Dear Brothers, Sisters and Siblings in Christ,
 
As we are coming up on six months since all of our lives were changed by the Covid19 pandemic, it seems appropriate to say something about where we are since the virus has had such a powerful effect on our family lives, our church life, and our societal life.
Most of you probably have vivid recollections of those early weeks, as we struggled to come to terms with what was happening. I remember hearing the news that the virus had been diagnosed in an international passenger at JFK Airport, and thinking that it was just a short train ride away. Instinctively I knew it was already here. It was just a short time later that we cancelled worship, all our in-person activities, and began trying to figure out what to do next.
 
There was during the early days of the pandemic a sense of urgency and emergency, and in an odd way, a sense of excitement. None of us had ever been challenged like this, and as state and local governments began outlining what we could and couldn’t do, here at Trinity our office administrators set up a clearing house for sharing information, keeping in touch with people and fostering a “we will get through this” attitude. Pastor Bruce offered to stay on with us to help see us through the worst of it, Eric Benkert provided expertise and time so that we could get our worship on You Tube, Thomas Loomis stepped up to provide digitized music and lyrics, with Sue Rutledge’s help our Confirmation classes moved online as did our Sunday School and eventually First Communion classes.  Our dedicated disciples kept both Friends Kitchen and our pantry open and serving those in need. We had weeknight and Sunday morning Zoom coffee hours just so that we could maintain some social contact and check on each other. Despite the pandemic, our dedicated members and staff gave us a VBS program that touched lives as far away as Florida, Western Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Our members and friends continued to support Trinity financially, and some even gave more to help us over the rough patch. Our treasurer, Sharon Gilbert, made certain that we received a Covid relief loan/grant, and we were able to sustain everyone on the payroll.
 
Now, at the end of six months I sense that everyone is tired, “how long, O Lord,” comes from most of us in some form or other. The sense of emergency is over, replaced with grief over those who have died, frustration that we seem no closer to the end than we were months ago, anxiety that we may still get sick, and impatience with one another as we all try to cope. Mask wearing, even for those of us who know that we must do it, has become one of those little burdens we wish would go away and empty hand sanitizer bottles remind us that we have been doing this for a long time.  It is, at best, a difficult time.
 
However, as I write this, it is just after 11:00 a.m. on September 11th, and I can’t help but being reminded of the difficulty of this day nineteen years ago, and of the many days that followed; of the sacrifice and heroism, the rediscovery of our common humanity, the empathy and caring that we roused for one another, the prayer services that lifted up those grieving, and the willingness to do whatever it took to rebuild and heal our nation.
 
When I see your faces in my mind’s eye, my faith is lifted up. I know we will come through this. I sense your strength and commitment. I know that you have been tested before and have overcome the challenges. We have experienced the faithfulness of God and are confident that while our vision is not clear, God will bring us through this. I know that the restrictions imposed on us by the pandemic, our imperfect politics, our discussions about race, and our anxiety about work and school, all tend to make us less patient and less forgiving, but I know looking at the Gospel text for this Sunday (the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost), the parable of the unforgiving servant, that one of the basics of Christian faith is the call to extend forgiveness to one another. Most certainly, during this time, if we can be more lenient with one another’s foibles, less inclined to speaking out of anger, a little less likely to react with disdain, and more likely to forgive, we will be doing the work of Christ with those gathered around us.
 
It is my prayer for each and all of us that during these days, with so much happening, and so much at stake, that you experience the presence and the blessing of Jesus Christ in your life. I pray that you will be buoyed up by those around you, by a life of prayer, and continued commitment to doing what you can to focus your energy on building up others. I hope that you experience the forgiveness of others and know the joy of forgiving those who have wronged you. In all of this, I hope you have discovered that the love of Jesus Christ abounds; that as St. Paul wrote, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. No matter what has happened the Holy Spirit has given us the means to keep going.
 
As we look to the months ahead, we will continue to be innovative. We will gather in whatever way we can to continue to be the body of Christ in the world; to be a community of faith and service. Sunday School begins this weekend, Confirmation will start in October, and we will be offering Bible Study as well as other studies and online discussion groups. We will continue to be the church. We will hold our outdoor service until it becomes too cold and then we will think of something else. You Tube worship will continue, and we’re already exploring what Christmas worship will look like. We may find ourselves doing both indoor and outdoor worship, holding our candles and singing in the cold to light the way and welcome the Christ child.
 
Take heart my fellow disciples, God is still with us, Jesus still loves us, the Holy Spirit continues to guide us. In the months ahead, let us be there for one another as our Lord Jesus is for us. May God bless you as we enter the Autumn season and may words of praise and thanksgiving be on our lips.
 
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Peter
 

​ God delights in surprises. Mary was surprised, to say the least, when she was told she was carrying the Messiah. Moses was surprised when God spoke to him through a burning bush. Who knows what the disciples were thinking when Jesus appeared to them in the midst of a storm, walking on water? God must find some joy in surprising us.
  So as we celebrated the “Reign of Christ” last weekend, we were surprised to discover that his reign looks nothing like that of the monarchs with whom we are familiar. Instead — surprise! — God’s reign is found among the homeless and the hungry. God is revealed through vulnerability and mercy, not power or pomp and circumstance. The Reign of Christ invites us to experience the surprising presence of God, right here on earth.
  Yes, Jesus is a different kind of king. And those who follow him, well, our lives are to be different too . . .

  Easter is early this year, and in many places across this church trees will still be bare and fields barren. It might even snow. But on Easter morning we will gather to greet the risen Son and give thanks to God for the new life we have in Jesus Christ.
  Two things come to mind this Easter when there is still only the hint of spring: Jesus’ words to his disciples just before his crucifixion and a hymn. Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Jesus was talking about his death, but he was also assuring his disciples and us that death is not the end, that, though it might seem impossible and even terrifying to step into the void, God brings life out of death.

  The hymn is ELW 379.
       Now the green blade rises from the buried grain,
       wheat that in dark earth many days has lain;
       love lives again, that with the dead has been;
       love is come again like wheat arising green.

   The tune is actually a French Christmas carol. How perfect that, in the bleak midwinter, the promise of spring was planted. St. Paul wrote, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” We have already fallen into the earth and died. “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” We will not remain alone. We will bear fruit. The seed has been planted in all the barren places in the world and in our lives. That gives us the power and the hope – especially in the face of our brokenness – to see life where the world only sees death ... in refugee camps and hospice units, in parched earth and in floods, in oppression and denied justice we are bold to confess. Now the green blade rises. Now love lives again. Now love comes again like wheat arising green. Christ is risen.

Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

  Although scripture does not provide a description of what he looked like, Christians have long claimed that Jesus Christ is the face of God. From him, that is, by knowing about him and his ministry, we gain a glimpse of the character and personality of God.                
  For centuries artists have been fascinated by this notion. Painters of the late Renaissance, for instance, uniformly depicted the face of the infant Jesus aglow with brilliant light, a light which illumined the face of his mother as well.
More than that, the brightness which is the Christ Child brightened the faces of all who gazed upon him, angels, shepherds and magi alike. In these paintings, facial expressions of awe, wonder and joy reflect the radiant brilliance which is Christmas.   
  My prayer for you and for all who “see” the face of God in story and song this Christmas is that your face too will glow with the brightness of the Christ Child.