Dear brothers and sisters in Christ –

Yesterday, Vicar and I were visiting with a shut-in member.  I came to serve communion, but I always spend time getting caught up.  As we visited I would ask questions – open ended questions and would receive simple answers, and it wasn’t long and silence filled the air.  All of the conventional conversations – weather, health, etc. – were gone.  So I told Vicar more about who we were visiting, and an old memory popped into my mind.

I was visiting this member many years ago at Mercy Hospital.  They were lying in a hospital bed and I was talking with her.  Out of the blue she said, “You have the nicest teeth.”  Looking up and listening, she noticed my teeth.  I have never really thought I have nice teeth, although I never needed braces, I have taken good care of them, go decades without cavities, but they are not “Hollywood white” – if you know what I mean.  That day she made me feel good by sharing that simple compliment, and in that darkened nursing home room I shared that memory with her.  She didn’t remember it, but I told how good it made me feel.

God uses people like us to impact one another and the world.  None of us is worthy to be used by God, but He wants to use us.  God uses imperfect and unlikely people. His grace is greater than our sin.  In Scripture, we find many unusual choices of people God used to fulfill His plans.  He called Moses, who had killed an Egyptian, to lead His people from bondage.  He chose David, who was a shepherd boy, to become a king.  Most of the disciples that Jesus called were merely fishermen.  He called ordinary people to do extraordinary things and he also calls ordinary people to do ordinary things.

Are you ready to be used by God – in ordinary and extraordinary ways?

God wants us to have the attitude of Isaiah who said, “Here am I! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8).  When God calls, our lives are in His hands.  We are equipped by His grace and embrace His mission on earth.  He wants us to be totally committed and available.  We are to use more than our money and our prayers.  God wants us to be His vehicles and channels through which He works.  May each of us ask the question, “What can I do for my church and for God that will make a difference in the lives of others?”  God will show you opportunities for service.

God bless,

Pastor Hartwig

Another school year begins. For the church, that means we are about to re-experience the same annual events and all the same liturgical seasons, Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost. For students the repetition is even more noticeable as another year of math, science, and history classes have begun, and homework, exams, and sporting events await over the next twelve months.

As much as it appears we are doing the same things repeatedly, the 2018/2019 year will also be different than the last. Kindergarteners are now 1^st graders, 5^th graders are 6^th graders, 8^th graders are high school freshmen, and high school graduates are off at colleges, trade schools, or getting started in the workforce. The new year brings fresh opportunities to learn and grow, even if we go through the same motions all over again.

The same is true for our congregation at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. The kids are getting older and learning new things, confirmation will say hello to a new batch of 6^th graders, and another group of graduates has left to go serve God in their new vocations within their new communities. But it’s not just students. Everyone in the church will face new challenges, hear new sermons, attend new Bible studies, and get to know yet another new vicar!

Amidst the old and the new this year brings, we shift our focus to rejoicing in the Lord. Last year, you spent a full year pausing in the middle of the third petition of the Lord’s Prayer. I was only here for the final month of that church wide theme of Thy Will Be Done, but it was obvious to me how big of an impact that had on the members at Our Redeemer.

I pray that our new theme, Rejoice!, will have a similar impact by the end of next summer. It will certainly present us with its own blessings and challenges. I already anticipate the groans in my own heart as we go through the liturgy and sermons all calling me to rejoice. Sometimes I feel like rejoicing, but there are also many times when I do not. I suspect that by the end of this vicarage year, I will be quite ready to take a break from rejoicing. However, it is through this steady repetition that we learn what it really means to Rejoice!

Rejoicing in our Lord, Jesus Christ, is not about how we feel. We will have plenty of days and weeks over the next year when rejoicing will be the last thing we want to do. Yet we will come together and learn to rejoice despite the way we feel. It is a skill that most of the world cannot learn, but as members of Christ’s, who know that God’s will is that we have forgiveness of sins, salvation, and life everlasting, we can and should rejoice at all times and in all places.

Rejoicing in Jesus is about turning our eyes to the cross, where Jesus died for our sins, and to the empty tomb, where Jesus rose in victory over death. Praise God when we can rejoice with our feelings, and praise God that we can rejoice without them. This new church year will be full of chances for us to come together as a congregation to practice rejoicing in both the good and hard times, and when it proves challenging, we can remember along with the prophet Isaiah the reason why we rejoice:

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.” (Isaiah 61:10)

Rejoice!

