The Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU) will partner with Augsburg University’s Interfaith Institute to hold a webinar on January 26, titled Neighbors Together in a Divided Nation: An Inter-Religious Conversation.

Students, faculty, administrators and staff at our member institutions across North America are invited to join in this important conversation. Together we’ll reflect upon religious and secular traditions and the ways in which they call for our engagement to love and serve the neighbor, work for healing, justice, peace and mercy, and care for creation in a divided nation and world.

The 27 colleges and universities of NECU have a shared mission to empower students to serve the neighbor so that all may flourish. That mission will falter if we fail in these troubled times to foster interreligious understanding in our communities of teaching and learning. NECU thanks Augsburg for offering this webinar to our colleges and universities. We hope you will join us — register in advance at this link or by clicking on the poster below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Following the presentations we will hear from student respondents, and there will be time for questions and conversation.

About our presenters:

Farhan Latif is a philanthropic leader, social entrepreneur and cross sector mobilizer on minority inclusion.  His work is inspired by democratic values and universal norms shared by faith traditions and his leadership has challenged global extremism and ideologically motivated hate.  He is the President of the El-Hibri Foundation, focused on cross sector approaches to foster inclusion across religious and political divides. His work focuses on investing in Muslim leaders in partnership with allies to build capacity and resilience.  

Imam Makram El-Amin has worked for  more than two decades as a religious and community leader, firmly rooted in the principle of our inherent human dignity. In addition to his weekly teaching duties, Imam El-Amin leads Al Maa’uun (Neighborly Needs) Community Outreach Services (almaauun.org) that addresses food insecurity, affordable housing, career services, and mentoring. A student of the late religious leader and scholar Imam W. Deen Mohammed, his thoughtful and moderate approach to Islam has afforded Imam El-Amin opportunities to share the stage with Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. He was a delegate to a historic interfaith event in Rome with Pope John Paul II and member of an interfaith clergy delegation to the Holy Land.

Lori Brandt Hale is Professor and Chair of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University, where she has taught since 1998. She holds degrees from the University of Iowa, the University of Chicago Divinity School, and the University of Virginia. Brandt Hale has devoted her academic career both to teaching and to studying the life and legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Rabbi Arielle LeKach-Rosenberg serves as Assistant Rabbi, with a focus on music, prayer and activism.  She was ordained by the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in June 2017.  She spent her final two years of rabbinical school working as a full-time rabbinic fellow at B’nai Jeshurun in New York City, where she developed innovative initiatives for people of all ages and backgrounds to deepen their relationship with prayer, music and spiritual practice.

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Question

How does the COVID vaccine work?

It Works!

Like most of you, I am eager to for my turn to come.  When either of the approved vaccines becomes available, my sleeve will be rolled up and ready.  These months have been lonely and life has been devoid of so many of the small experiences which make life such a joy.  

But, I have to admit that I really don’t know how the vaccine does what it is supposed to do.  Someone told me it gives me a mild case of COVID which allows my body to build up its own antibodies. (I am not really sure what antibodies are either.)  Seems I heard that the RNA of the virus tells my DNA what to do.  

What I do know is that getting the flu vaccine has protected me for years.  I remember making a trip to the school building for my polio vaccine (it was administered on a cube of sugar!)  So when the vaccine is finally offered – I will be ready to take it.

You might want to do some research.  Dr Cheryl Smith is a member of my home congregation.  She taught me to look for information in the right places.  I would suggest this one from the Center for Disease Control.  I also found it helpful to ask someone I trusted.  Christine worked in one of the university labs and she is great at helping me understand what I read in those journals.  

It is good for us to have some level of understanding; but in the end we may decide to take the vaccine based on the advice and recommendations of those whom we trust.  I trust Anthony Fauci.

Discussion Questions

• Will you take the COVID vaccine when it is available?

• Why do you think some folks have decided not to take the vaccine?

• Name one thing which you do even though you don’t understand how it accomplishes what you have been told it will accomplish

• Have you been baptized?  How does baptism work?

