A Weary World Rejoices

The best-selling book in the English language is the King James Bible. The second best-selling book, or something close to it, is the “Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Made and remade a hundred times over, the world knows the story of Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Marley, and the three phantoms who change Scrooge’s perspective on Christmas and indeed life. The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future show Scrooge that Christmas is a joyful time of year, and that this joy is rooted in the Christmas message that we are not alone; God is with us, and we with each other.

Dickens crafts each ghost in relation to joy. The ghost of Christmas past appears as a child with fire burning on his head. We are told this fire signifies the passion of life. Christmas is often associated with childhood and nostalgia. These are seasons when passion runs high. When life is new and exciting. The Ghost of Christmas Past calls to mind these times and holds out hope that that ambiguous Christmas spirit may simply be the awe of rediscovering life. The Ghost of Christmas Present is joy and jolliness personified. Wrapped in a green cloak, wielding a horn of plenty, and topped with a crown of holly, this ghost means to visualize the outsized and even absurd nature of Christmas. With a hearty, not nostalgic greeting, he takes Scrooge to many homes on Christmas. None of these homes compares to Scrooge’s in stateliness or value, yet all dwarf the former in terms of joy and even goodness. Finally, the Ghost of Christmas Future stands juxtaposed with his supernatural compatriots. By drawing strong parallels to the Grim Reaper, Dickens brings to mind that which ought to give us pause: death. Death conjures both the need to make merry now and the need to be found righteous at one’s death. Christmas, with its celebrations and charities, offers a dual occasion to prepare for one’s death. The travels of the ghosts shed light on the bleak streets of Victorian England, even as they find those who are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Pollution, poverty, or even extreme comfort are all poor excuses for not having a merry Christmas.

We find ourselves weary at Christmas time. In our world, the snow does not fall, the chestnuts do not roast on the street corners, and the choirs do not wear top hats (No, Todd, don’t get any ideas). We are in some ways the better for it. Nostalgia is an enemy of joy. One can keep Christmas perfectly well while sitting on the porch of their patio home on an 80-degree day in Phoenix. Yet, we are weary and perhaps a bit numb. Like Scrooge, we get used to saying humbug at Christmas. A humbug on the company “Holiday” party, humbug to the same movies and songs about reindeer, and a humbug on all the gifts. This is ok. The Gospel is good news for Scrooges like us. The Gospel does not ask us to embrace the commercialization of Christmas. Christianity does not ask us to rejoice at gluttony, greed, envy, worry, and the worst excesses of American materialism. If you are over Christmas, that may be ok.

Christmas still ought to be a joyful time of year for the Christian. This begins by seeing God in the simple baby in the manger. He is the righteousness which we seek. Like the simple homes of “A Christmas Carol,” Jesus is simple. He also brings joy. When we hear the story that God is with us, shoulder to shoulder, and believe, how can we not be encouraged? When we hear that kings and shepherds alike bowed down to the baby boy, how can we not be inspired?  The Gospel, in a broad sense, does ask those with plenty, or little, in their barns here to store up treasure in heaven. Yet, we look, and the greatest gift is already here. There is no greater gift we can give. We can’t out give God. He gives Himself to us ingrates. We are called to receive this gift together. In this news, we will choose to rejoice, for this purpose we will keep Christmas, and out of gratitude to God, we will be merry. From my family to yours, I wish you a very merry Christmas.

God bless us, everyone,

Pastor Kurt

Give Thanks!

