Trinity Lutheran Church, Lindstrom MN
Second Sunday in
Advent, Revised Common Lectionary Year A
On my first Sunday in my new gig as Interim Senior Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lindstrom, MN, I got to compare myself favorably to John the Baptist and connect our interim time to the season of Advent.
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hear this podcast: listen here, use this link,
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Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Reformation Sunday, Revised Common Lectionary
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Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Lectionary 30 / 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
The prayers of
the Pharisee and the tax collector can tell us a lot about ourselves and how we
relate to God and one another.
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Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Lectionary 29 /
19th Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
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Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Lectionary 28 / 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
In this sermon
immediately prior to the special congregational meeting in which Hope Lutheran
Church voted to close and dissolve our congregation and give away our remaining
funds, the story of Jesus healing ten men with skin disease helps us remember
how thankfulness stands at the heart of the choices we are making.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
September 15th, 2022
Dear Hope Church,
We have been through so much together. We successfully
adapted to online life during a pandemic, and our attendance and membership
grew as a result of this new way of being church together. We supported a plan
to start a new congregation, in addition to supporting all the churches that have
used our former space on Hazel. We made the courageous decision to sell our
historic space so a new church would be able to use it to support the
neighborhood and share the gospel in ways beyond Hope’s current capacity. We
moved to the chapel Gustavus Adolphus Church as renters and have adapted our
worship and life together to continue to be the church. We have built strong
partnerships with other East Side ELCA congregations, sharing interns, worship,
events, and other resources vital to the ongoing mission of the church in our
neighborhood. I am immensely proud of all we have done.
The time has come for our next faithful step.
At our Huddle / Council meeting on Tuesday September 13th,
2022, the elected leaders of Hope Church decided by consensus to hold a congregational
meeting on Sunday October 9th to vote on a resolution to close Hope
Church effective on or around October 31st, 2022, and disburse our
remaining funds to ministry partners who will carry on our legacy of love and
service to the East Side. While the Huddle leaders can commend this action to
the church, only the congregation as a body can vote to make this decision.
Collectively and as individuals, we have borne the weight –
emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical – of the decisions, changes, and
moves we have made in recent years. We are tired. I think especially of those
leaders who worked so hard to facilitate our sale and move, and of those who
see our historic building almost every day. I am so grateful to each of you for
the faithful work you have done through this time, for the good of the church
and for the sake of the gospel.
We are still a community of people following Jesus together
who love each other, whether we continue as an official congregation of the
ELCA. It is my hope and belief that this action will free us from ongoing
meetings and decisions and worry, and also free us to love one another, follow
Jesus together, and direct our spiritual gifts to the good of the church and
our neighbors in new and exciting ways. I have always believed the church moves
forward most faithfully by death and resurrection, and I am certain that the
end of Hope Church will bring new life and allow us to continue in the faithful
work we have always done together.
Of course, there are many questions and details yet to work
out. We will write the actual resolution of closure and publicize that prior to
our vote on October 9th. I hope to talk with many of you
individually to hear how you’re feeling and talk through these changes. Also, at
our congregational meeting we will vote on disbursement of our remaining funds,
and a detailed plan for that disbursement will also be available prior to the
vote.
A brief sketch of our financial plan includes paying our
outstanding bills, using our Memorial Funds to honor the memories of recently
departed members through donations chosen by their loved ones, and making
larger similar donations to what we’re calling the “Three E’s”: the amount
remaining in our former Education Fund will to go Luther Seminary to support
education, a donation to our East Side Collaborative partners to seed their
programming for the coming years, and a gift to Eternal Flame Lutheran Church,
formerly known as Good Samaritan, to honor the relationship we shared for seven
years in our previous location. The bulk of our remaining funds will establish
an “East Side Hope Fund” through the Saint Paul Area Synod and the ELCA
Foundation as part of Hope’s legacy to support the people of the East Side and
ministry on the East Side into the future.
We plan to hold a final celebratory worship service on
Sunday October 30th, a fitting celebration of Reformation for a
church committed to faithfully following Jesus even to death and resurrection.
The following Sunday, November 6th, is All Saints, when members of
Hope are invited to Sunday worship at Gustavus Adolphus Church where part of
their remembrance of those who have gone before will include Hope Church and
our members.
A few logistical details to answer questions that have
already arisen:
·
As an ongoing part of the ongoing hospitality,
we have received form Gustavus Adolphus Church, upon closure we will transfer
our memberships to Gustavus so they can administrate our further moves to other
congregations. I understand that many Hope people are interested in remaining
at Gustavus together at least for a while after October so our community and
relationships can remain strong even through this change. If you don’t want
your membership transferred to GA, please contact Pastor Andrew.