Baptism of our Lord 

Genesis 1:1-5

Acts 19:1-7

Mark 1:4-11

Epiphany of our Lord (alternate)

Isaiah 60:1-6

Ephesians 3:1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

(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 practice of baptism began before the start of the Christian Church.  Hindu practice includes a ritual similar to the ceremonial washing experienced at the Jordan River by those who went out to experience John the Baptizer.  John invited his hearers to cleanse their bodies as an indication of the cleansing of their inner moral selves.  Some may have entered the waters without having first examined their hearts.  It is likely that some left convinced that their “bath” had made them clean.

Early leaders of The Way (what Christians were first called) continued the practice of baptism as an external mark of an internal alteration.  Our church believes and teaches that the water alone can do nothing, but when the water is combined with the Word we are truly made new.  The baptism event is important, it is sacred.  Even more significant is the way it acknowledges our identity and our relationship with God.  A Christian baptism is a baptism into the death and resurrection of Our Lord.

Those who are baptized by John may not fully comprehend the ways in which their lives are being transformed.  Yet, John is preparing them for the One who will come after him.  Other fiery preachers along the Jordan River spoke of the dangers of sin and sinfulness.  John’s ritual  offers more; it cracks open the gates through which the Messiah will enter.  John’s testimony is true, even if those who hear it may not completely understand how it all works.  “I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  John does a wonderful thing for those who come out to see him.  But something much, much, much better lies ahead.

Discussion Questions

• Do you find it frustrating when adults say to you, “I don’t know why it is that way, it just is.”?  Have you ever thought, “Maybe they don’t have a good answer?”  Maybe all they have is a feeling deep within their hearts that this is indeed true, truer than anything they can explain.  How do you decide whether you can trust such feelings?

• Share an experience in which you were totally unable to convince someone of something you believe (we might even say which you KNOW) to be true.

• What is the process at your congregation for those who would be baptized?  Is there an instructional class?  Does the pastor make a visit?

• Our tradition welcomes infants to the baptismal font.  This is to remind us that God is the one who acts; we respond.  Do you have friends or family members who insist that only adults be baptized?  What do  you think they understand baptism to be?

Activity Suggestions

Pull out a copy of Luther’s Small Catechism and read the section on baptism.  Ask questions!  And remember that you get the best answers from those who don’t have all the answers.  After you have read the Small Catechism, look at the baptismal liturgy in the hymnal.  Take notice that there is very little for the one being baptized to say or do.  This is true even when the one being baptized is an adult.

Closing Prayer

Help us, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting.  Amen.  (From the funeral liturgy in Evangelical Lutheran Worship)

John Wertz–Blacksburg, VA

Warm-up

Invite the group to join you in the game, “Two Truths and a Lie.” 

Tell the group that each member of the group needs to come up with two truths and one lie about themselves. Try to come up with specific statements about yourself.  Avoid general statements that could easily apply to anyone like “I love pizza.” When it is your turn, you share your two truths and a lie in any order. The object of the game is for everyone else to determine which statements are true and which one is false.

Whose Word Do We Believe?

Do a quick search for conspiracy theories and Google will give you over 100,000,000 results to explore. Conspiracy theories used to be confined to rumors and small groups of ardent believers.  The internet and social media have given conspiracy theories like QAnon and those who believe them a feeling of credibility and a highly effective way to broadcast their beliefs to a larger audience. Thankfully, the internet also provides easy access to fact checking sites. For example, Snopes.com and FactCheck.org allow you to quickly learn the facts around common conspiracy theories.

While some conspiracy theories seem relatively harmless, like the belief that the National Basketball Association rigged its 1985 draft lottery by freezing an envelope to ensure that the commissioner gave the New York Knicks the first pick in the draft. Many conspiracy theories promote ideas which endanger others, like the conspiracy theories around vaccines which impede our ability to stop the spread of dangerous diseases.

When individuals are wrapped up in a conspiracy theory, the word of an expert in a field or the facts presented in a peer reviewed paper have no impact on what they believe. One of the great difficulties in addressing conspiracy theories is that “conspiracy theories are essentially irrefutable: logical contradictions, evidence showing the opposite, even the complete absence of proof have no bearing on the conspiratorial explanation because they can always be accounted for in terms of the conspiracy”

Sadly, conspiracy theories  create division, alienation, and conflict when family members and friends embrace them. So how do you help someone else to recognize and reject a conspiracy theory? Here are six suggestions from Dr. Jovan Byford, a conspiracy theory researcher.

