Monthly Archives: February 2006

Warmed by the Light

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epiphany candle lightAs a child, my elder sister, Kathy, gave each of her three younger sisters nicknames. How and why we were each dubbed, as we were, remains a bit of a mystery, but my sister has referred to me as “Little Light” for over 30 years now.

Maybe that association along with others has shaped my spirit when it comes to images of light. I love candles, stained glass windows and the colors of sunset at dusk. In the church year, the season of Epiphany is one of my favorites. One rarely sees a “Happy Epiphany” card in the store, so I’m guessing the culture at large may be just a tad less tuned-in to the richness of this liturgical season.

Nevertheless, the focus on the theme of light — and Jesus as the light of the world — is a warm and inviting one. All of the joy and magic of the Christmas season, yet replacing the hustle and bustle of shopping with the wonder of stars, the mystery of costly devotion, the quiet reflective beauty of winter accompanied by a chill in the air to catch our attention.

All it takes is a brief power-outage in the evening and our appreciation for the power of light in our lives is instantly renewed!
God is in our experiences of light and in our experiences of darkness.
What images come to mind as you think of these lights… and where is God in them?

Candlelight…

Flashlights…

Headlights…

Flares…

Flood lamps…

Light gives us emotional warmth, it’s a tool for discovery, it shows us the path ahead and marks the boundaries of the places we dare to enter — it makes dancing under the stars safe. Light can also be annoying — when we want to stay asleep it is a nuisance, when we are hiding it exposes us beyond our comfort zone, when it uncovers a buried truth it can be blinding.

Whatever else it may be, light is not idle — as we hear the beginning chapters of the gospel of Mark in our Sunday worship this month we are reminded of God’s powerful plans for the world: a deep connection with us, life-giving discipleship, intolerance of evil, an urgency to change the world to conform to God’s ways, healing for bodies and minds and spirits, compassion, reaching out to the outcast, making peace — the LIGHT changes everything!

The Light of the world claims the power to bring love and wholeness wherever it goes Happy Epiphany to you — may you soak in the Light — follow the Light — be warmed by the Light — spread the Light!

Happy Epiphany — Viva La Luz!

Pastor Janet

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Lutheran Services in America Trading Graces on eBay

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Lutheran Servivces in AmericaLutheran Services in America (LSA) will host “Trading Graces,” its first annual online auction, from noon Feb. 26 to noon March 8 on eBay to benefit Lutheran social ministry organizations across the United States and Caribbean.

“Congregations and all sorts of people can partner with Lutheran social ministry organizations on this and spread the word, donate, volunteer and buy,” said Jill Schumann, LSA president. “We’re inviting everybody into this project, and we’re partnering with those 100 million-plus existing eBay users to reuse, recycle and tell the LSA story,” she said.

LSA is an alliance of nearly 300 social ministry organizations, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. eBay is an Internet platform where millions of items are traded each day.

Lutheran health and human service organizations in thousands of communities provide care — ranging from health care to disaster response, from services for children and families to care for the elderly, from adoption to advocacy — to 6 million people annually, and employ a quarter of a million staff and volunteers.

One purpose of Trading Graces is to raise public awareness, Schumann said. “For a long time we’ve heard that Lutheran social ministry is one of the best kept secrets. We’ve been working hard to liberate that secret and make sure people know more about Lutheran social ministry,” she said. (Source: ELCA News)

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Holy Trinity to Take Part in Souper Bowl of Caring

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ELCA Souper Bowl of CaringThis weekend while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks meet on the field in Detroit to determine the 2006 Super Bowl champion, Lutherans will join with other churches and organizations throughout the United States and Canada to raise funds, collect canned goods and donate service hours to benefit hunger-fighting agencies and ministries.

They will be participating in the “Souper Bowl of Caring,” an annual event through which people attending churches, schools, retail outlets and Super Bowl parties can easily contribute money to help people in need.

In many ELCA churches on Feb. 5 — including Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Thousand Oaks — youth groups will collect $1 bills in giant soup pots.

The ELCA World Hunger Appeal, in conjunction with the Lutheran Youth Organization, is urging congregational youth groups to organize local Souper Bowl collections and report results to the Souper Bowl organization. Several resources about Souper Bowl were sent in advance by the ELCA World Hunger program to ELCA congregations. (Source: ELCA News)

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Helping Through Loose Change

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Have you ever needed help for a flat tire? Or an empty gas tank? Needed a sling for your arm or a crutch for a bum leg? Maybe you needed the crutch of a friend’s shoulder, or some good friendly advice. Perhaps it was someone’s prayers you needed. All of us need a lift from time to time.

Surely these are ways in which we each minister to others week in and week out. Like a river in our life, flowing with God’s grace. Well, I am happy to inform you that your river ran with a good flow through our HTLC Jar this past year. Many a fellow child of God received a lift from Lutheran Social Services because of your generosity.

Yes, YOU MADE IT! We topped our $1,000.00 goal and then some: $1,036.84. I want to personally thank each of you who contributed to this meaningful ministry during the year 2005. Last year may be safely tucked away, but God’s grace keeps pace, and your generosity helps with that. What could be better? Blessings to you in 2006 IlaJean Kragthorpe, Stewardship Ministries

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