Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

I was reading one of the early copies of this Diaspora Newsletter. (It was # 6; this one is #159) It was before we had “found” Arva, Mercadel’s truck had broken down, and we were getting ready to unload 4 semis full of disaster relief from Michigan. Remember that? That seems like so long ago. Now take another jump. Now think back to the way things were before the hurricane. Those of you who are still scattered out there probably feel like I do, that it seems like a lifetime ago. The memories of that other life are fading. It is becoming clear that it won’t be the same…. It can’t be the same. Too much has happened. Our world has changed, but more importantly, we have changed.

But we ought to be used to it. St. Paul is making the point that through our baptism we have become new people. More than that we have a whole new life. We are not the people we were before our baptism. Our old life is gone and our new life in Christ has begun. As a matter of fact we are constantly renewing ourselves. Through daily contrition and repentance we are constantly seeking the Lord’s forgiveness for our sins, turning away from them and beginning brand new. Beginning new is what we are about. We are the “born again” people, the people-of-the-new-life.

So we should be getting pretty good at it, letting go of what was behind and stepping into something brand new. The good thing is that we know we are not stepping out alone. That’s probably what life is always like. Things like this just make it more noticeable.

News:

1. Please remember our crawfish boil, May 7. Thrivent matching funds event.
2. Jerry and Lynn made it back home safely. They send their greetings and intend to be back soon.
3. Jazz Fest starts today. Are you planning to attend?
4. Saturday Noon central time, www.wsho.com or AM 800 “The Word is Near” radio show. Call in, say “hi”. The web cam is set up; I’ll be waving at you. 504-527-0800.
5. Choir on Sunday at 10:00 AM Worship at 11:00

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Do this in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19

Sometimes it is about smell. Randy and I went fishing today. It was the first time I went fishing since the hurricane. The tide was high and running fast. There is a smell of the marsh in high tide that you don’t forget. It is a smell of grass and water but different. Well, you have to be there. But because the fish bite better when the tide is high it is a reminder of good times. Wayne was in church today. He didn’t smell. But he did remind me of another time. He was one of the first people to come down to help us. He helped us tear the pews out of the church when we were first allowed back into the city, so many months ago. Now he was back. He is giving of himself again. But when I saw him I thought of that awful time so many months ago.

Jesus gave his disciples his body and blood. He did it to connect them and us to the sacrifice he was to make on the cross. With the bread and wine we receive his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. That is the most important part of the Lord’s Supper. But he also said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” So every time we receive that body of blood we are to be transported back to the horrible day when Jesus bled his last on the cross for us. That horrible day! That wonderful day! Next time be transported. Next time let it carry you back to the day of your salvation. “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus has given us a powerful memory of a time that meant the world to us. Wayne is here. I hope he gives me a better memory – a high tide memory.

News:

1. Randy and I went fishing. “We put ants on them.” It was nice to be out there.
2. The up side down yellow van which has marked our road for many months is gone. Progress.
3. Doors are appearing in the parsonage and fellowship hall. We will soon have doors on our bathrooms. Luxury!
4. Jerry’s kids are working hard to get as much of our members’ houses finished as they can. These days they are praying for a plumber.
5. Randy brought his plans for the rebuilding of the chapel. Nice!
6. Herb and Judy head back on Wednesday. They have been here since January. Thanks and God speed. Their gift was a big one.
7. Jazz Fest has had good attendance.
8. The Saints drafted Reggie Bush!

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel? Ezekiel 33:11

Sometimes things just don’t make sense. Yesterday as Randy and I were returning after a good day of fishing we passed by two guys sitting sadly in their boat. They had the universal sign of trouble - the cover off the engine. As you know, you can’t pass them up. So we stopped and asked them if they needed a tow. Their engine was over heating but they didn’t know if they wanted a tow or not. It wasn’t as if there were any other offers out there. Why would you not want to be rescued?

We pass people like that all the time, people with their lives broken down, sitting there dead in the water. They don’t know the Savior so they have no hope of getting anywhere. We can’t always see that their engine cover is off and that they are broken down. I guess that is a good excuse for passing them by. But when we decide to stop and offer to throw them a rope to rescue them, we are often disappointed that they don’t seem to want the rescue that Jesus offers them. Why wouldn’t they? Is it because they would rather sit there by themselves rather than accept any help? Is it that sitting in a dead boat is all they know? Is it that they want to try to fix it themselves? We know that they will need to be rescued, because we have been there ourselves. Maybe if they reject our offer, another will come along later.

Well, we hung around for a little while and they finally decided to accept a tow. Maybe that’s the thing …. Hang around for a little while until they are ready.

News:
1. Jerry’s Kids are working hard on your houses. They have a deadline of the middle of May. A couple of houses are finished. Some pretty close. What a gift they have given to us!
2. The last of the Builders will leave tomorrow. Dale brought the doors down and they have been working feverishly to get them installed. Something to do with fishing season opening in Wisconsin. What a gift they have given to us!
3. Carpeting is scheduled to be installed in the parsonage on Monday.
4. A guy is coming to look at our church to make an offer on installing pews.
5. Gretchen is ill. Keep her in your prayers. Also the Builders as they travel back home.
6. Randy has left the drawings and plans for the rebuilding of the Chapel in the kitchen of the Fellowship Hall. Please take a look at them so we can make suggestions.
7. Devotion on Wednesday Morning at 7:00 AM
8. Sunday, Crawfish Boil.
9. Heard from Garnet yesterday. They are scheduled to return at the end of May. Asked my next door neighbor if he was coming back to Marywood court? He said, “Of course.”

