Dear church family,
My update this week begins with the sad news of a great loss to our church family. Our administrative assistant, Georgina Krenn, died this past week. Georgina’s warm and welcoming presence will be missed by all who stopped by or phoned the church office. It was a blessing to have her at Augustana and I am very thankful for the time I had working with her. It was Georgina’s wish that there be a memorial service at Augustana when it is safe to do so. I look forward to the time when we can gather and remember the gift we had in Georgina. Please remember her family in your prayers especially this Mother’s Day. Please contact me for information on forwarding cards, etc. to the family.
We will worship with King of Glory next Sunday (May 17th). I will forward that information on to you next week.
I would like to pass on something that came to me via Faith R. A bit of humour to share some wisdom: just what we needed this week.
A while back I read a story of a visiting pastor who attended a men's breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country. The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast.
"Lord, I hate buttermilk", the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was growing concerned.
Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, "And Lord, you know I don't much care for raw white flour". The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn't the only one to feel uncomfortable.
Then the farmer added, "But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So Lord, when things come up that we don't like, when life gets hard, when we don't understand what you're saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen."
Within that prayer there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today.
Stay strong, my friends, because our LORD is mixing several things that we don't really care for, but something even better is going to come when God is done with it. AMEN!
God bless and keep you well!
Pastor Marilyn
Our worship link for this Sunday: https://youtu.be/d-klby2fF1w (or follow the link from our website)
PS: The Canada Lutheran featured an article about parish nursing this issue. Our own Carol Kostiuk and Gayle Dixon are in the article. It is a pretty good description of what parish nursing is all about: a blessing to Augustana for sure.
PPS: Due to the weather the church outdoor clean up day has been moved to next Saturday, May 16