Lutheran Reflection | Lutheran Women in Mission

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Happy New Year! Our guest blogger this week is our LWML Junior Pastoral Counselor, Rev. Mitchel Schuessler. He and his wife, Penny, live in Troy, Illinois where he is pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church.

I pray that your 2017 went well and 2018 will be a blessing to you. Me? 2017 saw me elected to the office of LWML Junior Pastoral Counselor. WOW! Never thought it would really happen but the Lord does amazing things.

Do you have a favorite tradition you do around Christmas/New Years? Penny and I do. We make raviolis on the day after Christmas. It is always an adventure that ends in a very tasty fashion. It is amazing how, even after doing this for years, we forget what we are doing. After the first set of raviolis come out of the press, we start to remember. “Oh yeah, that is what we do,” is often said. Fun times and good eats are a part of this Schuessler/Rex tradition.

What tradition do you have in your family? One tradition that I never had in my family was the LWML. As I look back, I wish that my mom would have been involved in the LWML but she was not. I did not grow up with the LWML but I did raise my family knowing and participating in the LWML in various ways.

Penny and I have been active throughout the past 35 years, which is hard to imagine. The day we brought our daughter Rachael home from the hospital, I took her over to the church at Trinity, Harvel, IL, to meet the ladies of the LWML society. From that point on, she has been a part of the LWML, a tradition we have handed down to her and to our son Matthew. We look forward to one day passing it on to the next generation.

Happy New Year and enjoy those traditions.

Rev. Mitchel Schuessler
LWML Junior Pastoral Counselor

Pastor Mitch and his wife Penny

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My son’s family has a lovely nativity set from Italy which is displayed each Christmas on a separate table. This table is kid-friendly high. Starting with the first of three kids, the baby Jesus of the set tended to travel a lot!

Baby Jesus might end up in the hayloft of the set. He visited the dollhouse. He connected with dinosaurs, ponies and robots. He spent several days riding the train around the Christmas tree.

It was interesting that Mary or Joseph or any other character was left in place! The focus was on baby Jesus. For some reason the children focused on the Christ child in his manger. Maybe as children they related to Him being their size or having mom and dad watching over them. Maybe it was because the baby Jesus is usually portrayed with open arms reaching out to them.

It makes a point for me. Christ Jesus has come with open arms, reaching out with His love to all people. He is present everywhere, as the glorified Son of God, not simply reflected in some expensive exhibit to be admired, but there with us at our work, in our homes, during times of travel and change. He’s there among us with understanding, love and support as we experience every nuance of our lives.

Some of my friends will spend Christmas with hospitalized relatives. Some will spend Christmas feeling alone as they only have family at a distance. Some are fighting cancer, depression, or a first Christmas without a beloved spouse or mother. Whatever the circumstance, if they know Jesus by faith through the Word they can take that baby Jesus with them and treasure the joy of knowing He came for them. He is always reaching out to them and is with them wherever they happen to be this Christmas time.

My prayer for all of you is that you find that baby Jesus and focus on him. Put him in the place where you happen to be. Praise be to God for sending Baby Jesus, our Emmanuel to be with us and among us.

As LWML women we desire all people to know the peace and joy that our Baby Jesus brings to us at Christmas. That’s why we do what we do as LWML—Lutheran Women in Mission!

I hope your baby Jesus ended up in your nativity set this morning! Christmas blessings to you all!

Learn more about LWML here

Guest blogger this week is LWML Senior Pastoral Counselor, Rev. Robert Mundahl. He and his wife, Peggy, recently traveled to the Holy Land. My best wishes to all of you for a week of safe travel and joyful preparations for Christmas, family visits and Jesus’ birthday. – Patti

O little Town of Bethlehem is one of my favorite songs at Christmas, but after traveling to Israel last month my perspectives have changed. Bethlehem is no longer the little town of Jesus’ day. Instead of being a town of 300 to 1,000 people when He was born, Bethlehem has grown to envelop almost 76,000 people within its borders. It is quite easy to sit in Jerusalem and see Bethlehem in the distance. It reminds me of our spreading metropolises where every town simply runs into the next. The six miles Mary and Joseph journeyed to the Old City for Jesus’ purification is now filled in with walls, homes, and businesses. It’s hard to imagine that old little town anymore.

