Sometimes a photo turns out just so unexpectedly more than I wanted it to, and the marvel of the light plays even deeper than my imagination,
So I want to see it, more often, and posting it to share seems a small bit of Grace.
Easter in isolation is something for us all, though I’ve been at it for a few years now.
And then, the light shines just right and plays off the moisture in the clouds and off the rolling snow.
Easter Good Byes
What have you had to leave behind?
What is wrenched so out of your life by the health orders in place, so that you are left living outside the normal routines and security of things being tomorrow like they were yesterday?
How are you re-ordering your life in a manner that makes good, wonderful, life-giving sense for you and those around you?
Know that many others could use a word of encouragement, of thanks and gratitude, and of their worth in the ever changing footing we find ourselves standing on these days.
We should be able to empathize more for those who lived during the time of the plagues, for example when the Black Death, which hit Europe in 1347, claimed an astonishing 75-200 million lives in just four years, or 30% to 60% of the population. And it came back 800 years later.
The Light of Christ does not end, die with us, or need to return. It is always here, even in the darkest night, and through all our darkest times.
Be courageous. Find Beauty each day. Know Truth always. Be grateful, gracious and generous, with yourself and with the other sinners God put in your life. God forgives them, after-all. Why can you not also?
For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
Mark 16:2-4
And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
Words of Grace For Today
Christ is Risen! [Do you know the response?]
The dark hours of Jesus’ crucifixion and our continual sacrifice of others is passed. The void of yesterday is passed. The tomb is discovered empty by Mary and/or Peter.
God is not dead. God does not end Jesus’ story with his death, nor ours. Our stories continue in the stories of all the saints.
The Holy Spirit equips us to be ‘little Christs’ to one another, and sinners though we remain we can find our way to do the work of Christ as the saints God transforms us to be.
Jesus rescues us.
Jesus rescues us from our sins.
Jesus rescues us from our sins and the dark fog that lays over our future days.
Jesus rescues us.
We live in the Kingdom of God.
Every day we can learn and teach others to see the Light of Christ.
Every day we can give thanks. Death no longer has dominion over us, nor the Devil and all his works in and around us!
Every day we can respond, sharing all God has given us with those who need it so much.
Every day.
Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!
Christ is Risen! He is risen in deed!
Christ is Risen! He is risen in our deeds for others!
Do you want the Word, Jesus Christ, to reach more and more people?
Do you want to grow the body of Christ, to share the Good News with new people, to provide ministry to more people than you have before?
Most pastors and leaders of congregations would say, Yes?
But are you willing to get the things done to make that happen?
Most pastors and leaders would say yes, but …. And then not do what is necessary.
So what if Covid 19 has shut down gatherings, including worship services. Our hearts and brains still live on, right?
Why is Covid 19 not an opportunity to reach more people?
It is easier to get someone to ‘participate in’, to ‘visit’, or to ‘try out’ a church on line than in person. So why are the churches not capitalizing on that?
Yes, some are putting together online worship opportunities, so severely limited by the brick and mortar model of worship, that it’s painful to watch the results, but then worship in person has often been that, too. No wonder memberships decline. Or worse is for it all to become an entertainment hour where the real Word of God is hardly a bother.
Assets
Intentional Interim Ministry teaches (as many elsewhere, too) that the way to grow a church is to build on the church’s assets, on your own assets.
Among Trinity’s assets are it has a cathedral style building with a pipe organ, and an organist in Cherie Larson who knows how to make it ‘sing’, and other musicians who contribute at a very professional level to enliven worship with profoundly meaningful music.
Trinity also tapped someone who is a professional quality photographer and a video editor to create an entrance/prelude collage and exit/postlude collage of photos, set to music which is an excellent experience to take in on Youtube (better than actually entering the brick and mortar building!)
So far, so good!
