What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 12pm Sunday 8am - 12pm

First Lutheran Church - Fargo, ND, 619 Broadway N, Fargo, ND (2026)

05/28/2026

Today's devotional from Pastor Jessica McEvers:

"Faith is Not Seasonal"

Summer is finally here and man, it feels like it came on overnight!! Last night I was in the car with a friend of mine and her temperature display read 100. Seeing as how summer is here to stay, I thought now would be a good time to encourage you to stay the course. Summer gets busy with all the activities; many people are vacationing or spending time at the lake. It can be a great time to do some summer reading or start gardening…the options of summer are endless.

But sometimes it feels like we treat our faith like a school year sport: we go hard during the school year and then once Easter rolls around, we get off track and we lose steam. Now this is by no means an attempt to guilt you into coming to church but rather an encouragement to stay the course – to keep doing those things that draw you closer to Jesus. Maybe it’s a nice long hike on your favorite trail or a lazy afternoon on the deck. Maybe you like to float along in the boat, soaking in all the glory of God’s creation. Perhaps you need routine and creating or revisiting old habits of prayer, church, and reading your Bible are just the thing you need. Don’t make it a list of things to check off, find those things that delight you and draw you closer to Jesus and do more of that!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Our faith is not seasonal. So, let’s stay the course!

Challenge: What helps you keep moving toward Jesus when motivation fails you? Do more of that.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you that summer has finally arrived. We ask that you would bless your people with the insight to know the steps they need to take to stay close to you. When we find ourselves drifting, gently draw us back to you so we can continue to know your love and your peace through all the seasons. Amen!

-Pastor Jessica

05/27/2026

Today's devotional from Alyssa Holmen, Director of Connection:

"Diagonal Lines"

There is one surefire way to know we’ve officially transitioned out of winter. I get to trade my snow shovel for a lawn mower!

I enjoy mowing far more than shoveling. There’s less heavy lifting involved, for one thing.

Plus, you get those deeply satisfying straight, neat lines stretching across the yard — or at least that’s the goal.

I take those lines pretty seriously, and I switch up the direction weekly. One week I mow north and south. The next week east and west. But my favorite is when I go diagonally. It’s still straight lines, but with a touch of whimsy. For that week it’s like my lawn says of me, “Yes, I appreciate order… but I also know how to have a little fun.”

There’s actually a reason for changing the pattern. It helps the grass stay healthy. If grass is always pushed the same direction, it begins to lean that way. Tracks can form. Ruts can develop. Over time, the lawn starts to wear down in places simply because it has traveled the same path too long.

Changing the direction helps strengthen the grass.

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” – Isaiah 43:19

Sometimes growth requires a change in direction. Not because God has changed, but because He loves us too much to let us settle into ruts.

We are creatures of habit. We like familiar paths, familiar routines, familiar expectations of how God should work. But every now and then, the Lord lovingly disrupts our patterns. Sometimes a door closes, an opportunity shifts, or a season changes, and prayers are answered differently than we imagined.

Before assuming something has gone wrong, consider that the Master Gardener may simply be caring for His lawn.

The new thing may feel uncomfortable at first. It may even seem disruptive. But the Gardener sees what we cannot. He knows when the soil is getting compacted. He knows when our hearts are becoming too settled, too rigid, too dependent on predictability instead of trust.

The Lord Himself does not change. His promises have not changed. His love for us has not changed. But he may often work in ways we don’t expect. His mercies are new every morning, and His work in our lives is often wonderfully surprising. Diagonal, even.

But no matter what, we know we can trust Him. Because God is good. All the time.

-Alyssa

05/26/2026

Today's devotional from Rollie Johnson:

"A Bear in the Trash"

To my shock and disbelief, there at the end of my driveway stood a large back bear rummaging through my garbage! I did a double take to confirm what I’d just seen!

Then I laughed as I remembered I’d put the bear out there for Moorhead’s garbage week! In my early years of hunting I had attempted all of my own taxidermy work. This was a record book sized bear I had proudly killed with my first home-made long bow many years ago and was my first attempt at a life-sized mount.