Be strong in the Lord

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Psalm 127:3

My baby had a baby. Well I guess she is not a baby anymore. My daughter Mary and her Husband David had a baby last night. They named him Adam. I’m happy that mother and son are doing fine. Naturally this is the time when grandparents wax nostalgic. I remember the day she was born – that strange, painful, marvelous place – the delivery room. She was a tiny thing. You know how you have these pictures of them at various stages in their lives etched on your mind. Pictures that hopefully will never go away. Now she is making her own pictures. People like to talk about this with terms like, “The thread of life.” “The ongoing heart beat.” But it is so much more than that.

I think it is significant that the passage above is in the same psalm that starts, “Unless the Lord build the house, the builders labor in vain.” Our homes, our lives, our children are all gifts that come from God. But children are what we inherit from God. We so often talk about handing down to our children grandma’s ring, or great grandma’s chair. God doesn’t hand down things. He hands down children…. Children who have children. These are not just life long gifts, in Christ they are in fact eternal gifts.

Please join me in thanking God for one more eternal gift.

News:

1. Carol has safely arrived in Hartford to help Mary with the two other children. I think she might be holding that new baby about now.
2. Mercadel’s are “Welcomed to the Family” in Atlanta. I thank God and can’t wait till we can sing that song to them.
3. Hugs and tears good bye to Herb and Judy, John and Lynn. They have stood by us a long time here.
4. Doors installed in the parsonage the fellowship hall. We have to pick pew design on Sunday in order to get them made by chapel completion date.
5. Mail was delivered to the church today for the first time. Is this a dove with an olive branch in his mouth?
6. Crawfish berl on Sunday. Don’t make be carry all these crawfish to church and you not eat them.
7. “Welcome to the Family” Paulette Holmes becomes a new member of our family this Sunday. We thank God for his gift to us.
8. Choir practice at 10, worship at 11.
9. Jerry’s Kids are working long and hard. They will be down to a few by Sunday.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Jesus said, “This is my body which given for you.” Luke 22:19

According to all the experts, the faith-based organizations do much better helping with a disaster than the government. The first people on the job were Christians from around the country lending a helping hand, doing what they could, caring. Of course there are plenty of people who are trying to figure out why the government can’t respond as well. But it never will be able to. The motivation will never be there. The government doesn’t love Jesus. The government does not love Jesus’ people. Governments are not set up to love. God’s people are created for that very purpose. Love doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Love always has a source and an object. (There must be a better way to say that.) Love is always between people.

If you read your Luther’s catechism (and who of us doesn’t every day?) you see that Luther made a big deal out of Jesus’ words in giving the Lord’s Supper, “For you.” What Jesus was doing there on the cross was not some empty, generic love. It was love “for you.” Dying “for you.” Forgiveness “for you.” The Lord’s Supper is that personal touch from God himself. And the personal touch makes all the difference.

Jerry’s Kids have been working hard restoring some of your houses. They know that this house is not just a building, it is YOUR building, the place where you lived and will live again. But they all tell me the same thing, “It means so much more when they get to meet the people who go with the house.” It has to do with the way love works. It is the personal touch and the personal touch makes all the difference.

News:
1. Rumor has it that Robin is coming into town this week. Will the choir sing, “Down by the Riverside?”
2. This is the final week end of Jazz Fest. They had good weather last week. Just enough rain so that the people could dance in the mud.
3. The Comfort Suites on Bullard is set to open this month.
4. Crawfish boil on Sunday.
5. Radio Show on Saturday at Noon.
6. Worship at 11:00, Choir at 10:00 Sunday

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Acts 20:9

I’ve been looking at pew plans for our new/rebuilt chapel. I suppose there is a pew theory somewhere. I’ve sat on pews that were very uncomfortable with straight backs and short seats. Either the theory there is that sinners don’t deserve anything too comfortable or that it hard to fall asleep during church on uncomfortable pews. Another theory might be, people shouldn’t be uncomfortable when they come to church. I used to have a member who fell asleep during my sermon almost every Sunday. It wasn’t so bad except she sat in the front and her head would bob up and down. But the worst part was when she would snore.

St. Paul was apparently preaching a long sermon and poor old Eutychus, who was seated in a window could not stay awake. He fell asleep and fell to his death outside the window. What is the moral of this story? Don’t preach on and on? If you tend to fall asleep, don’t sit in a third story window? No matter how uncomfortable the seat, a boring sermon will put you to sleep? Well really the moral of the story can be found in the fact that St. Paul raised Eutychus from the dead. God has the power over life and death.

So let’s make a deal. I’ll do my best not to preach long and boring sermons (maybe just short boring sermons). You do your best not to fall asleep and we’ll get some pews that even if you tip over you won’t get hurt.

News:

1. Carol reports that Mary and Adam are home and doing fine. For awhile this afternoon all three boys were sleeping.
2. The Spice boys are getting ready to cook up those crawfish. Bring a friend and we’ll pass a good time.
3. Rumor has it that carpeting will be going into the parsonage on Monday. Can furniture be far behind?
4. Looks like another good attendance at Jazz Fest today. The weather doesn’t have to be steamy for Jazz Fest but it helps.
5. Pastor Warnecke is coming to discuss the plans for our rebuilding on the 16th. If you would like to get in on the discussion, keep that date open.
6. I’ll have some pew ideas Sunday. I’ve chosen an example that is a lot like the ones we had and one that has easier access.
7. Radio show tomorrow at noon WSHO.com Internet or AM 800
8. Choir practice at 10:00 AM Worship at 11:00. Crawfish boil to follow.

Be strong in the Lord.