Hymns
Then for hymns for the worship service, the music (from the hymnal?) with words and musical notes are presented on the screen while the music is professionally produced for the audio track, also a joy to experience. It is as good as if one is there in person (almost – since other congregants voices are missing – but one hardly notices that lack since it is still terrific to experience as it is done.) No two hymns are presented in the same way. Different instruments and voice-collections are used for each hymn. Nothing is merely good enough and then boringly the same. Always a variety brings out the best in the music of the hymn presented, reflecting the content of the hymn in the best possible way.
So far, getting better.
The rest of Trinity’s worship can be skipped over so as not to detract from the worship experience. But read on to how easy it would be to make all profoundly wondrous.
God’s House?
The Body of Christ, the Church is not made of Brick and Mortar or Wood
So what’s missing?
Missing are liturgy, scripture readings, sermon and prayers that reflect the Good News they are intended to be, instead of half efforts to fulfill an obligation whatever that is.
Readings and Words spoken need to sing!
Readings of the biblical texts for the day, can be read with heart, clarity and meaning that convey the content of the lessons. Why present worship without scripture, and scripture presented like it truly is God’s Word to us, in all its glory.
Liturgy can easily be presented, like the hymns, so that one can participate. Again reflecting God’s Word to us in all its glory.
A sermon ought memorably reflects the lessons of the day, the news of the day, and God’s life-giving Word meeting us in our sinful/God-made saintly lives. It is not that difficult to present a sermon in a manner that makes it as profound an experience as the entrance/prelude or the hymns. Of course a sermon ought to reflect the theology of the cross, of grace, and of hope that inspired us to become pastors in the first place.
Other worship material can also easily be presented so that people can participate (like the hymns are presented to be participated in.)
How come these other pieces of the worship are not as good as the music? It’s not because they cannot be. I’ve experienced them at Trinity to be as good, and not. And at a great number of other churches, both as tremendously good and woefully poor. What is it anyway that we fail to be inspired (inwardly animated to engage in the profound in-breaking of the divine in our life at that moment) leading worship, as Pastors and as lay people?
So what could be done?
This is not just for Trinity, but for every congregation out there that dares to ask, how can we reach and minister to and provide care for even more people, especially during this crisis?
What are your assets?
Can someone do music well for the congregation?
Can someone do photography well for the congregation?
Can someone do video editing well for the congregation?
Can you do your own great version of Trinity’s Prelude/Postlude?
Note: the photography for all the photos throughout the service cannot be just pictures; Trinity’s are professional photos taken with great care to present what is there with the best light, composition, and tone! That is not simple or easy to reduplicate. But if you want to do this well, good photography is a minimum!
Note: the music is not just any music played sort of well. It is the right music for the season, for the experience of entering worship. That is not simple or easy to reduplicate. But if you want to do this well, good music is a minimum!
What to do to make this worship profound through the whole service?
What could make the ‘talking head’ sections of worship not just better but profoundly inspiring to experience?
How about the best lighting, composition, and tone set up for the recording of the Pastor/Readers?
How about putting the Pastor – even a still photo (especially if you cannot figure out good photography while recording video of the readings)- standing at the altar, or at the lectern or in the pulpit as is appropriate?
How about not presenting the Pastor sitting?
How about not presenting the ‘talking head’ throughout the section being presented?
How about starting with the live/still Pastor/Reader photos/videos, and then on top of the continuing audio using photos or video that reflect the meaning of the audio beneath?
Do not present amateur photos or video or audio. Make it better than just good. Make it profoundly good!
Every human is a precious person, created in God’s image.
There is no human face that cannot be photographed to be engaging!
So do not present photos or videos that present any presenter (Pastor or lay) as washed out, greyed out, or old and tired.
Plain words are better than bad photos of the reader!
Same goes for voices! Remember, these voices carry the Word of God. Do not present almost dead, hard to hear, or confused voices. They ought to be professionally-played-on-a-pipe-organ music to one’s ears, heart, and soul! (Pastors: if you do not know how to do this then now is finally the opportunity to learn. Start with understanding the words and the Word they proclaim! The words ought to stir your spirit when you say them! Edit and practice saying them until they do!)
