The calendar has now turned to February, which means that it is time for us to get to work stocking the ECHO food pantry. While we support ECHO’s work and collect for their food pantry throughout the year, February is the month when Abiding Presence takes responsibility for ensuring there is plenty of non-perishable food, toiletries and household products on hand to meet the needs of our neighbors. Stocking the ECHO food pantry is February is a longstanding Abiding Presence tradition. It is also more important than ever as the needs of our neighbors increase.

So, what can you do? Bring food, toiletries and household products each and every time you come to church this month. When you’re at the grocery store stocking your pantry, replacing your shampoo or picking up laundry detergent - buy double and bring one set to church for ECHO. If you’re grabbing cans from your pantry, make sure they haven’t expired. If you have children or grandchildren, take them with you to the store to help shop and then bring the items to the donation bins at the church. It’s a great way to instill a sense of service from a young age.

Our goal is big - ONE TON of food, toiletries and household products! The fact that February is the shortest month of the year doesn’t deter us from setting a big goal. We know that working together we can meet the needs of our neighbors and ensure that the ECHO food pantry is well stocked.

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As some of you may have heard, I had some minor post-holiday foot surgery to take care of an old injury that flared up and wouldn’t heal on its own. At this point, I’m well on the way to recovery with the minor inconvenience of not getting around quite as easily as I normally do. I’ll be back to worship this weekend and look forward to seeing all of you.

While I’m always grateful to be part of our amazing faith family, I’m especially grateful in times like these. Having so many offers for help from people who I knew I could call on was invaluable. Thank you!

Here at Abiding Presence, we’re always looking for ways to support each other and the community. We’re excited to be launching a new support group this month for parents and caregivers of children with ADHD that is affiliated with CHADD, a national ADHD organization. The first meeting will be Thursday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. and is open to people in the church and community. The support group was the idea of one of our members who was looking to connect with other parents of children with ADHD. Abiding Presence was happy to help provide encouragement and resources to make the group a reality.

Our Parents of Teens Group will also resume meeting this month on Wednesday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m. This group is facilitated by a licensed social worker from the community who comes in to provide conversation and guidance for parents raising teenagers. We also host a monthly Metal Health Family Support Group facilitated by a pastoral counselor.

If you have an idea for a way that we can better support one another and you’re willing to help take a lead in making it happen, please reach out to me. The church and I are here to provide encouragement and resources. I’d love to see a relaunch of our meal ministry to provide meals to members of the congregation who may be recovering, grieving or welcoming a new family member. I also know there are plenty of other support groups that might be helpful for us to launch or community groups with which we can connect. There are lots of possibilities, we just need people with a bit of time and passion.

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Like some of you, I’m in the frantic stages of shopping, wrapping decorating and preparing for Christmas. I envy those of you who have had your gifts wrapped and under the tree for weeks. Right now, I wish I was you! I may have started listening to Christmas carols in mid-November, but I didn’t get wrapping until just this past week.

In the midst of all of the preparations as both a pastor and a mom, we had not one but two families with whom we have worked throughout the year approach us to help provide Christmas gifts for their children. Many thanks to all of you who jumped in to help in the midst of your own family preparations! As a church family, we were able to provide gifts for nine children in two families in addition to all of the toys we collected for ECHO’s Christmas shop.

Working with these two families, I’m mindful of the needs of our neighbors for resources. We have amazing social ministry organizations in our community such as ECHO, the Lamb Center, the Shepherd Center and others, too, who support families and seniors throughout the year. But…those organizations cannot possibly meet all the needs of our all neighbors on their own.

As we prepare to head into the new year, one of the things I ear God calling us to do is to find more opportunities to provide resources to those in our faith family and to our neighbors through our community center, especially in regards to health and wellness. The possibilities for us are endless! A parish nurse, a social worker, trained volunteers from the congregation who are willing to help our “walk in" neighbors get connected to social services. What if we had trusted therapists on site and provided childcare for parents during their appointments? What if we expanded the support groups we offer to provide one for caregivers and/or a grief support group? What if…?

I invite you to start dreaming, praying and listening to God about how we as a church can continue to best provide for the needs of our faith family and our neighbors. Come the new year, I’d love to share a cup of coffee and hear your ideas. We have such an amazing congregation, that the possibilities of how we might expand our ministries really are endless. So, if you have some time and/or some passion, start dreaming and praying!