No matter the size of this town, the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is considered to be the place where Jesus was born. Even though the Church is currently under renovation our tour group had the opportunity to enter down into the place set aside for His birth. Many paintings depict the cave like place understood to be where it all happened.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger (Luke 2:11-12).

I’ll still sing the song with reverent joy as I celebrate His birth again this year. Bethlehem is the place. The Savior was born there. Jesus is still God’s gift to us. I was blessed to see and touch and mark the place where the Word became flesh.

Thanks be to God – Joy to the World!
Rev. Robert Mundahl

For all the faithful women who served in days of old. So starts hymn number 855 in our Lutheran Service Book.

As we near the end of our Lutheran Women’s Missionary League’s 75th Anniversary year of 2017 (http://www.lwml.org/75) and as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week and take time out to thank God for his abundant blessings, I was thinking of specific things our organization was thankful for. I thought of the women who worked hard for years prior to our founding convention who struggled for recognition, put up with all kinds of criticism, derision, and still kept on until they were able to organize a national women’s organization within the synod. They are in my prayers of thanksgiving this week and in my heart.

Today we are thankful for all Lutheran women and their dedication to work that shows God’s love and forgiveness to believers and nonbelievers through our LWML. Groups in the local church, the zones and districts and the national organization put in countless hours of work and prayer as we go about our business to enable women to use their God-given abilities to serve others. (http://www.lwml.org/get-involved)

I’ll share the rest of Hymn 855, For All the Faithful Women with you and let you know that I am thanking God for each of you this week that you continue to Serve the Lord With Gladness!

For all the faithful women Who served in days of old,

To You shall thanks be given; To all, their story told.

They served with strength and gladness In tasks Your wisdom gave.

To you their lives bore witness, Proclaimed Your power to save.

O God, for saints and servants, Those named and those unknown

In whom through all the ages Your light of glory shone,

We offer glad thanksgiving And fervent prayer we raise

That, faithful in Your service, Our lives may sing Your praise.

All praise to God the Father! All praise to Christ the Son!

All praise the Holy Spirit, Who binds the Church in one!

With saints who went before us, With saints who witness still,

We sing glad Alleluias And strive to do Your will.

Patti

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:10-11

Christ for Veterans

This week our country takes time to honor the veterans of our Armed Forces. Most of us have some connection to someone in the service currently or in the past. There are a trio of us at my congregation, Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that share that “veteran” connection as women who have served in the Armed Forces. We also share our service in LWML—Lutheran Women in Mission.
Carol, Debbie and I all entered the service during the Viet Nam conflict. Carol served 4 years in the Army. Debbie served in the Air Force for 33 years and added Desert Storm service. I served for 3 years in the Navy doing active duty at Portsmouth Naval Hospital, Virginia.
There are many more of us LWML veterans around the country. I’ve met some at the Rocky Mountain district convention held in Colorado Springs last year. I served with another LWML district president from South Dakota who was a veteran and I know there are more out there. I’m hoping to make contact with many of you veterans next summer for the fall issue of the Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly which will feature LWML veterans and active duty women.

I’d also like to recognize you who are wives and mothers of servicemen. You may be interested in reading more about our mission grant, “Christ for Veterans and Their Families”. This grant is for the LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces to host a national three-day training event empowering Operation Barnabas districts, congregations and chapter members to bring the Good News of God in Christ to veterans and their families.
Maybe you should consider what your LWML group can do to reach out to our military chaplains, active-duty and veterans, and their families as they stand ready to defend and protect each of us on a daily basis. You can start by praying for their safety and personal encouragement (think Barnabas). Then you can help fund the “Christ for Veterans and Their Families” mission grant through your Mite Box offerings.

Happy Veteran’s Day to all of you veterans and your family members!

