Pastor's Message
Dear Friends,
How many of you have ever visited “The Boom Site” just a mile up the St. Croix River from Stillwater? It really got its name in the later 1800’s during the logging era. As tons and tons of white pine logs were floated down the river from the logging camps, certain conditions caused log jams. To remedy this problem from time to time, men would have to walk out on the slippery logs to set dynamite charges in just the right place to blast them apart. The nearby residents of Stillwater thus named this area, “The Boom Site.”.
Last week, we visited the roadside park at the “Boom Site” when we were on vacation. I can remember as a small child going to this park with my family and relatives. My mother and her family moved to Stillwater in 1915, just as the logging operation was coming to a close. As I walked down to the river’s edge last week, my mind was flooded with the many happy memories of picnics on the sandy beach and my curiosity about the sandstone formations above the river. Once again last week, as I gazed upon the sandstone strata I noticed many trees that were barely hanging on at the edge of the cliff. I saw the feeble roots of those trees trying to cling to the little soil left on the edge while other roots were merely dangling in the wind. As the river sandstone continues to decompose and erode away, these trees will eventually die and fall off the high cliff.
However, as I reflect upon this St. Croix scene, I’m reminded of our own fallible human condition. We too can loose our footing in life when our spiritual roots no longer are sunk into the rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ. In Christ’s death and resurrection we have the gift of forgiveness and life abundant. Therefore when our spiritual roots are attached firmly to him, we grow in our understanding of him and live out our faith in the fellowship of the Christian community.
Moreover, as we continue to invite him into our hearts through prayer, regular worship and reading of scripture, our roots in him will grow deeper and our relationship will be nurtured. We then will become much like the straight solid trees that are growing at the “Boom Site”. Their roots are taking in the waters of the beautiful St. Croix River and they stand tall reaching beyond the sandstone cliffs.
Evenmore so, Jesus Christ is our “Living Water” as he has told us in the Gospels. Just as healthy trees need water to flourish, we as Christians need the refreshment of the “true living water” to daily sustain us. This is especially true in the times of our spiritual dryness. He is always waiting to satisfy our thirsty and tired spirits!
C.U. in Church,
Pastor Brian
Calendar Pastor's Notes Women Youth Home History Servers