Bread for the Journey
When Elijah was fleeing from the wrath of Jezebel, he did not know what was in store for him, but God did. God sent an angel to Elijah when he was at the point of giving up, and that angel brought him food and water. That angel brought him bread for his journey. “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” – 1 Kings 19:4-9
There are times in our lives when we can also feel as if the journey is going to be too long, and we want to give up or give in. Even though we may not know where that journey is leading, God does, and God sends messengers and angels to us to give us bread for our journey.
Enough that Sustains
That bread is Jesus and the Word of God. Are you eating enough to sustain you? Are you drinking in God’s Word enough to fulfill you?
We are standing at the start of a brand new journey together…
We are standing at the start of a brand new journey together and we don’t know where this road is leading, but God does. I want you to make sure that you are being filled by God’s Word. We have several adult Bible study options here at Grace as well as our children and youth Christian Education. I invite you to find a way to attend. Find a way to come and eat and drink and gain strength for our journey.
Never Grow Alone – Rooted Together in Christ
Some of you may remember from my introduction letter that many years ago, my wife, Sharon and I took a trip to Muir Woods. Muir Woods is a wonderful national park outside San Francisco where the majestic redwoods grow. When I saw these beautiful enormous trees for the first time, I was struck with a feeling of awe. I was amazed by their strength, their size, and their age. I was also amazed to learn that even though the redwoods are so tall and strong, each tree actually has a very short root system. Each individual tree has a root that is approximately ten feet long.
How Can That Be?
Think about it for a moment… a tree anywhere from a hundred to three hundred feet tall is supported only by a ten foot long root! How could that be? It doesn’t seem possible. In fact, what we learned is that it is not possible. If a redwood grew by itself, its root could not support the weight and height of the tree. Left alone, the tree would eventually pull up its own root, topple over, and die.
That is why redwoods never grow alone. They always grow in community. They grow in tree clusters. Each tree is surrounded by other trees. They are so close to one another that their roots interconnect by stretching out horizontally rather than vertically. This creates a literal web of roots so strong that it can support a whole community of trees, even ones that tower hundreds of feet above the earth.
We Grow Together in Christ
As I enter into the community here at Grace, I am very aware of two things:
- In a very profound way we (you and I) have always been a part of the same community. In baptism, we have been rooted together in Christ Jesus and therefore are part of the same body.
- Yet, at the same time, I am new to this cluster and need your support, prayers, and welcome as I begin to intertwine my roots with yours.
Perhaps the tension between one and two is an example of the tension in which we live as disciples of Christ. We are constantly living in the tension between building loving relationships with those who are already here and reaching out to invite new people to join the community. As a new person here, I look forward to meeting you all and beginning to build those connections. I look forward to hearing your stories and sharing mine.
A Cluster of Support
I am excited about our partnership in ministry together as we honor the past as well as look to the future. I pray that our ministry will be faithful to both our calling to love and care for the present body and our call to increase the body by reaching out to those who stand alone in need of a cluster to love, support, and pray with them.
Yours in Christ,
Thanks to You Grace is Looking Good Inside and Out
Do you remember reading the following during the Stewardship campaign last year?
Welcoming All: Buildings Brimming with Welcome
Cloistered along a busy North Raleigh thoroughfare sits 5010 Six Forks Road, our congregational home. What beautiful grounds! What a majestic transition from the parking lot into our Narthex! What a bright, airy Sanctuary! Drive down the loop behind our buildings and you are on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Not only does Grace have an ideal location, we have a treasured facility.
From here we help spread the Kingdom of God. Here we welcome all. These facilities are tools through which the light and life of Jesus touches and welcomes others.
Maintaining and enhancing our facilities strengthens our welcome. And it is well worth the investment to update our exterior lighting, maintain our native landscapes, update HVAC, repair roofs and parking lots, fix plumbing, replace carpets in Offices and Miller Building, and replace some exterior doors. All of this enables our welcome to be strong, supporting our mission to seek the fullness of life in Christ for all people.
Buildings brimming with welcome!
Facility Improvements – From Parking Lots to Paint
As a result of your generous increases in given for 2018, our buildings are brimming with welcome. Our parking lot welcomes you and our guests with well marked spaces inviting you to our church. New carpets and painted walls in our church office and the Miller building provide our staff with a clean working environment that is refreshing and pleasant.
Outdoor Lighting – Safety and Security
The increased lighting in the parking lot not only adds security for the church grounds, but it also provides safety for everyone including organizations utilizing our space for outreach activities as well as our adults and children.
“We are so thankful for the new lighting in the church parking lot. It illuminates the beautiful church grounds and provides peace of mind when the kids and I leave Covenant Choir practice on Wednesday nights.”
This maintenance and improvement for our buildings and grounds are a direct result of your continuous support for our 2018 Stewardship campaign. The Stewardship team thanks you for your increased giving and supporting these projects for Grace. Our buildings are welcoming all!
Submitted on behalf of the Stewardship Support Team
One Last Time
A Word From Pastor Sloop – One Last Time
There are a few poems I like to keep handy, actually deposit them in the back of my calendar. That way they are close by. Sometimes I intentionally seek out a verse, and the fresh rereading is pure gift, again. Sometimes I go looking for something else and find this jewel, this exquisite word picture (the pearl of great price?) again. I’m in heaven.
