Pastor Jim’s Blog
Let All Things Now Living
Today’s Word from Karl Olsen... "Let All Things Now Living" by Katherine K. Davis, Let all things now living a song of thanksgiving to God the Creator triumphantly raise, who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us, who guides us and leads to the end of our...
Finding Sunshine
Today’s Word from Deacon Amy... The windstorm that struck our beautiful island early this week was incredible! I’m sure this is one that future generations will grow tired of hearing about. We’ll all have remarkable stories about the weather that we’ve experienced...
The Lovely Dark
Today’s Word from Karl Olsen... It’s amazing how many timers and clocks we have in our lives. This past weekend when we “fell back,” I’m sure I set nearly 10 different devices around our house, from thermostats to light timers, to clocks. All in the effort to avoid...
Focus, People, Focus!
Today’s Word from Pastor Tom... By the time you read this, Brenda and I will have experienced the Andrea Bocelli concert at the completely remade Key Arena, now known as Climate Pledge Arena. The last time I was in that arena it was to watch the Seattle Sonics go down...
Misplaced
Today’s Word from Deacon Amy “For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 Have you ever been lost? Or maybe even just misplaced – like you know where you should be, but you’re not quite sure how to get there? It’s really not a good feeling....
When Life Gives You Green Tomatoes…
Today’s Word from Laura Canby... I enjoy harvesting veggies from my garden this time of year -- a reward to labors during spring and summer. Usually, I have buckets of various red tomatoes: plum, Roma, heirloom, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak, etc. We enjoy them in...
Honoring Angels
Today’s Word from Trinity member, Ron Roesler... Life is a constant flow of transitions and lessons… When born, we know very little. At eighteen, most of us knew everything. At least I believed I did. Then, it takes a lifetime to learn and realize how little I/we...
Be Thou My Vision
Today’s Word from Sheila Weidendorf Text Origin: Middle Irish Poem “Rop tú mo Baile” Attribution: Saint Dallan Forgaill Tune: Slane (the village from which this Old Irish folk tune was collected) Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart Naught be all else to me, save...
A Promise Made
Today’s Word from Pastor Tom A promise made is a promise kept. I remember my dad uttering those words while he quietly wept. Some business partners had, years before, made a promise on a handshake, and were now reneging. Through hard work he had kept his side of the...
What is Your Calling?
Today's Word from Deacon Amy... "Your calling is where your own greatest joy intersects with the needs of the world." – Frederick Buechner I love this quote from Frederick Buechner. I first heard it my Vocation class at Trinity Lutheran College. It was an entry level...
Renewal in the Wilderness
Today's word from Laura Canby... “…He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.” Luke 5:16 The Gospels tell us that Jesus frequently went into the wilderness (nature) to pray. I like to think that in addition to conversing with His Father, He was refreshed by the...
Making a Positive Difference in the World
Today's Word from Trinity member Ron Roesler... I am just one of seven billion people. What can one person do to make a positive difference in the world? What could one in billions possibly do to affect the whole world? I have my own problems and opinions. As good as I...
An Evening Hymn, This Morning
Today's Word from Karl Olsen... One of my favorite hymns, in our hymnal or any other, is an old favorite sung to the hymn tune TALLIS CANON, All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night. Part of my affection for this hymn is its straight forward, wonderful,...
Uncommonly Common
Today’s Word from Pastor Tom... “I’m an idiot!” Not an uncommon piece of internal conversation I have that is never ever to be available for an outside audience. But it is, none the less, a fairly regular piece of ticker tape that floats across my frontal lobe. I mean...
More Kindness
Today’s Word from Deacon Amy... “Nothing in nature lives for itself. The rivers do not drink their own water; the trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule...
Drills – Revisited
During Pastor Jim's Sabbatical, we have decided to revisit some previous missives. They were written in the earlier days of the pandemic. The original publication date has been left on the missive. A Word from Pastor Jim March 18 2020 I remember the drills. Not the...
