Messiah Lutheran Church • 5200 Mayfield Rd., Lyndhurst, OH 44124 • 440-442-6941
Here you will find Pr. Paul's message from the monthly Grace Note, along with sermons from various Sundays and Adult Bible Study. Also, the special service for the Emanuel 9 is now on this page, along with the bulletin and the prayer for Racial Healing.
Midwinter Pilgrimage:
The turning of Christmas towards Epiphany is one of my favorite transitions of our sacred calendar. I love Matthew’s Gospel’s story of Magi traveling to visit young Jesus, crossing religious and social boundaries to acknowledge God’s presence in the world. I love the night sky and wondering about stars and distant worlds that also are part of God’s creation. I love the ability to wander through the winter wilderness as the daylight slowly grows. There’s something important in life about journeys and wandering and the growth that happens “along the way.”
Wintertime in Ohio isn’t the easiest time for wandering and journeys and the like, but I’ll be taking some time in February for a pilgrimage through the religious and historical sites in and around Jerusalem and Palestine. A clergy development program through the Knights Templar has sponsored me in this opportunity for growth and learning, and I am so excited to gain a better appreciation and understanding of the peoples, lands, and locations that are so central to many of our most important scripture stories. Please remember me in your prayers as we travel, that the relationships formed and insights gained would bear fruit for the ministry we share. This is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime chance that I am deeply thankful and excited for, and I look forward to sharing more about the journey upon my return!
Epiphany blessings to you all. May God continue to meet us amidst our wonderings and wanderings.
c/o PASTOR PAUL
First Sunday of Advent + Year A November 27, 2022
Christ the King Sunday + Year C November 20, 2022
Bible Study 2022 C Lectionary 33 November 13, 2022
All Saints Sunday + Year C November 6, 2022
10/30 - Group led class: Reformation Sunday + Year C October 30, 2022
10/23 - No class due to Pr. Paul being sick.
10/16 - Sunday School Lectionary 29 C 2022
10/9 - Sunday School Lectionary 28 C 2022
Archived lessons below:
The First Sunday After Lent 2021 (Lectionary 1B)
The Second Sunday of Advent
The Twenty-fourth Sunday After Pentecost 2020 (Lectionary 33 A)
The Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost 2020 (Lectionary 29 A)
The Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost 2020 (Lectionary 28 A)
We invite you to to CLICK HERE to read Pr. Paul's message.
Five years ago today a stranger was welcomed into Bible Study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. After the study ended, he opened fire, killing 9 of the people present in the name of white supremacy. The gunman grew up and was confirmed in an ELCA congregation, and is indicative of the continued, required work needed for us to repent of the sins of racism and white supremacy.
Today, along with our entire denomination, we commemorate the martyrdom of The Emanuel Nine. We give thanks for their faithful witness, grieve their deaths, and confess our own complicity in these systems of sin and death.
Take a few moments this evening to light a candle, participate in the brief liturgy (CLICK HERE FOR BULLETIN), and remember the lives of these siblings in faith. The video is below.
~Pastor Paul
August 12, 2018