired pastor roster. I appreciate that sense of “belonging.” After I retire, I will no longer be Messiah’s pastor.  But I’m still ordained, I will be a retired pastor.  
 
Speaking of Northeast Ohio Synod, a Messiah practice for which I am grateful is your benevolence giving.  The line “benevolence” on our offering envelopes designates the money Messiah sends to the church-at-large, i.e., our synod. Generally speaking, in the fourteen years I have been here, Messiah sends $12,000 to $16,000 a year to Northeast Ohio Synod.  That totals around $200,000 in giving to our synod in the most recent decade and a half.  I would suspect that considering our weekly attendance that Messiah is among the higher percentage givers among synod congregations. 
 
It is important that Messiah continue that trend after I leave.  This will come naturally because I am sure Messiah was strong in benevolence long before my arrival.  In your immediate future you will experience first hand what belonging to a synod means.  Synod reps will guide you thru a visioning process and lead you thru the Call process.  The synod will help you articulate specifically where you are in mission and then the synod will suggest suitable candidates for you to consider for your next call. 
 
I’m looking forward to all the days during this Holy Week.  On Monday I’ll submit my final monthly report to council.  On Tuesday I may journey to Kent to renew ordination vows with other NEOS pastors. Wednesday I’ll enjoy one final breakfast with Men Of Messiah.  Thursday I’ll wash feet and help strip the chancel at Maundy Thursday liturgy.  Friday I’ll hear the choir lead us thru the Solemn Reproaches at Good Friday liturgy.   Saturday I’ll drop off flowers with you for Easter Garden.  Sunday I’ll sing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” for my final time with you. 
 
Blessed Holy Week 2022,
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
April 3 thru April 10
 
I’m boxing up my books to take from Messiah’s pastor’s study to my house.  I’m working backwards alphabetically, starting with Z.  When I got to books in my B section I paused.  There was a slim volume from Frederick Buechner.  The title is “Peculiar Treasures”. It’s a series of insightful and humorous vignettes on characters in the Bible. 
 
I paused at that volume because it was the first gift I had received at ordination.  The giver was L Paul Bartling.  He had graduated from the seminary in those halcyon 1950’s. He was an effective Lutheran missionary in Korea. Then he was an effective pastor in Northeast Portland.  He served the international Lutheran congregation in Geneva, Switzerland for a term.  He finished his career on staff at Northwest Washington Synod office.  He was a significant pastor for many people thru the decades.  Most significantly for me, he presiding at our wedding, when Mary and I tied the knot in 1977.
 
Paul wrote a nice inscription in the book, dated 5.23.1980 – my ordination date.  He wrote, with his characteristic fountain tip pen, “In spite of the seriousness of your task, a little whimsey never hurts the preacher or the listening folks ‘out there.’  And remember, have fun!”
 
“And remember, have fun!”  That’s great counsel for a newly ordained pastor. It is not that we trivialize God or church or calling. It is a matter of confidence.  When we are confident in God in our calling, we breathe a little easier.  When we trust the intentions of those around us, we lighten up. When we see the grand sweep of things and do not take ourselves too seriously, joy flows more readily.
 
In that sense, “have fun” means remain very serious about ministry and the ministering tasks.  But at the same time, do so with spontaneity, alacrity, conviviality, mutuality, creativity, responsibility, & intelligence.  That is why of all the places I have served these 42-years, Messiah has been so much “fun”. 
 
Speaking of fun, dead serious Holy Week is upon us.  April 10^th brings three persons reading the passion of Christ.  April 14^th brings Maundy Thursday foot washing & chancel stripping.  April 15^th brings Good Friday solemn reproaches.  Holy Week begins the march to death.  But God is the God of life. God defeats death.  So, April 16^th in the morning is time to do the first Easter Garden in two years.  On April 17^th we gather to inaugurate the Great Fifty Days of Easter with, “Christ is risen / Risen indeed / Alleluia!    
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
March 27 thru April 3 
 
As you know, I turn in my keys to Messiah on April 30 and begin retirement on May 1. Mary and I will remain in Ashtabula.  You may see us at civic functions, but you will not see us at Messiah functions.  I’ll be another fellow citizen in Ashtabula; but I will not be known as the pastor at Messiah. One of the best things a good pastor can do is learn how to let go when they leave. 
 
Speaking of good pastors, Messiah has a history of calling good pastors.  In the last 29 years you have only been in an interim situation two times.  Going back to 1951, your pastors have had an average tenure of nearly 18 years each.  That means you know how to call good pastors.  That means the good pastors you call recognize your basic goodness and they enjoy remaining here long term.  Your council and your synod reps are going to lead you thru another good Call process, I’m sure. 
 
As I am encouraged by the Northeast Ohio Synod calling protocol, I am discouraged by Hollywood culture.  So, Will Smith slugged Chris rock on the jaw on live TV.  We saw it replayed and commented on again and again on social media.  The antics of that over-paid celebrity culture are why I have purposefully not followed the Academy Awards for many years.  Perhaps the only redemptive moment to emerge was the perspective Denzel Washington supposedly made – When we are at our highest moment, that is when the Devil really comes after us. 
As another commentator put it, “Use your words, Will, use your words.”
 
Leaving Hollywood, let’s get back to reality. For the first time in two years, we are celebrating our usual Holy Week and Easter.  In the year 2020 Covid19 cancelled Holy Week and Easter.  In the year 2021 Holy Week and Easter were radically truncated.  In 2022 we return to the full schedule: April 10 Palm Sunday, April 14 Maundy Thursday, April 15 Good Friday, April 16 Easter Garden, April 17 Easter Sunday.  We are singing hymns.  Masks are permitted, not mandated.  
 
The reality of Holy Week and Easter is Christ is risen. When we engage our suffering, we follow Christ thru suffering.  Christ accompanies us in suffering.  We follow the accompanying Christ to resurrection.  He rises ahead of us and Holy Spirit calls us to join Christ. We join with the resurrected One.  We know our destiny and the God who brings us there. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
March 20 thru March 27
 
The Covid19 onslaught in February 2020 caused the creation of two new ministries at Messiah.  They were: adding a Saturday morning holy communion service, and posting a weekly You Tube worship “service”.  Covid19 is receding. Normal schedules are resuming.  It is time to bring those emergency measure ministries to conclusion. 
 
The aim of 9:30 a.m. communion on Saturday was to dilute the worshipping population.  Physical distancing was a key to arresting Covid. The more who attended on Saturday meant the less would attend on Sunday.  To a certain extent, that worked.  Saturday attendance ranged from typically 5 to never more than 12 people.  
 
Ed Schroeder was central to Saturday’s specialness.  He brought piano music specific for each liturgical day.  We were masked and not singing.  But at least we heard the church’s song. 
 
The purpose of putting a weekly “service” on You Tube originated when the building was shut down, the months when there were no in person services at Messiah.  Thanks to social media, those weekly video recordings gained a wide audience.  I’m aware of people on the west coast and people on the east coast who regularly tune in. 
 
Debra Fleming and Frank Maenpa were central to the You Tube service specialness.  For two years Debra recorded music (as would Ed Schroeder). For two years Frank Maenpa received the edited “service” I would upload for him and then he would format it and upload it onto You Tube.  We would be remiss if we did not make mention of Isabelle Fleming.  She gathered all the technology to do this production and showed me how to do it. 
 
I put You Tube “service” in quotation marks because it was never an actual live recorded liturgy.  It was never a “live stream” as some congregations do.  But it did feature music that related to the church year, and my reflection on the texts appointed for a given Sunday.  The weekly You Tube often featured what I referred to as a Bonus Section.  I would record various places in Messiah’s building and reflect on them. Sometimes I would record places around Ashtabula and reflect on Messiah’s role in this city. Those weekly productions turned out to be a helpful release for my creativity during pandemic isolation. 
 
But all good things must come to an end.  So, March 19^th was the final Saturday Morning Holy Communion at 9:30 a.m.  Sunday Holy Communion at 10:00 a.m. remains as the principal service at Messiah.  And, the final You Tube “service” will air on Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022.  The remaining You Tube services then are March 27 (Lent 4), April 3 (Lent 5), April 10 (Palm Sunday), and April 17 (Resurrection of our Lord). 
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
March 13 thru March 20
 
On April 30, 2022, I will have completed my work among you.  You will soon be engaging your very promising work of making transition from Saying Farewell to me and ultimately Welcome and Celebration of your next pastor. 
 
The Rev. Mitch Phillips visited Messiah’s council meeting on 3.14.2022.  He is assistant to our Northeastern Ohio Synod Bishop; he guides congregations thru the calling process. He shared an eight-page document and power pointe presentation that outlined what Messiah will be experiencing in the months ahead. (A copy of that document is available for you at your request.)
 
Pr. Phillips outlined the Five Phases of Transition thru which he will be leading Messiah. You just started Phase 1 - Saying Farewell.  After I leave, you are in Phase 2 - Exploring God’s Call.  Synod Staffer, The Rev. Julianne Smith, will lead you thru Phase 2.  I have served on her synod stewardship committee.  She is very capable, and you will appreciate working with her. Phase 3 - Entering the Call Process.  Phase 4 - Primary Candidate, culminating with your congregational meeting for a vote to extend a Call. Phase 5 is Welcome and Celebration, climaxing with installation of your new pastor. 
 
What I appreciated most about Pr. Phillips meeting with the council is that a face and voice is now associated with this process. Transitions, changes, interims are by nature unnerving and unsettling.  But when we hear the voice of the one who will be leading us thru and know their face and learn their mannerisms, that makes a huge difference.  My personal anxiety about my retiring lessened considerably as the meeting progressed.  You as a congregation will increase in confidence and enthusiasm as Pr. Phillips and others lead you thru the very logical, methodical stages of interim, visioning, and extending your next Call.
 
My final Sunday among you is 4.24.2022.  During that 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion service I’ll include the rite for Thanksgiving at the Conclusion of a Call, with specific rubrics for retirement of a pastor (Occasional Services for the Assembly, p111f.)  
 
After that service is ended, we’ll proceed to Messiah’s downstairs fellowship hall where we’ll be greeted by one of Messiah’s much appreciated coffee hours.  You have done your after-church coffee hours so well thru the years.  They are really good memories for me. That is how I requested to “go out”, with the taste of church coffee and the sound of your laughter and conversation.  So, no formal sit-down dinner. No receiving line. No head table. I even specified no retirement cake.  Just coffee and a preponderance of donuts. We’ll gather comfortably and our council will MC us thru a time for recognition, thanks, and perhaps a bit of roasting. 
 
Otherwise, a lot of paperwork has been processed: 

• my communication with Portico for medical coverage and retirement income

• my request to the bishop for retired roster status. 

• An important document called “Covenant For Departing Pastors” has been signed by myself and council president Mark Anderson. Council members all have copies and copies are available for you at your request. That Covenant summarizes what I have been communicating all along – after I retire, I will have no pastoral role whatsoever in your personal lives or the life of Messiah.  

• In addition to those documents, a hard copy of my letter of resignation will be included as an insert in the April “Messenger”.  

 I’m excited for you. You do so many things so well.  You will do this next stage of your congregational life well as well. There will be laughter and insight, realization and growth, consensus and planning. You will support each other.  You will do all that because you know how God holds you securely in God’s loving heart. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
March 6 thru March 13
 
Several have questioned why our denomination has a lengthy interim and call process after a pastor retires.  In the corporate world, for example, an executive stays on to train his or her replacement. There is over lap and continuity. This is not the case in our church world.
 
Our current policy is good policy. The retiring pastor leaves.  She or he promises not to interfere in the ongoing life of the congregation. An interim period follows the retirement. Then a call process welcomes the new pastor. 
 
Here is why this is good policy.  It all relates to the make up of the human person. I’m borrowing a model from Dennis Bennet, an Episcopalian priest (who influenced the charismatic movement in those circles).  Bennet writes the multi-layered human person comprises three inter relating parts.  We are spirit, soul, and body.  Spirit is that part of us to which God connects.  God infuses our beings thru our spirit.  Soul is the totality of our personality, our psychology.  Within our Soul we are unique Intellect, Emotion, and Volition.  Our body is how we are physically present in this time and space. Spirit from God informs Soul and Soul directs the ways our Body interacts with the world and community. (Bennet’s model is not universally accepted. Lutheran theologian Regin Prenter has another model, but that’s another book.)
 
If Bennet’s theory is true -- the human person is interacting Spirit, Soul, Body -- that explains why retiring pastors need to leave.  Pastors, form a deep bond with people.  Pastors see and encourage growth in Spirit.  Pastors see and encourage growth in Intellect, Emotions, and Will.  Pastors see and encourage how Spirit and Soul make people physically present to do the work of the church.  Pastors make connections with people that are very deep and profound.  
 
Back at Northwestern Lutheran Seminary (LCA before the ELCA merger), Prof. Hulme taught students about empathic identification. Pastors are not to enmesh in the lives of parishioners, but are to feel parishioners’ experiences alongside of them.  So, pastors feel pain at funerals and joy and weddings. Pastors feel the excitement of learning and the commitment for social welfare.  
 
It is because of the deep and profound nature of the human person that retiring pastors should go away.  That way the interim can prepare the congregation to form those new relationships with the new pastor. Perhaps no other “job” links people together the way being a pastor does.  That is why the departure of one pastor is felt so deeply and why it takes time to form the next bond with the next pastor.  But it does work.  It does happen. It will happen at Messiah. 
 
When I do retire, Mary and I are staying on in Ashtabula.  We like our house.  Mary still works at Catholic Charities.  And I am too involved in other civic groups to move away at this point.  So, my line is, “You will still see me around town, you will not see me at Messiah. I will still be your neighbor; but I will not be your pastor.”  Someday, someone else will be your pastor. I’m convinced she or he will love & serve you and that you will appreciate & love her or him. 
 
Faithfully, 
Pr. Michael Meranda 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
February 27 thru March 6
 
Lent is upon us.  March 2^nd Ash Wednesday liturgy at Messiah is 7:00 p.m. Thus begins another 40-Days of blessed Lent.
 
After Ash Wednesday, we are not doing the usual Wednesday evening events this year during Lent. Most likely that tradition will return next year. I have a lot of good Lenten midweek memories from the decades. The many church publishing houses come up with annual themes that clergy and congregations follow.  The themes are designed to fit a short liturgy following a Wednesday evening meal. In many places pastors schedule a “round robin”.  We divide up a five-part program between us, each taking one of the five parts. Then we travel to other congregations, presenting the same part. Five pastors visit five congregations and all five segments of the theme are presented.  Looking back in memory, here are some Lenten midweek highlights for me: 
 
The church in Portland had very talented musicians.  Two of them collaborated with Marty Haugen in Holden Village one summer.  That is when he wrote what we now know as Holden Vespers.  I still have in my files an original copy of that first edition. It was called Vespers ’86.  The Portland congregation sang that every Wednesday during Lent, gathered in windowed reception hall, accompanied by cello and guitar.  The little kids sat themselves beneath the grand piano where they could literally feel the sound of the music.
 
