Author: kredig

Bulletin – Trinity Sunday

/ kredig

ZOOM MASS THIS SUNDAY, MAY 30, 2021 AT 10:00 A. M. This will be our last Zoom Mass, as we plan to meet in person for the first time on Saturday afternoon, June 19, 2021 at 4:30 P.M. in our regular space at 451 Huff Street in Winona. In-person Masses are for all those who are completely vaccinated–meaning that it has been two weeks since your second shot. For children, I will leave that to parents’ discretion.

We looked into live-streaming our Masses for those who can’t attend in person, especially for those far away and have found it to be prohibitive financially and technologically. So, hopefully, those of you at a distance might want to check in for this last Zoom Mass. I will of course continue to a send out the “Prayers, Readings and Homily” emails to all on our list . Additionally, for those far away, please stop in and join us for Mass whenever you are visiting Winona!

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Dear Friends,

This week we are called upon to reflect on the mystery of the Trinity of God, Creator, Savior and Spirit–one, yet three. Let us open our minds and hearts to see our God as completely as is possible–beyond Father, Son and Spirit.

Peace and love, Pastor Kathy

P.S. Please be in touch if I can help in any way, or if you would just like to chat–507-429-3616 or aaorcc2008@gmail.com.

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Readings:

  • Deuteronomy 4: 32-34, 39-40
  • Romans 8: 14-17
  • Matthew 28, 16-20

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Homily – Pentecost

/ kredig

Dear Friends,

As I said in the bulletin this week, Pentecost signals the time when we need to truly “walk the talk” of our journey with our brother, Jesus. The Apostles were strengthened in the Spirit and we should realize that we as confirmed followers of Jesus have that same strength to calm our fears and more fully do what is “right” in our world. My prayer for each of us is that we would always know that what we do that is good in this world is always supported by our brother Jesus, in his Spirit. Peace and love, Pastor Kathy

P.S. Never hesitate to give a call, 507-429-3616 or email me, aaorcc2008@gmail.com if I can help in any way, or even if you would just like to chat.

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Entrance Antiphon

The love of our God has been poured into our hearts by God’s Spirit living in us, Amen.

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

God of Light, from whom every good gift comes, send your Spirit into our lives with the power of a mighty wind, and by the flame of your wisdom open the horizons of our minds.  Loosen our tongues to sing your praise in words beyond the power of speech, for without your Spirit, we could never raise our voices in words of peace or announce the truth that Jesus lives and loves us with you and this same Spirit—one God, forever and ever—Amen.

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Readings:

  • Acts 2: 1-11
  • 1 Corinthians 12: 3-7, 12-13
  • John 20: 19-23

Homily:

Friends, Pentecost is our clarion call to “walk the talk” of Christianity—Pentecost is for grown-ups in their faith—it is about action, about moving out of our comfort zones, not looking to anyone else for guidance, but our brother Jesus, who truly showed us the way to go, even to the cross. Now, you might be wondering, why would I want to do that, especially the cross part? And, I can only answer, because that was what you and I signed on for on our confirmation day! 

   That day was not just about getting a new set of clothes, having a party with family and friends, receiving gifts, but about making a conscious effort to live more from our hearts, than our heads.  The heart will lead us out of our comfort zones, whereas the head, alone, will never do that. If our confirmation day was the beginning of us as individuals, living more from the heart, then, that was something worth celebrating! And, it is never too late to start! What things in today’s world are in need of this “heart-kind” of living?

   I came upon a real, life example a few days ago that really threw me and I have to admit; I didn’t know how to handle it.  At the end of it all, my “head” was probably more in gear than was my “heart.” As I was leaving the grocery store, in a hurry to my next errand; I became aware of something out of the ordinary.  I heard running water and turned to see a disheveled man, dressed in probably all the clothes he had in the world, urinating on the ground in front of the store. I looked back a couple of times to confirm that I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.  When he was finished, he returned to a bench in the front of the store and sat down. 

