Posts by Pastor Mark Nelson

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  Wherever you are, I hope you’re staying warm! I identify with Garrison Keillor when he describes a recent return to Minnesota cold: “Nobody is out for a walk, nobody is hanging out, everyone is heading briskly for a car or for a warm building. And there is no complaining. This is the remarkable thing. Nobody says, “My God, it’s cold out, I have no feeling in my face,” because (1) this is not a personal…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  Little did I know that when we had an Adult Education Hour in December on “Preventing Becoming a Victim of Fraud and Scams” that I would become one so soon! Many of you caring (and discerning!) Peace members who received an e-mail or text from me in the last day asking “for help” have written or called to find out whether this was a legitimate request from me. To which I said to them and now to all of you: “This…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  Remember Christmas? It’s almost a distant memory now. Many have packed up their trees, the decorations, and returned gifts that didn’t make the cut (or the size!). Those lights don’t seem to twinkle so brightly and the lefse is gone. And we plod into the new year because winter—real winter—begins now. Christmas? “Hark!” the herald angels sang. Then they stopped. And now it seems we are left to fend for ourselves. Not so fast! Sunday…

Dear Peace members and friends,  I hope you had a merry Christmas Day and are enjoying time with those you love!  As you know, Christmas in the church is a 12-day festival. As Christians discovered early on, the Good News of God-in-the-flesh in Jesus was too important, too history-changing, to take in quickly; one day was simply not enough! So in their wisdom, our ancestors in the faith have given us these days following Christmas day to live into the…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! This coming Sunday, the children of the congregation will present “Great Joy for All.” Along with the Peace Choir and the rest of the congregation, we’ll hear the Christmas story through music, scripture, and storytelling. Following worship, there will be a Christmas cookie reception in the Fellowship Hall. Join us for a wonderful morning ahead! A reminder that the celebration of Christmas begins next Tuesday, Christmas Eve.…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  Christmas is getting closer! I love these days of Advent; days of preparation, anticipation, days of joy and fun, as we look to the celebration of God coming in the flesh—Christmas.    This Sunday we continue our Advent sermon series, “Whose House for Christmas?” with a look at John the Baptist’s “house.” John may be an odd choice. As Garrison Keillor writes: “…….when people came from Jerusalem to hear him [John] preach and to be baptized,…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  I’m looking forward to this Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent! Worship, education, service, and fellowship—all things that are life-giving during this wonderful season of the church year.   Our Advent sermon series—“Whose House for Christmas?”—continues. We’re touring the homes of different women and men whose stories light our way as we prepare to celebrate once again God’s coming to us in Jesus of Nazareth. This Sunday, I’ll have us stop by at the prophet Isaiah’s…

Peace Members and Friends,  Thanksgiving Day is past and, all of sudden, Advent and Christmas are upon us!  Advent in church begins with the hymn, “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” The hymn has a deep, full melody that goes all the way back to the chants of the 4th century. The hymn also reminds us of something important: that the story of Christmas we are about to retell and the event we are about to celebrate again did not…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  It was 1925. Benito Mussolini had been Prime Minister of Italy for 3 years. In Germany, Adolf Hitler had been out of jail for a year and his Nazi party was thriving. And—on top of all that—the world lay in a Great Depression. The Pope at the time, Pius IX, saw these authoritarian governments rising around him. His response? He established the festival of Christ the King, reminding Christians everywhere of who was ultimately in charge. “Nevertheless,”…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  It was a great Sunday last week with Harvest Pack. Over 15,000 meals were packed by over 80 volunteers. My thanks to the each and every one of you who packed, those who came to church early to set up tables and equipment, and all those who loaded up the truck and cleaned up afterwards. A special thanks to our church Administrator, Lori Thomson for organizing the event and directing our activities. The meals that…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  I was reminded Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, as the election results came in, of sports announcer Jim McKay’s famous line accompanying the ski jumper falling off the end of the jump; the line that opened ABC’s Wide World of Sports when I was growing up: “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” For those who are relieved about the election outcomes and those who grieve about them, one thing remains true: We believe…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  First of all, don’t forget that daylight saving time ends on Sunday. So remember to turn your clocks back on Sunday or just remember that they do it all by themselves!  Here’s one reason why: you want to be rested and ready for Sunday morning. It’s All Saint’s Sunday! The day is not as big a blip on the calendar as Halloween or Election Day, but it is a significant day for Christians, even so. If Halloween is masks-on day then…