from Brian Furan, Facilities Supervisor
These days, you can’t turn on the news, go online or open a newspaper without seeing more and more about global warming, the environment and being ‘green’ (environmentally friendly.) By doing what we can to conserve energy here at Gethsemane and at home, we are contributing to a much larger effort that can produce massive results!
For instance, if every household in America replaced just one normal, incandescent bulb with an EPA certified compact fluorescent bulb (available at all hardware stores), it would save enough energy in one year to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equal to more than 800,000 cars!
So what can we do here at Gethsemane? Replacing light bulbs is a great idea, but not inexpensive. To replace the bulbs in the Sanctuary and Narthex areas (about the only area in the building that does not use fluorescent lighting) would cost around $1,800 and provide a savings of about $200 year – requiring 9 years to recover the initial cost! However, it’s not just about the cost savings. Replacing those same lights would reduce our energy use for those fixtures by 60% - a big step toward reducing overall energy consumption!
We can ALL make an immediate difference by just doing a few simple things when we are at church.
- Simply wiping your shoes well on the way in can make a difference in the energy and resources needed to keep the carpets clean.
- Turn off lights and air conditioners when you are finished using a room.
- Recycle instead of just tossing in the nearest garbage can. We have can recycling containers around the building, and containers for paper, glass and plastic are located next to the walk-in cooler in the kitchen, as well as a large red barrel for paper in the work room.
- Ink cartridges, cell phones and cell phone batteries can be recycled in a container located next to the front desk.
- Cardboard can be recycled in the paper dumpster located behind the garage, or left next to the maintenance office downstairs.
Other steps being taken include using paper products such as towels and tissues from recycled materials and certified ‘green’ industries, and researching bio-degradeable cleaning products and methods to reduce cleaning waste.
In addition, we have applied for an Energy Audit from Centerpoint Energy, who will evaluate our entire facility and make recommendations to improve our energy use and hopefully cut energy costs.
Together, we can all take little steps towards making a big difference at Gethsemane, and hopefully be an inspiration for others in our community to work toward a cleaner, better environment for our future generations to enjoy!
from Pastor John Nelson
I must admit that beginning my call to Gethsemane during Holy Week sounded like a great idea when we first came up with it. However, six services, a funeral, and an Easter Festival all packed into my first five days made my head spin so fast that the rest of the staff were wondering if I would even show up the next week. Well, I came back because the call I took was to journey together with you, through holy week, through life, and through faith, no matter what.
I find the journey of faith is often similar to the climbing of a mountain. When you start along your path you have trees to guide you, it looks genteel, but soon the incline increases and as you get above timberline the near horizon looks more and more daunting. You work hard to get there but upon reaching it you soon realize that you have arrived at a false ridge because the mountain simply continues to rise ahead of you. In the course of a climb you will face several of these false ridges, as well as several unexpected descents only to have to regain ground you had once already achieved. The important thing throughout is to remain dedicated to the goal of reaching the summit and to learn to enjoy the climb. At Gethsemane we are at the beginning of a new journey, and one that looks to be quite an adventure for all involved.
The call process is now over, the farewell and welcome parties have come and gone, and now the real work has begun. What work is that, you ask? Well, it is simply trying to live a life of discipleship! To grow in our relationship with Christ to the full maturity of faith as the Apostle Paul once wrote. We have begun this journey as a congregation, as a staff, and each one of us individually. It is a journey that will have many ups and downs, will take great effort and focus, but it is one that will be an enriching experience for all. When Christ called his disciples, he never said it was going to be easy work. Discipleship by definition is the act of dedicating yourself to follow where Christ leads. Our task is to grow in our faith and keep our eyes open to the opportunities God is laying before us. Those opportunities might bring change and they might cause us to act or look different than we once were. The reality is Christ never left the people he encountered as they were; he always challenged them to examine their life, to grow in their faith, and to serve one another for the glory of God.
