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 1st. My final day on your pay roll is April 30th. 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 30th 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 10th brings three persons reading the passion of Christ. April 14th brings Maundy Thursday foot washing & chancel stripping. April 15th brings Good Friday solemn reproaches. Holy Week begins the march to death. But God is the God of life. God defeats death. So, April 16th in the morning is time to do the first Easter Garden in two years. On April 17th 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 19th 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 2nd 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
Open letter from Pastor Meranda
February 26, 2022
Dear People of God at Messiah:
I wish to announce my intention to retire from the pastoral office at Messiah on 4.30.2022.
This decision is made after consultation with Messiah’s council and with people I respect and love.
Because of my love and respect for you as a congregation, you may count on this from me when I retire:
I will not interfere in any way with your call process
I will not interfere in any way with the work of your interim pastor
I will not interfere in any way with the work of your next called pastor
As I remove myself from your ministry, I shall always treasure my memories of you and be ever grateful for my brief role in your 101 years of Word, Sacrament, and Service in this place.
I am pleased with this date. It affords me the opportunity to:
Journey with you thru one more 40-Days of Lent
Celebrate one more Easter Sunday with you
Move my ample files and library from your pastor’s study
Express my gratitude and bid farewell
You are in good hands. Your current Council is filled with very capable leaders. Soon, representatives from our Northeast Ohio Synod will guide you thru the call process. The eight pastors who preceded me cherished you. I cherish you. I am confident your next pastor will cherish you in this wonderful place.
Faithfully your pastor (until 4.30.2022)
Michael Meranda
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 27th will climax this season with the Festival of the Transfiguration. Then a few short days after that March 2nd 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 26th 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 23rd. 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:
- January 10 – this is the deadline for committees to turn in annual reports to the church office.
- January 16 – the collated Annual Report for 2021 will be available for you to pick up in the hallway
- 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 6th. February 2nd, “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 24th there is no Christmas Eve service scheduled at the church. Congregational council decided this in light of light of current Covid19 surges.
December 24th 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 24th 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 24th 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 26th 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 24th 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 11th? 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 17th begins the seven- day countdown to sunset December 24th 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 15th 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 1st, 3rd, and 5th Wednesdays. The Ministerial Association gathers every 2nd Wednesday. Downtown Development Executive Committee is every 4th 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 24th. 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 2nd 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 24th. 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 4th 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 3rd 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 28th 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 29th 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 8th, 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 31st. We need to consider logistics for a possible church picnic on August 22nd. 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, 4th 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 4th 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 4th 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 27th. 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 13th and the Beach Glass Festival is June 26th. 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 27th, 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 27th.
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 50th Day of Easter. Pentecost Day is this coming Sunday, May 23rd. 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 13th. 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 6th, 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 30th. 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 5th 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 6th, 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 4th. 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 5th 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 71st 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 13th. 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 4th 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 4th. 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 25th is the 4th 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 4th 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 31st. 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 3rd 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 4th 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 41st 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 24th. 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 31st, 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 20th 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 17th. 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 13th 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 31st. 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 10th. 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 8th. Tuesday, March 9th, 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 3rd. 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 6th 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 20th. 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 6th, Holy Communion is 9:30 a.m. Sunday, February 7th, 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 31st. 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.
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
Welcome Home to Messiah
January 3 thru January 10 / Pandemic Years 2021
Stoppage extends for Saturday-Sunday in person worship. Property Committee met last night via ZOOM. We readily observed that Covid19 cases increase in Ashtabula County, Covid19 is surging nationally, the post-Christmas spike is yet to hit, and the new strain is evolving. Property Committee agreed to take a resolution to council to suspend in person church services thru January 31. So, there is no Saturday or Sunday church services at Messiah the remainder of this month.
Many have known Wanda Moses and her family for many years at Messiah. Wanda died in the comfort of her own home on January 3rd. Her daughter, Janine, was at her side. Because of Covid19 considerations, the funeral service for her will be for family members only. Her service is at Billman’s. Attendees will be distanced and masked.
Wanda Moses is one of those persons of tremendous physical strength and recoverability. Time and time again she underwent medical procedure, applied herself to rehab, then came home. She had a cuddly Dachshund who was so friendly and brought so much fun to communion visits. Wanda is one of the many personalities that make Ashtabula such a great place to live and Messiah such a great place to worship.
There is more difficult news to share. Jan Koschik has been enrolled in hospice care where she resides at Lantern. Because of Covid19 restrictions at hospitals and nursing homes, I have not seen her since January 2020. But I have vivid memories of her smile, ready laughter, and sociality. Covid19 isolation must have been especially difficult for warm, outgoing extroverts, such as Jan Koschik. Only God knows for sure how many days Jan has left remaining on this earth. When she dies it will be another close-family-only restricted funeral. We will be lonesome. But she will be fellowshipping with that huge communion of saints in light.
This weekly letter has been a bit of a downer. There is another way I could be dating these letters. I could write “A.D. 2020” or “A.D. 2021.” A.D is the abbreviation for the Latin words Anno Domini. That translates Year of our Lord. Yes, 2020 was horrendous on so many levels. Yes, immense challenges await us in 2021. Yes, we are sad at having been kept physically apart. Yes, we tremendously miss those whom we were not permitted to say good bye to. But yes, this is still “Year of our Lord.” We are not abandoned in all this. We are accompanied. We are led. We are dwelling places for Holy Spirit. Luther had an insight, the concept he referred to as the “hidden God.” In lowly, lonely, unexpected places God “hides”. So, in the vulnerable infant born in Bethlehem who had to be whisked away to Egypt for safety, God “hides”. In simple bread and wine, God “hides.” Especially in our suffering and consternation, God “hides.” We look around at all the uncertainty. We look into the uncertainty of the immediate future. God is present. God will be present. There will be blessing. There will be good. There is opportunity to exercise faith in works of love. We got this, because God has us.
Pastor Mike
Welcome Home to Messiah
December 27 thru January 3 / Pandemic Years 2020-2021
Living has become complex. I have two long library stories. They illustrate how times have changed.
It was summer of 1975. I wanted to practice Latin. I knew that Concordia College library in Portland, Oregon had a set of Der Weimar Ausgabe. It’s referenced as “WA”. It’s the 60-volume collection of Luther’s writings in German and Latin. The volumes are huge. The covers are a nice light blue. I went to the usual shelf to find Luther’s Galatians commentaries. But “WA” was gone!
The librarian, Mr. Berger, was there. He said something about “WA” takes up so much space and are rarely used so they got moved to a back room. Just a minute, he said. He came back with the volume I wanted. He handed it to me. He told me just remember to return it before the end of summer.
Normally, a librarian does not hand over an expensive volume to someone without a formal check out. But he knew me. The world was smaller back then. The world was safer and simpler that Summer of 75.
