Message from Pastor Nathan 

Dear Members and Friends of St. Paul Lutheran:

Greetings! As I write this, we are coming upon the second Sunday in our life together. As far as the first Sunday goes, all I can say is. . . Wow! Thank you for the incredibly warm and affirming welcome you gave to me. Our Sunday mornings are at the heart of our life together, and I look forward as we begin our journey of hearing God's word together and receiving God's meal together.

We sang as in our sending song on our first Sunday together:

On what has now been sown

your blessing Lord, bestow;

the pow'r is yours alone

to make it sprout and grow,

O Lord, in grace the harvest raise,

and yours alone shall be the praise!

We are at the beginning of a journey together. We are no doubt eager to "get to work." But the good news is that God is already at work. God has been at work in this place for a long time. And God has called each of you in your baptism to be a part of the mission of St. Paul Lutheran. Your work already bears much fruit. Friends in Christ, never doubt that God is at work in you and our life together!

As we begin, it's good to remind ourselves of our mission at St. Paul Lutheran. Here is our mission statement:

To grow in God's Word and share God's love. We work together under the following Core Values:

1. Building community inside and outside of our church building.

2. Nurturing and developing faith lives for all ages.

3. Serving others (in our neighborhoods, community, state and beyond).

4. Caring for our members and church building.

5. Investing in children, youth and their families.

It has been a delight to begin participating in these core values as your pastor. Many thanks are due (and I'm sure I'm missing someone , so don't be afraid to gently remind me), but at this juncture I am especially grateful:

To Pastor Laurel as she personally introduces me to many of our wonderful elders; to Kristin as she walks alongside me and projects a culture of care and compassion for all who come in our doors or calls us on the phone; to Jenny as she models how to reach out to our children and youth in authentic and hospitable ways; to Ed as he begins sharing with me the remarkable legacy of financial gifts that support our mission and his stewardship of them; to Jeff for a nearly two-hour tour of our facility and grounds and the important care that goes into them; to Cindy from the Connect Center who looks forward to sharing with me about their partnership with our congregation and other churches in Stillwater; to Mugs and her diligence in meeting with me regularly and tending to all the details of our governance; and to others who have stopped by my office to say hello and to visit for a few minutes (or longer, and that's just fine!) and share about what St. Paul Lutheran means to you.

So we are off to a good start! As we live into this mission, the best thing we can do in our first year together is simply take the time to get to know one another and re-commit to our common life together. This begins by showing up for each other on Sunday morning and then extending that care to others who can't be with us. Your sanctuary may have beautiful stained-glass windows, the eye-catching pipes of a fine organ, a cross, pulpit, table, and font as central symbols of our faith. But there's nothing I delight in more than the fine and beautiful faces of all of you. The church is people, and you are the body of Christ.

See you in church.

Pastor Nathan