Working Together So That All Experience Gracious Invitation Into Life-giving Christian Community |
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Welcome to the Gethsemane Lutheran Church Newsletter. As 2022 unfolds, and we continue to bring you information virtually, we welcome all who are members of Gethsemane, as well as those who are discovering us for the first time, to join us in our mission journey. We hope to keep you up-to-date in these times of amazing change for our church community. Feel free to forward the newsletter to others and give us the emails of those you think my wish to connect with us and see what great things God is doing with our church each week! |
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To contact staff: Please click email links on names to the right!
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Who's Who At Gethsemane
Minister of Music: Beverly Timpton-Hammond
Food Shelf Volunteer Coordinator: Jean Bailey
Children's Ministry: Brittany Schiebe
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Weekly Update: Share Your Story With Sam! There is Still Time! |
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Do you have a story you want to share with our community that you think will be inspiring for others? Well I’m here to help you share it! With your story, we will be able to spread the goodness of our community members in our church by highlighting it on our social media pages and weekly newsletter so that anyone and everyone can see!
If you would like to be interviewed by me, I can be reached by...
Phone (609-431-1369)
Consider contributing today!
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The Camden Shop is now open! After a short prayer of blessing, we opened the doors and shoppers found clothing and housewares that they needed. We are so excited about how this place will help our friends in the Camden neighborhood! Spread the word, and come say hello!
We are open every Saturday of the month at Gethsemane from 12-3pm
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Gospel Reading: John 20:24-31 |
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24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.
31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
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Writer's Corner: Doing Laundry
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Our sins are washed away and we are made clean because Christ gave His own body as a gift to God. He did this once for all time. Hebrews 10:10
I do a lot of laundry. A lot. Most days I have at least two-three loads. It’s the nature of our lives that there are many spills and stains on clothing, tablecloths, even things that need dry cleaning but you still put them in the washer on super delicate and hope for the best. I’ve tried most spot cleaners, stain removers, even researched natural recipes that contain household ingredients, the best non-bleach bleaches. I’ve used the sprays, the soaking salts, the convenient pocket size pens, the detergent that swears it can clean absolutely everything; the oxygen infused powders (how can oxygen be in a powder?), even a desperate cycle of treating, washing, re-treating, re- washing, re-treating, re-washing, and on and on, refusing to give up. I’ve used seltzer water for spills in restaurants— the bubbles supposedly get between fabric fibers and evaporate stains. Huh, not had good luck with that. Then of course there are the different types of stains some easier to get rid of: organic versus inorganic, and the dreaded permanent ink. Those you can fade, but always will still see. And the grease and oils so hard to wash off that if you forget they are there and throw them in the washer by accident, or get busy and try to deal with it later, you are in trouble. Those never come off. If I get a stain, and it ruins something I love to wear, then I make a mental note never to eat that item or use that thing again. I don’t often wear anything white; as it is just asking for a permanent stain, usually something of the tomato sauce variation.
Thank the Lord, we are not made like the garments we wear, or the fabrics we drape our beds or tables with—we are not made of fibers that suck stain in and refuse to let it go. Even the stains of our sin are not permanent in Christ. Hmmm. Say that again: even the stains of our sin are not permanent in Christ. This can be hard to take in, really take in. Personally, when I think of things I’ve done in my life that I am the least proud of, even those I’ve taken responsibility for with apologies or amends, there are always pieces that still stick to me, cause me to feel residual guilt; to question. Because I can always remember the offending incidents, I can still see a faint shadow of what was there. Why? Because my human mind cannot completely grasp the passage in Hebrews: “our sins are washed away”— surely there must be some sins that are like permanent marker. Or: should I really have been deserving of forgiveness? Are my stains still obvious? Did Jesus really remove all the stains in my life when I accepted Him as my savior? Or did he miss a few of them? Big thoughts, big stuff.
But see, just because I cannot figure out how to get all the stains out of my laundry from day to day, or I just can’t seem to forget some things I’ve done that I’m not proud of, doesn’t mean that there isn’t an ultimate stain remover for my clothes somewhere, or that God really didn’t fulfill God’s promise through Christ.
It’s a problem of faith, really understanding it all, not any problem with the stain remover. Jesus died on the cross for my sins, period. There isn’t any clause in God’s promise that said Jesus died only for certain sins but not others. Or that God makes it look at first like we are forgiven, that the stains of sin are gone, but then years later they come back into view. Oops, sorry. No...we, as humans do that. We hold on to sin. We hold on to un- forgiveness, even our own. We let the fabric of who we are lock in things just because we refuse to let them go and give them over to God to be forgiven, to be washed, to be cleaned, to be brought back whole again, so that we can wear white without worry of any faded spot remaining. It’s all on us. Yes, we need to learn and not spill more on ourselves, learn that eating barbecue without a bib while wearing a silk blouse, using the sleeve for a napkin, might not be a good idea. Just as yes, we must learn from our mistakes, our sins, and sin no more. Stop repeating the stupid things we’ve done, or said. But God promises that if we confess and repent, our sins are forgiven. God provided the greatest of all spot cleaners and all-in-one detergents in Jesus. In Jesus’ blood that poured to the foot of the cross. The blood that was shed for you and for me, for forgiveness of all sins. And He did this once for all time. So give thanks to God for this gift, knowing your stains are truly gone. Stop trying to ask God to re-treat and re-wash them. All the while we still keep working on finding the perfect stain remover for our favorite chocolate sauce and wine, we can at least be relieved to know that our personal laundry, the stuff that really matters, has been already cleaned, our sins washed away. They are already down the drain and out to sea. Praise God.
Hallelujah!
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The Camden Promise: Weekly Food shelf Schedule |
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Food Giveaway Schedule into 2022:
The Camden Promise Food Shelf feeds boxes of food to community families 6 days a week at noon: Monday through Saturday.
All are welcome!
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Gospel Reading: John 20:1-10 |
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1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.
4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,
7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.
8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
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We thank you for many blessings. We pray You may bless and fill our families with love, peace and prosperity. We also pray for joy, abundance and strength. We pray for great health and continued healing. We pray for our loved ones. We pray for Your kindness and mercy. We pray for your guidance and protection.
Amen
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Please join us every Sunday for our Virtual Zoom Worship Service. Online "fellowship starts at 10:00 am and Worship Service Starts at 10:30 am. |
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Gethsemane Lutheran
Building Hope Together
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4656 Colfax Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55412
612-521-3575
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