A Note From Pastor Mark

When you were a kid, did you dig in the dirt? I remember planting the garden with my grandpa in the backyard, horsing around with my neighborhood friends, and doing a lot of digging in the dirt.

Who cared if you came home with a big smile on your face plastered from head to toe after a nice romp in a squishy mud hole? My mom did, of course; stains had to be washed out of my clothes, and if the caked mud wasn’t on too thick, which meant I had to be hosed down outside, she would send me up for a bath and tell me to scrub until I was shiny again. Never mind the ring around the tub, that would come out too, thanks again to my redeemer at the time, mom.  Thank God for mothers!!!

And then we grew up.

Dirt, however, was still there. This time it wasn’t made from God’s good earth. No, this was dirt of another kind: gossip, rumors, innuendos, broken promises, and cleverly disguised white lies.

One only has to pick up a daily newspaper or watch evening news broadcasts for examples of different types of dirt.

It runs from the playground right up into the highest offices of the land. And boy, do we eat it up. We love it, don’t we? And blame! It’s always someone else’s fault. We had nothing to do with it, and besides, we only had a small part in it anyway, right? Cheating? Never! Not me, well, maybe once or twice but everybody else was doing it so…

Pontius Pilate washed his hands of any wrongdoing during Christ’s trial, and what about the High Priest and the Romans, and what about the Jews who started the whole mess? What about all the dirt they dug up to throw at an innocent man, Jesus, and then what about the disciples and their attitudes, along with Peter’s denial of knowing Christ?

Who should we point the finger at here? Where was the accountability there?

What about today, where is our accountability for the dirt we so liberally throw at another created in God’s image?

Are our deeds and motives honorable and done out of love for Christ and one another? Maybe we enjoy “digging up dirt” on another but, boy oh boy, how we holler when some of it falls on us.

Read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch found in Acts 8:26-40. In the beginning of the text, Philip finds himself in the desert. The Holy Spirit leads him to approach someone far different from him…and he does so faithfully.

Philip takes the opportunity to share the gospel with this man—someone whom he could have otherwise judged. But rather than “dig up that dirt,” he chooses to focus on the good news.

For the kingdom’s sake, he set aside differences and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit.

As we wait for Jesus to return, let’s all step aside from the mud and dirt and stop pointing fingers. Let’s simply extend an arm, lend an ear, and share the good news in love for another and try to walk in Jesus’ footsteps.

I’ll look forward to being with you in worship!

Pastor Mark

Email Pastor Mark:  pastormark@sotpmail.com

A Note

From Pastor Ryan

“We believe in the Holy Spirt”

It is tradition to switch to the Nicene Creed for the Easter season. It is a longer, more in-depth creed than our regular Apostles’ Creed and that is why we revisit it during our higher church seasons. You may have noticed something different this year. It is a small change that may seem insignificant on the surface but actually packs a lot of meaning. It has to do with our belief in the Holy Spirit.

On Easter Sunday, we confidently declared, “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life; who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified…” Notice anything different? I heard a few of you start to say the missing words on Easter. The old familiar words that are missing are “and the Son.” Most of us have, for our entire lives, declared that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.”

Did you know that those three simple words were not actually part of the original Nicen Creed? The Nicene Creed was developed at the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 and modified in Constantinople in 381 always without “and the Son”, which is a clause known as the “Filioque Statement”. It wasn’t until the Council of Toledo (Spain) in 589 that this statement was officially adopted, and even then, it was only adopted into the Latin churches of the West. It wasn’t approved by the Papacy of Rome until the 11th century. Until now, it has been a point of contention and a source of fracture between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches (the Eastern churches have never included it in the Creed).

The reason the Western churches decided to add the Filioque was to combat a heretical view put for by Arius, one our early church fathers, who believed Jesus did not always coexist with God the Father. He essentially said, “There was a time when He was not.” This has been deemed a heresy because we believe that Jesus has always coexisted with God. “Let us make humankind in our image.” (Genesis 1:26) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.” (John 1:1-3a) It was thought that adding the Filioque would give some weight to the idea that Jesus existed in the beginning by suggesting that the Holy Spirit came from him as well.

