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We are resurrection people who pray first, walk together and change lives. This mission is accomplished through God's grace alive and active in the lives of individuals and congregations throughout the synod. Living Our Mission provides a place to share the stories of how God's work is being done in the world with our hands.
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By: Marcia Brown, Mission Interpreter
This month Marcia brings us an article from Susan Smith, an ELCA Missionary in the Central African Republic.
The Epiphany season celebrates Jesus as the Light to the nations, beginning with the celebration of the magi, wise men from afar who followed the star to find the Christ child. Many of us use this season to focus on how the Light of the world is reflected in and through our global work. As a new ELCA missionary, this global work together as a church is now my passion and calling.
 My work in the Central African Republic includes developing educational programs for Sunday schools and new elementary schools in remote villages. These programs existed before I arrived two months ago, but the Lutheran church in the Central African Republic asked for an educational adviser to help these programs improve and better serve the people. They recognize, as we do, the importance of education - not only to build leaders within the church, but also to have a better life overall.
 In my work, I recently visited one of our newest schools, the Peouri School, which was just built as a permanent structure. It also has three open-air, straw-roof structures and is building one more. The school, first built 10 miles away, had to be moved because of civil unrest seven years ago. The people had fled to town, but insisted that their Lutheran school follow them! After the doors re-opened, others in town are now taking advantage of the Lutheran school's reputation for good teaching. It has become the largest of the 20 village schools supported by the church, with 720 students enrolled.
My work with this school and others happens only because of people like you. You make it possible for people like me to preach, teach, build, grow, heal and strengthen the global church in over 40 countries. Thank you for the support.
Your undesignated gift helps to support me plus our 240 missionaries around the world - where it's needed most.
In these challenging economic times, we missionaries rely heavily on your generous gifts to help keep our global mission programs running to share God's grace and blessings with all.
We are a church that believes Jesus is God's "Yes" to us. Our lives can be a "Yes" to others. Will you join us in sharing the Light of the world through our global work? Please give today!
Learn more at www.ELCA.org/missionarysponsorship
Make a gift at www.ELCA.org/4missionaries |
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 The 2013 Stories of Faith in Action is a free resource full of dynamic stories of how God is changing lives around the world through the mission and ministry of the ELCA. You'll also find information on Mission Support (the financial contributions given by synods and congregations to fund churchwide ministries). Budget numbers and more are included.
To order your free copy of Stories of Faith in Action, call 800-638-3522 or order online at www.elca.org/resources. Ask for ELCAMA1167. The resource is free; you only pay for shipping. Online resources, including video stories and printable PDFs can be found at www.elca.org/stories. |
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By: Marcia Brown, Mission Interpreter
Is there any way in the world that spending $3 billion (that's billion, with a "b") on the just-finished election campaigns doesn't disturb people like you and me, who care about how the hungry are fed and the homeless are sheltered? I have tried to compute how many wells, goats, barns, houses or shoes it would have provided, but I can't even think in terms of an amount that large.
On the other hand, let's rejoice over the good work being done by your donations to worthy things in 2012. As of mid-year, $6.5 million had been sent to World Hunger; $1.7 million to disaster relief; $2 million to the malaria campaign (which totaled $4.2 million of the $15 million goal). In our own Synod, $700,000 has been sent to the "Feed the Roots of Leadership" fund, from which $230,000 has already been disbursed to outdoor ministry, campus ministry, and seminary scholarships. Add to that the "100 wells" campaign, the barns built through our donations at synod assembly, and our local disaster response to Hurricane Sandy. There is great reason to rejoice! That $3B is spent and gone; a lot of advertising companies have fat pockets now. But you have given out of your generosity to those in need. Thank you!
God's work, our hands.
P.S. Did you read the news release that in Zambia, the number of new cases of malaria has been cut in half? |
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By: Rev. Judith VanOsdol, Director for Evangelical Mission
Congregations often have a "chaplaincy" (caretaking of "our own") rather than a mission / evangelism mentality (making new disciples). Missional thinking calls us to shift our focus and priorities in order to respond to Christ's call in the great co-mission: "Go, therefore, making disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28: 16-20)
Our Upstate New York Synod has been engaged in a "health and wellness" focus since mid-2011. One facet of this focus: "Healthy congregations"- trains leaders in systems theory and practice with Dr. Peter Steinke. This process continues, and Dr. Steinke will return to our Synod for training in April of 2013; leaders are invited and encouraged to participate! Our synod council is reading and working through Steinke's latest book: A Door Set Open.
Health and wellness have "earmarks" or characteristics, both in human experience as well as in the life of congregations. Below are three different approaches to assess congregational health and wellness. Are such lists helpful/holistic/complete? What's missing? How many apply to your congregation? Will you and/or your congregation commit to a process of renewal, health and wellness during the coming year?
Eight characteristics of a healthy church (Natural Church Development)
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Empowering leadership
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Gift-oriented ministry
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Passionate spirituality
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Functional structures
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Inspiring worship
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Holistic small groups
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Need-oriented evangelism
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Loving relationships.
Becoming a Healthy Church by Stephen A. Macchia:
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God's empowering presence
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God-exalting worship
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Spiritual disciplines
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Learning and growing in community
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A commitment to loving and caring relationships
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Servant-leadership development
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An outward focus
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Wise administration and accountability
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Networking with the body of Christ
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Stewardship and generosity
Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase:
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Radical hospitality
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Passionate worship
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Intentional faith development
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Risk-taking mission and service
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Extravagant generosity
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By: Rev. Nate Preisinger
This past August Parkside Lutheran Church and North Park Lutheran (two small ELCA congregations in North Buffalo) worked together for the second straight year on Vacation Bible School. Around thirty kids from the community participated in this week of stories, songs, crafts, and learning. Our theme for the year was "God's Kids Pray: Prayer Around the World."
Each day the kids had their passports stamped as we traveled to a different country where we learned about how our global brothers and sisters in Christ pray and worship God. The kids loved finding the new countries on our big map and really enjoyed getting to try out all the different ways people pray around the world.
The entire week was a great success, but perhaps the most exciting part was seeing the way the kids answered the call to help those in need. Allow me to explain.
At the end of our first day of VBS, a day in which we "visited" several countries in Africa, I told the children about the threat of malaria and its devastating effects on so many throughout Africa. I told the children about how the ELCA Malaria campaign was trying to help solve this problem and encouraged the children to bring in money throughout the week that we would then donate to the campaign.
Before I had even finished talking, a ten year-old child opened up his wallet, pulled out two dollars, walked up and handed it to me. I was floored by this child's generosity. Over the course of the week, I was continually amazed by the generosity of these 30 children. When all was said and done, thirty children, all under the age of twelve, raised $200 for the ELCA Malaria Campaign.
I know in the grand scheme of things $200 is only a small offering, but for two small Lutheran churches and thirty VBS participants, that $200 is a reason to celebrate and a firm reminder of how we all, old and young, are resurrection people.
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