Finding Faith ... in a return to church

By S.A.M. Devlyn Brooks

Greetings Faith Family!

It hardly seems real that in a couple of weeks we’ll be back for an exciting Rally Sunday to kick-off our church year! But what an exciting day it will be to see so many familiar faces in our pews!

There is a lot to cover in one short message, so get ready for another smorgasbord of items, just like in the last newsletter!

Seminary update

Well, Faith Family … it is done! … This week, I submitted my very last assignment for seminary. The long, five and a half year journey is complete!

This means that in a couple of weeks, I’ll officially receive my diploma from Luther Seminary, and that will make me eligible for my first call in the ELCA. … Or more importantly, it means that I will be available to be called as an ordained pastor here at Faith Lutheran!

So what’s next?

Well, as you may have heard, the church will hold a congregational meeting after worship service on Sunday, Sept. 12, to vote on whether you wish to call me as your pastor.

And should you vote to do so, I will be scheduled to be ordained here at Faith Lutheran at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23. And then I would be able to officially exchange the title of synodically authorized minister for that of an official minister of word and sacrament in the ELCA!

I wish to thank all of you for your tremendous support over these past four years we’ve been together. Sometimes it felt like this day would never come! … But here we are!

And I couldn’t be more excited about the next chapter in our future together!

Return to church

So, in relation to the news about my finishing seminary, let’s talk about returning to church in September!

In case you haven’t heard yet, we will be back to a normal service schedule starting with Sunday, Sept. 12. That will be our first service back for the year, and we are excited to see everyone!

This will be our Rally Sunday, a day to celebrate coming together after such a long time apart. In a normal year, Rally Sunday is already exciting, but under the current circumstances, this will be an incredibly joyous occasion!

But there will be a lot more happening that day than just the first day of our fall services!

Immediately after church, there will be a congregational meeting, led by Faith Lutheran Council President Ross Aigner. On the agenda will be a congregational vote regarding whether to call me as pastor. So keep that on your radar!

Also, after the meeting, we’ll proceed downstairs to the Fellowship Hall for a good, ol’ fashioned Faith Lutheran potluck! I can’t remember the last time we were able to host a gathering such as this. So come hungry! … Because serving up delicious food is one of our Godly gifts around here!

National Youth Gathering

I would also like to put a plug in here for the youth of our congregation to consider going with us to the ELCA’s national Youth Gathering next summer in Minneapolis.

We’ve included a letter to families and their students, who will have completed the eighth grade by next summer, elsewhere in this newsletter.

But this is my personal plea to the youth who are eligible: Please consider coming with us!

The Youth Gathering is a difficult experience to explain, but just imagine playing, working and learning alongside 30,000 other Lutheran youth from all over the country for a week. There are concerts, interactive learning days, service days and times just to hang out with new friends.

After having attended my first Youth Gathering as a leader in 2018 with 15 students from our area, I can tell you that you’ll make memories that will last a lifetime.

Please give it some thought and come to our information meeting on Monday, Aug. 30, at Comstock Lutheran Church in Comstock. I would be thrilled to go on this adventure with you!

Whew!!! … That covered a lot of ground quickly! As always, if you have any questions or need more information about any of the things I covered above, do not hesitate to reach out to me or to the church!

Blessings to you all, Faith Family! … See you in a few short weeks!