The other library story illustrates how much has changed. It was about a year after Nine Eleven. I happened to be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Marquette University has a good Jesuit library. Marquette would have “Christian Dogmatics,” that multi volume systematic theology of Karl Barth. For years I had wanted to read what Barth said about Johann Blumhardt. Blumhardt was a German Reformed pastor in Moetlingen, Germany. A spiritual awakening occurred in his parish. There were stories of healings and renewal.
So, I was glad for the opportunity to finally read Barth reflecting on Blumhardt. But Nine Eleven was still on our minds. America had become security conscious. My countenance sank as I entered the foyer of Marquette library. A huge sign said no entry unless you have identification and provide a request in writing specifying exactly what you want to research.
I was shocked. All my life, libraries had stood as symbols of academic freedom. Patrons flowed thru library doors, walking symbols of the exchange of ideas. Fortunately, I knew exactly what volume and section of Barth on Blumhardt I wanted to read. For one of my pieces of identification, I showed my little certificate of rostered clergy card from East Central Wisconsin Synod ELCA.
That is my tale of two libraries. It’s not that Marquette was bad and Concordia was good. It illustrates how times have changed. In 1975 life was smaller and our institutions were more accessible. By 2002 life had become dangerous: we were less known, we had to be checked out, we were a possible security risk for domestic terrorism.
Managing life’s externals has become exceedingly complicated. (How many passwords on different “apps” on your smart phone do you have?) But the core of our blessed simplicity remains the same. We are forgiven sinner, so we are free to do all sorts of good things. Darkness will always seek to have its way over us, but we belong to Light who overcomes darkness. Prayer is always at hand, an access code is NOT necessary for us to sign in. We are members of a community of faith. A heavenly communion of saints prays for us. Someday we’ll gather together, face to face and voice to voice. We’ll chuckle at how complicated life has become. But we’ll trust that each new challenge brings opportunity for us to mature more strongly in hope and love.
Faithfully,
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
December 20 thru December 27 / The Year of Pandemic 2020
I can’t wait to look in the sky this evening. The periodic conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn may be visible. I say “may be visible” because of the cloud cover in Northeast Ohio. Whether or not I see it, it is still there. Whether or not I see it, the phenomenon is real. That’s a nice metaphor for God. Sometimes the evidence for a loving God seems lacking. Yet the testimony of all the saints assures us God is true. Sometimes we just do not see how God preserves this creation God loves. Still, the gift of faith assures us this is true. We are freed up to live and plan accordingly.
Whether or not I see it, the Jupiter Saturn Conjunction will be in the evening sky. The internet tells me the last time this occurred was the year 1623. No doubt it was a similar celestial event that drew the Magi to Bethlehem. It may have been a comet. Perhaps it was a conjunction of planets in their time. Whatever was upward, it drew the wisemen westward. That’s a nice metaphor for our journeys. Sometimes something big and unique has to grab our attention. It does not arrest our attention on itself. It grabs our attention only for a while. Then it directs our focus on something nearby or over there. This is how we are led in this life. We gain insight and inspiration. We apply insight and inspiration to experience and circumstance. But first we have to look up and beyond ourselves. Then we focus creativity and commitment for neighbor and creation.
“Services” will be produced for You Tube for Christmas Eve and December 27th. We cannot thank enough our musicians: Debra, Ed, and Julie. We thank the folk who have done the filming: Marcel and Bella. We thank those who have done the decorating: Ruth, Joyce, Lanny, Homer, Becky. We thank Frank who finalizes the production before posting. Forgive me if I forgot to thank someone else. My first Christmas Eve as a pastor was 1980 in Seattle. I never imagined then the possibility of a pandemic altered Christmas.
The better half person in my household has tested NEGATIVE for Covid19 twice. Today is the last day of my quarantine. I see the doctor on the 23rd and look forward to a re-test. This virus has multiple effects: some are minor, some are severe. God led wise persons on camel to Bethlehem. God led Joseph and holy family to Egypt and back. God led Christ to the cross and out of the tomb. God is leading us thru this.
Welcome home to Messiah,
Michael
Welcome Home to Messiah
December 13 thru December 20 / The Year of Pandemic 2020
A large envelope arrived in the mail last week. Our Northeast Ohio Synod mailed to me a frame-able certificate acknowledging the 40 years since my ordination.
When I saw in print, “forty years”, it gave me pause for a lot of gratitude. The extraordinary experiences I’ve had in the ministry have been sheer grace. Each location was distinct from the other. Each location brought its unique gift and opportunity.
Good Shepherd Seattle was in a very dangerous, inner city neighborhood, a vortex for crime and violence. I visited neighbors in King County Jail (not a nice place) and had a parishioner sentenced for first degree murder. Yet that sturdy congregation maintained consistent word and sacrament ministry. We grew in stewardship and became self-supporting after decades of synod subsidy. I got my first taste of adjunct teaching in Seattle. I taught Philosophy at Seattle Lutheran High School.
St. Michael’s Portland was artsy and intellectual. We engendered a relationship with the economically disadvantaged kids at the grade school next door. We engaged a lot of liturgical renewal. We built and dedicated a 40-rank pipe organ. The acoustic of that building is wonderful for singing and concert events.
Jehovah in St. Paul, MN had an award-winning building. We hosted many community events and services. Perhaps the most impactful was working with Lutheran social service agencies to establish a “welfare to work” day care center for at risk families. Jehovah has a 43-rank tracker pipe organ. The horizontal trumpets will shake the fillings out of your teeth. The annual Epiphany arts series drew in a wide range of presenters and participants. My favorite room in that stellar building was the side chapel. I can still smell the limestone and feel the cool of the marble altar.
St. Stephen in Wisconsin was the classic upper Midwest Lutheran experience. It was all about huge numbers. Hundreds of funerals combined with dozens of confirmations and baptisms and weddings. Their one-million-dollar foundation helped keep that that 1916 historic register building in good repair.
I find myself perhaps the happiest in Ashtabula. I love Ohioans. Messiah combines serious commitment to serving with joyfulness in doing. You have such good fun here. I hear the holy hilarity of your laughter from all your gatherings and events. I’ve come to a deep appreciation of many unique personalities at Messiah and in Ashtabula. A group of saints immediately come to mind: Dave Tallbacka, Carl Anderson, Richard Otto Johnson, Dick Reinker, Dr. Krajec, Albin Anderson are among many. Also, I especially appreciate the community networking that is typical for Messiah’s pastors. The Downtown Development Association had roles and projects for me. The Ashtabula Arts Center enabled me to have SO much fun on stage.
In 40-years I have observed an unhealthy tendency among pastors. This crosses all denominational lines and all age groups. In a culture dominated by celebrities, it’s easy for clergy to get side tracked, thinking they have to create their own brand. They lose a sense of higher calling. One colleague noticed this tendency and coined the phrase, “It’s all about ME.”
