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- General (11)
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- 27. June 2008: News
- 27. June 2008: Have you laughed today?
- 15. June 2008: News
- 15. June 2008: Have you laughed today?
- 15. June 2008: Pelle’s Thoughts
- 13. May 2008: Have you laughed today?
- 13. May 2008: Pelle's Thoughts
- 13. May 2008: News
- 6. May 2008: Smiles from the Bible
- 19. April 2008: By the way ...
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Archive for the General Category
News
27. June 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
Lease for new location finally signed!
After months of hard work the location finding team of All Saints Lutheran Church (ASLC) finally succeeded in securing a location for their additional site.
On Friday June 20th, 2008 council president Bill C. signed the lease for the storefront on Lafayette Street which will become the new center for sharing God’s love in the South Lyon area.
The only comments South Campus News got from ASLC members were broad smiles on their faces.
The storefront seems to be smaller and in less good shape than the one ASLC tried to secure before. But an interior decorator is already at work, and the south campus pastor is optimistic that this storefront will soon be a wonderful and bright place.
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Have you laughed today?
27. June 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
This does sound familiar somehow:
In the year 2008, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said, ‘Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me.
Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans’
He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, ‘You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights.’
Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark.
‘Noah!’ He roared, ‘I’m about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?’
‘Forgive me, Lord,’ begged Noah, ‘but things have changed. I needed a building permit. I’ve been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I’ve violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.
Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lin es and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark’s move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.
Getting the wood was another problem. There’s a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!
When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me.
They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodations were too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.
Then the EPA ruled that I couldn’t build the Ark until they’d conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood.
I’m still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I’m supposed to hire for my building crew.
Immigration and Naturalization are checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work.
The trades unions say I can’t use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience.
To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I’m trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.
So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark.’
Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, ‘You mean you’re not going to destroy the world?’
‘No,’ said the Lord. ‘The government beat me to it.’
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Have you laughed today?
13. May 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
Here is one that has been forwarded to me by a member of our congregation. Thanks!
In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and
Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the
Discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations
Afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had
No holiday to celebrate.
The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the long
Passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and
Declared, ‘Case dismissed!’
The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, ‘Your
Honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have
Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom
Kippur and Hanukkah…yet my client and all other atheists have no such Holiday!’
The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said, ‘Obviously your
Client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate his own
Atheist’s holiday!’
The lawyer pompously said, ‘Your Honor, we are unaware of any such
Date—April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as ‘April Fools Day,’
Consider that Psalm 14:1 states, ‘The fool says in his heart, there is no
God.’ Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by
Scripture, he is a fool, and April 1st is his holiday! Now have a good
Day and get out of my courtroom!!
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Pelle’s Thoughts
13. May 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
Did you know: Many teddy bears can accomplish a lot more than just one!
Many teddy bears can keep you a lot warmer than just one. Many teddy bears can absorb a lot more tears than just one when you are sad.And people are not that much different. O.K they are a little different: Real people are not as cute as we teddy bears are – in my opinion at least. But if it comes to teamwork we are pretty much the same. Many people can accomplish a lot more than a single person if they work together. TOGETHER is the key word!
I remember Pr. Pamela telling a story about an experience she made when she used to be a missionary in Papua-Newguinea. Together with two other women she went to Mount Hagen, a little city in the highlands of Papua-Newguinea, to do some grocery shopping at an outdoor marketplace. (By the way: You need to know that the roads in Papua-Newguinea are even worse than they are in Michigan.) After finishing the shopping the three women got back into the car – a very light weighed van - to drive back home. Pr. Pamela wanted to drive the van backwards out of the parking lot. What she didn’t know: There was big and pretty deep pothole right behind her. And: She drove right into it. The car got stuck halfway in the pothole and was about to tip over on its side because it was so light weighed. The two other women jumped out of the car and tried to keep it from falling over. But it was only the two of them and although they were clinging on the front of the van it was still swaying and about to tip over. Then suddenly a crowd of people came running toward the car. They were just around doing their shopping. But when they saw the swaying car in the pothole they came to help. Together they managed to get the car out of the pothole easily.
I know Pr. Pamela is still embarrassed about this but she is also very grateful for the help. Without that help the three of them would not have been able to keep the car from tipping over - let alone get it out of the pothole. But with so many other people lifting and pushing it was not a big deal.
