Love your Neighbor by Voting

Election day (Nov 8) is coming and perhaps many have already voted by mail-in ballot. Thank you for loving your neighbor!

That’s right: voting is an act of love for our neighbor because it expresses our care about what happens in our community. When we vote, we are saying, “I think this person or this decision will best help my neighbors, especially those most vulnerable, to be healthy in body, mind, and relationships. As a result, our society will be more healthy, that is, more peaceful and just, as God desires all societies to be.”

Some people say, “why bother voting?” either because they believe none of the candidates are worthy of their vote or because they don’t believe their vote really will make a difference. Both responses are avoiding God’s call to love neighbor by voting.

If someone says they don’t think their vote matters, they are saying what they care about doesn’t matter. Christians know that what we care about matters ultimately to God; we have been commanded to pray to God our deepest desires (2nd commandment) because God cares. It is the devil, the world, and our sinful selves that seduces us into cynicism. Christ has triumphed over these powers so we would not surrender, but struggle against them, trusting Christ has won the victory in the end! Resist cynicism about elections or anything else to follow Jesus in the way of hope and life!

If someone says that none of the candidates are worthy of their vote, I say, “of course!” Every candidate falls short—that’s Sin in every human heart. Jesus is not on the ballot. But this does not mean that there aren’t better and worse candidates. Some candidates will serve God’s purposes of a healthy, peaceful, and just society more than others. Some will express more than others the values of sober and careful judgment and the concern for vulnerable neighbors. None will meet the standard, but that is no surprise; our task is to discern which is better.

There are some that would have us believe that one party represents Christian values. This is an attempt to manipulate us by setting some values against others and ignoring the history and temperament of a particular candidate. Christians follow Christ, not a party. We are free to zig-zag across party lines to follow the way our Spirit-formed conscience leads us to love our neighbor.

We also can begin to encourage people to run for office. If we are unsatisfied with the candidates presented to us, another way we can love our communities is to encourage people with the values and temperament to run for office. If we give into cynicism and apathy and do nothing, we can expect only the same.

However the Spirit leads you, please vote and love your neighbor!

Your partner on the journey,

Pastor Peter

Investing in Relationships

One of our long-time members was looking at last month’s newsletter and said to me, “there’s so many names I don’t know! I need to get to meet these people!”

I’m sure she will: she is a focused person who sets goals for herself and makes them happen—reflecting both a honed self-discipline and a gift of the Holy Spirit. She’s also an introvert—a person who is energized more by being alone or with one other person rather than a group. Introverts have to work a bit harder, invest more energy, in order to develop new relationships than an extrovert who is charged up by meeting new people.

Investing our time and energy in new relationships is an essential part of our calling to follow Christ. In the early Church when Christians travelled, they sought lodging in the homes of other Christ-followers who they did not know. The host had to invest their time and energy in opening their lives to someone they did not know personally but knowing that they were saved and brought together by the same Lord. The guest had to trust their host would not exploit their vulnerability. (See 2 and 3 John, short letters in the Bible, for how this did and didn’t work!) Both parties had to invest in a new relationship.

Likewise, St. John’s has been blessed by new members over the last few years, even during the pandemic. However, many forces challenge developing relationships. Pandemic restrictions meant relationships drifted apart. We have three different services with different styles that inevitably creates three different communities. Long-time members are aging and not able to participate as they did in the past. Newer members are busy with work, family, and other responsibilities. The combination of these factors means that it’s impossible to know everybody and that developing new relationships takes intentional effort.

There are a couple of simple ways to invest in a new relationship. One is to plan on staying around 15 minutes after the service to talk to someone. Think of this as a part of our worship time! (Jesus saves us so we can love God and love our neighbor—investing time and energy in a new relationship is loving your neighbor!) Find out what someone else does for fun, where someone would like to visit, and see where the conversation goes. I suspect you’ll find something in common that will deepen your relationship! We’re working on space in the courtyard that will help encourage taking this time.

