Love Letters
14 May 2025
Letters.
Frequently, just a few letters tell a big story.
For instance, we honor our graduating seniors this weekend at church.
Right or wrong, our society has dramatically organized their last four years around the letters, A,B,C,D, or F. (Whatever happened to the E?) GPA, SAT, and ACT. God bless them!
Another big reason we celebrate at church this Sunday is Karl Dietmeyer.
We honor Karl and his decades of superb musical leadership. We wish him and wife Cheryl Godspeed as they prepare to move to Wisconsin to be closer to young adult children. Over the years Karl has brought together dynamically the talents and hearts of countless musicians around the simple letters of CDEFGA and B, with a few sharps and flats thrown in.
Finally, we celebrate the very first Sunday of our new pastor, Pastor Wes Smith along with his wife, Jess and two beautiful kids.
We can’t wait to get to know him. But we realize COS of PTC, GA as part of the ELCA would not be talking with Pastor Wes from IN without his RMP and letters of M.DIV and STM.
Simple letters describe so much of our lives. Our personalities can be explored via ENTJ or INFP. We enjoy watching HBO or the NFL and MLB. We watch how the S&P is faring. We catch up with friends via FB and X.
But as we celebrate our amazing seniors, Karl Dietmeyer, and Pastor Wes, we rejoice at how two letters emerge as key to their stories. Alpha and Omega. A and Ω. The first and last letter of the Greek alphabet. In Revelation 21, Jesus says this: “I am making all things new… (and) these words are trustworthy and true. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”
These are emotional times as our seniors, Karl, and Pastor Wes all conclude one chapter of their life stories and commence another.
Bittersweet moments, perhaps, as some must say goodbye to them and others get to say hello. Yet, we rejoice in knowing that Jesus is the co-author of their stories! As Alpha, Jesus is with them and us, at the beginning of their stories. As Omega, Jesus is with them and us, at the end of our stories. And all the chapters in between, providing grace, hope, and purpose and love!
Like the wonderful Borning Cry song professes from God’s perspective: “I was there to hear your borning cry. I’ll be there when you are old. I rejoiced the day you were baptized to see your life unfold.”
See you this Sunday as we celebrate how God gives us these very special fellow “cast members” as we play out our roles and scenes in our various chapter of God’s amazing story!
Lettering with you,
Pastor Fritz
Let us pray:
Dear Lord, what a weekend it will be for your congregation, COS. As we celebrate our graduating seniors, we say congratulations. As we bid Godspeed to Karl and Cheryl Dietmeyer, we say thank you so much. As we greet Pastor Wes, we say welcome and blessings on your time with us. Whatever “letters of life” we face in our various chapters, may we take hope in your son, our Alpha and Omega, the one who is with us faithfully each chapter of our lives. May you arrange all our letters and words into a story of hope and love, a life experience that pleases you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.