St. Andrew's Lutheran Church

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

There's light and dark, cold and hot, plant and harvest.  The earth's rhythms are self evident.  But the writer of Ecclesiastes talks about seasonality, that is life's seasons. Love and hate, weeping and laughing, mourning and dancing, living and dying.  Over the next five Wednesdays in worship, we will be reflecting on the nature of change in our lives and the seasons of the heart that accompany change.   By the way, seasons of the heart seem to be no respecter of age.  I meet teenagers who are dour and withdrawn and ninety year olds who are spontaneous and playful. Also, there's little to predict or prevent the change of seasons in our lives.Often there are seasons of unpredictable or unavoidable events that take us to a new place and chapter in our lives.  However, in the midst of such challenges and changes, Christ remains with his presence and promises remind…

Dear Friends,     At the heart of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Christ.  On one side of this event and it's remembrance are the 40 days of Lent (not including Sundays), a time of preparation for the celebration of our Lord's passage from death to life.  On the other side are the 50 days of Easter, a time of proclaiming and rejoicing in our redemption.  Right in the middle of it all is Holy Week including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, days in which our attention is riveted on Christ's death and resurrection.  The entire 90 days is best seen as a whole viewed from two sides, from the cross and the empty tomb, each incomplete without the other.  Listed below is a schedule of Lenten observances in the weeks ahead: 
Ash Wednesday Worship – This Wednesday February 18
Noon Time Devotion – A brief service of scripture, reflection, confession, and imposition of ashes.  This is an opportunity for spiritual pre…

Dear Friends,  This upcoming Sunday, churches throughout the world who follow the assigned readings and festivals of the Church Year will be celebrating Transfiguration Sunday, the final Sunday before the Lenten season begins.  On this day, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up  to a mountaintop to pray.   There they will experience an awesome vision they will never forget.  We need mountaintop experiences of our own, places to pray, and sources of strength for the valleys ahead.  We will also be following Jesus through the valleys during the season of Lent.  Our daily journey with Jesus will take us to:
    - quiet places of prayer     - opportunities to feed the hungry     - nights in lonely gardens and angry storms     - the joy and peace of more mountaintop moments     - instructions to care for ourselves and those around us     - reminders that we are never alone but always in the power of the Spirit     - assurance that Jesus meets us exactly where we are b…