   When I got to my car, I sat there for a bit and thought about so many things.  This was surely a homeless man, perhaps with some mental illness, apparently alone in the world, without family or friends.  I thought about whether he was hungry and about returning and giving him some money, which, by the way, I didn’t.  My thinking included, why didn’t he use the rest room in the store? Was that even part of his consciousness?  Had he lost all dignity about his personal self? And finally, how do we as a society, as individuals, let our people come to such an end?

   For all the groups in this town that I have been part of, trying to make a difference in getting the basics of a home, food, clothing and healthcare, to our sisters and brothers who share this community with us; here was yet another one who had fallen through the cracks. 

   I have been reflecting on this poor man, realizing that giving him some money would only be a temporary fix to his problems and would have worked at easing my conscience more than it would have helped him.  Additionally, it comes to me, as I write this—should I/we look at the problems of others as simply their problems, or should we see them as ours too, in the whole scope of our lives as Christians? 

   So, when we think about leading with our hearts, instead of our heads, what do we come to?  “Walking the talk” about being Jesus’ followers, as a true, “grown-up” in the faith—what does that truly mean? 

   Many of us support organizations that help with food and overnight shelter, especially in the colder months and while good and certainly something that we should continue to do, should we not also support legislation and legislators in our city and country that get at the root causes of poverty, homelessness, and all the scourges associated with the above two?  Yes, we should and we must! Unless we didn’t take our confirmations seriously and then, I guess, we don’t have to worry. At the very least, it seems to me, that people living without the basics in this incredibly rich country, should trouble us!

   Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians today, says, “To each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  In other words, if we are going to claim “Christianity” as our own, then our baptisms and confirmations call us to do our part!

   So, this causes me to wonder—if each person is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good—are some of us not accepting the gift? 

  • When people are in positions of power, like our Congress and fail to work for the common good, for law and order and safety for all, many of them supposedly Christians, what is going on there?
  • In our world, is the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, an ages-old dispute by supposedly religious groups, over the right to a respective homeland, something that should continue over-the-ages with no permanent fix?

Wouldn’t these be places for “hearts” to kick in over “heads” and justice be realized for all?

   Luke’s account in Acts today speaks of many different people gathering in Jerusalem all speaking in differing tongues, yet all being able to understand what the apostles were saying about the wonders of Jesus, the Christ. It would seem, in the presence of Jesus’ Spirit, there can be, “understanding,” when we truly “listen” to each other—probably the larger message here for all of us to grasp—when we take the time to hear another’s story, find out why they feel and act as they do, perhaps more understanding and peace can come.

   So, my friends, with so much in our lives as Christians and deciding what might be the right thing to do in any given situation, we can look to our brother Jesus for guidance.  Where Jesus leads the way, the end result is usually, “peace” – maybe not at first, but throughout the struggle – peace does come. 

   In John’s account of Pentecost, Jesus simply “breathes” out his Spirit upon them, with the words, “peace be with you.”  Shouldn’t we too, as Jesus’ followers bring peace and well-being into the places and spaces that we live?  A huge task, we might think, but together and with Jesus’ Spirit—my hope and dream is that we can all become more “heart” and less “head” people in our response to our world.  Amen? Amen!

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Prayers of the Faithful:

Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”

  1. Jesus, thank you for the gift of your Spirit among us—help us to always remember that in this gift you fulfill your promise to always be with us, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  • O God, let peace reign in our hearts and give us the strength and grace to be people of peace, we pray in your Spirit—Response:  “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  • Jesus, you who said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend, give us hearts that strive to love unconditionally, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  • Jesus, give the gift of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering from job loss at this time, also be with all new college graduates looking for work, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  • Jesus, you have called us friends—enable us to extend that relationship in our world to those who most need friendship, we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  • Jesus, you no longer have a body in this world except through us—help us to be your hands and eyes and ears and heart for our world , we pray in your Spirit—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  • Jesus, your words in Scripture today remind us that we are sent forth—give us the strength to follow your lead in our world and speak truth to power through your Spirit, we pray—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  • Jesus, in your loving Spirit let us as members of this community, All Are One, always find room at our table for all your people, we pray—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come!”
  •  Loving Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week, from COVID and all other causes—give them your peace, and help them to find their way through their grief,  we pray—Response: “Come, Spirit, Come”

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts—pause—we pray, then response

