October 2015
The Pastor’s Ponderings Pastor David’s cell phone—348-330-4170 and email address—fleeneda@gmail.com As we approach the threshold of our 150th anniversary as a congregation, I’ve been reflecting on why we can be so interested in our personal history. According to a Time article a while back, genealogy has become the second most popular hobby in the United States, after gardening. There is something in us that is drawn to explore the past and learn where we came from. This exploration is a way we ponder questions of identity, and perhaps in a tangential way, purpose. Who am I and why am I here? St. Augustine, who was a major influence on Luther and his theology, wrote, “You (God) have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” God
made us out of God’s own goodness and love which overflows from God’s being. When we study the past, we are studying, in part, how God has dealt with people like us. Our ancestor’s stories are then, in a sense, scripture. Anton T. Boisen, the father of clinical pastoral education (the chaplaincy experience that every seminarian experiences) called the patients he ministered to “living human documents”. Each of our lives is a story, and that story has God as a main player. Of course, when we study the past we can get stuck there. It can be easy to romanticize what was, to think of times past as “the good old days”, forgetting the many trials and troubles of those times. That’s why when we learn about the past, we should remember that we don’t learn about the past for its own
Zion’s 2015 Council Members Elder & President .......................................................................... Chris Coy Elder & Vice-President ............................................................. Jody Stanley Secretary ...................................................................................... Anita Reid Deacons ..................................................................................... Cindy Knote Scott Clamme Drew Walker Trustees ................................................................................ John Hendricks Chris Stroble Tom Armstrong Treasurer ................................................................................. Max Langdon Financial Secretaries ............................................................ Sandy Langdon Madeline Lennon
sake, not just to know where we came from, but to get an idea of where we are going. That is the approach I want to take to the study of Lutherans in America that we will be having in October. As we learn about our ancestors in faith, we get an idea about how God dealt with them and how they lived their lives in this new world. And in learning about those things, we can turn our hearts to ponder how God is working in our lives now, calling us to see the new thing he is doing among us. I hope you will join us. We begin on Monday nights, beginning October 12th at 7 PM in the church library. Love to you, Pr. David
Harvest Ball Grace Village is hosting its 6th Annual Harvest Ball on Saturday, October 17th at 7 PM at Tonne Winery, 101 W. Royerton Road, Muncie. Tickets are $15 and include wine samples, non-alcoholic beverages and hors d'oeuvres. Dress up a little and enjoy a nice evening out! Talk to Pr. David for tickets.