I’ve wandered into that dead end from time to time. I’m a sinful human person. Yet what has sustained me these 40 years, in all of those marvelous places, has been something beyond me. Lutherans call it The Word. Yes, written word from God, the bible, is center of preaching and teaching. But even more so, it is the living Word from God. It is the Word that God made human in Christ. It is the Word that God makes visible in the sacraments. The Word assures us we are named and claimed. The Word gets us up and out of ourselves and over into community. Then good things happen. The Word has worked pretty well these 40-years. I’m so grateful it brought me here to be with you.
Welcome Home to Messiah
Pastor Michael
Welcome Home to Messiah
November 29 thru December 6 enduring Pandemic 2020
This is to confirm – Christmas Eve services are NOT scheduled at Messiah this year. We’re doing a good job celebrating Holy Communion safely Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. and Sundays at 10:00 a.m. We’ll keep that schedule.
It’s the right decision, but it will be difficult not having Christmas Eve services on December 24th. The 4:00 pm liturgy had gained in popularity. It was shorter and “family friendly.” Also, it finished before 5:00 pm so when we left the building it was still light out. The 11:00 pm service has been popular for decades. Many families had Christmas dinners and opened a few presents before coming to church at Messiah. Often, I did not set the alarm and turn out the last light until 1:00 a.m. Adrenalin kept me awake into the wee hours of Christmas Day. We’ve learned this year that kind of large group, celebratory events become super spreaders for Covid19. We’ll miss Christmas Eve services in 2020. We hope/assume they will return in 2021.
Speaking of celebratory events, it was so strange not to tune in The Game Saturday at noon after Thanksgiving Thursday. Though with TTUN in a state of collapse, it may not have been much of a game, but more of a slaughter. I grew up on the west coast aware of the Buckeye-Wolverine rivalry. Noon kick off in Ohio was 9:00 a.m. in Oregon. So, we didn’t have to wait a long time for the event to start. On occasion, Woody Hayes would lose to Bo Schembechler. That made for a long and disappointing Saturday afternoon.
We have recently entered Advent. Because it is so saturated with hope and promise, this is probably my favorite season in the church year. Years ago, I heard from a church musician that the best hymn section in hymnals is the section of Advent hymns. I enjoy so much “filming” our services for You Tube, especially in Advent. The iPad records Debbie playing those great hymns and the camera takes in the hope-filled blue colors of this season.
Roll out of Covid19 vaccines should be soon. In the meantime, stay isolated, stay smart, stay together in spirit. Keep on being signs of health and hope.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
November 22 thru November 29 in Pandemic 2020
There are a lot of moving parts this week in the church year. Christ the King Sunday closes the preceding church year. It’s a festival day. White paraments dress the chancel. Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. I recall congregations that had an extra service on Thanksgiving. That meant an extra sermon, extra liturgy, and extra decorations. Typically, the Sunday of Thanksgiving Weekend is the 1st Sunday of Advent. That means dressing the chancel in blue, hauling out the Advent wreath, checking the 4 advent candles, and warming up the vocal cords to sing, “Oh, Come, Emmanuel.” All those moving parts are exacerbated in Ohio. In recent years here the Saturday after Thanksgiving Day has also been the day for The Game.
There are a lot of moving parts around Messiah’s building. Bids have been coming in to replace windows in the education/office wing. Separate bids are also coming in to shore up the frame that holds the Pettersen Window in the entry area. Plans to replace the roof on the east side of the education/office wing are on hold due to a significant increase in prices for materials due to Covid19. In addition to all that, when you drove by this weekend did you see the copper sheathing that tore off from the roof near the balcony stained glass? It happened in last week’s wind storm. It’s currently stable. Senita & Company are bringing in a lift today to gain safe access to it for safe removal.
There are a lot of moving parts culturally. The presidential election has been called but not yet conceded. Health experts tell us to stay home to help contain Covid19. Yet, people are still flying for the holidays. Several companies have announced successful vaccines. Yet, there is no timeline for their distribution.
Students who had returned to classrooms have been told to go home and resume online learning. Events that used to characterize this season are either cancelled or experienced on-line.
There are a lot of moving parts going on. It’s almost dizzying. But unstable circumstances do not have to destabilize our personalities. We stand on solid rock. God is foundation. God who speaks to us from eternity helps us contend with the instability of temporality. There is a way to follow. There is light to enlighten. There are a lot of moving parts going on out there. But we are stable, centered, balanced.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
November 15 thru November 22 / Pandemic Year 2020
We finally hear some encouraging news about the pandemic. Two pharmaceuticals have tested vaccines with promising success rates. It’s hard to say yet when exactly they will be made available for the public.
In the meantime, the virus spikes dramatically. For the longest time I heard of no one who actually tested positive for Covid19. This past week I’ve heard of several local names. These people did not behave irresponsibly. It’s just that the virus is that aggressive and dangerous.
Which brings me to the idea of having a Christmas service. Given the aggressiveness of Covid19, that would be a bad idea. So, I encourage us to stay home, stay isolated, and stay safe December 24th.
Now, there will be a Christmas “service” filmed and put on You Tube. Debra Fleming and I will do that safely, the same way we do the “services” that are put on the internet. We’ll hear familiar Christmas carols. I’ll set out some token decorations to give the feeling of Christmas. I’ll vest and preach a Christmas sermon. We’ll pray Christmas prayers. We’ll look forward all the more for Christmas to be normal and safe in 2021.
Speaking of 2021, the offering envelopes for 2021 have been mailed. With the envelopes are cover letters from Russ Jepson, Candace Rodgers, and myself. Also included is a response form (pledge sheet) for 2021. Messiah’s You Tube service on the internet features my stewardship talks: giving and the Trinity, regular giving, percentage giving, and cheerful giving.
Speaking of giving, your offerings thru this pandemic have been astonishing. The finance committee gives the actual numbers in their monthly and annual reports. But all thru 2020 your offerings have been consistent and generous. You give electronically or in person or by mail. Messiah should transition into 2021 safely. Thank you so much.
This is the week Messiah would have been getting ready for the annual Thanks For Giving Dinner. The fun and fellowship of that meal were always a highlight of life at Messiah. We’ll still give things this year. But our gatherings will be private and smaller.
Last Friday the ELW daily reading was Revelation 16:8-21. The voice of Christ assured his beleaguered church, “See, I am coming soon!” He is coming. He is here. We’re never alone. We’re always accompanied. Even in this time, we are thankful.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
1 November thru 8 November / Pandemic Year 2020
Covid19 cases have spiked in Ashtabula County. Our good friends at First Methodist and St. Peter Episcopal have cancelled all face to face worship gatherings. Worship in their communities is strictly on line. So far there is no suggestion to do the same at Messiah. Our Saturday and Sunday Holy Communion services are very safely conducted. Attendance is small, masks are worn, contact is negligible, distance is maximal.
