Recently ordained Pastor Rita and her husband.

There are around 250 languages spoken in Cameroon. Since their arrival in the 1920s, American Lutheran missionaries have been involved in translating the Bible into Gbaya, an important language in the region where they were working. The first edition of the Bible was dedicated in 1996. But on June 9 this year in Garoua-Boulai, a second edition and a first edition with the deutero-canonical books were dedicated, to much celebration. Present were local church leaders from both Cameroon and the Central African Republic, but also Dr. Philip Noss, a Lutheran missionary kid and prominent linguist who oversaw this translation work, as well as a 92-year-old priest from France who has made this his life’s work. The Spirit will use this event and the availability of new Gbaya Bibles to work for reconciliation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon, which is still struggling with internal unrest.

The next morning, the EELC’s Bible School in Garoua-Boulai  graduated 21 new lay catechists, including one woman. And the new Gbaya Bible was proudly open on the laps of members, catechists and pastors during the service.

The local congregation almost blew the roof off the church when National Bishop Thomas Nyiwe introduced Pastor Rita, one of the first three women ordained by the EELC at the beginning of May. 

Joy, joy, joy!

Thanks for your continuing support and prayers!

Here Palestinians Sally and MaryAn and wall team leader Lisa Jeffreys greet youth gathering participants in Palestine.

Youth at the ELCA Youth Gathering were guided through a section called The Wall, with exhibits from places in the world where there are actual or metaphorical walls between people. There were examples of how God is helping to tear down the walls between people. The Palestinian exhibit had 12-foot walls, information, maps, history and videos about the situation.  Many were detained in a prison for a short-time due to lack of proper permits and many added graffiti to the walls in paint.

Palestine youth team member Jenna Dwierzma prepares to write a letter to her member of congress to protest Palestinian home demolitions by Israelis, as a recent Action Alert from the ELCA Washington office requested.

All of the youth exited through a section called “Making us Whole,” a chance to act, reflect and pray about what they had seen.  An advocacy station allowed people to write letters to their members of congress. Here Jenna Dwierzma prepares to write a letter about ending Palestinian home demolitions by Israelis, as a recent action alert from the ELCA Washington office requested.

Charcoal vendors in Haiti provide many people the fuel they need to heat and cook.

We are in the midst of “The Month of the Environment” here in Haiti. The minister of the environment proclaimed it, allowing it to surround the approaching meetings in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, called RIO+20. At St. James we are preaching on “The God of Green and Everything Else” and organizing ourselves as a recycling collection point.

A graph I recently saw plotted the level of a nation’s human development index against its ecological footprint and made me feel “naked” as an American. Ideally, there is a zone on that graph where all nations would enjoy an acceptable human development index and not use more than the per capita biomass the planet can offer in a sustainable manner. The zone in the bottom right hand corner is colored green and it is so empty. No nation is living there today. Several Latin American countries are close. Most nations live far outside that green zone. The U.S., like most European and North American nations, far exceeds its share of the earth’s sustainable  resources. We are caught red-handed. Africa and other developing nations are far to the left of the mark for human development enjoyment, living off much less than their share of the earth’s natural resources. This is not a picture of reconciliation.

And here’s the thing: What if that green zone is the sweet spot? What if living there would actually be a foretaste of heaven? What if when Jesus says, “Love one another as I have loved you,” he was hoping we would discover ways to welcome one another home to that green zone?

Getting to that green zone on the chart means that corporations will have to be held accountable by moral agendas. Eco-justice will not be a corporate priority. Consumers must transform the ethical questions of ecology and justice into economic questions. And Americans are the world’s greatest consumers. Many Americans are Christian. We could lead the way, making choices for eco-justice. Imagine. What if the world knew we were American because we lived green?

Peace,
Paula Stecker

ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson toured The Wall section of the ELCA Youth Gathering, and responded about the Palestine section. See more comments on The Wall section  here.  See more videos and images of the Gathering here.

A flooded cabin in Big Sandy Lake.
Credit: Grace Lutheran Church/McGregor, MN.

The rains that struck northeastern Minnesota at the end of July are still having an effect on the surrounding communities. Below is an update on the situation of McGregor and Big Sandy Lake from Pr. Karen G. Bockelman, Disaster Coordination for the Northeastern Minnesota Synod (ELCA). It’s a good reminder that disaster response is a marathon not a sprint and that need will continue long after the initial impact of the rains.

