Lutheran Women in Mission

LWML – On the Road

On the road again! LWML Treasurer Marilyn Schroeder and I traveled to New Orleans, November 16-18 to attend the Lutheran Church Extension Fund Conference, love.BOLDLY! Men and women across the country involved with LCEF met to be inspired to love, boldly, in their Christian lives. Individuals and ministries who have loved, boldly over the past year were recognized.

A ministry familiar to LWML received the Lietz Mission Project Award. Redeeming Life Maternity Home, (Redeeming Life Outreach Ministries), Sanford, Florida, a 2015-2017 LWML mission grant recipient and the founders, Rev. Ed and Sheryl DeWitt expressed thankfulness to the women of LWML for the grant they received.

There was a great lineup of guest speakers over the weekend who motivated attendees to love boldly which included Herman Cain, Gregory Seltz, Dave Dravecky, and Rev. John Nunes. Also addressing the assembly were LCMS President Matthew Harrison, Rev. Tim Carter, LCMS Southern District President Kurtis Schultz, Megan Miessler, and LCEF Board Chairman Rev. Max Phillips.

Rev. Ulmer Marshall, Mobile, Alabama, was proclaimer at the Sunday worship service.

The Rev. Max Biesenthal, LCEF Senior Vice President—Ministry Support since 2011, served as conference host and emcee, opening and closing the conference through biblical applications of the conference theme, “Love BOLDLY!” Biesenthal is the son of the late Marie Biesenthal, a dearly loved LWML sister.

LWML past presidents were also in New Orleans for meetings during the week which included the LCMS Foundation Board (Kay Kreklau, 2011-2015) and LCMS Board of Directors (Gloria Edwards, 1995-1999).

Marilyn and I were pleased and honored to be invited to attend. It was a joy to see one of “our” mission grantees receive the Lietz Award. We enjoyed meeting many of the LCMS District leaders and their wives and other LWML women in attendance. We also heard many positive comments about the mission of LWML!

And what is that positive mission? LWML loves boldly! We boldly step out of our comfort zone in service to the marginalized and those in need. We step up to fund ministries, like Redeeming Life Outreach Ministries. We step out boldly to serve on LCMS boards and committees. We love our LWML sisters like Marie who have lasting impacts on our lives.

We are Lutheran Women in Mission!

 

Love boldly and serve gladly!

Patti

Lutheran Women in Mission

Learning How to Let Go

Sometimes you have to let go! We’ve all faced time of letting go. Letting go of our children as they go to school, from grade school to college and beyond. We have to let go of our family traditions as our families move far away geographically—think of Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have to let go of the idea that our children will want our china and crystal someday! You can add your own.

What does this have to do with my thinking about LWML this week? I have to tell you, if a woman in my congregation came up to me and said she wanted to start an additional LWML group in my church, after I picked myself up off the floor, I would be so excited! If they wanted to meet once a quarter, or have Bible study and collect mites only, or do activities with their small children, I would be so excited! If they wanted to have an LWML as a service group alongside a women’s ministry group already in existence in their church, I would be so excited!

Yet I received two inquiries from women interested in starting LWML groups who met opposition because they are proposing an alternative look for an LWML group. Isn’t that sad. When we “mentor” women in LWML that doesn’t mean we make them do exactly what we have been doing in our LWML group over the years. If we are comfortable in our group and how it operates and when it meets, and don’t want to change, why not encourage formation of another LWML group? They, too, want a group that they are “comfortable” in. Why not try letting go?

I hope you will take it as a mentoring opportunity should some women in your church want something different in their LWML group and are proposing to start one with a different look. Teaching with love and encouragement can be a great example of “serving the Lord with gladness.”

Believing that God has molded each of us individually with love should help us let go. Individual molds means no two are exactly alike. Can’t we let go and let God guide the women to celebrate LWML as it meets their needs? Be a positive mentor. Just think how exciting it would be to have more than one LWML group in all our congregations!

I [Paul] therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift (Ephesians 4:1-7).

Love to you!
Patti

Me and the LWML office staff at a session on, “Effective Mentor-ship”.

Lutheran Reflection

Lutheran Mentors for the Next Generation

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.

Lutheran Resources

LWML History

On my blog this week I’m sharing the article I wrote for the Lutheran Layman. I was asked to write about the relation of women of the Reformation to current LWML—Lutheran Women in Mission. I learned some history while doing this and plan to dig deeper into the lives of these women of the time of the Reformation. I got the history information from our LWML history books by Marlys Taege Moberg and Ruth Fritz Meyer.

