Living Lutheran Workshop

"Living Lutheran " 1st Workshop

At the first meeting we broke into three groups and read Acts chapters 2, 10 and 16. Each group recorded and shared our thoughts about that chapter. Below are the questions, along with our responses:

#1)

What did God do in the chapter you studied?

Group One Group Two Group Three Acts, Chapter 2 Acts, Chapter 10 Acts, Chapter 16 Filled house with Holy Spirit Spoke to Peter Provided a way to communicate the Word to the world Crowds were drawn to the event Added to the group Sounds like revelation Sent angel to Cornelius Gave a vision to Peter Gave direction to Peter Gave understanding Sent Holy Spirit Allowed equality Gave the gift to share an understanding Elevated people to perform unexpected tasks “Go West young Apostle” God showed power God provided for needs Holy Spirit converted captors Had Tim join Paul (circumcised Tim)

#2)

What did people of faith do in the chapter you studied?

Group One Group Two Group Three Acts, Chapter 2 Acts, Chapter 10 Acts, Chapter 16 Came together / community Felt God with them Baptized Spread the Word Open to change Steadfast in learning Asked “what should we do?” Obeyed God Feared God Gave generously Prayed Witnessed – received Holy Spirit – Baptism Shared Gospel Humble Received Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues Listened to the originals Cast out spirit / demons Spoke with women & baptized them Worked on God’s time: Christian before Roman

#3)

What key lessons would you say any church should learn / remember from this chapter?

Group One Group Two Group Three Acts, Chapter 2 Acts, Chapter 10 Acts, Chapter 16 Devoted to apostles teaching Spread the Word everywhere Be willing to break out of comfort zone Be aware of modes of communication How do we change within the Lutheran tradition What is meant by community today Accept all people Be open to opportunities Be open to hearing from God Recognize the answer Share the good news Understand that all who believe are forgiven Be humble Use every opportunity to praise God See Question Two!! It is God’s agenda Willingness to act on God’s agenda We must respond, ready or not! We may do things not widely popular Accept and celebrate differences

"Renewing Your Congregation" 2nd Workshop

God’s purpose for Lutheran Church of Our Saviour is...

...many different things, but we sure made good progress last Sunday didn’t we?

If you missed the meeting, the results are in this message. This process started with a meeting in the Spring (click on "Living Lutheran" tab above). The information from that get-together fed into the current gathering. We gathered to take the next step in discerning God’s purpose for our church in this place at this time.

At the end of the day we created 3 Purpose Statements and 5 Guiding Principles. Please take a look at them. If I did not copy something faithfully or a note needs an explanation that you can provide, please shoot me back a note. I will make corrections and keep them until we meet again. That looks like it will happen in January.

There is also a survey available to gather information about this process. I think the event went well, but there are always many ways to improve. Please take the time to answer the survey so we can improve the next meeting. Here is the link: Click Here to take the survey.

Finally, I want to remind you of your homework. This is a critical step, so I am going to put the instructions in bullet points.

1. Share the information with congregation members that did not attend. Make sure they know how hard we are working to make this a better church. Invite AND encourage them to attend the next meeting. Tell a friend
   
   
2. Share information about the process with a friend outside of Lutheran Church of Our Saviour. I think people would be excited to be part of a church that is working to find it’s voice. Tell a friend

Thanks again for the hard work and serious thought you put into this effort. The Spirit is surely with us.

Purpose Statements

God’s purpose for Lutheran Church of Our Saviour is to be His eyes, mouth and hands; reaching out, sharing the Gospel.

God’s purpose for Lutheran Church of Our Saviour is to be a place where People connect with God, each other and the community.

God’s purpose for Lutheran Church of Our Saviour is to share the Gospel and Sacraments, pray for God’s guidance, go forth and serve.

Guiding Principles

Jesus is Lord and Savior

We are led by the Holy Spirit

• We are here to be directed by God
• We open our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit
• We offer prayer and thanksgiving without ceasing
• We pray for guidance

We practice Discipleship

• We witness through giving, caring and sharing
• We are willing to step out into the unknown, in faith
• We educate each other and learn

We are Sanctified (we are blessed)

• God loves us all, therefore we welcome, love and respect each other
• We support each other as family
• We join together supporting each other through:
  
  
  • Sacraments
  • Fellowship
  • Prayer
  • Worship

We have Salvation

• We are saved by Grace