Assistance Ministry Announcement

We are excited to announce that our Assistance Ministry program will resume serving and welcoming guests Monday, February 1st from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm. We look forward to seeing our guests!

ANNOUNCEMENT

Online worship will continue at Messiah Lutheran Church. We will post our weekly worship services found on the Messiah Lutheran Church Facebook group.  To receive worship notifications, you can subscribe to our email list by selecting the About Us tab on the left, then click join our email list.  Updated information will be sent when it becomes available. 

Easter reflections: Christ the vine

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”

The artist Paul Granlund expresses this theme from the Gospel of John in the work pictured above. His sculpture “Life Tree” sits on the grounds of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Granlund’s art helped inspire the 1993 hymn “O Blessed Spring” (ELW 447), by Susan Cherwien. Her words (see below) capture Christ’s promise to hold us fast in all seasons of life, through periods of doubt and uncertainty, youth and age,  sorrow and joy.

The words remind us that our life in Christ, the true vine, is not static. The Christian life is not about having all the answers but about being part of a living body: growing, struggling, sharing gifts, being pruned, making new connections, always “held in Christ” through “word and water” —that is, through the power of the word of God made flesh and the gift of baptism into his life-giving tree.

Cherwien elaborated on her own text in an article in the Christian Century. ”In baptism,” she writes, “we were given a new name: Branch. Each branch unique. Each branch a never-to-be-repeated gift to the universe. Each branch with unique gifts, unique fruit to bear: Branch that sings, Branch that tells stories, Branch that builds, Branch that bakes, Branch that adds well, Branch that comforts, Branch that heals, Branch that brings laughter. Each branch going through the seasons of life connected deeply, mysteriously, to Christ, the true Vine.”

You can hear a lovely rendition of the hymn here.

Blessings in Easter,

Pastor David

1. O blessed spring, where Word and sign
   Embrace us into Christ the Vine:
   Here Christ enjoins each one to be
   A branch of this life-giving Tree.
    
2. Through summer heat of youthful years,
   Uncertain faith, rebellious tears,
   Sustained by Christ’s infusing rain,
   The boughs will shout for joy again.
    
3. When autumn cools and youth is cold,
   When limbs their heavy harvest hold,
   Then through us, warm, the Christ will move
   With gifts of beauty, wisdom, love.
    
4. As winter comes, as winters must,
   We breathe our last, return to dust;
   Still held in Christ, our souls take wing
   And trust the promise of the spring.
    
5. Christ, holy Vine, Christ, living Tree,
   Be praised for this blest mystery:
   That Word and water thus revive
   And join us to your Tree of Life.

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GREETINGS!

Our congregation was officially organized on May 7, 1954 with 35 people present. Since then, Messiah has thrived in the community, and has strived to make Christ’s love known to all who enter our doors – through worship, through education, through our facilities, and through fellowship.

Thank you for your interest in us.  If you would like to learn more about us, or would like to become a part of the fellowship of Jesus Christ here at Messiah, please contact our pastor, either in person, by phone, by email, or with a letter. We look forward to hearing from you!