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary in Our Sanctuary
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... Twenty-five years ago, we were preparing for our first worship service in our newly built sanctuary. We had been planning, fundraising, and laboring for years in anticipation of this day. In August of that year my parents would be...
Walking in Limbo
Today's Word from Mark Winslow This pandemic time reminds me a great deal of a previous time in my life about forty years ago. Walking in limbo. I was 28 years old and experiencing the happiest day of my life, at that time. I was getting married to the woman I loved,...
’Til Each Tear Becomes a Rose
Today’s Word from Sheila Weidendorf... Pastor Jim recently preached the good word about Love as the Greatest Commandment—the love of God, the love of neighbor, the love of self. But life and love among we mere mortals can be a tricky business. Human relations are...
Extravagant Hospitality
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... “Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:1-2 It was one of those quick church conversations while moving about from office...
Joy
Today’s Word from Pastor Tom... As I write this, I am listening to our Karl play and sing “I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say.” Assuming you were blessed by his devotion last Wednesday, the tune “Kingsfold” might still be ringing in your head. This is a favorite hymn of...
Choose Kind
Today’s Word from Deacon Amy... “Nothing beats kindness… it sits quietly beyond all things.” Charlie Mackesy. I was waiting in line at a sandwich shop the other day when an older gentleman in front of me turned to look at me and smiled. He told me that he liked my...
Happy Birthday Web and Marion!
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... I hope you will join us this Sunday, September 26, for a very special day in the life of our community. We are having a birthday party this coming Sunday for Web Halvorsen. On September 28th, Web will be celebrating his 103rd Birthday....
Whose is it?
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... “The heavens are yours, the earth is also yours; the world and all that is in it -- you founded them.” Psalm 89:11 The flamboyant entertainer Liberace was a remarkable musician, but he was known for his lavish costumes, lavish rings,...
Providence
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... “The grass withers, the flower fades, surely the people are grass.” Isaiah She approached me after the worship service; the mask covered a face that had weathered seasons of great joy and unspeakable sorrow. There were things about...
I Am the Vine… You Are the Branches
Today's Word from Laura Canby... As I did morning slug patrol in the garden, vines of tender, unfolding grape leaves caught my eye. A long-ago memory came to mind – along with a hankering for dolmas. I was a freshman in a Christian college in Northern California above...
The Art of the Tune
Today's Word from Karl Olsen... “The art of sewing lyrics with the tune is very interesting….” Ankit Tiwari, Indian playback singer and songwriter. Last Sunday we played a song called The Invitation as part of the Prelude music for the church service. If you were...
9/11
Today's Word from Pastor Jim... “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 Our nation changed twenty years ago today; our world was changed by terrorism. Our nation has been changed by Covid19; our world has been changed by this pandemic....
The Spirituality of Craft
Today’s Word from Pastor Tom... It’s Labor Day. I am laboring on Labor Day. Looking out over Lake Chelan at the masses enjoying the fruits of our last summer holiday, I sit at the computer typing my little fingers off. I’m a laborer. On Labor Day. Now in the interest...
A Little Faith
Today’s Word from Deacon Amy... I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my daughters and I took some time away recently. Leaving home, when you have a small farm, is a big undertaking. It can sometimes be a challenge to find someone reliable and competent to manage the...
Love of Neighbor
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... The bubonic plague is believed to have been in existence since at least 224 B.C.E. The plague arrived in Europe in October of 1347. In the five-year period that followed, one third of the population of Europe was dead. The bubonic...
What If You Only Had a Day?
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... She smiled when I sat down by her bed; she squeezed my hand firmly, her eyes communicated as she was no longer able to talk. Scripture washed over her, the Lord’s prayer rhythmically echoed, the familiar words now touched the deepest...
Love Demands Caution and Sensitivity
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” 2 Corinthians 13:12 It was the 21st day of October 1989. The next day I would be installed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland. Felicia was nursing four-month-old Kelsi as I shared bedtime...
