Text Box:                     FROM THE SENIOR PASTOR                    All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.  Psalm 22: 27 -31               O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come. Your power and your righteousness, O God, reach the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? Psalm 71:17-18   Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,                          The first time it happened to me I was a young pastor teaching Bible Camp Counselors. We were talking about Jesus disciples remembering what happened to Jesus.  I said it would be like remembering where you were or what you were doing when President Kennedy was assassinated.  One of the counselors raised their hand and said, “I don’t think we were born yet.”  It happened again this week.  I was telling the confirmation class that I took Hebrew when I was in Seminary.  I said I hadn’t used it a lot since and was a little bit rusty. “That was back in 1982,” I said.  How old were you then?  One of the moms who was quick in math said these kids were not born for at least another ten years after that.  I should have known.  My daughter who is graduating from college wasn’t even born then.  I should have asked the kids if they remembered what they learned last year.  They probably could see why I was a little rusty. I keep proclaiming to people who have been born both before me and after me about God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  God’s very being and all that God has done in Jesus is the best thing to share with others.  When I started my hair was all black, now it is turning gray.  I hope to keep on proclaiming to new generations what God has done. It is a great privilege that God has given to all of us.  It has been said that the church is always one generation away from being extinct.  We need to keep sharing the story of salvation with everyone. In addition to what God does for the whole human race, we all have milestones in our lives and can mark them off remembering what God has done for us in them.  These are also wondrous deeds of God that we get to declare to others.   We will be celebrating with my daughter this month her college graduation.  There will be Banquet Celebration honoring our Synod for Bishop Peter Strommen at the Synod Assembly, this month.  We will remember the twelve years he has faithfully served as bishop.  We will also get to hear Bishop Mark S. Hanson give a keynote presentation that day.  In the newsletter you will find a form to sign up if you would like to be a part of these events.  All these things help us remember what God has done for us and that God will continue to act on our behalf.  As we live out our lives no matter how old or young, we are called to be witnesses to what God has done in our lives.  Our lives are incomplete without remembering and worshiping God.  We have the privilege of sharing our story with the ones who are around now and to future generations.   In Christ’s Love Pastor Dean Oelfke

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