Jen Krausz, Bethlehem, PA

 Warm-up Question

Warm-up Question: When you hear someone’s testimony, do you tend to believe it or question it? Why?

How Do You Know the Truth?

On Wednesday May 1, U.S. Attorney General William Barr gave testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee about his handling of the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report about his two-year investigation into President Donald Trump.

Mueller investigated whether President Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign, which would have been illegal. Collusion means working together, which a presidential candidate is not allowed to do with a foreign power like Russia.

Barr faced questions on Wednesday because of his summary of the March 22^nd report. Democrats in Congress think Barr has been too partial to Trump and has not been objective about the report.  Barr’s summary said that the report showed no collusion with Russia and was inconclusive about some possible instances of obstruction of justice. Democrats have said that the full report could show some wrongdoing by the President and his administration.

In his testimony, Barr defended his summary against aggressive questions from some Democrat senators, some of whom accused him of being “purposely misleading” and “lying to Congress.”  Barr refused to appear at a parallel hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, which is controlled by Democrats and might have involved questions from lawyers as well as lawmakers.

Trump has called the report a “complete and total exoneration.” Not all Democrats see it that way, however, Democrat party leaders have backed off on calls to impeach Trump since seeing the report.“  Still, many remain unsatisfied with Barr’s answers.  “Mr. Barr, now the American people know that you are no different from Rudy Giuliani or Kellyanne Conway or any of the other people who sacrifice their once decent reputation for the grifter and liar who sits in the Oval Office,” Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, said to Barr. Giuliani is Trump’s personal lawyer and Conway is White House counsel.

Discussion Questions

• Clearly, there is strong disagreement concerned the truth of Barr’s testimony.  What are some ways you might be able to tell whether someone is being truthful?
• Is truth always black and white?  Is it possible for there to be honest disagreement over what something means?
• What are some of the possible consequences of giving false testimony?
• How does false testimony relate to the Ninth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”?
• Why might someone not be truthful when testifying about something?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

(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

As the scene opens, Jesus is walking in Solomon’s Colonnade in the Temple courts. In the Old Testament, Solomon was known for his great wisdom. The wisdom of Solomon remains legendary, but Jesus’ wisdom far surpasses that of Solomon, who eventually disobeyed many of God’s commands to him, i.e. marrying many wives, stockpiling gold, and even worshiping other gods. (See 1 Kings, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes for more of Solomon’s story).

The people around Jesus in this passage are not so different from people today. They want to know what is true; they decide to ask Jesus directly whether he is the Messiah. It seems that this isn’t the first time these people have asked Jesus whether he is the Messiah. For Jews, who have waited hundreds of years for the Messiah to come, it is hard to believe that this relatively uneducated, plain, and peace-seeking person can possibly be the promised Messiah, who will liberate his people.

Like so many people when they hear a word from God in their hearts, they want to hear it one more time before they can embrace it as truth. They just aren’t sure whether they can believe what seems so strange.

So Jesus tells them that his works testify about him. Healing miracles, his teachings, and his unique way of pointing people to God were his testimony. In its best form, testimony gives proof about something. It also reveals truth. The works of Jesus do both of these things, but like people of today, not everyone is convinced of the truth of Jesus’ testimony.

In the King James Version, Hebrews 11:1 says  that Faith is “the evidence of things unseen.” While some theologians have made strong and convincing arguments in favor of God’s existence and Jesus’ divinity (Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ, for instance), it isn’t possible to fully prove these things in a courtroom. Faith is required.

Jesus describes people of faith as his sheep. As sheep follow their shepherd, they come to know his voice. In the same way, as we follow Jesus, we come to know his voice. We don’t have to wonder who Jesus is; we know he is the Messiah because we know him through the Bible and our faith, and because his works in our lives have testified to us about him.

Discussion Questions

• If you consider yourself one of Jesus’ sheep, what has led you to believe in and follow Jesus? If you don’t, what is holding you back from believing and following him?
• Why do you think those without faith have a difficult time understanding who Jesus is?
• What events in your life have testified to you about who Jesus is?
• What helps you recognize Jesus’ voice?

Activity Suggestions

Jesus describes his faithful people as sheep. Do a little online research about what sheep are like. What qualities of sheep remind you of being a follower of Jesus? Do you feel any differently about the analogy Jesus used, which is also found in Psalm 23?

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, Thank you for giving us your works and your word to testify that you are the Messiah. Help me to follow you in faith and to better understand who you are through your works in my life. Amen.

Paul Baglyos, Baltimore, MD

Warm-up Question

A familiar Easter hymn calls Jesus the “risen conqu’ring Son.”  In Romans 8 Paul says we are “more than conquerors” through Christ.  In a world which has much tragedy and suffering, what does Paul mean? Are we really more than conquerors?  How?

More Than Conquerors

Two weeks ago, on Easter Sunday, terrorist explosions destroyed three churches as well as four hotels in Sri Lanka.  Less than one week earlier, a massive fire threatened to destroy the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.  News accounts and images of those events and their aftermaths are widely available on the web.  Many noted how particularly painful these events were, coming as they did, in the season when Christians celebrate the Resurrection.

Discussion Questions

• What were/are your reactions to the news about the Notre Dame fire and the Sri Lanka bombings?
• Are those stories of any concern to you?  Why or why not?
• How did other people you know react to those stories?  What did you hear or read from other people about the fire and the bombings?

Third Sunday of Easter

(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

We know that the church is people rather than buildings, but many people who belong to the church identify with the buildings in which they gather for worship, prayer, and devotion.  The burning of Notre Dame brought sorrow to many people around the world because of the religious and cultural heritage the building represents.  The churches in Sri Lanka were targeted because the bombers knew those buildings would be full of people on Easter Sunday morning.  The bombers wanted to kill people and the churches they targeted provided strategic opportunities for their gruesome intentions.

