by mtangen | Aug 27, 2020 | Pastor Chris
To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. ~Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1 Friends and siblings in Christ, As we...
by mtangen | Jul 21, 2020 | Pastor Chris
Christ Victorious. Friends and fellow journeyers. Sitting with a friend (safely distanced!) at Carver Lake Park in Woodbury on a hot, sunny afternoon, we began to reflect on worship: when does a church reopen, what has the online experience been like, what about the...
by mtangen | Jun 22, 2020 | Pastor Chris
Siblings in Christ, These days my prayers often start with the words: “Dear God, this is hard.” How about you? Pandemic is truly hard. Worshipping separately. Not having normal funerals and weddings. Worrying about getting ill or about those we love. Losing jobs and...
by mtangen | May 21, 2020 | Pastor Chris
When we knew the extent of the pandemic lockdown, my personal disappointment was the birthday party we had planned. Invitations never got sent. Flights were cancelled. And the order for apple fritters and maple glazed donuts for Sunday morning coffee hour was...
by mtangen | Apr 23, 2020 | Pastor Chris
Friends in Christ, As this newsletter arrives in your mailboxes we will have been under a stay-at-home order since March 28. Our beloved organist has died, losing his battle against COVID-19. Dave’s death is a tremendous loss, more confounding by the distance that...
by mtangen | Mar 30, 2020 | Pastor Chris
Many years ago, the congregation I served lost a 13-year-old boy to suicide. It was a devastating loss. We quickly assembled a community gathering to talk with kids and parents about suicide, funerals and grief. Most of his friends had never attended a funeral and had...
