Family of God Lutheran Church
YouTube Channel
To view the livestream:
- go to our YouTube channel
- click on "Live" on the horizontal menu, and select the video you wish to view. Typically the Sunday livestream will say "Upcoming" if you go to the channel prior to the start time.
Additionally, you can turn your YouTube notifications on in Settings so you will be alerted when Family of God goes live!
A Message From Pastor Paul
May 2026 Newsletter
The Book of Acts tells us that in the days following Pentecost the early believers stayed together and had everything in common. They spent their days in the temple and had meals together in their homes (probably some form of communion). This is a model for what some have termed The Beloved Community—where there is equality, justice, inclusivity, and love, and where hatred, poverty, and injustice are not to be found. It is a wonderful vision—the question is, is it even marginally possible in the world of sin and death?
I audited a class at St. Olaf College my senior year (I was working on an independent study, and needed a place with few distractions). Auditing a class meant I could go to the lectures but not have to do any reading or papers. The class was on intentional religious communities. I cannot remember all of the groups that were described, but what I do remember is that they all failed in some significant fashion. For instance, a group of twenty or so people would make a pact to live on a farm in common quarters, and work, share, and live together in peace. There were laws of the group that needed to be followed if the community were to remain healthy. Among other practices, some would have “common marriage,” that is if you wished to spend the night with a particular person, you would send a request through the leader, which could be accepted or rejected. Well, you can imagine how well that went! Jealousies, envy, and hurt began to work themselves into their community, and many such issues resulted in the breakdown of the community. These communities rarely lasted five years.
Why can’t people live together in peace, respect, and love--even outside of these communities? Scripture calls it sin. Or the works of the flesh, which the Apostle describes in Galatians as: Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and carousing. Quite the
list—and not exhaustive either. Martin Luther said humans are “curved in upon ourselves”
—meaning we think of ourselves rather than others. It’s quite a different way of being to think of others at least as much as we think about ourselves and our own needs. We need the Holy Spirit to change us everyday into new people with a new way of thinking. This results in the fruits of the Spirit, which Galatians describes as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.” These are the things that make for true love.
Ideally the Church is the place where the works of the Spirit are found, and what a disappointment when instead the Church is governed by the works of the flesh. The baptismal font is octagonal, that is, has eight sides. That is to remind us that God created the world in seven days, and on the eighth day is the New Creation, which is our baptism. Led by the Holy Spirit, the old sinner in us dies and the new person rises every day. We will never be perfect in this life, but growth is possible and needed. May the Holy Spirit make us into a community led by the Spirit.
A Message From Pastor Erin
May 2026 Newsletter
Greetings to everyone at Family of God —
Recently, I preached a sermon on John 20. Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” I talked a bit about the ways that we are beholden to each other. When someone is grossly and unrepentantly sinning beyond the normal human condition, what is our responsibility? Ultimately, we seek to correct harmful behavior but we know that Jesus is the one who forgives all of us imperfect people.
This has me down a bit of a “forgiveness” wormhole. I have struggled with the concept (and act) of forgiveness throughout my life. It’s helpful to be familiar with your own shortcomings, and I’m aware that I can be morally rigid, with an orientation toward fairness and justice that can border on selfrighteousness. I have been working on it over the years and believe I have made progress. All the same, one of the results of these traits is that I have not been often quick to forgive.
Jesus says we should! He says we should not just forgive once but “seventy times seven” times. Forgiveness shows up in the Apostles’ Creed (“I believe in… the forgiveness of sins”) and in the Lord’s Prayer (“forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”). The concept of forgiveness is at the foundation of our faith. Still, it can feel out of reach. Is it one of those theological concepts that sounds nice but just doesn’t work in reality?
I have learned a few things about forgiveness. The first is that we should be glad that God is unfair. We have all done things we wish we hadn’t. Some things, we may not even want to recount out loud. If God insists on retribution for every selfish or thoughtless or malicious act, then all of us have a hefty bill to pay—some heavier than others, but every one heavy nonetheless.
Second, I’ve learned that forgiveness can happen without a return to the status quo. More than once has a churchgoer or pastor told a survivor of abuse to return to the abuser. Forgiveness does not mean that the one causing harm can continue to do so at will. That is a dangerous approach and has caused real hurt to more people than we can know.