These recent events offer spectacular reminders that the church is not exempt from the hardship, suffering, and evil which afflict the world.  At Easter the church rejoices in the good news of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, often singing “Thine is the glory, risen, conqu’ring Son.”  But the risen Christ remains also and always the crucified Son, the one whose hands and side eternally bear the marks of his execution on a cross (see John 20:24-27).  Jesus conquered death, not by wielding its power as a retaliatory weapon, but by enduring its torment with an unshaken trust in God’s love and promise.  For Jesus, conquering death meant not evading its grasp, but acting upon the knowledge that God’s embrace of us is certain and secure.  So the “risen, conqu’ring Son” continues to act in our world and in our lives.

Jesus tells Peter – impulsive, impetuous Peter – that a time will come when he (Peter) will be led where he does not wish to go.  Perhaps in this puzzling statement Jesus seeks to remind Peter that the community of resurrection witnesses shares the same vocation as its resurrected Lord, to witness to God’s love in the midst pain.  As it is for Christ, so it must be also for the church.

On Easter Sunday, amid the news of the church bombings in Sri Lank, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton tweeted these words from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  Will hardship or distress or persecution or peril or sword?  As it is written ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long’ . . .   No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Christians are more than conquerors because Christ their Lord is conqueror.  For us as for him, however, we conquer not by evading the grasp of death, hardship, suffering and evil, but by facing such torments in the trust that God’s grasp is more certain and secure than any of those things, and that nothing can separate us from the love and the promise of God who holds us eternally.

Like Peter, we too will find ourselves at times being led where we do not wish to go.  Remember how Jesus prayed in Gethsemane before his arrest, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me”? (Luke 22:42)  We go knowing that Christ himself is the one leading us, calling us to follow him into the places where the world’s sorrow, grief, terror, and pain call out for healing and renewal.  The good news of Christ’s resurrection from the dead does not put him—or us— above it all.  Rather it is our food for the journey, our strength for the mission, and our cause for rejoicing.

Discussion Questions

• What do you think Jesus means by what he tells Peter in John 21:18?
• In Luke’s Gospel, a story about a miraculous catch of fish occurs early, in chapter 5, well before the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Do you think that John’s Gospel relates a similar but different story, or that John has located the same story differently for a theological reason?
• How do you understand Jesus’ command to Peter to “feed my sheep”?  What did that mean for Peter?  What does it mean for you?

Activity Suggestions

• Read together the words of the hymn, “Thine Is the Glory.”  Discuss together whether and how you have experienced in your own life any of the affirmations in the words of that hymn.
• Share with each other any favorite Easter hymns or songs and tell how and why those are meaningful to you.

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, you inspired Simon Peter to confess Jesus as the Messiah and Son of the living God.  Keep your church firm on the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace it may proclaim one truth and follow one Lord, your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen  (Evangelical Lutheran Worship, page 55)

 

-por la Rev. Amy E. Reumann, Directora de defensa de ELCA

 

Oh Dios, nuestra ayuda en épocas pasadas, nuestra esperanza en los años venideros,

Nuestro refugio en la ráfaga de tempestad, y nuestro hogar eterno.

ELW 632, stanza 1 [Adoración Evangélica Luterana 632, primera estrofa] 705pm

 

A mediados de 2018, el Grupo Defensor de la ELCA decidió enfocar la Convocatoria de Defensa, una reunión de defensa para los obispos y líderes clave de la comunidad y ELCA en la intensificación de los desastres como consecuencia del cambio climático. Sabíamos que este tema requería nuestra defensa urgente. Desde ese entonces, millones de personas más han sufrido a raíz del terremoto y el tsunami en Indonesia, los incendios forestales en California, el ciclón Idai en el sureste de África, y las inundaciones generalizadas en la zona central de los Estados Unidos. La tierra gime mientras el calentamiento del clima intensifica la sequía, las inundaciones, los incendios forestales, y aumentan los niveles del mar, y éstos, a su vez, aceleran el hambre, el conflicto, la migración, y afectan el bienestar de cada habitante de nuestro planeta.

Como respuesta a este sufrimiento masivo, nos volvemos a Dios, nuestra ayuda, pidiendo liberación para aquellos que están en peligro. Lamentamos que los impactos del clima golpean primero y en forma desproporcionada a los que menos han hecho para ocasionarlos. Confesamos que los esfuerzos de alivio y recuperación para los supervivientes de desastres naturales no son distribuidos justamente, lo cual refleja y agudiza las inigualdades raciales y de género que se encuentran entretejidas en nuestra sociedad.

Se requiere que el liderazgo de la comunidad de fe, en el corto lapso de tiempo que le queda a nuestro mundo, dé marcha atrás de los peores impactos climáticos. La solución de la crisis climática exige que reimaginemos nuestras relaciones con la creación y las de los unos con los otros. Esto incluye nuestras medidas de repudiar la doctrina del descubrimiento y denunciar la colonización de la creación, las cuales alimentan nuestro consumo interminable. También exige un despertar espiritual a formas nuevas y más vivificadoras de relacionarnos con el mundo creado y los unos con los otros.

Nuestro esta iglesia a la acción persistente y resuelta a favor de la creación y de nuestro prójimo está profundizando. Aprenderemos de la experiencia y del conocimiento experto en el clima y de la respuesta ante desastres de unos y otros, llevaremos importantes conversaciones sobre el clima y un discernimiento comunitario a lo largo de las fallas geológicas de nuestro país, y llamaremos a nuestros líderes a la acción. Estamos involucrados en un esfuerzo continuo por reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero, asegurar la transición justa de combustibles fósiles en nuestras comunidades, y abordar las pérdidas, daños, y el bienestar de los supervivientes de desastres naturales. Se necesitan urgentemente su voz y su presencia. Mientras nos reunimos, ponemos nuestra confianza en el Dios que nos formó, sopló aliento de vida en nuestro mundo, y nos sostiene ahora y siempre.

 

Antes de que los montes fuesen ordenados o la tierra recibiera su marco,

Desde la eternidad eres Dios, el mismo por siempre y para siempre.

