With all that is happening in the Church, the country, and the world right now, excitement and confusion are not limited to my narrow experience.  There are new possibilities out there, but many confusing - even frightening - things as well.  We are often tempted to allow the confusion of life to overwhelm us, but as people of faith we know that there is another choice.  As Luther reminds us in his Small Catechism, "I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him.  This is most certainly true."

God provides all that we need, richly and daily; we thank, praise, serve, and obey, not just when things are going well, but always.

Congregations are preparing now for the transition from Epiphany to Lent.  Since I've just left my call as pastor of the Eel River Lutheran Parish, it feels odd to me not to be working on preparations for Ash Wednesday and midweek services.  Parish pastors sometimes develop "tunnel vision" about the services and events that are coming up.  It is easy, I suppose, for all of us to develop a very narrow focus on life, whatever our vocation might be.  When we do that, though, we are prone to lose sight of what God is doing in our lives and in the world, and doubt and despair can creep in.  If we have to have tunnel vision, though, I think Brother Martin would encourage us to have God's grace-full blessings as our focus.

Please know that I am praying for you, your congregation or other ministry, and the ministries of our synod and Church.  And I am sustained by your prayers, as are Bishop Mark and all the members of the synod staff.  May we all keep our eyes on our gracious and bountiful God as we transition together into God's future!

In Christ,

Pr. Jim Goldsmith, Assistant to the Bishop