I had gotten in way over my head with this project; heavy on desire and enthusiasm, but light on experience and know how, I dove in with everything I had. In the end, I could proudly say that it did indeed look more like a bear than a giraffe, and for that I was grateful. But it was not a job well done by anyone’s standards and though I did show it off to a few close friends, it never made a public debut or even found a prominent place in our home. He remained hidden in my humble and jumbled man-cave.

For almost 20 years that beast has stood stacked in a corner, moved upstairs for three floods, and been shuffled around countless times only to return upside down, or vertically stood in an already crowded room. I was always too proud of it, even with its imperfections, and always in the back of my mind I thought he’d get his proper due somewhere, somehow. Last week I realized the pointlessness of holding on, and with the streets filling with other people’s trash I finally gave in and placed it curbside. It was time to let it go. (I was curious to see if any of the traveling trash scavengers would appreciate my offering to the Garbage Gods. Sure enough a few hours after setting Ol’ Blackie on the street, I returned from a grocery store visit, to find Ol’ Blackie had escaped! Only now I wish I had had a hidden camera to see who had grabbed him and could have watched that scene unfold! One man’s trash is another man’s treasure for sure!)

It was definitely time to let it go. And letting go had a subtle yet pleasing sense of rightness, relief and goodness. I had actually freed up and created new space in my man cave. Throwing away and discarding old stuff was actually cathartic. I felt a release and liberation.

Throwing away old stuff is good and right. Discarding the jumble and rubbish of our physical lives is certainly necessary and wholesome to do now and again. I need to do it more often that is for sure! (Just ask my wife and kids!) But I think also on occasion it is good to take inventory and assess the mental and spiritual scrap piles of our lives. To examine the cobwebbed corners of our habitual thought processes and clean out our darkened mental closets.

Have you held on to a negative perception or grudge towards a person for a lot of years? A co-worker, a neighbor, a classmate, friend or an ex? Maybe you can’t even remember why you are so filled with hatred or negativity towards them. It has just become habit. Maybe it’s time to let it go, forgive and move on. Hopefully you have grown, the other person has grown and it’s time to let it go. After all, the only one you are punishing is yourself. And do you know that when you set your issue/anger/hatred out by the curbside it is YOU who will feel lighter, freer and doing so will feel cathartic and liberating. You’ll create more space in your mental closet for good and healthy thoughts.

Have you held onto an old negative perception or self-defeating belief about yourself? I’m too fat, I’m too lazy, I’m not very smart, I’m not pretty, I’m so clumsy, I’m a failure, I’m too old, I’m not good enough, I’m so slow, I can’t do such and such, I’m too afraid to try such and such, I’m anxious, I’m depressed, I’m ugly, I’m inferior, I can’t cook, I can’t sing, I hate exercise, nobody likes me, I’ll mess up, I’m too shy. Pick your poison. We’ve all got them and many of us have held onto these belief systems for 20 or more years. We may even shuffle them around mentally from room to room on occasion, but most of the time these negative beliefs have become part of our background, and we don’t even notice them most of the time. So maybe it’s time to step to the side, do a proper examination of our emotional shelves and closets, and prayerfully cast out to the curbside those self-defeating and self-depreciating habitual thoughts that clutter and contaminate our well-being and contentment.

Let us remember that for those of us who love and follow Jesus, a healthy and positive self-esteem is a commandment. It’s not optional. We are far more useful and helpful to a hurting world when we have a positive and healthy positive identity that comes from God. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” -Matthew 22: 34-37. That little word “as” carries big weight…tough to love on your neighbor when you think of yourself as scum!

So, what is it that you need to let go of? What emotional trash do you need to lay out curbside for God to take away? What is it that is cluttering up your mental closet that keeps you from acting free and liberated to love and minister to a hurting world?

God is the ultimate liberator and change agent. He takes our old, weary, worn out, and often negative patterns, behaviors and thoughts and changes them for good. We simply (though not always easy) surrender (throw out) our old and He replaces with it His new. Sometimes we call this confession, sometimes it involves forgiveness, maybe even saying it out loud…to forgive someone else or even ourselves. In the new space freed up by throwing out our old, we replace it with scripture, the good stuff, to create new patterns of Godly thought and belief which lead then to right and good action.