ELW 632, stanza 1 [Adoración Evangélica Luterana 632, tercera estrofa]

 

 

 

-by the Rev. Amy E. Reumann, ELCA Advocacy Director

 

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home.

ELW 632, stanza 1

In mid-2018, the ELCA Advocacy team decided to focus the 2019 ELCA Advocacy Convening, an advocacy gathering for bishops and key community and ELCA leaders, on disasters intensified by climate change. We knew then that this topic required our urgent advocacy. Since then, millions more have suffered in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, wildfires in California, Cyclone Idai in southeast Africa and widespread flooding in the U.S. heartland. The earth is groaning as our warming climate intensifies drought, floods, wildfires and sea level rise, each in turn accelerating hunger, conflict, migration and the well-being of every inhabitant of our planet.

In response to such massive suffering, we turn to God, our help, asking for deliverance for those in harm’s way. We lament that climate impacts are visited first and most disproportionately on those who have done the least to cause them. We confess that relief and recovery for survivors of natural disasters is not justly distributed, reflecting and reinforcing the gender and racial inequities woven into our social fabric.

Faith community leadership is required in the small window of time our world has to pull back from the worst climate impacts. Solving the climate crisis requires us to reimagine our relationships to creation and one another. This includes our actions to repudiate the doctrine of discovery and denounce the colonization of creation that feeds our endless consumption. It demands a spiritual awakening toward new and more lifegiving ways of relating to the created world and one another.

Our church’s commitment to persistent and resolute action on behalf of creation and our neighbor is deepening. We learn from one another’s experience and expertise in climate and disaster response, practice leading climate conversations and communal discernment across the fault lines in our nation, and call our leaders to act. We are engaged in a sustained effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensure a just transition from fossil fuels in our communities, and address loss, damage and the wellbeing of survivors of natural disasters.

Your voice and presence are urgently needed. We place our trust and confidence in the God who formed us, breathed life into our world and sustains us now and always.

Before the hills in order stood or earth received its frame,

From everlasting you are God, to endless years the same.

ELW 632, stanza 3

Today’s post is by Linda Witte Henke, an artist specializing in liturgically purposed art for congregation, synod, and churchwide settings (See three new collections of print-on-demand banner fabrics at www.lindahenke.com). This is Linda’s third post offering designs and templates for using visuals to enrich worship.

In anticipation of this post, I spent time during a recent 1,500-mile train trip ruminating on what visual might best convey the essence of the Holy Spirit’s appearance at Pentecost.

I recalled some of the biblical stories about fire and how those might inform our appreciation of the Holy Spirit’s appearance at Pentecost in fire and flame—Moses’ encounter with God in the fiery bush (Exodus 3), God’s guiding presence made known to the Hebrew people in the pillars of cloud and fire (Exodus 13), the voice of God coming out of the fire (Deuteronomy 5), Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego miraculously surviving the furnace of blazing fire (Daniel 1-3), and John the Baptizer’s warnings about the unquenchable fire (Matthew 3).

I also pondered human experiences of fire, both in ancient days and in our own. I reflected on how the Holy Spirit provides light for God’s people, generates warmth among God’s people, refines the visions and ministries of God’s people, and, yes, sometimes consumes or leaves a path of destruction among God’s people.

At some point, I was prompted to ask: In the Prayer of the Day for Pentecost, when we implore God to “by your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise,” for what are we praying? I suspect that, in many cases, we are praying that God’s Spirit would support and sustain whatever visions and ministries have already been conceived and put into place within our faith communities.

But what if we lifted our prayers with hearts wide open to receiving the fire of God’s Holy Spirit in whatever powerfully expressive ways the Spirit chooses to be made known?

• Fire that illuminates paths in bold new directions
• Fire that so warms our insular faith communities that we are compelled to convey God’s love and care to those beyond our doors and our neighborhoods
• Fire that inflames our hearts, unleashes our imaginations, and sends us out to love and serve in ways that stretch our boundaries and challenge our comfort zones
• Fire that opens our eyes to the possibility that some cherished programs, long-held practices, entrenched attitudes, and/or life-limiting perspectives may need to die in order for the Spirit to bring to life the “new thing” that God longs to cultivate within and among us

Here are some possibilities for using the fire visual as kindling for the Holy Spirit’s presence in your Day of Pentecost observances: (See the DropBox link below to access the underlined images)

• Facilitate a gathering of staff members and key ministry leaders. Distribute 8-inch by 10-inch prints of the visual. Pray together the Prayer of the Day for Pentecost (ELW 36, Year C). Invite reflection around how the visual speaks to each person’s understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work within and beyond your faith community.  Where might the Holy Spirit be encouraging us to embrace new perspectives or explore new directions? Where might the Holy Spirit be counseling us to let go of programs or initiatives that have outlived their effectiveness?
• Create a three-sided, free-standing, three-dimensional sculpture out of fabric printed with the visual and custom-sized to your worship context. Install the sculpture in a place central to the assembly. Explore safe ways to introduce a light source (battery-powered light, rope lights, etc.) to illuminate the sculpture. Or, if your space is conducive and you have local engineering expertise, create your sculpture to hang over the assembly as a mobile that responds to the air currents.
• Create multiple long, “skinny” banners from fabrics or paper printed with the visual and custom-sized to your space. Display the banners so that they surround the assembly.
• Customize for your use the projected graphic for worship. Explore the feasibility of using the visual as the background for all projection slides on this date.
• Adapt one of the two bulletin-cover formats for your congregation’s use.
• Adapt the social media visual for use in inviting broad participation in Pentecost worship.
• Adapt the post card design for use in inviting broad participation in Pentecost worship. If the effort and/or cost of mailing postcards is prohibitive, invite members to use the printed postcards to personally invite neighbors, friends, classmates, co-workers, or extended family members to worship with them on Pentecost. Encourage members to share the social media visual on their Facebook pages or post it to appropriate community Facebook pages. Or consider doing all of the above.

