Dear Friends in Christ, It is difficult for me to believe that I am writing about Advent and Christmas already, but time seems to be moving at different rhythms in a world fraught with as much anxiety and change as we have experienced over the last two years. Our theme for this Advent season is […]
Read NewsletterEye on Zion
A Quarterly Newsletter for the People of Zion Lutheran Church
Greater Than- AugSepOct 2021
In our world today, we can often feel overwhelmed by the many forces at work all around us. Examples include the ever-present coronavirus and the daily implications it has for our lives. We wonder when this will end. As summer continues, we sense that natural disasters are on the rise—fires in the west, scorching heat, […]
Read NewsletterReturn, Rebuild, Renew-MayJunJul 2021
It has been over a year since our lives were turned upside down overnight with the coronavirus pandemic. In many ways the last year has been a time of exile for many of us. We have been separated from our loved ones, our routines, our patterns, our regular lives. We were snatched away from the […]
Read NewsletterRooted- Grounded- Growing-FebMarApr 2021
As we begin a new year, we look with hope for what this coming year will bring. For much of 2020, we all have been staying close to home and many times in our homes to keep us and others safe in the midst of the pandemic. As we look to 2021 and the rollout […]
Read NewsletterThose Who Dream
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Unfortunately, there are experiences in life when dreaming seems impossible and hope is difficult to summon. In those moments, it is difficult to imagine any future or anything beyond the present struggles of life. Yet, life without dreams […]
Read NewsletterCultivating Gratitude
Each year instead of making a New Year’s Resolution (which I will inevitably break before I even get to the end of January), I have begun the spiritual practice of choosing a word to guide me through the year. At the beginning of Advent (the beginning of the church year), I ask God to lead […]
Read NewsletterLiving Hope
How many times can someone say or write that we are living in unprecedented times? Yet that is what many of us feel. Our entire planet is suffering from the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, and the subsequent stay-athome orders and lockdown of our livelihood and economy.
Read NewsletterWilderness
As we enter into the 40 days of Lent, we are reminded of the 40 days Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and are reminded of the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. The time in the wilderness is a not an easy time, but it is a time of learning who […]
Read NewsletterWhat Cant Wait?!
When preparing the theme for this newsletter, Linda Sterner, our producer and editor extraordinaire, asked if the title should be a question or a statement. I mistakenly thought the theme was a statement, saying “What Can’t Wait.” What Linda’s question has forced me to realize is that it is both a question and a statement.
Read NewsletterGod’s Work, Our Hands
One of the basic ways to understand Christianity is that God comes to people through people. God in Jesus chose to become human to bring God’s presence to us through a human. Jesus came as the full embodiment of God in human form so that we could understand the power, depth, and breadth of God’s […]
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