​Tuesday, March 31
by Tracy Danby
 
Micah 6:8  
    God has told you, O mortal, what is good;
        and what does the Lord require of you,
    but to do justice, and to love kindness,
        and to walk humbly with your God.
 
As a seminarian I often thought about how I would live my life as a person of faith in the world and how would I conduct my ministry as a pastor among the people of God. This verse from Micah resonated with me as a good summary of my intentions. It has stuck with me ever since. 
 
Many years earlier when I was confirmed, my pastor charged me with Acts 16:31 as my confirmation verse. There, a jailer had asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved. “They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.’” Okay, I was to have faith for myself and my family. As I matured I was also to be just, kind and walk with God with humility. Yikes – is that even possible, particularly for a mere mortal who didn’t even feel all that wise or powerful? With God’s help, I could try. With God’s help, we all can try.
 
It has been nearly 35 years since I made my pastoral vows, still with those words from Micah in the back of my mind. Every year on the anniversary of my ordination I reflect on those vows made so long ago. Much has changed since then in the church, the world and in myself. So it’s good to revisit them.
 
Those vows made by Lutheran pastors include some very daunting, humble and important tasks:

• Will you preach and teach in accordance with the Holy Scriptures, the Creeds and the Lutheran confessions?
• Will you be diligent in your study of the Word and in your use of the Means of Grace? Will you pray for God’s people, nourish them with Word and Sacraments, and lead them by your own example in faithful service and holy living?
• Will you be a faithful witness in the world, that God’s love may be known in all that you do?

 
“I will, and I ask God to help me.” 
 
Although I am not currently serving the ELCA on the active clergy roster, those vows are things that I still can do in various ways: attend church to hear the Word, receive Holy Communion regularly, gather with this community of faith, participate in the life of this faith community, offer my abilities in service to the ministries at St. Michael’s, pray for others here as well as in the broader community and globally, and try to live my life so that when others see me they might see God at work and they can give glory to God. These are things that I can do whether I am a pastor or a layperson, trusting that God will use them for good and for God’s purposes. You know what? So can you, with God’s help and guidance.
 
Prayer:
We give you thanks, O God, for giving your people the gifts of faith and community. Give all of us kind and willing hearts to pray for others, serve others and be your witnesses in the world so that others may see you, praise you and come to know you. Amen.
 
Bio:  Tracy Danby has been a member at St. Michael’s for over 20 years. A native of Ohio, she has been a Minnesotan since 1985. Tracy serves at St. Michael’s as an Assisting Minister, Lector, Communion Deacon and member of St. Michael’s Chapel Ringers. Her “day job” is working as a Business Analyst in the area of medical imaging by supporting radiology applications and end users. She has retired from showing dogs, but continues to enjoy them as her beloved companions. She also enjoys going for walks, bird watching, gardening and basically puttering around the yard during the warm weather.

Bio​Devotion for Monday, March 30
by Jennifer Mehmel
 
Romans 8: 38-39   For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 28:18-20   And Jesus came and said to them … remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
 
ABIDE WITH ME
As a youth, I attended a Christian camp on an island in the northern part of Lake of the Woods, Ontario. I learned canoeing, camping, and tripping skills.  I was introduced to C.S. Lewis, and the wonderful stories of Narnia.  Like any camp, the evening ended with singing, stories, and skits around a campfire.  Every campfire concluded, at camp or on trail, with the singing of Taps, and Abide With Me. Taps made sense.  But Abide With Me??  It’s an evening song, yes, but not really the uplifting, praising, nature focused songs of campfire.  I was pretty sure I could have done better! And yet….

That song has stayed with me.  We often sing it at Wednesday Lenten services, and I look forward to it every year.   This Lent, as we find ourselves separated and often alone, I think it carries special meaning. 

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

The simplest of requests, really, to conclude the day:  abide with me.   Earlier, we praised God for the beauty of our world.  Our gratitude for the day was sung.  Our prayer requests were lifted up.  Then, Taps:  “Day is done, gone the sun … all is well, God is nigh.”  And, finally, 3 simple words to take us into the darkening hours…. Abide with me. 

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Change defines our very existence right now.  Everything is upended.  All our familiar comforts are relegated to an electronic world.  Yet we are reminded that the presence of God never changes, whatever our world brings us.  Abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me.
 