Dear Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Do you feel grateful this time of year? Perhaps you feel guilty even hearing this question. You know the answer is no, but the answer ought to be yes. You remember the joy and cheer of gratitude with nostalgia. Maybe you did feel grateful and look forward to the little rituals and conversations at Thanksgiving that reignite the tolerance for less. Conversely, do you feel no gratitude and no remorse? Thanksgiving is simply a distraction of food and football from the rush of life, and you resist attempts to spiritualize it. However talk about turkey and Thanksgiving and gratitude and grace hit you today, God has something to say about the posture of our hearts. God invites us to open our hearts. When we open our hearts, soften our hearts, knead our hearts, we allow God to work the peace that passes all understanding. God says, “a heart of peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Proverbs 14:30). This peace comes from knowing and experiencing this unconditional love of God. God also warns us that envy, an all too common emotion, destroys who we really are as His baptized children. Arguably, the American economy runs on envy, and we are told, “comparison is the thief of joy.” Don’t let comparisons and what you don’t have cloud the peace God wants to give you today through Jesus’ love. This November and December, we have a few opportunities to knead our hearts. We have chances to break down calluses and let care in. We have a moment to cast out goods and let God hallow us. We have the supreme opportunity to let go of judgment and welcome grace Himself. Please note the following special comings and goings at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church. Meet and Follow Jesus: • Join us for a special Christmas tree decorating service at 9:30 AM on November 30th complete with cookies and hot chocolate. • Come out for a special neighborhood worship service at Encanto Park at 7 PM on the evening of Wednesday, December 3rd. This is an exciting chance to take church beyond our walls to our neighbors. • Night of Worship for students at Mount Calvary at 7 PM on Wednesday, December 17th. • Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship is on the 24th at 7 PM. Serve Central Phoenix with Jesus: • As always, 10% of all unrestricted gifts to the church will go towards our mission of the quarter, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest. • If you are interested in leaving a legacy gift to Mount Calvary or have an end-of-the-year gift planned, please see Mr. Guy Ludwig or Pastor Kurt Hellwig. • A few housing needs have come up in the congregation. If you have an extra room available, please see Pastor Kurt. • Finally, as many of you have heard, area food banks are running low. Let’s give back through our food bank blitz on Sunday, November 23rd. Please bring your non-perishable gifts to worship. All proceeds to the Society of St. Vincent DePaul. In the words of Psalm 41, “blessed is he who remembers the poor and needy.” Let us open our hearts for God’s love to come in and our love for others to run out this time of year. With a grateful heart, Pastor Kurt Hellwig

Why Build a Church

Some of the world’s most famous churches have become mere museums. Westminster Abby in London, The Notre Dame in Paris, The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, and St. Peter’s in Rome echo with the sounds of chatting tourists, not chanting. Not many could rightly be considered local parishes—churches serving a specific people or neighborhood. On one rainy winter Sunday, I had the privilege of sitting in one of the largest Lutheran churches in the world on the harbor of Stockholm, Sweden. The cathedral sat thousands yet gathered a few dozen souls on this Sabbath. A casual trip through Europe reveals that a glorious church building is not a predictor of faith or faithfulness. So, what is the concerned Christian layman to do with a church building here? We in Western Europe and North America live in a post-Christian age. While the cathedrals draw tourists, do they draw us closer to God? I think they still do. My friends, there is a real temptation to throw aside the buildings, the trappings, and the decorum that come with a grand church. Indeed, we frequently stress here at Mount Calvary that the church is not the building, it is the people! This is good Theology. Yet, on this 75th anniversary of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, the mother church of Maricopa County, it ought to be said that beautiful churches are worth building, and that Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, the people, and the building are worth celebrating.

The pressure to discard beautiful churches comes from all sides. As said above, some draw a causation between secularization and the great churches of Europe. Indeed, the most vibrant churches on that continent today are likely to be house churches and storefront gatherings. This correlation does not, of course, mean causation. In Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame the characters are stirred to faith by the bells, statues, and stained glass of France’s most famous church. I believe it remains so today. On this side of the Atlantic, beautiful churches face another enemy, and this enemy is American pragmatism. While more spiritual than our European contemporaries, Americans are a practical people, and Arizonians are no exception. Here, churches are measured according to their potential rental income, not their history and aesthetics. Many of our churches look like office parks, not churches. This is by design with the bottom line in mind. Finally, many generous and well-meaning Christians suggest that church buildings are a waste of money altogether. Could the money be better used elsewhere?  On one occasion, some women bought expensive perfume and anointed Jesus. They did this as an act of worship. They also did this as an act of faith to show that they knew he would die soon for their sins. Judas, though, asked Jesus, “could not this perfume be sold and the proceeds given to the poor?” Sometimes, we find ourselves asking the same question. John says, “he [Judas] said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief.” Let worship be worship and charity be charity. God’s house should be something special.

            The founders of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church did the difficult thing and built a grand church. No doubt they did this to the glory of God as an act of worship. In doing so, they left a legacy. A physical church, a beautiful church, is God pleasing in several ways. Churches connect people to a specific place, the ascetics of a church draw our attention to God, and beautiful churches continue the Biblical pattern of beautiful spaces.

            God has made you to be you. You are a specific person. No person is an accident. Consequently, you live in a specific time and place. You were not born in another place on the other side of the world, and you were not born 1000 years ago. You are you, and you are made to be here. A Shaker hymn says, “it is a gift to be simple, it is a gift to be free, it is a gift to come down where we ought to be.” A physical building floods our God given senses and affirms, “yes this is where God wants me to be.” We love to say at Mount Calvary, “you belong here,” “you have a home here,” and we mean it. There is nothing like coming home after a long journey of many years.