We are mindful that we celebrate the Day of Pentecost 2019 in the aftermath of fire’s devastation – at Notre Dame Cathedral, in historic Louisiana churches, and through wildfires that have consumed millions of acres and thousands of residences. We are freshly aware that fire is fraught with danger.

So it is with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 is a dangerous text to read and to hear. “Come, Oh Holy Spirit, Come,” is a dangerous hymn to sing. “By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love,” is a dangerous prayer to pray.  God wills that we submit ourselves to be shaped, formed, reformed, transformed, and empowered by the Holy Spirit in order that the fire of God’s love may be made known.

May the Day of Pentecost 2019 open our hearts to God’s Holy Spirit unleashed in our worship and in our lives!

DropBox direct link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/33jdq8xwv173wj5/AABIEMuyAZNhmZYZvK4wv7_Ta?dl=0

 

To most of us in the United States, mosquitoes are nothing more than a pest. But in many places around the world, just one bite from an infected mosquito could transmit malaria. Every two minutes, a child dies from malaria – a preventable and curable disease. In a recent report, the World Health Organization warned that progress against malaria has stalled. World Malaria Day is a special time to remember our neighbors at heightened risk for this disease – and the ways God is working through and with them to reduce risk and build resilience.

More research needs to be done to help describe the relationship between hunger and malaria, but what we do know is that ending hunger means helping communities find ways to stay healthy. When malaria affects young children, costs for medicine, doctor visits, and transportation to health facilities can quickly add up. If an adult contracts the disease, it can mean time away from work, which makes it harder for their families to meet their needs.

But even seemingly simple interventions can make a big difference. One study from Zambia found that providing farmers with bed nets to prevent mosquito bites contributed to an increased output from their farms of more than 14 percent. A bigger harvest means more crops, more money, and less risk of hunger or poverty for a family. The interconnections between hunger and malaria – and the intertwined solutions to both – are one reason ELCA World Hunger continues to support efforts to address malaria.

Strategies for preventing malaria are just some of the ways the ELCA’s companion churches are accompanying neighbors in their communities. Though the ELCA’s Malaria Campaign officially ended in 2015, this important work continues in several countries.

Incidences of malaria can affect a family’s income, but the reverse is true, too. Increases in household income can reduce the likelihood of contracting malaria and make it easier for a family to afford treatment if someone gets sick. Building resilience by increasing opportunities for income generation is at the heart of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe’s (ELCZ) savings and lending projects in Zimbabwe. Here, the ELCZ helps community members form village savings and loan groups (VSLAs) and provides training to strengthen existing skills in tasks such as bookkeeping.

In the Hwange District, Bulowe Nyoni was responsible for getting a water well built that now serves as a source of drinking water for most of her neighbors. From her savings, she also started an organic garden near the well. As a volunteer in the project, Bulowe received two goats, which have now multiplied to over 30, thirteen of which she sold to buy a cart that allows her to fetch firewood and other items. In addition, Bulowe also works as a volunteer in health clinic where she conducts health talks for patients. Because of her efforts, her community has access to clean water, patients in the clinic receive the support and information they need, and Bulowe is able to earn and save the income that builds resilience to both malaria and hunger for her household.

Memory Hove, popularly known as Mai Mdlungu, is a member of a savings and loan group in the district of Gokwe North. She and a group of 25 other women started the group in 2015. Initially, her husband was opposed to the idea. But Mai Mdlungu was determined, and she started raising money by baking and selling buns in her community and used part of the money to save with the other women. By the end of the first cycle of the savings and lending group, she received goats that she has been raising and breeding. These goats now help her pay for her children’s school fees. In 2016, she used her share of savings from the group to buy a cow, which has since given birth to a calf.

Seeing Mai Mdlungu succeed challenged her husband’s first impressions of the group. “I got married to an industrious woman,” he says, “and she has just woken me up from my deep slumber.” Mai Mdlungu’s husband joined the group and, at the end of the 2018 cycle, used his savings to purchase maize seed and fertilizer. Other couples are following their example, with men joining the savings and loan groups alongside women. This helps to strengthen the relationships within the family and, in Mai Mdlungu’s case, provide the opportunity for women to be part of the decision-making processes in their families.

These kinds of projects address the deep problem of malaria in holistic and transformative ways by building resilience and reducing risk. Because of the skills, talents, and hard work of community members like Bulowe and Mai Mdlungu, these projects are changing the lives of members of their communities and families. This work helps their families be less likely to contract malaria, less likely to face hunger and poverty, and more likely to be able to weather an illness if someone gets sick. And their efforts are helping to “wake up” others to the hope for a future free of malaria and hunger.

To support this ongoing work through ELCA World Hunger, please visit https://community.elca.org/good-gifts-2017/health.

 

 

 

 

Jocelyn Breeland, Sunnyvale, CA

Warm-up Question

What is essential to sustain your faith?

Hope in the Ruins

As these words are written, the fire in Notre Dame, the historic cathedral in the heart of Paris, has finally been brought under control. Memorable scenes of the day include the silhouette of the church against the towering flames, the tall spire collapsing, and mourners praying as they watched in horror. French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to launch a national fundraising campaign so the church can be rebuilt. By the time you read this, we will likely know more about the cause of the fire, the extent of the damage, and what will be required to restore Notre Dame.

Notre Dame, one of the world’s most well-known churches, was completed in 1345 and over the centuries has played an important role in the life of the city and the history of France and Europe. The exterior of Notre Dame contains many scenes from the Bible, a sort of book to teach scripture to the parishioners who, at the time of construction, were mostly illiterate. The interior contains many priceless works of art, a magnificent organ, and the treasured relics of what is believed to be the crown of thorns Jesus wore before crucifixion and a piece of the cross. They were rescued from the flames.

This is not the first time the building was damaged. In 1548, Hugenots damaged statues that they believed to be idolatrous. In 1793, 28 statues of biblical kings were destroyed when they were mistaken for statues of French kings. A bombing attempt was foiled in 2016.

Within 24 hours, hundreds of millions of dollars had been pledged to the rebuilding effort.

