Beloved of God,

Summer is upon us—this year breaking the standing rule in these parts by showing up well before the 5th of July!

I spent one recent 90⁰+ day with my daughter Megan in Portland, where we found refuge from the heat in Portland’s exquisite Japanese Garden.  Nestled in the hills west of downtown among tall Douglas Firs, the Japanese Garden is celebrated as the most authentic Japanese Garden outside of Japan.   Inspired by a desire to cultivate stronger ties with Portland’s sister city, Sapporo, Japan, the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon commissioned Takuma Tono to design and supervise the development of the garden in 1963.  In the summer of 1967 it was formally opened to the public.

The garden opened late the Monday we were there, but because we were among the first to enter, we were able to take advantage of the unique atmosphere offered by each of the five separate garden areas without the pressure of a large crowd.  The experience lived up to its billing: among the carefully placed stones, water features and plants, I felt serenity descend upon me.  Such an experience is meant to be savored, and I left the garden restored.

The Japanese Garden represents an idealized evocation of the natural world in which human beings, through ingenuity, knowledge of nature, artistic sensibility, and spiritual vision, create a landscape that celebrates the gifts of creation and soothes the soul.  I look forward to returning again.

During these precious summer months, reconnecting with the natural world is high on my family’s list of priorities, and we look forward to road trips that will take us to western Montana, to the San Juan Islands, and to Central Oregon.  These road trips give us access to the larger landscapes of the Pacific Northwest—its mountains, rivers, lakes, and ocean waters—and through these experiences we find ourselves renewed and grounded once again with a sense of place.

In his book, Rainbow of Mysteries: Meeting the Sacred in Nature, Australian Lutheran theologian Norman Habel, in his ninth decade of life, writes about his still evolving spiritual understanding of place and how it has shaped who he is and his understanding of who we are as “Earth beings.”  Meditating on the prophet Isaiah’s encounter with the Sacred in the Temple (see quote above) as refracted through his own spiritual experiences of sacred Presence, Habel articulates a new grounding point for understanding the place of human beings in relation to the Divine and in relation to creation:

“The mystery of Presence challenges me to reconsider the very nature of God.  I can no longer resonate with an omnipotent ruler outside of the cosmos who intervenes as necessary.  Nor can I accept those past doctrines that separate God from nature.  My starting point is now the cry of the Seraphim that the presence of God fills planet Earth.  I now understand their words to mean: ‘The Presence which is God fills the cosmos and is revealed before our very eyes through this planet.’ God is that sacred Presence that permeates creation and is revealed through nature.” (p. 48)

“I am not only a human being,” he continues, “I am an Earth being…I belong to a fragile web of interconnected and interdependent fragments and forces on this planet.  And the matter that emanated from primordial times in the cosmos evolved into conscious Earth Beings, who reflect the spiritual imbedded in the material.  Matter and spirit are not separate.” (p. 54)

Is it possible to wrest new meanings from ancient Biblical texts in such a way that they lift and carry us, like a boat on rising river waters, over long embedded traditions to new places of insight and understanding?  Habel thinks it is. As our Season of Creation planning team prepares for our annual observance of that four week Season this fall, he has become one of our dialog partners and his musings offer much food for thought.

Wherever this summer finds you, whatever landscapes you frequent, may you find yourself echoing the chorus of the Seraphim: “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of God’s glory!”

With you on the Way,

Pastor Erik

Joyful Servants!

Over 27 years of ministry I’ve found precious few of the synod assemblies I’ve attended to be memorable.  Several have been contentious; others routine.  A number have seen the same old resolutions cycled through over and again.  Only a few have retained, for me, the sense of spiritual power and uplift that has endured beyond the weekend.  Our assembly in May falls in that rare category.

