Bayshore Lutheran Church

God's Work. Our hands.

pastorblog

From the Pastor, April 7, 2022

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My friends,

Holy Week begins this Sunday with a new entrance—literally. This Sunday, as we celebrate Palm Sunday, we will process into the church with our palm branches.

For the 8 am service, we will gather in the narthex of the church with bulletins and palms to begin our service before processing to our seats.

For the 10 am service, we will gather outside in the parking lot with bulletins and palms. At 10 am, we will start our service (again, outside!) and then process together into the church. For those who are able, we will walk around the church on the Wildwood sidewalk to the front entrance and enter there. For those who prefer, you may use the parking lot entrance and shorten your walk.

Palm Sunday begins with joy and song, and flows into the Passion story of our Lord. We will hear the entire Passion story read from the gospel of Luke to prepare our hearts for the week ahead. With our different entrance into worship, we are acknowledging that this week is not only different but the highlight of our Christian journey together. So, together, let’s walk into Holy Week.

Join us this Sunday in person if you are able, or online through the livestream. Let us be together this Holy season.

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Sarah

From the Pastor, March 9, 2022

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Dear friends,
Lent has truly begun, and I find myself already struggling with my chosen fast. My prayer time, however, has been grounded in my renewed practice to pray over my first cup of coffee. (Did I tell myself that I cannot have coffee unless I pray, as an incentive? Yes, I did….)
 
Perhaps you are struggling to get your prayer time started. Perhaps it seems just, well, not achievable.
 
I understand, I do.
 
When I struggle the most, I have a theologian that I turn to–Henri Nouwen. I find him to be deeply spiritual, deeply honest and real.  I also found out very recently that he and Fred Rogers were close friends and shared a frequent correspondence. That makes sense. So I share with you Henri’s Prayer for Lent.  I pray it helps you this season.
 
Blessings and peace,
Pastor Sarah
 

The Lenten season begins. It is a time to be with you, Lord, in a special way, a time to pray, to fast, and thus to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha, and to the final victory over death.

I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life.

I know that Lent is going to be a very hard time for me. The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. There are not times or places without choices. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you.

Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and in every place. Give me the strength and the courage to live this season faithfully, so that, when Easter comes, I will be able to taste with joy the new life that you have prepared for me. Amen.

From the Pastor, February 17, 2022

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Greetings, Bay Shore!

This Sunday, we thankfully return to in-person worship at 9:30 a.m. followed by our 2021 Annual Congregational Meeting. Both will be in the sanctuary, and masks continue to be required when you are in any part of the building.

I am truly excited to begin in-person worship again because we have some more things to share—we will return to singing.

Yep, you read that correctly. We are returning to singing hymns in church. But to do this, we are asking for your continued help and support of being safe as we worship together. 

Please wear a tight-fitting mask, preferably the N95/K95s that the CDC recommends. We will keep our masks on the entire service except when you partake Holy Communion in your pew. To keep our services still short, we will not sing every verse in the hymns or have a postlude. We will have a prelude, and it will begin promptly 5 minutes before the start of our services. 

We will also continue sitting every other pew in our sanctuary. This allows social distancing, especially as we add singing. Please do space yourselves out in the sanctuary and remember if you arrive a little late—there is an expanded aisle halfway back that allows access to the other side’s pews.

We will continue to use the packaged communion cups and wafers. Like before, please come forward to receive communion, and then return to your seats where you can open it and complete communion in the pew. Also remember, Pastor and the Assisting Minister will hold the trays out, but will not touch the communion packages. If you or your child would like communion, please take it from the trays. We will say the words when you take the package.

It goes without saying, if you have recently tested positive for COVID, been closely exposed to COVID, or simply do not feel well for ANY reason—please stay home and watch our service online. We are asking our members to monitor this themselves, and we thank you for doing so.

I feel that this Sunday we are one more step closer to “normal.” In truth, I believe we will continue to have some changes that stay, and others that we will all be glad are over in our communities and places we visit. I am grateful for the infection and hospital numbers going down, a new vaccine for children in the pipeline, and more. I continue to pray for our healthcare workers, the National Guard deployed, and all who serve front line during this long pandemic. Council will continue to watch the best practices of mask wearing in our schools, communities and the guidelines we have available. Please join me in thanking our Council for their thoughtful leadership during these challenging times.

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Sarah

From the Pastor, February 3, 2022

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What can a can of soup do?

No, it’s not meant to be a tongue twister, but a sincere question! What can one can of soup do?

A can of soup can literally be the one meal for a person for the day.

In the case of the soup can here, this literally is a quick way to receive some nutrition and fill a belly. The can here requires no can opener, and it’s been cooked already so it could, if (sadly) necessary, be eaten cold. It can also be heated on a stove or in a microwave. It requires no water or milk and provides 22% of the recommended daily protein for the average adult.

I do realize that this is not a perfect meal, and for some—way too much sodium and preservatives. I understand that. But I also understand hunger, and when you’re hungry—none of those things matter. What matters to a hungry soul is how easy it is to cook, and how fast my child can eat it. Items that require tools, special pans, and added ingredients—those are stumbling blocks to the hungry. So that’s why I buy soups like this one. I keep it simple.

Souper Bowl of Caring has been around a long time, and through this food drive, churches stock up the shelves during lean times—when businesses and others do not donate for the holiday season. And yet, it’s still winter, people are still hungry, and the food banks see increases in people seeking assistance. Food insecurity is real, and a serious problem in our community. Souper Bowl brings this to our attention and through a fun advertising gimmick pushes us to compete and stock up those shelves.