            The cathedrals of Europe continue to inspire because they were designed with eternity in mind. Unlike our pragmatic churches in America produced with profit in mind, churches can open our minds to the truths of scripture. Many people today have a hard time imagining an almighty, eternal, unchangeable God. Sometimes we find the courage to consider this Being in his natural handiwork of nature. However, a great church too can also connect us to the transcendent. When a church dominates a skyline for a millennium, it is a reflection of an all-powerful, unchanging God who loves us dearly. Our senses, created by God, are reoriented to him through the church building itself.

            Finally, we would be remiss to not mention the detailed instructions God leaves in scripture for the building of houses of worship. During the Exodus, God gave his people plans for the tabernacle. The tabernacle was not the largest building in the world or even the most beautiful, but it was intentionally designed to worship God. The Ark of the Covenant was a special home for God’s presence. This Ark famously won battles and held God’s presence amongst the people. Later in scripture, God gave Solomon the plans for the temple in Jerusalem. Solomon prays, “Lord, that heaven would dwell on earth.” In each case, God chooses to live with us through intentional building plans. We ought to consider God's craft when considering his homes here below.

The Sunday school song goes, “a church is not the building, a church is not a steeple, the church is the people.” Indeed, this is true. God sanctified all his people to be His temples through the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in each one of us. Nevertheless, we as His people, body and soul, are stirred to respond with praise when we see God’s house. Let the house be an intentional and beautiful home for the king of the universe. With the Psalmist, we say, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the LORD.”

In Jesus’ Service,

Pastor Kurt

Back to School

Dear Mount Calvary Lutheran Church,

What have you been reading this summer? Like many Americans, I found myself with a little more time to read this summer, and like many folks, I enjoyed some audiobooks going on the customary summer road trip to see family. This summer I read,

·       The Relentless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. If you are like me and not a big self-help guy, this is still a must-read. Pastor Comer (an evangelical pastor in Portland, OR) presents a compelling and joyful way of being rooted in the way of Jesus’ earliest followers and quite distinct from contemporary life.

·       The Anxious Generation by Johnathan Haidt. Haidt’s book is a big one for parents or people in education professionally. Haidt responds to the epidemic of anxiety in our children and ourselves.

·       The Devils or The Possessed by 19th-century Russian master Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky is considered one of the greatest novelists of all time, and this 800-page beast shows why. Part satire of atheism and part dark prophecy of the coming Soviet Union, I would be careful recommending this work given its scope and content.

·       Selections from the Nicomedian Ethics by Aristotle. The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote three centuries before Christ about an unknown God named the Logos behind the gods and the created world. The New Testament writers regularly interact with Aristotle and other pagan philosophers. John writes, “In the beginning was the logos and the logos was God and the logos became flesh and dwelt among us… grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Paul in Athens says at the altar to the unknown god, “What you call unknown, I proclaim to you, Jesus Christ.”

·       Consolations to the Dying by Johann Gerhard. Gerhard is a famous 17th-century Lutheran theologian. This little work is a fictional conversation between a pastor and a parishioner about the fears one has before dying. A pastoral classic!

·       The Gospel of John, Genesis, 1st Timothy, Romans, and Proverbs. Much of this work was in preparation for sermons and Bible study. I read the Gospel of John devotionally. I am also really enjoying the book of Proverbs right now. Talk about a good self-help book!

Back-to-school season is upon. Indeed, school has been in session for almost a month in some cases. This seems like a good time to plug Bible Study at Mount Calvary. Beginning September 21st, there will be two Bible Studies at Mount Calvary—one for students and one for adults. Thomas, GCU seminarian, Joel, GCU student, and I will each have a chance to teach. The adult class is working through Romans. If you are new or mature in the Christian faith helps you put it all together.

Additionally, this month will see the start of Pastor and Pancakes on the first Sunday of the month. This is an opportunity to meet informally over food and discuss a key document from early Christian history at 8am in the lounge.

So far, this letter has been heavy on the follow Jesus aspect of our mission motto of Meet Jesus, Follow Jesus, and Serve Central Phoenix with Jesus. Please find listed several other key announcements concerning the congregation, especially with regards to worship and outreach.