Discussion Questions

• Why do you think restoration of the church is so important to the French people that the president – a secular leader – would vow to restore it?
• For people of faith what, if anything, has been lost?
• If the church building where you worship were destroyed, what would be lost?
• Would the loss of the building make you concerned about the congregation? Why or why not?

Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 5:27-32

Revelation 1:4-8

John 20:19-31

(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

Thomas had doubts. He had seen Jesus die and, despite witnessing Jesus’ previous miracles – including raising the dead – he could not believe that his master lived. If Thomas, who knew Jesus, had doubts, how are we, so many centuries removed, to sustain our faith?

We all have doubts. Like Thomas, we experience events that cause us to question what we believe. Even Mother Teresa, admired by many for her life of faith and charity, wrote about her serious doubts, her sense that her prayers were unheard and unanswered.

Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and who have believed.” But how are we to sustain this belief, our faith in Jesus, the son of God, sent for our salvation? One answer is in verse 30, “these are written that you might believe.” The Bible exists to support our faith – to teach us about God’s work in the world, about the life of Jesus and his victory over sin and death.

The Gospel writers risked, and sometimes lost, their lives to spread the good news of the gospel to all people. It’s hard to imagine this level of commitment if the events they recount in the New Testament were not true.

We are grateful for the gift of the Gospel and the stories and guidance that lead us to lives of faith. We have not seen but we believe. And we are blessed.

Discussion Questions

• Have you, like Thomas, had doubts?
• Do you share your doubts, as Thomas did, or do you keep it to yourself?
• What has helped to restore your faith?

Activity Suggestions

[This activity can be done individually or in groups.]

Thinking of the warm-up question, the fire at Notre Dame and this week’s Gospel selection – and your experience as a Christian – make a list of everything you can think of that can support, nourish or restore a person’s faith.

• Identify the items on this list that you would consider essential to Christian faith.
• Now, discuss the ways you and your congregation offer or connect people to these essentials. Is there room for improvement?
• Develop a plan to increase support in one of the essential areas, assign responsibility for the various tasks.

Establish a target date to implement your plan and schedule a group discussion on the results.

• What worked well? What didn’t?
• Did you notice any changes – in specific individuals or in the community as a whole – as a result of your work?

Closing Prayer

Gracious Lord, thank you for the gift of your son Jesus, and thank you for the gift of the Bible that teaches us and shows us the way to live lives of faith. When we doubt, or stray, draw us back to your holy word. As we are blessed, let us also be a blessing. Make us examples of your love that will bring others closer to you. In the blessed name of Jesus, Amen.

Congregational Vitality Training and DEM Gathering
August 16-23, 2019  |  Christ Lutheran Church, Baltimore, Maryland

Timeline of Events

FRIDAY (8/16)

9:00 am – 6:00 pm           Behavioral Interview Training – Day 1 (plan arrival for Thursday)

 

SATURDAY (8/17)

8:30 am – 4:00 pm           Behavioral Interview Training – Day 2

 

SUNDAY (8/18)

Travel day for DEMs (to attend DEM Gathering)

 

MONDAY (8/19)

8:00 am – 5:00 pm           Coach Launch – Day 1 (plan arrival for Sunday)

8:00 am – 5:00 pm           Homeless and Justice Network Gathering – Day 1 (plan arrival for Sunday)

8:30 am – 4:30 pm           DEM Gathering – Day 1 (plan arrival for Sunday)

               1:00-3:30 pm:    DEM Intensive Learning Experience with CV Team

1:00-5:00 pm                     Boundaries Training for Mission Developers – Day 1 (plan arrival for Monday AM)

 

TUESDAY (8/20)

8:00 am – 12:00 pm        Boundaries Training for Mission Developers – Day 2

8:00 am – 5:00 pm           Coach Launch – Day 2

8:00 am – 3:00 pm           Homeless and Justice Network Gathering – Day 2

8:30 am – 4:30 pm           DEM Gathering – Day 2

9:00 am – 12:00 pm        Latinx Coaching Meeting (plan arrival for Monday)

1:00-3:00 pm                     REDIL Meeting (plan arrival for Tuesday AM)

2:00-5:00 pm                     Intensive Learning Experience for New Mission Developers (plan arrival for Tuesday AM)

3:30-5:00 pm                     Congregational Vitality Training Event Facilitators’ Meeting (plan arrival for Tuesday AM)

 

WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY (8/21-22)

8:00 am – 5:00 pm           Congregational Vitality Training Event (plan arrival for Tuesday)

 

FRIDAY (8/23)

8:00 am – 2:30 pm           Congregational Vitality Training Event

Friday evening flights home are strongly encouraged.

 

See you in Baltimore!

 

by Kris A. Mainellis, Program Director for Communication and Events, Congregational Vitality

Congregational Vitality Training Event: August 21-23, 2019

Held at Christ Lutheran Church, Baltimore, Maryland

……….UPDATED June 19, 2019……….

 

REGISTER TODAY FOR THE CV TRAINING EVENT & DEM GATHERING!

Watch this video, from the Las Vegas CV Training Event last February, to gain valuable insight from several DEMs and other colleagues: https://youtu.be/1fYkmj6xfL0

View the Bishop Panel from the Las Vegas event: https://youtu.be/bfNzp0WkTAM

 

DEM Gathering:

August 19-20 | Monday – Tuesday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm

Register by Friday July 12, 2019.

USE THIS LINK: DEM Gathering Registration Link

Please read ALL the Travel & Logistics information first, and then call Pam at Direct Travel, at 800-543-8016, to book your flight, using code 30-143, DEM Gathering.

 

Training Offered at CV Training Event:

August 21-23 | Wednesday – Thursday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm AND Friday, 8:00 am – 2:30 pm

MISSION DEVELOPMENT TRAINING TRACKS

No Registration Fee for NEW (2019) mission developers (and other approved leaders) and accompanying DEMs.  |  Housing is included (double occupancy, up to 3 nights).