1. Acknowledge the scale of the task – Be patient and be prepared to fail.
2. Recognize the emotional dimension – Be prepared for the conversation to get emotional and be prepared to de-escalate the situation if needed.
3. Find out what they actually believe – Don’t assume you know the details and depth of their belief. Ask questions and do research so you can discuss intelligently.
4. Establish common ground – Find points you can agree upon to build trust and relationship.
5. Challenge the facts, value their argument – Present appropriate facts to disprove the theory, but don’t demean the individual in the process.
6. Be realistic – Helping someone abandon a conspiracy theory can be extremely difficult. Often, the best outcome you can achieve may be to sow seeds of doubt about the theory.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think people believe conspiracy theories even when there are clear facts that show the theory is incorrect?
• What processes do you use to verify that the information you see online or hear from friends is actually true?

Second Sunday of Christmas

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Ephesians 1:3-14

John 1:(1-9), 10-18

(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

In a world filled with conspiracy theories, it can be difficult at times to know what to believe. Someone may say to you, “I give you my word that what I’m telling you is true.” Whether you believe them or not probably depends on how well you know the person involved, how much experience you have with them, how much of their story you know, and what you know of their character. In many places, simply saying “I give you my word” is not enough. In our reading, John reminds us that long before conspiracy theories flourished online, God said, “I give you my Word” and it was enough to bring light, grace, and truth to the world. 

Now to be sure, millions of people today would push back on the claim that God’s Word is enough. A few people would even suggest that God’s Word made flesh in Jesus is a “2000 year long conspiracy theory” since none of us can gave 100% irrefutable scientific proof of the facts of Jesus’ story. Yet, when you dive into the story of God’s Word and God’s relationship with God’s people across the centuries, the light that shines from the words of those stories gives you reason to believe.

“In the beginning” John says, “was the Word” (Jn 1:1) and from the very beginning, God’s story has intertwined with our story: 

• promising Abram and Sarai that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. (Genesis 15)
• delivering the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. (Exodus 5-14)
• providing commandments to help us relate in a healthy way to God and to one another. (Exodus 20)
• inspiring poets and artists to share their gifts to inspire God’s people and to help them express their sorrow and pain. 
• remaining faithful to God’s people regardless of how many questions were asked, commandments were broken, or harsh words spoken.
• giving prophets the voice to call God’s people to turn from their sinfulness and instead to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. (Micah 6:8)
• sending Jesus, born of Mary, to live and to teach, to love and to care, to die and to rise, that all God’s people might know the promise of eternal life.
• sending the Spirit to blow through the world as an advocate and a guide to strengthen, support, and inspire God’s people in their lives of faith. (Acts 2)
• calling countless people across the centuries, including someone in your life, to share the story of God’s Word so that others might know the enduring love of God. 

As compelling as God’s story across the centuries is, ultimately the way in which someone responds to the Good News is not something you or I can control. The best we, who know the grace and truth of the Word made flesh, can do is let our light shine before others.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, those who connect to our story may discover the good news of Jesus, who lived among us to bring grace and truth for all people. 

Discussion Questions

• How do you find answers to your questions about God?
• What scripture passage or story is your favorite?
• Where have you seen God active in your life or your community this week?

Activity Suggestions

• In-Person, Socially Distanced Option: Gather a random assortment of craft supplies and create a supply box for each of the participants which includes the words to John 1:1-18 printed on a piece of paper. Invite the participants to use their supplies to create an image that represents some portion of the reading from John 1:1-18.  Set a timer for 5 minutes and see what everyone can create.
• Digital Ministry Option: Use Wordclouds.com to create a Word Cloud using the text of John 1:1-18. Allow the group to try different shapes, fonts, colors, and themes to create the Word Cloud that best visualizes the words of this reading. 

Closing Prayer

O God, you have been present with us since the beginning, We give thanks that in the manager, your Word was born of Mary to bring your love, grace, and truth to all people. Help us to know that in our good days and in our bad days, in our doubts and in our questions, in our sorrows and in our joys, your love for us and your presence with us will never end. Amen.

“All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

—Luke 2:18-19

Look in AWE to our Savior, born that holy night in Bethlehem.

