Archive for October, 2008

WE’RE MOVING!

Friday, October 17th, 2008 by mswora

1 When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion,
       we were like men who dreamed.

 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
       our tongues with songs of joy.
       Then it was said among the nations,
       "The LORD has done great things for them."

 3 The LORD has done great things for us,
       and we are filled with joy.  (Psalm 126: 1-3 NIV)

It took nearly a year of  praying, discerning, driving, calling, walking down sidewalks and through buildings, but another, and fabulous, location for our church to rent has been found: the sanctuary of Messiah Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, MN, at 2504 Columbus Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55404 ( http://www.messiahmpls.org/).

It is time for other new churches to enjoy the Chapel of the Cross and the good renting relationship we had for eight years with Luther Theological Seminary, for which we are very grateful. And it is time for us to be more accessible to, and invested in, a neighborhood such as the Phillips Neighborhood in which Messiah Lutheran witnesses and worships.

We are very, very grateful to our brothers and sisters at Messiah Lutheran Church, who are beginning a gutsy and visionary adventure by moving into the new Center for Changing Lives (http://www.centerforchanginglives.org/progress). This will create for them a seamless visual and symbolic web between worship and mission, between their nurture of their own faith community, and their nurture of the community around them. Hats off to Pastor Lee Cunningham for this bold and visionary step, and to the congregation which is willing to leave a perfectly good sanctuary and make it available to the wider community, including ourselves. May we be worthy of this invitation, and of the partnership that will ensue.

Lord willing, we hope to hold our first worship service on December 14, 2008, when the Psalm above is one of the passages in the lectionary scripture schedule, at 9:30 AM, our usual time. If you are interested in visiting us, to join us for worship, fellowship and Christian education, check the Google map at http://maps.google.com/maps?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADBR_enUS243US244&um=1&cid=0,0,5231862764702081941&fb=1&dq=Messiah+Lutheran+Church+Minneapolis&daddr=2504+Columbus+Ave,+Minneapolis,+MN+55404&geocode=635093986356432266,44.956823,-93.264426&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=directions-to 

Mathew Swora, pastor

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OF CARP, THE ECONOMY, AND THE KINGDOM

Friday, October 17th, 2008 by mswora

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The Kingdom of God, that is. When Jesus sent forth his disciples on that Galilean hillside (Mark 6:30-42) with five loaves of bread and two fish (I don't think any of them were carp, like the ceramic one you see above–yes, I made it, and you can buy one like it at our upcoming Twin Cities MCC Relief Sale) to feed roughly 5,000 households, he was not only demonstrating his wonder-working power. Nor just his compassion. He was also demonstrating the economic policy of the Kingdom of God. This kingdom is in keeping with the law of Moses, in which "there shall be no one poor among you" (Deut. 10). It was also in answer to Israel's prayer and God's promise in the Psalms, "Her [Zion's] poor shall I satisfy with bread (Ps. 132)."

Just what this kingdom and this policy might mean for us, the citizens of God's kingdom, in these times of economic suffering and instability, (and how carp helped some people survive the Great Depression) I seek to flesh out in Sunday's (October 12) message, which you can access at Download feeding_the_multitudes.doc.

Mathew Swora, pastor

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