USE THIS LINK: No-Fee Registration – Fee for Single Room Link

• PART 1 TRAINING: For new developers (2019) and their accompanying DEMs. To bring any previous leaders who have not been trained, please consult with Rev. Ruben Duran or Rev. Anna-Kari Johnson.
• PART 2 TRAINING: Returning developers and lay leaders who need part 2 training are welcome, but please consult with Rev. Ruben Duran or Rev. Anna-Kari Johnson before registering.
• FOR SEMINARIANS: Contact Rev. Rob James to plan student participation before registering.
• ALL OTHERS: Returning leaders (developers from previous years) and other ministry leaders are welcome, but please consult with Rev. Ruben Duran or Rev. Anna-Kari Johnson before registering.

Three types of mission development training tracks: SELECT ONE OPTION FROM A, or B, or C

A. NEW START TRACKS:

• African National Churches
• Asian Churches
• Church Launch — Basic principles and best practices, including nuts and bolts and practical tools in developing a new ministry.
• Churches Starting Churches — For those who are planting out of an existing church, OR, for those who want to explore what’s involved in starting a satellite or second site. DEMs can invite pastors (not just mission developers) from their synods to attend, in consultation with Rev. Ruben Duran.
• Multicultural Churches
• Postmodern Churches
• Poverty / Homeless Justice Ministries – Developing ministries among and with marginalized communities.
• REDIL / Latinx Ministry (New Starts and Existing Churches) training by REDIL (Red Ecumenica para el Desarollo de Iglesias Latinas — Ecumenical Network for the Development of Latino Churches.)
• We plan to bring back the Prison Congregations track in February 2020.

B. NEWLY ORGANIZED, CONSOLIDATED AND MERGED CONGREGATIONS:

We welcome DEMs to bring one pastor and two lay leaders for this track. Please call or text Rev. Anna-Kari Johnson for more details, at 773-990-0814. No fee for registration or double-occupancy housing (up to three nights), but participants must cover flight and other travel expenses.

C. COHORT DEVELOPMENT GROUPS — BY INVITATION ONLY:

Leaders will gather to work on developing or further developing the following cohorts and curriculum:

• African Descent Cohort
• American Indian – Alaska Native Cohort
• Arab – Middle Eastern Cohort
• Recovery and Reentry Cohort

 

VITAL CONGREGATIONS COHORT

Registration Fee: $200  |  Housing Fees: double occupancy: $85/person per night; single occupancy: $170/person per night

USE THIS LINK: Regular Paid Registration Link

Note to DEMs: If you are accompanying one or more mission developers, you may use the “Mission Development” (no-fee) link at the top of this page instead of this link.

• DESCRIPTION: This is a special training track for those involved in leading a congregational process toward revitalization (formerly known as redevelopment). The Vital Congregations Cohort will be a dedicated track for these leaders and their accompanying DEMs. Participants will receive specialized training with a team of experienced practitioners who will share principles, best practices and tools. Nancy Nyland, DEM for the Indiana – Kentucky Synod, will support this team. DEMs: If you have a leader currently engaged in, or about to begin a revitalization process, we encourage you to attend this training with your leader(s). Space will be limited to the first 25 leaders (and their partner DEMs) who register.

 

SYNODICAL VITALITY FOCUS GROUP

Registration Fee: $200  |  Housing Fees: double occupancy: $85/person per night; single occupancy: $170/person per night

USE THIS LINK: Regular Paid Registration Link

Note to DEMs: If you are accompanying one or more mission developers, you may use the “Mission Development” (no-fee) link at the top of this page instead of this link.

• DESCRIPTION: A Synodical Vitality Focus Group will gather to begin work toward creating a synod support system for congregational renewal. Seven synods have been invited to help develop an experiential training process, and we want you to be aware that this exciting planning is going on, led by Pastor Dave Daubert and DEM Richard Jorgensen, Lower Susquehanna Synod. We hope to offer this training for all synods in February 2020.

 

DEM COLLABORATIVE CONVERSATIONS

Registration Fee: $200  |  Housing Fees: double occupancy: $85/person per night; single occupancy: $170/person per night

USE THIS LINK: Regular Paid Registration Link

• DESCRIPTION: DEM Collaborative Conversations are designed for DEMs who are not accompanying a mission developer or a leader in the Vital Congregations Cohort, and who are not part of the Synodical Vitality Focus Group.

Synod Vitality Strategy Planning Conversation

Join Keith Zeh, DEM for the Northwestern Minnesota Synod, and Maristela Freiberg, DEM for the New Jersey Synod, to learn and discuss key concepts and best practices for setting up the framework for a synod vitality team and strategies. Conversation will cover the Synod Vitality Team Training topics presented at the Seattle and Las Vegas CV Training Events and more. Meeting times for this track will follow the training track schedule listed in the Agenda. This is not team training, but rather a collaborative time for DEMs only, who will begin to work on a plan over the 2.5 days of training.

This Conversation will include the following components:

• Listening to each participating DEM as they tell and describe: their synod context, what they are noticing and wondering about synod vitality strategy planning, as well as naming the strengths, opportunities, hopes and challenges going forward.
• Answering questions and providing guidance on: What is a synod vitality strategy? Why have a synod vitality strategy? What are key components to developing and actualizing a synod vitality strategy? How to assemble a synod strategy planning team or table. What resources are available to the synod? What are some of the key learnings and practices resulting from other synod vitality strategies? How to prepare for bringing a synod vitality team for training at the February 2020 event (location to be announced soon).
• Takeaways will include: an action plan reflecting the DEM’s next steps, ongoing collegiality among the participants via Zoom conversations, and availability of ongoing coaching and mentoring.
• Maristela and Keith bring considerable firsthand experience and lessons learned in developing and implementing synod vitality strategies. They enter this collaborative conversation to share and encourage as well as to learn from those who participate.

Additional Conversation Opportunities

DEMs who are not participating in the Synod Vitality Strategy Planning Conversation may choose to create their own DEM Collaborative Conversations following the training track schedule on the Agenda. This time is yours to connect with other DEMs, churchwide staff, and other national church leaders to talk, share and consult for maximum benefit.

