New Chapters in Location.  Pastor Fritz Wiese.  3 March 2024.  Sermon #3 in Lenten series, “New Chapters:  Hope in Coauthoring Our Life Stories with God.”

Seven Segues

Communication Commitment for Unfolding “New Chapters” at COS

1. Pastor Miriam’s Transition to Retirement.
2. Interim Staffing.
3. Transition Team.
4. Call Team.
5. Sanctuary Renewal Process.
6. Rejoice & Renew Fund Raising.
7. Interim Worship Plan.

I wonder if you are like me.  And can remember locations or places in your lives that no longer exist.  For instance, Firestine Hall at Wittenberg University was where I lived my junior year as an RA.  But about 10 years after I graduated, they tore it down because of the outdated 1970s architectural vibe and converted the space into a mini park.  So, when I was back, I can look up to where my 3^rd story room used to be, but now it’s just air.  Next, here is a faded picture of LuAnne and me in 1987 sitting together at Camp Luther after chapel one evening, overlooking Lake Erie.  (Isn’t that sweet?  Good times).  But because of the sandy soil and bluff erosion, like my dorm room, that GPS coordinate today is just air. The bluff line is much further south.

Thirdly, Epiphany Lutheran in Ohio sits on land that used to be an apple orchard and farm.  So, my first office was in a converted bedroom of the old family farmhouse.   And sure enough, when it was time for a building project, that house was torn down and my office moved over to the new complex.  But again, it was a weird feeling to have spent years of my life in a certain location or space that no longer existed.   Likewise, Morgan was baptized in what was the gym and contemporary worship space at the time at Epiphany.   It too, was torn down to be converted into our Celebration Center.

I bet you, too, have important locations in your lives that no longer exist.  Or if they do, they look a bit different than when you first arrived.  Spaces and locations can hold powerful meaning in our lives, right?   The Bible specifies over 1100 various locations, all of which held meaning.  And that’s why pilgrims today still visit the Holy Land.  Whether it’s Bethlehem or Nazareth for Jesus, or Peachtree City and south Atlanta for us, places matter in our stories with God.

Thanks to Pastor Miriam for preaching the first 2 weeks in our Lenten series, “New Chapters:  Hope in Coauthoring our Life Stories with God.”   Using the story of Joseph and other scripture, she did a really neat job of sharing her own feelings and insights regarding HER new chapters in Vocation (as she retires) and in Life (as she and David start a new chapter in their marriage and schedules)—inspiring reflections for own lives.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll explore New Chapters in how we’re to think about our daily agenda as Jesus offers the New Command.  And also a New Chapter in God’s overall plan as Jesus institutes a New Covenant through his meal, death, and resurrection of Holy Week. Good stuff.

But today, let’s keep kicking around how locations and the dynamic thereof can change.

Pastor Miriam, in last week’s sermon you took us back to 2009.  In the wake of the ELCA’s statement on sexuality (which all denominations have, or are—ala the Methodist church, or will face), and amid a variety of other anxiety triggers, COS struggled with huge internal disagreement.  Ultimately, about 40% of the congregation would leave for other “locations.” You shared how 2009 was the hardest year (or chapter) of your life, with maybe the exception of your father’s death.  Listening to you, I bet many of us couldn’t help be taken back to what WE were experiencing in that “location of life.”   Let me share my angle on that time.

I’ll start my story in 1996, when LuAnne and I accepted a call to Epiphany Lutheran in Dayton (or Centerville) Ohio.  In those days, like PTC, the community was still growing rapidly.  Even more importantly, a lot of American culture—especially young families—saw value in congregational connection.   So, from 1996 to 2000, Epiphany grew from 620 in weekly worship to just over 1,000.   I gotta say, it was sorta fun to preach to 1,000 people on a weekend or about 3,300 for Easter or Christmas Eve.

 When our senior pastor retired and I was asked if I would like to be considered for senior, I said no.  LuAnne was pregnant with Morgan, and I was really concerned with how to keep working hard and still being a good dad when my kids were young.   But in 2008, when the next senior pastor announced his upcoming retirement to council, I did agree to the invitation.  And working with a team of the 4 prior council presidents, we worked out how I would transition to senior pastor the next year.

