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

Come to the Annual Meeting - Sunday, June 9

 

From Steve Mueller, Council President:

As you travel on your lifelong journey of faith, we are grateful for your commitment to Shepherd of the Valley. SOTV is you. And you have made SOTV a great place.

SOTV is fortunate to be led by great leaders like Pastor Chris and Pastor Paul before him. They are leaders who are not willing to coast. 

Think back. Remember the welcome you felt when you first came to SOTV. We want to create that for others. We want this to be an alluring place to worship. The Gospel calls us to serve others and invite them to the Gospel. Our Vision helps us to bring the Gospel to others.   

We are glad that you are here. We really believe it is not an accident that you are here right now. God has a plan for you: continuing our service toward the Great Commandment; helping us realize the invitation of the Great Commission; or even better—both! 

Come to the annual meeting and dream with us about our future. 

The 2013 Annual Congregational Meeting is Sunday, June 9 at Noon with lunch provided.  

Learn more about our Church Council and view minutes from recent meetings.

June is Almost Here!

June brings big things to SOTV and our excitement is building to a crescendo as we begin to implement Our Vision! Since May is a busy time for many of us, we thought a recap and some short updates were in order.

• Our Annual Congregational Meeting is Sunday, June 9 at Noon. Together, we will enjoy a delicious lunch and discuss Our Vision and what's in store for the fall and beyond. Please RSVP at the Welcome Center or online so we can plan enough food.

• Beginning in June, all weekend services will be in the Sanctuary. Worship times remain the same: Saturdays at 5:00 p.m., Sundays at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 a.m.

• Our popular summer "Cabin Worship" returns, Mondays at 7:00 p.m. in the Chapel, beginning on June 3.

• Our band-led worship, The Table, will move from the Great Hall to the Sanctuary at 11:00 a.m. Last week the Table band had a dress rehearsal in the Sanctuary, and everything sounded great, transitions worked smoothly, the band is pumped. Exciting times at SOTV!

• Major technological enhancements are underway over the next few weeks to bring the Sanctuary up to the 21st century including video cameras, video screens, improved sound, and lighting.

Omar Reyes

• This process has been overseen by our new resident tech mastermind, Production Manager Omar Reyes. Three new HD cameras are now installed and look great! They are mounted in different parts of the Sanctuary and will be operated by volunteers. Pretty soon you won't have to squint or crane your neck to see what's going on in the front of the church from the back rows, like a baptism or children's production. We can't wait for you to see these new worship enhancements in action!

• In June, the Great Hall will be transformed into a place for fellowship. Coffee and donuts will remain available for a freewill offering. No more will you have to fear getting trampled in the busy Narthex when reaching for a chocolate-frosted donut.

• In addition, we will have a full, hot breakfast once a month this summer (June 2, July 14, and August 18) and in the fall on dates to be announced. Guests and visitors eat for free! Kids (3-10) & Seniors: $4, Adults $6, Kids 2 and under: free. Fellowship in Christ: priceless! For the first time ever, we will be able to take debit and credit cards in the church. The finalized menu for June 2 includes cinnamon swirl french toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, yogurt, fruit and cereal. Mmmm... are you drooling yet?

With the thrill and excitement of new ministries, comes the realization that things won't stay the way that we're used to. Hey, we get it, change is hard. So we appreciate your willingness to try something new or step out of your comfort zone.

We also really appreciate all of the comments and feedback we've heard over the last couple months, including the comments at our Congregation Dialogues. Please know that we value each and every one of them. If you still have questions, see if Pastor Chris answered them in any of our videos from last week or if they are on our list of Frequently Asked Questions.

We, the pastors and staff of SOTV, are so very honored to serve you. Our goal is to live out Jesus' Great Commission to "go and make disciples." We believe June is a great first step into making our church more welcoming to newcomers and more worshipful for all of us.

Come Sunday, though (or Saturday, or Monday), this is still YOUR church, and we want you to be just as excited as we are. So please come to our Annual Meeting on June 9 to dream along with us, or drop us a line with your thoughts and ideas.

See you in church!

Pastor Chris Answers Your Questions

Since many of you had similar questions and concerns at our recent Congregation Dialogues, we thought we would answer them in a series of videos. Don't see a question that you have answered? Ask away on our website, or scroll back through this blog. Thank you again to everyone who attended our dialogues!

Why Do We Need A Vision?

Was the Vision Created with Any Direction from Members?

How Will New People Find SOTV?

Besides Worship and Fellowship, How Else Will We Reach People with the Gospel?

Why Are We Changing "The Table?"

Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you everyone who attended and participated in a Congregation Dialogue! We heard a lot of great comments and ideas from you and we value each and every one of them.

If you missed the Dialogues, here is Pastor Chris Smith's presentation in its entirety.

Here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions that may answer some of the questions that you have. Pastor Chris has expanded on some of these answers in a series of videos.

If you don't see a question that you have answered, please let us know.

Some of you have inquired how you can get involved in some of the exciting new transformations happening at Shepherd of the Valley. Here are just a few immediate volunteer needs. We will update this list as needs change. Thank you in advance for your help!

Again, thank you to everyone for your feedback. It is very much appreciated!