 

Pre-Event Training:

BOUNDARIES TRAINING FOR MISSION DEVELOPERS

August 19-20 | Monday, 1:00-5:00 pm AND Tuesday, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm

Registration Fee: $70  |  Housing Fees: double occupancy: $85/person per night; single occupancy: $170/person per night

USE THIS LINK: Boundaries Training Link

Note to DEMs: Please share this link with your mission developers who need to take Boundaries Training. Note that the Boundaries Training link will NOT be included in other links. Participants must use the Boundaries Training link. You will need to send it to them.

ABOUT BOUNDARIES TRAINING:

• Boundaries Training is required every 24 months for all mission developers who have not completed this
  8-hour training in their home synods.
• Contact Terri Novak, administrative coordinator, Congregational Vitality, to send in previously earned Boundaries Training certifications.
• Plan to arrive in the morning of Monday, August 19, to attend Boundaries Training, which begins at 1:00 pm Monday, August 19.

 

MISSION DEVELOPER INTENSIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

August 20 | Tuesday, 2:00-5:00 pm

No Registration Fee for mission developers registered for this CV Training Event.

Housing is included (double occupancy, 1 night).

For NEW and approved newer mission developers (contact Anna-Kari Johnson).

USE THIS LINK: Mission Developer Intensive Learning Experience Link

Note to DEMs: Please share the link with your mission developers who need to take this Mission Developer Intensive Learning Experience. Note that the Mission Developer Intensive Learning Experience link will NOT be included in other links. Participants must use the Mission Developer Intensive Learning Experience link. You will need to send it to them.

• DESCRIPTION: New mission developers will explore their sense of guiding purpose — identify and understand their “why”; and learn the basics of how to carry out ministry as a developer in their mission contexts, including mission developer expectations, toolkit, best practices, networks, coaching and more!

 

Additional Pre-Event Training:

BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW TRAINING

August 16-17 | Friday, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm AND Saturday, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

• DESCRIPTION: Behavioral interview training will be offered at Christ Lutheran Church on Friday, August 16, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm (lunch and dinner included), and Saturday, August 17, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm (lunch will be provided). All trainers, training materials and meals (as noted) will be provided.

• Contact Christina Johnson to learn more, 773-380-2597.

 

ELCA LEVEL 1 COACH LAUNCH TRAINING

August 19-20 | Monday & Tuesday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

USE THIS LINK: Coach Launch Link

• DESCRIPTION: Coaching is a skill of using deep listening and powerful questions as you journey with others to empower them to live more fully into their vocations in life. Coaching is a posture that helps you move forward (even through the most difficult things), builds on learning from relationship and is a powerful catalyst for congregational vitality. This course will introduce you to coaching basics and provides an opportunity to practice these skills. Upon completion, you will have a framework to begin using these tools in formal and informal coaching relationships and you will be a Level 1 Coach in the ELCA.

• Please contact Jill Beverlin, ELCA Coaching Coordinator, for criteria and availability, 773-380-2692.

 

ELCA LEVEL 2 SPECIALTY COACH TRAINING: CARE FOR CREATION COACHING LAB

August 21 | Wednesday, 8:30 am – 1:30 pm

• This Coaching Lab experience is for individuals interested in training to become Care for Creation Coaches, providing an experience in restoring creation resources and an opportunity to deepen coaching skills to become a Level 2 coach in the ELCA.

• This is for people who are NOT participating in the Congregational Vitality Training Event. Stewardship/discipleship/mission developer-redeveloper lab training will not be offered at the CV Training Event.

• Please contact Keith Mundy for criteria and availability, 773-380-5045.

 

Questions and Contacts:

• For registration questions or problems, contact Kholoud Khoury (773-380-2830), or Philip Rivera (773-380-2553).
• For overall event logistical questions, contact Kris Mainellis (773-380-2749).
• For content/training questions, contact Anna-Kari Johnson at 773-990-0814, Rob James at 815-721-0079, or Ruben Duran at 630-440-8591, or the contact person listed.

 

 

by Kris A. Mainellis, Program Director for Communication and Events, Congregational Vitality

David Delaney, Salem, VA

Warm-up Question

• Surprise! Some surprises are welcome and others are not. When was the last time you had something truly unexpected happen to you? Can you think of an example that thrilled you and another one that devastated you? Did you get an A on a test when you expected a C? Did your trip get canceled because of weather? Was there a fantastic plot twist in a movie you saw or a book you read? Did someone who you thought was a friend betray you behind your back? Ever have a surprise where you couldn’t figure out whether it was good or bad?
• We all know someone who has such a track record of making up or embellishing stories that we’re never sure whether to believe them or not. And now it sometimes seems like social media presents mostly suspicious or unconfirmed information. How do you decide whether to believe something you hear or not? Do you tend to quickly believe something that sounds sensational or are you more of the skeptical type?
• We have come to the end of the Lenten season. Did you take on any special extra faith-forming activities for Lent this year as people often do, such as depriving yourself of a certain food or treat? How has that Lenten discipline gone this year for you?

Back From the Dead

Recovering from opioid addition can be like dying and coming back to life.

Too many of us know someone who has lost a loved one to a drug overdose or whose life has been dominated by a friend’s substance addiction disease. As noted in a recent report from Spectrum Health Systems, “There’s a stigma against people who struggle with addiction that often exists because people believe it could never happen to them – but it can. Addiction is a disease that knows no boundaries, has no preconceived notions and leaves no clues as to who it will touch next.” Our prejudices also make us presume that someone who develops such an addiction is probably young and reckless.