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, - just as you were called to one hope whey you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:3-6

Let me make a list:

1. Paulette became a member of the Family yesterday. We sang.
2. A lady who arrived on Saturday to be part of Jerry’s Kids said, “I’ve been reading the Diaspora News letters and I feel like I’m part of the congregation.
3. There was an unusually large group of our scattered members in church. It felt good. Tyrone and Wanda sang. Hugs all around.
4. We ate crawfish across the table and talked….and talked.
5. One of Jerry’s Kids was leaving. He said “It will be hard going back home…” Then his voice caught.
6. Maurice and Kathy Mercadel joined our WELS family in Atlanta. We sang.

What St. Paul says above we know is true. We know that we are bound together by the same Spirit with one Lord, one faith, one baptism. We know it is true but we don’t always express it very well or we don’t appreciate it like we should. Maybe it is because we don’t see a need to express it. Maybe we are too shy or embarrassed too show it. Or maybe it is too much work.

Do we really have to be in such need before we see the need? Do we really have to be apart before we know what it means to be together? Do we have to wait until we fall down before we pick each other up? This unity of the Spirit is with us full time. It binds us together with people near and far, with those in a disaster and those not, those separated and those near. I guess the challenge is being unafraid to express it even to those not far, not in a disaster, not in “need.”

News:
1. Just enough rain on our crawfish boil to cool things off. Patience and the Spice Boys weren’t playing.
2. Mr. Ison found some prescription glasses on his lawn. If you know who lost them let me know. (Any Jerry’s Kids stumbling around?)
3. I’m heading up tomorrow to a Central Africa Medical Mission meeting in Jackson WI. I’m taking an extra day to see my new grandbaby Adam. Not sure if I’ll be able to do these e-mails this week. Carol and I will be back on Friday.
4. The majority of you chose the pews without the armrests.
5. Carpeting goes into the parsonage today. Can furniture be far behind?

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

It is always annoying at this time of year. As the hurricane season gets nearer the TV and radio shows go into their, “Here is how you get ready for a hurricane” mode. We’ve heard it so many times. We can almost recite it ourselves. But this year is worse. They are even more crazy than ever. Now they get the Army Corps of Engineers on the phone as ask them if we are ready and what kind of guarantees they can give us. At the same time some people are waiting to move back, waiting to see if we will get through his hurricane season. I guess the thinking is that if we get through this coming season, our chances of escaping a hurricane in the future will be greater.??? I’m thinking this might be a good opportunity to get rich. I’ll sell hurricane guarantees. For a thousand dollars, I’ll guarantee that you won’t get hit by a hurricane. If a hurricane hits of course I’ll go bankrupt but if one doesn’t, I’ll be rich.

St. Paul is talking about the only true guarantee there is in life, the love of God and his promise of everlasting life. He has made us his own. And to prove it he has placed his Holy Spirit in our hearts. That is His guarantee that everything he has promised us, he will give us. How do you know if you have the Holy Spirit in your heart? “No one can say that Jesus is the Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Cor 12:3 So if you are a believer you have God’s deposit. God doesn’t have to worry about paying up because what he promises always happens.

So there are no guarantees about our homes and if they will survive another year or all our years. We have learned this lesson well. We of all people should be able to move ahead with confidence because we know that our real home is absolutely guaranteed. If we could just get God to build the levees.

News:

1. It is hard to believe but yesterday was the first day people were allowed to come back to the Lower 9th. They were waiting for the water.
2. One of Jerry’s Kids is planning to move here. I heard that St. Bernard Parsh now has 20,000 residents. Before the storm they had 60,000. Some moving in. Some moving out.
3. Carpeting is in the parsonage. Can’t wait to get in.
4. The Walkers who took over for the Zimlemans will be leaving on Saturday. Thanks for you long hard work. Jerry is still planning to return to wrap things until fall on the 11th.
5. Seth is pretty much living in his house now. A lot of work needs to be done but at least he has air and sheet rock.
6. I’m writing this from the Memphis airport. It is hailing. I think I just saw my suitcase go by on a soaked trailer outside. Adam Seth will be picking me up at the airport. (Well, it might he might have his mother with him)
7. Garnet called. She and George and Myraja will be returning home on the 30th. If you can help us unload a trailer, let me know.
8. I got a really great letter from the Mercadel’s I’ll share it tomorrow.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Spent most of the day at a Medical Mission Meeting in Jackson Wisconsin. Our friend Michael has written a guest newsletter to help out. Thanks Michael.

Dear Friends in Christ:

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. Acts 17:27

I felt a strong call to join the early wave of folks working on Katrina relief. And in case you’d forgotten, I had been down there in October helping out. When I left home for New Orleans I took with me my own set of worries and troubles. Although this isn’t the time to mention what I did there, it is the time to mention what happened after I came back home. I had an odd sounding exchange with my lovely wife Naomi and I shared that exchange with a friend of mine. Ever since then he has razzed me about it.

Saint Paul was speaking to the “very religious” men of Athens about their Unknown God. He was talking about how all of us are children of God and that in him we live. To know God’s love is to live in His love.

Naomi hadn’t changed while I was gone, and I noticed I wasn’t worried anymore and all my troubles were now as petty as balls of lint. She was concerned and asked me what REALLY happened in New Orleans because she noticed I had changed. I asked her why and she said it was almost as if I had “found religion” while I was gone and wanted to know what happened to me.

Now saying to a WELS member that they’re acting as if they’ve “found religion” is almost if not more obvious, than saying the “W” in WELS stands for Wisconsin. It is as obvious as saying finding Jesus as your Savior is finding Love.

I was a little incredulous about that remark and mentioned it to Randy Baker, that’s same Randy that is going to rebuild the Crown of Life sanctuary. Every week since then he has managed to work the phrase “finding religion” into our conversations. God love him! A few of you already know what I really did find in Louisiana and perhaps if there is a next time, I’ll tell you’ all.

