L I V I N G S T O N E S P R I S O N C O N G R E G A T I O N M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 2 0

Volume 1, Issue 6 www.livingstonesprisoncongregation.com May 15, 2020

LSPC is a joint ministry of the

congregations of the Southwestern Washington

Synod-ELCA and a member of Prison

Congregations of America

Rev. Chr is Ode P a s t o r

L iv ingStonesPastor @outlook.com

Sandi Nolte Pastoral Ministries Assistant

LivingStonesAssistant @outlook.com

L i v i n g S t o n e s B o a r d o f D i r e c t o r s

2 0 2 0 - 2 1

As t r id , v ic e - c ha i r

D oug, treasurer

J i m , m em b e r

K r is , s ec r e ta r y

M a lc o l m , m em b e r

M ary , m em b e r

Melanie, synod advisor

T ere sa , c ha ir

L iv i n g St o ne s

P r i so n Co n g r e ga t io n

c/o Faith Lutheran Church

1 2 12 Co n n ec t i o n S t .

S h e l t o n, W A 9 85 84

. . .you also, like living stones, are being built in to a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,

offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . .1 Peter 2:5

a publication of Living Stones Prison Congregation—special WCC edition

To my brothers in Christ, the men of Living Stones. I hope and pray this finds you well: you hold in your hands a revised version of our quarterly newsletter, The Rock. As we cannot gather together in our usual way, we hope to use this as a means to support and hearten one another. As allowed/appropriate, you are encouraged

To share this with others: we were able to improvise a mailing list from an old callout sheet, but we know we are missing information for several regular worshipers and cannot mail them directly. /Pastor Chris Ode

I thank my God for you from your sister in Christ, Ann

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers

for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this that he who began a good work in you will carry

it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

In three weeks, we would have been visiting you. That was our usual time to worship with you. We piled into the car and drove from Federal Way to Shelton. It gave us time to get to know each other in ways that we never had: to ask the deeper questions. What must it be like to be incarcerated? How would these men receive us? And the answer was always that we were received with graciousness, firm handshakes, an honest look in the eye and a true welcome to someone's home. Every person, every time. There are times I go to church and do not feel very social. There are

times I have gone to church and not felt very worshipful. But to worship with you is to worship with folks who are being fed by the Holy Spirit, every person, every time. Blessings to you as you have to be apart. May you carry that worship enthusiasm with you in your daily lives until you can worship together again.

painted by your sister in Christ, Nina

L I V I N G S T O N E S P R I S O N C O N G R E G A T I O N M A Y 1 5 , 2 0 2 0

One forgiveness for all from brother in Christ, Jim

Hebrews 10:11-18 was the focus of my devo-tion the other day. The first part tells of the priest each day performing a sacrifice which will never take away sins. But then the writer goes on to tell of the once-and-for-all sacrifice given through Jesus’ death. Particularly these verses touched my heart:

Then the Lord adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these

have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. (Hebrews 10:17-18 NIV)

This is a word I want to shout from the mountaintop and to share with everyone—and especially you, my brothers: Because of what Jesus has done for us, God no longer remembers our sin. Thanks be to God!

What’s in a name?

from your sister in Christ, Pam

Few Bible stories are as thrilling as Saul's road to Damascus conversion. Through the power of Christ, a man who had been a hate-filled villain became a love-filled apostle. Saul of Tarsus possessed perfect qualifications to be an evangelist and God knew it. He was versed in Jewish culture and language, his upbringing in Tarsus made him familiar with the Greek language and culture, his training in Jewish theology helped him connect with others. Saul was walking the Damascus road when in an instant he knew that Jesus was the true Messiah and that he (Saul) had helped murder and imprison innocent people. Despite his previous beliefs Saul now knew the truth about God and was obliged to obey him. Scripture declares “God gives us a new spirit and a new heart” (Ezekiel 36:26), and “It is God at work in us” (Philippians 2:13). Paul's life-changing experience led to his baptism and then to instruction in the Christian faith. He became the most determined of the apostles, suffering brutal physical pain, and persecu-tion. He revealed his secret of enduring a lifetime of hardship for the gospel in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Simply put, God prepares us and provides us with whatever is needed, we are the hope God sends to those who are hopeless. We are “God’s workman-ship” (Ephesians 2:10). What happened to Saul, can happen to any one of us! Paul was able to spread the gospel throughout the world by submitting himself to Jesus Christ. His conversion proves that God can transform anyone he chooses. A person's past does not matter to Christ, he’s more interested in a person's future. God did more than change Saul’s name to Paul. His mind was renewed and he was born into a new identity. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in this: that while we were yet sinners…while we were enemies…Christ died for us.” God loves and pursues our enemies…we should too.

Every morning . . . from your friend in Christ, Pat

Just a note to let you know you’re in my thoughts and prayers. It’s a crazy time, but comforting to me that the sun keeps coming up (earlier every morning!) as the world keeps turning. Jesus says (Matt 11:28) “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest” May you feel God with you.