Distinctive Lenten midweek worship experiences were at the congregation in Minnesota.  They had built an award-winning building in 1968, part of the Bauhaus school of architecture.  Their 43-rank tracker pipe organ could express all the nuances of all the church seasons so well.  Matt, the music director, had a Master’s Degree in liturgical theology from St John’s College.  Godfrey Dieckmann was still alive and teaching there.  He is the patrologist who attended Vatican II in the early 1960’s and brought liturgical renewal back to the United States.
 
My favorite and most memorable Lenten midweek experience happened at Messiah, Ashtabula.  It was the year we showed the Bonhoeffer film in the fellowship hall.  We gathered for weekly soup supper.  We watched a brief segment of the film every Wednesday. I gave hand-outs summarizing the particular segment of the film or a feature of Bonhoeffer’s theology.  Messiah brings a healthy intellectual curiosity. One night after Bonhoeffer, I recall marveling that not many pastors have the opportunity to explain a priori / a posteriori knowledge and the notion that existence precedes essence.   
 
Our word “Lent” comes from an old English word “lencten” which means advancing springtime. With the advance of spring weather, daylight and warmth lengthen. So, the 40-Days of Lent are a lengthening time for our souls. As green foliage begins to grow outside, so we grow in God’s grace during Lent. Insight spurs spiritual growth. Faith deepens and so lengthens. Virtues and commitment take root and increase. 
 
It is our privilege to begin another 40-Days of Lent together.  We start with ashes on Ash Wednesday – March 2, 2022 at 7:00 pm.
 
Welcome Home to Messiah,
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
February 20 thru February 27
 
Please come to the “2.22.2022 Event” on Tuesday, February 22, at 2:00 pm.  I invite us to gather in the downstairs fellowship hall at Messiah at 2:00 pm.  I’ll give a short talk on time.  This will be sort of like a Theology on Tap event.  We’ll open non-alcoholic beverages.  Then at 2:22 pm we’ll toast the passing of that moment.  I just had to acknowledge this moment in time somehow.  The hour is 2:22 pm.  The date is 2.22.2022.  So, we are commemorating 2:22 pm on 2.22.2022.  (For the gathering we’ll be masked and distanced.)  Remember, it starts at 2:00 pm so we can be ready to observe the hour of 2:22 pm. 
 
The weather is back and forth, in and out.  Two days ago, there was icy wind with deep freeze.  Early this week a day should spike at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Then temps are expected to plummet for a few days. 
 
The weather is up and down but the church year is steady as she goes.  These are the final days after the Epiphany.  Sunday the 27^th will climax this season with the Festival of the Transfiguration.  Then a few short days after that March 2^nd will bring us to Ash Wednesday and the 40-Days of Lent.  The church year provides steady backdrop, a predictable rhythm, to counter-balance all the changes and chances of this life. 
 
Speaking of changes and chances, I assume we are all praying for stability and peace concerning Russia and the Ukraine. 
 
Reminder, the 9:30 a.m. service is canceled on 2.26.2022. The reason for that is the Jim Lindberg memorial is that same morning at 11:00 a.m. It will be so good to celebrate Jim’s well-lived Ashtabula life and legacy. The family has arranged for a brass quartet to provide the music – another way of honoring Jim who had played in the USN Band.
 
Blessings, all!
PRM 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
February 6 thru February 13
 
There are three personalities I do not especially like.  They emerge this time of the year in the Great Lakes region.  They are Jack Frost and Old Man Winter.  Those two are introduced by the Witch of November.  On the one hand, winter storms are horrible.  They are cause for power outages and fender benders.  They disrupt routine and can cause fatalities.  On the other hand, they are quite beautiful, especially when the sky is bright and clear the day after a storm.  Weather systems reminds us how small (and dependent) we truly are. 
 
I’m considering scheduling a fellowship event on 2.22.2022.  The event would be at 2:22 pm.  That alignment of numbers this year is too unique and so worthy of celebration somehow.  This would be a safe and distanced and masked gathering in the fellowship hall. Probably will be a format similar to Theology on Tap.  I’ll talk with more folk about the feasibility of such a gathering.  We are slowly coming back to these events.  Tapestry has returned. A 12-Step group has resumed. Congregation meetings are ongoing. Be watchful for details regarding a possible get together on 2.22.2022 at 2:22 pm. 
 
I wish to cancel the 9:30 church service on February 26, 2022.  The reason for that is the Jim Lindberg memorial is that same morning at 11:00 a.m.  I don’t want any overlap that morning in our use of the building.  I want my own focus to be on thanking God for the life and legacy of Jim Lindberg.  The family is hosting a luncheon afterward but it will not be at Messiah.  It will be at a local restaurant.
 
The Sunday bulletin was incorrect when it noted Property AND Finance Committee meetings are cancelled 2.7.2022. Only Property Committee is canceled.  Finance Committee meets as per usual.  The interesting thing about this paragraph is it referenced the Sunday bulletin. As we slowly emerge thru this pandemic, things begin to return.  To track events a weekly announcement page to our weekly bulletin has returned. It is good to see that, to see liturgical ministers back up front, and to sing the church’s hymns.
 
Blessings to all our households as we prepare for Super Bowl Sunday on 2.13.2022.  I hope that in 2023 it will bring Packers vs. Browns. 
 
PRM 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
January 23 thru January 22 
 
We had our semi-annual meeting of the congregation yesterday.  But we didn’t really have it.  The snow-event kept people safely at home, so we did not have a quorum.  We received the Treasurer’s Report and 2022 budget but were unable to officially accept them. 
 
To that end, a ballot email will soon be sent to you.  Messiah’s revised bi-laws permit voting by email.  As soon as the message is properly framed and formatted, we’ll send an electronic ballot to you, asking you to adopt the balanced budget presented for 2022.
 
Life-long Messiah member Jim Lindberg died in Florida.  His memorial service is scheduled for Messiah on February 26^th at 11:00 a.m.  It will be good to welcome his cremains home to Messiah and remember his life that intersected with so many thru the years.  I was recently reminded that when he was in the USN Band that they had played for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. 
 
“Snow-Mageddon, “Snow-Pocalypse”, “Snow-Zilla” has passed in 2022. I’m surprised there were not more power outages. I was amazed to learn of all the people snowed into their homes for days.  (It actually took me five days to completely shovel by hand my driveway.)  There is a brief segment in Sunday’s You Tube Service featuring snow accumulation in Messiah’s courtyard. 
 
When we get surprised by nature’s events (or unnatural, human-cruel events), there is good advice for us from Governor Nehemiah.  He supervised the re-building of Jerusalem after the people returned from Babylonian exile.  He said to them, recovering from their crisis, “Eat the fat and drink the sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared.” (Nehemiah 8:9) In other words, be mindful of and helpful to our neighbor.  Share our story and our bounty.  Share our grief and our comfort.  Share our fear and our encouragement. 
 
Blessings – all, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
January 16 thru January 23
 
Life cycles, events, routines go on.  They whirr as if they were a machine.  Then something interrupts the day-to-day happenings.  Life gets arrested. We pause. We take stock. Last week, for example, I learned of two deaths that impact people in the Messiah community.  
 
Jim Lindberg died. He had been away visiting his son. Arrangements are pending.  The community would remember Jim from years ago when he was a lineman for the phone company.  Some have memories of his trombone playing.  I’ll always remember the Christmas Eve service when I first heard his strong, bass voice. 
 
George Quay’s son died.  George’s son was named George Quay IV.  I never met George’s son, but I’m sure his life reflected the strength and integrity of his father. George Quay IV died too young.  No parent should ever have to bury a child.  Please reach out to our George Quay at Messiah as you are able. 
 
Back to routine -- the things that, when compared with losing a father / spouse, or losing a son / daughter -- feel inconsequential.  Yet routine is the stuff of life.  So, Messiah has our semi-annual meeting of the congregation Sunday, January 23^rd. We remain in our pews right after the church service. The main agenda for this meeting is to pass the budget.  When the budget is balanced, as it is again this year, that often makes for a quick meeting. 
 
Not so fast.  There is another interruption of routine.  I write this during “Snow-Mageddon 2022” or “Ashtabula Snowpocalypse”.  It will take me the whole day to shovel out my driveway.  Facebook rumors fly about snow plows getting stuck. I have no idea when the church driveway will be plowed.  Of the 14 winters I have lived here, this is by far the most significant single dump of snow I’ve seen.    As inconvenient as it is, it is always a good thing when Mother Nature reminds us how small, vulnerable, and dependent we are. 
 
Stay safe. Be thankful for warmth. Pray for each other. Give thanks to God for the lives and witness of Jim Lindberg and George Quay IV. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2022
January 2 thru January 9
 
Your January “Messenger” arrived last week.  This is the abridged, transitional edition that takes us into the new year.  Our normal “Messenger” (I think it could be award winning) should return for the February edition. 
 
Three important dates to keep in mind: 

1. January 10 – this is the deadline for committees to turn in annual reports to the church office.
2. January 16 – the collated Annual Report for 2021 will be available for you to pick up in the hallway

3. January 23 – our semi-annual meeting of the congregation is today right after the 10:00 a.m. church service 

 
It was a great college bowl game season this year.  Wisconsin won.  The Ohio State won.  When the Buckeyes came out after half time with a renewed defense, it was as if they transitioned from the 2021 season to the 2022 season.  More good things are to come from Columbus.  Also, that Team Up North lost embarrassingly.  Good college bowl games have a way of leaving a warm feeling that carries thru cold and dark winter months. 
 
It is always difficult to transition out of the 12-Days of Christmas.  The light, the sparkle, the music, the food, the conviviality all bring a beauty like no other season.  I manage to leave up a decoration or two even after the Epiphany on January 6^th.  February 2^nd, “Candle-mass”, gives us one more opportunity to take a final glance back at Christmas.
 
You will hear this more officially from Finance Committee, but Messiah finished 2021 very strong financially.  Thank you for your persistent, consistent offerings. We maintained our Word, Sacrament, and Service ministry during this pandemic. We supported our Northeast Ohio Synod as well as local ministries. Thank you, Messiah! 
 
This Thursday we recall that Epiphany star which led the Magi to Bethlehem.  God is always enlightening our way.  God is always leading us love and community.  
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah
December 26, 2021 thru January 2, 2022
 
The Christmas Eve service that posted on You Tube, our website, and Facebook was inspiring.  Thank you: musicians, recorders, editors. 
 
There is no Saturday 9:30 a.m. Holy Communion service on January 1, 2022.  Saturday morning services will resume January 8, 2022.  Sunday services at 10:00 a.m. continue without interruption. 
 
I hope your Christmas season is going well.  It means different things to different people.  For students it is a welcome break from studies and activities.  I remember it was always nice though to finish the break and get back to friends and routine. For families it is time for gathering and welcoming home. For musicians, church and otherwise, Christmas season is a lot of work but brings a lot of joy.  The decorations unique to this time of year are always special.  It is good to pause and take them in.  Some enjoy a good vacation these holidays. They head south for sun or head for snow to ski. For many this time of year brings a lot of extra calories.  What is put on in a few days can take weeks to work off.  For some this time of year brings depression.  We are light deprived now in nature’s cycle; the holiday cycle may bring to mind painful loss and loneliness.  No matter where we find ourselves on the scale of holiday happiness, we look to God for assurance and trust in God for promise.
 
I’m scheduled for the Covid Booster shot this week.  I’ve arranged for a sick day the day after as my reaction to the vaccines is worse than when I tested positive. Our bodies and their immune systems are so complicated and diverse and so amazing. 
 
Blessed 12-Days of Christmas
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
December 19 thru December 26

Short letter today – just some dates and times:
 
December 24^th there is no Christmas Eve service scheduled at the church.  Congregational council decided this in light of light of current Covid19 surges. 
 
December 24^th there is a You Tube Christmas Eve service available for you. 
This follows the general format we have been using, except there will be much more music.  
 
The December 24^th You Tube service will provide a way to safely celebrate holy communion at home.  You will be asked to set aside bread and wine.  A segment will feature me leading you thru holy communion.  This is unusual; it is not intended to be permanent practice. But in light of the pandemic, we are following the lead of fellow ELCA congregations in facilitating holy communion in your homes.  
 
If you wish to have a communion kit prepared for you, using Messiah’s bread and wine, phone me at Messiah and I will prepare a “take out” package of communion elements for you. 
 
The December 24^th Christmas Eve You Tube service is scheduled to appear 7:00 pm.  The nice part about You Tube is you may access it any time at your convenience.  You may find the Christmas Eve service in three places:
You Tube: Messiah Lutheran Ashtabula 
Facebook: Messiah Lutheran Church Ashtabula
Website: www.messiahashtabula.com 
 
Saturday December 25 will NOT have a 9:30 a.m. holy communion service at the church.
 
Sunday December 26^th will have the usual 10:00 a.m. holy communion service at Messiah. 
 
Welcome home to Messiah – though on Christmas Eve, Messiah comes into your home via the magic of the internet.
 
Pastor M

Ed. note: Consider a online Christmas gift of a goat, chicks, honeybees, mosquito nets or vaccinations to the ELCA worldwide ministries.   Link to ELCA GOOD GIFTS

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
December 12 thru December 19
 
Saturday 9:30 a.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. communion services continue.  But we will not have in person worship at Messiah on Christmas Eve.  Our intent is to place a service on You Tube and Facebook December 24^th at 7:00 p.m.  
 
The plan is to make available communion “kits” you may pick up at the church and take home.  There will be included in the on-line service a segment for you to celebrate Holy Communion in the safety of your home. Of course, you do not have to pick up a communion kit at Messiah.  You may set aside your own bread and wine at home for communion.  
 
This is an unusual way of celebrating communion and something we do not wish to normalize. But Covid19 is especially surging in Ashtabula County and we do not want to add a large gathering liturgy at Messiah on Christmas Eve.  Celebrating Holy Communion at home, being guided by a service over the internet, is something other ELCA congregations have pioneered in these different times.  We are following the precedent of others who have led this way. 
 
