Lutheran Reflection, Missions for God

Spreading the Good News — Then and Now

I’m writing this on Epiphany Sunday evening here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At home we have added the Wise Men to our manger scene. In church our Gospel message was the account of the visit of the wise men from the Gospel of Matthew.

The Lutheran Study Bible has some wonderful notes on this passage so I would refer you to them rather than do my own comments. However, I got to thinking of their return to the East where they came from after experiencing and seeing what they saw. What did they tell people?

My husband and I, my son, John, and my cousin and his wife went back to Pasadena after Christmas to work on the Lutheran Layman’s League (LLL), Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) Rose Parade float. It was so fun and I hope you saw it on TV if not in person. I met quite a few LWML women working as Petal Pushers on various floats for the parade from all over the U.S. Way to go LWML!! But I digress.

While there, I had a chance to visit with Eric Gates, LHM’s regional director for Africa and the Middle East, about the work that our grant #7, Christian Hope through Mass Media in Egypt, is funding. He was recently returned from Cairo where a November 6th taping involved more than 40 people including cameramen, actors, writers, and back-stage production crew. This is being done through a partnership with LHM and SAT-7, the first and largest Middle East and North African Christian satellite network, co-producing a television series from the SAT-7 studio in Cairo, Egypt, that will begin airing in January 2018. This broadcast will potentially reach tens of millions of viewers in more than 20 countries spanning from as far west as Morocco to as far east as Iraq and the Persian Gulf.

I often wonder what the wise men told people as they journeyed back east to their home countries. It’s so exciting to see that the Word about our Savior continues to travel back to the East. As we fund this mission grant we pray that the Holy Spirit will open hearts along the way.

Learn more about this TV programming in the January-February 2018 issue of The Lutheran Layman or at lhm.org/MENA or lwml.org/mission-grants.

Happy New Year!

Patti

 

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Ephesians 3:6).

 

Learn more about LWML here

Missions for God

Blessed to be a Blessing

“Blessed to be a blessing” is something I have always reminded myself during my lifetime. I have so many blessings from God, the best blessing being called to faith in Jesus Christ and living my life as a Christian woman. I am blessed that God led me to work in the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League.

This Tuesday, LWML—Lutheran Women in Mission across the United States have the opportunity to share their blessings during our participation in “Giving Tuesday”. www.lwml.org/givingtuesday I know you’ve been reading our posts about Giving Tuesday and how to participate. One thing that is very exciting and makes you feel so good about it is that two donors who wish to remain anonymous have provided matching funds of a total of $20,000. What that means is that anything you give up to $20,000 will be tripled. If I give $10 dollars, LWML mission grants will receive $30!

These donors trust the LWML to use their hard-earned dollars, their blessings from God, to bless the recipients of our mission grants. They are saying, “I want to support these grants and I want all the other LWML women to contribute what they can, as well.” We should jump on board with them. If two people can give $20,000 shouldn’t the rest of us be able to pull together and contribute that much?

If we raise $40,000 we can fully fund a grant like the Tanzanian Sewing Center for $25,000. Or, we could fund Nursing Students Serving with Mercy Medical Teams for $25,000. We could also fund Prison and Jail Ministry Synod-wide Conference in 2018 (August) for $36,500!

Giving Tuesday income can fund a complete mission grant!

Our delegates in Albuquerque said they wanted to fund all these grants by March of 2019. Let’s get out there and tell our friends and family about Giving Tuesday. If you can’t donate on Tuesday or don’t have computer access, you can mail a contribution and mark it for Giving Tuesday until November 30.

Let’s show our faithful matching fund donors and our mission grant recipients that we stand behind our vote and our promise and that we consider ourselves,

Blessed to be a blessing!

Excited to serve!

Patti

Our mailing address is:
LWML
3558 S Jefferson Ave
St. Louis, MO 63118

Missions for God

Diving into His Word

Imagine slightly claustrophobic me when my husband asked if I would consider taking scuba diving lessons along with our three children! Not a rousing “let’s go” from me, but sounded like an adventure. So began a family sport and 26 years later we are still diving! God has always used my husband, Bill, to push me, encourage me and love me.

So I find myself on a heaving dive boat, strapping on at least 25 pounds of gear, trying to balance on a slippery deck and making my way to the jump off area with fins on! Are we having fun yet? Jump in, try airing up the vest, adjusting mask, salt water in your mouth, fighting wind and sometimes rain, waiting to go down.

Going down takes some effort. Do I have enough weights on, are my ears equalizing, is my mask fogging up? Then at about 35 feet, all is adjusting and it’s clear descent from there on down. Now I am surrounded by the peace and beauty of God’s creation underwater. I focus on the tiny creatures with unique colors, shapes and hideouts. The beautiful shapes and colors of the corals serve as background for turtles and barracuda, while the sandy bottom hides rays and flounder and eels.