May we TREASURE the wondrous MIRACLE of Christ’s

birth and PONDER the HOPE Christ brings.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing our ecumenical partners, and all who work for unity in this world, a season filled with peace as we ponder the hope of a new year.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton and the Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations Staff ,

Kathryn Lohre, Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos, and Kristen Opalinski

About the artist: Thobani Mpanza is studying at the Evangelical Lutheran Church Art and Craft Centre at Rorke’s Drift in South Africa. He started with tapestry weaving and now works in textile printing. He is a member of the Oscarsberg Parish in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (ELCSA) – South Eastern Diocese. The ELCSA is a global companion church of the ELCA.

The following is written by Daudi Msseemmaa

An earthquake, mass displacement, low-latitude tropical cyclones, COVID-19, a plague of locusts – 2020 has been a year of calamities in East Africa like no other. Among the most destructive and widespread for ELCA companions in the region was flooding. 

In Rundugai, Tanzania, the water came quickly. After enduring a season of heavy rains on Mount Kilimanjaro and the plains to the west, water coursed over saturated ground in the valley between Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. The water rose suddenly on the savanna, soaking the earthen walls of people’s homes and soon washing away goats, cows, and even houses.

People ran for safety to their neighbors on higher ground. Some needed rescue, and neighbors were the first line of support.

In the hours and days after, people who lost everything needed shelter, food, and hugs. They assessed the damage, digging through the mud where their homes stood, searching for treasures and missing livestock. At this time, neighbors took the lead in helping each other. In Rundugai, they took in those who had lost their homes and they fed those who lost their food stock.

For communal societies across rural Africa, sharing is instinctual, even if it leaves you hungry. The immediate needs of the flooding stretched resources of even those who were on higher ground and less affected. This is where external support becomes essential – relieving pressure on neighbors and relatives who gave their all helping the most stricken.

The Support of the Church

Rundugai is in southern Hai District, which they say is the poorest and most climate-averse part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) Northern Diocese. Members of the local church went to every household in the parish to conduct an assessment and determine who most critically needed support. Through three villages, they waded through thigh-deep mud and water in some places to reach 151 households that were severely affected. The local church appealed to the district church office. A week after the flood, they sent over 14,000 pounds of maize and 1,700 pounds of beans.

Neema Eliya, 26, lost her home and half of her goats in floods, along with her field where she had planted maize and beans. She and her five children moved into a relative’s home, and six months later they are still there. “Floods are normal, but not like this year,” she said. She received maize and beans from the ELCT.

The floodwaters remained, with the main road into Rundugai not passable for six weeks. After trucks could again enter, the diocese office sent another round of  food for distribution.

The ELCT national office was kept informed of the situation. The flooding was widespread, and the church proposed a coordinated response and reached out to the ELCA. Through Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), they funded relief in the Northern Diocese as well as five others – the Meru, Mwanga, Ulanga-Kilombero, Lake Tanganyika and South Eastern dioceses. Roads and boats were used to  reach the most distressed, who often are women, children, and people with disabilities. Additionally, LDR supported major flood responses in Kenya’s Tana River and Kisumu counties around the same time.

Another affected area was Kilwa, on the Swahili coast in the Lindi region of Tanzania – a rural, undeveloped, and mostly Muslim corner of the country. People who lost family members and homes were evacuated after the floods. Hundreds took refuge in schools that had been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The church distributed food and non-food items and offered training on hygiene practices.

God’s Love in Action

But now, several months after the water receded, the impact is being seen as new churches have sprouted in areas of flood response. “You’d be surprised to see the long-term effect of disaster response,” said Bishop Lucas Mbedule of the ELCT South Eastern Diocese. People who didn’t know about Christ or the church could see God’s love in action.

LDR support comes alongside the dignified work that is already in place – that of neighbors helping neighbors in crisis. Local churches took special donations for purchasing food for those who lost everything. Relatives stepped up as best they could. In our vision of accompaniment, the ELCA lives into its role as a companion when it walks alongside brothers and sisters in their moment of need, stands with them in prayer, and remains hopeful of what arises out of disaster.