Let Us Pray

   Jesus, be the strength we need each day to be Pentecost people –true to our calling to be people of peace and of love. Let us never falter in our commitment to you and your world. Let us look at your people, always with love, remembering that you have called us friends—that you have given all that we might have eternal life with you. Let us always remember your never-failing love for each person and that because you have loved us so fully, we too must love fully in return.  We are grateful for the gift of your loving Spirit in our lives. Through that same Spirit, give us renewed hearts, strong in our commitment to speak truth to power wherever and whenever needed. Give us what we most need today so that we can more effectively be your body in our world. We ask all of this of you, our Brother and with the Creator and your loving Spirit— all, one God, living and loving us forever and ever, Amen.

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Let Us Pray—Again, we can’t be together to receive from the table, but do know that Jesus is always with us!

Prayer of Communion

Loving Jesus, keep within us the vigor of your Spirit and protect the gifts you have given to your Church, Loving Creator—all one God living and loving us forever and ever—Amen.

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Bulletin – Pentecost

/ kredig

NO MASS IN PERSON THIS SUNDAY–May 23, 2021.

SAVE THE DATE: Next Zoom Mass –May 30, 2021.

Consider meeting again in person at the Lutheran Campus Center on Saturday, June 19, 2021 for a 4:30 p.m. Mass! Of course this would be for all adults who are fully vaccinated. The CDC is telling us that if we are vaccinated we can be together without masks and do not need to be socially-distanced. While it is true that children under 12 have not had the opportunity yet to be vaccinated, they can attend at the discretion of their parents. Additionally, it is our hope to live stream the Masses even when we meet again in person–this will allow friends from afar to continue to “attend” our services and for those who may not yet be ready to come back in person. For these reasons, even though we have been given the green light except for those with health-compromising conditions, we will give it a few more weeks until mid-June. Feel free to express your thoughts or concerns about this issue or any concern, at any time. Contact information below.

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Dear Friends,

Pentecost calls us to be “grown-ups” in our faith–“walking the talk”–living in Jesus’ footsteps, when easy and not so easy. Sometimes we will have to stand alone, but ultimately; we are never alone, as our brother is always with us.

May your days always be filled with the peace of Jesus in his Spirit.

Blessings, Pastor Kathy

P.S. Don’t hesitate to call or email with any concerns or comments–or if you just would like to chat. By phone, 507-429-3616 or email, aaorcc2008@gmail.com.

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Readings:

  • Acts 2: 1-11
  • 1 Corinthians 12: 3-7, 12-13
  • John 20: 19-23

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Homily – Ascension/7th Sunday of Easter in a Time of Almost Safety

/ kredig

Dear Friends,

We come to the end of the Easter Season with the challenge to take on the work of our brother Jesus. It is interesting and challenging to reflect on his words, “You will do greater things than I!” For me this simply says, we are so many so why indeed wouldn’t this be true?! Our challenge is to be Jesus’ hands, feet, eyes, ears and heart in our world. I am happy to know that there are so many of you out there doing just that! If I can help you in any way, please don’t ever hesitate to give me a call, 507-429-3616, or email at: aaorcc2008@gmail.com. Peace and love, Pastor Kathy

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Entrance Antiphon

O God, hear my voice when I call to you.  My heart has prompted me to seek your face; I seek it, O God, do not hide from me, alleluia!

Let Us Pray

Opening Prayer

Loving Creator, reaching from the end to end of the universe, and ordering all things with your wonderful strength; for you, time is the unfolding of truth that already is, the unveiling of beauty that is yet to be.  Jesus, your Only Begotten has saved us in history by rising from the dead, so that transcending time he might free us from death. May his presence among us lead to the vision of unlimited truth and unfold the beauty of your love. We ask this in Jesus’ wonderful name, Amen.

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Readings:

  • Acts 1:1-11
  • 1 John 4:11-16
  • John 17: 11-19

Homily

My friends, with this Sunday, we have come to the end of the Easter Season—7 weeks that the Church gives us to reflect on the fact that we are a People of God and that our God loves each of us very much! 