-Vicar Otterman

Here are some news headlines:
“DATCP Warns Of Fake Utility Calls Scamming Victims” – WISC-TV3
“Memphis Couple Caught On Video Scamming” – FOX13 Memphis
“Minnesota Man Sentenced After Scamming At Least 25 Women” – KMSP-TV
“Father Arrested, Son Wanted After Scamming Victim Out Of $6000” – FOX43
“Howell Police Warn Of Kids Scamming Local Businesses For Donations” – Livingston Daily
“Man Sentenced To 14 Years For Scamming Elderly With Fake Magazine” – Washington Post

With a simple Google news search, I found articles about scams happening all around us – north, east, south, and west. And the truth of the matter is then happen here in Iowa too.

Just this past week, we had a middle aged woman who called herself Tina stop at the church during the Sunday morning late service. Several members tended to Tina; they got her water to drink, in a glass, and water to take, in a bottle. They even gave her a baggie full of Ritz crackers.

Tina stopped to ask for gas money. Earlier that morning, her mother was in a car in Chicago and was taken to Cook County Hospital. All seven of Tina’s kids were at home, and a friend volunteered to drive her to Chicago. Except! They didn’t have any gas money. Could the church give them money to drive to Chicago?

Concerned for Tina, I was asked to skip greeting our members and tend to Tina. I immediately sat down with Tina and asked what was going on? After she told me, I asked if her mother was okay. She shook her head yes. Then I asked if any family was with her mother. Tina affirmed her sister was with her mother. To which I replied, “Praise the Lord. Your mom has someone with her.” Then I asked, “Have you been able to talk to your mom on the phone?” Tina said she hadn’t called her. Tina didn’t say, “I can’t call her” or “my mom can’t talk on the phone.” She simply said, “No. I haven’t called her.”

I prayed with Tina and told her we are not able to give her money for gas. I walked her to the door so she could get back to her ride, but I noticed her ride wasn’t here. I also noticed that Tina was approaching members in the parking lot.

You see, this is not the first time Tina has been here. Sometimes it is her mom and sometimes it is her dad, but it is always Cook County Hospital. This was her fourth time, and she is always asking for gas money. She approached many of our members at the end of the Tasting Bee. Approaching them in the parking lot while the second person’s vehicle blocked members cars from backing out. Eventually, her ride picked her up, and Tina’s scam came to an end.

Monday the Office Staff received an email from a mother of three asking for money for school clothing. Often times this is a sincere request this time of year, but the email contained no name, no city, no school, no number. We didn’t respond to the scam.

Then I heard about another church in the Iowa City area that was being attacked by another scam. With appropriate letter head from the church, letters were emailed to members from the pastor requesting gift cards for a struggling member of the church. The letter was written well (oftentimes poor English is a clue to a scam), but the letter requested that photos of the gift card codes were emailed to the pastor. Not dropped off at the church office, but that the codes were emailed. Here was another scam.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is hard to have a compassionate and discerning heart. I remember at Disney the importance the balance of compassion and discernment that was stress. Disney is scammed daily. Everyone wants something for free. Some even devise ways to get the freebies. Articles online even teach you how. This article was posted on August 16th in the online newspaper “The Conversation”: “How to get away with fraud: the successful techniques of scamming.” The entire disabled assistance program at Walt Disney World had to be re-evaluated because tourists scammed the system to avoid ride lines.

Scammers scam!

The Apostle Paul said,
“For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:16–19)

But we are not pitied, for we have hope. Christ is Risen!
And you respond, “Christ is Risen, Indeed. Alleluia!”
When it comes to our faith, we have not been scammed. Praise be to God! Amen!

Remain faithful and Rejoice!

Pastor Hartwig

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Listen, God is Calling! Throughout the summer months we will hear how God has called people to be His servants. We will hear how God has likewise called you by His Gospel proclamation. “Listen, God is Calling” is our Summer  Sunday School theme, where we will be tracing the patriarchs of the faith from the book of Genesis, starting with Abraham and finishing with Joseph. As you “Listen” to their story, you will hear how God has called His people throughout time and how God has directed history to fulfill His promises. So, listen to this amazing story of real people and real history, because God is really calling you to be His people. Listen! because God is calling and He has much in store for you as you live out your life of faith.

