Growing up, my two oldest relatives were my Aunt Bertha Lull, who as a young girl had come to America by boat from her native Germany, and my bachelor-farmer great uncle, Jesse Cole, who had known young men who had fought in the Civil War. Today, my great nephews and niece, Taylor, David, and Cady, inhabit a world I could not have imagined as a child. They talk with relatives by skype and camera, appear in YouTube videos, and know nothing of a pre-digital era.

Imbedded in their sense of family, though, are values and experiences that reflect the very different eras that are remembered by their kin. As kids, they know that families pull together even when they live far apart. They know there are people who love them for their parents’ sake. They may not recognize terms like The Great Depression, the War, or the Turn of the Century, but someone in their family does.

During this centennial year I often think of the wide range of experiences and values that are part of our unseen life at Gloria Dei. On a Sunday morning I sit with elders who remember those who were there at our founding and with children who are living into a future that challenges my imagination. Our life together is also shaped by experiences as a congregation that long pre-date my arrival in St. Paul. Our openness to new people and new ideas, our love for liturgy well sung and well prepared sermons, our commitment to serving God in daily life and wrestling with hard issues of justice and change are part of what has long made Gloria Dei the community we know it to be.

As we move into our fall stewardship appeal, I invite you to remember the witness of those whose generosity and commitment to serving God resides in you. Who taught you to trust God when days were long and hard? Who gave you a vocabulary for naming the grace you have received from God? Who challenges you even today to be bolder in your own witness as a Christian?

This November we are invited to offer our financial resources to the work of our congregation and to the glory of God as others have done in the generations before us. May their boldness in hard times and their generosity in all seasons, encourage our own practices today.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Patricia Lull