Worship Livestream
We routinely live-stream our Sunday services, as well as some other special events, on our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/elimlutheran.church.3/) and on our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@ElimLutheran/streams
Please join us there, if you cannot join us in person!
To receive the weekly Elim Extra email in your inbox, please contact our office administrator at office@elimlutheran.org to sign up. You can also sign up to receive our monthy newsletter the Scribe at your home address.
Elim Extra for July 9, 2023
A Place for Faith: Crossroads
“Crossroads” may have an ominous sound to it, like when you’re making a big decision. But really it’s a place of meeting, and this Sunday we will hear in our Scripture about a joyful meeting indeed – a betrothal. Finally, a happy story in Genesis! A love story, no less, where all goes according to plan, and everything works out with minimal drama and fuss. It reminds me of a beautiful poem by the Welsh poet Sheenagh Pugh called “Sometimes.”
Sometimes things don’t go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don’t fail;
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.
A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man, decide they care
enough, that they can’t leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.
Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.
May you “put yourself out there” at the crossroads, and find joy in new relationships and delightful connections.
love, Pastor Chelsea
Church Becoming meets this Sunday, July 9th after worship.
Prayer requests: Please pray for the relatives of Matt Johnson; for Sheri and Roger Beeman; and for a friend who lost her great-granddaughter. God in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Elim Extra for July 2, 2023
Pastor’s Note
A Place for Faith: Testing
We have been following the lectionary as it meanders through the book of Genesis, following our faith ancestors as they travel through different places where their faith can be tested and transformed. From the threshold of the tent where Sarah will soon be pregnant and nesting….to the wilderness of abandoned wells where God frees Hagar from slavery….and now this Sunday, to the mountain of testing, where Abraham almost sacrifices his son Isaac.
Have you ever been pushed to the breaking point, but come out the other side having learned something new? What was God’s role in that process?
As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day weekend, let us not turn away from the complicated history of our nation, but rather celebrate that our conflicted past has taught us to yearn for a better future – the kingdom of God on earth, where nations exist to be a blessing (Genesis 22:18).
with love, Pastor Chelsea
4th of July – Tuesday! The church office will be closed.
Office will be open Wed, Thurs, and Fri. that week.
Church Becoming Meeting – July 9th
Church Council Meeting – July 23
Elim Extra for June 25, 2023
Pastor’s Note: A Place for Faith
We continue to follow the Genesis stories in the lectionary, to see how God’s people passed through spaces where their faith was developed. Our oasis of Elim Lutheran is just such a place for faith!
Please be aware that these stories include heavy topics such as infertility and abuse, which I seek to touch on with sensitivity and hope in God’s gentle care.
You probably heard about the unfortunate vandalism to our side church window. Please don’t hesitate to approach me for more information, and let us pray for forgiveness and protection.
Thank you so much for the lovely luncheon on my first Sunday, and for all who have helped me get oriented! I am so happy to be here.
love, Pastor Chelsea
Prayer needs: Mary for continued recovery after hospitalization; Doug’s recovery from surgery in Vernal; Roy’s medical treatment in California. We send them love and healing.
Community needs: A used computer (desktop or laptop) that we could borrow to assist with a member’s job search. Thank you!