You see: if people work together problems can easily be solved. If we put the weight of a problem on many shoulders instead of just one the problem isn’t so much of a problem anymore. Many people sharing what they have – strength, talent, ideas, resources – can make a great impact. I recently overheard Pr. Pamela talking to Kate Zywicki, our Director of Lay Ministries, about building teams. During that conversation Kate mentioned a wonderful acronym for the word team. I know: You are tempted to think that T.E.A.M. would stand for Teddies are most Exquisite, Adorable, and Magical. But that was not what was mentioned. (Too bad, I really like this one.) Kate said that T.E.A.M. stands for: Together Everyone Achieves More!Teamwork – working together - makes us all a lot more powerful than working alone. But “together” is not only about accomplishing more. “Together” is not only about accomplishing things faster. “Together” is not only about accomplishing things better. “Together” is also about having a lot more FUN in accomplishing things.
Pr. Pamela and her husband for example found out that they have a lot more fun when they cook together instead of taking turns. Even I am part of their cooking TEAM. Together everyone of us achieves more: more food, better taste, and of course more fun. When they start cooking together I usually take my place on the windowsill and give important advice about ingredients, or I just make them laugh. I would do all the chopping, peeling, seasoning, and frying as well, but I am too small for that. I wouldn’t even be able to hold the kitchen knife because it is bigger than I am, but still: I’m there, and I help with the little I can give.
And you know what: Even Jesus didn’t do everything by himself. He had help. He had his disciples. And there were not only the twelve disciples who were closest to him. There were the seventy-two he sent out after sending out the twelve. And Jesus was asking for even more because he knew that more people can achieve more: “The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” (Luke 10:1-2, New Living Translation)
I don’t know if you realized something else in this text except from the fact that Jesus wanted to have as many people as possible for the work in the Lord’s fields. I went through the text a few times before I noticed two little but very important words. Jesus didn’t send the seventy-two all by themselves! He sent them in pairs! Everyone of the seventy-two had someone else to walk with! They went in TEAMS of two. Remember: Together Everyone Achieves More!
Jesus still wants this TEAM to grow because the bigger the working team the greater the harvest in the Lord’s fields. A single person cannot take care of a whole field, let alone several fields. But many people can. A whole team can. The more we are the more we can get accomplished. But: it only works if we do it together.
So, whatever it is that needs to be done in the Lord’s fields: Let’s do it TOGETHER as a TEAM!
Yours Pelle
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Have you laughed today?
19. April 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
Laughter makes you live longer - or so they say.
Two women are shipwrecked on an island. Soon after reaching the island one of the women starts to panic and screams: “We’re going to die! We’re going to die! There is no food, no water, no shelter! We’re going to die!” The other one - propped up against a palm tree - is pretty relaxed. She doesn’t seem to be concerned at all.The first woman is still panicking and screaming: “We’re going to die! We’re going to die!” Then she realizes how calm the other one is and asks: “Why are you so relaxed? You don’t seem to be worried at all. Why is that”
The second woman answers: “ I earn $100.000 a week.”The first woman is confused, and says: “ This is a lot of money, but I don’t see how this can help you right now. Even if you had the money with you, there is no place on this whole island where you could buy fresh water, food or material for shelter. We’re going to DIE!” The second woman answers: “I earn $100.000 a week, I am a member of a church, and I tithe 10% on the $100.000 to the church. My pastor will find me!”
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News
16. March 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
The news is that the South Campus has a name, a vision and mission statement, and its own blog by now. If you made it already to www.slpowerandlight.org this is not really news for you 
And I know that you are waiting for some really important news – the news that we finally have a location. BUT: We have NOT found it yet. We are still looking.Part of the problem is that we don’t have an answer yet from Mission Investment Fund to the question if they will be able to purchase property or a building for us. They would hold it for three years, and we would start paying as soon as we have revenue coming in at our south campus. We would also have 0% interest at least for the first year. That would be a great help in terms of financing. What makes things difficult is the fact that the south campus is a second site of All Saints and not a mission development on its own. This kind of deal is usually not available for multi site congregations, only for a new mission start that is an entity on its own. It is also not so easy to find a location that meets our needs.
First of all we had to be clear about WHAT we want to do. Then we had to come up with HOW we want to it. The last step is to find out WHERE this is possible. Pastor Dave, the Location Finding Team and I have been working hard on these questions and this is the result:
All Saints Lutheran Church – South Campus Mission Statement
WHAT:
ASLC is establishing a south campus ministry in order to bring the Gospel to people who are not likely to ever attend a church related activity, who otherwise would not be exposed to the Gospel.
South Lyon Power and Light – Children of the Light, sharing God’s love.
