Christ Lutheran Congregants Share 'Thanks'

held an evening Thanksgiving service where worshipers shared what they were thankful for in their lives.

Members of the church gathered in the Epiphany Room for the informal service because as Pastor Bob Cederstrom said, “The church isn’t the building, the church is the people…God put me in an amazing place; we can make church happen wherever we are.”

First to share thanks was Bob Stuhmer who said, “I feel blessed that I was given the ability to not take myself too seriously and to take life in perspective,” he said. “Mid-September I was laid off from my full-time instructor position at the college that I had taught for 11 years and was forced into resuming my freelance and God was good and he has kept me busy…the opportunities are there and for that I am very thankful.”

Joy Brown shared famous thought from famous people on Thanksgiving and then from herself: “I am truly thankful for this place in whichever room we worship,” she said. “I am also grateful for the pastors that serve here…Since I have no immediate family nearby I count my friends here to be like family and I love each and every one of them and all the rest of you as well…I’m just glad to be a child of God, to be part of the family of God and part of our family here.”

Next up to share was Bruno Schroeter, who hails from Germany. He said what started as a terrible childhood turned into something much greater when he came to the United States and started a new life with his wife, Eva.

“A year and a half ago my beautiful wife couldn’t walk anymore, she was suffering and there was a wonderful doctor with the help of God’s blessing she was able to walk again and I am so happy and thankful.”

Edna Heubish spoke for 10 minutes about all the many things she was thankful for, including the love of Jesus and her mother’s lessons and the joy of not wanting material things.

“My mother was the one who introduced me to Jesus, my savior,” she said. “When my father died when I was 12-years-old that was a difficult time because I was angry with God for three years and he never let go of me. I kept going to church and Sunday school but I was angry with him because he didn’t make him better and he promised he would give me whatever I want, but it took me three years to realize to be grateful for what we have not for what we don’t have.”

When Heubish’s husband died she took the lessons she learned from her 12-year-old self to get through it and said, “Be grateful for the years you had with him and the fact that he isn’t sick anymore. He really is all better even though he’s not going to be here with me.”

God similarly helped Barbara Hartig get through the passing of her father when she was 10-years old and more recently both her husband and mother’s deaths.

“When my husband got sick and was bedridden for two and a half year, when he died I was happy that god had taken him without subjecting him as a diabetic with kidney failure to any pain or suffering. He quietly left me one day,” Hartig said, whose husband died five minutes before visiting him that last day in the hospital.

Hartig’s mother slipped and broke her hip the day after her husband died, and took care of her in her home.

“I was grateful that she was really tough enough to cope for herself…and then when she finally had to go to the hospital…all she kept saying was, at 103-years-old, 'I want to die, I can’t take it anymore! I’m living too long, I can’t take it anymore!’ So finally when she did pass away I was happy for her because I had my faith to allow me never to grieve because they were happy and I was happy for them.”  

Pastor Cederstrom was very grateful for the intimate stories of hardship everyone shared because it proved their trust in him and God.

“This is where I belong and you are my family,” he said. “And I am extremely blessed and extremely grateful to have all of you as my family in Christ.”