What is required to do this (much, so far)?
Equipment (computer and software) to record music.
Equipment (computer and software) to record ‘talking heads’.
A good [cell] camera, computer and software to produce the photos.
Equipment (computer and software) to edit video
A photographer.
A videographer. (these may be the same person, even one of the readers, pastors, or musicians.)
A website with Youtube posting or link capabilities.
A Youtube account.
Musicians, Pastor, Readers,
The Holy Spirit – is already ready to inspire everyone!
The Online Worship Results
So the worship experience on the church’s website is as terrific as it can be, worth participating in, something anyone would be proud to provide the link to, to anyone.
It’s all good enough to go viral and (not be an embarrassment to anyone, rather it would) make everyone proud to be part of the effort!
Now What? ‘Shoe Leather’ is Required
Now What!?
Now it’s the same as a mission church: share the good news.
Distribute hard copy invitations to be distributed (carefully protected as VIRUS CLEAN – state on the papers what precautions are taken to ensure the papers are CLEAN!)
Distribute them to members at home (lots of driving, but get it done, at least once!) Think about distributing already consecrated elements at the same time, in quantity to last a few months for all bound to the limits of home.
Give members multiple copies of the invite and encourage them to make more copies or ask for more if they need them.
Ask them to share the invitations with everyone they know, and anyone who is lonely! That’s a whole lot of people now!
In the neighbourhood around the church, hit the pavement with many persons working alone, putting the invitations in mailboxes -careful to be virus clean!
Why now?!
Because we can!
Because it’s God’s Word!
Because people are more in need of some contact, and open to responding to invitations online and have time to respond!
Because people are hurting, and hurting people are the people the church (historically, if not your church) cares about, and cares for!
Because it is why we live and breathe!
Because the hard work is rent for the air we breathe!
Do you want your congregation to grow, or it’s ministry to reach more people!?
Answer with your actions.
Chop Chop
Chop Chop, there’s work to be done!
Comments are welcome back to
shm AT prwebs DOT
Rev. Tim Lofstrom
Who am I? I know whose I am and who I am, but maybe you do not. I am:
Photographer, writer, blogger, and erstwhile Euphonium player and student of music.
B.A. summa cum laude from Concordia with CREDO honors, M.Div. from Yale, one year scholarship at Justus Liebig Universität, and 16 years parish experience spread over 4 decades, spouse to a parish pastor for over 3 decades.
Also commercial pilot; stay at home father; instructor at community colleges for computers; bookkeeping, photography; MCSE (NT4), ran a computer business for 8 years; and built a house with my own hands after retiring in my 40’s as a pastor in order to pull my pension as seed money for a home for my family.
Now: homeless, my reputation ruined thorough gaslighting even as I did laudably also for children, still creating photos, writing, and celebrating the Eucharist to remember who I am in the face of who people lie to say I am other.
Dark. Just Dark? Hang on to the Word! Our Stories are not Finished!
Jeremiah 14:7
Although our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name’s sake; our apostasies indeed are many, and we have sinned against you.
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
Words of Grace For Today
Of all the days of the year this Saturday following Good Friday has always been the day most filled with nothing, or rather void of everything. Jesus lays dead in the tomb. To repeat a buzz word repeated in history at many times: God is dead.
What can we do, except wait for God to prove by wondrous acts that God is not dead! And that God is and always has been, and always will be standing right beside us, no matter how blinding bright or deep dark our days are?
This day always is a day to remember our sins, from our blatant and intentional turnings from God, to the subtle ways we deny Christ’s work to free us as we try to play ‘god’ in our own lives and in others’ lives. When all is lost, this is the day to remember …
in anticipation that God is not done,
not with Jesus’ story! It does not end with Jesus decaying in the tomb of the dead.
We can remember with anticipation that God is not done,
not with our stories! Ours do not end in weeping, grieving, suffering, loss, or death.
