Pastoral Message: “Taking a Little Break…”Week of the Third Sunday after Epiphany January 23, 2023
Pastoral Message:
“Taking a Little Break…”
Week of the Third Sunday after Epiphany
January 23, 2023
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
My pastoral message to you this week is that there’s essentially no pastoral message, at least in terms of what has become my usual custom in offering a little essay to you! Since the Christmas and New Years’ Day holidays fell on Sundays, working days for pastors, and because my brother and sister-in-law are visiting me in Phoenix this week, I’m taking some vacation time in the coming days to open up horizons for more family time in the service also of seeking both balance and some sabbath in my current routines.
I hope that this witness will serve as inspiration to those of you who need to take a break, too. Pastors, at their best, serve as role models for those in their care. But too often, it’s a matter of “physician, heal thyself” in that many pastors, myself very much included, don’t always practice what they preach in terms of nurturing holistic well-being in their life’s routines.
So, if your circumstances and work and life realities are such as to give you the privilege and freedom to take a break when you need to, please do so. For those whose circumstances do not permit such freedom, let us all pray and work for more just social conditions that make possible the pursuit of greater quality of life and well-being for all people.
Enough said by way of pastoral message.
My sabbath-seeking routine this week, therefore, means that I will not be in the office most weekdays between January 24 through January 31. I will be present for the Congregation Council meeting on the evening of January 24, and I’ll preach and preside on January 29 along with being present for our congregational meetings on that day.
But there will be no Bible Studies on Wednesday, January 25.
As ever, God in Christ be with you as you continue to journey in faith.
With prayerful best wishes in Jesus’ name,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
Interested in Membership at Faith-La Fe?
If you or anyone you know is curious about learning more about Faith-La Fe Church toward perhaps becoming a member of our congregation, kindly reach out to either Pastor Linman or Pastor Veronica. They are more than eager to engage you in conversation for your discernment. We are planning to receive new members at our Easter Vigil this year on Saturday evening, April 8 at 7:00 pm.
Rummage Sale
We are now accepting donations for Faith's Rummage Sale. You may bring smaller items to the church office M-Th, 9:30am to 12:30pm, or contact Carly at carly.c.chamberlain@gmail.com. Then join us to shop on Saturday, January 28 from 8am to 3pm! We are offering a 10% discount per shopper for donations of brand-new men's or women's socks and underwear for Native American Urban Ministry.
Two Annual Meetings on Sunday, January 29! A Feast of Riches!
Plan now to join us between our liturgies on January 29 for this important work of our whole congregation. One brief meeting will focus on calling Pastor Veronica ¾ time instead of ½ time, because we have received additional grants from the synod to make this added time possible. Then in another meeting, to begin immediately after we conclude the call meeting, we will devote our attention to passing our budget for 2023.
Lutheran Day at the Legislature + Monday, January 30 @ 9:30 - 11:30
Wesley Bolin Plaza
Legislative appointments are between 10:45 - 1:45; Bishop's invocation and introduction on the House and Senate floors is approx. 1:00
PLEASE REGISTER using this link ~ It's extremely helpful to know in advance what district you're in when we're making legislative appointments.
Plans are still underway, but we've invited House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate Minority Leader Raquel Terán to speak, in addition to Bishop Deborah Hutterer and Connie Phillips of Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest and our coalition partners. Check-in is at 9:30, remarks begin at 10:00; your legislative visits begin approx. 10:45 ~ details to follow. There are 5 legislative appointments already set, and more to come.
Lutherans and friends of Lutherans from across the state will gather at the Arizona Capitol in Wesley Bolin Plaza for a day of advocacy on Monday, January 30, 2023 from 9:30 am - 11:30 am to learn, to witness, and to voice our common needs in the public square, activating our faith in love.
Meet your legislators, meet congregational LAMA liaisons, meet your LAMA policy council, and meet other Lutherans across Arizona who share a common belief that we are called through our baptismal covenant “…to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”
Worship on Presentation of our Lord on February 2
We normally haven’t offered communal worship on lesser festivals that occur during midweek. But at Faith-La Fe, we’re trying some new things. So, plan to join us beginning at 7:00 pm on Thursday, February 2 when we celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord during a liturgy of Holy Communion. This day commemorates when Jesus was presented by his parents in the temple according to Jewish custom forty days after his birth (forty days after Christmas). It was on that occasion in ancient times when the seers Simeon and Anna offered words of prophetic insight into Jesus’ identity – “Now, Lord, let your servant go in peace: your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel” (cf. Luke 2:29-32). With the theme of light in mind, this day is also known as Candlemas, when the new year’s candles are blessed at church. So, when you join us for worship, you may want to bring candles from home to be blessed during our worship.