Kathleen and Bob, in the article below, have done a great job capturing some of specifics which contributed to making this assembly memorable.  The presence of our Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson was certainly part of that—what a gifted leader!  I wish you all could have been present to hear Mark, and more importantly, to sense how clearly he has his finger on the pulse of the context, the challenges, and the opportunities before us as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as we seek to make Christ known.  Bishop Mark brought his wit—and a sprinkle of vinegar—to the assembly, supporting and challenging us and calling us to deeper reflection of how we can be the church for and with those outside our doors.   He also brought his trust and confidence in the Spirit’s presence as he led us through the stages of electing a new synodical Bishop.

Our synod’s purposeful process, unique among the 65 synods of the ELCA, was handled superbly, and infused with prayer at every turn.  The fifteen gifted, articulate, and courageous pastors who had been nominated for the office all acquitted themselves admirably and gracefully.  As the field of candidates narrowed, and each candidate spoke about her/his core sense of where the church should go and how we might get there, I came away with a profound sense of hope for the future of the church.  I can say without hesitation, in the words of the author of Acts, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” that Pastor Kirby Unti was called to the role of Bishop.  I hope you will join me in prayer in support of Kirby and his wife Kim as he makes the transition to this new office.

Delores Dufner’s hymn quoted above captures the sense of vigor to which the Spirit is calling us as God’s people in West Seattle.  I especially like the line, “to scatter joy like seed.” There’s much to be joyful about as we mark this month together:  we’ll celebrate with graduates preparing to take the next big step; we’ll witness our young people taking on leadership roles and our little ones lifting their voices to declare “Jesus loves me, this I know,” we’ll welcome new members into the fellowship of our congregation, making room for their voices, their gifts, their partnership.

Let’s not forget that the joy we experience and share between each other and within these walls is meant to be scattered—not kept! One question Bishop Hanson posed to us was this:  Would there be any noticeable impact to the neighborhood in which your congregation resides if the church were to close?  If so, what would the impact be? I’m curious how you would answer the question.  The follow up question approaches the same topic from a different angle: How is our congregation writing the next chapter in the book of Acts? Indeed, this is the core mission we must always keep before us.  And the beauty is, God has supplied us with ample talent, vision, and vigor to do just that!

Your partner in joy, Pastor Erik

People of Spirit!

The month of May is a rich one, calling for your participation and celebration on a number of fronts. Below you’ll read about EARTH CELEBRATION / ROGATION SUNDAY, May 5th.  So far, the weatherman’s forecast matches our hopes for the day:  sunny and warm!  It’s a day which will include spirited activities that activate our senses and connect us to the Earth, to our neighbors, and to one another.  Please come and be part of it!

While Peace and Calvary women are Playing with Fire on Vashon May 10-11, congregations throughout our synod will be anticipating the NW Wash. Synod Assembly at which we will elect a new Bishop.  The theme for this year’s gathering, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, is ALWAYS BEING MADE NEW.  Sixteen nominees for the office of bishop are part of the process, and each week we will continue to pray for the Spirit to brood over them—and over us who will be responsible for casting ballots during the May 16-18 Assembly.  I am grateful to Bishop Chris Boerger for the excellent leadership he has exhibited during his 12 years in this role.  He has been a faithful and articulate proclaimer of the gospel and a steady partner with the congregations and ministries of our synod during a time of great challenge and change.  I look forward to celebrating his service to our synod on Thursday evening, May 16, at Trinity Lutheran, Lynwood.  Let me know if you are interested in attending.  The Rev. Jan Nesse has been his partner during these years, and I’ll be forever grateful that she included my name with others that were given to the Call Committee of Peace in 2004.  The rest of the synod staff are such talented and generous folk—we really are blessed.  Bishop Boerger’s final column (full article published below) names the hope we share as church:

The same weekend we elect a new Bishop, the wind and flames of Pentecost will descend on us once more when five young men of our congregation affirm their baptismal covenant in the Rite of Confirmation, May 19th.  What a day of joy and blessing that will be!  At a recent breakfast, an elder told of how he marvels when he sees the continuing participation of our young people at Peace—beyond Confirmation and even beyond high school.  God is continually remaking the church, and giving us reason to hope.  As we open ourselves to God’s future, we expand the range of possibilities for our personal ministries as well.  Rooted and grounded in the love of God in Christ Jesus, there is no limit to what the Spirit can do within us and through us.

