Jocelyn Breeland, Sunnyvale, CA

Warm-up Question

Have you ever been truly lost? How did that feel?

One Who Was Lost Is Found

Pavlina Pizova is fortunate to be alive. Pizova and her partner, Ondrej Petr, both Czechs, were hiking the Fiordland National Park in New Zealand in July when they became lost and disoriented in fog and heavy snow. The couple spent a night outside before Petr fell down a slope and died.

After two more days outside in the snow and sub-freezing temperatures, Pizova made her way to a warden’s hut. The hut was uninhabited, but stocked with food and firewood. Pizova stayed there for a month, unable to walk to safety because of physical weakness and fearful of leaving because she’d witnessed several avalanches.

Pizova and Petr had not told anyone of their travel plans. Someone at the Czech consulate happened to see frantic messages by their families on social media and raised the alarm.

Pizova has expressed her gratitude for the assistance of the Czech and New Zealand authorities in her rescue. She also noted several mistakes the couple had made, including not informing friends and family of their plans, not carrying an emergency locator beacon, and underestimating New Zealand’s winter weather.

As miraculous as it was, this type of rescue is far from rare. In the U.S. alone, the National Park Service reports thousands of search and rescue (SAR) operations every year. Hiking and boating are the activities requiring the most SAR assistance.

Discussion Questions

• Do you go hiking, skiing, boating? Are you concerned about the risk?
• Why do you think so many people in national parks need to be rescued?
• What can be done to reduced the numbers of people in dangerous situations like this?

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Exodus 32:7-14

1 Timothy 1:12-17

Luke 15:1-10

(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

The parable of the lost sheep is one of the most well known Bible stories and it offers a compelling vision of our relationship with Christ. Jesus loves each of us so much that, should one of us stray, he will search tirelessly until he finds us. And he will rejoice in bringing us back into the fold.

What a blessing! What more could we want when we’re lost than to know that the search party is out there looking? As Christians, we are assured that we cannot go so far astray that God will abandon us, and we know that we will not just be allowed back in the flock, but that our eternally forgiving and merciful God will welcome us back with rejoicing.

Like so much of scripture, today’s Gospel shares the good news of what God has done and continues to do for us. It also offers a model for how we should share God’s love with one another. Following Jesus’ example, we must seek out the lost and welcome others into our community with rejoicing.

Discussion Questions

• List some of the ways we as Christians get lost.
• The Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with sinners because, in their understanding, that kind of association could make a person unclean. What are some ideas that today keep us separate from others?
• Are there some sins, some ways that people stray, that are so serious that we should hold them apart – for their good or for ours? What does the Gospel suggest?

Activity Suggestions

As Pavlina Pizova realized, people who go hiking in the wilderness or boating or other adventures could use a kit of tools and instructions to keep from getting lost, and to find their way back home if they stray. What tools and instructions could help Christians avoid getting lost or to return the lost to the fold? Do your answers include individual and community supports?

It may be helpful to break into small groups to consider these questions and then report your results to the larger group.

Then go around the room and share one thing you will do this week to keep (or restore) yourself or someone else as part of the flock.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for always caring for us, the sheep of your flock, and seeing all our needs. We each stray at times and rejoice to be returned to your loving embrace. Help us to share the same joyful embrace with all of your people. In the name of the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

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Pennsylvania

Tracey DePasquale, Lutheran Advocacy – Pennsylvania                          

lutheranadvocacypa.org

With the General Assembly in recess until September, August provided time for assessing and strengthening partnerships within the church, including relationships with Lutheran camps and seminaries. Meetings are exploring ways to lift up stories from our ministries and create a program that would include advocacy as an element of faith formation. LAMPa’s policy council will engage these topics and more as we restructure for mission at our annual retreat in September.

LAMPa is also equipping synodical women’s organizations to support Safe Harbor legislation as part of the churchwide dedicated day of service on Sept. 11. Congregations may label bars of soap with the human trafficking hotline information for distribution at hotels as a service project. Lower Susquehanna’s organization adopted a resolution in support of SB851 and is sending a letter to the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The resolution also calls on members to write their individual lawmakers in support of the bill that would divert trafficked children from the criminal justice system into appropriate services.

Very little is expected to be addressed in the few remaining weeks of the legislative session beyond finishing details connected to the budget. We remain alert for any movement on a memo circulated early in the session on possible payday lending legislation.

