Dennis Sepper, Rosemount, MN

Warm-up Question

How do you react when things do not go your way?  How do you get though the rough times in life?  

Hope in the Wilderness

Bernhardt Ingemann was born on May 28, 1789, the son of a Lutheran Pastor who died when Ingemann was 11 years old.  Bernhardt entered the University of Copenhagen in 1806.  The following year, when the British attacked Copenhagen to prevent Napoleon from taking the Norwegian-Danish navy, Ingemann helped to defend the city.  His apartment and his early works were burned in the siege.  In 1809 he lost his mother, three brothers, and a niece in a tuberculosis epidemic, a tragedy reflected in much of his later poetry.  Ingemann was a sensitive, soft-spoken person with few friends.  However, as a writer of children’s stories, he was second in popularity only to Hans Christian Andersen, whom he counted among his friends.

In 1825, Bernhardt Ingemann wrote a Danish hymn for the season of Advent.  Its themes include expectant song, light through darkness, ransom, and rejoicing—many of the Advent themes.  The hymn is still popular today.  We know it as “Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow.”

From elementary school all the way through college;  school teachers, principals, student life staff and counselors teach students how to be “resilient.”  Resilience is defined as “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties” in life.  Resilience is a good quality to have.  No matter what our age might be, we have to face some challenging circumstances or experiences.

This Third Sunday of Advent has been known as Gaudete Sunday or the Sunday of Joy.  Sometimes this Sunday is represented in the Advent wreath by a pink candle instead of the usual blue or purple.  In our second lesson text, Saint Paul encourages us to “rejoice always.”  This is where the characteristic of resilience comes to be a strength.  Facing tough times and coming through them often leads to personal growth and even a stronger resolve of character.

In addition, as Christians, we have the faith and the promise of God that no matter what happens in the world or in our lives, Jesus is with us to bear us up and carry us through.  We can manufacture joy by playing a favorite game or eating a favorite food, but those do not last very long.  Our joy, our resilience, comes from God and Christ.  That is what helped Bernhardt Ingemann not only cope with the difficulties of his life, but also gave him the strength to write the words to a hymn that is as meaningful to us today as it was to him and those around him back then.

Discussion Questions

• Read the words to Ingemann’s hymn (ELW 327, LBW 355).  Where do you see words of hope?  Words of joy?  Words which would reveal resilience?
• Hope and light are major themes of Advent.  Where do you see signs of hope today?  Where is there light shining in the darkness?
• What  hymn or song  instills hope in you?  What hymn or song  brings you joy?

Third Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

John 1:6-8, 19-28

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

People tried to avoid the wilderness.  Yet, people were willing to enter the wilderness to seek John the Baptist.  Sometimes entering the wilderness is what people do in order to gain something like peace or joy.  We cannot always avoid facing a bad situation or somehow make it better.  The best we can do is pray and remember the promise of God and Jesus that they are always with us, no matter what has happened.

Notice that some of the people in today’s gospel text believed that John might be the promised messiah or the prophet Elijah coming back into the world.  One of our tasks in life is to figure out who we are called to be.  Who are we in the world and in our communities?  Most times the people closest to us help us figure that out.  They tell us what they see as our strengths or what talents they see in us.  But sometimes people place expectations on us that are not as good for us.

That is what  happens to John the Baptist.  People really want him to be the Messiah, the Chosen One.  They would accept John as the Christ in a moment.  However, John knows his place.  The Bible says “He [John] confessed and did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’”  John knows he is a witness to the coming of Jesus, the true Messiah.  

Sometimes we humans forget our place.  We fool ourselves into believing we can fix any problems that come our way, forgetting that we are God’s creatures and it is God and Jesus who can get us through the troubled times.

In the opening verses of today’s Gospel text, the author John refers to Jesus as “the light.” Later in John’s Gospel Jesus refers to himself as the “light of the world” (John 8:12).  In a world where electricity did not exist, light in the darkness was a blessing.  Jesus, as the light entering the darkness of the peoples’ lives and giving light to one’s path forward, is a powerful symbol of what Jesus means to the people and to the world.  When we find ourselves in times of darkness, the light of Jesus can give us hope and see us through whatever difficulty we are in.

Discussion Questions

• What are some of the wildernesses in the world today?  Are people willing to face and enter the wilderness in order to grow and gain strength?
• How do we Christians bear witness today to the presence of Jesus?
• Is the symbol of light still a powerful one in our day?  Why?

Activity Suggestion

As children we sang the song “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna’ Let it Shine.”  Think of one of your gifts or characteristics that you can let shine for your friends and your community.  Identify a gift in one other person and tell them how that gift is shining for others.

Closing Prayer

Loving God, let the light of Jesus shine in our lives, in our communities and in the world.  Help us to be like John the Baptist, knowing our place before you.  Help us also to be like John in bearing witness to Christ and the hope Jesus’ presence can give.  Guide us in the Advent days ahead until we sign the carols and hymns of Christmas announcing the birth of Jesus.  Amen

 

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), written to address the atrocities committed during World War II. Since then, the United Nations and other bodies have adopted additional documents on human rights. The International Bill of Human Rights includes the UDHR, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Not included in the UDHR is any statement related to climate change – it wasn’t a known concern in the 1940s. However, in the years since, the United Nations has published additional documents about other human rights. One such report from the United Nations Environment Programme discusses the impact of climate change on rights.

The introduction to the report says, “Anthropogenic climate change is the largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and human rights of our time.…These impacts, combined with direct harms to people, property, and physical infrastructure, pose a serious threat to the enjoyment and exercise of human rights around the world.”

To name a few impacts, climate change causes warmer global temperatures, rising sea levels and changes in precipitation patterns. These consequences put numerous human rights in jeopardy, as outlined in the UN report:

• Right to adequate standard of living: Disasters negatively impact living conditions for several reasons. Wildfires and storms can destroy or damage homes. Droughts and floods can ruin crops and endanger animals, which affects people’s livelihoods, especially in communities around the world that rely on agriculture and livestock.
• Right to health: The impacts of climate change are dangerous for people’s health. Pollution is harmful to people living in heavily populated areas or near factories. When people lose food sources, such as livestock and crops, or access to uncontaminated water, they face malnutrition and disease.
• Right to life: Climate change threatens the right to life every day for people around the world. More severe disasters can lead to more lives being lost. Losing the right to an adequate standard of living, health, food, water and other necessities threatens peoples’ lives daily. This is especially true for people of color and those living in vulnerable communities and countries, which suffer disproportionately when hit by a disaster.