How long were you without power on Saturday, December 11^th?  For us the wind damage was an inconvenience.  But our wind was only residual from that storm system that brought devastating tornadoes to six central midwestern states.  Property was destroyed and lives were lost, the death toll still rising. Lutheran Disaster Response will soon have boots on the ground (if not already).  We support their efforts with sustaining prayers and financial contributions.  Link to "U.S. tornadoes" ELCA Disaster Relief
 
As I said, the storm system for us in Ashtabula brought mere inconvenience.  The Second Act of the Nutcracker Ballet ended abruptly when lights went out at the arts center. That evening’s performance has been re-scheduled.  As with so many interruptions in life, we adjust and adapt.  Flexibility is part of being a healthy human.  Bearing trials patiently and with good humor is a spiritual gift.  
 
The remaining days of Advent are soon upon us.  December 17^th begins the seven- day countdown to sunset December 24^th when the 12-Days of Christmas begin.  We pray the seven titles given to Jesus in that wonderful hymn, “Oh Come, Emmanuel.”  Emmanuel. Wisdom. Adonai. Root of Jesse. Key of David. Day Star. King. The Advent Hymn “People Look East” has other acclamations for Christ. 
Love, the Guest. Love, the Rose. Love, the Star. Love, the Lord. 
Blessed and safe remaining days of Advent, 
Pastor M

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
December 5 thru December 12
 
Next week the newly elected council members will join our current council for its final meeting of 2021.  The two persons who will have completed their term in 2021 are Becky Young and Sue Riley.  They have provided leadership in many capacities thru the decades at Messiah.  We are grateful for them and their creative, administrative gifts. 
 
The two persons who will be new members on council are seasoned leaders at Messiah.  Mark Anderson had previously chaired the council.  His many contributions included revising our bi-laws (with Frank Maenpa). Kathleen Nordquest, recently retired from AACS, has served nearly all the ministries at Messiah.  They will join the current council with Jill Carle, Renee Spencer, Candace Rodgers, Fred Leitert, Russ Jepson, and Emelia Lindberg. 
 
In addition to that elected council, two more persons have will fill two critically important appointed positions.  Joan Malkie will chair the Altar Guild; she follows the capable work of Martha Pallutch. Joan has had similar worship preparation experience at Our Lady of Peace Parish.  Joanna Pretz-Anderson has become available to serve as Worship Committee Chair.  Joanna, recently retired church organist/choir director, is a rostered leader in our Northeast Ohio Synod. 
 
On behalf of the congregation, I am especially grateful to all those aforementioned persons.  These are transitional times: we are slowly growing out of a pandemic, there are soon to be huge economic repercussions in our economy, and I will at some point begin retirement status.  Amid all those transitions, steady hearts, minds, and hands will lead Messiah.  
 
There is some especially good news to share.  December 15^th will be Messiah’s final payment on our ATM Loan.  In 2003, Messiah took out a $300,000 loan from Andover Bank for a variety of projects designed to Abate The Moisture – ATM.  This meant loan repayments of nearly $2,000 per month.  In 2013 Messiah’s Foundation re-financed that loan at a lower interest rate.  That way, interest on the loan went back into Messiah’s own Foundation, rather than a bank. Your generous offerings combined with sound fiscal management.  The ATM Loan will be paid in full December 15, 2021.  Finance Committee, Council, and Congregation will decide in 2022 to either reduce the annual budget or allocate that same amount of monthly money into other projects.   
Thank you, Messiah!
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
November 28 thru December 5
 
In December 2007 I moved to Ashtabula to be your pastor.  Many of you encouraged me, “You arrived here in time to see The Nutcracker!”  You were proud of the cultural heritage in Ashtabula. That included Ashtabula County Orchestra, Ashtabula County Choral Music Association, Ashtabula Arts Center, and a lot of really good high school marching bands. 
 
Now, fourteen years later, I find myself with a very small, supporting cast role in Ashtabula’s Nutcracker.  Of all the performers, I’m definitely the weakest link in the chain. But they are patient, supportive, and encouraging.  
 
Initially, I felt really bad that it takes me so long to learn the few, simple steps. Very quickly, the old self-image tanked.  Then I realized this is a new experience for me.  My muscles know how to dig holes, not do the “grapevine”. I only hear this music but once a year.  There is new geography to learn: “up” and “back” stage. Realizing how new this all is, and how inexperienced I am, I became a little more patient with myself.  Then I began to gradually learn this uncomplicated sequence of steps. I should have it all together by opening night.  Then my partner will not have to correctively whisper, “Michael, this way!” 
 
This makes me appreciate Luther’s take on eternity. Baptism here only begins the process of us learning how to be people of God.  It may take the light of eternity for us to see how loved we truly are and how to fully reflect that love showered on us.  Jesus’ disciples rarely “got it”.  It took the light of His resurrection to finally convince them to clarity and commitment.  So, if you find your faith life at a stage that is slow, halting, stuttering, and unpolished, you are in good company.  You are in a company of learners.  That is all of us.  Christ is teaching us.  Holy Spirit is guiding us.  God is forgiving and welcoming us. Always. 
 
“Break a Leg”, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
November 21 thru November 28
 
Aside from Holy Week, I’ve found this to be the busiest time of the church’s year. 
 
Christ the King Sunday just climaxed the preceding liturgical year. Even though it is a festival Sunday that pales in comparison with other festival Sundays, it brings its own focus and energy as we punctuate a cycle of church seasons.  Oftentimes Christ the King Sunday is the climax of a congregation’s stewardship program.  Pledges are giving is celebrated and renewed.  At Messiah this had been the Sunday for Thanks for Giving Dinner.  That was a huge undertaking with multiple families baking multiple turkeys.  Crock pots were strategically placed around the fellowship hall so as not to blow a circuit.  Refrigerator space was at a premium, just like real estate used to be in California. Thursday brings Thanksgiving Day. Other congregations I served had Thanksgiving Day services. That was nice for that festive worship but the timing could not have been worse.  The Sunday following Christ the King Sunday is the First Sunday in Advent.  That entails a whole other emotional-liturgical nuance and decorating scheme.  Most importantly, the Saturday after Thanksgiving brings The Game. Time necessarily stops for those three or so hours. 
 
What to do in the midst of such busy-ness? We do what we always do in the midst of busy, seemingly fractured times.  We keep up the routine.  For me, that means dusting off four blue candles for the Advent-stand and looking at those texts from Luke’s gospel. For our households the routine means: haul up the Christmas decorations, untangle the strings of Xmss lights, write seasonal cards, iron the outfits worn this time of year, find ingredients for the favorite holiday recipe, enjoy hot chocolate.  And bask in the glow. Glow from natural light is rapidly diminishing.  But glow from seasonal lights is rapidly increasing.  Glow on our faces brightens our rooms in a different sort of way.  The source of the glow is from within.  It is the Christ, the “adventing” Christ, in whom we have been baptized.
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
November 14 thru November 21 
 
I love the transition into Christ the King Sunday, November 21 this year. The current church year comes to conclusion. The following Sunday, November 28, begins the new church year. These Sundays tend to happen around Thanksgiving Day, some real nasty winter weather, and, of course, The Game. Makes you glad the leaves are raked and there is hot chocolate mix in the cupboard. 
 
Our Synod’s rostered leaders had a zoom meeting on Boundary Crossing.  Typically, this refers to sexual misconduct. When clergy perpetuate this sin, the consequences are devastating for the families involved and for congregational systems. Clergy cross other boundaries as well: time, substance abuse, finances. The first sin recorded in the bible is about crossing boundaries.  God told the man and woman in the garden to not eat the fruit of a specific tree. They disobeyed; they crossed that boundary. They exchanged blessing for curse. 
 
I met the synod executive who guides congregations thru call processes, the Rev. Mitch Philipps. Currently, forty congregations in our synod are seeking a pastor. Not all of them require a full-time pastor Nevertheless, there is a lot of transition. That couples with the current clergy shortage. It makes the work of synod execs and local call committees a little more complicated.  But the Holy Spirit has guided the Church thru many complicated situations thru the millennia. The Holy Spirit will guide our denomination thru this current challenge as well. 
 
Years ago, I trained for a while in the martial arts.  One of my favorite disciplines was learning “forms”.  These are choreographed dance-like movements that mimic kicking, striking, blocking, aggressing, evading. All the participants lined up and went thru the “form” together. We were synchronous, “on the same page”, doing the same movement, sharing the same space at the same time.  It was very moving, in a mystical sort of way. It is that unitive dimension of life that Christ the King Sunday celebrates. We trust God really will gather peoples into one shared family. That we will finally see Christ all-in-all. That we will finally be “on the same page” with serving and healing.  
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
November 7 thru November 14
 
On Sunday we observed the festival of all saints.  We remembered four members of Messiah who died the previous year.  I’m always moved at this remembrance.  We place a votive light for each person on the baptismal font. Baptism is their entry way into relationship with God.  Shining over their lights is the light of the Paschal candle.  This reminds us that Christ, who preceded them in death, will also lead them to resurrection.   We are blessed at Messiah because of the lives of Wanda Moses, Jan Koschik, Richard Blood, and Rick Reinker. It is good that we remember them and give thanks for them. 
 
Rehearsals for the Nutcracker have begun.  That takes me to the arts center for a couple hours every Saturday.  I’m one of the few older adults in the party scene. With simple choreography, we are part of the background for Christmas party at the Stahlbaum house.  After we exit the magic really begins.  I’m so pleased to have this small role in the Nutcracker because when I first arrived here in December 2007 many of you shared with me Ashtabula’s annual Nutcracker tradition.  This is a big part of our small-town culture here. I’m glad to be part of it. 
 
The rostered ministers of our synod will gather in person or via zoom on Thursday for a mandatory boundary crossing workshop. Sadly (shamefully!), there have been cases of sexual and other types of mis-conduct among clergy. This sin is always wrong and brings devastating effects.  It is especially harmful to a congregation when pastors are involved. I served a congregation where there had been three such cases. In addition to that, their bishop resigned after his own incident.  As a result, it was very difficult for people in that synod to be open and trusting.  Thankfully, I’m unaware of such cases in our Northeast Ohio Synod. 
 
Even though we “fall back” out of daylight-saving time and do not “spring forward” into it this time of year, I still dislike the arbitrary changing of our clocks. I wish we would let nature be nature and just conform to the rhythm of sunlight-nightfall.  No matter what the season or time of day, God’s forgiving love is there for us, God’s restoring love sustains us, God’s gifting love sends us to serve neighbor and creation. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
October 31 thru November 7 
 
Cycles are the rhythm of life. Our congregation has its rhythm of administration. The first Monday of every month is committee night.  Property and Finance Committees hold their monthly meetings.  The second Monday of every month is council night. The full congregational council meets. There is a regular rhythm of hearing reports, addressing issues, finding solutions. 
 
Other rhythmic cycles hold true as well.  The food bank is open every Monday.  Day Timers gather 1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th Wednesdays.  The Ministerial Association gathers every 2^nd Wednesday.  Downtown Development Executive Committee is every 4^th Tuesday. 
 
Seasonal rhythmic cycles mark time.  The Arts Center is gearing up for the annual Nutcracker. Grape Jamboree in Geneva and Covered Bridge Festival in Ashtabula are every Fall. Of course, the Saturday after Thanksgiving at 12:00 noon is THE GAME. 
 
What are your cycles?  Your rhythms?  What is a regular reoccurrence on your calendar? What commitments are always yours at a specific time and date that preclude you from doing something else? 
 
Rhythms and cycles are life. When we keep rhythms and cycles of events we are doing.  We are engaging.  We care relating. We are tending. We are serving. We are acting.  We are living. 
 
Enjoy your calendared events this week.  By them you know you have place, you belong, you make a difference.  These are the times and events when God brings blessing to the world thru the gift of who you are. 
 
Busily, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
October 24 thru October 31
 
The October 24 congregational meeting went well.  We elected Emelia Lindberg, Kathleen Nordquest, and Mark Anderson to three-year terms on congregational council.  January 1, 2022 they will join existing council members Russ Jepson, Fred Leitert, Candace Rodgers, and Renee Spencer. I’m excited about the leadership capabilities of the new council.  Messiah is in very good hands. 
 
We are grateful for the persons who have served on council and whose terms ended.  Sue Riley had been our worship committee chair.  Her many roles and contributions to Messiah go way back to when he raised her three children here. Becky Young has completed six years on council.  Most recently she has been chair-person of the council.  Becky has strong leadership skills and I especially relied on her confident strength during the pandemic. 
 
Last week brought a quarterly meeting of Messiah’s Foundation. Those funds are very well managed and contribute to the repair of this classy yet very expensive building. 
 
Last week also brought pastoral care opportunities for both ends of the life spectrum: a funeral and a wedding. At the service for Rick Reinker we remembered a life well lived, whose journey here has come to an end.  He now journeys among the saints in light. At the service for McGaha – Bento, we celebrated the beginning of their married life together and anticipated decades to come filled with life and community.  Whether we are at the end of this life or at the beginning of a new stage in this life, we belong to God.  We are in good hands. The heart beat of God’s love pulses thru us thru time and eternity, thru mishaps and triumphs, thru relationships and experiences, thru endings and beginnings. 
 
The daily readings and prayers document comes in a new format. It’s a three-step method for daily prayer. This format ties us in to the Sunday lectionary schedule of readings. This format may be more convenient for private home use.
 
Be well, dear People of God
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
October 17 thru October 24
 
The “Messenger” and Sunday verbal announcements and this weekly letter have reminded us to attend the semi-annual meeting of Messiah on October 24^th.  We’ll remain in our pews for this short meeting right after the 10:00 a.m. church service.  The sole agenda item is to vote on the three persons nominated to serve a three-year term on our congregation’s council. 
 
A new cheerful voice answers the phone at Messiah’s office.  He is our new office secretary, Mr. Arthur Polnisch. Arthur began attending our weekly Saturday morning church service over a year ago. His long work resume began in 1969 as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the USAF after he was graduated from the US Air Force Academy in Colorado. He is in the office three hours every morning on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. Messiah members are encouraged to phone and say hello or stop in to say hello.
 
There is bad news and good news. The bad news is because of the recent spike of Covid19, congregational council has asked that we resume wearing masks during worship. The good news is that we have resumed singing.  We’re singing key parts of the liturgy: opening canticle, psalm, alleluia verse, great thanksgiving, Holy Holy Holy, and Lamb of God.  This makes church feel a bit more normal, following draconian measures introduced at the onset of the pandemic.  When I was a child, I remember The Lutheran church used to be known as the Singing Church. Our strong musical heritage started way back during the Reformation.  It’s good to be slowly reintroducing that musical heritage at Messiah.  Someday soon we’ll return to full voice. 
 