Throughout the 75 year history of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), the Reformation has been revealed in the work of women in this organization. In 1929 a committee of seven women, working with the encouragement of the International Lutheran Laymen’s League (LLL), began to organize district women’s groups under a national umbrella for better coordination of mission support efforts. One of the names they considered for the organization was, “Lutheran Women of the Reformation.” Continuing efforts to organize and be recognized were supported by the LLL and came to a conclusion when LWML was officially organized in 1942. In 1962 LWML became one of the official auxiliaries of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS); the other auxiliary being the International Lutheran Layman’s League/Lutheran Hour Ministries (Int’l LLL/LHM).

Women of today rejoice in the full salvation by grace through faith that Christ won for them and the reality of being a part of the priesthood of all believers. These components of the Reformation encourage women to share their God-given gifts and talents in representing the church in mission. This inclusive mission of serving all people through sharing of the Gospel and practical application of that Gospel, is key to the LWML as they declare the praises of Jesus.

Early women reformers influenced by Luther’s teachings exhibited gifts of service that continue in Lutheran women today. The most well-known, Katie Luther, is known for her hospitality, hard work in the garden and on the farm, and hymn writing. Argula von Grumbach wrote in support of the Reformation. She is remembered for her emphasis on Scripture and her support of the priesthood of all believers, including women. Katherine Zell, a gracious hostess, offered food and lodging to the Protestant travelers and floods of refugees who came through Strasbourg. She wrote hymns, campaigned for better run hospitals and visited troops in the field during the Peasants’ War. Working with other reformers, Elizabeth von Muenden developed guidelines and orders of service for Protestant worship. This faithfulness in every vocation in life continues in women of the church today. “How can I help?” is a familiar phrase.

In LWML we engage with and equip women to support mission work, write devotions and Bible studies, search for opportunities to serve, learn how to be leaders in their women’s groups, and look outward with Christ’s love.
Just as the Reformation brought major changes for women in the church, and necessitated a look into the future, so today we are faced with many changes. The new realities in communication, family life, and education have brought changes in human relations. These changes call for a new kind of commitment and focus on God’s mission in His world: new understanding of differing needs, new plans for effective programs, and new support for all Christian woman. LWML — Lutheran Women in Mission — continues to bring gifted women together to recognize, identify, and then address these pressing issues.

Equipping women to serve has fostered new family resources in the form of the “Balance” Bible study series on family issues, the “Dear Mother” devotionals for new mothers, and the “Together is Better” marriage devotion book; all written to address their specific needs. Service opportunities for families and women’s groups are evaluated and posted online. Flexible meeting and activity plans are suggested to involve working women and families in the mission outreach of the church while considering the best use of their time.

Equipping missionaries and missions and educating congregations about them is the work of the national and district LWMLs. These are funded through mission offerings and the familiar LWML Mite Box. Through these grants missions have been equipped to improve the physical and spiritual lives of families. One recent grant was to Lutheran Hour Ministries for outreach in refugee camps in Lebanon. In the same way that women of the Reformation worked to improve the physical and spiritual lives of God’s people, so we today continue that work in LWML.

Engaging, equipping, and encouraging women in the church continues from Reformation to the present and will go on into the future. The LWML — Lutheran Women in Mission — looks back on 75 years in 2017, but just as importantly, looks ahead to a future as women of the Reformation even now. We are embracing change while enjoying the delight of being a child of God and serving Him with gladness!

Lutheran Resources

Where Love Abides

Please enjoy the photo gallery in this post. It includes photos of the production team for “Where Love Abides”, Donna Pyle, the audience at the taping, Mikayla and I, Debbie Curry and I, and finally the Texas District leaders that attended the taping of “Where Love Abides”.

Ambient noise check – Applause check, loud, enthusiastic, not so loud – No gum chewing – nod in agreement – show “ah-ha” moment facial expression – Don’t look into the camera. Ready to roll!

That’s what you heard as a member of the audience for the recording of the fourth LWML DVD Bible study by Donna Pyle titled, “Where Love Abides”. This study is based on John 15, the story of the Vine and the Branches. About 70 people were attending this event which the LWML Texas District hosted to participate as audience members during the Audio Visual recording sessions at Salem Lutheran Church, Tomball, Texas, July 21-22.

