ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response have always been intricately connected, but in recent months global events have reminded us again just how vital the work of God through these shared ministries is for communities around the world.

The depth of the humanitarian and refugee crisis in Ukraine and across Europe will require a yearslong response. Incredible generosity to Lutheran Disaster Response in the wake of the Eastern European crisis and to ELCA World Hunger over the last 18 months has enabled us to temporarily expand our work in impacted regions. Because of our donors, we are better-equipped and better-resourced to support our global neighbors as they face great challenges.

As the world yearns for an end to this terrible conflict and its far-reaching consequences, in this issue of “LifeLines” we lift up stories of hope, of new opportunity and of God at work even amid tragedy and instability. We know that the effects of the war in Ukraine are far-reaching, which makes the relationships our church has with local communities around the world so important.

In this issue, you will read about a project of our companion church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in The Gambia. The church is working with women such as Anna, a caretaker of a cashew farm in The Gambia, whose story is shared in this issue, to create new opportunities for food security without reliable imports from Ukraine.

You’ll also read about Rosita in Guatemala, who at just 11 years old made the difficult journey with her father to try to migrate to the United States. In Tacoma, Wash., rapid gentrification is forcing longtime residents out of their neighborhood, but Peace Lutheran Church is seeking justice by enabling those neighbors to afford to stay or return.

We look back at the work made possible by gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response and the efforts of our companions and partners in the five years since the devastating 2017 hurricane season. And we look ahead to the work that remains in response to civil unrest, famine and drought in the Horn of Africa.

The world faces some incredibly complex challenges in the days ahead, but we know that God stirs up wellsprings of hope that inspire generosity and tireless efforts for peace, justice and a future filled with good things. We thank our donors for being a sign of hope through their support of ELCA World Hunger and Lutheran Disaster Response.

Janjay Innis, Tucker, GA

Warm-up Questions

• How do you define politics?
• Do you believe God can be part of the way we do politics?

Personal Faith Is Political

According to Wikipedia, politics, from the Greek politika (“affairs of the city”), is the set of activities associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. It’s jarring to see such a definition because politics is currently far from what it was intended to be.

At home we see the political parties in the United States determined to tear one another down for the sake of promoting their agendas.  Across the world dictators and greed-stricken leaders, driven by the insatiable thirst for power, disregard the well-being and humanity of their people.  Politics has lost its original meaning. Today, politics has less to do with leaders coming together to figure out how to adequately distribute resources.  It is more about how one side can portray who and what they have power over.

Because many people around the world have only seen and lived through the ugliest political economies, they truly believe that it’s simply the way things ought to be. Thus, when given the chance to lead, they often fall into the very patterns they detest. 

Discussion Questions

• Where have you seen, heard, or read about bad politics?  good politics
• Do you believe politics has the capacity to be decent? If so, how?
• Can and should Christians be involved in politics? Why or why not?
• Is it possible for Christians to NOT be involved in politics?
• What responsibility do people of faith have for the tone of political debate?

Christ the King Sunday

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Colossians 1:11-20

Luke 23:33-43

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

Many would say faith is deeply personal, and thus has no place in politics. But as the radical feminist Carol Hanisch wrote, “the personal is political.” Jesus, who is the center of our faith, would agree. Everything Jesus did—the disciples he chose; the people he healed, fed, and engaged in dialogue—were acts of redistributing resources and status. Jesus was unapologetic about his politics.  On the cross, he publicly forgives his accusers and executioners, saying, “Father, forgive theme for they know not what they do.”  And he pardons the thief crucified beside him, saying “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

In God’s political economy, which Jesus embodied throughout his life, there are no sides. In God’s political economy, there is no concern with upholding power which draws lines between people. In God’s political economy, the undeserving, the least of these, the poor, and the disenfranchised are forgiven and redeemed.  Jesus moves them from the margins to the center through radical love, hospitality, and inclusion. And though the Romans thought they were mocking him by calling him king, Jesus’ actions, contrary to the way kings of his day ruled, made him a true king. 

Though Jesus is no longer physically with us, we carry on God’s politics when we do as Jesus did, mirroring his life and seeking the reign of God here and now.  Our faith is always deeply political.  It reflects our values—and our values guide our actions in the world. Christ is our King, and in his kingdom there is no hierarchy.  All are welcomed and transformed.

Discussion Questions

• From the cross Jesus said “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do?” Have you been forgiven for something you were guilty of? What was that like?
• What does it feel like to forgive? Is there power in it?
• What makes Jesus’s act of forgiving guilty people like his accusers, crucifiers, and the thief controversial? Is there room today to forgive such people?
• How have you seen the reign of Christ in your community lately?

Activity Suggestions

Hats Race:

Two teams will run a relay to the hats, put a hat on and run back to their team member, who will then run down to the pile of hats for their team and put on another hat. This will continue until all the hats for each team have been put on and everyone is back on their team line. When their team is done, they will all say together JESUS CHRIST IS KING!! Teacher, make sure that there is a CROWN in your pile of “hats” to go along with today’s story!

Jesus and the Superheroes Game:

Download the printable PDF, Who is the real superhero? It contains a chart that your kids can complete to compare Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, to their favorite superheroes.  Have  your kids pick their favorite superheroes and fill out the chart.  Detailed instructions for filling the chart can be found at the website linked to the title of this activity.