Some of the poems I keep close
Sweeney’s by Brian Doyle
It’s about a shirt from a bar by that name. Doyle needs that shirt. Why? Because his older brother, whose dead, gave it to Brian when a boy. Every time he pulls out that shirt he’s back there, a boy receiving that coveted shirt.
“….I’ll always have his shirt in a drawer. If I touch it, here he
Is in the room with me, smiling at how a shirt can make a kid
speechless with astonishing joy, even forty years later. Isn’t that
amazing?……A snatch of song, a scent, a battered collar, a ratty
old pub jersey. So many time machines. Yes, time wins. My
brother withered and vanished. Yet here he sits on the edge of
the bed snickering at me as the shirt hangs way down past my
knees. No religion owns resurrection.”
I cry or come close to doing so. Those of us who’ve lost a sibling or anyone close, we can relate.
To Be of Use by Marge Piercy
With directness Piercy wages war on sloth. She praises common, useful work.
“…I want to be with people who submerge in the task, who
go into the fields to harvest and work in a row and pass the bags
along, who are not parlor generals and field deserters but move in
common rhythm when the food must come in or the fire be put
out…..Greek amphoras for wine or oil, Hopi vases that held corn,
are put in museums but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is
real.”
Thank you Grace Lutheran Church for giving this retiree ‘work that is real.’ I hope at some level my time as your interim pastor has been helpful to you. For certain it has been helpful to me. To come out of retirement and to ply the pastoral calling one more time submerged me in the task I love. Thank you! These 16 months afforded me much joy in the Lord through you! I will miss you!
You have a great staff! You have a great new pastor! You have great facilities and location! You have great, willing servants! You have a great future under a great Lord!
When I pull out that God’s Work, Our Hands tee shirt with Grace Lutheran on the back side, man alive, I’m right back here at 5010 Six Forks Road—a church seeking the fullness of life in Christ for all people.
May You Go in Peace and Continue to Love & Serve the Lord,
Pastor David Sloop, Almost Re-Retired
The Greatest Truth
A large bouquet of balloons! Every now and then someone is trying to transport multiple balloons in their car. It’s quite a sight. Taking 25 large helium balloons and stuffing them into a small cab can be an exercise in frustration.
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Balconies
Churches need balconies. Balconies are a way for certain people to be present and not be ‘too’ present. Youth. Youth in the balcony have opportunity to be ‘there’ without being ‘there’. A balcony becomes an excellent way to distant yourself from the older set.
Seeing With New Eyes – Triangle Conference
WELCA Newsletter – April 2018
Triangle Conference Spring Gathering – 2018
Women of the ELCA
Triangle Conference Spring Gathering – 2018
Registration and Breakfast – 9:30 to 10 am
Conference – 10 am to 2 pm
On Saturday, April 21, from 9:30am – 2pm, Grace Lutheran will host the annual Triangle Conference Spring Gathering for the Women of the ELCA (WELCA). The event will include many opportunities for Christian fellowship and fun! Enjoy terrific home cooked food with a light breakfast served during registration just before the gathering begins, and also at lunch.
Called to Be Global Sisters, Seeing Each Other With New Eyes
The focus of our conference will be an in-depth study centered on the topic of Called to Be Global Sisters, Seeing Each Other With New Eyes. We hope this program will improve our understanding of women from other cultures. Our study will be lead by Pastor Marissa Krey, of Lutheran Services of the Carolinas.
Registration forms can be found on the poster in the Narthex at Grace or can be downloaded using this link.
The cost to attend is only $8 per person and includes all materials. Registration begins at 9:30 am. Remember that we’ll be serving a light breakfast from 9:30 – 10 am and that lunch is also provided. We hope you’ll plan to join us; you are welcome to attend any portion of the retreat that works in your schedule.
Contact us with any questions.
Please note that the next WELCA meeting in May will be on May 1st (first Tuesday of the month)!
Lin Gunnet, WELCA President
A Gesture of the Heart
A tip of a hat, a wave, a wink—these are gestures. They carry much freight. Gestures can shape our living. A Mom and Dad’s good night kiss brings assurance of parental love. When a kiss is absent or withheld from the bedtime ritual children may wonder about that love.
Gestures Carry Much Meaning
Those of us who lived during the Vietnam War may remember a picture of American POWs sent by their captors. In this photo several soldiers held up a raised middle finger. Their captors did not understand the gesture. We did. That picture conveyed great assurance of the unbroken imprisoned.
Take note of the gesture of the third base coach. With rapid motion that coach’s arms communicate clearly to the batter. These same gestures disguise a message intended to throw off the opposing team. In no other sport is the art of gesturing so perfected.
Sharing God’s Peace
Of singular importance in Christian worship is the gesture of sharing the peace. Before we come to receive the peace of Christ through communion, we first reach out to each other in peace.
This gesture is always significant and more so when we have lived with tension or discord towards another person. Peace carries the hope of a new, different future.
The peace of the Lord be with you always…
In an increasingly casual culture gesturing is diminished. We who bear the mark of Christ are encouraged to retrieve it for the sake of Christ. When on those occasions I mark the foreheads of young children at communion with a cross, I ask if they can feel that cross on them. It is a gesture.
It is a mark of life.
May our gestures convey our heart.