Texas

Samuel D. Brannon, Texas Impact

texasimpact.org

On Aug. 22, Dr. John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), met in Austin with Lutheran and other faith leaders to discuss Texas’ Zika plan.

“All of us play a role in limiting the potential that it gets here to Texas and the potential for it to spread,” said Hellerstedt. He explained that practices like using mosquito repellent, putting screens in open windows and wearing long-sleeve clothing will go a long way in preventing contact with an infected mosquito. He added that personal prevention measures can be almost 100 percent effective. “We don´t have to be perfect at this, but we do need to be as consistent as possible in these practices,” said Hellerstedt.

He said the White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been working closely with the state on Texas’ strategy. So far, all cases reported in Texas are the result of mosquito bites received during foreign travel or were passed by sexual transmission. DSHS asked faith organizations to engage their communities because, although behavioral change is difficult, the public needs to start taking real preventive measures. Congregations can help by:

• Meeting with local officials to be communication partners.
• Informing their communities. Resources available here: org.
• Going door-to-door with preventive information in high-risk neighborhoods.

Preparation, education and rapid response – coordinated at the state and local level, and with partnerships between state agencies and community organizations like congregations – is the best way to protect our communities from the spread of Zika.

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Washington

Paul Benz, Faith Action Network

fanwa.org

ELECTED OFFICIAL MEETINGS: Faith Action Network (FAN) is busy meeting with elected officials and the faith advocates in their districts. We’re primarily focusing on state legislators but also meeting with county council members and members of Congress. Our main state issues are: revenue solutions to fund K-12 education and our broken mental health systems, repealing our state’s death penalty statute and reforming our use of deadly force statute. Our two primary congressional issues are child nutrition and passing sensible sentencing reform. At all these meetings, we are sharing a statement: Interfaith Leaders Call for a Responsible & Respectful 2016 Electoral Process.

CANDIDATE/INITIATIVE FORUMS: FAN is currently planning candidate forums in districts with competitive state Senate races, each hosted by congregations and moderated by faith leaders. We are also doing a forum on two key ballot initiatives: increasing the minimum wage while establishing paid sick and safe leave, and reducing gun violence using “Extreme Risk Protection Orders.”

NEW ORGANIZING INTERNS: FAN will soon have its three new organizing interns in place: Chasity Jones from Louisiana with the United Methodist Global Missions program, Joshua Sullivan from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, and David Choi from Virginia with the United Church of Christ’s Justice Leadership Program.doing a forum on two key ballot initiatives: increasing the minimum wage while establishing paid sick and safe leave, and reducing gun violence using “Extreme Risk Protection Orders.”

ANNUAL CLUSTER GATHERINGS: Every fall, FAN gathers our advocates and friends together in 17 geographic clusters all around our state. We do this to hear what FAN is doing and to hear what advocacy-related projects our various faith communities are doing. The overarching goal is to bring people of different faith traditions together to see how we can be more effective in our common work of advocating for justice.

(Photo caption: Our Interfaith Leaders Council gathered this month to call for a responsible, honest, and respectful election season this year.)

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Wisconsin

Cindy Crane, Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin

loppw.org

POVERTY AND HUNGER: The hunger team in La Crosse is talking about supporting the efforts of ELCA World Hunger and, with LOPPW, advocating for a just bill for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization.

ELCAVOTES: LOPPW is working with the League of Women Voters to plan a candidate forum in the East-Central Synod of Wisconsin and is working with a council member to organize an additional forum.

UPCOMING CONFERENCE: The anti-trafficking conference LOPPW is organizing with Cherish All Children will include legislators, an outreach worker to homeless youth, and at least one individual who was trafficked as a youth and now works to stop sex trafficking. More information at loppw.org/events/.

DAYS AFTER MILWAUKEE WAS HIT BY VIOLENCE: “One good thing that might come out of what happened in Milwaukee is that it will bring national attention to Milwaukee’s race problems. … We need to have dialogue, but sometimes things erupt. … Not everyone is racist . … We can’t just separate into sides all the time; that won’t work in the long run.” Spoken by a high school student unearthing soil at Alice’s Garden (director/minister Venice Williams is an LOPPW Advisory Council member).