Closing Prayer 

Christ, you are the sovereign of all he world, including every element of our lives.  Rule our hearts, that every  value, action, attitude, and choice may be pleasing to you.  Come, Lord Jesus, that your will may indeed be fully done on earth as it is in heaven.

Situation:

In December 2021, western Kentucky was hit by a series of deadly and destructive tornadoes, destroying over 1,300 homes. In July 2022, record-setting floods inundated communities in eastern Kentucky. The flooding caused heavy damage to homes and local infrastructure. Recovery in both areas will takes years.

 

Response:

Since December, Lutheran Disaster Response has been working closely with the Indiana-Kentucky Synod in developing long-term recovery plans for each disaster. In each region, the synod is collaborating with local partners to repair and rebuild homes damaged by the tornadoes and flooding. The grants from Lutheran Disaster Response are being used for construction material and labor costs.

 

 

Be part of the response:

Pray
Please pray for people who have been affected by the tornadoes and flooding in Kentucky over the past year. May God’s healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need.

Give
Thanks to generous donations, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to respond quickly and effectively to disasters around the globe. Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response will be used to assist survivors in Kentucky and around the world.

To learn more about the situation and the ELCA’s response:

• Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts.
• Check the Lutheran Disaster Response blog.
• Like Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook, follow @ELCALDR on Twitter, and follow @ELCA_LDR on Instagram.
• Download the situation report and share as a PDF.

Dave Delaney, Salem, VA

Warm-up Questions

• 1. What’s the most impressive building you’ve ever seen or visited in person? What was the effect on you? Why do societies build such big, solid, expensive, and ornate buildings? 
• What’s the giveaway signal that someone is trying to sell you a dubious story  – a politician or a sales spokesperson or even a teacher? Why are some people drawn to believe fantastic claims that really should raise people’s suspicions? When do know to trust rather than doubt what someone is saying?
• How worried or confident are you about the security of your own future? Many young adults are hesitant to get married and start families because they believe that the future of humanity and even the earth itself is uncertain. What is your outlook on life for the next 50 or 75 years?

  Apocalypse Now?

President Putin of Russia has recently claimed that he will not employ nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but even clear-headed analysts are not completely convinced. Furthermore, our own President Biden has said that we are closer to nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. 

All of this, in turn, has elevated the anxieties of the American public to a point that has become noticeable by people who study these things. Peter Kuznick, a history professor and director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, also compared the present situation to that tense standoff almost exactly 60 years ago between the United States and Soviet Union, when the latter country’s leaders secretly placed nuclear warheads in Cuba. Kuznick observes, “And that was short-lived. This has gone on for months now.” 

A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted on October 10^th concluded that “58 percent of respondents said they fear the United States is headed toward nuclear war.” Furthermore, the Spring 2022 “Stress in America” survey by the American Psychological Association and the Harris Poll found that 69 percent of respondents believed they were watching the beginning of World War III. 

This recent escalation of nuclear rhetoric has gotten the attention of scientists who maintain the so-called “Doomsday Clock” – a symbolic “clock” that since 1947 has represented an estimate of how close humanity is to extinction from its own actions. 

How serious is this phenomenon of worry in the United States? Amir Afkhami, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the George Washington University, notes that older adults have enough historical experience and perspective to put it all in context, but also adds that his patients actually seem more concerned about midterm elections and the economy than the specter of nuclear conflict. “We have a new generation that has never experienced that potential for Armageddon.” So it seems that if nuclear war doesn’t destroy us, politics and economic catastrophe will – or at least that’s how it seems to a growing segment of younger Americans. 

Discussion Questions

• What do you think of people in our own day who use “apocalyptic” language to describe the possibility of something devastating, like climate change, economic collapse, or World War III? Are they just using extreme language to get people’s attention for political purposes, or are they really speaking the truth?
• Where are the positive or uplifting messages coming from in our society today? What signs are there that people inspired by love and respect for each other can work to reduce the fear that so many people experience?
• There is a story about Martin Luther – probably just a legend, but it fits with his views – that when asked what he would do if he knew the world would be ending tomorrow, he said “I would plant an apple tree.” Knowing that Jesus tells his followers that in the face of certain doom, “This will give you an opportunity to testify,” what signs would *you* give that you trust in God’s care for how everything ends?

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

Malachi 4:1-2a

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

Luke 21:5-19

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all have sections where Jesus makes dramatic predictions about things that will happen in the future. Because these things seem to be hidden from general knowledge and are being revealed as special information to Jesus’ followers, they are called “apocalyptic” sayings. These terms “apocalypse” and “apocalyptic” are Greek words meaning “uncovering” or “revealing.”

The way they get used now, they often imply mass destruction or catastrophic changes in the world (like large-scale nuclear war), mainly because the Book of Revelation (“Apocalypse”) in the Bible contains such scenes of cosmic devastation. These sections of the gospels are often called “Little Apocalypses” because they are much shorter than the whole book of Revelation, but still match its tone, depicting sometimes terrifying events, in contrast to much of the rest of Jesus’ teachings.