Daudi Msseemmaa is the ELCA’s regional representative for East Africa. He lives in Arusha, Tanzania, with his wife and children.

from the ELCA Advocacy office in Washington, D.C. – the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, director

Partial expanded content from Advocacy Connections: December 2020

SPENDING DECISIONS | EVICTION CRISIS | CENSUS CHALLENGE | CLIMATE CHANGE CONNECTIONS

SPENDING DECISIONS:  It is decision-making crunch time for federal FY21 budget considerations before the 116th Congress adjourns for the holidays and furthermore concludes on Jan. 3, 2021. Congress approved $900 billion of relief late on Dec. 21, providing desperately needed aid for Americans after months of gridlock on Capitol Hill. The bill now heads to the White House, where President Trump is expected to sign it into law.

Throughout the process, the ELCA advocacy network and staff persistently emphasized pressing need and priority concerns. With as many as 50 million Americans facing food insecurity this year, $13 billion from the second stimulus will go toward food-assistance programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

EVICTION CRISIS:  The stimulus package passed by Congress late Monday includes an extension of a national eviction ban through Jan. 31, temporarily avoiding what housing advocates warned would be a dangerous situation for the U.S. amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Economists and affordable housing advocate have warned of a looming eviction crisis that could affect millions of Americans without action. Enhanced Unemployment Insurance benefits and other measures will blunt some of the heavy economic impacts of the pandemic.

If no further action is taken, congregations, feeding ministries and shelters already facing overflow may expect to see assistance requests increased. According to the Census Bureau’s Weekly Pulse Survey, over 6 million renters and 5 million homeowners indicated they had very little confidence in the ability to make their next housing payment. In the same study, 1.5 million renters and nearly 300,000 homeowners indicated it would be very likely they would be evicted or foreclosed on in the next two months.

CENSUS CHALLENGE:  On Dec. 18, the Supreme Court dismissed one of the challenges to President Trump’s memorandum ordering the U.S. Census Bureau to discount undocumented immigrants from the final census, which is to be reported by the Census Bureau by Dec. 31, 2020. Failing to count every person who lives in each state would affect the process of apportionment which decides congressional seat allocation for states.

Three lower courts had ruled unanimously that the president’s action violates either the Constitution, the federal census statues, or both. Our communities are significantly shaped by census data, and Census 2020 will update these numbers for the first time in 10 years. The ELCA is an official partner of the 2020 Census to encourage the most accurate count possible.

CLIMATE CHANGE CONNECTIONS:  The incoming Biden Administration indicates that it will make climate change an unprecedented high priority. Addressing climate change will be done in concert with addressing the economy, yoking as essential growing the economy simultaneously with addressing climate concerns.

The incoming administration plans to create a Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change position to be filled by former Secretary of State John Kerry. This position will be elevated to cabinet level. In her 2018 Earth Day statement, Presiding Bishop Eaton said: “The present moment is a critical and urgent one, filled with both challenge and opportunity to act as individuals, citizens, leaders and communities of faith in solidarity with God’s good creation and in hope for our shared future.”

Receive monthly Advocacy Connections directly by becoming part of the ELCA Advocacy network – http://elca.org/advocacy/signup , and learn more from elca.org/advocacy .

Searching for Peace

In life we tend to always be on the search for peace. Peace of mind, peace and quiet, stop to violence, and more. While searching for this peace I find myself wondering if this “peace” we are in search of actually exists. If it does exist where is it located and how do I obtain this peace? That is where faith comes into the picture. At some point in my life I had to decide if I would allow faith to lead me to peace.

Peace Not Walls trip participants and leaders (including Xavier) enjoying a meal that they prepared and cooked during a cooking class in Aida Refugee camp in Bethlehem in January 2020.

Palestine and Peace

Palestine is a very dear place to my heart. It’s everything to me – the food, the people, the land, this list can go on forever. Visiting Palestine became a reality for me when I was trained to be a Peace Not Walls trip leader. Through that travel experience I have learned that there are many similarities with my life and the lives of Palestinians. As a Black man in America I have experienced a great deal of oppression. While in Palestine I quickly learned that their oppression mirrors my own on many levels.

