We have named the top seven core values of our life together in this congregation.  They are:   
  This month I will share some thoughts about worship and faith, our most important values.
  We value God’s transformative encounter with us in word and sacrament.   We have a relationship with a God who communicates with us.  That is essentially what we mean by God’s Word.  Worship is gathering around the proclamation of God’s Word which challenges and judges us on the one hand (Law), and comforts and assures us of God’s forgiveness and love on the other (Gospel).
   In our worship we hear God’s Word proclaimed in the reading of the scriptures, in sermons, in songs, and in the announcement of forgiveness called absolution.  We hear the promises of God as we participate in the sacramental dramas of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. God communicates!  God wants us to know who we are and who God is.  The most profound communication of God’s Word is, of course the Word made flesh, Jesus.  Above all we seek to know Jesus who is present with us always, but whose presence we often forget.  Practicing God’s presence in Christ by the Holy Spirit is the heart of worship.  We hear the foundational stories of God’s encounter with humanity, especially the stories of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As we listen to these stories, our faith is given something to embrace.