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Contact us at washingtonoffice@elca.org

Large, multinational corporations controlling prices and driving down wages, masses of people too poor to afford basic goods, an economy that favors the wealthy, politicians and church leaders at the mercy of banks….1517 was quite a year!  So much has changed, so much remains the same.

Many people remember Martin Luther’s sharp critique of the abusive practices of the church, but few of us are as familiar with Luther’s equally sharp critique of the abusive economy of his day, an economy that made a few people wealthy and a lot of people poor.

At the 2015 “Forgotten Luther” conference in Washington, DC, theologians and historians shared this little-known side of Luther’s teachings.  The presenters described Luther’s critique of monopolies, price gouging, and greed. They showed the clear economic teachings in Luther’s Catechisms and the political side of his theology. They also shared Luther’s insistence that the church be part of the solution to injustice, a heritage that can still be seen today in the many ways Lutherans respond to poverty and hunger 500 years later.

ELCA World Hunger is proud to offer for free videos of each presentation from this important conference, as well as video interviews with each of the presenters. You can find all of the videos on the ELCA’s Vimeo channel at https://vimeo.com/album/4043021. The presentations were also collected into a short book, complete with discussion questions and other contributions from the conference organizers. You can purchase the book for only $15 from Lutheran University Press at http://www.lutheranupress.org/Books/Forgotten_Luther.

Here on the ELCA World Hunger blog this month, we will feature some highlights from this collection of resources.

In this final excerpt from the video series, Dr. Jon Pahl of the Lutheran School of Theology at Philadelphia contrasts the devastating consequences of self-serving greed with the joy that can be found in working together toward a world in which all are fed – and how congregations, organizations, and partnerships can get us there. Find this video and more at https://vimeo.com/album/4043021.

By: Ryan Taylor, ELCA Legislative Intern

Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Education

In this election cycle full of hyper-partisanship, campaign insults, and the perceived inability of the public to agree on a variety of topics, there remains one issue on which the American people can come together: the economy. According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 84% of registered voters cite the economy as an issue “very important” to their vote in the 2016 election. In fact, the economy topped Pew’s list of results as the single most important issue to voters in this campaign.

If this is the case, how, then, do we improve our economy and in turn make it work for everyone? Perhaps one way to advance our economic progress is to properly invest in and increase access to quality education.

In 2010, President Obama declared in a speech that, “education is the economic issue of our time. It’s an economic issue when the unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for those who have gone to college. Education is an economic issue when nearly eight in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or a higher education by the end of this decade. Education is an economic issue when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that countries that out-educate us today, they will out-compete us tomorrow.”

President Obama then suggested that, “The single most important thing we can do is to make sure we’ve got a world-class education system for everybody. That is a prerequisite for prosperity. It is an obligation that we have for the next generation.”

The ELCA’s social statement “Our Calling in Education” states that we minister in two ways: to educate people in the Christian faith for their vocation, and to strive with others to ensure that all have access to high-quality education that develops personal gifts and abilities and serves the common good.

Education issues are also critical this November. In the aforementioned survey conducted by Pew, 66% of registered voters said education is “very important” to their vote in the 2016 election. Throughout the remainder of this election cycle, we must encourage candidates up and down the ballot to support quality education for all, with a particular emphasis on youth.

Early childhood education lies at the core of this issue. Studies consistently show that high-quality education for children before the age of five sets them up for future success. For example, the HighScope Perry Preschool Study found that “individuals who were enrolled in a quality preschool program ultimately earned up to $2,000 more per month than those who were not.” Furthermore, the study found that “young people who were in preschool programs are more likely to graduate from high school and own homes.”

Because children rapidly develop social and cognitive skills during the earliest stages of their lives, it is imperative that every child has access to high quality preschool education. Building upon President Obama’s Preschool for All proposal and in accordance with our Lutheran calling in education, we must advocate for proper funding and must work to expand access to universal preschool.

While great progress has been made in this arena, there is still much work to be done. There are still six states that do not provide state funding for pre-Kindergarten programs (pre-K). Just under half (46 percent) of age-eligible children attend pre-K across the country, and only 4 percent of 3-year-olds and 28 percent of 4-year-olds attend state-funded programs. We must continue to push our candidates for office, as well as current legislators, to provide adequate federal funding to states that already provide pre-k programs. Furthermore, we should push for new federal funding to states that do not provide pre-k programs.

