Word from Wiese

Installation

Installation 18 June 2025 Installation. Have you installed anything recently? For the Wieses, it was a new microwave. The fancy convection built-in microwave/oven that came with our house finally bit the dust. After the retrofit of the cabinet, the required wiring, and installation fees, the actual cost of the new basic microwave seemed to be a drop in the bucket. …

Word from Wiese

The Pulse of Paul

The Pulse of Paul 11 June 2025 Dear Faith Friends, Like last week, as you read this, the COS Footsteps of Paul Adventure Group is over in Greece.  Entering into the stories of Scripture through Paul’s journeys, we hope to enter more deeply into love, grace, and flow of Jesus’ Good News that Paul was so passionate to share all …

Word from Wiese

Setting Sail

Setting Sail 4 June 2025 Dear Faith Friends,   By the time you read this, our COS Footsteps of Paul Adventure Group is figuring out our first day in Greece. Later this week, we’ll be boarding a ship to sail across the Aegean Sea. As we follow Paul’s route, we too, will be open to what God has in store …

Word from Wiese

Welcome Pastor Wes!

Welcome Pastor Wes! 28 May 2025 Dear Faith Friends, One of the reasons we rejoice this spring is the opportunity to welcome a new faith and life partner in our midst, Pastor Wes Smith, our new Associate Pastor at COS. As part of the “get to know you” process, let me use this WFW to ask Pastor Wes some possible …

Word from Wiese

Rewind

Rewind 21 May 2025 Rewind. Have you ever been watching a sporting event and there’s a play so amazing that you take the remote to rewind it so you can see it again immediately? Or been watching a show and laughed so hard at a joke that you rewound the show so you could hear it again? Well, that’s how …

Word from Wiese

Love Letters

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 …

Word from Wiese

Serenity’s Lutheran Connection

Serenity’s Lutheran Connection 7 May 2025 The son of a Lutheran pastor. Recently, I learned the author of the Serenity Prayer, centering the hearts of millions worldwide, was composed by a man growing up in a Lutheran home. You know the prayer, don’t you?   “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change …

Word from Wiese

God’s Refrigerator

God’s Refrigerator 30 April 2025 Dear friend in faith, “If God has a refrigerator, your picture is on it.” I love that little word of encouragement.  Indeed, each one of our faces is treasured by the Lord. After all, God designed them just the way he wanted! Our refrigerator front is a lot cleaner now that our kids have flown …

Word from Wiese

Grazie, Papa

Grazie, Papa 23 April 2025 A loving papa makes a world of difference. In Pope—or Papa—Francis, the world was blessed with a churchman, culture- shaper, and papa who truly infused Christ-like love into the human family. Like many of you, I appreciated his humility, his advocacy for the poor and marginalized, his emphasizing human need over institutional flow, his stand …

Word from Wiese

The Grand Slam of Holy Week

The Grand Slam of Holy Week 16 April 2025 Is the man in the photo weeping with joy or despair? My wife LuAnne is not a golf fan. But she was glued to the Masters Tournament this past Sunday afternoon when Rory McIlroy became only the sixth golfer ever to win the sport’s prestigious Grand Slam title. So much was …