A second way is to get involved with some other activity outside of worship. The Education Hour on Sundays at 9:45 brings people from different services together, as does the Monday night 7pm online Bible Study and the Thursday morning 10am Bible Study. The Men’s breakfast is starting on Oct 8 at 8am; the Women’s Brunch also on Oct 8 at 10am. Family Promise (Sept 25-Oct 2), the Shower Ministry (Oct 25), property work days, and more are all opportunities to work alongside someone and develop relationships.

God richly blessed St. John’s through Vicar Cogan over the last year, in part, because he invested so much into relationships with so many. In more ways than I can describe here, he helped us accelerate our vision of deepening relationships and developing leaders. I think he leaves us better than he found us. I am personally grateful for the energy he put into our time together and I pray that we will find ways to keep connected as he and Katelyn begin new adventures in the familiar surroundings of Indiana.

We are on this journey of following Christ together. The Church continues to be one of the few places where people from different walks of life meet. Our society needs us to lead and be examples in developing relationships. The road of life is not easy, and God brings us together to support one another in a network of relationships that catch us when we fall and help us to keep going. Just like putting a little money in savings each week, it’s worth putting our time and energy investing in relationships.

Your neighbor in Christ, Pastor Peter

COVID Gratitude

If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. (1 Cor 12:26)

It finally happened: I got COVID. Or maybe more accurately, COVID got me. Even experiencing COVID, I experienced God in so many ways and hope you sense God’s hidden leading towards new life in Christ and love of God and neighbors.

It’s hard to tell where the wrong place at the wrong time will be. One of our daughters worked this summer in places where people tested positive. Our other daughter worked in a more controlled environment and almost never went out, except a couple of times the first weekend in August. Guess which one caught COVID? Yeah, the one that almost never went out.

Masks do help. I wear a mask outside the house. Over the last 2 ½ years, I’ve been in several very contagious settings and didn’t catch the bug. I give credit to masking. That makes the house the vulnerable point. My daughter didn’t have symptoms and I sat a couple nights unmasked next to her on the couch watching a TV show.

Denial is powerful (until it fails). I started to feel fatigue on Friday but found ways to explain it away. I was so tired before dinner that I laid down to nap, but I had exerted myself a bit in the sun, that’s why. On Saturday, when I started to get a headache and sore throat, I excused it as allergies. When I was leaving the Saturday service, however, I thought I may have a fever. And my denial melted.

Staying home with symptoms out of concern for others. I didn’t test positive, even with the fever, but called Vicar Cogan and started to make preparations to miss Sunday services and activities. I have missed only about 3 Sundays in 25 years because of illness. I don’t like to miss services, even for vacation. But it would be worse if I infected someone else and they became sick or developed long COVID because I was stubborn. So, I stayed home even with a negative test. (After services on Sunday, I tested positive.)

Everybody’s experience is different. My daughter and wife both got COVID and experienced barely two days of mild cold symptoms. Quarantine was the toughest part for them! I ended up in bed for four days with a fever, cough, and a raw throat that felt and looked like freshly ground hamburger. A week later, I still have a sore throat, headache and mild phlegmy cough.

Isolation sucks. And leads to grief. I spent a week in my bedroom separated from my family, mostly so our uninfected daughter wouldn’t get it (she didn’t! Praise God!). This was also the last week that both daughters were home before going back to college. So, rather than spending time with them, I was in bed and isolated. I was extremely sad about it. I thought about many of you, with whom I had plans, visits, conversations that were cancelled or postponed, opportunities missed. And I was extremely sad about those too. I thought about the millions who have died of COVID, including our loved ones like Gladys Thurston. They and their families grieve more than just a few missed opportunities.

God works through prayer. I spent a lot of time praying for relief, for you, for St. John’s, for the Church, and the World. In prayer, I felt God’s love and a connection with you that helped me through sleepless nights of discomfort and coughing.

Gratitude overflows my heart! The week in COVID quarantine so fills me with gratitude for God and for many. Gratitude to Vicar Cogan for saying yes and stepping in with enthusiasm and ability. Gratitude to many who responded to extra calls to pitch in. Gratitude for texts and phone calls of concern and assurance of prayers. Gratitude for sleep that finally does come, healing that slowly dawns like the rosy fingers of dawn.

