Dear Friends of Christ at Trinity Lutheran Church, Messiah Lutheran Church and beyond,

Trinity Lutheran Church in Ithaca has been blessed with many gifted leaders, who have gone on to be pastors and professors. Through our request, some of those leaders have been able to join together to lead us through this Lenten journey. Lent of 2024 provides an opportunity for us to focus upon a continual devotion to… the breaking of bread, which we are expanding simply to be a focus upon the sacraments: Baptism & Holy Communion.

Our theme verse for this Lent comes from a book outside of the Gospels, which gives us the most focused verses on the sacrament of Holy Communion (chapter 11). In the first century culture in Corinth Greece – saturated by interest in mysteries and spiritualism and not unlike our culture today – there is a verse that brings together both of these sacraments along with the stewardship of those “mysteries.”

“Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.”        (I Cor. 4:1)

To help us explore this verse and many others, we are blessed to have a group of people either in ministry or in education for the holy ministry.   Pastor Nils Niemeier was a former  member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Ithaca while attending Cornell University, and is now serving as pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church (LCMS), in East Setauket NY. We are also blessed to have two students from two different seminaries. Tait Halverson, head elder at Trinity Lutheran Church, is a student at the AALC seminary, and Ryan Milbrath, a longtime member of Trinity, is currently a seminarian at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis (LCMS).

The bottom of each devotions has the initials of the authors: RMF/TH/RM/NN

We are also thankful that one of our own members, Pat Hollingsworth, was willing to serve as editor and graceful grammarian, on most devotions. Thanks is also due to Melissa Pollock ,who manages the web-posting of the devotions, and Hannah Tanas, our secretary, along with Nancy Gifft and other helpers, who produced the hard copies.

Lenten blessings to each of you as we explore the mysteries of God’s Kingdom revealed in Christ and His Holy Word and sacraments!

Pastor Robert Foote
Trinity Lutheran Church, Ithaca