Dear Friends,
It has been a wild ride folks. I’m still having difficulty believing that our time serving you as a pastor is all but over. The manner with which it has finished is equally surprising; I would never have guessed that we would not have had some opportunity to greet you one last time coming out of the sanctuary. In some ways therefore, this is all a little disappointing. On the other hand, that is all that it is; just disappointing and nothing more. Expectations are always something that need to held lightly. One way or another we will find a way to meet one another again and give blessings to one another.
You should not be surprised if you do not see us for a couple of weeks. Elizabeth has surgery planned for July 2 and we will most likely be staying around the house for at least several weeks while she convalesces. So please don’t be alarmed when you don’t see us.
I believe that the most troubling news I offer comes from the regret I’ll experience in not giving Cheryl some conniption fits at the end of every month while she awaits my Bits and Pesis column. I want to thank her for the invaluable assistance she has been around the office. The congregation has a true gift in her and Elizabeth and I want her to know how important her skills and attitude have been in keeping the office running so smoothly especially through these last several months. Pat, too, has been extremely important around the office and the volunteer work she has accomplished with us has been crucial.

A number of very important tasks have been tackled and many, but not all, have been completed. The committees (both standing and ad hoc) that have accomplished this work have been made up of people from within the congregation eager to see Faith continue to be a witness within the Reno community. I want to thank all of the members of the church council, the Constitution committee, the worship team, the call committee, the property team and those working with the finances for the hard work they have done. There are a number of names I know I have failed to mention and I hope I will be forgiven. One name I cannot overlook is that of Betty Thompson. She has labored hard and long to bring to the congregation a budget format that has been new and unfamiliar. But she stuck to it and I believe we have something that works and is useful.
Finally, Elizabeth and I want you to know that we have come to love and appreciate you. Our relationship is now evolving into something else but it is not ending; we’ve just been through a phase of it. What has been there in the center from the beginning remains; the call of Christ Jesus to come into community to proclaim His love to the world. We look forward to an ongoing participation in that task.
The Lord watch between me (we!) and thee, while we are apart, one from the other.
Stan

Changing of the Guard.
You say goodbye, I say hello.

Dear Friends,
As one might expect, the main topic around the congregation these days has to do with, “When are we going to worship at the church again?” Here is what is under consideration.

We know that the first real opportunity for that will be June 21. Here is why. This coming Sunday, June 7, already has some activities, one of which is the discussion and vote around the pastoral call, that has been scheduled through Zoom. Then, between the 7th and the 21st, we’re hoping to use this as an opportunity to deep clean the sanctuary and kitchen so that when we return everything will be as safe as possible. That takes us to June 21.

Now we get to the meat of the matter. How are we going to do worship during this time when the coronavirus is still a threat? If we use the sanctuary we need to keep in mind some fairly restrictive behavior meant to minimize the threat we pose to each other. That will mean no singing, no chanting, no after-the-service fellowship and finally, probably some slight change in my behavior during the sermon. That means I would likely remain behind the altar to minimize any unintended ‘transmissions”. The alternative worship space might be outside. If we are outside, so goes the current wisdom, we might be safer. At the same time, because of additional distancing, we might be able to sing a hymn or two using a keyboard instrument. That’s the current state of the conversation. All of this will be discussed by the worship team.

We know that neither of these options alone might be considered safe enough by everybody. So we are also trying to figure out the best way to continue to use Zoom or something else that allows people to stay home and still participate in the worship in some manner.

It would be lovely to believe that all of this will be past us by the end of June. Unfortunately, I believe that would be living in a fantasy. Please understand that all of these considerations are in conversations out of concern for your welfare.

Finally, anybody that has access to the news must be aware of the turmoil currently taking place throughout our country. There are a lot of voices out there telling us the solution lies in one direction or the other. There are a lot of other voices out there too, often muted, that often go unrecognized, unappreciated, even unknown. These are the voices and actions of people who see and understand the pain of others and reach out in love and com-passion to those who live in such terrible pain and fear. We are called to be such people, knowing that we may not be able to fix everything, maybe not even anything. But when we respond with love and compassion we will not be alone; Christ is with us.
The peace that passes all understanding be with you,

Stan

Dear Friends,
I just took a look at last month’s column and had to chuckle. We’ve all now been sequestered in our various homes waiting out the effects of the corona virus.
When I wrote for the April newsletter I was still a little naive about how I was going to feel about this quarantine business after several weeks. Hmmm. I get to see some of you some of the time when those of you who can come by the church for the “drive-in” communion. But that is brief and the obvious separation between us (masks, gloves, etc) is in stark contrast to our usual practice when we commune together in the sanctuary.
At this point in time we still don’t really know when we can or should resume services at Faith. The council and I will be looking at what will be appropriate and not just legal. There are many in the congregation who are especially vulnerable and putting them at risk to make a point is unacceptable. So please bear with us as we address this situation as best we can and know that your welfare remains one of our chief concerns.
In the midst of all of this I wish you to know just how impressed I am with the manner in which you continue to support the ministry at Faith Lutheran. So often stewardship is experienced under some form of duress. It might be subtle. Or not. You, on the other hand, without any kind of reminders at all, continue on a weekly basis, to bring your gifts either as you come by the church or via the mail. You are sweet people. The staff and I thank you so much for your love.
And I wish to thank them. To Cheryl and Pat who continue to keep the office humming; to Eileen and her assistants who continue to ensure that food is available to those in need, to Karon, bringing music to our Zoom worship and to Sarah for her willingness to help bring us together through technology. You are marvelous people. Elizabeth and I are so fortunate to be among you. Peace, Stan

