AN EASTERTIDE GRAND SLAM

By Pastor Wes Poole

1 Peter 1:3:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. – NRSV

A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, “Eighteen to nothing–we’re behind.” 

“Boy,” said the spectator, “I’ll bet you’re discouraged.” 

“Why should I be discouraged?” replied the little boy. “We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!”

This past Sunday, we gathered together to celebrate Easter as a family of faith. “Gathered together!” What a wonderful thing to be able to say…finally! I hope I never take such things for granted again! Easter is always about the new life we have received through Jesus’ resurrection and victory over sin and death. Still, I’m not sure I have ever appreciated the reality of that new life like I did on Sunday. It truly felt like a rebirth; a feeling that I hope we can grasp onto and continue in the months ahead. While we have never stopped being the church, COVID notwithstanding, the spirit this past weekend was one of a church that is now able to re-embrace its ministry and start to move forward once again.

Like the little leaguer above, this past year has made it seem that we haven’t even gotten a chance, as a church, to pick up the proverbial bat and give it a swing. Maybe so, but the hope we have in the Risen Lord Jesus is one born of the promises of God, and will never fail, whatever the external circumstances. Building on the joy and momentum of Easter, it is my prayer that we will soon be able to reclaim a sense of normalcy, pick up the proverbial bat, and swing for the fences! We are the church, and God has promised us that with Him, all things are possible. Why should we be discouraged? Christ is Risen indeed! Hope abounds, and the world is waiting to see what we have in store for it!

May the joy of this Eastertide fill us with peace, renewed energy, and a passion for service!

Let us pray…

God of Easter Joy, we thank you for the gift of new life given to us in the Risen Lord Jesus. Inspire us to great acts of love and service in the coming year; that all may come to know that abundant life. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, the Risen Christ. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe. See you in church! 

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes Poole †

He is Risen! Alleluia

Easter worship April 4, 2021

Readings — 

  • Acts 10:34-43
  • Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
  • 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
  • Mark 16:1-8

Click here to learn more about our continuing ministries and how you can provide support.

Portions from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. By permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #23415. 

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-732189.

Maundy Thursday

Readings — 

  • Exodus 12:1-14
  • Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 (Response 13)
  • 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
  • John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Click here to learn more about our continuing ministries and how you can provide support.

Portions from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. By permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #23415. 

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-732189.

THE GRAVITY OF GRATITUDE

By Pastor Wes Poole

Psalm 100:4-5

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good;    his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. – NRSV

A 12 year old boy named David was born without an immune system. He underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the deficiency. Up to that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. He lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked what he’d like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, “I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother’s hand.”

G.K. Chesterton once penned, “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” As I sit here tapping away on a Tuesday in Holy Week, my head and my heart are fixed on gratitude. We have just returned to in-person worship on this past Palm Sunday. We will gather together on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday for the first time in 2 years, and for the very first time as pastor and congregation! Despite the dark road we must still walk with Jesus before we can celebrate the Empty Tomb, I just can’t muster the usual somber, Holy Week headspace. If COVID has taught us anything, it is that we should never take anything for granted. From hugs to handshakes to regular communion, we have had a yearlong lesson in just how many things can be taken from us in a relative instant. I pray that we can all find that spirit of gratitude and put it to work in the coming months as the world continues to open back up.

Of course, during this truly holy week, when we acknowledge once again what Christ’s sacrifice means to us, and how painful the road was that he took for our benefit, we embrace another sort of gratitude; that of a people who have been given so much by the God who cherishes them. Sure, we already know how the story “ends”…life and hope and resurrection joy, but experiencing Our Lord’s sacrifice with him makes the reality of the gift just that much sweeter. In Jesus Christ, God has claimed us once and for all. As we recall during this holy time the dark and difficult path Jesus walked for us, may we cultivate an even greater spirit of thankfulness and indeed awe at just how much Our God loves us in Jesus Christ. In the end, we are always an Easter People. Friday may look dark…but Sunday’s always coming! Thanks be to God!

Let us pray…

God of all Hope and Goodness, we pause during this Holy Week to ponder upon and give thanks for what you have done for us in Jesus Christ. As we take those steps with Jesus once again, through passion and pain to the foot of the cross and the wonder of an empty tomb, make us always ever more thankful to you, and appreciative of your lavish generosity. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe. See you in church!!!!

