I love All Saints’ Day! It is one of my favorite Sundays and services of the year. The imagery is beautiful. All Saints’ Day brings to the forefront something we know but may not always take time to acknowledge. We are CELEBRATING with the saints of all times, places, and peoples. In our sermon on … Read more
I had the opportunity to attend a few conferences at the very end of September and the beginning of October. One of my favorites to attend is our Indiana District DCE conference. Mark Kiessling, Director of Youth Ministry in the LCMS, was our speaker. He spoke about young adults and how/why they stay, or leave … Read more
Church attendance is one of the most frustrating things to address. It’s hard not to sound legalistic: “Come to church – or else!” It’s hard not to sound like church is about numbers: “We NEED stronger attendance, We NEED more young families, We NEED more giving!” It’s hard not to sound like it’s being taken … Read more
Recently, I had the privilege of attending a Lutheran Administrator’s Conference in Florida. While I was there, I learned many things about Early Childhood Education and Administration. I also received a few books at the conference. I decided to start with a one written by Jeffrey Leininger called Callings for Life: God’s Plan, Your Purpose. … Read more
This article was written for our March Newsletter. “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” You may have noticed the past couple of Sundays that I gave a different blessing at the end of each communion table. Instead of normally saying “Depart in peace; your sins are forgiven”, I said “Depart in … Read more
Something I enjoy is history in the Bible unfold. In preparing for Kitchen Table Bible Study, I’ve been reading through the book of Hosea and listening to commentaries on Hosea. I think it’s fascinating the amount of history that plays into the first few chapters of Hosea. Israel’s early history in the promised land sets … Read more
A few weeks ago, we were blessed to hear the Kantorei from the Seminary in Fort Wayne sing in church. When all the members of the choir were returning from Communion, one of my toddlers said, “That’s a lot of pastors.” It made us chuckle because it’s not entirely accurate, yet. Most, if not all, … Read more
A few weeks ago we put a wooden Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in our church bag. The next Sunday, my husband showed me something he pulled from the Bible/hymnal rack. It was baby Jesus. He put it in his pocket, but my youngest toddler immediately wanted to play with it so he gave it … Read more
Ash Wednesday is March 2, 2022. There are many ways to prepare for the Lenten season and Easter. Many people give something up for Lent to remind them of Christ’s humility and sacrifice. Others like to adopt a spiritual discipline for the season like attending Lenten services, reading the Bible more, doing extra devotions, fasting, … Read more
As many know, we’ve collected donations for the Samaritan Food Pantry located on Market Plaza by Coffee House Five in the past. We’ve supported Samaritan Food Pantry through food donations, monetary donations, and the meals we’ve packed with Pack Away Hunger. Concordia supported this food pantry for many years. During the height of the pandemic, … Read more