Weekly message & Upcoming Events

     Dear friends and members of Highland and Big Canoe Lutheran Churches,

Sunday is the Festival of Pentecost, fifty days after Easter. It is the day when the church celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and the subsequent church. Read the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Indeed, the Day of Pentecost can be understood as the birthday of the church.

            On Pentecost Sunday many congregations will observe the rite of confirmation (also called the affirmation of baptism). While no one in our two congregations will be confirmed this year, we can renew our own confirmation vows this Sunday.

            Here are the principal questions to ponder and re-affirm:

            Do you this day in the presence of God and of this congregation acknowledge the gifts that God gave you in your baptism?

            Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?

            Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?

            Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?

            Do you believe in God, the Father almighty?

            Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Father’s only Son, our Lord?

            Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

            Do you hold all the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God?

            Do you confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as taught in the Small Catechism?

            Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully and regularly?

            Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, even unto death?

            Do you intend to continue steadfast in this confession and church and to suffer all, even death, rather than to fall away from it?

            In each case, we should say, “I do, and I ask God to help and guide me.”

            A key aspect of reaffirming our baptism is also giving joyful confession of our faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed.

            Let us pray: Almighty God, we give you thanks that, through water and the Holy Spirit, you give us new birth, cleanse us from sin, and raise us to eternal life. Stir up in your people the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.

            See you in church!

            Pastor Becker

            5-20-2026

Upcoming Events:

May 29 – June 9: Pastor and Detra are on vacation (Pastor Gies will be serving on 5/31 and 6/7)

Sun, May 31 (8:45am): Bible class (Gospel of Matthew) meets in Fellowship Hall at Highland – Pr. Gies

Sun, May 31 (10am): Trinity Sunday w/Holy Communion at Highland – Fifth Sunday (white) – Pr. Gies

Sun, June 7 (8:45am): Bible class (Matthew) meets in the Fellowship Hall at Big Canoe – Pr. Gies

Sun, June 7 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion at Big Canoe – 2nd Sun. after Pent. (green) – Pr. Gies

Fri, June 12 (10am): Pastor Becker leads the worship service at Green Lea Manor (Mabel)

Sun, June 14 (8:45am): Bible class (Gospel of Matthew) meets in the Fellowship Hall at Highland

Sun, June 14 (10am): Worship w/Holy Communion at Highland – 3rd Sun. after Pent. (green)

Sun, June 14 (after worship): Highland church council meets at Highland

June 15-18: Pr. Becker will be in Valparaiso, Ind.

Sun, June 21 (8:45am): Bible class (Gospel of Matthew) meets in the Fellowship Hall at Big Canoe

Sun, June 21 (10am): Service of the Word at Big Canoe – 4th Sun. after Pentecost (green) (Father’s Day)

Sun, June 28 (8:45am): Bible class (Gospel of Matthew) meets in the Fellowship Hall at Highland

Sun, June 28 (10am): Service of the Word at Highland – 5th Sun. after Pentecost (green)

Sun, June 28 (after worship): Highland WELCA will meet at Highland

Sun, Aug 23 (after worship): Side-by-side event, starting at Highland (rain day is Aug 30)

Matthew L. Becker, STS, B.A., M.Div., M.A., Ph.D.

Pastor, Big Canoe and Highland Lutheran Churches, Decorah, IA

Treasurer, Lutheran Quarterly

Senior Research Professor of Theology Valparaiso University College of Arts & Sciences Room 314
1400 Chapel Drive Valparaiso, IN 46383 Phone:  219-916-8535 E-mail: matthew.becker@valpo.edu