“From the very beginning, God is the one who has placed us in families. Families help us to grow, to learn, to respect, to forgive, and to love. The journey of life has never been meant to be traveled all alone. We need each other. We need community. “
Hello Gloria Dei,
As I mentioned in last week’s Friday Followings, God gave the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel. They are important for us even today.
The Fourth Commandment says, “Honor Your Father and Your Mother”.
From the very beginning, God is the one who has placed us in families. Families help us to grow, to learn, to respect, to forgive, and to love. The journey of life has never been meant to be traveled all alone. We need each other. We need community. Here at Gloria Dei, we are a family. A family of faith. You are part of God’s family.
In whatever shape or form your family takes, say thanks to God for the gift of community. And be sure to say a big thanks for the gift of Mom’s.
For this weekend in worship, please read 1st and 2nd Timothy.
I’m including now the second installment of three, begun last week, from Pastor Chris on “What is a Sabbatical?”
See you in worship.
Pastor Tim
What is a Sabbatical?
Hi again, Gloria Dei. I’m so thankful for the many of you who have expressed your interest and excitement for my upcoming sabbatical time. It means a lot to have such an encouraging and supportive congregation!
Many of you asked this week, “What are you going to do?!?” It’s a bit of a funny (but very good) question, since “sabbatical” takes its name from our understanding of sabbath and God’s command to rest. So, there will be some rest.
But a fulfilling sabbatical time is also a mix of things that are personally renewing and devotionally uplifting. Several months ago, a small team of Gloria Dei members and I applied for a grant to try to help fund some big dreams I had for sabbatical. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive that grant, but I still plan to do a few of the things we dreamed of.
First, much of my time will be spent connecting with my family and close friends. With such a unique and rare gift like a sabbatical, my first dream is to spend more time with people I love and build our relationships. I hope to build a closer community with my family, friends, and new friends in the community we now live in.
Second, I plan to challenge myself with learning a traditional style of building timber framed structures. One thing I love to spend time doing is building things. I signed up to take a class at the North House Folk School in Grand Marais, MN in mid-June. The class teaches participants how to build traditional timber framed structures. In addition, North House builds community and friendships between people who are there taking all sorts of other classes during the same timeframe. When I’m done with the course, I’ll be taking my materials and my new skills home with me to work on the basic timber framed structure of a sauna.
Finally, I will spend every morning digging into God’s Word, particularly the Gospel of Matthew and the book of Acts. I intend to pay special attention to the way in which Jesus and the early church form disciples for the work of ministry. I will also spend time reading books and taking a class related to discipleship, community building, and small group ministry. I hope to learn and bring to Gloria Dei a renewed passion for making disciples as Jesus calls us to do in Matthew 28, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
Check back next week for my last ‘What is a sabbatical?” reflection.
-Pastor Chris
