LANE'S WORLD

 

October 2008 (Click to read)   May 2008   I just finished teaching confirmation. As part of the class i told the youth that the food we eat at each meal travels an average of 1500 miles. We buy it at the grocery store locally. But the food travels quite a ways to get to the store or restaurant. We eat such things a bananas or salad in the winter. Our food sees more of the world than we do!   Food, like other commodities, is getting expensive. Some of us are fortunate if we have space to plant gardens to help with some of the costs. But it seems like everything is going to be more expensive. one confirmation student asked how what we eat affects other people. I didn't have a good answer at the time. The more I think about it though the more affective those decisions are. If we buy local products we help the local economy. Minnesota has a Minnesota grown label which can help, who else, Minnesotans! If you buy food products grown in Minnesota you help the local economy. If you buy food products from say a mega store you don't help the local economy as much.   Another thing to consider is our local food shelf. There are many families that depend o it. Our SE MN Synod Assembly stressed that we are a Synod at Table with the poor. We are called to feed the poor, clothe the naked, heal the sick and preach the Good News  - Jesus Lord and Savior. Jesus didn't ask us to do this only when it was convenient or when we had what we thought was extra money. As Christians we are called to do this especially when times are difficult even for us. Because when the economy fizzles like it is there is greater need for us to step up to the plate.

March 2008   I went to hear Bishop Mark Hanson at Zumbro Lutheran in Rochester. He is the presiding bishop of the ELCA. One of the questions he asked of us was where and how did we encounter God in our lives this past week. Then we had to turn to the person next to us and tell them! This was a lot for us shy Lutherans. Here are some of the other questions he asked. What God is up to in the life of the congregation? What signs of God at work do we see? How is God at work in your congregation?   They are intriguing questions. How would you answer them? I have been answering them ever since in my mind. (So you know I am not absent-minded.) How would you answer them?   We are a body of believers, a church because of Jesus ministry to us. Our ministry is a response to the love and grace God has given us through Jesus Christ. Ponder these questions and ask how God would have you do ministry here at Cross of Christ.   In Christ, Pastor Lane

February, 2008   As I write this it is very cold outside. This winter reminds me of the winters I lived through when I was a child. I think of the verse from I Corinthians 13:11c ‘when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. Too bad we couldn’t put child memories of winter behind as well. But the silver lining is that cold is needed to keep the Maple Syrup project working right and it does keep a lot of people out of Minnesota.   I have a pile of seed catalogs handy to scour while eating a snack or waiting for people. It is a sign of spring in the depth of winter. Winter is break time for nature in our area. Many seeds need to freeze before they can sprout. Many hardwoods need the cold and rest as well. God’s creation has adapted to our Minnesota weather. Fruit trees and grapes that grow in Minnesota are called hardy. The term implies strength and hope in the midst of the hardship of weather. The term hardy is applied to us as well. We are hardy people because we live in Minnesota. We are hardy because God has made us resilient.  We survive cold, floods, heat, humidity and all kinds of weather. We also live through many of life trials of suffering and loss (death)  as well as high points of joy and gain (marriage, children). Like nature God has given us the ability to adapt to all sorts of surroundings.  Our God is a creative and redeeming God. Created in God’s likeness, we too, can be creative and redeeming.   Pastor Lane