"The Forgiveness of Sins"

Dear Friends in Christ:

Ash Wednesday begins for us a 40-day Lenten period that takes us to Good Friday’s cross. The cross is the landmark which tells us whether we are on-course in our life-journey or not, and if we need a new direction in our lives.

The assigned Bible reading for Ash Wednesday is from the Old Testament prophet Joel (2:12-13):
“Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.”

The text is a call for us all to repent of our sin, and return to the Lord for forgiveness of our sin. Before we can fully enjoy Easter’s resurrection, we must mourn and weep over our sins!
The prophet Joel says that God is ”abounding in steadfast love” It is true that we all deserve to die for our sins, there is now doubt about that. But even when we are unlovable, God loves us anyway. God always has enough love, mercy, and grace to forgive us!

This wonderful story illustrates the overwhelming amazement of God’s GRACE:
A gentle Christian lady of the Society of Friends (Quakers) lived alone. One night as she entered her bedroom, she found a burglar rifling through her bureau drawers. When she turned on the light, he pointed a gun at her heart. She gently said to him: “Put that thing away. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s guns. Besides, if your need is so great you have to steal, then you must need my things more than I do.” She not only gave him what he was stealing, but shoved money it into his hand, all the while expressing concern for the circumstances he must be in. The next morning she found all her possessions on her front porch, along with a note which read; “Lady, I can face anger and danger and death itself, but I was powerless before your kindness.”

— Pastor David Fetter

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The 6 Weeks of LENT

Ash Wednesday, February 17th—Good Friday, April 2nd

Dear Friends in Christ:

As we move through our church year calendar, we are nearing a season that is like no other. The 40 days of LENT are an invitation for us to once again embark on a spirtual journey with Jesus, and those who were with him during that first Holy Week before he died.

Here at Abiding Love we will again provide additional worship experiences on 6 Wednesdays, at 6:45 p.m. These services will be preceded by a meal in our Activity Center at 5:45 p.m.

The theme for these Wednesday evenings will be “Jerusalem Speaks: Voices in The Shadow of the Cross”. Each week you will hear from two biblical characters who played significant roles in the final days of Jesus Christ’s earthly life. We will be using members of our congregation to present these dramatic messages:

Week #1 — “A servant girl’s narration of Peter’s denial will introduce Peter’s own confession of turning his back on Jesus the night before his crucifixion.”

Week #2 — “Caiaphas the High Priest confesses his intentions to eliminate Jesus while Judas’ narration gives details of his betrayal orchestrated through the religious leaders.”

Week #3 — “Herod Antipas’ narration details the five individual Herods who are spoken of in Scripture and how each affected Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene shares her account of walking
beside Jesus Christ during his earthly life as well as being present to witness his death and resurrection.”

Week #4 — “Pontius Pilate shares the anguish of his political manipulation in sentencing Jesus Christ to death. Barabbas’ narration includes details of his release and his confusion over watching Jesus die in his stead.”

Week #5 — “A Roman soldier, present at the Crucifixion, shares his acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of God following the events of Good Friday. Malchus, the high priest’s servant, who had his ear cut off by Peter the night of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden, ponders the happenings in Gethsemane.”

Week #6 — “John recalls the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as the words of Jesus preparing his disciples for the coming crucifixion and resurrection, and pieces together the meaning of it all. Mary’s heartache and hope are intertwined in the story she shares of her Son — from his birth to his death to his eternal life.”

I hope that you will make this time a priority for you, your family, and friends as we take a deeper, inner look into our relationship with the One who alone has touched our lives forever with God’s grace, mercy, peace, hope, and love— Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior!

— Pastor David Fetter

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Haiti Earthquake Disaster Response

Dear Friends in Christ:

Once again, the front page of our newspaper stated: “Amid tension, Haitians pray, cry for help in the ruins”!

It is hard for any of us to comprehend the immensity of this disaster. Fox News Service reported that the United Nations has called this “the worst disaster it has ever seen”!