 But as talk about the upcoming ELCA vote in 2019 started to sweep across the nation’s congregations, our senior pastor changed his mind about retirement.   Instead of retiring, he decided to stay and tried to make the case AGAINST a more moderate and welcoming position for gays and lesbians in partnerships and church life.   In light of that stance, and his eventual effort to lead Epiphany out of the ELCA, LuAnne and I made the really difficult decision to be open to a “new chapter,” a new location and space.   In some ways, it was gut-wrenching to leave the place where my sister and her family were worshiping, where my kids had gobs of friends, and LuAnne was rooted with tenure in a neat school system.

BUT, like the two spies scouting out the Holy Land in our first lesson, we knew there were productive possibilities ahead, and we put our faith in God to steer and coauthor our futures.

The bishops for Arlington, Virginia, Denver, Colorado, and GA reached out to us and we started praying.  I would have been open to Colorado, but at the time, LuAnne thought that with our young kids, that was too far away from grandparents.  And since I wanted to stay married to LuAnne more than I wanted to live out west, we started talking more with a church in a place called Peachtree City.

That’s when I started learning more about what made this your hardest year in ministry, Pastor Miriam. Systems health expert Peter Steinke explains how there are certain events that can trigger anxiety in all human beings:  location, is one of them (the Holy Land temple mount just one key example).  A few years before, COS had voted to try to sell this property so it could move to a larger location.  This move not only angered some current members enough to leave, but the effort was vetoed by the city council and opposing neighbors.  So even before the 2009 foment of anxiety over sexuality, Pastor Miriam, you know COS was still processing the anxiety over a potential shift in location, shift in key leadership with founding Pastor John’s 2008 retirement, and several other issues.

As I learned more about the COS situation in my conversations with the call team, and heard about efforts that were being taken to hold the congregation from schism, LuAnne and I wondered if we should continue.  But there was a sense in our prayers:  if life is about comfort, we should stay in Ohio.  But if it’s about contribution, we should remain open.  We knew it would not be the love fest as when we arrived at Epiphany.  We would enter a congregation that was super hopeful but really grieving and to an extent, beaten-up, with so many small groups torn apart and friends leaving.   Many of us remember those days with the staff cuts that Pastor Miriam’s pictures last week revealed and the $183,000 budget deficit our first year.

What’s the point of this story?  Certainly, not to be a downer.  On the contrary.  Scripture makes it clear, with the psalmist both screaming at God in some verses and then praising the Lord in others, that it’s healthy when—from time to time-- we are honest about the highs and lows of all the new chapters we face in life.  Scripture doesn’t hide the fact that Jesus cries to God from the cross, wondering for a moment if he’s been abandoned.   Even though our life stories are fantastic and we know the last chapters are of victory and rejoicing, some chapters along the way are hard and it’s OK—and maybe essential-- to acknowledge that.

If I had to do it over again, back in 2010 when we moved here, I would have arranged for my whole family to have about 5 counseling sessions or so.  Just so we could process the reality that new chapters can be exciting, but very hard.  And that different members of the family (or congregation) can experience the changing new chapters differently, and with different schedules. In a way, that’s my hope for this Lenten series.  That along with the faith testimonies, and opportunities to get together in small groups we can talk— talk and lean into healthy practices of handling well the various new chapters of our stories with God.

So, I appreciate, Pastor Miriam, your honesty last week about how beat up you felt in 2009.  We thank you for your leadership and faithfulness in that season—along with all the other COS leaders who fought the good fight.  Mark Bunker was our council president at that time.

As you indicated last week, Pastor Miriam, most American congregations, regardless of affiliation, are not the same size we were a few decades ago.  Pastor Adam Hamilton of the largest Methodist church in America says they are still only 2/3 of their worship attendance before Covid.   Even though we will continue to be as creative and faithful as possible within our country’s congregational boats—so to speak—no one can control the changing tides and currents of the cultural ocean upon which we float.   The American church—in addition to so many other cultural cornerstones-- is in a very different location and space, metaphorically, on the ocean than we were a few decades ago.

And you know what? That is OK.  Throughout the centuries, tides come and go.  Our call is to be faithful for what we can control, and let the Lord, Master of the Ocean, steer the journey and history.

Pastor Miriam, you said last week you hear the voices of so many who say we are in a much, much better place than we were back in those tough days of 2009 and 10.  On the cusp of our 50^th anniversary next year, we have momentum and high hopes. Steadily, our ministry grows at the 33 acres at Palmetto Road God with which God has entrusted us, with permanent bathrooms being built as we speak.  We recently learned that in terms of mission support, or the dollars that we share with our synod and ELCA to empower ministry around the world, COS is #2 out of over 150 congregations throughout our 4-state synod!   Another robust new member Connect Class this upcoming Saturday. God is on the move! So many blessings for which to be thankful.

