Happy New Year Faith Lutheran Church! Blessing and Peace and Health and Goodness to you in 2022. “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Oh, I’ve needed this message this week and in this new year! This passage comes from our Hebrew Scripture reading this coming Sunday, Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. And one of the beautiful resonances is that our baptisms remind us that when God proclaims at Jesus’ baptism, “You are my beloved son,” Jesus turns right around in his divine life and self-giving and says to you and me: “I make you my beloved siblings.” So this passage from Isaiah becomes ours in Christ: formed, redeemed, called and beloved. I’ve needed that news this week amidst all the national/global news in January 2022. It all sounds sadly familiar to our past two years. Covid-19 cases are on a steep rise and schools and workplaces and sanctuaries are all conversing again: How can we meet safely and responsibly? How do we care for one another now? Oh, and, why are we still enduring all this??? As your pastor, having begun my call during this pandemic, I most definitely want to greet you in a new year and be focused with you on worship, service, encouragement, community the good things we can be called to as the body of Christ up on this hill! And so I am tired and burdened to return to what feels like a worn-out conversation about distance, patience and endurance. But then, you know what?—> When faithful folks were in that worn-out existence, that’s when the prophets were sent to speak to God’s people. How can we be patient, keep caring for one another, make the best choices and endure together? In part, because of God’s faith-creating Word: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” -Isaiah 43 From God, by the love of Christ, in the life of the Holy Spirit, we are formed, redeemed, called and beloved. This is the promise of baptism; this is the light of epiphany. Hear the sacred good news: God’s generative word find us this new year, in our high places and in our worn-out valleys. Even in our deserts is the surprising, new promise of refreshment and life and the companionship of God. And may God’s love animate our hearts and hands and feet to keep loving each other with divine endurance. However this word finds you, keep connected to us as we walk this road together. Holding onto promise, and with you, +Pastor Shaun

With the re-opening of Faith for in-church worship on March 7, your Church Council, along with the Worship Team and Pastor Shaun, have established a set of guidelines for our re-opening. Our objective is to make our worship as safe and comfortable as possible for everyone. If you don’t feel you are ready to come back to church, our services will still be available via Zoom. Also, there will be no drive-though communion beginning March 7. Below are the guidelines for re-opening the church.
1. Masks shall be worn by everyone. Disposable masks will be made available to all who do not have their own.
2. Hand sanitizer will be available in the narthex and throughout the Sanctuary.
3. Chairs will be separated within the Sanctuary to comply with social distance recommendations.
4. Weather permitting, the rear Sanctuary door, kitchen door and the narthex doors will be kept open to allow fresh air flow during the service. We could also open the door to the Fireside Room and open those windows, allowing for flow of fresh air.
5. Hymnals will not be used. The entire service will be printed in the Worship Folder.
6. Worship folders will be handed out in the narthex by a gloved and masked greeter.
7. During the service, chanting and responsive readings will remain as they are currently. You will be encouraged to hum or quietly sing the hymns.
8. Please do not leave your seat during sharing of the peace. Wave at one another wishing the Peace of the Lord. Avoid shaking hands with your closest neighbor. Perhaps use an elbow bump instead.
9. Offering plates will be set on a table near the entrance to the Sanctuary.
10. Baptismal font will not contain water and will be placed to the side of the sanctuary away from the flow of traffic.
11. Communion: Ushers will direct the congregation to form a line, following social distancing requirements. Pastor Shaun and the worship assistant will stand in front on the chancel to give the bread and wine. Another assistant will have an empty tray in which you deposit your wine cup. Hand sanitizer will be available both before and after you receive communion.
12. Coffee and pre-packaged refreshments will be available after the service. Please remember social distancing restrictions when interacting during this fellowship time.

A couple weeks ago, after preaching a sermon that was trying to implore hearers to “Remember your baptism,” and there discover strength and blessing … then it rained in the desert.

Indeed! True story!

Now, it’s not like it never rains in this mountain/desert ecotone of the Truckee Meadows, but it can be rare (like, less than 10 inches a year)! And on a Sunday in August; and one hour after a sermon saying, “find some water today;” and that sermon having been preached while wildfires were burning nearby forests and turning all our blue sky to gray smoke; the rarities compound, right?

I don’t know if you were surprised by water again that day, like I hoped you’d be. But even as the one saying, “ya’ll watch for the blessing of water that is a gift”––even I was surprised.

Grace like rain.

It stopped me in my tracks, walking from the church doors to my car.

Wait, is it really raining? Like, is this gift really given, again?

Indeed! It was. It is!

For Lutherans, baptism is a ritual full of story and experience, and one we are called to remember, even daily. Or even more. We are remembering that life is full of death and resurrection. And God’s gift of Grace arrives to us in the midst of it all. There is nothing outside of it. Every dreary death moment. Every excellence. It’s all water-washed and Spirit-born, and it’s all holy. God is with it all, in the flow.

And I love that life is water and so all of life reminds us.

And I love that rain in the desert reminds us too.

The moment of Word in a sermon—that’s holy. And later, when drops of H2O are pelting your face and arms and you look to the (smoke-filled) sky with laughter and ask, “Wait, is it really raining?”… it’s an all-inclusive, holy gift.