Maybe that’s what I experienced most: gratitude for people and relationships. Gratitude that simple things like masks and staying home do help. Gratitude for doctors, nurses, and scientists who devote their lives to helping others and unraveling these mysteries. Gratitude that Jesus leads us through this moment, COVID and all, to love God and love our neighbors.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Peter

Calling all Introverts and Extroverts!

Our Vision as a congregation is to Deepen Relationships and Develop Leaders that help us Celebrate God’s love, Proclaim the Good News of Jesus, and Serve our neighbors. What does deepening relationships look like for you?
    It may matter where you are on the spectrum between extrovert and introvert. The issue is how you are energized socially. The early psychologists of the 20th century found it helpful to describe an extrovert as a person who is energized by being around groups of people. An extrovert often has many friends and enters into conversations with easy confidence and excitement. An extrovert needs other people to process their emotions and ideas. When an extrovert is feeling low or drained, it’s a good idea to go out and find a group of people. In those relationships, they will recharge their batteries.
    An introvert, on the other hand, is energized by being alone or, at best, with one trusted person. They have a small, close-knit group of friends and enter into conversations only hesitantly, even with people they know. An introvert needs time alone to process their thoughts and ideas before talking about them. The larger the group of people, the more an introvert’s emotional battery will be drained by the experience. They’ll need some time alone to recharge.
    None of us are pure extroverts or introverts. We are all somewhere on a spectrum between the extremes. To some extent, we will all be charged by being with other people and processing our lives with them; and, in other ways, need to be by ourselves to charge up our batteries. But, usually we tilt to one side of the spectrum more than the other. Can you find where you are? A strong extrovert? A moderate introvert? Kind of in the middle?
    It’s helpful to know because it will change the way you deepen relationships and live out our vision as a congregation. Sometimes we assume that extroverts are the only ones who are deepening relationships with new people. They are eager to meet new people and energized by groups who share their lives and dreams. Everyone notices they are building relationships!
    But introverts generally develop deeper relationships than extroverts, and especially with other introverts. Because extroverts will often have many more relationships, they have less time to listen when someone is hesitant to talk. An introvert will take a long time before sharing their lives. It’s most likely another introvert who will be around listening.
    Both extroverts and introverts are necessary to the Church living out its vision. Paul wrote many times (e.g., 1 Cor 12, Rom 12, and Eph 4) that the Church needs all kinds of people with all kinds of gifts to build up the Body of Christ. The human tendency is to focus on the flashy, immediate gifts and lose sight of the ways other less dramatic gifts are essential. Some believers even judge others for lacking the sensational gifts. In Paul’s time, it was speaking in tongues and healing that some said everyone needed to have. Paul insisted that all the gifts are necessary—and each person is essential to build up the Church, using their gifts with love.
    So, if you lean towards the extroverted side, the Church needs you getting out and welcoming people, getting to know their names, their stories and dreams. You do this naturally and are charged up by it! Thank you for helping us deepen relationships! Also expect some of the people you welcome may shrink back and not share. They aren’t being rude or cold—they likely are more introverted. Is there another person you can introduce them to, who is also introverted? They’re more likely to spend time together and deepen relationships.
    And if you lean towards the introverted side, the Church needs your careful processing and conversation. You think carefully before you talk to someone and you help the Church develop truly deeper relationships! Expect some people to come on too strong, want too much from you too fast. They aren’t being rude or overbearing—they likely are more extroverted. Can you smile and lovingly signal that you’d like the conversation to end (“Thanks for greeting me! I’ll see you next week”), knowing they might not get the message the first time, but knowing that they also are following Jesus in the way that leads to a deeper life?

Everyone can deepen relationships as the Holy Spirit builds the Church!

Glad to be in the Body of Christ with you!
Pastor Peter

Acts of God

After visiting family in Texas, my daughters waited in the Houston airport for their flight, a plane coming from Dallas to take them to Phoenix which the airline said was delayed “because of weather.” There was no storm anywhere near Dallas. They said it wasn’t a storm in Dallas but elsewhere in the country that had a ripple effect across their all their planned flights. Since it was “an act of God,” the airline wouldn’t supply a hotel or any food—they were on their own for the night until the rescheduled flight the next afternoon.

