Finding Joy in this Season

Finding Joy in this Season

Jul 10, 2020 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Deacon Amy… 

 
Some of you know that my family has a small farm outside of Freeland. My daughters have both shown goats in 4H since they were in kindergarten. What started with two goats eight years ago, has turned into a herd of seventeen! Some of them produce milk, some carry packs, and some are simply pets. We raise chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, and now pigs, too. We also have our dogs, cats, and “inside pets” as well. My kids have been among the lucky few who have not had an opportunity to be bored during quarantine! There is always something to do on a farm.

Spring and early summer are my favorite seasons (allergies aside). We find ourselves surrounded with new life! I frequently catch myself singing, “How Great Thou Art!” I am repeatedly astounded with the creativity and wonder of our God. The beauty and intricacy of brand-new life continues to amaze me.

Watching new chicks struggle out of their eggs in the incubator is nerve-racking, and delightful! It takes a lot of work to break out of an egg that is barely large enough to hold the tiny chick! The wonder of the shell, the membrane, and the yolk that feeds the chick for the 21 days of incubation, is astounding. So much planning went into each and every detail – did you know that chicks have teeth? They are each born with an “egg tooth” on the top of their beaks, that helps them break the egg from the inside. Amazing!

The greatest joy on our farm, though, is baby goats. We’ve been breeding and raising goat kids for several years now, and each delivery is just as exciting as the first! Just this week, we’ve had two does deliver – a total of five healthy kids! Occasionally, we need to step in and help a kid come into this world, but most of the time, we get to sit back and be amazed by the wonder of new life. All of the does, whether it’s their first kidding or their third, know what to do. As soon as the babies are born, these mothers are “talking” to them, and getting them all cleaned up. Within minutes, the brand-new little ones are figuring out how to use their legs, and they start looking for food. Again, their mamas are right there to help them out. We are in awe of their natural instinct. No need to cut umbilical cords on these little ones – God has that planned, too. Every life-sustaining detail is painstakingly thought out in advance.

In less than 24 hours, baby chicks are adorable fluff balls, peeping incessantly. That is, until they fall asleep right in their food dish. We laugh each time we see them topple sleepily onto their sides. Our little goat kids get “boingy” that first day, too. Every object they encounter becomes a playground. Every human or creature they meet is an opportunity to investigate – and run back to the safety of mama, if need be. New life fills us with joy. It renews our spirits.

“O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hand hath made…” awesome wonder is such an accurate phrase. This season, this spring and summer of 2020, look so different than the seasons that we are used to. But God continues to perform wondrous miracles every day. New life continues to spring up around us. We are so blessed to bear witness to God’s greatness!

“Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, how great thou art! How great thou art!”

May you find joy in this season of new life as well,
Deacon Amy

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/

Quintessential 2020

Quintessential 2020

Jul 9, 2020 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…  

It has been a big year for Skyler Stonebridge. A proud member of the South Whidbey Graduating Class of 2020, Skyler graduated in a Zoom ceremony. On July 5th he celebrated his 18th birthday with a virtual party. And on Thursday, July 2nd he walked into the sanctuary at Trinity Lutheran Church. Towering over his parents, he had come, after a period of instruction, to be baptized. The TLC Staff represented the congregation, everyone was dressed in their finest masks, and we social-distanced as much as possible. It is pretty difficult to baptize from a distance. The service was beautiful and strange. It was joyful and sad. It was quintessential 2020.

After several social-distanced graveside services, I will officiate at a funeral this month for Jacqueline Ronning. Jackie lived life to the fullest for 97 years. She lived in her own home, next to her daughter Pam Kniseley, until two days before her death at Whidbey General Hospital. Her funeral will be conducted on Zoom.

Most of my 2020 weddings were canceled, but in July, I will officiate at one wedding. This was to be a grand affair; every detail was carefully planned, every need of honored guests anticipated. The wedding will be a celebration of love and commitment, but the wedding party will be mostly at home. The bride and groom will be joined by two witnesses and one old preacher. When it is over, it will be a beautiful memory, and they will be married. It will be joyful with a tinge of sadness for what might have been. In other words, it will be quintessential 2020.

I know that there are some among us who are itching to return to our beloved TLC sanctuary for in-person church. How we long to be together again; singing hymns, sharing smiles and hugs, tasting grace in bread and wine, tasting sweets in the coffee hour, praying prayers and praising God. But the reality is quintessential 2020. We would need to wear masks from the moment that we arrived until the door closed on our car for departure. We would need to make reservations, stay 6 feet apart at all times, monitor the bathrooms assuring that no more than two people were in there, and there would be no communion or singing, or coffee hours. Would it be safe for a largely at-risk population to worship in this way? Probably, maybe, could be, who knows. For now, love looks like an empty church. It is quintessential 2020.

