Happy February Beloveds! It’s the shortest month in our calendar year, but this year it’s packed with a lot of different things. There are a few things happening this month that I’d briefly like to highlight:
- Our Wednesday Evening Worship services on February 1, 8, and 15 will focus on love. We will
hear passages from Scripture that talk about love and how we as people of God are called to live
in love and service to others. On February 1, worship will be lead by Dan Anderson, from
Fessenden. February 1’s service will focus on the Greatest Commandment, which is to love God
and love neighbor. February 8’s service will focus on 1 Corinthians 13 and how we are called to
love one another in ways that bring and build life. February 15’s service will focus on God’s
love and how it transforms and renews our lives and the life of the world. We hope you’ll join us
for these services!
- My husband, Brandon, will be having hip replacement surgery that day. We appreciate your pray-
ers for a successful and uneventful surgery and an equally successful and uneventful recovery.
- On February 12, we will be having a healing service. The lectionary texts lend themselves well to
this opportunity. I will explain more later in this article.
- Lent begins on February 22, which is Ash Wednesday. Our focus and theme for Lent this year
will be the 23rd Psalm. With this, Music and Worship has come up with a tangible way to pray
through the 23rd Psalm. On Ash Wednesday, you will, if you choose, receive a set of prayer beads
that reflect each verse. We will explore the individual verses each Wednesday evening, and learn
about the Psalm verse by verse.
Healing Service: On February 12, we will be doing a service of healing in place of Holy Communion. This is an opportunity to receive prayer and the laying of hands for the spaces in our lives that need healing: physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional, among others. This is also an opportunity for this community of faith to pray for you and show their love and support for you. Please do not feel compelled to participate. We simply offer this opportunity, knowing that as people of God, we are called to love and support one another in all things in life. The healing service includes anointing with oil (I use olive oil to prevent allergic reactions), the laying of hands by myself and any others whom you may wish to include, and prayer. I hope you will consider joining this special rite. It is not something done often but is very powerful to experience.
Assisting Ministers: Something I have been pondering lately is how each of us has gifts and ability with which to serve God. I am, with Worship and Music, exploring the idea of inviting members of the congregation to serve as Assisting Ministers. Please note that this is not me saying I don’t enjoy or want to lead parts of the liturgy! I greatly enjoy leading, but I have also become more aware of the different gifts and abilities held by people in our congregation. To celebrate and encourage those gifts and abilities, I would like to offer opportunities to serve during the worship service. There are two parts of the service that must be done by an ordained leader: the absolution or assurance of the forgiveness of sins, and the consecration of Holy Communion. All other parts of the service can be led by others! These parts include prayers, the Kyrie, leading the Apostles’ Creed, the Prayers of Intercession, and the dismissal. Lately, I have been asking different children in the congregation to offer the dismissal because I love hearing young voices in roles of leadership. I do plan to continue this, and I know the youth look forward to the opportunity to serve in this role. All of this to say, I greatly love leading worship: it’s one of my favorite parts of my job. But I am also aware that worship is something that happens as part of the whole: we all are invited to serve God in some way. I invite you to prayerfully consider if you might be called to be an assisting minister! I am more than happy to answer any questions regarding this. My door is always open!
Open Door: Related to my last sentence, I would love to invite all who would like to stop by the office and visit with me! I greatly enjoy getting to know my congregation members. I know we all have very busy schedules, but I hope you know that my door is almost always open during office hours. Please feel free to stop by for a chat! I look forward to hopefully seeing you! What follows is what my schedule generally is:
Monday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Tuesday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thursday: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
May God’s peace and abundant blessings be upon you and yours,
Pastor Katie Rodriguez
Happy February Beloveds! It’s the shortest month in our calendar year, but this year it’s packed with a lot of different things. There are a few things happening this month that I’d briefly like to highlight:
- Our Wednesday Evening Worship services on February 1, 8, and 15 will focus on love. We will
hear passages from Scripture that talk about love and how we as people of God are called to live
in love and service to others. On February 1, worship will be lead by Dan Anderson, from
Fessenden. February 1’s service will focus on the Greatest Commandment, which is to love God
and love neighbor. February 8’s service will focus on 1 Corinthians 13 and how we are called to
love one another in ways that bring and build life. February 15’s service will focus on God’s
love and how it transforms and renews our lives and the life of the world. We hope you’ll join us
for these services!
- My husband, Brandon, will be having hip replacement surgery that day. We appreciate your pray-
ers for a successful and uneventful surgery and an equally successful and uneventful recovery.
- On February 12, we will be having a healing service. The lectionary texts lend themselves well to
this opportunity. I will explain more later in this article.
- Lent begins on February 22, which is Ash Wednesday. Our focus and theme for Lent this year
will be the 23rd Psalm. With this, Music and Worship has come up with a tangible way to pray
through the 23rd Psalm. On Ash Wednesday, you will, if you choose, receive a set of prayer beads
that reflect each verse. We will explore the individual verses each Wednesday evening, and learn
about the Psalm verse by verse.
Healing Service: On February 12, we will be doing a service of healing in place of Holy Communion. This is an opportunity to receive prayer and the laying of hands for the spaces in our lives that need healing: physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional, among others. This is also an opportunity for this community of faith to pray for you and show their love and support for you. Please do not feel compelled to participate. We simply offer this opportunity, knowing that as people of God, we are called to love and support one another in all things in life. The healing service includes anointing with oil (I use olive oil to prevent allergic reactions), the laying of hands by myself and any others whom you may wish to include, and prayer. I hope you will consider joining this special rite. It is not something done often but is very powerful to experience.
Assisting Ministers: Something I have been pondering lately is how each of us has gifts and ability with which to serve God. I am, with Worship and Music, exploring the idea of inviting members of the congregation to serve as Assisting Ministers. Please note that this is not me saying I don’t enjoy or want to lead parts of the liturgy! I greatly enjoy leading, but I have also become more aware of the different gifts and abilities held by people in our congregation. To celebrate and encourage those gifts and abilities, I would like to offer opportunities to serve during the worship service. There are two parts of the service that must be done by an ordained leader: the absolution or assurance of the forgiveness of sins, and the consecration of Holy Communion. All other parts of the service can be led by others! These parts include prayers, the Kyrie, leading the Apostles’ Creed, the Prayers of Intercession, and the dismissal. Lately, I have been asking different children in the congregation to offer the dismissal because I love hearing young voices in roles of leadership. I do plan to continue this, and I know the youth look forward to the opportunity to serve in this role. All of this to say, I greatly love leading worship: it’s one of my favorite parts of my job. But I am also aware that worship is something that happens as part of the whole: we all are invited to serve God in some way. I invite you to prayerfully consider if you might be called to be an assisting minister! I am more than happy to answer any questions regarding this. My door is always open!
Open Door: Related to my last sentence, I would love to invite all who would like to stop by the office and visit with me! I greatly enjoy getting to know my congregation members. I know we all have very busy schedules, but I hope you know that my door is almost always open during office hours. Please feel free to stop by for a chat! I look forward to hopefully seeing you! What follows is what my schedule generally is:
Monday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Tuesday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Wednesday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Thursday: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Friday: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
May God’s peace and abundant blessings be upon you and yours,
Pastor Katie Rodriguez
Pastor Katies Installation