Climate change endangers the human rights of people around the world, especially those in under-resourced communities and developing countries. Lutheran Disaster Response prioritizes the accompaniment of those who are most adversely impacted by consequences of the changing climate. During long-term recovery, we work with communities in mitigating the effects of future disasters, building resilience, and expanding preparedness capacity, knowing that disasters will continue to be more extreme.

Effective disaster response upholds all the rights described in the UDHR and subsequent documents. Even when people’s lives are upended by natural or human-caused disasters, their human rights should not be at stake. That’s why the work of Lutheran Disaster Response and our local partners in the United States and around the world is so important – after a disaster, when our neighbors are living in uncertainty, we walk with impacted communities, responding to their needs and supporting recovery efforts while simultaneously celebrating their strength and resilience.

 

Get involved

1. Advocate. Visit the ELCA Advocacy Action Center to contact your congress members about vital issues impacting our communities, including government disaster response program reform and supporting refugees.
2. Study. Read the ELCA’s social message “Earth’s Climate Crisis.” It provides theological rationale and social analysis to foster discernment and engagement relating to climate care.
3. Volunteer. By volunteering in local disaster response through your synod or regional social ministry organization, you can ensure that survivors’ rights to adequate living is met.
4. Donate. Lutheran Disaster Response is a trusted partner in disaster response. Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response help accompany our neighbors when their lives are upended by disaster. 100% of your gifts to a designated disaster go to disaster survivors.

A lot of the questions we get from individuals and congregations are about cost-friendly resources, or being asked where a ministry can start with improving their accessibility beyond physical structure. So when members of the Disability Ministries advisory team met last month, we put together a “Top 10 list” of sorts that offers ideas, resources, and our thoughts on accommodations that can give a place to start.

This is not an all-encompassing list by any means, but we hope it can give you some ideas, many of which are low cost, on where you can begin the holy work of becoming more accessible in your Christian education programs.

 

Our Top 10 List of Accommodations A Congregation Can Make:

10. Website Design: The way a website is laid out or the fonts chosen for a site can make it difficult, or impossible, for a blind person or a person with low vision to navigate. Here are some articles and resources on website design:

• Introduction to Web Accessibility | Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) | W3C
• 14 Accessible Website Examples to Inspire Yours (hubspot.com)

 

9. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services Captioning Resources | NCRA: CART displays captioning in real time and can be used with screen readers and Braille displays and can be displayed with scalable font. CART can be a great resource in worship for Deaf, Blind, and Deaf/Blind communities.

 

8. Adaptive art supplies for Christian Education: Our friends with disabilities can feel singled out because we sometimes need different or specialized writing and creative tools or items for adapted games that may be locally unavailable. Fortunately, you can find many easy things to have on hand!

These are just a few starter examples, but please note that some things that are helpful to disabled people are the same type of items used in preschools. If at all possible, do not purchase only the items intended for preschoolers. People of all ages benefit from these materials, and age-appropriate ones may be available.

 

UNO Braille 

Low Vision Playing Cards

 

 

 

 

Loop Scissors

Crayola Tripod Grip Markers

 

7. Use a variety of Bibles: Large print options and the use of multiple translations of scripture can make worship and Bible study more accessible to different people.

 

6. 5 Steps to Make Your Congregation More Autism Friendly (wearesparkhouse.org)

 

5. Resources for Blind or Visually-Impaired People: Hadley is a free education resource to help newly Blind and Blind people at all stages of life, offering courses from academic to basic life skills.

 

4. Gluten-free Options for Holy Communion

 

3. Update language/images used in worship, prayer, Bible study, etc.: The most common questions we get are related to language and how we speak about disability in worship and prayer or showing hospitality to people with disabilities. These articles can help guide you as you consider what is means to do away with ableist language in the life of a ministry or congregation:

• Language Around Disability

• https://reneeroederer.com/2019/02/12/accessislove-changing-ableist-language-in-churches/

 

2. What large print REALLY is!

 

1. Broadening your leadership: Learn to appreciate the giftedness of ALL your people—disabled and nondisabled— and use their gifts!

We hope this list of resources can be helpful to many of you! There are so many things out there a congregation or ministry site can do for accessibility and inclusion of the disability community. We pray that you will review this list and find other amazing resources as well.

by Naomi Mbise, Lutheran Office for World Community Fellow

As we navigate through 2023, our world is experiencing human rights violations at an alarming rate. These serve as a stark reminder of the challenges we face in multilateralism. To adapt and protect fundamental freedoms and rights in a rapidly changing world, agility and commitment are needed.

Human Rights Day is 10 December. It marks adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), commemorating in 2023 its 75th anniversary (HR 75). The UDHR has laid the foundation for protecting human rights.

As we reflect on the past and celebrate achievements, let us also acknowledge the work that lies ahead. Embracing agility in human rights requires collective determination. Principles of human rights must not just be ideals but living realities.

In my work at the Lutheran Office for World Community, I am called to advocate for the rights of the most vulnerable. Showing up in spaces where policies of tangible support are created. I often find myself at the intersection of international affairs, grassroot and faith-based networks: working towards the practical realization of human rights within the context of our faith-based and humanity principles.

 

Courageous Faithful Action

We must not become indifferent to the persistent human rights violations around the globe. The ELCA social message “Human Rights” states, “Too often, we, as members of this society, are buried under the concerns of everyday life. The human rights abuses of people we don’t know or understand are too remote to stir us to action” (p. 8).

As a communion of churches and as people of faith we are called to engage. “The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) views engagement in the search for social and economic justice and the promotion of human dignity as fundamental elements of a holistic Christian ministry and witness,” affirms LWF’s “Faith and Human Rights: Voices from the Lutheran Communion” (p. 9).