Faithfully,  
Pastor M 
 
Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
October 10 thru October 17
 
I’m lingering over that phrase in yesterday’s gospel: looking at the confused man, Jesus loved him.  It conveys a sense that Jesus was fully present. He was aware. He took in the situation. He fully understood the issue at hand. He appreciated the importance of the man’s dilemma. He sought to help the man break thru an impasse and arrive at the freedom of truth and understanding.  Jesus was in no hurry to brush aside the man’s inquiry. Jesus lingered in that moment. 
 
It’s difficult to do that in our busy civilization. The economy and culture make us time conscious and project oriented. It’s difficult to slow down, linger, receive, absorb. But that is the only way we come to understand and ultimately appreciate others. In his slow encounter with that man, Jesus teaches how to be available and present for each other.  I hope that is a take away for us when Covid19 is finally over. I hope we look back and say at least the shut down made us slow down. 
 
I’ve appreciated the opportunity to be slow and be present in this church building.  Every week new photos appear on our you-tube church service. This building has personality. Different seasons and different times of day cast different light on this sturdy piece of architecture. It’s good to imagine the hymns, stories, prayers, laughter, and conversations the generations have brought to this space.  It’s good to anticipate the day when normal activities resume. 
 
The October “Messenger” reminded us of the semi-annual meeting of Messiah on October 24^th.  We’ll remain in our pews for this short meeting right after the 10:00 a.m. church service.
 
Faithfully,  
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
September 26 thru October 3 
 
Theology and ministry lend themselves very well to conferences.  So, I’ve been a regular participant in conferences since I was a vicar back in 1978-1979.  We send in our registration fee. We block the time out on our calendar. We check into wherever the conference is being held. We enjoy time with colleagues.  We take away notes and insights from the guest speakers. 
 
Oregon pastor conferences were among the best because of the location.  There were ample conference centers along Oregon’s Pacific Coast. The views from hotel rooms were spectacular.  Conference planners allowed ample time for us to walk the beach.  In Washington, there was the annual Holden Village pastor conference. This rustic retreat setting high in the Cascades took a day to get into. Holden was Norwegian Lutheran so it was “dry.”  We did fine.  The prolonged time in isolation made this very formative.  Minnesota was especially intellectually enriching for pastors.  St. John’s College in Collegeville let us lodge in the same buildings with the monks.  Since I moved to Ashtabula, I’ve really enjoyed Lutheranism and the Classics conferences in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  Probably the best week away ever was at the Liturgical Institute at Notre Dame, probably because it is, well, Notre Dame! 
 
That learning and engagement ended with Covid19.  Last year all conferences were simply cancelled.  This year conferences are hybrid or tenuously attended. I have no plans to travel until Covid morphs thru its various variations and strains.
 
All of us in all professions and stations of life have done that juggling of schedules.  The places we used to frequent we had to avoid. The events we used to take in we had to cancel.  We are glad to see things slowly re-opening. But at the same time, we are very cautious.  Whenever we finally arrive at the New Normal, I hope we’ll be appreciative of what we had to endure.  I hope we deepen appreciation for arts and relationships.  I hope we renew our commitments to noble places and events.  
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
September 19 thru September 26
 
Dentistry fascinates me.  It’s the array of tools: picks, scrapers, syringes, drills with varying bits and speeds that sound and feel differently from the others. It’s the emerging technology: extractions morphed into fillings which morphed into caps and bridges which morphed into inserted titanium posts that anchor a prosthetic. It’s the skill level of dentists and assistants: working in small spaces, adroit hand to eye coordination, attention to detail, narrow focus, humor, advising pain management. I say all this in stage two of a three-stage process of crowning a quadruple canalled molar. Most my life I took teeth for granted. As I enter my autumnal years, I have a renewed appreciation for all the teeth that are still original or that have been saved or restored. “Take care of your choppers,” a wise person recently told me.
 
There are always good things to take care of. (Sorry for ending with a preposition, but “There are always good things for which to care” sounded awkward.) Caring for ours yards and gardens will soon focus on the final mow for the season and raking all those leaves.  Our cars always need some sort of maintenance and cleaning.  Many of us keep up on household repairs while others of us have to contract that out. (Oops, just ended with another preposition.)
 
But the best beings for which we may show care are each other. Other people – relatives, work mates, neighbors, strangers – often need a helping hand or a kind word.  All of us will come across several people this week who need our care.  The encounter may not be accidental.  God may have specifically brought them to us for our attention. Other people especially need our prayers.  Think of what a privilege that is, to offer up to a caring God the persons for whom we especially care. So, we enjoy our role as care givers.  We care for our stuff and we care for our health. And especially we care for one another.  In this way the creative, preserving hand of God, working thru us, extends its loving reach into this cosmos.  
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
September 12 thru September 19
 
There were many surprises this recent football weekend.  I was surprised at how good the Oregon Ducks looked against the Ohio State Buckeyes.  I was surprised at how vulnerable the Buckeye defense seemed against the run.  I was surprised at how well the Browns did most of the game against the Chiefs.  I was surprised the Chiefs pulled off the win at the end; they did not have momentum thru most of the game.  I was surprised at how awful the Packers looked against the Saints. There was so much hope and hype this summer at the return of Aaron Rodgers. He got pulled after two minutes into the 4^th Quarter. 
 
I actually did not spend all weekend watching football. We trimmed back our cable package, so I see very few live football games. But I do watch game summaries on You Tube.  It saves a lot of time and a lot of anxiety. 
 
I have enjoyed the surprising rise of Oregon football in recent years.  For most of my childhood I lived in Oregon.  I was a pastor in Portland, Oregon for eight years. During that time Oregon football was the doormat of the Pack-12 (Pack-8 when I was growing up). First of all, who would name a football team The Ducks? Local sportscasters referred to them as the Fighting Web-Foots (as they would lose year after year to USC, UCLA, etc. etc.)  Then Nike money moved in and the Ducks got competitive. They became the Quack Attack. Now the odds are against most visiting teams having to travel to play in Autzen Stadium. 
 
Is it the surprise factor that keeps us watching sports on TV? Sure, we are loyal to our locales. We like to cheer for the home team. And, we admire the athleticism and skill of individual athletes. But, it is the element of surprise that is part of what draws us back. Fans of Packer Defense and Buckeye Defense were surprised negatively. Fans of Duck Defense were surprised at how well they did in The Shoe. 
 
On the one hand, there will be no surprise when God gathers us all home on the Last Day. There will be an individual last day for each of us. There will be a cosmic last day for all the structures of this universe. We’re expecting that. But I think there will be a huge surprise for us when we experience how good it is going to be.  What is in store is far beyond our imagination. Even our best projections are inadequate. Beholding God face to face, being held by God directly in God’s embrace – this is unfathomable warmth and light. I think we’ll all say in amazement, “Wow, I did not expect this.”
In the meantime, we enjoy the good surprises here as they come our way.  And we position ourselves to bring good surprise into someone else’s life.  There is an abundance of good surprises we have yet to orchestrate and to receive. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
September 5 thru September 12 
 
It happened.  Fall weather just dropped in.  We were working in the back yard this Labor Day. The air was crisp and dry. The breeze was slight. The shadows were long.  The temperature was cool.  Of course, this is Northeast Ohio. Any day now we could swelter in summer-like-humidity or batten down the hatches in a gully washer.  Interestingly, people often say what they like most about living in the Midwest is the weather.  We like the four seasons.  We cannot imagine measuring lifetime without them. The seasons all bring their own discomfort.  But they also bring their own relief and beauty.  Thanks be to God.
 
American Lutheranism lost another icon this summer.  Walt Wangerin died. Some of us at Messiah may remember the last time we gathered for Lent Midweek; we showed a 5-session video that featured Walt Wangerin on prayer. He was a 3^rd generation Lutheran pastor, taught at Lutheran Valparaiso University, and published best-selling books.  He was a sought-after speaker, lecturer, and preacher.  I remember him when he was a young man speaking at a pastor’s conference at Holden Village Washington in 1983. Thanks to the miracle of You-Tube, his talks are instantly available.  Also, his recent memorial service at Christ Lutheran Church in Valparaiso was posted on You Tube. 
 
For which influencers are you grateful to God? Many turned to Walt Wangerin’s writings for spiritual direction, clarity, and inspiration.  Remember the really helpful teacher you had?  Remember how an older relative helped you become a responsible adult?  Remember an entertainer to whom you turned when you needed to feel alive again?  Remember an author whom you enjoyed following thru the years? These important persons in our lives are all gifts from God.  And because of your gifts and station, you are gift from God for someone else this very day.  
 
Blessings always, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
August 29 thru September 
 
Events have two holds on us.  They are concerns for prayer.  They are backdrop for our day to day. 
 
Here is what we are praying for these dangerous days.  As of this writing, the withdrawal of US Citizens from Kabul is still under way.  No telling what the terrorists may try before the August 31 deadline.  We pray for safety. Hurricane Ida has done her damage in Louisiana and elsewhere.  Images of Katrina sixteen years ago are still fresh in our minds.  We pray for their recovery.  School buses have been running for a week.  We pray our classrooms will be places of joyful learning. The Delta Variant is making significant gains in various places. Our own county is elevated to level orange.  I heard on a late-night news program there is yet another variant emerging, the Lambda variant.  (The Greek alphabet has 24 letters; I hope we will not have to go thru 24 strains of Covid) We pray for cure.
 
Those events that are uppermost in the news and in our prayers do not necessarily affect us directly. (Well, Covid does, in that I know the few of us who have tested positive.) But for the most part those events are backdrop.  We go on with our days. We go to work.  We volunteer. We tend to family members. We socialize with friends. We address our health and wellness.  We make offerings. We attend socially distanced church. We keep up our routines. Against a very dangerous backdrop of international events, local lives go on. 
 
God is in the extreme and God is in the normal.  God is in the dangerous and God is in the placid. God is in the tragic and God is in the triumph. God just is, no matter what.  And as people of God, God calls us to reflect the ways of God no matter what. No matter where we are, be lightful. No matter what we are doing, be peaceful. No matter what we are considering, be intent-full.  No matter what is happening, be prayerful. No matter who is speaking, be attentive.  No matter what is happening, be loving. 
 
Current events are very unsteadying these days. Creation especially needs us to be the steadying people God has called us to be. We will do this.  The steady rhythm of God’s love pulses thru us like the steady beat of a bass drum. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
August 22 thru August 29 

There is a funeral and a death to reflect on this week.  August 28^th I’ll participate in a funeral liturgy in Conneaut.  The person we are remembering is one of those many deaths that occurred during the height of Covid19 pandemic.  Families had to delay memorializing loved ones, which added another layer of stress to their grief.  I admire the funeral homes that responsibly showed care; they had to keep people apart at a time when people especially needed to be together. This is one of many delayed funerals in this unique time. 

I learned that the person who donated the Steinway piano to Messiah’s Luther room has tragically died in a car crash. She was at the height of her professional productivity and skill.  Colleagues and the community will miss her greatly.  Two of the songs that will appear on the August 29^th Messiah You Tube service are played on that donated Steinway. We are confident God’s light and peace surrounds her and so pray for light and peace to attend all who grieve her death. 

In my lifetime, every American president has thought it necessary to engage in war without a congressional declaration of war. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Nixon sent troops to, escalated, and managed them in Vietnam. President Reagan invaded Granada. President H Bush sent troops to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.  (At least President H Bush gathered a huge coalition of nations AND secured funding from those nations whose economies depended on the flow of Middle Eastern oil.) President Clinton ordered military action into Kosovo. President W Bush sent troops to Afghanistan then invaded Iraq. I voted for Barak Obama, assuming he would draw us down out of Afghanistan, but President Obama increased and extended our military presence there. President Trump coordinated cruise missile attacks into Syria. Currently, President Biden has closed the U.S. Embassy in Kandahar and is directing a harrowing withdrawal of U.S. citizens from Afghanistan. 

Where am I going with this? These two paragraphs hardly scratch the surface of the detailed complexities of U.S. foreign policy. But as a private citizen, I have never been comfortable when our republic feels it has to act as if it were an empire. I love our military and wish to keep it strong for national defense, not misused for other nation building. As a Christian I find three prayers in ELW very helpful. They are on page 78 and lift up to God our nation in times of distress, conflict, and crisis.  There are good images to keep in our hearts and minds. Prayers are for wisdom and courage, for being without hatred or bitterness, for soaring wings and strengthened dreams.  In these dangerous times the world especially needs the church to be a praying church.  We become what we pray. We calm extremism, we reconcile polarization, we are refuge for weary, we provide community for the lonely, we are welcoming space for the isolated. This world God so loves has some very dangerous places.  It is joy to bring stable peace to whatever corner of this loved world that we inhabit. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
August 15 thru August 22
 
I’m writing amid examples sound-management and mis-management. 
 
The good management comes from our congregational council.  In light of the recent proliferation of Covid19 Delta Strain, we are keeping current protocols. Holy Communion (minimal contact & no singing) is celebrated Saturdays 9:30 a.m. and Sundays 10:00 a.m. Known & internal groups, such as Tapestry, may use the building. The building is not open yet for outside groups. Choir will not resume rehearsals in September. This guideline takes us thru September 30, 2021. Council will re-evaluate protocols month by month.
 
Mis-management on an international scale seems to be have been the twenty-year U.S. presence in Afghanistan. We failed to learn from Vietnam that other cultures do not necessarily welcome and integrate our culture. We failed to learn from the Soviet Union that mountainous Afghanistan defies and ultimately expels foreign occupation.  The cost to our treasury American lives has been enormous. American politics does not have a mechanism for leaders to “repent”. But there must be some mechanism for evaluation of past mistakes and clarification before future engagement. 
 
Pandemic and international events are backdrop for the day-to-day happenings in our local lives. I did not make it to the County Fair this year, but I do hope to make it (doubly masked) to the D-Day event in Conneaut.  AACS has released its masking guidelines for students and teachers returning to classrooms.  AAC worked with ADDA to paint art on Main Ave cross walks.  NEOS candidacy committee used our pastor’s study to conduct an interview. NEOS stewardship committee worship service will soon appear on You Tube. Staying safely steady and centered amid the ups and downs of history is one of many gifts church brings to this world God so loves. 
 
Be loving, fellow Beloved of God – 
Pastor M


Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
August 8 thru August 15
 
On August 8^th, Messiah said farewell to two cherished members. 
 
Athena Pantoja was with us in church one final time before she leaves to attend college at Baldwin Wallace.  Since her grade school years, she has sung in our choirs, attended our classes, and affirmed her baptism in the rite of confirmation.  Most memorably, she has been the most consistent acolyte ever.  More recently, she has been helping out with deacon roles.  The Rite of Farewell and Godspeed acknowledges a person’s role in the life of the congregation and blesses them as they move on to new places. Their baptismal vocation that had been exercised in this locale will now be exercised in a new location. We thanked and said farewell to Athena and look forward to seeing her again when she comes home for school year breaks.  
 
