Go tell it. Such a simple command. During the 2012 Children's Christmas program, our church and neighborhood children told the simple message of Jesus' birth. We've just posted a 10-minute video of the story of Luke chapter 2 on our website homepage in the video section. Their message is told "with the faith of a child." 

Their simple message reminds me of the observation of one of our newer members here at Beautiful Savior. Deb's story is short and sweet, yet impactful. You see, she converted from another faith doctrine that she found complex. When she learned for herself the Bible's simple details about the story from Jesus' cradle to His empty grave, well, let's tell it in her own words, "Everything suddenly became so clear, and it all makes sense. God's free gift of salvation is for everyone who believes, plain and simple." 

The good news of the Gospel is such good news, may we all be moved to go tell it just like the kids!

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One thing weighs heavily on the minds of many Lutherans and many Americans these days: politics. It would be a denial of reality to think that there is no difference of opinions regarding politics in our Lutheran congregations.

In these times of turmoil, there appears to be a growing lack of civility. However, our merciful God tells us to love our enemies, to treat them with love and kindness. I wouldn’t necessarily call a fellow citizen who votes differently an enemy. However, in this age where every vote counts, I will venture to say that a kind and loving attitude goes farther in persuading the voter who hasn’t yet made up their mind or even one who can still change their mind before casting their vote. I rely on the old adage, “You can catch more bees with honey” instead of turning them off with opposition and insult.

No matter what our personal philosophy is, our country’s Constitution is based on the right of everyone to vote as they choose.  Similar to our precious freedom of religion, this is something to be valued, even as we choose to agree that we disagree. We never know when the seeds of faith that God allows us to plant will germinate under the will of the Holy Spirit.

I remember back to the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In the midst of one political battle between Republicans and Democrats he said, “We can have differences of opinion regarding our views, but, my goodness, do we have to hate each other?”

Our own Lord Jesus commands us to “do unto others as we would have them do to us.” In view of my past discussions on “witness, mercy and life together,” I would move that showing love and kindness in the coming months will enhance our “life together” as Christians mirroring our faith. 

Pastor Raabe

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When we hear the term “outside,” the first thing we often think of is the outdoors. Here in Wisconsin, there’s nothing quite so refreshing as that first scent-laden blast of spring when it’s finally safe to throw open the windows and take a few deep, soul-cleansing breaths.

The early summer wafts of freshly cut grass also give us a boost. Not to be topped, the red and golden leaves of fall are broadcast against the bold blue October sky, once again giving us that much-needed “ahh factor” as we enjoy visual delights of God’s glorious paintbrush in nature. Even the nose-tingling rush of icy air on a winter’s crisp, silent night invigorates us.

That’s how it is with our faith. While it’s very easy to be complacent and not go outside our comfort zone, every once in awhile, we catch the rush of sharing our faith with others. Being fed in faith weekly at church is, indeed, important. However, the year thus far with all of the great sharing has awakened the faith of many, whether members of Beautiful Savior or not. From the neighborhood Easter egg hunt and the “free-like-God’s-grace” hot dog giveaways; from the Patriotic Parade to VBS and, of course, our barefooted, lawn-sprinkling First Fridays with God’s kids, it’s all good.

We at Beautiful Savior have been blessed with faith-breathing opportunities to let our faith shine all around the neighborhood. It’s when we share our faith and pray with – and for – others that our own faith gets even stronger. So thanks for volunteering and praying; and keep it coming!

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If you are reading this blog in mid-June, chances are that you came to our free hot dog giveaway at the Sentry on 92nd and Lisbon on Sunday, June 10. What a sunny afternoon we enjoyed, and it was tremendous meeting so many neighbors. Now, you've found us on our website, and we're glad you're here.

There were a few highlights to our day; for example, handing out free hot dogs, the same way that God gives each one of us forgiveness and heavenly salvation: freely. It was fun to see the expression on people's faces as they offered to make a donation for the hot dogs and soda. "The hot dogs and soda are free ... like God's grace," we would explain. It took a moment to sink in. It's a simple, yet strong message, isn't it?

The other highlight involved one of our newest members here at Beautiful Savior. You see, this young lady stopped by at our hot dog booth last year. She stopped to have a bite and we chatted a bit about our programs that help families grow together in Christ. Brandi brought her two lovely daughters to last summer's Vacation Bible Camp, then Kids' Bible Hour on Sundays, First Fridays for parents' night off, and then came the big Christmas pageant. Fast forward to this spring, and she and her girls have become very active, enthusiastic members of the Beautiful Savior family! She offered to join us on the hot dog Sunday to tell folks just how happy she is to be with our Beautiful Savior, plus to give her kids faith and knowledge that Jesus loves them.