Help and love one another:

Michael Eaton
Santee, CA

1. Saw my new Grandson. He is cute and quiet. The best kind. Baptism is tomorrow night.
2. We are working at two special days, a yard clean up and a day to transfer things from the chapel to storage in the parsonage and fellowship hall. Stay tuned.
3. Christ won't be on the Radio show on Saturday. His daughter graduates.
4. Choir practice at ten, worship at eleven.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord.” And believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:9

This last week I got this happy letter that made my day. As you know, Kathy, Maurice, Kelsey and Marisa had been attending faithfully but still had not become official members. Well, thanks to Katrina (and we don’t say that very often) they joined the WELS church in Georgia. Here is their letter.

Hi Pastor Dave & Carol
We did it we are now members of the Mighty Fortress Lutheran Church and Kelsey was baptized today!!! The congregation loved the song “welcome to the family;” the only little problem we had was on a few verses of the song the words got scratched, I told Chris if we can fix it and I can make a new copy for Pastor Piepenbrink so they can use the song in Church here. We started a new tradition here in Georgia New Orleans Style they loved it, and thought the song was beautiful. Chris has become famous at the Mighty Fortress church we bragged so much about our tradition at Crown of Life they will be using the song to welcome new members from now on .They also had a nice cake for us to welcome us to church. And guess What we went to the Lord’s Supper for the 1st time I was ecstatic. It feels good to be a member and to serve the Lord with the church. Miss and Love you guys! ( Dad WE DID IT!)Thanks for the encouragement and guidance.
Maurice was so proud standing there confessing his confirmation he couldn't stop smiling.
Kathy, Maurice, Kelsey & Marisa

Remember that day when you stood before God’s people and the Lord himself and made your confession of faith? For those of us who were confirmed as young people, we probably didn’t think about the significance of saying for the world to hear, “This is what I believe.” “This Jesus that we sing about and read about, I hold in my heart by faith.” “This Lord I promise to follow all my days and willingly give my life for if He gives me the strength.” Maybe for some of us, it didn’t seem like anything different that what we had before. Maybe for some of us it was just what people in our family did.

St. Paul is reminding us how important it is not just to believe but to make confession of our faith. It is a natural thing that flows from a believing heart. That is one of the reasons the church has developed creeds, so that we can make a confession of our faith. That is why the church has for a long time given those who come into that family of God the opportunity to make public confession of their faith. It doesn’t mean that it is always easy to do, but we have all discovered that when we do, we feel good. It is natural. Standing before a family of believers and confessing is easy compared to so many of the other opportunities that life will give us.

The day does come doesn’t it? …. When all these things that we believed since childhood (maybe since baptism) stand before us in stark contrast to what we see in the world and the events that are happening around us. Then we are forced to say, “I will go this way.” Or “I will go that way.” And as life goes on we discover that there are many such choices. With the help of God the Holy Spirit we make the right choice. I suppose these days are confirmations too.

News:

1. Can you believe it. I looked out the window here in Wisconsin and snow was falling. What month is this? But it is a good day for a baptism. It is always a good day for a baptism.
2. Ison’s FEMA trailer has electricity now.
3. Elaine Green is very happy with the way Jerry’s kids have remodeled and rebuilt her home.
4. God willing Carol and I will be back on Friday.
5. Choir practice at 10:00, Worship at 11:00

Be strong it the Lord.

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4

We could all use a new start once in awhile. Sometimes it is our own fault for getting ourselves in trouble and we would like to just start over. I heard about a man getting out of jail who really wanted the opportunity to start his life over. Sometimes we are forced into it. There have been many of us who, through no fault of our own, are being forced to start our lives all over: new job, new house, maybe even a new city. (I’m hoping that last one is not the case) We can’t go back and claim what was, so we need to grab hold of the future and begin living our “new” lives.

Last night I saw a child less than two weeks old start his life new. He was my grandson Adam. He was born like each of us, a child of destruction, a child of Satan. He needed a new start badly. So there in the front of church with his Dad standing with the book, his Mom smiling near by with their curious other sons and his Aunt B holding him tight, the Holy Spirit swept into his life, washed away his sin and began his new life as a child of the King. He looked about the same to me, but not to God.

So we should be used to it….starting over that is. It has already happened to us in a much more dramatic way the day we were baptized. And now for a lot of us and for our church, we will have to start a new life. Not as critical or drastic, but we know that with God’s help it can also be a real joy.

News:
1. A group of Jerry’s kids are planning come next Thursday to continue work. Tom Thiele and friends will be back for the third time. You will remember that Tom is a former member of Crown of Life.
2. The last mold Krewe will be coming after memorial day. These will be high school kids. If you can put them up for a week, let Kristopher Smith know. They will be finishing gutting the chapel for construction.
3. We need to start thinking about changing the chapel into a construction site. Stay tuned, we’ll need help.
4. Mothers Day is Sunday.
5. Saturday radio show at noon. “Tribute to mothers” etc. We will be trying something new this week. Chris made a CD of my sermon on Sunday and we will try playing it during the show. He says I only preached for 12 minutes. I guess y’all aren’t getting your money’s worth.
6. Choir at 10 AM Sunday. Worship at 11:00 AM

Be strong in the Lord.

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. Numbers 14:30

We’re moving home! It has been almost 9 months since we left in a hurry. Yesterday we began our move back home. Carol and I are staying in our FEMA trailer outside the house as we gradually get things back in order. Right now there is no furniture in the house and there are a few things that need to get done that the Builders were not able to finish, but the day we have waited for is here. It feels good! It makes me want to cut my grass.

The people of Israel had grumbled that they were forced to live in the land of Egypt which was not their home. So the Lord promised to bring them back home. And he did: forcing Pharaoh to let his people go, miraculously bringing them through the wilderness, bringing them to the edge of their home. But the people looked at it, saw all the battles that had to be fought, all the trouble it was going to be and decided that they didn’t really want to go home. I don’t know if God get miffed, but it sounds like he was. So he tells them that they won’t get to go home after all; they will be wandering around so long in the wilderness that they will die out there. Only Joshua and Caleb and the next generation would get to go home.

