Richfield Lutheran Church (ELCA)

Below is the latest column from Pastor Rolf Olson

 as it appeared in the RELC "Good News" church newsletter

FROM THE PASTOR - August 27 issue

Dear Friends—

Many of you have read about author Anne Rice’s departure from the church. Actually, she said that she “quit being a Christian.” But that isn’t quite the case because she says that her faith in Christ is

“central to [my] life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn’t understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be.”

            What set her off was the fighting and fundamentalism among Christians and their attitudes toward those who they feel fall short of God’s standards. Frankly, long ago I left the same church that Anne Rice left this month. I don’t want anything to do with a religion that is not as unconditionally welcoming as Jesus was. The Pharisees couldn’t stand his welcoming and open approach to religion. Finally they got rid of him (they thought)—at the cross. Today we have too many people today drawing lines of who is in and who is out. I’ll leave that to God, thank you very much. My sense of God’s grace is that God is busy erasing the lines that we humans draw—inside/outside, right/wrong, approved/disapproved. I’ve always cringed at Mahatma Ghandi’s comment that he would have been a Christian if it weren’t for Jesus’ followers. He had experienced racism in South Africa that was sanctioned by the Dutch Reformed Christians there. It turned him away from the church (as well it should have), but it did not deter him from our Founder (who certainly welcomed all).

            This fall I want to take on this issue of Jesus and the church. For several Sundays in September and October I will try to answer the basic question: “why Jesus?” We’ll take on attendant questions like: Why is Jesus so important? What did he come to do? What is the role of the church in carrying out Jesus’ mission?

            These are questions that are central to our Christian witness. They are questions that people around the world have been asking for centuries (and even asked in the Bible itself!). My sense is that they are question that YOU have asked—or are still asking. My prayer is that we will have good answers to the Anne Rice’s around us. Please join us for this important series.                                 Pastor Rolf Olson

Tanzania Travelers Return

It’s a different world in Tanzania… such is the reaction of American travelers to this distant land. Your RELC missionaries returned safely on Friday, July 16, after a long journey home but a memorable two weeks in Africa. On the July 4 weekend, the group toured Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s major city. They were guests of the congregation led by Rolf and Nancy Olson’s former student. On Sunday Pastor Olson preached and our choir of nine sang several American favorites during the three-hour worship service (really!). Dancing and singing played prominent roles in the celebrative service. We were privileged to share in that atmosphere The group then departed for the trip inland (8 hours) where they spent the next 12 days visiting mission projects like orphanages, schools, a hospital, diocese offices, Tumaini University, and our partner congregation—Mbigili. More on Mbigili next issue. The accompanying picture of elephants illustrates the point that it is a very different world that the group visited. While elephants are located only in protected parks, the mere sight of them roaming free tells us that this is something far from our American reality, and something that is very special. We are thankful to God for good health and safety. We appreciate all your prayers for our journey.  

Pastor Rolf Olson

Dear Friends—

I’m characterizing this month and summer as a period of gestation. So much is happening on the planning end with conferences to attend, mini-retreats to work through, long-range planning to organize, priorities to establish, etc., etc. It is all done with anticipation that the outcomes will be worth the effort of careful thought and deliberation. Perhaps it will be like a new birth (or perhaps that is stretching the metaphor—we’ll see).

• With our music planning sessions this month we hope to sharpen our focus and enliven our gatherings with meaningful worship for all.
• We are reviewing our PR ministry—telling our RELC story in the narthex, on the web, in print media. 
• We are asking the question of how our many diverse activities are held together by our mission—or whether they even are a part of it. That mission is RELC—Reaching out to Everyone with the Love of Christ. Everything we do needs to be tied to that mission… or else it’s probably something nice but unnecessary.

Our vision is that RELC will be a vibrant community church with a worldwide impact. I am excited about our various efforts to make that happen, but it requires work and an intentional focus. In my conversations with many of you it is clear that for a number of years significant energy was spent on maintaining/holding on. Because of that not enough energy was spent on long-range mission-minded planning. That is what is happening this summer.

To discuss all this we invite you to another congregational information session to be held after worship on June 20. This will be a chance to get an update on our finances, activities, and plans. So much is happening that we want you to get as excited as your leaders are! Please join us for coffee and conversation in Fellowship Hall about 10:45 a.m.

Also on that day we will commission our nine missionaries who will travel to Tanzania from July 1-16. While there they will deepen our connections with Mbigili parish and learn more about how our partnership is working. You may contribute by bringing backpacks as well as hotel soaps and shampoos to be given away by our travelers. A suitcase is in front of the altar where you may place these gifts.