The bottom line of the Bible’s apocalyptic passages is not just a call to be alert to big powerful changes on earth and in heaven, and certainly not to wield private information as if it were a tool to use against those we consider unfaithful.  Rather, they provide all people with promises of hope, justice, and God’s steady presence in the face of frightening historical events. 

Discussion Questions

• Jesus’ disciples speak for us all when they ask for some advance warning when the strong and familiar structures they’ve relied  on are about to come tumbling down, whether they be buildings or governments or other social systems. In response, Jesus warns against trusting in anything but God’s solid protection, and especially against trusting anyone who claims to know exactly when things will be disrupted. Who are the people in your life whom you trust to remind you of the good news of the gospel when the temptation to panic is strong?
• Notice how quickly Jesus turns people’s observations about the beauty of the Jerusalem temple into, first, a warning about a coming destruction, and then into a comment about maintaining a witness when our faith is challenged. He says not to worry in advance about what you will say, because when persecution or ridicule happens, the right words will come to you. This suggests that he has so fully prepared his followers that words of love, justice, and forgiveness, and trust in God will flow naturally from what they have heard and internalized. What regular practices do you have (memorizing scripture, singing Christian songs, praying for your enemies, watching for God’s inbreaking activity all around you, etc.) that are so much a part of you that they would just naturally emerge when you are confronted?
• Being “hated by all because of [Jesus’] name” in our own day can mean supporting those who have been isolated or ridiculed or bullied or denied justice because they are vulnerable or different. Sometimes young people suffer because their family identity or sexual identity doesn’t match the majority, which makes them easy targets for those seeking power or popularity. Would you, in the name of Jesus, befriend such a person, even if it cost you your own safety or status? Befriending someone who is hated by others, and then being ridiculed for it, will, in Jesus’ words, “give you an opportunity to testify.” What promises and teachings of Jesus would you draw on for support in such times?

Activity Suggestions

• Jesus frequently uses physical images and objects to guide his disciples into a deeper understanding of God’s grace and love (sheep, buildings, coins, water, bread, salt, etc.). Challenge each other to think of how any object in the room you’re in can be used to represent or describe the reign of God. Use your imagination!
• Invite a senior member of your congregation (someone perhaps 70 or older) to visit with your class and describe what it was like to live with the fear of nuclear war in the 1960s, and especially ask for how their faith in God helped them stay resilient and have hope for the future.
• Look in the topical index in the back of your congregation’s hymnal for hymns about “Hope.” Are any of them familiar? Invite each person to select one hymn and note what phrases or verses are especially comforting when we as Jesus’ followers begin to worry about the state of the world or potential disasters.

If the class is ambitious, check out other “apocalyptic” passage in the Bible. Some examples are Isaiah 24-27, Ezekiel 38-39, Zechariah 12-14, Daniel 7-12, Matthew 24-25, II Thessalonians 2, Jude vss. 14-15, and Revelation 4-22. These passages are characterized by vivid symbolic imagery, the presence of heavenly beings, catastrophic predictions, and conflict between good and evil on a cosmic scale. How does studying such passages help strengthen our faith?

Closing Prayer

God of hope and history, we rejoice and find peace that you hold all things in your care, including the future. Bless each of us as we strive to be good witnesses to your love in the face of opposition and let your Spirit calm the hearts of those whose worries threaten to disrupt their lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

 

By Rev. Peter A. Pettit

We have just navigated our way through Reformation Sunday once again and many in the church will have wrestled with the appointed texts of the Revised Common Lectionary. Jeremiah’s “new covenant,” Paul’s “faith apart from works of the law,” and John’s “if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” all lean into the problematic posture of the church’s millennia-long anti-Jewish rhetoric. Few among us want to go there; any echo of that rhetoric in our preaching and teaching is usually unintentional. The ELCA in 1994 spoke explicitly, in “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community,” of “our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people.” That means we need to learn to step clearly away from even unintentional offenses into which the lectionary and long-standing theological habits might lean us.

A 56-page guide that has recently been published on the ELCA website lays out steppingstones for taking those deliberate steps of understanding, respect, and authentic representation in relation to our Jewish neighbors and their faith traditions. The guide distils decades of recent research into accessible sections focused on ten key areas of textual, historical, and theological significance. Prophetic language, Jewish leadership in Jesus’ day as well as Jewish diversity then and now, Jesus and the Torah, gospel contexts, Paul among Jews and Gentiles and Martin Luther’s reading of Paul, law and gospel, promise and fulfillment, old/new language regarding covenants, and the dynamics of lectionary constructions all gain clarity through the explication of core principles and numerous examples. Indexes to both scripture and the lectionary calendar aid in locating relevant discussions.

The guide was developed by the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations with input from many ELCA colleagues, consultants in the Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian churches, scholars from around the world, and Jewish partners. Dr. Phil Cunningham, a leading Roman Catholic expert at St. Joseph’s University, admitted to a measure of “holy envy” when seeing the guide published. (Of course, he was quoting the Lutheran bishop, Krister Stendahl, with that phrase!). Prof. Ruth Sandberg at Gratz College and Prof. Dan Joslyn-Siemiatkoski at Boston College have already committed to using it in courses on “Post-Holocaust Theology” and “Un-doing Anti-Judaism in the Church.”