I know it is not the same thing. God did not come to me with uplifted hand and say, “I swear that you will live on Marywood Ct. again.” But I saw his hand in all the hands of the Builders who were here. I saw his hand in all the gifts that have been sent. Without His hand and these hands, it would not have happened. I’ve been praying for this day. I know the psalmist was talking about something far more important (the coming of the Messiah) but I feel that “this is the day the Lord has made.” And you’ll just have to excuse me if I want to “Rejoice and be glad in it.” I think I’ll start by cutting the grass.

News:

1. Hope you all had a happy Mother's Day. Pretty good attendance in church yesterday.
2. Jerry (Of Jerry’s Kids) and Lynn were in church yesterday. He is doing a lot better but still struggling along. They head back today. Phase One of rebuilding people’s homes is over. They did an amazing amount of work in a very short time. He promises to come back in the fall.
3. Pastor Schupmann of the Committee on Relief is in town. Pastor Warnecke will be coming. We will be discussing our plans to rebuild the chapel.
4. Hall’s big dog Badger died. We all got to know him while we worshipped there. We thank God for all good friends.
5. Saturday is moving day for the church. We will be moving things out of the chapel so it can be worked on. Come at 8:00 AM. If you have a pick up truck, bring it. At 10 AM the ladies will put together welcome baskets for the neighbors as they move back home.
6. Garnet and Family will be arriving here on the 30th. If you can help unload their moving truck join us. Let me know, I’ll give you the details.
7. Does anyone have a queen size bed? Kim Bechet is looking. They too are looking for furniture.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Look at the birds of the air: they do now sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:26-27

The sun isn’t up yet on Marywood Ct. but I can hear the Purple Martins chirping around out there. They still haven’t started spraying for mosquitoes so I guess life is good for the Martins. But it occurs to me that life usually seems pretty good for Purple Martins. My Martin house blew down and I’m assuming many others did too, but they are living somewhere and they seem to be happy about it.

Jesus asks us to look up and see the birds. He wants us to learn to be “bird brains.” At least in some ways. The birds don’t worry because they have nothing to worry about; they have plenty of enemies. Their young often don’t make it. Their life expectancy isn’t very long. And who can forget about all the viruses that kill birds first. No, I think birds have a lot to worry about, but they don’t. Is it that they are not smart enough to worry, like us. Or maybe they don’t worry because their heavenly Father takes care of them, and they know it.

Now it is getting light out and I can hear a lot of other birds, not worrying. We look at our future; where will we be next year at this time? There will be more hurricanes this year, will they trouble us? Will our church ever get back to the way it was? Will our homes and our families get back together again? Time to become a bird brain. Our heavenly father will care for us. Time to fly into a new day.

News:
1. Went over to Kionka’s last night. It looks like they have gotten their place back to normal. It looks a lot different from the way it did when we worshipped there. Bob gave me a few papayas. Time to start replanting.
2. Ellsworths will be in town this week.
3. Meeting on Wednesday morning with Randy Baker, Phil Schupmann, Richard Warneke and any of you who would like to join in. 9:00 AM. We will be discussing how we will proceed in the future. (Would birds do this?)
4. I got the stove and refrigerator moved into the fellowship hall. They look good there.
5. Saturday at 8:00 AM moving day at church. At 10:00 the ladies will put together welcome packets for neighbors as they move in.
6. The trailers from Alaska are moving away. Lutherville is going away for now.
7. A ring was found in one of the Yellowstone trailers. If you lost a ring during your stay there please let me know. We will get it to you.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

There is a time for everything, and season for every activity under heaven: A time to be born and a time die, a time to plant and a time to uproot. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Out of Mississippi. I’m sitting here at my new desk in my new lavender office looking out my window where my trees used to grow, thinking about where I’m going to plant the new papaya trees Bob Kionka gave me. Our move from our camp in Mississippi is in full swing. As much as it feels good to be here, I know that I’ll miss living there in that quiet gentle place. It was one of the few bright spots in a messy chapter of our lives. But we move on, don’t we.

Solomon was a wise man. He explored life and discovered that without God everything is meaningless. But in his wise search he found some gems about life. He tells us that there is a time for everything and then makes a list. Read that list. You will probably find the time you are in right now….or the time you should be in right now. There is a beginning time for us here on earth and an end time. Then there are all these other “times” in between. The secret, I guess, is knowing where you are, embracing it, and thanking God as you move.

I’m glad there was “the time” of Mississippi. I’m not sure I’m glad there was “the time” that forced us there. But it was a good “time,” good enough to be sad to leave it. For that, I thank God.

News:

1. Big meeting this morning with their Highnesses from the Committee on Relief and WELS Kingdom Workers. We are making plans for the future reconstruction of the church and aid in rebuilding homes. Randy Baker is back in town for the meeting. Keep us in your prayers.
2. Crown of Life moving and preparing welcome baskets day. Saturday at 8:00 until.
3. Has this weather been glorious or what?
4. Tom Thiele and friends are coming in Thursday. Thanks.
5. Radio Show on Saturday at noon central time, www.wsho.com or locally AM 800.
6. Worship Sunday at 11:00 Choir practice 10:00

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Once again, time for a little help from my friends. Below is our guest writer for the Diaspora, Michael Eaton. Thanks Michael for pinch hitting with such style.