This November, with so much at stake, let us renew the fight for quality education for all God’s children. Universal preschool is a bold first step toward a bright future not only for students across the country, but also for our economy. If we truly value a strong education system and a strong economy, we must work to elect public officials who value educating our children in the most critical stages of social and cognitive development and onward. We can participate in this work knowing that access to quality education is a core value in our shared Lutheran heritage.

(Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Education)

Paul Baglyos, St. Paul, MN

Warm-up Question

 Is Jesus dangerous and scary?

All In

Victor Barnard was extradited from Brazil by U. S. authorities earlier this summer and returned to Minnesota where he will stand trial for alleged abuses against members of Shepherd’s Camp, a cult-like commune he founded in Minnesota’s Pine County.  For the story of the commune and the alleged abuses perpetrated by Barnard, including the attribution for this photograph, see: http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/06/pine-county-minnesota-sex-offender-victor-barnard.html

Barnard’s story is similar to that of countless other predators who manage to gather a group of committed followers by using familiar methods of brainwashing.  Such predators appeal to the ideals, values, and good intentions of people who are motivated to seek and to build a better world, convincing them that they – the predators – have special insight and knowledge about how to achieve that goal.

Once a group of followers begins to form around the persuasive teaching of a predatory leader, the leader then isolates the group by physical relocation to a remote place.  Social isolation accompanies physical isolation as followers are persuaded to break all former ties and relationships, especially with family members outside the group.  Everyone and everything outside the group is identified as corrupt and evil; followers are taught to renounce and abandon all aspects of their former lives in favor of the new life they are building together under the direction of the leader.

Physical deprivations affecting diet and sleep are commonly used to erode any resistance on the part of the group, and punishments are commonly used to ensure compliance and conformity with the will of the leader.  The true predatory intentions of the leader are shielded by claims of divinity: the leader promotes himself or herself as God or Messiah to the group, demanding unquestioned and unhesitating obedience to his or her will.

Stories like that of Victor Barnard and Shepherd’s Camp are frighteningly common, involving not only such infamous figures as Charles Manson, Jim Jones and David Koresh but many other predators far less known to the general public.  Accounts of predatory leaders who form a group of followers to satisfy their own perverse ambitions are widespread in print and online media.  Here are links to two examples that seek to explain this phenomenon:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-kerr/how-cults-gain-power-over_b_3998553.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/9061694/How-Igot-sucked-into-a-cult.html

Discussion Questions

• Do any of you recognize the names of Charles Manson, Jim Jones or David Koresh?  What do you know about them and their followers?  How is Victor Barnard’s story similar to theirs?
• Read one or both of the two stories linked at the end of the previous section.  Why do you think good people become followers of bad leaders?
• In what ways do such stories sound similar to Bible stories that you know or to Christian teachings you have learned?  Why do you think predatory leaders commonly appeal to scripture and religious tradition?

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Philemon 1-21

Luke 14:25-33

(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

The words of Jesus in this passage – especially in verse 26 – are hard to swallow.  When Jesus says that discipleship means hating one’s parents, spouse, children and siblings, he sounds like the “creepy cult leader” in the news story above, or like any of the other creepy cult leaders who prey upon their followers to gratify their own perverse desires.  At the end of the passage, Jesus talks about having to “give up all your possessions,” which is another of the demands that predators such as Victor Barnard commonly make upon their followers.

If we isolate this passage from the larger context of the Bible, then it becomes not only hard to swallow but downright poisonous and deadly.  The last thing the world needs is more hate, and if the message of Jesus is somehow a message of hate then it doesn’t deserve even a moment of our time or an ounce of our attention.

But this passage – like all other passages in the Bible – cannot be isolated from the larger context of scripture.  In order to understand these verses from the fourteenth chapter of Luke, it is important to let the entire Bible guide our interpretation.

The contemporary English word “hate” expresses extreme emotion, associated with intense anger or revulsion that can prompt a person to violence or other forms of destruction.  The Greek word for “hate” in the New Testament does not have quite the same meaning, because it has more to do with the values, choices and commitments expressed in one’s actions and behaviors and less to do with intense emotion.  Nevertheless, the Greek word translated into English as “hate” is a strong word, and Jesus’ use of that word should not be diluted or domesticated just to make it easier to swallow.

