Meditation on butterflies and our merger

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By Ruth DeYoe

As we have watched our butterfly larvae push through stages of growth—quietly transforming in places we could not see—so have our congregations. For months we have been in a kind of chrysalis: discerning, listening, letting go, and trusting that God was at work in ways beyond our sight.

When a butterfly emerges, it does not burst out fully ready to fly. It unfolds slowly, its wings soft and crinkled. It must rest, strengthen, and breathe before it can take flight. The emergence is beautiful, but it is also tender.

Our two churches are in that same holy moment. We are emerging.

We are stepping out of what has been familiar and stretching into something new—one united body formed from two faithful communities. Just as a butterfly carries the essence of all its stages within its wings, our new church carries the stories, strengths, prayers, and ministries of both congregations. None of it is lost. It simply comes together in a renewed form, ready for what God is calling forth next.

The butterfly doesn’t forget the larvae it once was. And our new church will not forget where it came from.
But emergence means transformation. It means that what once was separate is now becoming one living expression of God’s love—stronger, brighter, and more capable of reaching new heights together.

As we watch our butterflies open their wings, we remember that forging a new life together takes time. Reaching new heights together takes time and trust. And we have already seen how this new life with new height possibilities is already unfolding among us.

Together we are emerging; not from one story into another, but into a beautifully woven story of a thriving faith community ready to grow. Like our butterflies, may we continue emerging in ministry together, guided by Christ in our midst.

Do not fear

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December 4, 2025

By Rev. Riz Prakasim

Saying Your name, Eternal One, I called to You from the darkness of this pit.
Surely You’ve heard me say, “Don’t be deaf to my call; bring me relief!”
So close when I’ve called out in my distress, You’ve whispered in my ear, “Do not be afraid.” – Lamentations 3:55-57

Dear Church,

As we enter the sacred season of Advent, we step once again into a story that begins with an unexpected and unsettling line: “In the time of Herod…” (Luke 1:5). To modern ears, it may sound like a historical marker; but for the early church, it was a reminder that Jesus was born into a world shaped by fear; fear fueled by oppression, political instability, economic hardship, and the misuse of power. It was not a calm or peaceful time. And yet, right there in the midst of it, angels appeared with a message we still desperately need: “Do not fear.”

This Advent, we invite you to join us for a devotional journey titled “What Do You Fear?” Together, we will reflect on how the good news of Christ’s birth speaks into our own fearful world, and how naming our fears can actually make room for courage, healing, and hope.

Each week, we will gather to explore a set of devotional components designed to speak to both the heart and the imagination. Each session includes:

–A poem
–A hymn
–A reflection on two scriptures
–A piece of art & reflection for each scripture
–Guiding questions and reflections

Our hope is that in this rich blend of music, poetry, scripture, and visual art, something will resonate deeply with every person who participates.

One of our guiding scriptures comes from Lamentations 3:55–57:

“I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea… You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear.’”

These words remind us that God’s nearness is not dependent on the absence of fear. God meets us in the depths, in the unknown, in the places where we do not have all the answers. Just as Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the magi did not deny their fears, we too are invited to move through fear — with honesty, courage, and hope.

Fear can divide us, paralyze us, or be used to control and silence. But our Advent devotional dares to ask a different question: What if we formed a new relationship with fear? What if naming our fears helps us see more clearly how God is breaking in right now?

As you journey through this season, may your hope become gritty and resilient. And may you remember: hope that trembles is still hope. This Advent, let us insist on hope — because good news is always greater than fear.

Seeing the sacred reflected everywhere

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November 27, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

Advent begins this Sunday, and with it, the countdown to Christmas. Marcia McFee is a creative artist, and a big part of her work involves using the arts in planning worship. I want to share her take on Advent worship and our preparations for Christmas this time of year. (www.worshipdesignstudio.com/sacred)

“The Word became flesh and made a home among us.” –John 1: 1-14 (CEB)

The Christmas season is a time when the juxtaposition of the sacred and secular feels sometimes blatantly opposed, and sometimes quite blurred. The word “sacred” points to something dedicated as “holy” and “set apart.” This year, you are invited to a spiritual journey of seeing ALL things pregnant with the Holy. What could our experience of the Advent and Christmas season be like if we lived it imagining that everything is reflecting the sacred?

The busyness of the holiday season can overrun the sense of the sacred. The irony is that setting time apart for connection with the sacred gets pushed aside in order to create the trappings of what is supposed to be the season of celebrating the incarnation of the Holy! We will begin our Advent journey toward Christmas by emphasizing the gift of being awake to the “now”… the gift of sacred time with God, with each other, and with those in need of hope.

Those at Falcon Heights know that a contemplative approach to life is important for ALL of us who want to live fully and partake of the richness God offers. I learned to meditate at age 12, and that marked the first time I felt I had the ability to reach out to God; before then, church was more like something I observed, and God seemed distant.

