Reflections
Liturgical Banner: Transformed by God’s Grace
“Transformed by God’s Grace” Artist’s Description Upon meditation and reflection on scripture and Ascension’s own vision planning, the word transformation is strong. Which led to metamorphosis which led to the idea of a butterfly cocooning – a bold statement indeed! The design itself is a metamorphosis of several theological ideas. I found that grace and […]
Posted on February 20, 2020 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
The Inescapable Mess
The bad news is this: there is nowhere to run. The evil, the sin,the despair, the mess of this world is within you. The good news this: In a manger, around tables with sinners andscribes, on both sides of the sea, up on that cross, and at this table –God enters into the mess, knowing […]
Posted on February 18, 2020 | Posted by Annie Saunders
Witnesses of God’s Nearness
Our reading from Mark 6 has Jesus sending his disciples out to practice what they have learned from him. The heart of Jesus’ teaching and example is that the Kingdom of God is near. Even though the people were poor, had little say, and were all too often sick, God’s presence and blessings were for them through […]
Posted on February 11, 2020 | Posted by Annie Saunders
Hope Beyond the Chronic and Terminal
We all know the feeling of chronic suffering. The sense of pain,division, or malaise that never ends. The chronic feels beyond hope. We also know the feeling of terminal suffering. The sense of a pendingend that cannot be stopped. The terminal feels beyond hope. But in astory of two healings we discover that in Jesus we […]
Posted on February 3, 2020 | Posted by Annie Saunders
Even There
In Confirmation the middle school youth are learning about Baptism. That what God has done for us through the waters of Baptism can never be reversed. We are children of God forever. When I consider my Baptism and reflect on what God has done through making us His children, Psalm 139 comes to my heart. […]
Posted on January 16, 2020 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
Bold Faith
“If God comes and tears that barrier down, if God is as close as the bread and wine are to my lips, as close as the hymns we sing together–if God is that close, then that bold faith (the sort of faith I can imagine) maybe that’s the kind of faith we together could muster.” […]
Posted on January 14, 2020 | Posted by Annie Saunders
Seeing 20/20 in 2020
In the year 2020, my hope is that people see others with 20/20 sight. I find that we have often seen others through the warped, foggy lenses of negative stereotypes. Negative stereotypes are inaccurate and often come from third parties. Using negative stereotypes has a way of increasing fear, distrust and dislike. In our fear, […]
Posted on January 6, 2020 | Posted by Pastor Dan Holt
ELCA presiding bishop responds to anti-Semitic incidents in New York
12/30/2019 9:25:00 AM December 30, 2019 Today is the last day of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. As our Jewish siblings lighted the menorah, they sang this blessing: We kindle these lights because of the wondrous deliverance You performed for our ancestors. During these eight […]
Posted on December 30, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
The Night the Stars Sang, by Ingrid Daniel: Christmas Eve
When I was in seventh or eighth grade, my bell choir was invited to participate in a tree lighting ceremony in Golden, Colorado. We were told that, since space was limited, and all of the available outlets would be in use, we had to play without tables, and that we had to memorize the music. […]
Posted on December 24, 2019 | Posted by Mary Stoneback
Develop, by Deacon Mary Stoneback: Advent Day 23
My love for photography began in the third grade when my parents gifted me with their Canon AE-1 programmable camera. I dove into learning about ISO, f stops, apertures and shutter speed. It was amazing how manipulating just one thing could alter the photo’s outcome, sometimes for the better. I loved to experiment. I got […]
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