Wales' Tales

Looking at the year now past
Is something we must do
To help us understand our path
as days so quickly flew.
We get involved in doing things
That come along the way,
And yet we rarely think about
Their impact day to day.
At times the racing just goes on.
We do what must be done.
And soon the plans we thought we made
Are gone without much fun.
The problem is the mad’ning pace
Of life lived in our day,
We hardly have the time to think,
Much less the time to pray.
So once a year, we set some time
To look at what has passed,
To see the things that have gone on,
That moved away so fast.
Our ministry, the help we gave,
The bills that must be paid,
The classes, dinners, worship times,
And note what things have strayed
From what we were supposed to do,
What God has called us for,
To take a moment to reflect
On what God has in store
For Trinity in years ahead
The needs that must be met,
The call to faith, the words of grace,
The future God has set.
So for a time we sat and heard
A list of our increase,
And then reflect on how we did
In sharing God’s sure…
                                    Peace,
                                    Pastor Alex

Wales' Tales

The other day I had the chance to think about the past.
I met a kid, now all grown up, who seemed to age too fast.
When last I saw her, she was just a kid in Jr. Hi.
And now a strong young woman, whose career is coming nigh.
At times we think that time is ours to keep at our command
And we forget that time will flee no matter how we stand.
The moments that we get from God are gifts we should not waste,
Their number sits with God alone, they pass with untold haste.
It’s only when I see a child now grown to an adult
That makes me understand that time is only the result
Of seconds that become a day, the days turn into years,
And what I do with every one is filled with strength, not fears.
Because beside me I have found that God stands with me strong,
To guide, protect and urge me on, to lead me in the song
Of Hope eternal, life renewed, of service and of joy,
With every moment full of Life, from when I was a boy.
But there were times when God seemed far, beyond my mind and reach,
The problem was that it was me who failed to let God teach.
My stubbornness, my pride, my sin was often in the way,
Allowing me to sit and gripe and waste the passing day.
And then humility came near to clear the fog and mist,
So suddenly, I understood that every day was kissed
By Spirit standing at my side, in God’s eternal plan,
With trust and wisdom as the gift as I became a man.
So when I see the past through eyes whose time will some day cease,
I know that in the flow of life, I’ll rest in God’s sure….
                                                             Peace,
                                                             Pastor Alex

To the Angel of Ephesus

Who is the angel at Trinity? Is it a man or a woman or a being that transcends gender? Does the angel have a pair of wings, or six wings, or multiple arms and legs? Does the angel speak quietly or loudly? Has the angel been there since 1953, or has Trinity had multiple angels? Do they really get their wings every time a bell rings?

Read Psalm 115 and Revelation 2:1-7.

The angel to the church in Ephesus has a mixed message for the church. On one hand, there are a lot of things they are doing right. The angel praises their commitment, endurance and hard work. On the other hand, the angel has a serious problem: where is the love? According to the angel, this is now a loveless church.

Seems a bit paradoxical, as we can think of all the love that we have experienced at church, and all the work our church does to let others outside the church feel the love. In fact the very basis of the church is love – check out this article Tom Ehrich wrote this week. 

But this message to Ephesus reminds us that angels aren’t just sent to give us good news of great joy – the angel of Trinity is there to challenge us, to keep us on our toes, to guide us to follow the path of Christ. The angel of Trinity is not only here to affirm our discipleship but also to let us know that we aren’t done yet.

So how do you recapture the first love? How do you return to what was good at the start of Trinity without regressing on the progress we have made? How do we not only have commitment to the Gospel at Trinity but also to the messy love we find in grace?

I think part of the answer lies in who is our angel at Trinity. I think our angel at Trinity encourages and emphasizes community and relationships – that from the very beginning, Trinity has been family, raising kids together, going through loss together, celebrating together, having fun together. How can we continue to show that love to new friends at Trinity and throughout the community? How can we reorient our commitment and attitude back to the love we first knew through baptism as God claimed us as God’s own?

During this time of transition, let’s take a moment to reflect on the love we had at first – when we were first baptized, or confirmed, or became a Christian, or became a member at Trinity. Let’s find ways to reignite the passion and remember the bigger picture of who Trinity is as the body of Christ. Thank you for your hard work and your patient endurance – don’t forget to love!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate

Wales' Tales

The World’s an icebox just right now,

As cold as it could be,

And ice is clinging in that cold

To every road and tree.

The wind is blowing snow around,

A fine and icy brew,

And what I really want to do is

Have a cup of stew.

Just looking out the window

Causes me to shiver.

It chills my feet, my arms and toes.

It even chills my liver.

It makes me long for summer bees,

For grass and trees and flowers.

A time to sit, enjoy the breeze

And shade of leafy bowers.

But living in the broad Midwest

Requires that I choose

To deal with different seasons –

It’s perfection that I lose.

The blustery cold, the sizzling heat,

The joy of spring and fall,

In Kansas, we are stuck with that.

We struggle though it all.

It also teaches that in life,

We face a host of change.

Things never are the same again,

They cross a broadening range.

Our lives are filled with ups and downs,

With laughter and with tears,

The cycles of our life go by,

The passing of the years.

But through it all, if we are wise,

We see the greater plan

That God has set to guide the way

To follow as we can.

For change will come and days will pass

And joy in life increase,

When we discover in that change is

God’s promises of …

                                           Peace,

                                           Pastor Alex

Wales' Tales

Holy Cow! The year’s near gone
And soon a New Year starts.
A whole new year for us to use,
With spirits, hands and hearts.
There’s time to serve and hope and dream.
There’s time for joy and tears,
With weeks and months to fill with things
That chase away our fears.
But there’s a part of human beings
That goes the other way.
We see the time. We have the plan.
And then we go astray.
We start to worry where to start,
Of what we need to do.
We put things off. We’re slow to move
And in no time, we’re through
A host of weeks, a slew of months,
With nothing of import,
Before we have a chance to act,
We find that we are short
Of time to do what we had said,
Of plans we made and lost,
The dreams that died a quiet death
Without a thought to cost.
So as the New Year just begins
Perhaps we need to say
That we will try to do new things
With every brand new day.
To exercise, to write that note,
To show some extra care,
To be involved in projects great,
And get out of THAT chair!
Don’t just assume the “old” ’s ok,
That what we did is fine.
Because there may be joy out there
To share with yours and mine.
So get a start on making change
Allow “what was” to cease.
Just take a breath, reach out in faith
And live a life of…
                                Peace,
                                Pastor Alex