Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

This is a “choose your own adventure” style letter.   

If you need to hear from your pastor to slow down and see the real meaning of Christmas- continue to paragraph A.

If you need to hear from your pastor that life is full and sometimes we need to just move forward—continue to paragraph A.

If you need to hear from your pastor words of comfort about a growing sense of loneliness or sadness—continue to paragraph A.

If you need to hear from your pastor words of grace because feelings of regret keep coming at you—continue to paragraph A.

If you need to hear from your pastor that there is hope when relationships seem broken—continue to paragraph A.

If you need to hear from your pastor that this festive season deserves all the bells and whistles because it is your favorite—continue to paragraph A.

A:        8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
            and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Blessings to you all.  I look forward to celebrating with you and receiving with you the hope we have for all times of life.  Christmas Eve Candlelight Service—6:30; Christmas Day Divine Service—10:30

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Dear Friends,

I wasn't sure that I'd want to host another theological tour, but I'm really excited about this one. This coming spring I'll be leading a tour following the footsteps of St. Paul through Greece and the Aegean Sea. 

The dates are September 9th through 20th, 2025. We'll be visiting Athens, Corinth, Delphi, Meteora, Kalambaka, Veria, Thessaloniki, Philippi, Kavala, Thermopylae, and finish with cruise porting in Mykonos, Ephesus, Patmos, Rhodes, Crete, Santorini, and we'll finish in Athens.

Bryan Wolfmueller will be hosting a bus following the same itinerary using the same travel company, but he doesn't have any spots left. Luckily, nobody knows about me, so there's plenty of room on my bus!

If you know of any members of your church who are interested in traveling with like minded confessional Lutherans, definitely let them know about this trip. It's one thing to see these things from a secular perspective. It's much better to hear about their significance when set within the context of Paul's writings that point us to faith in Christ.

More information can be found on this travel website including an application for potential travelers. There are only about 20 spots left on our 40 person bus, so it's better to sign up sooner than later.

If you'd like me to write up a blurb for a bulletin or newsletter, I'd be happy to do that too.

In Christ,

Brian Flamme

Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

Blessed Advent season to you.  Advent is distinct from the Christmas season.  Advent is that time of year we set aside to focus on the return of our Lord.  It is not something we often talk about but is rather a reality that shapes our lives as Christians in this world.  We believe and confess that no matter what is happening in our lives and in the world, these things are not the end of the story.  So, in Advent we spend some time looking ahead to the end of the story.  

How to honor this Advent season.  First, make receiving God’s Word an even bigger priority over this next month.  The Divine Service for this next month will focus on the Old Testament prophets as they speak to who the Christ is and what his return brings.  Sunday morning Bible study is called “The Return of Jesus: the yet untold, yet foretold true story of Jesus’ return” were we will study the Gospel text appointed for each Sunday in Advent.  Wednesdays’ mid-week Advent service is called “The Word Made Flesh” were we will dive into how Jesus is described as the “Bread of Life,” “Salt of the Earth,” and “Light of the World.”  

You may also consider being more intentional with your daily devotions.  For this I encourage the use of “Around the Word” weekly household devotions.  You can find each week here at https://www.whatdoesthismean.org/devotions.html.  Just follow the directions.  Everything you need is on one page printed front and back.  This included daily prayers, a hymn of the week and devotional thought on each day’s readings.  

Finally, we celebrate Advent with our deeds.  We celebrate the ordinary deeds of love and service shown to one another.  We celebrate the extraordinary love and service in special acts of service and offerings made this season.  Especially this weekend we celebrate and are honored to serve 25 families in our Ruidoso/Ruidoso Downs/Alto community.  On Saturday we will be handing out boxes of food, gift certificates, and devotional material to these families.  This is only done because of your generosity and the partnerships we have with our friends and neighbors.  Thank you to the group of people who made this all happen.  They have done some great work.  

Blessed Advent season to you all and I am honored to fulfill our mission as a congregation together sharing the love of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, in word and deed. 

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

It has been 4 months since the start of fires and floods here in Ruidoso.  A few weekends ago our church hosted Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) who helped us train and deploy a Lutheran Emergency Response Team (LERT) and Care Teams into the village.  

