Author: Pastor Aleese Kenitzer

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Blog: Tear it Open

By now, many of us have moved on from the holidays. Christmas decor is carefully stowed away for another year and we’re ready to look toward what is to come in 2024. 

But before we completely put everything away from Christmas, call to mind what it’s like for a young child to open a gift on Christmas morning. My experience has been that young children don’t care about “politely” opening a gift. They tear into it, doing whatever is necessary to get to the gift as fast as most physically possible. 

Hold that image, and hear again two verses from our Gospel this past Sunday:“And just as [Jesus] was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.'” (Mark 1:10-11)

The heavens were torn apart. In the original text of Mark’s Gospel, it’s clear that this “tearing” was not just a simple rip. This “tearing” was something that was dramatic. Which, as we travel through the coming year of focusing on Mark’s Gospel, we’ll find that according to Mark’s perspective, God’s actions are often quite bold and decisive. When God acts in Mark, something happens. 

So back to our passage about Jesus’ baptism, I had to wonder that when God torn apart the heavens, this was not some gentle process like how an adult would open a Christmas gift. This was something done in haste so that God could come to earth, and come to God’s people, as fast as physically possible. 

I believe that, still today, God is tearing through barriers that we erect to come to us. And, I believe that, still today, God is breaking into our lives and our world in ways we perhaps would’ve never expected. But, are we open to percieving what God is doing? And, so we want God to break in? God’s activity will always, always lead to life. But, it also may lead to some disruption in the process; for newness and rebirth doesn’t just “happen.” And yet, it will only be by the action of God that we, and all the world, will be reformed into God’s glory. 

So as we start another year, challenge yourself to pay attention to where God is breaking in. For just as God came to Jesus in his baptism, God still comes today to anoint us with God’s Spirit, and God still comes to make all things new.

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Worship: Tear It Open

Mark 1:4-11 | As we move away from the Christmas holiday, the church year turns to focus on the baptism of Jesus. For many, baptism has become synonymous with a gentle, tender, and calm practice (even if there are a few cries from babies!) But at Jesus’ baptism, God’s activity was far, far from calm. God dramatically broke into the world, and into the life of Jesus, as the heavens were torn open, a dove descended into Jesus, and Jesus was publicly named God’s Son. So then what about now? Does God still dramatically break into our world, doing whatever is necessary to come to us and to our weary world? Join us for our last worship in our series, “How Does a Weary World Rejoice?” as we witness God’s determination to tear through anything in the way of a relationship with God’s good creation, and as we are sent forth as agents of God’s grace.

Sunday, January 7, 2024, Baptism of Our Lord Sunday Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: Sing We Now of Christmas. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2019 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: Songs of Thankfulness and Praise. Text: Christopher Wordsworth, 1807-1885, alt. Music: Jakob Hintze, 1622-1702; arr. Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750. Text and Music: Public Domain. Hymn of the Day: Christ, When for Us You Were Baptized. Text: F. Bland Tucker, 1895-1984, alt. Music: Nikolaus Herman, 1480-1561. Text and Music: © 1985 The Church Pension Fund. Covered under One License subscription. Offering Song: He Is Born. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2018 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Communion Song: You Are Mine. Text and Music: David Haas, b. 1957. Text and Music: © 1991 GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. Sending Song: This Little Light of Mine. Text and. Music: African American spiritual; arr. Horace Clarence Boyer, b. 1935. Text and Music:©1992 Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Covered under One License subscription.

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Blog: New Year, New You?

Following the holidays, it doesn’t take long for exercise, diet, and nutrition ads to come out in full force, encouraging us to consider new habits for the new year. “Its a new year! It’s time for a new ‘you’!” ads seem to suggest. Which, isn’t all bad. Sometimes we need a fresh start in order to critically think about what we’ve been doing (or not doing) and how that impacts who we are and our relationships with others. 

But even as you consider possible resolutions or habits that might need to be tweaked, consider this: Jesus doesn’t desire a “new you.” You don’t need to be new and improved like the greatest Tide pod that just came out on the market. Instead, Jesus simply desires you to be the best “you” that you can be. And in Jesus’ eyes, that’s enough. In fact, it’s more than enough: it’s considered beautiful and honored and precious. Because as baptized children of God, we have already been made new by the grace of our Lord Jesus who came to live among us. 