We are not alone.  We may be socially isolated in our homes, we may be hospitalized and without visitors, we may be out of work, or frightened or scared or exposed to a dangerous virus, but through cloud and sunshine, God’s presence is there.  Abide with me.  

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me!

Our foe today is specific – a virus that threatens our community, our economic survival, and our very lives.  We can, we do, we should - pray for the wisdom and courage to defeat this foe.  We can, we do, we should – pray for the people hurt by this foe, and those battling it.  But win or lose this battle, there is triumph, God’s triumph. Abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies;
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

“Heaven’s morning breaks” a beautiful vision, really.  Perhaps there was more thought to our closing campfire song than I ever imagined.  Surrounded by the beauty of the north woods, songs of joy and praise came easily, and they always will in such settings. Songs of lament rise spontaneously in moments of pain or sorrow.  This song resonates in any time or place or situation.  It reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God and that God has promised to journey with and among us.  There is no social isolation from God.  There is no door, no proclamation, no virus that can shut God out.  Whatever our circumstances, 3 simple words bring us back to Jesus’ promise of that all encompassing, loving presence:  Abide with Me.  
 
Prayer:  O God, in these days of uncertainty, we ask for strength for all who are hurting, and for those who care for them.  Keep us ever mindful of your promise that your presence is always among and with us.   Amen.  
 
Interesting footnote:  I discovered the author of this hymn, Henry Lyte, completed it as he was dying of tuberculosis, the pandemic of his time.  
 
Bio:
Jennifer Mehmel joined St. Michael’s in the early 1980’s.  She and her husband, Ex, have 4 sons - the AMEN boys as they’ve been known (Andrew, Matthew, Eric, and Nicholas), a completely unplanned acronym!  She is a practicing pediatrician in St. Paul.  She enjoys battling the deer to try to garden in the summer and battling the squirrels to feed the birds in the winter. She loves reading, jigsaw puzzles, and soccer, as well as traveling.  She will miss their first planned “empty nest” trip this summer to the Tokyo Olympics.  

​Devotion for Saturday, March 28
by Jessica Etten
 
from the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr 
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
 
Reflection:  
The serenity prayer is beloved by many and recognized for its adoption by Alcoholics Anonymous. It was written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the first half of the twentieth century and became widely circulated; it was even printed on cards and distributed to soldiers during World War II. 
 
It’s a meaningful prayer for many reasons – and to me, the understanding of prayer that it reflects is especially powerful. The meaning of prayer is something I have wrestled with over the years. Why do we pray? 
 
One common belief is that we pray to God to change something and then maybe (if we pray hard enough? if we are good enough?) God will make it so. An example of this is praying for healing when our loved ones are sick. If they recover, God has answered our prayers. This understanding of prayer doesn’t have to be limited to life-and-death issues. Many grateful people have exclaimed that God answered their prayers with a new job, a new house, or money showing up in their bank accounts when needed. 
 
I have never been comfortable with this understanding.
 
Why would God answer one person’s prayer for money, but not another’s prayer for her mother to survive a heart attack? Why would God answer one person’s prayer for a new job yet not the prayers of the nine million people who die from hunger each year in our world? Don’t get me wrong: we all need to cry out for help when there is suffering. But if we believe God chooses to answer prayers by intervening in the world, then we must also believe God chooses not to answer the prayers of millions of others who suffer. I just can’t believe that’s how it works. 
 
In recent years I have become aware of different understandings of prayer, thanks in part to our pastors. As a member of the church council, I have had the opportunity to be led in prayer by Pastor Ali at the beginning of many meetings. Often, I arrive in a harried state, with countless daily tasks and responsibilities on my mind. I am quickly centered as Ali leads us with a moment of silence and a deep breath, followed by words that ask God to help us slow our minds, quiet our hearts and be present in our work. This kind of prayer reminds me of the meditation that happens at the end of a yoga class. It reflects an understanding of prayer as centering.
 
Pastor Brad is incredibly gifted with language, and the way he prays demonstrates an understanding of prayer that also resonates with me. His language isn’t about asking God to intervene in the world -- stopping hurricanes, eradicating disease or ending hunger. Rather, his prayers are about us – that we might feel gratitude, see our neighbors’ needs and be stirred to act for peace and justice. 
 
