July 25, 2021Ephesians 1: 1-14Has someone ever said something to you that had you thinking about it … digesting it … for weeks afterwards? I call it mental composting. Click here for service I’ve been composting a comment made by one of my former seminary professors during the second “OK … What’s Next?” session that was held earlier this month. The session…

July 18, 2021Psalm 146Last week, during its monthly meeting, I told congregational council that I was feeling more than a little Zoomed-out. Click here for service In a stretch of a week’s time, I had attended the Synod Assembly, the National Worship Conference and a session on post-pandemic worship … specifically how we’ll approach communion after we return to in-person services. All…

Psalm 40: 1-10July 11, 2021 During the late 1960s, as construction of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. was underway, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis commissioned conductor Leonard Bernstein to compose a piece of music to be performed at the centre’s official opening. Click here for service Commissioning music or other forms of expression to celebrate new buildings and honour the labour…

July 4, 2021Psalm 27Last weekend, Mary and I served as delegates to the Synod Assembly – a gathering that helps set the direction for the synod and the greater church over the coming three years. Click here for service This was the first assembly to be conducted online and it was an opportunity for more congregations and their members to see how…

June 13, 2021 Pentecost 3 Bishop Sid Haugen, Saskatchewan Synod The Holy Gospel for this Day is from the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 4 Jesus also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he…

June 6, 2021Psalm 100 Pastors set their clocks and calendars based on Sundays. Click here for service Our entire week is structured around Sunday worship services. At LCOS, it’s worship and fellowship. If one part of the morning is missing, then things don’t seem quite right … your day seems a bit off. For regular attendees, Sunday worship either kicks off their…

May 30, 2021Psalm 1Our son has been off his game since the pandemic began. Click here for service It’s been more than a year since he has been able to participate in the sports that marked his weekly routine throughout the year. Wednesday nights were for floor hockey and Saturdays were for five-pin bowling. Since the pandemic’s effects became part of life,…

May 23, 2021Acts 2: 1-4; Galatians 4: 1-7, 5:16-26  Good morning… Among the most-used channels on the television in our house are the movie channels. Click here for service Today’s portion of the letter to the Galatians brings to mind a movie I’ve seen a few times – the first being when the kids were … well … kids. Lemony Snicket’s ‘A…

May 16, 2021,Galatians 3: 23-29 We’ve spent the past few weeks hearing how Paul and other apostles dealt with the call to have Gentiles circumcised and to follow dietary restrictions in order to be considered full members of the faith community. Click here for service Pharisees and those who were strict adherents to the law believed this would identify the men within…

May 9, 2021Galatians 1:1-5; 2:11-21 Each November, our church treasurer and member of the property committee spends an hour or so pounding stakes along the edge of the church parking lot. Click her for service It’s a sure sign of an impending winter. During the following months, as the snow flies, these stakes mark the boundaries for the people clearing the lot…