·
After October 30th, Hope would no
longer be able to accept financial donations. There will be a way to donate to
the new East Side Hope Fund by that time, and we encourage you to continue the
spiritual practice of financial giving in your new congregation.
·
We are receiving very helpful guidance from
Bishop Lull and her office as to the legalities and logistics of proceeding
down this path.
I want to thank Bishop Lull, Rev. Justin Grimm, and the
pastors and people of our East Side Collaborative churches – including Gustavus
Adolphus, even though they’re new to that group – for supporting us through
these changes. Knowing that the future of the church on the East Side is strong
through these partners makes it easier to let go of Hope as an institution,
while clinging to the hope we share in Christ for our neighborhood.
Finally, I want to thank each of you for your faithfulness
and dedication to Hope Church through these years. You are the church, and you
will continue to be the church even when Hope is no longer an official
congregation. I hope the people of Hope choose to gather regularly to eat and
celebrate and remember and move forward together as a community of beloved,
faithful people. It has been my great honor to serve you these past four years.
Thanks,
Rev. Andrew Tengwall
September 13th, 2022
Dear Hope Church,
It is with joy and sorrow that I announce my intention to
resign as Pastor of Hope Church effective October 31st, 2022. My
last Sunday will be Reformation Sunday, October 30th. My previous
letter from September 1st began to explain the reasons for this
move, so please refer there for more information.
It has been a tremendous honor and privilege for me to serve
Hope these past four years, to lead through so much change and to serve the
gospel alongside each of you. From weekly Bible study and Sunday worship to
supporting new mission starts and collaborating across the East Side to selling
a building and potentially closing a congregation, your faithfulness has
inspired me and many, many other people besides. Hope’s legacy of generosity,
selflessness, and devotion to the East Side and to the gospel of Jesus Christ
will be a story I will tell for the rest of my life. More importantly, that
legacy will continue to impact your lives and the lives of East Siders long
beyond our time together.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve and lead you through
this time. We have many details to work out, and I am excited for this last
phase with you. In particular I would like to thank Nancy Cowan, as supportive
a colleague as I could hope for, and Don Young and Larry Cowan, who have born
such a burden of leadership during these years. Honestly each of us who remain
at Hope have born some of the weight of our choices and changes, and I am
grateful to all of you.
Our old building is already home to new ministry. Each of us
will move on to faithfully following Jesus among a new community, and together
with our lifelong friends from Hope. God is still at work in and through Hope Church
and will be so long after I leave and long after Hope ceases to be an official
congregation of the ELCA. I pray that my leaving, and the congregation closing,
will be still more opportunities for the gospel to grow and the church to move
forward by death and resurrection, following the model of our Lord.
Thank you,
Rev. Andrew Tengwall
Hope
Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person in the chapel at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church and live on Zoom)
Also see our recent Letters to Hope Church to catch up on details of our next steps (previous and subsequent posts on this blog).
Lectionary 25 / 15th Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Jesus'
enigmatic parable about a manager, a rich man, and some debtors provides an
unexpectedly helpful lens for making sense of the ongoing changes to our
congregation.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
I wrote this letter to my congregation, Hope Lutheran Church, on September 1st 2022. It is a snapshot in time, and already as I post it here days later more decisions have been made and we continue to clarify our future direction. There may be another letter updating the state of Hope soon. Still, people seemed to like it so sharing here seems like a good idea.
9/1/2022
Dear church,
We have come so far together in recent years. We have
weathered the brunt of the pandemic, the reckoning for racial justice after the
murder of George Floyd, the 2020 election and its violent aftermath, and so
many changes, disruptions, and fears, and losses. In the midst of all that,
Hope Church made the courageous, faithful decision to sell our historic
building on Hazel, adding our personal and communal grief from this loss to all
the other challenges we’ve been facing.
Our decision to sell our buildings and not close our church
was an unusual one, we are told. Nonetheless our choices allowed us to
experience this loss in the classic Christian form of death and resurrection,
and more importantly allowed us to remain together through this journey from
loss to new life.
Hope
Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Lectionary 24 /
14th Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Jesus' stories of the lost sheep and the lost coin remind us of the basics.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
Hope
Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
First Sunday of Advent, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person in the chapel at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church and live on Zoom)
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Luke 14:1, 7-14
This week's lectionary readings spoke directly to our national conversation about debt. It's not easy to follow Jesus in an unfair world striving for fairness.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
So I missed a few weeks of posting sermons. Here they are!
One of them was just today! Two of the weeks I was away, so we get five from the past seven weeks. Enjoy!
Sunday August 14th - In which Jesus is not nice.
Sunday July 31st - Why does Jesus talk about money so much?