May you have the courage to take an inventory, do a mental and spiritual spring cleaning…and discard and let go!

-Rollie J.

---

"Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…" -Romans 12:2

"So if anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" -2 Corinthians 5:17

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." -John 13:34-35

Healthy God Esteem
You are a new creation. -2 Corinthians 5:17
You are a child of God!(really!) -John 1:12
God calls you friend! -John 15:15
God is on your side! What else matters? -Romans 8:31
Christ is in you. -Colossians 1:27
You have power, love and self discipline. -2 Timothy 1:7
You have the mind of Christ within you. -1 Cor. 2:16
God is working for good in your life. -Romans 8:28
Sin has no more power over you. -Romans 6:1-7
Your sins have already been forgiven. -Col. 1:13-14
You have strength beyond imagination. -Phil. 4:13
Nothing can separate you from God's love. -Romans 8:35-39
You are set free from condemnation. -Romans 8:1
You are God’s work of art. -Ephesians 2:10
God has a purpose for you. -Ephesians 2:10
You are loved and accepted by Christ. -Ephesians 1:6
You are Free! -Galatians 5:1
You don’t have to earn God's love/forgiveness. -Ephesians 2:8-9
You are near to Jesus. -Ephesians 2:13
God knit you together in your mother's womb. -Psalms 139
You don’t have to be afraid. -Psalm 27, -Hebrew 13:6
God does not remember your sins. -Hebrews 8:12
God will guide you with wisdom. -James 1:5
God will sustain and uphold you. -Psalm 147:6
God gives you His Holy Spirit. -1 Cor. 6:19-20

05/24/2026

Today's Bulletin:https://files.constantcontact.com/4ed1e6c8101/02402f81-064f-4374-8029-ff4d2ece3653.pdf

05/21/2026

☀️ Plan Your Weekend: Summer Worship Schedule Begins

As you make plans for the weekend, here’s a reminder that our summer worship schedule begins this Sunday, May 24 at First Lutheran!

Sunday Worship
• 9:30 a.m.*
• 10:30 a.m.

*Reminder: 9:30 a.m. service is also broadcast on KFGO AM 790 & FM 104.7 if you can't be here in person

Wednesday Worship
• 1:30 p.m.

We look forward to worshiping with you this weekend as we begin a new summer season together!

05/21/2026

Today's devotional from Pastor Jessica McEvers:

"Dry Bones"

"The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, 'Son of man, can these bones live?'

I said, 'Sovereign Lord, you alone know.'

Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to these bones and say to them, "Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord."'

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, 'Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live."' So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Then he said to me: 'Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.'" (Ezekiel 37:1-14)

You know what I can’t stand?! Things that are empty! With a family of five and two kids that thoroughly enjoy their independence, I often go to the cereal box, milk carton, cookie jar and what do you know…they’re empty! Empty things just kind of annoy me. I guess it’s no big deal when things like the milk carton or cereal box are empty, but sometimes empty things carry a bit more weight. Empty bank accounts, empty cupboards, and even EMPTY CHURCHES. This kind of empty has really been heavy on my heart as of late. You see these pictures of churches floating around the internet of weeds growing in and around the altar, decaying pews where people once sat, birds having their baths in the baptismal fonts. It really is quite heartbreaking. Some say people are walking away from the churches in droves and maybe they are or maybe church is just changing. I don’t know but what I do know is this…there are times in our own faith when perhaps we aren’t walking away in rebellion, but we are slowly fading. The weeds are growing around us and we are empty on the inside. Our hearts that once felt so full of life and love are now empty. We are not angry, we’re not hostile, we’re just tired. Our faith is tired…our souls are tired.

Have you ever been there? Maybe you’re running on caffeine and you’re just in survival mode, hoping your faith will hang on for just one more week. Or maybe you feel spiritually numb…like the fire that used to burn in you has cooled to ashes. Sometimes the hardest part is that from the outside, everything still looks fine. You still show up. You still smile. You still sing the songs. You still go through the motions. But inwardly it’s just dry bones.