Dark Days, Foggy Days and Minds: These are not the End!
Psalms 112:1
Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord, who greatly delight in his commandments.
1 Peter 2:24-25
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
Words of Grace For Today
Happiness is elusive. It can be superficially faked or a product of will-ful ignorance. Set out to gain true happiness and it cannot be found, nor held onto. Even in the worst of times, true happiness can overwhelm us. Most often it sits on one side or the other of the border between reality and wish. It has taken me most of my many decades of life to realize that we can choose to embrace happiness as it sits on or so close to that border. We can at least be ready to invite it to accompany us through our days.
Jesus commands us to love one another. Doing so can only give us great delight and happiness, for we then fulfill the very purpose for which God created us.
Our sins darken our days, casting long shadows endlessly across our futures. Our sins cover our single steps forward in a soup of dense fog, so that we lose our way, and ourselves. We are lost like stupid sheep.
God does not abandon us even on our darkest days. On the torture instrument of a cross, Jesus hung, crucified in agony and died; so that the price for our sins would be paid, and we could see again, so the fog of our sins would be lifted, so that we could choose also this day to do what God created us to do!
It is a dark day, Good Friday is. Out of sheer darkness God makes the light of Christ bright to all of us; the darker our sins, the more obvious Jesus’ light, love and forgiveness that gives us life free of sin. In this darkness, see the shadow of the cross. Orient your life by precisely that with all the hope of happiness afforded you these days. Share then the slightest glimmer of happiness, the light of Christ that gives us life free of sin. People thirst for exactly this, especially now.
One small step at a time brings us forward into the unsee-able future.
Zechariah 8:21
The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Come, let us go to entreat the favour of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’
Mark 14:26
When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Words of Grace For Today
Maundy, from the Latin word mandatum (command),’ refers to Jesus’ command to ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’
Life moves forward in time, one step at a time, one event progressing into the next. Sometimes the most simple decision or movement by us precipitates things momentous.
Today we remember Jesus act of washing the disciples feet, the act of a servant, done by the master out of profound and unconditional love. Jesus also washed Judas’ feet with all the others’.
How can we, physically isolated for everyone’s health safety, gather together to seek the Lord? We no longer need to seek the Lord’s favour. In our baptisms we have received the promise and the ongoing reality of God’s favour giving us freedom through forgiveness as a gift (grace). We also received gifts of the Holy Spirit that equip us to be the Love of Jesus for one another. Therefore, our seeking is not God’s favour for ourselves. Rather we seek that the favour, blessing, and promises of God may become a daily reality in the lives of our neighbours, the foreigners and strangers in our midst, and all of God’s creatures, indeed all of creation.
How can we not be more creative every day in the manner we exercise Jesus’ love given to us to share with others?
Some of the best news broadcast these days are exactly the creative efforts of people to share the goodness of life with others outside the isolation bubbles we must maintain.
Share the good news. Share Jesus’ love. Make it real. Sing.
One small step at a time, we move forward. The next event may see us hiding in fear and/or showing ourselves more clearly, suffering and/or singing still, mourning and/or filled with Christ’ own joy. Today we ‘wash each others’ feet’, figuratively and perhaps literally, not knowing what will come next, yet always trusting that God’s promises are sure.
See all that is fallen, even rotting with only a shell of bark. Remember, this too shall pass.
Psalms 51:14
Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
John 16:20
Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.
Words of Grace For Today
The horrors of bloodshed are not part of the pandemic. That would make things even worse., as if worse is needed. We still pray for deliverance from this microscopic enemy, or those two legged animals who mindlessly, ignorantly spread it about so easily. It would be so nice to find those culprits and isolate them to put this to an end. But there is no ‘we’ or ‘them’. It is us. The latest is that asymptomatic people, like you and me (if you have no symptoms … yet), can be contagious. Turns out all our very necessary efforts to stop the spread are pretty minimal defences. Like the disease of sin, we easily cannot recognize who is already ill, though they display no signs of illness. So we need pray that we be delivered.