In another noteworthy milestone, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) celebrates a decade since the adoption of our Gender Justice Policy in 2013. This marks a significant step forward in promoting equality and inclusivity. The LWF’s commitment to gender justice serves as a beacon for the positive impact that intentional policies can have on the realization of human rights.

 

Intentional Commitment

The protection of human rights requires intentionality. As guardians of human rights, we must be nimble in our approach, ensuring that our efforts remain aligned with the needs of the ever-changing global community. I find encouragement from author and podcaster Brené Brown, who has emphasized: We need courageous cultures. Brown says: you and I must create and hold spaces that rise to higher standards of behavior than what we experience in the news, on TV and in the streets. I think courageous cultures prioritize protection of human rights.

If you feel despair in trying to make a difference, I have some words of encouragement for you.

You can do more. Yes, you can do more because that’s humanity. You have the wisdom, capacity and power to do more – to create a space for freedom, for peace, for equal access to human rights and for justice. If you are enjoying fundamental human rights, why not others?

The call to action for human rights is clear: we can do better to rise above the challenges and foster an environment where justice, freedom and equality prevail. It is not merely a task; it is a testament to our shared commitment to a better world.

 

Book review by the Rev. Peter Heide

Michalko begins the difference that disability makes (Temple University Press, Mar 2002) in narrative conversation with a number of observations, ex. noting that throughout history people have put greater value on minerals and substances that are limited. Gold’s value comes from its scarcity; the same is true of diamonds and natural pearls. At one time salt was so valuable that it was used as a means of exchange. Michalko reminds us that salary comes from the practice of Rome paying its soldiers with salt.

Yet, when society regards the relative scarcity of people living with disabilities, the world chooses to devalue their lives thus depriving itself of the gifts that people who live with disability in daily living have to offer their societies and the world. “Therefore, [disability] has nothing to do with the individual. The disabled person is strictly a biological deviation from the normal body.

“…From this, follows [Mike] Oliver’s [social model] understanding of disability. Disability…is all the things that impose restrictions on disabled people, ranging from individual prejudice to institutional discrimination, from inaccessible public buildings to unusable transport systems, from segregated education to excluding work arrangements, and so on.

“…The simulacrum of disability paints it with the brush of misfortune, pity and victimage, yielding a number of contemporary assumptions about disability.” Society presumes the lives of people living with disabilities are perpetual suffering and therefore to be avoided in all circumstances.

The social model of disability does not refute that there is suffering, but it relocates where the suffering takes place. “Suffering then is an essential aspect…, but…we do not suffer the condition of our impairments as medicine and the rest of society would have it. We suffer our society. (emphasis mine) We suffer what our society makes of our impairments and this, according to the social model, is oppressive.”

It is only within the medical model of disability that individuals with a disability are seen as “suffering and incurable and thus unalterable biological conditions”. In turn we are then treated “with pity or even with scorn but [also]…with admiration if we adjust well within non-disabled standards. All with the understanding that, like everyone else, we hate being disabled.

“…Contemporary society understands disability as lack and subsequently treats [disability] as lack, particularly the lack of ability, figuring it within the frame of instrumental relations. The lack of the ability, to see, to hear, or to walk, is framed within the inability to do things that ordinarily and naturally adhere to these abilities.”

When this view of lacking is shifted from the individual to society, the identity of the person who lives with a disability regains personhood and the process of public accommodation can be addressed. Michalko presses the point that when consideration is made for accommodations, it is rarely the disability that influences society’s willingness to make change. It is always cost.

The question throughout this book continues to be how valued and valuable people who live with disability are to the societies they live in. It is past the time for society to think about people living with disabilities and think about the future with them.

There were so many times that, as a blind reader, I wanted to get up and shout, “YES!” Finally, someone is speaking for me.” I highly recommend this book to any who would like a deeper understanding of the difference between the medical (curative) model of disability and the social (accommodations) model of disability. As a church and society, we can only benefit from Michalko’s work and come to appreciate the difference disability makes.

 

Biography—Rod Michalko is retired. He formerly taught Disability Studies at University of Toronto, OISE, and York University. Some of his other books include:

The Mystery of the Eye and the Shadow of Blindness March 1998

The Two-In-One (Part of the Animals, Culture, and Society Series) December 1998

Rethinking Normalcy: A Disability Studies Reader (with Tanya Titchkosky)  May 2009

Things Are Different Here July 2017

Letters with Smokie: Blindness and More-Than-Human Relations (with Dan Goodley)  September 2023

Steve Peterson, Sauk Rapids, MN

Warm-up Question

Are you being called beyond your comfort zone to live Jesus’ way of love, peace and understanding?

An Unsettling Call

The Formation of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples (IWGIA Document No. 29, 1979)  offers a picture of Indigenous peoples before they were invaded and subjugated, a vision of vitality and wholeness.   The document continues, “Other peoples arrived

thirsting for blood, for gold, for land and all its wealth,
carrying the cross and the sword, one in each hand
without knowing or waiting to learn the ways of our worlds,
they considered us to be lower than animals,
they stole our land from us and took us from our lands,
they made slaves…”

The movie Killers of the Flower Moon released this fall in theaters (and currently streaming on Apple+) is based on David Grann’s 2017 book about real life events in Oklahoma in the early years of the 20^th Century.  The film offers a window into how this subjugation and dehumanizing of native peoples played out in a particular place and time.  

During the time period of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries the Osage Nation, like many Indigenous Tribes, was forced to give up their homeland to European settlers and to relocate, in this case more than once, finally landing in Oklahoma.  The land that became theirs in Oklahoma turned out to have oil underneath it.  Subsequently, the oil revenue due individual Osage tribal members was largely withheld from them under guardianships of white community members who were assigned to individuals.  This was based on the racist  rational that the Osage people themselves were not capable of their own agency.