On Wednesday, April 30, I invite you to join me for a “Fireside Chat,” the first of several opportunities to begin the discussion of what the next steps of our journey together at Gethsemane might be. I plan to have numerous small group gatherings like this where I can get to know you better, learn what Gethsemane means to you, and what you are passionate about. Then we will begin the discussion of where we think God is leading us together. If you would like to host a small group gathering in your home please contact me and we can line one up. I hope to reach as much of the congregation as I can by the end of the summer.
The church council has also begun to work with the staff in formulating a long range plan for the mission and vision at Gethsemane. Our objective is to set a vision for what we hope to become and map out the first steps it will take to get us there. It is a journey we will take together and adjust from year to year as the terrain and circumstances dictate. Your feedback in our “Fireside Chats” will help shape that planning and the ways we can be the church together.
These are exciting times, similar to the time of Pentecost in the early church. God is at work here. God’s spirit is loose among God’s people. “Our youth are seeing visions and our old men are dreaming dreams.” Anything can happen and most likely will. It is a marvelous and strenuous, exhilarating and fascinating journey we have begun. This journey is called life and it is undertaken by the gift of God’s grace. We are each called to live as disciples and take part in the coming of God’s Kingdom. Join with us on this adventure and I promise you will be greatly enriched by the grace of God.
from Bob Windels, The Youth Guy
I returned recently from Week-long Leadership Training, the Gamaliel Foundation’s grueling crash course in psychology, economics, Christian ethics, American politics, and “the Path to Power.”
Although “power” is, to some, a dirty word (because others have wielded it without compassion or responsibility, or have guarded their power jealously instead of sharing it), in the interest of becoming effective leaders, Gamaliel encouraged us to want power and influence: power to be heard, power to take on a righteous cause and to effect change, and power to get our own needs met in addition to the community’s. And we were instructed not to be shy about seeking power that would enable our success.
A key part of this curriculum was training leaders to build power by establishing individual relationships with people through conversations that go way past sports and weather, in the pursuit of understanding what they care about and why, and then to challenge those individuals to accomplish the things they say they value. When interviewing others out of a sincere regard and curiosity to know them, these conversations often uncover mutual ambitions, and the organization’s goals are advanced as its members get activated to be passionate, bold and productive in pursuit of their vision. So at training we practiced these one-to-one interview skills on each other and we were pressed to name that “self-interest” that could drive us to make things happen. For some, it was righting an old wrong, overcoming some kind of oppression. For others, it was a personal ambition or need, like “I want the system to work so that my daughter has access to health care.”
Although most of my Gamaliel classmates were attending as part of community action groups that are combatting economic injustice and seeking to influence public policy, a few of us represented congregations that are not yet formally aligned with a coalition such as ISAIAH, the Twin Cities organization of 100-some churches. Like the 10 Gethsemane leaders who attended a previous training last August, we struggled at times to apply Gamaliel’s leadership lessons to our areas of ministry, and to overcome our Midwestern Lutheran patterns of personal modesty, politeness and patience when facing some conflict or obstacle to our own self-interests. I will continue wrestling with how I use this training in my ministry to and with GLC teens. But since I do believe the Christian church is called to serve the whole community, I’m ready and eager to see Gethsemane step into that arena, address real needs of our neighbors, and be an advocate for healthy change. “Faith is personal but it should be public, not private.” Speaking up about our values is appropriate and Biblical. I look forward to finding out where we can grab on and help pull that plow forward… because the need is great indeed. Membership in ISAIAH is a good first step.
The component of training that was the biggest stretch for some of us was the concept of “agitating” (challenging) another person to honor the importance of his/her commitments and values by confronting and pushing him/her to live up to them. My biggest insight of the week, though, was the teaching that we agitate others as an “act of love.” We want to see them live up to their potential, succeed, grow, and be good stewards of their God-given gifts. We seek to help them get out of their own way, overcome self-doubts, not take the easy way out, and not cheat themselves out of the opportunities before them. And if we take that responsibility seriously, we take some calculated risks to shake people out of their complacency.