Dick Blood had been doing very well at the care center and was expected to return home soon.  He died unexpectedly early Sunday afternoon.  He and Marie were married at Messiah in the Summer of 1965.  They raised their three sons here. Dick was a well-known editor at the Star Beacon.  Recently his book, “Then I Drown” was published. He’s recently remembered for his vast collection of classic movies that he would share.  He is one of the many personalities that makes life so enriching and engaging in Ashtabula. Arrangements for his memorial service this week are pending.  The church prays, “Rest eternal grant him, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him.” 
 
So, a young person begins her collegiate career. A senior person joins directly the communion of saints and sees God face-to-face.  We are constantly in motion, all of us. We head more deeply into new or existing vocations. We deepen current or make new relationships. We grow more fully into the ways of God in whose image we are created.  
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah – 2021
August 1 thru August 8 
 
This summer welcomed pollinators back to my backyard.  For three years in a row now I have not applied weed killer to my lawn.  As expected, clover has returned with a vengeance.  But clover brings little white flowers.  I’ve seen busy bees buzzing around those clover clusters. The side yard has a nice row of Rose of Sharon. They simply exploded this year.  I see all sorts of pollinators in those brilliant white flowers. I have not noticed any honey bees yet.  That is the ultimate hope.  
 
The goal for my back yard is to become a Monarch Butterfly Way Station.  I have three Asclepius Incarnata and one Asclepius Syriaca (Milkweed). On two separate occasions, we were visited briefly by a small monarch.  I’ll need to plant much more milkweed to get the Monarch Way Station plaque.  But it’s a start.  I also need to learn a whole lot more about caring for monarch cocoons if one should ever deign to lay an egg on one of my milkweeds. 
 
I never dreamed that I would be so happy to observe bees and butterflies in my backyard.  But Covid19 slowed us down.  The pandemic is NOT a welcome phenomenon.  But, having slowed down in the pandemic, people are investing more time to appreciate what we formerly ignored.
 
Committees and Congregational Council continue to consider when to more fully open up and return toward normal at Messiah.  The serious threat posed by the Delta Strain will be part of those conversations.  When I feel impatient, I remind myself of the virus histories which I have known. It takes generations to fully eradicate a virus.  FDR contracted polio in the Summer of 1921.  In the Summer of 1961, my First-Grade classmates were receiving our polio vaccinations.  Small Pox plagued North America in colonial times. I still remember reading a National Geographic article in the 1970’s hailing the world-wide elimination of Small Pox. Science works. Be patient with life saving processes and grateful for the science behind them. 
 
Welcoming the Monarchs and Praying for the Exorcism of Covid, 
PRM 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
July 25 thru August 1
 
For the first time in a long time, we got out of town for a few days.  We drove out of state to see our daughter. Generally speaking, I thought people were fairly respectful of the pandemic.  Most put on masks as we got out of our cars to go into the rest stop. We distanced going in and out of doors.  On the one hand, it was good to get out and travel again.  On the other hand, there is that looming specter of wondering what the D Variant is going to do to our health and economy. 
 
I have a high respect for my daughter’s generation in what they have survived.  They went to high school under the aegis if Nine Eleven.  They did their high school careers with images of the Twin Towers collapsing.  They finished high school aware of our military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. When they were young adults they had to navigate the economic collapse of 2008.  They grew up as Americans in a time when America is extremely polarized in politics and religion. Just when they were adjusting to all that, they were quarantined by the worse pandemic in a century.  Yet they got advanced degrees, continued to work, started families, established households.  True, they never had to land on a Day- Day beachhead; but given what they have survived, they may be becoming the next “greatest generation.” 
 
Horrendous Humidity advanced the last few days.  Yet summer is winding down.  Wine Walleye Festival had diminished but spirited crowds.  It’s always fun to walk a cordoned off Bridge Street.  It’s especially nice to greet people you have not seen for a while because of the orders to shelter at home.  
 
We’re looking forward to a baptism July 31^st. We need to consider logistics for a possible church picnic on August 22^nd. Tuesday I will zoom a Downtown Development Meeting; this is the only group I am in that is still zooming.  The inventors of Zoom should win a presidential freedom award or something.  When the pandemic kept us separated, Zoom brought us together.  Though it was electronic, on zoom we were at least face to face and voice to voice.  Stay smart and safe, everyone. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
July 18 thru July 25
 
And so goes the summer.  Because of Covid19 last year, many school districts are resuming school early this year. Back to School thoughts have already begun.  The beginning of summer holiday, Memorial Day, has long passed.  The mid-summer holiday, 4^th of July, is well behind us. Wine-Walleye Festival in the harbor is next. That always signals we’re heading into the home stretch of summer break. 
 
We’ve had some wild weather this summer.  Last week brought heavy rainfall.  The low spots in my yard have something I have not seen in a long time: standing water.  Last weekend temperature dropped into the 60’s with huge winds.  It felt more like October than July. 
 
Time and weather are two constants. Death and taxes are two constants as well, but I’d prefer to think about time and weather.  Time inevitably passes.  Spring took us to summer.  Now summer is rapidly taking us into fall. Weather systems inevitably come and go.  They never ask our preference beforehand.  They just show up.  They bring soft breezes or stormy gales, gentle rains or fierce floods, pleasant warmth or unbearable humidity.  
 
What’s on your calendar the remaining days of Summer 2021? You bring your own constancy to events and gatherings.  You bring your own style of humor, preparedness, hard work, fun, spontaneity, conversation, caution, etc.  The event is not the same without you.  The event is good and life-giving because of you. 
 
You are resourceful. You are like the folk in the Gennesaret territory in Mark chapter 6.  Jesus with disciples landed there.  The folk on that eastern side of Lake Galilee were aware of Jesus’ landing.  They followed him to villages, cities, and farms. Moreover, they had the moxie to load the sick among them on pallets and bring them to Jesus for healing. The time inevitably passed; Jesus arrived and then Jesus had to go back to Galilee.  But in that time, they were blessed and healed.  God’s blessing and healing is promised for us these dog-days of summer, no matter what the weather. 
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
July 11 thru July 18
 
Things must be returning to normal. Last week I missed sending this weekly email for the first time since March 2020.  People are traveling again.  Familiar events are returning. People are planning again. 
 
That is exactly what happened to me last week.  I was in Massillon at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.  The stewardship team for our Northeastern Ohio Synod was filming a stewardship “service”.  I appreciated the opportunity to just write the sermon and not have to be concerned with setting up the iPad for recording. I’ll let you know when our synod office makes the service available on You Tube. 
 
How was your 4^th of July this year?  I’ll bet last year you were isolated.  This year you probably received guests or you traveled as a guest yourself.  Independence Day brings profound reminders of the many things that make us a nation. Geography, topography, and borders are a start. A unique attribute of our nation is many different cultural expressions find home under a single, national umbrella. A common enemy helps unify us; for the signers of the 1776 Declaration- it was tyrant King George, for the Greatest Generation it was Nazism, for the current generation it is the pandemic. What makes us a good nation are shared-values. In our best moments as a nation, we value freedom with responsibility. We have freedom of speech, but we take the time to show up to help local boards and committees.  We have the freedom of private property, but we watch out to lend a hand for our neighbor. We have the freedom to invest and grow tremendous financial equity, but we are mindful to build safety nets for those whose circumstance or status did not give them the same opportunity for financial success. The freedom with responsibility of democracy echoes the gift and task pattern of the gospel. 
 
Suddenly, chronological summer (June, July, August) is half over.  It is the middle week of the middle month. The second half always goes faster than the first half. But we are still enjoying our yards and gardens. Azaleas and rhododendrons have long since bloomed.  But Rose of Sharons and summer hydrangeas are in full blossom.  Black Eyed Susans in my yard should burst open this week.  Enjoy whatever perennials are near you.  God’s forgiveness and restoring love perennially flow thru us.  No matter what our season of life, we rest in the hope God gives us and bask in the light of Christ’s resurrection.
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
June 27 thru July 4 
 
Thank you for coming out to the meeting of the congregation on 27 June. We stayed in the church, right after Benediction. We considered one item of business: exterior repair on the bell tower.  We authorized an $11,000 expenditure. We adjourned and went home. 
 
Messiah’s meetings of the congregation are the envy of many other congregations. We are clear about our business. We are polite. We appreciate humor. We do not grand stand nor pontificate. The surface business of the church gets accomplished.  Then we move on to the heart of the church – becoming more like the Christ into whom we have been baptized. The heart of what we are all about is forgiveness and compassion. Adroitly taking care of exterior things, such as tuck pointing and masonry, helps us invest energy and focus on our deeper calling to become “little Christs” in the world. 
 
I really blew it on Sunday.  Shyanna Lindberg had placed placards around the building announcing the roll out of our feminine hygiene project.  Joanna Pretz Anderson was there to give a verbal description and invite our participation. I failed to call attention to that, though I had assured the committee I would. The sad part is attendance was so strong which would have made the roll out even more impactful. This project is led by an especially strong committee: Renee Spencer, Nancy Krajec, Shyanna Lindberg, Russ Jepson, Joanna Pretz-Anderson, Dawn Grimm.  I’ve no excuses. Just a failure on my part in need of forgiveness.
 
Fourth of July falls on a Sunday this year.  Messiah sings the “patriotic songs” in our hymnal especially well.  In one sense, the United States Constitution is very “Lutheran.”  By that I mean the exercise of Law is a major component in Lutheran Theology.  Law is a gift from God for personality development and for good society. One role of the Law is to act as curb. Law establishes limits to behavior and necessary boundaries. Think of the US Constitution. Each branch of government – executive, legislative, judicial – is commissioned with authority, yet each branch is curbed by the other two branches.  When elected leaders understand that (Eisenhower / Little Rock / 1957) we tend to do the right thing. When elected leaders to not understand that (Congress / Gulf of Tonkin Resolution / 1964) we tend to meander into debacle. The 4^th of July Holiday reminds us of our calling to live and engage society as responsible, helpful citizens.  Be joyful in your celebration in church Sunday morning and be safe in your celebrating the rest of the day. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
June 20 thru June 27
 
We should have received written notice in the mail by now reminding us of the special meeting of the congregation called for this Sunday, June 27^th.  We need to approve expenditures requested from council for bell tower repair. The needed funds are available.  The meeting will convene in the church at the end of the 10:00 a.m. service. 
 
Our ad hoc mission project committee continues to successfully meet via zoom.  An article in the June “Messenger” described the current project.  Our plan is to collect, make available, and distribute feminine hygiene products. There is an acute need for this service among the many marginalized in our community. A grant from Thrivent provided seed money to start the project.  More monies are promised from Messiah’s pastor discretionary fund. The committee will solicit additional donations for this project from Messiah members and friends.  We hope to have a poster on display this Sunday with a designated site to gather the items. 
 
Our intent had been to review the book, “Prayers for Owen Meany” this week.  Due to the length of the book and schedules, the review is postponed until the Fall.  PBS recently numbered “Prayers or Owen Meany” among the top one hundred American novels.  The book takes in a lot of current events from 1952 to the Iran-Contra hearings (remember Ollie North?).  The theological themes are constant, from Episcopal worship to the virgin birth.  This book is worthy of our time and deserves a good review. And, the thought bubbles are really funny. 
 
It’s good to see our city slowly and safely emerging thru the pandemic (which technically is not over, yet). The fleet got blessed on June 13^th and the Beach Glass Festival is June 26^th.  I see people staying physically distant from one another and many still wearing masks. 
 
I write this the day after Summer Solstice.  It always struck me as ironic that, on the one hand, we say summer has now begun, yet, on the other hand, the daylight is now beginning to decrease. Northeast Ohio cloudy winters are long. But lightful summers here make it all worthwhile. The New Testament tells us we are children of light, workers of the day. Be light-full this week, dear people of God. 
 
Pr. Michael Meranda 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
JUNE 13 thru JUNE 20
 
1.
This is a notice calling a meeting of the congregation.  On Sunday, June 27^th, we’ll gather immediately after the 10:00 a.m. service. The single agenda item is to approve an $11,000 expenditure for bell tower repair.  The nature of the repair is mainly weatherization.  The tower still has some leaks, especially when wind blows rain from the east.  Alex Restoration will perform this work.  They have done brick related work for us in the past.  The $11,000 are available for this work.  Property Committee and Council will share specifics at that meeting.  So, please prepare to remain after 10:00 a.m. church on Sunday, June 27^th.  
 
2.
By council resolution, Messiah’s building is now open to monitored, congregational activities. Internal, established groups from Messiah, such as Day Timers and Tapestry, may resume their usual schedules.  The building is not open, for the time being, for the many outside groups that have used the building for meetings and activities.  The reason for the gradual re-opening is clear. Should it become necessary, we could follow up with contact tracing with our established and known congregational groups.  But until we are clearly out of the pandemic, this is not a time yet to open the building to large numbers of random guests. 
 
3.
Liturgy and singing are returned to worship.  The severe restrictions that went into effect in the Spring of 2020 were a reasonable response to a virus that was not fully understood. It is a safe time now to gradually restore worship practices important in the Lutheran Church.  So, expect to hear multiple readings, to sing liturgy, to sing hymns, to be assisted by a deacon, to receive the communion host (“wafer”) placed in your hand, to hold a hymnal again.  Following the guidelines of public institutions (such as Ashtabula Justice Center), we ask those who have not been vaccinated to wear a mask.  If you have been vaccinated, masks are not mandatory. 
 
The above three decisions all came from Messiah’s congregational council meeting on 14 June, 2021.  That was the first time we had gathered face to face since February 2020.  We were overjoyed to be together again. Laughter was frequent and smiles were bright.  We all have come so far by faith.  The geo-political future is never guaranteed to be prosperous and safe. But we are people of faith. The steady rhythm of hope and love beats in our hearts. We will be the merciful, healing people God created us to be no matter what is going down around us. Christ leads us and Holy Spirit empowers us.  The endgame is good. 
 
Welcome home to Messiah,
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021

June 6 Thru June 13

How was your Memorial Day weekend last week?  I had seen a helpful post on Face Book that went something like this.  Armed Forces Day honors those currently wearing the uniform.  Veterans Day honors those who have retired from wearing the uniform.  Memorial Day honors those who died as they were wearing the uniform.  I find as I grow older that I tend to retain more and more the purpose of Memorial Day.  For the longest time, it got lost with end of school year and beginning of summer activity.  I’m more mindful and prayerful.  It’s nice that many Memorial Day events are available.   It’s an especially good day to pray for peace and long for the day when we no longer have to remember those who died in war. 