So as we enter into 2024, don’t feel as though you need to be someone you’re not. Rather, consider habits that would help you be even more who God already created YOU to be. But don’t think you have to do all that on your own. Instead, dedicate yourself to join with others in community as we remind each other of our identity in Christ, and push each other to grow more and more as disciples of Jesus. 

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Worship: We Root Ourselves in Ritual

Luke 2:21-40 | Though we celebrated the day of Christmas last week, the season of Christmas continues in the life of the church – celebrating the light of Christ that has come to the world. As we continue our celebration, we travel with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem where Jesus is presented in the temple, according to Jewish custom. Much like the holy family, we, too, observe rituals of worship, prayer, and service as a way in which we live out our faith. These rituals form us and provide a foundation for us as we come to know just who this child is who has been born to us. So as we continue to follow in the light of Christ, leading us on, join us for worship as we root ourselves in ritual and as we testify to God’s salvation revealed to us.

Special thanks to lay leaders of Shepherd of the Cross for leading worship this morning, and to Bishop Amy Current, bishop of the Southeastern Iowa Synod, for providing the sermon for us this morning in Pastor Aleese’s absence.

Sunday, December 31, 2023, First Sunday of Christmas Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: Angels We Have Heard On High. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2019 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: Angels, from the Realms of Glory. Text: James Montgomery, 1771-1854, alt., sts. 1-3; Salisbury Hymn Book, 1857, st. 4. Music: Henry T. Smart, 1813-1879. Text and Music: Public Domain. Hymn of the Day: In His Temple Now Behold Him. Text: Henry J. Pye, 1825-1903, alt.Music: Henry T. Smart, 1813-1879. Text and Music: Public Domain. Offering Song: Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2019 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Sending Song: Good Christian Friends, Rejoice. Text: Medieval Latin carol; tr. John Mason Neale, 1818-1866. Music: German carol, 14th cent.; arr. Robert L. Pearsall, 1795-1856. Text and Music: Public Domain. Prayers written by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org. Adapted Rev. A. Kenitzer

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Blog: Telling the Story of Christ’s Birth

“Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.”
~ Psalm 96: 2-3

On Christmas Eve night, we gathered to adore the birth of Christ our King. But now that we have come, now that we have seen, and now that we have heard the news, now what? 

Well, now we have the opportunity, like the shepherds, to “make known what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:17). How? Using our psalm from Christmas Eve night, we do so by telling of God’s salvation, declaring God’s glory, and witnessing to God’s marvelous works. 

But again, how? What does this look like? Well, think of the shepherds: after the shepherds saw the Christ child, they continued to be shepherds. Their identity didn’t change. But now, they had a different purpose. They had a different reason to travel to new grassy areas, and a different impetus to keep on moving, and growing, and believing. 

As we move into the (short!) Christmas season, we – like the shepherds – are summoned forth to tell of what we have seen and experienced in our Lord Jesus Christ. To do so, we don’t need to pursue a career change. Instead, just as the news of Christ’s birth permeated the shepherd’s being, informing their purpose in what they were already doing, we are summoned to allow the news of Christ’s birth infuse our being, informing our purpose in what we are already doing. 

Blessings to you all as you bask in the glow of Christ’s light this season, and blessings as you allow the news of our Savior’s birth fill you – to the brim – sending you forth and giving you reason to keep on moving, and growing, and believing. 

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Worship: Singing in Hope

Luke 1:46-55; 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Luke 1:67-80 | Leading up to Christmas, we sing…a lot. Often, we focus on Christmas carols. But this morning, as we await the coming of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem, first we hear the songs of Mary, Hannah, and Zechariah as they sing songs of hope. As you prepare for the advent of Christ in your life and our world, join us as we unite our voices with these saints of old – looking in hope and anticipation for the coming of God’s Kingdom to earth.