Rabbi James Rudin, senior interreligious advisor to the American Jewish Committee, plans to use it in a local dialogue group in Florida. He cheers it as “most useful on a ‘retail’ level (congregational clergy and laity) because it clearly focuses on many of the neuralgic issues present in authentic Christian encounters with Jews and Judaism.” Abel Bibliowicz, author of Jewish-Christian Relations: the First Centuries (4^th ed., 2022), has called the guide “thoughtful, courageous and paradigmatic…, a groundbreaking and admirable effort.”

As a handy reference to support weekly preparation, a study document for a clergy or adult study group, or the focus of a retreat or learning series on thinking as Christians in relation to Jews and Judaism, the guide can provide resources for a wide range of settings in the church and beyond. It can be accessed as a downloadable PDF on the ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations resource page and through tinyurl.com/ELCApreachingguide.

 

Peter A. Pettit is teaching pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport IA and a member of the Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Jewish Relations. For 20 years he directed the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding of Muhlenberg College.

 

Emily Edenfield, Irmo, SC

Warm-up Questions

• Who do you consider to be an enemy? 
• For whom do you usually pray?

Across the Divides

Open any news website and you’ll see a world divided into groups. Some people have what they need and others don’t. There are wars and political parties. Some live in cities while others are in the country. There are generational, racial, and religious divides. 

Some divides are natural.  Some are made or exaggerated by those who use conflict to gain power or money. In an election season, we see parties and candidates sharpening the divides among voters, trying to gain as much support as they can for their cause. 

I’ve lived in both cities and in the country–and in a few different states. There are commonalities among people everywhere I’ve lived. Most people want the best for themselves, their families, and the world.  But we disagree on what that looks like and how we can bring it about. 

Discussion Questions

• What different groups do you experience in your life? 
• Where do you see people agreeing, despite other differences?
• What is worth disagreeing about? 
• What is worth dividing a group over?

All Saints Sunday

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18

Ephesians 1:11-23

Luke 6:20-31

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

One of the hardest things that Jesus teaches about is the change that God’s kingdom brings about in this world. The ones who seem blessed will have a downturn. The ones who seem distressed will have good things come their way. And the ones that we least want to deal with are the same people that we’re supposed to pray for. 

The Beatitudes is one name for Jesus’ teaching about what it means to be blessed. In Luke, the Beatitudes are like a roller coaster ride: what goes up must come down and what goes down is bound to come back up. We don’t need to be too worried about where we are now, because we know that God is with us on every hillside and valley of the ride.

God knows that this world isn’t the way God made it to be. God loves all people and wants us to care for each other. And yet, we are divided in a hundred ways.  Sometimes it’s by culture or distance, sometimes by our own choice—or someone else’s choice to separate from us. Jesus calls us to resist efforts to divide us and  care for one another across the divides.

Discussion Questions

• When in your life has something bad led to something good?
• How did God work through or around the bad thing? 
• What did you learn from the situation?
• Have you ever had an enemy? How did that happen? What did you do about it?
• Resilience is the trait we develop by overcoming challenges. How does our faith in God help us be resilient?

Activity Suggestions

• Play a game where participants are divided up by different categories. Have everyone who likes sweets move to one side of the room and everyone who likes salty snacks move to the other. Or people with brothers and people with sisters move to opposite sides. See if you can find a category where everyone agrees. (People who are baptized, people who go to a certain church or school, people who like/don’t like the communion wine…)
• Brainstorm together times when we might expect change to be right around the corner. (Graduation, moves, breakups/new relationships…) How does our faith help ground us when everything seems up in the air?

Closing Prayer

God, you made all people in your image. Help us to see our common places with other people and to know that you are always with us. Amen. 

 

By Richard J. Mammana

The Episcopal Church’s 80th General Convention in Baltimore this summer was a watershed moment for relationships of Lutherans and Anglicans around the world. The triennial gathering was delayed by a year because of the global Covid pandemic, but the bicameral legislative process (one house for bishops and another for priests and lay deputies) has been in place since 1785. The General Convention makes decisions about the mission and governance of The Episcopal Church, the official name of which is the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton brought prerecorded video greetings to the assembly, wishing God’s blessing on its deliberations. She was joined by Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria and new communion partners the Rev. Susan C. Johnson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, and Archbishop Antje Jackelén of the Church of Sweden.

While the video greetings were brief and represented an accommodation to health precautions, they were also a sign of increasing depth and breadth in international Anglican-Lutheran relations. (Previous conventions have had in-person ecumenical guests, observers, preachers, and participants from across the Christian spectrum in addition to the presence of representatives from other religious traditions.)

2022 marks two decades of full communion between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church—a pioneering decision for Christians in the United States that now bears fruit in about two hundred ministry sites including combined church plants, shared facilities, joint camping ministries and governmental advocacy, food pantries, campus ministries, archival work, very regular exchange of pastoral care and preaching, and collaboration in educational initiatives. Resolution A183 celebrated continued cooperation and shared ministries between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church.