REPORT: Big Sandy Lake, north of McGregor, is within the Mississippi River watershed and was very heavily hit by the rains/flooding in June. It took the Mississippi River some time to crest, resulting in weeks of standing water. Only now (a month later) is it safe to begin clean up in the McGregor area. It has taken this long for the water to go down. The presence of E. coli in the water (now tested safe) as well as major fish and snail kills have contributed to the delay. All but a couple small sections of road are now passable. However, the sheriff warns that any more significant rainfall will cause the lake to rise again and might lead to still more delay.

Aitkin County officials are preparing to start the clean up process on Monday, July 23. Grace Lutheran Church, which has been serving as an information site and supply depot, will be the staging area for volunteers.

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Regarding this work at Grace Lutheran Church, I have received a few email updates and pictures from a couple who have been working with the church in this response, which I include below. Their testimony is a great example of how we can accomplish more when we work together as the body of Christ.

“I am a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in McGregor, MN. My husband and I are volunteers assisting at Grace Lutheran [in McGregor, MN] in their mission to aid in flood relief services. The need for this service is evident in the numbers of people who continue to visit Grace Church’s relief services area. Grace Lutheran is a beautiful church with amenities well-suited to this effort and it’s congregation is a community-minded resource for our area. Grace Lutheran and Holy Family participate in and enjoy women’s functions together as well. Grace Lutheran truly “lives” its mission statement.”

A flooded cabin in Big Sandy Lake. Credit: Grace Lutheran Church/McGregor, MN.	Another flooded cabin in Big Sandy Lake. Credit: Grace Lutheran Church/McGregor, MN.
Flooded home on Long Pointe Rd on Big Sandy Lake. Credit: Shirley Scollard.	Tethered propane tank to prevent it causing damage. Credit: Shirley Scollard.

First Lady Michelle Obama with Heather Turney of Lutheran Ministries of Alabama at Camp Noah in Pratt City. Credit: LMA/Ron Turney

The First Lady was able to greet many of the children presonally and even took home some of the healthy treats they were putting together as part of their program. It was a great experience for those present and a nice affirmation of the good work of Camp Noah. A wonderful example of how in times of disaster our church takes seriously the role of being there for the long haul, even after the news cameras have left. And sometimes when they come back.

To learn more about the good work being done see: Camp Noah | Lutheran Ministries of Alabama

You can also learn more about the even from local news coverage (short ads before most videos):

• Special visitor in Pratt City: Series of videos. The first one has a statement from Nancy Beers, Director of Camp Noah, and the second one has a good overview of the program.
• First Lady Obama visits Birmingham: Really like the statement of the First Lady at the end of the video. It’s great our church, through our disaster response work, can be a part of what she’s talking about.

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond at home and globally in times of need. Donate now.

You can download the resource here: Worship Resources – Drought

For resources during other times of natural disaster please see the ELCA Worship page.

To learn more check out:

• the video report of the local NBC station: Long-term tornado recovery program underway in Clay
• the press release covering the partnership with an overview of Restore: LMA-CLAY Press Release about Restore

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Gifts to ELCA Disaster Response allow the church to respond at home and globally in times of need. Donate now.

If we believe that there’s not enough whatever to go around, we act accordingly. We believe we have to hang on tight to our little pile of whatever. We don’t take risks, because if we lose our whatever, we’re sure it’s gone for good. And if some people have less whatever than we do, well, that’s a pity, but there’s not a lot we can do about it – after all, there’s only so much whatever to go around. Sound familiar?

But what if we believe in our hearts that there’s plenty to go around – plenty of time, plenty of resources, plenty of energy, plenty of ideas, plenty of everything – what happens then? How do we act if we really believe that? Do we see our job as helping to see that everyone has plenty of that abundant, never-ending everything?

I ran across an interesting take on that on a blog kept by an Episcopal priest, the Rev. John Ohmer (http://unapologetictheology.blogspot.com/). He writes, in part: . . . We carry a scarcity mindset, an achievement mindset or an abundance mindset. And these mindsets can carry over to our spiritual mindset.

A scarcity spirituality sees not only money, but things like love, grace and forgiveness as in short supply. An achievement spirituality sees . . . things like love, grace and forgiveness . . . as things that come to you to the degree that you earn them, work hard for them.

And an abundance spirituality sees . . . love, grace and forgiveness . . . as things that are in abundant supply because they are all God’s. Carry that view over and you get the view that God’s love is without limit, without border, without exception, without condition.

If we’ve been well catechized, we know that God’s love is just as Father John writes – without limit, without condition. Of course we know that in our heads. But do we believe it in our hearts?

And do we act that way? Does it change the world?

Audrey Riley is a member of the fundraising staff of ELCA World Hunger.