Sunday, December 24, 2023, Fourth Sunday in Advent Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. Prelude: Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella. Text and Music: Joel Raney. Text and Music: © 2003 Hope Publishing Company. Covered under One License subscription. & Light Dawns on a Weary World. Text and Music: Mary Louise Bringle, William P. Rowan. Text and Music: © 2000, 2002 GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. & It Came Upon the Midnight Clear. Text: Edmund Sears. Music: Richard Storrs Willis. Text and Music: Public Domain. Gathering Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Text and Music: Martin A. Seltz, Augsburg Fortress. Text and Music: © 1997, 2006 Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Covered under One License subscription. Hymn after Reflection #1: Canticle of the Turning. Text and Music: Rory Cooney. Text and Music: © 1990 GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. Hymn after Reflection #2: My Soul Proclaims Your Greatness. Text: With One Voice, 1995, based on the Magnificat. Music: English folk tune; arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958. Text: © 1995 Augsburg Fortress. Music: © Oxford University Press. Covered under One License subscription. Special Music after Reflection #3: O Holy Night. Text: Placide Clappeau. Music: Adolphe-Charles Adam. Translation: John S. Dwight. Arrangement: Sally DeFord. Text and Music: © 2000 by Sally DeFord. Covered under CCLI subscription. Public Domain. Offering Song: Remember Mercy. Text and Music: Lenora Rand, Gary Rand, Elsa Harris. Text and Music: © 2015 Plural Guild LLC. Covered under One License subscription. Sending Song: Savior of the Nations Come. Text: attr. Ambrose of Milan, 340-397; Martin Luther, 1483-1546; tr. hymnal version. Music: J. Walter, Geistliche Gesangbüchlein, 1524. Text: © 2006 Augsburg Fortress. Covered under One License subscription. Prayers written by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org. Adapted Rev. A. Kenitzer

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Blog: Keeping vigil for the Christ child

Christmas is almost here! In five days we’ll gather to hear the story of Christ’s birth, sing carols, light our candles while singing Silent Night, and receive the holy sacrament of Christ’s body and blood. 

But that’s in five days. And not until the evening of December 24. 

At Shepherd, we’re intentionally marking the last Sunday of Advent during our typical Sunday morning (9:00 am) worship service. Together, we’ll keep vigil for the coming of Emmanuel – waiting, watching, praying, and singing songs of hope for the coming of God’s Kingdom among us. To embody that waiting, we will not celebrate communion at our morning service. Rest assured: to refrain from the sacrament in the morning was not simply a decision for convenience and simplicity. Instead, it’s a discipline as we wait to receive Christ’s presence in his birth, and in the sacrament of communion during our Christmas service. 

Then, after keeping watch in the morning, we’ll return for Christmas Eve worship. It may seem strange to be in two different seasons of the church year on the same day. But the truth is that “technically” the season of Christmas does not begin until Christmas Day. But following the tradition of Shepherd, together we’ll fully enter into the Christmas season on Christmas Eve as we hear the angels herald the shepherds in the fields. 

So though it might seem strange to consider coming to worship twice this coming Sunday, I encourage you to do so. Come in the morning to prepare yourself for the coming of God’s light into our weariness and into our darkness. And then, come back in the evening as we celebrate Jesus Christ – the Light of the world – who takes on flesh for you.

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Worship: On Watch to Be Amazed

Luke 1:57-66, Psalm 126 | When was the last time you were amazed, and what prompted that amazement? Was it something that happened to you? Or, was it something you witnessed happening to someone, or something, else? This weekend, we catch back up with Elizabeth and Zechariah at the miraculous birth of their son, John. For a variety of reasons, we can surmise that these new parents were filled with awe as they witnessed the fulfillment of God’s promise to them. But in our Scripture passage, we hear most about the amazement of the people that surrounded Elizabeth and Zechariah. So as you make your last minute preparations for Christmas next weekend, join us as we keep watch for moments of awe and amazement, leading us to ponder what God is doing in our midst, and prompting us to testify with joy to God’s ongoing activity in the world.

Sunday, December 17, 2023, Third Sunday in Advent Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.  Prelude: Good Christian Friends Rejoice. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2020 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. & Gloria In Excelsis Deo. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2019 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. & Come Thou Long Expected Jesus. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2019 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: Blessed Be the God of Israel. Text and Music: Carl P. Daw, Jr. Text and Music: © 1989 Hope Publishing Company. Covered under One License subscription. Hymn of the Day: Light Dawns on a Weary World. Text and Music: Mary Louise Bringle & William P. Rowan. Text and Music: © 2000, 2002 GIA Publications, Inc. Covered under One License subscription. Offering Song: Joy to the World. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2020 The Lorenz Publishing Corporation. Covered under One License subscription. Communion Song: Zechariah’s Song. Text and Music: Nic Bancroft & Jacob Blouse. Text and Music: © permission from Wilmington Church of Christ. Sending Song: Joy to the World. Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748. Music: English melody, 18th cent.; arr. Lowell Mason, 1792-1872. Text and Music: Public Domain. Prayers written by Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org. Adapted Rev. A. Kenitzer

