What's in a Name?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

This is the famous line from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Basically, Romeo is telling Juliet it doesn’t matter that his name is that of her family’s arch enemy. The name isn’t important. Well sometimes it is!

I don’t know if you are familiar with the term “branding.” Branding is a fairly new word which the dictionary describes as; "the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design." Well, as a church we don’t have a product…or do we? I’d have to say “yes!” Our product is sharing the love of Jesus! Unfortunately, we have very little “branding.” And what we do have is pretty out of date.  As I mentioned last week, Sarah Peterson has offered to take over our website. Currently we are paying a company to host our site. We send them updates and they make changes. So, we have taken the funds used for the hosting and put it into a new program for our very own fresh website that we can update and maintain ourselves. She has also designed a new logo for Peace Lutheran which will make its debut in this week’s worship service!

Another change coming is the name of our Confirmation program. The actual rite is named Affirmation of Baptism. It’s our young people affirming the vows made by their parents, sponsors, and church on their behalf. Essentially saying “yes” to Jesus. It is a pivotal time in a young person’s life...something like a crossroads. So, we have renamed the program Crossroads and asked one of our resident artists, Hannah Rossi to design a logo for it. She sent it to me yesterday and I can’t wait for you to see it!

These things might not seem important in the life of the church, but I think we should do everything we can to reach out to our neighbors and community. A fresh new look and brand is a great place to start!

“See” you Sunday!

Pastor Lu