My third conclusion may be obvious, but it wasn’t to me for a long time. Forgiveness may take a while. Sometimes we need to psychologically and emotionally process something. Healing can be a journey, not an instant burst of spiritual enlightenment (though if it is, good for you!). Walk the path. Take the time you need. See where it leads.
Finally, forgiveness does have at least one parameter: you can’t forgive someone on another person’s behalf. If you’re not the one who was harmed, you don’t get to put words in their mouth. Brian Zahnd wrote about this in his book “Unconditional? The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness.” In this book, he talks about a Jew who was in a concentration camp and was summoned by a dying Nazi soldier to hear his confession. The Jewish man, Simon Wiesenthal, wrote his own book called “The Sunflower” where he asks people of different faiths and philosophies whether they would have offered absolution. Years after the book’s publication, Zahnd wrote in his own book what his response might have been.
“I cannot offer you forgiveness on behalf of those who have suffered monstrous crimes at your hands … I have no right to speak on their behalf. But what I can tell you is that forgiveness is possible. There is a way for you to be reconciled with God, whose image you have defiled, and there is a way for you to be restored to the human race, from which you have fallen. … Because of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I believe your sin does not have to be a dead end, that there is a way forward into reconciliation.”
He adds: “This is what I hope I would have said. But for all I know, I might have treated a dying enemy with far less kindness…” Forgiveness is truly hard. Sometimes it feels impossible. But it’s good for our hearts, if we can bring ourselves to get there.
Blessings to you and your loved ones!
— Pr. Erin Koster
The Lighted Globe:
The Lighted Globe at the back of the sanctuary is for the lighting of a votive candle by anyone wishing to express a particular prayer or hope in this symbolic way. Candles remain lit after all have gone, a visible sign of the prayers of our community of faith "for the whole people of God, and for all people according to their needs."
Holy Communion:
All baptized persons are welcome who believe Christ comes to us in the bread and the wine to bring forgiveness, life, and salvation. Children not yet communing come forward for a blessing. Children receive instruction and usually have First Communion in Fifth grade. We receive the sacrament standing. Grape juice is available.
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Worship with Holy Communion
(Current Season)
Regular Worship
(September - May)
Sundays - In Person and
Live-Streamed
9:30 am
Summer Worship
(June - August)
Sundays - In Person and
Live-Streamed
9:30 am
Interested in making your own communion bread just like we use at church for the coming services? Click the yellow button to view/download the recipe from Jane Nelson.
Children in Church
Children in Church: At Family of God, as Jesus did, we welcome children of all ages as integral members of the body of Christ, and we welcome the sounds and activity that accompany them! There are a number of spaces and activities designed for children to experience and participate in worship according to their needs (see reverse); we trust families to work out the best option(s) for them and their child(ren) on any given day. We also understand that it takes a village to raise a child. A few tips for engaging families with small children include:
- Greeting/learning the names of the young children who sit near you in worship.
- Offering to read or color with one child during worship, especially if another child in the family is especially fussy or upset.
- Helping preschoolers and elementary-aged kids to navigate the liturgy, locate the hymns, etc. (Children learn to worship by participating!)
- Inviting kids to serve alongside you in worship, as greeters, ushers, etc.
- Recognizing that certain conditions or disabilities don’t present physically, and some children (and adults) may make noises or act in ways that seem strange or upsetting, but are perfectly normal for their situation.
- Celebrating that God put the wiggle in children, and that children’s “mode of being” in worship is intrinsically more vocal and more physical than that of adults.
Busy Bags:
Located in the back of the sanctuary, these bags contains books, crayons, toys, figures, and other things to keep little hands busy and occupied. Children’s Bibles and Bible Story coloring sheets are also available, near the busy bags, and Scribble cards are located in the pew racks.
Family of God Sunday School:
See CYF/Sunday School pages. FOG students (3 years olds - 5th grade) worship with their families through the children’s sermon, then attend FOG Sunday School classes through the end of the service.
Nursery: If your little one simply needs a break, a nursery is staffed through every Sunday worship service for children from birth to 3 years of age.
*In order to comply with Family of God’s Child Policy, parents and guardians are asked to pick up their own children from both the nursery and FOG classrooms rather then, for example, allowing one parent to pick up children from two families. Thanks for understanding.