Newsletter Thoughts September 20, 2025

Dear Friends,

This week I’m at the ELCA Systems Academy. My plan for the newsletter was to share some learning from this week, but quite honestly my brain needs time process and to catch up.

Yet even as I say this, I think that what we learn about family systems has so much to say about the times in which we are living. At the heart of family systems theory is the idea that we can only be responsible for ourselves. That sounds simple until we find ourselves trying to get other people to act differently (of course we know what is best). It sounds simple until we have disagreements.

As I think about the news the last few years, I'm wondering how we could better function as a country if we could learn to disagree while staying in relationship.

What would it look like if we could learn to talk through issues? What is it about disagreement that causes us to cut off relationship?

I believe that the instruction Jesus gave to us--to love God, to love neighbor, to love ourselves is all about being in relationship.

As human beings we need both relationship and individuality. We all function better when we bring our various ideas into the community talk and disagree and learn and compromise and come to solutions.

We all need this way of functioning. Our churches, our cities, our world needs us to learn to function in this way.

As people of faith, our invitation is to live into community and our call is to be about doing God’s work in the world. But to do that we need to understand what it truly means to love God, love neighbor, love self. It's not to passively accept things the way they are nor is it to arrogantly tell those with whom we disagree how wrong they are.

I think the invitation is for us to struggle in this space where we work with one another, our friends, our families, and our neighbors (loved ones and perceived enemies), to try and make this world a place where we recognize Jesus among us.

I love how we at ALC are leaning into this in our recent outreach to our LGBTQIA neighbors, to high school youth in the neighborhood, and through food that is offered to whoever comes by.

How else might God be inviting us to be a shepherding force, within our church community, and outside the walls into the neighborhood? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Meanwhile as you are reading this, I, along with my husband and some family are enjoying the southern coast of Spain for a quick vacation. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and may God bless worship on Sunday, and all of the ministry that each of you does in your daily lives.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Nancy