If you were in the middle of a speech and someone interrupted to say you needed to start back and correct something you said, could you do it? Not many of us could. You have to remember what you said, what your expression was at the time, where you were onstage, etc. It’s amazing to watch Donna and her production team work. This team includes two pastors backstage with earphones doing review of her speech as she does it. If they hear something that needs to be said a different way, they interrupt, conference, and she rerecords that portion. If the air conditioning vent is making her sweater flap, rerecord.

Other things occur like stopping to remove a stapler she had used as an example from the table where she stands to teach because it was reflecting on her like a mirror does with the sun. Duct taping fruit to the vines onstage. It can be crazy funny sometimes!

Crazy funny but crazy good, too! It never ceases to amaze me how you can study God’s Word and go over a story for the umpteenth time and the Holy Spirit reveals something you hadn’t seen before! I’m not going to tell you what that was. You’ll have to do the study and find out for yourself if you learn something new looking at this story of the vine and the branches again.

Filming winds up this October at the Gage Orchards and Vineyards in New York state. Thanks are given for the generous donor who gave money to finance this DVD Bible Study. I hope you will look forward to this study. It is visually impressive with beautiful vineyard shots and you will learn more about vineyard cultivation.

There are three DVD studies currently available from LWML. These are so easy for your group to do in any setting – church, home, groups or private study. The latest one is “Peter – From Fisherman to Fisher of Men”. Engage in Bible study! Be encouraged, equipped and enjoy! http://www.lwml.org/store

Enjoying my chewing gum!
Patti

LWML Convention

A shout-out to senior LWML sisters from a convention-goer

I met several women in their 80’s and 90’s at the LWML 37th Biennial Convention last week in Albuquerque. Apparently, they are appreciated by others as much as they are appreciated by me! Serving in many different ways, big and small, they are saluted in this Facebook posting by Liz Russell of Kuna, Idaho. Enjoy!

Little Old Lutheran Ladies: some timid and proper, some out-spoken and opinionated, most of them grandmothers, many of them widows. This is what used to be the extent of what came to mind when I thought of this particular demographic. I ought to be familiar with the subject, as the church I attend has many in its congregation. After attending a bi-annual convention for an organization made up mostly of little old Lutheran women, I’ve been reflecting on the true identity of these exceptional women:
1. The many Sunday school teachers I had as a child that gave me a solid foundation for my faith.
2. The 80-year old woman from my church that sends me a card on every holiday and has remembered my birthday every year I’ve been alive.
3. The various ladies that lean over in the pew just a bit when I go up to communion to see which ridiculous pair of shoes I’m wearing that week. “I was hoping you were wearing my favorite pair – those heels with the polka dots!”
4. The 90 year old woman that really isn’t supposed to be driving, but made a trip from Meridian to the farm almost in New Plymouth by herself to visit my Mom after Dad died. “I wasn’t sure I remembered how to get there, but I passed the old Cloverleaf restaurant and figured I was heading in the right direction, so I just kept driving!” Mom said she opened the door and couldn’t have been more surprised to see her standing there.
5. The ladies in their pant suits or jacket/skirt combinations that love and compliment my crazy outfits instead of expressing disapproval.
6. The many widows of our congregation that make a special effort to check in with my Mom every week, and never shied away from the hard conversations and progressive bad news from her the past years.
7. The committee of women that provided and organized countless funeral dinners for families of the church with my Mom, free of charge.
8. The group of Lutheran women that formed a women’s missionary league during World War II, a time when being charitable and spreading the gospel surely seemed of little importance to many.
9. That same group of Lutheran women who still give millions of dollars every two years to support many mission projects throughout the world.
10. The women who traveled to Albuquerque, NM this past week, despite many of them being poor in health, limited in their mobility, or facing tragedy and heartbreak in their home lives, to give yet more of their time to this group. I attended this convention, largely due to the suggestion of my sister. I was running through all the reasons I should be at home in Idaho instead of where I was when the event was starting. As the days progressed, I got the same lovely compliments and encouragement in my faith, but this time from Little Old Lutheran Ladies from all over the world.
These women are to be admired and respected, not pitied or dismissed. I’ve realized through family discussion that my grandmother on my Mom’s side (that I never met) fit this bill. I am watching as my Mom and her sisters become them. What an honor it would be to be one day included in the Little Old Lutheran Ladies Club.

What a blessing to hear stories like this. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Joyfully serving with you,
Patti