Dear Friends in Christ:

We believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church. Nicene Creed

I promised you y‘all I’d tell you what I did find while I was working on Katrina relief. Naomi, my wife, thought I had “found religion,” but that wasn’t it. I had experienced a spiritual epiphany of some kind and it wasn’t until weeks later that I figured out what it was. Life back home had returned to normal and from here in California I took it upon myself to be Crown of Life’s long distance cheerleader. Late in November (or was it early December?) the WELS Committee on Relief produced a second video on Katrina. Who knows if it is still out on the web?

The video, which they shot while I was down there, had Pastor Dave, Carol, and Seth, Pastor Joe. It saddened me that the video didn’t show off the great smile of Pastor Joe’s (you can’t help but cheer up when he is around). Carol looked nice; she said the first video made her look like a hurricane victim. There was somebody else on the second video and it was me.

The council of Nicea wrote the creed in 325 to defend the proper meaning of Christianity. Prior to this point in time Christianity was an illegal religion and as all underground movements was fractured and spread out. It was a shame, but inevitable that folks were compelled to diagram what it meant to be a Christian.

I’ve gotten so fat and old that I didn’t recognize myself at first. I thought for a flash of a second “Why is my elder brother Robert in the video?” and then I knew it was me. On it I was talking about how a church doesn’t really need walls, but the ministry does. I had not found religion in Louisiana, but I found the Church.

After watching the video all the pieces fell into place, and I remembered the exact moment when I realized that we all belong to the same church and that the Church isn’t the building, but the folks worshiping with you. It was the service at Linda Hall’s home prior to the Family Day picnic while we were all singing. Although I know Jesus is with us always, on that day during service God was there in the room.

It was a little funny that after reading the Nicene Creed all these years that the meaning finally became clear. We walk together with Christ and He with us. Always.

Help and love one another:

Michael Eaton
Santee, CA

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. Deuteronomy 29:65-66

I guess we are proving to ourselves that many of us would not make very good nomads, living in one place for awhile and then moving somewhere else. There are some people who really don’t mind moving about. I’ve recently met some people who are full time RVers… they spend their whole life in a Motorhome traveling about. After moving all the times I have in the past 9 months and now moving back home, I’m struck with two things: how much I dislike moving and how good it is going to feel to be back home again. I know some of you feel the same way. I guess some people just like the idea of having a place to come home to.

I ran across the passage above and noticed how much it sounded like what so many people around here are going through. Is there a connection? Well, these are the words of the Lord to the people of Israel. He is telling them of all the great blessings that will be theirs if they follow him and all the curses that will be theirs if they don’t. The above passage is the latter. If they decided not to follow the Lord, he would curse them with not having a home, not having a place to “place the sole of their foot.” They would have an “anxious mind” and never be “sure of their life.” To some degree this is the curse of everyone who does not follow the Lord. Certainly all these things are true spiritually of those who do not follow the Lord. Without Jesus they can find no rest, no hope.

Of course it is not true of us. Through this whole ordeal that is the one thing we did have, rest in the love of our Savior and hope for life here and hereafter in eternity. But we have experienced some of this “uncertainty of life” and this “having no place to put the sole of our foot.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t like it. How would you like to be someone who lives their whole life there? What can we do to help them? You know.

News:
1. Welcome to the Family. John Meier who has moved here to be a librarian at UNO became a member of our Family yesterday. We thank God for this gift to us and pray that the Lord will bless his membership among us.
2. The RRT (Rapid Response Team, from Wisconsin Rapids, Jerry’s Kids) is busy working on member’s houses. They specialize in electricity, so they are getting a lot of the fixtures in the houses.
3. The rebuilding of our chapel is under way. If any of you who read this letter have some construction skills and would like to help us out for a week or so this summer, please contact Richard Warnecke at Kingdom Workers.
4. The final Mold Krewe of the season is coming in on Sunday. If you can house some, please contact Kristopher Smith.
5. Walking between the parsonage and the church I saw a wild rabbit. First time I’ve seen a rabbit around here. I also saw a mother duck with a whole string of ducklings running between the fellowship hall and the church. Its getting to be country around here.
6. Thanks to those who helped on the moving day. We got most of the stuff out of the Chapel so construction can begin.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family: (this is the letter I wrote last Friday but because of some glitch, probably in my head, it didn't go out. So I'll use it today.)

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to the inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” Luke 10:33-35

On Wednesday morning we met: The Exalted Ones from the Kingdom Workers and Committee on Relief. (When dealing with us they take on ordinary sounding names, Phil, Mark, Richard.) They left yesterday. (Our faces are still glowing.) But what they told us is that thanks to the offerings of the people of the WELS, we will be able to quickly rebuild our Chapel. We’ll be using as much volunteer labor as we can. We are hoping that some of the people who have so generously helped us rebuild so far will sign up to help us finish what they started. Walk around and see the work they have done and you will see why we want them back. But what struck me was “stretchy love.” Months ago people gave gifts of love. They saw and heard of our plight and could not walk by. They sent us gifts, some directly but most through the WELS Committee on Relief. We are just now using some of those gifts of love.

Jesus told the parable about the man who fell among thieves. He was lying injured in the ditch. The Samaritan could not pass him buy. He stopped, helped him, bound his wounds and took him to an Inn and helped him get back on his feet. But he also realized that this man would need help for a long time. So he left some money so that as the injured man needed help, he could get it. He found a way to love even when he couldn’t be there.

As a church we were injured, lying by the side of the road. Some good Samaritans (from all over the country) could not pass us by. They wrapped their arms around us and picked us up. Some jumped in their cars and motor homes (no donkeys) and came to help. My head is swimming with hundreds of faces who came to help. But you can’t always be there. But love is not restricted to a time and a place. It can be spread around. It can last. So today when most of the country is thinking about other things some people, who gave their gifts long ago are rehabilitating our injured church. (Rehab is not as romantic, but just as necessary.) So let’s thank God today for “stretchy love.”