We don’t really post “services” on face book or you tube. Yes, there is a weekly posting that has music, scripture, prayer, and preaching. But there is no liturgy. The segments do not follow the lectionary, but they are thematic. There is opportunity to explore themes here I do not otherwise explore on Sunday mornings. For example, the November 1st “service” features a slide show of the terminus of the Greenway Trail and a biblical reference to serving the city that serves us. I do encourage your viewing and sharing these weekly videos. Facebook page is Messiah Lutheran Church Ashtabula. You Tube page is Messiah Lutheran Ashtabula.
Lend A Hand Food Bank workers and clients remember the cheerful voice of Linda Reho. For the past several years she has set up her table and display area in the entranceway and has served many clients with Medicare needs. Covid19 restrictions do not permit her to set up inside at Messiah. But she is still available via phone or personal appointments. If you have Medicare questions or know someone who does, you may contact Linda Reho at Agency Associates, Inc. -- Cell: (216) 210-3684. Their Medicare Health Plans brochure reads: Agency Associates, Inc. protects individuals, families, and businesses by providing high quality insurance and financial products. Our professional staff offers expert advice and attentive service.
Ashtabula said farewell to another of our stellar citizens yesterday. The memorial service for Bud Hill was celebrated at the Lakeside HS auditorium. Victor Musarillo, who tunes our organ at Messiah, played the theater organ at Lakeside. Andrea Tredent sang beautifully. Pastors Bruce Wyand and Glen Warner led the service with confidence and dignity. Mr. Hill was one of those personalities that knew how to get a project from point A to point B and in the process gathered people together an earned their confidence. He had been an active member at Second Congregational Church in The Harbor.
Two projects will occupy the office this week. The first is getting out the newsletter. Lanny Anderson put together the current, popular format when Pr. Eaton was still here. The other project is working on offering envelopes mailing for 2021. When they go out, the mailings will contain your envelopes, two cover letters, and a “pledge” form. Russ Jepson is our stewardship committee chair person this year. He’s done a marvelous job of keeping us mindful of good stewardship practices in spite of this dangerous pandemic.
Different states have different laws for counting ballots. So, we really do not know what to expect November 3rd. It could be the networks announce the results before midnight as they did in 2016. It could be we’ll have a Supreme Court challenge as we did with Gore Vs. Bush in 2000. Whatever happens, we love this nation. At the same time, we know that ultimately, we are citizens on another shore (Hebrews 11:10,16). We use our confidence in God’s light THEN to shine on our loving and serving NOW.
Your fellow citizen,
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
25 October thru 1 November during the Year of Pandemic
We attempted our semi-annual meeting yesterday but did not proceed due to lack of quorum. Possibly more of us than usual chose to stay because of the invitation for more of us to gather. For example, of the eight persons on our congregational council, only two of them attended. I take low attendance at our meeting as another sign of our intelligence here in Northeast Ohio. Large gatherings are incubators for Covid19. Do whatever we can to avoid large gatherings. Hence, no quorum for the semi-annual meeting. Messiah, once again you did the right thing.
Speaking of avoiding large gatherings, all my conversations lead to the conclusion we’ll not have the usual 11:00 pm Christmas Eve service at Messiah. We will, however, develop alternative ways to safely celebrate the incarnation. Stay tuned.
I get to ride shotgun. Last week I completed training to be a poll worker for Ashtabula County Board of Elections. I’m assigned to the polling place on Cook Road. At the end of the voting day, the precinct supervisor gathers all the ballots in a sealed container. S/he drives the ballots to Jefferson. Two additional persons are required to be in the same vehicle as the ballots. I’m one of the two. This is one more check and balance guaranteeing honest elections. I’m so impressed with elections in Ohio. So much is done to encourage as much legal voting participation as possible.
I had what I realized was a life-saving encounter. The weekend had been very uncomfortable. Sunday afternoon I went to the urgent care clinic and was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. Two prescriptions were given and things started to feel much better. I realized again the miracle of antibiotics. I thought of pioneer history. I wondered at all the graves that paved the way on the Oregon Trail. Nowadays infections are simply cleared up. In prior days infections overwhelmed organs and systems and humans died. Painfully. Good medicine is part of what Lutherans refer to as the preservation of creation. Life and health are preserved. We continue on growing in love toward God and neighbor.
Welcome Home to Messiah,
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
18 October thru 25 October in the Year of Pandemic
Welcome Home to Messiah
- 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 6th 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 101st 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 11th, 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 6th. 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 25th 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 24th to accommodate Covid19 realities.
I completed training today at Ashtabula County Board of Elections. I’ll be a poll worker on November 3rd. 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
Welcome Home to Messiah
11 October thru 18 October in the Year of Pandemic
I’m asking for feedback. At council last night I was speculating on ways to organize a Covid19 safe Christmas Eve. Options ranged from offering more worship opportunities throughout the day to just cancelling. Finally, Emelia suggested, “Why don’t you just ask the members for feedback.” So, I welcome your suggestions. We won’t be able to host a single large group gathering. Currently, we’re not singing. Passing candles would not be good social distancing. Most significantly, the choir is not singing. If you have any preferences or suggestions as to how to offer a safe gathering on Christmas Eve, I’d love to hear from you.
The semi-annual meeting of Messiah will take place October 25th, right after church. With the marked spaces in the pews, it will be easy to accommodate a quorum of voters and maintain social distance. Fortunately, there is only one position to elect. Candace Rodgers has completed a three-year term as Treasurer. She is eligible to be elected for another three-year term. The council has acted as the nominating committee and so nominates Candace for a second term as our treasurer.
Anarchy reared its ugly head again, this time in a place where I have good memories – Portland, Oregon. In the center of the city is a ten-block strip known as the park blocks. This is a place of towering trees, fountains, benches, and statuary. You could walk from one end to the other and emerge refreshed, encouraged, ennobled. Sunday night demonstrators tore down the Theodore Roosevelt statue and the Abraham Lincoln statue. Now, reasoned protest is part of democracy. Without challenge and disagreement, we would not be a free people. But there’s no place for vandalism and random destruction. What happened in Portland only distracts us from the healing and change our nation and culture need to enact. People of God have an opportunity in this pandemic of lawlessness. Speak softly. Listen. Express sorrow for wrongs. Be open. Seek reconciliation. Pray.
Life is easy and sane in Ashtabula County. Mary and I drove to the early balloting office in Jefferson and voted. They opened at 8:00 a.m. We received our ballots by 8:10. We were at Wall Street Café before 8:30. I’m impressed that the state of Ohio is training more poll workers for November 3rd. I’ll be among the new trainees. This is the year to pray for safety at all our voting precincts.
