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Membership Rolls Update  

August 28, 2025

One of the less exciting (but not less important!) tasks of the interim process is to do an honest look through the membership rolls. Clean and current records help us stay connected with each one of you through the enews and mailings, and ensure that every member is cared for and counted.

So first and foremost, please take a moment to make sure we have your correct address, phone, and email. Have you been receiving enews at the correct email address? Have you received snail mail from ECLC (like the Christmas card) in the last year? 

If you know your contact information has changed, and in the hustle and bustle you forgot to let us know, don’t worry - you can always drop us a note or let us know on Sunday morning. 

Some of you may be receiving a call, email, or letter seeking additional information that we are missing, or to check in and make sure you are still where you want to be. Look for that communication over the coming weeks. 

This process isn’t about narrowing our community—it’s about strengthening our connections and honoring our commitment to one another. We want everyone who calls this community home to feel seen, known, and included, and we want every transition that may move someone away from our community to also been seen and honored. 

2025–2026 Program Year Theme: “What We CAN Do”

August 20, 2025

Our theme this program year affirms our agency and faithfulness in uncertain times, inspired by Galatians 6:9 —“So let us not grow weary in doing what is right…”  

Lutherans have a healthy reminder woven into our tradition about what we can and cannot do. We cannot save ourselves or the world. We cannot make ourselves more beloved by working harder to please God. We cannot make all that is wrong in the world right again. That is all God’s work. But we CAN care for one another and the world God made. We CAN carry one another’s burdens and speak on behalf of those who with no voice. We CAN breathe in God’s spirit and live out God’s justice.

To keep the theme dynamic and seasonally grounded, we will pair it with evolving subtitles throughout the year:

• Fall: Responding to God’s Generosity
• Advent & Christmas: Responding to God’s Presence
• Lent: Responding to God’s Compassion
• Easter & Spring: Responding to God’s New Life

This poem speaks directly to the posture we hope to take — not despairing over what is out of reach, but rejoicing in what is within our power to do.

“I can’t stop all the wars, but I can be a voice that speaks for peace.
I can’t calm all the storms, but I can offer safe harbor to someone in need.” 
- Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Together, these words, scriptures, and images will shape a year of faithful, hope-filled action — grounded not in what we can’t do, but in what we CAN do.

Summer Camp Highlights

August 13, 2025

As back-to-school season is gearing up again, the summer is coming to a close! One way a handful of ECLC kids celebrated the last weeks of summer was time at Camp Wapo for a weekend or a full week at the beginning of August. Between Seeds, Youth Camp, and Wilderness Canoe Base, 24 ECLC students and friends attended camp this summer. Filled with campfires, songs, Bible studies, Gaga ball tournaments, big field games, silly skits, time on the water front, a banquet, and the “Wapo County Fair”, time at camp was so fun for each camper that could be there! I was able to spend a few days at camp which was so fun and special! 

-Kaya 

Capital Campaign Nears the Finish Line! 

August 6, 2025

Over the past year, See What Yes Can Do! has shown us exactly that—what happens when our congregation dreams boldly and acts together. Because of your generosity, we’ve reduced our mortgage, created a welcoming new patio and gathering space, and supported mission partners near and far. 

We’re almost at our goal—but not quite. And “YES” isn’t just the story of what we’ve done—it’s still an open invitation to be part of what’s next. Your continued gifts will help us cross the finish line and fully fund these lasting improvements for ministry and mission. Perhaps you’ve been waiting for the right occasion to honor someone who has been influential in your life of faith , or maybe there is a special event you’d like to honor by helping us reach our goal. Consider if you might be called to help us reach out goal. 

Join us in worship on Sunday August 24 as we celebrate the campaign’s accomplishments. Weather permitting, we’ll head out to the new patio for treats and conversation—a perfect way to enjoy the space your generosity has made possible. 

July Rest is Resistance

July 2025

This July we are spending time reflecting on our “being” instead of our “doing,” leaning into rest, and reading “Rest is Resistance” by Tricia Hersey. 