These are celebrative days.  Calendars are filled with gatherings to honor high school graduates.  It’s nice to go to those events and witness their inter-generational character.  Grandparents and great-grandparents are there.  Younger siblings and cousins are there.  It is fitting that the high school graduate receives those congrats from other generations – especially during the pandemic.  It is fitting the high school graduate receives blessings as the graduate prepares for more school, the work place, or military service. 

Property Committee meets June 7th.  They’ll finalize a proposal to send on to council to ask the congregation authorization for weatherization work on the bell tower.  They will also make initial recommendations for how soon worship will look more normal and whether we want to try an outdoor service without masks.  It’s a good polity structure at Messiah.  Ideas percolate up from individuals and thru committees.  Ideas receive affirmation or emendation from council.  It takes longer to get stuff done.  But there tends to be more buy in and less mistakes. 

Our Northeast Ohio Synod Assembly is June 11-12.  Some delegates will drive to Akron and attend in person.  The majority of delegates will attend virtually.  That is the case with Messiah.  Lanny Anderson, Joyce Anderson, and me are voting delegates from Messiah this year.  All the business has been assigned to Saturday.  Friday is a day that features on line seminars. 

Continue to rely on God’s strength and trust in God’s wisdom, 

Pastor M

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
May 23 thru May 30

There are rapid, festive changes on the liturgical calendar this time of year.  May 23 was the Festival of Pentecost.  Bright red adorned the chancel. “Come, Holy Spirit” was the refrain.  May 30 is the Festival of the Holy Trinity.  White adorns the chancel.  That mysterious union of three persons as one God is the theme.
 
I always liked Trinity Sunday.  Some of my favorite hymns are allocated for Trinity Sunday.  Unfortunately, they are difficult to sing and not very popular.  I’m thinking of Luther’s “We All Believe in One True God.”  I also like “I Bind unto Myself this Day.” They are long and ponderous, not a good fit for this fast-food culture of ours.
 
Good news for the office at Messiah.  The council has hired a new secretary.  His name is Douglas Gill.  He was graduated from Harbor High School.  He has degrees from Bowling Green and the Ohio State University. He taught in the public school system in Illinois. Recently he’s moved back home to Ashtabula to be with family.  Currently, he substitute-teaches at Ashtabula Area City Schools.  He’s also completing certification as a Life Coach. He is an active member at East Side Presbyterian Church.  Very important for today’s culture, he is skilled at word processing, designing documents, desk top publishing, and other computer skills.
 
Douglas was recommended to us by council member Sue Riley.  I interviewed him and then the Mutual Ministry Committee (formerly known as Parish Relations Committee) interviewed him.  That committee is comprised of Nancy Krajec, Ruth Hlinovsky, Keith Reinker, and me.  We unanimously recommended him to the council. The council voted via email to offer him the job, which he has accepted. 
 
The secretary position at Messiah is for only up to 12-hours per week.  Under the current pandemic, not enough work is generated to require 12-hours from a secretary.  But as normal activities are beginning to re-emerge, we expect the secretary position to return to those 12-hours. 
 
When I first arrived here, Dee Dee Maenpa was secretary.  It took me years to discover that her actual name is Diane.  I still appreciate how she guided me and integrated me into ministry at Messiah.  Then, for 12-years, Cathy Carle was secretary.  Her knowledge of families and Ashtabula history was invaluable to me as a pastor.  Cathy, with Dee Dee, had many skills.  They generated so much good work from those 12-hours every week.
 
After Cathy Carle retired, Isabelle Fleming filled in temporarily.  Her legacy is teaching us how to film worship events and edit them for You Tube.  In 2020, Isabelle produced the first and only “virtual” Blessing of the Fleet!  When Isabelle returned to college, Becky Young filled in temporarily.  That was convenient because Becky is also chair person of our council.  That made parish administration so much easier when the pandemic kept us so separate.  It was also a nice reach back into history.  Becky had been temporary secretary when Elizabeth Eaton was pastor. Having that continuity in this pandemic transition time was a good thing. 
 
So, I end with a note of gratitude.  Thank you, Dee Dee Maenpa.  You made my welcome to Messiah so easy.  Thank you, Cathy Carle. You kept the office humming efficiently for over a decade. You are the best proof reader I have ever known. You focused on detail and anticipated future events. Many and I relied upon you more than we realized. Thank you, Isabelle Fleming. You helped me discover the fun of proclaiming the gospel on social media.  Thank you, Becky Young, you seamlessly filled a gap and kept the office running in a strange and unprecedented time. 
 
And welcome to Douglas Gill.  I’m looking forward to learning from your skill set.  You will like the focused yet relaxed and really nice people at Messiah.  And Messiah members, as we get more active as Covid19 wanes, you are going to appreciate dropping by the office again and returning to Word, service, and fellowship activities around Messiah. 
 
Welcome Home to Messiah 
Pastor M


Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
May 16 thru May 23
 
We are fast approaching the 50^th Day of Easter.  Pentecost Day is this coming Sunday, May 23^rd. The risen Christ is the ascended Christ.  Christ promises the church we’ll never be alone.  The Holy Spirit is among us, as close as our very breath.  Pentecost Day celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, present before creation, on the newly forming church. 
 
Messiah brought nice traditions to Pentecost Day.  Many of you consciously wear red to church that Sunday. Memorial Day weekend, which usually falls near Pentecost, you brought in red geraniums in honor of those you know who have served in the military.  Left over geraniums were planted in the church yard.  That was always a festive sort of welcoming the summer.  Covid19 halted that practice last year and this year.  I’m sure Messiah will be more than ready to return to that and other good traditions next year. 
 
This week your parish relations committee will interview a candidate for the secretary position.  Nancy Krajec, Ruth Hlinovsky, and Keith Reinker comprise that committee.  Cathy Carle had faithfully served as our secretary for over a decade until her retirement May 2020.  Since then, Isabelle Fleming and now Becky Young have served as interim secretaries. With Covid19 waning and things beginning to start up again, it’s time to intensify the search for our next secretary.
 
I’ll attend an encouraging event on May 21.  The brick buildings on Center Street across from the US Bank are scheduled for renovation and repurposing.  The same developer who restored the Ashtabula Hotel will re-develop the Center Street block.  Old brick buildings have character and charm.  I’ll be excited to learn with other community leaders what the plans are for that block. The roll out announcement is set for 11:00 a.m.
 
Soon the Great Fifty Days of Easter 2021 will be in our rear-view mirror.  The good news of resurrection was especially impactful for me this year.  There has been so much death surrounding us, literal death with the pandemic.  Cultural events went dormant because of the pandemic.  Many small businesses died because of the pandemic. We’ve witnessed the death of civility and self-control in our political processes. So, to come to Messiah and exchange with you, “Alleluia, Christ is risen – risen indeed, Alleluia!” was especially life-full this year.  The resurrection of Christ is the beginning of God’s promised restoration for this world. We are inheritors of that promise. We are people of light and life.  We lead the way in singing “Alleluia!” 
 
Christ is risen / and so are we 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
May 9 thru May 16
 
This weekly letter is really late. Sorry about that. 
 
I’m writing on Thursday, May 13^th. Today is the Fortieth Day of Easter.  It is the Festival of the Ascension of our Lord.  The gospels and acts tell the story of Jesus gathering disciples one last time. He commissions them for mission. Then he ascends into heaven.  He does not abandon them.  He gives them the Holy Spirit.  
 
I always liked Ascension Day liturgically. The hymns unique to that day are joyous and stirring.  There is a sense of mission accomplished yet mission ongoing.  When I finish writing this, I’m going to go into the church and sing LBW 159, “Up through Endless Ranks of Angels.”  
 
I have nice memories of Ascension Day church services.   

• On vicarage our downtown church partnered with a west side suburban church for a joint Ascension Day service. Peoples’ schedules were not so busy in 1979. The large church building was packed.  
• My first call in Seattle had a strong liturgical heritage.  They were accustomed to celebrating Epiphany on January 6^th, no matter what day of the week, and Ascension Day in busy May.  

• My favorite Ascension Day memories are from Portland.  That high ceilinged building decorated and sang well for Easter season. There the tradition was to keep the Paschal Candle near the left “horn” of the altar during the first forty days of Easter.  On Ascension Day the paschal candle was snuffed after the gospel.  It was a huge candle and after the snuffing the residual smoke ascended upward and lingered a while in the air.  We sort of had an inkling what it was like for the disciples when the cloud surrounded Jesus at his ascension and removed him from their sight. (Liturgical protocol now leaves the paschal candle lighted all thru the Great Fifty Days of Easter.  But the extinguishing on Ascension Day was rather dramatic but in a calming sort of way.)

 
My favorite aspect of Ascension theology concerns the nature of Christ.  Classical theology asserts Christ is one person yet two natures.  Christ is fully human and fully divine.  At his Ascension, Christ did not jettison the human nature.  Christ ascended into heaven fully divine and fully human.  At the Ascension the human nature is of Christ is subsumed into the Trinity. Honestly, that is beyond my comprehension. But it is tremendously encouraging to think of the Second Person of the Trinity as still bearing the wounds from crucifixion. When we pray to Jesus, he truly does understand our pain. 
 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
May 2 thru May 9
 
Our first graduation party invite has come in.  It’s from Athena Pantoja.  Her family will celebrate her graduation at Lakeshore Park on May 30^th.  The event is 2:00 pm until 6:00 pm. Messiah members are invited.  We’ve seen Athena grow up here thru the years.  She was in 5^th Grade when she first came to Ashtabula.  Now she is a senior at Lakeside and deciding which college scholarship offers to accept.  Congratulations, Athena! 
 
Speaking of graduation events, I heard today on NPR the latest CDC directives regarding indoor and outdoor events. Even though Covid19 is spread by aerosols, the CDC says there are certain circumstances when we may gather without masks outdoors.  The fact that over 100 million Americans have received both vaccines has led to this slow progress toward safety.  Still, until all those new mutations are figured out, I’m keeping my masks close to my face. 
 
Speaking of Covid19, the United Methodist Church pastors are doing a good thing.  Thursday, May 6^th, 6:00 pm at Giddings Park in Jefferson, they are leading a prayer service on behalf of Covid19 victims and for the containment of Covid19.  I’ve come to appreciate other pastors of other denominations in my years in Ashtabula.  We all have different denominational polities and bureaucracies.  We all occupy a different space on the liberal—conservative scale.  But we are all dedicated to our calling, to our congregations, and to this community. 
 
Speaking of our community, I’ll be a poll worker for Ashtabula County Board of Elections on May 4^th.  I recall when Messiah was welcomed as a polling place in 2008.  There were issues with nearby polling places and the Board of Elections needed to move into new places.  We were one of them.  We lost that status a few years ago.  A state official determined our handicap accessible ramp was not wide enough or something. One of the nicest things Messiah brought to election day is now specifically forbidden.  We had a bake sale.  Different groups baked goodies and sold them to voters.  The fund raising was not huge, but the conviviality was wonderful.  Something really negative must have happened somewhere at another polling place in Ohio.  Because the current state guideline is no food sales at polling places.  It’s probably another example of someone’s irresponsibility spoiling things for the rest of us. 
 
This 5^th Week of Easter, we are branches who receive life from Christ the vine.  We are life-full. Thanks be to God. 
 
Pastor M 
 
Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
April 25 thru May 2 
 
I recently met with a newly formed committee on Bridge Street to plan the 71^st Annual Blessing of the Fleet. I had done that with another group the last five years.  It’s time to share the joy of that event. This year the blessing is set for 12:00 noon on June 13^th.  Fr. Thomas from Our Lady of Peace Parish will preside. 
 
Ashtabula Downtown Development Association is looking forward to resuming activities as more and more become vaccinated against Covid19.  There are plans for a food drive with fall festival events.  The Christmas parade may return in some form with the addition of a snow man decorating contest. 
 
It’s possible for groups to consider resuming some safe events because of recent gains against Covid19.  The governor’s radio broadcast featured a medical doctor who shared two pieces of encouraging news.  One, the current vaccinations are showing effectiveness against new mutations of Covid19.  Two, if a person had previously tested positive for Covid19, the vaccines act as a booster for the person’s immune system.  It was nice for me, the listener, to hear some genuine enthusiasm in a physician’s voice. 
 
It’s out on Facebook and I have permission to make mention here. Kurt and Kathleen Nordquest are grandparents!  Many Messiah folk remember their daughter, Jenny.  She is one of many young adults who grew up here, graduated from high school, went away to college, got a good job, found a soul mate, and are now starting their own family.
 
I love the new baby’s name.  It’s Oliver.  The “O” sound is such a strong vowel in our language. “O” syllables tend to be elongated.  We engage more throat and facial muscles when pronouncing a good “O” sound.  Think of words like olive, oh-oh, Orville, Oconomowoc (it’s in Wisconsin). My favorite is onomatopoeia.  The best “O” word is Ohio. 
 
Our English name Oliver is from the French Olivier.  The Latin word olivarius referred to an olive tree planter.  It’s nice to have a name associated with growth and productivity.  The Greek antecedent of Oliver may have been Eleutherios.  That word means independent, free, not bound.  It is used theologically to describe religious expression that is free and spontaneous, not bound up in legalism.  With that strong name, Oliver, the Nordquest grandson has a strong future ahead of him. 
 
There is a good lesson here for all of us.  Grow into our baptismal name.  In baptism we are named child of God, saint, holy, servant, disciple.  Our life is opportunity to become what we have been made in baptism.  God names us and claims us. We are graced to call upon the Name of God. 
 
Pastor M 
 
Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
April 18 thru April 25
 
This time of the year is always transition time.  Church and culture have completed the Easter / Spring Break focus.  Now Memorial Day and End of School Year stuff are looming on the horizon.
 
My Tuesday morning will begin with a Zoom meeting.  I’m on our Northeastern Ohio Synod Stewardship Committee.  Good Stewardship requires a structure and a foundation.  The structure is the program or method. But the foundation is good theology.  The theology is grace: God calls us into relationship; stewardship is how we respond to God’s graceful call. 
 
My Tuesday afternoon will take me to an unexpected meeting.  I thought that after five years in a row I would take a break from the annual Blessing of the Fleet.  A capable group from the Lift Bridge Association had recently planned that event and worked it into an opening up of summer for Bridge Street.  I learned the Maritime Museum may be interested to sponsor Blessing the Fleet this year.  I’ll find out Tuesday afternoon and what role there may be for me.  The Roman Catholic community began the Blessing the Fleet tradition 71 years ago.  
 
Wednesday morning takes me to the Board of Elections in Jefferson.  I’ll participate in a training session.  I’ll be a poll worker at the May 4^th election.  I live in Ashtabula Township and always vote yes for school levies.  I understand Ashtabula Area City Schools has a levy on the ballot May 4^th.  Were I to live in Ashtabula, I’d most certainly vote “yes!” 
 