With the observation of Ash Wednesday on February 26th we have begun the Lenten season. When you come to worship you will undoubtedly notice the changes in the church’s “clothing”. The paraments are now purple and you might notice that the processional cross behind the altar is now draped in purple ribbons. This color purple is meant to identify two different themes.
The first is probably well known to you. For a considerable period of time purple has been used to reflect a penitential sense. We are urged to use these 40 days of Lent to consider the meaning of three special days; Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. These three days especially invite us to meditate upon the mystery of our redemption.
Perhaps much forgotten now is the other recognition that the color purple invites us to consider; purple was the color reserved for royalty. For the vast majority of human’s time on earth purple was a very difficult and expensive dye to acquire. That difficulty and expense led to reserving the color to rulers. Now, consider for a moment the kind of double irony encountered when the soldiers placed a purple cloak on Jesus as they mocked him. I say double irony because first, they thought they were acting ironically when they placed it on him and secondly, they had no idea who he really was.
We confront tremendous tension here. Which one do we focus on? Is it proper to focus on one or the other? Dare we only focus on one or the other?
Peace, Stan

Those responsible for the care of the chancel in the sanctuary and also for the other paraments we use on Sunday morning have been very busy for the past two months. Unlike the summer months when we go for months and months without much change, during the winter months the liturgical seasons change frequently. So, since late November you have seen white, blue, white (again), and now green. Soon enough, near the end of February, we’ll use white (yet again) and finally purple. These color shifts help us to identify the season of Advent (blue), Christmas (white), Epiphany (green) and finally, at the end, purple (Lent). White was thrown in for some individual Sundays to mark special days. You may have noticed a correspondence with some of the Orders of Worship which we have used during these seasons.
I vary the Orders of Worship we use not so much to keep you on your toes but rather to add interest to the service and better reflect the season we might on any given Sunday encounter. When we were engaged in the season of Advent we used a very different form to open our service. Do you remember how we used the hymn O Come, O Come Immanuel as an alternative to the Kyrie and the Hymn of Praise? Beginning Christmas Eve the paraments changed and so did the service. We pulled out all the stops and used both the Kyrie and the Hymn of Praise. The portion of the service dedicated to Communion was also altered with the Great Thanksgiving (which included the Words of Institution) reflecting the day and season we had entered. Entering the season of Epiphany the colors returned to green and service changed again. For most of the February we remain in the season of Epiphany but on February 28 we’ll observe Ash Wednesday and we enter the season of Lent.
“Let me guess.” you say. “I’ll bet we change parament colors and the service will change again.” You would be right. The basic music of the service has pretty much remained unchanged since we began Advent. Now, the music will change too but I hope that it will be somewhat familiar. On the first Sunday in Lent the music of the service will have a little different feel about it. At least it does for me. I want it to better reflect the season of Lent so the music, I hope, will seem a little more reflective, a little more somber. Lent, after all, calls us to consider the great gift given to us at such a high cost.
Final notes. Thanks to all of you who were present and participated at the annual meeting. And thank you to all of those who have agreed to serve on the 2020 council. We have a great deal to celebrate. Peace and blessing to you, Stan

Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! Elizabeth and I have realized that we have just spent one full year with you and we want to thank you for the openness, support and affection you have shown us. As we move into this new year the congregation faces several significant decisions and we need your continued support.
In the next several weeks we need your presence if we are to move forward. So, here we go. On Sunday, January 5th, a special congregational meeting will be held to vote on accepting the most recent ELCA model constitution for the congregation. It contains changes accepted at the most recent churchwide assembly. Those changes generally addressed issues arising out of the new nomenclature for what were once identified as deaconesses and deacons. There is not much for Faith Lutheran to be concerned with here because we currently do not have those categories within our congregation. Before the vote there will be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have and Tom Landis will be present to provide you answers. If the model constitution is accepted amendments that will make the constitution work better for Faith Lutheran will be offered. Again, Tom Landis will be there to answer your questions.
Next, (you mean there’s a next?! Yep) on January 12th and 19th meetings after the service will be held to answer your questions about the 2020 church budget. We will have resources available at that time so that you can see how this budget was put together.
Finally, on January 26th the annual congregational meeting will be held to elect council members, to vote on the church budget and, if appropriate, to ratify the amendments considered at the January 5th meeting. All of this is a fair amount of work. If we do this now we will have accomplished a great deal but we will also be done with it. We need you to be there and vote on this. Please mark your calendars now.
Again, happy New Year. We look forward with hope and anticipation to what Christ accomplishes through us this coming year.
Peace, Stan