Neither can that troubling word “hate” in the fourteenth chapter of Luke be rightly understood apart from the one who speaks it.  This is, after all, Jesus who speaks in this passage, and the meaning of the words he uses must be understood in the light of his entire life, death and resurrection.  The Good News that Jesus proclaims – the Good News that Jesus is – is not about hate, but about life, hope, and the love of God for all people, without exception.  Anyone who embraces that Good News and endeavors to live that Good News will find himself or herself at odds with people who would rather restrict God’s love to those they consider worthy of it.

In a world that considers only some people worthy of love, worthy of life, and worthy of hope, the radical Good News of Jesus Christ is a very odd sort of message, scarcely comprehensible.  Disciples of Jesus who embrace that Good News and seek to live it fully and passionately will find themselves also regarded as odd and incomprehensible, sometimes including the people they love most dearly!  In these verses from the fourteenth chapter of Luke, Jesus is telling his followers to be prepared for that, to expect it, and to be ready to persist in faith even when it makes them odd and incomprehensible to others.

Discussion Questions

• Have you ever experienced a situation in which your Christian faith made you seem odd to other people?  How did you feel?  What did you think?  What did you do?
• Do you know anyone whose faith in Jesus Christ has led them to take a stand that alienated or estranged them from other people, maybe even other people who were very close to them?
• Can you think of something that Jesus is calling you to do as an act of discipleship that you have been reluctant to do because it might make you seem odd to other people?  How might you overcome your reluctance?

Activity Suggestions

Using a concordance or electronic search (http://bible.oremus.org/ is one tool) look up other passages in the New Testament gospel narratives where the word “hate” is used.  How similar or dissimilar to Luke 14:26 do those passages seem to you?  As a group, list all the ways that any of you practice the kind of “hate” that Jesus associates with faith and discipleship.

Closing Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, but always to your glory and the welfare of your people, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 86

Por Noticias de la Asamblea General del 2016

NUEVA ORLEANS – William B. Horne II, de la Iglesia Luterana St. Paul de Clearwater, Florida, fue elegido vicepresidente de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América (ELCA, por sus siglas en inglés) por la Asamblea General del 2016 de la ELCA.

Horne fue elegido en la cuarta votación con 565 votos frente a los 175 votos de Cheryl G. Stuart de la Iglesia Luterana St. Stephen de Tallahassee, Florida, y los 161 votos de Becky Blue de la Iglesia Luterana Gloria Dei de Sioux Falls, Dakota del Sur.

“En primer lugar, gracias sean dadas a Dios”, dijo Horne al dirigirse a la asamblea después de la elección. “Realmente creo que su Espíritu ha estado con nosotros durante toda nuestra asamblea y, especialmente, durante el proceso de elección. Quiero dar gracias a todos ustedes por su disciplina y su apoyo”.

El cargo de vicepresidente es el más alto que puede detentar un laico en la ELCA. Carlos Peña, el actual vicepresidente, ha prestado sus servicios durante 13 años. Peña no buscó un tercer mandato.

“Hermanas y hermanos, amo a esta iglesia. Los amo. Tenemos mucho trabajo por hacer y sé que nuestra dedicación y nuestro compromiso de los unos para con los otros, así como nuestro esfuerzo constante, harán de la ELCA lo que Dios quiere que seamos. Muchas gracias”.

La asamblea –la más alta autoridad legislativa de la ELCA– se reunirá en el Centro de Convenciones Ernest N. Morial en Nueva Orleans. Reunidos en torno al tema “Freed and Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God’s Grace in Action” (Liberados y renovados en Cristo: 500 años de la gracia de Dios en acción) entre los asuntos de la asamblea se encuentran los preparativos para celebrar el 500 aniversario de la Reforma en 2017.

La asamblea –la más alta autoridad legislativa de la ELCA– se reunirá en el Centro de Convenciones Ernest N. Morial en Nueva Orleans. Reunidos en torno al tema “Freed and Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God’s Grace in Action” (Liberados y renovados en Cristo: 500 años de la gracia de Dios en acción) entre los asuntos de la asamblea se encuentran los preparativos para celebrar el 500 aniversario de la Reforma en 2017.