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You are an amazing group of people! Our congregation never ceases to surprise me. Watching the Holy Spirit work in and through you is a tremendous blessing. Looking ahead to 2019, I can honestly say that I am as excited as ever to take get to work Making Firm the Foundation at Abiding Presence. Thank you for ALL the ways you come together to be the church to make ministry happen. This weekend we are going to celebrate!

As of this moment, we have 105 households who have offered financial commitments for 2019. A big thank you to all of you! Of those 105 commitments, 81 represent new or increased commitments. I am thrilled to share that we not only met, but also surpassed our goal of receiving 75 new/increased commitments by this weekend. This means we will receive a $5,000 one-time challenge gift from a family in the congregation. What a blessing!

But, that’s not all. When it looked like we were closing in our first challenge gift goal, another family came forward to offer a second challenge in order to help emphasize just how much every single commitment – regardless of size – matters in our faith community. We currently need only 29 more households to offer their commitments prior to Thanksgiving in order to receive a second challenge gift of $2,000. If you haven’t yet submitted your commitment, please help us meet this goal. You can submit it online or we will have commitment cards available at worship this weekend that can be placed in the offering plate.

This weekend we are going to celebrate…and get to work making our vision a reality as we seek to together be the church for the sake of God’s world. We will be blessing quilts made by members of the congregation to be sent to Lutheran World Relief and then distributed to people around the world in need. Our Log College Project Design Team will be commissioned at the 8:45 a.m. service as we get to work re-imagining our ministry to and with senior high youth. All of our pre-confirmation kids who have baptismal anniversaries in November will be recognized and blessed. We’ll gather around one of Michael’s home-cooked breakfasts at the Abiding Table for faithful conversation. Our Sunday School kids will gather in their classes for another week of learning. This week’s gospel text and sermon will help us think about our response as disciples of Christ to the brokenness of the world. Then, in the afternoon, we will gather for the CROP Walk with other faith communities in our area to stomp our hunger. It’s going to be quite a weekend. I hope you will both be at church and be the church.  

Oh, and that’s not all…the church council and I have an exciting announcement to share about something your generosity is going to allow us to do right now to take a big step toward furthering our vision. We’ll be sharing the good news during the announcements at worship and follow it up with a congregational letter next week.

Thank you! Thank you for your commitment to being the church and for the privilege of serving as your Senior Pastor.

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A couple of weeks ago I was teaching confirmation and I watched it “click” for one of our confirmation kids. I had a group of them standing around the baptismal font learning about what it means to be baptized children of God. We were talking about the promises God makes to us in the baptismal waters and suddenly the magnitude of these promises hit a particular kid. It clicked. Being a baptized child of God suddenly meant something and was relevant in a way it never had been before. I watched as if a weight suddenly came off this young person’s shoulders, a smile spread across their face and they exclaimed with sheer joy. It was amazing! In that moment, standing around the baptismal font, I took a moment to silently give thanks for the ways this particular faith community is changing lives…literally!

Around this same time, I asked one of our church members to do something particular to their professional background. The church had a specific need and I knew this person was the person to meet it. I also knew I was probably asking a lot. It wasn’t a quick hour or two and done kind of thing. When I checked back in with them about it, I was blown away to hear them say to me, “This project has been a blessing to me,” and then they went on to tell me how. In the midst of an unexpected turn in the conversation, I once again took a moment to silently give thanks for the ways this faith community is changing lives…literally!

Again, around this same time, someone walked into the church off the streets looking for assistance. I engaged in the usual conversation about grocery gift cards and our food pantry when the person said, “I know this is a church, but I have this problem…” At this point we sat down and they shared their story. I was able to speak a word of God’s love into their story where they had previously heard judgement and condemnation from the religious community. Sitting in that suddenly holy moment, again I silently gave thanks for this ways this faith community is changing lives…literally!

Week after week, I am privileged to see the impact Abiding Presence is making on people’s lives – both people in our congregation and people in our larger community. Thank you for the ways you make this life changing work possible through both your presence in our faith community and your financial support for our ministry.

This week we are asking you to please make a financial commitment to Abiding Presence for 2019. For those of you who have been around for a while, you will recognize this as our fall stewardship campaign. For those of you who are new to the church, this is the way we anticipate income for the coming year in order to responsibly set a budget for our ministry. We need to raise $60,000 in new income for 2019 to make our vision for ministry a reality. I hope you will join me in increasing your commitment to Abiding Presence for the coming year.