News:
1. Kimberly Jefferson is home from the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers.
2. Tom Thiele and his Rapid Response Team (from Wisconsin Rapids that is) is down working on members houses. They will be here all week. Their specialty is electrical. If you have electrical fixtures that need installing, now is the time.
3. Mold Krewe is coming on May 28. 15 in all. If you can house them, please contact Kristopher Smith. (We no longer have the trailers) They will be working on our church plus some houses.
4. Randy Baker (our project leader) is leaving today but coming back next week.
5. Radio show, at noon Central Time, www.wsho.com or 800 on your amplitude modulation dial.
6. Worship with us on Sunday at 11:00. Choir will practice at 10:00.
7. The city is replacing the bulbs in the street lights on Marywood Court today.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

As long as it is day we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4

They said, “We work so hard because we are only down here for a week so we want to get as much done as possible.” And work they have. Gary (of Jerry’s Kids fame) left a list for the Rapid Response team to do. They came here wired to do wiring. Charged to do electrifying things. (Ok ok that is too many electrician puns.) But what they accomplished was shocking. (Sorry) They accomplished all the tasks on the list, going from house to house, installing new electrical circuits, light fixtures and water heaters. Odie was in town and they wired up his whole house and installed his water heater this morning. What’s the rush? “We are hear for only a week so we work hard.”

As it turns out we aren’t here all that long. The older I get, the shorter each year becomes. (With the possible exception of this year which has gone on and on.) But in the end, there isn’t much time. People are dying without a Savior. There is so much to do and so little time to get it done. That is what Jesus was talking about. He urges us to urgency. Tell someone! Share it! Live it good! It won’t be that long. Before you know it, it will be over.

News:

1. Slept in our bedroom for the first time in 9 months. I slept good. Those of you who are still scattered, I can tell you it is a good thing to be home.
2. Went by Moore’s house. A lot of activity there. People trying to buy houses for sale on Marywood Ct.
3. Last night Chris sang for Jerry’s Kids. Touched me. I think it touched them.
4. This morning one of our neighbors got into a fight and called the cops; things are getting back to normal after all. The good news is the cops came in 5 minutes!
5. We made the down payment on the pews. Thanks to those who donated money for their replacement.
6. Randy is coming to town. The rebuilding of the chapel is beginning. Say a prayer tonight, OK?
7. A group from LPS (Luther Prep School) is coming on Sunday to remove the sheetrock from the church ceiling and gut a home or two. If you can help with meals, let Carol know.

Be strong in the Lord,

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Even youths grow tired and wary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:30-31

This morning while it was still dark outside, I noticed a mother cat with 4 little kittens jumping and playing outside my lavender office window. After the sun came up I saw two little black and white birds pecking on a “volunteer” sunflower that had gown up next to my house. One was an adult and the other a baby. The baby sat right there as the adult pecked something out of the flower and fed it to the baby. I’ve never seen birds like that before. They looked like some kind of tiny woodpecker. Little reminders of how God renews this earth with new life.

In this powerful chapter of Isaiah, the Lord is predicting his Son, “Comfort, comfort my people”… their warfare is over, their sins are forgiven. And through that Son he has brought new life to us. Half way through the chapter he shouts, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” Each time we go back to that everlasting word we find the comfort of his son and the new life within us is restored, renewed. We “soar on eagles’ wings.” We “run and not grow weary.”

We need all the strength we can get these days, spiritual strength, mental strength and physical strength. The same Lord who gives us spiritual strength through his word also can give us the mental and physical strength we need. He is constantly renewing this world with new life, with cats and birds. He can do it with us too.

News:

1. Randy Baker is heading our way to begin our rebuilding. Pray for a safe journey.
2. 15 Mold Krewe members from LPS will be arriving on Sunday. Among other things they will help us finish gutting the Chapel.
3. Could use a little rain.
4. Radio Show tomorrow at noon central time, www.wsho.com or AM 800 locally.
5. Choir at 10:00 Worship at 11:00
6. The last installment of Jerry’s Kids went back yesterday. The “Rapid Response Team” form Wisconsin Rapids got a lot done. Thanks.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

“We charge you to carry with you the Good News of what God has done in
Christ, to be faithful to Him and His Church, to seek a fellowship of believers in
your new life and community where your gifts may bear fruit, and where you
may give and receive strength even as you have among us.

We ask that you remember us laboring here...thinking of us as friends and
fellow-workers in God's Kingdom. Support us with your love and prayers.

PASTOR: Members of Crown of Life Lutheran Church, in the presence of God I
charge you to praise Him for his gift to us and to share as well in commissioning
them. They are part of our family of God. Remember them, pray for them, and
sustain them with your love.”

Crown of Lifers. I guess that’s who they are. Last week we bid farewell to the Rapid Response team from Wisconsin Rapids. Leader of the group was Tom Thiele. This was his third trip to our church. I’m sure that he came so often because he felt a certain connection to our church. You see Tom used to be a member of Crown of Life 20 years ago. But he is not the only one. Yesterday Bob and Ann Kaylor drove into town yesterday to be the next cooks for the new Mold Krewe. They were also members of Crown of Life 20 years ago. There is quite a list of former members who have come to lend a hand. Some came physically: Mark Meissner, Michael Thiele, Tom Thiele, Ann and Bob Kaylor. Others made it clear that they were supporting us with their prayers and gifts: Freys, Flanagans, Filipowitz, Lovins, Miraglio, Banks. (I’m sure I’ve forgotten some.) What makes them come back?

