Posted by Christ the King Lutheran Church on May 24, 2013 under Pastor's Message | 
Around Trinity Sunday (May 26th this year) pastors try to find ways to invite people into the life of the Trinity, that three-fold mystery of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 
It’s not the kind of mystery that can be solved by a mystery reader’s favourite detective because it is a mystery of love and fellowship, a mystery of mutual delight and generous communion. One person even describes the Trinity as ‘breathing together.’
The life of the Trinity helps to answer three important questions: Who am I? Do I matter? What is my purpose?
Three important answers (in order): God’s creation. Enough to die for. Holy living (not perfect, by holy, as in set apart for God’s purposes).
The community of the Trinity (that is, the church) is designed to help us live into that life year after year after year.
May Father, Son, and Spirit give us the grace and faith to meet that life with forgiveness and trust and joy!
Pastor Susan Horton
P.S. (check ‘Children and Family’ for special news about June 2nd)
Posted by Christ the King Lutheran Church on May 14, 2013 under Pastor's Message |
Our once-a-month Sunday school on the Fruit of the Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5, wraps up on Sunday, May 19th at 9:30 a.m. (This is one week earlier than usual for Sunday School).
Watch for details of the Sunday School picnic set for Sunday, June 23rd after worship.
Posted by Christ the King Lutheran Church on April 30, 2013 under Pastor's Message |
It’s here! It’s here! Our 25th Anniversary has arrived!
We gather under the theme GIFTS – GRATITUDE – GRACE.
(for schedule check the Anniversary tab.)
We celebrate what the congregation has experienced over those 25 years. Not every dream has been fulfilled but lives has been touched by the sharing of God’s gifts and grace, enough to stir up a lot of gratitude.
In Sunday’s sermon I talked about how we are changed by the body and blood of Jesus Christ, as Holy Communion gives us the opportunity to see love and forgiveness acted out, personally, regularly, over years and years of life. That changes us, even as we are changed by rubbing along together as a group of believers. God gives us the opportunity to love each other in this community. It takes time to do that; it takes patience and forgiveness and compassion; it takes a sense of our own mistakes and missteps; and it takes a sense of humour. It takes the presence of the Holy Spirit, growing the fruit of faith in our lives.
That practice won’t make us perfect, in the congregation or in the world, but it will help us to live as forgiven and forgiving people, for this day and for the years to come.
For God’s gifts we are grateful; for God’s grace we continue to pray.
Blessings on your journey.
Pastor Susan Horton
We celebrate what the congregation has experienced over those 25 years. Not every dream has been fulfilled but lives has been touched by the sharing of God’s gifts and grace, enough to stir up a lot of gratitude.
In Sunday’s sermon I talked about how we are changed by the body and blood of Jesus Christ, as Holy Communion gives us the opportunity to see love and forgiveness acted out, personally, regularly, over years and years of life. That changes us, even as we are changed by rubbing along together as a group of believers. God gives us the opportunity to love each other in this community. It takes time to do that; it takes patience and forgiveness and compassion; it takes a sense of our own mistakes and missteps; and it takes a sense of humour. It takes the presence of the Holy Spirit, growing the fruit of faith in our lives.
That practice won’t make us perfect, in the congregation or in the world, but it will help us to live as forgiven and forgiving people, for this day and for the years to come.
For God’s gifts we are grateful; for God’s grace we continue to pray.
Blessings on your journey.
Pastor Susan Horton
Posted by Christ the King Lutheran Church on April 11, 2013 under Pastor's Message |
No group survives without faithfulness, dedication, and hard work. We have experienced that at Christ the King Lutheran and that’s what we will be celebrating on our 25th Anniversary weekend May 4th and 5th. (Details under the “Anniversary” heading.) There are many people we remember with gratitude, people who have shared laughter and tears as part of this church community. But above all, we celebrate the faithfulness of God to us in Jesus Christ.
As we gather, we find we have been gifted with great joy in experiencing the gospel together; surely the grace of God is active in our midst. Not all of our dreams have come true, but we continue to “lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” We continue to explore what it means to be “Living Christ in the Community,” and we keep on looking for ways to invite other people to share the journey with us.
Get to know us a little at the Family Fun Carnival on May 4th from 2 to 4 in the Timberlea Gym. Most of the activities will be quite familiar to younger children, plus there will be book and video draws, and performances by our special guests, the Westwood Improv Team. (You’ll see fairy tales as you’ve never seen them before!)
SAVE THE DATE – June 2nd – a Messy Church-style morning: the worship hour like you’ve never seen it before (plus lunch).
Pastor Susan Horton
Posted by Christ the King Lutheran Church on March 15, 2013 under Pastor's Message |
A Lenten reversal
How does your Lent look? Are you pleased with this year’s Lenten disciple, or mumbling in a guilty fashion? To paraphrase Jesus in another situation, Lent was made for us, not us for Lent. The goal of this season, a human creation with deep roots in baptismal preparation, is to encourage us to get closer to Jesus. A false guilt about what you haven’t done won’t help. Talk to Jesus about the real guilts, about the real struggles. As Martin Luther once wrote to Philip Melanchthon, Jesus doesn’t save fictitious sinners.
Talk to Jesus about the real blessings and joys too. Gratitude for Scripture and Baptism and Holy Communion and gratitude for the community where these are shared is a good place to start.
Blessings as we come to the end of the holy forty days (holy because they are ‘set apart’ for God) and move into the journey of Holy Week.
Pastor Susan Horton