Listen, God is Calling! Throughout the summer months we will still have many amazing opportunities for you to live out your call as God’s servant among your neighbors. We start the summer with Christ Cares Sunday on June 3rd, where you will have the opportunity to serve your neighborhood and community as humble servants. You can sign-up to help out at any one of 18 different locations, organizations, and activities. These opportunities range from getting to make cards of appreciation in the Fellowship Hall at church, to getting to pull weeds in the community Gardens at Wetherby Park. All ages and abilities have servant opportunities open to them. Listen to God’s call to care for your neighbor on Christ Cares Sunday.

Listen, God is Calling! As the summer continues we have many more fun and exciting activities to get involved in, so get ready to help out. The UKANDU mission team leaves the last week of June to go to serve the Chicago community by sharing Christ’s love in word, work, and worship. Then, on the Fourth of July, we will be walking in the Coralville parade and handing out bottles of water to the community. Next, starting in July 22nd Our Redeemer will be sharing the Gospel with Johnson County by hosting a booth at the Johnson County Fair. Finally, everyone, old, young, and middle-aged will get to participate in Vacation Bible School (VBS) as you travel down “Splash Canyon” listening to and learning about how God has called each of you.

Listen, God is Calling! He truly has blessed us at Our Redeemer and has given us so many opportunities to serve our neighbor that we truly do get to experience His love in us and through us. Thanks be to the good and gracious will of God, who grants you the forgiveness of sin, eternal life, and salvation. Keep “Thy will be done” in your prayers and on your lips because, Listen, God has called you!

Your Servant in Christ,

Vicar Scheele

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ –

There is a parable told in India about the selfish man who inherited a rice field.  The first year the man irrigated the field and it was fruitful.  The water, in fact, flowed into his neighbor’s field and this too produced a bountiful harvest.

But the next year the selfish man decided: Why should I let this water flow through my field into his?  Water is precious and I must keep it.  So he built a dam.  This prevented the water from flowing into his neighbor’s field, but it proved disastrous to his own crop as well.  Irrigation water nourished the field only if it flowed.  When it did not move because of the dam, the water became stagnant and the field a swamp.

We own no rice fields.  Still the parable is clear.  Think of what we have inherited from God.  Think of all He has given us.  If we are selfish and keep it all for ourselves, our lives become stagnant, a dismal swamp of mere existence. But if we give back to God by giving to others, both the giver and the receiver share in the fruits of God’s love.  I saw two clear examples of this principle in the last week.

First is the Vicarage program.  Peter Adelsen served as Vicar here and now he serves as Pastor in Minnesota.  Andrew Wolfgram served as Vicar here and now he will be installed as Pastor in South Dakota.  Soon (okay, not until July 29^th), Vicar Sheele will return to the seminary and Vicar Otterman will arrive.  You, the members of Our Redeemer, have been able to give to others – our Vicars – and now they are sharing the fruit of God’s love with others across this country.  What a joy it is to be part of the Vicarage program!

Second is this facility we call Our Redeemer.  During the construction we have learned the joy of sharing – sharing one room, one Fellowship Hall for worship, for fellowship, for classes, for coffee hour, for quilting, for everything.  Like the water that flowed and was shared with the neighbor, by sharing one room we are not becoming stagnant.  Creative and thought-out solutions are achieved.

Soon we will have our facility back.  May 12^th and 13^th are set aside for celebrating and commissioning the sanctuary, chapel, and gathering place.  We know the facility will not be 100% complete on this weekend.  Nevertheless, we will celebrate and commission.  On the 12^th there will be a 12 hour prayer vigil in the chapel.  We would like every member to commit to 30 minutes of prayer in the chapel that day.  Details and a sign-up sheet are coming.  During worship on the 12^th and 13^th we will consecrate the new places to God’s ministry.  These places are not ours, but God’s.  Therefore, it is important that we remember: If we give back to God by giving to others, both the giver and the receiver share in the fruits of God’s love.

May God continue to richly bless you!

Pastor Hartwig

Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!

