Messiah News

Thank you to all who took part in Easter celebrations at Messiah this year! Special thanks to Sheri Backous and Jessica Potts for the wonderful photos.

The Endowment Committee met March 22 and decided to allocate $2000 to match whatever the congregation gives to the Fund for Leaders. Fund for Leaders is money being collected at the Wednesday Lenten services and also the services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This money is used to help fund students at ELCA seminaries. The ELCA is terribly s...

All are welcome to join in celebrating Easter at Messiah, March 31, 2024.  Messiah will have three services on Easter morning as well Easter Egg hunts at both campuses.  Maundy Thursday, March 28 6:00pm-Messiah Hazel Dell Livestream link » Good Friday, March 29 10:30am, 6:00pm-Messiah Hazel Dell. 6:00pm livestream link » Easter Sunday, Ma...

Since the update provided at the annual meeting, the Call Committee has received 4 additional Rostered Minister Profiles (RMP) to consider. We have conducted initial interviews with all 4 of the candidates. We conducted a second onsite interview with one of the candidates. That candidate withdrew from consideration as they felt they needed more time to discern what God has planned for them next. One of the candidates we talked with was very gifted but has not yet served as a solo or lead pastor. As a result, we decided to continue our conversation with the other two candidates. Both have an impressive depth and breadth of experience and have served as a solo pastor of a congregation. We have invited both candidates to a second interview. Our preference is an in-person conversation over a zoom discussion, but we recognize this is a difficult time of the year to travel for...

If you were a part of our "Internship Process Progress Potluck" February 25, or if you read our summary of that event in last week's Northern Highlights, you may have noticed that several groups said they looked forward to "new, fresh or alternative" perspectives a new pastor might bring. Really?! You shouldn't encourage me. I can do alternative perspectives! Here's what happened. Our Old Testament Lesson for Sunday, March 10, 2024, is Numbers 21:4-19. In this story Israel, doing their 40 years in the wilderness after the Exodus, is complaining to God about, I don't know, everything. Anyway, God gets tired of it and sends snakes into the desert which bite people and they die. (Complainers beware!!)  So, the people apologize for their whining and ask God to take the snakes away. That doesn't  happen (sigh) but God does tell Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a stake....