One thing the life of the church teaches me, and puts before me weekly (even daily) is that we are not alone. In our living: times of birth, joys and struggles, and at our death, I believe we are not alone. We are with God. We are with each other in this life. And we are also with the promise and faith of faithful servants passed. With this in mind, I am encouraged in devotional readings that pray ancient prayers and songs. And I am blessed to participate in celebrations of life—like August’s gathering to give thanks for Madge Cooney. I believe and celebrate that this faith we practice is always received and given, growing and changing and thriving in all times and places. Faith doesn’t happen alone. And we are not alone. This has come to fruition for me in many ways as a Lutheran, including: • I was happy to be ordained as a minister on July 25, as a celebration of the feast day of the Apostle James. • I approach All Saint’s Day (November) with reverence and a thankful, connected heart. Ok, so what? Well, I looked at “saint’s days” on the calendar for September I saw many important, inspiring folks whose celebrations might help tell the story that we are not alone in faith! We celebrate some saints, as Lutherans, and they have a day to remember on the calendar; and the list of those for September have inspired me to tell their stories—the lifting up of Peter Claver, John Chrysostom, Hildegard of Bingen, Dag Hammarskjöld, the Apostle Matthew, and more. So, look for these sto-ries this September, in worship and in our communications. And let us lift up that the themes of “Saint’s Days” are momentum for our lives as the church today. When we proclaim on Sundays that we “join their unending hymn,” it’s because we are singing the song—singing a new song—with our voices, to our world, in our way, and with God’s Spirit that never leaves us alone. Maybe this will ring true to you, helping you feel connected. Or maybe it’s another spiritual practice for you—that’s ok too! But come and share and grow and let’s ask God to move us to tell our sto-ries too. Together in grace, + Pastor Shaun

“With humble thanks and so much joy, I’m grateful to have gotten here with all of you! As Luther writes in his explanation of the third article of the creed, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in my Lord Jesus Christ or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, just as Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church.” And, that’s also how I’m here today! The journey unfolds; we walk the path before us; we look for signs and we keep trusting and changing. I have been welcomed into this church with love, and challenge, and with the call of the Holy Spirit, and I respond and say ‘Yes!’ and keep dreaming and traveling this pilgrim way. Thank you for bearing that Spirit in our world and to my life! Thank you to Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd. You all heard this call; and you’ve helped it reverberate further now! You have encouraged my ministry to youth and families. You have befriended and challenged me. You have opened me up to all things “Lutheran!” You have whole-heartedly supported my seminary journey… As the launching point of this part of my faith journey and vocation, I cannot say enough. Thank you to Lord of Mercy Lutheran Church, and the Internship Committee and Pastor Sarah. You all, too, have been generous and imaginative and worked hard to offer this seminarian another place to grow, learn and thrive. You are faithful and welcoming and have formed and en-couraged me. And, now, great thanks to Faith Lutheran Church, my pastorate. You all are inviting and supportive and we are already partners in ministry to the Truckee Meadows. I look forward to all our ministry together. I have the best friends. From Texas evangelicals and ex-vangelicals; to Colorado co-conspirators; to California miners (of philosophy and theology); to those practicing the Way of Jesus with me in the Sierra Nevada, or the way of Emerson and Thoreau in the Truckee River Watershed––I love you and you bless my life! To seminary friends from Luther and from PLTS, now spread far and wide––you have surprised me with the good news of the gospel in and out of class! My parents, Pat and Donna, have listened and encouraged and shared wisdom and sup-ported me and my family, and through yet another graduate degree! I couldn’t have embarked on this journey without you—thank you Thank you to Maeve and Wynter, who inspire me and bring me deep joy and strength, light in the darkness. The pastors of the Sierra Pacific Synod and all those attending camps at Mt. Cross have formed and enlightened me, chiefly the leaders of SPS Youth Committee. I’ve wanted to be like them when I grew up! And I thought I maybe could, through the endless nudging, encouragement, grace and love from Reno Lutheran friends and mentors. Join me in giving thanks to God for the faithful Spirit that keeps calling us forward to Peace and All Good!”