Patti

http://www.lwml.org/2017-2019-mission-grant-3

https://www.lcms.org/ministry-to-the-armed-forces

Pictured is Debbie, Carol, and Me

This week I want to continue on the topic of being a mentor to the next generation. I’ve invited Ashley Jenkins, Marketing and Communications Manager for the LWML to write an article about someone who inspired her:

It was 1993, a beautiful fall morning, and I was the young age of 5, dressed to impress for my first day of kindergarten. My mother always dressed me up. As we approached school, I remember being completely overwhelmed by the sight of Historic Trinity Lutheran Church. It was more than my 5 year old brain expected. I clutched my mom’s hand and refused to let go. She sat with me and didn’t leave. The other parents hugged their kids and said goodbye but mine didn’t. We sat in church and listened to Pastor Dave Marth greet us and pray for God’s blessings on our school year ahead. When the time came to enter the school hall I wasn’t ready. I burst into tears and grabbed my mom. She gave in and held onto me. We walked into the classroom together and my mom directed me to my desk. I was totally stoked because my name was on the desk “Ashley Elliott”. My mom stood back as the teacher introduced herself. Eventually she snuck out. From that day forward my mom was always there for me, and then she would silently sneak off when she knew I would be okay. The only reason I can call myself a Lutheran today is because of her. My mom was the best mentor I ever had. We regularly went to church and took Bible classes together. I’m so thankful to God for blessing me with Karen Elliott as my mother. I look forward to sharing God’s word with my own daughter. I will pass the torch to her as my mom did to me.

One week before my 29th birthday, my mom went to be with the Lord. She died from Alzheimer’s disease. The Alzheimer’s Association is a foundation I support in order to continue her fight. She held onto me for as long as she could but now she’s snuck away because she knows I’ve got this.

Let us all reflect on what Jesus has called us to do as mentors. Have you spoken to someone younger than you about Christ? Invited them to church? Even the simplest act of kindness can speak multitudes to those who need it.

Thank you President Patti for inviting me to share my story. I hope my story can inspire others and from one generation to the next we can continue to share God’s love to the ends of the earth.

Are you a lark or an owl? I’m an owl. Definitely don’t function well before 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning. My most productive time of the day is 3:30 pm until midnight. My favorite shift as a nurse was 3-11. I happen to be writing this at 11:55 p.m.

I wore a Holter monitor as part of a science experiment one of my sons was doing in middle school and sure enough, my heart rate was slowest at rest between 6:30-8:00 a.m. when I was deepest asleep. I guess you would call that my biorhythm.

Where am I going with this besides letting you know not to expect much out of me early in the morning? On the subject of sleep, at the LCMS Black Ministry Convocation, Rev. Dr. Leopoldo Sanchez gave one of the keynote addresses. Most of it was way over my head but he said that there was no greater act of faith than sleep. God is solely in control during that time.
My mother always said you slept well if you had a clear conscience. Maybe it’s sort of the same thing?

Speaking of sleep …
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper.
(Psalm 121:1-5a)

Pleasant dreams, sleep well!
Love, Patti

No one denies the ups and downs of motherhood! We are called upon to make changes in our lives sometimes daily because of our own mothers and our own vocation as a mother. Changes are hard and we kid about Lutherans having difficulty with change! But let’s face it! We have adapted to changes throughout our lives whether it is as a child with a mother or as a mother ourselves.

When toddlers change from those who want to snuggle to those who at the age of four want independence and then again to adolescents who prefer to walk several steps behind you, we continue to love them and take care of them (although done in secret at times). Then as they morph into adults, we have to change our attitude about how we are seen by them.

As women caring for mothers who may now be dependent on us instead of the other way around we face that change and have to adapt. No longer do they care for us but we are caring for them. These changes coming with aging mothers are very hard to deal with as they are generally thought of as negative. However, this is a chance for us to show our love and care for someone who may not be able to reciprocate as they did before. What a privilege to care for them as they advance in age.