HOW:
Activities which serve the people of South Lyon and offer them a real service, while offering our South Campus ministry the opportunity to form relationships with people who are not involved with any community of faith.
a. Activities that could happen out in the community: car wash at which a dollar is given away to every person who comes through; yard work for the needy; snow removal for the needy; grocery shopping for the needy; battery distribution for smoke detectors.
b. Activities that could happen at a South Campus Location: tutoring; ESL classes; parenting classes/support group (free daycare provided); drama classes; music classes (youth choir for South Lyon); motorcycle Safety classes; bible Study for beginners; coffee house; concerts; worship; yoga; karate.
WHERE:
Location requirements:
I. Welcoming, cozy space.
a. Bright. b. Pleasant.
II. Space to accommodate 150 people.
III. High visibility to local residents.
a. Preferably downtown.
IV. Extremely flexible. a. Office space. b. Meeting space for all ages. c. Worship space.
V. Positive reputation in the community.
VI. Plenty of access to parking.
VII. NOT a church-like building.
VIII. $20,000.00 annual budget for lease/rent.
The mission statement looks pretty impressive, doesn’t it? We have come this far and all that’s left, is to find the place in South Lyon that matches this mission statement. As if it were that easy! Yes, starting an additional campus is exciting and a lot of fun. And yes: starting an additional campus is also sometimes frustrating and even discouraging.This reminds me of a picture on the door of the teacher’s lounge at the secondary school where I used to teach:
NEVER EVER GIVE UP
And never ever loose trust in God!
Pr. Pamela
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Pelle’s Thoughts
16. March 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
How do we know that it’s really spring?
I have been pondering about this for quite a while, and this is what I came up with after evaluating my own experiences:
You know it’s really spring when:
- there is no more Christmas decoration at your house because it fell apart during the last snowstorm.
- your fleece sweaters disappear in the laundry (usually this only happens to single socks).
- your neighbors simultaneously ignite their leaf blowers and create an ear deafening noise you haven’t heard since last October.
- the melting snow reveals the outdoor furniture on your back deck (you thought you had stored it in the basement).
- gasoline prices hit $4,- per gallon.
- the snow is gone and you can fill more than one garbage bin with dog poop from your backyard.
- someone in the family insists on getting a new BBQ grill.
- the roads are more slippery than ever after a snowstorm because contractors have run out of salt by now.
- a table collapses under the weight of outdoor catalogues and brochures.
- temperatures drop below 32°F and you realize that you’ve run out of firewood.
But now seriously:
You know it is spring when you see nature awakening from a long and cold sleep! You know it is spring when you realize that the sunbeams are more powerful and warming! You know it is spring when everything seems to be much more filled with life! Spring is God’s way of showing us that God is the God of creation and the God of life.
And this is my wish for all of you during this time of reawakening: May the blessing of God’s soft rain be on you, falling gently on your head, refreshing your soul with the sweetness of summer flowers newly blooming. (Irish Blessing)
Yours Pelle
P.S.: You know it’s spring when someone unexpectedly shows up at your door and gives you a bouquet of spring flowers. Just happened to Pr. Pamela while she was typing this article for me. THANKS!
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Who Is This Teddy Bear?
16. March 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
Hi, my name is Pelle!
I am the teddy bear of Pastor Pamela and her husband. I came over from Germany together with them because I was sure: without me, they are lost! I look after them. I am a mascot, a friend, a counselor, a copilot and sometimes even a pillow to them, like every other well trained stuffed animal. I like to be part of everything that is going on in Pr. Pamela’s life including her ministry as a pastor. This is why I transferred from All Saints Lutheran Church in Hartland to the South Lyon Campus. I also enjoy sharing my experiences and thoughts, and so I became Pr. Pamela’s ghostwriter. Or did she actually become my ghostwriter? Anyway, here I am: the most theologically educated and most mission oriented teddy bear you’ve probably ever met!
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Have you laughed today?
10. March 2008 by Pastor Pamela.
Laughter makes you live longer - or so they say.
A new pastor was visiting the homes of his parishioners.
At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a card and wrote “Revelation 3:20″ on the back of it and stuck it underneath the windshield wiper of the car that was parked in the driveway.
The following Sunday after the worship service the pastor left the church and walked over to his car. Underneath the windshield wiper he found the card he had written a few days ago. Added to his note was another one saying: “Genesis 3:10.”
He reached out for his Bible to check out the citations.
Revelation 3:20 says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” Genesis 3:10 reads, “I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid, for I was naked.”
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