Grace Waves

Friends:

We come at last to the dark
and enter in.  We are given bodies
newly made out of their absence
from one another in the light
of the ordinary day.  We come
to the space between ourselves,
the narrow doorway, and pass
through into the land of the wholly loved.
—Wendell Berry:  Sabbath 3

We remembered All the Saints and they remembered us this past Sunday with our Dag Hammarskjold ‘Markingsmass’.  The absence of loved ones leaves a hollow tenderness and gratitude within us which we always carry.  It has been said of God that there is only one thing God can’t accomplish:  God doesn’t know how to be absent from us.  Always the prayers continue – for their rest and completion and for our joy, grounding and grace.
Keep in your prayers:  Margaret Bender, Renee’s mother, our Confirmands, Rick, Brian, Natalie, Pari, Mike, Ruth, Ed Klitsch., Linda B., our country – for the acknowledging, addressing and healing of our divisions.
This Sunday will be our Stewarding Sunday.
Solar Halos:  Thank you for all the community inquiries and support – our roof is getting brighter and brighter!  Be sure to check out our new web page for updated information.
From the ELCA:  This election season included rhetoric and rancor that has divided and wounded our nation. Christ calls the church to the ministry of reconciliation and gifts us with the Holy Spirit for this work.  This is the time for us to engage in deep listening and communal discernment, practicing the art of difficult conversations and actively accompanying those in our communities who are suffering or alienated.   The work of ELCA Advocacy, grounded in the Gospel and our social teaching, also continues. We look forward to engaging with the new White House administration, Congress and state governments around the country on our core areas of concern to end hunger, alleviate poverty, welcome the stranger and care for all of God’s creation. We will create and shape policies that reflect this church’s deep commitment to racial and gender justice, and we will work alongside ecumenical and interfaith partners to further God’s work in our world.
On the occasion of our 1^st Anniversary:  Dear Peace, We write to you in the name of Holy Love.  Our gratitude for your presence and provided space has transcended in the reverberation of laughter, music and joy’ as all those in the attendance of our wedding became the loving support this world cannot live without.  All our love,  Xanthia and Brock
Our next Family Service will be on November 20 at 10 am!  Bring all your babies, toddlers, young ones and teens to join in this celebration!  This is also the last Sunday of the Church Year.

What remains for us is only the very narrow path, sometimes barely discernible, of taking each day as if it were the last and yet living it faithfully and responsibly as if there were yet to be a great future. —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Blessings,  Pr. Steve