OSLC

New Stole

Pastor Lars — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:07:11 +0000

I got a new stole, handmade by Delores Fricke, a member at Our Saviour’s. Loaded with symbolism, each image has Biblical significance. The crosses with the lilies are for Easter and the Resurrection. One cross also has twelve stones in the middle, from the twelve stones mentioned to be on the ephod of the priest in Exodus 28. The other bottom cross has the different colored threads for the priests ephod (robe), also in Exodus 28. It’s a gorgeous piece of fabric work.

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Judas Sermon

Pastor Lars — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:57:16 +0000

Here’s the sermon I did on Judas Iscariot that people were asking for. It’s also posted on the sermon page, but I thought I’d add it here.

Texts are: Acts 1:15-26, Matthew 27:1-10, John 12:1-8

First Encounter Arts Festival

Pastor Lars — Sat, 30 May 2009 06:10:16 +0000

We had our first Encounter Arts Festival today. We had three bands out on the main patio, with several artists showing their work in Koch Chapel.

We’ve found that there’s a huge demand for venues for musicians to play and artists to show their work. And Tucson is absolutely full of artists. We had some really good artists as well, such as Ken Tesoriere with his paintings, and Mary Ellen Palmeri doing live orgami.

Here’s the pictures from the event. The next Encounter Arts Festival is June 26 at 5:30pm.

Some links to the artists:

The Low Ones

Shawn Kebler

Mary Ellen Palmeri and Ken Tesoriere

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Chiracahua National Monument

Pastor Lars — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:45:53 +0000

Saturday I went with Beyond to the Chiracahua National Monument. It’s a trip I’ve been talking about for a while, but could never seem to actually get around to doing it. And it’s only 2 hours away. I tried my best to capture the spectacular rock formations on camera, but I don’t think I did a very good job. The rocks are pale, and the light was bright. I’ll need to come back around sunset some time with softer light. But, here’s what I could get.

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Tower Arch

Pastor Lars — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:47:47 +0000

The palo verde trees are in bloom, with their bright, yellow flowers. I got a shot of the arch at the base of the tower with one in front.

Walter Brueggeman on the dangerous Gospel

Pastor Lars — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:21:27 +0000

A couple great videos I found on The Work of the People, featuring theologian and Old Testament Scholar Walter Brueggeman. Like many of us, he reflects on the dangerousness of the Gospel, and living it faithfully.

Activity Building Farewell

Pastor Lars — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:07:36 +0000

We’ve begun our renovation project here at Our Saviour’s. For a while I called it the “building plan”, but that wasn’t really accurate. People would ask me what we were building, and so I had to step back and explain that we’re only adding a few feet of new building to the old 1965 Activity Building. Most of the work is going to involve gutting the interior, rearranging the walls, updating the heating-cooling equipment, and putting in a new, improved entrance from the north parking lot. The upgrades break down about 50% for structural, mechanical, and code upgrades (such as putting in an earth-quake sheer wall, sprinklers and ADA bathrooms) and about 50% for ministry upgrades (more, bigger Sunday School classrooms, better kitchen etc.). Most of these changes are long overdue. We’ve been patching the HVAC for years, with many of the parts of the system going back to the 1950’s (so, yes, they were bought used back then.) Aesthetically, we’ve been needing an upgrade, and with the growth of the Sunday school and adding new programs, it needed to be done.

It’s always a danger in churches of building huge buildings, only to discover later that the cost of maintaining and paying for them becomes all-consuming and starts to detract from ministry. That’s why we’ve been very intentional to simply improve on what we had, increase its useability and energy-efficiency, so we can get more use, better, with the resources we have. It’s our approach to good stewardship.

So, on April 26, the last day before construction, we had a farewell party for the old AB, where we got to do all the things we’ve always wanted to do, but which would be too destructive. The youth groups had a lock in, where they got to shoot paint at the walls and mark them up all they wanted. We had a chili cook-off and paint balloon splattering and spray-painting and such.

I took some pictures of the “art” from the lock-in and the party, as well as the old boiler room, which I was told by some HVAC experts in the church was so vintage it was worthy of the Smithsonian. After going in it was amazing to me how the same electrical box from 1965 was still working. I guess they don’t build them like they used to.

Construction is expected to be done by August, for the start of Sunday School in the fall. In the meantime we’ll be having vacation Bible school in the other rooms on campus, as well as juggling our worship spaces a little but. But, all in all it will be exciting to see the opportunities for ministry, particularly community-focused ministries (such as an after-school program) that the new facility will allow.

Here’s the photos

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Poppies at Tohono Chul

Pastor Lars — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:32:45 +0000

This week we took the kids to Tohono Chul Park here in Tucson. It’s a wonderful urban oasis with acres and acres of desert land, walkways, gardens and interpretive centers. They had an area of poppies, so I was able to get this shot. Always love the bright orange colors.

Habitat for Humanity wall-raising

Pastor Lars — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 05:11:50 +0000

We had a Habitat for Humanity wall-raising Saturday for a family from Our Saviour’s, the Khan’s. Having come to Tucson as refugees from the war in Liberia, spending time in a camp in Ivory Coast, they’ve been slowly working towards school and rebuilding their lives. It’s the first Our Saviour’s family to qualify for a Habitat House. The major costs for the house are coming from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, with the Khans contributing labor and costs as well.

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Cellar Festival - photos

Pastor Lars — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:29:32 +0000

Last night we had our first ever local band festival at Our Saviour’s, what we’re calling “The Cellar Festival”. We had 6 bands playing from around Tucson, with a full room of turnout. Here’s the photos.

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