SUNDAY CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Coffee Hour 9:30 am

Worship 10:00 am

Presiding Bishop of ELCA, Rev.  Mark S.Hanson

Reception following worship

1:00 pm  Luncheon at Detroit Yacht Club

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, with a Luncheon at Bay View Yacht Club.

Tickets are $20. Call the Church,  313-921-2667, or the Women’s Association president, Doris Bell, 313-821-3576.

Details below.

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, the Women’s Association of Iroquois Avenue Christ Lutheran Church will celebrate its 100th year of existence with a Luncheon at Bay View Yacht Club, located at the foot of Conner Ave and the Detroit River.  Tickets are $20 and will be available at the Church,  313-921-2667, or by calling the Women’s Association president, Doris Bell, at 313-821-3576.  We will gather at 12 noon and begin serving at 12:30pm.  A non-alcoholic punch is available and luncheon choices include fish or chicken picatta, soup, vegetable, rice, a dessert of Sanders ice cream puff and beverages.

We are privileged to have Eva Horner and our organist, Daniel Herman begin the afternoon with some music followed by the meal and then our program celebrating the  hardworking women of the Association.  We finish with our candlelighting ceremony and the distribution of “birthday gifts”.  We hope to have as many women present as possible and we invite all who would like to attend to make a reservation.  Spouses are welcome.

Recently, I have been reading the story known as “The Prodigal Son,” as though it more aptly tells the story of a radical father. The father portrayed in this parable has been “left for dead” by the younger son (someone has to die in order for you to claim an inheritance); the father in this story has also been castigated by the elder son because he chose to give what was rightfully his own property to the younger son and gave him even more when he returned broken and abused.

This story reflects, in some ways, the relationship of the church with God. In many ways we have asked God for “what we have coming to us,” and left God dead on the cross; we want to inherit the Reigndom of God, the crown of eternal life, but without the cross. Some of us who are called Christian have castigated God because God loves all of the children equally–Jews, Muslims, et al.

As we continue our Lenten Journey, let us pray that God gives us a radical love, a love that will have us running down the road to welcome home one who was lost but now is found. As we pray, study and hear the Word of God, may we find within ourselves the true reflection of our Radical Parent–unconditional love.

Peace,

image courtesy of Kataugh’s

What is the Season of Light revealing to us? What is it that we are endeavoring to see? Who is this “Light of the World?” We gaze on the babe in the manger even as we recoil from seeing the Man of Sorrows on the cross? Yes, the birth of Christ and the death and resurrection of Christ are the bedrock of our Christian faith. However, what do we do with the very human son of Mary? For it is in the living that Jesus teaches us to love God and neighbor.

Our gospel text as told in John 2 is the first of the many signs that Jesus executes that act as sign posts to his identify and mission. Upon reading the exchange between Jesus and Mary, our first response may have been how cruel are the words spoken to a mother. All she wanted was for Jesus to help out with the wedding feast. All she wanted was for Jesus to demonstrate his superiority over the natural order of things. Why then do we get so upset when Jesus says, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me. My hour has not yet come.” And yet Mary knew that he son would honor her request.

So what’s the big deal? The writer of John introduces a subtle reminder that faith develops within a context; our faith grows in, over, and throughout the culture in which we live. The Gospel according to John was filled with the contextual nuances of the time. There was tension between being an obedient son to Mary against the obedient Son of God; there was tension between the patriarchal society of 1st century Palestine and the western world of feminist and womanist thinking. As we continue through the Season of the Epiphany may God truly enlighten our reading of the Word.

Pastor Christmas

Bethlehem marks a mid-way point in God’s salvation story; it is Calvary’s cross that completes the picture. But let us make another stop in the Judean desert as two cousins meet and mark the Advent of the Messiah and his prophet.

One writer spoke eloquently about the song that Mary sings in our gospel text (Luke 1: 39-55); I suppose I never thought of this Israeli teenager “belting out” a song. Yet, it must be so as “The Magnificat” has become part of the scriptural record. She sang a song about reversals. Another magazine writer put it this way:

“Breaking into song, [Mary] exclaims, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant (vv. 46-48). His mercy is for those who fear him, from generation to generation,’ she sings, going on to predict how God will turn the world upside down — scattering the proud, bringing down the powerful, lifting up the lowly and feeding the hungry (vv. 50-53).”

What song will you sing during this blessed season of Love? For it was for love that God sent God’s son from glory to earth. So let’s belt it out—Go Tell It on the Mountain, the Christ of God comes!

Rejoice,

Pastor Christmas

image via flickr user Andy Castro – Creative Commons

Already, we are at the third week of Advent and the Season of Christmas is fast approaching. Like the time of preparation for the coming of the Lord, the celebration of His advent is more than a day’s event. And so we continue to pray for the stirring up of the Spirit of God in our waiting and in our preparatory activities.

The Gospel text this week, Luke 3: 7-18, provides for us a backdrop for what these seasons mean to the world and specifically to Christians. Christians are the recipients of an indescribable gift. We are the recipients of a gift that will never again be duplicated; a gift we neither deserve nor can we earn. The gift of God’s only Son has changed human history forever. As we have received, let us give. Still, it’s more than “if you have two coats, give one away;” we must hold ever before us the message of Jesus’ inaugural sermon as found in Luke 4, since we are in the “family business.” As heirs to the Reigndom of God, let us be good stewards of our time, talents, and treasures 365/24/7.

As you continue a thoughtful and spiritually disciplined journey to the manger, may God’s blessings be yours.

Peace,

Pastor Christmas

Image: mtsofan via Flickr Creative Commons

As we celebrate Christ the King Sunday let us member the Savior’s sacrifice for our sake. Our Lord left his home in glory to come and tabernacle with humanity. With great anticipation we await his return in glory to claim the sheep of his fold.

For the next three Sundays we will celebrate the Season of Advent. Advent is a season of waiting and of stirring up. We commemorate the arrival of the Babe of Bethlehem while looking ahead to the return of Christus Victor, Christ the Victorious. Be sure to take the time to have the true Spirit of Christmas stirred up in your heart, in your home; the celebration will be sweeter when we remember the way of the cross was the object of the manger.

Joyous Advent Season,

Pastor Christmas