Oh, how good it feels to be living into the freedom to plan vacations or enjoy each other’s company in person a bit more. Thanks be to God! What are your plans this summer?
We do have plans to be together more, so note some of these great opportunities:
Contemplative worship, the last Thursday of every month, 5:30pm.
Lunch Bunch – First Wednesdays at 12pm
Outdoor Worship on the Patio, the last Sunday of every month — So, this will begin June 27th and happen each month as long as weather cooperates.
A “Welcome” class to new folks that have come to Faith Lutheran in the past year, leading toward an affirmation of baptism. We’ll meet for class at 10:30am on Sundays in June.
And “Thank You” party for interim pastor Stan and another “Welcome” party with me, things we’ve been waiting to conduct in person.
I hope you are encountering the hope and energy of this summer coming on!
One deeply encouraging aspect of all this activity, for me, is that I am a collaborator. I love to work with folks in thinking of ideas, in praying prayers, and in the action of mercy and justice among us and in our community. Understandably, this has been so much more difficult during the pandemic and while we were mostly distanced. With that easing comes hope and determination. So let me spark your dreams with the Holy Spirit:
In Faith Lutheran’s “profile” — the call documents that I was able to see as a candidate for ministry here last summer — there was a question of: “Where does your congregation hope to put their energy” or “What is driving your community these days?”
And as we embrace energy and work and hope these days, let’s see what it said:
Faith Lutheran community is excited to establish and discover new possibilities for service… Blessed with a large church facility with spacious parking and green lawns, Faith offers a tremendous venue for community gatherings and our various missions. We are excited about empowering others within the congregation to step forward into leadership roles in hopes of discovering all that we can be.
2021 NEWSLETTER
Wow! This was exciting to me then, and it’s very exciting now! This church, and it’s call team,
were speaking the language of the Spirit among us and saying: Blow, wind of God! Renew us!
And I loved that this community could acknowledge its assets: place, facilities, willing hearts—
and to point these toward blessing our community and to calling each other to live into lives of
service.
We each live our service in different ways, and blessedly! Yet, all of these extensions are part of
the WHOLE of the PEACE of God.
“As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one
body, so also Christ. . . . Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it” (see 1 Corinthians
12:12, 27).
And here is the energy I’m sensing this summer: As we get to see and hear each other together
more, we can move in confidence toward that “empowering” of one another. We know there is
much work to do, and we know we have been given specific gifts for ministry in our time and
place. And we know the Spirit is a feisty lover that wants to let the proclamation of mercy abound!
And we know we have each other, our various gifts and personalities (and quirks!).
More than all that, we know the promise of God is Life and Freedom. We won’t climb the ladder of
good works into our heavenly rest at last, leaning on all we were able to accomplish. But Mercy
has made us so free that we would love nothing more than to give and proclaim, to spread this
love around town!
Body of Christ with you,
+Pastor Shaun

Spring has returned to the Truckee Meadows! And our liturgical season of Easter has returned. And some of us have been able to return to in-person worship. Reflecting this month, I’m sensing that hopeful return in my life.
And, honestly, it’s been delightfully surprising. Maybe it always is, and so I’m surprised again, but this Easter season following Lent and Holy Week— this time for me is turning into what it has always promised to be: hopeful, joyful, engaging, driving forward. I do hope you’ve felt it too.
New growth returns to landscapes and animal life. The “Alleluia” returns to worship. We’re always in this cycle, which is the cycle of our lives too––need and patience, change and transformation, hope and purpose, and need again.
And all of it is okay. And all of it is holy.
So I wonder if you have perceived any returns for you these days? The cycle continues, but we aren’t lulled into complacency. Rather, the Spirit enlivens us, in each return, for new joy and further hope!
In the gospel stories after Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus is returning to folks in different ways and at different times. He’s both in his same body—we know because it has scars of his death and he can eat food and converse with people—, but he’s also more/different in the ways he can appear to be alongside people. Remember (John 20) how they lock the door in fear but Jesus comes and stands among them? He’s returned! Same, and different all at once.
We all know ways that our lives have looked so different this past year, and hopefully some of the things we love and the ways we appreciate being—hopefully some of those are returning for you. I know they are for me. And, for one, it is good to be in-person for worship and fellowship and learning when we can. That’s just one “return”!
And the deeper blessing for us, I believe, is that God doesn’t leave or forsake us. We sense the gifts of the Spirit among each other and for each other, and the presence of Love is always with us in our changes and returns. In fact, it’s always been there. But what an Easter blessing: this is the time of year we can see it, sense it, hear it (and hopefully feel it and believe it).
Returning, with Alleluia’s, to God who is so gracious and merciful,
+Pastor Shaun