My ministry as a spiritual director is something I do alongside my full-time pastoral work, on a very small scale right now because this job keeps me pretty well occupied. But I work with people on deepening their spiritual life one-on-one because I believe God wants ALL of us to have a close, intimate, deep relationship with the divine.

The worship series starting this Sunday is meant to be an invitation into a deeper life with God in Christ, as a way of entering more fully than ever before into the sacred mystery of the Incarnation—of God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ.

Where do YOU experience the presence of God most?

On the roofline of possibility

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Nov. 20, 2025

By Rev. Riz Prakasim

Some men came, bringing to Jesus a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. – Mark 2:3-4

Dear Church,

Peace be with you. Over the past several weeks, we’ve been talking a lot about transformation—about caterpillars becoming butterflies, about shedding what no longer gives life, and about learning to stretch our wings for flight. In Mark 2, a group of determined friends break through a roof to bring someone to Jesus.

They faced obstacles. They faced crowds. They faced a situation where the usual path was completely blocked. And instead of giving up, they looked up, climbed up, and opened a brand-new way. Their holy imagination refused to accept limits.

In this season of transition, I can’t help but wonder if this is exactly where God has placed us: on the roofline of possibility, looking at what has always been and daring to imagine what could be.

What if now is our moment to “take the roof off” our ministry?

What if this new union between New Life and Falcon Heights isn’t just practical or administrative, but deeply spiritual, a chrysalis moment where something new emerges?

When a butterfly breaks free, it cannot stay still. It was made to travel farther than the caterpillar ever could. It carries memory in its wings, but it also carries momentum. That is the energy of the Holy Spirit guiding us now: honoring the past while inviting us to dream bigger than ever before.

So let your imagination roam for a moment…

What new ministries become possible when the roof is gone?

–Creation-care and climate justice: solar partnerships, repair clinics, community gardens, education around sustainable living.
–Reconciliation work: anti-racism learning, interfaith conversations, youth peace-building, and spaces for community healing.
–Compassion-focused ministries: outreach to unhoused neighbors, support for immigrant families, companionship for isolated elders, care for LGBTQ+ youth and their families.
–Arts and storytelling: creative expression, community concerts, visual arts, and shared spaces that uplift the beauty and diversity of our neighborhoods.
–Mental health and community resilience: caregiver support circles, grief groups, mindfulness practices, and mentoring for young leaders.

These possibilities aren’t far-off dreams. They are the kinds of ministries that become possible when two congregations unite their gifts, passions, and callings.

As we prepare to build something new, we do so knowing Christ is already “in the house.” And with the roof gone, there is no limit but our imagination.

May we be the roof-breakers this world needs.
May we be the butterfly people God is forming us to be.
And may the Spirit guide us into a future where the sky truly is the limit.

Online church as an entry point

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November 13, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

Lately I’ve been thinking and writing to you about the relationship between church in its online and its in-person manifestations. And while online church was a lifeline for many during COVID, afterwards it became a back door through which people made a slow exit from ever attending church again.

While online church can do a good job of supplementing in-person involvement in a local church, a worship livestream, website or social media presence doesn’t often lead to spiritual growth, and can often become an off-ramp for Christians whose commitment to growing in faith might be less now than it was earlier in their life.

It’s a question of balance: I still seek restaurant recommendations from friends who’ve eaten at them, even though I also search for restaurants and reviews online. The same goes for any purchase Linda and I are thinking of making: We research it online first.

If I have a Sunday off and want to go to church, as I did during my 2023 sabbatical, I went online to churches’ websites, whether as a first look at where I might go, or to supplement my experience by visiting the website afterwards to see what they offer: small groups, recordings of other services or messages, or to take a look at their vision and mission statements to see what they say about themselves.

Let’s face it: Most of the new people we will be seeking to reach as a new church live much of their life online as well as physically.

It makes sense that a church’s online presence is becoming a first church home for people, which for many, will lead to becoming active in the gathered, physical church and hopefully, to a deeper relationship with God.

I’d love to hear about your experience. Where do you experience church best, and why?

Traditions

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Nov. 6, 2025

By Rev. Riz Prakasim

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. – Acts 2:42

Dear Church,

Peace be with you. When the earliest followers of Jesus gathered, they did so with devotion—to God, to one another, and to the sacred rhythms that shaped their life together. They didn’t yet know they were forming what we would one day call “the Church.” They simply knew they belonged to God and to each other, and that something holy was emerging in their midst.

That same Spirit continues to guide us as New Life Presbyterian Church and Falcon Heights Church come together in this new season. We are rooted in long-cherished traditions, yet open to the Spirit’s invitation to imagine and create anew. We carry beloved practices that have shaped us, while trusting that God will reveal traditions yet unknown—traditions that will speak to the hearts and hopes of a community being formed right now.