What do God’s people do at times like this? Our church has in place the”Evangelical Lutheran Church in America International Disaster Response”. It is working through long-standing partnerships on the ground to provide emergency food, water, shelter and medical supplies. Pastor Daniel Rift, Director of the ELCA World Hunger and Disaster Appeal writes: “Financial gifts are urgently needed. Your gifts will be used entirely (100 percent) for immediate relief and ongoing recovery in Haiti. Your prayers and generous gifts will make a life-saving difference. Thank you for your partnership.”

You may give online at www.e.ca.ort/haitiearthquake, or over the phone by calling toll free 800-638-3522. Or you may give through our congregation’s Sunday offering, or mail making checks payable to “Abiding Love Lutheran Chruch”, designated for “Haiti Earthquake Relief”.

Also, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is launching a national $3 million “Helping Haiti” effort at thrivent.com/helpinghaiti. They will contribute $1, up to $I million, for every $2 in donations that Thrivent members make by March 31 to the ELCA Disaster Response. You may give by going online, or by calling 800-236-3736 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.n., Monday—Friday. When prompted, say “directory” and enter ext. 83003.

For your information, there are 12 congregations of the Lutheran Church in Haiti. The Rev. Joseph Livenson Lauvanus is the President. He has written: “We are a young and growing church. Everyone knows that Haiti is a poor country in the Western Hemisphere. We are thankful to have the goodwill of a church like the ELCA that understands the whole matter of togetherness, reinforcing what we call ‘the Communion of Saints’”.

This past Sunday I offered the following prayer:
“O God, you are our help in every time of need. You know the pain and suffering of the people in Haiti, and your love for them is very close through all those responding to bring help and hope.
May your spirit speak to our hearts to share our blessings with the least of these. May there be an outpouring of generosity, and ministry beyond belief as this world community responds to this disaster.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.”

— Pastor David Fetter

The Key to Unlock Each New Day in the New Year

Dear Friends in Christ:

I’m sure that you recognize the name of Bill Cosby, comedian, teacher, author, and actor. I recently came across this story from his early life. He is talking about his days of playing football in Philadelphia:

Bill says that his favorite coach was not much of a coach, but he sure did get us excited. Cosby tells of one time when the coach came into the locker room, called the players around him and said: “I have just been to the other locker room, and over there they think you are a bunch of wimps. They think that they are going to run all over you. In fact, they are going to run up into the stands and beat up on your parents and grandmother.”

“Now are you going to let them do that? Are you?” Cosby said — we shouted “NO.” Let me hear you say “fight.” We shouted “FIGHT.” In our excitement, we started running around the locker room! Slamming doors! Upsetting benches! Beating each other over the head! Screaming — “Let us out of here! We wanna go! We wanna go!”

Cosby says we raced out of the locker room. Up the dark tunnel to the football field. But the door was locked! We could not get out onto the field. We stood there, probably for ten long minutes, in a dark, cold tunnel waiting for someone to get a key and unlock the door. Finally, we walked out onto the field to play the game. And we were beaten 77 — 0!

Cosby ends his story by saying — “Pep talks can get us excited. But it takes more than excitement to win a football game.”

I’d like to propose that for us, as followers of Jesus Christ, more than “excitement” we need “enlightenment”.

For the next 5 Sundays, Pastor Lynnae and I will be giving a series of sermons on how the Bible ENLIGHTENS our lives as God’s people. And, with that ”enlightenment”, we will become more excited to continue regular visits to God’s word, worship, Bible study, and service to others!

I believe that this is the key to unlock each new day in the New Year. GOD’S BLESSINGS IN THE NEW YEAR!

— Pastor David Fetter

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Our Christmas Card to You...

Dear Friends in Christ,

It continues to be a privilege and a joy to serve with you in the mission and ministry of Abiding Love. We thank you for your support, and encouragement. The partnership that we share in doing God’s work is a blessing that gives purpose to our lives.