Our collected canned offerings will go to a local food bank here in Milwaukee—I have three that I will be calling to see who has the greatest need, and we will deliver what we have there. The funds we receive will be collected and then given directly to the Hunger Task Force to use to buy food in bulk and to pass out to those in need in our county.

You are welcome to contribute in any way you can (yes, that’s a bad pun). If you are unable to drop off cans of soup when the church is open, perhaps you are able to send a check in the mail. But since this is NOT a competition, just buy some soup and drop it off yourself somewhere. I am sure wherever you drop it off, they will need it and be grateful.

Sometimes loving your neighbor is by providing a can of soup. Yes, sometimes it is that easy to love.

Blessings, peace and love to you,

Pastor Sarah

From the Pastor, January 26, 2022

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Greetings, Bay Shore!

This Sunday is the last Sunday of January, and it’s been a cold month. It’s also been a hard month for many in our greater community with the rising costs of food and utilities. Now, more than ever, our gifts of canned soup are needed for the local food banks. Donations come in before Christmas, with the season of generosity stirring hearts, but January and February tend to be the leanest months for those in need and for the food bank’s donations.

Souper Bowl of Caring happens every year, and it’s a fun thing to tie it in with the Super Bowl—synods with the competing teams often have competitions of their own for the most gifts to the cause. I had a LOT of fun when the Eagles were in a few years back. My bishop was not shy wearing the jersey on Sundays! This year, I know—the Pack is not in—but we can still support the Souper Bowl and those in need.

So here are a few ways you can help:

  1. Our collection is from February 1 through Feb 14 only.
  2. Drop off canned soup to the church when the office is open. Please limit your offering to canned soup (or canned vegetables if you see a good sale).
  3. Soup that does NOT require milk is strongly preferred by local food banks. In fact, the most helpful soups to donate are “ready to eat” or “ready to serve.”
  4. If you desire, you can send a check to the church marked “soup” in the memo, and we will pass on all donated funds received to the Hunger Task Force. They are able to buy soup and other canned goods in bulk, and it does make our dollars stretch more. Please send your donation early so that we can process it all by February 14.

The cans will be delivered to a local food bank based on need. (I have three in mind, and will find out which food bank needs the soup the most after Feb. 14.)

I have no “goal” in mind, but if every household at Bay Shore participated—what an impact that would be!

Thank you for your generosity during this time of challenge for many in the Milwaukee area.

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Sarah

From the Pastor, January 12, 2021

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Greetings, Bay Shore!

It has been a very busy week, it’s like a hive with many bees/emails/phone calls/mail coming in and out. With my absence most of last week, I am frankly a week behind and hopefully will catch up.

I have two very important things to share with you today.

First, this Sunday we will be livestreaming our service at 10 a.m. Please join us online at 10 am, or later in the day as your schedule allows. Even though we are not worshipping in person right now, please remember to continue your offerings as you normally would.

Secondly, I would like to share more details about Monday’s MLK Day of Service. 

Part of the hive activity this week has been our preparation for this event. We have shared our event now with the Synod, through the local group—Bay Bridge, and now through the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel! We are excited how this event has really made our church on Hampton more visible.

But, we are hearing from many that they still aren’t sure what is happening! And that’s understandable, since this has never happened before at Bay Shore.

This Monday, from 10:30-1:00, we will open our doors for those fully vaccinated volunteers who have signed up to be onsite to work on several projects that we will complete by 1:00 p.m.  We also will have a pick up system in place for those who have volunteered, but prefer to do the projects at home (we are calling this “remote” on the signups).

What are the projects? We are assembling a couple different kinds of “kits,” and we are making sandwiches for “Just One More” Ministry—which supports and feeds our Hephatha neighbors as well as others.

Both volunteer groups, in person and remote options, will be completing kits and making sandwiches for local charities in our area. In appreciation, and through grants from Thrivent, we are able to provide boxed lunches for our volunteers.

FYI: We have fulfilled our supply list for the number of kits and sandwiches that we have promised to deliver. We hope that next year, with more early volunteer sign ups and gifts, we can plan more. For now, we are grateful for what we will be able to do. Much of this first event is being funded by a generous grant from the Bay Shore Lutheran Church Foundation as a kick start to this new program.

How to volunteer? Please pre-register and sign up by clicking here.  Once you volunteer, you will receive more detailed information. Please pre-register, and let us know your preference in volunteering. Julie Murphy, our Chair, will be in touch to help you prepare for the event.

I am grateful for Julie Murphy’s leadership with this idea that I shared with her almost two years ago. Julie, with the full support of the Social Ministry Committee, has handled the responsibility of this new program at Bay Shore. Thank you, Julie!

I participated in MLK Day of Service events in Pennsylvania—and I missed it after moving here. My first experience was at a local church, not my own, that had been doing it for 10 years. They had hundreds of volunteers, and a year long task force that handled the preparations each year. My second and third experiences were at my own church—which we started in faith after attending the other church’s event. Our first year, it was small but well received. Our second year? We doubled in size and really expanded our projects and more.  I am prayerful that we too will be impactful this first year and expand each year after.  Join me, as you are able, on Monday as we serve others in our community. Let’s make a difference, and also share the good community that we have here at Bay Shore!

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Sarah