I am skeptical that God was the cause of the airline delay. Blaming God or weather encourages passivity, as if decisions by human beings didn’t contribute to the problem. Airline staff shortages have been well publicized and likely played a role. Leaders could have planned for contingencies such as weather in Buffalo. They have supercomputers that change the price of tickets each day to maximize their profits. They also can program computers to crunch how many planes and staff they will need to insure on-time flights. But I suspect that will cut into profits. So, human beings made a choice: airline leaders sacrificed customers’ well-being for shareholder value (until customers refuse to fly, that is!). It wasn’t an act of God.

I wonder how many problems we face as a country and as humanity that we accept passively: “that’s just the way it is.” Take the housing crisis. Is the lack of affordable housing just something we have to accept? Or is there something that can be done about it?

Human leaders made decisions to get us to this point: landlords, legislators, and neighbors. Arizona has no limit on how much a landlord can raise the rent. So, I have met with people coming to church for help with rent who have had raises of $400 to $800 per month., which represent 30 to 50% increases (Glendale had the biggest rent increases in the Valley in 2021). Legislators have not acted on various proposals to help build new affordable housing or incentivize existing landlords to accept low income renters. And neighbors are rejecting new apartment complexes, saying “Not in my backyard”. While affordable housing and some problems we face are very complex, they are not the result of acts of God. Human beings have made decisions, sometimes cumulative over decades, that have brought us to these situations.

As Christians, we do know the true acts of God: God gives the Holy Spirit so that we believe and follow Jesus. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection changes the heart of every believer so that we are free from Sin that turns us inward. Facing outward, we love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. These are acts of God!

Supporting affordable housing is a way we can love our neighbors. Leaders from Vida Nueva, Emmanuel, and St. John’s met with Valley Interfaith Project’s Jason Lowry on June 12 and housing emerged as one of the big concerns of our three congregations. We aren’t helpless in the face of this crisis, Mr. Lowry encouraged, but can organize to support solutions. For example, Threshold is a program to bring landlords together to incentivize a few units in every apartment complex. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church is inviting developers to build apartments on some of their unused land. Legislators do listen to organized groups of citizens. We have choices, and when we organize, our voices are amplified.

What other problems in society do you feel helpless to influence? Look for opportunities to gather with other’s and share the pressures you feel and opportunities to help solve the big problems we face.

When we’re loving our neighbors, there’s an act of God!

A fellow servant of Christ,


Pastor Peter

Flying in Strong Winds

How does a bird fly in strong winds? I was watching some birds and noticed that they angle their bodies and change direction temporarily but never take their eyes off their targeted destination. No matter where they are pushed, they keep their eyes on the goal.

How will we live in chaotic times? We are pushed by strong winds: COVID lingers, war on the other side of the world grinds, the price of a gallon of gas and baby formula goes up, Lake Mead is low enough to expose a water crisis, political polarization paralyzes the body politic, to name a few. Despite these forces, like the birds, we can angle our lives to redirect the pressure and keep our eyes on the goal no matter where we are temporarily moved.

As Christians, we know that Christ is alive and he has conquered death, sin, and the devil. We fix our eyes on Christ, who is both our leader and our goal. On June 4-5, we celebrate Pentecost: God gave us the Holy Spirit to help angle our lives, that is, to redirect our energy and time to what serves God and our neighbor in whatever situation we find ourselves. We keep our hearts and minds on God by our daily prayer, weekly worship, study of the Bible, and discussion with other Christians. When you are anxious or distracted, which of these helps keep you moving and focused? Now God may be calling you to strengthen these spiritual disciplines. Confirmation students will share their statements of faith that weekend at each service, and God may inspire you through them!

As St. John’s Lutheran Church, we keep our minds on Christ by focusing on our mission and vision: we celebrate God’s love, proclaim the Good News of Jesus, and serve our neighbor. That’s our goal. During the current season, we angle our body on deepening our relationships and developing leaders. In what ways are you deepening relationships with others? How are you developing as someone who helps others direct attention and energy towards our goal?

