Enough is enough!

Bryan Hansel photo of Split Rock Lighthouse

Have you ever been to the North Shore of Lake Superior? We recently took a weekend trip to just north of Two Harbors, as I officiated a wedding ceremony this past Saturday. Gregg and I had been talking up the trip to our son Manny, since this was his first trip to see the big lake — Lake Superior.

As we made our way up interstate 35 — Gregg and I chatting, Manny watching a movie — we’d periodically grab him from out of his headphones and say, “Hey, look at those pine trees,” or “Check out that bird in the sky.” Let’s just say that Manny was mildly interested in what we were trying to call to his attention. But we assured him that he would love to see the Great Lake, that the lift bridge coming into Duluth was pretty cool, and that he should keep his eyes open for the spotting of a cargo ship.

Saving each other from the edge

“It made me feel good that I could be back in society and do something good.” These words were spoken by Bryant Collins, who used to be involved pretty heavily in the seedy underworld of drugs, honing his skills manufacturing cocaine. His crimes caught up with him, though, and he was arrested, tried, and incarcerated. As reported on the news this week, Collins made a life-changing decision to become a different person while serving time in federal prison. He wanted his life to be different, and he used his imprisonment as a way to change and be better, be different. He has been out five years, has a good job as an auto-mechanic, and is enjoying his new lease on life.

Blessed Trinity — Oh, yeah!

We welcome guest blogger and FoC member Barbara Scharfenberg, who has written a devotion in preparation for Holy Trinity Sunday this coming weekend. Thank you Barbara, and as always everyone — let’s see each other in church! –Pastor Josh

My Aunt Phyllis had an organ in her living room. Oh, how I loved to play that organ! My favorite piece from her song book was on page three. The hymn was “Holy, Holy, Holy.” I can vividly remember sitting tall on the bench, back straight, my fingers fumbling for the next note, maybe holding down a key too long, but loving to sing and play that song with my whole heart. One thing that always confused me was the phrase “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.” Now, exactly how could that happen that God would be three persons? It made me think, every time I played that song, how could God be three persons? For years, I contemplated those lyrics and tried to make sense of them.

Fast forward to when I was in high school and was asked to help with the children’s sermon one summer Sunday morning. All I could dwell on was how hot it would be in the sanctuary, how restless the kids usually were, and how quickly could I get a message across that they would understand. It wasn’t long before I had an idea: that hymn from Aunt Phyllis’ song book. Not that I could ever explain in five minutes how God could be three persons, but I could explain it in three easy steps. That morning, sweaty and nervous, I called the kids forward. I had with me a pitcher of water, a cup of sugar, and a package of cherry Kool-Aid. Now, each of those ingredients on its own was ok. You could even go as far as mixing any two of the three together and have some basic concoction that might be considered a drink or, at the very least, a tart and tangy finger dip. As I explained this, I think the kids began to understand. You need the three ingredients, the three in one, to truly complete the recipe. As the children sat with me, mixing up a batch of Kool-Aid that Sunday morning, I could finally make a little sense of the Trinity — albeit not the full explanation. It wasn’t just God, or just Jesus, or just the Holy Spirit that you needed. You need the three in one to make things fully complete.

My dear Aunt Phyllis has long since passed away and oh, how I miss her. The one physical thing I have to remember her by is that organ song book and the reminder of how a certain hymn turned into a story by making a pitcher of Kool-Aid. Page three. Holy, holy, holy. Blessed Trinity indeed.

– Barbara Scharfenberg

On the edge of our seats?

Last week, one of our council members, Greg Kassebaum, & I had a little fun with a presentation for the June fundraiser that we have undertaken at Family of Christ. I selected a chair whose front legs had weakened to the point of being terribly unstable, and planned to let Greg sit on it as it sort of collapsed under him. That would be a physical and comedic way for him to then make the ‘pitch’ about how we need to provide for some upgrades in our sanctuary through our “Extreme Makeover: Sanctuary Edition” fundraiser.

Before the service began, I planted that unstable chair up by the side of the altar area, tucked away behind the pulpit. However, I neglected to tell Pastor Jeanne that I had put an un-sittable chair back there… So imagine my fear and horror when, during the sermon, Jeanne played a video on the big screen and sat to watch it…but guess where? Yes, on that aging, crippled chair that I had dangerously placed behind the pulpit, but then didn’t tell the new pastor that it was literally on its last leg.