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*Meet our Pastor……* Pastor Alan: azfield2000@yahoo.com Pastor Alan Field moved to Scottsdale, AZ as a child with his family. He graduated from Coronado High School, and headed for the University of Oklahoma, Norman, on a Navy ROTC scholarship. Upon graduation with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, he was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer with orders to flight school at NAS Pensacola. Although flight is in his blood, an injury ended his Marine Corps career. He returned to Arizona and began his journey toward ordination. He worked with Lutheran youth in Arizona for a number of years, and was called as director of Lutheran Outdoor Ministry of Southern California. The call to ministry led him to Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. He was ordained in July, 1985 and was called to serve Faith Lutheran Church, Stockton, CA. From there he was called to Mount Cross Lutheran Church, Payson, Arizona where he served for ten years. While there he served as the Hospice chaplain for Payson for eight years. He came to Spanish Trail Lutheran (now New Spirit Lutheran) in July, 2001. Pastor Alan loves to teach and write. His adult students muse that he “plays with our heads.” His approach to Scripture, life, faith, and theology is both integrated and creative. He loves to teach the writings of the prophets. He introduced the contemporary “Arise to Praise” service in 2001, and writes the 9:00 services each week, keeping worship fresh and relevant. For the past eight years he has been the Bible Study writer and leader for the Southern Arizona Lutheran Camping Association (SALCA). He strives to keep fit and is a self-described “gym rat.” He plays bogey golf, but is getting better with age. He enjoys woodworking, playing guitar, gardening, and cooking. Central to his faith is his reliance upon the grace and mercy of God. His favorite scene in Scripture is the embrace of Esau and Jacob in Genesis 33:4. “In our world so polarized by political hacks, the truth of the human spiritual experience lies in the reconciliation of brothers. As God has reconciled the world to himself through the life and death of Jesus, who are we to stand at odds with anyone? God has forgiven all sin. We are to do the same with our brothers, neighbors, in-laws, and enemies.” Pastor Alan Field

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From Pastor Alan New Spirit in the New Year Dear Partners on the Journey, Happy New Year New Spirit…..as we step into the mystery that will be 2012 I am confident and excited at what God will be up to among us! The Missional Leadership Academy team is actively reading about how the ministry and mission of this church, any church, is affected by the Spirit of the people who are the church. We are reading about areas we have left untended. We are reading about the need to establish good, meaningful relationships among you. We are learning that the Spirit of God, though tremendously powerful and present, is ever-hampered by the fear of members. Fear is best overcome by conscious attempts to face the fear. Where fears are overcome, the possibility of God’s Word to enliven and fill the church is amazing. We have lots of work to do in the year to come, and we need every person to make yourself available to the MLA gatherings and activities. I am excited for the new Youth Group being led by Bree. The latest studies based in learning and fellowship activities indicates that gender-based groups provide much deeper advances in personal growth and faith development. “Just Us Girls” is our first attempt at providing 5^th -8^th grade girls the opportunity to share in activities, to study the Word, and to hang out with an adult who is not their parent. I hope you will pray for Bree and the girls of New Spirit, but also for those who God is just now calling to be a part of this congregation. I am excited for the conversations that were spawned at the Annual Meeting. It is clear that we have come to a place in our history where we can achieve some big projects with a concerted effort on the part of all members. In the months to come, you will also have the opportunity to further implement the goals established by the Strategic Planning Process that was completed last Spring. I am excited for the new Vision Team complement to address the work that is before us. I know that God has some incredible things in store for us as we unfold this new year, 2012. We will also endure the Presidential Campaigns, and I am hoping that the “paigns” of the Cam-paigns will not serve to distract nor divide us. Finally, I am excited for my new knee. Thirty-five years ago I blew my right knee running a Marine Corps obstacle course. For thirty-five years it has limited my activities, as it turns out, because I tore the ACL in that knee back then, but it was not repaired. The instability in my knee has been, well, a pain. So, later this month I’m getting a new knee…titanium….and I look forward to my recovery and the host of activities I plan on “resuming” thirty-five years later! I chose this time for surgery so that I can be “vertical” for Holy Week and Easter services in early April. Well, there you have it. I am excited about this New Year, and I look forward to sharing it with you, and the new Spirit that swirls through this place with some regularity! Happy New Year, New Spirit, I’m glad to be sharing it with you! Amen! *Pastor Alan*