Invitation to a Special Lenten Discipline: Campus-wide Property Inventory
Pastor Linman is interested in convening a small group of interested members to make an inventory of items located in rooms and closets throughout the buildings on our property in the service of assessing and discerning what we may be called to keep and what we may want to free ourselves of for other homes. Consider this an effort toward some major spring cleaning. Better yet, let’s claim this as a communal Lenten discipline for this year! For this proposed work is also a spiritual exercise in that we are always invited to examine our places of abode – at home and at church – and to consider what we might be purged of for greater simplicity and purity of life. Some of our spaces are cluttered with things we may not ever use again. Being free of clutter in our homes and church makes for good mental and spiritual health – and it makes our spaces more hospitable and inviting to our guests and others who use our building. If you are interested in being part of the small team which explores our buildings and rooms making a list of things we may no longer need, please make yourself known to Pastor Linman.
Mardi Gras returns to Faith-La Fe this year!
Please join us in Parish Hall on February 21 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for a Pancake Supper. John and Suzanne Johnstonbaugh will be cooking pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage links served with syrup, sugar free syrup, butter, salsa and catsup. There will be coffee and hot water for tea or hot chocolate. A free will offering will be taken in support of Faith’s General Fund.
Mark Your Calendars Now for Upcoming Worship Services
Further detail about the following special occasions for worship is forthcoming, but please note these special liturgies now in your calendars!
February 2 at 7:00 pm + Presentation of Our Lord, Holy Communion and Blessing of Candles
February 22 + Ash Wednesday, Imposition of Ashes at Noon, and Holy Communion with Imposition of Ashes at 7:00 pm
March 1 + Midweek Soup Supper (6:30 pm) and Lenten Service (7:00 pm)
(George Herbert, Hymnwriter, 1633)
March 8 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Perpetua and Felicity and Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 202, transferred)
March 15 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Patrick, Bishop, Missionary to Ireland, 461, transferred)
March 22 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Jonathan Edwards, Teacher, Missionary to American Indians, 1758)
March 25 at 10:00 am + Annunciation of Our Lord, Holy Communion
March 29 + Midweek Soup Supper and Lenten Service
(Hans Nielson Hauge, Renewer of the Church, 1824)
April 2 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Sunday of the Passion/Palm Sunday
April 6 at 7:00 pm + Maundy Thursday, Holy Communion, Foot Washing, Stripping of the Altar
April 7 + Good Friday: Noon, Stations of the Cross, and 7:00 pm, Liturgy
April 8 at 7:00 + Vigil of Easter with Reception of New Members
April 9 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Resurrection of Our Lord/Easter Day
May 18 at 7:00 pm + Ascension of Our Lord, Holy Communion
May 28 at 9:00 and 11:00 am + Day of Pentecost
May 31 at 7:00 pm + Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, Holy Communion
July 22 at 10:00 am + Mary Magdalene, Apostle, Morning Prayer
August 15 at 7:00 pm + Mary, Mother of Our Lord, Holy Communion
September 14 at 7:00 pm + Holy Cross Day, Evensong
November 1 at 7:00 pm + All Saints’ Day, Holy Communion
Upcoming Saturday Quiet Days at Faith-La Fe in 2023
Saturday, March 18 – a day to explore the intersections between Christian Spirituality and our health, holistically understood. We’ll consider health and wholeness biblically, engaging in some conversational bible study. There will also be time for some gentle, healthy, spiritually-focused exercises (prayer that uses our body), a healthy lunch, and then also a Service of the Word for Healing with laying on of hands and anointing with oil. Claim this day as part of your Lenten discipline.
Saturday, April 29 – an introduction to Lectio Divina, or sacred reading, an approach to prayerfully engaging scripture that emerges from the Benedictine tradition and is increasingly popular today among clergy and lay audiences. I’ve done extensive work on the experiential dynamics of lectio divina, and I’m eager to share insights for your inspiration and edification. We do a modified form of lectio divina during our Wednesday bible studies, but spending the day together will give us occasion to do this prayerful form of bible reading as it is more fully intended.
Saturday, June 3 – a day to more deeply explore the spirituality of preaching, with special focus on how sermons are occasions of spiritual guidance. We’ll also spend some more time on your role as listeners to sermons, and how you can get still more out of preaching for your spiritual edification. We will touch on listening to sermons at next Sunday’s adult forum, but focusing on this topic for a whole Saturday will give us occasion to go still more deeply into the topic. On this day, we’ll also learn some of what Luther had to say about preaching!
Saturday, September 30 – on this day, close to the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi, we will explore Franciscan Spirituality and what it might mean for Lutherans in ministry and mission in the 21st Century.
Saturday, October 28 – as we approach Reformation Sunday, this will be a day devoted to revealing key features of specifically Lutheran Spirituality, or Christian spirituality with Lutheran accents. We will discover that there’s a lot to draw from in our own tradition to take us ever more deeply into the spiritual life.
Saturday, November 18 – this day will be devoted to spending our time together in our beautiful nave doing “Stations of Our Stained Glass Windows,” a series of visual meditations on our stained-glass windows and the miracles and parables of Jesus they depict. We’ll explore in conversation the bible stories the windows are based on, and then look carefully at the windows to see features of the story which the stained-glass art highlights. Each station will feature a hymn before we move on to the next window.