When Jesus Calls
Today’s Word from Sheila Weidendorf My daughter, Ada—age 17 and the last of my five children still in my nest—is something of an archivist. We both collect words and phrases, delighting in things people say that are unexpected, or that have never been said to us...
A Source of Inspiration
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim... “What matters is to turn one’s predicament into a human achievement.” Victor Frankl I spend a fair amount of time giving pep talks these days, mostly to myself. Victor Frankl’s life story has been a source of inspiration for more than...
“Shank!!”
Today’s Word from Pastor Tom... “He’s at a loss for words!” giggled my sister. It was true. I was so stunned by the moment I was left without a single word. Admittedly, it doesn’t happen much, but the sudden appearance of friends wishing me a happy birthday had left...
Walking in Darkness
Today's Word from Deacon Amy... "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105 My family is taking a little time away before busy schedules resume in the fall. We had originally planned to travel east toward Montana, but wildfires and pandemic...
Do You Believe in God?
Today’s Word from Pastor Jim....“I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how a man could look up to the heavens and say there is no God.” Abraham Lincoln.“If there is no God, nothing...
Speak the Words of God
Today's Word from Pastor Jim...I thought this morning that I would start by telling you a lie and the truth. I am counting on you to determine which statement is the lie and which is the truth.1. “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never...
Grief and Joy
Today's Word by Karl Olsen...It is a human dichotomy, that we can experience joy and grief in close proximity, both exceedingly real and life-impacting. One sometimes influencing the other, but ending up perhaps in gratitude, giving thanks for the good...
Scholarship Thank Yous
Today's Word from Pastor Jim... Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland — who are we and what are we about? We are followers of Jesus. Jesus — who cared for the marginalized, ate with sinners, and touched the untouchable. We are pilgrims on a journey of faith. We do not...
It Hurts When They Leave
Today's Word from Pastor Jim... “By the waters of Babylon we sat and wept.” Psalm 137 It hurts when they leave, and they always leave. The most painful part of parish life and ministry is when they leave, and they always leave. We buried Tom Bast two weeks ago. After...
Angels Unaware
Today's Word from Pastor Tom... I was dumbfounded. He didn’t remember. It was his decision that altered the course of my life and he didn’t remember. “Tom, it was so nice of you to take the time to search me out. After all these years this is indeed a fine gesture but...
Compassion Camp
Today's Word from Deacon Amy... Our theme at Vacation Bible School last week was all about Compassion. That’s a pretty big concept for kids! We talked about kindness and love and taking care of each other. Our chant for the week was: I see your hurt, I feel your hurt,...
Should I Stop Praying?
Today's Word from Pastor Jim... “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me...
Home is in the Heart
Today's Word from Sheila Weidendorf... If early 20th century writer, Thomas Wolfe, was correct, “you/we can never go home again.” Of course, we can—geographically-speaking—go anywhere we wish these days, even into the reaches of space itself if we’ve sufficient...
Sabbatical Update
Today's Word from Pastor Jim... Sabbaticals in the church, and in higher education, have a long history. For six years I served as the Chair of Academic Affairs at Luther Seminary and our committee regularly reviewed and approved sabbatical proposals. In the ELCA...
What a Ride!
Today's Word from Pastor Dennis... “Here’s the church, here’s the steeple. Open the doors and see all the people.” Well, something like that. Eventually it gets to the people and thus the “church.” Luther once said - among a whole lot of other things - that God works...
A Word on Worship from Pastor Jim
Wearing a Mask as a Sign of Unity in Fighting the Pandemic Join us for worship on August 1st at Trinity Lutheran Church. In-person worship will be held at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. For your convenience, the 8:00 a.m. service will also be live-streamed and can be viewed at...
Leave it to the Amateurs
Today's Word from Pastor Tom Kidd... Soffit… Webster’s, “the underside of a part or member of a building.” Soffits are not typically a topic of conversation. They are not a part of construction that typically captures one’s attention. They are the eaves for goodness’...