When I arrived I noticed separation. It wasn’t hard to see while in Bethlehem, that is probably because there is a large wall to maintain the separation between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin –  right now we are the most segregated city in the USA. There isn’t a physical wall up but you can definitely imagine the wall that separates the oppressed and the oppressors. In moments when I see this type of oppression I start to wonder: How can people be happy in these conditions? How does one plan for a future? What hits me hardest is how can one believe in God or see God when hate is all around?

Peace Not Walls trip participant, Kayla, stands in solidarity with Palestinians, along the wall that separates Israel from Palestine

Faith and Peace

I am a faith based person. Most anything I do is done within the realm of my faith. I have a belief that everything will work out somehow. I have a three year old son. I have faith that if “Peace on earth” does not happen for me, the work that I put in will help create a more peaceful world for my son.

In Proverbs chapter three we are told to “Trust in the lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding”.

With that scripture in mind I used that energy to find God in the West Bank. It took me three visits to the West Bank to finally see God. I had to stop trying to understand it for myself and started trying to understand it through the people. Although my faith was tested beyond it has ever been, after gaining an understanding through the people and not of the people, I was able to see God. I was able to see “peace”: I saw kids playing, families eating, friends hanging out. 

Often my place of peace is in quiet space with a symbol of God to ground me and remind me why I do the work I do.

Forward in Peace

Faith for me is the answer, being able to find God in a country where I see so much pain showed me that I needed to make some adjustments back at home. I no longer needed to feel or think “why me” or “I wish”. I gained the power to stop trying to understand my oppression and start taking actions to relieve my oppression. I was able to gain peace within myself through someone else, and in turn I took that peace within and built it so I can create peace outward. I truly believe if we can all find peace within ourselves we will all see and help build the peace that we need in this world to thrive. 

Peace Not Walls January 2020 trip participants moments before departing home with peace and love on their face and in their hearts. Ready and prepared to spread that peace and love to the areas surrounding them.

Reflection Questions:

1. Xavier talks about how his faith has impacted his understanding of peace. How are faith and peace related in your understanding? How is this different from the way peace is talked about in other contexts?
2. When faith + peace seem hard to come by, Xavier leans on Proverbs Chapter 3 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. What scripture are you leaning on in these days?
3. Peace is not only a lack of violence. When we hear about peace from our Palestinian siblings, we hear about a “just peace”. What have you learned this season about what a just peace in Palestine might look like? How are you committed to playing a role in this?
4. Where is your community in need of a just peace? How are you committed to playing a role in this?

Additional Resources:

Learn more about how you can advocate for a just peace in Palestine by signing up for ELCA Advocacy Action alerts here: https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Publicly-Engaged-Church/Peace-Not-Walls

Give financially to Opportunity Palestine, a Lutheran and Palestinian-led organization bringing peace and justice to Palestine through education here: https://www.opportunitypalestine.org/secure-online-giving.html

My Name is Xavier Thomas and I was a trip leader for Peace Not Walls in January 2020. I was born and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I am the youth director at All Peoples Gathering in Milwaukee. I have the unique opportunity to serve the same church I grew up in. I have been married for 5 years and we have one son, and we foster as many children as we can fit in our house. I would say that Fatherhood and Palestine have become my passions but I will always love my Xbox!

In this year of…

• pandemic
• devastating wildfires
• upheaval over justice too long denied
• bitter political division
• economic anxiety
• social isolation
• private pain

“…the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”

When it comes to breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty, few tools are as important as education. In fact, the World Bank estimates that each year of additional schooling can increase a child’s future earnings by 8-10%. Ensuring that children have access to education and educational support, though, is a difficult goal to reach, and the COVID-19 pandemic has created even more obstacles for communities in need.

In Romania, the Evangelical Parish in Sibu has been hard at work adapting to these new challenges. The “Open House” Day Center of the parish has provided support to children and families since 2001, accompanying 30-45 children throughout the year with its many programs. The center’s mission is to help families with children between six and 16 years old who face high rates of poverty, domestic violence, social and ethnic discrimination, and exploitation. To support them, the center provides counseling, food, preventative health care, and a safe place for children to learn and grow.

The pandemic has made this work much more difficult. The parents who had jobs have lost them, and many families cannot afford food, clothing, heating or school supplies. Many children don’t have access to the internet or the equipment they need to participate in online schooling.

