Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

This has been simultaneously the longest year, it seems like the fire was a lifetime ago, and the quickest year, I can’t believe its already June.  

I wanted to write to you as we approach the one year mark since the South Fork fires and floods began in our community.  Since that day our ministry has taken on some new elements.  Not only were we able to raise a significant amount of money to help with the immediate needs of some of our own members, but we were able to aid our local fire fighters.  God be praised.

We also began a partnership with Lutheran Church Charities who came with a team in August to hear our story, help identify some unmet needs and create a plan of action for how a local congregation like ours can serve our friends and neighbors during some of their deepest times of need.  We raised up a Lutheran Emergency Response Team, got a grant to buy a trailer and equipment, and started helping our congregation members and other survivors clear their properties of burned trees.  

We didn’t stop there.  There was a need in our community for a cooperative effort between all non-profits, churches, civic organizations and businesses to be about the business of helping survivors when all other resources had dried up.  You allowed me as a pastor and member of this community to work with local government and organizations to start Lincoln County Community Organizations Active in Disaster.  We are the final safety net during a disaster and in the recovery phase to catch our friends and neighbors when they need us most.  

In all of this we also identified the mental health crisis developing in our own town as people deal with the trauma of living through last summer and the loss that comes with that.  Once again, partnering with Lutheran Church Charities we started our own Spiritual First Aid team trained to be present and listen with compassion to people who are dealing with trauma.  This will also bless our Vacation Bible School, Camp Courage, as we invite children to not only hear the good news of Jesus Christ, but find healing from trauma in God’s Word and the comfort of our congregation.  

All of this and I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

This is not a letter boasting in our great power as a congregation, but that in the midst of calamity, limited resources, frailties and weaknesses we boast in Christ for when we are weak, then we are strong because of what he does in and through us.  God be praised. 

Finally, I ask you to join me on Tuesday evening June 17th 5:30PM at Wingfield Park.  The Village of Ruidoso is hosting an evening of remembrance.  I will be leading the formal presentation where the mayor, Pastor Chris Singer and others will be presenting.  Two comfort dog teams from LCC will also be present.  

Thank you for all that you do for me, one another and our community.  I am humbled and honored to serve with you here at Shepherd of the Hills.

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

I know…I feel it too.  On a day like today, dealing with wind and fire, the anxiety levels continue to rise.  After last summer’s fires and floods, the memories are all to real and all to recent.  What do we do?  Take it to the Lord in prayer.  This is not the end all and be all of dealing with our different levels of PTSD following disaster and rightly being concerned about another event.  However, for followers of Jesus our Lord, this is our first move, our first pivot.  This is our first response to those things in this life that vex us.  We know that in all things we have a savior who has secured our eternity and provides for us daily.  Our afflictions prepare us for glory given to us in Christ Jesus.  “For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).”

Rather than leave you empty handed about what to pray for, here are a few prayers and a song that are good on days like today. 

For Our Weather:

Lord God, gracious and merciful Father, because You have promised that You will hear us when we bring You our cares, we implore You not to deal with us according to our sins but according to Your mercy. Send calm winds and light rains so that in due time the earth may yield her increase and we might be given relief. Remind us ever to receive with thanks our daily bread, trusting You as our gracious God; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

For Our Anxiousness:

Lord Jesus Christ, You commanded the wind and the waves, and they obeyed You. Speak peace to us who are worried and troubled during these winds and storms, especial those of us who are troubled by fear. By the power of Your Word, calm our anxious heart and the raging storms of our spirit; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

For Our First Responders and Their Families:

Merciful Father, we commend to Your keeping all who work to bring rescue and relief, especially those serving in and around Lincoln County this week during the wind storms. 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.

As you pray I also leave you with this song:  YouTube—How Firm a Foundation

728 How Firm a Foundation

How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He has said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

“Fear not! I am with you, O be not dismayed,
For I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

“The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never, forsake!

“When through fiery trials your pathway will lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, will be your supply.
The flames will not hurt you; I only design
Your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

“Throughout all their lifetime My people will prove
My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hairs will their temples adorn,
Like lambs they will still in My bosom be borne.”

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

Dear Friends and Members of Shepherd of the Hills,

Jesus Who?  This has been our sermon series Epiphany 2025.  We have learned much about this Jesus.  Nothing new for sure, but an excellent reminder of who he is.  We often want to make Jesus in our own image and so hearing from the Word of God about the Word made flesh just makes sense.  

During this season of Epiphany we have heard much about Jesus.  Jesus is for all peoples of every tribe and nation.  Jesus is righteousness made complete.  Jesus is the wine of the feast that we are invited to.  Jesus fulfills all of the “Old Testament” scriptures.  Jesus has all authority.  Jesus is a disciple maker.  

These last two week we are learning about Jesus’ teaching, which has authority.  His teachings are so much more that information that he shares.  Instead his teaching cause us to ask questions.  It is how we move from “head” knowledge to “heart” knowledge.  Our faith is holistic.  It impacts all of who we are.  

As we finish this Epiphany season and especially as we head to the season of reflection known as Lent, look for questions.  What questions should we be asking about our own faith and life?  What questions are we afraid to ask?  What questions have’t we asked in a long time? 

Come with all your questions.  Sunday morning’s Divine Service isn’t a time to leave your questions at the door.  It is a time to bring your questions and let the Word of God have a say.  Let us study these questions together in Bible study.  Questions are how we move from just “head” knowledge about our faith and allow our “heart” to be heard.  

We all have questions.  I am privileged to question with you and along side you.  See you at church. 

In His Love and Service,

Pastor Rust

2025 is here! Feeling ready for it?

Leading up to Christmas, I had conversations with multiple friends and community members that this year just didn’t “feel” the way Christmas normally feels. And we speculated. Was this because the temperatures were too warm for a Christmas in Ruidoso? Was this because our community still holds the collective trauma of the fires in June? Was this because so many people we care about seem to be in rough places right now?

At times it felt unsettling. And at times it felt depressing. Where was my usual Christmas spirit? Why did it feel like Christmas was more of a marker of time rather than the sentiment of so many radio Christmas songs?

But here’s the true grace of it all. The gift of Christmas is that it doesn’t matter how I feel. It doesn't matter what you feel. As Jason preached on Christmas Eve, the good news came, heralded by the angels, whether we like or not…whether we feel it or not. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, drawing near to His creation, not because you or I or the world felt ready or prepared. Jesus’ birth was a showering of grace upon us so that things could once again be made right between us and our Heavenly Father. 

THAT good news is grounding. THAT good news is hopeful. THAT good news is what gives me peace even when I don’t really feel it.

I asked Jason if I could write this New Year letter to you because I’ve never had an opportunity to publicly thank you all for your generosity, care and support over these last 10 years. From dedicated prayers to encouraging words to listening ears to generous hearts to faithful worship, you - our family at Shepherd of the Hills - bless us. It is a delight to journey through this life with you when it feels easy AND when it feels hard. You are a tremendous source of encouragement in each of our lives!

This is my prayer for each of you this January: As you head into 2025 carrying all your realities from 2024, may you find your grounding in the truth of the good news, not in how you feel. May you hold fast to the truth that our God is faithful. And it is He alone that brings good news…whether you like it or not.

Here’s to continuing this adventure together!

Rebecca Rust

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