Working Together So That All Experience Gracious Invitation Into Life-giving Christian Community
Welcome to the Gethsemane Lutheran Church Newsletter. As 2022 unfolds, and we continue to bring you information virtually, we welcome all who are members of Gethsemane, as well as those who are discovering us for the first time, to join us in our mission journey. We hope to keep you up-to-date in these times of amazing change for our church community. Feel free to forward the newsletter to others and give us the emails of those you think my wish to connect with us and see what great things God is doing with our church each week!
The Camden Shop is Open!


The Camden Shop is now open! After a short prayer of blessing, we opened the doors and shoppers found clothing and housewares that they needed. We are so excited about how this place will help our friends in the Camden neighborhood! Spread the word, and come say hello!


We are open every Saturday of the month at Gethsemane from 12-3pm
Gospel Reading: Psalm 16: 9-11
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9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest secure,

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
The Camden Promise: Weekly Food shelf Schedule



Food Giveaway Schedule into 2022:
The Camden Promise Food Shelf feeds boxes of food to community families 6 days a week at noon: Monday through Saturday.

All are welcome!
Gospel Reading: Genesis 3:1-24
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 

3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 

5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 

9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 

23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 

24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.


Weekly Message: Retionship After the Fall
The book of Genesis tells us that God created Adam and Eve. From their creation grew a strong and incredible bond, a fellowship, and even a friendship. Imagine, living in communion with the Creator of all life. In the Garden, Adam and Eve would talk to the Lord, casually, in a way one would talk to another friend or relative. It was an incredible relationship. Once God had created everything else in the world, what He loved the most was a relationship with His children. Humanity.

Unfortunately, that is not how the story ends. We recall what happens next —from the title of Genesis 3: “The Temptation and the Fall of Man”. Eve and Adam fall from God’s favor, because of temptation and tasting the fruit that they were told not to eat. The fruit from the only tree in the Garden that they were told not to touch. Eating of the fruit opened their eyes to the flesh, breaking the first ever promise humans made with God. And, in their fear and shame, they hid from God. 

Yet, let us not read this passage strictly as a reminder of our flawed nature and the decisions of those who came before us. What we gain from this scripture is that we know God loves our company. We are friends of God, and He made us with this intention in mind. And God, still wants that relationship with us! 

So, what is stopping us? Why do we hesitate to have such a beautiful relationship with God? Why do we tend to hide when we make mistakes, just as Adam and Eve did? 

Of course, we all want to hide from the Lord when we are in trouble due to the shame we feel. Such shame—as was first experienced in human knowledge of the flesh—is an acknowledgment of how we recognize that we are flawed. We are ashamed of what we have done against God. Yet, even in our sinfulness, God desires us to come into His presence and be known by Him. God loves us, is our friend, and has been since the very beginning of time. Yes, God wants to be in relationship with us. He wants us to come together to see Him, talk with Him, and listen to Him. He loves that relationship that we share with Him. 

So how do we reestablish that relationship? 

Every word of God is living and alive. If we come to Him alone, with an open heart and mind, He will welcome us with open arms. We all have our time to read the Bible and pray, but we should also have a special time and place when we seek out God’s presence and face. If we take that time to be in His presence, even in our shame, there will be forgiveness and joy. We will truly know the love of God and appreciate what God has done for us. 

So, make space in your day to have quality time with God. Be quiet, listen, and quite your minds. Tune out from the world, even just for a moment, and enter into His presence. If you do this then you will find Him waiting for you, with open arms. 

Amen. 

The Prayer Corner
A Prayer of Gratitude
Thank you, Lord, for the blessings you have bestowed on our lives. Thank you for our friends and family. Thank you for the planet and the air that we breath. And Lord, we are so grateful for you keeping those around us safe and loved. I hope that you provide us with the ability and sense to show them every day how much they matter. In Your name we pray,

Amen
Sunday Worship
Please join us every Sunday for our Virtual Zoom Worship Service. Online "fellowship starts at 10:00 am and Worship Service Starts at 10:30 am.
Gethsemane Lutheran
Building Hope Together
4656 Colfax Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55412
612-521-3575