The Year 2020 has brought one surprise after another, all of them bad. Except for one. The Browns have won four games in a row! No one saw that coming, their best start since 1994. Nice surprises do happen along life’s way, even during a pandemic. I’ll bet this very day you and I will be a nice surprise for someone else. We’ll say something nice or do something nice that will be just the right thing at just the right time for someone. Yup, 2020 has been a year of darkness in so many ways. But you and I (John 12:36) are children of light.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
4 October thru 11 in the Year of Pandemic
This letter serves as the first announcement of Messiah’s semi-annual meeting. The date is October 25, 2020. The meeting begins right after the church service ends. Only one council position is up for election/re-election. So, the meeting should be short. We’ll make sure to follow Covid19 safety protocols in our conduct of the meeting. More details will follow.
One of my biggest disappointments is church buildings are no longer open 24-7 for prayer. Considering social trends for theft and vandalism, that has not been possible for a long time. I’m especially saddened that it is necessary to close church buildings during this time of pandemic. People are bearing the burden of unprecedented stress these days. There’s violence in our cities, huge challenges in our schools, upheaval in our families, massive debts in our economy, and much acrimony in our politics. Prayer strengthens us as we endure that stress. In prayer God is present to show us the way of forgiveness and new ways to patiently love our neighbor. Prayer is possible and effective in any place. But undistracted prayer especially happens in the beauty of our church buildings. If ever you wish to be in silence in the sanctuary that is Messiah, stop on by. Give me a call if you wish to be here outside “office hours”.
If you are weary of isolation and limited events, consider attending my weekly bible class. It’s every Wednesday in the Luther Room, starting 10:00 a.m. I especially enjoy teaching from the Old Testament. Last week we immersed in the sad story of Samson. October 7thwe’ll climb mountains in Isaiah, Exodus, and Amos.
I’ve learned from three separate sources recently that Covid19 is at a comparatively low rate in Ashtabula County. Good for us! Masks and isolation make a difference. With this recent success in mind, our property committee recommends to council that we maintain our current status at Messiah thru December 31st. The building remains closed to public events. Saturday and Sunday services will continue: masked, no singing, physical separation.
The safe closure of our building means there will be no Thanks-For-Giving Dinner this year. Sharing food, people close together, un-masked face to face talking would undo all the patient progress we’ve made this year. That also means our celebration of Christmas will be different this year, too. We’ll be creative in providing a safe experience on Christmas Eve – more details will follow what Christmas Eve will be like.
Messiah services on You Tube and on the Facebook Page Messiah Lutheran Church Ashtabula continue to garner a growing, faithful following. The October 4th service featured a slide show of autumn light penetrating interior rooms at Messiah. The October 11th service will feature a slide show of autumn light bathing the exterior of Messiah. Autumn light is so special this time of year in soon to be cloudy Northeast Ohio. It gleams. Colorful leaves shimmer in its glow.
Autumn light reminds us God invades our darkened souls and saturates us with mercy and healing love. God breathes us back to life and light, especially during these dangerous days. God is light; we see Whom we are to follow, the path we are to take.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
27 September thru 4 October in the Year of Pandemic
There are two safe gathering opportunities I invite more folk to attend.
One is the 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning Holy Communion service. It’s a great way to begin the weekend – hearing the Word and receiving the Sacrament. Then the rest of the day and Sunday are ahead of you.
The other opportunity is Wednesday Bible Class. We meet 10:00 a.m. in the Luther Room. Chairs are distanced. We wear masks. We follow the daily bible reading schedule that is emailed out to the congregation every Monday. This week we’ll immerse in the Samson story. (The guy had some troubling issues.)
The first day of the week this week began the best way it possibly could. We celebrated a Holy Baptism at Messiah. Chelsea Fleming-Dowdy & Jaylen Dowdy brought their son, Theo Michael, for baptism. I’m always moved at the point in the rite when we renounce evil and profess faith in God. I was especially moved to see that nice, extended family system standing together against darkness and standing together affirming light from God. That is the spirit that will get us thru these troubled times in our economy, our ecology, and our politics.
I learned our Bishop Elect, Pastor Laura Barbins, will be installed on December 13th. But, due to Covid19, it will not be a large group gathering. A smaller group of people will officiate the installation. Much of the experience will be on line. Human creativity and adaptability are among the greatest gifts from God.
The “Star Beacon” had a nice article on the latest big event to be cancelled – the Geneva Grape Jamboree. We probably never realized how full our calendars were until these events started getting cancelled. September would have brought the annual arts festival on Main Avenue, the car show at the Nazarene church, and the motorcycle gathering at Geneva on the Lake. We still stay connected, but in other ways. When Covid19 is solved and those good activities resume, we’ll appreciate them all the more.
Last Tuesday was Fall Equinox. Daylight is noticeably shorter. Morning sunlight arrives later. Evening sun sets more quickly. The next installment of Messiah on You Tube will feature a slide show of random sunlight in Messiah’s building. It’s a gentler, more glowing kind of light this time of year. It’s a reminder of the eternal presence of God, glowing in our hearts and in this community of faith. Be light-full, these precious days.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
20 September thru 27 September in the Year of Pandemic
I’m so pleased with our Covid19 worship schedule. Having the opportunity for 9:30 a.m. Holy Communion on a Saturday has always been a dream of mine. Typically, churches offer a late Saturday afternoon mass. But I’ve always wondered about early on Saturday instead of late. If you wish to return to a safe worship setting, I warmly invite you to consider Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Of course, Sunday at 10:00 a.m. continues to be the “main” service at Messiah.
I had the opportunity to reach out to a family (not Messiah members) this week who had a loved one undergo surgery at Cleveland Clinic. The mother explained the clinic permits only one designated visitor. That was she. That meant children and other relatives or friends could not be there to offer support. I could not imagine their pain at having to endure such isolation. Phone calls, text messages, and posting healing prayers on Face Book are the new instruments for pastoral care. When Covid19 is behind us I can’t wait to gather and hear those stories of what we endured and how we coped.
I’m on the stewardship committee for our NE Ohio Synod. I think the new word for committee these days is “round table.” I’m glad to be part of that group. I’ve always enjoyed stewardship. Not all pastors do. If we think it is only fund raising it will not be satisfying. But if we see making offerings as an extension of and expression of our relationship with the Trinity, then stewardship becomes lively and real. Your stewardship at Messiah has certainly been effective for many years. You have REALLY shined with consistent and regular offerings during this pandemic.
I’ll be at Potti Funeral Home this Thursday. Fred Filling had a distant connection with Messiah. From the obituary, he must have been a well-known figure around Ashtabula. It’s always a privilege to be the pastor who has a role at a funeral. I see a funeral liturgy as putting the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence that was the life time. It’s actually a semi colon or a colon – because we know with God that more is to follow. This particular journey with God has ended. But the life with God continues.