 In a variety of dishonest and immoral actions, including those depicted in “Killers of the Flower Moon” movie, the Osage people experienced the consequences of being brutally conquered, beaten down, killed, impoverished and deeply traumatized.  These dehumanizing actions by European peoples, “thirsting for blood, for gold, for land and all its wealth” are still being felt today.

Martin Scorsese, director of Killers of the Flower Moon, stresses in an October 12 interview with  The Guardian, “The most important thing to remember is that while the story is set in the 1920s, it’s not a ‘historical’ film. What I mean by that is, that the effects of the tragedy are still felt within the community.” 

In the same Guardian article, Geoffrey Standing Bear, current chief of the Osage Nation asserts that the whole white population seems to have been in on the horrendous treatment of his ancestors in the early 20^th century.  He posits that, “It’s not, who was complicit?  It’s who wasn’t complicit?”  He stresses, “This tragedy is almost within living memory, it was the time of our grandparents.”  

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has initiated a Truth and Healing movement within the church in order to “provide opportunities to learn the true history and current realities of Indigenous people. It is these truths, truths that have been ignored by most for hundreds of years, that will bring healing for both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people.”  

Discussion Questions

• In can be uncomfortable and very challenging to become more aware of the ways Indigenous people have been treated by a colonizing, dominate white culture.  While we were not personally involved, we still benefit from the taking of others land and live in a country where others still suffer from that theft of land and culture.   Why might it be valuable to live into this discomfort and participate in a truth and healing movement?  
• In the 1920’s Oklahoma depicted in the movie sin is present in the laws, policies, and practices that enable violence and exploitation. Are you aware of sinful structures (laws, policies, or common practices and attitudes that harmed neighbors) which have been present in our country in various locations? After reflecting on the film, and other dark parts of our national history, what do you want to learn more about? What are the various opinions about this out there?  What, if anything, do you feel called to do?

Second Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 40:1-11

2 Peter 3:8-15a

Mark 1:1-8

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

John the Baptist is an unsettling character with an unsettling message.  He takes us out of our comfort zone.  John jarringly invites us to rethink what we believe and  how we act.  Mark introduces this alarming character, John, in an unsettling wilderness setting, with a disquieting message right at the beginning of his Gospel.  

The “beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” consists of this wild guy crying out in the wilderness, with a life-changing, comfort zone busting Good News. He proclaims, presumably shouts, a message of radical change, reordered life paths, and  repentance of sin.

And if this is not jarring enough, John says soon one greater than he will appear, bringing the Holy Spirit.  In other words, “Fasten your seat belt, we are about to take off into a whole new dimension of living.”

An online review of the Film Killers of a Flower Moon, is titled An Unsettling Masterpiece.   The review describes a scene at the beginning of the movie “when the screen fills with men toiling in what looks like a lake of fire. Inky silhouettes in a red-orange void…these are ordinary men in a hell of human making. It’s a rightly apocalyptic image for this cruel and baroque American story of love, murder, greed and unspeakable betrayal in 1920s Indian Country.”  

At the end of the movie the narrator, director Scorsese in a cameo appearance, challenges the viewer to be changed by this story,  to see and to live in a more life-giving way.  Confronted by this story of evil enacted and accepted in 1920’s Oklahoma, the viewer is invited to repent of the sins of our culture, seek forgiveness, and live in life-giving way.

While John the Baptist certainly invites people into repentance and forgiveness of individual sins, it seems that he and Jesus are also proclaiming a much broader and more unsettling message.  The gospel envisions way of living which is life-giving and just for all people.  

At the end of Mark’s gospel the witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection are terrified.  No wonder they are afraid, recognizing the awesome responsibility and calling they have before them now, to share this unsettling good news!  Perhaps we are afraid as well.  Perhaps we are afraid of confronting dark parts of our common history and seeking common repentance.  It is hard to advocate for Jesus’ disquieting yet more life-giving way of living and being.  

In her book, I Can Do No Other, theologian Anna Madsen writes, “If we believe in the risen Jesus—the raised one who spent his life healing the sick, serving the poor, teaching the crowds, feeding the hungry, forgiving the sinners, and welcoming the outcasts—we become ambassadors of that Jesus.”  

Jesus’ way is in direct contrast to the dehumanizing way greed and dominance depicted in Killers of a Flower Moon.” Jesus’ way begins with the unsettling prophetic voice of John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, urging us to repent of such things, to put them in the past.  As uncomfortable as it may be at times, following his way allows us to really be alive.   Jesus calls us  to leave our comfort zones and embrace the wonderful news of God’s liberation and love for all people!  

Discussion Questions

• Can you think of a time in your life when leaving your comfort zone has been life giving for you? What happened?   What was that like for you?
• What injustice in your immediate daily life or in the world are your feeling called to address?  Does this make you uncomfortable, even afraid, in some way?  What good could come out of taking action to think and act in new ways?
• How might God and others in your community of faith help give you wisdom and courage to go beyond your discomfort to live more boldly in Jesus’ resurrection life of love and justice for all.

Activity Suggestions

• Watch the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon”  (Available on Apple +) and reflect together using the study guide resource provided by the ELCA as part of the Truth and Healing movement:  https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Congregations-and-Synods/Ethnic-Specific-and-Multicultural-Ministries/Indigenous-Ministries-and-Tribal-Relations/Truth-and-Healing-Movement
• As a group on poster paper or a white board, design a road that Jesus wants to walk with people toward Truth and Healing.  What would you put on that road?  What “Fueling Stations” would be helpful along the way?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and just God, help us to see those places in our lives and in our culture where we are called to repent.  Make us instruments of your justice and inclusion of all people within the circle of your unconditional love.  Help us to move beyond our discomfort and and give us courage to be instruments of your love and peace, so that all may have healing, wholeness, and abundant life. Amen

 

When you hear of the UN Conference of Parties (COP28) meeting in Dubai Nov. 30-Dec. 12, 2024, a faith voice from the ELCA is there in what may seem like far-away yet far-reaching efforts. Six representatives are attending either in-person or virtually to contribute to the dialogue with world leaders as they debate strategies and ambitions to effectively tackle the climate crisis.