Every family of faith carries its own liturgy of life—rhythms that hold memory, joy, and identity. At New Life, Quilt Sunday wraps us in warmth and prayer as quilts adorn the sanctuary and are blessed for ministry. Super-Sundae Sunday launches us joyfully into fall. Our All Saints recognition reminds us of the saints who have crossed into glory. Youth gather each Advent for a Christmas party that sparkles with laughter and faith. And in the days of Knox Church, worship concluded with “The Song of Hope,” sending us out in blessing and courage.

These traditions have stitched us together: threads of memory, faith, and care.

Falcon Heights, too, brings its own meaningful practices and celebrations, beloved ways of gathering and serving that have shaped us for generations. As we unite, we honor what each community brings. We cherish the familiar prayers, songs, and celebrations that have taught us how to love God and one another.

But we also look forward with holy curiosity. Throughout history, the Church has continued to evolve, guided by the Holy Spirit into new expressions of faithfulness. All Saints Day, which is celebrated on Nov. 1 each year, is one of the most tender and sacred observances in the Christian year. It did not originate with the apostles, yet over centuries it emerged as a way for the Church to remember, honor, and celebrate the great cloud of witnesses. It reminds us that tradition can be both inherited and inspired.

So as we step into this shared future, let us hold reverently the traditions that brought us here. And let us also listen for the quiet rustling of new traditions forming, new songs, new celebrations, new acts of service, new ways of nurturing community and witnessing to Christ’s love. We stand in the stream of faithful ones who came before us and we are also the ones building what will be handed on. Rooted in love, rising in hope.

Christmas giving for Lyngblomsten seniors

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Falcon Heights is a member of Lyngblomsten’s church network. Each Christmas season we participate in the Spirit of Giving fund-raiser to help bring holiday joy to older adults who might not receive any other gifts. Lyngblomsten’s staff will use the money to purchase Christmas gifts for each resident on its St. Paul campus.

You can give online at www.lyngblomsten.org/donate; write a check to Lyngblomsten Foundation, with “Spirit of Giving” in the memo line; or purchase gift cards from sources such as Amazon, Walmart, Target or Kohl’s. Checks and cards can be placed in a decorated box in the Falcon Heights Welcome Center or mailed to Spirit of Giving, c/o Trisha Gerleman, Lyngblomsten Care Center, 1410 Almond Ave., St. Paul 55108. Donations must be received by Tuesday, Dec. 2.

November merger updates

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Our Interim Joint Board has set the following dates for the next steps in our merger.

Sunday, Nov. 16: Bylaws Review Town Hall (right after united worship at Falcon Heights)
Sunday, Jan. 4:  Move to permanent united worship in the Falcon Heights building
Sunday, Jan. 18: Budget Review Town Hall
Sunday, Feb. 1:  First Annual Congregational Meeting of the merged church 
Sunday, Feb. 22: Ministry Team Kickoff/Information Fair


At the Feb. 1 congregational meeting, we’ll approve our new name (yet TBD), Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, and Mission/Vision. We’ll also elect officers, leadership council members, and ministry team leaders, and we’ll approve our 2026 budget. Watch for a formal agenda closer to the time. If you have questions or input, please reach out to Bryan Seyfarth, Rev. Riz or Rev. Rick.

Holiday Fair Trade Market at New Life Nov. 1 and 2

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New Life Church is hosting its annual fall fair trade market  Saturday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 2, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Twenty vendors will be on site with handcrafted goods and sustainably grown foods. Homemade vegetable soup, along with cookies, bars, and muffins, will be available for a free-will offering to benefit Every Meal, which provides weekend meal bags for students in the metro area

Showing up for each other

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Oct. 30, 2025

By Rev. Rick King

One of the people who sees me for spiritual companionship is a pastor to the online community of a large church in another state.

Recently she told me about the impact of meeting members of her 200+ online “flock” in this 1800-member church, people from different states in the U.S. and in various countries around the world.

“This one person I met treated me almost the way a fan of a celebrity would, and I realized it’s because all her previous contact with me has been watching me onscreen, either in a retreat setting or on our livestream Sunday morning. I worried that the ‘real’ me would someday disappoint her.”

And yet she also mentioned how profound and moving it is to meet, in the flesh, people with whom you’ve previously had only an online relationship.

Five and a half years ago, COVID lockdowns forced many churches that didn’t have an online presence to get one quickly. Since then, many of us have experienced the pros and cons of having a livestream Sunday morning and being conscious of our online presence in ways we never expected.

In many ways, we simply take our church’s online presence for granted. In our merger process, that was one of the first things we figured out how to do: connect our livestreams to each other, so no matter where we were worshipping, both of our sets of online viewers could see the service and feel connected to the church.

But because human relationship requires presence to express itself fully, with a few exceptions, online church will be a supplement to the in-person, gathered church that exists in a real rather than virtual location. Online relationships are REAL relationships, as my friend the online pastor notes. But something significant is added when we show up for each other in body as well as spirit.

What’s YOUR favorite way to experience church, and why?