If you missed the June hot dog giveaway, not to worry. There's another one planned at the same Sentry on 92nd and Lisbon for Sunday, July 15, and also for Sunday, August 12. You are invited to stop by around the lunch hour between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to be fed in more ways than one. After all, wasn't it Jesus who told us, "We do not live by bread alone"? 

Thanks for stopping in. Now don't be a stranger -- we're here for you, and so is our Beautiful Savior!

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As I thought for a moment about a title for this blog, I ruled out “Got Troubles?” because the phrase “Got ‘anything’?” is overused these days.

Besides, everyone has troubles at one time or another, don’t we? A time will come when we need to ask, “Which is more important, focusing on our troubles or having help to work our way through them?”

Some of the troubles that Beautiful Savior members have encountered in recent months are very heavy issues. Here is just a partial list of troubles some of us have faced:

            ~ Job reduction or loss; exhaustion or strained health from working 2-3 jobs

            ~ Serious illness of a toddler

            ~ Loss of a parent with Alzheimer’s Disease

            ~ Sudden loss of a parent, leaving a high schooler behind

            ~ Parent’s loss of an adult child

            ~ Addiction

            ~ Unforgiving family members

            ~ Depression

            ~ Aging and health issues

The list, I’m sure you would agree, can go on in any direction. That’s because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

Two messages of encouragement from our Lord and Savior can be found in His letters to us in the Bible: God will never give us more than we can bear. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Also, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. (Psalm 46:1) When we feel that our burden is too heavy to carry, God’s words give us strength and direction.  “An ever-present (not just sometimes) help in trouble” (not just the good times,) our loving Lord is here for us, through our darkest days.  He offers us his magnificent heavenly light and much, much more … and all for FREE.

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With spring comes our desire to clean out the old and make things new, both indoors and out. In the coming weeks our Kops Park event schedule will be distributed. A natural kick-off to our neighborhood’s activities is for families and neighbors to band together for the 4th Annual Kops Park Spring Cleanup. It feels right that we continue in the tradition that our friend and advocate Kevin Hinckley made strong in our neighborhood. Perhaps it was his design all along that these efforts would make us strong as a group of friends. Let’s keep the enthusiasm and neighborhood pride going.

Kevin was pleased that after 50 years, Beautiful Savior began bringing helpful activities to the area; also help – where needed – in the form of volunteers. How exciting it is to keep the vision of Kevin Hinckley alive! As we piece things together among the neighbors, i.e., “How did Kevin want Spring Cleanup to go?” “Do you think Kevin would like the new growth in Auer Garden?” “Who from the neighborhood is best suited to carry on such-and-such a duty?” and the all-important question, “Who will do the grilling from now on!?!”

Working in and belonging to a church, I can’t help but think back to how it must have been for the disciples during those first few weeks after Jesus rose from the dead. Echoing in their ears were the instructions that He left for them; it took the passing of time and the faith-changing events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday for them to understand all that had been said.

Continuing with our neighborhood revitalization reminds me of how Jesus’ disciples must have felt in those early days. Just as we’re piecing together the new path for our beloved Kops Park, they had to patch things together and figure out, “What do we do next?”

Luckily, we have the Bible, with Jesus’ words written down to give clear instructions. Also, there is a major difference in the message Jesus left behind: His was a command, a direction, that we “go, therefore, and preach the Gospel to every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

So, to take the example from our everyday lives, our work in the neighborhood continues, thanks to the “seeds that were planted” by our friend, Kevin. A different kind of seed is planted every week at Beautiful Savior. No, we won’t stand on a street corner and “thump people on the head with Bibles.” But every week we joyfully make learning about the Bible and Jesus’ words available to all who are curious and have questions that need answering. That’s all we’re about here at Beautiful Savior. You’ve got to admit, we’re a happy lot, and with good reason. We’re here for you.

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Lorraine, one of our older adult members here at Beautiful Savior recently lost her 63-year old daughter to emphysema. It is said that the hardest thing for a parent to bear is to bury their child, no matter what the age.

For Lorraine, it was mere days before Holy Week. Some might think that this is the saddest time of year. To make matters worse, Lorraine’s daughter actually passed from this world to the next on Lorraine’s birthday.

How did Lorraine react? “What a humbling, remarkable gift,” Lorraine rejoiced, “to give my faith-filled Wendy back to God, to have her in Jesus’ loving arms on my very birthday!” 

