Pastor's Pen - June 2006

Dear Friends in Christ,

The Festival of Pentecost will be celebrated on Sunday, June 4. This festival marks the outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the believers following the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus the Christ. From then until now, the Spirit has continued to be poured out upon God’s people , strengthening them for faithful witness and service in response to the faith and love that God has given so generously and freely.

This month Mansfield Lutheran, and indirectly United Lutheran, celebrates 125 years of ministry in this place in God’s world. On its own certainly a significant period of time and yet in relationship to the history of the Church it is just a small portion of the time of grace that God has given to the whole of God’s creation. This perspective can help us to avoid the pitfall of just looking to the past and what might be considered the "good old days". Rather we can concentrate on the blessings of courageous believers in years past who have made the continuation of ministry possible yet today as well as seek to discern the ways in which we can continue this gospel ministry into the future.

Interestingly, Mansfield and St. John’s, a predecessor of Untied, shared ministry in their very beginnings and now 125 years later are doing the same. Perhaps the lesson of cooperation and complimenting the gifts and strengths of one another will not be lost upon us and generations yet to come.

Called, gathered, enlightened, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, as Luther tells us in the Small Catechism, is to be called into faithful community as the people of God. We are not called as individuals, whether as persons or congregations. We are called to be in fellowship with others to better witness to the love of God revealed in Jesus. Together we rejoice, together we weep, and together we proclaim the good news for the sake of a world that continues to be in need.

In this month of Pentecost and an anniversary celebration, let us pray that the Spirit of God continues to be poured out upon us as we faithfully serve the gospel message in this time and place. Uncertain perhaps of what tomorrow holds, but confident of the ultimate promise of victory in our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.