August 2022 Newsletter

^“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

-Hebrews 11:1

Dear Friends,

Have you experienced the following?

You have a project in mind.

You have a vision of how it will end.

You start it with great gusto.

You even make good progress on those early steps.

Then…

You take a step back and looking at what you’ve done, discouragement sets in.

What you see looks nothing like what you’ve envisioned.

What do you do now? Do you quit? Continue?

I’ve done both.

I remember once working on a project that was to be a gift for my mom. I thought I messed up. Started over and when I got to the same place, it was messed up again! I never finished that project! But if I better understood “the awkward stage” I think I would reacted differently.

I learned the concept from a beginner’s landscape painting book by Lee Hammond. She teaches that a painting can have three stages. I thought I’d share a project along with some thoughts on each stage.

The first is laying the foundation. This is where you plan out and put on the base layers of paint. In my sample, you can see that it is a tree but there is no depth. As I think about this stage, I am reminded of its importance for just about anything: arts and craft; building; fitness; household organization; and ministry.

I can think of two ways we approach this stage. If we are experienced, we have a level of confidence and have mapped out in our minds (or on paper) where we are planning to go. If we’re trying something new, we might have a bit of nervous anticipation in that we have that idea, but we are not entirely sure about how we can get there. In our ministry, this is when we decide on a new project, or when we are contemplating new directions. It is both exciting and scary!

The middle is that awkward stage when it looks kind-of but not exactly right. It’s an important stage of building upon the foundation, adding depth and taking care of details. It is also when beginning artists (like me) can get frustrated and give up. If you look at my sample, I am clearly having trouble with the tree branches. I had to decide if I was going to keep trying or throw the project away and start over. The temptation in this awkward stage is to give up.

I think this applies to our work as a church. Sometimes we struggle to see where Jesus is leading us. Here’s something else I’ve learned. Even when we struggle to see what’s next in our own awkward stages, we can work together to get through. As we work together, we are learning together. As awkward as this stage is, we can recognize that this is where we can do our best work. This stage can last a long time, it all depends on what we are trying to do or where we are trying to go. Sometimes we make major shifts in what we are doing, because of the learning we’ve experienced in this stage. As you will see in the final photo, those troublesome branches kept growing and growing!

The last is working on the details, or the final touches.

As I worked on this little painting, I went back and forth between the awkward middle and this final stage. Even as I write this I am tempted to go back and do more, which is a reminder that even in this “final” stage, we are never really done. We celebrate the progress we’ve made while thinking about how we can take our learning to the next level. We continue to learn! We continue to dream! And, as a congregation, we continue to do all of this together.

I’m wondering what we, as a congregation, can create together!

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Nancy

Want to try it? Contact me for a free 30 minute coaching conversation. 

I would like to welcome all of our new and returning students and families to another exciting school year at Our Redeemer! The staff and I are looking forward to a great year of friends, fun, and learning! We thank you for the opportunity to share these very special years with you and your student and hope this year will be filled with lots of laughter, memories, and blessings!

If you ever have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email: school@lcoor.org or phone:  805.983.0619

Have a wonderful month,

Peggy Schreiber,

Preschool Director 

Service Over The Summer (SOS)

SERVICE OVER SUMMER PROJECT 

Summer is now in full swing and with it, starts our annual summer project for Our Redeemer. Over the summer we will be collecting school supplies in order to assemble School Kits for Lutheran World Relief and local students.

Starting NOW, we ask that if you are able to donate one item from the list below and drop it off at the church office or preschool office. Another option, we are accepting monetary donations, and we'll do the shopping on your behalf. We will be accepting donations all summer long!

With your help, we hope to assemble at least 120 school bags.

With your help, these bags will go to places like Africa, Asia, The Middle East, and Latin America, as well as students in our own community!

Items Needed for School Kits:

• one box of 16 or 24 crayons
• four 70-sheet spiral notebooks of wide or college-ruled paper, approximately 8"x10 ½"; no loose-leaf paper
• one 30-centimeter ruler, or a ruler with centimeters on one side and inches on the other
• one pencil sharpener 
• five unsharpened #2 pencils with erasers; secured together with a rubber band
• five black or blue ballpoint pens (no gel ink); secured together with a rubber band
• one 2 ½ "eraser 
• scissors

Church Council Meeting

The August council meeting will be held on

Monday, August 8th 2022 at 3:00 pm

August Birthdays

Are you on our birthday list?

Please contact the office if you would like to add your birthday to our birthday list!

805.983.0612| Secretary@lcoor.org