The ELCA’s recent social message “Earth’s Climate Crisis” reads:

The ELCA presence at COP28 advances our duty through global dialogues that seek to address pressing environmental challenges.

Climate change affects everyday realities, in many areas such as food shortages, migration, rising grain prices and conflict over resources. With more than 100 faith-based organizations attending, there will be a Faith Pavilion. View COP28 activities from webtv.un.org and from https://www.youtube.com/@UNClimateChange.

Past COP output has brought ‘loss and damage’ fund discussion to the fore which can help nations address damage caused by the increased natural disasters. Being present as faith leaders has impact.

Consider registering for the Jan. 24, 2024, webinar to hear from ELCA COP28 participants: “Voices of Faith in Climate Action: COP28 and Beyond.” And get to know our representatives better in the introductions below.

 

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Asked “Why is it important that the ELCA attends COP28?”, Christine Moffett, ELCA Program Director for Environment and Energy Policy, said:

“There are so many risks accompanied by the impacts of climate change, one of which being the loss of hope. It is important that as people of faith, as Lutherans, we answer the call from God to be stewards of God’s creation, which means to advocate and demand action to address and stop climate change, but in the same vein, to be hope bearers toward a future for all of God’s creation for generations to come.”

Moffett brings a background in both environmental science and political science. She holds a Master of Political Science Degree from the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam in Global Environmental Governance, Climate Change and Sustainability. In addition, she brings experience conducting community needs assessments in accompaniment with tribal nations. In this role with the ELCA, she advocates to the federal government around issues of stewardship of creation, environmental justice, climate change and sustainability, among others, all guided by ELCA social teachings.

 

Watch @loppca socials for timely COP28 reflections from Regina Q. Banks, JD. She is a womanist climate activist and professional advocate for economic, social and political justice. She currently serves as the Director of the Lutheran Office of Public Policy California, an ELCA-affiliated state public policy office, and Board Chair of Lutheran Social Services of Northern California. Banks is a proud alumna of Valparaiso University School of Law and Lincoln University (Mo.). She lives in her hometown of Sacramento, California, and in her spare time she works on multiple state and local social justice issues including housing security and ending the corrosive influence of money in public policy.

 

Savannah Jorgensen is the Legislative Coordinator with the Lutheran Office of Public Policy-California, where she previously served as an ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow. Jorgensen holds a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology and a Master of Science in Atmospheric Sciences from Valparaiso University and Texas A&M University, respectively. Her passion is climate change and environmental justice policy. This is her first time participating in COP, and she is excited to engage with and learn from world partners to further our work on climate solutions.

 

Asked “Why is it important that the ELCA attends COP28?”, Christine Moolo, ELCA Program Director, World Hunger Initiatives, said:

“In the U.S. and around the globe, Indigenous communities are leading the fight against the crisis of climate change. Indigenous leadership, knowledge, and innovation have been critical to protecting Creation, fighting fossil fuels, transitioning to just and sustainable economies and protecting some of the most carbon-rich places on earth. As the ELCA, we have the gift of relationship with Indigenous leaders and educators who continue to show us their ways to care for Creation. COP28 is another opportunity for the ELCA to honor and center Native voices from around the globe and consider how we can learn from and apply Indigenous wisdom and expertise in our local communities and in our nation.”

Moolo is working to extend and deepen the work of ELCA World Hunger in the areas of migrant, environmental, racial, gender and economic justice. She has the privilege to serve with the ELCA AMMPARO executive committee, the board of Lutherans Restoring Creation, the Pine Ridge Reservation Housing initiative and re-establishing the ELCA Community Development Loan Fund. Her previous role was as Manager for Love Mercy Do Justice ministries with the Evangelical Covenant Church, with a focus on racial justice education for congregations. Moolo is an Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Assessor and received her Master of Arts in International Development from Eastern University. Moolo currently resides on the ancestral land of the Peoria, Kikapu and Ocheti Sakowin people, today known as Palatine, Ill.

 

Tammy Walhof is the Director of Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota, an ELCA-affiliated state public policy office. She enjoys hiking and birdwatching. She has worked, lived and traveled throughout Latin America and been to five African countries, where she learned a great deal about the impacts of our actions on others. In 2022, Tammy and her brother (a forester) went to Iceland, to better understand the impacts of climate change on Arctic regions. Walhof has several decades of advocacy experience through Bread for the World, and Lutheran Advocacy-Minnesota.

 

Asked “Why is it important that the ELCA attends COP28?”, the Rev. Matthew Zemanick, ELCA Program Director for Lutheran Disaster Response Initiatives, said:

“It is important for the church to be present in moments of crisis and important decision making. Mitigating the impacts of climate change and preventing a catastrophic 3-degree Celsius global mean temperature rise is the most important issue human society is facing. It is an honor to be present at COP with the ELCA to bear witness and contribute to solutions to the enormous challenges associated with climate change.”

Pr. Zemanick is responsible for developing emerging initiatives related to Lutheran Disaster Response’s (LDR) resiliency and preparedness programs. Before joining the LDR team, they served for nearly five years on Chicago’s southeast side as a parish pastor, community organizer and environmental justice chaplain. They grew up in the Patapsco River Valley in Central.

 

from the ELCA advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Senior Director

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: November/December 2023

IN TIME OF WAR  |  FARM BILL EXTENSION  |  CLIMATE-SMART FARMING FUNDING  |  GENDER JUSTICE  |  NOTEWORTHY LEGISLATIVE BREAKTHROUGHS

 

IN TIME OF WAR:  As weeks extend in the temporarily paused Isael-Hamas war, faith leaders continue to urge peace. Signed by the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, several ELCA synod bishops and others through Churches for Middle East Peace, a Nov. 29 letter to President Biden says, “We condemn all acts of violence against civilians and grieve with Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones.” It urges: “You have a unique opportunity to turn the tide of history and finally demand that the fighting stop and that the parties involved resolve their differences through negotiations and diplomatic means. Please do not miss this opportunity. Millions of lives depend on the U.S., no longer being complicit in an unjust war that has already devastated the lives of thousands of civilians. Our prayers are with you in the days and weeks to come. We ask that God give you wisdom and courage to do all you can to bring an end to the killing and the violence.”

