I am the lord your God! I brought you out of Egypt. Have no other gods!
That is the way the covenant at Sinai is described.

I am the Lord your God! I brought you out of eternal death. Have no other gods!
That is the way the covenant with God established at the cross and at the empty tomb is described.

Just words? I pray they are not. The members of Emmaus are part of the Body of the Lord, the gathering of believers. My heart aches as I think about how hard it is to have this message come through so that lives are lived within that relationship. I so much want you all to be participating in the life of this congregation and to grow as a family. That takes work. It takes love. It takes trust. It takes hungering to have the Lord settle our hearts and lives.

I know you yearn to have a full-time called pastor. When I was asked to serve as Mission Pastor for a time, I was honored that I could help you transition to the next full-time pastor. I was able to visit many of you during the summer, though the visits to the rest of you, scattered farther apart, have not been possible during the busy fall. I still expect to find time, hopefully before Lent and Life with God classes begin, to make more of these visits, and still more during summer. Every one of you count and are dear to the Lord and are on my heart.

I hoped that we could prepare for the call process by getting a common view of the church by participating in the Life with God class. I still hope many of you will come when we begin again in February. It is needed for all of us to hear the faith as grown-ups and be equipped better to pour out the Lord's love. We were blessed to have over 50 members bring devotional booklets to about 1900 houses to the south and west of the church. Plans are that we will do that again, as we reach out to the northwest, northeast, and southeast. We will try to at least bring the message of salvation to 10,000 homes.

I also pray that we will be good stewards, looking at the blessings we have been given by the Lord. Many of you made promises to the Lord for the work at Emmaus during the next year. We have also begun to develop a means for the members to reach out in care to other members. Some of you have been very faithful in worship. Some of you have various reasons for not being here but we all ache that you are not here, along with your families, and pray that you will return. The Lord wants us to be supportive of one another in a community that celebrates His death and resurrection and looks to Him for life.

You will all be asked to meet three times during this winter to discuss the mission of the Christian church, the specific way in which we understand the Lord calling us to carry out the mission, and the specifics of what we believe we need to look for in a pastor. This will help us all acquire a more common vision and give guidance to the call committee. You will be asked to suggest names of those who "fit the criteria" that the congregation members are led by the Lord Jesus to consider. Tentative plans will be for these meetings to be 9:30-11:00 am on Saturday January 15, Saturday February 12, and Saturday March 12. The call committee will be meeting as well, going over the criteria and soliciting advice.

I will be very open about this. I am concerned that the members gather together to love each other during this time. That does not change whether a full-time pastor is here or not. Refreshing oneself about the teachings of the faith can happen at any time. Growing in stewardship can happen at any time. Reaching out into the neighborhood can happen at any time. Growing in contacts with fellow members can happen at any time. Ministry revolves around the Gospel of Jesus Christ and He is still with us. Come to hear the Word, participate in the Sacrament, and grow with your fellow believers.

In Christ our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Thomas Trapp