Pastor Scott's Message
Last weekend, Pastor Darrell Zimmerman led our council and elders through a Grace Place Wellness workshop. I’d like to share our experience. Pastor Zimmerman’s organization nurtures vitality and joy in ministry by inspiring and equipping church workers to lead healthy lives. A healthy church worker and a healthy congregation go hand in hand. We sought to understand the condition of our church and look for opportunities for improvement.
Pastor Zimmerman taught us about the three realms of a congregation: Receiving His Grace, Living in Community and Serving through Vacation. We receive God’s grace through spiritual and baptismal wellbeing. When we confess our sins and receive forgiveness we are renewed and reborn like a butterfly from a caterpillar. This is the first and foundational step. The group felt like God has blessed us through his word and sacrament here. Living in Community centers around relational, emotional and intellectual wellness. There was a strong consensus that this is a real strength for Glendale. We have fervent love for one another and it shows. The third area, Serving through Vocation, relates to physical, financial and vocational wellness. This is where we need to grow. What ministry is God calling us to do, as individuals and a congregation?
A healthy congregation exhibits the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control. An unhealthy church gets stuck and somewhere and some of the fruit is not apparent. This Sunday during Bible class, we are going to talk more about these eight areas of health. We want you to be healthy, your family to be healthy and this church to be healthy so we can bring wellness to our world. Thank you to Pastor Zimmerman, Ron and Carol Froesel, Steve and Phyllis Phelps, Greg Frimel, John Steele, Michael Barbercheck, Joel and Marcia Hempel, Cathie Albers, Jeff Wille, Andy Ryan, Roger Lubben and Josh Boehme for contributing.
