Elim Extra for Sunday February 11, 2024

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Pastor’s Reflection

Lent is coming! Mark your calendars for a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper on February 13 at 5:30 (bring a favorite topping to share), Ash Wednesday on February 14 at 5:30, and a midweek evening prayer service every following Wednesday at 5:30. There are signup sheets in the hallway to bring soup for our Sunday lunches during Lent. If you can’t make it to church at 5:30 on February 14 but would like to receive ashes, Ascension Lutheran is offering “ashes to go” in their parking lot during the lunch hour; or please contact me to arrange a visit at home. I love Lent!

This Sunday wraps up our Epiphany season, when we have been basking in the light of Jesus’s various manifestations of holiness: divine vulnerability, divine grief, divine belovedness, divine vigor, divine destiny (as I shared with the Boy Scouts last week), and now this week on Transfiguration Sunday, divine transformation! It is fitting that Epiphany ends with a blinding flash of light on the mountaintop, so that the glory of Christ may light our way through the dark valley of Lent.
This Lent we will continue to explore grief and loss through the Psalms of Lament, and also hear many readings from the prophet Jeremiah, the champion of lament. I invite you to stay after church on the last two Sundays of this month, to help build a timeline of Elim’s past and do some nostalgic remembering and grieving together. Christ will light our way!
with love, Pr. Chelsea
Events:

February 11 – Council Meeting
February 13 – Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner 5:30 pm
February 14 – Ash Wednesday at 5:30 PM & Valentine’s Day
February 18 & 25 – Church Becoming workshops (building a church timeline)
February 18 – Lenten soup luncheons begin – Please sign up to bring food!
February 19 – Presidents Day
February 21 – First Lenten evening worship @ 5:30

Elim Extra for February 4, 2024

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Pastor’s Reflection

All of a sudden there are many, many names our prayer list. Life can be like that sometimes. Yet in recent days I have seen your prayers work. We thank God that Amy, Frank, Brittney, Karen, and Lucille are getting better. Bill, Christy, Jane, Kay, and Rosemary still need our prayers. Please hold Joan and Peggy in prayer this week as they undergo successful hand surgeries and get a head start on a great recovery. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

What a fabulous treat this Sunday that we will get to enjoy worship led by the Scouts of Troop 54. It is truly a joy when young people offer us their spiritual leadership and service. Please plan to stay after worship on Sunday to enjoy a reception with this wonderful group.

Lent is coming! Mark your calendars for a Shrove Tuesday pancake supper on February 13 at 5:30, Ash Wednesday on February 14 at 5:30, and a midweek evening prayer service every Wednesday following, also at 5:30. There are signup sheets in the hallway for to bring soup for our Sunday lunches during Lent. So many wonderful opportunities this time of year to deepen our spiritual fellowship!

with love, Pr. Chelsea

Elim Extra for Sunday January 28, 2024

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Pastor’s Reflection

In our reading from Acts last Sunday, we heard about the Ethiopian eunuch reading the famous passage in Isaiah about the Suffering Servant. Isaiah was talking about the nation of Israel going through suffering, but in his description, Christians have seen an amazing portrayal of the Suffering Servant Jesus who was to come. This Sunday’s gospel reading will highlight the way that Jesus shared in our afflictions through his healing ministry, as we continue the theme of Epiphany/manifestation: Jesus showing his divine strength in the face of grief.

In Bible study this month, we have been studying ways to work through our own suffering after losing someone, through the “tasks of grief” model. Last Sunday we made grief bracelets, and this coming Sunday at 9 AM we will be drawing necklaces to symbolize our journeys of change and corporate loss in the various churches we have been part of. All are welcome to join us! A sweeter sister of Grief is Nostalgia, who opens us to happy memories of those we have lost, so that we can draw strength from their strength. During Lent we will be exploring the history of Elim looking for what sweet Nostalgia can teach us for our future.