Additionally, this year we have a challenge grant of $5,000 that has been offered if we meet our goal of 75 new or increased commitments received by Celebration Weekend – this weekend! Please turn your commitment in online or on paper by this Sunday at noon. Next week our stewardship team will be calling households who have not yet turned in a commitment to invite them to be part of making our vision a reality.

Thank you for all of the ways that you are the church. Thank you for the ways you open yourselves up to be transformed in this community. Thank you for the ways you are being the hands, feet and voice of Christ to others in our faith community and beyond. We are the church together. As always, I am grateful for the privilege of being the church with you as your Senior Pastor!

Blessings,

Pastor Keseley  

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All Saints Sunday is one of my favorite Sundays (and Saturdays). I look forward to singing For All the Saints all year long. The reading of the names of those who have died this past year is one of the most sacred acts I am privileged to perform as your pastor. The image of the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us is one to which I personally cling in my faith life.

This year, we’re observing the Festival of All Saints a bit differently. Rather than scrolling the names of our loved ones who have died, we are creating a visual display around the altar. We will see a glimpse of the great cloud of witnesses that gathers with us each time we worship and celebrate the Lord’s Supper. There will be pictures and names of people who have passed away. It’s not too late for your loved one to be included! Simply bring a picture with you when you come to worship and place it on the display at that altar.

We will also read during worship the names of all of our loved ones who have died since the last Festival of All Saints. We will toll the bell for each person who has entered into the great cloud of witnesses this past year.

All Saints isn’t just a time of remembering those who have died, though. It is also a time of giving thanks for the living saints among us. We will begin our service around the font reading the names of all those who have been baptized since the last Festival of All Saints. We will celebrate these living saints who have been named and claimed as children of God and who are counted among God’s saints today.

Martin Luther understood all of us to be simultaneously saints and sinners. Saints, according to Luther’s understanding, aren’t perfect, miracle performing people. Instead, Luther defined saints as forgiven sinners. Luther is quoted as saying, “The saints are sinners, too, but they are forgiven and absolved.”

We are all saint…and sinners…and when we worship we are joined to the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us. So let us come together to give thanks “For all the saints who from their labors rest,” the saints among us and the saints to come.

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Rather than hearing from me this week, I’d like you to hear Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), reflect on the significance of the 501st anniversary of the reformation. Check out her column in this month’s Living Lutheran magazine.

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Week after week, Pastor Heidi and stand behind the altar and offer the invitation, "This is the Lord's Table and all are welcome here." Every one in a while someone stops us after the service and asks, "Do you really mean all?" We do! We really do mean that all are welcome to gather around the Lord's Table. You will be welcome regardless of who you are or where you are on your faith journey.

This weekend we're launching a four week sermon series and congregation-wide study of Holy Communion. We will be dwelling in God's word and digging in to what it means to be fed and forgiven at the Lord's Table. Together, I hope we will all grow in our understanding of God's love for us that is manifest in the tangible form of bread and wine. Our preschool and elementary school Sunday School classes will be learning more about what Holy Communion means in age appropriate ways. Our senior high and adults will be gathering in small groups to expand their understanding of the sacrament beyond what they might have learned as children in holy communion classes. I'm excited for us to be on this journey together as we take a step on our discipleship journeys. 

Having what is called an "open table" for communion is an important part of not only the faith community of Abiding Presence, but of the whole Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We are quite clear as a denomination that the altar isn't our table. It's the Lord's Table. We aren't gate keepers of it, but invited guests to it. When we gather around the Lord's Table, we are fed, forgiven and sent out to invite others to come and to be fed and forgiven, too. 

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Our annual beach vacation always includes a visit to what our family refers to as "Beach Church." "Beach Church" isn't actually church on the beach. In fact, it's a regular ELCA congregation much like ours with a sanctuary, Sunday School classrooms, playground and parking lot. It's located a few blocks from the beach on the main highway. The service, which takes place in their sanctuary, is much like ours. The only thing that is actually "beachy" about it is that we go when we are at the beach!  

As we walked into the main doors, we were warmly welcomed by the greeter, much like I hope guests at Abiding Presence are welcomed. Once inside the sanctuary, we received several more smiles, hellos and welcomes as it was clear that we were not part of the normal crowd who gathered for their Saturday evening service. After the children's sermon, which the pastor added to the beginning of the service just for my two girls as they were the only kids there, we received a bag of microwaveable popcorn. "Thanks for popping by for worship," the kind woman who gave it to us whispered as we made our way back to our seats.  

