From the Desk of
Retired Rev. Tom Aitken
February 2023
Dear Vashon Lutheran friends:
I hope that you know how important you have become to me, as fellow sisters and brothers in Christ! One of the joys I get to experience, is to teach and preach the “gospel” the very heart and soul of the Christian message, and our pastor’s first job description: To proclaim and teach the story of God’s love for the whole world.
Who you are is not your house, the car you drive, your ethnicity, the clothes you wear or even the country you live in. Our true life, as I hope you know, is hidden in God through Christ. We were chosen before the foundation of the world, in God’s mind and heart to live a life of love. This is the first and great gift of God to all of us: Our life was already given a framework, from the very beginning. This message is found on Jesus’ lips in his teachings and in the great “Hymns” the early church sang, especially found in the opening of both Colossians and Ephesians, two great New Testament books to read over and over again for the Christian. In that framework we find true happiness. We find our true selves.
Because this identity given to us is true, we dare to stake our very lives on it and in our Christian work in the world. We grow at peace with ourselves and others through God’s love for us “a thousand times over” as Martin Luther said. It is all grace. It is all gift. You can't manufacture this kind of belonging and purpose, you can't earn it, there is nothing you can do to create this identity. You are stuck with it! The only thing you can do is become aware of it and enjoy it through the experiences God brings us: Through loving and serving others, through living out lives of integrity, through singing hymns, hearing gospel sermons, bible study and everyday moments of grace.
Hold these truths deep in your hearts as you move deeper into the future of God’s love and continued ministries of this congregation.
In the peace that passes all understanding,
Rev. Thomas M. Aitken
Pronouns: he / him / his (why do I use my pronouns?)
I acknowledge the peoples – past, present, and future – of the Dkhw’Duw’Absh, the Duwamish Tribe,the Muckleshoot Tribe, and other Coast Salish peoples on whose traditional lands and waters I live on.