By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish of the UMC Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston, and Spring Valley: Faith Churches (and Lenora) I had the privilege and blessing to attend Garrett-Evangelical Seminary on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois on the shore of Lake Michigan. Those were indeed holy days. My life was enriched by an inspiring … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Living the Resurrection Now
By Pastor Kris Hertsgaard Kincaid Christ Lutheran Church Preston When the earth shakes and the tomb stands empty, God reveals that resurrection is not only something we witness but something we live – here and now – as a community raised with Christ, learning to walk through a fearful world with great joy. Easter begins with a tremor. In Matthew’s telling of the … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – No Expense Too Great
By Pastor Jeff Jacobs Unity Lutheran Parish - St. Paul, Saetersdal and St. Matthew’s, Granger Decades before cell phones and internet, long before television or radio, the fastest way to send a message was by telegraph. But it was not always the most precise, as a story from that era illustrates. In the 1890s, a wealthy lady was traveling through Europe when … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Knowing Your Destination
By Pastor Paul Hauschild Chatfield Lutheran and Root Prairie Lutheran Once when Albert Einstein took a train from Princeton University, a conductor boarded to check the passengers’ tickets. When he reached Einstein, he began searching his jacket pockets for his ticket but couldn’t find it. He then looked in his trouser pockets, then in his small carry-on suitcase, … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”
By Pastor Mark Woodward Maple Leaf Parish of the UMC Cherry Grove, Fountain, Preston, and Spring Valley: Faith Churches (and Lenora) We are in the season of Lent. The Lenten season is often overlooked by secular society, as Lent does not draw the attention and glamour often paid to the Advent season leading up to Christmas. Lent is a quiet, personal and reflective … [Read more...]
Fr. Gawarecki Sews His Own Vestments
Father Nicholas Gawarecki, pastor of the local Holy Family Catholic Parishes, has many hobbies including cooking, woodworking, playing Ultimate Frisbee, working out at the gym, playing piano, singing and sewing. Fr. Nicholas has applied his sewing skills to sew somewhat unique items – his own vestments. As a child, Fr. Nicholas learned to sew from his mother. She had cut … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Behold, I Myself Will Shepherd My People
By Rev. Peter Haugen St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church On that first Maundy Thursday, our Lord Jesus proclaimed that a day is coming, the great and awesome day of the Lord, when He Himself will judge all people, separating the sheep from the goats, the Christian from the non-Christian. There is a rich irony in this. The Judge is about to be judged. Nevertheless, He … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Reflections on the Lenten Journey towards Holy Week
By Pastor Nissa Peterson Chatfield and Root Prairie Lutheran Churches When I was young, the Lutheran church I attended performed a yearly passion play - a drama of Christ’s arrest, trial, and crucifixion. I participated as one of many children by singing, waving palms, and being in the crowd. This play taught me a lot about Christ’s death and resurrection that we … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Meeting Jesus
By Pastor Kevin Barnhart Spring Grove Evangelical Free Like a young plant growing in dry ground, no form or majesty, no beauty, despised rejected a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief, one from whom men hide their faces, despised, carried our sorrow, stricken, pierced, crushed, and wounded for our transgressions. And so it begins, our journey towards the cross. … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – The Fasts We Keep
By Rev. Anders Nelson Mabel-Henrytown Tri-Point Parish - Mabel First Lutheran Church, Scheie Lutheran Church and Henrytown Lutheran Church This last Sunday, the scripture texts from the Revised Common Lectionary included a passage from the prophet Isaiah as the prophet was calling God’s people in the midst of exile into a better understanding of what it means to take up a … [Read more...]