Each week in our enews, we will highlight two of the ten steps for “How to Be an Escape Artist,” also written by Tricia Hersey, where the author reflects on what it means that in order to rest, we must learn the art of escape. Not escaping our lives, but escaping the things that hold us in unhealthy rhythms and systems that take instead of give. We encourage you to spend a little time each week reflecting on these steps. Use them in conversation with the book we’re reading together. See how you learn and grow and lean into who you were always created to be. 

How to Be An Escape Artist (An incomplete List)

Step 1: “The first step for morphing into an escape artist is belief. You must believe you have the power to refuse. You must believe you have been gifted with everything necessary. You must be a trickster. No matter what, you must not show fear. We are abundant. I have heard from many that it’s been difficult to rest because you don’t know how. Give thanks for the “not knowing.” Isn’t it exciting to be able to develop, discover, and experiment with your own liberation? 

Step 2: “Develop clear boundaries that feel like fresh clay. Flexible, strong, and soothing to your body. Develop the ability to ignore anyone and anything that stands in the way of your goal of liberation. Every system in the culture doesn’t see your divinity. They were not created to connect. They were not created to have vision. They were created for you to internalize the lies about labor in a capitalist culture. Stay clear. Stay connected.” 

Step 3: “Create community. Build community. Be community. Community care can seem impossible when you are exhausted. It is possible. Community is anywhere two ore more are gathered. Two is still community. Don’t rush to quantity as the marker of deep community and care. Don’t rush to do anything alone. To be an escape artist is to be in the collective. Supported in rest, care, and love. Demand the collective as a source of inspiration and change. Real change comes from the people.” 

Step 4: “Study the art of improvisation. You will need it for your escape artist life. There are no quick steps or cookie-cutter lies to liberation. You do what you must in the moment and right now. You tap deeply into your inner knowing. You view rest not as an afterthought and instead as the foundation and North Star. Follow the stars. Follow the light. You boldly step into your role as the leader. You carry your escape plan in your pocket. You carry your escape plan in your heart.” 

Step 5: “Create a concise one-sentence response to the question “What are you willing to rest for?” Then memorize it. Embody it. Become it. Then lay down in the beauty and power of your plans.” 

Step 6: “Listen. You must slow down to listen. Listen to your body. Listen to your heart. Listen to the birds. Listen to the wind. Listen to your dreams. Listen for clues. Your escape from grind culture depends on listening.” 

Step 7: “Reinvent yourself over and over again. Resurrect yourself over and over again. Focus daily on the spectacle of escape. The best spectacles are the ones that are organic and catch everyone off guard. Don’t be afraid to say less. Every word doesn’t have to be used. Silence is holy and goes directly to the point. Silence is rest. People need to know that you are pissed about the bamboozlement. Let grind culture know you are not playing around. This is not a game or a time to shrink. Your thriving depends on the art of escape.” 

Step 8: “Start being ok with being seen as an outsider to grind culture. An outlier wizard. Embarace the mystery. Why would you want to be a part of exhaustion, disembodiment, and trauma? Why would you want to align with and trust in toxic capitalism and consumerism as both sell self-care as expensive things and doing more? Don’t be fooled. Rest your eyes right now. Take a nap right now. Daydream right now. Sky gaze right now. Make being on the outside a freedom space. Hide in plain sight.” 

Step 9: “Read a poem daily. You will need it for your dreaming mission and your escape maps. May I recommend Lucille Clifton, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, or Audre Lorde? Write your own. A prompt to start: “My rest feels like…”” 

Step 10: Create an escape map. Keep creating them for the rest of your days. Trace the path telepathically. Write the plans down on scraps of paper, then tuck and hide them away. Find them by surprise. When you need the map, it will appear. Create a map for the following: How to bend time, how to sky gaze, how to daydream, how to rest. 

More Thoughts on our July Month of Rest: 

June 25, 2025

I have already noted in sermons that my favorite author and theologian is Barbara Brown Taylor, so of course I am subscribed to her newsletter, "Coming Down to Earth."  Yesterday she published a new post, titled "Reverie Saves the Day" and it contained so many parallels to our own musings at ECLC around rest and doing and being, I had to share it with you all today. https://barbarabrowntaylor.substack.com/p/reverie-saves-the-day 

I hope you read it and savor her words and then I hope you ask yourself the very question that inspired her to write this column in the first place: What pastime gives you life that you never take time to do? 

Happy almost July ECLC! Can't wait to lean into the beauty of rest with you all. 

Pr Natalia

Join Us In A Community Experiment This July! 

June 18, 2025

During our Focus Groups, we often heard about the culture of “doing” that we have here at ECLC. As the Transition Team and I both named in our report, this volume is not inherently bad, we DO do a lot: we give and serve and use our voices and resources in the wider community in a way that matters and is core to who we are. And a question that has come up from all this doing is: “is this sustainable?” 

July “Rest is Resistance” Month

We were created for rest. God built sabbath into the very foundation of creation. It was a gift so that we wouldn’t get our doing confused with our being. The question for all of us to consider this July is the same one asked to the people of God during sabbath throughout our history: do we know who we are when we don’t do anything? 

What does this mean? 

This month, we’re going to take a step back from our doing. Together we will read “Rest is Resistance” by Tricia Hersey. We have asked our committees to not meet. We are encouraging people to lean into what reconnects them to who they are and whose they are. We will also gather for “patio parties” a few times in July. See the “save the date” below for dates and details.

To bless our time of rest, and to use as a reflection on why we are doing this experiment together, read this blessing below from Meta Herrick Carlson. I hope you save it and come back to it regularly, to remind you that you are more than what you do. 

It is only human to become what you do, 
to believe you are necessary for good order and momentum. 
So in the beginning God set humankind apart on a planet that moves without your control, 
that revolves despite your wild desire to be at the very center of things. 
God promised provision on the seventh day, 
so that you could practice resistance to your zealous rhythms with rest, 
so that you could stop for a season and trust: 
I am so small, and also I matter so much. 
It is here in the absence of doing you will remember the terrible and wonderful news - 
that God is still here, making things new, even and often without your help. 
May this sabbath time return your identity from production to relationship
in which you hear the call to some things, not all the things, 
and relish you place as a creature of God. 

Pr. Natalia

PATIO PARTIES! 
During our July month of rest, we will gather on the patio on a few days and times. No agenda, no checklists, no projects, no plan; but simply a time to be together and delight in each other.

The dates and times for these parties are: 
•  July 9 at 12pm
•  July 14 at 6pm
•  July 29 at 6pm.

If this feels like something that would bring you joy, if it would help you connect to who you are and who you have been created to be, I hope you come be with us.

Message from our Council President

June 11, 2025

Dear Beloved Community,

As we move into the heart of summer I want to thank you. Your generosity and faithful support sustain the life and ministry of our church throughout the year. Because of you, we worship boldly, care deeply, and reach beyond our walls with compassion and justice.

Summer also brings a natural rhythm of change. Schedules shift, families travel, and routines are paused for both rest and adventure. While all of this is good and necessary, we also experience the very real challenge of decreased financial support.

But here’s the good news: your steady support makes a difference. Giving even when you are away ensures that our outreach ministries continue to serve those in need. It provides meaningful faith formation for children and youth. It keeps our building open as a place of welcome, safety, and community. It allows us to show up fully and faithfully, no matter the season.

Please consider the following ways to faithfully support ECLC and the work we do during the summer:

• Give ahead before leaving for vacation.
• Set up or update a recurring gift through our website.
• Make a one-time summer gift to help us stay on track.

We know that everyone’s circumstances are different, and every gift—large or small—is deeply appreciated. What matters most is our shared commitment to this beloved church and the mission we carry together.

You can give easily by visiting https://www.eclc.org/donate-make-a-payment or by mailing a check to the church office. If you need assistance setting up online giving, Anne Gustafson would be glad to help.

Thank you for being part of the ECLC community. Thank you for your faith, your generosity, and your continued investment in what God is doing in and through our church. Let’s move through this summer with gratitude and grace, trusting that God is at work in our travels, our rest, and wherever this season finds us.

With gratitude,
Dick Patterson, Council President

What the heck is a Futures Lab?! 

June 4, 2025

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, I participated in something called a “Futures Lab.” 
(Futures literacy is an area of research that has gained traction in recent years, which you can learn more about here at https://www.unesco.org/en/futures-literacy)

This particular futures lab was related to spiritual communities and congregations, inviting us into the work of dreaming about a church in the future that most of us in the room may not be alive to see. Together we wondered honestly about where the world is going and dreamt together about what the needs of the community might be in that future time and place. 

In doing this, we learned how to have an imagination for the future that isn’t limited by the past or even, to some extent, what is happening in the present.

I have to be honest, my brain doesn’t do this well. I either go dystopian in a way that I think is not good for my mental health, or I go full utopia in a way that felt a lot like a shortcut from the hard work that needs to be done. Either way, there was some unlearning and relearning I had to do in order to participate in this futures lab in a way that would be helpful!

But despite how challenging I found the practice, it was also really, really fascinating, and it had a lot to teach me about the work we are doing together right now at ECLC. 

Part of futures work asks us to be honest about the stories we are telling ourselves about the future. These stories, though about a time not yet here, do impact how we make decisions today. So what is the future we can bet on for ECLC? What will this place look like in 10 or 20 or 30 years? I asked the council to do a little of this work a few months ago and their answers were so lovely and full of all the things that make ECLC so special: warmth, welcome, community, and just for a fun side note - every single story included food! 

As we move into the Pastoral Call Process, here some questions to ask ourselves as a community of faith: What are we building, and why? For whom and for what purpose? What are the things unique to ECLC that we can bet on in the future? And there you go! You just did a mini futures lab all of your own! 

As we approach Pentecost Sunday, it’s important to remember that a lot of the work we do as the church is just us trying to catch up to what the Spirit is already doing. She’s out there ahead of us, already moving and spinning and swirling around, creating the future we can only imagine. I find that immensely hopeful and helpful in this work. That there is no future we can dream up where God is not already present. Thank goodness. 

If you want to learn more about church-specific futures information, you can find it here. 
https://convergenceus.org/2023/02/01/what-is-the-future-of-your-congregation/ 

Pr Natalia Terfa

Celebrate Next Step Sunday at ECLC! 

May 28, 2025

Milestones matter, big and small, and we've got a lot of steps to mark at ECLC! This Sunday, during worship, we'll be celebrating all of the steps our young people have taken as they transition from one stage of their faith journey to the next. We will baptize a baby, hear reflections from a few young people in our congregation who are at different transition points in their faith formation, and bless our high school graduates. We will also Commission our Call Committee at the end of worship, to mark the big next step our congregation is also taking in calling a new pastor. All these are worth celebrating, and so we will! Join us in worship and afterwards for a party during fellowship time. 

Call Committee Update

May 21, 2025

On Tuesday night, the Council of Ministers approved a slate of candidates to serve on our Call Committee. Using a set of criteria we laid out in our last council meeting (Length of membership, Variety of life experiences, Variety of age and stage of life, Variety of primary interests, Representative of the diversity within the congregation, Demonstrated wisdom, spiritual depth, and care of the congregation including giving commitments over time) our team prayerfully and thoughtfully narrowed a large list of interested people.

We are so grateful for all the people who indicated interest in serving on this committee. This was not an easy task, but we trust the faithfulness and integrity of this process and we believe we have a committee that best represents the whole of the congregation of ECLC.  

We will be commissioning this Committee during worship on June 1st. Please begin praying for them now as they start the discernment process together over the next few weeks. 

Bearing Witness Together

May 14, 2025

This week I’m attending the Festival of Homiletics in Atlanta, Georgia — a gathering of preachers from across traditions, geographies, and backgrounds, including many powerful BIPOC voices. The theme is “Sustaining and Nurturing Our Courage,” focusing on how we proclaim Christ’s love in a divided world. 

One such voice is Rev. Dr. Melva Sampson, Assistant Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology at Wake Forest University School of Divinity, who urged us: “Don’t shrink back!” Her words echo in my heart as I reflect on the faith, courage, and witness I see in you — the members of our church.

In a time when division often drowns out compassion, I’m grateful for this chance to learn and be renewed. May we continue to bear witness — not with fear, but with love, trusting that the Spirit within us is more than enough.

Pastor Jeff

Transition Team Update    

April 30, 2025

Last Sunday your transition team gathered to talk through the results of the focus groups and began to lay out your priorities for the call committee and for our leadership as we prepare to welcome a new pastor into our community. Based on these priorities we will put together a report to the congregation, and we will present that report before worship on Sunday, June 15th. After that Sunday, the report will be available to everyone via enews and online. 

This means, for the most part, the work of the Transition Team is complete! Please join me in offering a HUGE amount of thanks to this team: Carla C, Rolf F, Dave I, Jan H, Dick M, Doris P, and chair Andrew T, for their hard work and leadership during this phase of our interim work together. 

A Ministry Site Profile (our congregation’s resume) Writing Team will be convened to put together our paperwork. This team will be made up of a small number of people from both the call committee and the transition team. The Call Committee is in process of being selected and will move into meetings this summer and fall. 

Please continue to hold this process in your prayers, that the Spirit moves in bringing the right person to be your next pastor. 

As always, I’m available for conversation and questions about this process as needed! 

Pr Natalia

A Place for You - Communion Class 

April 23, 2025

On Maundy Thursday we celebrated the mandate of Jesus, that we love one another as God loves us. And then Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, and together they shared a meal. 

Jesus’ command on that night to “do this in remembrance of me” was not to set a new standard for us to live up to or follow, but so that when we feel like God is distant, or hard to see, we can trust that there are certain places and moments where God has promised we will always be able to be with God. 

The communion table is one of those places. It’s one of those places where God has promised to show up, to be with us, and to remind us what love looks like. 

Yes, God is everywhere, but when we are having a hard time seeing God anywhere, we can come back to the table, and know that there is always, always a place for us to meet with God again.

 ECLC communes anyone at any age, stage, belief, or background. We set the table, but God is the host, and God welcomes all without exception. But sometimes we seek a little bit extra: extra space for questions, extra understanding, extra wonder and awe. If that’s you, we’re offering a communion class on May 4th, from 12pm-1pm in the fellowship hall. This is not a class you pass or fail, but a time to talk together about the meal that God hosts weekly and all the whats and whys that go along with it. Together we will learn and wonder and explore this gift from God together. All are welcome!

Pr. Natalia

Journey to the Cross

April 9, 2025

Last year during Holy Week, ECLC debuted a new event that was especially child friendly, and family focused. The goal of this event was for families to experience every aspect of Holy Week knowing that if they didn't return to church again until Easter Sunday, it wouldn't feel like any part of the Holy Week story was left out. With the decision made to retire the family services on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the "Journey to the Cross" event was born!

As we prepare for Holy Week, we'd like to extend an invitation to our second annual "Journey to the Cross" event that takes place on Wednesday, April 16th, from 5:30-7pm at church. This event is especially family friendly, but all ages are encouraged and welcome to attend! 

Together, we'll journey through the days and events of Holy Week leading up to Jesus' death on the cross and eventual resurrection. This year, participants will tell the story of Palm Sunday with play-doh, experience The Last Supper through foot washing and communion, share prayers, visit the empty tomb, and more! 

This is a drop-in / open house style event, so please stop by at any time between 5:30-7pm. We hope you'll join us for this experiential event and can't wait to journey through Holy Week with you!