Pastor Tami's eNote - January 19, 2024

Dear Messiah Family,

This reflection from author, Kate Bowler, came across my desk a few days ago. It touched my heart so I want to share it with you. I think we can always use a reminder of how much we are loved by God.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
— Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)

Think back. Was there a time and place where you have felt truly beloved? I mean, downright cherished? Those are precious and good moments. Sometimes it’s the feeling of your dog or cat deciding you have hung the moon, or at least put dinner out in a dish. A child that hugs you around the waist. A friend’s irrational interest in the specifics of your day. (Is any Tuesday really that interesting? Probably not, but I’m not complaining.) It could be an anniversary celebration, a graduation moment, or the feeling of someone squeezing your hand. We forget these moments quickly, but they are crucial. If we forget what it feels like to be loved, we may not remember how to be loved by God too.

Let’s try.

God, it has taken a while to see it,
clouded as these days have been
with a vague sense of unease,
gradually coming to my awareness
that I need to feel your love.
Not generally. Not for the whole world.
But for the specific, particular me
that is here, now.
(Though it feels embarrassing to say so.)
But aren’t we all at the center
of our own stories?
As heroes, villains, winners, losers,
or whatever fits the plot of the day?
God, rewind this story back
to the beginning,
when my eyes opened and, newborn,
I came into this world wholly loved.
You loved me.
Not for anything I had done,
but simply because.
And here, though my vision is blurry,
I do know what love feels like.
And that is life to me.
So remind me, again, God,
how the world spins and the winds change
and the oceans churn and not a single fact
tells a different story than your love for me.

This Sunday

I’ll continue in this series on doubt with a message titled Is Heaven Real? Nearly every religion throughout history has had some sense of an afterlife. Jesus’ promise to us is that there is something after this life and that when our time in this world is over, he’s coming back to take us home. I believe this is a topic that we all think about from time to time. I look forward to sharing my message with you as well as a couple of near death stories. I hope you'll plan to attend worship either in person or online here.

Charge Conference

Messiah Church has been awarded an $8,000 "Investing in Congregations" grant from the Minnesota Annual Conference to support our efforts around becoming a more diverse and inclusive faith community. This grant will fund our Honoring our Differences speaker series as well as provide funding for leadership development opportunities. A Charge Conference for the purpose of approving this grant agreement will be held next Sunday, January 28 at 10 am in the church office. Pastor Dick Ellis will be presiding - all members of Messiah are welcome to attend and vote.

A Thank You!

In my eNote last week, I shared a thank you from Bloom for your support of the Totes for Hope ministry to Bloom. Today, I have another thank you to share with you from Imara.

In Christ's love,
Pastor Tami

Tami Luckhardt
Messiah Church Senior Pastor
(763) 473-6968 ext. 103
tluckhardt@messiahchurch.org