Water shortage is one of the powerful crises we face. Like tides on a beach or erosion that shapes canyons, the most powerful forces operate over a long period of time. This water crisis has been developing for at least 20 years and exposed not only bodies at the bottom of Lake Mead but our assumption that there will always be water when we turn on the tap. If you haven’t been following this, I encourage you to google “AZCentral Joanna Allhands Water.” For example, see her article https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/joannaallhands/2022/05/02/arizona-has-too-many-homes-without-water-how-stop-trend/9577225002/

As people who keep our eyes on Christ, the water crisis is a “serve neighbor” issue—and also an opportunity to deepen relationships and develop leaders. Taking short showers, fixing leaks quickly, switching to desert plants or filling in a pool—every act of conserving water helps a neighbor. Writing the mayor, city council, state and federal leaders about your water concerns helps show our leaders that we care about this long-term issue and need bold vision. Discussing water issues with our neighbors, people at work, family and friends helps us deepen relationships around a basic issue. As we discuss water, we will develop leaders who are passionate and direct our energy and time.

While we would never have chosen to live in such times, these times are an opportunity for Christ to shine through us—through the ways our lives focus on his call to celebrate, proclaim, and serve despite the winds that blow around and against us. In fact, even those forces that seem to blow us off course, are opportunities to deepen relationships and develop leaders. 

Asking God to guide and bless,

Pastor Peter

New Direction

“[H]e is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mark 16:7)

Christ’s Resurrection changes everything! God’s promised King is not dead, but alive! He is not far away but close! He is available now to love, forgive and to lead you and me!

Christ’s resurrection means he is alive to lead disciples in a new direction. They were outside Jerusalem in the south, near the center of power as well as close to Jesus’ strong supporters such as Mary, Martha and Lazarus. There were many reasons to stay where they were, grief and a hot meal being at least two. But the messenger brought the stunning news: “Christ is Risen!” Before they can process that news, they are directed: “Go to Galilee” and given a comforting promise that helps them leave behind Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and others: “he is going ahead of you.”

St. John’s is trying to discern the next steps where Christ has already gone. In January, St. John’s voted to allocate part of the Jorgensen fund for outreach, specifically a new position, “Associate Pastor for Outreach.” An initial group of council members (Phil B., Ben F., and Kevin S.) and young adults (Zoey G., Paul B., Zack M., Hank R., and Victor R.) has met and identified that young adults (those 18-29 yrs old) are looking for caring friends, purpose for life, and causes to fight for. This age group is underrepresented in most congregations, including St. John’s, and needs what the church has: community that is founded on our Risen Lord’s love, forgiveness, and direction.

Funding a full-time position for the long term would be difficult for St. John’s alone (the total package for a new pastor is around $80,000/yr), and so the Council voted to reach out to other congregations. We have begun conversations with the Cactus Conference (the 11 ELCA Lutheran congregations in the West Valley) about a Young Adult Ministry. A group of leaders from congregations met in early April and will meet again in May to write a proposal to the Synod and Churchwide.

One idea is that St. John’s call a part-time pastor of outreach and that the Cactus Conference call the same person to a part-time call for Young Adult ministry, combined a full-time position. Together, we could pay a full-time salary and be more likely to attract a highly qualified candidate for this position. We will be working out the details over the coming months.

Keep in mind our vision to “deepen relationships and develop leaders”—this is God’s direction we discerned in 2019 and affirmed in January. This means deepening relationships with those underrepresented at the center of the church’s life, for example, young adults. We will be developing leaders, both a new pastor as well as those trained to assist in this ministry. It will not necessarily mean that there are more young adults in existing worship services or contributing financially, but it will mean deeper relationships and growing leaders.

More details will be coming as Council, the Young Adult Ministry task force, and the Cactus Conference meet. Bring your questions and thoughts to the Congregational Meeting on Sunday May 1 at 9:45am in the Sanctuary.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Peter