Two memorial resolutions honored the contributions of Episcopal priest-ecumenists J. Robert Wright (1936-2022) and William Norgren (1927-2022) for their work in shepherding the dialogues that led to Called to Common Mission and the current full communion relationship. Another resolution continued the mandate for the Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee, which provides resources for implementation of the full communion between the churches: devotional and educational material, liturgical guides, historical documentation, and asset mapping, in addition to constituting a contact group for relations on the official denominational level.

This year also saw an expansion of Called to Common Mission in the United States and the Waterloo Declaration for Canadian Anglicans and Lutherans by creating a new ecumenical, transnational grouping called Churches Beyond Borders. This is a quadrilateral or four-way relationship among the ELCA, The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Drawing on a 2018 agreement at Niagara Falls, Ontario, this new full communion family affirms the integrity of the bilateral relationships while committing the four churches to ongoing work on the Doctrine of Discovery, climate change, racial reconciliation, gender justice, and other matters specific to North America. It will have important applications in the 13 American states that border Canada and the six Canadian provinces and one territory that border the United States, where First Nations communities and their life and work can both pre-date and transcend national boundaries.

The Episcopal Church also continued this summer to work toward deeper bonds with international Lutheran bodies—one looking back to 350 years of mutual contact in colonial North America and the other to the ongoing needs of the church for diakonia in refugee and asylee resettlement in modern Europe.

The 2022 General Convention’s acceptance of a relationship of full communion with the Church of Sweden completes proposals begun in the 1850s and contacts that began in the middle 1600s. Swedish colonial churches in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries offer early examples of shared ministry between Anglicans and Lutherans; most Swedish Lutheran churches of this period had joined The Episcopal Church by the 1840s. Great waves of Swedish immigration to the United States, sometimes without adequate ecclesiastical accompaniment, further intensified the coming-together of these communities and resulted in 45 Swedish-speaking missions of The Episcopal Church throughout the United States. Full communion will facilitate the sharing of clergy and the greater mutual integration of Americans into Swedish church life and vice versa, fulfilling three and a half centuries of life together. It will also give a deeper context for international disaster relief work done in common and with shared partners.

Still one more emerging connection moved forward in Baltimore this summer is The Episcopal Church’s commendation of a proposal entitled “Sharing the Gifts of Communion” (the Augsburg Agreement) with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. The background for this agreement is partnership in diaconal ministries in southern Germany by members of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and the clergy and leaders of the major local Lutheran landeskirche (regional church). The urgency of this collaboration has intensified in the past five decades along with globalization and Germany’s acceptance of large numbers of refugees from regions of conflict or social oppression. A strong postwar presence of Americans in Germany is part of the explanation for the vitality of Episcopal churches here. The Augsburg Agreement, when accepted by both churches, will make for a new transnational Christian relationship in the further service of the Gospel, rooted in existing regional and international agreements extended to a fresh context in creative ways.

The persistence and proliferation of these Episcopal-Lutheran relationships is notable because of their responsiveness to changing religious and social landscapes in all of the places where they are emerging. Just as global Lutheranism marked a 500th anniversary of gospel freedom in 2017, Anglicans will look to a similar five centuries of our Lutheran-inspired reforms in 1534. The two communities have been in arrangements of mutual communication, occasionally antagonism, and often strong support of one another for all of this time, with a summer of new and renewed connections drawing a bright line under important trajectories of recognition and repair.

My long view of these new horizons in Episcopal-Lutheran relations is that something very good is afoot, and that it will not make headlines in the same way that the earliest movements toward ELCA-Episcopal full communion did. There is no more controversy; all of the General Convention resolutions passed without dissent in two houses famous for their canonical precision and (sometimes partisan) passion. In the short space of twenty years in the American case, strangers now are friends because of one Lord, and for the sake of one world. There has been little news coverage because the decisions generate all light and no heat.

For the other outgrowths of mutual love and recognition, the CCM experience of deep realization that we see ourselves in one another—and that in each other we must also see Jesus Christ—provides an impulse to seek other forms and opportunities of similar connection wherever they can strengthen the church for the healing of the nations. Denver has led us in its way to Waterloo and then to Niagara, and now to Uppsala and Frankfurt by way of Baltimore, and we are glad indeed.

 

Richard J. Mammana has served as Episcopal Church Associate for Ecumenical and Interreligious Relations since 2014. A descendant of the founders of German Lutheranism in eastern Pennsylvania, he is a staff member of the Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee (lutheran-episcopal.org).

Today’s blog post comes from Rev. Lisa Heffernan, ELCA Disability Ministries coordinator

I’m just going to be honest here. All month I’ve been procrastinating on writing this blog post. Why? I’m not sure, I guess. Perhaps it’s because it asks for a bit of vulnerability on my part. You see, it’s October, and October is spina bifida awareness and disability awareness month. Spina bifida is the neural tube disorder I was born with, so I can tell you all that I am intimately “aware” of it every day. Do I hate it? No. Not at all. Are there challenges/frustrations that come along with it? Yep. Has spina bifida shaped how I live and move in a world that was not created with me and others like me in mind? Absolutely.