In the words of our Bible study author, Bishop Michael Girlinghouse: “Our own nostalgic reflection can help us see how the Holy Spirit was at work among us, the gospel of Jesus Christ was motivating us, and the God who created us and called us was with us in those days. That reflection can give us assurance that God is still with us, even as we acknowledge and grieve what we have lost.”

with love, Pr. Chelsea

–Annual Congregational Meeting and Potluck this Sunday! Chair exercises will resume before coffee hour the following Sunday.

–February 4th will be Scouts Sunday.

Elim Extra for Sunday January 21, 2024

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Pastor’s Reflection

My apologies if you didn’t get the notice that worship was cancelled due to snow last Sunday, and showed up to an empty church! We tried to notify everyone on Saturday night when the forecast was predicting heavy snow, so please do let me know if you fell through the cracks so I can make sure to put your number in my phone.

We are going to delay the Baptism of the Lord by one more week, and do our affirmation of baptism this coming Sunday. (So this week’s bulletin will be the one we sent out last week.) This message of divine belovedness is too important to miss, especially after exploring Jesus’s manifestation of divine vulnerability and divine grief on Epiphany.

In my online reflection on First Thessalonians 4 last Sunday on Facebook, I lifted up some questions from our Bible Study about resurrection hope. Paul called on believers not to avoid grief, but to grieve differently, to grieve with hope. Many bereaved persons, even those who are believers, have a hard time feeling that eternal life is real, when they are so drastically separated from their beloved. That’s okay; just cling to whatever hope you can find, even if it is the simple hope that by working through the tasks of grief, it is possible to someday feel better. That is new life and resurrection in and of itself, on the other side of this hard and difficult work.

Bishop Michael Girlinghouse applies personal grief work to congregations: “We need to recognize the reality of loss and its impact on our congregation, acknowledge the grief, and, with the courage of our faith, work through it – as hard as that can be. After all, as people of faith, we do not grieve as those with no hope.” (From Embracing God’s Future without Forgetting the Past: A Conversation about Grief and Nostalgia in Congregational Life.) In Bible Study this Sunday, we will examine our personal losses and draw strength from our cloud of witnesses. Please read Chapter 3 if you can.

with love, Pr. Chelsea

Elim Extra for Sunday, January 14 2024

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Elim Extra for Sunday January 7, 2024

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Pastor’s Reflection

Happy New Year! When I penned an article for the January Scribe newsletter, I gloated that January is a grand month for worship, featuring momentous moments from Jesus’ life such as Epiphany and Baptism, the Presentation and the Transfiguration. But I forgot to mention the Massacre of the Innocents, which should make the sweet Christmas story of the Magi come with a warning label. As we begin our wonderful new year with last year’s wars still raging, it seems only fair that we should wrap up our Christmas season by situating the glory of the incarnation within the harsh reality of our world. The gospel writer Matthew was trying to tell us something about the costs of standing up for peace in a world that runs on war. Like the Magi, we have only Jesus’s brilliant manifestation of Peace to guide us through this darkness. In a world of slain children, God’s people’s vision was that a little child would lead them. May the whole world turn its face toward this bright shining star.

love, Pr. Chelsea

Reminders:

–Help pack away our Christmas decorations after worship this Sunday

–Book study resumes this Sunday at 9 AM (Our Bible portion will be Luke chapter 15). Reading assignment for 1/7 and 1/10 – Preface and Chapter 1 of Embracing God’s Future without Forgetting the Past.

–Chair exercises with Leslie starting January 14th before coffee hour

–Council meets January 14th

–Worship team meets January 21st

–Save the date! Congregational Meeting January 28th

 

You are invited to Christmas Eve worship

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Sunday December 24, 2023

“Cookies and Carols”

At 10 a.m. we will sing carols and have cookies. Bring requests to sing your favorite carols.

“O Night Divine”

At 5 p.m. we will have a traditional candlelight service. All are welcome in this sacred space.

Merry Christmas!