You’ll be in a desert and you’ll tell people to “go find water!”

Then you’ll take a few steps, and SPLISH––water finds you!

Grace like rain––SPLASH goes strength and blessing on your fearful, faithful way.

Katharina’s Garden and Compost Program

Serving our community through growing and distributing healthy food to the hungry.
Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works
(James 2:14-18)

Katharina’s Garden and Compost Program is the most recent addition to the three outreach food programs based at Faith Lutheran Church. It was started two years ago through seed money and engagement from members of Faith and the community groups RISE, a local nonprofit engaged in food insecurity, as well as Homer J’s Senior Dog Sanctuary.
(Note: Food insecurity is the lack of access at times to food that is needed for a healthy life for all family members. Food insecure families may go hungry at the end of the month or adults may give up food so their kids can eat.)

The heart of Katharina’s Garden is head gardener and volunteer, Katie Colling. Katie is well connected with organizations and people who are interested in food insecurity issues. She has a group of committed volunteers who, along with volunteers from Faith, work on designated Saturday mornings to turn and sift compost, weed plants, and generally do what is needed to turn raw food scraps into compost, and raise seedlings into edible produce.

I talked with Katie Colling while she was picking squash bugs off plants.

Katie described the challenging process of creating a new garden by starting with building the soil. Healthy soil is critical since it can better withstand the challenges of bugs and disease as well as better tolerate the rocky soil and short growing season that are hallmarks of high desert gardening. So, building the Compost Program was a key early goal. Members from Faith have participated in the compost program by bringing buckets of egg shells, coffee grounds and veggie trimmings to add to the compost heap. Up to now, Katie has started plants as seeds, but plans to speed up the time to harvest next summer by planting seedlings instead. Creating a “denser” garden that produces increasing amounts of food over time as the soil becomes rich and friable is key to our goal of addressing the problem of hunger among our neighbors.

This summer the produce was distributed through the Monday Food Pantry, located at Faith Church and led by Eileen Way. Even now, in this early stage of its development, the garden is having a small but positive impact.

Want to Get Involved?

Donations
It takes a village to grow a garden and we are grateful for all those at Faith who have supported this effort so far. Faith Lutheran raises ongoing funds for the garden through bingo nights and donations collected at fellowship following the service. Your donations for the garden will support the expansion of the garden to yield more food for our community.

Volunteering
In addition, you can volunteer in the garden or with the children of the volunteers. Katie needs childcare for volunteers who want to help on the Saturday workdays, but have no one to watch their children. Anyone who would be willing to provide childcare at the church while moms and dads are working on the garden would be most welcome!

Compost
Continue to bring those buckets of raw material for making compost. Although planting and harvesting have ceased until spring, compost will continue to be processed all winter.

If you’re interested in bringing your food scraps to participate in the compost program or have any other questions about the garden, feel free to email Katy Colling at kmcolling@gmail.com.

Watch for updates about Katharina’s Garden in the Faith Newsletter, as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
Katharina’s Garden Facebook
Katharina’s Garden Instagram

Katie also posts information about the garden work schedule on Facebook.

This has been one of the coldest, bleakest, and longest winters I have experienced. I am so happy and proud to be in this congregation. Let me share three of the great ministries that we did here at Faith this winter. We donated: coats and gloves to care for low-income kids, coats and blankets to care for local homeless individuals, and blankets to care for an ill, housebound Vietnam veteran.

Grace Warner Elementary School Project

Betty Thompson and Betty Brown organized a Christmas drive for kids at Grace Warner school. You may have seen the big bins around Christmas and participated in filling them with warm gloves and mittens and gently used coats. Grace Warner ranks in the upper poverty range for Nevada schools, with 65% of the kids who attend being eligible for free lunch. Poverty is, overall, related to scholastic achievement. For example, Grace Warner ranks in the lower 50% of Nevada schools in math proficiency. Kids who are behind in the lower grades have a difficult time catching up and fulfilling their potential in life. Providing nice-looking warm coats not only helps kids stay warm but helps them “fit in” with their peers. Further, when Betty Brown took the coats to Grace Warner at Christmas time, the kids saw that someone cared and “remembered” them. Research on kids who “make it” in the midst of difficult circumstances often point to having someone who cares in their lives. We don’t always know the impact of our actions on others, but some “seeds” are nurtured and grow.

Christmas Navajo Project and Jackets for the Homeless in Reno

A couple of years ago the outdoor clothing company, Patagonia, donated large boxes of jackets that had been purchased and then returned. Many of them needed mending, done by Faith members Faith Johnson, Eileen Way, Sigrun Coffman and Gloria and Craig Svare. That winter, many boxes of the jackets were donated to Reservation-living Navajo. This winter many more boxes were donated locally, to the Good Shepard Clothes closet on Record Street.

Veteran Blanket Project

Other women from Faith, pictured below, have started making blankets to give to needy veterans. In proportion to its population, Nevada has one of the highest numbers of homeless veterans across the U.S. I spoke with one woman in the group, Becky, who had been able to give a hand-tied blanket to a Vietnam veteran friend who, while not homeless, is housebound and terminally ill. He was not cold but was in need of comfort. Receiving a hand-made and personally-delivered blanket conveyed that he was loved, and not forgotten.