Jesus and Mary at the cross Jesus made caring for His mother a priority during his agony on the cross. He not only died for her sins but made provision for her physical care. So we are called to care for our mothers’ physical and Jesus Heals a Child spiritual needs. Just as Jesus wanted the little children to come to Him and healed many children, so we mothers want to provide spiritual and physical care for our children.

Don’t let anyone tell you that we have difficulty with change! As mothers and daughters we do it all our lives! One thing we can depend on through all these changes is our changeless, Triune God who loves us, forgives us and helps us in our daily lives. Together with Him we are able to celebrate and adapt to motherhood and all that it encompasses.

Happy Mother’s Day from me to you!

Love, Patti

[The Lord God] will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

Isaiah 40:11

Sheila Lutz

Do you receive the Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly? That is our LWML magazine published four times a year (quarterly) for all women–not just Lutheran women and not just women participating in LWML. It is a great magazine. It has feature articles, mission grant updates, Bible studies (one is always translated into Spanish), news from LWML groups, a note from the Gifts of Love team and updates on new “witness wear” or resources.

My favorite part of the magazine takes up one column on one page. It’s called “Praying the Psalms”. Christian Living Editor, Sheila Lutz, takes a Psalm each issue and reflects on the text in poetic form. I take out my Bible and read the psalm she has selected and then read her phrasing of the verses. It becomes a study of what the psalmist is saying to us! Above all, it is beautiful to read.

I’ve often told Sheila, who is currently working on the Quarterly and also serving as LWML District President of Central Illinois District, that I love her reflections. She will tell you that she doesn’t always know what she will write but the Holy Spirit guides her as she sets about her task.I strongly urge you to read this part of the Quarterly and see if you will agree with me that it is a wonderful part of a wonderful magazine.

Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly

This magazine is available in print or electronically. Every woman should receive a copy and find their own favorite part. Praise God for women who use their unique God-given gifts to encourage the rest of us in our faith walk! This is what LWML is blessed to do.

What is your favorite part of the Quarterly? We’d love to hear from you!

Blessed to serve with all of you,

Patti

Do you see yourself as called by God to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities, and the world? And part of a league that enables Lutheran women to use their gifts in ministry to the people of the world?

I hope you do! Last week I asked the LWML national officers to complete the phrase, A missionary is … Here are their thoughts

My dream missionary job would be …

… to be in a field that would help the elderly and mothers with young children.

… to go somewhere where I could help make a difference in sharing Jesus’ love with those eager to hear about Him.

… in Turkey … retracing Paul’s steps in the 1^st century.

… trusting Christ fully, and love as He loved, knowing that the power of forgiveness and faith comes from God alone. My dream is not a place or a specific culture. My dream is trusting that God will work through me in His way, in His time, every day.

… going to an African or Asian country to work in an orphanage. I would hug and educate the children, teach daily Bible studies and start a church choir. (I might still have my chance on a short term mission opportunity)

… working in a medical mission setting outside the United States.

… locally spending time with women of all ages using visual faith resources to provide opportunities for faith talk, Christian encouragement, and a deeper understanding of their Savior. (Someday I want to go on a MOST mission trip! Or visit my cousins in Costa Rica where they oversee children’s homes.)

… to be a partner in the global mission field through Mission Central.

… to go to a difficult spiritual environment like Israel. Oh wait, God is already calling me to do this in 2019!

… where my husband and I could work together to help build a community and share the Gospel. Like with Laborers for Christ and Disaster Relief. Travel is a bonus thus the disaster work. We’d even travel abroad rebuilding homes, churches, and schools. Bringing with us Bibles, Bible studies, and devotions to share with people.

And he (Jesus) said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Luke 10:2

Traditions

Where’s Baby Jesus?

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Thankfulness

Honor the Veterans

Lutheran Mentors for the Next Generation

There’s No Greater Act of Faith Than Sleep

Happy Mother’s Day!

My Favorite Part of the Lutheran Woman’s Quarterly

My Dream Missionary Job Would Be…

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