God bless your growing!

Pastor Erik

“There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear.” – 1 John 4:18

Easter People!

What a joy to be on this side of the tomb—the empty tomb, that is—for Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia!

And yet, even though the resurrection is where we belong—this place toward which God has been moving us all along—still it doesn’t take much for gravity to pull us back into the great ditch of FEAR.

The longer I live the more apparent it becomes that the decisions we human beings make, on all levels, both individually and collectively, are made not on the basis of faith in the God of resurrection and life, but rather on the basis of fear.  Political leaders use fear as a tactic for forwarding ideological agendas; interest groups use fear to motivate their constituencies; fear of losing valued relationships keeps us from having honest conversations; fear of reprisal prevents us from sharing our true experience; fear of change leads us to dig in our heels even when that change may be the prompting of God’s Spirit.  I’ve come to believe that the opposite of faith is not doubt but fear.

In each of the gospels, the first reaction of Christ’s followers to his resurrection is not joy but overwhelming fear.  Whether they find themselves facing a heavenly emissary or the Lord himself, they are terrified!  And the first words from divine messenger or risen Lord are: Be not afraid. Christ knows how paralyzing fear can be.  He knows how, when push comes to shove, trust is often the first to go.  And he knows that fear often holds controlling interest in the stock of human emotions.  So it is no surprise that when Jesus speaks to his community as their risen Lord, he begins his greeting with the words, Peace be with you.  Do not be afraid. As Easter people who have been marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are called to live our daily lives and our life in community in the context of a deep trust in our risen Savior.

So, what does that deep trust look like? It has many guises.  Like that of a prayer shawl, blessed by the fingers and prayers of those who knit it; a shawl which now rests on the shoulders of “Georgia”—as she faces a fourth surgery on a broken leg that refuses to heal; a mantle which embodies Christ’s compassionate presence and the mystery of God’s healing power.  What does that deep trust look like? Like a group of young people eagerly serving a meal to a group of homeless men at the Compass Housing Alliance, providing food for the body and conversation for the soul.  What does that deep trust look like? Like a 90 year old woman who, on death’s door, tells me she’s ready to “run to Jesus.”

The First Lessons throughout the Easter season, taken from ACTS, tell again and again of how God’s agents “wrench life from death.”  These powerful stories, says theologian William Willimon, are not so trivial as to be explained:

“The stories can only be told and heard, asserted, inserted into life as they are thrust into the flow of Acts…they proclaim that our history is not closed…they announce a new age, an age where reality is not based upon rigid logic or cause-effect circumstances but upon God’s promise…Every time a couple of little stories like these are faithfully told by the church, the social system of paralysis and death is rendered null and void.  The church comes out and speaks the evangelical and prophetic “RISE!” and nothing is every quite the same.”[1]

Easter people—and that is what we are!—look at the world and their own experience through the lens of Christ’s resurrection. We have been liberated from the shackles of fear and that liberation makes a difference in how we view ourselves, our mission, and the world.   Because of this, we are alert to signs of God’s transforming presence and responsive when God calls us to be about God’s business.

You see, when it comes to fear, God holds the trump card. God’s perfect love, enfleshed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, casts out fear.  Gets rid of it completely.  Not that fear doesn’t try to creep back in.  But when fear begins to exert influence on us, when we feel it slinking into our thoughts and trying to take hold of our minds and pull us back into the ditch, we recall the words of Jesus:  “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” And as his words of promise take hold of us, fear is once more set aside, and faith takes its place.  What a privilege it is to live in that place together!  Thanks be to God!

Pastor Erik

[1] William Willimon, Acts Interpretation Commentary, p. 85, 86.