Day by Day...

'Day by Day' is how most of us practice our faith for our lifetime on earth. It's also how we need to support each other and pray together. Please feel free to subscribe to this blog (use the orange RSS link) or email me directly with comments (use the envelope icon). This blog will be updated - not every day - but on many days, as a response faith to the events of our community and our world.

Thanks for reading - hope to hear from you! Blessings, Cherie

Surrounded by Blessings

Sunday, August 29, 2010 Comments (0)

Rather than being a lonely newcomer the area – God has provided me with a welcoming church family who is a joy to get acquainted with. I give thanks for all the ways people in the church and the community who have reached out to welcome me. And I am amazed by the incredible level of care offered by area businesses – which includes as much extra time as needed to diagnose car problems.

Mount Horeb is both a beautiful place and located on a pathway my extended family travels between Iowa and Door Co. I’ve seen more of my whole family in the 2 months of I’ve lived here than I did the 4 years I lived in Milwaukee – and that is a joy. We encountered excellent medical resources last week as caring medical professionals ruled out cardiac problems for my dad.

So my household, me and cats – Simon and Peter, are getting settled in well in the parsonage. And we look forward to the seasons to come – and experiencing God’s abundant love in this place. May you feel that as well in the beauty of creation and the warmth of your community.

Culture Shock

Thursday, August 19, 2010 Comments (0)

In the next few weeks, you’re likely to read a few thoughts about the culture shock I’m experiencing here. Moving from Milwaukee to Mount Horeb has been quite a change!

It’s taken me awhile to figure out why the evening news seemed strange to me. Seemed like a disproportionate number of human interest stories were covered – good things happening! Finally I realized the same positive efforts happen and caring people exist in Milwaukee. But news of them gets crowded to the background because of the sheer number of violent crimes. Bad things happen everywhere, but the difference in news here often means violence does not always have to be the lead story. In contrast, violence permeates the news in Milwaukee…

I’m so glad to have lost one challenge to ministry: it’s great to not have to worry about how to keep people safe just getting into the church building. We’ve got lots of challenges, but one gift of small town living is that most people are trying hard to help things go well. And it works! While people have that same intention in the city, I believe they are overwhelmed by what goes wrong – and often the focus becomes simple self-preservation.

Please hold people who live in areas overwhelmed by violence in your prayers. Ask God for strength for them – that they not give up. Ask God for wisdom for us to find all the ways we can to help.

Scams vs. God's Grace

Sunday, August 15, 2010 Comments (0)

I spent part of Friday afternoon with a bank security officer. I’d received what I was sure was a scam in the mail, but it contained an authentic looking check for $3,000, drawn on a well-known bank. The fake check was so well done the bank officer took considerable time to sort out the only thing wrong was there was no such account number. Please be alert – if you receive an authentic looking check that’s supposedly to cover taxes for the prize money you will receive after you send a money order – don’t believe it – shred the check!

I was sure it was a scam, because generally we only receive something for nothing when we receive God’s grace. That idea is the foundation of the ‘Protestant work ethic.’ It says in our earthly life, we need to work for the earthly rewards we receive. Some aspects of our spiritual lives are not so different – except for the love and forgiveness God gives us. God loves us and forgives us even when we do nothing to deserve it; that’s God’s grace. Our generous God loves us and saves us – and we don’t have to earn that.

We have too many people these days trying to take advantage of people’s debts and discouragement. They are people who are using their gifts for evil purposes. The only positive thing I can come up with about this is that these scams by mail, phone and other ways are a good opportunity for realize over and over again that God’s the only one who will give us something for nothing.

Life Events

Saturday, August 07, 2010 Comments (0)

One of the things I love best about being a pastor is that I have the privilege of walking with people through so many significant life events. This week I have been blessed with helping one family celebrate the earthly life of their loved one who has gone on to be with God – and officiated at the wedding of a young couple marking the beginning of their life together. Both experiences were full of tears and laughter, memories shared, and care needed as people go forward with life in a new way.

It’s sharing those significant life events – as well as all of life’s simple day-to-day events - that make us a community of God’s people. A few weeks ago, some film makers organized “Life in a Day,” a user-generated documentary, made up of film clips from life all around the world in one day. It will celebrate the lives of people all around the world. It’s such a simple idea it’s profound.

Meeting all of you – so different but with faith in common – has been like that film for me. Just glimpses of each of you. I look forward to growing in relationship with all of you and our community. It’s my hope we’ll find all kinds of ways to celebrate the journey of being God’s people together. Film or not – having a faith community to walk with us through life events both significant or simple – is a gift from God to us.

Communication Choices

Thursday, July 29, 2010 Comments (0)

These days most congregations experience many different communication choices among members and friends. We have people comfortable with social media, websites and electronic communication, people who are certain they will never touch a computer – and everyone in between. I think there are at least two things we consider about this as the Church. First, we need to give people choices. Communicating only in written form on paper means we will miss out on connecting with the next upcoming generation of believers. And if we communicate only electronically, we’ll miss the life experience and supportive wisdom of older generations in our faith communities. Right now we need to do both.

Next, we need to remember our purpose for communicating. We’re a body created to share the Good News; it’s an exciting time to share God’s love as we’ve experienced it through Jesus Christ! I believe we need to use every way we can to share God’s love for all of us! And that’s why I’m ready to explore new communications modes, as tools for keeping in touch with God’s people of all ages. Any way we choose to communicate can be used well or badly. We need to give our best for God, for the purpose of bringing communities of God’s people together.

I’ve only mentioned ways to communicate from a distance. I’d also be delighted if anyone would like to show up in my office to talk face to face! Nothing can replace the gifts we give each other by spending time together or taking time to listen. So – stop in, give a call or send an e-mail. These are all wonderful ways we can support each other and share our faith.

Taking Time

Wednesday, July 21, 2010 Comments (0)

This week’s story of the firing of Shirley Sherrod, based on use of her remarks out of context, has reminded us that a ‘fast fix’ is often not the best move. We’ve longed and prayed for a faster fix for the oil well gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and we’ve watched multiple attempts to fix a mess that will take decades to clean up. Too often, we want quick resolution to situations like these that have taken years to develop. Most often, these are situations for which there is no simple solution.

As God’s people, we can remind ourselves that the measure of our response to the events of each day needs to include time for prayer and discernment. God’s wisdom is greater than ours. And we’re more likely to feel God’s guidance in our response to life’s situations if we’ve taken some time – even an instant – to consider what God would have us do next. That’s what we’re called to do as God’s people. And that’s how we’ll move the world closer to the way God created it to be – one day at a time.