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Annual Meeting
Budget Proposal Q&A
There will be two opportunities for Q&A about the proposed budget prior to the congregational meeting on January 30th.
The first opportunity will be Tuesday, January 18th at 6:30pm, this will be a Zoom meeting CLICK HERE to join the meeting
The second opportunity will be an in-person meeting following service on Sunday, January 23rd at 11:30am in the North Meeting Room.
Paper copies of the proposed budget are available in the narthex.
Click below for an electronic version
2021 Annual Report
OSLC Financial Report 2021
New COVID Policies at OSLC
Romans 8:27 reminds us that the spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words to express. And we have felt that truth through the trauma of the past year and we feel it now as we prepare to be able to gather again in ways that were lost to us during the pandemic. We also know that each one of you and your families, friends, pods, schools, and neighbors have had your own experiences, your own losses and griefs, your own times of being overwhelmed and disoriented. We have heard some of your stories, and some we have yet to hear, and we want you to know this- that no matter the place you are coming from now or the places you have been we have held you in love and prayer and sent those sighs of the spirit deep in our hearts and swiftly and frequently to God for you.
When we heard the news of the CDC findings and that the vaccine is doing it’s work, we were at the same time thrilled and terrified! A sense of awe and what now questions running in our minds. So we want you to know we are with you and that we honor the place each person is at in this leg of the journey. As we are able to gather together again, it will be emotional and we welcome the emotions, the tears, the smiles and the processing together. Some will need more space and some will be ready to hug and as we have seen you care for and honor one another all along, we are confident that we will continue in this way as a church.
We are thankful for all the ways you have supported one another and ministry and we remain confident that the same care and tending will continue. As we open back up, know that you may enter at your own pace. When we gather you are free to be masked or not and either is great. We ask those who are not vaccinated to continue to wear their masks for their protection and to communicate with us and one another if there are things that would make being in community easier. When we worship, if you would like to come forward for communion we welcome you and if you would prefer to have communion in your seat, we welcome you to that as well. Our musicians will be adjusting and taking steps towards live music and we will continue to stream the 10:30 online. Our office and building will be open from 9:00-3:00 Monday through Thursday and you are free to come and go with your key as before. What we ask of everyone as we walk together is to bring a spirit of gentleness and grace with you in your encounters with one another, staff, pastors, council and the community. We will aim to honor that spirit of love that dwells among us so that we can care for each person where they are in their emotional journey.
As you read the information below from the Covid Team made up of council and committee members know that they have done well, faithfully meeting and making tough decisions and recommendations for the past 15 months. If you have any questions or things that are not clear, please feel free to ask! You can email the office or contact one of the pastors or a council member and we will make sure that those with answers get the message.
As always, we are here for you and with you. We so look forward to seeing you and being amongst you once again.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Michael and Pastor Leta
OSLC_COVID
Beyond our Own Borders
Friday May 7, 2021
Pastor Michael
Isaiah 56:3-5
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
The rules are never in black and white. Even when we think it is, or perhaps even if it is to us, it probably isn’t to someone else.
This Past week’s sermon by Pastor Leta was awesome. She artfully discussed the reality of a Eunuch not being allowed in the temple and paralleled the issue to our own world. What she didn’t go into it was another reality that others wanted that Eunuch allowed in the temple. Here’s a summary of this context, “The temple was controlled by Sadducees. They only saw the first 5 books of Scripture as Holy. This text from Isaiah would not have been lifted up or followed. Instead Deuteronomy 23:1 would be where they law pointed them in terms of Eunuch which as Pastor Leta pointed out would be the be all end all of the argument. It is quite conceivable that this diplomat from Ethiopia was rejected at the gates of the temple.
Surprisingly to some the ally of Philip in the story of the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 26-40) would have been the Pharisees. The Pharisees did not control the temple and were more or less spread out in the community. Their scriptures included the prophets and hence the book of Isaiah. In this text the Eunuch was specifically lifted up as worthy of God.
Yes 500 years after Isaiah was written the people he was lifting up were still not allowed in the temple. The Ethiopian Eunuch I imagine, though refused in the temple, was comforted in some way in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem by the Pharisees. It was in this context that Philip shared Jesus Christ with him who cuts through the mess of our rules and regulations and says you are loved despite what others say.
Many of our issues today are not so different from those of the first century. We are wrestling with different issues of sexuality, but it still boils down to who is in and who is rejected at the gates of the temple (church). We can be comforted that in whatever we determine as righteous through the law the one we worship in Christ Jesus moves beyond the law and reaches out to those who are deemed unworthy. The rules of God in Christ Jesus moves beyond the borders that we put up.
COVID-19 UPDATE April 24, 2020
COVID19 Update March 13, 2020
Dear Our Saviour’s Congregation and Community,
We love you. God loves you. And we want to do our best to be proactive in our care for you and for the public. Your pastors and council, as it turns out, have never been in leadership during a pandemic before, so we ask for your grace and mercy. We ask for your patience and kindness. We know we will make mistakes and we know that we don’t know everything at this time. We also know that the Holy Spirit is present and active at all times and especially during times of uncertainty and unrest. In full faith in God and in one another we will walk in this situation with grace and wisdom.