This popcorn made a HUGE impression on my four year old. In fact, she spent the rest of the service informing me she was hungry and not understanding why we wouldn't eat the not yet microwaved bag of popcorn during the sermon. We've been home a couple of weeks and Nadia still is talking about her "church popcorn," which we finally let her eat this week. 

"Beach Church" made us feel welcome and part of their community in a way that has stuck with us. While we don't have popcorn at Abiding Presence, we do have candy bags. If you haven't seen them, check them out in the back of the sanctuary. They are a fun way for people to learn more about Abiding Presence. 

Above all, smile at people. Say, "Hello!" Tell people you are glad that they are there, especially families with children. Trust me, as a mom I will tell you that getting out the door to church is rarely easy or fun! It take effort. It also takes an equal amount of effort to show up by yourself to church. So, if you see someone sitting alone, make a special point to go over and say hello and welcome to them, too. 

You never know, it could be your smile or welcome that sticks with someone for weeks to come!

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As I shared with you a few weeks ago, our brothers and sisters at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairfax were recently vandalized. Their sanctuary was desecrated with racial slurs, swastikas and the bold statement, "You are all going to Hell." The cushions on their pews were slashed - every single pew. Glass was broken. Cords to their sound system were cut. Just a year prior similar instances occurred at their neighboring religious institutions the Jewish Community Center and Little River United Church of Christ. All of these religious groups share in common a message to the community of welcome for all people. 

On Wednesday evening Pastor Eickstadt and I participated in the event "United Against Hate: an Interfaith Response to the Words and Actions of toward Bethlehem Lutheran Church." We gathered with members of Bethlehem, religious leaders of numerous faith communities, elected officials and a variety of people from the Fairfax area moved by what had happened. Together we sang, prayed, lit candles and showed a unified front against hate in our community. We prayed for our community and for the perpetrators of the vandalism because, after all, Jesus is clear that we are to pray for our enemies. 

Earlier in the day, I had been talking to someone about my evening plans who remarked, "Really? That kind of hate happens here?" Unfortunately, the answer is that it is does. Further, it is up to us to stand up against it. 

Each worship service before Holy Communion is distributed you hear the invitation, "This is the Lord's Table and all are welcome here." When we say "all" we mean all. All people are welcome to gather around the Lord's Table. All people are welcome to be part of the faith community of Abiding Presence. We are not gatekeepers, but witnesses to a God whose love knows no bounds. Together, let us be a church united against hate so that we can build a community around the church that is united against hate as well. 

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My 7th grade math teacher had a large banner hanging in her classroom that read, "Math is not a spectator sport!" While math was not necessarily a "sport" in which I loved to participate as a middle school age kid, the sign made quite an impression on me. I often think of that sign and wonder if I can get one for our narthex that reads, "Church is not a spectator sport!" 

The word "liturgy" is the formal name for our worship. It originally comes from two Greek words - work and people. Liturgy is, therefore, the work of the people! It is the work of everyone who gathers together to form the faith community. Because of this meaning, church, especially worship, cannot be a spectator sport! 

As we head into the fall, Pastor Heidi and I are working on ways to engage more people in our worship. As you might recall from our stewardship campaign, this was one of the goals our congregation lifted up heading into 2018. At the moment, we need more people to sign up to volunteer to be ushers, greeters, lay readers, communion assistants and altar guild members. All of these positions are things that are done during the worship service and simply require you to come a few minutes early or stay a few minutes late. At the bottom of this article, you'll find a brief description as to what each job involves. If you're willing to get involved, simply send me an email and I'll get you connected. 

I am especially looking for someone to step up into the volunteer role of "Worship Scheduler." Quarterly, the Worship Scheduler would put together and send out a schedule of volunteers. Weekly, they would look over the schedule prior to Wednesday to make sure that all of our volunteers have agreed to serve and are in place. The time commitment would be about an hour a week with it taking a bit more time once a quarter to get the schedule out. You could do everything at home from the comfort of your computer with an occasional email or phone call back and forth with me and the office staff. If you're reading this thinking, "That's something I could do!" then I'd love to hear from you!

Thank you for jumping all in at Abiding Presence to make our worship and liturgy the work of our entire faith community!