It’s a joy to be your pastor! I pray you are finding spiritual vitality through your partnership with Christ at RELC.

Pastor Rolf Olson

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Dear Friends,
So what’s happening?
 
The big news, of course, is Pentecost. What a day it was! Setting aside glitches in the process (there‘s always something, right?) it was a delight. I was happy to hear how many of you enjoyed the experience. Such a contrast of worship styles and languages—but a common love for Jesus and a desire to worship him. This was the first time in memory that the Russians have worshipped with their host church. Their lack of comfort with English is apparent, but it was courageous of them to step out and try it.  The rich music of Mundo de Paz and Greater Mt. Nebo added so much to our gathering. The warmth of Pastor Mary Spratt is always touching and the lively spirit of our Latino friends is inspirational. And the food that Mundo de Paz brought to our coffee hour was delicious! People were still eating and socializing past noon. It was truly a day to celebrate.
 
We have a big summer ahead of us as other articles in this newsletter will attest. An exciting event happing in a couple of weeks is the young adult potluck. In March a dozen of our 25-35 year olds gathered to meet, eat, and discuss their involvement at RELC. It was a great evening-- with this event following. We are blessed to have a variety of age groups in our fellowship. It'll be great to see God's Spirit guide these young leaders. Your staff and leaders are preparing youth, drama, and outreach activities as we ground our lives together in strong worship. In mid-June our worship leaders will gather for a consultation on worship for 2010-2011. Our hope is that by summer’s end we will have a plan for the entire next school year with musical accents and themes laid out. The conference I attended recently – called “Relevance”—challenged me with some intriguing questions about worship these days—especially using rhythm and multiple musical styles to lead us. Many of you have encouraged us to move more in that direction. I hope we can incorporate them into our plans for the future.
 
Finally, a major task will be to hire a new administrative assistant. JoAnn English has served us well for over 4 years and told us last winter that she would be leaving us by summer’s end. We will certainly want to thank her for her kind service to our ministry. We have begun to solicit resumes and will work to find the best match available for service on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  We are grateful that Sharon Hotchkiss will continue volunteering on Monday and Friday.
So now you know!
Thank you for your partnership in Christ’s ministry at RELC.
Pastor Rolf Olson

June 25, 2010

Dear Friends,

We continue to gear up for mission—locally and globally. When I talk with my colleagues about life in their parishes, and I hear about the many struggles they are experiencing, I am so proud of Richfield Lutheran for continuing to focus on Christ’s priorities: mission into the world, serving in his name and telling his story of grace and hope.

Our Sunday morning worship service and congregational information session typified this emphasis. We commissioned our nine missionaries to Tanzania and highlighted what will happen on this trip (July 1-16). We blessed the gifts we’ll bring and prayed for deeper partnership with the Mbigili parish. Our meeting afterward was quite quiet, actually (after the meeting one member said that when a congregation gathers and there is no heat, ministry must be going very well. I agree—although heat can be a helpful component to deciding important issues. It was wonderful to hear that our finances are so healthy. Praise the Lord!)

I talked of our vital mission into the neighborhood. It is the only neighborhood we have. It is the neighborhood where our predecessors planted this congregation. Yes, it has changed significantly and most of our members live some distance away, but that doesn’t change our call to serve it. We’ve used the metaphor of putting our ‘footprint’ in the neighborhood. In July, your church council will fan out into the neighborhood for an hour of individual prayer, saying: "Lord, help me to see this neighborhood as you see it. Help me to see what you see." It is a spiritually- grounded way of surveying our neighborhood. Out of it we hope will come clearer directions for our future.

On Saturday, about twenty five of our worship leaders gathered to discuss all aspects of our Sunday morning efforts with the goal of making our time together the most meaningful and welcoming possible. No major changes emerged but it was a high energy time of evaluating what we do and why we do it. At its root was an understanding of worship as surrender—as giving our bodies and spirits into the care and access of God. How we do it is highly variable. But what it is and why we do it is clear. You have wonderful servants committed to accomplishing this purpose and to helping others enter it this experience with us. I appreciate their dedication—and I know you do, too.

I’ll miss the next edition of the Goodnews since I’ll be on the other side of the earth. Please pray for us (remember to wear your prayer dots). We’ll report in on July 18—barring delays by volcanoes and such.

Yours for good ministry,

Pastor Rolf Olson