Reinhold Niebuhr said, “Prayer does not change things; prayer changes people, and people change things.” A recent article in Living Lutheran by Kurt Kammi and John Potter echoed a similar belief – prayer is not a way to “mold God to our needs” but “a practice focused on being shaped by God.” 
 
As we face the fear, uncertainty and isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic, I believe positive, life-giving things will also emerge. We’re already seeing people finding new and innovative ways to come together and care for others. Perhaps this will be a time where many of us rediscover prayer as a powerful practice for changing ourselves – giving us the “courage to change the things we can.”
 
Bio: Jessica Etten is currently the President of the St. Michael’s Church Council. In her professional life she serves as the Senior Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving at the University of St. Thomas. She, her husband Jason and their children Tommy and Abby are currently holed up together at home in Roseville, playing musical instruments, competing in board games, organizing closets and watching Netflix. 

Devotion for Friday, March 27
by Dave Yarusso

Let Streams of Living Justice Flow:
One of my favorite hymn tunes is from Gustav Holst and it is used in two hymns in our hymnal: #710 “Let Streams of Living Justice Flow,” text by William Whitla, and #880 “O God beyond All Praising,” text by Michael Perry. To me, the music here is extremely powerful, with or without the words but both of these hymn texts are inspiring as well. For today, let’s look at the words to “Let the Streams of Justice Flow:”
​
Let streams of living justice flow down upon the earth;
give freedom’s light to captives, let all the poor have worth.
The hungry’s hands are pleading, the workers claim their rights,
the mourners long for laughter, the blinded seek for sight.
Make liberty a beacon, strike down the iron pow’r;
abolish ancient vengeance: proclaim your people’s hour.
For healing of the nations, for peace that will not end,
for love that makes us lovers, God grant us grace to mend.
Weave our varied gifts together; knit our lives as they are spun;
on your loom of time enroll us till our thread of life is run.
O great weaver of our fabric, bind church and world in one;
dye our texture with your radiance, light our colors with your sun.
Your city’s built to music; we are the stones you seek;
your harmony is language; we are the words you speak.
Our faith we find in service, our hope in others’ dreams,
our love in hand of neighbor, our homeland brightly gleams.
Inscribe our hearts with justice; your way – the path untried;
your truth – the heart of stranger; your life – the Crucified.

Reflection:
This hymn provides a beautiful image of our hope for helping bring God’s kingdom to reality on earth and our role in that. I love the imagery of the second verse with God as weaver or knitter binding us together in a fabric. The third verse ties our faith to service in the world. Even in this difficult time, we are trying innovative ways to maintain that service to those in need. If you can find a recording of this hymn, I encourage you to listen to it or listen to the Jupiter movement of Holst’s “The Planets” to feel the power of this music to help you feel hopeful. I find myself listening to music a lot during my time at home and it is a source of strength.

Prayer:
God, help us use this time of quiet and inactivity to seek you in new ways. Help us feel your presence. Calm us in our fear. Strengthen us in our resolve to continue to seek your justice on earth. Amen.
​
Bio:
Dave Yarusso is a retired chemical engineer who normally spends his time volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, Panera bread ministry, the Guatemala team and other work of the Social Justice Committee. He is married to Barb who is in choir and bell choir. His son, Tony, is also in the choir. He is a former member of the Congregation Council. Dave loves spending time outdoors and has been working on finishing a cabin near Two Harbors, MN on Silver Creek.

Thursday, March 26
by Laurie Krachmer
 
Bible passage:  1 Corinthians 12:4-6
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
 
Reflection:  When I think about "gifts", I think about the differences that make each of us unique.  I was exposed to many personality and style inventories early in my adulthood.  I was fascinated to learn about myself and how I showed up for others.  I was even more fascinated to learn about why others showed up for me the way they did.  Knowing our gifts and the gifts of others allows us to use them together as we serve and work.
 
The prayers below reflect one style inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.  If you know your MBTI style, go to that prayer. If you haven't taken the MBTI, read through the prayers until you find one that fits.  Reflect on how you bring your gifts to God's work.  And reflect on those you recognize in other prayers.  Offer prayers for them and their gifts.
 
Prayer:  Thank you, God of all gifts, for laughter and joy.  Thank you for creating me with unique gifts; may I use them as I serve and work.  Thank you for the gifts others share with me.  Let me recognize You in them. Amen.
 