It started 6 weeks earlier when Lutheran Church Charities visited Ruidoso and we shared with them the devastation we have been experiencing over the summer. During that visit two needs became apparent, the need to help locals remove trees from their properties and the need to help locals process through a traumatic summer of loss.  

Utilizing the money that was given for disaster relief in Ruidoso and with help from a grant from LCMS Disaster Relief, we purchased and outfitted a trailer with all the equipment we need for tree clearing in Ruidoso.  Then, starting Saturday October 12 we began training.  We started with a team of folks trained to work with chainsaws and spent the morning in the “classroom”.  After lunch we then spent the afternoon practicing cutting dead trees on the property.  Sunday, Pastor Chris Singer, President and CEO of Lutheran Church Charities shared the work of LCC and how they have been involved in helping guide our own work here in Ruidoso.  He also preached a word of encouragement about how we as children of God are salt and light in this world.  It indeed was a word of encouragement as I have watched you all as a community be so fervent in your callings to serve and watching some of you have the courage to be served by your brothers and sisters here at SHLC.  

Sunday afternoon, 17 of us were trained to participate in Lutheran Early Response Teams. The training was full of useful and tangible information regarding safety and work flow for a team.  It was also rich with why we do what we do in times of need, giving up our own time, energy and money.  God be praised!  

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, LCC’s Care Team, comprised of team Persis, a comfort dog, trained counselors, and myself as pastor visited Cherokee Village Mobile home park, fire stations, the police station, the dispatch center, businesses in midtown, a nursing home, and the Boys and Girls Club of Ruidoso.  Each visit was unique in how our team was able to bring the comfort of Jesus to lives of people who are in the process of healing.  

Monday the chainsaw team was able to visit members of our church who lost homes and help clear the properties of dead and down trees.  We had the opportunity not only to work hard, but also do much praying.  God be praised everyone was safe and the work was blessed.  

Now, we have a team and trailer ready to go to continue to serve Ruidoso and our area.  In the coming week, Pastor Brian Flamme from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Roswell will be asking for help after the horrible flooding event this last weekend.  It is amazing how God works, that in this moment we have people trained and ready to serve.  Our trailer isn’t yet equipped with work for flooding so we are waiting on another LERT team who is equipped to come and help. More information will be available in the coming days.  

It is a joy to continue to serve with you here at SHLC.  Your zeal for the Gospel and work for those in need brings me great joy.  God be praised. 

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

I want to take a moment to remind you of the exciting activities happening at Shepherd of the Hills. From our worship services and prayer groups to outreach programs and fellowship events, there are so many ways for you to stay involved!

We encourage you to find an area where you feel called to serve or grow. Your involvement not only blesses you but also enriches the lives of others in our congregation.

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Divine Services:  These next two weeks are the last of this season's outdoor services at 8:30.  During this season of the church year our gospel texts are focused on the teaching of Jesus and how he prepares his disciples and apostles to be the church moving forward after his ascension.  The apostolic faith that we confess is the faith that Jesus imparts to them and to us.  

Bible Study:  On Sunday morning in we are currently studying the book of James.  You can see in James’ writings how he uses the teaching of Jesus and the book of Proverbs to share how we live out our Christian lives.  Each segment of the book that we are studying is like a little mini sermon.  In October we will begin a short study on the book of Hebrews.  Our Bible Study time on Sunday is where we really dive into our discipleship, how the Holy Scriptures call us to follow after Jesus.  Come join me as we learn and grow together.  On October 6, since the 8:30 service is over for the season, Bible study will begin at 9:00am.   

Fire Relief:

LERT Chain Saw Teams:  Dan and Valarie Silva are leading the development and implementation of our Lutheran Emergency Response Team.  We are specifically focusing on chainsaw teams for those in help removing dead/burned trees from their property when insurance, government aid and personal resources are insufficient to remove so many trees from a property.  We need people who want to help run chain saws, work to clear the property after the cutting, help coordinate housing and food, coordinate with property owners, minister to property owners.  Contact Dan, Valarie or I for more information on how to help.  Use these links to sign up: Basic LERT Training and Basic Chainsaw Training :  Our first training and work week is October 11th-15th.  