   As in past years, because we don’t meet for Ascension Thursday, or in the case of the pandemic, when our “gatherings” are by monthly Zoom and weekly sharing of prayers, readings, and a homily; I don’t want us to pass over the Ascension, celebrated officially this past Thursday, so our 1st reading this Sunday is from the Ascension readings. 

   The Ascension is somewhat of a mystery to get our heads around.  As is many times depicted; we know that Jesus didn’t “rise up into the clouds,” as if “going to heaven”—heaven is a different entity that we can’t fully understand, but know that it is not, “up there,” or “out there, someplace.  We also know from the Easter readings, that Jesus looked “different” to the apostles and others who encountered him in his resurrected form.  They only knew him, the Scriptures tell us, when he did a familiar action—breaking bread, saying their names. 

   And when it comes right down to it, the fact we need to hold onto is that it did happen! —these first followers had Jesus physically with them for a time and then he no longer was there. 

   Our faith then calls us to accept and believe that just as Jesus told them, he would not leave them alone and would send his Spirit to always be with them and us.  This next Sunday we will celebrate that mystery—again something we can’t fully understand.

   We humans always want to know the details, so as to understand and it was no different for these first companions of Jesus.  In the reading from Acts for the feast of the Ascension, it isn’t enough for them to simply know that Jesus will send his Spirit; they want to know, “times and dates,” to which their brother answers—you don’t need that information, but just trust, trust and believe.

   As I think of this message, “trust and believe,” I can’t help but think of our Honduran family and of all they have gone through these past two years, waiting in Mexico, and hoping that someone/s sponsor them so as to get their family here, now, to a safer place.  And their “trusting and believing” will need to continue for a long time—hoping to win asylum status –hoping to not be deported if their case doesn’t go as planned.  In the face of this scenario, it humbles me to realize, all the freedoms that I have.  And equally, it spurs me on, in the face of all that I have been in gifted with, to do all that I can for those in my world, with less. 

   In the end, friends, what all of this is about, is love—pure and simple.  In our second reading today from the 1st letter of John, for the 7th Sunday of Easter, he tells us, “If we love one another, God dwells in us…and those who abide in love, abide in God and God in them.” And isn’t that what it is all about? –having God, “living in us!”

   I mentioned a week ago that I am reading, Bishop Michael Curry’s book, Love is the Way and throughout it, he speaks about the fact it isn’t always easy to know if what he is doing in any situation is, “the most loving thing.”  But for sure, on some level, “love” must be at the heart of all that we do.  At the end of the day, the question must always come, Curry says, “Do my actions looks like love?” And he says further, “All I can do is check myself, again and again[!]”

   I would like to conclude today with some words I wrote a few years back that still seem to be of worth.

  This Sunday calls our attention to the fact that we have arrived at the 7th and final Sunday of Easter, a season that has called us once again to the journey of the entire Church Year.  We have lived it reflectively from Advent through this Easter Season.  Advent prepared us to remember once again Jesus’ birth, then on through the quiet years of his youth when Scriptures tell us he “grew in wisdom and grace” and on through to his maturity when at one wonderful point in his adult life, he was able to proclaim in his hometown of Nazareth the Good News that captives, prisoners of all kinds—the poor and the lonely were now free—that their time of imprisonment was over!

  Our journey through the Church Year to now has called us to remember that because Jesus fought for the rights and equality of all, challenging those with a lust for power, that these same ones would take his life, as a result, on a Friday that would forever after be called, good.  Jesus’ life didn’t end there, we know, but continued beyond the grave to a new life that we will all experience one day.

   So much of this, my friends, is clearly mystery to us—that we can’t completely wrap our minds around, and we would do better to simply lay upon our hearts, knowing that one day, as Paul says, “We will see clearly.”

   Our life in faith is like this—it always calls us to look deeper than what appears on the surface.  If we just take the simple words of Jesus that “he will not leave us,” we know that he must have a deeper meaning because Ascension Thursday remembers the fact that Jesus did physically leave those who loved him in his earthly life. We all, in our lives experience the “leaving” of those that we love, through illness, death, disagreement and the list continues. We all experience times when we wonder where God is. Knowing the loneliness of the feeling that God is not present to us; we might have to look further and deeper to where God might be.