Sunday July 17th - Jesus is the Christ of the whole world
Sunday July 10th - Have you heard this story about the Good Samaritan?
Sunday July 3rd - This one was so long ago that I don't remember what it was about.
To
hear this podcast: listen here or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend
Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Third Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Galatians 5:1, 13-25
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
Hope Lutheran Church and Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and livestreamed)
Second Sunday after Pentecost, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Luke 8:26-39
On
this Juneteenth Hope joined with our new host congregation Gustavus Adolphus
Lutheran Church to commemorate this day and to look at our Gospel story of
demonic forces and freedom. What can we learn from the man possessed by demons?
What can we learn from the rest of the Gerasenes whose region Jesus is
visiting?
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hear this podcast: listen here, use this link,
or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend
Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
Hope Lutheran Church, gathered for worship on Zoom.
Pentecost Sunday, lectionary year C
We
are all adopted as children of God and heirs to all that God has given Jesus.
So take heart, even though nothing is easy for so many.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
Another month goes by and I've failed to post audio of my sermons. Here are three for the last few weeks of May.
Acts 11:1-18
"Who was I, that I could hinder God?"
Acts 16:9-15
The fruit of the church planted at Philippi
Psalm 97
A foolish hope in the face of evil
To
hear this podcast: use the links above or use Amazon, Spotify, Audacy, iHeartRadio, or other sites by searching "Reverend
Killjoy" or “Tengwall.”
Hope Church has been through so much in the past few weeks that I haven't had time to post sermon audio from our big Sundays - until now! Below are links to listen to five sermons from Palm Sunday to the third Sunday of Easter.
You can also listen or subscribe to this podcast on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play Music by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify and other podcast by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Palm Sunday, April 10th 2022 - Festival worship for the 100th anniversary of Hope Church with guest preacher Bishop Patricia Lull. Apologies for the lower-quality audio, as our setup was flawed.
Maundy Thursday, April 14th, 2022 - our final worship in our historic space with Pastoral Intern Per Halaas.
Easter Sunday, April 17th, 2022 - Pastor Andrew in our first worship as a rental congregation in our new space, the chapel at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church on Arcade and Larpenteur.
Second Sunday of Easter, April 24th, 2022 - Pastoral Intern Per Halaas
Third Sunday of Easter, May 1st, 2022 - Pastor Andrew
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Fifth Sunday of
Lent, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
This story of
Mary washing Jesus' feet is the last thing before Jesus enters Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday in John's Gospel. What can we learn from her in this last week
before our big Palm Sunday at Hope Church?
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, iTunes, Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify and other podcast by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Fourth Sunday of
Lent, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
God is making all things new, even the brothers from the story we call the Prodigal Son.
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hear this podcast: listen here, use this link,
or use Amazon, iTunes, Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching
"Tengwall," or find it on Spotify and other podcast by searching
"Reverend Killjoy."
Hope and Good Samaritan Lutheran Churches, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Third Sunday of
Lent, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
The great feast
of God's grace is an ideal scriptural reference for this Sunday celebrating the
end of Hope and Good Samaritan churches sharing our space and our lives these
past seven years.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use Amazon, iTunes, Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify and other podcast by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Second Sunday of
Lent, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
God's promise of descendants to Abraham is also a promise to Hope Church today.
To
hear this podcast: listen here, use this link,
or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching
"Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend
Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
First Sunday of Lent, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
In this "opportune" time, what are we to do?
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Ash Wednesday, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
As we return to
God amid so much turmoil this Lent, what are the spiritual practices we will
engage in to ground ourselves?
Also worth noting that I started this sermon laughing because the music playing for the childrens' hip hop dance class directly below us had just cranked up to a festive new level.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Mercy.
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Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Trees. If I
preach about trees, does that mean I've been too immersed in re-reading Lord of
the Rings? Trees remain a powerful symbol of life and renewal.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Jesus'
disciples left everything and followed him. They trusted in Jesus rather than
in what they had known or relied on before.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (Gathered online using Zoom)
Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
Paul's famous lesson about love is a model for the life of the church together.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Third Sunday after Epiphany, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
A sermon focused on "today" based on Jesus' proclamation that "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" takes a different direction when the day is dramatically changed by tragic news.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Second Sunday after Epiphany, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
John 2:1-11
In the rituals we share as Christians, God uses ordinary things to do the extraordinary.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul (in person and live on Zoom)
Baptism of Our Lord, Revised Common Lectionary Year C
We have a wide variety of ways to think about baptism. In the end baptism is what we need it to be.
To hear this podcast: listen here, use this link, or use iTunes or Google Play Music to subscribe or listen by searching "Tengwall," or find it on Spotify by searching "Reverend Killjoy."