Before I get too far down a rabbit hole of rambling, here is a bit about this spina bifida that approximately 1,400 babies are born with each year. It comes in several different forms, some of which are occulta, meningocele, and myelomeningocele. On the whole it means that there’s an incomplete closing of the spine and the nerves of the spinal cord in the early development days and weeks of pregnancy. You can look up all kinds of information on the different forms, but I have myelomeningocele which is the most “severe” form. I was born with some nerves exposed on the lumbar part of my spine and had to have that patched up and a shunt put in right after I was born due to swelling of the brain. Oh, and I use a wheelchair full time too. My current one’s a bit worn and weathered, but I like it and the independence it gives me.

So, the question I’m not sure how to answer is this: Why does anyone, why does the church need to be “aware” of disabilities like spina bifida? I don’t want people to feel bad for me because I don’t (and I say “don’t” intentionally here) walk. What I want is dignity, respect, and an equal, equitable place in society and at the Table with my siblings in Christ. I want to encourage people to try and understand more about the things that make each of us who we are; spina bifida in so many ways has made me who I am. I want for the wider Church to be “aware” and repentant of the ways in which it has intentionally and unintentionally excluded disabled people and told us we don’t matter to anyone—not even to God.

I also pray that this body of Christ can come to understand that our world needs more reforming. That the time is more than past for attitudes and harmful theologies to be challenged, and for us to care more about our ministries to all of God’s people than what shortening a pew might do to the aesthetics of a sanctuary. That we can come to some collective understanding that a disability isn’t an obstacle to a person being a fine pastor or deacon. Instead, what is the or an obstacle? Attitudes of scarcity or lack of holy imagination, and a hesitancy to find out what it might take to make our churches and places of fellowship barrier free.

For me, this awareness month/s isn’t about simply learning what spina bifida is or saying how “inspiring” disabled people are. (Just don’t say that…seriously. We’re human. Just as faulted, sinful, loving, and capable as you.) It’s about making we who follow Christ aware of the beauty in this diverse community.  All so that we can strive together to share the love and grace of Christ with one another, seek justice and equity for one another, and live out what we mean when we say “all are welcome at the Table of our Lord”.

Josh Kestner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Question

• Who are some people that you look up to in your life? What have they done to make you respect them?
• Tell about a time when your faith and values did not line up with your experience of reality. How did you feel? What did you do?

Resilient Women

I am in awe of the Muslim women involved in protests surrounding the wearing of the hijab. They are heroes who are showing strength and resilience in the midst of persistent pushback.

One of the things that has struck me is that there is no one, universal stance. Women are asking for the power to choose how to live out their faith. There are women in Iran who refuse to be forced to wear a hijab. And at the same time there are women in India who wear their hijabs despite being banned from doing so. While justice may look different in both of these societies, the message is clear: stand up for yourself and for others when change needs to happen. These women are putting their lives at risk to defy the way things are and the way things have always been. 

What gives these women the confidence and courage that they need to demand change in their communities?

I often wonder what motivates someone to join or lead a protest. Do they have a loved one in their life who has acted as a role model? Perhaps these women have mothers who have also shown strength in different ways. Or have they learned about heroes from other moments in history? They’re merely waiting for their own opportunities to act and fight. Whatever the answer, God bless these women and others who sacrifice their time and energy to make a difference in the world – not only for themselves but for many generations to come.

Discussion Questions

• What are some examples of big changes that have happened in the history of the world? What did people do to make them happen?
• Name a change that you’d like to see in the world? What is something that you’re passionate about – something that you’ve spent time educating yourself about and that you feel comfortable talking about with other people?
• Have you ever participated in a protest? Or have you ever known someone who has? What was it like?
• What are some ways besides a public protest that you might be able to make change happen in your own community?

Reformation Sunday

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Romans 3:19-28

John 8:31-36

(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 C at Lectionary Readings.)

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

Gospel Reflection

The gospel for this week is chosen to help celebrate the Reformation. The Reformation is the period of history when Martin Luther and many other people helped to work for change in the greater Church. The changes helped make it so people (ordinary people like you and me) could develop a more personal and relational sense of faith in their lives.

Because of its roots in the Reformation, I think that one of the most important traits of the Lutheran church is that it should always be open to change. Lutherans balance tradition and innovation fairly evenly. So, when there is a shift in the world they are ready to adapt. That doesn’t mean that pastors and bishops are always right. We are too often slow to move in the right direction. But when we are wrong, we are committed to holding ourselves accountable and following the Holy Spirit wherever it leads. (Take a look at the ELCA’s Declaration to People of African Descent from 2019 as an example of an act of reformation and reconciliation.)

It can be easy to get stuck in the flow of how things are and how they’ve always been. John 8:31-36 references descendants of Abraham who believe that their history and lineage has earned them some kind of future reward. They are not eager to do what Jesus is asking of them. 

Reading the gospel with the Reformation in mind encourages us to be proactive when it comes to change. While some of us may feel comfortable and affirmed in our current realities, there are countless others who are struggling with poverty, grief, violence, oppression, and other calamities in their lives. Our work is not done until all of God’s children are taken care of.

How do we do it? Like Martin Luther, and so many other people who have demanded change in the world, we have to listen. We have to listen to the people around us who are crying out for help. We have to listen to the voices of folks who are usually ignored. And we have to listen to the rustling of the wind of the Holy Spirit to see where God is already at work.