Wednesday night takes me back to Zoom Land.  The quarterly meeting of Messiah’s Foundation is 7:00 pm.  It has been amazing to watch that fund recover and grow after the great economic downturn of 2008.  I know the stock market reflects Newton’s law, “what goes up, must come down.” We’ve enjoyed a Bull Market recently.  Main Street has not necessarily done well, but Wall Street has done very well.  Messiah’s Foundation is in good hands.  The economy may tank because of Covid19 or geo-political events.  If that were to happen, I have every confidence in the Messiah Foundation “governors” and in the financial advisors who administer those investments. 
 
Here is another hint our thoughts are turning to summer.  Messiah has not done a book review in several years. Sue Riley suggests we read and discuss “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving.  This book was recently reviewed on a PBS special featuring the best books written in America.  We’ll review “A Prayer for Owen Meany” together at a date to be determined in June or July.  Sue Riley will arrange a space for us to gather at the ELKS Club.  Hopefully we will gather outdoors there, overlooking the Lake. Details are forthcoming. Thank you, Sue!
 
I always get nostalgic this time in the lectionary year.  The first three Sundays of Easter we hear resurrection stories.  These are great narratives of Jesus appearing to followers.  The women and men “get it” that the Christ IS raised among them and life will forever be different.  April 25^th is the 4^th Sunday of Easter.  The lectionary leaves Easter Sunday stories behind.  We hear instead Jesus referring to himself as Good Shepherd.  Our church service and You Tube video will feature a lot of the old favorite shepherd hymns. 
 
Be well, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
April 11 thru April 18
 
So, how are your allergies this Spring of 2021?  Flowers, shrubs, and trees are opening up to unfold beauty unique to this season.  For a lot of folk that means a debilitating assault of allergens. I am always intrigued by how vulnerable we are to the small stuff.  Pollen, bacteria, and viruses are microscopic. Yet they bring down powerful and intelligent creatures, such as ourselves.  It is good to remind ourselves how vulnerable we are and how dependent we are on each other.  
 
April 4^th launched us into the Great Fifty Days of Easter.  (The annual Easter stewardship letter is going out even as I write.)  As more of us are vaccinated more of us are returning to church.  It is difficult to not sing together or shake hands.  But we do hear the Word and receive the Sacrament.  In spite of our temporary, drastically altered liturgy, I sense a good spirit.  Messiah has always had a healthy sense of community.  That shines thru, even from behind our masks. 
 
For the first time in five years, I am not leading the annual Blessing the Fleet.  Last year was especially memorable.  Because of Covid19 distancing, Isabelle filmed separate segments then spliced them together for You Tube.  Adaptability and creativity are two of the many gifts God gives to us. 
 
We are heart-broken at the shooting in Brooklyn Park, MN.  Mass shootings continue to terrorize.  We are still reeling from the violence, destruction of property, and loss of small businesses from last summer’s rioting in Minneapolis, Seattle, and Portland.  I’ve found the classic collects (prayers) of the church to be sources of perspective, insight, and inspiration.  Here is the ELW Prayer for times of civic mourning: 
“God our creator, thru whose providing care we enjoy all goodness and life, turn our eyes to your mercy in this time of confusion and loss.  Comfort this nation as we mourn; shine your light on those whose only companion is darkness; and teach us so to number our days that we may apply our hearts to your wisdom; thru Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen”
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
March 28 thru April 4
 
One holy week service is scheduled this week.  We’ll gather in the church, 7:00 pm, on Wednesday, March 31^st.  Covid19 protocols we follow on Sundays will also be followed Wednesday night.  This will be a service of the word.  We’ll reflect on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday themes.
 
Saturday April 3^rd Holy Communion at 9:30 follows Covid19 protocols.  The liturgy will be quiet and reflective.  Saturday morning of Holy Week has its own special quiet dignity.
 
Sunday April 4^th celebrates Holy Communion at 10:00 a.m.  Christ is risen!  The pipe organ will sing our alleluias for us as we will be masked and not singing.  This modified Holy Week / Easter Sunday is a huge step forward.  Last year Holy Week and Easter services were cancelled. It is so good to be able to gather together again, albeit very safely. 
 
The Zoomed Lenten Midweek services went very well.  Though we were not together face to face, it was still nice to see unmasked faces.  
 
Holy Week / Easter 2021 will be the 41^st Holy Week / Easter I have celebrated since my ordination.  That’s a lot of planning, hymn selecting, assisting minister coordinating, acolyte training, parament changing, and bulletin folding. I’d do it all over again in the blink of an eye.  It is a special privilege to share the Holy Week / Easter journey with you here at Messiah.  Be well !
 
Faithfully, 
PRM

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
March 21 thru March 28
 
Well, we did it.  Mary and I got our second vaccination for Covid19.  When the nurse filled out the card, it felt like a sort of rite of passage. You know, we all go thru those events that indicate we have completed one stage of life and are heading into another.  We graduate from this or that.  We get certified for this or that. We get married.  We see our children get married. We get our dream job.  We retire.  We bury our parents.  We ourselves become infirm. We get the next vaccination necessary to stave off the next virus. Life goes on.
 
We will ZOOM our Lenten Midweek service Wednesday, March 24^th.  It opens up for conversation at 6:30 pm.  The liturgy starts 7:00 pm.  Your ZOOM invitation will soon arrive via email. 
 
Last year, Holy Week and Easter services were cancelled due to Covid19.  I went out Easter Sunday and bought a tree, did that ever feel strange.  Anyway, we are scheduling a single worship services for Holy Week 2021.  Wednesday, March 31^st, will bring the only holy week liturgy.  No Maundy Thursday, No Good Friday, but we’ll gather for a single holy week experience that Wednesday at 7:00 pm.  Social distance, masks, and no singing still apply.  Easter weekend, April 3 and 4, brings the usual Saturday morning service at 9:30 a.m.  Sunday brings the usual Sunday service at 10:00 a.m.  Covid19 restrictions still apply.  (Editor's Note; This schedule will allow plenty of time for sanitization of the sanctuary between services)
 
Spring Equinox in our Northern Hemisphere was Saturday, March 20^th this year.  Daylight and darkness hours were exactly equal.  Since then, the darkness has been receding and the daylight is advancing.  It’s another rite of passage, but this time for our planet. Life goes on.  The next few months, life goes on with ever increasing daylight.  Time to work the land, perspire, play ball, walk, explore, kayak, swim, and suntan. 
 
We understand after Covid19 things may never be exactly “normal” again.  But some normal things are beginning to return to Messiah. So, this year there is one holy week service and two easter weekend services. Two baptisms are scheduled at Messiah.  Next fall, two weddings are scheduled.  The Word is still proclaimed.  Prayers are still spoken and answered.  Our calling to serve is still heard. 
 
Faithfully, 
PRM

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
March 14 thru March 21
 
Our next ZOOMED Lenten Midweek worship is set for March 17^th.  It opens for general conversation at 6:30 pm.  At 7:00 pm we shift into a brief liturgy. 
It went really well last week after we torqued a few things. You will soon receive a zoom invite. 
 
As more of us get the second vaccine more of us are returning to Messiah.  We are still masked and distanced.  But at least we are together in a safe way. 
 
I hope you appreciated the 2021 Lent Challenge.  This is the 13^th Lent Challenge I have written for Messiah.  It is always a joy to center on a new theme each year.  The theme ties in scripture, Lent, and our spiritual journey.  The next special mailing will be the annual Easter letter.  In the meantime, thank you for your consistent and generous offerings to Messiah. 
 
To keep things safe, we are scheduling only one holy week liturgy this year.  It will be Wednesday at 7:00 pm on March 31^st.  At that single service we’ll touch on the themes and events unique to Holy Week. Last year, by the way, we had NO services Holy Week or Easter.  That was the strangest Holy Week ever for me in my 40 years as a pastor. 
 
I’m back on the executive Committee for Ashtabula Downtown Development Association.  I appreciated my role with them 2009-2012.  The highlight was the year Messiah members ran clean-up for the multi-cultural festival. 
 
How did you adjust to Daylight Saving Time?  Personally, I could do without it.  I heard somewhere it is very costly for our economy because of its disruption. I also heard it is hard on our health.  That makes sense.  Someone told me it takes them all summer to get over the lost hour in spring forward. 
 
It is an honor to follow Christ to the cross for another year with you, dear Messiah. Lent is a pilgrimage.  You are such good fellow pilgrims.  You laugh readily and you serve always.  Stay well! 
 
Faithfully, 
PRM


Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
March 7 thru March 14
 
I’ll send you an invitation for a ZOOMED Lenten Midweek event for Wednesday, March 10^th.  The Zoom will begin 6:30 p.m.  You may join in any time for open conversation with whomever else has signed in.  At 7:00 I’ll draw conversation to a close and begin a brief liturgy.  I’ll send an attachment of that liturgy for you to follow along. 
 
On Friday afternoon a Lent Challenge 2021 was dropped off at the post office. In pre-pandemic days, the post office would get out a bulk mailing in one day.  I’m not sure how long this will take.  It’s been a joy for me to write a Lent Challenge for you every year. When I arrived here, I learned right away the Lent Challenge is a tradition at Messiah that stretches back thru the decades.  Originally, they were heavy cardboard pages into which members stuffed quarters.  Forty days of quarters from many members must have added up to a huge weight of offerings. 
Now we send a cover letter with a return offering envelope.  Every year the cover letter has followed a different theme.  Last year’s theme was Luther’s Seven Marks of the Church. This year I focus on the significance of the number 40, as in 40 Days of Lent. 
 
This is a fun meeting week on my calendar. Our congregational council zooms together March 8^th.  Tuesday, March 9^th, the Ashtabula Downtown Development Association zooms a review of last year and anticipates events in 2021.  Wednesday, the AAMA zooms our monthly meeting. Fr. Nielsen from St Peter Episcopal is our chair this year and does a good job. Thursday the Cleveland East Conference of our ELCA zooms our get together. It will be interesting to see how America does business after a year of pandemic zooming. 
 
One of the texts associated with this time of year is John 3:1-10, Nicodemus emerges in the dark night searching for answers, searching for Jesus. In John 3:19 Jesus refers to himself as Light that has come into this world. The chapter progresses from dark uncertainty to the clarity of light.  That’s happening in nature. The sun rises earlier. The sun lingers later. The season is turning into the light as we progress into springtime. Lent is springtime for our souls.  The Holy Spirit is drawing us ever more deeply into the Light of God. God’s light is beacon for forgiveness, healing, freedom, and serving.
 
Faithfully, Pastor Mike 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
February 28 thru March 7
 
I’ll send you a Zoom invitation tomorrow, Wednesday, March 3^rd.  The Zoom event will be 5:30 p.m. It will be an attempt provide some kind of Lenten midweek experience.  I’ll lead a very short devotional.  Then, you may stay on for conversation or leave when it is convenient. 
 
We appreciate normal stuff after it has been taken away. For example, I took the Kia Soul to the dealer for an oil change. A year ago, that would have been unthinkable. We would go places only if it was absolutely necessary or an emergency. Oil changes would have to wait. But masks, hand sanitizers, social distancing and vaccinations have changed the landscape.  It felt so good to do something normal. 
 
Your offerings throughout 2020 were amazing.  Our Property Committee has several necessary projects to address. They will be able to do so because of your generous offerings, careful fiscal management by our finance committee, and regular contributions from the Foundation.  So far, 2021 offerings are a bit behind projections. We’ll soon send out a Lenten Challenge.  That has been a stable stewardship project at Messiah for decades.  It’s always enjoyable coming up with a different theme for a different year. 
 
Another project on the near horizon is the possibility for an FM broadcast of our Sunday, 10:00 a.m. service. You drive to church. If you do not wish to enter the building, you remain in your car. The service is broadcast into a 300-foot radius. You tune in your car’s FM radio and hear the service.  More details are coming. 
 
We are sailing thru the sea of Lent these sacred days. Lent brings its unique beauty and dignity.  It is a joy to learn what God does for us and celebrate what God makes of us.  
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
February 21 thru February 28
 
In a few days, February will be in our rearview mirror.  It was certainly eventful.  February began with the Super Bowl.  Even though few of us are his fans, we got to see Tom Brady set a record no one will surpass.  Super Bowl week took us into impeachment week. We relived the horror of January 6^th as House Managers attempted to link former President Trump with insurrection.  As February rolled on the Covid19 vaccines continued to roll out.  Recent days brought a glimpse of good news. Statistically, the rapid spread of the disease has slowed down. 
 
As for me, I’ll always remember February 20^th.  That was the date I was inoculated, vaccinated against Covid19.  Inoculations have been a matter of fact, way of life for me all of my life. For some reason, the one of many I remember is the Smallpox vaccine. A few years after I had received it, National Geographic published an article chronicling the eradication of Smallpox from the globe. 
 
Vaccinations are a rite of passage in our national culture. I recall my children, when they were newborn infants, looking shocked and then indignant when the doctor’s nurse plunged the syringe into their thighs. Thru grade school years and into high school, local health departments made sure vaccinations were up to date. It was part of being a good citizen, helping to maintain the health of the community. 
 
I recently likened my vaccination to justification by grace. That doctrine is as central for Lutherans as the power sweep was central for the Vince Lombardi Packers. In Lutheran thinking, God brings a loving disposition toward us. God forgives. God draws us into relationship with God’s Self. That action from God is the pure grace of God.  We cannot earn that.  We do not deserve that. We merely receive that. I felt similarly getting vaccinated. The syringe plunged the vaccine into the muscle in my upper right shoulder.  That vaccine brought healing to me.  I did nothing to earn it.  I did nothing to deserve it.  It was just freely given.  And I gratefully received. I left the inoculation site that day with renewed gratitude for health and science.  I left the inoculation site that day with renewed commitment for praying and caring. 
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 

Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
February 7 thru February 14
 
So, after winning Super Bowl LV, Tom Brady is G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), right? Not necessarily. For the first time in a long time, I thought of German Philosophers Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger and Phenomenology.  It depends upon your point of view. Considering his record on high school, collegiate, and two professional league levels, I’d vote for Paul Brown as G.O.A.T.  Among quarterbacks, championships and statistics would suggest Otto Graham as G.O.A.T.  But that’s my point of view. I grew up on the west coast aware that my dad’s whole family is from Ohio.
 
A week after our really good zoomed meeting of the congregation, Messiah’s council gathered via zoom. We acknowledged the strong financial carry over from 2020. In reference to that, we noted the significant and costly building repair projects that have been delayed due to Covid19.  
 