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If you have ever had any doubts about the power of prayer, reserve your decision until you read what happened this month at Beautiful Savior … .

Our Mission Sewing Group (founded 30 plus years ago by member Doris T., now 94) ladies had a recent discussion about their dwindling supplies for making quilts.

These are very special quilts that are given to a variety of groups that help those in need. Some of their quilts go to help newly-arrived international students at the universities. Some are baby quilts made to comfort babies and their families experiencing critical health situations. A large portion of the adult-size quilts are donated to patients at Froedtert Hospital who are in the end-of-life care wing. All quilts, large and small, are given a special tag that says, “Jesus loves you and so do we.” Before each quilt is sent off to its destination, Karen, one of the quilters says a prayer of comfort for the person and family receiving the quilt.

But back to the dwindling supplies. Last week, about Thursday, January 26, Margie, another quilter, told me of their dilemma. When I offered to scout around for some unused church funds that might help, Margie calmly said to wait. She said that she, Karen and Deb had agreed to pray that God would fill their need, that He had helped in the past to keep their mission going.

This morning, I opened this letter, dated January 30. Here is the letter in its entirety:

To Whom It May Concern:   

My mother was a patient at Froedtert Hospital in their NICU. Her name was Donna. On December 21, 2011, she suffered a brain hemorrhage. On December 24^th we removed her from life support and she passed away on December 25^th. On Christmas Eve her nurse brought a beautiful quilt which he placed on her. The quilt was something that if she had been given a choice I know she would have chosen for herself. The quilt she received was donated by your church. The quilt added such a personal touch to what was a dismal situation. I enclose a check which I would like to donate to help make additional quilts for other families who have loved ones that are sick or dying.

Our sincere appreciation for this gift and thanks to those who give of their time and talent.

God bless,

Ramona

(Enclosed was a generous check for $125.00, which is more than enough to cover the material needs of the Mission Sewers at this time.)

To God be the glory!

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Typically at this time of year, we think of a year in review. It makes me smile to remember the community that we are building here in Kops Park through these family-friendly events.

~ Easter Egg Hunt

~ Auer Garden clean-up events

~ Kops Park Rummage Sale

~ Kops Park Patriotic Parade 

~ Free Hot Dog Giveaways 

~ National Night Out

~ Doggie Dip at Kops Park

~ Beautiful Savior Block Party

~ First Friday Parents' Night Out

~ Kops Park Trick-or-Treat Night

~ Christmas Caroling & Food Pantry Pick-up 

~ Staying connected through the Kops Park Neighborhood Association Block Watch

So many fond memories float from one event to the next! It's hard to tell where neighborhood begins and our friendly church leaves off. On more than one occasion, neighbors have phoned our office, looking out for their own neighbors. Likewise, as we go through the blocks putting flyers on your door or preparing for other activities, our church members look out for you. That's a great feeling!

At this time of year we also find ourselves thinking of things we'd like to spend more time doing: taking more time for the kids and family; slowing the daily rat race down a bit; maybe even checking out that welcoming church down the street. We welcome your suggestions. If there's something you'd like to see us offer, just let us know  by completing the visitor survey on this website, by messaging us on Facebook or by calling us at 871-6744.

Most of the smilers at our neighborhood events this year walked away feeling renewed. The excitement came in most part from YOUR enthusiasm. For this, we thank you! We invite you to renew and be refreshed in the coming year by joining in on any of the community events, or simply by seeing what we're all about. As you can see from this year's fun, we're a pretty descent group of friends, just as you, our neighbors are down-to-earth. We thank God and we thank you for a terrific 2011. We look forward with joy for all that 2012 can bring to renew our spirits, Lord-willing!

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Viewers keep visiting our website to join in the memories or learn new facts about our neighborhood friend and advocate, Kevin Hinckley, who died unexpectedly in October at age 53. Please feel free to post your memories of Kevin in a comment to this post. We’d also like you to share your photos of him. (Simply email them to me at joanbutz@beautifulsaviorlc.com). Let’s keep it going ‘til spring. As you may have heard, the Kops Park Neighborhood Association has decided to move the memorial service for Kevin to a spring date, for out-of-town travelers; because it is the beginning of the growing season – Kevin’s favorite time of year; and, because various groups are looking into memorial projects like possible tree planting.

So as we here at Beautiful Savior remember Kevin, many of us are reminded that Kevin unknowingly helped guide us in the direction our outreach efforts were to take. It was Kevin’s viewpoint that rang in our ears: “A church is supposed to reach out to its surrounding neighborhood.”  And Kevin was so right.