Of course you recognize the words above as a portion of our commissioning service. Each time one of our Family members leaves us we recognize this as the hand of God and ask the Lord to be with them in their new mission field. There is usually a tear or two, a lumpy throat and sad “farewell.” You can’t live and work with people without becoming attached to them, especially when you do see the hand of God in all of this. One of my favorite parts of the rite is this; “We ask that you remember us laboring here...thinking of us as friends and fellow-workers in God's Kingdom. Support us with your love and prayers.” I guess they took it seriously. Churches are in some way a reflection of all its members past and present. We are what we are in some way because of them. Do they carry a little of “Crown of Life” throughout their lives?

Of course I’m hoping that all you scattered members have some of the same feeling for Crown of Life. The very best would be (as far as I’m concerned) that you could come back and be an active part of the church again. But no matter where you land, I hope that you too will “remember us laboring here… thinking of us as friends and fellow-workers in God’s Kingdom. Support us with your love and prayers.” I’m hoping that Crown of Life has stuck to you so that you are “lifers” Crown of Lifers.

1. Bob and Ann Kaylor (How un-German to spell their name like that) are going to put their culinary skills to work cooking for our new Mold Krewe.
2. Thanks to Trinity for housing 6 of our Mold Krewe. Thanks to Walkers and Kionkas for housing the rest.
3. Rumor has it that we have trailers coming for our builders to live in.
4. The final vote on the pew color is in, eggplant wins. (Don’t ask me what color eggplant is.) Stay tuned for more color choices.
5. In case you have all been losing sleep over the question, the birds on my last letter were downy woodpeckers. (Thanks to all you ornidoperists, no… orniolatalists, no, pneumismatists, no, “birders” out there) The fish I caught is a red drum or redfish as in “blackened redfish.” The little dog in the picture is Samson, Beth’s Chihuahua.
6. Today we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom here and those placing their lives in that place. If anyone should appreciated that kind of gift, we Christians should.

Be strong in the Lord:

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes” says the Spirit, “They will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them” Revelation 14:13

He was just one of them. Over the past 9 months we have had a lot of visitors in our church, probably more visitors than members. They came to give us the most valuable thing a person can give, their time. When a person gives their time they are giving a piece of their lives. A lot of the ones who came, especially the Builders for Christ were older people – they didn’t have a very big piece of life left. The fewer the days you have left, the more precious they become and the bigger the gift. But we had no way of knowing that Virgil’s gift to us would be so big.

You don’t hear those words together very often, “Blessed are the dead….” We tend not to think of death as a blessed thing. The whole world works the other way, “lucky to be alive.” People would think you were morbid or suicidal if you would say, “It is good to be dead.” But at some point that became true. We know when that was, when Jesus paid our debt and gave to us the gift of eternal life. We usually feel sad when it happens, when we lose a loved one, but we know it is true, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from now on.”

Virgil came to help us rebuild our church. He was a man of unusual kindness and an easy happiness about him. He was obviously enjoying life like he knew something about death. (Blessed are the dead…) He just left us and he got ill. Within two months the Lord called Virgil to his eternal rest. The very last of his life he gave to us. A big gift indeed. He labored to the end and his works do follow him. How do you think Virgil would like us to thank him?

News:

1. No letter yesterday. Carol and I moved some more things into our house and then helped George, Garnet and Miraga move back home.
2. The Prep students who are here, finished gutting the church yesterday and also helped Edwards and Kiana move back home. It is beginning to happen.
3. Our friends from Trinity Abita Springs will be joining our worship Sunday. (Pastor Dietrich is on vacation.) The Spice boys will be cooking on Sunday.
4. Next week the re-framing of the chapel begins. With the sheet rock off the ceiling it was clear that the termites hadn’t gotten that high.

Be strong in the Lord:

Dear Scattered Members of the Family:

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 2 Timothy 1:5

The Project Timothy kids from Lutheran Preparatory School (LPS) ran into Ms. Irene. There wasn’t much chance that they would ever cross paths under normal circumstances. But these are not normal times. The Project Timothy kids are here to help us do some work on the church property and gut houses. Ms. Irene is a life long resident of New Orleans who, like so many of us, was driven from her home because of the flood. Now she was moving back with George, her son, and Garnet. The Project Timothy kids helped Carol and I unload their moving van and so they met Ms. Irene. As I approached the apartment with a load of something, I heard all this laughter coming from inside. And there they were, young girls sitting on the floor listening to the wisdom of Ms. Irene.

Project Timothy is so named because these are young people who are learning first hand about ministry, just like Timothy was a young man who was learning from St. Paul about ministry. The letters to Timothy are St. Paul’s instructions to the young Pastor Timothy. In the passage above St. Paul reminds Timothy where he got his faith from; his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. Actually he got his faith from the Holy Spirit, but it was through their instruction in the word that Timothy came to faith. It was their example of faith that they passed on to their son and grandson. How important it is that the Old pass on their faith to the Young! It might be true that young people have to make their own mistakes, but growing up without Jesus is not a mistake we should allow.

So 93 year old Ms. Irene passed on wisdom to high school kids. From eaves dropping, what I heard sounded like good advice. How different it must have been being a teenager in the 1920’s in New Orleans from being a teenager in Watertown, Wisconsin today? The Lord found a way to bring them together. It was good that Ms. Irene cared to share. It was especially good that they cared to listen.

News:

1. The Project Timothy Mold Krewe finished the church yesterday and helped clear some of the dead trees out of our back yard. Yet another big mound out in front of the church.
2. Just talked to George Armstrong. He is coming home June 19th. It is beginning to happen.
3. Richwell and Joyce are in town this weekend, LIVING IN THEIR HOUSE!
4. My brother Dan and his wife JoAnne are bringing down the first of the trailers to restock Lutherville.
5. Randy returns to CA today but will be back next week with the framing crew.
6. Quite a few of our friends from Abita Springs will be joining us on Sunday. It will be nice to see them.

Be strong in the Lord: