By Pastor Jeffrey E. Meinz

“I never would have dreamed as I was preparing to become a pastor that there would be a day when I would be leading an online worship service to an empty sanctuary.”

COVID 19 has certainly stretched the Church far beyond our imagination and worship as we know it might never be the same.

It’s possible that the “sharing of the peace” during worship is a thing of the past. Hugs and handshakes may slowly begin to fade. Introverts around the world rejoice while those who love warm hugs abhor the thought.

“What about the passing of the offering plate?
Does weekly giving transition to only on-line or will we drop our offering into locked boxes as we enter or leave the sanctuary?
Isn’t that what the widow did with her mite?”

• Will we be required to wear masks during worship?
• What does that mean for hymn singing?
• Will the adult choir need purple masks to match their robes?
• How muffled might the liturgy sound?
• Will the pastors always wear rubber gloves during the distribution of communion?
• In an effort to adhere to 6 feet of social distancing will we only be able to sit in every other pew?
• Can we ever use paper bulletins again or will everything be projected onto the screens?
• Don’t even get me started on proper hymnal usage! Did the people at 8 o’clock use antibacterial gel prior to handling the hymnal because now the people at 9:30 need to use the same one?

What about coffee and cookies? Can you casually walk up to a table full of home-made coffee cake and safely make your selection? You might begin to wonder who touched the coffee pot prior to you. Is anybody disinfecting the jug of creamer between uses? Maybe we should each arrive to church with our own travel mugs of coffee and individually wrapped chocolate covered coconut macaroons.

“To some of you, this might all sound a little silly. To others, this sounds like a necessity. Honestly, a significant majority of us don’t know what to think.”

Worship has been shifting from the beginning of time. Originally, worship had a grand attendance of only two. Adam and Eve sat on a rock, probably near the back of the garden, and worshiped God. Abraham and Sarah probably worshiped God from underneath a tent. The Israelites worshiped God in Egypt, then in the desert, then in the Tabernacle. Solomon built an elaborate temple. Jesus taught the people from the side of a mountain. The very first Easter was hosted at an empty tomb. King David experienced worship with a lute and a lyre. Martin Luther loved the organ. Many Christians today enjoy the sound of a praise team. Yes, worship has always been shifting.

But one thing has remained the same: Jesus. That will never change!

I sincerely don’t know what worship looks like in the future at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Surely it will change in some form or fashion. I don’t anticipate anything drastic, but I do know this: We will gather, we will worship God, we will faithfully distribute the Sacraments, and we will overwhelmingly receive God’s abundant mercy and grace. Worship has always been shifting, but God does not change.

“Therefore we will gather together and somehow worship an unchanging God. Minor shifts may occur here and there but God’s perfect gifts delivered to his people will never change.”

By: Pastor Doug

On Saturday morning, January 26, leaders of Holy Cross gathered for a leadership summit. The focus of this summit was on what we call the vision frame of Holy Cross. Some of you are aware of what this frame is, but my gut tells me that most of you are not.

This leadership summit consisted of youth, school staff, lay leadership, and church staff. People of various ages and different responsibilities gathered in groups of four to discuss the direction of Holy Cross by means of our vision frame.

What is the vision frame?

Picture a painting that’s hanging in your home. A frame probably surrounds that picture. The focus is on the picture, but the frame is important to the beauty of the painting.

That specific picture does not have to be in that frame. You might find yourself purchasing another painting and using the same frame to surround this new painting.

The frame stays the same, but the picture can change.

The leaders of Holy Cross spent time exploring the frame that surrounds the vision of Holy Cross. This frame remains the same, even when the vision changes.

A portion of that frame appears each week on the cover of our bulletin. The mission mandate of our vision frame states that we “encourage those who hunger to be nourished by God.”

The leaders were not only encouraged to delve into our mission mandate, but also our mission motives (core values), mission map (strategy), and mission marks (how we hope lives will be changed at Holy Cross through the work we do together), ending with time spent admiring the picture which this frame surrounds.

What is that picture?

Here is the vision that we’re working toward at Holy Cross.

As modeled by Jesus, we will build a welcoming community that’s transformed through genuine worship, growth, and service so all may follow him.

The vision statement appears outside the entrance to the sanctuary. I hope that you will spend time reading it and thinking about the part you play in becoming this welcoming community.

This welcoming community is modeled after Jesus. He welcomed sinners, tax collectors, and outcasts. He stood up for the widows and orphans. He even ate with his enemies.

However, Jesus didn’t welcome people just to make them feel good. He welcomed people that they might be transformed through their connection to him. He was not content to leave people wallowing in the brokenness of their lives.

And neither should we be content with simply being a welcoming community. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God is changing us to be more like Christ and he is changing others through us.

How does he do his transforming work here at Holy Cross? We believe that God is working through genuine worship, growth and service to cause this change. This is our three-legged stool of how we do things at Holy Cross. The ministry at Holy Cross is organized around worship, growth and service.

There was a great deal of excitement, conversation and desire to embrace this direction for Holy Cross at the leadership summit. Though you might not always be aware of what is driving the work of your leaders, I hope that you will experience the excitement that they felt at this summit as we move forward into God’s future for us.

 

By: DCE Intern Payton DeVencenty

Saturday, October 27th was a wonderful day for Holy Cross Lutheran as we opened our building and land to the community to enjoy during our annual Fall Festival. The weather was spectacular, the views of Pikes Peak were fantastic, and the amount of candy distributed…nearly insane.

We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather, as the sun shone for the whole event and not a hiccup was made concerning wind and the like. Our guests and members enjoyed food from different food trucks, games put on by volunteers, bounce houses for the kids, and
a general sense of community which I truly believe will help bring new members to worship with us throughout the week.

Community events are often underplayed, a simple gathering to pass on goods or get out of the house. Holy Cross took the steps over Fall Festival to participate in something incarnational, a way to make our members, staff, and visitors all engage in something
together. To take down walls, literally to step outside of them, and begin having simple inviting conversations into the church and into our lives.

So yes, this event was a success, regardless of numbers of attendees or of the number of candy bars passed out.

This event allowed the body of Christ to reach into the community and provided an atmosphere of welcome to those who might not otherwise get anywhere near a church building. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped to make this event possible, and may we all thank God for the little moments which remind us of His presence.