Well done, Skyler! Well done, Jackie! Good luck to Patty and George!

It is good to be the church together, though apart. It is quintessential 2020!

One day closer to 2021!
Pastor Jim

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/

An Open-Minded Salvation

An Open-Minded Salvation

Jul 7, 2020 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Tom Kidd…  

Okay, we need to get one thing straight right from the top – you should be very grateful that your salvation does not depend on me. I mean, just in case that had not heretofore dawned on you. To quote my mother, “You would be SOL!” (Mom never wanted to explain that acronym to me, felt it was beneath her). So, we’re good with that, right? We all agree we are better off with me NOT being responsible for your salvation? Good. With that firmly established, we can move on with this little devotional thought.

I once listened to a physician explain exactly how one died on the cross. It was vividly explained and grossly vicariously experienced. After 2-3 days, breaking the legs of the victim hastened their death, by leading to asphyxiation. The whole experience was beyond cruel. And that was just listening to the story. Anyway, Luke records Jesus’ words as he was hung on the cross between two criminals, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). See, I would, at this point, stop the conversation because it seems to me these centurions knew exactly what they were doing. They were driving roughly hewn metal spikes through the wrists and feet of Jesus, and dropping his cross in a hole with a sickening thud, all the while listening to the screams of the dying. Seems pretty obvious to me.

Yet, Jesus said something like, “Dad, they don’t have a clue what they are doing, so please don’t hold this against them.” Really? Since the only thing that separates us from God is our need for forgiveness of sin, these brutal soldiers just got a pass into the Kingdom of God. “For crying in the soup!” (another of mother’s expressions… don’t ask). These pawns of history didn’t even express an ounce of remorse and here is the Lord, giving them a “get out of jail free” pass. Again, it is good that I am not in charge of anyone else’s salvation.

Would you consider yourself an open-minded person? Would you? Hey, what do you know! That makes you a liberal. The root of the word liberal means, “open-minded.” This has nothing to do with what side of the aisle your voting proclivity abides. I once heard a pastor discussing a very closed-minded individual, “Oh, he died a long time ago, he just hasn’t laid down yet.” I never wanted to be that person, so I have held to the desire to be liberal, that is, open-minded. Sometimes that has left me open to very difficult conversations. This past 4th of July being a case in point.

In the spirit of Black Lives Matter, I have tried this year to look upon Confederate monuments that extol the economic virtues of slavery through the eyes of a black man. I listened to an African American woman explain her beautiful chocolate skin as the consequence of slave owners who believed it their right to sexually take slave women, but refuse to take their offspring as their own. This 71-year-old “liberal,” who grew up in a very multi-cultural setting, tried to see our systemic racism this past 4th through the eyes of a black man, and I felt ashamed. For all my progressive idealism, I confess there is much I have not gotten. To me also, Jesus says, “Dad, you’ve got to forgive him, he doesn’t get it.” To which I would add, “Yet!” Still trying, Lord, still trying.

Including Pastor Jim, the 139th Psalm is a favorite for many of us. For those of us who continue to struggle with their humanity, the last two verses encourage us:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and
_ know my anxious thoughts. See if there is an offensive
_ way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Looking in the mirror is sometimes fatiguing work. But at least we are still looking. That should give us hope. The Psalmist prays that God would look at the integrity of his devotion and not the failure of his choices. I am so glad God is liberal with us. Uff da.

Keep fighting the good fight. God’s peace,
Pastor Tom.

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/

 
 
 
 
 
Mindfulness on a Rocky Seashore

Mindfulness on a Rocky Seashore

Jul 6, 2020 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Rev. David Bieniek…  

A while back I read “The Art of Power” by Thich Nhat Hanh, a book that a chaplain friend had given to me many years ago, encouraging me to find my own inner strength and allowing it to inform my ministry.

The power Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of is not the power we think of in the West. It is the internal power that gives us strength – the power that connects us to the eternal strength of the universe, however we define that.

His discussion of mindfulness as part of claiming your power challenged me. Mindfulness – when we notice things. Instead of slugging down that cup of coffee in the morning, we take time to enjoy it and truly taste it. As we walk across the room, we pay attention to our steps. We notice our breathing and become mindful of it. Every aspect of our life noticed and appreciated, we breathe and release, “paying attention” to every little aspect.

With this in mind, we took a trip to the beach. As we walked through the woods toward the beach, what I noticed at first was a far-off distant gong. I wondered at first if it was part of a Buddhist chant. I realized, though, that it was the bell on the buoy not too far from the edge of the water. I had been to this beach several times but had never heard this “call to prayer” before. I loved it. It set the mood for the entire visit.

The beaches here are very different than the beaches I grew up with. The dark, volcanic sand seems to invite me to take off my sandals and walk. The sand is warm on the top but as my foot sinks in, the coolness of the sand encompasses my foot. Wonderful.