    The next step might be to ask as John seems to be in today’s Gospel—when did you do the loving thing—the gesture that was needed in a broken world? When did you give a share of your wealth so that others could have the basics of life? We, in this community will have the opportunity in the coming months and years to assist in the possible buying of property that would be used to shelter immigrants coming to this country seeking asylum. And the questions go on–when did you give comfort to a sad, lonely, forgotten person? When did you speak the word of truth that was needed to make a situation better?

   John says, when you do any of these things, you make Jesus present to our world again and again and again! The deeper idea that our brother Jesus wants us to get through his entire earthly life is that as his followers, it matters a great deal how we choose to live our lives.

   Our life in Christ, the resurrected Jesus will only be as good as we are willing to make it! That is truly what it is all about! So, if there are those who are suffering in any way in our world, it is because good people are not seeing, are not doing their part to make things better—to make Jesus present.

   Jesus is present in each of us if we allow him to be there and the only “Jesus” some people may see, and experience, may be through us!

Amen? Amen!

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Prayers of the Faithful

Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”

  1. Jesus, today we remember that your life among us has taken on a new form, but help us to always remember that you are with us, always, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Jesus, let peace reign in our hearts and give us the strength and grace to be people of peace, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Jesus, you who said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend, give us hearts that strive to love unconditionally, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Jesus, give the gift of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel for those suffering from discrimination of any kind in our world, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Jesus, you have called us friends—enable us to extend that relationship in our world to those who most need friendship, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Jesus, you no longer have a body in this world except through us—help us to be your hands and eyes and ears and heart for our world, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Jesus, your words in Scripture today remind us that we are to be one—to make a place for all at our table—help us to always remember that is why we are here in this community—to welcome all to our table—to your table, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Jesus, remind us this week as we prepare for the feast of Pentecost, that your Spirit lives within us enabling us to be your body for the needs of the world, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”
  • Loving Jesus, be with all families who have lost loved ones this week, from COVID and all other causes—give each one your peace and help them to find their way through their grief, we pray—Response: “Jesus, hear our prayer”

***Let us pray for the silent petitions on our hearts—pause, we pray, then response

Let Us Pray

   Jesus, be the strength we need each day to be a people renewed—true to our calling to be people of peace and of love. Let us never falter in our commitment to you and your world. Let us look at your people, always with love, remembering that you have called us friends—that you have given all that we might have eternal life with you. Let us always remember your never-failing love for each person and that because you have loved us so fully, we too must love fully in return.  Give us ever more open minds that we might see your face in each person we meet and therefore cease to judge others, but simply try and understand, to put ourselves in another’s shoes and then to simply look on them with love. We await anew the gift of your loving Spirit into our lives. Give us what we most need today so that we can more effectively be your body in our world. We ask all of this of you, our loving Savior and with the Creator and your loving Spirit— all, one God, living and loving us forever and ever, Amen.

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Let Us Pray—Again, we can’t share the bread of the altar, but do remember that our brother, Jesus, is always with us!

Prayer of Communion

Loving God, hear us and through all the mysteries of our lives, give us hope that the glory you have given Jesus will be given to the Church, his body, for he is our brother, living and loving us forever and ever, Amen.

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Bulletin – Ascension/7th Sunday of Easter in an Almost Time of Safety

/ kredig

NO SUNDAY MASS IN PERSON THIS WEEK–May 16, 2021

Next Zoom Mass is May 30, 2021 at 10 A.M. SAVE THE DATE!

Dear Friends,

Again, as in other years, I have combined two feasts, that of the Ascension and the 7th and last Sunday of Easter Season, using the 1st reading from the Ascension liturgy and the other two from the 7th Sunday of Easter.

With each ending comes a beginning. The time of Easter rejoicing calls us now, to being Christ’s hands, feet and hearts for our world.

Peace and love as we strive to do so!

Pastor Kathy

P.S. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch by phone, 507-429-3616 or by email, aaorcc2008@gmail.com if there is anything I can do–or even if you just want to chat!

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Readings:

  • Acts 1: 1-11
  • 1 John 4: 11-16
  • John 17: 11-19

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