…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…
Ephesians 4:1
I open this annual report to our congregation with a sense of thanksgiving and anticipation. This is the fourth time now that I have been able to share with you thoughts on the year past and the year to come (my how time has flown).
I am thankful for this past year and its many highlights, a few of which I will name here.
I am thankful for the gifts and leadership that Ken Kusiak, our director of music, has brought to our worship life this past year. I am thankful for the contributions Katie Tomak made to our congregational life together and celebrate her new work at Episcopal Homes. I am thankful for the energy, efficiency, and excellence that Jamie Gudknecht brings to our congregation in her role as Administrative Assistant. I am thankful for the steadiness and throroughness Carol Hastings brings to her work as Financial Secretary. And I am thankful for the attention to detail and technical acumen Nick Gudknecht brings to our online worship.
I am thankful for our three recent confirmands (Amelia, Henry, and Kirby), and for the ways they grew in their faith this past year. Our summer trip to the ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans was a highlight of our time together. Our partnership with Pastor Karsten, Our Redeemer, and their confirmation youth was a true blessing. Thank you to parents, grandparents, and all who prayed for and financially supported these young people and their faith formation.
I am thankful for the Sylvia Graham and her faithful leadership of the John Glenn Community Market, Jet Launching Pad, and Christmas Giving programs. I am equally appreciative for all who are stepping up to provide leadership to these ministries in the coming years. I am touched by the growth of Community Market and our congregation’s commitment and response to the increased need through our donations of time, talent and financial support. donations, volunteer time, care and prayer.
I am thankul for the strong growth of the Cross Lutheran Investment Fund (CLIF) through the ELCA Foundation. As it continues to grow, it also opens up tremendous possibilities and opportunities for future ministry to the world around us. I am grateful to our Stewardship Committee for faithfully attending to the CLIF, to our annual budget, and to the many and various gifts of time, talent, and money that we have as a congregation. Our participation in the John Glenn Math Carnival and Feed My Starving Children are meaningful and plain fun. I look forward to the opportunities which will emerge in the coming year.
I am thankful for our Board of Lay Ministry for your leadership in, with, and around our worship life together, which has been rich and robust and meaningful in so many ways. Wednesday night Advent and Lenten worship was intimate and beautiful, Holy Week worship was moving and deep, and special worship (Ascension Day, Thanksgiving, and Blue Christmas) were just right. I also appreciate the board’s attention to the prayer needs and support of members and non-members alike. It is often a quiet part of the board’s work, but it is deep and important and greatly needed.
I am thankful for the Board of Properties and your faithful attention to not only our building and grounds, but the all the parts and pieces which keep things running smoothly. With three partner congregations sharing the building, we have been faced with some new challenges and opportunities, and I commend this board for your diligence and care. Of course, we have ongoing needs, but we know we can depend on your judgment and care.
I am thankful for the Board of Faith Formation. Not only have you provided tremendous support and guidance to the confirmation program, you have led through adult education, weekly bible study, and faithful fellowship opportunities. In looking back at Sunday Adult Education, the breadth of topics and conversations are rich. In the past year, we engaged in deep discernment about who we are and who we might be called to be as a congregation (Teach Us To Listen series), explored Spirituality Typology, studied the Book of Revelation, examined Christian Nationalism, experienced the highlights of the ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans, and looked deeply at angels. Our weekly Sing Around the Fire gatherings in September and October were, as always, a time of great joy.
I am thankful for the leadership of our executive committee and for their attention to our congregational vision and mission.
I am thankful for our congregational partners and the richness they bring to our lives together: The ELCA, the St. Paul Area Synod, Adventista Septimo Dia,Promesa de Dios, Ebenezer Elim, John Glenn Middle School, the Shores of Lake Phalen, Merrick Community Services, Our Redeemer Lutheran, and Alano.
On a more personal note, I am thankful for the support you all have given me regarding my Doctoral studies at Iliff School of Theology. I am rapidly approaching the halfway mark in my coursework, and am excited to share what I have learned and how my understandings of ministry have grown (when it is time to do so). And personally, I would like to thank you all for your care and concern, your notes and gifts and goodies, and the other ways you have supported me as your pastor and my family. You bless us deeply.
I enter this coming year with a sense of great anticipation for our congregation. There are opportunities and invitations unfolding before us — some becoming clearer and others still to emerge. There are challenges as well, but I trust that God will continue to guide, and call, us into that which we are being called.
Pax,
Pastor Scott