Cross Lutheran Church
April 2012
From Pastor Ken
IN THIS SEASON OF EASTER
I have been thinking a lot about death and resurrection, despair and hope. As I have been driving through a number of communities visiting, I pass by so many boarded up houses and it makes me think about the families who once occupied those homes and I have to wonder where are those families and what are their living conditions like today?
I'm thinking of a young lady who came to talk to me one day after the Wednesday Bible study. She was caught in a bind living with someone that she was trying to get away from but afraid to leave because she was deeply in debt for money she owed him from drugs.
My thoughts have been weighing so heavily on the community where many outside of this community do not ever see them as human beings and who identify those who live in the city only by their problems and not ever by their possibility and potential.
There was a political sign that I would drive past everyday that really bothered me. It was a picture of President Obama with a caption that read: "He will divide our country." It bothered me because what has divided our country and continues to do so are individuals who have never been comfortable with the color of the man who occupies the White House, and so I wonder will we ever grow up racially as a nation?
And then God raises up amazing people like many of our partners who show up each week because they see the power of God at work. And when they are here, they see human beings. There are challenges yes, but they also see potential and possibility. I think of the congregations, individuals and institutions who have expressed not just excitement and energy, but a willingness to get behind a dream and a vision to help raise significant dollars to support the creation of jobs that would employ African-American males. I think of those suburban partners who do so much to assist us in our mission and who keep asking what more can we do? I think of the Adult Bible Study over these last few Sundays including a couple of Saturdays that allowed for extended conversation on James Cones, The Cross and the Lynching Tree. I appreciated the faith of the folks who were around the table, for their questions, insights and the depth of their love.
And then there is actual physical death that has touched this congregation recently. The words that we heard as the Ashes were placed upon our foreheads, "from dust we came and to dust we shall return," reminded us of our mortality and as we have walked with those who have been stricken with terminal illness, as we have walked with their families we have discovered in the most recent instances that the reality of death and the journey toward death is not easy. It is not easy for the dying nor is it easy for the families of the dying. I don't imagine that the journey toward death was easy, but it was a journey that he took and because he took it we now have hope that our life does not end when the body of our loved one is placed in the ground. The Reverend Dennis Nelson concluded a review of a book about the work of Chaplains at Ground Zero this way: "As we let down the bodies, we encounter the transforming power of God to bring victory out of defeat, power out of weakness, wholeness out of suffering, and life out of death." Even as we lose loved ones through death, as painful as that loss may be, we are still able to sing, "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!"
Finally, Remember that SEPTEMBER is Revival Month.
Look for More information shortly. The Preacher will be Dr. Obery Hendricks who is a scholar, activist and preacher. He presently serves on the faculty of New York Theological Seminary. You will not want to miss this dynamic and prophetic preacher. We continue to press for excellence and we are grateful that Dr. Hendricks so readily accepted our invitation to come.
These are his words from his book, The Politics of Jesus.
He's talking about religious leaders. "Their unwillingness to speak truth to power or to empower others to do so represents a refusal to prophesy for justice and a betrayal of their sacred calling. Moreover ministers who are cozy with those in power run the abiding risk of becoming servants of Baal, the god of the privileged few. That is why a conservative prophet, a prophet aligned with the ruling regime, in reality is no prophet at all." (p. 33)
Will you begin to pray for this revival now?
Pray for the outpouring of God's Spirit.
Pray for the shackles of addiction to be broken.
Pray for personal transformation and pray for the transformation of the city, communities and neighborhoods.
Pray for Justice and pray for jobs.
Pray for the healing of families.
Pray that you and I will open ourselves to being used by God as an instrument of God's love and light!
Holy Week Schedule
April 1: Palm Sunday Procession with Palms & the baptism of Logan Ayala, 9:30 a.m.
April 5: Maundy Thursday-- Joint worship at Cross with Incarnation, Hephatha and All Peoples, 6 p.m.
April 6: Good Friday Worship at Cross, 7 p.m.
April 8: The Resurrection of Our Lord--Worship Celebration with Holy Communion and the baptism of Victoria Pressie, 9:30 a.m.
Cross Day at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Wauwatosa
April 22, 2012
St. Matthew, one of our partners, has designated Sunday, April 22 as Cross Day.
Pastor Ken will be preaching, our Gospel Choir will be singing at the second service, and our Parish Nurse, Linda Radder, and our Neighborhood Minister, Easter Dethrow, will speak about the Bread of Healing Empowerment Ministry during the education hour. This day is another opportunity to deepen our partnership. Our thanks to Pastor Margaret Schoewe for the invitation and our thanks to God for blessing both of our ministries with dedicated and faithful leaders.
Associate Pastor Corner
Forgiveness, Reconciliation & Resurrection!
"When I kept silence, my bones wasted away, through my groaning all the day long." Sometimes we ought to be silent to God. This is the wise thing to do when sore trials are upon us, and we do not know what to do. "I was silent; I would not open my mouth, for You are the one who has done this!" There is a great blessing in such silence to God. It brings peace, joy, comfort. It means a submission to God's will—in time of suffering . But here is a silence to God, which does not bring blessing—silence about our sins. Unconfessed sins cause only bitterness and sorrow.
Who cannot relate to the depression and heaviness that come from feeling guilty? I am reminded of one of my boys who hid something from his parents and was struggling with the worry of what would happen when we eventually found out. (Maybe he took something without asking.) Ironically, he was punishing himself much more severely than we, his parents, ever could. He could not enjoy even a moment of happiness, so he told on himself, because I suppose he knew his guilt could be uncovered at any time.
