First Sermons from Bethlehem in the Midway, Saint Paul

 OK so here are links to my first three weeks of preaching at Bethlehem in the Midway in Saint Paul. 

Sunday October 18th - This one went way too long because I was introducing myself and had been unable to follow my usual sermon preparation schedule. Got a good joke in at the end at least. 

Sunday October 25th - This was was better. I have so many sermons built up for these folks and it's tough to choose just one of them at a time. Reformation Sunday is a good day to start some transitional things in a Lutheran congregation. 

Sunday November 1st - Death and resurrection is what I'm gonna be talking about here - like everywhere else! - so it's good to have All Saints Sunday and Jesus the Lamb in Revelation to help me frame that conversation. 

An Introduction

Welcome to the pastor's blog for Lutheran Church of the Savior in Kalamazoo! Or at least that's the idea. I'm Pastor Andrew, and I've had the privilege of serving as Pastor here since October of 2009. In that time have learned a good deal about the people and story of this congregation, about how church works and at times fails to work, and about myself. My expectations for this space are modest, at least for now. I hope to share thoughts about varied topics, church-related and church-appropriate (Lord help me discern that), to post bits of sermons or bits that may become sermons, and to highlight links that inspire me to better serve God's people. The administrator of our congregation's shiny new website hopes this blog will draw more pageviews and generate interest in our community, and that sounds cool as well.

For those wondering about the blog's title, it is borrowed from an Advent hymn by the same name, published in the ELCA's recent hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship (#258). The hymn text's author is one Jeannette M. Lindholm, and since I do not know her and hope she doesn't sue me for stealing her words, I'll endeavor to send her an email and at least let her know the deal. The hymn is set to Calvin Hampton's beautiful tune St. Helena, and as a hymn nerd, I find it a lovely pairing of word and image and tune.

The hymn begins "Unexpected and mysterious is the gentle word of grace," and I hope this blog can provide a word of grace, especially to those who may have momentarily forgotten that God's love is for them. At times I count myself among this number, certainly, and hopefully in this space I will be able to honestly express the joys and struggles and blessings of living out my call in this community.

But before I get too churchy, I should point out that I am generally not one to take myself too seriously, and this blog should be no exception. Hopefully some of my posts will be unexpected, and the mysteries I explore may range from the miracle of the Incarnation to my inability to remember what time Women's Bible Study begins (10:00 am, NOT 10:30, as I need to be reminded most months around 10:10). My main hobby is roller derby announcing, and surely this space will see some news about my adventures with the Killamazoo Derby Darlins. I do suspect that the words "unexpected" and "mysterious" will serve well as guides to figuring out what I'm doing, both on this blog and as the pastor of this church. I like to think I'm getting a clue about the pastor stuff, but this blogging business is entirely new. Lord, have mercy.

Thanks for reading. God loves you. See you around the internets.