The Salt Shaker Blog
The Salt Shaker
Flavoring the world with justice and love.
Jesus told his followers, “You are the salt of the earth”. Salt, in the right amounts and in the right situations, preserves, flavors, and enables life. When love is shared and justice prevails for all people, the world is preserved, flavored and enabled with the Divine Life of God. So pass the salt and let’s do a little shaking. Pastor Tim Koester
There Is Only Jesus
Read this first: This post mentions political figures. I going to assume that most people vote with the best of intentions using the information they have available. We can vote for different people and still be united in one communion of faith. In addition, because...
Why Do We Celebrate Easter?
What is Easter exactly? An empty grave? Well yes, but not only that. Easter is more than a missing body. It is an encounter with resurrected life! The angels declared “Christ is risen” but the disciples’ did not say “Christ is risen indeed”. When they ran and...
Why I’ll Never Forget Easter Vigil
Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and Easter — each year I find myself surprised that we have arrived at this season again. Even knowing that the date shifts from year to year, I am always a little caught off guard. With the weather becoming stranger and more extreme in recent...
An Invitation to Midweek Prayer
Wednesday prayer services have always been among my favorite places to worship. I love the quiet, reflective time — gathering with others and centering myself in a space without the expectation of making conversation. Growing up, I recall the first time I ever had the...
Confirmation Students Reflect on the Transfiguration
This past Sunday, three of our middle school confirmation students shared reflections during worship on the Transfiguration of Jesus. Their words were thoughtful, honest, and deeply moving. We are proud to share them here. David Engebretsen If you know anything about...
Blessed… But Not Comfortable: The Good News of the Beatitudes
Last week I asked you to help me answer the question, “What is the Good News? I’m thankful for your responses which emphasized different layers and applications of the good news. I typed out several pages of responses and then prompted a large language model to...
An ‘Uh Oh’ Moment of Grace
A new year is upon us and its celebration is one of the few things the planet does together (although in 24 different time zones!) In the church, we are in the season of Epiphany - a season of expanding good news that pairs well with the start of a new year- but it...
Get Cozy with Your Church Family: Join Us for Pajama and Pines Sunday
This December, we're doing something wonderfully different at our church—and we want you to be part of it! Mark your calendars for Pajama and Pines Sunday on December 21, a special dress-down service where comfort meets community. Yes, you read that right: leave your...
Annual meeting recap: Are we ready?
Thank you to everyone who attended the annual congregation meeting this past Sunday. Read through to the end of this article for the biggest news! Another strong showing of folks prayed for the Holy Spirit’s guidance, gave thanks for all that God has done among us,...
Responding to Need with Compassion and Connection
During a recent Adult Forum at our church, we heard from Toby, the director of the Kountze Food Pantry, who shared some troubling trends. In the weeks since government food assistance programs were shut off, there has been a significant increase in people seeking...
Daily Bread for All: Beyond the Prayer
While substitute teaching in mid-October, my wife Shelli witnessed a conversation between two students that embodies a poignant disconnect humans can have from one another: Student A: “I’m really worried. SNAP could end next month”. Student B: “Really! Why?” Student...
A Letter to Nebraska’s Leaders
A letter sent to Governor Pillen, Senators Ricketts and Fischer, along with Congressman Bacon and my Unicameral representative Wendy DeBoer August 25, 2025. To the Honorable Jim Pillen, Governor US Senators Pete Rickets, Deb Fischer US Representative Don Bacon State...
My Experience at the Tall Grass Festival
Spending time with adult children can be a true joy! (Just a note for those of you who are in the trenches right now with school-aged kids or little ones tearing down the house—you can get through this!) Kayleigh and I attended the Tall Grass Festival, sponsored by...
Being the Body of Christ in a Divisive World
Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28 provide a vision for seeing others in new ways: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." That’s a revolutionary claim! If true, it...
A Journey Through Canyons, Clouds, and Quiet Renewal
After a couple of weeks on the road through the American Southwest, it felt good to return home. We’d visited some of the region’s most breathtaking national parks—Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Zion, Great Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde—each providing a...
Fighting a Fire of Lies
A message from both Pastor Tim and Pastor Cara Dear church, "How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire." - James 3:5-6. In this case the 'tongue' was a tweet but the result is still the same. Blatantly false and irresponsible...
Little Angels Preschool’s 20th Anniversary
This year celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Little Angels Preschool. Tami Curran and Jodie Hankins have been working at the preschool together since its conception in 2003, and opening in 2004. “Tami and I work in an environment full of love, creativity,...
A Framework for Two Pastors
As we begin a new phase of pastoral leadership at Saint Michael, it’s important to share the framework we are using for our work together. That structure leans toward a “dual-pastoring” approach with the two of us sharing many pastoral responsibilities such as worship...