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Blog: Road Construction Crew

This past Sunday we sang the beloved Advent carol, “Comfort, Comfort, Now My People.” It’s a hymn based on our Old Testament reading from Sunday, Isaiah 40:1-11. As the prophet Isaiah heralds the Israelite people, he brings them good news that their exile away from their homeland is finally over. God, in God’s faithfulness, is going to deliver them! God is going to save them! God is going to rescue them, just as God had done before for their ancestors in their exodus from Egypt. 

But first, the people are given a job by Isaiah: they are to be the road construction crew, working to ensure that the pathway for God to come to them would be a smooth one. 

It’s a joke in WI that there are two seasons of the year: winter and road construction season. Having lived in IA as long as I have now, I’d say the same is true here as well. We all know what a mess road construction makes. But the point of it is to create safer pathways, to repair holes, and to fill in spots where holes have developed. 

In the same way, Isaiah urges the Israelite people to take up this work. Since the beginning of the book, the prophet has made it abundantly clear that they had been putting up roadblock after roadblock, disconnecting themselves from God, from themselves, from those around them, and from creation. And all those roadblocks, all those obstacles, would need to be torn down for the Israelites to find joy in connection with God once again. 

So as we move into this week, focused on our second sub-theme of finding joy in connection, I urge you to consider the roadblocks that you’ve put up, keeping you from being connected from God, from yourself, from those around you, and from God’s beloved creation. Consider these questions: 

  1. What barriers have you erected keeping you from God? Busy-ness? Fear? Independence? Your own agenda/desires?
  2. What walls have you built between yourself and others? Apathy? Judgment? Anger? Jealousy? 
  3. How have you disconnected yourself from God’s beloved creation? Have you treated it as something disposable? Have you not honored the life-blood from which you came? 

This week, bring your reflections to God in confession. And as an Advent practice, repent of these obstacles: picking up the sledgehammer to make room for God to come to us, once again, or adding a little extra asphalt to fill a hole so that not only you, but all the world might experience joy.

Thankfully, even if our road construction is not complete (let’s face it, road construction is never done, is it?!), our God promises to come to us. That promise has been given. But how smoothly we, and the world, may connect in joy with Christ and with one another? That takes some work from us, too. 

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Worship: Let It Be

Luke 1:24-45 | As we hear the beloved story of the angel appearing to Mary, it might be tempting to hold the mother of God on a different playing field than ourselves. But just as God was at work in Mary – moving and growing – God is also living and moving within us. And, recognizing that movement of God, we too are given the opportunity to give our response: offering the extent of our willingness to let God’s will have its way within us. Join us this weekend as we continue our preparation for Christ’s birth, and as we recognize and respond to God’s movement within ourselves.

Sunday, December 10, 2023, Second Sunday in Advent Bulletin

Copyright acknowledgments: Music covered under Augsburg Fortress License #SB135131, CCLI License #1141706, One License #738128-A. Scripture from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.  Prelude: Listen for His Coming. Text and Music: Mark Hayes. Text and Music: © 2001 Curb Word Music (Admin. by WC Music Corp.) Covered under CCLI subscription. & O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Text and Music: Lloyd Larson. Text and Music: © 2011 Hope Publishing Company. Covered under One License subscription. Gathering Song: Comfort, Comfort, Now My People. Text: Johann G. Olearius, 1635-1711; tr. Catherine Winkworth, 1827-1878, alt. Music: Trente quatre pseaumes de David, Geneva, 1551. Text and Music: Public Domain. Hymn of the Day:  Here I Am. Text: Anna Strickland (2022). Music: Traditional French carol (17th cent.) . Text: © Anna Strickland, 2021. Commissioned by A Sanctified Art, LLC.  Music: Public Domain. Offering Song: O Come All Ye Faithful. Text and Music: John Francis Wade. Text and Music: Public Domain. Sending Song: All Earth is Hopeful. Text and Music: Madeleine Forell Marshall. Text and Music: © 1995 Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Covered under One License subscription.

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