·       I am pleased to announce Todd Barrick as our new worship leader. Todd brings extensive experience in a variety of settings and on a variety of instruments to the role. I think you will, along with me, be impressed by his big heart, sincere faith, and professionalism. Todd will begin on September 28th. 

·       We are up to help with Family Promise this week. There are still a couple of openings if you are interested. The sign-up link can be found here. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0549ABAC2AA3F5C61-58399059-copy#/

·       During September and October, there will be fellowship events for men, women, and students.

·       Although Jan White remains in the hospital, I will be visiting MCLC homebound members on September 23rd.

·       I am working with our GCU friends to get us on campus for GCU’s “Local Church Fair.” This is a great chance for us to meet and greet students across campus.

Thank you for your ongoing support. “Now may the God of all peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

In Jesus’ Service,

Pastor Kurt

Five Loaves and Two Fish

Dear Mount Calvary Lutheran Church,

            I had heard horror stories. Every three years, pastors and lay leaders from the 35 districts of the Lutheran Church in this county gather in “district conventions.” These are often a sorry excuse for Christian behavior and sometimes more closely resemble our rotting, secular political system. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This gathering in June highlighted and celebrated the work of small churches throughout the southwest and beyond. The convention affirmed nearly unanimously the need for evangelism, lay empowerment, and flexibility going forward.

            We all know the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. Churchgoing seems so 1950s. Sometimes, even some Christians seemed surprised that I get out of bed every morning and embrace the role of evangelist to the city of Phoenix and pastor to Mount Calvary. First, I would beg to differ that the church is unpopular. There is ample evidence that Gen Z, the youngest Americans, are rapidly finding their way to God (or rather Him to them.) If you don’t believe me, talk to a student from Grand Canyon University. We are so back. Second, regardless of popular trends, God can do great things with small stuff. During the convention, many noted that the Lord once fed the multitude with just five loaves and two fish. My message this month is simple. God is going to feed 1.8 million people in Phoenix through our smaller the 1950s, yet slowly growing church. Most importantly, our congregation is faithful, humble, healthy, and possesses the right culture. Essential, God pleasing qualities that can be lacking in some churches.

During my listening tour, I heard the need for accessible and blended worship. (We are hiring a worship leader if you know somebody!) I also heard many good things about our big heart and love for all people.

            This August is an exciting month for us as we step out to meet Jesus in worship, follow Jesus in our own lives, and serve central Phoenix together. Please consider the following:

Follow Jesus

·       On August 17th, we will welcome over a dozen new members.

·       After worship on August 17th, we will call Luther and Aman as associate pastors at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church.

·       There will be a baptism in the English service and in the Kunama service on August 24th.  This brings the total number of baptisms this calendar year in connection with the congregation to 5.

Serve Central Phoenix with Jesus

·       If you adopted a college student in May, you have the chance to connect with your adopted college student one final time before the start of the school year.

·       The Family Promise families we served in July have all found employment and permanent housing. Praise God! Our congregation is up to help again from August 24th to August 30th. There will be a male member of the church council present every night at 5:45 during drop-off to help facilitate.

·       On Thursday, August 28th, there will be a BBQ at GCU to welcome students to campus.

·       Mount Calvary is proud to unveil our quarterly mission partners for the year. One tenth of all offerings to the general fund will go to support these causes.

o   During the 1st quarter, we will support Family Promise. If you have not had the chance to serve with them, please consider stepping out and doing so.

o   During the 2nd quarter, we will support Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest and cut them a check for their annual toy drive.

o   During the 3rd quarter, we will Let Them Live. This is a powerful organization that financially supports women with unplanned pregnancies. While I recognize that anything adjacent to the topic of abortion can be a lightning rod in our society, Mount Calvary is (and always will be) proudly non-partisan, non-political, and pro-life. Perhaps the greatest thing we can do as Christians who value life is to sacrificially support expectant mothers in need.

o   During the 4th quarter, we will support the missionary work of a friend of the congregation, Adam Lee. Adam is a former professor at Concordia University Irvine. He and his wife serve as missionaries in her native Germany. They build relationships with travelers and locals by operating a hostel and teaching English classes in a small town in the country’s east. Their independent Lutheran church has experienced growth in recent years in what is one of the most atheistic regions of the world.

Finally, thank you! July was a great month for us financially. As shared in our stewardship devotions, God is looking for kingdom ROI. At Mount Calvary, we refuse to bury our talent in the ground, and we refuse to just keep the lights on. Your gifts are truly appreciated and are wisely invested.

See you Sunday.

In Jesus’ Service,

Pastor Kurt