At times life feels like being on that rocking boat and being swamped by salty waves, doesn’t it! And working on LWML business can feel like that at times, too! But getting through those times is like being on the dive boat. If you keep going, heavy load and all, and get in, just 35 feet down things are going to be calm and peaceful. The only place you’ll find peace in the midst of life’s storms, is through the in-depth experience with God—a deeper relationship. Diving into His Word, going deeper into your prayer life, can bring peace that “passes understanding”.

Has someone urged you to take on something that puts you in a rocking boat? Feeling unsteady? Keep going and dive deeper into God’s peace that He wants you to enjoy! Experience it and then share it!

Calling on all LWML scuba divers! Let me hear from you!

Missions for God

Reflections on Best Practices for Ministry

Last week I joined over 2,000 Lutherans at the Best Practices for Ministry event in Phoenix, Arizona. The three day conference provided engaging and inspiring ideas to help support our missions for God. The keynote speakers provided wonderful Christ-filled messages and reminded us of the importance of love and grace for one another.

As we enter the final month to reach our 2015–2017 Mission Goal, let us be reminded that in addition to your financial support, love and grace are needed for these missions. We are $117,736 away from the financial goal that must be met by March 31, 2017, but let’s also focus on spreading Christ’s love to one another.

Many of the speakers at the Best Practices in Ministry event talked about the challenges of engaging Millennials, those between the ages of 18 and 35. It seems to be a unified concern that the younger generation must be engaged now. Here are some of our ideas for meeting that challenge:

-Develop Podcasts;

-Build social media platforms;

-Be brief, not lengthy, in details and express the need right away; and

-Mentor these young adults to become leaders.

There are lots of good resources out there that offer ideas on how to engage the younger generation. Here’s an article I found helpful:

https://www.vanderbloemen.com/blog/churches-reach-millennials

By the end of the conference, as we reflected and prayed in the closing service, I felt inspired and optimistic about the future of LWML and the other Lutheran groups. Let’s all keep this next generation in our prayers. As long as we continue to support one another with love and grace, our future will flourish.

Pictured above are photos from Best Practices for Ministry from left to right:  Vicar Tim Norton a featured speaker for the LWML Convention and I; Me, Kelley Young, Carol von Soosten, and Ashley Jenkins presented a session on How to Engage, Encourage, Equip, and Enjoy Serving the Lord with Gladness in YOUR Mission Field; My presentation to a group of ladies at Best Practices on How to Engage, Encourage, Equip, and Enjoy serving the Lord with Gladness in YOUR Mission Field.

 

Missions for God

A View from the Side of the LHM Float – Part 1

I must admit I was skeptical of the reception of the only Christian float in the Rose Parade in Southern California, an area known as a rather “uninterested-in-religion” area of the country. That the title of the float had been chosen to be “Celebrate Jesus” and would have someone portraying Jesus on it added to my feelings that it would probably be superseded by an advertisement on the TV stations. Was I surprised!

Coming around the first turn onto Colorado Avenue, Rev. Dr. Dale Meyer, sitting beside me sighed loudly and declared, “Oh, how I would love to preach to this crowd!” It was a fantastic crowd. Bundled up in the cold hundreds of people were waving, watching the floats, bands, horses and surfing dogs go by. Every so often we would come upon cheering and shouting “Petal Pushers” now in the audience to watch the float they had worked so hard on go by. We went by an area filled with a deaf audience and had a man signing information to them as he walked along in front of their section with the float.

Given my initial skepticism I was keyed in to the reaction of the crowd to the float. It was amazing. So much cheering — and they were cheering “Jesus”. I saw grown men and women cross themselves, men and women giving the thumbs up sign, yelling “thank you for having this float”, “pray for us, Jesus”, “we love you, Jesus”, “Jesus – you’re the man” and little children smiling and waving to him. There were sullen faces here and there but it was hard to tell if it was because of the cold and having to camp out overnight for their spot or if they had no expression because of worry, unhappiness or fear in their lives. It made me think of what the crowds in the real Jesus’ time must have been like when he came to town. I thought, “this must be what Palm Sunday was like for the disciples following behind Jesus.”

It truly was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Probably worth the six hours of gluing dried lima beans onto the float while balancing on a 12 inch board 10 feet above the floor. If you ever need the lima bean queen to return, I’ll be there.

Incredible people to work with – incredible people to ride with – and incredible people to “celebrate Jesus” with! May God bless and work faith in those who saw “Jesus” and the message of the bells.

Have you ever worked as a Petal Pusher? Do you see the Lutheran Hour Ministries Float as a witness opportunity?