Church newsletter pastoral column for St. Peter Lutheran Church, Greene, Iowa, for June, 2019.
Ordinary Growth
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
– Colossians 2:6-7
This is it! We’ve made it to the end of another school year. College students are home or busy with summer plans, Sunday School is over for the year, and children are eager for summer vacation. In the church calendar, we move this month from the busy times of Lent, Holy Week, and the Easter season into Pentecost. After Pentecost, the Sundays go from having a seasonal designation to the bland-sounding “Time after Pentecost.”
On some church calendars, these Sundays after Pentecost are known as “Ordinary Time.” This season is called “Ordinary” because we have at least somewhat of a break from religious holidays and special services. The liturgical color for this season of ordinary time is growth, because as Christians, we are always called to be growing in faith. The Holy Spirit is always working on us, always drawing us closer to God.
During the summer, many of us will be traveling or busy with family activities outdoors, and that’s great! I hope you are able to take some time to relax and to appreciate God’s wonderful creation during this season–and I also hope you’ll make time to gather with your sisters and brothers in Christ so we may continue growing in faith together.
We have several special opportunities coming up this month as a church. First, right away on Sunday, June 2,we will be joining with our Presbyterian neighbors across the street for Worship in the Park. Our service that morning will be at 10:30 at Perrin Park – and plan to stick around after worship for a potluck lunch!
On June 8/9 we celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. After a couple of “ordinary” weeks, we have a special service on June 30 (again, at 10:30) with music led by gospel group New Legacy Project. Some of us heard them last June when they performed a Thursday evening concert here, and this is a great week to invite friends and neighbors to join us for worship! (Speaking of growing in faith, Vacation Bible School starts that same night—let Christin know if you’re able to help.)
One final invitation for you outside of weekend worship: Since our PRAY Like Jesus series a couple months ago, I’ve been working on being more intentional with my own prayer time. During the month of June, I’m going to try something new and spend a half-hour each Wednesday morning in intentional prayer. If you feel so called, I invite you to join me from 9:00 – 9:30 on Wednesday mornings for quiet prayer and scripture reading in the sanctuary.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Daniel Flucke