That is why Pentecost matters because Pentecost is not just the story of wind and tongues of fire, Pentecost is the story of God breathing life into exhausted people. Pentecost is not the first time, nor is it the only time, God has worked through breath. In Genesis, God breathes into dust and Adam lives. In Ezekiel 37, God breathes over dry bones and an army rises. In John 20, Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” And now in Acts 2, the breath of God rushes through the house again. You see, when God breathes – dead things come alive.

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." (Acts 2:1-4)

The disciples gathered that day were not spiritual superheroes, they were simply waiting, uncertain and fragile and yet they became the kind of people through whom God changed the world. When God breathes, dead things come alive.

Do you believe that today? So often we try to breathe life into ourselves, giving ourselves a spiritual form of CPR. But when was the last time someone did CPR on themselves?! Some of us are exhausted because we are trying to keep ourselves spiritually alive by our own effort. More discipline…more guilt…more pretending…more striving. But dry bones don’t resurrect themselves…only God can!

The Spirit that came at Pentecost is a gift. So, I would invite you to receive, surrender, pray honestly and stop pretending everything is fine. And it is then, the Spirit will move, just like on that day of Pentecost 2,000 years ago and he will breathe life back into your dry bones.

Challenge: Receive, surrender, pray honestly and stop pretending everything is fine…this is how you make room for God to do God’s work.

Prayer: Lord, send your Spirit to these dry bones and breathe life back into me. AMEN!

-Pastor Jessica

05/20/2026

What a fun way to celebrate the end of the year! 🎉🍦 Last Wednesday, most of our youth classes wrapped up with parties featuring a bouncy house, magician, ice cream, and lots of fun together. It’s been an awesome year of growing in faith, making memories, and forming friendships. Thank you to our incredible youth leaders for all the time, energy, and care you’ve poured into our youth this year!

📸Thank you to Tara Scherling for capturing these photos.

05/20/2026

Today's devotional from Alyssa Holmen, Director of Connection:

"Broken Cookie Wisdom"

Last week I had Chinese take-out for dinner. The meal ended with me cracking open a fortune cookie to read the little paper tucked inside:

“Your determination will lead to victory in November.”

Well, that’s… a little vague.

What kind of victory are we talking about here? Am I winning a contest? Finally organizing my closet? Successfully cooking a Thanksgiving turkey? And why November specifically? Why not June?

Did you know that fortune cookies are not actually Chinese in origin at all? They are believed to have originated with Japanese immigrants to the United States. They shifted to Chinese American restaurants during World War II. The Japanese internment resulted in many Japanese American businesses closing, including their bakeries and restaurants.

In other words, even the cookie itself is a little misleading. It presents one way but has a completely different story underneath. The wisdom offered inside is a lot like that too.

The world offers us its own version of “wisdom.” Short sayings. Catchy phrases. Confident promises tucked inside broken little cookies.

Believe in yourself.
If you dream it, you can be it.
Your determination will lead to victory.

Some of it sounds encouraging at first glance. Some of it even sounds wise. But when you hold it up next to God’s truth, you realize how flimsy it really is.

As believers in Jesus Christ, our hope is not ultimately found in our own dreams or determination.

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:57

Victory does not belong to the strongest person, the most disciplined person, or the person with the best five-year plan.

Victory belongs to Jesus.

That doesn’t mean determination is bad. Faithfulness and perseverance are important. But our confidence cannot rest in ourselves. Human wisdom eventually crumbles under pressure, just like a cookie.

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

We do not know what the future holds, be it November or next Tuesday. But we do know who holds the victory. We can trust Him with that.

And that is far more solid than any cookie-sized fortune could ever promise.

"Oh, victory in Jesus, my savior forever!
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood;
He loved me ere I knew Him,
And all my love is due Him;
He plunged me to victory
Beneath the cleansing flood."
-“Victory in Jesus” by E. M. Bartlett

-Alyssa

05/19/2026

Today's devotional from Rollie Johnson:

"Guardians of the Red: Owls and Eagles"

The text came at 8:17 a.m. while I was having my own little quiet time on the deck, soaking up all of the life-giving natural sounds and sights of my own backyard. A new and beautiful morning was being born, and I was front and center stage to this beautiful display of creation.