Jesus Christ modeled “loving our neighbor” by treating widows and lepers with compassion and respect but also by boldly calling out the rich and powerful, holding them accountable for hypocritical teaching and for failing to live righteously. (As Pr. Laurie pointed out recently, that’s how he got himself killed!) He spoke truth to power, not to be mean but to be faithful to his mission: to draw his people back to God. And he didn’t have time to be polite about it. Like the prophets who came before him, Jesus said things that were hard to hear but necessary. Martin Luther continued this tradition later, out of love for the church.
At other times, Jesus needed to confront his friends, like Peter (“Get thee behind me, Satan!”). But he did this within the context of a relationship which they could trust as true and loving. Later, Paul’s letters to the early church leaders very often challenged them to remember Jesus’ words, insisted they not fall away or lose courage, and exhorted them to hold each other accountable to lead godly lives and continue to spread the Gospel. Paul never said, “Okay, I think you guys are doing it well enough. Go ahead and coast…” He used his relationships with them to coach them onward to grow the church and to never be satisfied.
I’m out of space but when I write again in May, I’ll let you know where I think we need to go with our youth ministry. In the meantime, I will practice being more bold, and maybe less polite…
from Senior Pastor John Nelson
Dear Gethsemane,
I am greatly honored that you have voted to call me to become your next senior pastor at Gethsemane Lutheran. I humbly accept your invitation and look forward to journeying with you in mission and ministry. Over the past several months it has been my pleasure to get to know your congregation. I am truly excited about what God is doing in your midst and the direction in which God is leading this community of faith.
Gethsemane has many gifts, both with a highly talented staff and a strong group of spirited lay leaders. I am delighted to be provided the opportunity to work with them. Together I know we will build a strong and united team that is focused on leading the whole congregation in growing deeper in their walk of faith and to reach out to the larger community with the love of Christ Jesus.
I will be joining Gethsemane right in the middle of Holy Week and can think of no better beginning than to journey with you to the cross of Christ and celebrate his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday. God bless you and keep you in his grace.
In Christ’s Peace,
Pastor John D. F. Nelson
from Interim Senior Pastor Keith Olstad
Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12.24 NRSV
It’s hard enough to say good-bye, but then to follow that very quickly with a warm and genuine welcome can be challenging! Landlords know that; hospital and nursing home staffs know that; and congregations facing changes in pastors know that.
But as the Apostle John remembers Jesus teaching, the cycles of life apply to us all. Not only do we need to face our actual deaths, but during each lifetime we face myriad small and large deaths in jobs, in residences, in programs and in relationships. Jesus’ use of the grain of wheat is instructive. The dying of the seed in the earth is not simply the passing of one item into oblivion, but rather a process that engenders the birth and development of something new. Not only is the process natural, but it is holy! God loves the bringing of new life and hope to all settings!
So thank you for treating me so well as we finished our interim work together and for sending me off well. I felt very sad about leaving you. I don’t mean to be overly dramatic, but it was a bit of a death for me, and I hope that you can acknowledge a bit of that too. I have delighted in being one of your pastors for the past fifteen months, and I know that Libby was glad to worship with you and get to know some of you. Thank you for your gracious hospitality to us during this “in between” time.
Now we’ve left you, and are moving on with our lives. It is for us both a death and a resurrection. I will keep your pastors informed about my next assignments so that they can let you know through this newsletter what’s happened to us. We will appreciate your thoughts and prayers of concern and support during this week, and want you to be able to celebrate our next steps in life as well.
But during this week you can and should switch your attention to the reconfiguration of your staff team with Pastor John’s arrival. Welcome him well! Let him know how glad you are to add his ministry to the wonderful work of your staff team and lay leaders. Together you will accomplish great things in ministry together. Greet his family, and join them to the wonderful community that makes up Gethsemane.
I hope and pray for you to have a long and rich life together in mission and ministry for our triune God.