Perhaps your partner/spouse has thoughtlessly hurt you and then realizes what he/she has done, but still are unable bring their self to ask for your forgiveness? He/she is probably unable to forgive him/her self, and, most likely, doesn’t believe that he/she deserves their spouses/partner’s forgiveness. At the same time, the longer one waits, the higher the wall of separation will rise between them making it that much more difficult to build a bridge back to each other.
The psalmist describes this burden of guilt in a very graphic and compelling way. It’s as if he’s asking us to examine how we ourselves experience the feeling of our bones “wasting away” when we know that we have offended God or hurt a brother or sister. In what ways do we feel God’s hand heavy upon us? What causes our strength to be “dried up like a brittle branch that then snaps like a twig?”
The text from Luke 15:24,32: “This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found . . . We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found,” was recently used at my step dad’s funeral and the preacher (Pr. Ken) eloquently gave the message of the “lavishness” that was extended to the prodigal son and to us by our heavenly father.
The parable of the prodigal son allows us to shift our focus from our need to request and receive forgiveness to God’s eager and burning desire to pour out his extravagant forgiveness on all of us. It is perfectly clear that our loving Father is always willing to forgive us no matter what we have done to offend him. It is almost as clear that we tend to have a difficult time accepting this forgiveness.
Forgiveness is the greatest gift that we can receive. The whole reason why Jesus came among us as a man and suffered and died for us on the cross was to give us the gift of reconciliation with his Father and with our brothers and sisters here on earth. His whole purpose was to heal the rift that had been caused by the sin of Adam. Jesus’ goal is for us to be brought into a perfect union with his Father and with each other. He wants us all to have that amazing experience of being forgiven—not just for a moment but for all eternity.
Every day, we are given a new day where the slate is wiped clean because of the grace through Jesus in which he pours out his mercy upon us when we repent. With all of these blessings just waiting for us, what could possibly keep us from reconciling ourselves with God each and every day? With our children, partners/spouses and all of our brothers and sisters? Why would we ever want to avoid the feeling of relief and happiness that comes when our “fault is taken away,” and our “sin is covered”?
We have journeyed through Lent together and I hope we have been penitent and contemplative, so as to renew and deepen our relationship with God first and our loved ones as well. To be reconciled with Christ and each other in order to be prepared to celebrate our next festival in life--Resurrection with our Lord!
Paschal Tidings,
Pastor Michelle
I am a regular blood donor who will be visiting Africa this year. As a result I will not be eligible to donate blood 6/9/12 - 6/9/13. I need one or more people who would be willing to become a new donor for this period of time. Please contact Marian Wasierski for details. Use email or telephone 414-463-2662. And I thank you in advance.
Save the Date!
Marilyn Miller’s Ordination
Sunday, June 10
3:00 p.m.
Cross Lutheran Church
SAVE THE DATE—Golf Outing
Fundraiser for Bread of Healing Ministry
and the National Youth Gathering
Friday, June 22, 2012
Willow Run Golf Club
N12 W26506 Golf Road
Pewaukee, WI 53072
262-544-8585
11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.—Registration
1:00 p.m.—Shot Gun Start
Dinner Buffet to Follow
$75.00 per golfer
Contact Lisa or Ann for details (414-571-0999)
To download your entry form, visit our website:
> http://www.crosslutheranmilwaukee.org/news-a-links/golf-outing.html
Notes from the Parish Nurse
Spring is in the air, the plants are breaking through the soil with new life. Would you like to have a healthier lifestyle, a new life, for the Spring?
Here’s what you can do:
EAT RIGHT
Make half your grains whole. Choose whole grain foods such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice, and low fat popcorn more often.
Vary your vegetables. Eat dark green vegetables like spinach and broccoli, alternate that with orange vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes. Make your plate colorful.
Focus on fruits. Eat fruits at meals, at snack time, or as a dessert. Choose fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. Fruit juice is acceptable if there is no other fruit in the house, but fruit juice has more sugar and more calories than fruit itself.
Eat calcium-rich foods. To build strong bones, serve low-fat and fat-free milk and other milk products like yogurt, cottage cheese, and regular cheese several times a day.
Eat lean protein meals. Make sure your meat is lean or low-fat like chicken, turkey, or fish at as many meals as possible. You can add dry beans and peas for protein also. Use nuts, chick peas (garbanzo beans), and seeds on a salad, pinto beans in a burrito, and kidney beans in a soup to add more lean protein.
Change your oil. We all need oil/fat in our diet. Get yours from fish, nuts, and liquid oils such as canola, corn, soybean, and olive oil. Stay away from vegetable oils.
Don’t sugarcoat it. Choose foods and beverages that do not have sugar, corn syrup, or fructose as one of the first ingredients. These added sugars contribute calories with few, if any, nutrients.
EXERCISE
Set a good example. Be physically active and get your family to join you. Have fun together. Play with the kids and the pets. Go for a walk, a swim, play tennis or golf, tumble in the leaves or play catch, do chair exercises.
Establish a routine. Set aside time each day for exercise. Walk, jog, skate, cycle, swim, whatever exercise you love to do. If you don’t have a physical activity you love, find one! Adults need 30 minutes of activity; children 60 minutes each day.
Have an activity party. Make the next birthday party or family gathering centered on activity. Try bowling, ice skating, roller skating, croquet, Nintendo WI, or just take a family walk.
Set up a home gym. This doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Use household items, such as canned foods, as weights. Stairs can substitute for stair machines. Walking in your basement or around your yard can work. Just move!