Sobre la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América:La ELCA es una de las mayores denominaciones cristianas en los Estados Unidos, con más de 3.7 millones de miembros en más de 9,300 congregaciones en los 50 estados y la región del Caribe. Conocida como la iglesia de “La obra de Dios. Nuestras manos”, la ELCA enfatiza la gracia salvadora de Dios por medio de la fe en Jesucristo, la unidad entre los cristianos y el servicio en el mundo. Las raíces de la ELCA se encuentran en los escritos del alemán Martín Lutero, reformador de la iglesia.

Por  Noticias de la Asamblea General del 2016

NUEVA ORLEANS (9 de agosto de 2016) – Carlos Peña, vicepresidente de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América (ELCA, por sus siglas en inglés) recibió el galardón Servus Dei durante la Asamblea General del 2016 de la ELCA. La medalla Servus Dei (Siervo de Dios) se concede para honrar a los funcionarios de la ELCA a la finalización de sus mandatos. Peña, quien ha prestado sus servicios en calidad de vicepresidente desde 2003, ha decidido no buscar un tercer mandato.

Una cita aprobada por el Consejo Eclesial de la ELCA en reconocimiento al servicio de Peña declara: “Durante su permanencia en el cargo, Carlos demostró un compromiso sincero con la fe y una compasión genuina por las personas de las congregaciones y comunidades de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América”.

Al presentar el galardón, Elizabeth Eaton, obispa presidente de la ELCA, dijo: “Damos gracias a Dios por la contribución que Carlos ha hecho a la vida de esta iglesia. Aunque Carlos ha elegido poner fin a sus servicios como vicepresidente, recordamos Eclesiastés 3: ‘Todo tiene su momento oportuno; hay un tiempo para todo lo que se hace bajo el cielo’.

“Carlos seguirá con su dedicación al testimonio y servicio en la vida cotidiana en la variedad de otras actividades que emprenda. Al traspasar sus responsabilidades como vicepresidente a su sucesor, que Dios le conceda la esperanza inquebrantable en el Evangelio que proclamamos y el deleite de recordar el privilegio de servir como cuarto vicepresidente de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América”.

En su alocución a la asamblea, Peña dijo: “Si me hubieran dicho en Milwaukee en 2003 que sería elegido vicepresidente de esta gran iglesia, yo hubiera respondido: ‘Ni hablar. Soy un empresario, el propietario de un negocio. ¿Qué sé yo de la obra de Dios? ¿Qué pueden saber estas manos de la obra de Dios?’ No hubo un solo día en Milwaukee que no le preguntara a Dios: ‘¿Por qué yo? ¿Por qué yo?’ Pero eso cambió rápidamente a ‘¿Por qué no yo?’ Y cuando Dios llamó, Dios proveyó, y me siento agradecido por ello. Han sido unos 13 años estupendos. Y gracias una vez más por todo su amor, apoyo y oraciones durante estos años. Gracias sean dadas a Dios”.

La asamblea –la más alta autoridad legislativa de la ELCA– se reunirá en el Centro de Convenciones Ernest N. Morial en Nueva Orleans. Reunidos en torno al tema “Freed and Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God’s Grace in Action” (Liberados y renovados en Cristo: 500 años de la gracia de Dios en acción) entre los asuntos de la asamblea se encuentran los preparativos para celebrar el 500 aniversario de la Reforma en 2017.

Sobre la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América:La ELCA es una de las mayores denominaciones cristianas en los Estados Unidos, con más de 3.7 millones de miembros en más de 9,300 congregaciones en los 50 estados y la región del Caribe. Conocida como la iglesia de “La obra de Dios. Nuestras manos”, la ELCA enfatiza la gracia salvadora de Dios por medio de la fe en Jesucristo, la unidad entre los cristianos y el servicio en el mundo. Las raíces de la ELCA se encuentran en los escritos del alemán Martín Lutero, reformador de la iglesia.

Por Noticias de la Asamblea General del 2016

NUEVA ORLEANS (10 de agosto de 2016) – La Asamblea General del 2016 de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América (ELCA, por sus siglas en inglés) dio pasos importantes el miércoles para avanzar en la misión de esta iglesia como iglesia para bien del mundo.