A pair of rabbits chased each other around the yard, mourning doves were cooing softly, and a cardinal was sounding off with his piercing call from somewhere hidden in the canopy. Squirrels ran all over the spaghetti like I94 maze of tree limbs from my stoic and steady oak and ash trees and a th*****me deer were calmly feeding below me a mere 10 feet away beneath my bird feeders. Although I couldn’t see them, several Canadian Geese were sounding off from the pond in the coulee to my east. Though I was immersed in the beauty of solitude, I was definitely not alone.

I opened the text from my friend Jessica Foss, who had just surprised me with two fascinating up close and personal videos of a magnificent, barred owl. She too had been soaking up the beautiful birthing of a new day on her morning walk along the bike paths of Lindenwood Park. I could tell she was excited to share these fantastic videos with me, and I was thrilled by her text and the content. I could hear the restrained excitement in her voice as she recorded this rare, up close, and personal, full daylight encounter with this mysterious and enigmatic avian predator. (See videos in this post.)

I watched these videos several times over the course of the weekend, intrigued and fascinated by the magnificence of this secretive owl knowing this was a special, beyond the ordinary encounter. I knew in my heart there was a hidden message, a truth to be revealed but did not know what yet.

After a fabulous weekend at a friend’s lake cabin with my entire family, we returned home for a rare and lazy Sunday off. Late in the afternoon Shane bluntly stated he was going for walk, with no details, plans or destinations declared. I thought nothing of it and went about working on my new canoe.

An hour later I received a text message from him excitedly sharing that he just had a fascinating and up-close encounter with an owl. He had attached a video. (See video in this post.)

Shane’s was another fabulous video that I watched several times over. Very soon I realized that it had to be in the same area as Jess’ video shot four days earlier! What a crazy coincidence! Again, in broad daylight. Something is afoot here!

Curiosity was tugging at my cerebral cortex, so I jumped in the FJ and headed for Lindenwood Park. Parking at St. John’s Lutheran Church and stumbled down the bank to the walking trails, I walked ½ mile attempting to locate the exact location of Jess’ owl. Would it be too much to ask of the universe to have the same owl still hanging out in the same place exactly one week later??? Long story short...“Yes” it was too much to ask. I carried my phone along and began playing the calls of the barred owl from the Merlin App in hopes of locating our fine feathered friend. But, thanks to our week of nearly hurricane-force winds, my calls were of little avail. Upon my return walk, I finally came to a spot that felt right. I replayed Jessica’s videos several times and had a brief “hallelujah” moment upon realizing I was indeed in the exact location she had filmed the owl from. And I had located the exact metal fence post the owl was standing and launched from. My Sherlock Holmes investigatory skills were paying off…minus finding the perpetrator!

Earlier this late winter, I was driving back to church when I spotted a pair of white objects high in the dull, matte grey of the narrow tree line along the Red River. I could tell immediately that it was a majestic pair of bald eagles perched above the open water, on the big bend across from the water treatment plant on North Broadway. I pulled the FJ Cruiser over to the side of the road, rolled down the window and shut off the truck. I was able to get these poor-quality photos and video with my phone. Take a look! (See video in this post).

I was thrilled by this rare opportunity to witness and share space with these glorious creatures. I frequently see eagles down on the edge of ice along this stretch of river where the warmer water coming from the treatment plant keeps the river ice free. I assume that the eagles perch and feed in this location for easier access to the free Red River Buffet of local fish. I often see an eagle or crow feeding on a carcass on the left-over ice. But today was a double blessing to observe two eagles, perched together. A rare and special treat indeed! I felt blessed and lucky for this unique, and extraordinary intersection of time and space.

In my neck of the woods in Oakport township, and the many woods and farm fields I hunt and search for artifacts, bald eagles have become common place. It’s a rare day that I don’t see one or more. I still get a thrill when I see one perched over the river, standing as sentinel over his riparian domain, or one gliding gracefully on thermals of a warm summer’s day. Frequently I hear their piercing chitter-chatter cry, and I smile for the company. I have an odd habit of saluting any bird of prey whenever I have an encounter. Not sure why. Respect for their beauty and grace, or a nod to being a fellow predator.