As we enter into the Easter season let us rejoice in Christ’s amazing act of love and service that He chose to perform for us. His dying on the cross was the ultimate act of service and sacrifice for all of mankind. The Father sacrificed His only Son so that we might have life. He shows us what it means to love, to do something for us not because we deserve it, but because of His grace and mercy. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s love cost Jesus His very life, but death could not keep Him. Instead, as Jesus bursts forth from the chains of death, we too, burst forth in new life. We have new life in Jesus. For if by our baptism, “we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Romans 6:5).

Now that we have died to sin and have been born again by Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we have the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. God’s will has been done and continues to be done in our lives every day.

But your next question should be, “How are we to respond? How are we to act?”

We are to respond in thanksgiving and we are to act in love, thanksgiving toward God and love toward God and our neighbor. We are to walk in love. We are to love as God’s children in deed and in truth. We are to love because God is love. We testify to the world around us by our deeds, the very deeds that proclaim, “You will know we are Christians by our love!”

Just look at all of the activities scheduled for April. Each activity is a witness of God’s love working through the Church, working through you. Whether it is the LWML Tasting Bee, the Children’s Choir, the Spring Confirmation Trip, Men’s group, Lunch Bunch, or Theology 101, we preach Christ Crucified and proclaim Christ is Risen! Our actions speak for us and our actions show God’s love to our neighbor. Even when we fail to proclaim God’s love, then by repentance and faith we receive forgiveness. For by faith, we have been given the strength to overcome the world to show that “Thy Will Be Done” is done out of love.

Your Servant in Christ,

Vicar Scheele

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ–

Things are not always what they seem…

Most of the people at the Chicago Children’s Hospital did not know her name.  They just knew her as the sweet, elderly lady in the vivid red suit who wanted to make sure that every sick child had a teddy bear to hug and caress.

She kept bringing the stuffed animals, purchased with her own money, to give the sick children.  That is why she was simply called “The Teddy Bear Lady.”

Her name was Gladys Holm, a retired secretary for an insurance company, who lived alone in a tiny apartment on a salary of $15,000 per year.  She lived modestly and frugally, and loved to save and invest – for the purpose of giving and helping people, especially children.

When she died at age 86, her will simply directed that the bulk of her estate be given to the Children’s Memorial Hospital in the amount of $18 million!  No one had the slightest idea that the tall, happy woman delivering teddy bears to ailing children had such wealth.

As they began to piece together more of her life’s story, they discovered something else.  They learned that the gifts of teddy bears were really a ruse.  She gave away teddy bears to learn more about the financial resources of the families of the children.  When she learned that the parents did not have hospitalization or enough to cover medical expenses, she very quietly had taken care of their bills.

Can you visualize that?  Can you imagine? The teddy bears were only a ruse.  Her real hunger was to find out more about needy people.  It was love focused on others.  This lady saved most of her income from most of her life to help others.

The same can be said about Jesus and the cross.  You can say His death was a ruse.  His death was not the end, but it was the beginning.  Satan thought he won, thought he was victorious, but it was Christ who was victorious over death, for three days later, Jesus Christ rose.  He rose!

At first glance, the reality of the cross was not seen.

The same is true for the “Teddy Bear Lady.”  She was not what she seemed.

What is not what it seems in your life?

Do you have a hidden sin you need to overcome?

Do you have a hidden grudge that needs to be forgiven?

Do you, in terms of the 8^th commandment, put the best construction on things?

May God lead and guide you as you meditate upon these thoughts, and may His will be done.

Lenten blessing,  Pastor Hartwig

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The new month is upon us and a new month of activities and challenges approach. Let us pray, “Thy will be done.” As we pray and reflect on those words, we remember that Jesus gave us those words to help us boldly and confidently approach our heavenly father. As we look to God and pray the Lord’s prayer time after time, we need to remember that each time we are asking “the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth” (Is 40:28) :

To remember us in His will.

To remember us in His divine providence and protection.

To remind us that we need His healing and health.

To remind us that without His Son we would be lonely and lost.

To remind us that His will is that we have the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.

“Not as I will, but as You will,” Jesus prayed to His Father the night before He went to the cross for our salvation. And that is our prayer as well this Lent as we seek to do God’s will in our lives, as we draw near to the observance of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection during Holy Week.

As we enter the Lenten season this February remember, “Thy will be done.” Remember, because Christ has remembered you. He has remembered you and gives His steadfast love to you in His Word and Sacraments. “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love” (Ps 147:11). Our hope and trust are in God’s will. Our hope and trust is in Jesus.