​Bio:  Laurie Krachmer has been a member at St Michael’s for about 25 years.  She has been an educator of adults in corporate and non-profit organizations for more than 30 years.  In the past 5 years, she’s been working in diversity (who we are) and inclusion (how we use our similarities and differences for better outcomes).  In April, she’ll celebrate her 40th Anniversary with Mike.  Laurie did not create these MBTI prayers, and doesn’t know who created them.

Wednesday, March 25
by the Rev. Dr. Gary Wilkerson
 
Text: from the Orthodox Kontakion for the Departed
 
Give rest, O God, to your servant with your saints:
Where sorrow and pain are no more;
Neither sighing but life everlasting.
 
You only are immortal, the creator and maker of all:
And we are mortal formed from the dust of the earth,
And unto earth shall we return;
For so you did ordain, when you created me saying:
“Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.”
 
We all go down to the dust;
and weeping o’er the grave we make our song:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
 
Reflection:
My heart sings with the phrase, “weeping o’er the grave 
We make our song:  Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia”!
Keep making your song at all times and in all places!
 
Prayer:
Fill our hearts with your song as we weep over the grave!  Alleluia!
Amen.
 
Bio:  Gary Wilkerson is a Lutheran Pastor and member of St. Michael’s since 1973.  I enjoy singing in the choir, all music, cooking, reading, fishing, volunteering in the Senior Health Care industry, and being with family and friends.

Tuesday, March 24
Devotion by Mary Nosek
 
Micah 6:8
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Reflection:  
I remember first becoming aware of this verse during one of those challenging mid-life times when I often found myself asking, 
“Why am I here?” 
“What’s my purpose?” 
“What is it that God—or whoever is in charge—wants me to do with my life?”
 
 I was looking for a straightforward strategy with specific tactics for action. 
 
Then, out of the blue, there it was: 

• act justly  
• love mercy
• walk humbly with your God. 

 
 “What could be simpler?”  I thought.
 
Well, fortunately, I’ve grown a little since that moment, and I’ve learned some stuff. Micah 6:8 is as clear a pathway to me today as it was years ago. But, over time, I’ve figured out it’s not that simple. 
 
Turns out that acting justly, loving mercy, walking humbly with God is a lifelong journey with switchbacks, lots of twists and turns, and some dead ends. What it’s not is a self-help PowerPoint presentation, with short and snappy bullet points on each slide.    
 
Another thing I have learned is that there are lots of role models out there to help along the way, folks on whose efforts I can pattern my sometimes successful, more often pathetic attempts at justice, mercy, and humility. Many of those people are here at St, Michael’s. During this time when we cannot come together, I find I am more aware than ever of their wisdom, and I am very grateful for everyone in the St. Michael’s community. 
 
Prayer:  Thank you, God, for the St. Michael’s community, for the example its members set, and for the lessons we learn from one another. 
 
Bio: Mary Nosek and her husband Joe have been St. Michael’s members since 1987. Together, they enjoy hiking, anything that is remotely related to being on the water, and the fellowship of the folks in the St. Michael’s community.

Devotion for Monday, March 23
by Karen Wilkerson
​
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;a
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Reflection:  I like the biblical translations of Psalm 100 that keep the word “noise”….make a joyful noise to the Lord! 
Noise is a rather all inclusive word. A word that takes in all of creation, and every voice. The scripture doesn’t say make a perfectly beautiful, worthy, practiced, elegant, in tune, utterance. The word is noise. Worthy already from the first cry to the last, and all moments in between.  

I would like to invite you to sing, speak some poetry, or book passages, or scripture out loud in the next few weeks. Run some sound through your body as you work through these days. The Italians are flinging their windows open and singing to each other across the alleys.  We Minnesotans may not feel brave enough to go that far, but we could give it a try in our homes, in the car, or where ever you want, since you carry your instrument with you wherever you go. Give it a try… Make a joyful noise! 
​
Bio: Karen Wilkerson is a Professional Noise Maker. Adult choir director at St. Michael’s Lutheran, Vocal music faculty at St. Olaf College. Lives in Northfield MN. 

Devotion for Saturday, March 21
By Al Barkve
 
Years ago, as a camp counselor while in college, I had a few devotions that I kept handy in a small beat up red book that I kept tucked in a waterproof backpack. (I liked the devotions that were a little “off-beat” I guess.)
 
