University Lutheran Church

340 E. 15th Street, Tempe, AZ 85281-6612 (480) 967-3543

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The Good & The Bad: Hopeful or Hopeless?

Letter from Pastor Gary McCluskey

So many cancer defeating treatments!
Humans on the moon!
Smart phones, smart TV’s & computers!
Theory of Relativity!
Solar technology!
Virtual meetings, phone calls, & even virtual hugs!
Rapid COVID tests and vaccines!
Heart by-pass surgeries!
Organ transplants!
Kindness!
Love!
Memory!
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese!
Just a handful of wonderful human inventions, discoveries, and qualities that can make one proud to be a human.

                                                    War!
                                                    Holocaust!
                                                    Racism!
                                                    Poverty!
                                                    Injustice!
                                                    Slavery!
                                                    Violent crime & abuse!
                                                    Hatred!
                                                    Prejudice!
                                                    Narcissism!
                                                    Rudeness!
                                                    Apathy!
                                                    NY Yankees & their fans!

Just a handful of very bad human qualities that make one question humanity.

Which are we? Of course, the answer is both. Lent and the upcoming events of Holy Week are a sobering reminder of the dark side of humanity….even and especially the humanity that struggles with its dark side and strives to overcome it. We need Lent and Holy Week to remind us all the hope of Advent nor the joy of Easter are not the only part of life with which faith needs to deal. The point is not to distress us but to be aware of who we are in our entire human existence.

That which is denied cannot be overcome or defeated. In that sense, even Lent is a time for hope. Get it all out there! Something wonderful might lay ahead of Lent. The hateful might become loving, the rude kind, and swords may be turned into plowshares.

Is humanity basically good or bad? The answer is “yes!” That is why Lent does not stand alone. Help is on the way! We humans may be a mixed bag, but God is not. God is good! Lent has its appropriated and necessary time. However, it is not the final word. The list of good things does not erase the pain and suffering caused by the bad. It can make it bearable and help us go through and even overcome that which is bad, that which is evil. The current war in Ukraine is, simply put, evil on display every day. It is not, however God nor goodness that is being defeated. God is there at work suffering along with the victims. ….suffering, but not defeated. Hold on to this hope.

Upcoming Forums

Join us on Sundays at 9:15 am in the Campus Center Library (masks required) for our Sunday Forum. If you would like to join via Zoom, please contact the office (info@ulctempe.org or 480-967-3543) for the link.

Upcoming forums are:

  • April 17: No forum, Easter Sunday
  • April 24: Open (if you would like to present a forum, please contact the office –see information above.)
  • May 1: “Growing up Lutheran in India” led by Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) student Alex Katikitala.

If you would like to present a forum, please let us know (see above for email and phone). Thank you!

Lutheran Campus Ministry

This Wednesday, May 4, 2022, will be our last meeting this academic year for Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM). We will finish our theme of: “Stories With Intent”:

  • May 4th: “The Sower and the Soils” Mark 4:1-9

Bible study is at 5:00 pm in the Campus Center or via Zoom followed by free student meal at 5:30 and Contemporary Worship Service at 6:30 pm in the Sanctuary or via live stream on our website. Everyone welcome!

LCM will start back again in the Fall. Hope to see you then.

Please contact the church office if you need the Zoom link for the Bible Study (info@ulctempe.org or 480-967-3543). Thank you!

Spring Cleaning

The church is having a work session on Saturday, April 9, 2022 from 9:00 am to noon. Come join in and help us clean up the property and prepare for Holy Week and Easter. We’ll be working inside and out.

Join the fun. All are welcome to help. You can come for the morning or just part of the time. We’ll have coffee and snacks. We encourage you to wear your University Lutheran t-shirt.

Page Turner’s Book Club

Looking for way to discover and discuss interesting topics, authors, and books? The Page Turner’s Book Club is an informal group that meets monthly, alternating between fiction and non-fiction books. You don’t need to read the book to participate. Here are the books we’ll be discussing in April and May.

Books - Page Turner's Book Club

April 7, 2022 at noon. B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton (1985), fiction. Leader: Katherine S. In this story set in 1982, hard-boiled private investigator Kinsey Millhone is hired for find a client’s sister. It looks routine. Instead Kinsey encounters a disappearance, burglary, arson, and murder.

May 5, 2022 at noon. Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive by Stephanie Land (2019), non-fiction. Leader: Jean P. This book is about a hard-working mother working as a maid and how she survives the work, low wages, being a mother, and ultimately improving her life.

We meet at University Lutheran Church in the Campus Center.

The Book Club will be taking the summer off. We are looking for suggestions for books for next fall. To get on the book club email list or to recommend at book, contact the office at info@ulctempe.org or 480-967-3543.