Soup and Sandwich time!

We've been enjoying the cozy meals of soup and sandwiches each Wednesday evening before the Lenten services.

Lenten Devotion from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"CUSTOMARY HABITS " February 27, 2008 John 18:28. "Then the Jews led Jesus...to the palace of the Roman governor...the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover."

It is customary for residents of this world to get into strange habits. That's what the Denver Zoo found out a number a years ago whey they built a natural habitat for a polar bear. During the three-year construction, the bear was kept in a small cage, which allowed him to take three steps, turn around, and go the three steps back. When the bear's new habitat was complete, it was beautiful. Free to roam, the bear looked, took three steps, turned around, took three steps back and turned around. (The bear's okay now.)

Joining that bear as a creature of habit were the Jews who went to Pilate's palace. They had the habit of eating the Passover meal, so the men who had sentenced an innocent Man to death, refused to go into Pilate's courtroom. A strange custom this, eating the Passover lamb, while killing the Lamb of God. As Christians we need to make sure that our habits don't get in the way of proclaiming the Lord of Life. Even as the Lord split the veil of the temple to let the world know that Jesus had come to save everyone, so the Spirit wishes to split God's people from any baggage that keeps them from sharing Jesus.

Prayerful Practice: Dear Lord, habits can be foolish. Grant me the good habit of pointing others to Jesus, my Savior. In His Name. Amen.

A Contemporary Custom: Do you have the custom of being a spectator at church? Get involved. Today, sing those hymns! Concentrate on the prayers!

The late Stillwater, Minnesota artist, Mary Mugg, has sold paintings around the world. Her nature artwork has graced calendars and stationary.

Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Aurora, MN was blessed to be gifted with a generous assortment of note cards, wrapping paper, gift tags, postcards and lithographed prints by the family of the artist.

The "Notes and Wraps" committee at Our Savior's is offering these products for church groups to use for fund-raising projects.

To order or for more information, contact Joanne at 218-229-3315 or Jan at 218-229-2466, or place an order at northlandnatureprints@yahoo.com.

Prayer Shawls

Have you heard about prayer shawls? Across the country, knitters and crocheters are discovering the joy of creating a beautiful shawl for someone in need of comfort. Whether that person is recovering from an illness, grieving the loss of a loved one, or even rejoicing in the birth of a new baby, a shawl provides physical warmth and comfort, as well as the knowledge that someone prayed over the shawl while crafting it, sending those prayers on their behalf.

The shawl pictured here was made by Dagny and is to be donated to the Prayer Shawl ministry at Zion Lutheran Church in Warroad. To find out more, click here.

DVD and Dessert

Tonight we watched a very informative and excellent DVD from the ELCA's Mosaic Television called "The Life of Apostle Peter". We all agreed that we know a lot more about Peter now than when we came at 6:30! One of the things that stood out was the idea that Peter was not a penniless pauper when Jesus called him to become a "fisher of men". He had a home, a business, and, the Bible tells us, a mother-in-law (which implies he had a wife!). He gave up a lot to follow Jesus.

What would we give up to follow Him?

Are we "stretched" by our faith?

Are we willing to leave our comfort zone, to step out of the boat, as Peter did?

Convicting questions. I shall certainly be pondering them.

Lenten Devotion from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"CUSTOMARY DESERTION " February 20, 2008 Matthew 26:56. "But this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then the disciples deserted Him and fled."

In spite of being warned, the disciples' flight shows us just how customary it is to run from taking a stand. The custom is held by rich and poor, young and old. Before he attacked Russia, Napoleon seemed to have the world at his fingertips. When the Russian invasion failed, Napoleon, fearing he might be overthrown at home, left his suffering army and hurried back to France. Coming to a river, the frightened general asked the ferryman if many deserters had asked for passage. "No," replied the Russian, "you are the first."

In making His uncustomary stand for the redemption of sinful humanity, Jesus broke new ground. He did have options. He could have escaped -after all, He had walked through a hostile crowd before (His time had not yet come). But Jesus was not a deserter. His Father had entrusted Him with the job of saving humanity and He completed it. So that others may know this wonderful news, Christians are being called upon, in increasing numbers, to take their stand. That's what we will do, lest we become a deserter in the Lord's crusade.

Prayerful Practice: Lord Jesus, empower me to be a faithful member of Your cause. Amen.

Contemporary Custom: As a parent or grandparent, write a letter of encouragement to the next generation, encouraging them to stand fast.

Bake Sale coming up March 16th

This is the real deal, folks! Not like the cartoon below!

First Post!

Hello, everyone!

What a great way for the faith community of First Lutheran of Salol to stay in touch! Hopefully, this blog will get updated each week, sharing news of life at our church.

My name is Bonnie and I am a Synodically Authorized Minister in this great little country church. I'll be posting about the goings-on here, the folks who make things happen, upcoming events and announcements. Feel free to leave a comment, or let me know if you would like to be a guest-poster.

Today in Salol, the quilting ladies have been at it again, tying quilts for Lutheran World Relief. I am lucky to have my office hours on these days, as I always get invited to join them for coffee and visiting. Today we had some yummy cake with lemon filling, ice cream and whole wheat flatbread. These gals really should run a bakery!

Tomorrow night is our Lenten service. There is a soup and sandwich meal at 6:00 and the service at 7:00. We've been having a series from Creative Communications for the Parish called "Angels Watch in Solemn Wonder". There's an old gospel song that reminds us that, while on the cross, Jesus could have called "Ten Thousand Angels" to free him from that suffering. Our Lenten series reminds us of who those angels were, what other roles they played in God's plan for salvation, and how they may have wondered at the price that Jesus paid for our souls.

On Friday evening, we are watching a DVD from the ELCA's Mosaic series called "The Life of Apostle Peter". This documentary is hosted by Rick Steves, a publiv television travel host and guide book author.

God bless you!