October's Page from the Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

As a congregation located in a unique county, our annual meeting is held the last Sunday of October. Our Constitution mandates this meeting be on that day. This year it will be held on October 30 after 9 a.m. worship. Both worship and the meeting will be held in the parking lot. This will be my 39th Annual Meeting as a Pastor. Because many of our members are not around at the end of January when most congregations hold this meeting, we meet when most of us are here. Our fiscal year is from October 1 through September 30. Someone asked me to explain how "all of this works," saying that I bet most people don't know. Here is my attempt to bring you a primer concerning these things.

Who can come to an Annual Meeting?

Anyone can come. Only members of the congregation can speak and vote, and associate members can speak but not vote.

Who are members and associate members?

They are the baptized who make a commitment to worship in this community of faith and support the ministry we share through the offering of gifts, i.e. time, talent, and financial support. Associate members are those who seek to do this but have a different primary Church home. 

What is an Annual Meeting?

The Annual Meeting is a time to look back, celebrate what God has done with us and to look forward, anticipating what God will do with us. It's more than a business meeting. It is a gathering of the saints, entering into dialogue and offering their gifts for the sake of building up the Kingdom. 

What happens at an Annual Meeting?

We come prepared. We receive an Annual Report which is mailed to each household of the congregation two weeks before the meeting. We gather for worship. It is what we do. We hear of the past year's ministry and celebrate what God has done with us. We make plans for the coming year and what God will do with us as we seek to build up God's Kingdom in Christ. We will raise up those who have answered the Call to serve as leaders of the community. We do this by electing members to the Church Council. We approve a financial plan for mission, a budget. Our offerings are given to God. The Church Council and congregation as a whole are stewards of those gifts, using them to serve this community of faith, the larger community of faith, and all of creation. We conclude with worship.

Please read further into this edition of the Epistle to learn more about the need for

Church Council members and about the Annual Meeting. Also, read the minutes and

summary of the Church Council meeting, which are found each month in the epistle.

By doing this, you become more engaged and informed concerning the ministry we

share in Christ. 

In Christ,

Pastor Frank

September's Page from the Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Summer is soon coming to an end and I am writing this on the first day of my vacation. Anne and I aren't going anywhere, but that's okay. Sometimes it is nice to just be. To sit on the porch in a chair and enjoy life. Some of Anne's cousins are coming over tomorrow to help take down some trees and we're looking forward to the day with them. We hope to see some friends we haven't seen in a while. It will be good.

Many in this congregation are perpetually moving from one location to another, while some of us continue to toil unto the Lord. The birth of a child is coming to one family soon! And we can't forget the grandchildren, and grandparents don't!

Some are dancing these days, some are mourning, some of us are struggling with health concerns. Many of us are caring for family members, and each other. 

This summer Anne and I have been blessed by this community of faith and those new to our lives. We long to see Mark and that will happen at Christmas.

I have enjoyed a new sense of the creation of which we are a part, sitting on a little white bench in the woods, built by Anne's grandfather. We do live in a beautiful place but often do not take the time to notice it. 

God has done this, gifted us life, the seasons, the relationships. God is with us in our dancing and our mourning, in those times when we are in need of healing in many ways. God is with us as we remember, as we live now, and in our anticipation of what is to come.

I am reminded of the hymn written by Brother John, "Borning Cry." May we be renewed in our Baptism in all of the stations of our lives, as we await the never-ending surprise, the gift of the Resurrection we receive from our Lord.

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Pastor Frank Kauzlarich

July's Page from the Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

If you haven't worshiped lately in the sanctuary or in the parking lot, know that you are missed! One of the challenges of many congregations as we continue to move through these times is getting back to what we knew before the pandemic. Our rhythm of life changed, and for good reason. Now, I encourage you to reclaim the rhythm of worship in community.

Some of us have become accustomed to worshiping with the Church online, but this does not replace being in community. It is in community in Christ where life is shared in all its fullness. We bring who we are, our joys and sorrows and everything in between. Throughout the history of the Church, worship has been communal.

As we have re-entered the sanctuary, we have been open to the Spirit concerning how we do worship. Music leadership has been essential in these additions. One week in June we worshiped outdoors on a glorious morning, using our newly purchased sound system, The weather was wonderful, the music joyful, and the spirit of the gathered community was palpable. Some of us recently worshiped on a boat cruise hearing the Word, praying and singing songs of praise.

We will be worshiping outdoors on more occasions this summer. Our Worship and Music Team continues to make plans for communal worship where the Word is heard and the 

Sacrament is shared.

Worship is our response to God's grace in Christ. It is giving thanks for God's saving activity in Christ. Worship is the gathered community, around Word and Sacrament.

If you have been away from worship in community, know you are invited back and you have been missed.  If you have been worshipping all along, continue to gather with other followers of Christ, as we hear of the mighty acts which God has done and are sent to proclaim Jesus Christ!

Peace,

Pastor Frank Kauzlarich

June’s Page from the Pastor

Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ,

Christ didn’t create us for this.

Again, today I struggle for words. I am sickened. I am angry.  I am sad beyond words. Another place people call 'home' has been added to a long list of places that will forever be associated with a mass shooting. Dead children and teachers, my fingers shake as I type these words.

I will pray. This is not enough. In the Bible, the people of God would pray. God expected more, demanded more. To pray without changing words and actions is to make God a puppet who will do what we wish. God will always enter into our lives and partner with us, but God does not come to us on our terms. He comes to us with grace and love. 

