January 2025

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.

– John 1:1

Grace and peace to you all! I pray that the new year calendar year has started with blessings, be they large or small.

What an exciting year this is for St. Luke’s! We look ahead toward the coming celebrations: our first Easter together, the100th anniversary of our congregation, and many other joyous opportunities to raise our voices to God in praise of what God is doing here in our midst. As the scripture says: This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Now that the calendar year has begun and the madcap times of Christmas are nearly behind us, I would like to offer a few opportunities.

1) I am regularly in the office Tuesday through Thursday, usually starting around 10 am to avoid traffic. While I am here, you will often find the door to the office unlocked. There is a reason for this: I invite you to stop by, say hello, and even drop in for a chat. Do you have something you wanted to talk to me about? Are you wondering why something in worship changed? Is there just something on your mind and you need a safe place to talk about it without judgment? This is why I’m here.

Starting in the new year, I’m going to put a weekly calendar up next to my office door. This will run from Monday to the next Sunday, so you’ll be able to come in Sunday morning and see when I will be in the office and available to talk. During these office hours, I invite you to come in and talk about whatever is on your mind.

2) While I have been getting to know you all through our conversations, ad while you have all been getting to know me through the same conversations and through worship, I want to deepen my understanding of this congregation and what makes each of you a part of this tapestry of faith. I would like to meet with each of you, either individually or as a family group, so we can talk about who we are, where we come from, and what makes up our unique lives and           experiences.

The reason for this is three-fold: first, it helps me know how best I can serve here as pastor; second, it lets me know what gifts you have that can be used in service of God here at St. Luke’s; and third, it helps me with names, and I am really bad at remembering names. Like, really bad. I’ll have a sign-up sheet starting the second Sunday in January for people to indicate whether they have time during the day or in the evenings, so I can start to contact and make plans accordingly. I look forward to getting to know you all better!

3) Starting in late January/early February, I will start a new Adult Forum time on Sundays regarding something in our lives as Christians and Lutherans. The first will be five weeks on the liturgy itself, the order of our worship service that has persisted in one form or another for centuries. Have you wondered why the service is split up the way it is? Why is the Passing of the Peace right before Holy Communion? What is liturgy for in the first place? This discussion series will answer these questions, as well as others, and give us a new appreciation for our liturgical worship.

I invite you to consider other topics you would like to talk about or even that you want to lead, and I hope to see you in our talks on liturgy.

4) We will have a New Members Class starting in February. This is good for those who want to know more about the Lutheran beliefs before joining or for people who want to refresh what they learned years ago in Confirmation. More about this will be coming soon.

That’s all for now, so I leave you with a blessing: As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.

– Pr. Rob