You see, in the heyday of churches (the ‘60s, ‘70s and even the ‘80s), church attendance across our nation – and at Beautiful Savior – was high. There was, it seemed, no need for reaching out to a neighborhood; members came and that was that. Back in the day, people moved into a neighborhood and almost by instinct or habit (call it what you will), they joined a neighborhood church. It was part of a typical family’s support system. Young people met and were married at church; their kids were baptized there and their loved ones – both old and young – were buried with the church family around them, supporting them.

When Kevin moved back into the neighborhood, he came up with the concept for Auer Garden. It was to be a scaled-down version of his many successes in the beautification and “greening” of Lodi. He approached Beautiful Savior, among other groups like Milwaukee School of Languages and various City of Milwaukee officials. In short order, good seeds of neighborliness began to grow again in the Kops Park area. Our previous pastor, Kurt Wenzelburger, recounts the story of the early relationship between Kevin and Beautiful Savior. Admittedly, there had been a few bumps early in the road to working together between Kevin and our church.

But one fine day, the garden had already been dug with MSL students and neighbors cooperating, all under the kind and knowledgeable supervision of Kevin, who now needed something. Pastor Wenzelburger was out in the churchyard and Kevin called over to him, wondering what he was going to do for a source of water for “his” newly planted garden.

Pastor Wenzelburger freely offered Kevin the church hose. As he unrolled it and brought it to a sweaty Kevin, toiling at the Auer Garden triangle, Pastor W. quipped, “Just remember, Kevin, that this is holy water!” That was the beginning of a beautiful working relationship that grew stronger with every cooperative effort. Kevin, the pied piper of weaving folks together to accomplish the common good, saw that he had a friend in our helpful neighborhood church. He began to call us with requests and we did with him as well. Many church friends, when working with Kevin, observed that he held a special reverence for God’s green earth. In turn, Kevin began to see that a church is not about its building but its people and their relationship with God.

In time, Kevin, slowly began to heal from this summer’s loss of his mother. He began reaching out to people. He prayed with Pastor Raabe for healing after his surgery. Kevin voiced that he was very pleased with the direction Beautiful Savior members were taking; for example, offering relief for parents in our new First Friday parents’ night off each month, the Patriotic Parade and our fun/work with each of the Kops Park Neighborhood Association events like National Night Out and the Doggie Dip. At the church block party/picnic, Kevin told several listeners that Beautiful Savior was finally headed in the right direction. I was one of those listeners and responded that our new “direction” came from our new synod president, whose edict is “Witness, mercy and life together.” I commented that it all fit in with what Kevin had observed over the recent years. His response more than once in his final days quoted his mother that “the Lord works in mysterious ways.”

I’m sure Kevin would agree with poet John Donne that “no man is an island, entire of itself.” We all make a difference in the lives of those with whom we share time, no matter how long or short that time on earth is. I would have relished the opportunity to share many future projects and events with Kevin. We at Beautiful Savior will now enjoy planting new memories with neighborhood families. This is what made Kevin Hinckley smile.

~~~~~

Perhaps the strongest message our friend Kevin leaves behind is that life is so, so short. That is why we do what we do for you, our Kops Park neighbors. Look at this story about the Titanic and consider how short life truly is. I read it recently in Billy Graham’s book, Angels.

The greatest ship of its day, weighing 46,000 tons, [the Titanic] was considered unsinkable. But on the night of April 14, 1912, while moving through the ocean at 22 knots, it struck an iceberg. Because it carried only half as many life jackets as passengers, when it sank 1,513 people drowned. Even though this event occurred more than 70 years ago [the 100^th anniversary of this infamous event will come next spring], there is still a great fascination about it. The recent discovery of the hulk of the Titanic has revived our interest in the whole tragic story.

Out of tragedy, however, God can still bring triumph.

One passenger, John Harper, was on his way to preach at Moody Church in Chicago. Trying to stay afloat in the ocean, he drifted toward a young man holding onto a plank. Harper asked, “Young man, are you saved?” The man said, “No.” A wave separated them. After a few minutes they drifted within speaking distance of each other, and again Harper called to him, “Have you made your peace with God?” The young man said, “Not yet.” A wave overwhelmed John Harper and he was seen no more, but the words, “Are you saved?” kept ringing in the young man’s ears.

Two weeks later, a youth stood up in a Christian Endeavor meeting in New York, told his story and said, “I am John Harper’s last convert.”

Therefore, dear friend, “Ask not for whom the bell tolls.” It tolls for each one of us.

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