We say we are a great nation, but we are the only nation in which the number one cause of death of children is by a gun. 

In the latest state where there has been a mass shooting, a person doesn’t need to purchase a gun license, there are no background checks to see if a person is fit to possess a gun, and a person does not need training to purchase a gun. 

There are people who should not possess weapons that can be used for mass destruction. If you disagree, stop praying and keep counting the dead.

I often ponder what God must be thinking. I ponder, based on the scriptures: "it's not that they are not doing something, they aren't doing anything! And then they pray, for what?"

Children, teachers, the elderly, worshippers, all have died in the last month because of mass shootings. We pray, and do nothing. The number of mass shootings has been growing exponentially each year, and we pray and do nothing. 

It's time we put aside our wants, and address the needs of our neighbors, children, teachers, the elderly, worshippers, everyone. "Love one another as I have loved you."

Or we can pray without action, and then we will pray some more as we bury more of our neighbors. 

God didn't create us for that!

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Pastor Frank Kauzlarich

May's Page from the Pastor

Resurrection People!

Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

I am writing to you the week after, the week after Easter. For many clergy, the week after Easter is a time to decompress after the joyful but intense Holy Week. That Wednesday after Easter, I found myself rereading thank notes from various groups with whom we have partnered since the beginning of the year to do ministry to and with others. I was moved. I thank God for the work of the Holy Spirit in this community of faith, that members of this community have a mind for mission outside of ourselves. We are responding as Resurrection People to the Call of the Gospel, to follow Jesus.

Here are some of the notes we have received:

Door of Life of Christian Church, $500 for their Food Pantry ministry

Stride Mental Health Program for youth in Door County, $1,500

Lakeshore CAP. Inc, for $500 and 63 pounds of Food Pantry

Door County Food Coalition for $2,680 from our Super Bowl of Caring offering on Super Bowl Sunday

Crossways Camping Ministries for $1,250

Door CANcer for $1,250

Door County Community Development Center for $1,250

Stella Maris Care 24/7 Food Pantry

Lutheran World Relief, a handwritten note and a letter of thanks for $5,748 as an emergency gift for the

people of Ukraine, funds which were matched, to "provide food, shelter, personal care kits, baby care kits, medicines and other critically needed items for children and families"

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for ongoing ministry support 

And these are SOME of the ministries with whom we have partnered since January 1!

During our Church Council we were told by Treasurer Greg Ehlke that our giving in support of our budgeted ministry was doing "okay." But he stressed that what we are doing in the world outside this congregation is a "very good thing." 

We're called to serve in the name of Jesus, and we are doing just that. Let us not be complacent, but always thankful, for the one we are serving is Christ in our midst.

Christ is Risen.

Your turn to respond!

Pastor Frank Kauzlarich

April's Page from the Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

For weeks we have been following the news on the war in Ukraine. It is a war “on” the people of Ukraine. I was about to describe what is happening in Ukraine but I have not the words. Evil exists in the world; this war is evil. The people of that nation have died and suffered as they have continued to defend their nation. 

We do what we can. See the article about the response of KidKnits in this edition of the Epistle. We have collected money to be sent in support of the Ukrainian people, over $5,500 so far, and we continue to collect money. Member congregations of the ELCA have given millions of dollars in support of this effort. Many in the larger community are using holy imagination to respond to the needs of these people. One effort that has received much publicity is Door County Candle Company’s fundraising campaign. Volunteers from the community are coming together in making Ukrainian candles and selling them. Others are providing meals and treats for the workers. The members of this company had an idea and the community is responding. I have heard many of the stories.

Yet this seems insufficient. A few weeks ago, I participated with other area clergy in leading 'A Service of Prayer for Ukraine.' To whom do we go when we lament, when we cry out, when we feel lost, when we feel we are not or cannot do what needs to be done? We go to God.

That night we heard music, readings, words of lament, and hope in Christ. And we prayed and prayed. We will continue to pray. What follows is my prayer from that evening.

From Romans:

The Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

Merciful God,

We pray to you the innocents of Ukraine, at least that's what I signed up to do tonight. Innocents, maybe at one time the word was less complex to define: children, elderly folks, those who couldn't care for themselves. But not today. 

Lord have mercy

This prayer has become a struggle for me, maybe it is a struggle for more than me. It's not that it's hard to pray, but who are these innocents in this war, brought to the people of Ukraine?

Lord have mercy

The Ukrainian people have done nothing to bring this war upon themselves. They were going about their daily lives, working, learning, serving, playing, singing, dancing, crying, laughing, giving birth.

Lord have mercy

The innocents are the people of Ukraine, not only the children and those who can't care for themselves. but they are a nation, a people of innocents. Wherever they are, in a bunker and basement in Ukraine, or on the road to, or in a land which will be a place where they find refuge, we pray for them all.

Lord have mercy

Lord, yes there are the children, some accompanied by mothers, some traveling alone, and there are some young and old who are being wheeled out of the Ukraine in wheelchairs and shopping carts, and all of them are leaving someone behind. Show your healing presence and care of them all, and for those who meet them on the road, and show your healing presence to those who remain in Ukraine.

Lord have mercy

Merciful Lord, God with us all, God with the people of Ukraine.

Lord have mercy

Christ have mercy 

Lord have mercy

Come Holy Spirit, come quickly, come quickly with healing, and peace.

Amen