Our ELCA advocacy continues to urge Congress and the Administration to: 1) Publicly call for a ceasefire to prevent the further loss of life; 2) Prioritize the protection of all civilians, including by urgently securing the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza and working to secure the release of hostages and prisoners; and 3) Urge all parties to fully respect international humanitarian law.

 

FARM BILL EXTENSION:  When Congress temporarily averted a government shutdown until early next year an extension of 2018 Farm Bill programs through Sept. 30, 2024, was also passed. Representatives of ELCA Pennsylvania synods visited Capitol Hill on Oct. 26 and shared experiences and priorities regarding feeding ministries, SNAP benefits, conservation programs and other components of the Farm Bill with U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) staff and offices of elected officials. We thank federal staffers and faith-centered advocates, including bishops, rostered ministers and Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania staff for this impactful effort organized with ELCA D.C.-based advocacy staff. Seeds planted by this fly-in include stronger relationships with USDA staff members, including connecting with ELCA World Hunger colleagues on new ways states and communities can provide healthy nutrition to low-income children during the summer months.

Contacting Congress on Farm Bill measures will be a critical priority for faith-based advocates as negotiations come to the fore in 2024. Our ELCA advocacy will continue to urge Congress to pass a Farm Bill reauthorization that promotes: food for hungry neighbors at home and abroad, healthy rural and farming communities, inclusion of people of all backgrounds, and creation care to feed future generations. Input from hundreds of Lutherans across the country who asked that their voices reach policy makers in the farm bill reauthorization process helped shape this ask, which is described in the ELCA “2023 Farm Bill Asks” summary.

 

CLIMATE-SMART FARMING FUNDING:  As the Farm Bill reauthorization continues to be negotiated, members of the House Committee on Agriculture are worried about a move to steer conservation money intended for climate-smart farming into other programs. This would threaten the additional funding for climate-smart agriculture programs in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. It seems to be a hurdle toward achieving a bipartisan Farm Bill.

 

GENDER JUSTICE:  For the first time, the U.S. government will contribute to the UNICEF/UNFPA’s Global Programme to End Child Marriage. This program was launched in 2016 to fight child marriage in 12 countries that have high prevalence rates, but the United States had not contributed funding for this work. The UNICEF/UNFPA work is separate from the bilateral work that USAID and the State Department are doing to end child marriage globally. Early and forced marriage is among types of gender-based violence identified in ELCA social teaching as the ELCA shares “rich convictions and significant commitments” to address justice for women and girls.

 

NOTEWORTHY LEGISLATIVE BREAKTHROUGHS:  While it can appear that Congress is immobile in bipartisan immigration reform, some breakthroughs are taking place. Of note, the House has introduced the Afghan Adjustment Act which would enable Afghans with parole status to adjust their legal status;Bthe Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act (H.R.1325) which is responding to the community’s support of families seeking safety by shortening the length wait-period for work authorization; and most recently, the Immigration Court Efficiency and Children’s Court Act of 2023 which would help make sure that unaccompanied children receive due process and meaningful support navigating immigration proceedings streamlined through the creation of a Children’s Court. These bills are noteworthy in scope and support, and because they are responsive to concerns raised by people of faith including ELCA Witness in Society staff and other advocates.

The ELCA supported a campaign of gratitude for sponsorship of the Afghan Adjustment Act through the Immigration Interfaith Coalition, inviting tagging of lawmakers with expressions of thanks, in addition to urging passage through an Action Alert.

 

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Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network last month. Full list and map of sppos available.

 

U.N. | ARIZONA | COLORADO | MINNESOTA| WASHINGTON

New York

Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), U.N. – ELCA.org/lowc

Christine Mangale, Director

Third and Second Committees of the General Assembly: The 78th session of Third Committee of the General Assembly, which deals with Social, Humanitarian and Cultural issues, has been meeting since Sept. 28 following the conclusion of UNGA78 high level meetings. The Third Committee has robust agenda items and like in previous sessions, is focusing on the examination of human rights questions, including reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. Agenda items include the advancement of women, the protection of children, indigenous issues, the treatment of refugees, the promotion of fundamental freedoms through the elimination of racism and racial discrimination, and the right to self- The Committee also addresses social development issues related to youth, family, ageing, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, criminal justice, and international drug control. LOWC is following closely the sessions and coordinating with the LWF Action for Justice unit.

 The United Nations General Assembly Second Committee is one of the six main committees of the United Nations General Assembly. It deals with global finance and economic matters. LOWC staff have also been following the Second Committee which is responsible for agenda items related to economic and financial affairs, with LOWC most closely following tax-related negotiations.

Rally for Peace: While commemorating the 23rd anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325) on Women, Peace, and Security that was adopted in October 2000, LOWC staff attended the NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO CSW) rally for peace that focused on recognizing and voicing concerns on how women are deeply affected by a conflict torn world. The rally emphasized the importance of involving women in decision making, conflict prevention, resolution, and peacebuilding activities. Participants called for a more gender-inclusive world.

Women’s Political Participation and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security in Columbia: LOWC staff attended a High-Level Policy Briefing in the run-up to the annual Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security. One of the main goals of the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda is to guarantee and increase women’s contributions and participation at all levels of decision-making. The meaningful participation of diverse women in peace processes and post-conflict governance is critical to achieving inclusive and sustainable peace. This specific briefing focused on the level and quality of Colombian women’s participation in the creation of the country’s National Action Plan (NAP). It also commented on lessons learned about women’s political participation following the 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP).

Women’s Human Rights Advocacy Training: LOWC Program Director Daniel Pieper attended the Women’s Human Rights Advocacy Training which took place from 17-20 October 2023 in Geneva Switzerland. The annual training is organized by Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in partnership with the World Council of Churches, Finn Church Aid and Norwegian Church Aid. Among the participants from different churches and faith-based organizations were women and men from LWF’s member churches in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malawi, the United States and Zimbabwe, as well as from its World Service country programs in Chad, Iraq and South Sudan. During the training, the LOWC Program Director shared about the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) and also participated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) review of Malawi.

