2010 Writings
2010-1-1 Colossians 3 Church
January 1, 2010 (This letter adapted from a sermon I preached on December 27, 2009.) Dear Grace Church Family, Colossians 3:12-17 could easily be our church family’s theme passage for 2010. Let us return to these words again and again, until we live and breathe them. In this time of trial and division, we need …
2010-2-1 Pastoral
February 1, 2010 Dear Grace Church Family, A special thank you to all of you for the generous Christmas gift card to my family and me. We are so thankful for all of you, and our unity as members of the body of Christ. I hope you will be able to attend worship, our annual …
2010-3-1 Healing Grace
Dear Grace Church Family, I recently received a note from a concerned, grieving member of Grace regarding our December 20 special meeting, in which 98 people voted to remain in the ELCA, while 42 voted to leave the ELCA. I have been counseled that we need to move on, and I believe we do – …
2010-4-1 Easter People
April 1, 2010 Dear Grace Friends, A blessed Holy Week and Easter to you! I encourage you to take part in Grace’s Holy Week worship services and activities. We are Easter People! During the Easter season, we celebrate the gift of God’s grace revealed to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our …
2010-5-1 Mission
Dear Grace Friends, Grace and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit who binds us together in unity. It is time to refocus and renew our mission: Grace by Grace, Seeking to be God’s Faithful People. We are called by the grace of …
2010-5-26 Synod Assembly Update
2010 Northwestern Minnesota Synod Assembly Report (combining a summary from the Synod office with my own notes and commentary) May 14-15, 2010 Memorial Auditorium, Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota Meeting under the theme, “Life Overflowing,” over six hundred voting members and visitors, including Jim and Lynn Weivoda and Pastor Eric from Grace, gathered for the 2010 …
2010-7 July Word from the Pastor
June 29, 2010 – July Newsletter (update of a seminary reflection) One of my courses at the seminary in June, Preaching as a Contextual Word, was an enlightening journey into our cultural context and its impact on preaching and the life of the church. Our culture has changed and is changing rapidly, decisively, and irreversibly; …
2010-8 August Word
July 27, 2010 – August Newsletter article Dear Grace Friends, In my sermon for Sunday, July 25, I spoke of our need to pray, to knock on God’s door! Here are Jesus’ words from Luke 11: “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and …
2010-9 September Word
August 30, 2010 – September Newsletter article Dear Grace Friends, What an exciting time of year! School will soon begin again, and so will Sunday School, Confirmation, Senior High Youth Group, the After School Faith and Fun program for elementary children, the Boys and Girls Club Middle School youth meeting at Grace, and more. This …
2010-9-12 On the Issues that Divide Us
On the Issues that Divide Us September 12, 2010 Presentation Pastor Eric Lemonholm Note: these are notes for a presentation I gave last year in a different community that was in turmoil about the issues surrounding the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly’s decisions about human sexuality. I put it together from some letters and emails I …