“Not as I will, but as you will.” A new month is upon us and new challenges are coming. The Narthex renovations continue moving forward bringing with them the joys and challenges of a live-in renovation. Plus, many activities are scheduled for February including Basics of the Faith, Trivia Challenge, Ash Wednesday, and Theology 101. I am sure many challenges are coming in your own personal life as well—challenges with family and friends, challenges with time and schedules, challenges with keeping up with life. So, pray, “Thy will be done” and trust in the God who renews your strength. Trust and wait on the God who lifts you up to soar on the wings of eagles.

Your Servant in Christ,

Vicar Scheele

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Time never seems to slow down, especially as we enter the beginning of a new church year and the end of the calendar year. Christmas decorations are going up, cookies are being baked, presents are being bought. Christmas cards and letters are being planned out (or sent out). More shopping is taking place. Family plans are being made. In fact, so many preparations are taking place that we often lose track of all the different activities and events. A brief glance at your church calendar confirms more of the same. We have multiple events going on every week and many weekends that are double booked. Ultimately, December is a time of preparation, a time to prepare our hearts and minds for the arrival of Immanuel, God with us.

As we enter the Advent season, we are reminded to look at how God is the great reversal and how He brings us from death back to life. However, God, as the great mover, also moves us forward into paradise. Where, finally, Christ our Lord will bring us home to Eden.

In our December preparations, we will enter into reverse, to focus on what God has done for us, how He has used the history of His people and the history of Our Redeemer to bring us to where we are today. We are in the midst of a year of “Thy will be done,” a year where we can bask in the glory of God’s forgiveness, life, and salvation in our midst.

Yet we will also focus forward on Christ’s second coming. We work diligently to spread the Kingdom of God. We work through our Christian witness to the community in our daily lives and in our family. We look forward because although the Kingdom of God is among us, it is not yet completely revealed, and the final and glorious Day of the Lord is still a promised hope.

That future hope is where we will be called home, where we get to behold our Savior with our resurrected bodies in a new heaven and earth, where God will be our shepherd and we will be led and fed by Him. Jesus will be a prince among us, because He is Immanuel, God with us.

Time never slows down, especially as we wait on the Lord. He is coming and He is coming soon.

Your Servant in Christ,

Vicar Scheele

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

A little girl might say, “It means a big turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy and green bean casserole.  And you can’t forget pumpkin pie.”  I think we all agree with her.  Who does not welcome and enjoy a good dinner?  I think the attendance at the Prime Time Dinner proves this.

A young man might say, “Thanksgiving means football.”  I guess he’s right too.  Football in most homes is part of the day’s celebration – or the day after.  “Go Hawks!  Beat the Cornhuskers!”

To others Thanksgiving means an extra day off, it means a day to travel home, it means a day to spend with family.  Still yet, for others, Thanksgiving means harvest – grain bins full, combines retired for the year, and apple baskets full.

As I write this letter, there is an apple sitting on my desk.  It is left over from this weekend’s Basics of the Faith class (20-some people attend).  If you were here, I would ask, “Isn’t this apple beautiful?”  What color!  A swirl of delicious red and granny-smith green wash the apple.  Who mixed the paints, who handled the brush to give such color to this apple?  God!

God, in His infinite love and wisdom, has provided through the unfailing laws of nature for the growth, sweetness, coloring, and beautifying of all the products of the fields.  This apple is but one of many harvests.

For a meal nutritious and a mean battle on the gridiron, for time at our home or a welcoming home, for a yearly full harvest and daily bread given, we have so much to praise God.

Praise then, is the great meaning of Thanksgiving.  God, our heavenly Father, sends us every good gift.  From His bountiful hand come our daily mercies.  We should praise Him every day.

At our Thanksgiving table we break the bread that we receive from the altar of God, from the Thanksgiving Eve service, and we go around the table to share our thanksgiving and praise for God.  Each year, I am thankful for my wife, my children, my family and the opportunity to serve as pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Iowa City, Iowa.

This past weekend you showed your thankfulness for me.  I received so many nice cards, letters, notes and gifts.  Thank you for them.  They were encouraging and edifying.  That is what Thanksgiving means – to give thanks and praise to God.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6)

Rev. Brent Hartwig