A Letter from Pastor John

In the course of His ministry Jesus took His disciples to the northern reaches of Israel to Caesarea Philippi and the head waters of the Jordan River. From this point the river flowed south irrigating the entire breath of the land. It was literally the life source for the people of the region and for that reason a place of worship for the many heathen nations that through the centuries came and went. The conquerors becoming the conquered in seemingly endless succession. It was at this site, surrounded by the ghosts of past heathen gods, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do people say the son of Man is?" To that they listed the various notions they heard in circulation, sort of a personal opinion poll. "Some say John the Baptist, others day Elijah and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets," they reported. It would be interesting to poll people today with the same question. Even now I would imagine Jesus would be associated with some pretty impressive people. Why he might be judged as a reincarnation of the likes of Martin Luther King, perhaps the original Martin as well, Mother Teresa, Abraham Lincoln, and other people of noble character. Jesus, however, was not interested in what the man on the street may think. He was interested in what His disciples thought, especially Peter, who answered "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." To each of us individually the same question is raised and must be answered, "But who do you say I am?" May your response be the same as Peter confessing Him as the Messiah, the very Son of God.

As they say, however, words can be cheap. May we not only confess rightly with our lips but also with lives dedicated to Him without reservation. As in Luther's morning prayer, "my body, mind and spirit," in unconditional surrender.

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor John
 

Upcoming Events

The Falling Leaves

The falling leaves drift by my window, calling me out for a walk. The falling leaves swirl around my feet, changing white shoes into a myriad of colors. Leaves gently float down and cover my path. I am reminded of God's love and mercy for me. I don't even notice it sometimes. It floats all around me and into my being. For the moment I feel a taste of Heaven. Then the path clears and I see a cigarette butt, some goose droppings and a dirty paper bag. Now watching where I step, my walk in the real world continues. As Christians we cope with and deal with ugliness on our walk through life, but the beauty of God's mercy through Jesus Christ is always there, giving us inner peace. As a congregation we can encourage our church family to search for his inner strength to make the pathway easier. As a congregation we can go into the community and tell our neighbors about God's love and mercy. Unlike the leaves that will blow away, be swept up and burned, our God's love will continue to cover all of us until the end of time.

Blessings to all,
Katherine Doepke, Chairman

During the current year Addis Hewot Ethiopian Ethnic ministries at Trinity First Lutheran Church has been prayerfully considering different ways of doing ministries in the Twin Cities in order to be able to attract more people to come and hear the word of God. Many people who have shown interest in coming often state their jobs as a major hindrance for not being able to attend church services. There are other reasons as well.

One of the ways we thought was worth exploring is to bring three former Mekane Yesus (Dwelling Place of Jesus) groups currently worshipping in different places under one umbrella for worship and witness. All the three have the same doctrine with no difference among us so we believe by so doing we will have a critical group that can have shared vision and compassion for ministry to participate in different activities of the church such as proclamation, youth, Sunday school, elder's board, witness, women's prayer group, and much more.

Wit this new approach and unity around the same vision and ministry we hope to provide a service with impact and ability to touch the hearts of many people. We are considering different options for our place of worship. The first is to continue worshipping at TFLC. A second option would be to move to another Lutheran church nearby. Thirdly we may move to a neutral worshipping place. Each of these has its own dynamics.

To that end we would like to thank TFLC and Pastor John very much for your continued strong ministry support and request that you continue to pray for our ministry and for he realization of this new initiative.

Yours in Christ,
~ Pastor Frances Stephanos Beko

Volume 3, Issue 1: Spring 2010
Volume 2, Issue 2: Winter 2009
Volume 2, Issue 1: Summer 2009
Volume 1, Issue 3: Spring 2009
Volume 1, Issue 2: Winter 2008
Volume 1, Issue 1: Fall 2008