We know that all things are made possible through the power of God’s Spirit of love made known to us through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ..

May the miracle of Christmas which is the gift of Jesus bring you hope, joy, peace, and love today and in the New Year.

JESUS, God with us!
God is with us… we need not fear.
God is with us… we have everything we need.
God is with us… we are never alone.
“They shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” —Matthew 1:23

Pastor David Fetter

Pastor Lynnae Sorensen

Cindy Kunz

Karron G. Lewis

Joan Hokanson

Dona Brooks

Laurie Donovan

Sherry Petriella

Donna Eassty

Come Celebrate Jesus!

Dear Friends in Christ:

Our choir is preparing a musical cantata for Sunday, December 20, 11:00 a.m. It is titled, “COME CELEBRATE JESUS”. I hope that many of you will be able to attend worship that day.
As I have been rehearsing for this, the thought came to me that this is exactly what we do whenever we gather to worship, year-around. Why do we come to church? We come to celebrate Jesus!

In my daily meditations last week, I read the following article. As you read it, my prayer is that you will celebrate the love of Jesus who always meets you here in your church home:

Some of you know the story of writer Anne Lamott. When she was twenty-five, her father died after a long struggle with brain cancer. Over the next few years Anne herself began to suffer from an overwhelming sense of desperation and fear which she tried to suppress with alcohol and pills. Although she was managing to write and publish successful novels at the time, it was clear that her life was spinning out of control. In her memoir, Traveling Mercies, she writes about this dark period of her life. And most importantly she tells how a community of Christian faith, a neighborhood church called St. Andrew, came to her rescue.
In her book, she tells the time-honored story of a little girl who was lost. This girl ran up and down the streets of the big town where her family lived, but she couldn’t find a single landmark. She was frightened. Finally, a policeman stopped to help her. He put her in the passenger seat of his car, and they drove around until she finally saw her church. She pointed it out to the policeman, and then she told him firmly, “You can let me out now. This is my church, and I can always find my way home from here.”
Anne Lamott writes, “And that is why I have stayed so close to mine—because no matter how bad I am feeling, how lost or lonely or frightened, when I see the faces of the people at my church, when I hear their voices, I can always find my way home!”

--Pastor David Fetter

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Imagine: Ministry & Generosity Beyond Belierf!

Dear Friends in Christ:

Every Sunday is important for us as God’s people, but the NEXT 3 SUNDAYS have special importance for our congregation at this time in our life together:

† This Sunday, Nov. 15th, we will celebrate our unity with one worship service at 9:30 a.m. Pastor Jana Swenson with Kairos and Associates, our Christian Consulting Resource Partner, will be the guest preacher.
I am praying that as many as possible of you will be present to hear an “Invitation to Respond” that can have a major impact on your spiritual growth in faith and commitment to Christ’s Church!
Following the worship service at 11:15 a.m., a potluck smorgasbord will be served. You are asked to please bring a side dish or dessert with an “international flavor”. Meat will be provided.
(Note: There will be no Sunday School.)

† November 22nd will be “Response Sunday” when you bring your giving plan to place on the altar in support of the 2010 Mission and Ministry of Abiding Love, as well as our 3-year Capital Appeal.
These loving commitments are to be your celebration in praise of Christ the King on this Festival Sunday that concludes the Church Year!

† November 29th will be “Thanksgiving Sunday — the First Sunday in Advent”. This will be a day to give thanks for your generosity in support of our “ministry beyond belief!”
This day will also be an “Invitation to Christmas: Come Celebrate Jesus!”

What do I IMAGINE will happen during these next three Sundays? I imagine that God will bless us so that we might prove to be faithful in our continued vision of a ministry and mission that is growing in God’s abiding love, serving God by sharing God’s love with our community, and celebrating the love Jesus Christ has for all people, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit!

Believing that with God all things are possible,
Pastor David Fetter

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