Living In God’s Amazing Grace
Pastor Writings
Saturday, November 17th at 2pm, at Lee Mission Cemetary, 2104 D St NE, Salem, OR 97301, Steven Lynn Dobson will be laid to rest. Steven was born on June 5, 1953. His brother, the Reverend Douglas Dobson will be in attendance. The Reverend Patricia Wolf Hughes, of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, presiding. 
We talked about the signing of the Armistice today in church. 100 years ago, on the 11th hour of the 11th day, of the 11th month. And we rang our bell 11 times. The war to end all wars ended 100 years ago today. Peace. Sacrifice. People. We pause today to thank all those who served, all those who mourned the death of people they loved. We thank all of those who cried, and waited, and those whose hearts were never the same after what they had seen in battle. We owe these people a debt we can only repay through our own steadfastness – our own awareness of the frailty of life, and the necessity of standing for something. Continue reading “100 years and veterans”
‘For we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses’. We stand on the shoulders of men and women responsible for 2000 years of Christian history; Christian learning; Christian service and Christian grief. Every year as All Saints Day comes around, I spend time remembering those who have died in these last 12 months. I think about famous people, important people like John McCain, and I think about those I have buried from the church I am blessed to serve, and I think about family. My father died 6 months ago, and we will read his name aloud during the service of remembrance this coming Sunday, along with many others. Continue reading “Where do we begin?”
This last April, 2018, my husband and I visited Wittenberg, Germany, part of the history of my Lutheran heritage. Wittenberg is a famous city to fans of Martin Luther, who posted his 95 theses on the door of the Castle church in Wittenberg 501 years ago, on October 31, 1517. But as the news comes to us today telling us of a vicious killing of Jews in Pittsburg, PA, while they gathered for that most life-giving moment, the dedication of a child at his bris, my thoughts go to this piece of art, a memorial to the Jews which is erected at the base of the The Stadtkirche Sankt Marien or St. Mary’s Town and Parish Church . 
Continue reading “Anti Semitism and the Lutheran Church”
This is our second anniversary displaying our Great Cloud of Witnesses – and so we post this blog again, to remind us of the richness we gain by reflection! – It started as an idea, picked up from the Lutheran church in Coos Bay, at an information sharing/collaborative meeting in Corvallis last year. The names of all those buried from our church. In a mobile. Hung in the sanctuary of the church for all to see. But why?