Hand in Hand Global Mission Support Blog Digest

This "blog digest" is brought to you by the ELCA Global Mission Support team. Here you will find posts and re-posts by ELCA missionaries, ELCA Global Mission churchwide staff, and other friends.

Easter Vigil experience gives new meaning to baptism

Posted on October 26th, 2009 by Franklin Ishida

Singapore is the meeting point of many church traditions within Asia. One of the challenges for Jeff Truscott, ELCA missionary teaching worship at Trinity Theological College, is to introduce students to the theology and practices that have shaped church worship throughout history.

Truscott and students experiencing an Easter Vigil

Truscott and students experiencing an Easter Vigil

In a recent class, he led his class in experiencing the Easter Vigil. Many students come from non-liturgical traditions. For them and even those who do have liturgies, the vigil gave new meaning to baptism within the context of the theology of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Truscott reports that students found special meaning in the service of light and the service of readings from the Old Testament. “The strong symbolism in the service communicated powerfully to them,” he says.

After this vigil experience, students submitted a paper that reflected on how they could use, adapt, and possibly augment this service for use in their own churches and traditions in different Asian countries.

This was just a start. Next semester, Truscott plans to have his worship and liturgy class celebrate the entire Paschal Triduum during a one-day long retreat/workshop that will be open to the entire seminary community.

Y. Franklin Ishida
Director for Asia and the Pacific, ELCA Global Mission

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Walking with the risen Lord: An Easter Devotion

Posted on April 13th, 2009 by admin

This Easter Devotion, written by The Rev. Mark Holman, is based on Luke 24:13-35. It appears in the Spring 2009 issue of Hand in Hand, the new ELCA Missionary Sponsorship quarterly newseltter. The devotion is written by the Rev. Mark Holman. Easter blessings!   Sue

Only Luke tells this story of Jesus’ tender patience: “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Later, their eyes were opened when Jesus blessed, broke, and gave the bread.

We have not yet walked the road to Emmaus, but we, and the people we serve, have walked plenty of stony roads in and around Jerusalem. Daily, we walk through 3,000 years of biblical history. At the same time, we participate in some of the pivotal events that will be reported in tomorrow’s international media.

We walk with people who grieve the loss of their precious homeland and now endure the incessant humiliations of occupation. We join in the struggle for peace and justice in a climate often simmering with vengeance and retribution. Most of all, in faith, we walk with the risen Lord who continues to be revealed when scripture is opened and bread broken. He is the one who brings life and sets us free.

dsc_0067b-785782The Rev. Mark and Marcia Holman are ELCA missionaries. Pastor Mark serves as pastor of the English-speaking congregation at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Old City of Jerusalem. Marcia serves to strengthen community life among the women and men called to serve in Palestine.

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