"There are many of you who think to themselves: 'If only I had been there!  How quick I would have been to help the Baby!  I would have washed his linen.  How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!'  You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem.  Chldish and silly thoughts are these!  Why don't you do it now?  You have Christ in your neighbor.  You ought to serve him, for what you do to your neighobr in need, you do to the Lord Christ himself."

           -Martin Luther-

That got me to thinking.   This Christmas season: patch up a broken relationship!  Seek out a forgotten friend!  Keep a promise!  Listen!  Replace suspicion with trust!  Encourage another!  Speak quietly words of Christmas peace!

Pastor Ron

I have never been more thankful for God's goodness than I am now!  At the writing of this post, I have awakened the past ten mornings to an amazing new reality:  my wife Nancy and I are for the first time Grandma and Grandpa Johnson!

Spiritual Gifts Inventory Available 

As we as a congregation begin the process of asking the question "Who am I and what have I been called to do?" I invite you to set aside about one half hour of your time and take an online spiritual gifts assessment available on the ELCA web site.  Click on the link below to take the assessment.

http://archive.elca.org/evangelizingchurch/assessments/spiritgifts.html

The Power of Blessing – August 15, 2011 On this coming Sunday, August 21, our congregation will gather to sing, celebrate, pray, and place trust our God who blesses us. It’s our annual Blessing of the Backpacks Sunday and we believe in the power of a blessing.