Welcome

Welcome to you stranger looking for a church home,
Welcome to you long time Lutheran,
Or to you who are new to the faith.

Welcome to Christians of every traditions,
To those who have been hurt and disappointed
To those who want to be challenged more.

Welcome to old friends And new visitors
To people of all ages, sizes, colors, ability,
political and sexual orientation, marital status, or culture!

Welcome to those who have questions,
And to those who need answers,
To those who doubt or do not believe

Welcome to those who feel rejected,
And to those who are successful and strong!

Our church community is a place of shared grace, celebration, joy and spiritual growth! It is also a place of rest and peace where lives are made new!
Join us for worship. education, service, fun, fellowship! Join us in answering God’s call for each and every one of our lives! Join us in discovering God’s purpose for our personal life and our life together as community!

by Pastor Liliana Stahlberg - April 8, 2012

He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Please, take a close look at the icon Anastasis on the front page. It is found in the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Anastasis is the Greek for Resurrection. What is different in this icon is that Jesus is not alone. He is surrounded by the great saints of the OT and NT. It is known as the communal resurrection.  

Resurrection is not an individual act that happened long time ago in the human history, but an ongoing reality of our lives. It is not only the resurrection of Jesus, the Anointed One, but the resurrection of all people and all creation. During the time when Jesus was “dead” he went to sheol  (a dark and dusty place, like a grave) and resurrected everybody, beginning with Adam and Eve.  Christ is taking Adam and Eve (representing all humanity), by the hand taking them with him from sheol into his new life. We are also an integral part of that resurrection, which is God’s gift of grace to us.

And yet, even as we are promised life eternal, life with Christ, we are looking at death with a paralyzing fear. The end of our ego seems unbearable; the awareness of the inevitable end to this life keeps us anxious. To be human is to be anxious. We live our lives knowing that someday, our earthly existence is coming to an end. We experience death of loved ones and we cannot be con-soled. The pain of our loss is constant. Our emotional attachment to all whom we love keeps us constantly fearful. It is hard to live with the awareness of death. There is a huge restlessness inside the human soul.  One of the functions of all religions is to help people make sense of this existential anxiety.