 

Arizona

LUTHERAN ADVOCACY MINISTRY ARIZONA (LAMA) – lamaz.org

Solveig Muus, Director

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Arizona (LAMA) hosted its 4th annual summit on Nov. 4, bring together LAMA policy council, congregational liaisons and leaders to explore advocacy as a spiritual practice… how might some element of advocacy become part of your daily or weekly routine? In addition, we prayed, sang, ate and wrote letters to our legislators, inviting them to Lutheran Day at the Legislature. 

As one of LAMA’s policy priorities 2024 is water, our LAMA team connected with Congressman Greg Stanton and water policy experts over a community breakfast. We continue to seek partnerships in this area – conversations welcome!

Our Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network meets monthly to share resources and updates from churchwide, learn about local hunger ministries, and support one another. The network is engaged in a congregational hunger ministry survey – the goal is 100% participation, with a hunger leader liaison in every congregation – and planning a Lenten Challenge with our sister synod in Southeastern Iowa.

This month, LAMA was privileged to present resources, updates and information about our work in person at two congregations, in addition to the synod convention of the Women of the ELCA and the synod retirees in retreat. We’re promoting an Advocacy 101 Toolkit from our partners at Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest (LSS-SW) which includes a video, slide show and resources for individual or group use.

All that, plus coalition partner meetings, Hunger Fellow engagement, planning for Lutheran Day at the Legislature on Jan. 18, 2024, and a tour of the Maricopa County Elections Office are keeping us busy!

Colorado

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado (LAM-CO) – lam-co.org

Peter Severson, Director

SPECIAL SESSION: Colorado Governor Jared Polis has called a special session of the legislature that began on Friday, Nov. 7. Legislators addressed property taxes and sought to provide relief after the failure of Proposition HH on the ballot. Average property tax increases across Colorado are approaching 40% due to skyrocketing assessment values, so the legislature will try to find a different path forward that is distinct from Prop HH.

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado will be advocating for an increased investment in the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, which will offer significant poverty-reducing benefits for low-income families. The session will last at least three days.

ELECTION RESULTS: Proposition HH, the complex property tax reduction measure, failed by a significant margin. Proposition II, allowing the state to keep tobacco tax revenue, passed by a wide margin, and the nearly $24 million in revenue will go to the state’s new universal pre-K program.

Minnesota

Lutheran Advocacy Minnesota (LA-MN) – lutheranadvocacymn.org

Tammy Walhof, Director

Policy Council Retreat: The Lutheran Advocacy Minnesota (LA-MN) Policy Council just had its retreat with speaker Dr. Gary Simpson presenting on various ideologies of Christian traditions and how that influences political engagement. We spent time brainstorming strategies to respond to the deep polarization throughout our state and country. We plan to continue seeking ways to bring people together.

Issues for 2024: The Policy Council considered policy options for the next legislative session. We anticipate working on e-waste legislation (an environmental, energy, climate & jobs issue) and to increase the supply of affordable housing. At the federal level, we will be focused on various issues within the Farm Bill, which is a key legislation for ELCA Advocacy networks nationwide.

Implementation

• Sacred Settlements: The legislation takes effect on Jan. 1. At that point, faith communities may move forward to host settlements of people leaving chronic homelessness and specially trained “good neighbors.” Two Minnesota synods passed resolutions in support of Sacred Settlements. If you would like to pursue something similar, see the resolution and a background paper on our website at https://www.lutheranadvocacymn.org/action-alerts.
• Energy Credits/Rebates: Several options for churches and individuals passed last session are not yet available, but we will monitor the rollout. We also plan to host informational events.

COP28 Climate Conference: Says Tammy Walhof, LA-MN director, “I have my ticket, my letter from the United Nations, and my visa, but still have a lot to learn before leaving for Dubai. As I mentioned in last month’s update, I’m privileged to represent the ELCA at this important event.” Please watch our Facebook page for updates from the Conference.

Washington

Faith Action Network (FANWA) – fanwa.org

Elise DeGooyer, Executive Director

FAN Annual Dinner

Faith Action Network (FANWA) staff and board hosted our annual celebration on Sun. Nov. 19. We held simultaneous in-person dinners in Renton and Spokane, plus a livestream with watch parties. This year’s theme, United in Hope, reflected our core conviction of hope for positive change through multifaith action. In the midst of a disheartening time of polarization, closely felt among the faith communities in our network, we were grateful to gather as a community.

 

Legislative Agenda Planning

FAN has been working on crafting our advocacy priorities for the 2024 legislative session with our coalition partners such as Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition, Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, Earth Ministry/WA interfaith Power & Light, and Balance Our Tax Code. It has been particularly helpful during this stage of planning to host regional cluster meetings. We met in 13 clusters this fall with more than 250 people from around the state. On the federal level, we continue to encourage our network to take action for the Farm Bill and WIC.

Immigrant Justice
In November, we celebrated the success of the Health Equity for Immigrants Campaign. Starting on Nov. 1, all Wash residents, including immigrants who are undocumented, can buy health and dental insurance and apply for Cascade Care Saving Plans to alleviate their health care cost. Once a bill is passed, it is important for us to follow through its implementation. We will continue to work together in a coalition to expand access to this program and implement the next Medicaid-like health plan for immigrants.

Since Sept., 350+ newly arrived migrants seeking asylum from Angola, Congo and Venezuela have camped in tents or on the floor at a church outside Seattle. One third of them are children. ELCA Hunger Advocacy Fellow Tomo Duke testified at the King County Council budget hearing to ask for a county response to this emergency. Members of our network also are responding to the urgent needs for these immigrants, while we advocate for a government response.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Questions

• Is there a time when your world was turned upside down?
• What words do we associate with such upheavals in our lives?  (Devastated?  Abandoned? Forgotten?  Ignored?)
• Is there a time when you were wanting or hoping that the world would be turned upside down?
• How would you respond to this statement: “Those who are comfortable with the way things are don’t want change; while those who are considered the ‘underlings’ often demand radical change”?