There is in this a great amount of mourning and weeping. First, we weep for what our defence efforts have cost us all, which is no small loss. Second, when loved ones and acquaintances succumb to this enemy, our grief seems to have no bounds.
God’s promises, always and here again, that our weeping and mourning will be turned into joy. We hold on to that promise, and it carries us forward through these difficult days.
See the big picture. See it in detail. See through the fog.
Zephaniah 3:15
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more.
Mark 4:40
He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’
Words of Grace For Today
Jesus paid heavily that we might be forgiven, and know we are forgiven, so that we can forgive others. Jesus frees us from our sins. We can turn our enemies away, by forgiving them so that they become God’s creatures, fellow sojourners on this planet earth. Given God’s truth for all occasions we need fear no disaster.
That does not mean disasters will not come our way.
Only that we need not fear them.
Fear cripples us. Anxiety cripples us. We revert to fight, flight, or freeze instinctual responses that cut off our reasoning. Great when we face a charging hyena or lion. But facing most everyday challenges and many extraordinary ones, like Covid-19, our instinctual, fear and anxiety based responses make their own disasters quicker than we realize.
Covid-19 responses need to be carefully planned, habitually and in great detail carried out, and reviewed and revised in light of the latest real, truthful information about the virus’ transmission and ways of surviving the illness when we or others in our care come down with symptoms.
Literally, fear and panic will definitely kill us, if not physically then in every other manner.
Why are we still afraid? This is not any kind of fear Jesus asks about, this is the fear that will kill us. Have we still no faith that Jesus will save us, even if we die? When we no longer fear death or illness or anything, then we can act with considered, wise actions, which not only protect us from Covid-19 but give us and those around us life, even as we self-isolate and keep physical distance from others.
Look for the beauty no matter how small. Be guided by Beauty and Truth.
Hosea 8:12
Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions, they are regarded as a strange thing.
John 18:37
Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’
Words of Grace For Today
Sometimes we cannot see anything straight, so blinded by our greed, envy, guilt, and anxiety. Some political satirists refuse to use Trump for material anymore. His lies are no longer at all humorous. Asked on Jan 22 whether the US should be concerned about a pandemic, he responded: “No, not at all. We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” Trump’s lies have deadly consequences. As I write this predictions give 100k and 240k deaths in the US, alone. But before we defend this man, or attack him further, Stop. Think. Confess.
We all do this out of anxiety, guilt, envy or greed. We lie, even to ourselves. God speaks, we regard God’s Word as a strange thing, in order that we can carry on in our sinful ways.
Jesus came into the world to testify to the truth. No matter who we are, or what we say, no matter what we believe or disbelieve, Jesus was born to demonstrate the truth to us at it’s core. God loves us, all of us, even when we lie to ourselves and others about real important things in life. God sent Jesus to save us from our own lies, so that we can listen once again to Jesus’ voice: Love one another as yourself, even your enemies.
There is Benjamin,
the least of them, in the lead, the princes of Judah in a body, the
princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
John 12:12-13
The next day the
great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming
to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to
meet him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the
name of the Lord, the King of Israel!’
Words of Grace
For Today
We
have our ways of doing what we do in this world. The great are
celebrated. We follow the charming leaders who we think will give us
the most. God’s way is different. When Jesus enters Jerusalem, the
people greet him in celebration singing Hosanna! Jesus’ path was
not what they expected. Instead it was self sacrifice so that all
people would be saved. Benjamin, Isaac’s youngest and favourite
son, does not blossom into a great people. They remain the least of
the tribes of Israel. God’s way is not to make us into saints that
lead, conquer, and control the world around us. God’s way is the
quiet, subversive, gentle, gracious, forgiving ways of giving other
people the fullness of life, out of the limelight, as we the Body of
Christ, give of ourselves to be Christ present to all.