The Christian funeral is God completing the promises God made at baptism. We get to celebrate a baptism September 27th. It will be 11:30 a.m. Only family will be present as we keep within Covid19 guidelines. We’ll baptize the grandson of Marcel and Debra Fleming. His name, I just love it, is Theo. Theo comes from the Greek word for God. So, under the baptismal water, baby Theo will be joined in relationship with God who is Father-Son-Holy Spirit. (Chelsea is Theo’s mom. She’s been around Messiah for years; not too long ago she made a lot of friends serving donuts at Squire Shop.)
Yes, the Buckeyes play on October 24th! I feel sorry for Nebraska coming into The Shoe. I wonder about Wisconsin. Last season they had a great running back but he could not get over the dreaded disease of fumble-itis. It’s hard to beat Oregon in the bowl game when you fumble four times. I just realized how nice it is to have something normal to talk about – Big Ten football. We need this, not as a distraction, but as a reminder. We need to be reminded of typical ways and doings. Fall is for Brant’s Orchard and football. Fall closes the drive-in-fast-food places and Geneva On the Lake. Fall is for flannel and planting bulbs that will flower next season. Fall of 2020 is lived against the horrible backdrop of Covid19. But pandemics do not last. And fall shall return. So shall winter and spring and summer. They’ll all return. When they do, we will be wiser and stronger. We will be closer than ever before. We’ve faced this death, together. We’ve clung to life, we are life. God is life; we belong to God.
Welcome home to Messiah,
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
13 September thru 20 September in the Year of Pandemic
Frank Maenpa and Dee Dee Maenpa and myself were Messiah delegates to the NE Ohio Synod Assembly. The assembly was held via Zoom Conference. So, over 300 delegates participated via computer from the comfort of our homes. We elected our next bishop for a six-year term. She is Pastor Laura Barbins from Celebration Lutheran Church in Chardin. I was impressed at the quality of candidates for bishop. As the electoral process continued into the 4th ballot, I had a lot of confidence in the 3 finalists. As we went into the 5thballot, I thought it was a win-win situation; no matter who won we’d get a good bishop. I’m glad for Pastor Barbins. She was a finalist six years ago. She’s been a long term, effective pastor in Chardin. Her advanced degree is in homiletics (preaching). She will be an experienced, seasoned voice to help our congregations re-start after Covid19.
Joanna Pretz Anderson and Dave Anderson had major roles in this successful synod assembly. Joanna led on line worship – a huge challenge she met well. Dave was chair of the bishop election committee. They had to integrate Turning Point voting technology with Zoom Technology. They provided a seamless opportunity to elect synod council members and the new bishop. Thank you, Joanna and David.
One of the candidates for bishop brought a nice phrase to her comments. She referred to our church buildings as “spaces for grace.” Our church buildings are in all sorts of neighborhoods and communities. When the doors open and events happen, people gather for face to face interaction. There are special opportunities in churches for the grace of God to inform and guide those interactions. From classes to community service, our church buildings have potential to house graceful encounter with God. In that sense, our buildings are gifts. They are gifts because they enable the gifts of God to be experienced in unique ways. I’m so grateful for the unique gift that is the physical space of Messiah. I’m so grateful for the ways Messiah has been a space for grace in Ashtabula since 1921.
Thank you, Messiah members and friends, for your consistent offerings during this pandemic. You mail them in, drop them in the collection plate, or send them electronically. Your strong stewardship is an example of faithfulness.
Welcome Home to Messiah – Saturday Holy Communion 9:30 a.m. and Sunday Holy Communion 10:00 a.m.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
6 September thru 13 September in the Year of Pandemic
This weekly letter arrives a day late. I was away Labor Day Monday. Mary and I drove into Cleveland to have breakfast with our son. We have not seen our children in recent months due to traveling / gathering restrictions. Our son is a member of that generation that saw Nine Eleven, the economic collapse of 2008, and the Covid19 Pandemic of 2020. Three times now they have had to re-gather themselves emotionally and recoup economically. They are strong, bright people. We who are of the older generations do well to lend them a hand in any way that we are able. Their road to retirement will not be as smooth a sailing as ours.
When we drove to Cleveland yesterday morning it rained tremendously. When we arrived in Cleveland it was still raining. All thru our time together it rained outside. I understand that August in NE Ohio was exceptionally dry. September 7th more than made up for it. We like our rain, but prefer it more steadily and less dramatically.
I have tremendous respect the people administering our NE Ohio Synod election of a new bishop this weekend. We are not gathered face to face in assembly for that election. We will be physically distanced and so will cast votes electronically. Nominations have to be made and confirmed and candidates have to be screened and approved. The time frame for this in the initial stages is excruciatingly small. And only God knows what vagaries of the internet may cause unexpected interference. Here’s a Shout Out to all the good folk involved with that complicated process -- God bless you and keep you.
Frank Maenpa and Dee Dee Maenpa and myself will be among the virtual delegates for the synod assembly. Friday and Saturday we’ll gather in our homes in front of computer screens. We’ll follow discussions, carefully follow instructions, and cast our votes. I wish someone would take a poll of all the attendees. I bet we could set a Guiness World Record for the number of people “attending” the assembly wearing really comfortable old clothes, or possibly still in pajamas and slippers.
Last weekend we went to our new service times and with encouraging success. It was Labor Day weekend. I expected very low attendance. But Saturday drew a nice, small group and Sunday attendance was so strong that altar guild member Marilyn Brown had to prepare extra “communion kits”. Saturday Holy Communion is 9:30 a.m. This allows folk to get a jump on their busy day. Sunday Holy Communion is 10:00 a.m. It’s not as late as our usual 11:00 a.m. starting time. But during the pandemic there is no Sunday Forum or Senior Choir warm up in that time slot. So, we moved Sunday church to 10:00 a.m.
Thank you, Messiah members and friends, faithful offerings during this pandemic. You mail them in, drop them in the collection plate, or send them electronically. Your strong stewardship is an example of faithfulness.
One of the themes from last Sunday’s Gospel was communication and relationships. When relationships are strong and healthy, life is full and good. When relationships are broken, life is awkward and impeded. So, keep on talking. Interestingly, that is the first thing God does in the bible. In the beginning, Genesis tells us, “God SAID, ‘let there be light’.” God said. God spoke. Creation resulted thru word from God. We create similarly thru our words. Thru our conversations we create, sustain, and heal relationships. Keep on talking, connecting with each other. The effectiveness of Word is older than the stars.
Be well,
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
August 30 thru September 6 in the Year of Pandemic
A quick reminder:
Saturday, September 5th Holy Communion service begins 9:30 a.m.
Sunday, September 6th Holy Communion service begins 10:00 a.m.
We attend weekend services wearing masks and we are seated at a distance from one another. There is no singing, though we hear good music. Holy Communion is celebrated safely without contact and a lot of “handling” the elements.
