From the Pastors Desk

Chilly Musings

From the Pastors Desk - January 30, 2022

As I sit here and write this article, my computer tells me that it is 17 degrees and snow will be starting soon. I see another site showcasing some of the most beautiful sand castles ever built- and none of them appear to be in Ohio. I hope if any of you get the chance you can go someplace warm to find some of those sand castles. Unfortunately, other articles catch my eye as well, more Omicron deaths, stock market jitters, China flying over Taiwan and Russia amassing troops on the Ukraine border with NATO sending ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe. Welcome to Monday! As my son would say, this world has gone wiggidy wack!

Have you noticed that incidents involving people doing ill-conceived things have skyrocketed? I think it’s easy to blame it on the pandemic and perhaps it is certainly an effect of the pandemic, but it’s obvious that people are troubled. We are a world in need of church! We need the constant reminder that we are children of God, that God loves us and that there is always hope in the certainty of our Triune God!

Church attendance has been down in all churches. Many of you have expressed concern to me with our sometimes meager attendance. This is not just happening at Good Shepherd. I have heard so many comments from others that people are just not coming back to church. Perhaps it’s because of fears of the virus or that it’s just too easy to continue to stay in bed on Sunday morning…I have no answers. My understanding is that one of Stark County’s mega churches has lost over 1,000 people; of course that still leaves them 4,000 to handily work with. Regardless of what is happening, the church needs to survive. That message of hope needs to be there when people realize that there is something seriously missing in their lives and return to the church to meet that need.

We at Good Shepherd want to make sure that we are a church that survives well into the future. We may be trying some creative things over the next year in the hopes of securing that future. Last Wednesday, Ed and I sat down with Pastor Pace (Pastor Carl) and Pastor Eli from Zion United Church of Christ. We will be combining forces, so to speak, for Ash Wednesday. Pastor Carl and Pastor Eli will come to Good Shepherd at noon to celebrate Ash Wednesday with us and those from Zion who would like to attend. For those who can’t make the noon service, we can celebrate with them at Zion at 7pm. I am excited about this prospect as I hope that this is the first of many endeavors together.

I have also tasked the call committee with contacting the other religions that we are in full communion with to see if they have any part time pastors who would be interested in our position at Good Shepherd. Other religions seem to be more amenable to part time calls than the ELCA. Please know that we are working hard to secure Good Shepherd’s future. We want to be there when the world realizes that church IS the place to be!

Faithfully,

Lei Fahrner