Change is Coming

Our lives can be upended in an instant:

• A friend tells of waking to the warnings that a (seemingly distant) wildfire might reach his area.  In January 2022 Louisville, CO, was practically obliterated by those flames.  In just a few short hours, his family went from thinking, “Maybe we need to keep an eye on this,”  to fleeing so fast they forgot to close the backdoor.  The flames skipped over the house; but the interior was buried in the soot which seeped through the crack of that unlatched door.
• In the lands where Jesus lived, loved, healed, and taught, war is now leaving children without parents and parents without homes.
• In Sunday worship service we pray for the thirty-nine year old whose life is upended by a diagnosis of throat cancer.  We pray that radiation and chemotherapy will push back the disease.

Political ads offer very little in the way of plans and programs to deal with such disruption.  They excel only at warning us how horrible life will be if the other candidate prevails.  How our lives will be “upended” if we allow “them” to be in control.

In most instances, we turn to the Church and to our Messiah, hoping they will shield us from the changes which might upend our lives.  We turn to God as a protection against any reordering of our common refrain:  “Lord, deliver your servant.” But, what if Jesus is the one who is bringing the change?  What if  the path on which we presently tread is a one which needs to come to an end?  How do we interact with a God who insists that all things be made new?

When Martin Luther washed his face each morning he saw this as a reminder that in baptism we have promised to see each day as a new beginning and a new start.  Change didn’t happen once, 2000 years ago.  It wasn’t something that occurred on the day of our baptism and never again.  As we wash our face, we emerge with the awareness that on this day God is calling us to something different from our previous days.

As we begin the Advent season, we speak of how different the world will be when God’s Messiah is among us.  The songs and lessons of Advent are petitions to God to “make all things new.”  Isaiah 64:1 will be read in many church services this Sunday. “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence.”

What if God isn’t the one who protects or prevents upheavals?  What if God is the one who brings it — and possibly requires it?

Discussion Questions

• Does your neighborhood have those signs along the road calling on you to “Repent”?  What does the word “Repent” mean?
• Some hold to the notion of “once saved-always saved.”  Do you share that belief?  What exactly does that mean?
• How many biblical references can you find in which Jesus tells the disciples  to believe a particular thing.  How often does he. merely tell the disciples to “follow”?  In how many of those stories were the disciples fully aware where Jesus was leading them?
• Is your relationship with Jesus one which holds you firmly in place?  Does it also invite you to move in new directions?
• What is the difference between standing firm in faith and using religion as an excuse to avoid needed change in ourselves and society?

First Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 64:1-9

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Mark 13:24-37

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Mark 13 is written in the apocalyptic  style.  You are probably familiar with this type of literature from the final book of our New Testament,  Revelation. Daniel is an Old Testament book written in the same style.  In fact, many of the images we find in Revelation are repeated images from Daniel.  Our reading from Mark 13 includes at least four references to Daniel (Dan. 7:13, 9:27,11:31, 12:11.)  Mark’s instruction, “let the reader understand,” (v. 14) is another such reference.

Contrary to what we are often encouraged to think, apocalyptic writings are not intended to frighten or threaten us.  Apocalyptic writings are affirmations that God the creator and redeemer is always with us.   The world may be turned upside down, but that turning is the very thing which allows us to experience the world God prefers.

Apocalyptic writings affirm the faith community’s confidence that no matter how crushed we might be, God has not abandoned us.  No matter how hopeless we might feel, God’s gift of salvation remains.

As the words of Mark’s 13th chapter were being written, the followers of Jesus were experiencing hardships beyond our imagination.  Their communities were being destroyed.  They faced hunger and oppression for continuing with their family’s religious rituals.  The world in which they found themselves was harsh.  Religious and political powers threatened anyone who didn’t go along with the status quo.  

The faithful followers of Jesus joyfully anticipated the day when Christ would be among them and would right the wrongs they suffered.  They looked forward to the world being turned upside down.  They lifted their voices to God to ask for upheaval and a reversal of the way things are.

Let’s make sure to note that while Mark 13 expresses these affirmations, the gospel writer warns against trying  to predict the day or time when Messiah will come.  There is always a temptation to see events as indicators that the change we seek is about to happen.  Verse 32 suggests that even Jesus (the Son) doesn’t know.  The righting of systemic wrongs must be left in God’s hands.  Mark reminds his readers that there is no better place to be than in God’s hands.

We cannot – by our actions or even by our prayers – dictate the hour of God’s arrival.  Nor can we determine the contours of the New Earth.  Our role is to be ready.  Our call is to “keep awake,”  to dream of an upended world in which the way of Jesus is known and experienced by all of God’s children.  We must not shut our eyes to the way of Christ and the assurances of God’s justice.  Keep awake!

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever heard the word, “apocalyptic”?  What more would you like to know about this word and this style of literature?
• Ask yourself whether you agree with the suggestion that God may be the one who calls for an upending of the way things are.
• It is very important to remember that the call for change among the early followers of Jesus was a comfort.  In what ways might God’s call for reversal be a comfort to you?
• Are you one who makes New Year’s resolutions?  On this, the First Sunday of the new Church Year, what “resolutions” might we make?
• Our Advent songs are more than a memory about something that God did once upon a time.  Our songs ask that God’s Promised One will come to us now, here.  Where in your life and world is there a need for Christ to be born?

Activity Suggestion

During Advent, many of our congregations make use of Marty Haugen’s Holden Evening Prayer.  Experience the beauty of one of the songs in this liturgy,  “Annunciation and Magnificat.”  Lovely music, powerful affirmation of God’s favor.  But, do pay attention to the words.  Two options for you:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nABzv_TInaI has a printed copy of the words.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79GlnqXpp1Q is a congregation’s Advent service.  Discuss how Mary’s words might touch the upheavals those in your group are experiencing.

Closing Prayer

O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, enter our lives on this day and reshape us so as to reflect the people you know us to be.  Through the assurances of those who have gone before us, allow us to face the new day with the confidence that your will is being done.  With boldness let us embrace the change which will make your peace and your justice a reality for those the world would overlook.  All of this in your time, O Lord. Amen.