Pastor’s Pen

“Lord, thou hast been a refuge, from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth or ever the earth and the world were made,  Thou art God from everlasting and world without end.”  ~ Psalm 90:1 KJV Beloved of God, The moving choral setting of Psalm 90 by Ralph Vaughn Williams echoes through […]

Broken lines, broken strings, Broken threads, broken springs, Broken idols, broken heads, People sleeping in broken beds Ain’t no use jiving, Ain’t no use joking, Everything is broken – Bob Dylan, Everything Is Broken[1] Dearly Beloved, The lyrics of Bob Dylan’s song, Everything is Broken, describe the human condition about as concisely as anyone has.  […]

“If you don’t know the kind of person I am and I don’t know the kind of person you are a pattern that others made may prevail in the world and following the wrong god home we may miss our star.” – William Stafford [1] Beloved of God, The turn of the calendar to September […]

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. – Song of Solomon 8:6 Beloved of God, Our family will be heading on an extended road trip this month; one that’ll take us from Seattle to Whitefish, MT, for […]

Faith takes the doer and makes him into a tree, and his deeds become fruit. First there must be a tree, then the fruit. For apples do not make a tree, but a tree makes apples. So faith first makes the person, who afterwards performs works. – Martin Luther, commentary on Galatians 3:10 Beloved of […]

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1 Beloved of God, Two of our own, Eldon and Marcia Olson, began their 34 hour flight odyssey this week en route from Southwest Seattle to Southwest Africa for the Lutheran World Federation […]

This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the Passover of the LORD. – Exodus 12:11 Beloved of God, After hiking five miles in the snow through fields of standing corn and over frozen […]

“The LORD said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel… And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.” – Exodus 34:27-28 Beloved of God, Lent is a season of truth-telling.  And truth seems to be in […]

Give me your tired, your poor your huddled masses yearning to breathe free; the wretched refuse of your teeming shore; send these—the homeless, tempest-tossed to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door! – The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus On the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor   Beloved […]

“The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the LORD is upon the mighty waters.” – Psalm 29:3 Beloved of God, Chilly weather companions our passage from 2016 to 2017.  Mini-snow people have spouted on our back lawn, and Kai and Naomi, inspired by the properties of snow and […]