Dear Siblings in Christ,
First, this past Sunday was a tough day. We celebrated All Saints Sunday, which brings great hope, but also allows us to grieve those we miss here on our earthly journey. It is, of course, appropriate and proper that we be sad and glad at the same time in these moments. Sunday was an emotional day of remembrance and hope.
After worship, we experienced a tough congregational meeting. We learned that our Council President, a very strong and caring leader, has decided to step down. This was a tough decision for Roger, and a tough thing for the church to hear. Right now, the church faces many decisions about its future...only because what we do now will impact the church significantly in the next five years I believe. Right now, the bulk of people who attend worship are older than 60. We all pray for families and youth to return, to continue the ministry of faith, generosity, love, support and care for not only Grace Lutheran “members”, but the community of Bandera as a whole. So, the congregation faces choices in who is hired/called, how it will budget, how it will reach out, who will sustain the work of the congregation, and more. It is a tough time, yet a time filled with great hope and opportunity for the future. And we know that God remains faithful.
Council then met after the congregational meeting on Sunday and wondered aloud about what is possible, even as we celebrated the MANY incredible ways this congregation serves the community around us, and each other.
And finally, Sunday evening, we learned of the devastating and unexpected death of Roger Schrank, just hours after we learned of his resignation from council. We are in shock, especially after a tough day already.
Please hear me when I say, this is SO MUCH. I have already noticed a great deal of anxiety in my time here about what to do with the future. But naming the anxiety for the future and the need for action that the future calls for at the meeting brings those fears out into the open and can raise the temperature a little. Naming fears also means that we can more readily address them. But it is A LOT. And we will grieve and worry together even as we hope.
At this time, it will be important for our congregation to continue to care for each other, be kind to one another, love in spite of our differences and listen. We are all different, we are all one. No matter what the country is doing, no matter what other churches are doing, no matter our personal differences, we can work together as Grace Lutheran to do God’s work with our hands.
We are assured that there is life from death. So, let us grieve, let us pray, and let us live into the future that God will lead us toward together.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39
In God’s peace,
Pastor Heather
First, this past Sunday was a tough day. We celebrated All Saints Sunday, which brings great hope, but also allows us to grieve those we miss here on our earthly journey. It is, of course, appropriate and proper that we be sad and glad at the same time in these moments. Sunday was an emotional day of remembrance and hope.
After worship, we experienced a tough congregational meeting. We learned that our Council President, a very strong and caring leader, has decided to step down. This was a tough decision for Roger, and a tough thing for the church to hear. Right now, the church faces many decisions about its future...only because what we do now will impact the church significantly in the next five years I believe. Right now, the bulk of people who attend worship are older than 60. We all pray for families and youth to return, to continue the ministry of faith, generosity, love, support and care for not only Grace Lutheran “members”, but the community of Bandera as a whole. So, the congregation faces choices in who is hired/called, how it will budget, how it will reach out, who will sustain the work of the congregation, and more. It is a tough time, yet a time filled with great hope and opportunity for the future. And we know that God remains faithful.
Council then met after the congregational meeting on Sunday and wondered aloud about what is possible, even as we celebrated the MANY incredible ways this congregation serves the community around us, and each other.
And finally, Sunday evening, we learned of the devastating and unexpected death of Roger Schrank, just hours after we learned of his resignation from council. We are in shock, especially after a tough day already.
Please hear me when I say, this is SO MUCH. I have already noticed a great deal of anxiety in my time here about what to do with the future. But naming the anxiety for the future and the need for action that the future calls for at the meeting brings those fears out into the open and can raise the temperature a little. Naming fears also means that we can more readily address them. But it is A LOT. And we will grieve and worry together even as we hope.
At this time, it will be important for our congregation to continue to care for each other, be kind to one another, love in spite of our differences and listen. We are all different, we are all one. No matter what the country is doing, no matter what other churches are doing, no matter our personal differences, we can work together as Grace Lutheran to do God’s work with our hands.
We are assured that there is life from death. So, let us grieve, let us pray, and let us live into the future that God will lead us toward together.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39
In God’s peace,
Pastor Heather