At the edge of the water, the sand gives way to small, shiny rocks, worn smooth by the constant action of the ocean. They are not comfortable to stand on, but I do. I listen. The cold water laps against my bare ankles, and there is a momentary dread of the biting cold. I continue listening and watching. I am amazed at the noise that happens as the water laps against the rocks and then recedes. It is almost as if I can hear each pebble as it strikes another and rolls into its new temporary resting place. I am in awe of the colors, sizes, and shapes that I see.

Farther down the beach, an outcropping of rocks extends into the water. These are bigger rocks, also worn smooth by the action of the waves. Some day they, too, will be worn down into pebbles. But for now, they stand as sentries guarding the small cove behind them. As I walk over, I disturb a flock of birds just beyond the rocks. Is this what these rocks were guarding? The birds fly up as one, chiding me for disturbing their rest. Realizing I am not a threat, they settle back down into their nests.

The diversity on this rocky shoreline is so unlike the diversity on a sandy beach. I realize that from the bluff above this beach, the diversity disappears. We are like that, too. Taken as a crowd, our diversity sometimes disappears, even though we know that we are all unique.

I listen for the buoy and realize that its gong has been muted by the noise of the waves. I attune to its sound and realize if I listen, I can once again hear that call to prayer. I decide it is time to return. Walking up the bluff, I hear the gong again – brought back to the call of mindfulness. May I walk and always hear the gongs, see the diversity, and remember that I am loved. And I wish the same goodness for you.

Rev. Dave Bieniek

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/

Changing Plans

Changing Plans

Jul 5, 2020 | Pastor Jim's Blog

Today’s Word from Pastor Jim…  

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money. Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring.” James 4:13

My life tends to be planned months, if not years, ahead of time. I learned very early in my career that if I did not plan for the future, future plans would dominate my calendar. Weddings are planned a year in advance, churches and officiating clergy need to be secured as well. That means if I waited till spring to plan my summer, it would be too late. The weekends would be filled with weddings and other church events. In order to survive and to protect my family, I began what some might describe as obsessive long-range planning. I already have the summer of 2021 planned. In fact, the fall of 2021 is planned, too. I even have a trip to Israel in place for March 2022.

Now that my daughters are all grown-up, I have invited them into my obsession. I plan family vacations; all are welcome, but no one is obliged to show up. “Come, when and if you can, and stay as long as you like.” I throw dates and locations out and give them the option of attending. They are encouraged to make their work and family-planning schedules coincide with my vacation schedule. Thirteen months in advance, they get emails with the latest “Travel with Bapa” offering. It is not as complicated as it sounds. We usually go to Mexico after Christmas and Victoria in the summer. There have been occasional adventures to Sun Valley, the Oregon Coast, and to Disneyland once.

2020, needless to say, has been a train wreck. My calendar, like yours, tells a sad tale of hopes and dreams unfulfilled. Each month brings a new series of cancellations on a calendar that looks like a preschool art project gone bad. In July, my entire team had secured time off and made arrangements to meet on the Inner Harbor of Victoria. Of course, the Canadian border is closed. Maybe next year. Don’t worry; I already have reservations for next year.

It is clear that this contagion is not done with us. I am not even sure that it has yet arrived on Whidbey Island. The path going forward is daunting, precarious, and impossible to predict. The Trinity Preschool, like the public schools, is developing numerous contingency plans for classes this September. What we do know is that Preschoolers are not the best at wearing masks or social distancing. What we don’t know is if we can provide a safe environment for children, teachers, and their families. In a similar vein, your church staff will be meeting this week to talk about the possibility of reopening for Sunday morning worship. If we are to do so, every precaution will be taken to make reopening safe for congregants and staff. I would like to think that we are more trainable than preschoolers, but the fact remains that this virus is a threat to vulnerable populations. Most of our TLC members and staff fall into that category.

When this crisis began, some 120 days ago, the Trinity Church Council was in the midst of developing a new 5-year plan for the congregation. That planning, like our lives, has been put on hold. We simply cannot predict how this is all going to play out. I would encourage you to practice patience. Be patient as ferries are slow to run and the church is slow to open. Be patient with neighbors, family members, essential workers and strangers. Be patient knowing that everyone’s life has been disrupted, everyone’s plans have been discarded, no one has escaped the carnage of this contagion. Be patient knowing that depression and loneliness are perhaps a greater threat than the Coronavirus itself.

In 2020, our carefully planned lives look a little like our pathetic calendars. In 2020, love looks like an empty church. We need each other, more now than ever before.

One day closer. Anyone want to go to Israel in 2022?

Pastor Jim

To make a donation to Trinity, follow this link: https://trinitylutheranfreeland.org/give/