Usher 
Time commitment in addition to worship: 15 minutes before and after service
Job: Greet worshipers at sanctuary doors, pass out bulletins prior to the service, collect offering, dismiss people to communion and make sure sanctuary is picked up following service
Who Can Volunteer:  Senior High through Adults; Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

Greeter
Time commitment in addition to worship: 15 minutes before service
Job: Greet worshipers at the main church doors
Who Can Volunteer: Anyone with a smile! Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

Lay Reader
Time commitment in addition to worship: None
Job: Read the assigned lesson which is emailed to you in advance
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults

Communion Assistant
Time commitment in addition to worship: None
Job: Distribute either the pouring chalice or common cup at the time of communion
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults

Altar Guild
Time commitment in addition to worship: Approximately 20 minutes before or after the service
Job: Set up or clean up the altar from Holy Communion
Who Can Volunteer: Senior High through Adults; Families with young children are encouraged to sign up as a family so parents and kids can serve together

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What do you get when you put nearly 31,000 Lutheran high school youth and their adult leaders together in a stadium for worship? The answer is a whole lot of communion stations with thousands of communion assistants!

What impacted me the most about our experience last week at the ELCA Youth Gathering, however, wasn't the 31,000 people. Instead, it was the 12 youth and one young adult from Abiding Presence in whose company I was privileged to travel. Here's what I can tell you about the young people of Abiding Presence:

First, we have good youth! We have youth who are passionate, energetic and faithful. The youth of Abiding Presence are funny, compassionate, respectful and kind - to one another, strangers they encounter, new friends they meet while standing in line and to their adult leaders. I genuinely enjoyed being around our youth, even when we were standing outside in a line for over an hour in the sweltering Houston heat. 

Second, we have youth who aren't easily discouraged! When I was tired, our youth were still going strong. When I was hot, our youth weren't complaining one bit. When the food trucks all ran out of food the first night of the gathering, we had no snacks and we didn't think we were going to be able to find food until much later that evening, our youth said, "Don't worry! We'll be fine!" and kept on going. More than that, though, when faced with the current problems and challenges of our world, our youth are energized to make a difference. We learned a new phrase, "God has grace for that!" In the midst of our mistakes, failures, hurt and pain, God has grace. The youth of Abiding Presence embody that grace. 

Finally, we have youth in whom we should invest! I believe that among our current Senior High youth we have the future pastors, bishops, church council presidents, Sunday School teachers, ushers,  youth ministers and musicians of the church. They may not serve at our church as adults, but they will serve at a church somewhere and make a difference in that community because of the way their faith was formed here at Abiding Presence. 

We're not just investing in our youth for the future of the church, though. We are investing in them because they have gifts and skills that we need today. I learned so much from our young people while traveling with them. I know they can mold and shape our church today. 

I encourage you to take a few moments to chat with some of our youth who attend the ELCA Youth Gathering to learn more about their experiences. I also invite you to give a big "Thank You" to Matt and Sara Dyson for accompanying the youth to the gathering with me. The theme was "This Changes Everything" and we have all come back believing this to be true!

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This Saturday the Metropolitan Washington, DC Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will gather for the the annual synod assemble. Voting members from Abiding Presence  will include Rev. Meredith Keseley, Rev. Heidi Eickstadt, Rev. Ivan Ives and Karen and Joe McGavin. The assembly will gather under the theme "Connecting - Up In Out" at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Fairfax. 

The synod assembly is a bit like the annual meeting of a congregation. The assembly will vote on the proposed budget. They will also elect members to the synod council,  synod committees and to serve as voting members to the churchwide assembly next summer. In between the business sessions, there will be opportunities for worship, workshops and fellowship. If you want to stay up to date on the action, there will be a blog running from the floor of the assembly all day on Saturday.

As our synod gathers for assembly, it's a good time to remember that we at Abiding Presence are part of a larger church. The work we can do as one congregation can feel limited at times. The work we can do as 80 congregations in our metropolitan area or as one of more than 9.250 congregations in the country is limitless. Together we support ministries around the country and even the world. Our witness to the good news of Jesus Christ and God's love for the world is stronger together. 

Abiding Presence is especially grateful for the support of the synod of our congregation. We are currently in the second year of a three year grant to help us fund our Pastor of Discipleship position. Pastor Heidi's ministry with us would not be possible without the synod's backing. As the synod is helping to support us, we are blessed to be able to help the synod support ministry at many other congregations in our area. This is what it looks like to be the church together - connecting up, in  and out in our world!  

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