Wowed by a Wonderful Weekend

Wow! That’s the word that came to mind this past week after witnessing significant events at our church.

On Friday, SOTV hosted the funeral of Lt. Col. Mark Weber on behalf of Easter Lutheran Church. Volunteers and staff from Easter directed traffic, greeted and welcomed mourners. Representatives from the National Guard were on hand and the entrance to the church was flanked impressively by their honor guard. Word is some 800 people attended, and it was truly a wonderful celebration of life.

I heard many positive comments from people in our community that our church looked great and staff provided extraordinary support. Although our role in this event was very small, we were honored to be able to help minister to so many people during a difficult time, and be a place for people in our community to experience the welcome of Jesus Christ. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

The Shepherd’s Sale is again underway and volunteers in record numbers are hard at work. And, the building of full of great stuff. Thank you to all the donors! All has begun well and smoothly during a very busy weekend. On the basis of this excellent beginning, we are looking forward to another successful sale on behalf of children in need.

Of course, this past weekend marked the celebration of Pastor Paul’s retirement. Worship was wonderful, the program very well done, and the meal managed superbly. It’s been a long time since we have fed that many people in the building at once and I thought it went great. There was lots of affirmation for Pastor Paul, Margaret and the whole Harrington tribe. I was especially impressed by the staff and volunteers supporting this event. Another Wow!

Don’t forget, all this is taking place on the heels of a great VBS program just a couple of weeks ago, and another week just around the corner. So, well done, one and all. In recent days and weeks a lot of people have experienced the welcome of Jesus at SOTV thanks to the good work by this community of faith.

Finally, thank you to all who come and take part in our worship and special programs. You are the church, and the reason we do what we do.

See you in church,
Pastor Chris Smith

A Meditation on Change by Pastor Paul

Recently, as Pastor Paul was contemplating his upcoming full retirement, he offered a few thoughts on how SOTV is beginning to live into its Vision for ministry:

My Mother used to remind me that change in life is the one constant. Depending on your situation, that may be good news or not such good news. But often, change can be helpful, progressive, innovative, and even life-giving. 

In response to its vision, SOTV is currently making some changes in its worship life. Time, place, and style of worship in some cases have changed. Upgrades have been made in our technology. New screens, projectors, sound boards, and other audio equipment have been added to our worship experience in the sanctuary.

We live in an age of technology when telling the gospel story can take many forms in order to reach a wide range of people. Over the next several months we will all likely do some adjusting to this new vision for worship. It is the hope of your pastors that these modifications will allow them to share the Good News of our Lord and Savior more effectively than ever before. I will be experiencing these changes along with all of you and I trust they will be implemented thoughtfully and caringly under the guidance of our pastoral staff.

Be assured that the basics of Word (Bible) and Sacraments (Holy Communion and Holy Baptism) will remain central to the ministry of SOTV as we gather each week for a time of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. As the Psalmist put it, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go up into the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 122: 1)

- Paul L. Harrington

Psalms in Real Life

This week we're taking a break from hot breakfasts and transformations in and around the building to focus on worship itself. After all, worship is the center of our ministry and vision to Experience Jesus.

Thank you to Pastor Diane Sponheim for writing this week's blog, and for her work in putting together the summer Psalm worship series!

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I challenged myself and all of you to try praying the Psalms with me this summer as we go through the 6-week series “Drinking Deeply From the Psalms” I hope you're trying it – it's never too late to start! The Psalms will teach us to pray, and they will stretch us and work on us.

Here's what a couple of families had to say about their experience of praying the Psalms.

“Our family decided to take the challenge! After dinner, we look up a Psalm, and read it one verse at a time, passing the Bible around the table, so everyone gets a turn. As we read, we stop and ask what they mean – what is God teaching us? When we read Psalm 3, first we had to look up why the heading of the Psalm told us that David (the writer of the Psalm) was running away from his son Absalom, so we learned something! Then, we thought about people who need deliverance, and each person named someone to pray for God to deliver them from their situation. The boys came up with “The Okies” (recovering from the tornado) and hungry people. It was cool to see our kids connecting the words of the Psalm with situations that are happening today.”

“My wife and I are both going through very difficult times at our jobs. We decided to pray not just one Psalm a day, but a few. It's helped us both get through some really hard days. We feel like the Psalms articulate some of the really “unacceptable” emotions we feel (anger and the desire for revenge) while also giving us hope. We've noticed that God has answered our prayers and helped these situations resolve quickly. Thank you for encouraging us to pray the Psalms!” 

I encourage you to read and pray the Psalms with us. I'd love to hear how God is working on you through them!

If you didn't pick them up in church, you can download the instructions for my Praying the Psalms challenge right now.

- Pastor Diane Sponheim

Sunday, June 2 in Pictures

Sunday, June 2, 2013 was a big day at Shepherd of the Valley. We held our first "Hot Breakfast" in the Great Hall from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. and experienced our first band-led worship at 11:00 in the Sanctuary.

Both events were a great success! The vibes and energy in both rooms on Sunday were positive, the food was delicious, and the message and music were especially resonant and worshipful.

Sunday's success was thanks to the hard work of many volunteers - who cooked and served food, set up and cleaned, welcomed and greeted, rehearsed and performed, and invited others to experience Jesus, through their dedication and presence.

Not everything was perfect. Immediately following 11:00 worship, volunteer and staff teams began a series of debrief and planning meetings that will continue in the weeks and months to come. We've heard many great comments regarding both worship and fellowship, and are working hard to make sure each Sunday is better and better. Everything from the volume of the preacher, to traffic flow, to little details like providing sugar-free syrup are being analyzed and considered. If you have an idea - please share it!

Eating breakfast at church or worshiping with a band may not be for you. But they are important first steps to reaching out to new people - as we've learned from our own extensive research and through conversations with growing churches across the country. We are also designing transformations with the many faithful, long time members of SOTV very much in mind. Jesus continually calls us through the Gospels, especially through the Great Commission, to get out of our comfort zones. Please pray for us as we work toward fulfilling this challenging vision, and please continue to share your thoughts and ideas with Pastors Chris and Randy, online, or by filling out a comment card at church.

The next Hot Breakfast will be July 14, but fellowship with coffee and donuts will continue to be offered each week in the Great Hall. Below are pictures from this past weekend. Thank you Patty Zwiefel for capturing them!

A few of the hard workers in the kitchen on Sunday.

Sunday's menu included french toast, bacon, eggs and sausage.

The Great Hall was full of energy and people enjoying food and fellowship.

One of our youngest volunteers, was also one of the busiest!

A/V tech John Pollock (middle) helps the band set up.

 Jan Nicolai gets the elements ready for weekly Holy Communion.

A new multi-camera system allows views of worship to be captured from all angles of the Sanctuary.

A great crowd came out for 11:00 worship.

Omar Reyes and Steve Genrich have everything under control