Our council met last night, Thursday March 12, 2020 and had long, prayerful, faithful conversation that was not fear based, but based on the information we currently know. In our conversation we discussed several options. At this point, the council and pastors, based on recommendations by our medical community at OSLC, have determined that the most faithful response we can have to our community and public health is to refrain from large gatherings, including worship, for a short period of time. Therefore Our Saviour’s will be closed to all community meetings, all OSLC meetings and all face to face worship starting at 5pm today, March 13, 2020. We will be offering an online worship service this Sunday and following Sundays at 10:30 am. If you have questions about your group or meeting please call or email the office.
We are not taking this lightly and other ELCA churches and other denominations are closing as well. Our Bishop will be on a conference call with Governor Polis this afternoon and we presume he will be asking us all to take measures to help in slowing the spread of the virus.
Taking Care of One another:
Your pastors, staff and council are concerned about your well being and spiritual connections. We will be continuing to work during this time via phone calls, emails and prayer. Please email or call the office with any needs. You can also fill out this form to let us know how you can be connected: https://forms.gle/Mxepd8C7uKZ4YTEf9
Worship: Worship will happen this Sunday and following Sundays via Facebook live stream. We are working to make this Simple and Easy for all. You do NOT need a Facebook account in order to watch the service. Simply go to our website www.our-saviours.org on your phone or computer and click on the link that says Facebook Live Streaming to connect. We will also have the bulletin available for download for you to follow along. Facebook may ask you if you want to create an account but you can say no and still view the service. Worship will be different! And we will be connected in prayer together at that time.
Pastoral Care: Pastoral Care is an important part of our community as well. You are welcome to arrange a pastoral visit by telephone or video with our pastors. We are also available by phone and in certain circumstances can make arrangements for a one on one appointment. Right now UC Health hospitals are only allowing two visitors per day. If you would like a pastor to be one of those two, just let us know.
Pastor Leta Arndt Behrens: leta@our-saviours.org 970-232-8932
Pastor Michael Stadtmueller: michael@our-saviours.org 970-412-2504
Intern Pastor Jon Fry: jonfry@our-saviours.org 515-669-4665
Home Alone or Need assistance? If you would like to have a phone call check in person please email or call the office office@our-saviours.org 970-484-3133 or fill out the google form. https://forms.gle/Mxepd8C7uKZ4YTEf9
Connecting: We will be in touch with other ways we can connect! It is important for people to not feel alone at this time and we will find ways to create community. We will also continue to be in touch as information unfolds.
Stewardship: In terms of giving to the church we hope you will continue to help and support the ministry and mission of the church. If you would like to be assisted in learning how to set up online giving to support the ministry of the church please contact the office or fill out the google form: https://forms.gle/Mxepd8C7uKZ4YTEf9
One person on the medical team reminded us that part of the reason there is strong love and respect for our congregation is because we take the lead in doing what is good and wise even when it is really, really difficult to do. We realize this feels like shaky ground and that it feels ominous. And really, all the closures, all the precautions from all the places that need to take them, is an act of social solidarity. We are giving something up, profoundly in this time of Lent, and we are doing so in order that our medical community and our most vulnerable have a chance at making a difference. This hurts. It is difficult and sad and disappointing to not gather together as we normally do and we are living the hope that it is an act of great love.
Remember the church is not shut down-you are the church and your pastors and leadership are here to walk with you. Help us in being a non-anxious presence and surround people in our community and beyond with love and support. Please look for updates and connection points online. Our hope is that we will grow as a community in ways we could not imagine.
A devotion and prayer for today:
From Isaiah 43
1 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia[a] and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my sight,
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
We are reminded that whenever you hear the words “Do not fear,” it is usually spoken because there is genuinely something to fear. The People of God in the time of Isaiah were being scattered across the continent. Forced away from each other by a conquering country that divided the nation and spread them out in an attempt to destroy their oneness.
As we are being forced away from coming together as one people, we can echo the words of Isaiah. God is with you. We long to be together, and we will be together, but for now we remember that the God we trust in through Jesus Christ will not abandon us. Chaos as it hits our world will subside but as it hits our world we will not fear. We will bring the light of Christ into the world that needs it. Help us to do that.
Let us pray: Gracious God in this time when there is real concern in our community, raise up your people as pillars in our community to act in Grace and Justice for others. Be with the medical community and strengthen our church. Amen.
Pastor Michael Stadtmueller, Pastor Leta Arndt Behrens and the OSLC Church Council
Lutheran Advocacy
A presentation by Peter Severson, Director, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado Rocky Mountain Synod, ELCA
Lutheran Advocacy foundations - OSLC 1-12-20