Por un voto de 931 a 9, la asamblea aceptó por abrumadora mayoría la “Declaración sobre el camino”, un documento ecuménico único que señala el sendero a seguir hacia una mayor unidad entre católicos y luteranos. Tras la votación, una emocionada asamblea se puso en pie para aplaudir esta histórica decisión.

En el centro del documento se sitúan 32 “Declaraciones de Acuerdo” que especifican dónde no tienen luteranos y católicos diferencias divisorias sobre temas de iglesia, ministerio y eucaristía. De manera más tentativa, el documento también explora las diferencias que sí se mantienen.

“Queridas hermanas y hermanos, hagamos pausa para honrar este momento histórico”, exhortó Elizabeth A. Eaton, obispa presidente de la ELCA, al dirigirse a la asamblea tras la votación. “Aunque aún no hemos llegado, hemos declarado que nos encontramos, de hecho, en el camino hacia la unidad. Después de 500 años de división y 50 años de diálogo, esta acción debe entenderse en el contexto de los demás acuerdos significativos que hemos alcanzado, más notablemente la ‘Declaración Conjunta sobre la Doctrina de la Justificación’ en 1999”.

“Esta ‘Declaración sobre el camino’ nos ayuda a materializar más plenamente nuestra unidad en Cristo con nuestros asociados católicos, pero también sirve para impulsar nuestro compromiso con la unidad con todos los cristianos”, manifestó Eaton.

Para honrar el momento, Eaton entregó al obispo Denis J. Madden, obispo auxiliar de la Arquidiócesis de Baltimore y copresidente del grupo de trabajo de la “Declaración sobre el camino”, un regalo de comunión que se elaboró especialmente para la asamblea. Mark Hanson, obispo presidente emérito de la ELCA, sirvió como copresidente del grupo de trabajo por parte de la ELCA. El grupo de trabajo se había reunido y había presentado a la iglesia los acuerdos alcanzados en los diálogos entre luteranos y católicos.

“Me siento tan privilegiado y tan agradecido por haber pasado estos días con ustedes. Por hablar con ustedes, compartir tiempo con ustedes y orar con ustedes”, dijo Madden. “Les doy las gracias por permitirnos a mí y a mis colegas unirnos a ustedes en las celebraciones de la eucaristía, lo cual ha sido una enorme alegría y será siempre un recordatorio de que pronto vamos a celebrar estas cosas juntos como un solo cuerpo”.

La asamblea expresó gratitud por este texto ecuménico pionero y alabó la declaración (junto con otros textos ecuménicos) como recurso “para la vida en común de la iglesia al acercarnos al 2017 y para los años posteriores”. Con respecto a la Declaración de Acuerdos, la decisión de la asamblea de recibir las 32 afirmaciones comunes “reconocía que ya no existen cuestiones que dividan a la iglesia entre luteranos y católicos con respecto a estas declaraciones.

En otro importante asunto, la asamblea votó 921 a 11 a favor de AMMPARO, la estrategia de la iglesia para Acompañar a Migrantes Menores de Edad con Protección, Abogacía, Representación y Oportunidades.

La ELCA desarrolló esta estrategia en base a los compromisos para defender y garantizar los derechos humanos básicos y la seguridad de los niños migrantes y sus familias; abordar las causas de raíz de la migración en los países del Triángulo Norte de Centroamérica y en México, así como el trato que se da a los migrantes en tránsito; trabajar por políticas justas y humanitarias que afectan a los migrantes dentro y fuera de los EE.UU.; participar como iglesia con todos sus compañeros, afiliados y asociados para dar respuesta a la situación de la migración y sus causas, y abogar por los niños migrantes y sus familias.

La asamblea también votó por 895 a 23 aceptar la propuesta presupuestaria para el periodo 2017-2019, aprobada y recomendada por el Consejo Eclesial de la ELCA. La propuesta presupuestaria incluye:

• una autorización para el gasto corriente de fondos para 2017 de $65,296,005 dólares y una autorización para el gasto del Programa de la ELCA para Aliviar el Hambre Mundial en 2017 de $24.8 millones de dólares;
• una propuesta para el ingreso corriente de fondos para 2018 de $64,057,220 dólares y una propuesta de ingresos del Programa de la ELCA para Aliviar el Hambre Mundial en 2018 de $25 millones de dólares, y
• una propuesta para el ingreso corriente de fondos para 2019 de $64,151,175 dólares y una propuesta de ingresos del Programa de la ELCA para Aliviar el Hambre Mundial en 2019 de $25 millones de dólares.