And that brings us to our Sanctuary Renewal Process, which we lean into today with our gifts to the Lord.  All of us have had a chance to attend or watch recordings of Don Livingston and Leslie Klein overviewing the details of the proposed refreshed sanctuary—this wonderful LOCATION.  We’ve seen the video invitations from David Beecher, Karl Dietmeyer, Larry Peterson and others inviting our support of the project.  We heard founding Pastor Weber share how surprised he is we still have 35-year-old carpet and his delight that we’re dedicated to keep moving forward.

So today is the day we’re invited to bring and dedicate our financial gifts that empower what we believe are Jesus’ plans for our sanctuary.   $110,000 of the $300,000 goal already in the bank thanks to some special gifts and dedicated funds.  So, we pray that collectively, today, and in the next week or so, God’s people at COS can offer the $190,000 complement.

I won’t re-preach my sermon from last month, but let me share super-briefly some of the motivation that makes LuAnne and I so excited to share $10,000 toward this New Chapters in Location & Space moment for COS.

One was Urge to Splurge.  I told you the story of how Frugal Fritz knew when it was time to buy LuAnne’s engagement ring, it was a time to do it right.  And we believe that’s what we need to do for our Sanctuary Renewal, creating a space not on the cheap, but one that we and our community will use, and be proud of, for decades to come.

I remember years ago the CEO of Delta came to worship here.  He actually spoke after my sermon as we said goodbye to Janet Stronach’s son, Neil, who served as a wonderful Vice President at Delta.  I remember Delta pilot Karl Dietmeyer talking to me afterward, “Thank goodness we didn’t have any sound glitches today.”  Because back at that time, we did have AV issues.  Among other glitches.  We needed to invest, improve, and we did.   With so many Delta employees at COS, you want your boss and colleagues to have a good impression of your church when they visit—and a lot goes into that.

In addition to visitors at worship, we care about how touring college choirs or community groups evaluate our space.  Indeed, even though LuAnne worships primarily at the contemporary service, she’s in on our gift, because she knows our sanctuary is not just a place for our traditional worship—which she supports—but also for high school concerts, like when both of our kids’ choirs wanted to come here and sing.  A location/space that is welcoming and current with today’s needs with a fresh and inviting feel—empowering potential for the whole community as an additional blessing to our core worship mission.  In the name of the Lord and for him, we want to offer our very best.

In my sermon, I also explored the values of Gratitude, Expectation, and Sacrifice.  Thank you, thank you, for your sacrificial giving.  Hoops for Haiti, Joshua’s gift, you’re the #2 church in terms of ELCA Mission Support—you folks change lives in the name of Jesus locally, regionally, and globally. You’re incredible.   And as you give so generously for the world, maybe it’s OK that we be generous with this key location, so central for our relationship with the Lord, where God comes to refresh and renew us in worship week in, week out.

I promise I’m headed toward home with the sermon.  But LuAnne and I know another key principle today is “supplement, not substitute.”  LuAnne and I know we don’t help the church at all if we simply take some of what we had already committed to the Annual Ministry Plan for COS core ministries and just divert it to the sanctuary renewal project.   No, we understand this is a special gift, an above and beyond gift on top of what we’ve discerned should be our regular stewardship of what the Lord provides us each week.

So let me wrap it up with the way we began:  God’s Word.   From our gospel, we can take hope that while the construction of the Jerusalem temple took 46 years, we’re hoping our sanctuary renewal project will be accomplished in a matter of months.    More importantly, Jesus reminds us that it’s not about temples or buildings.  So may the Holy Spirit guide all our efforts these days to drive what promotes our connection to Jesus’ pathway of joy and life.

And finally, from our first lesson, I wonder if all of us have 12 spies living within us.  And as we face the new chapters of our lives—whatever they are.  Vocation, life, locations, agendas—it might feel like we’ve got 10 different voices inside, like those 10 spies, who are focusing on the worries, dangers, and potential problems of what lies ahead. A glass less than half full.   They actually advise, turning around and going back to slavery.  But instead, may we be like Joshua, who finds inspiration in the other voices—even if there are just 2 of them--that suggest amid the challenges, there is great potential, there are good times, there is a Promised Land waiting ahead.  And with the Lord as our strength, lead, and purpose, we should be strong and courageous, and commit and enter into our New Chapters with high expectation and good spirit.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.