The center, though, is adapting to the new challenges and pressing on toward its mission. This year, with support from ELCA World Hunger, the center continues to provide school supplies and clothing for children to help meet the increased needs of families, including for children who do not have the equipment they need for online learning. “Open House” has also adapted by sending care packages home for families and providing social worker home visits to make sure children and their families have the support they need.

The children are also able to participate in fun activities, such as making crafts. As Diana Fruman of “Open House” shares, “More and more children are getting enthusiastic about handicrafts. Some of them are very talented and create beautiful works.”

The “beautiful work” of God through the “Open House” center is not limited to crafts, though. It can be seen in the new opportunities created by the staff, volunteers, parents and children who are working together at the center. As Diana says, “Every hour [the children] spend here…is another chance for them and their future.”

That’s one of the reasons that, despite the ongoing pandemic, Diana is hopeful for the future and grateful for the support the center has received. “Thanks to your help,” she writes, “we were able to carry out further aid measures this year…[Your] great willingness to help and your donations have made and will continue to make our work here at ‘Open House’ possible.”

Because of the ongoing work of God through the center and its participants, we can join Diana in her hopeful wishes for what is to come:

“On behalf of all our children and staff, we wish you a blessed Advent season, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

The days of Christmas are typically a time to sing beloved carols. This year when we are gathered in our homes, it may be especially comforting to sing familiar Christmas carols. While singing songs etched on our minds and hearts is important, we affirm that as creative people made in God’s image we create and seek out new ways to sing the story of Christmas.

All Creation Sings provides six hymns and songs under the Christmas heading; the topical index offers additional suggestions. While some of these may be familiar from their inclusion in other resources, some are brand new to an ELCA worship book. One of these is the hymn, “Night Long-Awaited / Noche anunciada” by Félix Luna (text) and Ariel Ramírez (music).

While new to our resources, this hymn was composed in the 1960s. It is an excerpt from “Navidad Nuestra: A Folk Drama of the Nativity Based on the Rhythms and Traditions of Hispanic America.” Published for mixed chorus and soloists with percussion, guitar and harpsichord/piano, it included text in both Spanish and English. The performance notes in the original score describe it: “Navidad Nuestra—Our Nativity—was created for a criollo retable—a native tableau—where each moment of the Mystery of the Incarnation is expressed in a popular manner, with all the tenderness that the Miracle of two thousand years ago evokes in the spirit of the simple people.” Each section used a different regional voice.

Félix Luna, Argentine poet, collaborated with Ariel Ramírez, an Argentine and internationally celebrated choral composer, in this tender and simple hymn. Of course, we are also indebted to the work of translators. The version of “Night Long-Awaited” in All Creation Sings was translated by Adam Tice (ACS also includes five of his original hymns). Translations allow the texts to speak anew to us in every generation, but it’s interesting to point out one feature of the original text that changed over time.

The end of stanza two of the version published for mixed chorus in 1965 reads:

When He is smiling, Radiance glows,
And in His arms, a tiny cross grows.

The recent translation reads:

Light for our shadows, grace for our loss;
Born for our dying, bearing our cross.

Both settings connect the incarnation to the death of Jesus.

Unlike “Silent Night,” this hymn incorporates “redeeming grace” with more direct references to the arc of salvation through Jesus, that “all that is broken shall be restored” (stanza 2). Like “Silent Night,” the music ushers us into a sense of stillness and awe, complete with beautiful four-part harmony.

Several recordings exist of this. José Carreras sings the hymn in this recording. Though it is pitched in a higher key, it captures the simple beauty of this hymn. You can also hear it in the key of C in this less formal recording.

The hymn concludes:

Now is God’s promise born in the night,
wake to its fullness; live in its light.
Christ comes among us; people, draw near!
Come to the manger; Christmas is here.

May a treasury of songs, both old and new, fill your hearts and homes this Christmas.

To learn more about All Creation sings, visit www.augsburgfortress.org/AllCreationSings.

Night Long-Awaited / Noche anunciada
Text: Félix Luna, 1925-2009; tr. Adam M. L. Tice, b. 1979
Music: Ariel Ramírez, 1921-2010
Text and music © 1965 Lawson-Gould, admin. Alfred Music
Permission required for further use.

Image: Sundays and Seasons