I usually put this at the end. This is to thank Messiah members and friends for your faithful offerings. You mail them in, drop them in the collection plate, or send them electronically. Your strong stewardship is an example of faithfulness. Thank you!
Many know the Eble family. Norma is a life-long member of Messiah. She and Gary have served our church and community in many ways thru many years. Their daughter, Christiana, died at ACMC the morning of August 23rd. We’ve known Christina’s children in a variety of ways at Messiah -- Sunday school, VBS, confirmation, etc. The family has planned a special celebration of life event for Christina at her sister’s home. Christina loved The Beatles, among other good things. It will be good to celebrate her life and the ways she brought life to others. People of faith do that. In the midst of death, we celebrate life. God is author of life. Death interrupts the narrative. But the story does not end in death. God promises to restore us to the gift of life and living. The next chapter is really good.
This week is different because it is marked by lack of planning. What I mean is, normally there are a host of details we attend to getting ready for Labor Day weekend. But Labor Day 2020 we are not gathering, traveling, attending, participating, vacationing. We are continuing some form of isolating. I’ve heard it said that Covid19 social distancing is hell for extroverts but rather heavenly for introverts. Wherever you fall on that Introversion-Extroversion scale, be positive and productive this Labor Day weekend.
Be well,
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
August 23 thru August 30 in the Year of Pandemic
This may have been buried in last week’s weekly letter. Council has resolved to keep the building closed to outside groups and regular congregation activities thru November 1st. Colleges are still sending students home, sports events are cancelled or limit spectators, culture events are cancelled, there is no inoculation for Covid19. Keeping the building closed, except for carefully managed weekend worship, is the responsible thing to do.
Speaking of worship, here are the new times starting Labor Day weekend. Saturday September 5th Holy Communion is 9:30 a.m. Sunday September 6th Holy Communion is 10:00 a.m. Sunday worship time will remain 10:00 a.m. thru the fall, starting September 6th. Saturday worship time will remain 9:30 a.m. thru the fall starting September 5th.
At least thru November 1st the choir will not sing on Sundays. Currently, no Sunday Forum is scheduled. There is bible study Wednesday mornings at 10:30 a.m. I’m open to the possibility of offering a Zoom bible study.
We were proud to be Ashtabulans last week. On Thursday the Ashtabula County Metroparks dedicated the ADA pathway at Red Brook Park. Participants were all appropriately masked for the ribbon cutting. There are ten parks in the county Metroparks system. There are more parks outside the Metropark system. There is plenty to see and do here, even during Corona Virus isolation.
We were also proud to be Ashtabulans last week at the changing of the guard at Hubbard House. The former executive director is retired and the new executive director has begun her tenure. The safe ceremony to mark that transition of leadership was inspiring. I’m always ennobled when I hear the story of the underground railroad and Hubbard House Ashtabula as a northern terminus. One of the take away phrases at the ceremony came from a colleague in the ministerial association, Rev. Singh. His phrase was, “against slavery then, against oppression now.”
I’m part of a newly established group in the ELCA called Mission Interpreters. Our focus is stewardship. We’ve barely begun. Interestingly, we meet via Zoom. Zoom conferencing may forever change the way we do business in America. Many businesses have discovered their employees work effectively remotely and communicate well via video conferencing. This may eliminate the need in some cases for having people commute into the “office”. I wonder if religious denominations will follow this cost cutting trend. I, for one, would miss the face-to-face interactions; that is often what provokes creativity and inventiveness.
I close this with a shout out for all the students in our land. From age 3 in a pre-school to Ph.D. in a grad school, they are charting new courses as they sail thru troubled waters. I especially admire high school seniors. So much of the high school experience comes to fruition in that magical senior year. The Class of 2021 will endure unprecedented hardship without the benefit of close community and events that strengthen and support. If they negotiate their way thru this crisis they are going to emerge as rock solid young adults with huge gifts for society. Remember the old bumper sticker, “support your local police?” I’d like to fashion a new one, “support your local students.”
Be well,
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
August 16 thru August 23 in the Year of Pandemic
Synod Assembly is September 11 & 12 September. Messiah’s virtual delegates are Dee Dee and Frank Maenpa. They are virtual delegates. Yes, our Northeast Ohio Synod will meet on-line this year. Delegates will vote electronically, from the safety of our homes. Whoever is elected bishop will have a special calling. S/he will have to gather congregations that have been isolating and de-programming for the better part of a year. Thank you, Maenpas, for being part of that electronic electoral process.
For these summer months, Isabelle Fleming has been our church secretary. Now, at summer’s end, Isabelle returns for her junior year at Kent State University. The secretary job has changed drastically since the advent of Covid19. The building is no longer opened for community or family groups. There are no Sunday bulletins to prepare. No weddings are scheduled. Funerals tend to be at the funeral home or just at the cemetery. Nursing homes and hospitals do not permit pastors to visit. With all those changes, the secretary’s work load has lessened considerably. For the time being, Messiah member Becky Young will occupy the secretary’s desk. We thank Becky for stepping in after for Bella. As the congregation returns to normal practice the secretary position will resume its traditional role. In the meantime, when you phone you will hear Becky’s voice or my voice answer. She and I are there to help in anyway. If we are not there to answer, leave a message.
Church secretaries bring special gifts and leave their own legacies. Cathy Carle, for example, was a terrific proof reader and had encyclopedic memory of Messiah families. One of Bella’s lasting gifts from her summer in the office was the gift of You Tube. Every week, starting way back in Holy Week, she “filmed” make shift Sunday services. I would preach and pray. Debbie Fleming would play piano or organ. Sometimes Ed Schroeder, Julie Hunt, and Barb Ranta added their good music. Bella would edit those different segments and form a single service. She’d download that to a disk, bring the disk to Frank Maenpa, then he would download it onto our You Tube channel that he established. People really appreciated seeing Messiah every week. I sure do. Mary and I watch Messiah every Sunday as we eat breakfast or lunch.
I’m pleased to say the practice Debbie and Bella began will continue. The church council authorized the purchase of an iPad. I will continue to “film” church service segments, then edit them together into one unified service. I’ll drop off the disk for Frank who will download it on You Tube. So, Messiah on social media will continue. (Does that make me a televangelist?)
Remember the piano that was in the hallway for over a year? It had been in the Luther Room for decades. Then the gift of the old Steinway piano arrived. The Steinway moved into the Luther Room, the other piano moved to the hallway. Jill Carle connected us with a young couple who wanted a piano for their children’s piano lessons. A real piano, with hammers, strings, and heavy sound board, gives a more authentic sound than electronic keyboards. So, the family in search of a piano gathered four burly friends and a pick-up truck. Sunday afternoon Homer Young let them in the building and helped them get the piano out the hallway, thru the front door, and into the pick-up bed. They made it home before the heavy rains started. The piano that served Messiah for decades now serves a family of young musicians. A sad development in our culture is that it is very difficult to give or sell pianos, unless they are of exceptional quality and value.