Elim Extra for December 24, 2023

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Pastor’s Reflection

We have just completed eight weeks of the faithful innovation journey with our new book study, and we will be moving on to our second book in January, after taking a few weeks off for the holidays. It’s funny that we are this far into the innovation journey, and so far we have tried nothing new at church (although we’ve brought back some old things, like the sung liturgy). Instead we have followed the book’s advice and slowed down to listen. Theologian Andy Root says that the church should strive for resonance, not relevance. Relevance is keeping busy to try to meet all the latest needs. Resonance is slowing down to listen to what rings true, and hear people’s deeper needs. Innovating for resonance is patient, maybe even stubbornly so for those who would like to get busy fixing the church. The innovation process we are using is a patient one, slowing us down so that we keep God in focus. I hope we bear this in mind as we turn our attention to the budget for the coming year. There are no quick fixes for creating growth at church, even when financial needs are urgent. We have to take it one step at a time, meeting one need at a time. This is the time to send your pledges and offerings to the church office. Our annual congregational meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 28th at 11 AM.

Thank you for voting to replace our sanctuary furnace! It is great to see you stepping out in faith to invest in Elim’s future. I am really touched by all your generous sharing this season: Sub for Santa, Mary’s Circle buying goats and piglets for ELCA hunger action in Brazil, the giving tree, the pillow project and Family Promise with Ascension, Christmas caroling at elder residences… Amazing! I am looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with you. Safe travels to those who are traveling for the holidays. See you when you get back!

with love, Pr. Chelsea

Events:

Dec 21, 7 PM – Online holiday grief service for the Longest Night. (Details @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIBXei26_1w)

Holiday services: Dec 24 @ 10 AM – Cookies and Carols 

Dec 24 @ 5 PM – Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with communion 

Dec 31 10 AM – New Years Eve worship

Jan 14 – Church Council meeting after worship

Christmas Eve Worship at 10 AM and 5 PM

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Please join us on Sunday, December 24th for Carols and Cookies at 10 AM, and a Candelight Christmas Eve service with communion at 5 PM. Wishing you a blessed and holy Christmas!

Elim Extra for Sunday, December 17, 2023

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Pastor’s Reflection

This Advent, we have been exploring how we encounter God – or, since Holy Mischief is active, how God encounters us. The Holy Spirit hints, tugs, points, and, this Sunday, shouts as we encounter “proclamation.” Our church is called to proclaim the good news – but how easy is this to do in daily life?

One thing I love about doing the sung liturgy is how participatory it is. My former parish priest says that when we sing the Great Amen, we are signing our names to what Jesus has done. We are joining in Jesus’s offering, pledging to make an offering of love with our own lives. I enjoy sharing this priesthood duty with Assisting Minister Stephen and each of you.

You may have noticed that I have been elongating our lectionary selections lately. As a preacher, I am privileged to encounter scholarship that places our readings in their literary context, and sometimes I can’t resist giving you the same chance to hear the scripture in full. With longer readings, it is sometimes necessary to employ multiple readers to highlight the structure of the text. I enjoy sharing the task of proclamation with you!

with love, Pr. Chelsea

This Sunday we will take a vote to spend our Restoration Fund ($23K) on a new sanctuary furnace.

Holiday Caroling: Please join us Saturday at 10 AM to assemble cookie plates or Sunday at Noon to go caroling at the residences of our homebound members! Contact Deanna if you can donate cookies, sugar free candies, or wrapped treats. Don’t forget your Santa hat and scarf!

Our snow blower got stolen from the shed earlier this year. Does anyone know of a used snow blower to donate, or would like to gift a small new one to the church? We are legally responsible for keeping our large street corner clear of snow and ice for pedestrians.

A member of the Elim family is still in need of some furniture delivered to his new home near Elim – an upright dresser and a double bed box spring. Can pay. Please contact Pr. Chelsea.

Elim and Ascension teamed up to provide plastic pillows for the local homeless shelter. These are more hygienic and economical to clean! Other churches of the ELCA Utah conference are doing the same for the Salt Lake shelter.

Dec. 24 at 10 AM – The Christmas Story with Cookies and Carols: Request your favorite Christmas songs. Bring a small plate of cookies to share if you like. Candlelight service at 5 PM.