We also noted our congregation’s traditionally strong support for our synod, referred to as Benevolence on our offering envelopes.  In addition to mission monies for the synod, we support Lend A Hand Food Bank.  Pastor’s Discretionary fund has been helping people with small, emergency needs for decades. 
 
Finances for any congregation are always a careful balance. On the one hand, there are historic, one-of-a-kind places for worship and prayer to maintain. On the other hand, there are the immediate needs of community around us and church at large to support.
 
We are definitely back for face-to-face worship. Holy Communion is celebrated safely Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. and Sundays at 10:00 a.m.  Property Committee is exploring affordable FM radio technology that will enable us to integrate a parking lot service into the schedule.
 
Is there light at the end of the Covid19 tunnel? It would appear so. More vaccines are getting into more arms. Masks are the rule, not the exception.  Dear people of God, stay in safe contact with one another via skype, email, telephone, and mail. 
 
Faithfully, 
Pastor M 


Welcome Home to Messiah -- 2021
January 31 thru February 7
 
Messiah’s first ever Meeting of the Congregation went well. We passed the budget for 2021 and affirmed the re-election of a council member. I have come to appreciate Zoom technology because we see faces, not masks. After the meeting adjourned several folks stayed on just to chat and catch up. 
 
We resume face to face worship. Saturday, February 6^th, Holy Communion is 9:30 a.m.  Sunday, February 7^th, Holy Communion is 10:00 a.m. The familiar safety protocols will return. No singing, all wear masks, distanced seating, safe distribution of the bread and wine.
 
Property Committee is exploring the purchase of an FM transmitter device that will enable us to have services in our parking lot (after the weather warms up). The safe holy communion services Saturday and Sunday mornings will continue.  We will add the parking lot option for people who want to come to church but are not comfortable entering the building. The weekly You Tube services will also continue.  
 
I’m sure we’ve all been creative in finding ways beyond the ordinary to help out our community during the pandemic.  I’ve recently done three non-member funerals. Circumstances prohibited the family’s pastor from being there. It felt good to be available and be of service.  I’m sure we are all doing this in different ways for our friends, extended family, and work mates.  In crisis the genius of humanity responds with creativity and care. 
 
Your offerings continue to arrive via mail, or drop off, or electronic deduction. We were reminded at the Zoomed annual meeting of the continued importance of Benevolence.  The “Benevolence” line on our offering envelopes are the offerings we send along to our Northeast Ohio Synod. Benevolence and Lend A Hand Food Bank continue to receive generous offerings at Messiah. This congregation is commended for our responsible stewardship thru the decades and especially during this Covid19 crisis. 
 
Thanks be to God,
Pastor Michael Meranda

Welcome Home to Messiah
January 17 thru January 24 - 2021 
 
Our congregational council asks us to gather for semi-annual meeting of the congregation on January 31^st.  We shall gather electronically. This will be a ZOOM meeting.  Invitations and details will soon follow.
 
Our congregational council plans to return to face to face worship the first weekend in February 2021.  Saturday Holy Communion is 9:00 a.m.  Sunday Holy Communion is 10:00 a.m.  The same safety protocols we observed before the temporary suspension of face-to-face worship will be in place.
 
We had two funerals within eight days.  Wanda Moses died at home with family present.  Wanda had deep connections with groups in Ashtabula and with Messiah.  She had a calm, gentle, welcoming voice and demeanor. 
 
Jan Koschik died with family present. She was received as a member at Messiah by adult affirmation of faith in 1965.  It is after her husband died in 2001 that she became especially active at Messiah. Committees, fellowship events, and service ministries remember her willing hand and ready smile.  She’s been a unique part of the equation that has made Messiah Senior Choir so extraordinary.  The heavenly chorus recently gained another good alto and a lot of joy.
 
Both families were heroic in how they planned and conducted funerals under Covid19 restrictions. Traveling and gathering is so difficult these days.  Confident hope in the resurrection enabled us to celebrate two extraordinary lives.
 
I suggest a link for you to consider.  It is  https://lutheranssw.org/archives/5793 - Southwest Washington Synod, ELCA.  You should land on Bishop Jaech’s “Letter on our Political Turmoil.”  Rick Jaech was a few years ahead of me in college, so we had many of the same professors.  He was pastor in Vancouver, WA when I was an interim pastor in Vancouver. His dad’s signature is on my ordination certificate in 1980.  Here is a bullet point paraphrase of the letter.  The summary is not as good as the actual letter. 

• We are God’s beloved, not because of our performance or status, but because of God’s grace. 
• We are broken. We fear we are alone and that safety and success depend upon frantic efforts.
• We are bearers of God’s love. Released from fear, we are free to love others.
• We are to treat each other as God’s beloved. 
• When our fear causes us to mistreat another we should be confronted.
• We oppose violence in every situation. 
• We stand with those who are especially vulnerable.
• We commit to working as responsible citizens. 

• January 10 thru January 17 in 2021 (this is a LONG one)
   
  “Law” is a technical term in Lutheranism.  Law names the sin. It is important to identify the sin.  Left unaddressed, sin separates us from God, harms creation, hurts our neighbor, and ultimately destroys our own self. Law acknowledges sin in general and specifies the sin in particular. Law brings sin to light for repentance, forgiveness, renewal, and the regeneration of the person for good works. 
   
  What happened at our nation’s Capital building on January 6^th was sin. Law names the sin. Breaking and entering. Trespassing. Threatening with deadly weapons. Destruction of public property. Vandalism. Theft.  Sedition. Murder.
   
  With all of you, I was horrified as I watched the assault on our capitol unfold. PBS was covering ratification of the electoral college when, around 2:25 p.m., a reporter pointed out a few protestors had gained access thru a side door. Within a few moments there was a surge of mayhem. 
   
  Live feeds came from Statuary Hall.  I first visited Statuary Hall in 1972, and still recall the inspiration I felt among the sculptures of those noble personalities. Ohio has James Garfield and Thomas Edison. Oregon has Dr. John McLoughlin and Methodist pastor James Lee.  Would they survive the mob? 
   
  As gangs of protestors flowed in and out, pausing to take selfies, I reflected how low our politics have sunk.  How deeply our discourse has devolved. How angry our national mood has become.  What I saw unfolding on live internet was not the America that raised and nurtured me.  I have memories of the United States that are far different from that criminal invasion of the capitol and the political brokenness that led up to it. 
   
  I began to catalogue those other, alternative memories. For some I had to look up the dates. But otherwise, in my lifetime, I have specific recollection of the following events. These are ways of being that, for a time, had made America the most enviable of nations. The following random stories recall responsible ways of citizenship that stand in stark contrast to what happened 1.6.2021.
   
  1956   The United States launched the national interstate highway system. It provides safe travel for 41,000 miles. One design feature is regular strait stretches to accommodate emergency airplane landings. The economic benefit is huge.  
   
  1957   President Eisenhower ordered the 101^st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas.  Local law enforcement ignored the Supreme Court ruling on de-segregation.  Ike understood the responsibility of three branches of government to work in concert. So, he deployed troops to guarantee the law of the land. 
   
  1959   Buick began producing the 401 CID “Nail Head” V-8.  (445 lbs. of torque) America could manufacture anything. (My Schwinn 10-speed never broke down.)
   
  1961   The Mutual Security Plan extended the Marshall Plan. In 1951 the United States began to help rebuild war torn western Europe.  Secretary of State George Marshall’s initial plan finished ahead of schedule and under budget. 
   
  1962   President Kennedy and level-headed advisors steered us safely thru the Cuban Missile Crisis. 
   
  1963   I took the polio vaccine at a local grade school.  Medical technology had advanced the vaccine from a shot in the arm to medicine in the mouth. The vaccine was in sugar cubes.  We grade schoolers thought it was so much fun to get medicine in a sugar cube.  My generation never had to worry about the polio virus. 
   
  1967   The Ice Bowl.  Cowboy’s coach Tom Landry said about the Lombardi coached Packers, “It was their courage that defeated us.”  (Paul Brown had already won 3 NFL titles in Cleveland.  Prior to that he won 4 titles with the AAFC)
   
  1968   Congress passed The Fair Housing Act.  This legislation followed epic pieces of legislation: Civil Rights Act and the Voting Act.  It was at least a legal beginning to address the prejudice that has haunted our nation for centuries.
   
  1970   Congress passed The Clean Air Act. 
   
  1972   Congress passed The Clean Water Act.
   
  1972   Congress passed Title IX legislation.  This bars sex discrimination in our educational institutions.  College athletics became much more competitive with the expansion of women’s sports. 
   
  1972   President Jerald Ford is photographed cooking his own breakfast in the White House kitchen.  This image reassured us there are “decent men” (and women) in politics. There were many such decent men and women who were cultural and athletic leaders: Jimmy Stewart, Paul Newman, Bart Starr, etc. 
   
  1978   President Carter worked tirelessly for Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat to sign the Camp David Peace accords. Many thought it could never be done. 
   
  1987   President Reagan made his public plea to Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”  The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Margaret Thatcher had prompted Reagan to reach out to Gorbachev. After Gorbachev came into power, she phoned Reagan and said, “I think we can work with this one.”  
  
  1990   President George H Bush gathered the largest coalition of nations since WW II in order to expel Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.  The Japanese paid for it.  Well, they paid a portion. George H Bush was a master collaborator. He reminded nations as long as their economy depended upon oil imports, they bore a fiscal responsibility in the challenge against Iraq. 
   
  1996   The Bill Clinton administration, working with a Republican controlled congress, passes the Welfare to Work bill. Thousands have opportunities to move out of a co-dependent welfare system.  The congregation I served in Minnesota set aside huge square footage to provide subsidized welfare to work day care.
   
  2001   On September 11^th, the first American warriors against terrorism emerge.  Flight 93 is hijacked 30,000 feet above Ohio. It turns eastward. Passengers understand their hijacked plane would do incalculable damage in Washington DC.  They make phone contact with air traffic controller Lisa Jefferson in CLE tower. Flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw boils water to throw on the terrorists. Todd Beamer leads fellow passengers to rush the cockpit. His words are immortalized, “Let’s roll.”
   
  2001   After “9-11” Al Gore said on National TV, “George W Bush is MY commander in chief!”  Members of congress, democrat and republican, gathered together on the capitol steps and sang, “God Bless America.” 
  
  2006   The Episcopal Church becomes the first mainline protestant denomination to elect a woman, Katharine Jefferts Schori) as national presiding bishop.  In 2013 the ELCA elects Liz Eaton. 
   
  2018   Former President Barak Obama spoke at Senator John McCain’s funeral. They had different ideas about government but were never cruel. Several times in his 2008 Campaign John McCain publicly defended the integrity of Barak Obama. “He’s a good man.  You would not have to fear an Obama presidency.” 
   
  Those are just a smattering of memories I have of a more civil, responsible, and effective American culture. There are many more local memories. I think of all the museums, libraries, arts centers, concert halls built and maintained.  Recently there have been huge signs of civic responsibility in Ashtabula.  The Lift Bridge Association was formed in 2008.  The Ashtabula Hotel has been repurposed. There is commitment for renovating the Carlisle’s Building. The Ashtabula City Staff and Council are no longer characterized by acrimony but are examples of cooperation.  County politicians are Democrat or Republican but all of them are open to communication and reasonable exchange of ideas. 
   
  The voice of law will speak clearly against the insurrection on January 6^th. Law curbs inappropriate acts and arrests wrong behavior. Fines are exacted. Sentences are served. As good citizens we pay taxes that law may be enforced. 
   
  We are also members of Christ’s body, the church.  It is our specific role to speak the gospel voice to this aching land. The law will have full say in this matter. But our calling is to embody compassion and seek restoration thru appropriate forgiveness. Our role is to reflect Light from above that shines from within. Our aim is reconciliation. Our inspiration is possibility of renewal. Our commitment is to keep conversation going, especially by listening. Our motivation is certain hope in the Spirit’s power to make us new creatures. Our proclamation is gospel.
   
  Faithfully your pastor, 
  Michael Meranda 

Bishop Jaech’s letter is helpful because these concepts are not directed solely against what happened at the capitol building on 1.6.2021.  These concepts also apply to the violence that destroyed so much economic and cultural life in places such as Minneapolis, Portland, and Seattle this past year. 
 
People of God, pray always for the Holy Spirit to liberate our inner hearts from fear.  Pray always for the Holy Spirit to direct our exterior acts to ways of responsible citizenship. 
 
Faithfully your pastor,
Michael Meranda 

Remember to stay after church October 25^th for the semi-annual meeting of the congregation.  Only one position is up for re-election.  The council has acted as nominating committee and nominates Candace Rodgers for her second 3-year term as our Treasurer. 

Thanks for your feedback as to how to celebrate Christmas Eve in a time of pandemic.  Specific plans will soon be announced, detailing how we’ll scale back worship on December 24^th to accommodate Covid19 realities. 

I completed training today at Ashtabula County Board of Elections.  I’ll be a poll worker on November 3^rd. I’m impressed at how well that office is organized.  I’m proud to be an Ohioan where thorough checks and balances assure fair elections. We don’t anticipate the social unrest so rampant in our culture to spill over and endanger our voting experience here. 

I’m also proud to be a member at Messiah. Our socially distanced communion services are an intelligent response to Corona Virus. You faithfully bring your offerings to church or mail them or send them electronically. Great job (as usual), Messiah! 

Sunday afternoon was sad for many. The Browns got embarrassed, again, in Pittsburgh. And the Buccaneers demolished the Packers.  Fortunately, Ohio State is a three touch down favorite over Nebraska this Saturday. That will help us erase bad memories from the NFL. I realize it is trivial to lapse into football talk. But it’s a nice, temporary distraction. Pandemic, elections, social unrest, stimulus package, a three trillion-dollar federal deficit for the year 2020 are all heavy, serious challenges. They require our response, investment, and prayer.  Now more than ever our culture needs people of faith to show the ways of hope and love. 

I led a funeral at Good Shepherd Lutheran in Conneaut last Saturday. (It’s nice to learn how nearby ELCA pastors are filling in and helping out there until they find an interim pastor.) It strikes me more and more what an honor it is for a pastor to officiate a funeral. Dying is a sacred process. The funeral is the last public event the deceased will generate. To be pastor at a funeral is to help put the punctuation mark at the end of the person’s life. The funeral at Good Shepherd was a good one in that the person had lived a long and healthy life. She had many connections to people, places, and events. Her obituary was intelligently written. I was privileged to be the one who led the congregation’s farewell in the commendation. I love how the commendation punctuates the service. We release the deceased from our loving embrace. We see the deceased embraced by God among all the saints in light. I’ve been leading that rite for over 40 years, but I’m still moved by its beauty and meaning. 

Faithfully, your fellow child of the light -

Pastor M