The August 10thcouncil meeting wisely decided to keep Messiah “closed” thru November 1st. Ministry is not closed. Food Bank is open. Prayer and study continue. Holy Communion is served and celebrated. But normal activities and welcoming in outside groups remain suspended thru November 1st.
The Big Ten made it official. No Buckeye football the fall of 2020. I think colleges played football games even during World War II. This pandemic is negatively affecting our health AND our culture and economy. When we first cancelled church services on March 22, I remember assuming things would be back to normal by Easter. Was I ever naïve! Currently, we have no idea what the new normal will be like, whenever it finally arrives.
There is so much to reflect upon but this is getting a little long. My son made a very truthful and prescient statement back in 2007 when Mary and I were considering the call to Messiah. My son said, “it sounds as though something good happens at Messiah every day.” Yup, that about sums it up. There’s a good exchange or conversation or helpful deed or meaningful connection here every day. God is good. And God in you made this good place what it is. And it will be even better after Covid19 is behind us.
Be well
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
August 9 thru August 16 in the Year of Pandemic
Big Ten teams have announced modified football schedules for the fall. The curtailed schedule means HUGE economic loss. For example, Notre Dame had been scheduled to play Wisconsin in Lambeau Field. Not anymore. Imagine the dollars that would have generated from people parking cars on their lawns to TV revenues. Fair weather fans such as myself have it easy; we’ll just find something interesting to do those hours we would have watched TV. I genuinely feel the pain of sincere, die-hard fans. I appreciate the lament of universities and student athletes who rely on football generated income for their programs and scholarships. Perhaps new priorities for programs and policies will emerge after Covid19 sacked college football in 2020.
I had a funeral last Saturday. Actually, I did not have a funeral, I just officiated at one. It was Bill Hogan’s funeral for which people gathered. This is another example of steady Messiah ministering thru the generations. When Bill married his wife, Ada, it was 1965. Pastor Pettersen officiated the wedding. When Bill and Ada had a son and daughter, Pastor Pettersen baptized them in the early 1970’s. When Ada died of cancer in 1992, Pastor Eaton officiated her funeral. When Bill died in 2020, Pastor Meranda met family wearing masks and led committal at graveside. I’m proud to be part of the continuity of pastoral care from this congregation that dates back to 1921.
I saw a major transition. The clothing bank started in 2006 or 2007, I think. Donna Kiddle was its founding leader. Since then it has served neighbors at least once a week every Monday morning. Sometimes it has opened up other times for emergencies. The annual Christmas Give Away became a clothing bank event appreciated by many around Ashtabula.
When Covid19 began we closed this building to most public activities. The clothing in the old youth room and the room under the court yard did not receive any attention. It’s humid in that basement. For a week or two a leak in the court yard room let in rain water. Damaged clothing had to be disposed of. Undamaged clothing had to be given away. That is what happened last Saturday. Sue Leitert from Property Committee coordinated volunteers. Remaining clothing was taken to Catholic Charities and Good Will. All that remains are display racks, empty hangars, and empty plastic bins. The rooms will soon get a good cleaning and the floors a good waxing.
It is hard to tell at this point weather or not the clothing bank ministry of Messiah will return. There are so many uncertainties at this point. We may be unclear as to the clothing bank’s future, but we are very clear about celebrating its past. That ministry gathered hundreds of different “customers” thru the years. I’m sure many friendships were made or renewed among the people waiting in the hallways. The clothing bank was another of the many ways this community sees Messiah as an open and serving place. To all who had any role in that important outreach, thank you!
Council meets tonight. This building has been basically closed thru Labor Day. With five million Covid19 cases in the USA, with Ohio cases still increasing, with a vaccine not yet released, I do not think it would be safe for us to re-open in the immediate future. We’re not even planning an August church picnic for outdoors in the park. But we continue to celebrate Holy Communion safely every Saturday and Sunday. Council will wisely lead all discussions about when to more fully re-open. For the time being, we remain for the most part safely closed.
Prayers continue in this place. The Lutheran Church has a powerful arm of “spirituality”, the daily prayer cycle. We have liturgies for Morning Prayer, Noon Day Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Prayer at the Close of the Day. I pray all of them in this good place. A prayer format based on that cycle is the other attachment in this email. I encourage more of us to print those pages and follow those prayers. I can’t explain the physics of it, but there is more energy when people pray the same together. It’s part of Jesus’ promise, “where two or three are gathered, there am I.”
Be safe. Be smart. Be well. Be blessed.
Pastor M
Welcome Home to Messiah
August 2 thru August 9 - AD 2020
Covid19 has not been here a full year, yet. Though it seems like an eternity. Anyway, we are still experiencing what it feels like to not celebrate events we’ve grown accustomed to celebrating. So, there was no Easter breakfast or Easter Sunday service at Messiah. We did not do Memorial Day geraniums. We did not gather for Red Brook Vespers or Theology on Tap. There was no VBS. Now, in August, we’ll get used to not gathering for a church picnic. The saying is true, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or, isolation from an event makes us realize how important that event was.
The absence of events that congregations are accommodating is happening in our culture. I’m thinking of the County Fair. That was always an event to anticipate. Parking out in a field and getting a ride in on a tractor drawn trailer. Demolition Derby. The honey exhibit. Animal exhibits. Junk food. This year the Board of Directions has announced cancellation of the “traditional fair”. In its place will be a Junior Fair. I’m impressed the board recognized the danger presented by Covid19. At the same time, they are arranging for an alternate, fair-like experience. Humans adapt. We accommodate. It is when we are rigid or extreme that we get ourselves into trouble.
Property Committee meets tonight. It’s as if the building is on sabbatical these pandemic days. I’m accustomed to hearing the entrance doors constantly beeping as they are opened for people entering for some kind of activity. For the most part, the doors are silent. The building is more or less shut down for typical uses. Even food bank clients do not come into the building. Some day God’s house here will resume being an open, come-on-in house.
Finance Committee meets tonight. So far, your offerings have been consistent and generous. I hear that from other pastors on the NE Ohio Synod stewardship team. Lutherans understand this time is different. But we’re maintaining the infrastructures of our congregations and synods and denomination. We’re still celebrating Word and Sacrament. The day will come when we’ll resume more serving, hospitality, fellowship.
Cathy Carle retired in May after eleven years of faithful service as church secretary. Isabelle Fleming has filled really well this summer. But end of August, Isabelle returns to Kent State. That means Messiah is looking for a secretary. This job is perfect for someone out there. It is only 12-hours per week. It involves interacting with a lot of really nice people. It directly supports God’s ministry of Word and Sacrament and Service in this good place. If you are aware of anyone, young or old, who you feel would do a good job here in the office, put them in contact with me. Or let me know and I’ll contact them.
Welcome Home to Messiah
Pastor M
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