Discussion Questions

• What have you learned about the Reformation at church or in school?
• How has your own congregation changed in response to the pandemic in the last couple of years?
• What is one change that you would suggest to your pastor about your worship services?

Activity Suggestions

• Tell the story about how Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg Germany 500+ years ago. Read a few of the 95 Theses and talk about why Martin Luther did it. 
• Find a door (or a few doors) in the church building that is close to where your group is gathering. Give each individual a handful of Post-It notes (make sure you’ve got several different colors). Ask them to write down their hopes and dreams on the Post-It notes: changes they want to see in their own lives, changes they want to see in the church, changes they want to see in the world, etc. Stick each note on the door(s) and then have students spend some time reading what other folks have written (keep them anonymous if you’d like).

Closing Prayer

God of grace, we are always in awe of the ways that your love shows up in the world. We are especially grateful for the ways that your love shows up in our own lives. While your love continues to transform us and transform your whole creation, empower us to be a part of that change. Humble us. Give us courage. And send us out with your Spirit to do your work. Amen.

 

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

 

U.N.  | CALIFORNIA | COLORADO  | FLORIDA | MINNESOTA | OHIO | PENNSYLVANIA | WASHINGTON

 

U.N.

Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc

Christine Mangale, Director

The Third Committee of the General Assembly

• The seventy-seventh session of Third Committee of the General Assembly, which deals with Social, Humanitarian and Cultural issues has been meeting since September 29th following the conclusion of UNGA77 high level meetings. This year’s session is chaired by His Excellency José Alfonso Blanco Conde of the Dominican Republic.

• The 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- determination.  The Committee also addresses social development issues related to youth, family, aging, persons with disabilities, crime prevention, criminal justice, and international drug control. 
• This October, the Committee is also interacting with special rapporteurs, independent experts, and chairs of working groups as mandated by the Human Rights Council. 
• The Committee will consider several draft resolutions per agenda item. Last year, 62  draft resolutions were adopted at end of the session. LOWC is following closely the sessions and coordinating with the LWF Action for Justice unit.  
• The formal meetings are webcast live on UN Web TV

 

CALIFORNIA

Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California (LOPP-CA) – lutheranpublicpolicyca.org

Regina Banks, Director

Several pieces of legislation signed into law at the end of September focused on the Lutheran Office of Public Policy – California’s key priority areas. One such bill the office has been following, Assembly Bill 2183, significantly improves the rights of farm workers. Specifically, the law will now allow farm workers to vote in union elections by mail and guarantee their protection in such elections. Additionally, Senate Bill 731 addresses the criminal justice pillar: the new law expands criminal record relief for all felonies if the individual is no longer on a probationary sentence, which also includes some specific exemptions to the relief depending on the crime. One critical bill our office was supporting and advocating for, Senate Bill 222, would have required the Department of Community Services and Development to provide water affordability assistance to low-income residents. This bill was unfortunately vetoed by the governor. Other priority bills, including Senate Bills 854 and 464 and Assembly Bills 2180, 2589, and 1615 remain in the committee process. 

Looking ahead: Our office’s 2022 voter guide for the upcoming November election has been published on our website and Facebook page as a resource for California voters as they prepare to vote on several propositions. 

 

COLORADO

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

Peter Severson, Director

LAM-CO PUBLISHES 2022 VOTER GUIDE: The Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado 2022 Voter Guide is here! We’re providing up to date info and thoughtful reflection on all eleven ballot measures that will face Colorado voters this fall. In addition, the LAM-CO Policy Committee has voted to take positions on four of the measures:  

• YES on Prop FF, Healthy School Meals. Creates and funds the Healthy School Meals for All program, providing free school meals to all public school students by capping income tax deductions for individuals earning $300,000 or more per year. 
• YES on Prop GG, Amount of Tax Owed Table for Initiatives. Requires ballot titles and fiscal impact summaries for initiatives affecting income tax to include information on how the change would affect different income levels.  
• YES on Prop 123, Dedicated Revenue to Affordable Housing Programs. Create the State Affordable Housing Fund and allocates 0.01% of existing income tax revenue to fund housing and homelessness programs through it.  
• NO on Prop 121, State Income Tax Reduction. Reduces the state income tax from 4.55% to 4.40%. 

HOUSING COLORADO CONFERENCE: Director Peter Severson represented LAM-CO at the Housing Colorado Conference in Breckenridge, a three-day event bringing together housing justice advocates, policy experts, builders, and government officials to discuss Colorado’s ever-present housing and affordability crisis, and to explore new opportunities and ideas together. 

 

FLORIDA

Florida Council of Churches – floridachurches.org

The Rev. Russell L. Meyer, Executive Director

The damage from Hurricane Ian stretched across Florida, and flooding is still possible along rivers as 20 inches or more of rain flows out to sea. Congregation damages from the storm on the west coast include:  

• St. Peter, Fort Myers Beach: Building mostly destroyed.
• Faith, Lehigh Acres: half of sanctuary roof lost.
• Living Waters, North Port: Water damage throughout facility and across campus.
• Hope, Port Charlotte: Facility walls and roofs breached.
• Emmanuel, Venice: Water intrusion damage through broken stained-glass window and tree damage to roof.  

