Message from Pastor Stanton for May 2020
There were no voice recorders in the 1500s, so we don’t know whether Luther really said it or whether it is simply attributed to him, but here’s the quote so many love, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” It is a hope-filled statement of defiance in the face of certain hopelessness. It would look foolish to the world. But… it is also an act of faith. That even amidst a ‘world going to pieces’ there will be a time when apples will come in handy.
In May of 2020, we stay at home amidst a world that is fracturing into pieces. Our state’s politics are certainly shattered beyond any form of compromise. We have dozens of members, extended family and friends whose jobs are broken. Many of us have been furloughed, laid off or completely let go. And although COVID-19 hasn’t hit our community hard yet—well done social distancers!—the specter of a pandemic looms large over every part of life. In just a matter of weeks, the economy, public health and our way of life has been reduced. The world has gone to pieces. And it will stay in pieces for some time to come. Luther would still plant his apple tree. What do we do?
“The world has gone to pieces. And it will stay in pieces for some time to come. Luther would still plant his apple tree. What do we do? We worship, we give and we serve…. And for all the ways you are helping this fellowship grow, THANK YOU.”
We worship. Since we began live-streaming our worship, our ‘attendance’ has grown. I’m not sure how to count how many people are watching us. Nobody is. But we are choosing to add up our ‘peak views’ from each platform and multiply that by 2.5. So, for example, during a sermon our Facebook number (the number in the upper left corner) hits 183. Add the number of views from watching on our website, and the Twitter number and we can guess at how many people at least checked in for a moment with us. In our second Sunday we had 270 x 2.5 = 675. Palm Sunday: 271 (677). Easter: 380 (950)! Holy Week saw no service with fewer than 102 devices connected to our stream at once. If we are right, that the average device has 2.5 people watching, that’s at least 255 streaming each night of Holy Week. That’s incredible! When we meet in person, we don’t typically see 100 individuals in our sanctuary on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
We give. In the first two months and two weeks of 2020—when the stock market remained near 30,000 and unemployment was at an all-time low, First Lutheran had fallen behind by more than $20,000 when compared to 2019. In the two weeks after we suspended gatherings, it got much worse (understandably; those who are not on electronic giving had only one way of making their offering: mail, so much got delayed). But since the last week of March, while the world has thrown so many scary things at all of us, our giving has not only met budget. The Finance team expects we will put a substantial dent in that $20,000 hole we dug in January and February. PLUS, gifts continue to stream in to the “Our Church ☩ Our Time” capital campaign fund. In May we expect to hit $900,000 of actual gifts received. First’s total pledge is something like $1,030,000. That means we have eight months to not only hit our pledge number but, hopefully, exceed that number by enough to finish off our final few (big ticket) projects like paying off the mortgage, resurfacing the education wing floors and building a new Main Street sign.
We serve. How many masks have our sisters and brothers in Christ made? How many hours have we given to the Warming Center downtown? Our neighbor to neighbor program has connectors checking in with all families to see what prayer concerns are out there; what needs do people have? We are planning to still host a blood drive. We are seeking people who don’t have access to our livestream so that we can ‘hook them up’ (by the way… if you or someone you know needs a device or help connecting to our website so that you can engage in worship, LET ME KNOW. First’s foundation has offered money to pay for devices, WiFi and anything else that’s needed so that ALL can access the stream). And we’ve got more ideas brewing to meet financial needs, food scarcity and more. Servant hearts are not darkened by pandemic!
The world has gone to pieces. And it will stay in pieces for some time to come. Luther would still plant his apple tree. What do we do? We worship, we give and we serve for starters. And for all the ways you are helping this fellowship grow, THANK YOU. First Lutheran will emerge (slowly) from this stay-at-home time different than we were before. And in almost every way, the difference will be improvements. All because, while the world went to pieces, we never forgot what keeps us whole: the grace and love of God.