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes Poole †

Holy Week/Easter Worship

Holy Week worship will be live in person at Good Shepherd. Services will be recorded and posted online as soon as possible after the end of each service for those who cannot attend.

Holy Week/Easter Worship Schedule

  • Mandy Thursday — 7:30pm
  • Good Friday — 7:30pm
  • Easter Sunday — 8:30 and 11:00am

Masks are required and social distancing will be observed. Capacity will be limited to allow for social distancing.

Palm Sunday

Readings —

  • Procession with Palms: Mark 11:1-11
  • Psalm 31:9-16
  • Philippians 2:5-11
  • Mark 14:1 — 15:47

As we continue virtual worship to keep everyone safe our mission still continues. Click here to learn more about our continuing ministries and how you can provide support during the pandemic.

Portions from Sundays and Seasons.com. Copyright 2020 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. By permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #23415. 

Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-732189.

A HOLY AND HEALTHY HOPE

By Pastor Wes Poole

Jeremiah 29:11

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. – NRSV

Dear Friends,

As I write this, it is a beautiful spring day. The sun is shining, the snow is gone, and I just received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. If that weren’t enough, we are now able to resume in-person worship beginning this coming Palm Sunday, and Eastertide 2021 is looking a heckuva lot more hopeful than its 2020 counterpart did! I must confess that I’m feeling pretty “Eastery” at the moment, and not the slightest bit Lenten! I’m not going to apologize for it either. Hope is in the air…and that is A-OK with yours truly. Lent can certainly be dark and difficult, and the rollercoaster ride of Holy Week can leave you, as a late friend of mine used to say, “wholly weak”! The church calendar might insist it’s still Lent, rightly so, but my internal calendar begs to differ! And you know, what is the point of the journey of Lent if not to bring us to the most hope filled message of all time…Christ has conquered death once and for all, and we are forever God’s redeemed children. Yes, hope is a powerful force in our lives. Like all good things, it springs from the heart and mind of the God who loves us, and is there for us to share with others.

Parade magazine once told the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. It was a daunting task, even for someone used to hard work and stressful situations. Mr. Lang had been tasked with speaking to a class of 59 sixth-graders. What in the world could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would likely drop out of school!? He wondered how he could get these predominantly poor African American and Puerto Rican children even to look at him, much less pay attention to what he had to say. Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. “Stay in school,” he admonished, “and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you.” At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. Said one student, “I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling.” Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.

“I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me.” There is a sermon in that somewhere! Yet the journey of Lent into Eastertide provides us so much more than hope for the future. Sure, we all live in the promise of the life of the world to come, as the creed teaches us, but that promise is also active right now, in this very moment. New life is ours in the present! As God’s people, part of our baptismal vocation is to minister together to a world that needs to hear the Story we have to tell. We all have our parts to play, both as individuals and as communities of faith. In this family of faith we call Good Shepherd, we too have been charged with bringing the hope of Jesus and His love to our communities and beyond. As the world starts to open back up, we will once again be charged with being an active and vital force for good in our community. Not even COVID could stop us from being the Church, but the months of distance have shown us just how valuable our connections with other people can be. As the vaccines continue to roll out, and it is safer to gather together, I hope to see you all really soon. We’ll meet the challenges ahead the same way we got through this last year…together, and with God’s help. As Jeremiah reminds us, God has plans for us, and they are great ones! In Jesus Christ, there is always something to look forward to, and something wonderful awaits. Thanks be to God!

Let us pray…

God of hope and health, we ask your blessings as we prepare to finish our Lenten journeys and travel the road of Holy Week to Resurrection Joy. Help us emerge on the Easter side with a renewed commitment to the ministries of our church family, and a powerful resolve to make a difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters everywhere. We ask these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Be well, be kind, and be safe. See you in church on Sunday!!!

Blessings always,

Pastor Wes Poole †

Live Worship Returns

Live worship will return Palm Sunday, March 28th. Masks and social distancing will be required at all services. Services will be recorded and made available online as soon as possible following each service . We ask that you do not attend if you are not feeling well, have a fever, or have been exposed to someone who has Covid-19.

Holy Week/Easter Worship Schedule

  • Palm Sunday — 8:30 and 11:00am
  • Mandy Thursday — 7:30pm
  • Good Friday — 7:30pm
  • Easter Sunday — 8:30 and 11:00am