Thousands of families, not displaced by lost homes, struggle with food access.  Please support Lutheran Disaster Response! Across Florida Ian has exasperated a housing crisis. Learn more about complex housing factors and public education strains in the Clergy Convening 11/14-15 in Orlando: https://floridachurches.org/how-are-the-children/ 

 

MINNESOTA

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

Tammy Walhof, Director

Coalition Work: This fall, several of our coalitions are reorganizing and rethinking structures. Many participant organizations have had a fair amount of turnover, and some of our longer-term leaders have moved on to other types of work. We are also debating whether to keep last years’ agendas, or reconsider policy options and strategies (Remember that little was accomplished last session due polarization and midterm election posturing.) 

Midterm Elections: As much as 40 percent (or more) of the state legislature could be new following November’s election. Redistricting pitted several incumbents against each other, not just those from opposing parties, but also within parties. Although a few legislators went head-to-head in the primaries, several incumbents retired or left to pursue other interests. Pandemic weariness also likely contributed to retirement decisions. Given this large turnover, the education needed with new legislators will be daunting. Even bills that were completely negotiated between Republicans and Democrats, House members and senators (but never brought to a final vote in last hours of the legislative session), will need to start the whole process again. Furthermore, several of the legislators that retired were those that had friendships across the aisle, were respectful of colleagues regardless of party/ideology, and were long-term experienced negotiators. Moderates of both major parties make up large numbers of those who have left. 

Polarization: Given widening gaps, Tammy Walhof is dusting off her Graceful Engagement workshop, and exploring techniques of Braver Angels to get people talking and relating despite differences and hopefully to work civilly with one another 

 

OHIO

Hunger Network Ohio (HNO) – hungernetwork.org

Deacon Nick Bates, Director

Join the fight for hunger free schools in Ohio!

The Hunger Network is collaborating with Children’s Defense Fund, the Ohio food banks and many others to fight for hunger-free schools in Ohio by providing free meals to all students. Universal meals mean: 

• Full bellies leading to full minds! This plan guarantees that kids have access to nutritious food each and every day.  
• Less paperwork – I would rather our shared public resources be used on filling plates instead of pushing paperwork. 
• Community building – The approach reduces stigma, judgement, and delays in graduation based on school lunch debt or the inability to pay.  

YOU CAN JOIN US BY CLICKING HERE! 

Advocacy in Advent!

Join us and the Ohio Council of Churches on November 29th for an in-person advocacy day at 9:30. We will begin the day at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus across the street from the Ohio Statehouse.  

REGISTER HERE! 

Thank You!

We are grateful for great partners across Ohio. Recently we joined the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Ohio Council of Churches for their Black Theologian Day.   

We are also grateful to partner with the Columbus CROP Walk and the invitation to provide opening remarks and to cut the ribbon!  

 

PENNSYLVANIA

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Pennsylvania (LAMPa) lutheranadvocacypa.org

Tracey DePasquale, Director

The Laurel Highlands served as a beautiful backdrop for LAMPa’s Policy Council retreat at Camp Sequanota in September.  The council received updates on legislative action and discussed possible policy priorities for the next term, based on what they are witnessing in their communities and synods.

The Policy Council began a preliminary examination of LAMPa’s ministry and advocates network survey to help guide their development of priorities for adoption in December. Members also heard from Lutherans Restoring Creation about the resources for supporting our growing network of green teams and the greenhouse gas memorial that was approved at August’s Churchwide Assembly. Continuing the focus on just transitions, the council learned about the implications of new federal infrastructure and environmental funding for Pennsylvania. 

Responding to requests for ways to stay in relationship in spite of disagreement, Policy Council also heard from Julie Boler, Director of Community Relations for Braver Angels.  A small team is exploring the possibilities for collaboration and training for congregations and communities. 

Also, in the past month, LAMPa equipped advocates with information on expanding eligibility for programs to address food insecurity, opportunities to act on homelessness though the Homeless Remembrance Blanket Project at the U.S. Capitol, and ways to help ensure a smooth, safe and accessible election in Pennsylvania. 

 

WASHINGTON

Faith Action Network (FAN) – fanwa.org

Elise DeGooyer, Director

FAN staff attended in-person and online the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September. We will work with our colleagues across the nation and with the Washington State Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition as the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act and Farm Bill take shape in Congress. We are promoting the release of the Washington Immigrant Relief Fund, which will support immigrants who were not eligible for other pandemic relief funds. And we look forward to promoting the Working Families Tax Credit in our faith communities to reach people who are eligible for this new state cash assistance program—a policy change we worked to enact for more than a decade.

During this interim time between legislative sessions, Policy Engagement Director Kristin Ang has put together some appointments for constituents with their legislators, in preparation for the 2023 legislative session. Our legislative agenda is beginning to take shape as coalition partners finalize their proposals and begin to find legislative champions for bills.

Supporting all this good work, we were able to hire a new full-time employee, Blake Alford, as Operations Coordinator. He has recently moved from Indiana and has a background in food justice, racial equity, as well as education advocacy.

Fall also brings the opportunity to gather for our Annual Dinner! This year it will be hybrid on Sunday evening, November 20, in Renton, Spokane, and online. With the theme of Pathways of Solidarity, you are welcome to join online from anywhere! Register at bit.ly/FANDinner2022.