Fairhaven, MN
November 1, 2021 (All Saints’ Day) Dear Friends, Today we thank God for all his faithful departed, those who were loved by him and given a blessed death, those of whom the world was not worthy. There’s a beautiful Norwegian hymn written for the commemoration. Here’s a recording, and here
October 25, 2021 Dear Friends, The Church has a color-coded calendar. You look at it every Sunday in the paraments (decorative cloths) that are on the pulpit, lectern, and altar, and in the stole (looks like a scarf) that I wear around my neck. It’s a helpful way to observe
October 18, 2021 Dear Friends, A bunch of information today: First, a reminder that Men’s Bible Study will meet this week on Wednesday at 8pm. Next, the Sunday School kids have been practicing the first verse of “Thy Strong Word”, which we’ll sing in church on Reformation Day (Sunday, October
October 12, 2021 Dear Friends, With a Confirmation coming up this Sunday, it’s a good time to think again about preparation for the Lord’s Supper. We confess and are absolved every Sunday before approaching the altar, and it is fitting for you to spend time examining yourself beforehand so that
September 28, 2021 Dear Friends, Think a moment about the name of our church. Names often become so familiar that we lose their meaning. Concordia is a Latin word that means something like one-heartedness. It’s a word for unity and harmony. It’s the word that was used to describe the
September 21, 2021 Dear Friends, Here’s another historic festival of the church for you. On September 21, the church remembers St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. This is the fellow who was called by Jesus while he sat at his tax collector’s booth (Mt. 9:9-13) and who wrote the Gospel of
September 14, 2021 Dear Friends, For many hundreds of years, the church has marked September 14 as Holy Cross Day. This day has, at times, been connected with devotion to relics. There are some churches throughout the world that claim to have a piece or pieces of the cross in
September 7, 2021 Dear Friends, The Christian faith is profoundly simple. It is simple in spite of our best efforts to complicate and confuse and confound. What the kids know so well is what matters most of all: Jesus loves me, and so he died for my sins. In your
August 30, 2021 Dear Friends, Let’s get started! Here’s a friendly reminder that the Bible Reading plan for Catechism begins on September 1! If you need a copy, you can find it here: Here’s the first week: Down the road, I’ll be updating the schedule to include matching readings straight
August 23, 2021 Dear Friends, Imagine that you’re at the eye doctor for a checkup – things have been a little blurry lately. The optometrist tests your vision and discovers that your eyesight has gotten poorer. Sure enough, you need something to correct your vision. So, the doctor writes you