            Chainsaw “classroom” training:  Fri. Oct. 11th 4-8PM

            Chainsaw “hands on” training:  Saturday October. 12th all day

            LERT basic training:  Sunday October 13th 1-4:30PM 

Spiritual First Aid Teams:  Lutheran Church Charities is planning to be here that weekend as well and to introduce us to their Spiritual First Aid teams accompanied by comfort dog teams.  During their time here, we plan to visit our schools, fire stations and police station.  These teams specialize in helping people begin the process of dealing with the trauma of the fires and floods we have experienced here this summer.  

Fellowship:  

Elders’ Gatherings:  Due to the fires and floods we postponed our elders’ gatherings this summer to the month of September.  Be on the lookout for an invitation to your elders house where we will gather to eat and drink and fellowship with one another.  Fellowship is not a nicety, it is a necessity.  These times give us a chance to know one another better and therefore we are better equipped to celebrate and serve one another as a family here at Shepherd of the Hills.

Octoberfest/Reformation:  Sunday, October 27th at 12:30 we are hosting an Octoberfest/Reformation celebration here at the church.  We are inviting our congregation as well as the members and families of our first responder community to join us as we give thanks for their constant vigilance, support and courage.  Be on the lookout for sign-up sheet to help provide the food and drinks.

Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

Last week I had the opportunity to spend time with the leaders at Lutheran Church Charities.  They made a special visit to Ruidoso for a few days.  I spent time with them sharing the story of our summer which has been defined by fires in May and June, floods in July and August and a beautiful community wide response of compassion and generosity.  We visited some of the areas of fire and flooding.  We met with contractors who are in the process of removing debris from properties.  We attended a meeting with our village and county emergency managers.  We spoke with representatives from FEMA.

It was a full and intense day reliving our community’s story with them all.  Out of these conversations and observations two opportunities have arisen.  The first opportunity is to help with burned tree removal on properties that insurance and government assistance don’t fully cover.  This has become a common story for people trying to clear their properties of so many trees.  The second opportunity revolves around spiritual and emotional well-being.  The need for members of our community to process through trauma, grief and loss is critical. 

With the help of Lutheran Church Charities, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, and members of our congregation, I am pursuing these two lines of relief that we as a congregation can participate in over the next several years. 

Tree Removal:  We are looking to set into place a Lutheran Emergency Response Team here in Ruidoso that will focus on tree removal for folks whose insurance and governmental aid has not been able to provide for all they need.  With the leadership, advice and training through Lutheran Church Charities we want to buy and equip a trailer with all the tools and supplies necessary to do this work.  This work would mean training our local folks in this work and inviting teams from around the country to help us.  These details are all still in the works.  If this is something you are interested in please call me and let me share with you the vision for this and how you can be part of it.  We have a tentative training and first work week set for October 10-16.

Spiritual First Aid Teams:  We would like to invite trained teams into Ruidoso to help continue the trauma, grief and loss counseling that is already ongoing here in town.  These teams would include comfort dogs and their handlers.  These teams would visit places like fire houses, police stations, schools and homes.  These teams would then also help train teams of our own here in Ruidoso that could help continue that work with follow up.  Again, these are all details that have yet to be planned, but look for more information to come.  If this is something you sound excited about let me know. 

Both of these opportunities require point people to help coordinate, people to help follow up on, paper work that needs to be done and logistics like food and lodging.  All that to say, if you want to be helpful in the recovery of our town through our church, I have a place for you. 

It has been a joy to serve with you through all the turmoil of the summer and I look forward to these new ways of serving with you.  Blessings and see you on Sunday. 

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

Where do I begin?  Let us start with the first things.  I’ve been using the phrases, “God be praised” and “Lord have mercy” with just about every conversation I’ve had with you all.  Each of us have things for which we give thanks in the midst of the most tragic of circumstances.  We give thanks to God for the protection of life for each of you.  We give God thanks that He has once again provided for us our daily bread even if that daily bread looked much different than it did 3 days ago.  We give thanks for the mutual consolation of the saints and for faithful friends to lean on during these tragic times.  We give thanks when homes and property have been spared.  We give thanks for the courage and hard labor of our fire fighters, law enforcement and EMS personnel who have worked themselves to the bone helping to protect lives, property and one another.  We give thanks that in the midst of anxiety and fear we have a good and gracious heavenly Father who hears us.  We give thanks that no matter what happens in this life we have the sure and certain hope of the forgiveness of our sins, life eternal and the abiding presence of Christ with us at all times.  GOD BE PRAISED!