La asamblea –la más alta autoridad legislativa de la ELCA– se reunirá en el Centro de Convenciones Ernest N. Morial en Nueva Orleans. Reunidos en torno al tema “Freed and Renewed in Christ: 500 Years of God’s Grace in Action” (Liberados y renovados en Cristo: 500 años de la gracia de Dios en acción) entre los asuntos de la asamblea se encuentran los preparativos para celebrar el 500 aniversario de la Reforma en 2017.

Sobre la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América:
La ELCA es una de las mayores denominaciones cristianas en los Estados Unidos, con más de 3.7 millones de miembros en más de 9,300 congregaciones en los 50 estados y la región del Caribe. Conocida como la iglesia de “La obra de Dios. Nuestras manos”, la ELCA enfatiza la gracia salvadora de Dios por medio de la fe en Jesucristo, la unidad entre los cristianos y el servicio en el mundo. Las raíces de la ELCA se encuentran en los escritos del alemán Martín Lutero, reformador de la iglesia.

Large, multinational corporations controlling prices and driving down wages, masses of people too poor to afford basic goods, an economy that favors the wealthy, politicians and church leaders at the mercy of banks….1517 was quite a year!  So much has changed, so much remains the same.

Many people remember Martin Luther’s sharp critique of the abusive practices of the church, but few of us are as familiar with Luther’s equally sharp critique of the abusive economy of his day, an economy that made a few people wealthy and a lot of people poor.

At the 2015 “Forgotten Luther” conference in Washington, DC, theologians and historians shared this little-known side of Luther’s teachings.  The presenters described Luther’s critique of monopolies, price gouging, and greed. They showed the clear economic teachings in Luther’s Catechisms and the political side of his theology. They also shared Luther’s insistence that the church be part of the solution to injustice, a heritage that can still be seen today in the many ways Lutherans respond to poverty and hunger 500 years later.

ELCA World Hunger is proud to offer for free videos of each presentation from this important conference, as well as video interviews with each of the presenters. You can find all of the videos on the ELCA’s Vimeo channel at https://vimeo.com/album/4043021. The presentations were also collected into a short book, complete with discussion questions and other contributions from the conference organizers. You can purchase the book for only $15 from Lutheran University Press at http://www.lutheranupress.org/Books/Forgotten_Luther.

Here on the ELCA World Hunger blog this month, we will feature some highlights from this collection of resources.

In this interview, Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary talks about her personal journey as an advocate for justice and the importance of seeing the well-being of the neighbor, including economic well-being, as a matter of faith. Find this video and more at https://vimeo.com/album/4043021.

Large, multinational corporations controlling prices and driving down wages, masses of people too poor to afford basic goods, an economy that favors the wealthy, politicians and church leaders at the mercy of banks….1517 was quite a year!  So much has changed, so much remains the same.

Many people remember Martin Luther’s sharp critique of the abusive practices of the church, but few of us are as familiar with Luther’s equally sharp critique of the abusive economy of his day, an economy that made a few people wealthy and a lot of people poor.

At the 2015 “Forgotten Luther” conference in Washington, DC, theologians and historians shared this little-known side of Luther’s teachings.  The presenters described Luther’s critique of monopolies, price gouging, and greed. They showed the clear economic teachings in Luther’s Catechisms and the political side of his theology. They also shared Luther’s insistence that the church be part of the solution to injustice, a heritage that can still be seen today in the many ways Lutherans respond to poverty and hunger 500 years later.

ELCA World Hunger is proud to offer for free videos of each presentation from this important conference, as well as video interviews with each of the presenters. You can find all of the videos on the ELCA’s Vimeo channel at https://vimeo.com/album/4043021. The presentations were also collected into a short book, complete with discussion questions and other contributions from the conference organizers. You can purchase the book for only $15 from Lutheran University Press at http://www.lutheranupress.org/Books/Forgotten_Luther.

Here on the ELCA World Hunger blog this month, we will feature some highlights from this collection of resources.

In this interview, Dr. Tim Huffman, now retired from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, describes the importance of advocacy, action, and building relationships toward a more just world, including within our own church. Find this video and more at https://vimeo.com/album/4043021.