CONTACTING ZION: PASTOR'S PAGE -  FALL 2004
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Pastor’s Message

 Dear members and friends of Zion ,

A German (schwäbisch, to be precise…) theologian of the early 20^th century, Adolf Schlatter, is to have said:

Wer auch nur eines Menschen Herz bewogen hat, Gott zu danken,
der hat nicht umsonst gelebt.

Whoever has moved just one person’s heart to give thanks to God, has not lived in vain.

Of all the many attempts to describe the sense and purpose of life, I find this one to be among the most moving and wonderful. We will not be able to change the world; we might not even be able to change our neighbor, but we – and anybody, for that matter, regardless of one’s background, education, ability or what have you – might be able to move just one human being’s heart, and move it in a way that is not selfish, but letting that person look up and give thanks to God, our creator and redeemer.

A heart that has been moved to give thanks, to be grateful, will pulse in a different way: with more love, and less hatred, more praise, and less lamentation.

Indeed, in the Hebrew language, the word for “giving thanks” is the same as “praise”.
Both dimensions are woven into each other, like in Psalm 100:4:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

Due to our celebrating of Erntedankfest/Harvest Festival on the first Sunday in October in accordance with the German custom, we here at Zion have a whole season of Thanksgiving from early October to late November – a good time to get our hearts moved or to move other people’s heart to give thanks to God, and to experience in worship and life the link between giving thanks and praise.

And there is a lot we give thanks for this season:

-        we are approaching our 250^th anniversary year (in case you haven’t noticed yet …)

-        we were carried through the summer lows with help of many a dedicated volunteer

-        we got Heidi Zlamal as Deacon Intern for a whole year from Germany and are able to fund her from our Weber Internship Fund

-        we managed the transition of our sexton leaving with the discovery of new strengths, of well known and tested as well as hitherto unknown talents and resources

-        we welcome Brigitte Hultgren as our new sexton, starting September 27

-        we have a full and exciting Fall program of hospitality and education

-        our German language school is off to another promising year

-        and most of all, although being a small church, we have a big heart and the best bunch of volunteers

I invite you to be both thankful and bold. Because there is so much to give thanks for, I urge you to be more assertive and outgoing (knowing that this is hard for some Germans…). Join the Evangelism Committee’s outreach on the Farmer’s Market to tell others how great this place and congregation is, give thanks through a donation to the Door Ministry, let your grateful heart count the blessings received in this church and let your heart speak to your mind and purse about your contribution or our Restoration Campaign!

In September, I spent a week in Canada on DELKINA business and saw some German speaking congregations north of the border: St. George’s and First (100 years younger than Zion but still first in town) in Toronto , and Martin Luther in Ottawa . Looking into those congregations and consulting with them in my capacity as President of DELKINA helped me to have a fresh look at some of Zion’s, some of our strengths – and it helped me to give thanks with a grateful heart for what I have in my call here, and to reaffirm my commitment to you, sisters and brothers.

Have a good season of Thanksgiving! Einen schönen Herbst wünscht Ihnen Ihr

Pastor Dr. Holger Roggelin

Pastor Roggelin's Archive of Past Messages From Zion