The problem with this statement is that it makes the Holy Spirit seem subordinate to Jesus, when in reality all three persons of the Trinity are coequal and has always existed together. Jesus may not have always been in physical bodily form, but he has always existed. God eternally begets Jesus. Jesus is eternally begotten from God. Likewise, the Holy Spirit has always and does always proceed from God. God is God. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit is God. Neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit are created from God. That would make them creatures like us and would mean that we would be worshipping parts of God’s creation. That would make them idols. That is why the words “begotten” and “proceeds” were carefully chosen by the authors of the Creed.

This is obviously a complex issue that I have tried to simplify as much as possible. And all of this is to say I come bearing good news! In May of 2024 the Lutheran World Federation decided to end the controversy, and in a spirit of unity, has removed the Filioque from the Nicene Creed. 1,000 to 1,500 years of division are over! The Lutheran World Federation and the Orthodox Church put forward a joint declaration regarding this new unity, affirming that we all believe in the coequal, coexistent persons of the Holy Trinity. We believe the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all in intimate relationship with each other and are all one God.

This may seem like a small thing but is theologically a big deal. It may not change your everyday life, but for pastors, bishops, scholars, and educators of faith, this small change makes a difference in our understanding of this very complicated Triune (3-in-1, 1-in-3) God we worship and are in relationship with.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little look behind the curtain of systematic theology as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing it with you!

May the peace and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be with you always,

Pastor Ryan

Email Pastor Ryan:  pastorryan@sotpmail.com

Prayer Chain

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Communion Bread

Bakers Needed

Baking communion bread can be a meaningful way to deepen your faith and spiritual connection, offering a tangible expression of Jesus’s sacrifice. It allows for a personal and communal experience, transforming everyday ingredients into a symbol of grace and remembrance.

Try baking the bread at home and let me know if you’re interested in baking some for worship.  We need more bakers!

Communion Bread Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Measure the following ingredients into a microwaveable bowl  (A small saucepan on low heat can also be used on the burner.  Do not boil or scald the mixture.)

• 1/4 cup butter of 4T cut from stick of butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 3/4 cup of milk (non-fat works okay)

1. Heat ingredients together in microwave until milk is lukewarm.  Stir until butter is melted.
2. Let set while you prepare the dry ingredients.
3. Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

• 3 1/2 cups of wheat flour (you will need additional flour to dust counter surface and to knead into dough if too sticky)
• 1 cup white flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

1. Using hands, electric mixer, pastry cutter or large spoon slowly add the milk mixture (stir milk mixture prior to adding) to the dry ingredients—mix until a sticky ball forms.
2. Lightly dust a clean, smooth surface with whole wheat flour and place dough on the surface.  Knead the dough for about 1 minute or 30-40 kneads.  Use additional whole wheat flour until dough no longer feels sticky.
3. Roll dough into a log approximately 8 inches long.  Check to make sure the end points of log are uniform in size to the middle of the log.  Cut into 8 equal pieces.
4. Flatten each piece of dough on a floured surface.  Using your fingers, shape the dough into a 7 inch diameter circle as this is the size of the communion plate.  If the loaf is too small and thick, it is difficult for the minister/assistant minister to break apart for serving.
5. Place on a baking sheet (you may lightly grease the baking sheet) or us a silicone sheet.
6. USING A KNIFE—MARK A CROSS ON EACH BREAD; be careful not to score all the way through the dough.
7. Bake for 7-8 minutes.  Watch closely as it bakes quickly.
8. Remove from oven. Place bread on wire rack for cooling.
9. When cooled, place the loaves in a Ziploc bag for delivery to the church and storage in the refrigerator.  Please mark the Ziploc bag with the date prepared.
10. BREAD SHOULD BE AT CHURCH NO LATER THAN 8:15 on Sunday morning & 4:30 on Saturday evening

Thank you for your help in this ministry.  If you need clarification or additional information, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

Contact: Judie Symbal at judiesymbal43@gmail.com