Each of us have things for which we cry out to the Lord, even in the midst of all the good gifts He has given us.  We cry out when homes and property have been lost.  We cry out when irreplaceable items that carry personal sentiment and memories for us are suddenly taken.  We cry out because of the anxiousness we feel in our hearts.  We cry out because being displaced, under any circumstance, is hard and taxing on us physically and emotionally.  We cry out because we are scattered and can’t be together during such a time as this.  We cry out because of the hurt and suffering our fellow congregation members, family and friends are experiencing. We cry out when livelihoods are lost or altered.  We cry out when the beautiful places we hold dear are marred.  We cry out because we feel helpless in the face of such destruction.  We cry out because the tasks of mercy and rebuilding seem daunting.  We cry out because it all is just too much to bear.  LORD HAVE MERCY!

Having talked to most of you, I want you to know you bring me great joy!  The beautiful way that you have communicated with one another, shared the joys and sorrows of this time, and reached out in compassion to me, your fellow congregation members, friends and neighbors is heartening to me and a wonderful witness to the world.  You have graciously given generously when it was needed and you have graciously received from others as you have been in need. For most of you, it was probably a little bit of both.  I have received texts, emails and phone calls from the District President, various Circuit Visitors, pastors, congregations and even visitors to our church reaching out, asking how best to pray and what the pressing needs of the community are.  Thank you!  I pray you are encouraged as much as I am by all these folks.  We are not alone.  We have been surrounded by faithful Christians all over the state and country who care for us and our community.

Continue steadfast in prayer.  Read and hear God’s Word.  Remain in contact with one another.  When anxious thoughts assail you or evil doubts beset you, return to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the bringer of peace, a peace the world cannot give.  It is a peace He has earned for you by His life, death and resurrection.  He is still Lord of all creation and Lord of His church.

On Sunday, we will gather at 10:30 for the service of the Word either at Shepherd of the Hills or in Captain at a location to be determined if we are sill under evacuation orders.  I will work to make it live on our YouTube channel (“Shepherd of the Hills Ruidoso”) for all of you who are not evacuated locally.  If you are out of town, I encourage you to attend the local LCMS church.  Announce to the pastor your presence and circumstances and let him and the congregation share God’s gifts of Word and Sacrament with you as they care for you during this time.  Please share my greetings with them.

Please reach out to me for prayer, consolation and information.  If you have needs that arise, please share with me.  If you have resources that you would like to share, please make me aware so that I can continue to build a list to share with others as needs arise.  God’s blessings to you all.  I look forward to gathering with you as soon as we are able.  We will stand shoulder to shoulder, walking with one another through those moments of “God be praised” and those moments of “Lord have mercy”.

Let Us Pray:

Almighty God, merciful Father, Your thoughts are not our thoughts, Your ways are not our ways. In Your wisdom You have permitted this disastrous fire to befall us. We implore You, let not the hearts of Your people despair nor our faith fail us, but sustain and comfort us. Direct all efforts to attend the injured, console the bereaved, and protect the helpless. Bring hope and healing that we may find relief and restoration; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Merciful Father, we commend to Your keeping all who work to bring rescue and relief. Give them courage in danger, skill in difficulty, and compassion in service. Sustain them with bodily strength and calmness of mind that they may perform their work to the well-being of those in need so that lives may be saved and communities restored; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Lord God, creator of heaven and earth, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You for the abundant mercy that You this day so richly have provided us, blessing us not only with daily bread for our bodies but also with heavenly food for our souls. Grant that Your living and powerful Word may abide in our hearts, working mightily in us to Your glory and for our salvation. We commit ourselves to Your divine protection and fatherly care. Let Your holy angels be with us that the evil foe may have no power over us. Look in mercy on Your Church and deliver it from all danger and adversities. By Your Holy Spirit comfort and strengthen all who are in affliction or distress, and grant Your abiding peace to us all; through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

God be praised and Lord have mercy, AMEN!

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Ruidoso