A favorite was called “Brass Communion Rail” and I don’t know the author. It is a devotion about a young female college student that was doing a two-month internship in a very rough neighborhood bar on the eastern shore.  While working as a bartender, she was actually observing and researching the behavior of people living in poverty that drank heavily.
 
This was very different experience than her upbringing, since she came from a wealthy family and was majoring in sociology at an Ivy League school. She intended to be a social worker. She dressed in worn clothes, and was convincing enough as a bartender. She rationalized her job to all there by telling everyone she needed to make some money to go back to school someday. And for the internship, she logged her observations and experiences dutifully in a journal for later analysis.
 
As I recall the story, she was younger of course, attractive, energetic and friendly and became a fast favorite of the local bar denizens, the regular heavy drinking crowd. After a time of getting to know her, they would go out of their way to watch out for her. They would make sure to arrange to have someone trusted and sober to drive her home in this rough neighborhood at bar closing. They also – without her knowledge – made some adjustments to coarse language at the bar, and enforced the new rules at times with steely stares at the offenders.
 
When two months passed, she announced that she’d be leaving and her last night bartending would be that Saturday.
 
Among her regulars, nobody was in the mood for a celebration, in fact, there were all heartbroken – but they had seen plenty come and go.
 
As the last Saturday evening wore on, one of the many bar regulars motioned her over. The small group told her in no uncertain terms that she was “far too good for this place, and for the likes of them.” They handed her an envelope with over $3,000 cash (an astonishing amount of money for people living at poverty level) in it, and told her to “get back to school, and they wished her all the best – but did not want to ever see her back in that bar!”
 
That devotion always told me something that members of St Michael’s already well know: You find the power and love of Jesus so many places and in so many people on the outside of a church – not just inside of the church. As we spend our time in the coming weeks and months ahead outside of the church [building] – know that God’s love is always present, especially in times of sorrow and sacrifice. When people are down and out, we are all still capable of kindness, thoughtfulness and selflessness. Our gift of Jesus’ time on earth is “imprinted” on us, and we will experience that love and grace on the inside of the church (definitely!) and on the outside of the church too!
 
Prayer:  God, we give thanks that Church (our St Michael’s congregation) is not just inside the walls of the St Michael’s church building. We pray for protection and patience to face our challenges. We pray for your love beyond borders, faiths and economics. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
 
Bio: Allen Barkve is a member of St Michael’s, married to Kelly, with two adult children Marit and Nik. Allen has traveled in the US extensively during his 39-year career and has been the recipient of hospitality, kindness and exceptional levels of service from people in the transportation, hotel and restaurant industries. People that care are everywhere.

​Devotional for Friday, March 20
By Ted Hovey
 
"He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"
Micah 6:8 (NRSV)
 
Poem: “Prayer of Confession”
 
Forgive my sins, O God of love and mercy.
 I know I should uphold your reputation;
 Instead, I live by lies — hypocrisy.
 I dwell on myself, me, my situation.
 
I know I should uphold your reputation;
A seat awaits me at your banquet table.
I dwell on myself, me, my situation.
Alone, by my own means, I am not able.
 
A seat awaits me at your banquet table.
Do justice — treat my neighbor as myself.
Alone, by my own means, I am not able.
My neighbor I ignore — I need your help.
 
Do justice — treat my neighbor as myself.
I think I'm better, I exclude, assume.
My neighbor I ignore — I need your help.
I judge my neighbor, turn away, presume.
 
I think I'm better, I exclude, assume.
If I were kind, I'd help my neighbor more.
I judge my neighbor, turn away, presume.
If I were kind, I'd stand beside the poor.
 
If I were kind, I'd help my neighbor more.
Do justice, love with kindness, humbly walk;
If I were kind, I'd stand beside the poor.
Please overlook my faults, my thoughts, my talk.
 
Do justice, love with kindness, humbly walk;
Instead, I live by lies — hypocrisy.    
Please overlook my faults, my thoughts, my talk.
Forgive my sins, O God of love and mercy.
 
Prayer:  O God, we give thanks for the opportunity to see your call to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you in all times and places.  Keep us centered in who you would have us be, as your people.  And when we fall short, renew our hearts and give us right spirits that we might try again.  Amen
 
Bio: Ted Hovey has been a “numbers guy” most of his life working.  In recent years, however, he has been doing an incredible amount of writing—from novels to poetry.  Ted and his wife, Mary, have been members at St. Michael’s for just over twenty years.