The report then goes on to tell the story of a man named Jeffrey Born, aged 65, who seemed like a very unlikely person to develop an addiction, but who received heavy doses of painkillers while hospitalized for a life-threatening workplace injury. While still in the hospital, he developed an addiction to those medications, which he realized when the doctors tried to wean him off of them. The ongoing pain was so severe that it affected Mr. Born’s normal good judgment, and he began seeking other sources of pain management, eventually turning to heroin, the only thing that gave him some relief. His near-death experience came when he unknowingly injected himself with a much stronger drug – fentanyl – and immediately fell into a coma. His girlfriend, who was with him at the time, quickly called EMTs, who arrived in time to administer Narcan to save him, but the experience left him in a terrible dilemma.

In what he described as a turning point, Mr. Born realized how much his life had deteriorated. “By then, my life was in shambles,” he said. “I was about to be evicted and homeless. My family barely spoke to me. My life was a horror story because of drugs.” He decided that the pain of withdrawal and the work of recovery was the only choice he had to avoid dying from his addition as well as continuing to burden those around him, so he sought out a treatment program. “My life has changed so much in long-term recovery … I made amends with my family and friends, who I drove away with the lies I told to cover up my addiction. Making amends with them was the most important thing to me, especially restoring my relationship with my son.”

Discussion Questions

• Can we think of any stories or experiences of hopelessness in our own lives or in the lives of our friends? What is it like to feel like you have no good choices in a situation or that there is no future?  What was the outcome of those situations?
• The key turning point in Mr. Born’s life was realizing that he was completely unable to help himself.  Early death was his inevitable future unless he turned to someone else who could guide him to new life.  Doing this is harder than most people realize, because it’s so hard to envision new life while still in the grip of impending death.  What things to people often love or cling to that are destructive but so familiar that they can’t surrender them?
• Mr. Born’s choice to do the hard work of recovery happened because he saw others whose lives had been on a path toward death but had sought out the help needed to turn things around. In a way, he had to experience a kind of death of his old self in order to experience new life. If Lent is often thought of as “giving something up,” Easter is the celebration of a new life. How can we develop habits year-round of leaving old destructive things behind and allowing God to lead us to new life?

Resurrection of Our Lord

(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

All four of the gospels have a scene with the women coming to the tomb and discovering that it is empty, but only Luke has two men in dazzling clothes who say, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”, suggesting that surely they should have known Jesus would not be there, especially since Jesus had told them long before that this would all happen. Some interpreters have suggested that “The Living One” was a very early title used by Christians to refer to Jesus. That may sound silly – surely anyone who is alive could be called “the living one.” But for these early believers, it’s as if they knew that Jesus was somehow more than alive and that even life itself was being redefined by the new, resurrected life of Jesus. That title gets repeated in Revelation 1:18, where Jesus appears to John with the reminder that Jesus’ new life is permanent and that he alone now holds authority over death.

Discussion Questions

• For an Easter day gospel, this passage has the odd feature that Jesus himself does not appear! Does that suggest that the story is just as much about us as it is about him?  Go back through the passage and take note of all the verbs and adjectives that refer to the women and the disciples. Nothing remarkable about them is said until after they realize that Jesus’ body is not there. Then they are perplexed, terrified, remembering, returning, telling, doubting and amazed. If we reflect on this episode about Jesus, that he truly died and truly lives again, we might have many of the same reactions.  What do we discover if we just pause quietly for a minute and pay attention to our own internal reactions to the claim that Jesus died, rose again, and still lives?
• Many skeptics over 2000 years have claimed that the report of Jesus’ resurrection was just the product of a group of people “in denial,” who were engaged in wishful thinking and talked themselves into a fantasy story as a way of coping with their grief. And yet, none of the gospels portray people acting this way. In fact, every single one of these early believers were suspicious at first, and some – like Thomas – very much so. They only believed in the end because they were told by someone who had either seen the vision at the empty tomb or encountered the risen Jesus himself, and then those first-hand reports were shared with others in an unbroken line down to the present day. Who are the people who have shared with you that they are convinced Jesus was raised on that first Easter? What stories have you heard from them about how they came to believe that Jesus was risen?
• Jesus and the disciples lived in a time when information provided by women was regarded with suspicion, if not quickly ignored or dismissed. Women were not allowed to testify in court or serve as witnesses to any business or legal activities. The disciples’ reaction, then, when they heard the report that these three women brought from the tomb, is not completely surprising. Peter, however, seems to have had a change of heart that led him to go and look for himself. In our own time, do we have prejudices or assumptions that would keep us from hearing God’s good news from someone we’ve been taught not to trust?  How do we, like Peter, have a change of heart so that, when God speaks in an unfamiliar way, we are able to listen? And how do we repent from those prejudices that made us mistrustful in the first place?

Activity Suggestions

• “Two truths and a lie” is an old familiar group game where Team 1 makes three statements to the other team about one of their members, one of which is made up, and Team 2 has to guess which one is the “lie.” A lot of times a plausible lie is harder to come up with than the true statements.  A variation on the game is for Team 1 to come up with three “lies” and Team 2 has to decide which one is the most believable. Would you have believed the women who were reporting the empty and the vision of angels?
• We often think of Easter Day as just one day, but it is a whole season of the church year lasting almost two months! In this day of mostly electronic communication, everyone loves getting something in the US Mail! Encourage your group to send weekly reminders to each other to continue celebrating the risen Lord Jesus throughout the entire season and beyond.
• Since Easter is a public holiday, we shouldn’t be surprised that its central meaning – the resurrection of Jesus from death – can get lost in the middle of all the decorations and other celebrations. Have someone in your group with a Pinterest account do a search for Easter decorations. Then, as the group looks at them, notice which ones really seem to be conveying the church’s Easter message about Jesus’ death and resurrection, the witness of the women and other disciples to each other, and the call to faith that would follow as they spread the news

Closing Prayer

Glorious God, we offer you thanks for gathering us into the power of the resurrection of Jesus.  We pray for all who celebrate the Easter festival this day, that joyful celebrations everywhere might be places of welcome for those who are in need of new life. Help us to be struck with awe once again by the story of how you shattered the earth to bring Jesus from the grave. For all those in our lives who are convinced that they are stuck in a path toward death, fill us with confident hope and bold good news for them.  In the name of the risen Lord Jesus, Amen.