Any time I have an eagle or owl encounter, especially if it’s up close, I feel a unique blessing from deeper spiritual realms. An up close and personal encounter could be just that…a random accidental gift from the universe, or for those of us on a spiritual journey, maybe an invitation to pay attention, slow down, listen to our deeper selves where the Holy Spirit dwells.

Scripture refers to eagles frequently. Isaiah 40:28-31 famously speaks to God’s strength, power and renewal. "The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Exodus 19:4 states, "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself." God desires to draw us into deeper relationship.

In many Native American traditions, up close owl encounters often symbolize deep spiritual awakening, heightened intuition, and impending life transitions. Lindsay Everhart writes: Seeing an owl in daylight can symbolize wisdom, intuition, and important messages or lessons. It may also indicate personal growth and significant changes in your life. When you see an owl in the morning, it can be a truly magical experience. Owls are often seen as symbols of wisdom, intuition, and insight. Their presence can serve as a gentle reminder to trust your instincts and listen to your inner voice.

For me, I just feel blessed when I experience an up-close and personal encounter with an owl or eagle. From their secretive and often hidden haunts, these guardians of the Red, perch stoically as sentinels over their river domain, silent and still much of the time. Other times the owls give their haunting call, and eagles screech from high above. I wonder how often I have walked by and not noticed a silent owl hidden via his exceptional camouflage high in a tree. Similarly, I wonder how often I have missed the presence of God who frequently remains quiet and silent hidden in the camouflage of my everyday life. I wonder how frequently I miss either His quiet, subtle cooing voice from deep in the woods of my crowded busy day, or the times when He shouts loudly from above, but I’m just to busy to hear, with my focus low and on the problems of my day.

So, get out, walk in the park or woods. Listen, pay attention, lift up your eyes. Leave your earbuds and headphones at home. Pray, attend, observe, be still, ask and give thanks. God may be closer than you think!

-Rollie J.

---

"I believe in God like I believe in the sunrise, not because I can see it, but because I can see everything it touches." -C.S. Lewis

"Nothing has ever been said about God that hasn’t already been said better by the wind in the pine trees." -Thomas Merton

Thoughts from Father Richard Rohr: My spiritual father Francis of Assisi spent many days, weeks, and even months walking the roads of Umbria and letting nature teach him. Francis knew and respected creation, calling animals, sun, moon, and even the weather and the elements his brothers and sisters. Through extended time in nature, Francis became intimately connected with non-human living things and came to recognize that the natural world was also imbued with soul. Almost all male initiation rites—including those of Jesus and John the Baptist (see Matthew 3:13–17)—took place in nature, surely for that reason. We can apply this spiritual insight quite literally. Don’t start by trying to love God, or even people; love elements and rocks first, move to trees, then animals, and then humans. Angels will soon seem like a real possibility, and God is then just a short leap away. It works. In fact, it might be the only way to love, because how we do anything is how we do everything. In the end, either we love everything or there is reason to doubt that we love anything. This one love and one loveliness was described by many medieval theologians as the “great chain of being.”

Creation—be it planets, plants, or pandas—was not just a warm-up act for the human story or the Bible. The natural world is its own good and sufficient story, if we can only learn to see it with humility and love. That takes contemplative practice, stopping our busy and superficial minds long enough to see the beauty, allow the truth, and protect the inherent goodness of what is—whether it profits or pleases us or not.

All the other sentient beings also do their little things, take their places in the cycle of life and death, mirroring the eternal self-emptying and eternal infilling of God, and somehow trusting it all. If we can recognize that we belong to such a rhythm and ecosystem, and intentionally rejoice in it, we can begin to find our place in the universe. We will begin to see, as did the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, that “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God.”

First Lutheran Church - Fargo, ND

05/28/2026

05/27/2026

05/26/2026

05/24/2026

05/21/2026

05/21/2026

05/20/2026

05/20/2026

05/19/2026

Address

Opening Hours

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Place Of Worship

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 12pm
Sunday	8am - 12pm